Beneath the Mountain

“So,” the dwarf girl said, looking between them. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Well, um, I’m Elian and this is Kaia.” He realized he was still holding the dragon knife and handed it back to Kaia, who sheathed it. “We’re not here to hurt you. We came to help.”

This was met with a raised eyebrow, the dwarf’s very blue eyes sparkling as if them being a threat was a great joke. Not that she looked threatening herself, dressed in practical human clothes, a green tunic over plain pants. As if she'd read his mind, she smiled impishly and patted the axe hanging at her belt. 

“That much is obvious. You’re lucky I came across a pair of abandoned torches and decided to investigate.” She sniffed, relaxing her arms. “I thought maybe someone else was around, but I wasn’t expecting you two.”

Of course not. She must have thought... hoped they were other survivors.  

“We, er, heard strange things were happening here," he started after a moment's pause. "So we wanted to see if it was related to the bug problem.” It was the truth, but it still sounded absurd said aloud.

“I guess you got your answer then.”

“Yeah.” He looked around the small room. It was filled with barrels.

“What’s this place?”

“Booze storage. Secret and with strong doors.” She gave one of the barrels a tap with her foot before pushing the heavy door shut and locking it.

“So safe here?” Kaia asked in passable human, sniffing the air suspiciously. Elian couldn’t stop a proud grin. Not only had she understood what they talked about, but she joined in. She really was a fast learner.

“For now. The insects don’t care about fine drinks, so I don’t think they even registered that these hidden pantries exist. They’re just interested in foodstuffs, and…” Her face darkened. “...people.”

“We saw them dragging in lots and lots of leaves,” Elian said, then his brain caught up and he stared at her. “People? You mean they take captives?”

“No…” She suddenly looked down at the floor, wiping at her nose. “That’s not what I mean.”

“No..? Then what…?” The look on her face made him pause and change the question. “I mean, what are you doing here all alone? Or are there still more of you around? We didn’t see…”

She held up a hand to stop him.

“Blazes, you sure have many questions. I’m Brinja of the Stonehammer family.”

“Nice to meet you.” He did his best to stifle a yawn. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the past sleepless nights were starting to catch up with him. “You know the way out?”

“Yes, but…” She looked to the door they came in through. “Now that they know you’re here, they’ll watch the main exits. You can’t go back the same way.”

“Oh.” He sank to the floor, hugging his knees.

“Other ways out?” Kaia asked, nodding to the other door.

“Yes. I can show you, but they’re dangerous.” She also took a seat, leaning against one of the barrels. “We should wait for a while. Give the creepies time to go back to what they’re usually doing.”

“Hatching eggs?” Building an army. A giant army. Maybe it wasn’t that bad. Yet. Maybe they had time to do… something. Brinja didn’t answer immediately, instead, her mouth tightened.

“You saw one of the egg chambers then?” She pulled her knees up. “That’s just the start of it. You’ll see.”

“We should get as much information as we can,” he mused, and Kaia nodded. Brinja gave them a sad look.

“You’re going to regret saying that.”

*

“So, it’s very dark here,” Elian muttered, trying to keep his growing panic from his voice. They were on all fours, crawling through what Brinja had called a ‘ventilation shaft’. “I miss the glowing walls. Amazing technique. I know your people are famous for your inventions, but I’d never imagined anything like that.”

“Oh, that was the insects, not us. We use torches mostly. Or plant luminescent moss where it can survive.” She stopped briefly, looking back at him, and he could have sworn she grinned. “But you’re right. It’s pretty awesome. I was hoping I could copy the process. It’d be worth a fortune and I could…”

“The bugs made that? It doesn’t make any sense.” Only it did. As far as he knew, they didn’t have night vision. Their raids had always happened during daytime.

“Mhm, some chubby caterpillars shot out webbing to cover the walls. The chemical process must be…” she launched into a long explanation that immediately had him lost. But her enthusiasm was clear.

“I see,” was all he said once she finished her lecture. “They’re altering the mines to suit them. That explains why it smells like their world here.”

