Luck in the Shadows

tell his visitors about this route," Seregil muttered.
    Micum shrugged. "A good fight puts the fire of Sakor in your blood. I think we could all use the warmth!"
    Seregil cocked a wry eyebrow at Alec.
    "He works as hard to find trouble as I do avoiding it."
    With a derisive chuckle, Micum climbed down the ladder. Alec followed while Seregil took a moment to prop several small crates to fall over the door when it closed.
    Once down, Micum rummaged in a belt pouch and drew out a small glowing object. Its pale radiance spilled out through his fingers, spreading a small circle of light.
    "Magic?" Alec asked, leaning closer.
    "A lightstone," Seregil told him. "I lost mine in a dice game two months ago and I've been fumbling around with flint and steel ever since."
    "Too bad it doesn't give off any heat,"
    Micum said, chaffing his arms as he led the way down the tunnel.
    "Where are we?"
    "An escape tunnel leading out of town," Micum explained. "It has openings near the lake shore and another just inside the woods. The Temple of Dalna has one, too. The idea was to be able to evacuate the town secretly if it was ever besieged. I doubt it would work, though-most likely bring you right up in front of the enemy. But it was thought up by merchants, not generals. As it is, Seregil and I have probably made the best use of them over the last few years."
    "Where to now? The cave?" Seregil was shivering visibly now as he tried to pull his stiff cloak more closely about him.
    "That's the closest place."
    The passage ran in a fairly straight line back from the river. It was hardly wide enough for two men to pass, and the roof was so low that Micum had to stoop in places. The damp earthen walls, shored up at intervals with timber, gave off an unpleasant chill. Blotches of lichen and pale fungi sprouted from the support beams. After some time, the tunnel branched.
    Taking the right fork, Micum drew his sword and whispered over his shoulder, "Look sharp, boy, in case we have company."
    Alec moved to draw his own blade but Seregil nudged his hand away from the hilt. "Never mind that," he said. "You couldn't get by to fight and if you stumbled, you'd probably run Micum through. If we meet anyone, fade back with me and stay out of the way."
    But they met nothing except a few rats and slow-moving salamanders, and soon the tunnel began to slant upward, ending at a narrow cave. It was hardly more than a thin cleft in the rock and the floor of it narrowed sharply to a y making for uncomfortable going.
    Barking shins, hands, and heads against sharp-edged stones, they clambered up the fissure. Micum pocketed the lightstone as they reached the top and they pushed their way through a dense thicket of bramble at the mouth of the cave.
    Looking around, Alec saw that they were somewhere in the woods; stands of oak, birch, and fir grew thickly around them. The sinking moon cast netted shadows through the canopy of branches overhead, curling darkness beneath the firs. Dawn was a few hours away and all was still.
    Seregil was trembling more violently than the others.
    "You never could stand the cold," Micum said, unclasping his cloak. When Seregil moved to shrug it away, Micum stopped him with a stern look and swung it around his shoulders himself.
    "Save your pride for warmer days, you damn fool. The boy and I are bred to it. Your blood's too thin. Come on."
    Still scowling, Seregil tied the cloak strings under his chin without further protest.
    Moving quietly over the snowy ground, they headed deeper into the forest. The ground rose and fell sharply, and the shadows were thick, but Micum went along as confidently as if they were hiking a highroad.
    Halfway up a hillside, they reached another cave. It was larger than the last and its opening lay in plain
    sight. High-roofed and shallow, it narrowed at the back to a tiny passage leading farther into the hillside. Alec and Seregil were slim enough to pass through sideways without much trouble, but Micum grunted and swore as he worked his way in.
    "I don't recall you having so much trouble a few years back," observed Seregil.
    "Shut up, you," Micum wheezed, pulling free at last.
    The crevice twisted sharply several times, threatening to close altogether, but finally opened into a wider space.
    Micum brought out his light again, and Alec saw that they were in another cave, this one quite large.
    Wood lay arranged for a fire in a circle of stones. Hunkering down beside it, Seregil found a small jar among the