Coalesce: The Escape

Since we’re underground, there’s really no way to tell the time, day or night, who knew? It was much warmer than I had anticipated. Deus knew how long we slept, it seemed like only minutes. A wonderful dreamless paradise. Or was it? I couldn’t tell what I was feeling anymore.

I wake to Kylon practically laying on me and a horrible ache in my back from sleeping on a rock. Sleep was nice, waking up not so much. I shove him off me and sit up to wait for him to wake. I was just glad we hadn’t been attacked. Perhaps the skeletons kept to their own little areas?

A cold clear drop of water falls onto my hand and slowly rolls off. It reminds me of a song I used to hear the people sing when they worked:

Listen to the mountain call,

Hear the forest sing,

The river flows strong and fierce,

Like the song of the stone.

See the Earth changing evermore,

still and silent the night draws near,

Day comes to a close,

Songs of joy turn to silence.

Night draws upon the calling mountains,

The forest grows silent,

The stone gives way to the weary traveler’s feet,

Somewhere out there,

The ocean is silently calling,

Calling you home.

Home, where is home? I feel as though I don’t know anymore. The mountains seem so dangerous, yet so welcoming. The forest is an old friend, waiting to be visited. The rivers like the things you always know are there but don’t really notice. The stone is a common thing you see everyday. The song of nature is home, you just need to find it.

I am so lost in thought I don’t notice Kylon creeping toward me. He slowly sneaks behind me and grabs my shoulders. I let out a startled scream and whip around to face him as I jumpto my feet. Without thinking, I slap him.

“Don’t do that!” Hissing I glare at him, taking a defensive stance, heart racing.

“Hey, you’re the one who wasn’t paying attention,” He rubs the side of his face and laughs. I let out a breath and let my shoulders relax.

“Well, I’m sorry for not caring,” I cross my arms and turn on my heel to face away from him. It may be rude doing this, but I don’t want to let him get to me. I’m not usually mean, unless it’s necessary. I’ve been so on edge since the wolves.

“Alright, alright, let’s get going. We need to get out of here sometime,” He turns me down the tunnel and grabs our things. We start down the sloping path each carrying a torch, Kylon keeps his sword drawn and insists I walk behind him. As we progress further I begin to hear the dull roar of a waterfall. The path gradually loses any trace of stone and becomes solid dirt. Fewer and fewer torches light the path and the air becomes damp and cold. Every once in a while a pile of bones lie against the wall. A shudder runs down my spine and I glance at Kylon who gives me a subtle, reassuring smile.

Even if it is unnerving, it’s exhilarating as well. Never in my life have I felt so free. The crash of water becomes louder and clearer. The ceiling slowly rises upward and the walls push back making the space wider. To our left is another path that’s been sealed off by rockfall, to the right is a steep drop-off. Straight ahead is a wooden door.

Kylon glances back at me and I shrug. He turns back to the door and pushes it open revealing a large cavern. Small rays of light poke through cracks and holes in the ceiling. Snow drifts into the cavern, settling in small mounds. A pool fed by a waterfall sparkles like liquid crystals in the sun. Ivy climbs the few pillars made of stone and dirt at the corners of the room and snakes up the walls. We stare in awe at the sight, truly amazing. Wind howls through the cavern, blowing the drifts of snow around and bringing an otherworldly cold.

A small stone grotto sits at the back of the room, barely noticeable through a thick curtain of moss. I can just see the outline of a wooden chest in the midst of the rocks. Caution is my enemy at this point, I’m lost in awe and curiosity. I walk towards the chest and pull the mossy curtain back and step through. The chest is lined with bands of iron to hold it together. Carved designs of every kind swirl around the wood and iron both. The latch is a circle of iron with the empire’s crest on it, much like the door that leads into tunnels. I’d never seen chests made like this, it must be old.

What is it doing here, though? Who put it here, why? I can’t help wondering what this place was once.

I wedge my torch in between two rocks and drop to my knees by the chest. Then, I hook my fingers under the latch and lift the lid. Inside the chest contains gold, leather armor, a few gems, and bottles containing colored liquids. Who knows how old they could be. The coins are dated a few decades back. I wouldn’t trust whatever concoctions were in those bottles now.

“Kylon, come and see this,” I call over my shoulder at Kylon, who is examining a fine steel sword that had been lying on the ground. He looks up and places the flat face of the sword over his shoulder and walks over to me.

“What is it?” He puts his torch in an empty sconce on the wall then stands at my side and peers over my shoulder at the contents of the chest.

“Look at all of it, it would be enough supplies to get by for a while on our own,” I look at him and he considers this, something about the way he strokes his chin with his free hand makes me want to smile. Not wanting him to see, I turn and start taking the things out of the chest.

We sift through the other things and choose only what we think will help us. We take the gems to sell later on, and the armor and bottles we leave.

“Let’s try to find a way out of here now,” I straighten up and sling my bag over my shoulders once more as Kylon looks back at the cavern.

“Lead on,” I allow Kylon to take my hand in his own and I carry my torch in the other. We start to look for any other passages or means of getting to the surface. The bits of light filtering in from the gaps in the rocks is getting brighter, signaling that it is around midday at the earliest. Cold seeps into the room, chilling me to the bone. I still haven’t quite become quite accustomed to the bitter winters of Valley Forge. The palace was always rather warm. Thinking about it made me a little homesick and I wanted to see Edward again... So badly it hurt. More than that, I wanted to know he’s alright.

I won’t cry, I won’t cry, I tell myself and take a deep breath. Kylon releases my hand for a moment and places both his palms firmly on a patch of rock lighter than the rock around it. He pushes against it and it moves back slightly sending a thick cloud of dust down on us. I cough and close my eyes, waiting for the dust to settle.

“Stand back,” He warns me as he steps back away from the slab of rock. I take a few steps to the side. With great force, he kicks the slab and loosens it enough to push it to the side. The tunnel it covered is long and narrow, barely wide enough for Kylon to fit through, also much worse than any of the other tunnels. Rocks and vines block part of the path so heavily we are forced to cut and crawl over them. The thick steel sword Kylon had picked up shattered when he struck rock trying to cut through some vines. I have a feeling this place was abandoned long ago… There are so many questions I have about it, but I know they won’t be answered.