Aurora's Heart

by V C Sanford

  “Unfortunately, if they have dogs or anything else with a good nose, the others will too,” Maxx added.

  “Then let’s get as much distance between us and them as possible,” Alex said.

  Chapter 20

  “If I didn’t feel like a deer with hounds baying at my heels, I’d be enjoying this,” Maxx whispered, breaking the silence.

  The wearied group pressed on, past the point of exhaustion. Their initial burst of fear induced marching had long since shifted to a wearisome shuffle that barely kept them moving through the crystalline fantasy world they’d discovered.

  Maxx was puzzled. The unusual writing nagged at him, it was familiar like he’d somehow walked these halls before. He studied the glyphs carved into the walls, uttering the word over, and over again in his mind, but he could not place it in his memory. Suddenly, struck by another of those déjà vu moments in which his mind flashed on something that until that moment he’d no idea he knew, he uttered the word “levasst”.

  “Levask? Alex asked, what’s that?”

  “Not levask, a levasst, a passage linking the surface to the underground. That’s what the collapsed tunnel is, I’m sure of it now. And that would make this, he said, pointing his hand at the strange underground paving, an Ungdrrin Ankorr, a sort of ancient underground roadway. That would explain the obelisk and the writing. But I’ve never heard of one located this far to the east. I’m familiar with a smaller version near the Breech in the far western mountains, but it doesn’t compare with this place.”

  “Are you sure? If you’re mistaken, we may be heading into bigger problems.”

  “I know, I know, caves this size could virtual labyrinth of sinkholes and underground rivers.” Maxx replied, “I swear I’ve never seen this writing before, but somehow it just popped into my head. But I’m positive it’s a levasst.”

  “You must have seen the word somewhere, maybe back in Craven holding?”

  “It’s possible. But I left Craven holding over fifty years ago and I’m certain no one at Stoneshield holding even mentioned it.”

  “But can you get us out of here?” Rhianwen asked excitedly. “I really need to feel the sun again.”

  Maxx enjoyed how Rhianwen’s hopeful expression brightened up her streaked and dirty face in such a charming way. She reminded him of Tweet at times, all soft and cuddly except when threatened, then you had better beware her sharp claws. “It should be easy to locate an exit. They’re all clearly marked if you know what to look for.”

  “And I’ll be able to open any doors to the outside, even if they’re locked, Rhianwen added. I’m told I somehow locked myself inside a chest when I was three and they spent hours looking for me. After that, my parents made sure I could open almost any lock I stumbled into.”

  The Duaar must have poured thousands of manual work hours into the completion of the vast underground roadway. Maxx was humbled by the vast monument to a mason’s creative ingenuity that had been built by men like him. Striding down the ancient road he imagined he could hear the pounding of the hammers and picks of the Duaars that had labored to build it. He admired the expert cutting of the stones, pointing out the sharp corners and delicate grout lines. He smugly drew their attention to the carved blocks uniform size, and to the precision in which they were joined to complete the perfectly level walkway. It was almost as if he’d done the work himself.

  Tyche and Tycho – the twin Duaarien Gods of Luck, had been with them so far. Hopefully, Castillo and his men had stopped to strip the hidden chamber of the objects of value still inside. The weapons were worth a small fortune. He had no idea of the books value, but the girls had been distraught after Alex had limited them to three apiece. With the Twins blessing, the four friends would be safely out of the cavern system and halfway home before anyone attempted the collapsed hallway. Not long after they started their march along the abandoned Ungdrrin Ankorr, Maxx had found two delicately carved glyphs signaling a door or exit. The first was blocked by fallen stone and dirt, way beyond the efforts of the small group. They traveled the second until the runoff from an underground river made it too hazardous to risk. Nikiva volunteered to tie a rope to her waist and swim down into the murky water in hopes of finding a way out, but no one was willing to risk her life unnecessarily. The two marked exits were about the same distance apart, leading Maxx to believe that there should be another opportunity soon. Tired and discouraged they backtracked to the main tunnel.

