Rolling Thunder

by A. R. LEOPARD

  “Does he know you followed him? And did the other one go in there too?” Crispin asked swiping water out of his face.

  “No, he doesn’t know and yes, there’s at least two men in there. And a cave cat.”

  “And a fairy.” Hollo whispered.

  “Yes, and that fairy is our first priority.” Blacky poked Crispin to emphasize this and to bring his attention back to the group.

  Crispin turned from the cave and scowled, but didn’t say anything.

  “Now, Hollo, you’re lookout. Take the horses around by Iron Wing, somewhere dark. The rest of us will go in and rescue whoever has been captured. If we have the time and ability, without compromising the fairy’s safety, we may also try to dig up some on what exactly is going on here. Also, I should probably remind you there is a chance that Keif and the other two prisoners might be in there. If that is the case, it will probably be most expedient to disarm the kidnappers before trying to rescue anyone. Shifty, since you aren’t a fairy, I’m putting you in charge of the prisoners if it comes to fighting. You would be able to carry two or even three hostages and we can’t. Crispin and I will primarily attempt to deal with the captors. If things look like they’re not going well, Crispin, you have to go back and send Bovess for reinforcements. Oh, and Hollo, if anyone but us comes out, don’t try to stop them by yourself. We’ll need you to report back if something happens to us.”

  A shiver of excitement crept up Crispin's back. The possible danger of it was thrilling.

  "Alright then, let's waste no time." Hollo said as he went over to his horse and pulled out his short sword and dagger, fastening them tightly to the belt on his waist. The others also armed themselves before handing the reins to Hollo so he could go stash them somewhere in safety.

  With a final scan of the gorge walls nearby and a wave to Hollo as he disappeared into the darkness, the three men silently ducked into the dimly lit tunnel and whatever lay inside.

  Once inside the cave, the light seemed much fainter and far off than it had from the pitch darkness outside. There were several other tunnels and caves leading off to the sides of the main tunnel, but they appeared to be dark and empty. Even so, they treated each dark, dank cavity as if it might contain an enemy, skirting around each with the utmost caution and care. The tunnel was drafty and wet and had a rather repulsive odor. The ground was soft enough to bear footprints and these led straight back to the end of the tunnel where the light was coming from. None of the many crisscrossed prints led away to the side caves which was reassuring. As the light increased with the gradual declined down into the earth, sounds began to float up the passage towards them. They were as yet too far and mumbled to be distinguishable, still, with every step the sounds became more distinct and separate. Voices for certain, and a sort of gargling sound. As they neared whatever their destination was, the light became bright enough so as to easily allow them to see their surroundings. However, this light also reduced the amount of darkness they had been relying on to hide them as they slowly crept forward. Now it became a game of blending in with the tunnel walls while still moving forward.

  Before long the end of the tunnel was in sight, and I do not mean that it suddenly stopped like a dead end, but rather that the tunnel ended and suddenly opened up to a large space beyond. And as they cautiously crept up to the opening they found that the space was an enormous and lofty cavern, full of pillars crudely made by nature to keep up the vast dome stretched overhead. The hall was filled with flickering light which came from a source somewhere on the far side. There appeared to be many other tunnels, like the one they were in now, opening up to this cavern, all of which were black as ink and appearing to be empty. Crispin, who, as fate had willed it, was behind the other two by some distance, reached the opening after the other two had already had a good look and had turned to seek temporary refuge in one of the shadowy side caves in their tunnel to discuss what they were to do next. Thus it was that Crispin saw something which the others had missed and which would prove valuable.

