CHAPTER 14
Seven Degrees of Acquaintance
The Spring Fields were known to be picturesque, like out of a child's storybook, with blossoms in full bloom, butterflies fluttering above and a sky so clear no other place in the world could compare. It hadn't always been like this, though. The Spring Fields had once been nothing but a patch of unnamed land that was just as cold and frostbitten as the rest of Saison. But after a pact made between the White and the Heart families some years ago, things had improved greatly for the kingdom of ice and snow.
Set some distance within the idyllic fields was a tower made completely out of glass. One might think this somewhat impractical, but it was not ordinary glass. Nothing could shatter it, and all the magic in the world would simply be siphoned through it. For you see, the magnificent tower was made to be an amplifier for the being who lived within its walls and, as such, needed to be as strong as possible to withstand attack and the elements. To be quite blunt, it was Elvish glass, made from ore found only in Abel and blown and shaped into being by dragons, and could pass the test of time and endurance.
In the highest portion lived a being who was the current incarnation of the Higher Power, Spring. This person carried an inner light that shone as bright as the sun and brought the season of Spring wherever they went, negating the effects of Winter, regardless of the time of year. It was both a blessing and a curse, for although this wonderful person brought happiness and prosperity to others, they could only look forward to perpetual imprisonment until their dying years, trapped in the highest rooms of the Glass Lighthouse...
This was the landmark that Raddy had taken to, as there was no road on which to travel directly towards the Dwarf Mines, which the dwarves themselves kept well hidden from outsiders (with the exception of the White family, whose lands they were constantly digging up). Avund had told him that from the Glass Lighthouse they only needed to go exactly south for about thirty miles. Normally, such a distance by horseback wouldn't seem so bad. In fact, most would gladly walk that distance in less than an hour. But considering they were not traveling by road, the group heading out to the mines would have to ride for half a day or more.
They had left right after Wolf had laced up his new boots, to make sure that they would get to their destination before it got dark--mainly because the muddy fairy was anxious to find Snow as quickly as possible before she was moved again without their knowledge. Azrael had secured a third horse from one of the local nobles in Icicle Town, allowing them to put aside any worries about doubling up. The more a horse carried, the heavier the burden and the more likely it became that something would go awry. So it was that Azrael rode the lovely brown mare with the white spot on her long, elegant face from Saison, while Red was allowed the Elf's personal mount, for the lovely white horse was a very docile creature and would surely be the best for beginning riders to take on, and Wolf rode the other of the Elf's horses.
Not that Red was any sort of novice (he had been through enough scrapes to sometimes warrant the use of a horse), but it had been a while since his last ride on his own. But with a few gentle directions from Wolf (and him blushing the entire time; both from irritation and from something else entirely), he was able to ride alongside the others without too much trouble. Raddy, it went without saying, flew close by.
They arrived at the Glass Lighthouse a little before noon, and dismounted to take a small break and to collect their bearings.
"So," Wolf asked as he leaned his back against the tower, shielding his eyes with his hands to keep out the glare. "Which way do we go exactly?" The Glass Lighthouse was best seen during the night, when it was clear that the light it gave off shone from within, and was not reflected by the sun. The horses had their heads together and were grazing lazily together a few meters away from the lighthouse. Azrael was looking pointedly at anywhere but the tower to avoid having the bright light hurt his sensitive eyes, and Red was using the Elf's shadow to hide in. Raddy, who had his mask to shield him from the worst of it, pointed vaguely south.
"It'll get better once we move away from the Lighthouse. We just have to keep going at a straight line," he explained. A thought occurred to Red, and he opened his mouth to speak.
"But what if we--"
BONK!
"Ow!"
A golden ball, about the size of a cantaloupe, had fallen down as if from the heavens and thwacked Raddy on the back of his head, knocking off his mask. It then bounced and flew towards Red, who only just managed to intercept it before he was smacked in the face.
"Are you alright, Radamanthus?" Azrael asked in concern, while Red looked around wildly for the source of the ball.
"Fine," Raddy responded, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. Wolf stooped and picked up Raddy's mask. He handed it to the brown fairy, who accepted it with a tight smile of thanks. Red turned back to his friends just in time to witness Raddy replacing the mask.
"WHO THE BLOODY HELL THREW THIS!?" Red demanded loudly, more irritated than he would ever admit that he had only just missed catching a glimpse of Raddy's face.
