(suspenseful music) The Thieves Guild
by Jake Care.
Episode 59:
The Long Road.
Not having any way to track time, Maela and Darla walked along the road for
as long as they could, using two more torches in the process.
They made good time as the road was intact and mostly free of rubble.
"How much longer?"
Maela asked. Darla stopped and looked at her sputtering torch.
"Not long, but we should probably rest.
We don't want to exit while exhausted."
Maela nodded.
"That's a good idea. I'm not sure how much longer I can walk."
The two decided to rest and then finish the trip out of the
cave the next day. Darla sat down and started to remove her boots
as Maela looked into the distance.
"We only have four torches left."
They were in the middle of the road, and there was nothing to prop the torch on, so Maela held it.
"How long will this take, do you think?"
Darla wiggled out of a boot and set it on its side.
As she stretched and set her head on the boots, she replied-
"Not long. The exit must be a good way south, and we're not sure if this road is absolutely
straight. Just keep track of the torches, and if we get down to two, let's
continue, even if we're still tired."
Darla added, with her eyes already closed.
"The exit cannot be far." "That will work," Maela replied.
As Darla rested, Maela decided to investigate the cave and the road.
They were clearly in a tunnel, but it was difficult to tell if it was natural or carved out of the
stone of the mountain.
Maela couldn't fathom how a tunnel that large could be carved out of rock, so
she assumed it was natural.
The road had a decorative curb that was made out of single-laid bricks.
The walls of the tunnel rose just beyond each side of the road, and varied in distance from a
few feet to as many as 20 feet from the curb.
As she examined the wall, something caught her eye.
Walking up the road in the direction they were heading, she noticed a sconce holding an
unlit torch. Removing it from the wall, Maela returned it
to the camp. She hoped they wouldn't need it, but it was good to have.
Maela woke Darla as her torch started to die out.
Maela showed her the new torch, but they agreed to not change their plan and to move
on after Maela got her rest. Maela lowered her head, but found it difficult to sleep
with the ghostly sounds echoing through the tunnel.
The noise had lessened considerably once they left the giant cavern, and the
sounds were easy to ignore as they walked and talked.
But with eyes closed, the ghostly sounds reached deep into Maela's skull.
She eventually fell into a fitful sleep.
Maela awoke to Darla shaking her shoulder.
"Time to go."
As they walked, Maela kept an eye on the wall, but all of the torches she found
were already spent.
Darla broke the silence by saying-
"I've only been to Harvest House once, but I don't remember much of the visit.
Can you tell me about the outside?"
Maela was relieved that Darla had thus far not asked her about her
past. They had chatted first about things they had in common, weapons,
sparring, and dealing with men who assumed that they were weak.
They laughed over stories where they had defeated one arrogant man or another.
Asking about the city was similarly safe to Maela.
She could talk for hours about its secrets, both the beautiful and the ugly.
The time went by fast as Maela described to Darla a city she had never
really seen.
Several hours later, they had fallen to silence until Maela finally spoke up.
She could not deny the truth any longer.
"We chose the wrong direction."
Darla continued to walk, not saying anything.
"Darla, we need to go in the other direction. We've walked too far.
This is leading us into the mountain, not out of it."
Darla stopped and turned to face Maela.
"I know, but we have no choice. We don't have enough torches to make it all the way back.
We could feel our way along the curb of the road, but what if it splits or it is damaged and a chasm
opens across it?" "Do we have a choice?"
Maela wasn't sure how moving deeper into the mountain would solve anything.
"This road has to lead somewhere. The wind that blows through the tunnel is strong and is
coming from that direction."
Darla pointed down the road.
"Also, we know that there may be torches ahead of us on the wall.
There are nothing but spent torches behind us."
Maela nodded.
"What about food? Have you seen the rats?"
Maela shook her head. She had been focusing on the walls, looking for torches.
"There are rats. If we need to, I can kill them."
Darla patted the knife at her waist.
"I'm skilled at knife throwing."
Maela was horrified at the idea of eating a raw rat and hoped that they wouldn't
have to resort to that. With no other options, they walked on in
silence. Darla broke the silence.
"You aren't a Harvest Guild member, are you?"
It was the first time Darla asked specifically about Maela.
The question came so suddenly that Maela stammered before replying.
"W- wh- what? Why would you ask that?" "Your description of the city and the things
you've seen,
that isn't something a member of our guild would experience.
