Gobbits 2

Grimith held his sister close in the relative safety of the hidey. She curled up against him as she cradled Snakey close to her chest. Anxia had always been so small, smaller than any other of the Räbchn her age. Grimith knew that he should retreat with her to safety. Everyone knows what to do when trouble comes. Scatter, head for the nearest hidey, and use the warren tunnels to head down to the Under. It was cold, dark and safe down there. All the Räbchn could gather together for warmth and comfort until the drums beat out the all clear.

Grimith was continually at a loss when it came to his sister. Anxia never seemed to know what to do when danger was around, and she took no comfort in being together with the other Räbchn. It should have come second nature to her. Sure, sometimes the others were extremely annoying. Especially Berit, who just didn’t know how to deal with teasing in good fun. Always turned into insults and fights with that one. But even Berit would put that aside and huddle up in the Under when danger was around. Not Anxia though. The only time she would head for safety was on Grimith’s shoulders.

All the other Räbchn were long gone, down in the Under and waiting for the all-clear. Grimith decided to take a pause and evaluate. He’d never been that close to a longbeard before. He needed to think before they got themselves in more trouble. At the moment he was just happy to be alive.

“He liked Snakey,” said Anxia.

Grimith looked down at his sister. She was curled up in his lap, the bone snake toy held lovingly in her hands. Grimith took a moment, perking his ears to make sure the longbeard hadn’t stomped back into the Kindernist outside the hidey. Hearing nothing, he whispered back. “Who did?”

“The longbeard,” said Anxia.

Grimith stifled a groan. Anxia was going to be the death of him. Frustration, annoyance, a trickle of angry fear and a host of other feelings flooded through him. The memory of the longbeard, looking over a gleaming ax with his intense, piercing stare, popped into Grimith’s head. He tensed for a second, but then let out a small sigh. He’d learned long ago that speaking sharply to his sister never helped.

“Longbeards are dangerous,” said Grimith. “Please stay away from them.”

Anxia looked up at him with her big, soft eyes. Slowly, she reached out and touched Grimith’s chest. “You like Snakey.” She said, and slowly pointed to herself. “I like Snakey.” Anxia, without batting an eye, slowly pointed toward the cave they had just left. “The longbeard likes Snakey.”

Grimith stared at his sister in disbelief. Without another word, she turned her focus back to the toy in her hands and started making low hissing sounds as she wriggled the tail back and forth. Snakey began crawling in and out of the spaces between them.

Borin Flintbelt had to blink hard to clear the dust out of his eyes. He glanced around the chamber, evaluating the situation before him. Two torches were set in a pile of dirt and rubble that blocked the tunnel they had just come from. Akim was cleverly crouched with his back to the light, peering into a wide crack that had appeared in the wall. Darrion was hunched nearby, greatsword and shield out, covering Akim’s flank. Darrion’s shoulder was to Akim, and his attention was focused on the original tunnel that led out of the chamber they had stopped in. Whatever trouble he had caused, at least the muscle bound human had a strategic sense about him.

There was a cold, blue light filling in the shadows cast by the torches. At its center was Medee, the young wizard. Next to her, mumbling in prayer as usual, was Corin. Borin stepped towards the center of the chamber, one eye shut against the light in the room.

“Borin, a moment if you will,” said Akim without turning. “I believe we have a choice to make.”

Borin quickly strode over to Akim’s side. As he passed, he looked up at Medee. Her young face looked alert but calm. Not typical of a young human.

“A eye to the way I came lass,” Borin said.

Medee acknowledged him with a quick look, and turned her gaze toward the small opening behind Borin. Despite being absorbed in meditation, Corin turned his body slightly to cover Medee’s blind spot. Borin stopped at Akim’s left.

“Find anything?” Akim asked.

“A sleeping chamber, no obvious exit,” said Borin, and before Akim could ask anything else he added, “I see you’ve found something.”

“It’s a secret tunnel,” said Darrion between clenched teeth.

“Darrion found a loose rock … at head height,” said Akim.

Borin looked up at the hulk of a man. “Clever,” he said, and left it at that. He peered down the new passage with both eyes open. A small bit of rubble was strewn across the floor, and a narrow passage sloped slightly down into the distance. It smelled of clean stone and dark, musty mountain. It also smelled old.

“Doesn’t seem like this is well used,” said Borin. “But I sense treachery here.”

“I agree,” said Akim. “And I believe the intent was to block our retreat. But were we supposed to be given a choice? Was this new passage intended to open when Darrion activated the terror tunnel?”

“Or was the collapse accidentally triggered when I found the secret tunnel?” Darrion shot back.

Without responding, Borin turned, reaching out to examine the stonework. The passageway had indeed been cleverly hidden. Aggregate had been shaped to create a thin shell that looked like solid rock. It was work well beyond crude tools. Borin suspected shaping magic. “This seems beyond goblin hands,” he said.

After a pause, Akim turned to face his companions. “We have a choice to make, as the way we came is blocked. Shall we try Darrion’s secret tunnel, or continue on our original course?”

“The time for a decision is now,” said Borin. Under his probing fingers, he had felt the faint thrum of goblin drums, but no more. The drumming had just stopped.