Chapter Thirty-Four

‘Overseer Krossis took many years to gain any traction in his claims against the Wardens. However, Head Warden Galmont only laughed at the idea he would ever destroy what the Wardens had built. How wrong Galmont turned out to be.’ 

Once, Maralay would have been described as the most beautiful city in the world. Now, after only a week’s worth of civil war, it was a soot-filled mess. Fires sprung up in all directions, all over the city streets. Caid kept his head down and his mind focused on the mines. There was little he could do to quench the fires, but he could stop the men who had started it all. At least he hoped he could stop them, because if he was unable to, the city would never heal.  

“About time you arrived.” Pog stepped out from behind an overturned mining cart.  

Caid, Pog, and the other former wardens had scouted the area during the morning hours. They found Pryce had soldiers stationed around the mine entrance, but no guard ever ventured farther into the mines. Those who gaurded the outside seemed to be lax in their duty. Only one of them even bothered to make his rounds down toward the cliffs; Caid guessed he was still a greenie.  

“I had to haul Mr. Seer on my back,” Caid replied and tucked himself down beside Pog who patted him with a chuckle.  

“We probably would have been better off without him and the Envoy.” Pog nodded his chin toward Creaton. Caid understood Pog’s hatred for Creaton, but Caid had set his own hatred aside. There was nothing left in him to hate Creaton¾or Creft, for that matter¾but that didn’t mean he had to enjoy their company.  

“They are here, so let’s make the best of them,” Caid replied.  

Pog unrolled a small map. 

“Here is the entrance. There are only five guards here, and I saw Pryce walk in with three more earlier. Unless there is something we aren’t seeing, then that makes only eight guards total. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but I don’t know that Pryce suspects anyone knows about this, and I am not really sure how Rawn got hold of the information,” Pog said, still pressing his thumb to the mark labeled ‘Entrance.’ “Just past the entrance is two tunnels,” he started again, but Alis moved in beside Caid and Pog, and momentarily interrupted him.  

“There is only one viable main tunnel entrance,” Alis said. “The other tunnel collapsed about seven years back. My father was sent in to help clean it up, but the integral structure was compromised, and they decided to keep it shut. Now just the one tunnel leads into the main mine.”  

She took the pencil from Pog’s hand and rerouted his map to show the proper layout of the cave. Pog stared at her while she drew, not quite sure how she knew all this information, but Caid could see the wheels turning. Caid had told him about Alis before, but he left out any major details about her. It was a shock to everyone the first time she started outwitting them.  

Alis put down the pencil and stepped back a little. “Okay, now you should be good to go.”  

Pog looked down at the map he had spent most of the day drawing and found he had guessed wrong on most of it. He shrugged his shoulders.  

“Well, now that the map is correct, I think the general plan idea can stay the same,” Pog said. “We can easily take out the guards at the entrance post. After, we will navigate to the area the little girl has marked, and there, we can evaluate what is going on.” Pog traced the path with his finger; Caid figured he was trying to memorize it.  

“Well then, all that is left is to see it through,” Caid said and popped his head up over the mining cart. He blinked once and then twice before turning back to Pog and the others. “Look over the cart and tell me what you see,” he urged.  

Pog looked and Creaton followed suit. They both were quiet a moment, then Pog started looking around almost frantically.  

Caid didn’t need to hear any words from them to know he had seen the situation clearly. All the guards, who had been posted at the front entrance, were now lying in pools of their own blood. There had been no sound, no combat, and no chance for those who had guarded the mine. This was more than the work of a common soldier or envoys; this was the handiwork of a group Caid used to know quite well. The Wardens had arrived and joined the party.  

“Well, I guess that means we are playing catch-up,” Caid said and hefted himself up and over the cart.  

“I never believed I would rush head-on into a mission without the slightest hint of what in Anell is going on.” Pog pulled himself up on Caid’s left.  

Caid took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. The mines of Cros weren’t where raw material was burned but it still wasn’t pleasant. He tried not to cough. He wasn’t sure if there was even anybody to hide from but what Pog said was probably right¾they didn’t have any idea what they were heading into.  

“I never believed the Wardens would try to kill me, so I guess a lot of things are happening we aren’t used to.” Caid tried to laugh, but it came out as the cough he had been holding in.  

Pog faded off to the side with a nod and joined his small band of wardens at their side of the entrance. Caid and the others went toward the right. The actual cave opening was about fifteen feet wide but was only about nine feet tall, so the opening appeared rectangle. Caid stepped over the body of a guard who had died silently without a fight. He was also missing any noticeable wounds and there was no blood around him. That meant that this man was probably the first one killed and had been hit with some fast-acting poison dart. It was far too messy to start an ambush off with swords; they were loud, cumbersome in close quarters, and messy.  

Caid looked out over the other bodies, after the first guard was killed, the one who walked his path, the others were clustered enough that a little noise didn’t really matter all too much. There was plenty of blood around those four corpses, but still none of them had made so much as a grunt as their throats were cut from behind, Caid assumed. Wardens had a way of moving that many never got to see, but it also drained them, so Caid doubted daliwins were used. Caid counted on at least four wardens meeting them on the inside, as the four throats had to have been cut simultaneously.  

