The Colorless Land

Chapter 28: Due South

After a while a melody emerged from the nothingness. Evariel was singing quietly to himself; not the song he had used last night to keep their horses going, but something simpler and sillier, almost like a nursery rhyme. Jolette wondered if he, too, was afraid of the dark and trying to cheer himself up.

"What are you singing?" she whispered to him. She didn't mean to whisper, but the tunnel seemed to press down on her, as if a single loud noise would make it collapse and bury them under the mountains forever.

Evariel gave a quiet laugh. "A tongue-twister."

"Tongue-twister?"

"You'd be surprised; elves are famous for those," Aithal's voice came from ahead. "Never challenge an elf to a battle of tongue-twisters. You will not stand a chance."

"Unless you're Grandmother Elisya," the elf replied. "She doesn't sing very well, but she can do it ten times faster than any of us."

Lisha laughed and muttered something about elvish exaggerations. Jolette felt a tug on her hand and slowed down.

"Why do they do that?" Edmian asked close to her ear.

She furrowed her brow, though she knew he couldn't see it. "Do what?"

"Sing...do tongue-twister battles." Edmian said the words as if he wasn't sure he was using them correctly. "Why do they do it?"

Jolette shrugged. "Because it's fun," she said. "Why else—" And then it hit her.

"Fun," Edmian repeated thoughtfully. "And that...that's all? No other reason?"

"Nope! And there doesn't have to be," she said. "People do a lot of pointless stuff just 'cause it makes them happy."

Edmian made no response, but Jolette could tell he was pondering her words.

"And that means it isn't pointless," Evariel piped in. "If it makes you happy, it's not pointless."

"If it makes me happy..."

Edmian was quiet, his hand fidgeting with Jolette's, squeezing it, as if searching for support. Then he took a deep breath.

"A song," he said. "May I learn one too?"

The joy was evident in Evariel's voice. "Of course!"

From then on the journey was less quiet, the darkness less heavy. Evariel was visibly delighted to teach, showing Edmian the melody, then the words, translating the tongue-twister as best as he could. Edmian was completely unfamiliar with singing and his voice came out hoarse, but when Jolette joined in and showed off her own poor singing voice he quietly, hesitantly began to sing.

Eventually they reached a chamber and settled down to eat and sleep, and Evariel fell silent. Jolette did not let go of Edmian's hand, and as she drifted off to sleep she still caught Edmian humming the elvish song under his breath.

~ ~ ~

The next morning it was still as dark as ever, and none of them would have known it was morning at all but for Zamrod and Lisha, who seemed to sense it even in the blackness. By now they were all used to seeing nothing, their senses sharpened in the dark. Following the dwarf-tunnel into the unknown did not seem quite as scary anymore.

At some point during their walk the ground began to slope, and the tunnel led them steadily downwards. They had turned a corner after their break in the chamber, and Jolette got the feeling that they were slowly but steadily approaching the exit.

Then, at last, they hit a door, and Zamrod pushed another stone before they were all met with blinding light.

For a moment they saw nothing. After the blind darkness of the tunnel any light would have seemed too bright; but this was gleaming, a white sky over a white landscape, a cold, snowy wind beating into their faces.