  He was wrong. First one hour had passed, then two, then five and now they were nearing the end of the sixth hour underground. The beauty of the Duaarien architecture had faded, replaced by a tedious ennui, an ever-present weariness that sapped everyone’s energy regardless of how often they rested. It wasn’t the cavern itself, the temperature remained at a comfortable unvarying level. There were sufficient food and water to keep them all satisfied, even though the prospect of another meal of trail rations added to their depression. The hope of finally leaving the dark tunnel was the only thing keeping the group from being torn apart by despair.

  Rhianwen surprised them all. The young girl’s years of caving experience oftentimes alerted her to possible dangers that even the ever vigilant Duaar missed.

  Tweet had rejoined the group after his ‘grand exploration adventure’, dropping his bloody gift at Nikiva’s feet. She’d praised him for his offering, while inwardly shuddering at the mangled remains of some type of blind white skinned reptile. Buoyed by her praise, he’d taken to entertaining himself by weaving in and out among the natural pillars, effortlessly maneuvering between the monolithic stalagmites and stalactites in an unusual display of beauty and grace rarely displayed by the shy and elusive creatures. Occasionally the Mir would break away from his dance, suddenly darting out from behind the towering stones in a playful attempt to startle whichever victim he’d decided needed chastisement--- or a good laugh.

  Alex couldn’t help from smiling at his antics. Witnessing the cat creature make such a valiant attempt to rouse Nikiva from her depression only make his resolve stronger. It was his fault they were in this mess. Instead of jumping at the chance to spend time with Nikiva, he should have put his foot down and forced the girls into remaining safe in Cabrell. Now, look where his impulse had got them…lost underground, with no idea where they’d end up.

  ********

  Maxx had taken to ranging ahead of the group in hopes of sparing the girls any unnecessary walking. His pessimistic expression upon his return didn’t bode well. “We may have to make another detour off the main tunnel. The roadway is blocked ahead. There’s no way we can get through it, even with the proper digging tools. It’s probably why the passage was abandoned. I found a side passage about a league ahead. It’s like the one we used to avoid the last cave in. The floor of the bypass slopes upward away from the main tunnel, hopefully, it will either give us a way out or at least a way around the blockage. Should I go on ahead, or wait so we can check it out together?”

  “Wait,” Alex said after a quick consultation with the girls. “It’s time for you to take a break anyway.”

  Nikiva was finding it difficult to rein in her impulses, especially the urge to snap back at Maxx’s rude and often offensive remarks. She sighed, her mouth had gotten her into enough trouble without taking her frustrations out on the others. Everybody was tired and on edge, especially the female contingent of the party. Any excuse to take a break was welcome. Maybe she’d gone too long without water? Dehydration gave her a headache and she felt the start of a killer coming on.

  “I hate to ask, but I could really use some water.” She smiled tentatively at Alex and Maxx. “And some sleep.”

  Maxx stopped, held the water bottle up to the light to check the level, and then shook it once before passing the bottle on to Nikiva. “Not much left, so go easy. Better pass it to Rhianwen, she must be thirsty too. We will find a spot to sleep soon.” He glanced at Alex, who nodded. When Nikiva started walking again, he fell back behind the girls to walk beside Maxx.
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  “This offshoot may be our last chance. The water’s almost gone and there’s very little chance anything edible is going to wander into our path anytime soon.”

  “We have enough rations to last a few more days. But unless we find fresh water soon, it won’t matter. Castillo would think it’s amusing, the thought that we escaped his men only to die of thirst down here.”

  “Well, keep it to yourself. The girls seem to be losing their sense of humor.”

  “Did you say something?” Nikiva asked as she waited for the two men to catch up.

  “--- how hungry I am for a hot meal,” Alex answered quickly. “I never thought about how hard it would be to locate firewood underground. You can bet I’ll carry something burnable along with me next time I decide to travel an Ungar-Orkin.”

  “Ungdrrin Ankorr,” Maxx interrupted, “if you’re going to use it in a joke, at least get the name right.”

  Nikiva snapped, “It’s just like a man to think about his stomach at a time like this.”

  “At least I can joke about things. All you do is whine and pout. And complain, let’s not forget the complaints. Do you think you’re better than us, just because you go to Rosemont?”

