was mesmerizing. Sheltered as he was from the direct rain, he was warm and dry with nothing to complain about. He had often been in far more miserable circumstances and having on many occasions, been forced to endure the elements with no shelter. Here, even the sentries that were on duty in the rain were able to get a hot bowl of soup after their shifts were finished and dry out by the cooking fires inside the cave.
A natural chimney in one of the chambers opened up on the surface so when faced with darkness and weather as inclement as this, the fires were stoked and the cooks worked around the clock to make anything that required heat. Right now, they were taking care to hide their smoke, but that would change in time. There was sure to be hundreds, if not thousands, of loaves of the hard black bread that seemed immune to time. It tasted the same kind of awful no matter how fresh it was. If eaten with something else, like a soup or a strong cheese, it was bearable. By itself, Urake had seen soldiers elect to skip meals rather than subject themselves to the hard substance. Fortunately, the cooks here understood this fact of life and tried their best to alleviate the suffering. There was sure to be copious quantities of game curing over the fires from Urake’s contributions to the larder.
“You weren’t in our room.” Emeck came up and leaned against the other side of the entrance.
“I suppose not.” Urake answered pensively.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Everything and nothing at the same time, if that makes any sense.” Emeck flicked his eyebrows questioningly before staring out at the rain with a frown.
“I sensed Skeln again.” Urake glanced over with a flicker of irritation when Emeck didn’t continue.
“And?”
“All I could tell was that he was alive and well. He is still somewhere out there, but I'm not sure where.”
“Alive and well. That is the important thing. Have you been able to figure out what the connection between him and Inadar is?” Urake gouged a channel in the dirt with his boot to catch and redirect an errant trickle of water.
“I'm not sure what to think. I’m sure I sensed her when I felt Skeln that night we saved the Princess. I know what I saw through her eyes doesn’t make any sense, but I did see Skeln. His hair was longer than when it was when I saw him in Warton, but I'm sure it was him. Since you woke Inadar up, her mind has been as sealed as Skeln’s. I'm not even sure where she is right now.” Urake pursed his lips as he thought about what Emeck had said. Inadar and Torroth had volunteered to assist in any way that they could. Balinor had set Torroth to work repairing armor while Inadar had been tasked with helping the cooks. She hadn’t been happy about her lot, but it was better than being confined to the cell. They were both rarely out of the cave and only then separately and with an escort.
“She won’t hardly tell me anything about her past and even then, most of the time she is lying. She for sure isn’t from The Forks. That accent is more like from the Northern Braebach. Not sure where exactly.” Urake watched the rain for a few moments before turning back inside the cave.
“You going to get some sleep now?” Emeck had noticed that Urake had not been using his bed hardly at all in the last few days and was starting to get a little worried about the man’s health.
“I'm not tired. I will be though, as soon as I get done dealing with Balinor.”
“What are you going to do?” Emeck had to fall back when the corridor narrowed to single file.
“I am not sure yet. It might be a mistake although it doesn’t matter that much anymore. If you want to help, just be ready if I should ask for you to provide a little insight.”
“Of course.” Emeck parted company with Urake at a guarded doorway. Urake paused only long enough to stare down the fidgeting guard before brushing past and through the door.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Balinor, as predictable as ever, was outraged by Urake’s unapologized appearance into the room they had taken to calling a council chamber.
“You are having a war council and I thought that I should be present.” Balinor’s eyes bulged at the injustice of