295) The Salvation of Eden, Chapter 59 — The Hidden Base

It looked like a military encampment, tucked deep into a cavernous valley in the heart of the mountains. The valley was less than 500 paces across by Dominic’s estimate, and about a third as wide. A river ran down one side, emerging from sheer rock at one end, and disappearing somewhere under their perch, out of sight. About halfway across the cavern on the right-hand side next to the river, a wooden guard tower overlooked the entire complex. Two guards could be seen sitting high up on an observation platform; they appeared to be playing some sort of dice game to pass the time, not at all wary of intruders.

Below the guard tower, well back from the river, sat two cozy stone houses, like little cottages.

Half a dozen simple wooden rectangular buildings formed a row down the center of the cavern, at the end of which squatted a larger, square building. Between these buildings and the left wall of the cavern stretched an open space that had clearly been converted into a combat-training area, with a variety of targets scattered about, an obstacle course, and a sand pit, about the same size as their cave.

The sand pit was evidently used for sparring matches, as one was in progress at that moment. A man and a woman squared off, feinting, stabbing and slicing with wooden swords while half a dozen onlookers cheered them on.

The near end of the cavern, about fifteen paces underneath their ledge, was dominated by a large building that looked like a warehouse, a set of docks, and several rowboats.

There was no sky; they appeared to be underground. But at the far end of the valley, bright light shone from somewhere above, as though there was an opening in the rock ceiling, too far away for them to see. A copse of stunted evergreen trees grew in the lit area.

In front of the mini-forest, dominating the far third of the cavern, stood a huge statue of a spider, its body at least three stories high. The statue sat in the center of a circular platform of black stone, which was surrounded by a narrow, circular canal that connected to the main river, the water exiting through a second channel back to the river, making a “V” shape, with the spider statue sitting, in effect, at the bottom of the “V”. Short wooden bridges crossed the canal at two points, one leading toward the mini-forest at the far end, and the other toward the guard tower.

There was only one way down from their cave, a narrow footpath down the steep slope, leading to the near side of the warehouse by the docks.

Dominic pointed. “That one, the big one, looks like a storage building.”

“And it's by the docks, good for loading and unloading cargo,” Lenny added.

“Those must be guard barracks.” Devona’s eyes scanned the row of identical rectangular buildings. “And that sideways one, at the end? Maybe a mess hall?”

They watched the sparring match for a few minutes, then pulled back, retreating to the back of the cave. Gorb was beaming. “By d’Light, we found it! De secrrrret ‘ideout.” Spontaneously, he put his hand into the space between them all. Reilly put hers on top, and everyone else followed, all smiles and shining eyes.

“Master Blasters!” Lenny whispered.

Reilly giggled.

“Dis deserves a celebrrration!” he whispered. “I prrropose we 'ead back t’ Grrrok's, tell 'er what we found, an' den decide what to do wit' dis inforrrmation. Beforrre we take any morrre chances.”

He turned to Dominic. “I know ye want rrrevenge, Dominic. I unnerstan’, but we can’t just rrrush an armed camp. Let’s get ‘dis to de rrright people. Dat’s de best rrrevenge.”

Dominic nodded reluctantly. Clearly Gorb was right. They couldn’t just rush in an attack an entire armed encampment, although doing exactly that was what he most wanted to do. “Well…it’s a start. We’ll bring down this whole enterprise and bring the Hooded Man to justice. But I’ll be honest, Gorb; once I have a clear shot, I’m not so interested in justice.”

His face looked cold.  Kohra was startled; she’d never seen Dominic like this before. He added, “But getting the proper authorities to this place is the first step. As much as I don’t want to agree, I understand the logical necessity.”

“Uh, guys?” Kohra looked apologetic. “We can’t just leave. The Kobolds are still back there.”

“Damn!” Dominic whispered. He patted Reilly’s shoulder reassuringly, but the worry on his face was plain to see. “Okay, well, we need to rest anyway. Let’s wait a few hours, and we’ll scout the entrance later. As long as nobody comes through here, we should be safe.”

“We can use that Camping Wand that Galen gave us,” Lenny suggested. She smiled. “Invisible spies, how cool is that?”

Pulling it out of somewhere inside her cloak, she focused on the tree-branch. Nothing seemed to happen, but Lenny smiled, seemingly satisfied. “Hey Gorb, got any food?”

They decided to leave around dinner-time, and hope the Kobolds had given up by then. Everyone agreed.

* * * * *

About an hour later, Reilly motioned from the lip of the cave where she was keeping watch. “Pssst! Something’s happening!”

Everyone scrambled over to look.

