Shardfall, The Shardheld Saga, #1

CHAPTER 2 - OLD GARN'S TUNNEL (Part 1)

'I'm your master. You should have obeyed.'

'The stone didn't think so. He rejected you, Nord.'

'But why? Who sent that stone? The svartalves? They hate us, they're deceitful creatures.'

Muus shrugged. 'I don't know anything about svartalves.'

'You look like them, slave.' Kjelle's voice was vicious. 'Small, black haired and mean.'

'I should've left you on the plateau, stupid Nord,' said Muus unperturbed. He was amazed that Kjelle's words didn't touch him anymore. 'Maybe your Gods would've saved you.' He looked at Kjelle. 'Probably not. You're not man enough for them, Kjelle Almansen.' After this insult, he moved his hand toward the grip of his sword, but it wasn't necessary. Kjelle only shook his head, too deep in his misery to be angry.

'Why did that stone come? To punish me? To ... to test me? A test ... and I failed.'

'By the Gods, man, do you really think a stone falls from the sky to test you? Are you that important? Don't be daft. You wanted something that wasn't meant for you. Because of your stupidity, many people died. That's your fault. What will you do now?'

The fear in Kjelle's face was so great that Muus looked away. 'Let's go. Talking won't solve anything. The answer lies with the Gods. Yours or mine.'

The loud sound around them was their breathing, pierced by the plink, plink of the droplets that escaped from the rock over their heads. The thin layer of water on the floor of the tunnel muffled their footsteps and there was near-complete silence.

'Your Gods?' said Kjelle after a while. 'Who are they?'

'I ... do not know.' Muus recalled the images from his dreams; the round huts on the riverbank and the faceless people. 'My memories begin when I arrived at Eidungruve. Hagen brought me. He had a gray horse, and he talked to me. I couldn't understand him, but his voice sounded ... not threatening. Funny, I remember all that so well. But who my parents were? No idea. Nor do I care, that's all gone now. The Hold was my home, even though I hated it.'

Again, there was silence.

'I hated you from the moment you arrived,' said Kjelle from the twilight. 'Your pose, your pride; the way you looked at me. You, my own slave, laughed at me. Always you worked against me, made me look ridiculous. Me, the Holderling. With your hypocritical politeness: yes, master; no, master, and you laughing behind my back. I should have beaten you to death.'

'You've beaten me enough.'

'Not enough,' said Kjelle in a near-whisper. 'You're still alive.'

Muus shook his head. 'If you did not want me, why did I have to accompany you everywhere?'

'You had to. I ...' Kjelle fell silent.

All at once, it dawned on Muus. 'You needed me to feel brave.'

'Shut up,' said Kjelle in a tone that sent Muus for his sword. The sound of the blade along the sheath had them both stepping backward. Without speaking, they went forward.

The dark path made Muus imagine rows of alves with pickaxes, tunneling through the rock. Skinny black creatures, ugly and crooked by their life underground. He shuddered. As in a bad dream, he walked on.

A ripping sound followed by a shrill scream shocked Muus out of his thoughts. He looked up just in time to see his companion disappear into the ground. Somehow, a crack had opened in the floor beneath his feet and swallowed him.

On his knees, Muus crawled towards the edge of crevice. The screaming and sobbing told him Kjelle was still alive. 'You're all right?'

A stream of unintelligible words answered him. The young Nord was stuck some six feet below him. Wild-eyed, he looked up at Muus. 'Get me out of here.'