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yunessa · 10 months

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(Previous Chapter)

Chapter 2: The Caves Below

Summary:

Waking up in a tunnel is a poor way to start the day.

Notes:

There is some gore description below. You have been warned.

I lost all of my memories roughly twenty years ago so I have several vague memories that could-be-real but are also equally likely to be stories my mind has cobbled together to try and make some semblance of sense from these scraps of memory. It is odd, knowing that it would take me five months on my own to get from the city of Edme in the country of Galt to the city of Kenebres in the county of Mendev, but having no memory of how I know it. Incredibly frustrating as well. From memories of playing my first instrument- I recall five instances of ' the first time I picked up a musical instrument'- to childhood memories of friends with no faces telling me stories. One of the most vivid of these was a friend telling me if I was outside when it was dark I’d become like the elves that lived beneath the earth and be forced to eat gross bugs and drink water that dripped from cave needles. The kind of thing that terrifies children. From what I recall as a child that was enough to terrify me. Dark caverns filled with terrors unseen seemed worse than lakes where I could not see the bottom. Cold drafty air would forever chase my back while unspoken cave horrors would forever haunt me as I scraped moss from cave walls to survive. It was enough to curtail any night time wandering for a while. But I’d never feared the depths of the sea like I did the depths of the caverns under the earth. After all, my childhood self reasoned. I’d drown before I got to the bottom of a lake. In a cave I would still be alive when I reached the bottom. -Yunessa

Falling into the dark was like what it must be to fall up into the sky. Yunessa fell, weightless but the smells of smoke, fire, and combat receded the further the light went from me. Whether it was shock, a fainting spell, or they hit their head on a rock it was hard to tell. At some point the darkness simply swallowed everything that was Yunessa.

Yunessa woke, stiff and light headed in a cavern with dim light that streamed from above. Light filtered from above, dim but the plant growth in the tunnel also glowed, providing additional light to see by. Slowly, stiffly Yunessa pushed themself up, rubbing their shoulder. Rocks piled up behind them- being buried alive had been missed by mere inches at best. The way they had come seemed impossibly distant from where they stood, seeming to be miles above them.

There were no sounds of combat coming down from above, only ahead of them. Yunessa rubbed their shoulders, squinting at the crack above. “Hells. How far down is this?” Yunessa croaked. Pushing past their stiff muscles Yunessa forced one step, then another and another. Their legs were reluctant to obey but each step forced their legs to obey their will. “Best move on then- sunlight won't find itself.” With those words they nodded to themself and stared down the tunnel in front of them. It was dark and wide- but Yunessa had heard to many stories of caves from explorer groups. Reaching for their hair, they pulled out their hairpin. It was always intended to be a lockpick but never worked out that way.

With a final look upwards they reluctantly comitted themself to going into the tunnel ahead. Elven eyes adjusted easily to dim light but something about caves made Yunessa uneasy. Limited space, a lack of dark vision, a lack of ability to find a map of the cave. it made caves more imposing. It was to their luck however, that noise came down the tunnel a few minutes after they entered it.

“Holy mother of-” In the dim cavern light Yunessa saw a woman with messy brown hair muttering curses through clenched teeth. She was so small compared to the corpses that had also fallen into this section of the crack that she might as well have been hidden beneath the rubble that almost covered her body. The dread that had been trying to pry into their chest eased as the sound of life.

“Hey, hey stay with with me!” A black woman in knight’s armour kneeled over the smaller woman. “You actually got pretty lucky you just fell into a black hole but at least you’re not on your own.” In the dim underwater-cave moss light it was easy for Yunessa’s elven eyes to make out that the woman was peering at the rubble atop the small woman. Yunessa slipped the hairpin into their belt. “Everything's going to be fine!” The armored woman tried to be soothing, but the anxiety was there in the edges of her voice. “Tell me something: can you feel your legs?”

“I feel ‘em all right, wouldn’t say no to a little less feeling.” The smaller woman sounded strained, pain lacing every word. “My ankle’s killin; me. But my back still seems to be in one piece. My head to.”

“That’s all that matters.” As the armoured woman spoke Yunessa moved to the brighter patches of light, keeping hands visible and not bothering to try and hide in the slightest. Relying heavily on their appearance to speak for themselves. “Now we’re going to- hey!” The armoured woman snapped to attention, reaching for her sheathed weapon and in response Yunessa paused where they stood. Tension built as they waited. With no armour or rest any magic or a hairpin would be useless to someone who was fully armoured.