  He examined the hall with constricted pupils, the light being much greater here than in the tunnel. He took it all in with a scrutiny typical for him, trying to decipher what was being said across the hall at the same time as he tried to see everything. The oddly shaped pillars standing haphazardly and everywhere, made it impossible to see to the far side of the hall and to where the enemy must be. He glanced up the smooth water-worn walls which sloped up to an incredible height far above him. And that is when he noticed the ledge. It was directly above their tunnel entrance making it quite unnoticeable, but on which a heavily-armed sentry stood. Crispin started and jumped back holding his breath lest its rapidity give him away. Before he went back to the others however, who were now calling him to hurry up, he looked up once again to be sure his presence had gone unseen. The face studying each black tunnel opening in succession was not the same face of the man who'd been riding the cave cat. If Crispin had been around when Blacky and the others had descended into the gorge, he would've known this was the guard who'd been in the gorge until it had started raining. As it was, Crispin was taking no chances and scrutinized the other possible ledges around the hall to ensure himself that he wasn't missing any other hidden sentries. A strange shadow passed to the far left of Crispin’s vision, but when he turned to look, it was gone, and since it could’ve been just one of the flickering shadows of the pillars, Crispin let out his breath slowly, backed up, and went over to his waiting friends.

  “We should be able to make it in and around those pillars and the dark tunnel openings. It’s unfortunate there's so much light, but I think we’ll manage alright with the shadows the pillars create.” Blacky whispered as he drew his formerly sheathed short sword.

  “First it was too dark for you, now it's too light.” Shifty chuckled as he unstrapped his bow and readjusted his quiver.

  “Uh, Blacky, did you see the guard on the wall above the opening?” Crispin asked.

  Blacky looked up sharply, “No. Did they see us?”

  “I don’t think so. But I can’t tell if there are any more.”

  Blacky’s brow furrowed as he twisted his mouth. Shifty idly twanged his bow. Crispin watched the tunnel. Once again fate favored him for as he watched the tunnel, the light streaming through it from the great hall dimmed as it was obscured by a growing shadow. Crispin grabbed at the twanging bow and flattened himself to the cave wall, still of course keeping a good view of the tunnel. Blacky and Shifty likewise froze after pulling deep into the shadows.

  The man who passed them walked silently, his light footfalls making no more noise than a cat. It must have been the guard from earlier, probably going to resume his outdoor watch. Even so, the three remained motionless in their dark alcove for a good bit, unsure if the stranger was lurking about, perhaps having become suspicious of intruders. It wasn’t as if they’d made much of a point to cover their tracks.

  After waiting what seemed an eternity, Crispin, who had the best view of the tunnel, slowly shifted so he could see farther down the passage. He slowly moved closer to the entrance and peered around the tunnel as far as he could see into the darkness it receded into. He could see nothing and he turned and nodded to the others. They too crept up and looked down the dimly lit passage, but their eyes also saw nothing of the sentry.

  “We go now or never.” Blacky breathed, “Who knows but he may see our footprints and come back. We will split up and weave our way through to the light and the voices. Remember that if we have a hard time seeing the enemy due to these pillars, then it will be just as difficult for them to see us. Keep an eye on all areas. I think the enemy to be of a small number, but, should they prove to be beyond our strength, one of us must go and alert Bovess, even if it means leaving the rest of us here to whatever fate. Do you both follow me?”

  They both nodded mutely.

  “Good then. Crisp, you go left, I'll go right, and Shifty will go down the middle. Shifty, this means you will be able to aid either of us with your
bow should we need it.”

  With that he led the way silently back into the tunnel and towards the hall, the other two following closely. Once at the entrance, Blacky and Crispin took a careful but quick look about. Sure enough, the one sentry was gone and there was no sign of others. Shifty, who was between the two fairies as far as position went, slapped both fairies soundly on the shoulder and then, with a face filled with the joy of danger, leapt out of the dark entrance and into the lit hall, arrow already fitted to bowstring. He crept over to the shadow of one of the pillars and beckoned the fairies.

  “I’ve got you covered,” he whispered out, “but you may want to mark this opening from the others. It looks just like all the others.”

  Blacky nodded his thanks but pointed up to the ledge and looked the question he would've asked.

  “There are ledges over several of the others. Here mark it with this.” and Shifty threw over a piece of black chalk, before leaping silently into another shadow.

