Peripaso turned to Vrell. “What you say, laddy?”
Vrell stood. If it got them out of the underground river faster, she would do her part. “What must I do?”
“You jest follow me. Tunnels are a maze and blacker than tar. Stay close now.”
As Peripaso turned and hoisted himself into the tunnel, Vrell caught a glimpse of the brand on his back. A curly S the size of her fist popped out on his right shoulder in raised, white flesh. The mark of a stray. Vrell shivered. If anyone ever looked, they would find no such burn upon her skin. She was glad for that, of course, but it would instantly destroy her disguise.
With one last glance to Jax and Khai, Vrell heaved herself up. The tunnel was tall enough that she could walk in a squat. Humid, stale air closed in as she inched up the steep tunnel grasping onto slick, craggy rocks for leverage. Vrell’s nerves tingled with each step up and away from the light. She turned to see the entrance, a beige circle below. She did not like the idea of going into a tunnel that was blacker than tar. “Could we bring a torch along?”
“Nah. Air’s not so good. Snuffs ’em out. Long as we keep movin’, we’ll be fine.”
Vrell twisted back to the dark path and scooted after Peripaso’s fading silhouette. “How far is it?”
Despite her attempts to keep up, the old man’s form vanished. His voice drifted back from the blackness.
“We’re ’bout a quarter of the way. Tunnels wind all over Nahar and Arman. If you know the way, you can go almost anywhere. I’ve traveled ’em all. Took one all the way to Darkness. Scare me half to death when I come out to find ebens havin’ some sort of tribal ceremony. Bonfires everywhere. Watched long as I dared, then turned and come home. Caved that tunnel in right after. Didn’t like the idea of them sneakin’ up on me, like I did them.”
The tunnel leveled out. Vrell bumped into Peripaso, who had stopped. She jumped and fought back a scream.
“Feel.” His wrinkled hand patted Vrell’s shoulder, down her arm, and stopped at her wrist. He drew her hand against the stone of the passageway. It slid along, and then fell away. A side tunnel. “This one run down to the Lebab Inlet. Take almost a week to crawl through here. You could always go this way. Though it makes better sense to fix your boat and take the river. Besides, your giant friend won’t fit up here.”
All the way to the Lebab Inlet? Vrell’s mind ticked off possibilities. If she could take the tunnels, she could escape from the knights, Khai, especially. She could stay hidden from the prince and the ebens. She could talk to Mother. “Can you go to Walden’s Watch through there?” If she could get back there, she would ask Mitt to hide her until Lady Coraline’s return.
“Sure. Can even climb your way as far as ArokLake.”
Vrell’s heart raced. Maybe she could sneak away. If Peripaso would show her the right tunnel…
Something grabbed Vrell’s hand and she gasped and swatted at it.
“Is jest me now.” Peripaso pulled her hand along the rock to the right until she could feel a small opening. “Passed by this one hundred times ’fore I found it. Takes me right to Xulon’s dungeons.” He released Vrell’s hand.
“Who built all these tunnels?”
“They say King Granton I had the heart of his granddaddy, King Trevyn the Explorer. But ol’ King Trevyn discovered pretty much all there is in Er’Rets, so King Granton found new places to explore. He liked the idea of being able to sneak his men up to jest ’bout anywhere too.”
She heard his steps scratching away and stayed close behind, occasionally smacking her hands or head on the invisible rock. Not being able to see him brought stabs of fear. She sought out his mind.
Seven…eight…nine…ten…left. Six more paces to the fork.
Peripaso hobbled forward a bit more and stopped. “This fork will get you to the sea that lies south of NaharPeninsula.”
Vrell reached out with her hands, feeling for the hole. She would never venture into one of these tunnels alone, unless… “Could you tell me how? I am hoping to travel to Walden’s Watch.”
“You jest come from there, boy. Goin’ to Mahanaim, aren’t you?” There was a moment of silence in the dark, then, “You a prisoner?”
If you only knew. “Not exactly. I am being taken there for an apprenticeship.”
“Well, that’s promisin’, then. Few strays get such opportunity.”
But she was not a stray! Vrell groaned inside. She heard Peripaso shuffling onward and hurried along. “Why do you live down here…up here…wherever this is?”
Peripaso chuckled. “I’m also a stray, laddy.”
“But it is so dark down here. Life as a stray is not so awful.”
“Oh, I don’t mind dark.” He chuckled. “You know the story of King Axel’s death?”
“Of course.”
Vrell’s knees were sore from crawling on the rock. She raised herself onto her toes, but her back struck the ceiling. The most comfortable position was back on her hands and knees. At least the humidity had died down some, which also made the rocks less slippery.
“Lived in Armonguard at the time.” Peripaso’s voice faded some as he continued on.
Vrell leaned her shoulder against the tunnel wall and crawled after his voice.
“Met the king twice, I did. Worked in the falconry, mostly cleaning cages. My master was kind. Let me feed and hold the birds. King Axel had a gyrfalcon, finest I ever seen. Spent hours visitin’ that bird, takin’ it huntin’. Both times we met, he’s kind to me. Didn’t mind strays. Queen Dara, now she’s another matter. Look. We’s almost there.”
Something silvery glowed in the distance.
“Do you have a torch lit?” Vrell asked.
“Candle.”
“It glows brightly for a candle.”
“You’ll see.”
Peripaso’s crouched form took shape as it silhouetted against the silver light. He swung out of sight into the silver opening. Vrell’s heart pounded. She hurried forward and looked out. What she saw ripped the breath from her lungs.
A cavern with a vaulted ceiling, twice the size of the one by the dripstone tree, shimmered before her eyes. The walls rippled like the tunnel of the underground river, but instead of roots, this looked like ice. Yet the room was hot and muggy and smelled of smoke.
She could see the makings of a home below. A bedroll, a collection of cooking utensils, a fire pit, stacks of fabric, and tools. Vrell crouched in the opening. A smooth stone ledge tapered down to the floor below. A rope ladder also hung from the ledge as a way to climb back up.
“Slide down.” Peripaso scuttled below on the clean stone floor gathering things from around the cavern.
Vrell sat on her rear and pushed off. Her hair blew back from her face as she flew down the stone slide. She smiled when she reached the bottom. That was fun. She got to her feet and walked to the wall.
She ran her fingers over the shiny ripples on the wall. “Are they crystals?”
“Silver. Cave’s full of silver. Hot springs cause dripstones to form from the minerals in the soil. Nice, ain’t it?”
“It is wonderful.”
“Maybe you’d better not mention it to that little man.”
Vrell sniffed a laugh. “You are right. Khai would surely mine the silver from your home.”
“It ain’t much silver.” Peripaso twisted twine into a large ball. “Someone greedy enough could destroy the cave and not end up with enough for one goat.”
Vrell nodded. “I will tell no one about your home.”
“Much appreciated. Don’t usually talk to strangers passing through.”
“Well, Jax is kind.”
Peripaso shoved the twine into a burlap sack and grunted. “For a giant. I ain’t the most fond of ’em. Know they ain’t all bad. But I can’t help but think of ebens when I sees one.”