“You’re the man Terendelev healed today, right?” The armoured woman raised her hand in greeting. “Fancy meeting you down here. You aren’t injured are you?”

“Only my pride but that’s not new.” Yunessa didn’t correct the armoured woman. It mattered very little to Yunessa how others viewed them in that regard- but that they'd correct later when the woman's leg wasn't stuck under boulders- and so they slowly walked forward putting the pin back into his hair. “Might have bruised my ego. Might be critical in the long run if I can't get a proper bed and some liqour tonight."

The armoured woman cracked a small smile. “Will you help me get her out from under the boulder?” Her hand gestured to the smaller woman who'd turned to eye Yunessa. The way her hand had gone still, it was likely she was less willing to be friendly off the bat. Getting closer Yunessa eyed the rubble. A pile of heavy rocks and debris had fell upon the smaller woman and what looked like the remains of a cart pinned one of her legs beneath it.

“Looks just like some rubble- let me check to see if we can use some of this to make a lever. It'll be safer.” Without waiting for a response Yunessa looked around the immediate area. There was enough rubble and debris to make the space seem like a junk yard if one ignored the corpses. Where it was a demon or the fall none of the bodies moved as Yunessa moved over to what looked like the remains of a festival booth.

The corpse of someone dressed in, what was now stained, bright festival garb lay beneath the booth. They had hit the ground and right after it seemed the festival booth had hit them. The damage to the skeleton had been massive. _I’m sorry this happened to you._ Yunessa grimaced at the corpse. The ground around it was a puddle of crimson with bone shards flesh and the consistency reminded Yunessa of mashed potatoes. Refusing to breathe in the smell they took the pole, turning away from the corpse to show it to the women. “Let’s use this- I push down, you grab her and pull her out.”

The armoured woman helped as Yunessa brought the stick over. With a bit of work they had positioned the stick. "On three then my good knight and lady. One, two and three!" The armoured woman was far stronger than Yunessa, pushing down. The debris complained with a whisper of stone and the crack of wood. The shorter woman pulled her leg out and pushed herself away from the pile in the time it took them to let go of the stick.

“Look at you!" The armoured woman clapped Yunessa on the shoulder with a warm smile that revealed the bronze glow of her cheeks. "Good to meet someone who uses brains first and brawn second." Up close Yunessa could see her locked hair that reminded Yunessa of braids. Distracted by studying the knight, Yunessa almost startled when the other woman cursed.

“Damn it all! I think it’s broken. Ah well- I’ve had worse– I’ll just make myself a splint outta something.” Without either of them she fished a piece of twine from her pocket, using the twine and the scraps around for a proper splint. “ Thanks for the help. I wouldn’t have been able to last long on my own stuck under there. I’m Anevia Tirabade, of the Eagle Watch. I was overseeing security at the festival– I thought maybe spies or demon worshippers might have something nasty planned…” Anevia was dirtied and weary but it didnt seem to dampen her spirit,even as she made a splint for her leg “What actually happened, though, now that I didn’t see coming. I don’t think anyone could’ve been prepared for that….”

As Anevia trailed off the paladin took a step forward, her gauntleted hand reaching up to tap the armour over her heart. “Well, I’m Seelah, paladin by the grace of Iomedae. I cross the whole continent to come and fight demons…” She trailed off, eyes looking upwards as her expression darkened.

“I don’t even want to think what might be happening up there in the city. Kenebres lost the protection of Terendelev, and of the Wardstone to looks like!”

"Yeah, losing Teredelev was... unfortunate. Hopefully the Ward stone isn't broke." _If the demon lord was there… it’s probably a demon’s playground right now._ The mental image Yunessa’s mind conjured up was enough to, briefly, make the surface less appealing, conjuring up images of broken playgrounds and warped tortures.

“- It’s a relic without equal, it was placed there personally by Iomede’s herald, with the Goddess’s blessing. I really wanted to go see it, to pray before it…” For a moment Seelah’s expression turned wistful but as soon as it came out, the expression was gone._ “But there’s no point in worrying about a stone when there’s people dying in the streets.”

Yunessa recalled something vaguely about the wardstone. A powerful relic that kept the world wound at bay, so claimed the mouths of countless folk.