“You’ve been there?” She stopped so abruptly he almost bumped into her from behind. “I heard the humans send children into the raiding tunnels to close them, but didn’t think it was true. Did you really…?”

“Yes, it’s true. Some children are chosen to protect this world, and I was one of them.” An eternity ago. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then hurried to change the subject. “So, did you stay here to find out more about the bugs’, um, inventions then?”

“Partly. They’re quite ingenious when it comes to mining, opening and closing tunnels. If only they didn’t…” Brinja grew quiet again, and no one spoke until they finally reached a larger cavern. Some moss provided faint light, giving all of them a pale, ghostly look.

“I’m a bit of a scholar, you see,” she picked up the conversation again. “You could say I stayed partly to find the missing people, learn more about the changes in the stones…” She turned to them with a soft smile. “But the most important reason I'm still here is to find my goat.”

“Your goat?”

She nodded.

“Yes, he’s down here somewhere, and there's no way I'd leave him behind. My family left pretty fast after the whispers filled the mines and the disappearances started. I stayed.”

Her arms crossed in front of her chest as if she dared them to question the wisdom in this. He bit back a comment, pointing out that one of the main things the buggers took was livestock. Goat-sized livestock.

Kaia was also giving the dwarf a curious look.

“So, not leave cave with us?” she asked.

Elian managed to stop himself from smiling at her grammar. Her accent was adorable. Instead, he turned to Brinja.

“We need to warn everybody, and you’re the one who knows the most about what’s happening here. Besides, staying here is dangerous, so you really should come with us.”

“Not without Blackbeard!” She stomped her foot for emphasis. “I can take care of myself.”

That was clear. He wasn’t sure how long she’d survived here on her own, but it was impressive. He nodded once, and her face softened a little.

“Okay, so we’re getting to a trickier area,” she warned. “There’ll be lots of creepy crawlies, but they’ll be busy. We must be as quiet as possible, and hope they don’t look up.”

Look up?

A grueling crawl later, they were standing on a narrow ledge running high up along the wall of an enormous cavern. The walls and floor had been treated with the glowing webbing, and Eliaan wished it wasn't bright enough to allow him to see everything below. The huge moving mass of hundreds… perhaps thousands of wriggling grubs.

There were more bug people here too, and ants hauling in sacks after sacks with leaves and other green stuff. Some of them brought big reddish-pink balls that the bug people distributed among the grubs. Bile rose in his throat as he realized it was pieces of meat, stuck together in manageable, boneless portions.

The food was devoured quickly, the sickly munching sound filling the cavern, all the way up to where they were standing. Next to him, Kaia inhaled sharply, pointing down to the feeding. Now they knew why the ants were gathering everything alive.

They were feeding an army.

Slowly they inched their way across, sideways, foot by foot, backs pressed against the wall. Elian had never been so glad to enter a tunnel as he was when they finally reached the end of the cavern and continued into one.

“They didn’t notice us,” he whispered. He’d been more frightened than he cared to admit.

“No, but we’re not out yet.” Brinja loosened the axe in her belt before she led them through a maze of tunnels.

There were occasional small rooms, each having three or four open doorways. How she knew which ones to pick was beyond him, but she seemed certain of the way. They kept walking for what seemed like hours, until his feet ached and his eyelids were getting heavy. Was the sun still up, somewhere far above them? Above all this stone? He couldn’t wait to see it again. To feel warmth on his face, even a cool breeze or soaking rain would be wonderful. Fresh air.

He sighed and took a sip of water. The waterskin was much lighter than he’d prefer, but so far the only drinks they’d seen down here were alcohol.

They passed another room, starting down another tunnel, vaguely lit by moss rather than bug web, when Kaia stopped.

“Something is there.” She pointed ahead, and they all tensed, hands reaching for weapons.

“Buggers,” Elian hissed, taking a step back.

“They’re blocking our path. If they see us, we have to take them out,” Brinja whispered, lips tight and face grim.

As if that’d be easy..? To his horror, she kept going forward, slowly but deliberately. One hand on her heavy axe.