“Four of them, at least, most likely more,” Caid said over his shoulder, suddenly noticing it was Alis standing directly behind him. Although she was very clever, she knew very little about fighting with a sword, and that frightened him a bit. He looked farther down the line and saw Creaton pulling away from an embrace with Creft; Caid turned away.  

“How many of them can we handle?’ Alis asked.  

It was a good question, but Caid had no answer to give her. He had made it a point never to fight another warden to the death. He had never even really thought about it until recently. When Maddog had cornered him, Caid had made the decision to fight another day; he had been taken aback and his mind folded in on itself.  

There were friendly contests between the Wardens, but they always pulled back before death or injury. 

“Just stay close and don’t try to do anything until you are asked to do something,” Caid said, hoping that was a good enough answer.  

Caid looked toward the inside of the caverns. This was where the slaves came every day of their lives to toil away. He reached into his pocket and gave his daliwin a squeeze, then gave a quick signal to Pog and both groups dropped their heads, entering along the inner edges of the mine.  

Inside, the temperature dropped about ten degrees. Caid could also feel a chill wind swirling up from the depths of the mines.  

Caid felt goose bumps prickle on the surface of his flesh. He had never gotten scared when going into a mission, but this wasn’t a typical warden mission. This was more akin to battle, and as a warden; he had never learned to be a soldier.  

“It feels different,” Creaton whispered, his voice reverberating off the cavern walls. The slaves had done a good job hollowing out the tunnel walkways, leaving no jagged areas behind.  

“As opposed to what, walking into a crime scene after your envoys have accessed the situation?”  

“Different, because it feels like, at any moment, we could be taking our last breath; this place doesn’t feel inviting,” Creaton said, choosing to ignore the jibe at him.  

Caid had to admit that this place felt off. It was more than just the chill in the air that made his spine tingle, or his hair stand on end. The tunnel path was wide, yet it still felt crushing. The ceilings inside the tunnel were much higher than the entrance, but it still felt like it was pressing down. Caid took a deep breath and smelled the distinct odors of coal and ore.  

He shot a glance across the pathway and saw Pog leading his group in the same slow steps. Caid wondered if even the older warden was feeling the very real pull of fear.  

“Just around this next bend are the two tunnels, but only the one on the left leads somewhere,” Alis reminded them.  

When they came to the set of tunnels, no one hesitated to follow Alis’s direction. Pog pressed in closer to them now that the tunnel had narrowed.  

“The mines are deeper than I would have assumed,” he grunted to the group across from him.  

“Yet, it still feels like it will crush us at any time,” Boog said.  

Caid had missed the thugs from Parian before, but now he noticed their slumbering hulk, impressively quiet and nimble. Mug laughed but stifled it against his shoulder.  

“Good seeing you, dice boy,” Boog whispered to Creaton. “When we get out of here, you can come by and lose that money back to us,” he smiled. Mug joined in with only a quiet laugh.  

“Unlikely,” Creaton replied.  

Caid noticed the strange look Creft gave Creaton at the exchange. Caid would have ventured to guess Creft wouldn’t be too keen on his head of law fraternizing with the criminal elements of the district. For his part, though, he said nothing.  

They continued down the path for a few minutes. The farther they pressed into the mines, the more the mines pressed back. With each step, Caid felt his boots becoming heavier, as if his legs were too heavy to move. His body was not fatigued, but something held him back from charging ahead. His mind wanted to avenge Geth’s death and save the city, but his body wanted to lie down.  

 “Did you see something?” Pog asked, looking around.  

There was nothing in the pathway but rocks and dirt. Light bulbs lit the way, making it easily passable, but it was still eerie.  

“No, nothing important,” Caid said, willing himself to move again.  

He couldn’t say what was holding him back now. He wanted to barge in moments ago and take Maddog and Rawn through their chests with his sword. He wanted to watch them bleed out upon the ground. He wanted to scream Geth’s name and make sure they knew why they were dying, but his fear of failure held him back. What happened if he didn’t avenge Geth? Would the Nine Wardens judge him cruelly? Would Geth judge him? 

It was like everything here was mud and his boots were sticking. He wondered if everyone else was having the problems he was having, but he didn’t want to mention it to them in case he was just going mad.  

“There is the main area,” Alis said. “They round us all up here every morning and then they give out the work assignments.” Alis looked around as if she remembered a lot more about this place than Caid ever wanted to know.  

“Where was the place you took me when we last entered these mines?”  

“We have to start down the left tunnel. It kind of zigzags but we will stay to the left. They don’t keep it as well lit down that passage, just enough to see by, or at least that is how it was before. That was where the slaves who never returned were taken, including my parents.” Alis gave a huff at the end. 

Caid felt a pang of sorrow for Alis. It was getting easier to understand her pain. After meeting many of the slaves, he understood everything better. He focused on his revenge, but there would be more than that accomplished here today.  

