by Shannah Jay
Dissler put one finger to his lips and Herra nodded. Without needing telling, Purvlin turned to pass the word back along the line of young people to keep very quiet.
Then Dissler crept forward, fear in every line of his body. 'I used to work in the mines once,' he muttered to Herra. 'Till I escaped into the caves. Not many escape. But I did. It was meant to be, meant to be.' A few more steps, then he muttered. 'I nearly died, though. Would have died, but for the Petrigeist. They saved me. Brought me to water. Showed me how to find food.' He grinned, a mirthless parody of a grin. 'Never really liked fungiflora before, but you can live on the ones here. Did you know that? Live on them. Ah!' He stopped speaking and gestured Herra forward.
Davred, Ivo and Alaran followed her. And Purvlin crept after them unbidden, a look of determination on his face.
What they looked down on, through a long slanting crevice in the rock above it, was a harrowing scene. It was a huge cavern, and on its floor iron tracks were set. Sturdy wagons with flanged iron wheels ran along them, pulled by draught nerids. The beasts looked in better condition than the gaunt men and women who led them, people with faces set in misery, whose expressions showed no sign of hope only grim endurance. Standing here and there at the entrances to natural tunnels through the caves were burly men wearing black garments and carrying many-thonged whips. Every now and then, for no reason that Herra could see, they would crack the whip down on someone's shoulders, usually causing that person to cry out in pain and shock.
'Serpent, accept our offering,' the guards would call, love of power and enjoyment of the pain they caused making their voices proud.
Herra was rigid with disgust and anguish for the people below. 'We must plan how to set them free,'
she muttered. 'We cannot leave them there.'
Davred and Ivo exchanged worried glances. 'Can you afford to risk yourself, Elder Sister?' Davred
JAY The Price of Wisdom19
pleaded. 'Remember how much depends on you.'
'Can I afford not to, if I value my soul?' she responded.
Davred's heart sank. When she spoke thus, her mind was absolutely set upon a course of action and no amount of reasoning would change it. Sometimes, he thought, their Brother led Herra along strange and dangerous paths. And Those of the Kindred could do nothing but follow her. For who else could lead them and their world out of an Age of Discord?
They crept back again to hold a low-voiced conference.
Dissler interrupted suddenly, 'You should speak to Malin. Those snake lovers trust him a little, the more fools they, so they allow him some freedom in the tunnels. He goes to check the air shafts at this time of day.' He gave another of his mirthless grins, rocking slightly from side to side as he spoke.
'They don't like going into the caverns themselves, you see, Those of the Serpent don't. They stick to the mine, which is on the flank of the hill. In the caverns, walls have been known to cave in, or rocks to fall suddenly people's their heads. The Petrigeist don't like the feel of the Serpent inside their mountain. When they can without harming the others, they show their displeasure.'
'Show me how to speak to Malin, then,' commanded Herra.
'Follow me. Just you, lady.' Then Dissler stopped dead, spun round and pointed to Purvlin. 'No, bring him with you. He's Malin's son.'
'My father's still alive?' Purvlin gulped, and then repeated, as if he didn't believe it, 'He's really alive?'
'Aye,' said Dissler, 'And your uncle, too. But your cousin died. I seen them kill him. Whipped him to death, they did.'
Purvlin gasped and tears came into his eyes. 'Nattrosh is dead?'
Dissler nodded and rocked about still faster. 'A lot of them have died. Too many. I see it, I do. The Petrigeist have made me little look-outs like the one up there. But they can't take enough action themselves to stop it. They are too different.'
'We shall have to work with them, then,' said Herra. 'Perhaps we can rid them of this menace.'
As Davred watched, it seemed that light spilled from her open eyes, golden and warm, and that love flowed with it. She was changing, he thought, still changing. It was, it must be the Enhancement.