"I'm sorry!" a voice called down from above. All four companions looked up as one to catch sight of a young blond man leaning out of a window at the very top of the tower. "I thought Odet would catch it, only he didn't--"
"Don't you dare blame me, young man! You know very well you're not supposed to throw that around in here!" interrupted the voice of another man.
"But I was bored," the little blond said, his voice just shy of a whine. "And Alex hasn't visited in a while..."
"Your brother visited you just yesterday!" the other man argued in exasperation. It sounded as if he had gone through this argument many a time before with the youth.
There was a brief silence.
"...Can I, at least, get my ball back?" the boy asked, voice meek, though carrying well down to those below who were listening in.
"And how do you suppose I should go about getting it back?" snapped the man. "The Lighthouse has no stairs; the only way in and out is through the windows and I don't particularly want to know at what velocity a human body can fall from this particular height. If you weren't so irresponsible, Rapunzel..."
"But my ball..." Rapunzel (Red raised an eyebrow at this, wondering how in the world he kept meeting up with people with bizarre names) said plaintively, looking down from the sill with a sad little face. Feeling sorry for him--he was only just playing and there really was no harm in that--Raddy plucked the golden ball from the baker's grasp and flew up to give it to the young man, who squealed with delight so loudly everyone within hearing distance winced at the volume.
"So that's the current incarnation of Spring, eh?" Wolf mused, shielding his eyes as he looked up. "Wonder why they lock him up there...wouldn't it be better if he were able to go around as he pleases instead of staying in one place? Can't be healthy for him..."
Azrael shrugged. "It's the arrangement the House of White made with the Hearts," he explained. "I do feel for the lad, but he doesn't really want for much...and it's no worse than the duties imposed upon princes and knights, really,"
"Hmm," Wolf grunted noncommittally. He knew he'd go stir-crazy if he was locked up indoors for more than twenty-four hours, and couldn't understand how anyone else could feel differently...but it wasn't his problem, so he put it out of his mind in favor of problems that were his...
"So we go south, Raddy? Don't we have more specific directions than just 'south'?" Red spoke up, bringing the discussion back to their original topic of where they were going.
"Yes, south. Avund said the Mines are impossible to miss if you just go south from the Tower."
"Uh huh." Red was somewhat skeptical, but he voiced no further objections.
The four companions traveled in silence after that, the three earth-bound men keeping their horses at brisk trots with the Fae flitting alongside. After an undetermined number of hours passed, Red could see that Raddy had been correct – the entrance to the Dwarf Mines was quite unmistakable, even from a distance. Structures of stone and metal that probably had to do with mining were built up around the place. They were very angular and jagged, easy to spot from afar. As they drew closer, the mouth of the Mine itself became visible. And the word 'mouth' described it perfectly, Red thought in trepidation. Stalactites and stalagmites sprouted in abundance from the opening, creating the maw of an enormous, hungry predator.
Raddy went right in without waiting for the others to dismount.
"Radamanthus, I don't think that's wise!" Azrael called, but the fairy either did not hear or chose to ignore his friend's warning. The Elf sighed and hopped agilely down from his horse. Wolf dismounted gracefully, and Red's knees nearly buckled when his feet hit the ground. Wolf reached out a steadying hand and grabbed his shoulder. Red glared up at him, expecting the silver-haired man to say something mocking, but he only looked concerned. He quickly modified his expression when he saw he wasn't being taunted, attempting a smile.
"Let us be quick, my friends," Azrael said, before he strode to the cavernous opening and disappeared inside.
"Hey, wait up!" Red called, and, swallowing down his misgivings, hurried to follow.
Needless to say that it was quite dark inside and it took the baker a few moments of stupidly squinting as he made his way down the path and into the mind proper, blinking his eyes until he got used to it. He found that, along the downward-sloping path ahead there was a light and vague shapes on the rocky, jagged walls. Many vague, large, eight legged shapes. Letting out a yelp of surprise he fumbled about, and turned, thinking to return to the entrance, but noticed that it was not behind him—nor to the left—nor on the right.
Why hadn't either of his friends thought before rushing in like that? Thanks to them he was lost in the middle of a mine! The baker recalled a similar situation back from his younger, carefree days where a living, breathing Snow White had blackmailed and guilted him into accompanying her, Raddy, and Azrael on a spelunking trip that had inevitably gone very wrong. He'd come out of that particular episode with a broken arm, several bruises, and a split lip—and not to mention on the bad side of Cuddles.
