The Adels - Part 6
For those who have been waiting with bated breath and everyone else, The Adels-Part 6 has been posted. 1,113 words.
Tales of the TawsheThe Adels-Part 6“It’s a cage,” Adel stated.“Yes it is,” Bray agreed.They had stopped a short distance from the mouth of the cave because something was not right. The sun light streaming into the cave was broken into rectangles where it illuminated the walls and floor. Bray had figured out what it was before Adel spoke, but had not bothered to explain it to her. He was more interested in what lay beyond the cage. Were the abductors still close? Were they carrying bows? Were they laying in ambush waiting for whoever came to the mouth of the cave? It would be a simple thing to shoot people as they attempted to squeeze between the stone and the cage if that was even possible. He held Adel back when she started forward.“Let us make sure no one is waiting out there.”“Why would they wait around?”“Why use the dog?” was Bray’s response.Adel considered this, but moved on to a question of her own.“How will we know if someone is out there waiting?”“By using our senses,” Bray answered as he crept forward and took up a safe position just out of sight of any possible observers.He motioned Adel to silence then stood quietly observing the landscape beyond. He stood motionless for as long as it would take a large cooking pot of water to boil on a good fire. Although his eyes roamed back and forth across the area he was not expecting to see someone hiding in the underbrush or amongst the trees. Instead he watched for movement, watched for animals suddenly startled, listened for unnatural sounds, or the lack of natural sounds. He detected nothing inapposite.Adel was concentrating so hard that Bray’s sudden movement forward startled her. She made a small sound in her throat, and then embarrassed she snuck a look at Bray. He didn’t react. He simply continued closer to the cage, presumably to examine it.“Do you think we will be able to move it?” she asked.“It appears that they have jammed a log between the back of the cage and the dirt wall, so I don’t think it will move easily.” With that he proceeded to shake and heave the cage. Adel couldn’t help but notice the muscles of his arms as they bulged. He was able to move the cage slightly to the sides, but unable to move it back from the mouth of the cave. He tried to lift it, but realized that the cage sat slightly under the cave’s roof making it impossible to lift without moving it backwards first. The gully leading to the cave made it impossible to move the cage sideways for more than a hand span or two.The cage was made of thin metal straps interwoven vertically and horizontally. Its rough construction left different sized openings all around. The weave on the back wall was tighter than that on the side walls, but both left openings too small for him to fit through. The weave on the roof was looser than that on the walls, with larger openings, but still too small for him to squeeze through . . . although.“Do you think you could squeeze through those openings if I lifted you up?” he asked Adel, indicating the cage roof.She considered the possibility, tilting her head first one way then the other before she answered, pointing to an opening in the second row from the back edge. “I think that is the largest. I can try.”Adel dropped her small pack, and positioned herself below the opening before she lifted her arms above her head. The top of the cage was at her wrists with her arms stretched up like that. Bray squatted behind her, placed his hands — palm side up — beside her feet, and then had her step onto them..“Here we go,” he announced as he started to lift.Adel was as light as her slim build suggested. Her body rose up through the opening until it stuck with both arms and her head part way through. Bray lowered her back down, and they tried it again with one arm raised and the other not. She was able to squeeze through that way. She had to wiggle a bit to get her hips and behind through but she made it without many scrapes. She stepped off of Brays raised hands onto the top of the cage, and then climbed down the back wall. Bray passed their packs out to her.Adel was digging away at the place the log was jammed into the dirt wall while Bray tried to force his end up and away from the cave when they heard the sound of a throat being cleared.Bray was probably more startled than Adel because he hadn’t heard anyone approaching. He was even more startled when the person suddenly appeared at the mouth of the gully and started walking towards them. She, most definitely a she, was one of the little people, probably a Far Darrig in his opinion, although the tales usually referred to them as male, but if there are males then there are probably females also he reasoned. She was dressed predominately in red with flashes of green showing here and there. She wouldn’t have been much taller than a child, and judging from the way his body was reacting to her she had some Siren blood in her ancestry.“I have to talk with you, Adel, but I am judging that you want to free your friend first. Am I correct?”Adel seemed to shrink away from the creature as it approached, but then she steeled herself, stood straighter, and answered. “Your help would be greatly appreciated, but you mustn’t get your beautiful cloths dirty. I can finish digging this out.”A laugh like the tinkle of bells escaped from the woman’s smile. “Oh, how sweet, I was told you were a darling, and now I see for myself, but not to worry I will not be digging.” With that she made a sweeping hand motion. The log dissolved into smoke, and floated away on the breeze.“Now come, my dear, let us find the sun again and have a talk,” she announced as she took Adel’s hand to lead her away.“But my friend is still stuck.”“I am sure your friend can free himself now. He looks quite competent, and we should talk privately. What I have to tell you is for Adel ears only. It would be —.” her voice faded away as they both disappeared up the gully and over the rim.
