It was nearly noon before Jale knocked on their door. Soren untangled himself from Tanden's arms, pulled on his pants, and answered the door. Jale stood there with her arms crossed.

"Are we still going to the caves?"

Soren shrugged. "I think so."

"Well, then we need to get—" she yawned, "—going."

"Tired?" Soren asked.

"I slept in, too," Jale said. "We all needed the rest. Now get him up, I'll get us some food and see about borrowing some horses for the day." She stepped away, but almost immediately paused and looked back. "Can you ride?"

"I never have," Soren admitted. "But I assume Tanden can."

"Good. Well..." she gestured at the bed, then briskly started down the hall. "I'll find you a friendly horse," she called over her shoulder.

Soren laughed as he shut the door and returned to the bed. Tanden was still deeply asleep. Soren carefully lay down beside him, not quite ready to wake him up.

The night before had been something new. Tanden giving over control not just for the fun of it, but because he wanted to be taken care of. Tanden trusting him not just to do whatever he wanted, but to do whatever was right. Usually when he let Soren take over, there was still a sense that Tanden was allowing it. The role-reversals were never really real. The night before hadn't been like that.

And Soren had done his best to ensure Tanden enjoyed every second of it.

Soren would have liked relax longer, just enjoying the memories of the night before, but he knew that if they wanted to see the caves they really did have to get going. He propped himself up on his elbow and leaned over Tanden. If he had to wake him up and break the peaceful morning, at least he was going to have fun doing it.

He kissed Tanden gently. It didn't take long for Tanden to wake up. He extracted his arms from the blankets to wrap them around Soren's shoulders and pull him closer.

After a moment Tanden released him and nudged him back a bit. "What's this about?"

Soren didn't know exactly how to talk about the night before, even though he wanted to. So instead he said, "I love you."

Tanden smiled. "I know. You made that extremely clear last night." He tapped his fingers against Soren's lips, emphasising his words.

So this was flirty and cocky Tanden, as opposed to vulnerable and sweet Tanden.

Tanden kept talking before Soren could say anything. "But why wake me up?"

"Jale said if we want to see the caves we have to—"

"The caves," Tanden sat up so abruptly Soren barely had time to get out of the way. "Right. I do want to see those." He gave Soren another quick kiss before tossing aside the blankets and getting up. "Come on, mate."

Soren stood up more slowly, and grabbed his tunic from the floor. "Oh, and she asked if you knew how to ride horses."

"Of course I do." Tanden had pulled on his clothing so quickly that he was already slipping on his boots. "I'm a lord. I don't think it's possible to be a lord and not know how to ride." He slid on his jacket, but didn't do it up. "Ah, but I bet you don't. Well, it's fine. I'll help you. Hurry up."

Sera met them in the inn's main room and handed them each a few strips of dried meat. She told Tanden that they would find Jale outside, getting the horses ready. They stepped outside into a bright, warm day, to see Jale packing the saddlebags of one of three short, shaggy horses.

Tanden stroke one of the horses' nose. "Soren, mate. For your first time ever riding, I can't imagine a better horse to choose. If you fall off of one of these little lads you'll be absolutely fine."

"Aye, probably," Soren agreed, giving the third horse a pat on the shoulder.

"All right." Jale hoisted herself onto her horse. "Let's go. I have some food packed. We can eat on the way."

Soren watched Tanden climb onto his horse before mounting his own. The little animal shifted from foot to foot, but otherwise didn't seem to care much that a human had just climbed onto its back. He tried to sit the way Jale and Tanden were, and copied the way they were holding the reins.

"Don't worry, Soren," Jale said. "Horses like to be near each other. He'll follow us. This way."

Tanden guided his horse to walk beside Soren's as they followed Jale down the road. At the edge of the village, instead of continuing to follow the road they had come in on the previous day, Jale turned onto a side path. It was narrower than the road, and the semi-frozen ground was marked with footprints, hoofprints, and cart tracks.

They let the horses pick their own pace over the rough ground. As they rode, Jale handed out flasks, more strips of dried meat, and handfuls of dried fruit and nuts. Soren quickly got used to the way the horse moved beneath him.

"There are many different entrances to the mines," Jale explained as they rode. "The main one the men from Morie Caro use is closer to the village. The one we're going to isn't really used anymore, but it connects to natural caves."

"You mentioned the first time we were here that Morie Caro is just one of the villages that work the mines," Tanden said.

Jale nodded. "There are three. Morie Caro isn't the biggest village, but it's more accessible because of the trade road. Rald Caro is the biggest. It was built specifically to work the mines, so it has the best access. But it isn't exactly easy to get to."

"Have you been there?" Soren asked, before ripping off another piece of dried meat.

"No. Sera has, though. She said it was a very... sad isn't the right word."

"Dreary?" Tanden guessed. "Boring, dull, like everyone just works all day."

She nodded. "That sounds right. The third village is not really a village. I think a rich noble once bought land near a mine entrance, hoping that it would make him even more rich. So he hired people to work there. It doesn't even have a real name. It's called... what do you call a big house?"

"A manor," Tanden suggested.

