A Leaf and Pebble by Andrew Monroe

Author:Andrew Monroe [Monroe, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-04T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty-two

We left the shackles and our bloody shirts on the roof, and spent far too long sneaking across through dimly lit streets, grimy alleys, and the occasional cave to arrive at the gated entrance in the cavern’s corner. Along the way, we stole some fresh clothing with only a modicum of guilt. Though the official entrance was locked for the night, we knew a fair number of not so secret ways to get in. Really, the gate was to keep the first years from leaving. Any one there much longer than that should have found other paths in, or they didn’t really belong in the first place. One such entrance went directly to and through the kitchens, though it was a bit difficult. Hunger is a great motivator, so we went for it anyways.

We climbed the wall next to the gate, until finding a small cave that leveled out onto a high, narrow bridge of eroded stone. From the bridge, we were able to climb down the rock face onto the roof of the kitchens. It was still a mystery to me why everyone in Kalaran had a roof on their building. But I wasn’t going to complain. We continued on in silence, scaling down the kitchen’s wall. From there, it was quick work jimmying open the door. We now had all the food we could want.

Faces stuffed, we wound our way through the enormous second cave that housed the majority of the school, taking a stop at a spring fed bath meant for faculty. After we washed up, we continued leisurely around the campus. At least here I felt safe, and it was good to slow down. In one of the hundreds of corners at the school, we had made our own personal hideout and study hole. A high up cave too small and tucked too far back in an unused, dead end alley that was almost never visited by regular faculty or students. A months’ work worth of hay was piled up in the cave, enclosed in a ring of bricks. Cheap wool blankets still hung from convenient stalagmites on one side, and a forlorn boulder formed an almost passable table sat in the middle of the cave.

“Ah,” I said with a sigh. “It’s good to be back.”

Munching on a stale roll he’d taken from the kitchens, Volant mumbled his agreement. No sooner had I laid down, the world went dark and I finally went to sleep without worrying about someone stabbing me. Giggling woke me up after an eternity of dreamless sleep. I sat up, feeling like a new man, but unfortunately also finding three girls whispering to each other while watching us. Confused, I rubbed at my own eyes, forcing the sleep away. The three identical women were sitting against the cave’s wall.

“Umm,” I said still half asleep, “good morning, I guess?”

“Good afternoon, actually,” said one of them.

“But really, what’s the difference?” said the second.

“It is Kalaran after all. Home of the eternal dusk,” said the third.

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