The darkness was warm, soft, quiet, and comfortable.
At least until someone started shaking it.
Aria's limbs were lead. Her brain was mud. She couldn't even begin to consider moving. But that was alright, since someone was moving her for her.
A sound cut through the darkness, a sort of deep, angry growling. At length Aria began to make something out.
"—Up. Get up. Get up. GET UP."
She groaned, and after a few seconds, finally managed to open an eyelid.
She immediately closed it again. "Go away, Jani…"
"Uh, uh. You said we would follow up on this as soon as possible. Well, now is as soon as possible. Get. UP!"
The words were spoken very quietly, but with a lot of emphasis. A candle was lit on the bedside table. Jani had Aria's left arm and was thrashing it around in an attempt to rouse her from her sleep. Dimly, Aria recognized that Jani was at least being considerate enough to avoid agitating her right side. Aria yawned deeply. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her to sink back into deep, blissful sleep. Her brain was putting up a pretty good fight, too.
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I need sleep. Go away…" She immediately started to drift off again, and Jani's increasingly frustrated remarks began to fade into indistinct growling sound again. Finally she felt Jani let go of her and quiet down. Thank goodness.
Then her eyes shot open as a deluge of ice-cold water assaulted her face.
"Ghaaack!"
Aria shot bolt upright in bed, and immediately Jani was moving to tug her out of bed. Again, by her left arm, being careful to not put any strain on her right.
Aria gasped as she was forced to wriggle around so that her feet were directed towards the floor. Jani was making a sharp "Shhh!" sound, and motioning for her to be quiet.
Aria glared angrily at her tormentor, but she at least consented to keep her voice to a harsh whisper as she stood up. "What? What in the world are you doing? What is wrong with you?!" Aria was shivering – not just from the cold, but also from fatigue.
Now that Aria was safely out of danger of falling back asleep, Jani just rolled her eyes. Keeping her voice low, she said, "You said we would follow up on the tip I gave you last night as soon as possible. Well, my father will probably be leaving our house for the mines within the hour. If we go soon, we can trail him."
Aria just stared vaguely at her until her brain jogged into action, connecting everything Jani was saying. Finally, she remembered everything they had talked about last night, and she groaned softly. "Jani, I'm not doing this. I'm done. I mean, come on…I'm injured! Tarek can help you, or Alder. Heck, I know someone else, her name is Tal, she can go with you tomorrow…" She didn't want to play this card, but at this point she was almost willing to risk Jani's life if it meant getting back into her warm bed for just a few more hours of sleep. "Heck, you can go by yourself if it's really that important. I don't care. Just…"
She trailed off, looking desperately at Jani, willing her to understand. She was done. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. She was not going to go running around, sticking her hand into potential wasps' nests, waiting to get stung by who knew what else.
Jani's gaze was unyielding. It was the sort of look that said, I don't care how you feel, I don't care what you think; you're gonna to do what I say, or you're gonna regret it.
They stared each other down.
All Aria wanted was to crawl back into bed and rest her aching everything, but she found that was easier said than done. Looking into Jani's eyes, she remembered part of their argument last night.
Why aren't you doing anything to stop this?
At the time, she had been angry at Jani's accusation. Surely she had done enough already?
But now she was forced to face the fact that it wasn't only indignant anger she had felt. At least part of it had been borne of guilt. Although Aria knew Jani's accusation had been largely unfounded, that she had done nothing but try to help since she had gotten there, she knew that deep down, if she'd had a choice, she would have turned tail and fled the moment she had stepped foot on Denduron.
And now, here she was, complaining about not getting enough sleep, while Jani's entire life – everything she had ever known, or ever would know – was in jeopardy.
Finally, Aria looked away. Jani snorted, and walked out of the room. For one joyful moment Aria thought that she had given up, but a moment later Jani walked back in with some fresh, clean leathers. She was already dressed and ready to go, but she shoved the clothes into Aria's protesting arms.
