Cave Rats

Having made it to the shore nearest the gnome's entrance, Devrim and Gandr carefully slunk until they could find a spot to watch the entrance to the cave unobserved. The first hours were uneventful. Finally the two got comfortable enough that they began to whisper.

"How well do you know those tunnels?" Devrim asked.

"I have been through most of them. But it has been eight years since I last set foot in those halls." Gandr's voice was tinged with sadness.

"Is that where you were between our run-in with Cafer and you deciding to join spymaster Brinn?" Devrim had always been curious, but Gandr only ever responded that he was righting some wrongs.

The halfling gave a brief nod. "I freed as many of their slaves as would leave, and spent time looking for an elf that I left behind in the dungeon. I never found her. I hope she escaped on her own, but..." his voice trailed off.

"You cannot be sure," Devrim finished the thought. He patted the halfling on the arm. "Not knowing is even worse than bad news. You have my sympathy."

"Until I know for sure, it is an unfulfilled promise." Gandr balled his fist. He had done some terrible things in his life before meeting the Empress, and yet he felt far worse about abandoning that she-elf. The halfling could not put his finger on it, but he felt connected to her.

"Well, do you see anyone that you can successfully mimic?" The Emperor changed the subject.

"I do not sound like any of these gnomes. I haven't seen the one I was looking for. If that guy is not dead, I do a great impression of him." Gandr gave a small grin.

"Well if we do not see him, you may just have to take a risk." Devrim had only seen a handful of gnomes exit the cavern. Each of them staggered back from sunlight before heading off to complete their task. The guards at the entrance seemed bored even to the point that one of them may have been sleeping.

"Not much happens here," Gandr said as if reading his thoughts. "They are not expecting trouble because it likely nothing interesting has happened in the past decade."

"But you destroyed the other side of their caves, did you not?" Devrim recalled what Zan had told him about their time in the tunnels. "You do not happen to have more of those stones that burst, do you?" The halfling had used them to collapse the tunnels previously.

Gandr shook his head, "Those were the only ones I had and possibly the only ones in existence. I came upon them on one of my missions for the king and decided to keep them for myself."

'It was a nice thought,' Devrim sighed. "I hope the prince is in there," he muttered. "Or else we have come for nothing."

"Prince Alaron is in there. I have no doubt." The halfling pulled away from his companion.

"What are you doing?" The Emperor was startled by his movement.

"I am going in," Gandr stated. "We have learned all we can from this angle. We need a new one."

"Take me with you," the grey-eyed man said impulsively. He paused only to realize that he meant it.

"But you…you would be a liability, Your Majesty, no offense." Gandr grimaced. There had been no discussion about the Emperor going inside the catacombs of the gnomes' home, and the halfling did not like the idea. "How will I even get you inside?"

"You could march me in like a prisoner like you did with Zan," Devrim suggested.

"I do not think that will work. They are much more careful who comes inside since my little demolition act. They would be more likely to kill you than to let you pass." Gandr was trying to discourage the Emperor so that he could go alone, but he could see that is was not working.

The man quickly sought another solution. "Could you bring us both through the ground inside? Then we would bypass the soldiers altogether."

"What if we come up in the middle of a group or gathering. I cannot explain your presence." The burly halfling shook his head.

"Then you go through the entrance, and then find a safe spot to bring me in through the ground." Devrim's face was serious. He would not give up.

Gandr slumped his shoulders. "Fine," he agreed resignedly. "Go hide along the wall there." Gandr indicated the location. "And whatever you do, don't leave that spot."

"Yes sir." Devrim saluted him as if he were a dutiful recruit. The excitement of adventure was coursing through his veins. The Emperor took his spot along the wall far from the gnome entrance. Gandr assumed the visage of a particularly ugly gnome and walked proudly toward the guards and the hole.

The Emperor could not hear what was said, but after a few questions, the guards let him pass. Devrim thought that it might be his imagination, but the guards seemed to be shaking slightly by presence of the ugly gnome. 'Very interesting,' Devrim mused.

The Emperor waited tucked up in a corner by the ice barrier. It was still summer, but next to the frozen wall, it was bitter cold. Devrim reflected on the night he spent huddled against the wall clinging both to his life and to Aurora. He pulled a cloak around himself tightly to warm his frostbitten fingertips. Just when he thought that he could stand it no longer, the ground beneath him opened, and he plunged into darkness.

Devrim had no idea that he was claustrophobic until the ground swallowed him. Fortunately, the ride through the shifting dirt was short-lived and Devrim was thrust into the cavern beside Gandr before he had the chance to lose his mind.

"It worked!" The halfling exclaimed with a delighted smile.

"You did not think it would?" Devrim asked incredulously.

"I was not sure. I never tried it before." Gandr shrugged.

"What?!" The Emperor cried loudly. His voice echoed off the walls.

"It has never been my job before," Gandr whispered as he urged Devrim along. "And after I joined you humans, dragging people through the ground was not exactly a skill that I thought to practice."

Voices could be heard from every direction. Devrim's outburst, however justified, had caught the attention of those around them.

"What was that?" Someone called as they came toward the hall.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Gandr closed his eyes and focused. The halfling pushed the human to the wall and watched him disappear through the rock. By the time the other gnomes spotted him, Gandr was picking his teeth nonchalantly and scratching his leg. The other gnomes stopped short as they spied their ugly companion.

"Did you hear something?" One of them asked carefully. He prepared to duck, but Gandr only sneered.

"Of course I did, you nitwit. I got ears, ya know!" Gandr growled.

"Wh-what do you think it was?" Another of the gnomes looked around uncomfortably.

Gandr gave a wicked grin. "I know what it was." The other gnomes leaned back, afraid what the unpredictable fellow would do.

"Then…What was it?"

"It was a cave rat," Gandr told them, flicking his eyes to gauge their response.

"A c-cave rat?" The gnomes told stories about cave rats but no one could confirm if they were real. They were rumored to grow as large as a unicorn and liked to eat gnome-lets for breakfast.

"It was just a baby cave rat. I ate it to make sure it would not grow up. You heard its final scream."Gandr went back to picking his teeth.

"What about its mother?" All the gnomes began to back away and look frantically at the walls.

"That is why I did not chase you lot off when you came," Gandr responded. "You can help me fight her."

The ground rumbled and the gnomes looked past Gandr with wide eyes. They quickly scattered like rabbits.

Dusting off his hand, Gandr chuckled to himself. "Cave rats, indeed! Now let us go find what I did to the poor Emperor…"

Gandr was so immersed in his own thoughts that he failed to notice the large pink tail swish and disappear down the passageway.