“Yeah, things are lookin’ grim enough, but don’t lose heart.” Anevia spoke up. Yunessa silently offered one of the sashes around their waist. They were wide enough to tie up his own pants when his leather belts broke- and made for excellent bandages when they needed a spare belt of cloth.

Anevia took it with a grin, continuing. “Wardstone or no, dragon or no, Kenebres will never give in– simple as.” Her eyes looked from her broken leg to Yunessa for the first time.

People who loved their cities were rarely keen to give them up, even for such things as demon invasions over the course of a century such as kenebres.

“My name is Yunessa. Bard by trade.”

“Good to meet you. Now tell us all about yourself-” Seelah began but was interrupted by Anevia.

“Woah girl, slow down. Exchanging names is enough for now. We don’t have time to be swapping life stories- we need to get out of here.” Anevia tightly tied off Yunessa’s colorful sash and grabbed a stick, hauling herself to her feet. “Now I’ll hobble my way out somehow. The city isn;t far- thirty paces or so if you’re walking straight up. I’m afraid we’re gonna have to go the long way around.”

“To summarise: there’s three of us, with five working legs, three pairs of decent hands, two clear heads, one made of wood- that’s mine. Underground monster beware!” Seelah winked and Yuness found his lips tugging in a smile.

“As a bard I am obligated to put out that I am worth two normal men, three if I’m drunk.” Yunessa did an exaggerated bow. “It’s all in the job description.”

Seelah grinned. “Anevia, you stay behind us. You’re in no fit state to fight. If we come up against anything, the two of us will try to handle it on our own. Well, onward! May the good deities lead us back to the open sky soon!”

“Is that really in a bard’s job description?” Anevia asked as they began to walk down the tunnel. Yunessa squinted, looking through the dark shadows as Seelah moved next to her.

“Well there’s ‘worth at least two normal men, sings or play an instrument, are scandalous, and make witty remarks And-.” Yunessa counted on his fingers, exaggerating the motion to make a show of it. They felt himself falling back into old habits- every bard knew how to draw attention to themselves, exaggerate just a little. “I’m handsome so we all get that as a bonus.”

“How is that a bonus?” Seelah asked.

“Well you get to look at me, of course.” Yunessa chuckled, keeping their mood light.

“Lucky us.” Seelah’s tone was dry but her eyes were alight with humour.

“Indeed! The fact I am already good at fighting is just there as an added bonus you see. It’s like the ambiance these glowing cavern mosses provide but it’s better because it’s me.”

“Lovely.” Anevia’s tone was dry.

More wreckage from above had fallen down to make moving around hazardous. Ruined carts, celebration booths, trinkets, toys and the dead lay where they had fallen. It was a far cry from the festival earlier in the day. Yunessa moved ahead of Seelah, deftly searching the shadows. Elven grace saw Yunessa stepping around fallen carts and floor debris with ease.

“How far does this wound go?” they asked aloud. It seemed like a perfect cut into the earth. Deep enough to reach into- by Yunessa’s best guess- semi-natural tunnels. Kenebres was a city of crusaders, going underground made very little sense for crusaders intending to fight demons.

“I saw it go through the wall and a few buildings before I fell in.” Seelah said. A ray of light from above illuminated the way where glowing plants failed. “And- hey- look! Hulrun put all the confiscated weapons in this chest.” And indeed, bearing the inquisition’s symbol was a thick wooden chest with cracks running through it.

“Oh, perfect. Perfect.” The box was still locked despite the fall. Yunessa’s effort to try and open the lock with a cantrip but it refused to open, the cantrip useless against whatever magic was used on the lock. “Hells. Seelah, can I kindly ask a favor?”

“Move out of the way.” Seelah moved forward and swung her mace with such accuracy Yunessa did lightly clap. “My hero! Thank you Seelah.” In the chest, still as perfect as when they took it, was Yunessa’s box lute. The engravings and color were still intact. “Perfect.” They quickly finished grabbing their weapons, affixing them to their belt with an a potion found inside the chest

It didn’t hurt to be prepared and a spare potion could mean the difference between life or death. Yunessa caressed the lute gently, plucking at a few strings. There was something so wondrous about those few notes that made his spirit rise as his fingers touched strings and polished wood. They rested his head reverently against the box lute. How many years had they played this? He couldn’t recall accurately but this was as important as a limb. Every string, every touch of polished wood was as reassuring as a lover’s touch.

