Chapter 5
The world around Tamaru was pitch black. She could feel the stone walls under her hands and feet, and smell the cool, moist air around her mask. She could hear the scuffling of Taipu and Kapura beside her, and even the distant scraping of the Rahi trying to follow them. But her eyes picked up nothing; there was no light this far underground, so it felt like she was truly blind.
The small crevasse Taipu had found started to widen, and eventually they found enough opened space that they could stand easily. However, while Taipu was able to walk with ease without sight, Tamaru and Kapura continued to stumble on the jagged rocks. They only came to a rest once they could no longer hear the sounds of the Rahi behind them.
"So," Taipu said, finally breaking the silence. "We managed to escape, and we even got the Makoki stone. Not too bad, if I say so myself."
"You ever forget that we're now trapped in earth-tunnels, with no way to surface above," Tamaru stated darkly.
"Inconsequential," Taipu said. "All the caves and tunnels of Mata Nui are interconnected somehow. We just need to continue on and we'll eventually find another opening."
"That is perhaps an overly optimistic view of our situation," Kapura said. "I know that some tunnels do lead to dead ends. The single entrance we are aware of is currently guarded by the Rahi that we just fled; we cannot assume that there will be other ways out."
"Well, we won't know unless we try to find them," Taipu said. Unlike the other two, he sounded mildly excited. "It's been a long time since I've had a chance to explore natural caverns like this!"
"Yeah, well I prefer being able to see-sight when I'm exploring," Tamaru grumbled. "Not all of us can dark-see like you."
"Oh, I can't see anything at the moment," Taipu responded, and she heard him tap is mask. "My Ruru doesn't actually work like Whenua's; underground, even us Onu-Matoran need a light source."
"I don't suppose you have a lightstone on you?" Kapura asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Taipu responded. "We were just recovering from a lightstone shortage, so the supplies we were getting were going to other important sectors and not to individuals."
"I thought the lightstone mines reopened," Kapura said.
"I heard they did get through," Taipu said. "But, well, I've been away from Onu-Koro for a while, so I wasn't around to get a new one."
"Very well," Kapura said, and he fumbled with his pack. "I have a couple of Ta-Matoran candles I can use; they won't be as effective, but they can provide a minor light source for a time."
It took Kapura a little bit to retrieve his candles and cause a spark to light one of them. The small flame gave off only a little light, but it was enough for Tamaru, who could now gratefully see her own hands again, where she was still clutching the stone that had cause them so much trouble.
"Is that the Makoki stone?" Kapura asked, gesturing to the stone.
Tamaru nodded, and held it up for the Ta-Matoran to see. "We had just found it when Kavinika back-returned," she said. "But without your diversion-cause, we would not have had chance to seek-find this."
Kapura nodded. "Stow it away safely," he said. "Because I believe we still have a long journey ahead of us." He nodded at Taipu. "Please lead the way, Onu-Matoran."
"Gladly," Taipu said, rubbing his hands together. "So we came from that direction, and I can already see that the tunnels have split up a couple of times. Based on my sense of direction, if we head this way we'll be moving east, where we can hopefully hit more of the tunnels beneath Mt. Ihu and find a passage back to the surface..."
So they started their journey. Taipu took the lead, scampering through the underground tunnels with ease, and seemingly picking their direction with a sense of purpose. Tamaru and Kapura followed closely behind, as they tried to keep Taipu in the candlelight, but he often progressed too far forward and got lost in the darkness, forcing them to call out for him to return. But after hours and hours of walking, they had not found an exit. Taipu had a decent sense of direction underground, so he knew which way they had come and prevented them from doubling back too often, but he was not having any luck finding a route to the surface.
Eventually, they came to a rest in a spacious cavern. Taipu wandered off to check the edges of it, promising to not go too far, while Tamaru and Kapura relaxed in the fading light of the candle. Kapura had already burned through three of his candles, and only had one remaining. Once that was used, they would be stuck in the utter darkness again.
