"Pages Torn"
“Pages Torn”
With pickaxe in hand, Anumi took a mighty swing into the side of the cave wall. Several pieces of stone splintered off and landed in the already large pile at his feet. The network of caves beneath the Nujel'm palace was massive indeed, but much of it remained unexplored to modern Britannians. Anumi wiped the sweat from his brow and put down his pickaxe as he sat down against the wall. As he rested, he surveyed the cave ahead and looked the other way to see the dimly lit passageway he had come from. He then removed a tome from his satchel, turned to a page that was marked, and began to read. The blue light emitting from the tome filled the entire chamber surrounding Anumi.
As Anumi rested and caught his breath, his attention was drawn by the crunching of footsteps on the gravel floor of the cave. He looked up to see the approaching figure of Carmine entering the chamber. Carmine smirked and then inquired:
"You'd think, with the treasury of Nujel'm at our disposal, you could afford a few miners."
Anumi chuckled a bit and replied:
"No, I don't think that is a good idea, especially if what I think is down here is actually down here behind those rocks."
Carmine looked over at the large boulder that Anumi had been working to break apart and pondered how to make it easier for it to be removed. He then reached into his satchel, removed a violet colored flask, and motioned for Anumi to take it. Anumi chuckled and continued:
"No, I don't think that will work. Might collapse the entire cave!"
Carmine nodded as he put the flask away. He then observed Anumi with the tome in his lap for a few moments before inquiring:
"While you've been digging in caves, I've began purging Nujel'm of its filth. Most of the leading members of the families have been imprisoned and will soon be executed as enemies of the state. Those that fled are being hunted down. We're close to achieving our dream and you've... well, what've you been doing, Anumi?"
Anumi looked up from his tome and pondered for a few moments before replying:
"Well, several of the Britannians have voiced support for Nujel'm. I intend to follow up on their offers of aide that we cannot provide for the citizens on the island. There are also a few others who are not convinced so easily."
Carmine walked a bit closer and sat down on the floor across from Anumi as he continued:
"The ranger from Riverwatch... She had stolen my heart. I did not expect it to happen that easily, Carmine."
"Did not expect it to... Anumi, you've fallen in love every other week since we were street rats!" Carmine said quietly, trying to maintain his composure, "Contain yourself for once. When word gets out of what we've been doing here, of who we are... we can't be distracted by --"
"That's just it!" Exclaimed Anumi as he held the tome up for Carmine to see. He then continued:
"I had seen it all as if it already happened! I knew right away as I laid eyes upon her at the Shattered Skull in Skara Brae a few months ago! She was to be the one..."
Carmine looked down for a bit as to show some sympathy. After a few moments, he looked back at Anumi who was lost in thought.
"But as I continued to read, she was torn away from me... The visions I saw, they were very troublesome... She was being carried and dragged away from me, I was being carried and dragged away from her... But our hands were reaching for one another. It was as if we were torn from each other against our wills." Said Anumi.
Carmine sat with his head against the wall and pondered for a few moments before inquiring:
"Do you remember those pages I gifted you?"
"Yes, what of them?" Replied Anumi.
"Did you read them?" Inquired Carmine.
"No... I have not; now that you mention it." Replied Anumi as he thought about where he had kept them in the Mazetti manor. Carmine then continued:
"The visions of her that you saw in the pages… was there something missing?"
Anumi looked at Carmine with a puzzled look on his face. He then thumbed through the tome to where he had seen the visions and noticed a few of the pages had been torn out. He then looked up at Carmine who was standing up and dusting off his clothes. Carmine then continued:
"Read what's written on those pages… it'll give you the closure you're looking for. And then get off your arse and get back to work before you get us killed. We're so… close."
Anumi sat back and thought about what could possibly be contained on the pages that Carmine had gifted to him. The desire to read them immediately got the better of Anumi and he stood up to leave the cave.
"Love's a distraction. Same as hate, same as vengeance. Stick to the plan -- everything else can wait." Said Carmine as he motioned for Anumi to continue his exit from chambers.
As Anumi walked back through the path he had taken in the caves, past his predecessor's old belongings, the path in front of him began to grow ever elongated. As he stared at the newfound length of the cave, a sudden pinhole of light at the end quickly grew to overwhelm his senses. As the light slowly faded out, Anumi found himself sitting against the wall in the cave, tome resting in his lap.
The sound of crunching gravel could be heard as a figure entered the passageway. The figure then inquired:
"You'd think, with the treasury of Nujel'm at our disposal, you could afford a few miners."