“Stay? With an army approaching here?” Ryan exclaimed in exasperation, shaken out of his drowsiness after listening to the first alarming words from Gunther upon the woodsman’s return.
No matter how intimidating or formidable Gunther might have appeared to them, Ryan had not hesitated in his blunt response. From what Gunther could tell in looking upon their faces, the youth had adequately expressed the sentiments of the entire group.
The other three had shuffled into the first floor room just behind Ryan, having also been roused abruptly from sleep. They had only recently gotten settled down to rest, probably with the hopes of finally getting a full night of undisturbed repose. Still half-asleep, they had trudged down the wooden stairs to the main room, gathering close around Gunther with inquisitive looks.
Those looks had swiftly become pensive, even a little fearful, as their heads cleared swiftly. It was evident that they perceived that something was very amiss. Gunther had then related to them the troubling news from Aethelstan. His mood was anything but pleasant as he conveyed the tidings.
So much was running through his head as he spoke. He was a formidable warrior in his own right. The recognition of that was not born of any hubris, but simply of honest assessment. His well-trained Jaghuns made him a capable entity within the woodlands, but definitely not for the likes of an entire army.
In the face of the looming threat, there was one option that seemed clear enough. It was the one choice that would allow him to remain close, without becoming embroiled in the futile affairs of humankind again. It was a spark of hope, even if the idea was rather unprecedented, and not altogether certain of success.
As that idea coalesced, he had announced that they were not leaving, drawing the incredulous response from Ryan. It was quickly followed.
“What kind of plan is that?” Lynn stammered, clearly sharing Ryan’s feelings. “They’ll just flush us out of this deathtrap, and put us all to death. Your creatures out there can’t stop an army. I know you can probably fight anyone out there… one on one… but I know you can’t fight an army off by yourself… not unless you are some kind of god we don’t know about. If you are, it would help if you would tell us.”
Gunther nodded, his face showing his increasing irritation at having been so abrasively interrupted by Ryan and challenged by Lynn. He worked to keep his voice controlled, having some sympathy for their exasperation. “I know that I cannot stop an army. I may be many things, but I am not unrealistic,” he stated slowly. “If you would let me finish, you would see that I am not planning to stay in this building. I am just planning to stay in these lands. We are far from being trapped. Have you forgotten the door so soon?”
He gestured sternly towards the large, wooden door at the rear of the room. All four pairs of eyes followed, and stared towards the iron-banded slab of wooden planks.
“It is time for you to find out about that door, and what lies beyond it, though I certainly had no idea that it would be under these circumstances,” Gunther added gruffly.
Erin asked tentatively. “You mean… the Unguhur?”
“Yes. An underground world, and one that even a small army would not wish to encounter,” Gunther retorted curtly, and confidently, the idea seeming better with every second. “The passage beyond that door goes into the depths of the world. You will be quite safe there.”
“Won’t the enemies just follow us down?” Lee asked.
“It would be a great and terrible mistake for them to do so,” Gunther stated firmly, with a dark expression spreading upon his face as he considered the consequences. “But we will go down there only if we truly must… when we truly must. Until then, we stay up here. Maybe there is a chance that this storm will pass us by, or dissipate before breaking upon this area.”
He quietly studied the faces of the four strangers.
They were taking the somber news with a dismayed silence. Their all-too-brief respite from the trials and travails of the new world was over, and Gunther could not fault them for feeling great frustration and resentments.
Gunther watched Lee look sadly over to his companions, from Ryan, to Erin, and then finally to Lynn. All of them had beaten, weary expressions, and the glances that they shared amongst each other confirmed his evaluation.
They were exhausted, and not just in a physical sense. There was little that Gunther could do for them except to steel them as much as possible for whatever might come.
“I am sorry… very sorry,” Gunther then said to them, in a low and gentle voice.