Hads Origin Work

  So this is more work done on a Hads Leppet story, but this is from the piece where he is young, which is different from the other one I’ve been working on where is older. I like jumping around what can I say? Any feedback is welcome and more stuff will be coming in future posts!

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“There should be a secret exit here…” Hads was feeling along the wall, struggling to recall.

“Where does it go?”

“It goes into the village.”

“Could the fighting have caused it to collapse?”

“I… I don’t know.”

The two fell silent. Both of them had their attachments to this place and neither had ever expected it to be thrown into ruin quite like this. The two occasionally exchanged glances, perhaps they were looking for some kind of hope or reassurance from the other, but neither could offer each other such a luxury.  It didn’t take long for Hads to find the right brick and he quickly pushed it into the wall. He remembered the moment his father had shown him this. No one was going to argue that it wasn’t a fair use of this, but Hads was sure his father hoped it would never be used in this way. The whole section of the wall quickly began to sink into the ground, powered by some ancient mechanism that was barely maintained.

“I guess you weren’t lying,” Ilioneus grumbled out as he helped the wall slide fully away, “We have to hurry.”

The tunnel was dark, luckily the two found a fresh torch kit and tinderbox that was still capable of creating a fire. The passageway was clearly built long before the castle and showed no signs of regulation or care. The walls would begin to creep in on the pair until it felt like it would be too tight only to give away to wide lanes flanked by wooden supports. Rumbling from above would periodically remind the two that they weren’t separated from the outside world, spurring them on to wherever the tunnel would end.

“How much farther is this gonna go?” Hads wondered aloud.

“Hopefully not much farther…” Ilioneus grumbled, “not sure how much more of this space I can take.”

Almost as if in response, he immediately banged his head into a cluster of hanging rocks. This elicited a chuckle from the kid as Ilioneus grumbled his way forward.

“Shut up, that was entirely coincidental.”

“I don’t know Ilioneus, it seems like the tunnel doesn’t appreciate your attitude.”

“Whatever…”

Soon, the sounds from the outside became more distant as the tunnel quickly began to widen.

“I think we’re almost through!” Hads was bouncing with excitement!

“Keep it down!” Ilioneus was quick to stop the young boy, “They could be guarding the exit.”

“I doubt it, father has only ever told me and mother about this exit, it should be secure.”

“We’ll see.” Ilioneus said, still doubtful of their situation.

At the end of the cave, the pair began to see what looked like a door. It was probably once shiny and silver, but age had definitely not been kind to the metals that formed this exit. Rust coated almost every surface and the exposed metal that was left was beyond tarnished. Ilioneus touched the knob and it seemed to be barely hanging on, kept on by what he concluded could only be magic. Maybe even willpower.

“Will this door even work?” He turned to Hads.

“Well, the alternative is dying in this tunnel so let’s see.”

Hads ran up to the door and quickly twisted the knob. Fortunately for the pair, it held strong and they both heard the locking mechanism for the door disengage. The door swung open and the tunnel was immediately flooded with moonlight.

“Shall we?” Hads stepped into the new opening with Ilioneus quickly coming as well.