Chapter 2

It was slow going. Joren and Shanlai fared a little better than the humans as they could see further from the light of the torch, though they'd be just as helpless if it went out. Yolanda did her best to map and count paces, but their limited sight made it difficult to tell if the path subtly bent or not. Many of the caves were ten or fifteen feet wide and about as tall. Occasionally it opened into a large cavern. The only real constant was not knowing where they were going.

Shanlai was nervous about being lost in the caves, but she tried to keep her spirits up. She softly hummed a marching song as they walked until Sonya asked her to be quiet so they could listen for others in the dark or perhaps the sound of running water. Shanlai kept the torch high as they peered down forks and laid trail signs.

The caves themselves were mostly dull rock. Occasional fungus broke up the monotony slightly. It was just as well they marked their path each fork. Despite their best efforts, they occasionally found themselves at a junction they'd already passed.

Sonya set an easy pace. They would need out, or at least water, sooner rather than later, but it was important not to overexert themselves. Shanlai worried about light. They had some torches, but they were not equipped for a long expedition in the dark.

Their torch was burning low when Sonya called a halt for the day. "We covered a lot of ground today. Don't get discouraged, guys. We'll get through this."

Even Shanlai was uncharacteristically quiet. Sonya seemed to believe her own words well enough, but Shanlai was having trouble. She glanced at the others. Joren seemed as stoic as ever, but he smiled that little smile just for her when he saw her looking at him. Yolanda was humming and swaying as she sat, which was possibly her version of meditation. Staying still for hours was not a move in her repertoire.

"We'll take turns on watch. Keep a torch handy, but don't light it unless you hear something definite. We'll want to keep our light for when we're moving as much as possible. Joren, you first, then Shanlai, then Yolanda. I'll take last watch. We'll have to do our best guess for the time. Then we're back to finding our way out of here."

Joren settled his back to the wall and left his sword near one hand and a torch and tindertwig near the other. He looked out over the dying torch, using his eyes while he still could. Shanlai laid out her bedroll and tried to banish the worries from her mind. The last thing she saw before sleep took her was Joren with embers reflected in his eyes.

***

"Yolanda, isn't it tiring bouncing with every step? You could walk to the moon and back in a day if you didn't use all your energy fidgeting."

"I walk how I walk."

The sun was shining, and not a cloud could be seen. It was a beautiful day for a walk.

"What about you?" Joren called to Shanlai. "I'm sure you could walk to the sun with all the energy you spend wagging your tongue." Shanlai spent a little more energy sticking her tongue out at him. He didn't look, but she could see his smile well enough to tell he knew she was doing it anyway.

"Children, children," Sonya muttered.

"Sorry, mom!" Shanlai called.

"I am not your mother. And I thank Pelor every day for his mercy."

"Funny, you sound just like my mother."

"She denies being your mom?" Yolanda sounded genuinely curious.

"With fair frequency. People would ask her, was that your daughter who fell through the roof of my house? And she'd say, no daughter of mine!"

Sonya seemed to laugh despite herself while Yolanda's laugh was unrestrained.  Joren seemed more incredulous than anything.  “You fell through a roof?"

“No."

“Random example then?"

“No, I fell through multiple roofs."

“You didn't." Yolanda looked ecstatic.

“They weren't built from the sturdiest materials. As testing revealed."

“You sound like you were a right terror growing up." Joren's tone was tinged with amusement.

“You make it sound like I'm not one now." Shanlai flashed him a grin.

Joren shrugged with a facial expression that eloquently said, "Fair enough."

"Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it. Nowadays, I check to make sure a surface can support me before I try jumping onto it."

"Then what happened with those hill bandits? I seem to recall--"

"A minor miscalculation in the heat of the moment. And it all worked out anyway."

"You guys have all the fun," Yolanda pouted. "I never got to fight bandits during summer training."

"A fact you can be grateful for," cut in Sonya. "Contrary to how these two make it sound, it was not a fun time."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Shanlai wanted to know.

"Wherever your sense of balance went that day."

Shanlai shrugged. "Touché."

"I can't wait to see the fort." Yolanda was positively skipping. "This is going to be so interesting."

Shanlai's eyes danced. "I'm sure the fort can wait to see you, Yolanda. I'm not sure the walls can contain you. We'll be lucky if they're still standing by week's end."

"I'm sure they're looking forward to you more," Yolanda said easily. "They must be thankful they don't have a roof."

***

AN: As promised, updating regularly! Except I'm going out of town the until the weekend, so we'll be going a couple days before the next chapter goes up. Feel free to comment, I don't bite!