"Then in Teltish it's called Rock Manor," Jale said. "I've never been there, either. But I have been to these caves, and you'll really like them. I'm glad Sera reminded me."

After all the time they spent together talking on the Wayfarer, it seemed like Tanden should have been out of questions, but he wasn't. Soren was happy to keep eating while Tanden and Jale talked. She wouldn't answer any more questions about the caves, just promising that they were worth visiting and she would explain everything when they got there.

The questions helped pass the time. When they reached a fork in the path, Jale led them to the left, explaining the right-hand path would lead them over the next hill to Rald Caro. It didn't take long after leaving the main path for them to reach a shallow gully. The horses tentatively walked down the slope, which was still slippery with wet ice.

Soren's attention was immediately drawn to the dark cave entrance, which was blocked by an old bent gate. It was smaller than he had imagined, just wide enough for a single horse to pull a narrow cart through. "I can see why this entrance isn't used."

"It wasn't practical," Jale agreed. She dismounted, and led her horse over to a patch of sunlight. "The horses will wait here."

Soren and Tanden slid from their horses' backs and let the animals join their friend in the warm sun. From a pouch on her saddlebags, Jale pulled out her flint striker and a torch.

"What about the gate?" Tanden asked.

"It isn't locked." Jale walked over to the cave entrance, and shook the gate with her free hand. It rattled, but held firm. "It's frozen. Soren, could you try?"

Soren joined her and inspected the gate. The bottom was frozen in ice, and melting snow had dripped over the top of the grate to freeze into thick icicles. He doubted he could do anything to free the bottom part, but he could probably break the icicles. It took some time—he leaned against the gate, shook it and banged on the icicles with a rock. Finally he smashed through enough of the ice that he could pry the gate open, just wide enough for them to slip through.

Jale smiled at him. "Thank you, that's perfect. Well, let's go in, boys. You'll love this." She lit the torch and squeezed into the cave.

The first area of the cave wasn't special. It was dark, dry and quiet. The chill that settled around them felt different from the chill of the early spring air outside. Old tracks in the dust led to the far end of the cave, where the square, man-made tunnel of the mines started. Jale's footsteps seemed loud in the silence as she walked across to the mine opening. There was a pile of crates stacked just inside the tunnel, but more importantly, there was an old torch attached to the wall by a rusty metal bracket. Jale struggled to slide out the torch. When she got it free, she lit it off of her own torch and brought it back to hand to Soren.

"This way," she said, leading them to the right side of the cave. The flickering light from the torches made the cave wall look like it was riddled with dark holes. Most of the dark spots turned out to be shadows, but then Jale stepped into one. The cave wall swallowed her and the light of her torch like she had never been there.

Tanden carefully followed her. He could see her silhouette up ahead, but it was hard to see what was directly in front of him. He trailed a hand along the low ceiling, just to make sure he wouldn't hit his head on the rough surface. He could hear Soren walking behind him and realized that with Soren's extra height, the tiny passage would be even harder to get through.

He could tell from Jale's movement when she finally stepped into a larger space. A moment later he found himself in a huge cavern, much larger than the entrance had been. The light from Jale's torch didn't go very far, but Tanden could feel the empty space around them.

Jale waited until Soren was free from the passage, then walked a little further into the cave. Tanden gazed around, completely lost for words, as Jale led them past huge spikes of rock. Above them, spikes came down from the ceiling like stone icicles. In a few places, the big stone icicles had fallen to the ground and shattered.

They kept walking. A pool of perfectly still water caught the torchlight. It was a beautiful deep teal, a colour Tanden had never seen in water before. He wished there was more light, so he could see more of the cave. In his travels he had always been more interested in cultures, food, people and buildings. He had never paid much attention to natural wonders.

"Jale," Soren's voice disturbed the serene quiet of the cave, even though he was whispering. "This is beautiful."

"You haven't even seen the best part."

Tanden couldn't imagine anything being better than what they were already seeing. The cave was the sort of place legends began. It was where magical beings would hand out quests, or vast treasures would be hidden. It was breathtaking.

Jale walked up a few rocks that made perfect natural stairs, onto a flat area of stone. "Here," she said, stepping off to the right. "Soren, over there." Soren followed her directions and stood on Tanden's left. The two torches lit up the wall in front of them.

It took Tanden a moment to realize that he was looking at, then his jaw dropped. The wall was covered in drawings. Thin human figures and plump animals, drawn in black and red. Tanden thought he recognized kyloes, horses, and deer. There were wolves and bears. The human figures were depicted in small family groups, sometimes around a fire and sometimes hunting.

"Who made these?" Tanden asked.

"We don't really know," Jale said. "Sera told me that they've always been here. But look..." She pointed out four of the figures. Each one had a circle for a torso, with a symbol drawn inside it. A sun, a leaf, a flower and a snowflake. It was hard to make out what the special figures were supposed to be doing, but who they were seemed pretty clear.

"So whoever drew these knew about the gods and goddesses," Tanden guessed.

Jale nodded. "That's what it seems like."

"Are there other places with drawings like this?"

"I've never seen any, but I talked to a ranger from Tier once who talked about something that sounded similar. They might be all over the empire, just nobody's found them yet."