  Blacky marked their entrance and pocketed the chalk. Crispin then flew up to the ledge to see what all could be seen from the lookout. Blacky darted off to the right and disappeared among the pillars. Crispin, getting a good lay of the land from his perch jumped down and silently moved off to the left.

  The three men continued in this manner, moving stealthily forward in the shadows of the pillars, as the sounds and voices coming from the opposite side of the hall became more and more distinct. The thudding sound had stopped awhile ago but there was still that rasping gurgling sound which reminded one of the sound someone makes as they are being drowned. There were two voices in a conversation that ebbed and flowed in a normal conversation. The voices themselves were very similar, deep and evil sounding, one more raspy, the other quite soft. They spoke of a variety of things, some of which Crispin didn't have the time to dissect, his hearing being so occupied to ensure he was moving forward unseen. He saw Shifty ahead of him nearly halfway across the great hall, and he wondered how he managed to make such great progress. He supposed it must be because he didn't have to worry about these dark tunnel openings that he and Blacky had to be wary of.

  They stopped once there were only a few rows of pillars between them and their enemies. All three of them hid behind wide pillars within sight of the far side but still a healthy distance from it. They could not see their escape tunnel from here, but they all knew exactly where it was. Crispin could see Shifty from his hiding place, but he could not see Blacky.

  But what of the sights that welcomed them here at the other end of the fire-lit hall? The immense amount of light came from an enormous fire lit in one of those empty tunnel openings. An unseen shaft must have been carrying the smoke up out of the cave. It was a very hot fire as suddenly they became aware how warm the room had become. In front of the mighty blaze, a blaze that had the strength to cast its glow all the way down the farthest tunnel straight into the night outside, sat and stood two personages of such similarity that one could hardly be told from the other. Short, heavyset men, one of whom must be the man they had seen earlier that day. The men were not facing the pillars but rather the fire and discussing all manner of peculiarities to each other. Every now and then one would pick up a stone and toss it idly into the blaze. Upon further examination, and to their horror, they saw a small heap next to the column nearest the men, a heap which could only be the captured fairy. They couldn’t tell from where they were if he was dead or alive, but they did know that either way, they wanted vengeance.

  Crispin looked over to Shifty who was tightly gripping his fitted arrow while his eyes looked over to the area Blacky must have been, no doubt looking for further direction or permission to attack. Having received some sort of confirmation from that direction, he turned and shook his head at Crispin, and tapped his ear instead. No fighting yet, just listening. Crispin nodded to Shifty and honed his hearing intently to the conversation he had let slip to the background of his brain, a place he felt he had let some other important piece of information slip, but which he could not now recall.

  The gargling sound had let up making the human conversation much easier to hear. One sat on a stone they must have dragged from one of the dark side caves and the other, the one who had ridden though the marshlands earlier that day, stood with one leg propped up on that stone.

  “...she'll find this place much to her liking, provided we can maintain its secrecy.” said the one sitting on the rock. He popped each of his knuckles in slow succession.

  “Well, I assure you I use the utmost caution coming to and from. I only blundered the once in that forsaken marsh, a mistake I have not since made.” the second man said this as he stared into the wild blaze of the fire.

  “Yes, and the Western Guard has declared this place safe and uninhabited. The timing on that was impeccable.” and the man on the rock, having effectively cracked every knuckle, proceeded to crack them all again.

  The second man removed his foot from the stone and walked closer to the fire. “It's a wonder you know. Such a powerful light, and yet, it does not blind us.”

  The other just shrugged and pulled out some eatable from a sack lying at hand.

  “I do admit some fear should the captain of the Western Guard discover our whereabouts. Is it true what they say of him?” the one staring into the fire turned to face his companion.

  “Wholly depends on what you've heard them say.” the obviously more mature and serious one said in disgust as he tossed a partially eaten apple into the flames.

  “They say he's a formidable enemy, half man, half fairy. It’s uncanny. Scourge of the West they say. I have also heard tell that he is one of the four world keepers. They say he has the Eye of Sky.” the man turned and leaned up against the wall gazing blankly out into the hall of pillars.