“Oh, I missed you sweet lute of mine.” The polished wood, the smell of incense and feeling the gilt on the design. It had taken months to buy this exotic design but Yunessa had loved the lute from the first moment they’d seen it.

“As much as I’d like you to play…” Seelah began before nodding her head down the tunnel. “Are you ready?” Seelah’s voice was soft and low as she whispered. “I hear noise further down the tunnel.” It drew Yunessa from their moment of reverie and he reluctantly adjusted his box lute to sit on his back underneath his cloak. Yunessa plucked a dagger from the chest before pulling away, tucking the dagger away under his belt.

Yunessa nodded to Seelah, loading their crossbow and preparing a second bolt.

“Let’s go. I want to fall asleep in a real bed tonight.” Anevia was limping behind them but when she rested, it was possible for her to shoot her bow. Maybe. He wasn’t counting on it.

“I’ll slip ahead. I’m lighter than you are.”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Seelah promised and as Yunessa gracefully moved around the remains of an unfortunate, they hunched their shoulders, moving noiselessly around the littered debris with ease.

A humanoid shadow hunched over a body. The smell of blood mixed with the smell odust and stale cave air as Yunessa aimed his crossbow.

“Who’s there?” The shadow hunched over the body spoke breathily, rising up. The shadow was stained with dust, blood and dirt and her dark eyes searched the shadows, finding Yunessa quickly enough. Her nose lifted and she looked down at Yunessa, holding herself with such dignity- all the while gripping the hilt of her rapier in a manner that suggested she knew how to wield it.

“Relax friend, we’re not demons or cultists!” Seelah’s voice naturally filled the tunnel and the woman’s eyes moved to her. Seelah continued in a warm voice as Yunessa looked to the body that lay behind the woman’s feet.

It was a body, not that it could be called a body now. It was so badly butchered it was better called a mound of meat. Yunessa had sung across the street from a butcher’s shop for six months. He knew that smell.

“Don’t poke my eye out with that thing all right? We fell down here during the attack.”

There was a small puddle around the meat mound. A puddle of the dark liquid meant alive- to a point. When the heart stopped, so too did the blood. Yunessa remembered the butcher telling him that, with a smile as bright as candle light. Seelah’s hand rested on Yunessa’s shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts. “I’m Seelah, That’s Anevia and this is our friend Yunessa. We’re looking for our way back to the surface.”

“Really? I’m ever so glad to hear it….” The woman relaxed but her hand didn’t stray from the hilt of her rapier. “Allow me to introduce myself; I am Camellia. I was also in the square when… when…” She trailed off and looked to the ground as she licked her lips. Her hair fell forward as she did , exposing her short pointed ears. _A half elf. The fancy noble sort_ Her voice was soft and sweet to his ears but Yunessa focused on her face, watching as a sliver of fear showered beneath her perfect mask. “I can scarcely believe it.” Camellia continued. “How did all those demons get inside the city? I thought- naively now it seems- that the wardstone protected us from the attack. And Terendelev? I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Camellia’s words reminded Yunessa of scythes and scarlet. “Not many could withstand a demon lord. And with the Wardstone down, not even Terendelev.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Camellia agreed.”We’re fortunate to be alive- albeit underground.”

“Deskari himself has come to Kenebres. There’s no mistaking that ugly mug.” Compound eyes, mantis lips, wings made of locus- Yunessa silently agreed. “Even the Wardstone wasn’t any help. Our city was safe, protected by powerful forces, but now…” Anevia shook her head.

“... we know how powerless we truly are.” Camellia finished with ruthless precision. “Henceforth we shall have no one to rely on but ourselves, I suppose?” Her eyes moved between them all. Silently waiting for one of them to ask the inevitable question. Anevia didn’t speak it and Seelah looked at Yunessa. Yunessa moved closer to Camellia to look at the meat mound. A face was recognizable there.

“What happened to this- man? It looks like a man. Does anyone have a name for the corpse?”

“I don’t know.” Camellia murmured, eyes going lidded as she looked down to it. “He must have been here or fell when disaster struck. I tried to revive him but he was already dead sadly.”

