Page 108 of By the Horns
“The ones that should be down here to light the way for humans,” Stork replies, putting a hand out in the darkness. “There aren’t any.”
He’s right. I’m so used to low lighting due to my excellent Taurian vision that I didn’t even notice. There’s normally an array of magical items scattered on high shelves or hanging from hooks along the descentto light the way down, and to provide lighting for the more trafficked tunnels. They’re small, unimportant objects like cups or paperweights or even children’s toys, but they save the guild quite a bit of coin on lamp oil. Normally the cavern is peppered with them, but today it’s empty. There’s not a speck of light down here except for what’s coming from far above at the top of the drop.
“It’s entirely possible that they’ve been moved to a more trafficked tunnel,” Master Jay says, his voice faint and growing stronger. “Twenty-Seven has been closed to exploration since last year.”
“And you’re just now pointing this out?” Buzzard huffs with irritation.
“Like you, I thought we were going to Seven.” Jay clears his throat. “And…I admit I have not been myself lately.”
Silence falls. I immediately feel guilty that I haven’t given more thought to how Jay is taking the death of his student and the failure of his Five. I’ve been so wrapped up in Gwenna that I haven’t noticed just how much Jay is suffering. I go to his side and give him a comforting slap on the back, which is about as close as a Taurian gets to hugging another man.
Jay stumbles forward in the darkness, and I have to catch him.
“Here, I’ll light a lantern,” Stork finally says. “This is starting to smell like a trap.”
“That’s funny, because I smell ratlings,” Shikra adds.
Buzzard grunts. “I smell them, too. Their scent is thick in the air. This begs the question: Who is it that wants us down in this particular drop that’s not being used and is full of ratlings, and why?”
I scratch at my jaw, wondering how much I should admit. They deserve to know, since we’re in the thick of it, I suppose. “I might have an idea.”
Everyone turns to me.
We stand in the sputtering light of an oil lamp as I explain about the thieves targeting the guild and the dead repeaters, and my role in all of it.
Jay looks affronted. “How did I not know any of this? How was it that I wasn’t informed that my students were under scrutiny?”
“How did you not think anything was awry when they put this biglug on your team and let him keep his name?” Buzzard gestures at me. “That didn’t clue you in?”
Jay clenches his jaw, and I feel bad for the man. He’s getting it on all sides. I step in to take the blame and put it where it belongs. “Rooster was keeping things quiet because he didn’t know if teachers were involved as well, since it has to do with repeaters. It was easier to keep it as a small investigative group.”
“But at what cost?”
I have no answer for Jay. If it had been a more widespread hunt—or a faster one—would we have lost Hemmen? Or would we have found even more murdered repeaters on our doorstep because the thieves knew they were being hunted? “Just know that the guild is taking this seriously.”
“Well, if there’s a gang of thieves, I’m guessing we’ve found how they’re removing their loot from the city.” Stork holds his lantern up and eyes the yawning tunnel ahead of us. “Easy enough to bribe a repeater in charge of the portals. Easy enough to sneak through a tunnel that’s out of use.”
“Unless there’s ratlings. Which there are.” Buzzard flicks the ring in his nose, his long ears twitching. “I can smell them everywhere.”
“Which means we know why they sent us down here,” Stork continues. “We’re either in the way of their plans, or they want their tunnel cleared out. Or both.”
“Something tells me we’re not expected to arrive back at the guild hall and tell everyone what’s going on,” Jay says in that somber voice of his. “If we try to make it back out through the lift…what then?”
Buzzard gestures at the open drop zone. “Too dangerous. If it was me, I’d drop something on anyone who tried to climb that rope.”
He’s right. “Then we fight our way through the tunnel?”
“Unless you know of a better option? We’ve got two ways out of here, and I’m willing to bet that they’ve engineered things to ensure we go the way they want us to go.”
“But they’ll be found out. Someone will come after us.”
“When? Who knows we’re down here?” Stork asks. “I filed with the guild that we were sending five in response to the request, but that can be easily removed from the records if there are repeaters working againstus. Which there seemingly are. Will your Five know how long a rescue mission takes, Jay?”
“It might be several days before they worry. They know rescues happen, just not how long they take.”
I rub a hand down my muzzle. Well, the good thing is that if we die, Gwenna will know. And if I die down here, at least I’ll be able to say my goodbyes, even if they’re done as a ghost. Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better.
“Let’s head in. We’ve got a skilled, capable group,” I say to them. “I don’t want to think of another Five coming down here hunting for us and getting slaughtered by ratlings. If anyone’s going to survive, it’s this Five. Might as well put it to the test.”
