UNLOCKED, kotlc

Chapter 76

Sophie didn't know any other way to go but down.

She wanted light. And a warm cloak. And Keefe to be by her side calling her Foster and cracking jokes and smirking at her.

Now she was all alone.

The little light in the cave quickly dissipated and soon all she could do was feel her way around the steps, grasping for the crumbling handle and half-tripping down the stairs. It didn't help that she was ten times clumsier than any other elf she'd met.

Where did the stairs lead? Probably just a room. No... not a room. Another cavern? And were the Neverseen planning to get overthrown to make her walk down these horrible steps? Or maybe it was just their backup plan?

She figured she'd probably die tripping off the narrow steps and into the abyss of darkness below than from whatever the Neverseen had planned for her. She'd already almost fallen off twice.

Sophie briefly recalled Keefe and Fitz betting about what step she would trip on- but the satisfaction went away just as quickly as she realized one trip could also mean certain death...

"Hello? Anyone there?" Her voice echoed around and sounded so loud that she wished she could take it back.

Nothing.

Should she just jump over the edge and teleport away? Or wait... could she even teleport right now? Transferring shadowflux to stellarlune was both exhausting physically and mentally and teleporting required both- she knew she was mentally rambling, but she was trying to keep her mind off... things.

Keefe was alive. That was good. But his mind was... silent. Unconscious minds shouldn't be silent. The only silent-and-disfunctioning-but-alive minds Sophie had seen were... Prentice. And Alden. 

So did that mean... his mind was broken?

Sophie face planted onto the stone with an embarrassing yelp as the steps ended abruptly but her foot was already reaching down. She hastily scrambled to her feet, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dim light...

There was a... stand. No. Wait. Wrong word... more like a pedestal. Made out of hard rock that was firmly attached to the stone floor. And on top of it was....

A cache.

But not just any cache. Lady Gisela's cache.

But caches were sanity shattering, heart breaking, despicable, deceptive little things. But it could also hold truths about Keefe's thankfully unfinished legacy- and about what they had to do next.

Because the Neverseen weren't defeated. Yes, Adela was defected, along with a measly five members. Yes, Lady Gisela was dead. But there were still more rebel dwarves locked up in exile that could always escape. Gethen and Vespera could easily lead the Neverseen- or maybe an organization under a new name?

This was just the start for them.  

And maybe this cache could help?

But then that brought her to the why. Who had set the cache there? Certainly not Lady Gisela herself- she would never dream of helping Sophie. Which meant... somebody stole it from her? Adela? That didn't make sense- why would she go through all the trouble of digging and carving and sculpting if she could just smile and hand over the cache herself?

And... should she open it right now?

No. Sophie wanted to do it with Keefe... if Keefe's mind wasn't broken and she could bring him back....

She hated caches. Only bad things came with them.

And then she glanced up the stairs that she now had to climb up...

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.