7

Siofra had been left unguarded. She looked around. The shadows of the sunlight in the walls had moved, time was running out for her. The cave entrance where Pango had gone to was to her left and the dark tunnel where the guards were at was to her right. The dim light of the torch in the distance was gone.

Siofra stood, waited for a moment. She then took some careful steps to her right and waited again. She could hear a large crowd of people talking outside the entrance, most probably bandits. She looked back deeper into the tunnel, waited some more before she took some steps toward it. No one had stopped her so she took more steps until she was staring at darkness. Somehow she sensed someone watching her from within. She stood there moving her eyes, trying to see a figure but all she could do was hear slow, light water drops echoing in the distance. She stepped back, turned swiftly and headed for a torch. But before she could reach it, someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a hand.

Siofras body jolted. But before she started to kick and scream “shh, don’t scream or they’ll come and kill us” a woman’s soft, fluid voice said. Siofra stopped struggling, and the person who grabbed her, loosened her grip.

Siofra turned to the person. She was a young woman, wearing a dark cloak and hood. She wore worn leather boots, with dark shadows in the crevices of the tears.

“Who are you?” Siofra asked softly. “I’m Cirida, I’m also a captive here, but there is no time to talk. Bandits could come any moment. If you want to escape with me, then we must hurry” Cirida said as she quickly and quietly stepped past Siofra and grabbed two torches and a water canteen that was on the ground.

She handed one torch and the canteen to Siofra “How you get past the guards in the tunnels?” Siofra asked, whispering. “I didn’t see anyone. If guards came into the tunnels, they might have gotten lost” Cirida said in a calm voice as she stared to walk into the darkness. She turned her head towards Siofra “you coming?”

Siofra stared at her for a moment, the flame of her torch lit the upper parts of her body and the wall. “yes, I’m coming” she finally said as she caught up with her.

Siofra held the her torch low to the ground, being careful not to trip. On occasion she would look back to see the disappearing entrance to the cave as it was left behind. There was no signs of the guards where she thought they would have been. Just rough walls and gravel scattered on a rocky brown floor.

Siofra had gone so deep she could couldn’t see the cave entrance no more, even if she squinted her eyes. “Shouldn’t we try to hide our torches, what if those guards see it?” Siofra asked, looking around nervously. Cirida kept on walking “I told you, you need not worry about those guards. See here, a tunnel crossing” Cirida said as she lit the entrance to two other tunnels. “There are many crossing in this cave, one could easily get lost. Its probable those guards you speak of took a wrong tunnel”.

Siofra didn’t like it. If those guards could get lost then she might too. She was thankful Cirida was there.

Siofra put her torch near the entrance of each tunnel, trying to distinguish them, to see if she could see anything, but they were the same——complete darkness. “Which way do we go?” Siofra asked softly, staring at Cirida.

“Quick, hold this and stand here” Cirida said as she gave Siofra her torch and told her to stand near a wall. Cirida then took some steps back and then forward, straight at the wall. She jumped as she neared the wall, landing high up. She gripped her hands on rocks. She then climbed to a ledge Siofra didn’t even know was there. “The torch” Cirida said stretching her hand down for it. Siofra reached up and handed her the torch. “Now you, quick” Cirida said as she reached down her hand.

There was no time to waste the guards might have already noticed her gone. Siofra reached for Cirida’s hand, gripping it tightly. Cirida then pulled. Siofra’s leather shoes kept slipping on rocks she was trying to push up on. She made a long screechy grunt trying to hold on to the grip much as she could. She swayed, her dress grinding against the wall before finally having elbow on top the edge of the ledge.

Siofra had made it to the top where there was another tunnel entrance. Her hand had lost feeling and her wrist hurt when she moved it. She had some scrapes and bruises on her arms from the rocks grinding against her.

Cirida was flat on her back breathing heavily. She sat up slowly supporting herself with her left hand. As Cirida stood up, Siofra noticed, and stared at her gripping her right shoulder. “I’ll be fine. You’re heavier than you look. Plus you wiggle alot” Cirida said as she turned “come, we must keep going”. Siofra walked behind her “Cirida, thank you” Siofra said softly. Cirida just kept on walking.

They had been walking for so long that Siofra’s feet had started to ache. The tunnels still looked the same. “How do you know where to go” Siofra asked. Cirida slowed to a stop like she did on occasion, then looked around moving the torch. Then she continued to walk “its the air currents” Cirida said as she kept on walking, glimpsing back at Siofra. Siofra put her arms out trying to feel the air currents. All she felt was the damp cold.

Siofra started to breath heavy and fall behind. She could see Cirida’s figure getting smaller and the darkness around her bigger, her fast stepping had not slowed down at all. Siofra tried to push herself even if her feet hurt, she started to step faster. She didn’t watch her feet and tripped, falling on her belly, her torch landing on the ground. Her lungs pushing out a muffled cry upon impact. She quickly lifted her head to see if Cirida had stopped and noticed or had gone ahead without her.

Cirida had stopped and looked back. She went to Sifora stretched out her hand. Siofra struggled to lift her hand to her, even more to get up. “Thank you” Siofra said, her voice stuttering, her body in ache. Meanwhile Cirida was calm, too calm, her face with a blank expression as she stared into Siofra’s eyes. Engulfed in darkness, with only the torch lights, in this moment Siofra wondered if she was with a ghost.

“There’s a large chamber crossing up ahead, Let’s take a some time to respite there” Cirida said. When they got to the chamber crossing Cirida put the flame of her torch next to a large rock. “Come, sit here” she said. Siofra walked to the rock, slightly limping and sat.

Cirida knelled down before Siofra. She started to massage her lower legs. Siofra was startled but her body ached too much to move.

“This will help your legs recover faster” Cirida said calmly. Siofra felt pain as Cirida moved her hand through her tired flesh, but at times it did feel good.

Siofra stared at Cirida. As the torchlight lit her face, Siofra was starting to find some humanity in Cirida’s blank expression. “Thank you once again. Also for not leaving me behind” Siofra said. Cirida didn’t answer, she just kept on massaging.

“How did you get captured” Siofra asked. Cirida looked into Siofra’s eyes “My village was raided” Cirida said emotionless, then she looked back at Siofra’s legs. Siofra could tell Cirida wasn’t too fond of talking.

Siofra drifted off into hearing the torch slowly crackle, the light sounds of the flame whipping the air, the water drips that echoed in the cave wall.

It was many drips later when she felt good enough to continue. “We should get going” Siofra said to cirida, determined, as she stood up. Just then some distant voices were heard “The boss sent so many of us, some of us were bound to get lost…hey, wait, look, up there, torches, its them!” the rough, unfriendly voices said.

The bandits had found Siofra and Cirida. The light of their torches all of a sudden got closer. They started to climb a steep rocky slope, the only thing separating them from Siofra and Cirida.

“Run!” said Cirida as they both started to run into another tunnel.