Open Wardrobes

Busy day today so I only managed about 1000 words (just over 57,000 total). This will make it difficult to hit my revised goal of 60,000 tomorrow, but at least I feel like I'm starting to approach the end.




The first of Red's men fell and many started to return fire. Red Foxx warned them to cease, but they did not heed her until their bullets, lacking the speed to reach the top, began to return to them. Red burned to hear the laughter from above that greeted the sight of the pirates running from their own shots. She nearly stopped to think of some way to retaliate when from the corner of her eye she spotted a dark place against the cliff.
Red hurried towards it and found the entrance to the cave, marked again by the makers of the map. This was it! She signaled to her men to hurry ahead. None of their enemies had started down the cliffside yet. Once inside the cave they would be well ahead of Lemuel Drake and his folk. By the time they reached the cave Red might well already hold the Heart.
Red dove inside, followed close behind by Howl. They had paused only long enough to make for themselves some rough torches. She ordered also that only a few dozen, her own crew of course among them, were to join her and Howl as they explored the depths of the caves. The rest were to remain just inside the entrance, giving them a strong position to defend. Red led Blackfoot in charge of those men, knowing it would gall him to remain behind but also that he could refuse such a critical duty.
Red led the way and they proceeded into the dank caves. There was only one way in which they could so far go and Red had become used to the map giving no directions beyond the bare bones ones needed. Here and there they did see rough signs scrawled on the rock that assured them they headed in the right direction. Red could still faintly hear the voices of the men she had left at the mouth of the cave.
At last they reached a larger cavern from which several tunnels issued. Red and the others looked around, but they saw no clear signs as to which of the paths to take.
"What does the map be sayin'?" Howl asked Red and she consulted it.
"Inside you shall find several choices," the map read. "Choose that which makes no promise of wealth."
"That be not much of a help," Howl grumbled, but nonetheless joined Red as she examined the entrance of each of the tunnels. There were four all told, and the first Red held her torch up to glittered in the light.
"Gold!" exclaimed one of Red's crew.
"No," Red said, examining it more closely. "You could buy nothing with this. It is fool's gold."
"But it makes a promise of wealth," Howl pointed out.
"It does indeed," Red agreed and she checked the other three tunnels.
Two of the other tunnels made similar promises, and so they chose the fourth. One of the other pirates, however, decided to examine another tunnel further and took several steps inside. Red heard the dull thud as the booby trap was sprung. She frowned and cursed the pirate's foolishness. His body would signal to their enemies one tunnel, at least, not to take. Red continued down the chosen tunnel, noting that all but Howl help back for several moments, and no such trap struck her. The rest began to follow once they were certain of that fact.
This tunnel led them deeper underground and Red hoped that their torches would hold out until they could find the Heart and return. They had not, after all, had much time to gather much wood. The air was thick and still and as folk of the open seas none of the pirates was overly fond of enclosed spaces. A short time after passing the choice of tunnels Red caught the sound of voices behind. She ordered everyone to a halt and listened. The sound of several cracks confirmed that Lemuel Drake, she had a growing certainly that he led them this time, and his men had reached the cave entrance. She continued on as the sound of gunshots came in bursts. Such a battle would delay Drake for a time yet.
Suddenly the narrow tunnel that had been traveling through opened up into a vast underground cavern. The sounds of water could be heard, though Red could not see it, and their torches barely penetrated the gloom. A dozen steps forward, however, did bring the bridge into view. Red had to admit that she had become impressed with those who had hidden the Heart. They had done their work well. She gazed now upon a narrow rope bridge that spanned a great crevice. The bridge did not look like it could hold more than one or two at a time. Here again Red left a number of her people behind to guard the tunnel entrance and the bridge. She took with her now but half a dozen, all of her own crew save Howl who would not be left behind for anything.
Red crossed the bridge first and it held her weight well, though she would not have wanted to share the bridge with another. Howl came second, and one by one the chosen men (or women, rather) followed. On the far side of the bridge a crude marker again showed their direction and on they went. Soon they traveled around a bend that hid the light of the others from view. Red checked the map as they walked and guessed they had a couple traps left before them. They passed through another narrow tunnel and into a small cavern that surprisingly bore its own light. The cavern was tall and it appeared that a few narrow cracks extended up to the surface, enough to give the cavern a faint illumination on its own. A marker stood at the far end, but only that told them they had come the right way for at the far end the cavern ended and they saw no other exit.