Aria sighed and readied to change out of her torn, blood-soaked leathers.
Jani sat there, looking bored. She didn't bother to turn around. Aria fidgeted a bit. "Um, you want to turn around while I get changed?"
Jani snorted. "Why?"
Aria sighed. She had never been comfortable changing in front of other people, even though she had been doing it for years in the girls' locker rooms, both at Del Aurum and her gymnastics place. Aria just stared at her, unmoving. Finally Jani rolled her eyes heavily and turned around while Aria finished changing.
"Thanks. Okay, let me leave a note for Alder and Tarek…"
Jani snorted. "Hurry. You took your sweet time getting up, so we may be late already."
Aria glanced out the window. It was still pitch black outside. "How can you even tell? It still looks just like it did when we went to bed! How did you even manage to wake yourself up?"
Jani just narrowed her eyes and said, "I just did. Obviously. How do you get yourself up in the mornings?"
Aria wasn't about to say, with a digital alarm clock that plays Beethoven Virus by Spatial Jaguar, nor was she about to say, by thrashing around like a dying fish until I hit something because my night terrors won't let me sleep, so instead she opted for silence.
Picking up the candle by her bedside, she brought it over to the table that she and Tarek and written their journals on the previous night. Grabbing a piece of paper that hadn't been used already, she snatched up her quill, wetted it with her tongue, dipped it in the inkwell and scrawled out a fast note.
Out with Jani. Following up on a lead. Sorry to worry you. See you at sunset.
Aria
She turned around to see Jani tapping her foot impatiently. Purely out of spite she pointed to the foot, lifted a finger to her lips and loudly went, "Shhhh!"
Jani turned beet red and started grinding her teeth. Feeling slightly more cheerful, Aria looked around the room for her pack.
(The one that she hadn't tied to Saint Dane's face yesterday; that one was gone and she wouldn't be asking for it back.)
She grabbed it and slung it around her waist as Jani huffed quietly out of the room. Aria followed her, glancing around the small building as she headed semi-silently for the door. The establishment was small but neat, with many doors branching off from a main hall. She could only assume that Alder and Tarek were behind one of those doors. She hoped they wouldn't worry about her too much when they found her gone.
They walked softly through the corridor. She heard someone snoring loudly behind one of the doors they passed by and wondered idly if it was Tarek or Alder. There was no lobby or antechamber; they walked straight through the exit at the end of the hall into the cold night air.
The least Aria could say was that it wasn't freezing, nor was it too dry. She was a bit sensitive to cold, dry air. It made her heels crack something awful, and played havoc with her respiratory system.
Rather than follow a road, Jani took off down the side of the building, heading in who-knew-what direction. Aria paused for a moment, looking around warily for guards, but there was no one there. Fortunate, considering the increased patrols in the area.
As they crept through the still Denduron night, Aria couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Not only was it almost impossible to see where she was walking, due to the fact that they avoided areas with Tryptite lights, she was also terrified of running into a guard, even though she knew that the Bedoowan knights were mostly alright. They weren't supposed to be out at this time, and she had a stigma against breaking rules. It just wasn't her thing.
Oh, and there was one other thing she was worried about.
"Jani?" She whispered, her voice tight. "Aren't there supposed to be tons of dangerous animals out here? That's why the guard was increased, wasn't it?"
At first Jani turned back, looking at her contemptuously. Then a sly grin crawled across her face, and she said, "Oh, yeah. There are bears, forest cats, some giant foxes..." Suddenly a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "Oh, and the Bak'tu. You've heard of the Bak'tu, right?"
Aria shook her head.
"It's a giant beast that lives in the caves near the mountains. Great big curling horns, huge claws, slimy black hair all over its body, four sets of big, purple eyes, and a long, spiked tail. Everyone knows about it. It usually comes out a few nights a month, when the moon starts to wane. But don't worry, that won't be for another…"
She glanced meaningfully up at the sky. The moon was barely a sliver, and kept disappearing behind thin clouds. "Oh, well…I'm sure we won't run into it. I mean, what are the odds, right?" She grinned back at Aria before stalking forward into the shadowy shelter of another house.