***
Malin walked along down one of the side tunnels, his shoulders bent in dejection. Lately it was getting worse. When he had seen his nephew Nattrosh die, he had thought his heart would burst with agony. Instead, he had thumped his brother into unconsciousness to prevent him crying out and getting killed himself, as well as his son, and then Malin had sat stony-faced, watching, as they had all to watch, each time the Initiate from the nearest shrine chose to come into the mines to 'feed the Serpent'
with another life.
And in between, there was nothing but back-breaking work, scant food and pain upon pain. What was the use? Perhaps they should all kill themselves, then Those of the Serpent would have no one to work the mines. But if they did, their death agonies would feed the Serpent, and that no one would willingly do.
The women worked alongside their men, the smaller ones set to lighter tasks, but husbands did not dare to comfort, or even speak to their wives. You only spoke to another person if you were sure you were unobserved, or you would feel the lash upon your shoulders - at the very least.
So when someone hissed at him from a side tunnel, he jumped in shock and then debated whether to respond. As he turned his head slowly, he saw the wild one, the one who had escaped long years ago, and who was seen occasionally in the distance. It heartened them all to see him, because Those of the Serpent had never succeeded in recapturing him. It was a sign of their captors' fallibility that he seemed able to vanish before their eyes, fading backwards into the shadows as if he could pass right through solid stone walls.
Malin stopped dead when he saw that the wild one was not alone. With him was a woman and to the side of them a young man, a sturdy young man who . . . 'Purvlin!' Before he could think, Malin threw himself at his son, hugging him close.
The wild one tugged at his arm. 'No time. No time. Talk quickly.'
Malin forced himself to push the lad away and only love gave him the strength to say, 'Keep out of their hands, son. Don't come to see me again. Get as far away from here as you can.'
The woman who had been waiting in the shadows stepped forward then and laid a hand on Malin's arm. It was as if every ache in his body ceased and well-being filled him. He swayed in shock. Only Sisters could do that.
'Are you - ?' he began.
The wild one was still jigging around in anxiety. 'No time,' he said again. 'Talk of the escape.
Quickly.'
Malin gaped from one to the other. 'Escape? But how?'
'I'm Herra of Tenebrak. Will you and your people come with me, back under the mountains, if I find a way to release you?'
He nodded. No need even to think about it. Of course they would.
'Then pass the word to be ready. We shall close the main entrance to the caverns tonight, then deal with Those of the Serpent if any remain inside, but,' her voice became very stern, 'pass the word that the guards are not to be killed unless there is no alternative. Death is not our chosen way.'
'How shall we overcome them, then? They carry knives and whips and we're all chained.' He indicated the light fetters that clinked as he walked along, limiting the length of step he could take.
'I shall deal with that. When is the best time to strike?'
'After nightfall. They bring us all into the caverns to sleep, separating us into small groups in side caverns and locking metal gates across the entrances. And then only a few of them remain on guard.'
The wild one suddenly tugged at Herra's arm. 'Someone's approaching. Come away, Elder Sister.
Come away quickly.'
As they moved backwards into the shadows, Malin had an unreasoning urge to run after them, to tell them not to leave him, then he pulled himself together and started shuffling back towards the main cavern, returning to his captors.
'You've been long enough in there,' snapped a voice jus
t before he reached the main cavern. 'We know exactly how long it takes to check that air shaft.'
'Sorry, honoured sir. I came over dizzy and waited until the spell had passed.'
JAY The Price of Wisdom21
'If you're too sick to work, we'll replace you.'
'I'm not too sick. The dizziness has passed now.'
'Then get back to your work. And don't make me have to come and look for you again.'
Malin trudged on after his tormentor. I'll escape or die in the attempt, he thought. One way or the other, I'll be free of you by tomorrow. That gave him the strength to carry on working for the rest of that long weary day as if nothing unusual had happened. Tomorrow, he kept saying to himself as he passed the word to be ready. Tomorrow, I'll be free, one way or another.
