Page 61 of In Darkness Forged
“I’ve found a tunnel that leads out of the cave,” Talyn announced, feeding a few more roots to the fire. “Aranthas typically leave themselves an exit close enough to the surface that they can hunt larger game and drag it back to their nest. Once outside, we may have a better chance of locating that exit.”
“Good.” Aislin nodded with what she hoped was brisk agreement. If he had any idea how much she hurt, he would probably insist they remain here longer, and she’d decided she most emphatically did not want to delay. Another night here was another night underground. Another night pretending to sleep on rocks. Even longer before she could breathe fresh air and feel the night breezes on her skin or the warmth of the sun on her face.
And a delay would also mean more time for her terror to grow. Even thinking about the “nest” was enough to…
“When were you going to tell me what aranthas are?”
Talyn paused in the process of unwrapping the tiny bricks Vanadar had given them in the name of “food.” They were almost impossible to chew, but at least they were still dry and did not quite taste like rocks. To Aislin’s mind, that was the best that could be said of them.
“I did my best to discourage you from coming by painting them in the most horrific light possible. Would you have returned home sooner if I told you exactly what they are?”
“Maybe,” she muttered. She’d never been all that frightened of normal spiders—she’d spent too much time cleaning Brannic’s attic to care—but these things were not normal. There was something intensely wrong about a spider the size of Cuan.
“Then I apologize,” Talyn said dryly, handing over her breakfast. Dinner? Did it even matter when they were in a cave? “Where we are going, there are hundreds of spiders the size of wolves, with far better hearing and the ability to sense your position the moment you move. They spin webs you cannot cut through with an axe, and they are constantly waiting for prey to trip into those webs and provide them with fresh meat. Would you like to return to the settlement now?”
Aislin glared as she gnawed on her breakfast. “I’m not going back, and you’re not funny.”
“That was not an attempt at humor,” Talyn pointed out. “It was simply the truth.”
“Do they all… bite?” she asked hesitantly, trying not to betray the full depths of her fear.
“The males feed by biting to subdue their prey and then draining it of blood.” To Aislin’s mind, Talyn did not seem nearly disturbed enough by this information. “But their venom is not deadly unless given in large doses. It is only the queen that produces the type of venom sought by Vanadar.”
“And how will we procure it?”
“By capturing her and collecting the venom that drips from her fangs when she attempts to kill us.”
Aislin blinked a few times and stopped chewing. “And… do you have any idea how this might be accomplished?”
“No.” Talyn just sat there, still eating, without a trace of worry or any other emotion on his face.
She gnawed off another bite while considering his impassive demeanor.
“One more thing…” She almost hesitated to mention it, but it wasn’t as if ignoring it would make it go away. “I… is there any way to make me a torch of some kind? Once we leave this cavern, I won’t be able to see, and I hate stumbling around in the dark.”
She half expected him to say that she shouldn’t have left home if she wasn’t prepared, but he responded with the same even tone he’d been using since she woke up. “Once my magic reserves have returned I can do so, but until then, I must save what strength I have to protect us in case of attack.” His mouth drew downward in a frustrated scowl. “Vanadar ought to have given you a moonstone, considering what he has asked of you.”
“What is a moonstone?”
Talyn shrugged. “A common night elf enchantment. They use it to light their homes, so they need not destroy their forests.”
“Could you perhaps…makesuch a thing?” Aislin asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “Most night elves could, but I am not one of them.” There was no mistaking the bitterness in his tone.
Disappointment struck her for a moment before it was suddenly eclipsed by shame. How could she be disappointed in him for this magic he did not have, when she had suffered that same resentment herself and knew how poisonous it could be?
“Why can’t you?” she asked instead, curious now instead of regretful.
For a moment, she did not think he would answer, and when he did, his tone was cool and remote. “My grandmother was of Sion Dairach.” As if that should explain everything. When she just looked puzzled, he added: “She was of the day.”
“She was anelf?” Aislin squeaked, unable to hide her surprise.
“Yes.” Talyn shot her an odd look.
“We thought they were long dead. No one in Farhall has seen an elf for over a hundred years.”
Her companion began to appear uncomfortable with this turn in the conversation. “There are reasons for that. But I lived with them for much of my adolescence. A great deal of my magic has its roots in the traditions of my grandmother’s people, which is why my blades glow the way they do. It is also why I do not fit in amongst other night elves.”