Chương 66: Escape from the Mine

Cuthbert swooped overhead, wafting a refreshing breeze on Aaron's sweaty forehead. They ran as fast as they could up the main corridor of the mine, jumping over the mangled, bloody bodies outside of the pit. Tim was now carrying Paige and running just as fast as the rest of them. His curse was gone, but he still had unnatural strength from where he had briefly mutated. The end of the tunnel was lit up by the faint purple glow of Selezar. Barking of commands from the men in the camp echoed down the shaft.

The mine was empty now. The campfire was smoking, but not lit. None of the guards remained, and there were no patrols. They were either dead in the pit, or chasing the purple Necromancer. Aaron knew that Thomas would have commanded them to defend him as he escaped the mine. Thomas was a coward, which made it easy to predict what he would do next—preserve his own safety at the expense of everyone else. It didn't take long to reach the exit of the mine.

The direct route was much shorter than the back tunnels that they snuck in through. Aaron felt like his lungs were about to explode from the uphill sprint. At least it was refreshing to breathe the cool night air, rather than the stale musk that fermented in the pit. Tim was cradling Paige in both arms. Her skin still looked dusky grey, but her eyes were open at least. She gave Aaron a weak smile before resting her pale, tired eyes again. It was a reassuring sight. They reached the entrance to the mine.

Aaron leaned against the wall and stifled a cough as he gasped for air. Tim looked like he'd only been for a gentle stroll. Peeking his head carefully out of the entrance of the mine, Aaron could see the peacekeepers off in the distance, chasing after the purple mist. Arrows and bolts of fire and ice flew across the sky, none of them hitting their mark, of course. The purple mist casually floated over their heads and off towards the western road.

Giddeon pointed towards one of the large tents ahead and gestured for them all to go. There were a few clustered together next to the collapsed jail tent. Aaron let Tim and Alex run first, but he followed closely behind. There were some crates smashed open with their contents scattered across the floor near the exit to the mine. He had to be careful not to trip on loose apples and bread as he ran. A few bloodied bodies were scattered across the camp.

Aaron jumped over one, which was so badly rended that it would be impossible to identify the body by their face anymore. Dark clotted blood had congealed in the deep claw wounds, like a black jelly. He tried not to look too closely, but couldn't keep his eyes away from the mangled bodies across the camp. If they hadn't run into the mine so quickly, that could have been him and Tim. He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on running to the tent; he didn't have time to get distracted.

Tim and Alex reached the tent first. They slipped into the gap between two neighbouring tents. The tents were about twice as tall as Aaron, so they provided good cover from the guards further off in the west. It only took a few heartbeats for Giddeon to catch up to them.

"Into the forest. Stay low. Travel south-east and create some distance from the road." Trusting Giddeon's experience and instincts, Aaron agreed and led the way. They walked through the forest away from the camp and the road. It was an arduous trek. Aaron was exhausted from the battle in the mine and freezing out in the night air. His sweat had dried up and cooled his skin to the point where he started to shiver. Tim didn't look much better.

He was clearly strong and had some residual supernatural enhancement from his former curse, but he'd been lugging Paige around in his arms for over an hour, and his shoulders were twitching under the strain. It was a miracle that Alex didn't complain after walking so long in the cold. This might have been the first time Aaron had seen him speechless. He considered teasing the bard, but figured it would only encourage him to complain more.

"We are far enough away from the camp. They can't see us from the road, and they won't patrol this far out. We need to rest," Aaron said. Giddeon grunted and threw his backpack on the floor, which Aaron assumed meant he agreed. He was just about getting used to his different grunts; it was a whole language in itself. Aaron and Alex bundled together some wood from the forest and placed it into a small clearing away from the trees.

Giddeon barely moved from his spot, but flicked his hand lazily and summoned up a dancing fire spirit. It bounced around like a hummingbird and finally settled into the pile of wood, setting it ablaze. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The warmth was instant. Aaron's muscles relaxed as he basked in flames. It felt so nice to absorb the heat, but the cold in his body was so deep-seated after the long walk that it felt like an age before he fully recovered.

There wasn't much time left in the night. Aaron laid Paige's bedroll out for her next to the fire, and Tim placed her down onto it. She rolled over onto her side and pulled her knees up towards her chest into a ball. Tim flexed his shoulders and spun his arms in small circles a few times.

"She'll be okay, right?"

