Blaire

With relatively full stomachs and slightly less sore limbs, all seven women rose, packed their things, refilled their steel canteens from the clear pool, and approached the pair of tunnels at the back of the cavern. Neither looked particularly inviting, in Blaire’s opinion.

The first was a very short dead-end, much to Matilde’s frustration.

The other, filled to the brim with trolls. Every time they cut down another handful of the snuffling beasts, there seemed to be another group waiting around the next bend in the path. They quickly gave up the process of skinning the bodies and collecting their meat, the weight of their packs growing heavy enough to slow them.

When they reached another wall of bumpy mud blocking them moving any further, Matilde slammed her fists against it. It did not yield to her. The lines gouged into the dark earth informed them that a far larger tool was required to shift this clay-like mud, and that someone had been trying recently with something long and sharp.

“Our only remaining option is the hole in the ceiling back in the large chamber with the pool,” Eudora said quietly and turned on her heel, apparently to do just that. She walked stiffly and Blaire wondered if it was the pressure pulling at her - her brain so preoccupied with trying to piece together another plan that it had left her body to wield itself.

“And how do you propose we reach such heights?” Matilde growled; although, she followed a step behind Eudora and allowed herself to be led back up the tunnel.

Eudora did not answer. She put one leather boot in front of the other. Blaire followed, knowing her leader was thinking and that she trusted her. That was enough for now.

“We could not touch the earth above with every woman here balanced on each other’s shoulders. It is impossible,” Matilde added angrily.

“The water in the pool was rising from the rain, was it not?” Kali wondered aloud.

Blaire sighed softly, wishing she did not have to crush the first idea any of them had come up with. She said as gently as she could, “Incredibly slowly.”

“Eventually it will fill and raise us!” Lowri suggested with a small and hopeful smile; clearly, she was choosing to ignore Blaire’s counsel. But then is it not normal to wish to only listen to those with positive words?

“By which point our corpses can climb out into the fresh Western air,” Magali snapped wearily. She did not have the stamina of the other women in their group and was growing more irritable with every fatiguing action she was forced to take. Blaire wished there was a way in which she could relieve her of her exhaustion, but without a comfortable spot to rest there was nothing. Not that the others would likely be in any mood to stop again. Magali was just… so delicate. She was a doll; a doll filled with unimaginable magical power.

Kali peered at Magali curiously. “And what is your plan, mage?” she asked with a raised brow.

Magali stared the southerner down with her sharp, dark eyes.

“We must dig our way out,” Eudora stated. Although, she could have very well been speaking to herself.

“The entire entrance is filled with mud,” Kali reminded them. “We can not dig from our tunnels to the door.”

“We will not dig back the way we came,” Magali explained slowly, her eyes on Eudora to confirm that they were sharing their thoughts, that this was what Eudora intended. “We will find the highest point in the cavern and dig upwards from there. This mine is set into a mountain, but if there is a thin spot in that room, we must use it to our advantage.”

Eudora nodded.

Matilde scrunched her face but did not argue. Blaire assumed that meant she had no better plan in her inventory. Not that she wouldn’t put it past the woman to argue for the sake of it. For the sake of taking back the power in the group.

“We can carve stairs into the wall with enough hands working at it,” Eudora muttered, turning on the spot as though mapping out the ascent with her eyes against the curved walls of the oversized room.

“And what shall we dig with?” Kali asked, her voice full of amusement. It seemed even when faced with starving to death the slim woman could not take anything seriously.

“You have weapons do you not?” Magali prompted them.

Every woman pulled their blade or spear out. Dani removed two short daggers from her thick boots and Lowri held her mace up with an uncertain expression. Kali snorted and handed her a small dagger that Blaire was fairly certain she had just whipped out of her brassier. Lowri took it gratefully.

“Do you, mage?” Kali asked, grinning.

Magali lifted her cloak and robes to reveal Neela, her prized crystal dagger, strapped to her thigh over cloth leggings. Blaire took note that she would need to find a moment to discuss hardier trousers with her. She knew Magali wore a leather chest piece under her robes, but she should not leave her legs open to injury; she could be incapacitated too easily that way.

“Blue crystal.” Kali whistled. “I would bet a fair amount of silvers that little pricker is heavily enchanted.”

Magali cut her eyes at her. “I will not delve into too much detail, we do not have the time, but I would advise you do your best not to get pricked.”

Eudora clapped her hands together once, regaining the room’s attention.“Magali, Blaire… Matilde, I should like your help in planning where best to begin.” She nodded for them to follow her towards the nearest wall.

Kali rolled her eyes, but surprisingly had nothing to say. Instead she wrapped an arm around Lowri’s shoulders and bumped her hip against her. Lowri appeared most pleased with this display of affection. Dani stood still and said nothing, but her eyes had been locked onto Magali’s dagger since it had been unsheathed.

Eudora ran her finger against the hard mud wall. “I believe our safest option is to begin here and work our way up clockwise. What are your thoughts?” she asked their small huddle.

The four women debated and deliberated for far less time than Blaire had expected, and once Magali had scribbled her calculations across a scruffy, dog-eared piece of parchment, they agreed upon dividing themselves into three teams. They would not be able to carve at the same steps at the same time, and it would be best to be digging all day if they could. Their day would be broken into a four-part schedule, one part sleep, two meals and one long digging shift. They would rotate their groups through this schedule for maximum digging efforts; so that for at least three-quarters of each day, someone would be progressing their escape route.

They returned to the three women lounging on Dani’s cloak (once again spread across the moist dirt) and explained the expected route, the shift patterns and how they intended to divide themselves.