Tales of the TawsheThe Adels-Part 6“It’s a cage,” Adel stated.“Yes it is,” Bray agreed.They had stopped a short distance from the mouth of the cave because something was not right. The sun light streaming into the cave was broken into rectangles where it illuminated the walls and floor. Bray had figured out what it was before Adel spoke, but had not bothered to explain it to her. He was more interested in what lay beyond the cage. Were the abductors still close? Were they carrying bows? Were they laying in ambush waiting for whoever came to the mouth of the cave? It would be a simple thing to shoot people as they attempted to squeeze between the stone and the cage if that was even possible. He held Adel back when she started forward.“Let us make sure no one is waiting out there.”“Why would they wait around?”“Why use the dog?” was Bray’s response.Adel considered this, but moved on to a question of her own.“How will we know if someone is out there waiting?”“By using our senses,” Bray answered as he crept forward and took up a safe position just out of sight of any possible observers.He motioned Adel to silence then stood quietly observing the landscape beyond. He stood motionless for as long as it would take a large cooking pot of water to boil on a good fire. Although his eyes roamed back and forth across the area he was not expecting to see someone hiding in the underbrush or amongst the trees. Instead he watched for movement, watched for animals suddenly startled, listened for unnatural sounds, or the lack of natural sounds. He detected nothing inapposite.Adel was concentrating so hard that Bray’s sudden movement forward startled her. She made a small sound in her throat, and then embarrassed she snuck a look at Bray. He didn’t react. He simply continued closer to the cage, presumably to examine it.“Do you think we will be able to move it?” she asked.“It appears that they have jammed a log between the back of the cage and the dirt wall, so I don’t think it will move easily.” With that he proceeded to shake and heave the cage. Adel couldn’t help but notice the muscles of his arms as they bulged. He was able to move the cage slightly to the sides, but unable to move it back from the mouth of the cave. He tried to lift it, but realized that the cage sat slightly under the cave’s roof making it impossible to lift without moving it backwards first. The gully leading to the cave made it impossible to move the cage sideways for more than a hand span or two.The cage was made of thin metal straps interwoven vertically and horizontally. Its rough construction left different sized openings all around. The weave on the back wall was tighter than that on the side walls, but both left openings too small for him to fit through. The weave on the roof was looser than that on the walls, with larger openings, but still too small for him to squeeze through . . . although.“Do you think you could squeeze through those openings if I lifted you up?” he asked Adel, indicating the cage roof.She considered the possibility, tilting her head first one way then the other before she answered, pointing to an opening in the second row from the back edge. “I think that is the largest. I can try.”Adel dropped her small pack, and positioned herself below the opening before she lifted her arms above her head. The top of the cage was at her wrists with her arms stretched up like that. Bray squatted behind her, placed his hands — palm side up — beside her feet, and then had her step onto them..“Here we go,” he announced as he started to lift.Adel was as light as her slim build suggested. Her body rose up through the opening until it stuck with both arms and her head part way through. Bray lowered her back down, and they tried it again with one arm raised and the other not. She was able to squeeze through that way. She had to wiggle a bit to get her hips and behind through but she made it without many scrapes. She stepped off of Brays raised hands onto the top of the cage, and then climbed down the back wall. Bray passed their packs out to her.Adel was digging away at the place the log was jammed into the dirt wall while Bray tried to force his end up and away from the cave when they heard the sound of a throat being cleared.Bray was probably more startled than Adel because he hadn’t heard anyone approaching. He was even more startled when the person suddenly appeared at the mouth of the gully and started walking towards them. She, most definitely a she, was one of the little people, probably a Far Darrig in his opinion, although the tales usually referred to them as male, but if there are males then there are probably females also he reasoned. She was dressed predominately in red with flashes of green showing here and there. She wouldn’t have been much taller than a child, and judging from the way his body was reacting to her she had some Siren blood in her ancestry.“I have to talk with you, Adel, but I am judging that you want to free your friend first. Am I correct?”Adel seemed to shrink away from the creature as it approached, but then she steeled herself, stood straighter, and answered. “Your help would be greatly appreciated, but you mustn’t get your beautiful cloths dirty. I can finish digging this out.”A laugh like the tinkle of bells escaped from the woman’s smile. “Oh, how sweet, I was told you were a darling, and now I see for myself, but not to worry I will not be digging.” With that she made a sweeping hand motion. The log dissolved into smoke, and floated away on the breeze.“Now come, my dear, let us find the sun again and have a talk,” she announced as she took Adel’s hand to lead her away.“But my friend is still stuck.”“I am sure your friend can free himself now. He looks quite competent, and we should talk privately. What I have to tell you is for Adel ears only. It would be —.” her voice faded away as they both disappeared up the gully and over the rim.
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