  “You’re vile! Rosemont is a great school, it’s an honor to be accepted. And what if I do complain sometimes? This journey hasn’t exactly been the holiday you promised. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t? No answer? I thought not.”

  “Slitch,” Alex’s muttered.

  She froze. He wouldn’t dare! She glanced sideways at Rhianwen but the Shii-Lakka only rolled her eyes. Traitor, she thought viciously as she stomped away.

  Rhianwen shrugged, mouthed a silent warning about hormones to Alex and then followed her. She wisely refrained from mentioning the sour expression on her face. Instead, she passed her the Mir-cat. Tweet could be a pain, but there was nothing more comforting than the tiny kitten when things didn’t go your way. As though sensing her mood, the tiny fur-faced dragonet curled around Nikiva’s neck, softly crooning encouragement.

  It was strange, Alex hadn’t wanted the Mir-cat along when they started the trip, but now, every time he watched Nikiva’s miniature sidekick it reminded him more and more of the ship's cat he had befriended. Necessity had forced him to leave her onboard the Sea Wyvern, as it could little afford the loss of its ships-cat. Good mousers were more valuable then deck hands any day. But women!

  “Let it go, Alex,” Maxx said with a laugh at the dazed expression on his friend’s face. “This is a battle you can’t win.”

  Alex stepped forward to get in one last comment, then thought better of it. Maxx was right, it might be better to give her a little space. But he could feel Nikiva glaring at them both until they disappeared into the darkness.

  Chapter 21

  Step by step, Maxx slowly backed away from the quiescent Narp, cringing from the crackle as his foot landed on a dried-out section of recently molted skin. His fingers gripped his axe handle tightly and he held it close to his body in fear of it accidentally hitting something and making a noise that could rouse the somber reptile. He inched backward, meter by meter, careful to keep any sounds to a minimum. His retreat slowed to a crawl. At the first sign of movement, he froze, waiting, holding his breath then letting it out thru teeth clinched tight together.…then slowly started backing again.

  Even though he’d had been the last to enter, he’d chosen to be the last to back out of the small grotto, allowing the others the best opportunity to retreat without disturbing the massive creature.

  It had been one of those days. After three days in the tunnels, everyone was sick of walking in the dark. They just wanted to find an exit and see the sun again. Unfortunately, things were just getting worse. The Duaar worked tunnel had deteriorated to the point of being little more than a series of carved out passages between natural caverns. The upward slope had increased slightly, allowing them some hope that an exit to the surface could be close by.

  At least they had an idea where the other group was. The kitten had turned “keeping an eye out” for the group following them into a game of hunt and stalk. Nikiva couldn’t get an exact position, but the kitten could see landmarks and that allowed them to get a general location. He had disappeared just after breakfast to spy out their progress. In the meanwhile, they had started walking again. Running into the Cave-snake changed everything.

  About half a mile back they’d passed through a large cavern covered with several varieties of giant mushrooms, many so tall they scraped the ceiling of the grotto in which they grew. The oversized fungi offered a slim chance of safety if they could reach the cavern before the Narp awakened.

  Upon reaching the partial safety of the fungi cavern, Maxx was once again overwhelmed by the heady smells of stale moisture and yeast spores. Besides the normal sized brown, speckled top, and fan-shaped fungus that grew abundantly on every flat surface walls, there was a large patch of the grey button topped mushrooms that every chef loved. One particularly putrescent mushroom, a slimy, black, variety that gave off a nauseating odor whenever it was touched, offered their best chance of escaping the Narp.

  “Do you think it saw us?” Alex mouthed anxiously “Are we safe?”

  “Safe? No. But it didn’t see us, like many of the denizens that dwell beneath the ground Narps are blind. They, the hunt by smell or by feeling the sound in waves, like a bat. The stone around it would only magnify our voices against its sensitive ears. It was waking up as I slipped away. It will be here shortly. We’ve only got a few minutes,” Maxx replied just as silently. It was unlikely the Narp had entered its dormant stage, the dry skin had been shed some time ago. And a hungry Narp would not give up its prey until it fed.

  “What should we do? Alex whispered. Do you think we can outrun it?