Aria had a strong suspicion that the Bak'tu was probably something mothers told their children about to make sure they didn't go wandering around after dark, but she still felt a small shiver up her spine. She glanced around again, and nearly toppled over as her foot caught on something that felt like a protruding root.
Jani snorted, but fell back a bit. Aria was having a lot of trouble keeping up, both because she couldn't see anything in the dark, and because she was afraid of agitating her side. It was already stinging a bit, though it was still slightly numb from sleep. She didn't want whatever natural anesthesia she had going on to wear off because she had been too rough with her injury.
Although Jani kept grumbling quietly about going so slowly, she didn't rush Aria too much. Twice during their trip they had to slink into the shadows of a building while a Bedoowan knight passed by. Both times Jani remained totally calm, while Aria's heart pounded painfully in her chest. Both times the patrolling knights passed by without the slightest sign that they had noticed anything. Aria vaguely wondered how much experience Jani had with sneaking around at night.
Finally, after looking around to be sure there was no one around and no open windows nearby, she whispered to Jani, "How much further? It feels like we've been walking for an hour!"
Jani rolled her eyes again. "We're almost there, don't worry. In fact, my house is just around…"
She trailed off, and a moment later they rounded the building they had been creeping by. Jani pointed to one of the homes. It was difficult to see it clearly, but Aria could tell it was one of the smaller ones. It seemed to her that it could be quite cozy, but as the waning moon passed out of the clouds again, she saw that it looked a bit derelict. There was a vegetable garden in the front, but it looked as though weeds were encroaching upon it, and several of the plants looks droopy, if not completely parched. There was a tool that had been left to rust in the soil by the overgrown walkway, and it looked like the roof could use a little fixing up. All in all, it looked like a house whose residents were too busy to keep up with housekeeping.
There was one effect that made her smile, though. Next to the door, hanging from a rafter, was a thin circle of wood, the inside strung through with intricate patterns of thread or something of the like. There were strips hanging from the bottom, adorned with what may have been beads and feathers.
"Is that a dream-catcher?" Aria asked, pointing at the ornament.
Jani looked nonplussed. "You know what that is?"
"Yeah!" Aria quietly exclaimed softly. "We have those back home. I have one hanging in my room. My friend Kar made it for me…" She trailed off, thinking wistfully of her life back home.
Jani shrugged. "Yeah. My mom and I made it. Before…"
She trailed off, her gaze becoming abruptly distant.
Aria looked at her curiously, then felt a wave of unease pass over her. It suddenly dawned on her that no mother would be likely to allow her daughter to run around as rampantly as Jani did, nor to allow her home to fall into such an unkempt state. She glanced questioningly at Jani, who just glared sullenly at the door to her house.
Whatever the story was there, Aria was sure it wasn't a happy one. She watched her steadily for another moment, but stayed silent against the concern bubbling up in her throat.
They sat there for a few minutes, listening for the sound of approaching hooves, and watching the small building closely for any signs of movement. But there was nothing, and the stillness was beginning to feel oppressive. Other than a slight rustling of leaves from the nearby forest, it was totally silent.
Back at home, the night air would be alive with the sound of crickets chirruping loudly until the break of dawn. When she was young, Aria had believed wholeheartedly that it had been the sound of the stars twinkling. Her friend Kar (who absolutely knew better) had listened happily to this explanation, and had done nothing to debunk it. It wasn't until she had mentioned to Tommy how loud the stars were one night that she had realized her mistake.
She chuckled slightly at the memory of utter confusion on her friend's big, round face, and Jani turned to look at her. Aria zipped her lips, but had to work hard to stifle her giggles, which didn't seem to be petering off. It wasn't until Jani smacked her on the back of the head that she fell silent again, albeit still smiling slightly.
