Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series (28 page)

Heather didn’t wait around to see what all the others looked like, but she
couldn’t help but
see several of them. They too were covered in brown fur and they shouted as they ran, showing off their wicked looking fangs.

In two quick strides Heather was running along the ridge. She didn’t run down the slope as that would be extremely difficult and she would probably fall. Running along the ridge allowed her to move faster and with better
footing. Still, s
he nearly fell on the steep slope and forced herself to slow down. It wouldn’t do to trip and break her neck.

The goblins howled from behind her and she
had to speed back up
.

Jumping over a low line of bushes, Heather realized with a start that Enton and Atock were s
tanding up from the bushes. Her momentum carried her on past the others but she managed to
slid
e
to a halt, nearly stumbling again. Turning
,
she was momentarily relieved to only see two of the brutes pursuing her. That relief disappeared and she wondered where the rest of them were. It wouldn’t do to have the main group of goblins still in the cave.

Atock and Enton was squared off with the goblin on the right, while Jerrold and Warren had the one on the left. Aaron had his sword drawn but was looking from group to group as if trying to determine where he could most help.

Drawing her own sword, Heather moved closer to Enton and Atock. She shouldn’t have bothered as she didn’t even get there before it was over.

The monster roared and swung a massive axe at Atock. Undoubtedly the swing was powerful enough to cut a person in two but the goblin didn’t control the swing and Atock deflected the blow easily. He then reversed his sword motion and penned the goblin’s axe against the ground. It was only for a moment, but that was all Enton needed. He swung his sword from the other side of the threesome and nearly decapitated the goblin. The brute’s head remained attached by only a small bit of skin and tissue and the body collapsed to the ground and did not move.

Heather quickly turned her attention to the other group
,
but they too had dispatched their opponent. “Where are the other goblins?”
s
he asked.

Warren
grinned and pointed back along the path that Heather had followed. She looked in the direction he pointed and saw, for the first time, the corpses that littered the way back to the cave. Three goblin bodies lay sprawled on the ground, each one with several arrows protruding straight up into the air.

Heather grinned back at
Warren
. “Well, I guess your men know a thing or two about the bow.”

He nodded, “Unfortunately we have had opportunity to practice.”
He turned his attention to Jerrold. “Hide the bodies. I don’t want them being discovered by whomever comes to look for these goblins.”
Warren
looked back
at
Heather and the Guardians. “Come. We have a ways to go
still
.”

The words made Heather’s spirits sink. She hadn’t got much sleep last night and had been on the move
for hours
. She was exhausted and it was starting to affect her. Her face must have shown her disappointment because
Warren
smiled and spoke again.

“It’s not too far now. There’s a small chamber just inside the entrance. It’s hard to find and very defendable. We’ll make camp there tonight.” He paused and looked again at Heather, “We should be there within an hour or so.”

It took a little over an hour to reach the chamber. They first had to wait on the magic-users to rejoin them from their hiding place and
then
they entered the cave.

The secret entrance was a small stretch of the back wall which
Warren
opened by moving a rock to the right and up. The rock was actually a mechanism to unlatch the door. Once opened, the door swung outward easily enough and revealed a deep dark stairwell. A cold dry air blew from the door and there was an eeriness about the opening.

“I can provide light, if you require it,” Cassandra said from the middle of the group, sounding rather tired.

Heather glanced over at the mage and immediately grew more concerned. Cassandra looked exhausted and it was understandable. She wasn’t used to this type of physical exertion and she was nearing the end of her strength. Agminion and Dagan also looked like they were about to fall over. None of the three had any type of training that could prepare them for this all day march through the mountains.

“Light’s not necessary,”
Warren
answered from in front
,
near the door, “o
nce the door is closed, you’ll see.”

Heather glanced sharply at Mikela who caught the look and nodded once. If this was a trap, then she was counting on Mikela to give them light when it was necessary.

Heather’s group followed
Warren
into the dark. There was a small landing that was big enough for them all to huddle on. Quinn brought up the rear and closed the door behind them. Jerrold, Maynard, and Neely were disposing of the goblin bodies and were supposed to come along shortly.

The door closed without a sound and they stood there in the darkness. It was an absolute blackness, the kind that can only be found underground. “I thought you said we would be able to see once the door was closed,” Heather said, starting to get a little worried.

“Give it a moment,”
Warren
answered. His voice was close and calm. “It takes a moment for the affects of daylight to fade.”

So they stood
in the darkness, silently stari
ng around, trying to see anything. And then, gradually, they slowly began to see each other. First
, there was
just a faint outline and then slowly in more detail. Finally, they could see fairly well. It was still dark, almost like late in the daytime, near dusk.

“What is this?” Dagan asked. He sounded tired but the curiosity in his voice was a good sign.

“The dwarves made use of
a fungus that grows in caverns,”
Warren
answered.
He was smiling and pointed at the walls and ceilings, “This
fungus gives off a faint light, n
ot much, but enough to see by.”

