Blowing her hair out of her face, Maria leaned forward, eyeing the Willen, and opened her satchel. The music box’s intricate carvings were hard to see in the dim light, which made it look like a plain old block of wood.
But the Willen recognized it.
His mouth hung open, and a conflicted look rose on his face, as if he coveted nothing else in the world at that moment, yet he was beyond terrified of the music box at the same time. He fell backward, landing in a pile of rolled-up rugs whose designs made Maria think of the Oriental style on Earth.
“Why do you have that?” Leroy demanded.
“What? The music box?”
“Yes.” Leroy gulped. “It’s evil. Designed by the Arachnids of the Dark Forest, enchanted by dark magic. I know all about it; it’s a trouble magnet.”
She chuckled. “You’re telling me. But so far, nothing I can’t handle. Didn’t know anyone else knew about it besides the Arachnids who want it, and the trapped villagers who want me to use it to get them out.”
“Oh, Maria, this is a dark artifact. Not many would have the courage to walk around with it as if it were a regular object. I’m afraid if I put it within my skin folds, they might rot and fall off.”
She tried to put that last remark from the Willen far in the back of her mind, which proved to be quite a difficult task.
“So we have a deal, then? You’ll help me get out of here and into the dungeon?”
Leroy nodded. He moved across the room, to the right, disappearing around a pile of boxes stuffed with straw.
Probably where he sleeps.
“Follow me, Maria!” Leroy called, sounding as if he had already moved a great distance.
She jumped at the sound of his voice and wasted no time in catching up to him. They went through another tunnel; this one just as small as the one before, but otherwise dry.
It’s the small victories that keep us going. Then again, I do have to look at the tail end of a creature I only just found out exists, on a world I’m only visiting for the second time since I was born. And that is not a pretty sight.
Soon, she heard voices. They weren’t very lively voices, though; she could tell, even through however many inches of brick separated her from them.
“Just around the corner here,” the Willen whispered. “But keep your voice low; the place is crawling with guards.”
Good, the more I’ll get to use my sword.
Suddenly, the landscape of the sewers changed. The Willen rolled out of a drainage pipe, also long-dry, and Maria fell out after him. It seemed like she fell forever. When she landed she noticed how the light turned a hazy gray instead of black like it was above. She lit up her arms again and stretched, glad to be out of the small space. Leroy pressed his back up against the nearby brick. A constant drip echoed around the vast space.
With his paws, the Willen waved her over and pointed around the corner. Maria’s hand went to the hilt of her sword. She heard gruff voices now—loud, and clear as a cloudless day.
“Cell check! One wrong movement and you’ll get a finger chopped off, understood?”
No voice answered in return.
The anger rose like fire in Maria’s throat. She gritted her teeth.
Leroy shook his head. “Terrible beings, they are. If I were a violent Willen, I’d do them in myself. Alas, I am not.”
“Luckily, I am…violent, not a Willen.”
Leroy nodded. “Now we must part, Maria. I wish you the best of luck on the rest of your journey and do hope for your success. I do not like avoiding these Dragon Tongue, but where the townspeople of Ashbourne might curse me or shoo me away, these Dragon Tongue wouldn’t hesitate to burn my flesh with their fire in the very spot they catch me.”
“Thank you, Leroy. Don’t worry; these Dragon Tongue will be gone in no time. I just need to get my—”
A bark cut her off.
Hope struck her like a lightning bolt. Sherlock! Thank God he’s alive.
Leroy must’ve seen how her eyes lit up, because he waved her on with his weird paws, and that even weirder smile on his face.
“Go, go, Maria. And for the world’s sake, be safe!” he whispered.
Maria plunged forward into the unknown, her own safety the furthest thing from her mind. All that mattered were the lives of the ones she cared about and the trapped townspeople she planned to save.
Chapter Five
Gelbus Cogspark had been in worse prisons since his removal from the Gnomes. The one he was currently sitting in, with its brick walls and small sliver of a window that offered a peek at the brilliant night sky, was like a castle’s throne room compared to some.
He was no dummy; he knew what the so-called Dragon Tongue wanted. But they were dumb. A Gnome could never spill their secrets. Their lips were sealed as tightly as the vault in which the secrets were kept.
Sure, Gelbus had been known to say a little more than he should when under the influence of a few drinks—which was why he was in a cell in some small, lakeside town, instead of in the cozy confines of the Light Elves’ library—but who wasn’t prone to that?
It wasn’t like Gelbus had actually ever spilled the full secrets. He might’ve hinted at one thing or another, but most minds were too dense to pick up on those hints—and it was against his DNA to reveal those secrets. He thought the real reason he was removed from his duty was because they flat-out didn’t like him.
The suckers.
He just hoped the next Dragon Tongue interrogators weren’t as dumb as the last. He had come right out and said he couldn’t tell any secrets…but had added on a ‘yet,’ mainly just to keep himself alive.
The longer they think I’m still of use to them, the longer my life will be.
From somewhere
