The Wandering Cleric: Chapter 7

They had left the city before dawn, Tara and Enialis still yawning as the group rode their horses at a steady trot. Saturos and Durgan were wide awake and aware even at this early hour. Saturos rode at the head of the group while Durgan took up the rear, keeping the near sleeping pair in between them. The road ahead of them was long and by midday the group was out of the desert with still at least another day and a half’s traveling to go before they reached the caves. Luckily for the four companions both days went by uneventfully and the group found themselves standing in front of a high stone walled fort blocking off the entrance to Figaro caves.

"Who goes there?" A gruff voice called down from the battlements.

"Aye, we're lookin’ to get through the caves to South Figaro!" Durgan yelled back.

In front of the group a small door opened and out stepped a sturdy looking dwarf. His blonde beard caked with dust and the half helm on his head as worn and rusty as the breastplate he wore. He looked over the party and tapped the butt of his glaive on the ground, "papers?"

Sliding off of his horse Saturos handed the dwarf the group’s papers, grumbling the dwarf unrolled them and scanned the parchment, "normally folk travel down by the coast and around the mines. But it seems the king's got some great need for you to get through the mines so in you go."

The dwarf grunted as he pushed open the larger doors allowing the others to ride through the open door single file. On the other side two more dwarves sat by a fire while on the wall another two stood guard calling down to the others advice on how to cook the boar roasting over the fire, "you're welcome to stay the blonde dwarf said as he moved towards the fire, "but the papers said all haste so I'm guessin' you'll want to go through now. You can't take your horses so you'll have to go on foot."

After the group dismounted and checked their gear, they headed into the dark of the cave. As the darkness enveloped them Durgan began casting a spell, his low and gruff voice echoing through the darkness. As Durgan's words touching the tip of his staff, which burst into light, he looked to Enialis who nodded and began a low chant, "Luna goddess of the moon and night grant me your aid, and grant me your light."

As Enialis grew quiet the silver holy symbol hanging from his neck began glowing. At the same time Tara drew her two blades, the dagger bathing the area in a soft orange light, while Saturos' axe head gave off a faint burgundy.

"Do we have any torches?" Enialis asked, as he looked about in the dim light.

"We do but we'll save them for when the spells run out." Saturos responded. Nodding to Tara he smiled, "enough with the standing around I think it time we pressed on into the darkness."

~ ~ ~

"So what is this place a mine?" Tara asked as she walked next to Enialis.

Behind them Saturos shook his head and spoke as he trudged alongside Durgan, "it was supposed to be a tunnel system to help connect Figaro, Narshe and South Figaro together, but the diggers broke into a large cavernous tunnel system. The tunnels were filled with monsters and they were forced to close off the subsection. Figaro helped them set up a pair of forts on each end of the tunnel and half way through the tunnel next to where they cut into the tunnel. They caved the tunnel in and sealed it off behind a massive set of doors forged from the metal from fallen stars. Luckily we won't have to deal with that it's pretty much a straight trip through to the other side, maybe in a days walk."

"Oh." Tara responded, "Maybe after we're done with the visiting we should come back and get into that tunnel?"

"Would be a grand trip my dear," Durgan responded, "but I don't think it ta be a good idea fer a while, maybe when yer older!"

Tara shoved the dwarf lightly, as Durgan and Saturos laughed, "Maybe after we can get Brenya and Cemyr to accompany us."

"Aye," Durgan commented.

Soon the group grew quiet as they traveled on through the dark and dripping cave, the noise echoing in their ears, and the deepness of the dark playing tricks with their eyes. Steeling their hearts the group continued on for what seemed to them like years, eventually reaching a massive cavern. Before them stood a huge citadel, made entirely of iron and almost spanning the entire cavern, more than twenty miles long, and the highest peak cutting into the ceiling of the cavern itself. Lights bloomed from the windows and cut into the darkness surrounding the citadel, above the group holes in the ceiling of the cave left pillars of sparkling moonlight pierced the darkness.

Saturos turned to the group and motioned for them to be silent, with worry in his voice he whispered, "I want you all to keep quiet, and I don't think the dwarves in the citadel are very friendly to outsiders. I'm not entirely too sure that those are even dwarves anymore."