Never To Return

Posted on 24 Sep 2022 @ 9:10pm by Rogue Nazri Arisant

647 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Once Upon a Codex
Location: Rivian
Timeline: Ten Years Ago

The wind out of the northeast was powerful and biting. To make matters worse for the young qunari running along a narrow, winding trail, it drove tiny pellets of sleet before it. Which wouldn't have been quite so bad, if he hadn't lost his cloak when the chase first started, five miles back. There was loose shale under his feet, which made running treacherous. One misstep and there would be no second chances. He would plunge to his death. This was a nightmare come to life This time the enemy wasn't some firey hounds from his imagination, this time the enemy was real. This time the enemy was his own people.

They were perhaps a hundred yards away, he couldn't be exactly sure, because he didn't dare chance a glance behind him because it would be too dangerous and with the wind and driving frozen rain it wouldn't have done any good anyway. There would be no waking up this time, no legs entangled in sheets, no smiling boy looking down at him afterward reassuring him and making him feel awkward at the same time.

He drove those thoughts as far from him as he could, they wouldn't help him survive, they wouldn't buy him his freedom, and they wouldn't help him escape.

He heard a panicked scream behind him and instinctively what had happened. One of his pursuers would never pursue anyone ever again. He should have been thrilled, instead, he was sickened. He'd paused when he heard the voice and was about to put one foot in the other and start running, but then he caught something out of his peripheral vision, he noticed an indentation in the wall, something that wouldn't be noticed by anyone not looking specifically at it would more than likely miss.

It was an entrance to a cave. Nazri didn't like tight, confined spaces, he hadn't since he was a young child, nor did he care for the unknown. But the known was baring down on him and he didn't have any choice It took more than a little effort he had to squeeze himself inside. Within seconds, he heard but didn't see a score of people run past the entrance. He had two choices, exit the cave and run back in the direction he came, or continue delving deeper inside.

He felt a rivulet of sweat trickle down his back and it sure as hell wasn't from the heat. It was pitch back inside. He shouldn't have been able to see, but he was. Not well, maybe thirty or forty feet, and that was a lot better than any of his pursuers. It would have to do. He blew out through his nose and started moving forward.

Swallowing down the bile that was rising in his throat, he pushed through his fear and moved down a side passage. His legs almost refused to function when he heard multiple voices and footsteps enter the cave. He couldn't run, there were too many stalactites and stalagmites for that, and there was too much of a chance that he might trip or fall through an opening in the floor. Sometimes the ceiling was so low that he had to crawl. But what was good for the goose, was good for the gander. And the gander was blind.

It took him five days to find his way out. Five long, excruciating days. He was out of food on his third day and water on the fourth. By the time he made it out, he was barely able to stand, much less walk. But his determination hadn't waned. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew where he was going. Dairsmuid. It was a big community there had to be someone who help him harness his magical ability. Could train him.

Besides, he had to see Kyle, assuming Kyle was still around.

TBC

 

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