Chapter 8: The Cavern

I take the precaution of obliterating any evidence of Samvel’s and my presence at the camp site. It’s something my parents taught me to do when we were hiding from Nenet raiders. I hide the ropes and chains in a crevice and disguise some of the traces of Samvel being dragged. Rain will soon wash the remaining traces away.

Although it took Samvel and me the best part of a day to reach here from Claw’s hideout, I can make much better time now that I’m free of my fetters. I keep to the narrow road, only taking refuge in the trees when I hear or see someone else on the road. For the most part they are traders travelling alone or in pairs. None of them stop to investigate my actions, so either they don’t see me, or they don’t care. The only armed men I see is a patrol of eight soldiers on horseback, riding towards the city. Fortunately I heard them coming long before they were visible. I had plenty of time to hide in the surrounding trees, so none of them noticed me as they rode past.

By late afternoon I locate the poorly disguised trail that leads to Claw’s hideout. Either Claw is getting careless, or the most recent travellers along this route had no reason to hide their passage. I follow the trail and discover the answer to that question a short while later. The dead bodies of Claw and his men lie scattered around the same clearing where Samvel attacked me. Evidence of a short and bloody battle is everywhere. In the circumstances it seems likely the Ramiro and his men are responsible for both Samvel’s disappearance, and the attack on Claw’s camp. Perhaps the troop of soldiers I saw on the road are the ones responsible.

I search the surrounding area. It seems likely that with winter approaching, Claw will have supplies hidden somewhere nearby. I locate well disguised path through the undergrowth that leads to rocky outcrop. The path winds around the outcrop before seemingly disappearing between two rocks. On closer inspection I realise that the rocks hide a narrow passage that leads into a large cavern. A hole in the roof allows some light to penetrate, making a torch unnecessary during the day. A quick exploration of the cavern reveals a treasure trove of supplies. This is clearly Claw’s main hideout.

With night approaching, I decide to sleep in the cavern overnight. I find firewood and a hearth located on one side of cavern, almost directly below the hole in the roof overhead. Presumably the fireplace is positioned so that the smoke from the fire will vent through the hole. I light the fire and a couple of the torches located on the cavern wall. This cavern has clearly been home to Claw and his men for some considerable time.

I search deeper into the cavern which seems to extend for some distance. One short branch from the main passage leads to an underground pool that provides me with a source of drinking water. The passage I’m following ends abruptly as though the cavern roof has collapsed at some time in the distant past. I turn back towards the entrance, exploring some of the side branches that I had ignored before. Some show signs of being used either for storage or as a private sleeping area. However, there’s nothing of interest in them now.

I return to the main chamber and prepare to settle down for the night. Sleep escapes me for a while because my mind is still active. I review recent events and contemplate what may happen next. I’m still unsure why I was left a knife with which to free myself. Wouldn’t it have been easier if whoever abducted Samvel simply freed me? Or was it a test? There was no certainty that I could escape my bonds in that situation. Indeed, I had great difficulty in releasing myself. Either my benefactor had supreme faith in my abilities, or he simply didn’t care. If I starved to death bound to that tree then presumably my benefactor saw it as no great loss to anybody but me.

What becomes clear as I gather my thoughts is that my benefactor didn’t want to take me with him. Assuming it was Ramiro or his men who invaded Samvel’s camp, then the message to me must be ‘don’t return to Wadi Halaf ‘. Despite Mistress Rachael’s promise of shelter, I’m enough of a realist to know that doing so won’t be more than a temporary solution.