A group of people, nine in total, had emerged from the little stone houses and were walking toward the spider statue.

  “They don't exactly look like spider-cultists. Check out their clothes,” Lenny muttered.

“They're merchants of some kind, clearly wealthy,” Devona whispered. “Three of them anyway; I’m not sure about the old man with the ponytail. And those three with the weapons? Clearly bodyguards.”

“What’s with the guitar?” Kohra asked, squinting down at the little party.

Devona shrugged. “Probably just a jester.”

Kohra squinted at the “jester.” In addition to his guitar, he also slung a rapier off his belt, and she could see the glint of metal under his tunic, like a mail shirt. The man walked with a distinctive elegance, poised, like a cat. He was no jester. But she didn’t say anything.

The curious crew crossed the bridge into the black circle under the spider statue. The merchants, plus the rumpled old man with the pony-tail, stood facing each other in an awkward semi-circle while the apparent bodyguards stood stiffly behind, each trying to look more intimidating than the others. The “jester” squatted, then sat, a few feet off to the side, hefted his guitar, and started quietly picking while the merchants talked. It seemed like they were well acquainted, although too formal to be friends. More like business associates.
Suddenly, they turned to face the forest, while the “jester” leapt to his feet and sidled over to stand by the merchants.

Out of the trees strode a stunningly regal woman, ramrod straight, gliding majestically, like a Queen. Gleaming white hair luxuriated down her back, frolicking suggestively around her shoulders, with dozens of supremely fine, intricately woven braids framing her face like a veil. Her alabaster skin cut sharply through the gloom of the cavern, bathing the others in her luminosity. A silky, shiny red gown hugged her body, making her look part Queen, and part seductress.

She gave a curt nod to the merchants as she approached, entirely ignoring the bodyguards and the jester.

Lenny audibly gasped, and Melkorn’s eyes practically bugged out. Devona admonished him with a biting, “Melkorn!”

“What?” he said, trying to look innocent, his face like a ripe tomato.

“She’s a Whiteling!” she whispered, disgusted.

Kohra looked sharply at Devona. But this was hardly the moment for a debate on the Races.

Of course, it WAS true that people disliked the Whiteling. Everyone she knew, indeed had ever known, disliked the Whiteling. Of course, she didn’t know any Whiteling herself, not personally that is, but as far as she knew, they had earned people’s prejudice towards them. A few times, she had encountered obviously wealthy Whiteling at the market, and they commanded a certain distance from others, as those from the upper crust always do when mingling with the general rabble. But despite her paucity of personal experience, she’d heard the stories. Everyone had heard the stories. And Kohra’s own people, their entire blood-soaked history and near-erasure from the worlds, was due to Whiteling greed.

While Kohra wallowed in her thoughts, Lenny clapped Melkorn on the shoulder. “Hells with that, Melkorn. Now THAT is a woman.”

Devona shot her a withering look. Lenny didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

Each of the merchants bowed deeply, holding their hands in a particular orientation, like they were making circles with their fingers. Kohra couldn’t quite make it out, and it was over in an instant, but it was clearly some sort of secret greeting.

The woman in red then turned and bowed deeply toward the spider statue. With a deep grinding whirr, the black platform split apart, sections unfolding into spider-like appendages in the shape of chairs. The merchants and the old man with the pony-tail all took a seat, facing the lady in red in a semi-circle, while the bodyguards and jester stood behind, watchful.

The Whiteling woman was talking. Kohra strained, but they were much too far away to hear anything. Her eyes wandered over the bodyguards.

The one behind the old man caught her eye first. She was clearly an Elf, and she acted different from the others, stiff, detached, like she knew she could never belong.

The bodyguard for the purple-robed merchant was an Earthborn, a hulking brute, possibly taller than Melkorn and half again as broad-chested. He rested one hand on a huge, spiked club, and scowled constantly, patting his stomach with the other hand, as though nursing a perpetual hunger.

The third bodyguard looked like the classic grizzled fighter: scale mail, a bronze breast plate, one gauntleted hand resting on a large shield he’d stood on the ground, the other on the pommel of a sheathed broad-sword. He was obviously past his prime for military service, and was now making a living as security detail for someone willing to pay his professional rate. His charge was a male Whiteling, tall and skinny, dressed in a dour all-black suit like he was attending his own funeral.

Then there was the jester. He was, by far, the friendliest of the bunch, smiling around at everyone like he was hoping they would all have a sing-a-long. His charge was a barrel-chested female Klliik. She wore outrageously decorated robes, glittering with gems, with a massive, multicoloured feather headpiece, half again as tall as she was.