“I don’t know him either but he didn’t get those wounds from a fall.” Seelah’s eyes turned wary as she scanned the area around them. Yunessa moved around Camellia to inspect the mutilated meat mound. Trying to force himself to be detached, Yunessa looked at the mess of a corps-, internal organs spilled out like confetti across the ground, no space of skin left untouched by either a wound or crimson that cracked as it dried. The chest seemed too small to hold the intestines that had spilled out. Like glistening flesh ropes trying to hide the corpse.The smell of death washed over him and he held back his urge to gag. His boot stepped on something to soft to be dirt and he heard the squish as an organ squicked. Stomach attempting to rebel against his will, they pushed himself away as Anevia kneeled by the corpse.”Hang on, I think I knew him.” Her brown eyes were calm, showing none of the discomfort Yunessa felt. “ His name’s Arvashnial, the egghead from the library.” Her fingers reached towards the corpse tugging at a scrap of cloth and tracing over a stitched symbol. “ He was a good lad.” She confirmed as she pulled away. “ … even if he was stuck up… may his soul rest in peace.”

“Since Seelah is watching out for who did this I’ll ask for her- tell me more about yourself.” They kept their tone light, offering a charming smile to Camellia.

Seelah’s lips twitched as Yunessa talked but her gaze remained alert as she watched.

“Who am I? Just an ordinary citizen who decided to take a stroll through the square on the day of the festival. But that’s not what you want to know, is it?” She touched a polished skull amulet around her neck. “You likely want to know if I’ll be a burden would you ask me to join your group. No need to worry about that. I can assure you I’m skilled with a rapier, and I also possess some knowledge of magic.”

_Well,_ Yunessa dared to glance at the corpse once more. _A rapier certainly didn’t do that._ “Rest assured, I would ask you even if you didn’t possess fighting skills. Survivors should stick together- would you like to join us?” _Nothing to do about the corpse now. We all need to get out of here as soon as we can._

“Certainly. It’s only sensible. Who knows what could be prowling about in these caves.” Camellia flashed a genteel smile as she moved closer as Yunessa resisted a shudder. The cave walls weren’t closing in, they couldn’t be. He took a slow breath.

“If the cave walls were gonna close there’d be no top.” He muttered. Anevia hadn’t moved away from the corpse and was now searching it with movements that suggested she was used to such things.

“We need to see if this poor bloke had anything on him. Not trying to sound like a heartless brigand or nothin’, but we kinda need all the supplies we can get right now.” Anevia held her hand out and Yunessa stepped forward. A flask, a nice rhondel dagger, and a pouch that had cheese wrapped carefully in waxed paper.

“I wouldn’t have thought of it- excellent.” Yunessa offered the rhondel to Seelah and put the flask and cheese at his belt and in his own pouch. “We’ll keep moving. There’ll be a way back to the surface somewhere around here.”

“That’s right. It would be the height of foolishness to survive a demon attack only to perish in the rubble.” Camellia agreed,

There was a pause in the group. An expectant air that lingered though not entirely unfamiliar. He raised his voice, enough to command their attention. “I agree with Camellia. Anevia will continue to stay behind us and keep an eye on our backs. I see better in this light than the rest of you so I’ll stay at the front with Seelah- I’m an elf and a bard so I’ll be able to be flexible in this light.”

“I wanted to ask about that.” Seelah began. “I’ve never seen a harp like yours before.” She moved easily alongside Yunessa as they began to move down the tunnel. She moved easily in her heavy armour, holding her mace and shield with an ease that suggested she was familiar with combat.

“Box lyres are rare to see.” Yunessa agreed. Their eyes searched ahead of them, ears alert for anything his human companions could not see or hear. “It’s a bit more difficult to carry than the usual bard instruments but it was modeled after a queen’s lyre I was told.”

“You’ll have to play it for us when we get out- I’ll buy our drinks.” Seelah grinned wide enough to show teeth.

“Don’t promise me that Seelah or I’ll never stop playing for you.” Yunessa wiggled their fingers at Seelah and she let out a bark of laughter.

“Allright, I’ll buy our drinks for one evening then you can play.”

“Agreed.”

(Chapter 3: there are no coincidences, only signs of alignment)

#pathfinder: wrath of the righteous #pathfinder #daeran #seelah #sosiel #the commander #trever #nonbinary main character #camilla #nenio #ember #ulbrig #regil #regill derenge #angst #arushalae #mature

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