"Crazy…" Jani muttered quietly.
Aria opening her mouth to reply, but the words dried up on her tongue. There was movement at the door. She and Jani elbowed each other to get each other's attention, briefly glared at each other in annoyance, then pointed at the figure emerging. They stayed perfectly still as the figure slipped out of the door, laden with a large, ungainly backpack. He glanced around, and, as quickly and silently as he had appeared, vanished into the shadows around the back of the house.
Jani hissed quietly, "Come on," and took off running stealthily after the figure – presumably her father.
Aria took a deep breath, looked around to make sure the coast was clear, then started running after her. Jani was as quiet as a jungle cat, but Aria's footsteps left much to be desired. Thankfully, a slight breeze had picked up and their house was near the edge of the forest, so the rustling of the branches provided adequate white noise to mask her steps.
The man rushed forward, keeping just inside the tree line, darting back and forth between the trunks. He would be able to see any patrols approaching from the main road while still remaining almost invisible within the foliage. Fortunately, Jani and Aria were following behind him, not parallel to him, so while he was unlikely to see them unless he turned around at the right moment, they could keep him largely in sight.
At length Aria suspected she knew where they were going. Indeed, within a few minutes they had passed by the corner of the marketplace that just connected with the main forest – right where Jani and her posse had rounded her up the day before. It was silent, the tents dark and empty and the clearing deserted. Before long the man turned completely from the town and began making his way into the forest.
Jani glanced back every now and then to be sure Aria was keeping up. She was, but only just. Her side had begun to hurt fiercely again, and if the pace didn't slow down, she would be lagging behind soon.
Another few minutes and, just as Aria had suspected, they ended up at the edge of the clearing that marked the entrance to the mine she and Tarek had escaped down yesterday. Just as she arrived, taking care to slow down so as not to repeat the previous day's fiasco, the figure slipped into the opening. Jani was waiting by the edge, too, out of sight of the tunnel. When Aria reached her, panting for breath, Jani just motioned impatiently for them to keep going.
Sighing inwardly, wondering how much more of this she could take, she followed as Jani skidded down the small hill and made for the mineshaft.
The figure was just disappearing down a side tunnel a little ways in. He must have stopped just inside to light a candle or torch, because they could see firelight trailing behind him. Jani took off after him, and Aria followed, now clutching her side painfully. Her calves felt tight and tense, and her throat burned with the effort of providing her screaming muscles with oxygen. She was trying desperately to keep her breathing quiet, and not gasp, but it was a difficult thing. They managed to follow the light, each time being sure that the man had turned the corner before pursuing, but it was hard. They had no light, and it was getting steadily more difficult to keep up without bashing into a wall or stumbling over a stray cart track. Even Jani was being cautious now. However, they didn't need to put any effort into making sure he stayed ahead of them. He was doing fine on that front all on his own.
Now gasping desperately for breath, Aria turned another corner, lurched forward, and slammed into Jani.
Chest heaving, she said in a strained whisper, "What? Why are we stopping? Which way did he go?"
Jani was still. She glanced around and said, "I dunno. By the time I turned the corner the light was gone."
Aria responded by crumpling to the ground to catch her breath. After a moment, Aria heard Jani sit down next to her.
They were silent for a few more moments, then Jani started swearing in a quiet, heated, continuous stream. Aria winced. Only about half of the swears seemed to have English equivalents, but she got the gist of all of them.
Eventually Jani quieted down, and Aria's breathing leveled out. Too exhausted to feel much of anything, she asked, "Did you bring a light?"
Jani was silent. Then Aria heard the rustling of a pack, and Jani pulled something out. A few loud clacks later and a torch was flickering halfheartedly in the dark. Aria glanced around, not that it did much good. You've seen one rocky tunnel, you've seen them all.
They crouched against the tunnel wall for another minute or so, then Jani got up and said listlessly, "Well, I guess we should head back."
