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(suspenseful music) The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Care.

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Episode 59:

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The Long Road.

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Not having any way to track time, Maela and Darla
walked along the road for

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as long as they could, using two more torches in
the process.

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They made good time as the road was intact and
mostly free of rubble.

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"How much longer?"

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Maela asked. Darla stopped and looked at her
sputtering torch.

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"Not long, but we should probably rest.

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We don't want to exit while exhausted."

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Maela nodded.

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"That's a good idea. I'm not sure how much longer
I can walk."

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The two decided to rest and then finish the trip
out of the

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cave the next day. Darla sat down and started to
remove her boots

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as Maela looked into the distance.

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"We only have four torches left."

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They were in the middle of the road, and there was
nothing to prop the torch on, so Maela held it.

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"How long will this take, do you think?"

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Darla wiggled out of a boot and set it on its
side.

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As she stretched and set her head on the boots,
she replied-

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"Not long. The exit must be a good way south, and
we're not sure if this road is absolutely

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straight. Just keep track of the torches, and if
we get down to two, let's

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continue, even if we're still tired."

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Darla added, with her eyes already closed.

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"The exit cannot be far." "That will work," Maela
replied.

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As Darla rested, Maela decided to investigate the
cave and the road.

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They were clearly in a tunnel, but it was
difficult to tell if it was natural or carved out
of the

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stone of the mountain.

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Maela couldn't fathom how a tunnel that large
could be carved out of rock, so

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she assumed it was natural.

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The road had a decorative curb that was made out
of single-laid bricks.

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The walls of the tunnel rose just beyond each side
of the road, and varied in distance from a

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few feet to as many as 20 feet from the curb.

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As she examined the wall, something caught her
eye.

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Walking up the road in the direction they were
heading, she noticed a sconce holding an

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unlit torch. Removing it from the wall, Maela
returned it

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to the camp. She hoped they wouldn't need it, but
it was good to have.

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Maela woke Darla as her torch started to die out.

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Maela showed her the new torch, but they agreed to
not change their plan and to move

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on after Maela got her rest. Maela lowered her
head, but found it difficult to sleep

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with the ghostly sounds echoing through the
tunnel.

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The noise had lessened considerably once they left
the giant cavern, and the

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sounds were easy to ignore as they walked and
talked.

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But with eyes closed, the ghostly sounds reached
deep into Maela's skull.

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She eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

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Maela awoke to Darla shaking her shoulder.

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"Time to go."

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As they walked, Maela kept an eye on the wall, but
all of the torches she found

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were already spent.

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Darla broke the silence by saying-

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"I've only been to Harvest House once, but I don't
remember much of the visit.

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Can you tell me about the outside?"

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Maela was relieved that Darla had thus far not
asked her about her

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past. They had chatted first about things they had
in common, weapons,

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sparring, and dealing with men who assumed that
they were weak.

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They laughed over stories where they had defeated
one arrogant man or another.

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Asking about the city was similarly safe to Maela.

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She could talk for hours about its secrets, both
the beautiful and the ugly.

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The time went by fast as Maela described to Darla
a city she had never

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really seen.

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Several hours later, they had fallen to silence
until Maela finally spoke up.

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She could not deny the truth any longer.

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"We chose the wrong direction."

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Darla continued to walk, not saying anything.

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"Darla, we need to go in the other direction.
We've walked too far.

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This is leading us into the mountain, not out of
it."

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Darla stopped and turned to face Maela.

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"I know, but we have no choice. We don't have
enough torches to make it all the way back.

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We could feel our way along the curb of the road,
but what if it splits or it is damaged and a chasm

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opens across it?" "Do we have a choice?"

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Maela wasn't sure how moving deeper into the
mountain would solve anything.

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"This road has to lead somewhere. The wind that
blows through the tunnel is strong and is

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coming from that direction."

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Darla pointed down the road.

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"Also, we know that there may be torches ahead of
us on the wall.

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There are nothing but spent torches behind us."

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Maela nodded.

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"What about food? Have you seen the rats?"

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Maela shook her head. She had been focusing on the
walls, looking for torches.

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"There are rats. If we need to, I can kill them."

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Darla patted the knife at her waist.

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"I'm skilled at knife throwing."

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Maela was horrified at the idea of eating a raw
rat and hoped that they wouldn't

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have to resort to that. With no other options,
they walked on in

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silence. Darla broke the silence.

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"You aren't a Harvest Guild member, are you?"

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It was the first time Darla asked specifically
about Maela.

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The question came so suddenly that Maela stammered
before replying.

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"W- wh- what? Why would you ask that?" "Your
description of the city and the things

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you've seen,

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that isn't something a member of our guild would
experience.

