Chapter 3

An impatient knock came from outside Kaiya's door. Kaiya put down the maps she was memorizing and took a short moment to straighten her attire before pulling open the door. A short unkempt man wearing the leather apron of a blacksmith stood in her doorway. Kaiya eyed the smith warily, instead of ash and burn marks that usually covered a smith's apron this man's apron was covered in mud and Kaiya even thought she saw a couple droplets of blood.

"Gentry told me to fetch you and bring you down to the lockhouse." The smith said gruffly without introduction.

"It's nice to see you too, Jarn."

Jarn snickered, "Are you coming? If not I'm going to tell the old man you said to piss off and then go back to my shop."

"Did Gentry say why?" Kaiya knew Jarn was as short on patience as he was in stature. The fact that he was one of her late fathers few friends was the only reason he was tolerating her less that immediate response. Jarn's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Kaiya stepped out into the hallway. "We'll walk and talk, that's fine." She said with a smile while quickly locking the door.

The grumpy old blacksmith was already outside the lodge by the time Kaiya caught up. He had stopped to let a cart go by and bristled in irritation when Kaiya, rushing to catch up, accidently bumped into him. Jarn gave her a glare before continuing on. "An Outsider came into town today."

All the color drained from Kaiya's face and her breath caught in her chest, "What?" The rest of their walk to the lockhouse was silent. Well, audibly silent. Inside Kaiya's mind was chaos, a rush of memories, screaming, and pain.

After a few minutes they reached the old stone walls of the lockhouse. Jarn placed his hand on the door's iron handle and paused. He looked at Kaiya and with as much comfort as a burly old blacksmith could muster he said, "He hasn't been bitten. You'll be ok."

Kaiya pulled herself out of her past and gave Jarn a small sad smile. "You're going soft in your old age smithy." She joked. Jarn grunted, the closest he ever got to laughing, and opened the door to the lockhouse. Kaiya stepped inside and the door closed.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the bright lively sunshine of the street to the dimly lit rooms and its dingy shadows. A soft wet nose pressed itself into the palm of Kaiya's hand. "Hello Hrafn." The giant black dog eagerly leaned against her leg, wagging its tail. She ran her hand down his neck and patted his side, "You're a good boy."

"Don't spoil him." An older man with grey brown hair and pitted face scolded from across the room. He was walking towards her his arms outstretched for a hug. "After you leave it takes several weeks for him to become a proper guard dog again." Gentry laughed at his own joke. "My turn for attention Hrafn." He said shooing the dog out of the way and embracing Kaiya in a giant bear hug. After a few seconds Gentry pulled out of the hug to put his hands on Kaiya's shoulders. "I'm sorry to have had to call you here. I thought you might be able to help."

Kaiya took a deep breath. "Jarn told me an Outsider came into town."

Gentry patted her shoulder once before grabbing a lit 3 candled candelabrum and a set of iron keys that had been laying on a nearby table. "Aye, one did." He began walking to a trap door on the far side of the room. He motioned for her to follow as he lifted the door and disappeared beneath the floor. Hrafn was looking down the hole after his master, whining softly. Kaiya patted his head reassuringly as she stepped onto the ladder's top rung.

It was 20 feet to the bottom of the ladder. The air got cooler the further down she went. The cavern was a good 15 feet long and 15 feet wide with a 10 foot high ceiling. It was all carved from stone and earth. There must have been an underground river somewhere beneath the cavern because there were always puddles of water wherever the floor was dirt instead of stone. The air was heavy with moisture and smelled of a mixture of moss and mold. Such a prison seemed so out of place here. What terrified the small town enough that they would fashion this giant grave of earth and stone. A shiver went through Kaiya when her feet landed on the cavern's uneven stone floor. She wasn't sure whether the shiver was from the cold air or the thought of someone being held in such a place. Gentry must have noticed her reaction because he promptly said, "I didn't like putting him in here either." He took one of the candles from the candelabrum then handed the candelabrum to Kaiya. With the one candle Gentry went around and lit several other candles that had been placed carved stone holders around the room. The soft golden glow of the candles made everything in the cavern visible but did little to warm the air or make the place less depressing.

There straight ahead of Kaiya, about 10 feet away, a figure lay on the ground. The man's eyes opened slightly as Gentry motioned towards him. "He came running into town, as they all do, shouting in a strange language and looking mad as a dragon." The man sat up as Kaiya and Gentry approached. Gentry went on, "Jarn and Blar finally caught the poor bastard, roughed him up a bit, and then brought him to me." Kaiya tsk'ed once out of displeasure at the mention of Blar. She was sure he was the one that had done all of the "roughing up".

"Oh don't go blaming it all on Blar." Gentry warned, "This fellow tried to pull a fast one on us and escape. Hrafn took him down though." That explained the man's blood soaked calf at least, Kaiya sighed in relief.

"Please, do you speak English?" The man's voice was low and rich, smooth but full of emotion.

"What did he say?" Gentry asked Kaiya. "He's been trying to talk to me for hours, yelling and screaming from down here."

"He asked if we speak his language." Kaiya answered.

Gentry smiled proudly, "You haven't forgotten it then? Ha, I knew you wouldn't."

The man's face fell. "Hehe, to you it must seem that I am quite mad. I must confess that I'm beginning to think I may indeed be. I keep seeing… him."

Kaiya stepped a little closer. His hair was brown with hints of sandy blonde, his face a long oval. His eyes, although a little small were a brilliant blue grey. Light brown stubble outlined his sharp jawline and created a barely there goatee around tight nude colored lips. Oh my good lord, he's Tom freaking Hiddleston.

Tom seemed to recognize her at the same time. His eyes lit up and very nearly brimmed with tears. A huge smile jumped onto his face as he exclaimed, "It's you!" Kaiya shook her head fiercely and backed away. Undeterred he continued, "I followed you through the door. What's happening? How did we get here? How do we get back? You must tell them to let me go! Please help me!" He stood and tried to approach Kaiya but the ropes that tied his hands were attached to the cavern wall and would only let him take two steps at most. As soon as he put pressure on his hurt leg he collapsed with a small cry of pain.

Gentry pulled Kaiya back towards the ladder. "What is he saying?"

"He wants us to release him." It wasn't a whole truth, but was it really a lie?

Gentry stepped in front of her, blocking her view. He looked her in the eyes, "You know what will happen to him if he stays here."

Yes, she knew, if he stayed in this town Tom would be put to death for being an Outsider. But for Outsiders in this world, there were worse fates than death. It's his fault for following you. If he's released, he can't stay in this world and your own life would be at risk if you tried to send him back. "You know who I'd face to send him back?" Gentry's eyes could no longer hold her gaze and he hung his head. Memories flashed through her mind, each striking her heart like bullets. Screams from her mother as she desperately searched for her children, fire, and her father's gold speckled eyes. "It's best if he dies here." Kaiya turned to climb back up the ladder into the lockhouse. The air down in the cavern was suffocating her.

Apparently, Hiddleston had seen her moving to the ladder and in desperation shouted, "I have your scarf!"

Whipping her head around Kaiya saw a piece of muddy silk clutched in his hand.