Tamaru sat silently, taking slow, steady breaths. Like most Le-Matoran, she was modestly claustrophobic. It was one thing for her to journey through the dense jungle, but to be entirely trapped in this underground world was very unnerving. It didn't quite match the same level as her vertigo, but it still put her quite on edge.
Kapura glanced over at Tamaru. "How are you holding up?" he asked.
"I'm good-fine," Tamaru quickly lied.
"I just know most Matoran have trouble handling being underground," Kapura said. "The confined space can be quite unsettling."
Tamaru looked over, her interest piqued. "Are you fan-no of being earth-under?" she asked.
"I do have a strong dislike of traveling through Onu-Matoran tunnels," Kapura admitted. "I have been on patrol on the underground highway between Ta-Koro and Onu-Koro, and do not like the feeling of earth being all around you. In the guard, we are taught to use our surroundings in combat, but that is very limited underground. I greatly prefer training above ground."
"You don't seem to be fear-bound right now?" Tamaru said. "How did you over-get being afraid?"
"It's not a matter of no longer being afraid," Kapura said with a shrug. "It's just being brave enough to acknowledge your fear but face it all the same. I will avoid being underground if I can, but if I must I will use my knowledge and experience and attempt to overcome the difficulties, even if some are merely my own anxieties. Having an Onu-Matoran guide also provided a good morale boost; nobody knows how to handle caverns like them."
"Face your fears, huh," Tamaru muttered to herself, her mind wandering. She had tried to face her fear of heights for a long time, to little success. However... she was always chiding herself for her fear, attempting to somehow drive it out of her. Could she instead apply Kapura's method; don't deny the fear, but recognize it, learn from it, and then face it all the same?
The candle light flickered as it neared the end of the wick. Kapura frowned. "This one has almost been spent," he said. "I have but one remaining; I do wonder if we can find a route out in time. I would rather not continue to walk about in complete darkness."
Tamaru nodded, as she watched the candle's flame flicker in a hypnotic method. However, something suddenly clicked for her. "What is causing the flames to flick-flutter like that?" she asked.
Kapura gave her a quizzical look. "Flames just do that," he said.
"Not like that," Tamaru said, standing up and sticking her hand above her mask. "It is being blown by air current; it is slight, but exist it does. I can ever-feel it."
"What are you talking about?" Taipu asked, stepping forward into the light. "I found a couple of other tunnels heading off, but I honestly don't know which to choose from," he reported.
"There is air blow-moving, and air doesn't blow-move underground," Tamaru said, excitement building. "Not unless there's outside-gap nearby."
Taipu nodded. "She's right! But I can't feel any air movement."
"I can," Tamaru said, pointing into the darkness. "It comes from that direction."
"Can we assume this is not the opening to the Burnak cave?" Kapura asked.
Taipu shook his head. "We have moved quite beyond that region; I think we've even climbed up in elevation, although we are still beneath the mountain so that doesn't say much. But the direction Tamaru is pointing is leading somewhere else; someplace new!"
"Then that sounds like a good lead," Kapura said. Just before the candle flickered out, he used its remaining flame to ignite his last one. "We have a short while before we lose our light; let us return to the surface."
They started off again, but although Taipu took the lead, he was now getting directional input from Tamaru, whose Le-Matoran senses gave her greater sensitivity to the airflow in the tunnels, and she used it to help guide them. They quickly found tunnels that led upwards, forcing them to climb across the rocks. As they went on, some of the rocks got damper, but Taipu believed that meant they were approaching the surface, so they pressed on.
Finally, they reached a flat tunnel with loose soil on the floor. Taipu bent down to inspect it in the candlelight. "This tunnel has been trampled much by Rahi," he said. "That is a good sigh; well used routes by underground Rahi generally lead back to the surface. Or at least Matoran dug tunnels."
Kapura looked relieved too. "Let us push on," he said. "Which direction do we travel?"
"That way," Tamaru said, pointing with confidence. The breeze was stronger now; she didn't even need to focus to be able to feel it. She knew there was an opening to the surface nearby.