He wished he had his cape and his basket; they had been like his security blanket and favorite doll respectively. And he wished he had his long hair back, because Red felt so utterly out of his element now he wanted some old comforts returned to him so that he wouldn't feel so bloody disturbed down here. Even though he was (arguably) a grown man, he couldn't help the childish horror growing inside of him as he put one uncertain foot in front of the other, trying to find the way out.
Stupid Raddy. Stupid Azrael. Stupid—
Red froze and whirled around in place.
Where was Wolf?
"Wolf?" he called out worriedly, his voice echoing deep into the caverns. Where had the silver-haired man gone? He had been right behind him when he had entered the mine, hadn't he? The baker couldn't help the knot in his stomach as he failed to find the leather-clad man who was always dogging his footsteps. Freezing where he stood, he listened as hard as he could for any sound besides his own rather rapid breathing – the rustle of leather, the scuff of a boot, anything. However, moments of utter silence passed into minutes, and his heart was beating faster by the second.
"Wolf!" Red called again, on the verge of panic. He was by himself, in the dark, underground, and there were probably spiders. "Wolf? Azrael! Raddy?" His voice rose louder with each name he called, so by the time he got to Raddy, he was shouting. He was also starting to grow angry. He was lost in some Overpower-forsaken cave thanks to his friends, who were, for all he knew, enjoying a good laugh at his expense. Rationally he knew this wasn't the case – Raddy and Azrael would never laugh at him for something like this...and Wolf? Red was beginning to suspect Wolf wouldn't laugh either.
Fat lot of good that was doing him now.
"RADAMANTHUS! When I find you I am going to kick you in the KNEE!" Red shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the caverns for some time before diminishing away to nothing, then fading back to silence. Red sniffled, crossed his arms tight over his chest, and scuffed the toe of his boot on the ground.
He wasn't sure how long he stood there in the dark, planning ways to get even with Raddy for getting him lost like this, before he was startled by a small scraping noise followed by a quiet curse. He looked around wildly, but couldn't make out much more than dark shadows. He was beginning to think he'd only imagined hearing anything at all when a small light bobbed into his line of sight. He could feel hope rising in his chest.
"Wolf?" he called, not caring how eager his voice sounded.
"No wolves down here, laddie," a rough, unfamiliar voice returned.
"Who're you?" Red demanded.
"Given it's my mine an' not yers, oughtn't I to be the one askin' that?" the voice responded, sounding somewhat irritated. The little light was bobbing closer, and the shape of the man who held it was coming into view.
"Sorry," Red apologized. "I just followed my friends down here, and we got separated somehow..." And now I'm all alone, a tasty morsel ripe for the taking. He added silently. Overpower above, what had he just gotten into? He could only hope the owner of the voice was a curmudgeonly old geezer with a bad hip and brittle knees...though how he'd outrun him in the dark, Red had no clue...but maybe it wouldn't come to that...
"As if I haven't heard that story a million times before." The owner of the voice was closer than ever, and in the light of the lantern he carried Red could tell that this was no curmudgeonly old man, but a curmudgeonly young one.
"Really! I came here with Raddy – Radamanthus – we're looking for...er...Avund. Hey, wait a minute!" Red said as the young man finally came fully into view. He was probably over six feet tall, though he was stooped somewhat to accommodate the low ceiling that Red hadn't even noticed. His handsome face was clean-shaven, and his blond hair fell messily into his blue eyes.
He was wearing a red plaid kilt.
Red tried not to think about the very nice pair of legs that were protruding from beneath said kilt. "This is the Dwarf Mine! Last time I checked, every Dwarf I've ever met has been shorter than me – and that's an accomplishment in and of itself. When the Dwarves find out you've been claiming this place as your own, they're probably going to do something nasty to you involving pick-axes and hammers."
The man smirked. "Glad to know that rumor's been circulating. Always was one of my favorites."
Red narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Anger was overtaking fear once more – this man didn't seem too inclined to violence or other activities, and his smirk was getting on Red's nerves a bit. "And just who the hell are you, anyways? Answer me!"
The man simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to display that Apple-forsaken smirk on his fine face. He didn't seem at all fazed by Red's temper; in fact, his eyes seemed to light up at the prospect of watching the other male lose his cool in front of him. It was a gleam the baker didn't particularly like.