Aria stayed panting against the wall for another moment. She should have felt frustrated, angry, disappointed...Amazingly, she found that she didn't feel any of those things. Instead she felt strangely optimistic.
"Why don't we just keep looking? I mean, we've come this far. We may as well give it a try."
Jani stared at Aria incredulously. That was fine, because Aria's behavior was certainly meriting it. Her side had all but stopped hurting now, and she actually felt as though she had a bit of energy left in her muscles. She supposed she had hit her runners' high, and the endorphins were masking the pain of the injury. Or maybe it was the oxygen deprivation. The smart thing to do would probably be to retrace their steps and try to head home before the natural painkiller wore off, but hey, what the heck. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was a job left unfinished.
After waiting to see whether Aria was joking or not, Jani got up and gestured down the tunnel. "He went that way, but I don't know how far, or which way he turned."
They started down, now moving more steadily in the glow of the torch. After only a few moments they came to a tunnel branching off to the right. Aria pointed to it and said, "He probably went that way, if he was gone by the time you turned the corner."
Jani nodded, and they started down it. The tunnel branched off several more times and Aria, not knowing where she was going and not seeing that it really made a difference, picked and chose their direction at random. Jani seemed to be growing agitated, and Aria couldn't blame her. Although she was still feeling okay, the endorphin high was beginning to wear off. Her side was starting to ache.
Suddenly she pulled up short, and Jani barged into her. "What did you stop for?" She asked heatedly.
Aria pointed forward. They had come to the central mine shaft. Jani stepped around her and looked at it curiously, much as Aria had the first time. And also like Aria, her expression paled a bit when she realized what the shaft signified.
"Ugh," she said, looking slightly ill. "Let's get out of here. Which way?" She looked around nervously.
Aria had walked up to the edge of the mine shaft and was staring down it. Jani's torch spread enough light to see by, but it seemed to Aria as though darkness was leaping out of the hole, rather than light falling into it. She shuddered and glanced around her.
She frowned, realizing that she actually knew where she was. Come to think of it, he had been down here only yesterday. "This way; Tarek and I came through here yesterday. We should be getting near the exit."
There were five tunnels connected to this central shaft, but she was fairly certain she remembered which one Tarek had taken. She took off down it before she could second-guess herself.
They kept walking, Jani now following Aria, and the tunnels grew a bit more familiar, confirming that she had in fact chosen correctly. She strode down the tunnels, side aching only slightly; left, right, straight, right, left…
She was now following a long, wide tunnel inlaid with old, rusted tracks. The tracks carried on forlornly ahead of them, though there was a small tunnel branching off to the left.
She pulled up short, staring down the left-hand tunnel. Jani managed not to run into her this time, but still growled out, "What now?"
Aria held up a hand, still looking intently down the offshoot, feeling the stirrings of excitement. She recognized this tunnel – it was the one in which she had encountered the man the previous day. Could they be related?
"Yesterday, when I was walking with Tarek through the tunnels, I saw someone – a man – run down that one. Come on!"
With that she took off shambling excitedly down the roughly hewn passage, and a moment later Jani followed her. Aria figured that the odds were a hundred-to-one that she would actually manage to find anything – for all she knew, that path could carry on for a mile or more – but what was the point in giving up here?
She got to the end and turned left, following the path the man had taken. She got to another fork and slowed down. "Jani, hand me the torch."
Jani jogged up beside her and held it out. Aria grabbed it and dropped to the ground, holding the light over the rocky ground. Sure enough, the dirt was disturbed. Possibly footprints. They were very slight…but discernible. She felt hope bubble up in her stomach.
She turned down the right-hand tunnel and kept going. One more fork came up, but the prints were still there, and Aria followed them. Maybe it was still possible to find these mysterious Milago. She certainly hoped so.
Maybe if I can find these guys, that will be enough to let me live with myself when I decide to duck out.
Heart still racing, side beginning to throb painfully again, she slowed down as she turned the corner…
…And came face-to-face with a dead end.