Before the three could continue, Taipu suddenly held up his hand, quieting them. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.
Tamaru concentrated, and realized she could hear faint clicks coming from the opposite direction of the tunnel. "What is that?" she asked.
Taipu looked reluctant to answer. "Hurry up," he said, taking the lead. "Fast, but quietly. We don't want to alert a swarm."
Tamaru and Kapura were anxious of Taipu's sudden nervousness, and they quickly followed. But the clicks behind them grew louder and more rapid; something was following them.
Tamaru glanced back to see a shape move on the edge of their candlelight. It was a small figure, with six legs and a pointed tail. But it wasn't alone; more shapes started appearing behind it. And suddenly the tails began to glow.
"Run!" Taipu yelled. The three took off at a sprint, and not a moment too soon; the scorpion-like Rahi launched a small fire blast from its tail, striking the tunnel wall. Soon, more of the creatures were powering up their tails as they chased after the Matoran.
"What-be those?" Tamaru called, sprinting behind Taipu.
"Kofu-Jaga!" Taipu responded. "They were likely attracted by the light and heat of the candle!"
"Kofu-Jaga are not particularly fearsome," Kapura stated. "They are much easier to defeat than their cousins, the Nui-Jaga."
"Yeah, but the Kofu-Jaga travel in swarms," Taipu responded. "Even the Ussalry has trouble dealing with moderate size swarms; the three of us don't stand a chance!"
Even as they fled from the Kofu-Jaga, Tamaru felt her heart leap at the sight of light up ahead. They had actually found a route to the surface. Although she hadn't anticipated being chased by a swarm of fire scorpions on her way out.
However, as they burst through the opening, they saw that their situation wasn't much improved. The opening was along the edge of a deep canyon, with the sound of rushing water below hidden by a shroud of mist. There was a path cut into the cliff side, but it was narrow and jagged, with a deep drop on one side. Above them, the sun was just beginning to rise; they had remained underground all night long, and only returned to the surface as morning began on Mata Nui.
"We are on the eastern slopes of the mountain," Kapura stated. "I believe below may be the headwaters of the Hura Mafu River."
"I don't suppose Kofu-Jaga light-hate, do they?" Tamaru asked, glancing back.
Unfortunately, the Kofu-Jaga did not appear to be dissuaded by the sunlight, and continued to pursue the Matoran along the narrow path. But Kapura decided to go on the offensive; he darted forward and jabbed his pike at the lead Kofu-Jaga, impaling an eye. As the Rahi screeched, he swiped it aside and knocked it off the cliff; it disappeared in the mist and splashed down unseen into the river below.
"They can't swarm us on this narrow path," Kapura said. "We can continue to beat them back."
"Good idea," Taipu said, swinging his pickaxe and knocking another Kofu-Jaga off the cliff. "We're good just as long as they don't use their tails."
However, Taipu spoke too soon, and a half dozen of the fire scorpions launched blasts of fire at him. Tamaru just managed to yank him back in time to avoid getting him.
"Forget back-fight," she said. "We are faster at run-climbing; let us put distance-much between us and swarm." She avoided looking over the edge of the cliff, already uneasy with their position; she didn't need to further trigger her vertigo.
Tamaru lead the way down the trail as it cut into the cliff's side. It meandered along the canyon, but did not rise or fall much. The Kofu-Jaga were indeed limited in their pursuit; only two or three could crawl along the trail at a time, so the swarm was spreading out. But the canyon wall was also damp and slippery, and the Matoran couldn't move as fast as they would've liked. Once, Taipu nearly slipped and tumbled over the edge, but Kapura managed to grab him in time.
Still, Tamaru pressed on. Eventually, the path would have to lead them someplace where they could escape, or the Kofu-Jaga would lose interest. To her relief, the path was starting to widen a bit; hopefully soon there would be some place for them to flee where the swarm couldn't follow. But then there was a small cascade of pebbles falling from above, and Tamaru looked upward as a shadow dropped down.
The Burnak landed on all fours in front of the three Matoran, growling menacingly as it slowly approached them.