Chapter 22 Between a Rock & No Place
The glowing buds that had fallen from the trees were abundant now. Tine gingerly toed around them, but it was becoming harder to avoid stepping on them. She became more nervous with each stride. Having Slade as their new guide didn’t make her feel more at ease. He’d made it clear he thought of this as a suicide mission. Then why go? If we die, the kids won’t be freed anyway… She shook her head. Best to stay positive; on a trip like this, negativity was the surest road to death.
She stole glances at the others. Everyone kept quiet now, even Lou. Viatape followed Hala like her shadow. He seemed determined not to be separated again after sleeping outside last night. The boar had given Slade the cold shoulder ever since.
Autumnus looked boldly ahead while he walked. Tine noticed that the emberbuds underfoot did not burn him. With each step, they sizzled and smoked under the Aamonwelp’s feet. He did not appear to notice.
Ilius, on the other hand, hopped from spot to spot to avoid the emberbuds. About every fifth step, he stepped on one and clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a yell. The rogues, Hafoc and Kylia had little difficulty navigating across the terrain safely.
At first, Tine enjoyed the red early morning light. But when the sky remained crimson at noon, it began to worry her. She felt like they all had fallen into another world of sorts, one she didn’t like in the least. The worst part is, this isn’t the worst part. Her tail thrashed with worry. She wondered, not for the first time, How many goblins are up ahead, anyway?
Slade halted again and held a fist up in the air. Tine had quickly learned this meant everyone else should stop, too.
He turned to them, looked the group over, and ran a hand over his grizzled face. “Oh, damn to hell.” He shook his gray head wearily. “You lot ever fought goblins or Hobgoblins before? You know the Hobs hate elves, right?” He bore his gaze into Hala’s eyes. “You might want to keep those pointy ears of yours under cover when we get close, if you don't want them going berserk on you.”
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Hala pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. She held her arm at the elbow, and looked down. “Maybe it’s better if I didn’t come…”
Autumnus hurried to put a hand on Hala’s shoulder. “Don't worry, frenzy or not, we will put them in the ground. You don’t have to conceal who you are, Hala it's up to you if you want to hide your ears, the same goes for anyone else. " He added, somehow seemingly showing off his tail and horns more than usual.
Slade shrugged. "Up to you, of course..." He pointed to the flock of Ravens flying in the distance. "Now, those...they don't care about elves. They hate all of us the same." He cups a hand to mouth and yells at the flock, "Don't ya, you, flying bastards!" Then he straightened and marched on again, as if nothing had happened at all.
Tine’s feet were tired and her footpads burned a little from stepping on the embers that lay all around. The group had been walking for some time now, and she noticed the terrain became getting rockier. The embers had become more integral to the landscape. Some cracks in the ashen dirt were even filled with tiny, glowing dust, reminiscent of lava.
Tine thought she heard wolves howling, even though it was still daytime. The ominous birds were still screeching, and getting closer. The sun was lower now. She hoped they would reach their destination soon. Sort of. Really, she could just use a nap.
Slade followed his compass to an imposing wall of rock and put his hands on his hips. “Yep, this is it; the goblin cave.” He put his compass back in his pocket.
They stared at the rocks in front of them for a full minute in silence. It looked more like they were at the bottom of a cliff, instead of by a cave. O Mut. This guy is crazier than we thought…It was a whole day’s walk to get to this?
Lou stroked his goatee and squinted his eyes at the rocks in front of them. "I hate to bring this up, but.... there's no freaking entrance!" He held out both arms like he was being crucified. "I mean, where I come from, this is a cliff, not a cave!" He looked around for everyone's opinion.
Kylia stepped forward, leaning close to the old soldier. “Hey, this is the place, right?” She caught his gaze. “Please tell me there’s really a cave.”
The ravens were close now. Some had seen them. Their screeching grew, and the birds picked up speed in their direction. Tine wasn’t usually afraid of birds, but she stepped back. The closer they came, the larger they seemed to become. Some of them were as big as horses. And she was pretty sure they looked hungry.