Kali

The rain was hammering at the thick canopy of branches above now, picking up force as they rode until it finally began to break through in bursts of random spray, occasionally catching the rump of a horse or the crown of a woman’s head.

Upon catching sight of the open world on the other side of the last ring of trees they bunched together as close as their steeds and the wild woodland would allow to survey the onslaught of water pounding the ground ahead of them. The noise alone drowned out the sounds that had accompanied them for the majority of their journey: birds hooting and tweeting, rustling leaves, splintering twigs and the varied grunts and growls of small furry creatures roaming amongst the writhing roots.

“We’ll need to-” Eudora paused with a disgruntled expression as she realised her voice was being overpowered by the rain. She made a second attempt, far louder this time. “We will need to leave our horses in the forest, there is no shelter sturdy enough out there.” Her voice was straining as she pushed it louder and louder with each word.

“Agreed!” Matilde yelled.

They tethered their horses with as much rope as they had available: they couldn’t say for certainty how long they would be gone, and if they didn’t return at all they needed to know their steeds could get food and water until they were discovered by whichever travellers visited Celandine next. Kali snuck a small carrot into her mare’s mouth and gave her cream mane an affectionate ruffle, Merry was a damn fine horse and Kali doubted any northerner would appreciate just how incredible she was if Kali were to die in that mouldy mine.

“I’ll be back, Merry,” she whispered. Merry gave her ear a forceful lick and nuzzled her neck.

They left their horses behind and crossed the boundary line out into the beating rain. If Kali didn’t have her core strength built on years of swing-riding she may have stumbled under the sheer weight of the water falling upon them in unrelenting sheets. The mage’s cloak-covered head was knocked forward a few inches at the first impact but she recovered quickly, pulling herself up straight with a grimace - and a hand of support from Blaire. The clamour of the rain covered Kali’s snorting laughter but Matilde still gave her a look of warning. Could she not tell that Kali had been clawing back her natural personality for a day and a night? She was doing her utmost best to behave herself. Gods forbid she would embarrass Matilde in front of her past lover. Eudora was nothing less than perfection in Matilde’s eyes, Kali didn’t need to hear her say it, she could see it in her face clear as a southern morning sky.

She flicked that cloud of noxious thought from her mind, clearing her head with a deep breath, and followed the pack towards the mountain range that towered ahead.

Silver Night Mine was far less grand than Kali had assumed from it’s name. It appeared to be no more than a battered wooden door wedged into the front of a rather stunted mountain, the smallest of the range they had marched to. Outside lay an assortment of carts and rubble and a sign warning away the nosey and the foolish, not that it could be easily read what with the waterfall coating every item without shelter in a constant splattering.

“Is this it?” she asked of Blaire, who had fallen back in pace to stride beside her. Finding herself almost shouting into the woman’s ear.

“It may not look so impressive from the outside but Silver Night Mine is a beast in and of itself,” Blaire yelled back. “Long tunnels, winding path,s and endless darkness.”

“Delightful!” Kali cried.

Through the pelting rain she almost thought she spied an amused smirk on Blaire’s sun-kissed face.

“Let’s get inside, I’d rather face trolls than any more rain,” Matilde announced, leading them through the soggy old door.

Even through the rain, Kali could tell that Eudora and Blaire were most unimpressed with Matilde attempting (and for now succeeding) to take charge of their mismatched group. They shared sour expressions and followed Matilde into the dark mine. The magic-wielder tailed them closely, her pretty plum-coloured cloak hanging heavy on her shoulders with all the water it had soaked up - that was the problem with those fancy materials, the ones that cost more gold than a good sword, they weren’t very practical.

The young one hesitated at the entrance, stepping back to allow Kali to enter ahead of her, perhaps as a sign of respect although Kali didn’t care to ask, she grabbed the kid by the scruff of her neck and shoved her inside the cramped tunnel. For a young woman who did not have the gift of height, the girl was bulky and Kali was surprised at the strength required to manhandle her.