  “I don’t know about all that but you can be sure should you ever be so unfortunate as to meet him, you have every reason to fear him. Especially now.” here the other stood and went over to the forlorn heap and prodded it. There was no response.

  Crispin felt his body tense with the desire to attack the two men. He glanced over to Shifty to see if they yet had permission to fall upon the criminals. But when he looked over he realized that he actually could see Blacky from his position, crouched in a dark shadow behind a pillar off to the right. He could not see enough of him however, to discern what he was telling Shifty. When he looked back over to Shifty he noticed that Shifty must not be looking at Blacky, for he was looking in a different direction, and yet, he was nodding as if he was looking at Blacky and was getting orders. Crispin couldn't make it out. If that shadow off to the right wasn’t Blacky, what had it been? And if it was Blacky, then who was Shifty looking to? Crispin felt his pulse hitch as he looked back to where he'd thought he’d seen Blacky and he nearly yelped. It was that horrible ugly wretched cave cat, and though Crispin could only see it in part, he knew for certain that it was watching Blacky like a hungry hawk. This is what Crispin had forgotten. The cave cat, the gargling and thudding had most likely been it and it had stopped when it had sensed their presence. But he must keep his wits about him. He needed to let Shifty and Blacky know they were being watched.

  He waited cautiously for Shifty to turn to tell him whatever Blacky had just told him, keeping an eye on the cat the whole time. The nasty thing seemed, for the time being, to prefer watching over attacking and remained perfectly still and motionless behind Blacky. Shifty finally turned to Crispin and was about to motion that they could move in, when he saw the expression on Crispin’s face which stopped him short. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Crispin tipped his head in the direction of the cat. Shifty slowly turned to look, his brow furrowing deeply when he caught sight of the animal stalking Blacky.

  Crispin then watched as Shifty slowly lifted his bow by imperceptible intervals until it was high enough for a decent shot. Then he carefully drew back the arrow until the feather brushed his cheek. Then, just as Crispin was prepared to hear the twang and hiss of the released arrow
, he heard another sound. It was that gurgling noise, like an evil chuckle, and it was coming from behind him in such a wicked way that it sent an army of chills up his spine. He turned quickly and saw but a few yards away from him and crouched for a pounce, a second cave cat, its dull, red eyes glaring at him unblinkingly. Its choking cackle rumbled out again, and what senses he had that weren't completely centered on the threat before him, told him that the conversation between the two men had stopped. It was all or nothing now. If he didn't act immediately, the window of opportunity for the best possible outcome would close.

  So, instead of waiting for the cat to strike, he leapt forward with a yell for Shifty to fire, (for what was the use of being quiet anymore?) and he deftly stabbed at the dumb face of the surprised cat. He heard in the breath of silence before the cat started screaming in pain, the twang of the bowstring, so that, when the cat did start screaming, that unearthly sound was joined by a second pain-filled wail. The cave cat, far from completely disabled, made an angry leap at Crispin which could have been the end of the fairy had the animal not been so near mad with pain. Crispin skidded back and out into the clearing by the great fire. If fight it was, then fine and good, but he must have room. Already Shifty was there, wrestling with one of the men. Neither had a sword so it was hand to hand until Shifty had break enough to slash out his dagger. Blacky was somewhere still in the maze of columns, though whether fighting the other man or the cave cat or both, Crispin could not tell. His cat was soon upon him again and with a single purpose, its punctured head dripping dark blood on the ground. Crispin darted around with it for awhile but he knew he needed to finish it off, not just parry with it. He gritted his teeth and dove under the cat's belly and stuck his sword up. The thing screamed again in wild pain and madly tried to claw at Crispin, who had now alighted on its back. Crispin quickly drove his sword into the top of the greasy head, hoping for a quick death. Evil animal though it was, he still had some pity for it. It gasped and shivered for one second before letting out a final wail and dropping to the ground, its wild red eyes left staring up at the high dome. Crispin wasted no time in jumping off the creature’s back, carefully avoiding the pools of blood forming under the cat’s body.