"Well, all ye had t'do was ask," the blond said in a mock-magnanimous manner, giving a swift bow. "My name is Vrede."
Red blinked at the name. He rubbed his ears and asked Vrede to repeat himself.
"I'm sorry…what?" he asked. "Did you say 'Fred'?"
Vrede's expression clouded, going from a smirk to a dark scowl. Apparently many people had problems with his name. "No, it's Vrede. Vrede. Emphasis on the 'Vrrrrrr'." The way the supposed owner of the mine said the beginning of his name was a sort of mix of the sounds of 'v' and 'f', with the 'f' being more dominant, which was why Red was having difficulty discerning the proper pronunciation.
"So…it's Fred, then?" Red said, feeling a little better now that he was the one infuriating the other. Vrede looked ready to explode at being called such a mundane-sounding name again.
"Do I look like a Fred to ye?" he demanded, trying to tower over Red in his anger, forgetting exactly how high the ceiling was, and knocking the back of his head on it. He swore colorfully in what the baker assumed was a foreign language, possibly Dwarvish, but Vrede had yet to prove his Dwarf lineage so it was only just a possibility. At the moment, the dark-haired man was seriously considering the answer to this question as he stared at the other, taking in everything about him from his rather aristocratic nose to his blond hair and choice in clothing.
"Your hair isn't red enough," he replied after careful thought, and felt very smug when Vrede smacked his forehead with a hand in annoyance.
"Alright, alright! Now that ye know my name, I demand t'know yers!"
"Red."
"I already know my hair isn't red enough," Vrede barked, his own bad temperament shining through. "Now tell me yer name. Or else!" Red, who was beginning to have more than enough of this foolishness, yelled at the top of his voice, because he thought it wouldn't get through this guy's thick head unless he shouted back.
"It's RED!"
"It bloody well is not!" Vrede replied. "Look, ye great simpleton, it's BLOND!" he reached up and tugged a lock of his hair as if to prove his point. He was glaring at Red angrily.
"I'm not blind, and I'm not talking about your hair!" Red responded just as heatedly. "My name is Red. Like the color. R-E-D! RED!"
"That's fantastic. And my name is 'Bangs-yer-heads-together-to-stop-ye-from-shouting-and-causing-a-cave-in-that-I-would-inevitably-have-to-clear-out,'" spoke up another voice, this one from behind Red. The two arguing men jumped, and Vrede banged his head on the ceiling a second time. Neither had heard the approach of the new arrival because they'd been so busy shouting.
"Like ye've ever done a day's work in yer life, Lat," Vrede said scornfully, rubbing his skull gingerly where it had connected yet again with the hard stone.
"That remains t'be seen," the new voice said indulgently. Red turned to look at the new arrival, and saw that he was just as tall, blond, blue-eyed, and handsome as Vrede, though his demeanor - from his relaxed facial expression to his posture - were completely different. That, and his kilt was blue.
"What are ye doing up here, Lat?" Vrede asked, scowling.
Lat made a 'hmm' sound as he walked over to the two rather grumpy fellows in the cavern in a leisurely fashion, taking his time. His eyes were practically arched up merrily, almost closed as he looked his comrade and Red over. This person seemed like the type to be happy about just anything, and possibly extremely air-headed if the way he spoke next was any indication.
"Weeeeell…" Lat began, slowly drawing out the word. "...I had left the cottage out in the woods nearby with the explicit task of seeking out a certain rectangular containment unit the size and width of which could fit a moderate amount of opaque stark liquid made of bovine extract mostly made out of mixed elements found anywhere with large plants with large girths that could make a giant look disastrously anorexic in comparison. However, after setting my pes upon the winding road down into the dark depths of the mines after the allotted item given to me—I wanted a gentle whiff of that lofty, loamy aroma before setting off on a journey towards the land of dairy--I happened to peek in on something most casual onlookers would miss in the beautiful, moist and dank void that is the earth home beneath the surface that is our lovely, wonderful mines, which lead me to utter distraction and going down the wrong way for a ways away and away and away and then I fell down a shaft that never was, but existed nonetheless, and was left wandering for an extended amount of time, which would be equaled to less than quarter and a half, more or less, of a week."
There was a brief but profound silence.
Then Vrede groaned and slapped his forehead with his hand. "Ye got lost again, didn't ye?"