***
Above the planet a satellite circled, crewed by an exploration team from Confex, the Galactic Confederation's Exploration Bureau. It was brightly lit and comfortable, with artificial gravity and every diversion that could be thought of. But the nine remaining crew members were uneasy. Life had been difficult lately. Not just because they were marooned here, either. Robler, their Exec, seemed to be behaving more strangely all the time, behaving irrationally some whispered, though no one dared say that aloud.
Were it not for the absolute power invested in an Exec by Confex and the heavy penalties for rebelling during a declared State of Emergency like this one, some of the crew would long ago have done something about Robler, but as it was, they could only hope for a swift rescue. For Confex always made a point of rescuing teams who got into trouble.
Robler stormed into the com-room, heavy-eyed from a restless sleep filled with dark dreams of blood and violence. 'Have you still seen no sign of Davred Hollunby?' he demanded of Met, who sat there keeping watch.
'None, sir. As you know, I was attempting to get a better fix on his position when suddenly he vanished again. Those tracers have done nothing but malfunction on this planet.'
'They've never malfunctioned anywhere else,' Robler snarled, but he didn't contradict Met. This damned planet was an anomaly and should be classified as such by Confex, classified and put under interdict. If the Confederation - no, once the Confederation sorted out the troubles in this sector - he would make a recommendation to that effect. Though he sometimes doubted that Confex would ever get a rescue team through to them. They had been here for years now. Their tour of duty had been almost over, when trouble blew up in this sector, so there was no sign of rescue in sight. It was a good thing the hydroponics shell and the other equipment were functioning so well. That was partly due to Kerem, who was an excellent engineer, even if not gifted with much imagination.
The team are lucky to have me as Exec, he thought complacently. It needs a strong man to take charge at a time like this, and most people are so stupidly weak. How Confex ever selected people like Davred Hollunby, I don't know, let alone labelling the man a Potential Cathartic Agent. Hah! Hollunby had been a potential failure waiting to happen, that's what. And the only reason I intend to bring the fool back to the satellite is to show how capable I am of looking after everyone.
He gave a little growl of annoyance under his breath at how long it was taking to retrieve Hollunby and turned to leave, then stopped and tossed over his shoulder, 'Top priority to find him still.'
Met shrugged and watched him go. He knew it was a top priority. They all did. Getting Davred back had become an absolute obsession with Robler.
Shaking his head, Met turned back to the panel. Not for him to argue. He would do his duty as he always had and leave it to others to make judgements on Robler once they were rescued. Unlike Robler, Met did not doubt that they would be rescued. An advanced civilisation like the Galactic Confederation would not be stopped by small planetary disturbances.
CHAPTER 3 THE LONG DARKNESS
Somewhere in the darkness a woman sobbed and a voice roared at her to be quiet. Somewhere in the darkness there was a hiss of disapproval, but either there were several people hissing one after another, or the person was moving around, for the guard couldn’t trace it to anyone.
'Shall we whip one or two just to shut them up?' one of the guards asked, fingers tapping nervously on the butt of his whip.
The other yawned. 'Not tonight. I made too many sacrifices in the shrine last night and I'm soddin'
exhausted.'
'Lucky you. I don't get leave to go into the village until next week. They've increased the number of days on each turn of duty, damn them.'
'You could take one of the mine women in the Serpent chamber here, if you're desperate.'
'Never fancy them, somehow, filthy whores they are. They don't even wash themselves properly.'
The other grinned. 'Get one to wash before you take her, then.'
'I'm not touching them. It's Shebbler who ought to make them wash more often. He's the overseer.'
Suddenly there was a rumbling noise outside the cavern. Another guard ran up to them from his position further from the entrance. 'What's that?'
'Serpent knows.'
They stood listening, but the silence was broken only by the movements and sighs of the sleeping miners, and the rustlings of those awake and sitting up to see what was happening. Then, just as the guards were about to return to their posts, the ground shook beneath their feet, shook so hard they were thrown about and clutched one another in terror.
'We need to get out of here!' yelled one. 'It's going to fall in on us.'
