Glythery

Pausing for just one final moment the three looked back to where their friend had fallen; where now only a pile of ash remained with a black sword still lingering in the center. Giving a final sigh and mental shrug, Rhapsody turned to her son and husband, nodded once, and turned to climb up the staircase to the tunnel above.

Meridion moved to Achmed's side and helped him up, giving him support as the two began the climb the stairs. It was slow going considering the rough shape that Achmed was still in, but Rhapsody seemed in no hurry and was only a step ahead of her companions.

Reaching the top, Rhapsody stopped and turned to the other two. "Achmed, are you going to be alright?" she asked, suddenly concerned when she saw the sweat and exhaustion written on his face from just that climb alone.

"I'll have to be, won't I?" he grumbled. "We have to get out of here and I know that you would never dream of leaving me behind, so I won't even suggest it."

Rhapsody smiled a grim smile before concluding, "Yes, it would be a waste of your breath and energy to even bring it up, so you might as well grin and bare it." And with that, she took his other arm and placed it around her shoulders, lending him the extra help that he would need to make it out.

As they started down the first tunnel, Rhapsody found that again they needed some light in order to navigate by. Reaching down, she drew her sword ever so slightly from the sheaf, allowing a small amount of the flickering light to chase a few of the deep shadows away.

They continued on in this manner for several turns of the tunnel, none of them really knowing exactly how to get out of there. For some reason, it seemed that the lights that had previously lit the corridors were now out. But luckily, the opposition that had been there before was also missing so they made a fairly good pace.

After several twists and turns within the caves, it became apparent that Achmed could travel no further for the moment and they carefully leaned him up against a small rock outcropping before slumping to the ground beside him. They were nearly as worn out as he by now.

The three sat silently in complete darkness for some time, ears straining for any sound that might warn of an approach. Finally, when they were just about to relax for a moment, thinking no one to be about, a faint noise could just be barely heard. It was very small and would have gone unnoticed if they had not been straining so hard for any sound.

It started as a small scratching sound which later was combined with what sounded like sniffing. As the noise of whatever it was drew closer, Rhapsody touched Meridion's arm to signal that she was going to allow a bit of light and to be ready if whatever it was decided to attack.

Reaching slowly, Rhapsody placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. She could almost feel the presence now of whatever it was that was in the cave with them. She knew that it was very, very close. Quickly, she drew her sword a fraction of an inch, filling the cave with easy light.

At first, it seemed nothing was there, but then something moved right above Rhapsody's head that caused her to look up quickly. There, just above her head, looking directly down at her, were two glowing red eyes.

Rhapsody leaped up from her position and turned around to face this new opponent only to find that it was much smaller than she had thought it to be at first.

Meridion was up at her side in a flash as well, drawing his sword and nearly blinding all of them with the brilliance. The creature that clung to the rock in front of them froze and stared at them, seemingly trapped in between panic and wonder.

As Rhapsody looked closer at the small creature, she began to slowly remember seeing one of these animals before many years ago at the very first moot. The name of the creature eluded her but it was defiantly the same thing.

It had the same, almost squirrel like body, only longer and more lithe. The same pointed and cupped ears that moved very much like a cat's. The creature was covered in a downy soft fur which almost invited touching but was dissuaded when one noticed the razor sharp talons that it used to grip and cling to the rock. But the red eyes were what really caused her to remember this animal.

It had been at that very first moot and a single Nain had arrived ahead of the rest. Rhapsody had gone out to meet him as she had nearly all of the Cymrians up to that point. Perched atop of the man's shoulder was this small, furry animal, grayish brown in color and eyes of bright red. She asked the man what type of animal it was and he laughed as he reached up and petted its head. "Why this little thing? I thought all knew about these critters. This here is a Rylth," then the Nain leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "of course, you being a Namer and all would want to know its true name, Glythery."

"Glythery," Rhapsody spoke as she recalled the name. The animal stopped looking so alarmed and looked her directly in the eyes, raising its nose ever so slightly to sniff at the air once again.

"What did you say?" Meridion whispered to her

"Glythery. That's this animal's true name. It's alright, it won't hurt us. You can put away your sword now." And Meridion did just that, plummeting the cave into the much dimmer glow of Rhapsody's barely drawn sword.

"Well, we know what it is, now what?" Achmed asked from where he still sat against the cavern wall.

"I'm not sure, but I think this little one can possibly help us. According to the Nain that I learned of these creatures from, they are very intelligent and the Nain keep them as pets. They are known for helping lost children find their ways through the extensive Nain caverns. Perhaps this one can help us."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but we don't exactly look like Nain children Rhapsody. How are you going to get that thing to lead us out of here?" Achmed asked.

At that, the Glythery moved further down the wall and closer to where Achmed sat. He tried to lean away from it at it came closer and seemed to be looking him over.

Then, the animal seemed to make up its mind about something and ran down the wall and crossed over to Rhapsody. Before she was able to do anything, the animal had run up the outside of her pant leg and circled upward around her shirt to come to a perch atop her shoulder, just like the other had been on the Nain's.

"Well, it looks as though this one is going to help us after all," Rhapsody said, patting the soft Glythery on the head. She was surprised to hear it create a type of deep purring sound as she did this.

"It looks to me like it just wants a ride," Achmed grumbled.

With that, the little creature leapt from Rhapsody's shoulder, stretching its paws out as far as they would go, revealing a thin skin that canopied out between the legs. The Glythery glided easily from the Lady's shoulder to the cave wall a few feet away.

"Would you look at that," Rhapsody remarked. "I didn't know they could do that. That's just like an animal that lived in the great forest that my mother used to tell me about that the Lirin called a Glaucomy but the humans would call it a flying squirrel. Of course, the Glaucomy didn't live in caves or have red eyes but it could glide like that."

"Fascinating, really. But it seems that your new friend really is going to show us a way out of here, so might I suggest helping me up so we may proceed?" Achmed grumbled.

Meridion quickly moved to the king's side once again to help him stand.

And so they continued, the three monarchs stumbling through in the dimly lit cave, being led by a small animal that they knew little to nothing about.