Reilly tugged on Devona’s sleeve, pointing at the Klliik. “She looks amazing!”

Devona shrugged. “Tacky.” She shot another disapproving look at Lenny, who was whispering enthusiastically to Melkorn. The big man looked like he was about to catch on fire, and studiously avoided making eye contact with anyone.

The fifth chair was occupied by a Human woman, barely an adult, dressed conservatively in a grey, tailored suit, with a dark green cane resting against her chair. Devona elbowed Kohra, nodding at the woman. “Now there’s someone with taste.” Kohra nodded back, but had no idea what she was talking about.

What’s so impressive about a grey suit? That feather hat sure is something though….

The Human woman had no bodyguard, but looked as poised and confident as their host in the red dress.

A moment later, a young girl about Kohra's own age, dressed in simple grey robes, emerged from the forest, carrying a tray with cups and a teapot. She served each of the merchants efficiently, then promptly left, carrying the tray back the way she'd come and disappearing into the forest.

After that, it was just talking, drinking tea, more talking, some laughter, occasional raised voices implying a heated discussion. Then more talking. Every now and then, one of them would walk back to the stone houses with their bodyguard, then come back a few minutes later. “Pee breaks?” Kohra whispered. Dominic shrugged.

“What do you think they're talking about?” Devona asked to nobody in particular. Which meant, everybody. She had that look in her eyes, the one she got when she wanted something.

“Recipes?” Lenny retorted with faux-innocence.

Devona ignored her (although her clenched jaw suggested otherwise).

Gorb sighed, “Aye, what I'd give t’know….”

They lapsed back into silence, watching the proceedings, which were, admittedly, dreadfully boring from this distance.

Well, now’s the time. Kohra spoke up. “Hey everyone. Why don't we, you know, get ready and start back?”

“Leave!!?” Devona choked it out like it caused her actual, physical pain to even contemplate the suggestion. “We practically just got here! We don't even know what this is all about! We haven't even seen the Hooded Man! We know little more about him than we did before! We can't just leave!”

Kohra stared at her, incredulous. “And what do YOU think is going to happen the next time Hoodie, or anyone else, comes into this cave? Someone could walk in here at any moment! A patrol could be two seconds away from coming around that corner!” (She pointed at the large storage building by the docks). “We’re just laying here watching a tea-party. Come on Dev! This is crazy! There's an army down there!”

Devona nodded thoughtfully, as though she was actually taking Kohra’s concerns into consideration. “Yes! This is why we HAVE TO find out more. We're already in so far over our heads, we can’t quit now! Otherwise we’re…ducks squatting?”

“Sitting ducks,” Dominic murmured.

Lenny snickered. Devona was terrible at remembering colloquialisms.

Melkorn looked at Devona, surprised. “You’re a girl, Devona!”

Devona stared at him, confused. “Um, yes Melkorn, I AM a girl.”

Kohra squinted intently down into the cavern, counting the barracks, estimating the number of soldiers there could be, trying to wrap her mind around the sheer magnitude of what they had discovered. And, by extension, the magnitude of the danger they were in.

This is truly, truly, truly the stupidest thing we've ever done.

Dev motioned to the others to move back so they could talk more freely. After all, it was pretty difficult arguing through whispers. Reilly remained on watch at the mouth of the cave.

When they had relocated, Gorb spoke up first. “I agrrree with Devona. We’rrre herrre cuz ‘o d’Light. We need inforrrmation.”

Lenny cocked one eyebrow. “I think you just say it’s ‘d’will o’ d’Light’ whenever you want to get your way.”

The old Klliik’s face twisted with anger and he started to rise. “How darrre ye —”.

“Gorb!” Kohra hissed, pulling him back down. Lenny stared, wide-eyed and innocent. Gorb growled, but stayed down.

Dominic spoke up. “Kohra’s right. As much as I want to find out more, we already know enough, and there’s nothing more we can do here, realistically.” He looked apologetically at Devona. “I mean, come on Dev, we completed Gorb’s Quest. We found Hoodie’s secret lair. That’s what we said we were going to do, and we did it! I say we go back, tell Grok, and see what she has to say. Maybe we can get a message to Annuvin somehow, I don’t know. But if we stay here, we’re dead meat.”

Melkorn groaned, “Ohhhh, the meat back home.…” He looked like he would start drooling on the spot.

Gorb nodded reluctantly. “’Tis trrrue.”

Devona looked at Melkorn, hoping at least one person would ally with her. Melkorn didn’t notice, still thinking about meat.

Reilly stayed silent, still watching the cavern.

And then, she was gone.