Jani and Aria both stood there, staring at the flat, rocky wall. The spark of hope she had felt had vanished even more quickly than it had come, leaving her more tired than ever.
She took a deep breath, and let it out in a sigh.
Jani crossed her arms, a thoughtful expression on her face. Aria guessed she didn't get that look all that often, and didn't want to snap her out of it, so she remained quiet. No doubt once the confusion wore off, Jani would be back to her snarling, glaring self again.
Aria watched her tiredly as she stalked forward and started examining the stone wall. "What are you looking for? There's nothing here." After a moment she added, reluctantly, "I was wrong."
She hated to admit it, but it was true. The footprints, if there had actually been any, were probably old; there just wasn't enough air movement in the mine to have blown them away. But still, Jani persisted, running her hands over the rocky wall and going over it top to bottom. Aria was the one getting impatient now. After all, what was so special about a flat, plain wall of rock?
Then it hit her: Flat. Plain.
Other dead-ends she had noticed in the mine were somewhat rounded and jagged. This one looked almost uniformly flat. Hope threatened to flare up in her chest again, and she strode forward to hold the torch to the wall.
Together they went over the entire surface, inch by inch. Just as their efforts were beginning to peter off something caught Aria's attention. "Look – here."
Sure enough, at the right edge, Aria had found a small, irregular catch in the rock. It was angled so that their firelight didn't cast a shadow on it, and it was the same color as the rest of the rock. However, rather than just being a jagged dip, it was deep and felt smooth inside. "Hold this," she said, handing Jani the torch. With a quick glance at Jani, who was staring at her expectantly, she pulled as hard as she could.
Her right side immediately flared up in agony.
Oh, yeah. That.
She backed up, leaned against the wall perpendicular to them, and gasped. Jani let out an exasperated groan, and said, "Nice going, moron. You probably just reopened your wound." Then after a moment she asked grudgingly, "Are you alright?"
Aria just leaned her head back, clutching her injury. After a moment she nodded. "Yeah. Why…uh…why don't you give it a try…?"
Jani rolled her eyes and shoved the torch into Aria's hand. Then she felt for the catch, found it, and pulled.
The entire wall seemed to shift slightly.
Aria frowned, and said, "Is it heavy?"
Jani nodded, narrowing her eyes at it.
Aria thought for a minute. "Okay, well, maybe we can find something to use as a crowbar; if you can open it up just a bit, we should be able to use something as leverage to–"
She was cut off as Jani turned perpendicular to the wall, grabbed the catch again, planted her feet, and heaved.
Aria's eyes widened as the rock shelf rolled slowly to the left. Jani's entire face was red with the effort of moving it, and veins stood out on her neck and temple. Thankfully she only had to push for a few moments before the gap was wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
Jani let go, then leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Aria just gaped at her for a moment. "Holy crap, Jani. What do you do in your free time – wrestle the Bak'tu?"
Jani just shrugged, but she looked pretty smug. Aria figured she deserved it.
They stood there and caught their breaths for another minute. Then they looked at each other, grinned, and slid through the opening.
Aria had gone first, since she was still carrying the torch. She turned back to look at the ersatz wall. Although the front had been nondescript in order to blend in, the back had clear handholds and she could see some of the tracks that the door was set into. There were several small wheels along its inner edge.
The tunnel behind the wall looked the same as any other tunnel at first. Up ahead, however, it turned off to the right, and Aria held up a hand to signal Jani. She pointed forward.
"What?" Jani asked curiously.
"Light."
They looked at each other, then continued slowly forward. They got to the corner and peeked around it.
There were lights every seven feet or so, in small glass spheres imbedded in the rock. Aria looked back at Jani and gestured to the torch. Jani shrugged, and Aria smothered it. There was plenty of light to see by. Where had these people gotten so much Tryptite?