  “No, it’s way too fast, the sound of our footsteps would guide it right to us. By now it’s found our scent and it won’t stop hunting us. We’d be dinner long before we made it to the next chamber. Our only chance is to outsmart it. Cave snakes are not very intelligent, so, we may be able to trick it. I have a plan that might work. It’s risky, but what have we done since we started this trip that wasn’t, here’s my idea…”

  ********

  “Take this,” Maxx said to Alex as he passed him a length of rope with a grapple attached. “Use it to catch a hold on that mushroom. Get the girls up first.” He pointed to a group of giant mushrooms. The trio of smoky black mother-n-laws tongues rose majestically toward the roof of the cavern to the height of six tall men before spreading out into a fluted cap. The smoky black mother -n– law rose majestically toward the roof of the cavern, at least the height of six tall men before spreading out into a fluted cap. “You’ll need to get everyone up on top as soon as you can. Then dig into the top as much as possible and stay quiet. Rub the pulp all over your body. It won’t be easy to stand the stink, but the odor should keep it from tracking you.”

  “What are you going to be doing?” Rhianwen asked.

  “Cave snake’s hunt two ways, by smell and by sound. It won’t be able to smell you and if you stay still and quiet, I can get it to follow me. Once it passes into the tunnel, it will not be able to turn around until it gets to the large chamber we passed thru about a mile back.

  “You’re going to run a mile with a Narp on your trail?”

  “No. There’s a small natural crevice in the rocks about two hundred feet from the entrance to the tunnel. It extends back about ten feet before turning and ending. I can fit into it, but the Narp can’t. I’m going to be bait.”

  “How about letting me be the bait,” Alex asked. “I can slip into anything you can fit your body into. And I’m much faster.”

  “True, you can get into the hole, but how are you going to get out? That Narp is hungry---it’s going to be mad over losing his meal…and probably vindictive. It may decide to simply block the crevice’s exit out of spite. I intend to take my hammer and axe with me and dig my way out the back side.”

  “I can
dig.”

  “I realize that, but its solid rock. I know how to follow the natural crystallization. And another thing, Narp’s make vitriol. I’ve felt it before, it burns like nothing you’ve ever felt. I figure I dig myself a hole before he strikes, most of the acid will stick to the rock walls and not come near me.”

  “He’s going to get himself killed, Rhianwen murmured, but he’s our best chance.”

  Alex nodded but wisely held his tongue. He envied the Duaar, but not enough to endanger everyone else just to fulfill his own vanity.

  “Well, I’m not waiting around down here to see if the Maxx can outrun it,” Nikiva said. She clambered up onto a nearby rock formation and then leaped from it to a slightly taller mushroom. Working her way from one giant group of fungi to another he, she gradually made her way higher until she reached a perch on a slightly shorter, but much larger mushroom near the one next to the gigantic black toadstool. She waited while the others joined her. It took seconds for Alex to hook the grapple and line to the top of the biggest mushroom. He had tied knots every few feet along its ropes length it was simple to climb until he was satisfied with the height. The surface of the spongy mushroom cap was uneven with rough patches that allowed the group easy footholds as they clambered across it. Finally, only the dwarf was left on the ground.

  Glancing down at the Mir cat atop the other mushroom, Alex smiled. First, the cat scratched out a deep nest in which to hide, thenn he rolled in the pulped fungus. The kitten’s ability to snatch some enjoyment out of such a dangerous situation was a bright moment to be treasured. But the danger was real and moving closer every minute. He sighed as he rubbed the rancid juice into his own skin. It could be a long time before he got a chance to bathe and wash his clothing.

  Despite his earlier show of confidence Maxx couldn’t help but worry. The longtime partners rarely found time for fun nowadays. The idea of snatching a bit of enjoyment out of such a dangerous situation was something the girls would never understand… or condone. His heart was pounding, and his hands shook as adrenaline coursed through his body. He had made a slight modification to the plan, one he knew Alex wouldn’t like. He turned and trotted down the tunnel, passing the crack in the wall. Once he could no longer see the soft glow of the insects that lived off the yeast and spores scattered along the floor of the cavern he backtracked, hoping he could reach the crack before the Narp caught up with him.