"She will. She just needs to regenerate her mana," Aaron said. Giddeon looked up at him briefly from his dagger, which he was sharpening on a piece of flint. His frown intensified briefly before he looked back down and continued to hone his blade. A wave of guilt dropped into Aaron's stomach. He spoke with such confidence about her recovery, but in reality he knew very little about his powers, and they'd all been so close to death on a few occasions now. Tim avoided eye contact and looked down at his feet.

There was a sense of awkwardness and worry in the air.

"Let's get some rest. We can talk in the morning," Aaron said. Tim nodded and pulled a forced smile before lying down on his bedroll.

Aaron woke to the sound of thumping. There was a regular whack every few heartbeats. He used one hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he squinted and looked around. He was the last one awake. The smell of cooking meat wafted in front of his nose. His stomach rumbled in reflex. Giddeon was perched against a tree studying a map whilst nibbling on the leftover bread they packed back in the farmhouse. It must have been hard as rock and stale, but he didn't blame him for being hungry.

He couldn't remember the last time he had a good meal. Alex was standing up with his chest puffed out singing out into the open field. He kept stopping and repeating his lines, changing them slightly. By the sounds of it, he was writing a song about their adventure. Aaron hated that he found it catchy and physically screwed his face up, cringing when he heard the bard rhyme "undead" with "garlic bread." The thumping continued. Aaron looked over his shoulder to see Tim.

He was standing next to a young birch tree, about the thickness of his arm. He was chopping it repeatedly with the side of his hand. His palm was open, but his fingers were clamped together, resembling the shape of a spade. Paige was standing next to him, coaching him on his technique. Each chop sent a few splinters of bark flying off the tree. Aaron hopped up, happy to see Paige on her feet.

"Paige!" Paige waved enthusiastically and smiled at Aaron.

"You look great. I mean, you look in good spirits. How do you feel?" Aaron blathered. Paige chuckled.

"I don't remember much of yesterday, but I feel alright, I suppose. Tim told me you managed to wound the Necromancer. Alex has been singing about it all morning!" Aaron looked over at the bard and rolled his eyes, hiding his amusement.

"I did, but he's not dead. And I don't think he will make it so easy next time!"

"NEXT TIME!?" Alex said excitedly.

"This will make for quite the epic tale." Paige rolled her eyes as well.

"Does this mean you want to join the cause?" Aaron looked over at Tim, who stopped chopping the tree to focus on the conversation. He looked back and made an exaggerated shrug. Aaron took that as a sign that Tim wanted to pursue the Necromancer.

"We don't really have a choice. Who knows what he'll do if the Umbers join forces with him. And I don't think he will leave me alone either."

"What makes you say that?" Paige asked.

"Because he wants to recruit him," Giddeon said.

"He let you keep that staff as a gift." Aaron went to argue with the old man, but stopped himself. It's probably true that Selezar would have had no issue destroying the staff beyond repair if he didn't want Aaron to get hold of it. Perhaps Giddeon was right, and it was a bribe.

"Well, the joke's on him, because I intend on using it against him." Giddeon scoffed but didn't elaborate any further. He looked back at his map and traced his finger across the page.

"What about the bard? He stabbed you. Did you really ask him to do that?" Aaron said.

"I did. I would rather die than hurt you as some corrupted thrall," Tim muttered, looking down at his feet. Alex stopped singing and pulled at a button on his tunic.

"I have decided that I would like to travel with you. I know our deal was to drop me off at a coastal town to the east, but I don't think I can go back to my normal life after an experience like that," Alex said.

"A life of swindling, spying and backstabbing, you mean?" Paige hissed. Alex slumped his shoulders down and retreated half a step.

"I had hoped that I had proven my loyalty to you by now. I have come to think of you as my friends." Aaron frowned. He hadn't known Alex for long, but he was right that he could have sold them out for a profit on multiple occasions. He's also been invaluable in keeping Tim sane in the mine. He didn't want to think what would have happened to Tim without him.

"Tim?"

"We should let him stay," Tim said.

"Then it's settled," Aaron replied. Paige made a rumbling sound eerily similar to Giddeon's irritated groans. Tim and Alex exchanged a smile. Aaron didn't fully trust the bard, but it was warming to see Tim with a friend for the first time since he could remember.

"So back to the city then?" Aaron asked.

"No," Giddeon said, "we would be begging for death by going there now. Selezar is far too powerful. We need to lay low and gather our resources. We need to train for the battle to come."

"Then where do we go that's out of his reach? We have to assume that he's going to ally himself with Harrold." Giddeon looked up from his map and grinned.

"The Guild of the Risen Sun. It's time for you all to meet the other Necromancer hunters."