Chapter 26: Trick

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Trick

"The hardest lessons are not taught in classrooms, but in the margins where survival is the only textbook."— Proverb

The air inside the quarry was thick, damp, and stale.

The smell of wet stone mixed with rust and something faintly rotten. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness, each drop echoing through the tunnels.

Boulder held a torch above his head as the three of them continued deeper into the quarry.

The flames threw dancing shadows across the uneven walls.

Riven walked several paces behind them.

His hood was pulled low, and his boots crunched softly against the loose gravel beneath his feet.

They had been walking for nearly twenty minutes.

The light from the entrance had disappeared a long time ago.

The main tunnel had gradually split into smaller passages, some blocked by fallen rocks and broken wooden supports. Others disappeared deeper into the mountain.

Riven kept his eyes moving.

The quarry was much larger than he’d expected.

If something happened down here, finding the way back wouldn’t be easy.

Boulder suddenly stopped.

They had reached a four-way intersection.

An old iron support beam crossed the ceiling above them. Rust covered nearly the entire thing, and it groaned softly whenever the wind passed through the tunnels.

Boulder wiped sweat from his forehead and lowered his torch.

"All right. Let’s take a breather."

He leaned his battle-axe against the ground and turned toward Riven.

"According to the Guild map, the main rat nests should be down the eastern tunnel."

He pointed toward a narrow passage.

"But there’s a tight section about twenty yards in."

Boulder grinned.

"Too narrow for me or Gorn to get through with our gear."

His eyes moved over Riven.

"That’s where you come in, little shadow."

Riven stepped closer to the tunnel entrance.

He stared into the darkness.

The passage was barely wide enough for an adult to crawl through. Even he would have to turn sideways in places.

Then he heard it.

It was quiet but still noticeable.

Scratch.

Riven’s eyes narrowed.

Another sound followed.

Click. Click.

Small claws scraping against stone.

There were things moving inside.

"Is it clear?"

His voice remained calm.

Gorn answered from beside them.

"Oh, completely."

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"We cleared this section yesterday."

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

"Just a few rats hiding in the corners. Nothing you can’t handle with that big sword of yours."

Riven didn’t respond.

Instead, he looked at the ground.

Fresh claw marks covered the dirt near the entrance.

Deep ones.

Recent.

He lowered his gaze further.

A dark smear covered the edge of a jagged rock.

Blood.

And it was still wet.

Riven looked back at Gorn.

"You missed a spot."

The smirk disappeared for a moment.

"The dirt’s torn up."

Riven pointed toward the blood.

"And that’s fresh."

Gorn glanced toward the entrance.

For the briefest moment, surprise crossed his face.

Then it vanished.

"Ah."

He shrugged.

"Guess I missed that corner."

Boulder chuckled.

"See? Nothing to worry about."

Gorn pushed himself away from the wall.

"Probably just a couple of rats. Go on."

He gestured toward the passage.

"We’ll wait here."

Riven stared at him.

’We’ll wait here?’

He looked back at the tunnel.

There was something wrong.

Maybe Gorn really had missed the signs.

Maybe the creatures had moved in after their sweep.

Or maybe they had deliberately left them behind.

Riven couldn’t know yet.

But he wasn’t going to blindly trust them.

He had learned that lesson long before coming here.

"Do you have another torch?"

Gorn sighed.

"Why?"

"It’s dark."

Gorn rolled his eyes.

"You’ve got eyes, don’t you?"

"I need better light."

For several seconds, Gorn simply stared at him.

Then he reached beneath his boiled leather tunic.

"Fine."

He pulled out a small leather pouch.

It looked like an ordinary belt pouch at first.

Then Riven noticed the faint shimmer running across its surface.

Mana.

The bag wasn’t ordinary.

Gorn loosened the drawstring and reached inside.

His hand disappeared farther than it should have.

Riven watched closely.

A moment later, Gorn pulled out a brass-framed miner’s lantern.

The lantern seemed to expand slightly as it left the pouch, accompanied by a faint hum.

Riven had never seen anything like it.

"A storage bag," Gorn said when he noticed Riven staring.

"Useful little thing."

He struck the lantern’s wick with a flint.

A small flame flickered to life.

Gorn held it toward Riven.

"Here."

Riven took it.

The warmth of the lantern felt good against his cold fingers.

"Now go."

Riven looked at the passage again.

The lantern illuminated only a few feet ahead.

Beyond that was nothing but darkness.

He tightened his grip on the handle.

"What happens if I find more than rats?"

Boulder laughed.

"Then you kill them."

Riven looked toward his sword.

The weapon was far too large for him, and his shoulder still wasn’t fully recovered.

The cleric’s warning came back to him.

Don’t fight for a week.

He hadn’t forgotten.

"I thought this was supposed to be easy work."

"It is."

Boulder shrugged.

"For us."

Riven’s eyes narrowed.

Gorn’s expression remained unreadable.

That answer told him more than the man probably intended.

Riven turned toward the passage.

He took one step.

Then another.

The narrow opening forced him to turn sideways.

His cloak scraped against the stone as he squeezed through.

Behind him, Boulder called out.

"Don’t wander too far!"

Riven didn’t answer.

The tunnel swallowed him.

Within a few seconds, Boulder and Gorn disappeared behind the stone.

Riven stopped.

He raised the lantern.

The light revealed more claw marks along the floor.

Not a few.

Dozens.

His eyes followed them deeper into the passage.

Something had been moving through here recently.

A lot of somethings.

Riven slowly rested his free hand against the hilt of his sword.

He couldn’t draw it easily in a passage this narrow.

That was a problem.

He looked at the walls.

Then at the ceiling.

Then back toward the way he’d come.

The passage was tight enough that Boulder and Gorn wouldn’t be able to reach him quickly.

If something attacked him, he was on his own.

Riven took another step.

A faint squeaking sound came from somewhere ahead.

He froze.

Another answered it.

Then another.

His grip tightened around the lantern.

So Gorn had lied.

The question was why.

Riven continued forward.

He wasn’t going to panic.

He wasn’t going to run blindly back toward them.

And he certainly wasn’t going to make things easy for whoever had sent him down here.

If this really was a trap, he would find out soon enough.

And if it wasn’t?

He’d still be prepared.

The scratching grew louder.

Riven lowered the lantern and carefully drew his oversized sword.

The blade scraped against the stone wall.

The sound echoed through the tunnel.

Then everything went quiet.

Riven stopped breathing.

Something moved in the darkness ahead.

Fast.

A/N thanks X_Unknown for the power stones here’s a bonus Chapter for you.