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Not a sound did she hear. There was no echo, roomy enough throughout and on each end wide enough to let a fair amount of air in, and out would be the cause of that she assumed.
Her own footsteps and perhaps the sound of a small pebble that she would kick along the way would be the only sounds she heard.
Time would be not lost to her, but to tell the exact time of day would be impossible without being able to see how the sun was positioned in the horizon.
Her own internal clock would tell her it was possibly around sunset. Having traveled all day she would surely want to get a few hours rest but she wouldnt dare lie down in this narrow tunnel with nowhere to hide. And letting her gaurd down enough to sleep at all would be another feat altogether.
The best part of this travel so far she thought was that she had the coolness of the caves to protect her from the heat of the sun.
A break sounded like a good idea though. She didnt loose a moment in afterthought before letting one of the straps of her pack fall off of one shoulder, momentarily juggling the torch she worked one arm out, and then the other.
She would let it lean against the cave wall, and enjoy a much needed stretch of her back and neck muscles before sitting down on the cool stone beside it. Using it as somewhat of an armrest she was quite comfy, using the wall to lean against and the pack to support the weight of her arm.
No sooner did she get settled down, perhaps even dozing off a moment. She jerked her head upright at the sound of faint voices. The torch lay burning, it had rolled a bit into the center of the pathway. She jumped up all in one motion she scooped up her pack, and leaned out to grab the still burning torch in her opposite hand.
Wide eyed she stooped down, using the torch as light she would quickly search her pack for a more close range weapon than the quiver and bow she had strapped to her back.
She pulled out a dagger, yet the number of approaching voices made her toss it back in and opt for her pickaxe instead.
Kierstien was never the type to go flailing and screaming into battle. She always tried to use every other option before turning to violence or bloodshed.
Though her heart was pounding in her throat, there would be no use to turn back a day's travel to outrun them. Her palms were sweaty as she gripped the handle of the axe, and the flame flickered a little abnormally, possibly due to the slight trembling in her arms and legs.
They might possibly be locals, heading to a day of trading in the marketplace. Then again, they could be bandits heading out for a night of pillaging and thieving.
She thought it best to get as behind out of sight as possible, using the curve of the mountain to hide most of her form. She thought she shouldnt just stand there and wait for them to approach, she should call out.. and if the sound of rushing feet ensued, it was more than likely they were bandits. She might possibly be able to outrun them for a spell before facing them with her deadly 'pickaxe'.
She took a deep breath first, to steady herself. They were nearly upon her now, She stuck her arm out so that the torch was peeking out from behind her hiding spot, and she waved it up and down. The words almost wouldnt pass her lips, they sat on her tounge longer than a moment before finally forming words on the other side, "HELLO?!" That's all that ended up coming out, what she really meant was, Hello! I mean you no harm!
She heard the footsteps pause, she wanted to flee, more than anything she just wanted her feet to takee over and get her as far from here as possible. Then she heard a woman's voice call back, "HELLO?" Muffled voices talking amongst themselves was heard, as feet began to shuffle once more, though a bit slower than before.
Kierstien stepped out from behind the rock, Not as afraid now that they seemed friendly... She held the torch out in front of her to glance upon the group of people. Her eyes saw nothing at first, she thought for a moment they had not come far enough for her to see them in the darkness. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard something just below her say "Hello."
She readjusted the flame and turned her head down to see a small group of dwarven elves. They had no torches, or flames.. Dwarven elves can see very well in the dark with no help of illumination.
Startled she finally mustered once more "Hello" The sense of fear quickly moved out of her, and she lessened her grip on the torch, and ax. "Where are you headed?" She asked the group.
It wasnt every day that elves of this stature were seen traveling. She thought it must be a safe passage if they felt so safe here.
They all stared at her, as if she were some sort of towering hallucination. They blinked as she stated that, and relaxed a bit themselves before replying.
"Good eve Miss"
One of the taller of the bunch stepped forward, "I am Nataniel, and we are the Elves of Dratheius." He proceeded to politely extend his small arm upwards to shake Kierstien's hand. She obliged, carefully shaking the small one's hand. "We are headed to Dark Forest, we are collecting herbs for the Druid's."
Kiestien nodded, "Oh, hello there. I am Kierstien, pleased to meet you. I'm headed actually the other way." Assuming they knew what awaited her on the other side, she asked them. "What is at the other side of this tunnel anyway?"
"The desert is ahead, have you never traveled these lands before?" They looked shocked that an outsider had found their way here into their solitude.
Kierstien shook her head, "No I'm afraid I havent. I meet some lovely dwarves back at the mines though." The tallest elf scoffed, "OH... The dwarves..." She assumed that they didnt get along.
"Well if you will excuse us Kierstien, we have a long night ahead of us." And they all went about their way as quickly as they had came.
"Nice to meet you!" she called after them, but not one turned it's head. "Terrible thing to dislike someone so much.. you miss out on alot of things when you hold hate in your heart."
She waited until they had passed, and walked back to her pack which she had left sitting and headed onward. "Strange crowd" she quickly let her mind on other things, figuring she should have only a few hours travel left before she would reach the other side, "A desert hugh?" Well at least she attained that much information before they stormed off. Humming a tune she was once again on her way, with a little more knowledge now, a little more prepared for what was to come, she felt even better about this excursion
 Kierstien · Wed Oct 17, 2007 @ 02:44am · 1 Comments |
