"The crosses? None of your concern, none at all," Kam seemed adamant. Once the fire was going he snatched his map back and turned it this way and that before putting it the right way up, "you've torn it!" He whined, "Do you know how much this thing cost me?"
Another loud scratch at the door saw the man all but jump out of his skin. He watched from his seat near the fire, trying to warm himself as Merevaika searched the skeleton, where she would discover upon turning him over, that he had died with his hands bound and something rolled up in his mouth; a sizeable cut of leather with markings on it, the same as Kam's map. On the back of his belt he wore a custom dagger, of which the blade snaked back and forth elegantly to a sharp point, "not the kind of weapon you want plunged into your back," Kam shivered, but accepted the woman's offering, anything he could use to defend himself was better than nothing.
As Merevaika rolled up the rug and pushed it to one side, her work revealed a hidden trap door in the middle of the room with a rusted, black circular hinge and lock they could pull to lift open. Kam got to his feet and opened the trapdoor to stare down into the darkened pit, wooden slats bolted to one side of the wall forming a makeshift ladder. His eyes seemed to light up, even if the prospect of wandering down into the foreboding darkness gave him the willies. He swallowed, summoning a bout of courage before taking a step forth as if to attempt the climb down when something knocked at the door again, causing Kam to spin around quickly and throw his arms up with fright, "my nerves can't take this!"
The world outside was quiet for a spell with only the crackle of the fire to break the silence. "I don't know what cut me," he admitted quietly, "one moment I was chasing after my steed, the next," he gestured to his arm, and clearly medicine was not for forte for he hadn't even wrapped his wound tightly enough to stop the bleeding, or at least slow it. His concentration was taken once again, not by the strange scratching this time, but the low, disgruntled sigh of his mule.
"He's here!" Kam raced to the door and before Merevaika could protest, he lifted the wooden lock and swung the door open. "Was that you who has been scratching this whole time?" The man grinned and stepped aside for the mule to waltz on inside and shake the water from his coat. Just as he went to shut the door, Merevaika's missing dog darted through the gap and sidled up to his master, whining and lifting his front right paw. Kam made sure the door was securely locked before turning with a chuckle, "silly me, I thought there was something far more dangerous out there. What do you say we get our lamps lit and find out what's down there? Ladies first, of course." His hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger, white knuckled and shaking.
Another loud scratch at the door saw the man all but jump out of his skin. He watched from his seat near the fire, trying to warm himself as Merevaika searched the skeleton, where she would discover upon turning him over, that he had died with his hands bound and something rolled up in his mouth; a sizeable cut of leather with markings on it, the same as Kam's map. On the back of his belt he wore a custom dagger, of which the blade snaked back and forth elegantly to a sharp point, "not the kind of weapon you want plunged into your back," Kam shivered, but accepted the woman's offering, anything he could use to defend himself was better than nothing.
As Merevaika rolled up the rug and pushed it to one side, her work revealed a hidden trap door in the middle of the room with a rusted, black circular hinge and lock they could pull to lift open. Kam got to his feet and opened the trapdoor to stare down into the darkened pit, wooden slats bolted to one side of the wall forming a makeshift ladder. His eyes seemed to light up, even if the prospect of wandering down into the foreboding darkness gave him the willies. He swallowed, summoning a bout of courage before taking a step forth as if to attempt the climb down when something knocked at the door again, causing Kam to spin around quickly and throw his arms up with fright, "my nerves can't take this!"
The world outside was quiet for a spell with only the crackle of the fire to break the silence. "I don't know what cut me," he admitted quietly, "one moment I was chasing after my steed, the next," he gestured to his arm, and clearly medicine was not for forte for he hadn't even wrapped his wound tightly enough to stop the bleeding, or at least slow it. His concentration was taken once again, not by the strange scratching this time, but the low, disgruntled sigh of his mule.
"He's here!" Kam raced to the door and before Merevaika could protest, he lifted the wooden lock and swung the door open. "Was that you who has been scratching this whole time?" The man grinned and stepped aside for the mule to waltz on inside and shake the water from his coat. Just as he went to shut the door, Merevaika's missing dog darted through the gap and sidled up to his master, whining and lifting his front right paw. Kam made sure the door was securely locked before turning with a chuckle, "silly me, I thought there was something far more dangerous out there. What do you say we get our lamps lit and find out what's down there? Ladies first, of course." His hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger, white knuckled and shaking.