Lat nodded, beaming ever-so-innocently and cheerfully at his fellow miner. "Yes. Quite an impressive way t'go about it, eh?"
Red just stared. I barely understood half of what he said.
"Did ye at least get the milk?" Vrede asked, his voice weary and long-suffering.
"Not at all!" was the merry response.
Red felt a sort of kindred connection with Vrede when the tall, angry man sighed heavily, closed his eyes, and began massaging the bridge of his nose.
"But I know where I am now," Lat added when Vrede said nothing further.
"Are ye certain of that?" Vrede asked.
"Oh, aye," was the response.
"Then why don't ye come with us and we'll go find Avund?"
"That sounds like an excellent plan. Um," Lat seemed to hesitate.
"Yes?" Vrede asked. Red could hear the exaggerated patience in the man's tone, patience he knew he wasn't feeling at all.
"Who is this?"
"He's Red. Apparently." Vrede said shortly.
"Red? Oh, Snow's little friend?"
Bristling slightly at being called Snow's 'little friend', Red nodded.
"Oh! Ye're that Red!" Vrede looked surprised. "I thought ye'd be taller."
Red muttered something obscene under his breath. Lat gasped and looked scandalized.
"Right back at'cher, my lad," Vrede said with a smirk. Red scowled and thought more obscenities, very quietly, to himself. Vrede continued to smirk, as though he knew exactly what Red was thinking and was amused by it.
"Look, are we going to stand around talking all day, or are we going to go find Avund? Because as much as I've come to love shooting the breeze with you…" Red said after a moment, glaring with all of his might at Vrede, who seemed to be in better spirits now that Red was annoyed.
"Yes, let's go find Avund!" Lat said, his blue eyes widening somewhat as he dropped a bit of his cheerful demeanor. Vrede regarded him with an inscrutable expression for a moment before nodding once, curtly.
"This way, Red-me-lad, and watch yer step,"
"Watch your head," Red muttered back, eliciting a snort of irritation from Vrede. The two of them shared a mutual glare of dislike that lasted for quite a while, until it was—randomly—broken up by Lat.
"Red sammich!"
"Huh?" said Red and Vrede. They turned around in time to see the carefree blond jump up and latch onto the baker, cuddling him like an oversized teddy bear. Lat had a huge grin on his face as he held on tightly, rubbing his smooth cheek against Red's, inadvertently transferring some of the foundation make-up from Red's face to his. The baker and the tall miner stayed like this for quite some moments, and it soon became clear that Lat was waiting for something, after he turned his gaze over to Vrede.
"Well?" Lat asked.
"Well, what?" Vrede grunted in reply.
"Aren't ye going to join in? We can't have a Red sammich without someone behind him," Lat explained. Vrede crossed his arms and looked back defiantly, stubbornly refusing to join in on the group hug.
"Why should I?" he demanded gruffly. He should have known better than to pose a question starting with one of the five 'W's (they being Who, What, Where, When and Why—sometimes How would join the group, but very rarely) in front of Lat, for the man had a very bad habit of going on and on, talking about something that could have just as easily been said in one simple sentence--which was surprising, considering his usually lazy nature.
"Well….according to the latest study of the psychology department at the Hero's Academy in the Eastern Continent, experts say that the reason why most villains go down the deplorable, despicable journey of utter bad wickedness is because, since a very immature timeline, they (they being those inexplicably—yet explicably, if one takes into account these studies made upon the villain's inner psyche—mean and nasty people who like to do not nice things to someone somewhere in the middle road) had an extreme lack of the one thing we would all like to experience at least once in our lives—a simple, wonderful, ecstatic and broadening thing everybody calls Love." Lat stopped a moment and took a deep breath, before continuing with his lengthy explanation.
"And as such, we come to the conclusion that if these personae were to only experience the full effect of tenderness and affection, we would be in a happier, mentally healthier world filled with happy unicorns and flying pigs. But, in short, what I really mean to say is that each and every individual has a certain amount of emotional requirements which need to be filled, hence the word, and the best and swiftest way to fulfill these daily obligations to our blood-pumpers is through the ritual which involves circling both of ones biceps around the shoulders of another living being at least the number of times it takes to yell 'snake'!"
Finally done with his monologue, the miner gave a dreamy smile, which was followed by a pregnant silence.
"So…ye think a person needs three hugs a day to stay emotionally healthy?" Vrede finally said.
"It's been proven--" Lat began, when Red interrupted.