Caid started down the tunnel staying to the left. These tunnels were much like the entrance tunnel, smooth and lit by electric bulbs. Their buzzing sound was a constant companion and the only real sound Caid could distinguish. He wondered why there were no guards lining the tunnels. Did Pryce not take seriously the threat of the wardens? Did he think himself so unstoppable it didn’t faze him knowing they would eventually come for him? 

Caid stopped and peered around the next corner before waving the others onward. Alis’s warning proved right, the farther they moved forward, the darker the enclosure became.  

“Soon we won’t be able to see but a few feet in front of our own faces,” Boog said.  

“Afraid of the dark?” Creaton said, not sounding so brave himself.  

This time, Mug joined in the laughing with Creaton until Boog turned around and thumped him in the shoulder, shutting him right up. Mug looked down, like a scolded child.  

Boog was right the lights spread so far apart, they barely made a difference. The buzzing sound from the lights also grew fainter, replaced with a sound far more ominous.  

“There is fighting up ahead of us,” Creaton announced. 

Caid stopped the group; he could barely make out the outlines of the others. 

“Stay low and out of sight for as long as we possibly can. They don’t expect a third party, and unless we have to, we shouldn’t announce ourselves,” Caid said.  

No one replied, so he assumed they all understood. He turned back up the passage and started again on the trek toward the clanging of steel.  

The first one-shot made Caid flinch. In the darkness of the mines, his hearing perked, and the shot reverberated throughout the caverns.  

“That wasn’t the Wardens, we never used guns,” Caid surmised, “that must mean Pryce has envoys fighting down here.”  

“He must have brought them in before today, or else there is another entrance we didn’t cover,” Pog answered.  

“Can we be ambushed from another side, Alis?”  

“I only know of one entrance,” she replied.  

Caid was proud to note that her voice was steady. She may have only been a young girl, but she was true to her convictions. It made Caid feel a little better to know there was only one entrance; at least there was a good chance no one would ambush them.  

The sword clanging grew louder, and, once the room was enveloped in black, Caid wondered how the people ahead even fought one another.  

“How can people even see to fight?” Boog asked, echoing Caid’s thought.  

Caid had no answer but Alis said, “The lights start again in the room where they take the slaves who never come back, although before it was never this dark here. It is a soft purple light, but you can see one another in it.  

“The ritual that Pryce performed in his cellars had weird lighting as well,” Creft said. 

Caid tried to recall the layout of the room that Alis was talking about, but everything that day had been such a blur. He had charged into areas of the mines he had no idea about, and he could remember little.  

As if Alis could read his thoughts, she stepped up beside him. “We are going to come to the lip of the lower level. I don’t know how far it goes back, but it is big. I think they keep the slaves they took in the back area. The front of the area just has dirt flooring and piles of coal, but in the distance, you can see stone carvings of something I can’t make out. Farther, well, I don’t really know what we will find,” she told him.  

“So, we will have the high ground?” Caid was thinking aloud.  

“At least until we join the fight,” Pog whispered back.  

Caid nodded, unsure if anyone could see him in the darkness.  

“Then let us move forward and hope we don’t fall into the fighting before we can see again.” Caid walked forward, but a hand held him back.  

“I can see,” Creft said, stepping to the front of the small group. “Something happened to me during that ritual with Pryce, and I can see in the dark.” 

Caid and the others didn’t reply. 

 “Grab hands with the person next to you,” Creft said. “Caid, grab mine. I will lead us until we have light again. After that, I have no experience in real combat, so that is up to you all.” 

Before Caid could question the seer, he felt Alis put her hand in his and felt Creft reach back for him.  

“Everyone ready?” Pog asked, and several grunts affirmed that others were following Creft’s instructions.  

Just like that, Creft convinced everyone. If Caid spoke out now, he would just cause a rift in the group. That was the last thing they needed, so he bit his tongue and grabbed outward, taking Creft’s surprisingly calloused hand into his own. He wondered what Creaton’s face looked like now and that made him feel just a tad better about it. Caid almost felt ashamed at his petty thoughts during such a moment, but let it pass.   

Caid stepped in line with Creft and the others trailed behind as the passage turned pitch black. Caid pressed back the need to step in front of Creft. 

The others were comfortable with his leading and maybe they were right.  

The sounds of battle increased as they moved farther¾men grunting and swords hitting swords bounced all around them. The mines made the sounds echo as if they were coming from all different directions.  

Another minute and Caid was halted by Creft.  

“Just ahead is the lip of the drop,” he stated.  

Caid squinted¾there was a faint glow as if light was coming up from below them.  

“Can you see anything else?” Caid asked.  

“Not over the lip,” Creft answered.  

“Then take us to the edge.”  

Creft started forward again and after about ten more feet, he stopped. Caid could see everything and found it exactly as he would have imagined. Bodies, weapons, and blood littered the dirt, and there, in the center of it all, were men of Cros fighting with the Wardens.