"They're incredible. I bet you could spend a lifetime searching for these and studying them."

"Looking for a change in careers, Captain Tanden?" Jale teased.

Tanden laughed. "If only I had the time to study every culture thoroughly. But I'd rather learn a bit about every culture than spend my life learning about only one. I'm really glad Sera suggested that you bring us here."

"We've never seen anything like it," Soren added.

Jale smiled. "As soon as Sera mentioned it, I knew you would want to..." she trailed off, and glanced around.

Tanden tried to follow her gaze, half-expecting to see some sort of animal in the dark. "What is it?" Even as he said it, he realized what she was hearing. A deep rumbling, almost as if the cave was exhaling. "Jale... what is it?"

"We need to get out." She hopped down the natural stairs and briskly started across the cave.

Tanden saw the ripples on the little pond the moment before he felt the floor start shaking. Jale picked up the pace, taking the rest of the cave at a careful jog. She slipped into the narrow passageway and Tanden followed as quickly as possible. Only to freeze when he heard Soren swear, and realized the light from Soren's torch was gone.

"Soren?"

"I'm fine. It burned me. Keep going."

The passageway seemed longer than it had the first time. Tanden's heart raced and he imagined the tunnel collapsing in on them. If they weren't immediately crushed by rock they would be stuck in the dark and the cold. With sudden clarity Tanden knew something he had never really had a reason to think about before—he really didn't like small spaces. His earlier intrigue had disguised his discomfort, but now he knew with certainty that he didn't like the tight walls or the low ceiling.

He felt a little better when they reached the entrance, and he could see Jale's torch and light from outside. Jale waited just long enough to see them both emerge, then bolted for the gate. Tanden's relief instantly dissipated when he realized that half of the cave's entrance was blocked by snow. Absently he realized the earthquake must have set off an avalanche.

Jale abandoned her torch, and threw all of her weight against the gate. The snow hadn't covered the whole entrance yet, but it was pinning the gate in place. Tanden and Soren ran forward to help. With all three of them, they managed to force the top of the gate to bend.

"Jale, go," Soren growled. He was doing the brunt of the work.

There was a moment when Jale paused, looking at them both with wide, panicked eyes. Tanden couldn't imagine what she was thinking. She had led them to the cave, she probably wanted to be the last to leave. But it didn't make any sense. She was smaller than both of them.

"Go," Tanden told her.

She climbed through the narrow gap. As soon she was out, she started to shovel snow out of the way. "I'll clear as much as I can, but we don't have a lot of time," she said in a rush.

They couldn't do anything but wait. Jale needed to move some snow before they could push open the gate wide enough for either of them to fit through. Tanden thought about that, and he thought about how Soren was closer to the opening. Then he tried to stop thinking.

"All right, come out," Jale called. She had cleared some snow, and managed to plant herself in a sturdy enough position that she could hold and pull back on the gate, helping keep it open.

Tanden took a deep breath and braced his foot against a rock. "Soren."

"No."

"This isn't the time to argue. I can hold this side while you get out, and then both of you can pull it wide enough for me." He wasn't sure if that actually made sense. He just knew he needed Soren to get out of the cave first. "Mate, please."

"Now!" Jale shouted from outside.

"Captain."

Tanden adjusted so he could push against the gate more firmly. "Soren, we can't both make big, romantic sacrifices. Go. Once you're safe, you can help me get out."

Soren didn't argue, but he did lean in to quickly give Tanden a kiss. Then he stopped pushing on the gate and started to climb out.

Tanden felt the extra pressure immediately, but he could hold the gate long enough. He knew he could. And then once Soren and Jale were safe, even if more snow slid down the hill, they would be able to dig him out.

The rumbling started again before Soren was clear. Tanden urged him to move faster. As he watched Soren slowly squeeze through the gap, he noticed something that nearly made his heart stop. There were cracks in the stone. It wasn't just the avalanche that was going to trap him. The cave entrance was going to collapse.

Tanden watched the cracks grow. Further in the cave, he heard a thud as something broke loose and fell. Then Soren's foot was clear. Tanden heard an alarmed shout from Jale, and Soren yelling. He felt the ground shake. He saw the cracks widen. He knew he was out of time.

He abandoned the gate and ran across the cave, straight for the proper mine entrance.

The first thing Soren noticed was the silence.

The snow had settled, and the forest around them was still. There was no birdsong, even the horses were quiet.

Soren stared at the mound of snow, fallen trees, and rocks that covered the cave entrance. He knew he owed Jale his life. She had grabbed him and yanked him away before he even knew what was happening. She was lying beside him, partially trapped under the snow. For a second he thought she was dead. Then she groaned and pushed herself up.

The shock that was clouding his thoughts cleared, and he scrambled to his feet. Tanden was still in there. He started to dig.

The first thing Tanden noticed was the silence.

After the rumbling stopped, and the final bits of rock collapsed, there was silence.

He lay on his back in the mineshaft, panting, his heart racing. Slowly, he became aware of a throbbing pain in his left arm. He tried to move it, only to find that he couldn't. It was trapped.

"Well..." he muttered into the darkness. "This isn't ideal."