"I hate unicorns," he said, pushing Lat away. He stalked off down the tunnel for several paces to prove his point before turning back to the two miners. "Are you coming, or not?"
Vrede was regarding him with what Red was beginning to think of as his usual irritated expression, and Lat was looking at him like he'd just kicked a puppy.
"Ye…ye don't like unicorns?" he asked in a wavering voice, sounding very close to tears.
Vrede smirked. "Must be a virgin," he commented.
Instead of exploding as he would have liked, Red managed to avoid rising to the bait by silently counting to ten before speaking. "I fail to see what unicorns and my sex life have to do with finding Avund," he said coldly, glaring at the pair of them. Lat's woebegone expression disappeared as he was reminded of their purpose, and Vrede managed to look slightly abashed.
They continued on their way in silence after that; Vrede leading, Lat following, and Red trailing behind. As they went what felt like deeper and deeper into the mines, Red pondered on the nature of his odd companions. They claimed to be miners, but they looked somewhat like elves - though not like any elves Red had ever seen; they were each far to masculine in build to be mistaken for elves. They were not human either, though, as their ears were rather long and pointy, like a Fae's. But they also weren't Fae, because the coloring was wrong. Red had heard that sometimes Dwarves mixed with other races and that, very rarely, Dwarvish children were born with un-Dwarvish traits, such as these two possessed. Could these two then be…?
Suddenly, he realized that that Lat had called him "Snow's little friend." Which meant that the two knew Snow, as well as Avund…and now that he thought about it, he recalled Snow saying something, all those years ago, about how her seven housemates were actually remarkably tall Dwarves and not men at all. Red had never had the opportunity to meet any of them before he'd been arrested, after all, and so it hadn't properly clicked until just that moment: Lat and Vrede were two of Snow's Dwarf friends!
"Say, yer know what?" Lat began, his voice breaking the silence around them, bouncing off the walls in resonating echoes.
"What?" the other Dwarf asked, patient irritation in his tone. By the sound of things the man knew exactly what was coming and was inwardly bracing himself for the dreaded, inevitable ramblings that were clearly imminent with the asking of such a question.
"Avund caught a swallow a while ago, as ye probably remember, Vrede--"
"Here it comes," Vrede grumbled, knowing there was no way to stop the onslaught of jumbled up pseudo-intellectual lecture coming his and Red's way.
"It's an Eastern Continent swallow, ye know, indigenous to open fields and forests where their main food sources—rats and snakes--are plentiful. Ye can tell it's from the Eastern Continent by the little yellow crest on its belly and by how much it is able to carry (and this little guy can carry quite a lot). Do ye know how much an Eastern swallow is capable of holding in its clawed feet?" By the end, the cheerful blond Dwarf had turned his attention towards Red, who seemed more receptive of his rambling than Vrede, who was quite familiar with all of this nonsense after years and years of hearing it and was concentrating on walking, annoyed at having to hear it all again. Lat looked at Red with big, expectant eyes, which, combined with the random question just directed at him, caused the baker to feel somewhat flabbergasted.
"Uh," was Red's intelligent response. Vrede took pity on him (for once) and gave out the answer, having practically memorized this particular lecture on the habits of Eastern swallows already.
"Two hundred pounds," he drawled, earning himself a beaming look from Lat.
"Exactly!" He chirped, while Red stared on in awe, not quite believing the tangent they had strayed to this time round. "The Eastern swallow -- or EostreHirundinidae -- is actually a well-known monster in that region of the world—one that any adventurer could stumble upon. Most budding heroes often face off with these little buggers their first day out--"
"How very interesting, Lat, but must ye always bring up the subject of Eastern swallows?" Vrede interrupted. "Honestly, it's all Snow and Överseende's fault...indulging ye all the time. Ye know what ye are, Lat? Ye're spoiled!"
What his fellow Dwarf had said seemed to cut Lat very deeply, so much that it silenced him for a while. He stopped walking, his expression like that of a kicked puppy as he looked at Vrede's back as it grew smaller and smaller as the man continued to walk on without him. Vrede stopped eventually, glanced over his shoulder and glowered at him, telling him that he'd better keep silent. But, as he knew, there was no real way of stopping Lat once he got to talking about whatever popped into his head. All the grumpy Dwarf could ever do, when it came right down to it, was to merely accept the inevitable.
