The Colorless Land

Chapter 32: Clefts and Tunnels

"Evariel," Aithal asked the elf when they were ready to go, "how far are they?"

Evariel listened, and everyone held their breath.

"Almost here," he breathed.

"How many?"

"Not too many. About twenty."

"More than enough," Saryana muttered, grasping the hilt of her sword. "And down here we're at a disadvantage."

Jolette had pulled out her kitchen knife. Edmian stood beside her, searching in vain for any way he could fight them too.

The footsteps came closer. There was the clang of armor. The dim light of torches fell onto the edge of the rock.

"We need to hide," Lisha whispered, striding off along the path. "Follow me. Quick!"

As quietly as possible they slipped through the gorge, still followed by the heavy armored footsteps and the light of the torches. The orcs, it seemed, were going in the same direction as them. There was no sign that they had spotted them yet, but just in case they stayed close to the overhanging rock, out of bowshot from above.

Feeling his way along the stone, Edmian followed, going without fully seeing where. Against the light of the torches the shadows seemed all the deeper, and the path before him was a complete, unexplorable blackness.

Then, without warning, his hand brushed air.

Edmian stumbled and gasped. His heart thumping in his ribcage, he groped around, trying and failing to find the rock again. There was nothing. Only thin air and pitch-darkness.

"Edmian?" Jolette turned around before him. "What's—"

She felt around, and she, too, noticed the gap in the rock. "There's something here," she whispered. "Or maybe nothing."

"Cave," Zamrod grumbled from behind Lisha.

"A cave? We could hide in here!"

Ahead of them Lisha stopped, turning back towards them.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Hurry up!"

"There's a cave here," Jolette answered. "We can hide in there."

"I don't know," Saryana answered from the rear. "Big caves are rarely empty."

"But we also have no hope of escaping down the road," said Aithal. "We can stay near the entrance. Let's take shelter."

All together they crowded inside. Saryana took her place closest to the back of the cave, her hand never leaving her sword. Evariel quickly joined her to listen into the darkness.

"If anything's in there," he muttered, "it's pretty good at being silent."

"And out of sight," said Zamrod. "'Snot a cave. It's a tunnel."

Edmian stood in silence, reaching for the chain of his pendant but not daring to pull it out for fear of the light giving them away. It was too dark in here. The air was different from the dwarf-tunnel, but there was something unpleasant to it that he could not describe.

Outside the orcs' footsteps marched on. Passing them by, maybe, hopefully. The sound seemed to be growing distant again. A little more, and they would be safe.

But just when he had finally hoped they were gone, the sound came back. And this time it was closer than ever.

"They climbed down!" Evariel whispered.

Lisha grasped for her staff. "Keep quiet," she hissed. "They're coming from ahead."

The footsteps were eerily close now, thudding and clanging through the gorge, the sound multiplied by the echo in the narrow walls of stone.