'Let us out, too!' one of the miners yelled.
One guard paused. 'What about them?'
His companion tugged him forward. 'Who cares about those scum? The Serpent can take them, if he wants them. He's angry enough. Just listen to him roar!'
The guards fled through the semi-darkness towards the entrance, and were joined by the fourth night watcher as they erupted into the fresh bright air of a two-moon night. All were cursing loudly with relief at being safe. Behind them in the caverns, voices were raised in pleas to be let out.
Voices also came from the barracks a bit further down the fold of the hill where the land had been partly levelled as the iron lode was gouged out over the centuries. A few men ran out of the door of the
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barracks building to see what was happening. One of them, easily recognisable by his yellow tunic, strode up the hillside to the group of guards.
'What's going on?' demanded Shebbler, the overseer, when he’d caught his breath. 'Are those lazy devils of miners causing trouble again? I told you not to whip that boy to death, Linor. I said it'd upset them.'
'No, sir. It's not that. It's an earthquake - well, I think it's an earthquake, sir.'
Shebbler gave a snort of scornful laughter. 'If it's an earthquake, why did the ground not shake near the barracks, then? It'll be a small cave-in, that's all.'
Even as he spoke, there was a rumbling noise from inside the caverns and the ground shook beneath them.
'That's a cave-in, but it's not a small one,' Shebbler turned to yell loudly towards the barracks. 'Move your lazy arses up here, you lot!' He turned back to the four guards on duty. 'If it settles down for a while, we may have time to get the ore wagons out before it goes completely. I knew it was a mistake to store them in there. Aswar will be furious if we lose all the wagons.'
'What about the miners?'
'Serpent take the miners! It's the wagons Aswar will care about. And get those nerids away from that entrance. We don't want them injured by flying debris. They're specially bred for this work and they're not easy to replace.'
As the man hesitated, the nerids starting shrilling in panic.
'Get the sodding nerids away. We'll get the miners out later if they're still alive. If you want to argue with an Initiate about priorities, you can. Me, I want to keep on living. And anyway, we can always find other people to do the work for us.'
'This lot know about mining, though.'
'So do I. I can teach others. This is an
easy lode. Come on, will you!'
But even as Shebbler was urging the reluctant guards towards the mine entrance, even as other men were pounding up to join them from the barracks, there was a long, very loud rumbling sound and the earth beneath them shook again. Everyone stopped moving.
'See! It is an earthquake. Sir.'
'I can see what it is, you fool.' Shebbler paused, frowning, eyes narrowed as he studied the mine entrance. 'It's a cave-in, like I told you. A big, deep one.' He paused, then added slowly, in a puzzled voice, 'But I can't understand why. That rock should be stable.'
The ground shook again and this time, clouds of dust and small rocks burst out of the entrance to the caverns. For a moment all was confusion as the men moved hurriedly backed away to avoid the flying debris. The rumbling went on for a long time, then stopped. As the dust settled, the moonlight showed clearly that where the entrance had been, the rock had shifted, so that a large chunk had dropped to fill the entrance. It was almost as if the rock had been cut to size, so perfect was the fit.
'That's impossible,' the overseer muttered. 'It's just not possible with that rock formation. A piece of rock to fit the hole perfectly like that. How could it happen? How could it ever happen?' He moved forward step by cautious step, still shaking his head in disbelief. The guards stayed where they were Within a minute or two, night hooters were letting out their harsh trailing calls again in the distance and the world had become peaceful around the mine.
For a few moments no one spoke, then Shebbler returned. 'There'll be trouble over this. Blood will flow.'
'Was there a weakness, a fault in the rock?' someone ventured.
'None. The rock around that entrance was as solid as any rock could ever be. I've been in mining all my life and I'd stake everything I own on that. In fact, I have been staking my life on it each time I've gone into the caverns. Do you think I don't know my own trade? Do you think I'd have housed the miners in a risky place?'
'Then what happened, sir?'