You would have to travel far and wide to every corner of Ness.
Also, you said you were a warrior, and our guards don't wander the city like that."
Darla didn't seem mad, more curious.
"Are you a night protector?"
Meila could understand Dala's theory.
Knight Protectors wandered the streets, upholding the laws and assuring the safety
of the citizens. What Dala didn't know was that Knight Protectors were
assigned to specific quarters and rarely were moved to others.
No, I'm not a Knight Protector.
Meila was still trying to come up with an explanation of her guild when Dala said...
But you didn't deny not being a Harvest Guild member.
"No," was all Meila could think to say in response.
Again, before Meila could come up with an explanation, Dala spoke.
It's okay. You don't need to tell me your secrets yet.
You will when you're ready.
She then reached over and put her hand in Meila's,
intertwining their fingers.
Meila squeezed Dala's hand, ostensibly to keep her from asking more
questions, but the truth was that in the dark, lonely, and eerie tunnel,
holding Dala's hand was a welcome feeling.
They were down to one torch when Meila found three straight unlit torches on the
wall.
I think we'll be okay. There aren't a lot of torches, but there are enough that we
should be fine as we make progress.
Nodding her head, Dala replied...
All we need to worry about is food.
Meila didn't want to think about that. There was no way she was going to eat the raw meat of a rat.
A day later, Meila greedily gnawed the meat off the bones of a scrawny animal.
Dala had called them rats, but Meila wasn't sure what they were.
They seemed bigger than rats, but had rat-like fur and tails.
Whatever they were, Dala had missed her first few throws at them, and Meila worried
that they had waited too long and that Meila was too weak to be able to throw with
force and accuracy.
When she finally hit one, the two of them screamed out in happiness and hugged.
There were a lot of the rats, and they seemed not to fear the two of them or their light,
so Dala didn't have much trouble gathering food.
The real problem was water. They both drank the blood from a few
rats, but knew that it wouldn't be enough. They had to find water.
"Are we going to die under this mountain?"
Dala asked as the two of them stopped to rest.
They were stopping more often as their bodies became weaker with thirst.
"No!"
Meila exclaimed.
Even if this damn road leads all the way through the mountain, we've made good enough progress that we have
to be near the end.
Dala killed every rat she could see, but they still grew weaker.
The only good news was that the supply of torches from the walls was just enough for them to be able
to keep their way lit.
Meila couldn't tell how many days they had been traveling, two, three weeks, months.
She couldn't focus from hunger and thirst.
Dala hadn't killed a rat in over 24 hours, as her aim was becoming less
true due to weakness. They held hands out of desperation, not so much
affection, dragging their bodies forward and supporting each other.
After stumbling to her knees, Meila looked up at Dala.
"I'm not sure how much farther I can go."
Dala knelt down beside Meila.
"I wanted to see the sun and sky with you."
Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and Meila knew that if she had the tears to do it,
Dala would have been crying.
I wanted to show you Ness, from the Thieves' Tower to Founders Park and all of those
places I told you about.
Meila felt a deep sadness over losing the opportunity to share those things
with Dala, but they both had come to an acceptance that they were going to
die in a dark tunnel full of ghostly wind.
Then it hit her. Dala had spoken in a whisper and Meila had heard her.
She looked around. The light wasn't flickering off the walls of a tunnel and the wind
was nothing more than a breeze. Something had changed.
"Dala, the sound from the wind is gone."
Looking around and then cocking her head, Dala replied...
"I hear something, though."
Meila closed her eyes and didn't move a muscle.
The wind still blew slightly, but the screeching was gone.
Everything was deathly quiet.
Then it was there, a murmuring in the distance.
Grabbing Dala's arm with her hand, Meila exclaimed...
"Those are voices."
She looked at Dala, and the smile on Dala's face told her that
she already knew.
Not saying another word, the two scrambled to their feet and hugged each
other tight.
With the last of their strength, they stumbled down the road.
Soon, they saw a dim glow in the distance that illuminated the tunnel, which
had at some point grown to almost 10 times the size of the road.
The light and the voices grew louder, and as they staggered around a bend, a
bright, glorious light blinded Meila.
Covering her eyes from the glare, Meila could see nothing as the shouts of men and the
sound of stomping boots filled her ears.
(instrumental music plays)