She pulled the door shut behind them with a squelching sound and a small wave of sloppy mud rode in with the force. She dodged it just in time to save her leather boots. The percussion of the rain wasn’t greatly dimmed by the closed door but she would rather hear it than feel it any more.

Only Kali and Matilde were forced to curve their backs slightly due to the low ceiling; the mage, Blaire and Eudora had only to avoid bumps and dips of rock from above; Dani and the kid were without worry aside from their hair: Dani lowered her topknot, tying it at the back of her neck, and the young’un made an attempt to flatten her budding frohawk with damp hands. The sharp tip of Selenia strapped to Kali’s back caught the rocky ceiling with a quiet-yet-toe-curling screech that forced her to drop a further few inches and slip her prized spear from its holster, letting it hang low in an easy and experienced grip.

They crept forward together, gaining their bearings, allowing their eyes to adjust to the din and feeling the moisture drip from their armour. When Eudora paused and raised her hand for them to follow suit the magic wielder’s hands began to emanate a dull light from beneath her milk-white skin. The unspoken reveal of magic had Matilde peering at her suspiciously.

“Magali specialises in protection magic,” Blaire whispered in explanation.

“You’re each getting a physical shield,” the mage mumbled, concentrating on her illuminated hands, cupping and bouncing them, moulding an invisible clay. “And dry clothes.”

Kali felt her shield skim over her skin like bubbles along a stream at the seat of a waterfall. It wasn’t unpleasant, it was also not what she remembered her sister’s magic feeling like when it touched her, Veda’s magic was warm, sometimes uncomfortably so.

“As we agreed in the forest, Dani and I will each take a side at the opening into the main chamber and take the first shots,” Eudora reminded them in her incredibly soft voice, “once the trolls start charging, Matilde will lead Kali, Blaire, and Lowri to confront them head-on. Magali will continue to cast spells of protection.”

The group nodded their understanding and observed Magali’s crafting as only non-magic-wielders do: in awe and confusion.

“You got any healing magic?” Matilde asked quietly.

Magali released another shield and Kali noticed Dani shiver just a little before the mage answered, “One very basic spell but it can’t help with anything more severe than a grazed elbow.”

“I don’t intend to injure myself beyond a grazed elbow, anyway!” Kali muttered as cheerfully as she could.

“I specialise in three divisions, I won’t apologise for not being proficient in a fourth,” Magali huffed, finishing up her last shield with a flick of her fingers.

Kali’s sister specialised in three divisions as well, an impressive feat accomplished by so few magic-wielders. Kali did not stroke Magali’s ego though, she got the impression this pale lady was more than aware of her own intelligence.

All coated in a thin magical barrier, they followed the dark tunnel to the main chamber where grunts and growls echoed off the damp walls. The odour of wet fur and stale blood was irritating both Kali’s nose and her stomach.

Once the tusked creatures were within their sight they simultaneously crouched lower, shuffling to the edge of the tunnel with extreme caution. Dani squatted behind a slick boulder, lining up her crossbow and Eudora knelt with her knee against a jut in the wall to steady herself and readied her bow which was almost too large for the cramped passage.

It was only the first cavern, and yet a full pack of matured trolls roamed the dark and dirty room, snuffling and grunting to each other. Whether it was nerves or excitement bubbling in Kali’s stomach she didn’t care, she was ready either way to take tusks as trophies.

She brought Selenia to her waist and adjusted her grip, rubbing her thumb into one of the many grooves that lined the spear’s shaft in the shapes of stars in a variety of sizes and styles. She may not keep all of the old traditions of the star gods but she had promised her mother when she left the dagger that she would keep their presence close.

An arrow and a steel-tipped bolt launched in perfect unison and Kali gave her hips a smooth swing from left to right, an unnecessary warm-up before the hairy brutes charged.