Chapter 313 – Traitors

Chapter 313 – Traitors

 

“Are you sure that is the best way? It’s a crack in the wall.” Kea climbed over a boulder lodged in the cavern floor. Her boots scraped off a strip of luminescent moss and almost slipped.

 

Raising her hand with the light crystal, she spotted three branching passages. Water dripping from the ceiling pattered on her shoulder. The ground had grown steeper as they left the cultists’ hideout—and hopefully toward an exit.

 

“That one follows the direction we were going.” She gestured to the widest tunnel.

 

Derrel rubbed his blond stubble with a stoic look. “The most straightforward way isn’t always the swiftest. Sometimes, we must step off the beaten path to reach our goals.”

 

Kea gave him a flat stare. “Stop with the nonsense. You’re just following your gut.”

 

“If you didn’t second-guess me every three seconds, I wouldn’t have to come up with made-up reasons.” Derrel scowled, raking a hand through his hair. “My Luck worked fine till now.”

 

It did not kill us…

 

Kea wiped the water off her coat. She had lost count of the number of arbitrary turns and damp tunnels Derrel’s gut made them crawl through, often when there was a sensibly dry passage beside them. Still, the mana density was falling; they were moving toward the surface, away from the Lake of Myst.

 

“We could already be out if we took a direct path,” she harrumphed with a glance back.

 

The hunched escapees trailing behind wore more mud than cloth. Their complaints had died down with their energy. It was a wonder how Flynn managed to keep them in a semblance of order and brush off their complaints patiently.

 

Fear and prayers had kept them going for the last hour—that and Kai’s tonics—but most wouldn’t get up if they sat to rest.

 

We must get out.

 

One thing she and Derrell agreed on was to never stop moving until they reached one of the Republic’s garrisons under the sun or moons—whatever the time was outside.

 

Kea eyed the cramped passage with a tired grimace. She finally got why people hated tight spaces. “We’ll have to squeeze to pass through.”

 

“Better than being dead.” Derrell hummed to himself.

 

“What?” She sharply grabbed his shoulder. It seemed forever since they saw any trace of the cultists, but she wouldn’t lower her guard. “Is there danger down the other tunnel?”

 

Those traitors… How could— Clenching her fists, she forced her mind to stay in the present.

 

Derrell shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

 

Kea suppressed the urge to shake him and pointed at the jagged passage. “How can you be sure we must go that way then?

 

“Because it’s the best way,” Derrell said as if she were too slow to understand simple logic. A gold coin with a strange effigy spun between his fingers—spirits knew where he hid it. “I even got three heads.”

 

You’re guiding us with a coin toss…?

 

Kea pressed her lips shut. It was maddening to hang their lives on gut feelings without logic, but they had few better alternatives. She had given up orienting in the underground maze. As long as they followed the upward incline, trusting Derrell or picking randomly was the same.

 

He hasn’t led us to a dead end yet.

 

Pinching her arm to stay alert, she headed down the narrow passage. They were still in a mana zone. She had spotted numerous beast tracks, though only skittish red critters crossed their path.

 

We must have gotten lucky. Oh, dammit…

 

Kea shook her head, raising the crystal light for the people behind. The tunnel’s low ceiling forced her to bend over, but the passage was straighter than it appeared from outside.

 

“How… how much longer do we have to go…?” A grizzled man grumbled. Weeks of imprisonment weighed even on an adventurer. Niel hung between him and Mari, pale but conscious.

 

“Can’t we… rest a little?” Another feeble voice echoed behind.

 

The murmurs and dragging feet scraped off her patience. It’s not like any of them weren’t tired, but complaining helped no one.

 

“We’re almost there,” Flynn moved at the tail of the group, offering words of encouragement. “Soon we’ll see the sun.”

 

We will.

 

Kea straightened her back. She didn’t know how to cheer people up, but she could lead the way.

 

One step after another, no space for useless ponderings. The tunnel stretched into the cold darkness, narrowing till her shoulders brushed the opposite rock walls.

 

“Next one on the right. As my grandma always said, right is the bestest way…” Derrell’s blabbered nonsense sounded almost reassuring.

 

I must be going mad.

 

“Wait. Go left.” Derrel stopped her at the bifurcation, his coin clinking on the rock at his feet. “Left is better.”

 

Kea turned back with an arched eyebrow. “Wasn’t right the bestest way? What’s wrong with it?”

 

Despite the dubious logic, he had never changed his mind before.

 

“Left is the safest.” Derrell winked with his strangely colored eyes. His smile looked a little strained, though it could just be the poor lighting.

 

Uhm… why am I even arguing with him?

 

She’d sooner find sense debating the sea currents.

 

“Left then.” She pushed aside a rock with her foot. The left passage was wider, at least.

 

They walked in unusual silence till another passage opened on the right. “Where next?”

 

Derrell stared at the piece of gold between his thumb and index, brows scrunched up as if listening. “Keep going left.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah!” Derrell nodded, eyes trained on the coin. “That’s our best shot.”

 

I’ll lose my mind listening to him.

 

Kea waited for the trailing group to catch up, meeting Flynn’s gaze with a tired smile.

 

“C’mon, we’re almost out.” She tried to sound reassuring, though it came out stern.

 

She gave them no time to sit down and climbed the steep incline. A little further, the rocky passage opened into a vast cavern. Thin stalactites dangled from the ceiling, dripping on a carpet of luminescent moss.

 

Kea scanned the space for beasts—it was clear. Fifty meters across, the cavern shrank into a single tunnel.

 

At least we don’t have to choose. The exit can’t be far.

 

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She was about to scout past the bend when Derrell spoke. “We should wait here.”

 

“What do you mean, we wait?” Her voice pitched into incredulity.

 

“Sometimes staying put is the best option,” Derrell said wisely, then added in a lower voice just for her to hear. “And I think they’ve surrounded us…”

 

Kea was about to ask who, but the who was obvious. “You— what?” She barely contained a shout.

 

How did they find us?

 

She couldn’t retrace their meandering path if her life depended on it. Did they get marked with a tracking skill, or trigger a trip enchantment? How did the cultists get ahead of them?

 

Unless…

 

They headed straight for the exit.

 

One group chased from behind, and one waited ahead.

 

“You knew!” Kea pointed a finger at Derrell, recalling his earlier indecision. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

 

“Whatever way we picked, we’d run into them. This one gave us the best chance.”

 

Rotten gods!

 

Her heart raced in panic and anger, eyes darting around for a way out—a solution.

 

The limping prisoners were already streaming in, staring at the illuminated vast cavern with naive relief. They had discarded their makeshift weapons to conserve their energy; less than a third would be useful in a fight, and just barely.

 

“How many?” Kea pulled Derrell aside. “How many are coming? And how strong are they?”

 

“How am I supposed to know? I’m Lucky, not a snobby oracle.”

 

You’re a damned charlatan.

 

“Then how are we supposed to survive?” Kea slowly exhaled to control her temper. A cool head was most crucial in an emergency—Caeden taught her that, and she would well use it against that bastard’s cult.

 

“Well…” Derrell scratched his stubble, still nonchalant. “This path gives us the best shot. That doesn’t mean our chances are good.”

 

I’ll—

 

Kea kept her arms at her sides to avoid punching him—only cold, rational thoughts were allowed. “Can you fight? Did you hide a weapon somewhere?”

 

He should have a knife if he managed to hide a gold coin.

 

“Not unless you count my charming personality.” Derrell’s bright grin dimmed a little when it met her glower. “You see… I’ve never been particularly fond of violence myself. Though I’ve heard my looks are more striking than a sword.” He wiggled his eyebrows.