Alone in the Dark

Sword in Stone

The tunnels were damp, their walls lined with moss and lichen, and dripping with condensation despite the coolness of the air. It made the ground slippery and Nerini could feel that her steps were angled downwards, very gradually. She was either moving deeper into the earth, or the ground above was angling downwards as well.

Nerini told herself that it was the latter, because that would mean that the ground was lowering toward sea level. It was a small hope that she was heading in the right direction, but she clung to it, not knowing what she would do if she was leading herself deeper into the earth and farther away from any form of escape. And with no way to tell what direction she was heading, it would be another miracle that she was moving in the direction she needed to be.

The air was stale, but she told herself she still felt a slight breeze, that the air was getting fresher. It was more hope and lies, but they kept her feet moving forwards when she wanted to give up. The darkness weighed down on her and the doubt of where she was going and if this man-made tunnel would lead anywhere at all was eating at her resolve.

As the hours passed and she stumbled along, it was harder and harder to convince herself that she would make it out alive. Nerini had no doubt that someone had built this tunnel to attach to the castle, but it she had no real understanding of why, or where she would climb out. If history had forgotten the castle and tunnel, then wherever she was going might be as equally desolate.

Perhaps it was a forgotten project that would end with no actual realized purpose and she was walking away from the only way out, which was also a dead end. Over and over Nerini argued with herself, though the battle of wills distracted her mind from tallying her pain and exhaustion or focusing on the chill that had set in from bleeding and being in the damp tunnels for hours. Nerini refused to let herself believe that she was trapped with no escape or that she would die alone. She couldn't let herself believe that her gift would lead her to a dead end.

Nerini forced herself to look up and imagine that someone was walking above ground, in the sunshine and fresh air. Whoever it was, would be completely ignorant to the fact that she was down there, hidden within the bowels of the earth, only a little way out of reach. Distracted with the imaginary person and their oblivious tranquility up on the surface, Nerini almost missed the subtle change in the tunnel until her power shuddered through her.

She shivered and looked around as she realized the tunnel had taken on an odd blue light, which helped her eyes pick out where she was. The carved stone took on more detail, and the tunnel stretched out a few feet in either direction.

With that thought, Nerini turned around and looked the way she came, seeing the light fade back into darkness beyond.

With a slow breath, Nerini turned around once more, focusing on the light that dimly lit the tunnel enough to see that it continued to stretch onwards in front of her. She started jogging forward, following the light until it lost its potency.

Nerini paused long enough to drive one of her knives into the wall to her left through the crumbling grouting, then turned around and started back the way she had come. She walked until she stopped at what she guessed was the brightest part of the tunnel. There, the light seemed to emanate from all around her, seeping out of the walls themselves.

Nerini glanced around, resting her hand on the cool stone and slick moss of the wall, tracing her fingers back and forth across one side, then the other as she reached out into her gift. That thrumming feeling inside of her was steady in all directions, only telling her that she was in the right place. With a slow breath to bite back frustration, Nerini paused and turning back to the left wall, moving closer to it until she was leaning her cheek and ear against it.

There, she felt a gentle humming vibration and soft warmth against her skin.

Something in the back of her mind clicked into place, and Nerini remembered the soft vibration of the water surrounding the squid beneath the waves with Shiar. It was a vibration she had not even registered during the fight with the creature, nor after when Shiar had shown her the diamond. Despite the lack of conscious recognition, her mind had stored its observation.

And here, all alone in the near darkness, with no sounds or other sensations to distract her, she felt and remembered it as if she was back beneath the waters of the bay, struggling to breathe. Nerini didn't even need to focus on the pull of her gift anymore, feeling it clearly urge her through the wall with an undeniable feeling.

There was something there that she needed to find.

So, she started digging her fingers around the stones, looking for any form of weakness. She poked and dug at the sharp stones with numb and clammy fingers, biting back a growing desperation that came with the knowledge that whatever it was, she needed to find it.

Nerini's skin was raw, her fingers bleeding, when she found a stone that shifted with enough pressure. She pulled and pushed at it with renewed vigour, even though she had no idea what it was she was trying to find.

As she pulled the stone out and let it drop unheeded to the ground, her hand found loose dirt spilling out of the hole and she reached in without hesitating. The small voice in the back of her mind that told her that she should be careful was drowned out by the incessant pull from her gift, even as she pushed her arm nearly shoulder deep into the dirt, feeling the damp grit spilling out over her torn skin and clothes.

As she strained her reach as far as it would go, turning her face to the side to press deeper into the hole, Nerini's hand found something that felt like metal and leather, her fingers wrapping around it involuntarily. With a grin of triumph, she tugged it out of the hole, stumbling backwards as it came free with a sudden hum. She narrowed her eyes against the bright light, seeing a brilliant silver long sword in her hand, its power vibrating up her arm.

Its light filled the tunnel with a growing intensity until she had to close her eyes against its brightness. The weight of the sword reduced drastically and then the light died down to a soft glow, allowing her to open her eyes.

Nerini frowned at the blade that was now in the form of the Cleandrian style that she preferred, weighted perfectly in the new style. The blade was etched in ancient writing; the hilt and handle curved into the shape of a tree and wrapped in supple leather. Its pommel held a clear crystal end piece that glowed blue.

Nerini paused and raised a brow when she realized that beyond the crystal, the whole sword glowed a soft bluish colour, like the Alliance Diamond.

The last thing she expected was a heavily accented voice to speak up behind her with an exasperated amusement. "Well, there you are, I didn't think it would be hidden for this long."