A Narrow Escape Plan

Aurora groped around until she could find the source of the fresh air. A small hole inside the base of the crevice allowed the tantalizing breeze. The Empress got out of the crevice and lay on her side to get a better look. Unlike whatever the gnomes used to light their dwellings, this hole had no such brightness. The pitch black meant that she could not see how far back the hole went, but the fresh air on her face was unmistakable.

She pushed her fingers into the hole and pulled at the rocks to widen it. Sediment from the wall broke off into her hands, and she shoveled it out into the cavern. The hole was now bigger than it had been but not nearly large enough. She pulled out her knife from her cloak and dug furiously until the hole was almost wide enough for her body.

For once she was glad to be on the smaller side. Her mother had been called statuesque, and Aurora inherited her lean build but not her height. The near ninety degree angle between the wall of the crevice and the hole would be difficult to navigate as it was, but extra height would have made it impossible.

"Someone is coming," the centaur said. "I hope you are almost done digging." He had watched the Empress's legs sticking out and dirt come sailing through the air for a long while, and he guessed at her activity.

"Delay them if you can, please. I am almost done." Aurora's voice echoed.

"Ah, gentlemen, how are you this fine morning? Or is it evening? I never can tell down here." The centaur spoke loudly. Aurora worked with all her might, clearing the last piece of rubble from the void. She stowed the knife and crawled awkwardly on her side until her feet were no longer showing.

"What was that?" A guard said. "I saw something on the wall over there."

The following seconds were the most frightening as Aurora was sure they had seen her feet. And if they had not seen her feet, surely they could hear her racing heart.

"Yer always seein' ghosts," another replied finally. "We need to figure out how the girly escaped."

The gnomes went on muttering and Aurora slipped further into her hole, happy to hear their voices fade. The spot where the Empress found herself was very narrow, but she was able to stand. It was not deep either, which meant the only way she could go was up. Another breath of fresh air brushed her cheek. Without thinking about it too much, for Aurora was not a huge fan of heights, she began to climb.

This was by far not the easiest path upward and with trial and error, the girl realized that she needed to keep three points of contact with the narrow walls at all times. The walls were still crumbly and any misstep could spell her doom. The climb was exhausting, especially in the dark where she could only gauge up and down but no other direction. The Empress hoped more than once that the land of magic did not have spiders, and she was disappointed when she ran into a web of some sort.

At one point Aurora got stuck because the passage was so narrow, and she accidentally took a nap while trapped. She woke suddenly and continued on her path. Finally, hours later when she had nearly given up, she caught sight of a glimmer of light in her peripheral vision. Climbing further, the light became more steady and grew until at last the Empress emerged from the ground. She kissed the grass gratefully before lying down in exhaustion.

What time was it? And more importantly, what day? Her mind was muddled. There was still some light in the sky but she did not feel like it would last long. Her throat was parched. After a short rest the Empress got up to look for water. She would figure out what to do after that. One problem at a time.

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The men and Brinn snuck up to the entrance of the gnome's stronghold. They had been warned by the elf that any noise above the whisper of the grass could be heard by the gnomes. From years underground, their eyesight had declined, but their ears had become exceptionally attuned. With this in mind, they watched the cave's mouth in silence trying to get the lay of the land.

In front of the cave, two gnomes were standing guard outside the entrance. One had a flattened nose and the other looked like a mouse. When they spoke, Devrim recognized them as the two gnome fisherman from beyond the lake.

"Why do we always get stuck with the menial jobs?" The crooked nosed gnome grumbled. "I hate all the fresh air and sunshine."

"It could be worse," the mousy gnome said quietly. "You could have to listen to someone complain about it too."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The first snapped angrily, bopping his companion on the head. The other gnome cowered. Seeing he had made his point, the angry gnome continued his complaints. "Ugh, why do they have us out on sentry duty when we should be looking for that human Empress? If they set me loose I would find her in a second."

"Don't you remember, Grisley? We are supposed to keep watch in case she tries to come out this way." The smaller gnome reminded him.

"Do not be silly, Lukoss! How am I supposed to catch her when I do not know what she looks like?!" The flat-nosed gnome was oblivious to the flaws in his own logic. The second gnome shook his head.

"Probably won't see her anyway. The prison guards said she disappeared right before their eyes just like a ghost. I thought humans could not use magic." Lukoss responded. He fingered the spear in his hand nervously.

Grisley gave him a baleful look. "I can do magic better than any lousy human. She will not get past me."

Brinn held up her fist and motioned for the party to fall back a safe distance. Slowly they made their way until they were out of earshot of the gnomes. They crouched in a circle so that they would not be overheard.

"What was all that about?" Devrim asked. While the gnomes had used human-speak outside the barrier, they had just been speaking in the ancient language. None of the men knew what had been said.

Brinn took a deep breath. "Those two idiots mostly said a lot of idle prattle, but they did mention that Aurora escaped from the prison guards."

Nurlan slapped his hand over Devrim's mouth before he could cry out. "Sorry, Your Majesty," he said automatically.

Devrim regained his calm and nodded for the soldier to remove his grip. "No, no. You did the right thing." The grey-eyed man agreed. "But that's my girl!" He whispered emphatically with an excited punch into Junayd's arm. The latter could only smile.

"What is the plan?" The young soldier asked while rubbing his arm.

Brinn looked at the men and realized all eyes were on her. Whether they were used to taking orders from Aurora or because she was the resident expert in the land of magic, the elf was now in charge. "Ok, here are some options…" she began to draw in the dirt as she spoke.

While they had been vigilant in watching for danger up until this point, the planning process absorbed their entire attention. None of them saw a figure slowly sneaking towards them.