They started down the long hallway, making their way towards what appeared to be a large set of wooden double doors at the end. As they drew closer to it, Aria took the time to study the lights. One of them was very dim. She slowed down, allowing Jani to walk past her, and moved to get a closer look. She squinted at the fixture, examining it as closely as she could. The glare was still a bit difficult to look at directly, even if it was weak. Almost immediately, she realized something.
It wasn't Tryptite.
"Jani. Come look at these lights."
Jani turned back to her impatiently, but stalked over and looked at them. Then she frowned in concentration. "Those aren't Tryptite."
Aria nodded. "No, I didn't think so. What do you think…?"
That was when the double doors at the end of the hall opened, and they heard a man gasp in horror.
They both whirled around to face him. He was tall for the average Milago, though a bit slim. He had short cropped brown hair and strong jaw. It was the only thing about him that looked strong. He wore close fitting heavy leathers that covered almost every inch of his skin, and was carrying some sort of pouch with a fuse in his hand. His expression was one of shock.
However, when Jani turned to face him, the shock morphed into stunned recognition. "Jani?"
Jani just stared at the man for a few moments, then grunted, "Father."
Aria silently concurred. Not only were the proportions the same as the figure they had been following earlier, they also shared several facial features, the most prominent one being the jaw. The biggest difference between them was that the man was a featherweight. Jani looked like she could bench-press him without too much difficulty.
After looking between them for several moments, Aria stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Aria. Sorry to barge in like this, we were just…"
It suddenly occurred to her that they really didn't have any good reason to be here. At all.
I mean, what was she supposed to say? We're here to save the world? "…Um. Well, we're not here to cause any trouble." She finished lamely.
The man looked at her, still a bit anxious. Then their eyes met, and he seemed to untense. His eyes relaxed into cautious interest, rather than fear or suspicion. Was she just that unthreatening, or was it something she said? Either way, he didn't seem to be bothered by her presence anymore. She offered a smile, and he returned it. "Well, I must admit, I did not expect that anyone would be able to find us…My name is Steric. How did you find this place?"
Jani was standing quietly next to Aria with her arms crossed, still glaring daggers at her father, who was awkwardly trying to avoid her eyes. Aria decided to try and keep the conversation going. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Aria. We sort of followed you; Jani and I waited outside your house, and when you left we trailed you to the mine entrance."
She said this with an apologetic grimace. Most people probably didn't like being stalked. Steric, however, merely listened raptly. "We were able to follow you about halfway here, but we lost you a while back." She went on to describe the rest of the journey until she found the tunnel that had led here. "The only reason I was able to find this place was because yesterday I saw someone heading down that tunnel."
At this point he exclaimed, "Baran! He said he'd been spotted by a couple of children in the mines. And so close to the entrance, too. We've all been fretting non-stop!"
Aria grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about that. Don't worry though, no one's going to find this place anytime soon. Um." She suddenly cut off, realizing that she and Jani had left the door to this place wide open.
Jani snorted. The man looked at them curiously. "What's wrong?"
Aria glanced back nervously. "We sort of left the door open. Sorry, it was really heavy…"
The man started. "How did you even get it open? Normally it takes two people to move. One on the inside, one on the out."
Jani sneered, "Two scrawny chits, maybe."
Aria and the man both winced. Aria clarified, "Jani opened the door. I'm injured."
Steric looked at Jani in amazement and said, "Jani, you opened that door by yourself? You are your mothers' daughter."
They both looked surprised that he'd said this. Jani just looked away, and stared at the wall, her face hard. After a moment, her father glanced away as well. Then he seemed to gather himself and said, "Well, we should…ah…let's see. The door is open, that light needs changing, and you said you were injured? Yes, yes, alright. Come in."
With that he gestured to the doors, and Aria followed, Jani trudging moodily behind her. He glanced back to them excitedly. "Though you may have your own suspicions about this place, it is my belief that what I have to show you will exceed any of your expectations."
They got to the doors and the man straightened himself. With a nervous smile on this face, he pushed open the door and said, with a dash of pride, "Welcome, to what we hope will be the salvation of our people."