In what was possibly the quickest recovery Red had ever seen (and he had often been the one to pull some of the fast ones), Lat perked up and continued on, much to his companions' chagrin.
"Eastern swallows are vicious when you make your first encounter, debuting in the world as a great, young adventurer, but once you've caged them they're rather decent little familiars. They can carry parcels, letters—people, if they're light enough..."
Red wasn't quite sure how much more of Lat's rambling he'd be able to stand as he went on and on about the uses of a bird that could carry a very small cow if it wanted to, and was very glad to see a light at the end of a tunnel veering to his right. He pointed it out even as he began to race towards it.
"I see a light at the end of the tunnel!" Red shouted to the others, who stared after him with matching stunned expressions, which quickly changed into identical looks of horror.
"No!"
"Don't go into the light! Ye'll die, ye will!"
The two dwarves kept on shouting after Red, who thought he was almost out of the stuffy mine and into open air. Oh, the frigid, unforgiving air of Winter! Well, Spring, since half of Saison seemed to be engulfed in it. There wasn't ever a time when he had missed the clear blue sky as much as he did when he was stuck in a cave with Lat and Vrede at his side. He only had a small stretch to go until freedom! Four meters, three meters, two, one--
"Ah!"
What Red had taken for the light of the sun outside happened to be a very bright lamp with a tiny sign attached to it written in illegible Dwarvish, which, were he a Dwarf, would have told him that he would soon fall to his doom. In perfectly plain Dwarvish, it read: 'DANGER: VERY DEEP DROP'. But as our protagonist is neither particularly short and stumpy nor in possession of a heavy beard and accent, he wasn't able to comprehend the warning, and was just on the verge of plummeting to his doom—had someone not grasped onto his arm just in the nick of time.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF APPLE HERSELF ARE YE DOIN', YE GREAT IDIOT!?" Vrede bellowed even as he pulled Red away from a doomful fall.
"TRYING TO ESCAPE WITH MY SANITY INTACT, NO THANKS TO YOU!" Red shouted right back.
Vrede would have yelled something else were it not for Lat thumping him soundly on the back in warning. "If ye're going to shout any more, wait until we're outside," he said firmly. "I was serious when I said I didn't want to clean up a cave-in." He scowled at Vrede first, then at Red. Surprised at the cheerful Dwarf's sudden change in demeanor, Red gulped slightly and dropped his gaze, contrite. Vrede simply glared at Lat and sulked.
"Now, why don't we try to behave ourselves for the rest of the way, hmm?" Lat said cheerfully after an awkward silence had passed, all smiles once more. He took Red by the arm and tugged him away from Vrede, who still had a grip on his other arm, and began walking him back the way he had come as one walks with a very small child. Red scowled fiercely but didn't resist.
Once they were back into the tunnel they had left, Lat let go of his arm and took the lead, walking ahead of him. Red hoped to every higher power that existed that the cheerful Dwarf would remain silent for the rest of the journey, and that the rest of the journey would be short, but was sorely disappointed when Lat began speaking again, this time rambling about the volatile nature of the deep-sea dragons that lived off the coast of the Draggo'nyte Islands far to the south. Vrede seemed to have heard this particular lecture at least once before, because he took to answering Lat's frequent, quiz-like questions in an impatiently indulgent manner, saving Red the worry of trying to work meaning out of Lat's drawn-out, rambling sentences.
It was probably a half-hour or longer before they finally exited their tunnel and entered a shadowy, fire-lit, high-ceilinged chamber, which seemed to be populated by several other tall, blond, kilt-clad miners, and…
"Raddy! Azrael!" Red shoved past Lat and broke into a run when he saw the backs of his two friends sitting amongst the Dwarves, eager for their familiar faces and intelligent, sane conversation.
"Red!" Raddy stood up to welcome his friend, opening his arms to embrace him, and howled in pain a moment later when Red kicked him hard in the shin.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Red shouted at his friend, fists clenched in righteous anger. "Running off without waiting for us and getting lost! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS!?" Of course, at the time he had been a little more worried about himself, but he wasn't going to mention that now.
"Sorry," Raddy muttered sheepishly, clutching his leg with both hands as though that would ease the sting. He hunched his shoulders defensively in case Red felt the urge to attack him once more, but the baker only huffed angrily through his nose, crossed his arms, and sat down next to Azrael on the rock Raddy had vacated.
