Will Of The Fates

32.

My voice was clear, my words curt as I stared at the others. What stared back at me was my worries and fears confirmed.

Sidas looked down at my foot, or behind it. "That's what the stick was for, huh?"

The ones that hadn't seen me place the first one turned to Sidas with confusion. I nodded. "I have no doubt that the one inside broke as well."

"What sticks?" Risna replied immediately.

I met his eyes. "Remember when you scraped your head entering?" His hand rose to his head. He rubbed it as he nodded. He didn't really need to remember. It happened almost every time he entered. "I placed a stick in between the rocks at both ends. They broke." Everyone's eyes widened with the implication.

"The walls are closing in." Pippa whispered, her head raised towards the wall.

"More importantly, the dungeon is." Elikai frowned slowly. "We'll need to hurry."

"Hold on." I shook my head. "We can't just hurry anymore. We need to move cautiously."

Sidas looked me over, curiosity in his brown eyes. "You have a plan?"

"Yes." I nodded as I met his eyes. "And it starts with leaving you three behind."

The silence that fell after my words was another one of surprise. I raised my head and held Sidas' gaze as it went from surprise to a slow, confused anger. "Emerys... what do you mean?"

"Don't get angry yet, Sidas." I replied as I took a step towards him. "I have a reason for this."

"It better be good."

"You'll only hear it if you sit first. This affects everyone. Not just you."

His jaw tightened at my partial orders. He'd always been the unspoken leader of our group. While all of our words held sway, somehow his had been the heaviest. But at the moment, as we stared at each other, I could feel my words carry weight.

Sidas eyes shifted to Risna's hand on his shoulder. "Let's listen, Sidas." The big man spoke. "She's thought this through way before any of us even considered it."

Elikai sighed and turned away without a word as the two stood in front of me. He sat down and met my eyes expectantly. Sidas' tense shoulders relaxed, and he too turned away. He sat down beside Elikai, Risna took the other side with Pippa and Pyr. Hanna stayed on her feet, and I stayed by the wall.

My arms went across my chest as I chewed my lip in silence for a few moments. "You guys... Sidas, Risna, Elikai, Pippa—" the little girl's eyes widened as I said her name "—none of you will enter the dungeon now on."

"Pippa too?" Risna muttered softly amidst the surprise in the clearing.

I nodded to confirm. "The three of you..." I met the men's eyes once more. "You're all bigger and taller than the four of us. It's going to get harder and harder for you three to fit in as time goes past and the gap narrows. Risna would have either gotten stuck, or gotten cut deeper if we went in today." I lowered my head. "Sorry."

He waved at me, slightly down despite his dismissal. "Don't worry. I get it."

I nodded once at him before I continued. "Sidas would be next to be unable to fit through the gap." He was heavily muscled. Not as wideset or broad as Risna, but broader than the rest of us. "Then Elikai, just because of his height, then either Hanna or me, then Pyr." I shifted in placed as I sighed. "We obviously can't let it get to that, of course. So we'll leave you four behind."

Everyone exchanged glances. Sidas' anger seemed to have dissipated enough to listen patiently. He looked at Pippa. "She's the smallest. Why leave her behind?"