A screech echoed down the tunnel, followed by scraping and several loud thumps. They all strained their ears to pick up any noise disturbing the sudden silence. Nothing… then a soft rhythmic sound. Elian swallowed hard. Brinja, on the contrary, straightened up, grinned, then bolted forward as fast as her legs could carry her. Axe still at her belt.

Crap.

Drawing his knife, he raced after her, Kaia right behind him. She had chosen the dragon knife over her bow this time. They broke into the next room, ready for anything, only to be met by a beaming Brinja and a munching sound. Shaking his head to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, Elian took in the scene in front of him. Two dead ants… or, one was still alive, moving weakly. Two sacks filled with leaves. One happily chewing goat. Elian blinked, but the scene didn't change.

“Blackbeard, you silly goose!” Brinja half-sobbed, staring at her missing goat with shiny eyes.

A black head with impressive horns emerged from the sack, mouth full of leaves as Blackbeard rolled his eyes to greet his mistress. Mouth still busily chewing. She ran the last steps, fell on her knees, and threw her arms around the black furry neck. He bleated softly, ears flicking as he swallowed the last of his mouthful. Then his yellow eyes turned to Elian and Kaia, and he bleated a warning. Elian took a step back. This was not a creature to mess with.

“No,” Brinja got on her feet, pointing to them. “They are our friends. Friends!”

Blackbeard gave them a long look, sizing them up before turning his attention to the still-moving bug. Trotting up to it, he took aim and, with a powerful headbutt, slammed it into the wall. Then his front hooves did the rest, leaving the ant a crushed mess.

Pleased with himself, he ambled back to Brinja for pets, and she kept praising him while scratching between his horns and under his chin.

“Who’s the best goat? The most fearsome goat?” she cooed. “You are!”

“I… can see why you wouldn’t want to leave him behind,” Elian said, glancing uncomfortably between the grinning dwarf and the dead ants.

“Right?! He’s family.”

Blackbeard gave her a gentle bump in the belly before diving headfirst back into the leaves, and the munching resumed.

*

Eventually they emerged from the maze, and Elian found he could breathe easier as the tunnels opened up into natural caverns. Stalactites, similar to the ones in the Nareth’s Winter Caves, grew from the high ceilings, giving the place a strangely familiar feeling.

“Are we getting closer to the exit?” he asked. “It seems we’re going upward, at least a little.”

“We are, but it’s still a good way. And we need to pass more creeper-infested areas.”

Of course they did. Ironically, adding the goat to the group had lifted everyone’s spirits. Brinja was clearly over the moon, and Kaia was studying the beast curiously. Elian was still a bit wary, but there was no denying the newcomer would be useful in a fight.

“I smell something up ahead,” Kaia said in Lykar, giving him a peculiar look.

“Buggers?”

“Yes. That damp smell. Mixed with something else…” She glanced at Brinja, ears drooping slightly. “I hope I’m wrong.”

A gnawing worry spread through his chest as they continued, but they neither heard nor saw any bugs.

“Wait, what’s that?” Elian stared at the piles lining the walls in the cave they had just entered. A storage room? A messy one?

“It’s… it’s…” All color had drained from Brinja’s face as she looked around.

“Clothes?” He approached one of the piles, making out different garments, boots… Belts with swords or knives still attached to them lay next to polished helmets and other tools. Brinja, on the other hand, was staring at the far end of the room, face frozen, fingers gripping a handful of Blackbeard’s fur.

“Yes,” she said, her voice strangely flat. “Clothes. I’ve seen it before. Other rooms like this. Only, not so many…”

Many?

He walked further in, then stopped, his knees buckling and his chest tightening when he saw what lay there. Not more clothes, but bones.

Many bones. Piles of them. Perfectly cleaned. Just like the ones they’d come across in the field. But these bones weren’t… weren’t…

After meeting Brinja, he’d hoped, he’d thought… 

His hands clenched into fists so hard his fingers dug into his palm. Shaking his head in denial, he stared at the piles. Making out shapes. Empty sockets in round skulls stared back at him from the darkness.

They’d found the missing dwarves.