A snort of laughter from one of the Dwarves caused Red to glare. This one was wearing a green kilt, and sitting on his rock with his left ankle crossed over his right knee, making Red very glad the chamber was as full of shadows as it was. "Sounds just like Vrede, that one," the green-clad Dwarf commented, smirking over Red's shoulder at the Dwarf in question.
"I DO NOT SOUND LIKE HIM!" Red and Vrede both shouted at the same time, offended. This caused everyone else in the chamber to burst into laughter. Vrede and Red both crossed their arms in an unintentional mirror of the other and glared round at no one in particular. When the laughter had died down somewhat, Red was nearly bumped off his perch by Lat, who suddenly tackled Azrael from behind in a gleeful hug.
"Azzie!" he exclaimed, snugging the Elf close. Azrael beamed.
"Hello, Lat!" he responded, hugging back.
Not long after that, a round of introductions took place, though Red wasn't certain he'd be able to remember which Dwarf was which (not counting Lat and Vrede, both of whom he rather wished he could forget). It didn't help that they were all blond-haired, blue-eyed, and ridiculously good-looking...at least to Red. The Dwarf in green was Avund, who they had all been coming to see - Överseende was the one in grey, Stolthet wore purple, and Girighet was in yellow. There was one more that was yet to join them, he learned, by the name of Åtrå.
Once everyone had made everyone else's acquaintance, Raddy and Avund (who seemed to be the unofficial spokesman for the Dwarves) began discussing in detail how they would go about searching for Snow, going over what they already knew, and confirming what had already been attempted. Red listened for a little while, but soon found his mind wandering as he became bored. Glancing around at all the Dwarves and at his friends, he abruptly realized something was missing.
"Where's Wolf?" he whispered to Azrael, trying to ignore his own sudden alarm at the man's absence.
Azrael blinked. "I don't know," he responded, concerned. Looking around, he took a breath to interrupt Raddy and Avund in order to bring the absence of their companion to general attention, but then paused and cocked his head, listening. Red immediately copied his friend, though he didn't hear what the Elf had for several moments. When he could make it out, however, he felt a little knot of anger form in his gut.
"--Must say, yer trousers are quite tight," he could just hear an unfamiliar voice say.
"About as tight as your kilt is short, do you think?" came the response, slightly louder and much, much more familiar.
"Oh, do ye think so?" the first voice asked flirtatiously. The conversation was clearly audible now. There was no immediate reply, but then the same voice continued, "Oh, stoop! Ye tease!"
"Tease? You wound me!"
By now Red and Azrael had turned to look at one of the side tunnels from whence the voices were emerging, Azrael's expression as curious as Red's was furious, though the baker was hardly aware of it.
The owners of the voices emerged from their tunnel, and almost immediately caught sight of the large group camped out in the middle of the large chamber. One was dressed all in black and had a green and grey muffler draped over his shoulders, and the other wore an orange kilt that offset his deep red hair. He carried something cradled in his arms, though Red was so busy glaring at Wolf he didn't register exactly what that 'something' was until Azrael leapt to his feet and shouted,
"Snow!"
To say 'all hell broke loose' is possibly an understatement, though it fairly accurately describes what happened next. Raddy rushed over to Wolf and Åtrå (for who else could it be?) and immediately began berating them both even as he practically snatched Snow's sleeping form from the Dwarf's strong arms. Azrael and all the other Dwarves crowded round the two new arrivals, each demanding attention and asking loud questions, which echoed and magnified throughout the cavern, making it sound as though there were several times the number of speakers than actually present. Through it all Red remained where he had been seated. He wasn't even aware he was glaring at Wolf until the man, who hadn't seen him in the crowd, looked round the cavern and spotted him. The silver-haired man had immediately begun to smile upon catching his eye, though his expression changed in a heartbeat when he noticed the look Red was giving him.
Bastard, Red thought, perfectly unmoved by the wounded expression Wolf was making. Averting his gaze from Wolf's unhappy and confused face, he crossed his arms and studied the toes of his boots, doing his best to ignore everything that was going on round him.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Kiwi's Note: Sorry once again for the delay in getting out our chapter! I think we're over the difficult spot of getting back into our groove, so hopefully the next chapter will come out much more quickly than this one did. In any event, we've set up a journal over on LJ where we intend to post updates on our progress, as well as any drabbles or ficlets we might write. Check us out at ironicoverpower dot livejournal dot com, if you're interested. )