Magali volunteered to join the first team to work, that way she could ensure all of her measurements and calculations were being followed perfectly from the first cut. Before Blaire could offer herself to join Magali, Matilde barked that she also wished to dig first. Apparently she was going to ‘lose her mind’ if she did not start working immediately.

Perhaps that was for the best, Blaire consoled herself. Matilde was clearly frustrated and needed an outlet for that energy. Also, Eudora had been watching over Lowri for more than a day straight, and Blaire knew she most likely needed a break from the questions, the never-ending energy, the inability to contain her enthusiasm even in dire situations. In other words: all of the attributes that made Lowri… Lowri.

“I should like to take Lowri,” she announced to the group. “While Magali and Matilde begin the dig we can trail back along our paths and collect any troll meat we were unable to carry previously. We will need to stockpile all of the food available to us in order to see us through this task.”

Kali threw an arm up, muddy at the elbow where she had been stretched across Dani’s small cloak. “I would like to join your team also, Lady Blaire!”

“Please do not call me that.”

“Madame Blaire, it is then!”

“That leaves Eudora and Dani,” Matilde interjected, much to Blaire’s relief.

Eudora nodded. “We can prepare a living space and plan meals,” she decided, smiling at Dani as she laid out their tasks. “Then attempt to get some rest, we will be third to take a turn at digging.”

Dani nodded in agreement.

“I will leave the meals to you, Dani. I have seen that you are a highly capable cook. I would not wish to get in your way,” Eudora said kindly, already making use of her likeability. She was rather skilled at forming bonds with women. Perhaps that was why she excelled in leadership. Blaire had no doubt she would have the short woman’s approval by the end of the day.

Dani nodded and strode away to begin setting up a cooking area.

Eudora collected the women’s bedding and any supplies they were carrying in their packs to sort through and store away. “If you wish to relive yourselves, I will be digging a hole in the dead-end tunnel.”

“Aren’t they all dead-ends?” Kali mused aloud.

“The one which is only a few metres deep,” Eudora added patiently.

“The acoustics shall be lovely.”

As a group, they silently agreed not to respond to Kali’s comment.

Instead, Magali decided to take the floor. “Now that we have our marvellous escape plan in place, should we not discuss the suspicious elements of our situation?” she suggested with folded arms and raised brows. With her cloak and robes slid to her elbows, she resembled a school mistress from Blaire’s childhood, scolding her class for chattering during her lecture. Not that Blaire got to experience a great deal of schooling, only the years that were offered without tuition fees.

“Suspicious?” Lowri asked with wide eyes.

“If no one here is exaggerating, there were more than thirty trolls nested within these tunnels.” Magali dragged her stern look over each woman as though scanning them for visible clues that would reveal whether or not they had lied about their conquests.

“That... is ludicrous,” Matilde agreed, her brows pulled together and eyes staring just past Eudora’s face and into the distance.

“Trolls live in packs no larger than five members strong. What are the chances that they wandered in through a single entrance, pack by pack, and designated themselves each a separate area to rule over?”

“Impossible,” Matilde stated firmly.

An incredibly long pause sat between the women, all holding flummoxed expressions.

“What is your theory, Magali?” Eudora asked gently.

“I have not settled on one as of yet, but I am almost certain a third party was involved.”

“A rival mine owner?” Matilde offered. However, her voice did not indicate that she believed her own suggestion.

Lowri’s face was alight with the thrill of mystery as she threw in her own guess with far too much excitement. “A scorned worker?”

Eudora gave her a disapproving look, reminding her without a word that this was a serious issue.

“Well, we shall have plenty of time to ponder while we work,” said Kali, stretching her lithe body and giving her spear a few lazy twirls. “Ladies, let us go and skin some trolls!”

It was imperative that they collected the meat and preserved it before it had time to rot. Blaire nodded her agreement and instructed Lowri to leave everything but Kali’s small knife and her carry sack. Kali left her spear with the packs, which she demanded that Dani ‘guard with her life.’ Dani blinked owlishly at her and returned to her own task.

They split into their respective teams: Dani preparing another fire with a larger pit, Eudora taking herself to the short tunnel to dig out a latrine, Blaire, Kali and Lowri heading towards their trail of troll carcass.

“We need to start digging,” Matilde announced firmly.

Blaire could almost hear Magali gritting her teeth before she replied, “We need to carefully begin marking the earth where we will be making the incisions.” Her voice brimmed with frustration. Blaire wished to kiss the creases from her brow away.

“Tell me where to dig, mage,” Matilde growled. Blaire’s fantasy disintegrated and she walked away to join her group.

As the three of them entered the cramped tunnel they had already walked the length of twice, Blaire pictured Magali attempting to restrain Matilde as though she were a wild horse. The image in her mind came complete with reins and stirrups. She was uncertain as to who would win this battle of wills. Magali, the reigning reasoning champion or Matilde, the stubborn sovereign. She had a preferred victor though, and it was not Matilde.

She respected Matilde for her battle prowess, and had dutifully followed her for a fair few years as part of her mercenary group. When it came to straight-forward tasks such as a fight, she trusted Matilde and knew she was more than capable of seeing them through safely. When it came to the construction of an enormous inverted staircase that was required to hold the weight of seven women and lead them to freedom in order to avoid dying a slow and hungry death, Blaire trusted Magali’s wide knowledge and careful calculations. Every person had their own specialism; she would not follow Magali into a fight, and she did not trust Matilde and her heavy-handed attitude to hold control over the digging operation.

Regardless, she had her own task to complete and it would not do to be distracted by thoughts of Matilde and Magali locking horns. She was certain Eudora would intervene if things were to get out of hand.