StarFarers?‖
Jack turned around, his disbelief making him laugh a little. Did she not understand?
―Symbolise? No, sweet heart, these pillars are accurate representations of the Icarii. Sweet lady,
the Icarii are winged people.‖
24
ACROSS THE PLAINS OF ARCNESS
If the climb down to the Star Gate was hard, the ascent was a nightmare.
The stairwell that had led down from the tomb to the Star Gate had been made of
well-crafted stone, but the stone corridor Jack took them through to escape the Star Gate quickly
degenerated into nothing more than a tunnel carved out of the living earth, only the occasional
wooden strut looming out of the dark to relieve the uncertain lines of the earthen walls. As they
gradually came closer to the surface, deep tree roots pierced the walls of the tunnel and water
dripped down from the roof. Caught in the fold of a cloak or a skirt and then sucked free, the
moisture provided only bare relief from thirst. Along with the moisture, great chunks of earth
also fell periodically from the roof. To preserve light Jack allowed only one lamp to glow at any
given time and Faraday clung close to Timozel as they stumbled over the uneven floor, terrified
that the tunnel would collapse on her at any moment.
According to Jack, and how he knew neither Faraday nor Timozel could fathom, it took
them the best part of a day and a night to reach the surface. Jack explained that their ascent was
taking a great deal longer because this particular tunnel led them to a spot far distant from the
Barrows. It was the tunnel he had used on his previous three journeys to the Star Gate, he said, and had once been in much better repair—it had, in fact, been one of the main entrance ways to
the Star Gate for the Icarii. But with the passing centuries the tunnel was slowly collapsing in on
itself.
Faraday found herself spending long stretches of time thinking of her mother. Silent tears
welled and flowed down her cheeks, and she brushed them aside, trying to be strong.
Timozel hardly spoke during their ascent. He stayed close by Faraday‘s side, lying down
beside her to keep her warm whenever Jack called a rest and supporting her as they floundered
through the dark tunnel, but unusually reticent whenever Faraday tried to talk to him.
Finally, when it seemed as though they could not go on, that they‘d never see daylight
again, they came to a solid earth wall blocking their path.
Timozel pushed past Yr to stand next to Jack, who was running his hands over the wall.
―Can your magic get us past this, then?‖ he rasped, barely managing to get the words out through
his parched throat. Timozel‘s dislike and distrust of Jack had grown with each step through the
dark and dank tunnel.
Jack stared at him flatly. ―No magic, boy, but your back and mine. This is the wall,
perhaps some two paces thick, that conceals the entrance. We should be able to dig through it
with just the two of us. Yr, Faraday, stand back, but be prepared to move quickly when I call.‖
Yr and Faraday took several paces back, as Jack began scraping at the wall with his
hands, but Timozel put a hand to his shoulder.
―Wait,‖ he said. He pulled his axe from his weapon belt and started to hew into the
earthen wall, standing well back and swinging his entire shoulders into the effort. Jack leaped out
of the way as clods of earth flew in every direction.
―Be careful, you fool boy!‖ he croaked, choking on the loose dirt drifting through the air,
―or you‘ll bring the whole tunnel down around our ears.‖ He hefted his staff in his hand, as if he
was debating with himself whether to strike Timozel or the earthen wall.
Timozel took no notice of Jack‘s warning and Faraday found herself praying, to whom
she did not know or care, that Timozel would break through quickly. She felt as if she would die
if she did not stretch her face to the sky soon.
Finally there was a rush of earth and the remaining lamp was smothered in dirt. Timozel
stepped back, choking as the earth tumbled about his shoulders.
―Now!‖ cried Jack. The women hesitated, terrified by the sudden dark and the sounds of
the earthfall before them, but both Jack and Timozel reached for their arms and hauled them
through the shifting, collapsing mass of earth. For several terrifying heartbeats the four battled
through the earthfall, trying as best they could to protect their heads and to prevent too much of
the dirt from entering their noses and mouths.
Then, suddenly, miraculously, they were free into cold, grey daylight, stumbling through
dry knee-high grass, coughing and choking as they tried to free their throats of dirt.
Faraday collapsed into the grass, retching and choking until she thought that she would
vomit her entire stomach up through her mouth. Through her distress she could dimly hear the
other three choking and retching as well. Eventually her heaving abated, and she rolled onto her
back, wiping her streaming eyes with the backs of her hands. For long minutes Faraday lay still,
staring at the clouds scudding across the late afternoon sky, drawing in as much of the clean air
as she could manage.
Eventually she sat up, beginning to shiver in the frigid air. The other three were also
stirring, wiping the dirt from their faces then running, shaking trembling fingers through their
hair to rid it of as much earth as possible. Faraday looked back towards where they had come.
There was a low hill in front of her, largely covered with small rosenberry bushes. Part of one
side of it looked to have collapsed in on itself and, as she sat looking towards the hill, Faraday
thought she could feel faint vibrations through the ground. Jack saw her looking at her hand as it
rested on the ground. ―The whole tunnel is collapsing,‖ he rasped between dry coughs. ―We got
out just in time.‖ It was the first time that Faraday had seen him even slightly rattled by events.
Timozel heaved himself to his feet and held out a hand for Faraday. ―That we escaped
with our lives from such a hole is enough. I care not if the entire Star Gate collapses in on itself.
Faraday, are you all right?‖
Faraday shook out her cloak and brushed her skirt and blouse as free from dirt as she
could. Timozel was strangely calm considering the events of the last few minutes. He seemed
older, more certain of himself. There was some undefinable quality about him she had not seen
previously. Faraday shrugged, perhaps it was simply the dirt. No doubt they all looked vastly
different to what they had several days ago before they had been exposed to storm and mud and a
variety of earthfalls.
―Ah, my treasures!‖ Jack suddenly called happily, his voice stronger. ―You have found
me!‖
Faraday looked up. Trotting across the plain were Jack‘s pigs, each and every one of
them wearing a large grin of pleasure, their tiny eyes gleaming between rolls of fat. They heaved
and grunted and rolled and ambled and almost bowled Jack over with exuberant affection when
they reached him. The sight made everyone smile.
Yr turned to Faraday and Timozel. ―Well, at least Jack‘s happy. But I, dear ones, could
use a drink and a wash.‖
Jack stood up from petting his pigs. His face wore a huge amiable grin. ―There‘s a stream
not far from here, and we can drink and wash there.‖
―Food?‖ Timozel inquired, slipping his axe back into his weapon belt from where he had
dropped it in the grass.
―Ah, well, food is a little further off. I have friends, good folk, some distance from here,
who can provide us with food and shelter and, um,‖ Jack‘s eyes slid across to Yr, ―clothes. But
they are some leagues distant, and we will have to walk most of the night and tomorrow morning
to reach them.‖
―Isn‘t there anywhere closer?‖ Faraday asked despairingly. She did not think she could
walk through the night. Not after the interminable hours spent tramping though the earth tunnel.
―You are going to have to get used to walking, my Lady Faraday,‖ Yr said dryly, ―unless
you want to ride one of the pigs.‖
Jack led them to a stream some hundred paces away, and they all splashed as much of the
dirt from their faces and arms as they could before lying prone along the stream‘s banks and
slurping up great gulps of water. Jack allowed them a couple of hours to recover, but he wanted
them to start moving before night fell. The wind was cold and the sky overcast. If they couldn‘t
find adequate shelter then the best way to keep warm was to keep moving. None of them were