Setting Course

When Elias opened his eyes the next morning, at first he couldn’t understand where he was. For a moment he thought he had simply dozed off before heading to work. But no – everything was… far too dark! And there was a strange echo following each of his movements. Then it all rushed back to him.

A thin sliver of light filtered in through a tiny crack, illuminating the dust and damp air inside the cave. It slipped between the stones that had sealed the entrance the night before. All was utterly still. Nothing suggested that a colossal Groundshaker might still be roaming outside. They had realized last night that it had lumbered off into the distance.

Elias tried to sit up. But… something felt different. His head was heavy, weighted. He pressed it in his hands for a while, fingers close to his eyes. He must be sick, he thought. He coughed–
The sound echoed back at him, bouncing deeper into the cave’s hollow dark.

He pushed himself upright. His whole body was sore, but that was only natural. He’d endured more hardship in the past two days than most in months. Slowly, he made his way toward the faint light.

“Ouch!” groaned someone below as Elias stepped clumsily on him.

“Oh – sorry!” Elias blurted, his eyes still struggling to adjust to the dark.

It was Buck – his voice was unmistakable. He growled a little at being woken so roughly, then rumbled, “No harm done.” After a moment, in his deep familiar tone, he added, “Good morning,” and started to rise.

“Good day,” Elias replied, still half whispering.

“Don’t whisper,” Buck said. “Everyone will be awake soon enough.” His steady voice shattered the silence that, Elias realized, had actually been rather pleasant. Buck stepped toward the light and squinted out. “I don’t see anything troubling. Looks like a sunny day.” He shoved at some of the smaller stones near the crack. But above and around them were larger ones, wedged tight. A few slipped dangerously as he pushed, nearly crushing his hand. The whole pile was massive.

The noise roused the others.

Though the gap had grown smaller, suddenly the faint light spread, glowing across the chamber. The dust in the air shimmered faintly – like tiny motes of phosphorus ignited by daylight. It looked almost the same as the light that had led them into the cave last night – though, if asked, Jeana would insist again that there had been no such light at all.

“Stand back,” Cecile said, waiting for them to clear the way. “I’ll draw the rhino again.”

“Wait,” Elias said quickly.

“Why not draw a door instead?” Fawks asked, with childlike logic.

“Well…” Cecile hesitated. “Some paint lilies on water, and others paint portraits!”

Though the light was dim, Fawks’ puzzled frown stood out clearly, making Elias chuckle.

“Hold on, Cecile,” Elias said. “There’s a tunnel here – it goes around the rubble.”

Sure enough, everyone saw it now: a narrow, stone-formed passage on the right wall, about five meters before the blocked entrance. Barely wide enough for an adult, it curved and led out only a few paces further on. Elias stepped in and pushed open a stone “door” at the end, spilling bright light into the tunnel despite the bend.

Outside, the morning was cool and fresh. Though most of the snow had melted, feeding the little streams they’d noticed in the jungle yesterday, shaded places beneath trees still held patches that might last for hours. The chill of last night had already given way to a sudden warmth. Elias squinted against the brightness, but the morning was beautiful.

One by one, they emerged from the tunnel. Stretching and yawning followed.

“Say… how did you do that?” Jeana fixed Elias with a searching look, the morning sun catching in her pale, wavy gray hair. It gleamed almost silver in the light, striking against her youthful face.

Most of the group turned toward him, waiting for an answer.

“I used my imagination,” Elias said diplomatically, sidestepping further explanation.

Nobody was satisfied. All except Fawks stared at him with arched brows, as if to say, is that really all?

“Didn’t you imagine a door?” he asked them.

“We did,” Bard said, “but if we’d tried, it would’ve drained us dry for the rest of the day – and the result wouldn’t have been nearly the same.”

“I knew that tower wasn’t always there!” Cecile exclaimed. “We heard the commotion and ran toward your fight – and then we saw the Tower come crashing down,” she explained.
She shot Bard a look. “But he kept insisting I must’ve imagined things – saying ‘the jungle’s big’ and ‘we rarely come this way.’ Still, I know what I know. There was never a tower there before. I would have noticed!”

Bard’s face bore the look of a man proven wrong – uncomfortable not because he was proud, but because Cecile was terrible at letting things go.

To ease the tension, Fawks piped up: “He’s an architect.”

“An architect?!” Jeana exclaimed.
“Bard, we can use him!” she added, half-secretly, but loud enough for all to hear.

The others, either losing interest or pretending to, started chatting about the devastation that Bastros had caused in the camp last night.

“Use me… for what?” Elias raised an eyebrow this time.

“For the Cause,” Tavian turned suddenly, flashing a wide grin and a clear, earnest look.

“What cause?” Elias asked, baffled. Fawks’ curiosity burned even more – his gaze flicked between Tavian, Bard, and Jeana, demanding an answer.

“Let’s leave that aside for now and get organized,” Buck urged, his tone edged with irritation. No one had yet begun any work.

Their camp was in ruins. The Groundshaker had trampled nearly everything. Only a small piece of the fence still stood.

Stirred by Buck’s words they all began gathering the few belongings that could still be salvaged from the wrecked huts, others hauling large logs to use for rebuilding.

Meanwhile, Tavian had kindled a fire to cook breakfast. Elias moved toward him, ready to ask again about this “Cause” – but Bard called first.

“Elias!”

“Yes?” He walked over.

“We’ll set off for the cities of the Common Ground.”

“How come?” Elias asked.

“Well,” Bard began, “after last night, we’re in need of many things – things you won’t easily find in the Outskirts, let alone in the Frostshore Wilds!”

“I see…” Elias smiled. “So, we’ll have guides!”

“That’s us!” Cecile grinned broadly, thumbing at herself.

“We’ll eat,” Bard nodded at Tavian’s cooking, “and then we’ll set off at once – to seize the day!”