Chasing Shadows - Tales of Artera

Chapter 9

They'd been walking underground for several hours. Through large caverns and tight tunnels, the absence of the sky above him made Callan feel restless. And yet exhaustion weighed heavy on his shoulders. His thigh throbbed from the horned hunter's attack, and he resisted the urge to limp lest he tumble on the uneven rock.

Ahead of him was the éan holding a glowing blue crystal in their wing, the only light in the dark. Behind them walked Evangeline, who kept a distance between them, though she didn't glance over her shoulder to check his distance.

Ahead of them the tunnel forked, the éan stopped for a second, as if thinking, before turning into the left tunnel. A few minutes more and they reached a small cave, whose walls had a rusty colour despite the blue glow of the crystal. As they all filed in, the éan sat themselves down on a rock jutting from the wall. Evangeline remained standing, pushing herself as far from the éan as possible, glaring suspiciously at them.

With a tired sigh, Callan stood half in, half out of the entrance, too large to fit inside completely. With a moment to rest he glanced back at his wound, blood still wet enough that it glistened in the crystal's light. It was taking a while to scab.

That wasn't good.

"Callan." He jumped as Evangeline spoke suddenly.

He turned to face her, trying to calm his racing heart. "Yes?" he replied.

"You said the horned beasts will continue hunting their prey even after they get away. How long until they lose interest?"

Sensing the question she was actually asking, he sighed. "Unless they've completely lost our scent, they'll keep looking for us for a week or two."

Her expression turned pensive. "So, you suggest we stay underground until then?"

"For as long as possible, yes," he said. In the corner of his eye, he saw the éan cock their head and remembered they had an audience. Callan coughed suddenly, and the éan turned to face him, though they looked like they were seeing through him.

Their appearance was uncanny, they looked like a snowy owl, though larger and with wings shorter than he'd expect. Too short for flight given their size. Their eyes were a piercing yellow and they wore a grey tunic and cloak. Realising he was staring, he looked away sheepishly.

"We need to find out what they intend to do with us," Evangeline said, catching Callan's attention again. Sighing, she stepped forward and began asking them questions. 'What's your name?', 'what are you planning on doing with us?' she asked, but received only blank stares in response. If they understood what she was saying, they didn't show it.

Remembering when they'd spoken earlier, Callan shuffled forward, motioning for Evangeline to stop. "Do you understand me?" he asked in Gaothach.

Their eyes widened in recognition. They said something, and it sounded so close to a word he knew. Again, they said it. "Again," they were saying.

Callan smiled excitedly, repeating himself. "Do you understand me?"

They smiled back, chuckling. "A bit," they said. The words they spoke were odd, the pronunciation sounding off to his ears.

"You understand them? How?" Evangeline asked suddenly. Callan turned to her. "I don't know. The language they're speaking is very similar to Gaothach, my language. I can understand a few words if they speak it slowly."

"Can you ask them what they plan on doing with us then?" she asked.

Callan nodded, facing the éan again. "My name is Callan, a 'he', and my... friend is Evangeline, a 'she'. What's your name?" He spoke slowly, repeating parts when the éan asked them to. Eventually, they nodded, understanding what he was saying.

Smiling, they replied, and Callan tried listening, with some difficulty. "My name is Binn, 'they'," they said.

Nodding, he quickly introduced Binn to Evangeline in Arteran before returning to ask them where they were taking them. Back and forth the conversation went, with Callan trying to use his hands to mime words that he couldn't explain.

After only receiving confused stares, the conversation got side-tracked as he tried asking them if his hand motioning was confusing them. After some more back and forth, they eventually communicated to him that they couldn't see.

While it made conversing a little harder, he eventually managed to find out what Evangeline had wanted to know. "They plan on taking us to their home where we can rest until we've recovered. They'll lead us back to the surface when we're ready to leave," he said to Evangeline, relaying what he'd heard.

"Just like that? They don't want anything from us? Nothing in return?" she asked suspiciously.

He shook his head. Evangeline hummed, staring suspiciously at Binn.

Callan sighed. "We don't have many other options. We can't go back to the surface or the hunters will come after us, and they're offering us a place to stay for the time being. I think we should follow them."

Evangeline stared at him, then back at Binn. A few moments passed before she sighed to herself, nodding defeatedly. Callan turned to Binn, relaying that they would follow them, and were grateful for their help.

Binn smiled, before hopping off their perch and exiting the cave. Letting Evangeline go first, he once again took up the rear of their group, before following Binn through the tunnel they'd came in through. Reaching the fork again, this time, Binn turned right and led them further underground.

Once again, the exhaustion hit Callan, and he sucked in a quick, wheezing breath. He hoped rest came soon.

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A short chapter this time. But necessary I think to show character dynamics early on. I'm so excited for future chapters, you guys have no idea!