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You would have to travel far and wide to every
corner of Ness.

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Also, you said you were a warrior, and our guards
don't wander the city like that."

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Darla didn't seem mad, more curious.

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"Are you a night protector?"

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Meila could understand Dala's theory.

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Knight Protectors wandered the streets, upholding
the laws and assuring the safety

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of the citizens. What Dala didn't know was that
Knight Protectors were

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assigned to specific quarters and rarely were
moved to others.

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No, I'm not a Knight Protector.

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Meila was still trying to come up with an
explanation of her guild when Dala said...

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But you didn't deny not being a Harvest Guild
member.

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"No," was all Meila could think to say in
response.

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Again, before Meila could come up with an
explanation, Dala spoke.

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It's okay. You don't need to tell me your secrets
yet.

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You will when you're ready.

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She then reached over and put her hand in Meila's,

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intertwining their fingers.

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Meila squeezed Dala's hand, ostensibly to keep her
from asking more

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questions, but the truth was that in the dark,
lonely, and eerie tunnel,

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holding Dala's hand was a welcome feeling.

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They were down to one torch when Meila found three
straight unlit torches on the

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wall.

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I think we'll be okay. There aren't a lot of
torches, but there are enough that we

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should be fine as we make progress.

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Nodding her head, Dala replied...

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All we need to worry about is food.

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Meila didn't want to think about that. There was
no way she was going to eat the raw meat of a rat.

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A day later, Meila greedily gnawed the meat off
the bones of a scrawny animal.

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Dala had called them rats, but Meila wasn't sure
what they were.

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They seemed bigger than rats, but had rat-like fur
and tails.

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Whatever they were, Dala had missed her first few
throws at them, and Meila worried

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that they had waited too long and that Meila was
too weak to be able to throw with

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force and accuracy.

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When she finally hit one, the two of them screamed
out in happiness and hugged.

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There were a lot of the rats, and they seemed not
to fear the two of them or their light,

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so Dala didn't have much trouble gathering food.

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The real problem was water. They both drank the
blood from a few

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rats, but knew that it wouldn't be enough. They
had to find water.

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"Are we going to die under this mountain?"

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Dala asked as the two of them stopped to rest.

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They were stopping more often as their bodies
became weaker with thirst.

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"No!"

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Meila exclaimed.

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Even if this damn road leads all the way through
the mountain, we've made good enough progress that
we have

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to be near the end.

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Dala killed every rat she could see, but they
still grew weaker.

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The only good news was that the supply of torches
from the walls was just enough for them to be able

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to keep their way lit.

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Meila couldn't tell how many days they had been
traveling, two, three weeks, months.

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She couldn't focus from hunger and thirst.

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Dala hadn't killed a rat in over 24 hours, as her
aim was becoming less

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true due to weakness. They held hands out of
desperation, not so much

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affection, dragging their bodies forward and
supporting each other.

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After stumbling to her knees, Meila looked up at
Dala.

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"I'm not sure how much farther I can go."

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Dala knelt down beside Meila.

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"I wanted to see the sun and sky with you."

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Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and Meila knew
that if she had the tears to do it,

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Dala would have been crying.

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I wanted to show you Ness, from the Thieves' Tower
to Founders Park and all of those

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places I told you about.

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Meila felt a deep sadness over losing the
opportunity to share those things

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with Dala, but they both had come to an acceptance
that they were going to

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die in a dark tunnel full of ghostly wind.

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Then it hit her. Dala had spoken in a whisper and
Meila had heard her.

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She looked around. The light wasn't flickering off
the walls of a tunnel and the wind

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was nothing more than a breeze. Something had
changed.

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"Dala, the sound from the wind is gone."

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Looking around and then cocking her head, Dala
replied...

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"I hear something, though."

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Meila closed her eyes and didn't move a muscle.

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The wind still blew slightly, but the screeching
was gone.

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Everything was deathly quiet.

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Then it was there, a murmuring in the distance.

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Grabbing Dala's arm with her hand, Meila
exclaimed...

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"Those are voices."

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She looked at Dala, and the smile on Dala's face
told her that

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she already knew.

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Not saying another word, the two scrambled to
their feet and hugged each

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other tight.

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With the last of their strength, they stumbled
down the road.

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Soon, they saw a dim glow in the distance that
illuminated the tunnel, which

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had at some point grown to almost 10 times the
size of the road.

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The light and the voices grew louder, and as they
staggered around a bend, a

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bright, glorious light blinded Meila.

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Covering her eyes from the glare, Meila could see
nothing as the shouts of men and the

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sound of stomping boots filled her ears.

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(instrumental music plays)