“Remarkable,” Dagan said and his words carried his feeling of awe. “I always wondered what they did about lighting their cities.”

They looked around in silence for several moments, even though there wasn’t much to see. They were standing in a circular stairwell, the steps circled around and down into the darkness.

“How about we find that chamber you mentioned?” Heather asked.

“All right,”
Warren
answered. “We’re going to descend quite a long ways. This stair goes deep into the earth. We will go to the third passage and then the chamber’s not far.”

Almost as one, the entire group sighed. Smiling
Warren
led them down into the darkness.

The stairs continued for what like seemed forever, although Heather knew it had be
en less than an hour. The stairway
had been hewn from the rock along the path of a natural fissure or crack. It was amazing to imagine how long the stairwell had taken to create
.

Heather was fairly sure that they encountered the first passage a little less than a quarter of
an hour into their descent. The
r
e
was a landing in the stairs and then an arch that led to the passage. It was a fairly large passage and even Enton would have been able to follow it easily enough. There wasn’t much to see. The passage ran away from the stairs on a slight upwards incline and disappeared into the darkness rather quickly. The walls and ceiling were worked stone and
the floor was
worn smooth by the countless number of feet that had used the tunnel through the years. They all glanced
into the opening as they passed
and then kept right on moving.

The visibility issue worried Heather. It was gloomy and hard to see things at a distance. There could have been a goblin party camping down the first passage and she wouldn’t have even been able to see them. Goblins like the dark and without a doubt can see better than humans in
poor light
. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the worry that was rising up within her.

They passed the second passage, if it could be called that, within mere moments of passing the first. The second landing coming so quickly on the heels of the first surprised them all. This tunnel looked more like a natural groove in the rock and less like a worked passage. It was wide but very short. A person would have to crawl through on their belly and Enton might not be able to make it even then.

“That’s a passage?” Cassandra asked from just behind
Warren
.

“It’s naturally formed and I think it was left in its natural state due to it’s beauty. I’ve been back up in there and it’s truly amazing.”
Warren
’s answer was quiet but it still floated back to Heather’s place in line. “The next passage is ours but it’s a good ways away.”

Several people sighed loudly and Heather suspected it was Dagan and Agminion. It had been a rather difficult
and challenging
day.

They continued on down the stairwell for over half an hour until they reached the third landing. There was an arch of worked stones here, similar to the first passage they had come across. Both the arch and passage beyond were made of worked stones but there was one noticeable difference; this passage was much shorter than the first one. It had been built by dwarves for dwarves. The hallway was at most five tall.

Warren
watched them with a small smile. “Do not worry. The chamber is only about a hundred yards away.” With that he bent over and walked into the passage. One by one the Guardians followed.

Heather followed Aaron into the passage and they made slow progress. It wasn’t easy walking all bent over, but it was probably easier for her than Enton and Atock. Her back was hurting when she realized that Aaron had left the passage through an open door in the left side of the tunnel. The door resembled the passage wall and she probably would have passed it by without even noticing.

She stepped into a large square chamber and was immensely relieved to see that the ceiling was several feet above their heads. Stopping just inside the door, she stretched her back and then realized that everyone else was doing the same thing.

Warren
was holding the door and he motioned her on in.

The room was
n’t
much. It was a good ten yards square and completely empty of any furnishings. There weren’t any other exits.
On the far wall was a small alcove that was charred and blackened – a fire pit of some kind.

“It’s not
palatial
,”
Warren
said from beside her, “but it’s safe. The goblins have never been to this area of the mine and the door is easily blocked.” He motioned to the back of the now closed door and she saw that a heavy wooden plank could be used to bolt the door shut.

“The goblins have never been here before?” Heather asked, surprised.

“No,
not to this part of the mine. Well, not as far as I know anyway,
”
Warren
answered. “They hate
it
and do not come
to the mine freely
. That’s why we were caught off guard by their sudden
arrival
.” He shrugged, “
I
t make
s
more sense now, though.”
He shook himself, “Do not worry. We’re safe here.” He motioned towards the floor. “You will want blankets though, it’s can get quite cold.”

Despite their exhaustion, Heather insisted that they maintain a watch. The Guardians agreed with her, but
Warren
just smiled and shrugged. He and his men lay down and were asleep almost instantly. No one wanted the first watch so Heather took it – leadership and all that.

She had to remain standing to stay awake and the time seemed to pass excruciatingly slow. Eventually her turn was up and she shook Atock awake and then collapsed into her blankets. She was asleep before she had finished lying down.

They awoke the next morning to the most wonderful smell. Heather couldn’t quite indentify it as she pushed her blanket away and set up.
Warren
noticed her waking and walked over
, knelt down beside her,
and handed her a bowl. Taking the bowl, she glanced inside. It looked liked either gruel or vomit and neither one really appealed to her. She looked up doubtfully, “What is it?”

Warren
had been watching her examine the bowl’s contents and he was smiling. He bent low and spoke quietly, since some of the others were still asleep. “It’s a mixture of grains mixed together and then we pour warm water over it.”