The cutting became steadily more narrow after the little station, changing from a flattened path on the side of a hill to a narrow track obviously carved right out of the rock of the valley wall, looking barely wide enough for a train carriage.
\u201cThe views are spectacular, at least?\u201d Bug suggested as they walked along.
Cy took a short break from walking ahead to peer over the edge.
\u201cI\u2019ve never looked down on the top of a tree before.\u201d He commented, then carefully stepped back to the middle of the tracks. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2026 Kind of creepy.\u201d
He looked the other way, at the rough stone wall beside them, and sighed, giving it an accusing look.
\u201cI can\u2019t tell whether anyone else came this way. Sorry.\u201d He apologised. \u201cLumpy probably could, but there aren\u2019t enough plants or twigs or anything to get broken or squished.\u201d
Luce shrugged.
\u201cMister Station and Lumpy both thought that this was the most likely option, even if they couldn\u2019t see how it had been done.\u201d She said. \u201cSo we\u2019d have had to check it anyway, I guess?\u201d
They trudged on for a bit.
\u201cI\u2019ve been wondering about the river.\u201d Bug said, to nobody in particular.
Cy said something indistinct from up front, then called out \u2018Hang On\u2019 and stood perilously close to the edge, waiting as Bug and Luce pushed the railcart by.
\u201cSorry, what about the river?\u201d He repeated, falling into place walking behind them. \u201cWe haven\u2019t crossed it yet, have we?\u201d
Bug shook her head and gestured to the rock wall beside her.
\u201cNo, we haven\u2019t, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to. Not this close to the valley wall; I don\u2019t think that\u2019s how rivers or valleys work.\u201d
Luce nodded out towards the open side of the tracks. They were high enough now that many of the trees on the slop below were too short to block the view, so they could see out over the whole valley, with the river glinting occasionally through the sea of trees, and a faint wisp of smoke or steam just visible from Mister Station\u2019s place.
\u201cPretty sure the river is down there, so unless it does some weird waterfall thing, I don\u2019t think we cross it anywhere forward of here either.\u201d Luce agreed. \u201cThat other line out to the mine probably does though, if it goes to the other side of the valley.\u201d
She paused then, running back what she\u2019d just said and wondering why Bug had been thinking about it.
\u201cBut if this line doesn\u2019t cross the river \u2026 \u201c Luce continued slowly.
\u201cOr even cross any big streams?\u201d Cy added, not entirely sure where this line of thought was going, but starting to get a sense of what might be important.
Bug looked expectantly back and forth between the other two, then slumped slightly when they continued staring at her.
\u201cIf the Wanderer took this route, which doesn\u2019t seem like it crosses the river or any big streams that flow into the river, \u2026\u201d She said, expectantly. \u201cThen \u2026 ?
It was Cy\u2019s turn to slump.
\u201cThen how did the plague get from him into the water?\u201d He replied. \u201cWe must be on the wrong track.\u201d
Luce just kept pushing.
\u201cMaybe, maybe not.\u201d She said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot we still don\u2019t know.\u201d
\u201cBut it\u2019s not looking good?\u201d Asked Bug, going back to pushing. \u201cAt least, it\u2019s not looking good for the idea that it\u2019s one guy and some bad luck?\u201d
\u201cOhh, definitely not looking good for that theory.\u201d Luce agreed. \u201cBut we can\u2019t say for sure; Maybe there\u2019s a stream or culvert or something around the next bend?\u201d
There wasn\u2019t.
There wasn\u2019t one around the bend after that one either, but as they continued to trudge along the track Cy, who had reclaimed the spot walking ahead, called out.
\u201cWe\u2019re here!\u201d He yelled. \u201cAnd it looks \u2026 It looks clear?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luce and Bug let the railcart glide to a halt, then rushed forward, Luce putting the brake on she passed by.
Up ahead, the cutting widened slightly into a sort of ledge, then simply stopped a rock wall. The tracks, however, continued through a wide brick-lined archway and vanished into the hillside.
\u201cI was hoping that there\u2019d be a curtain of vines, or bushes in the cliff wall, or \u2026 Something.\u201d Cy complained, pointing accusingly at the tunnel. \u201cBut it\u2019s just some brickwork; Like a big fireplace or something.\u201d
Bug slowly nodded, looking at the tunnel with her head cocked to one side.
\u201cI was expecting something just carved out of the rock, not a tunnel with this decorative stuff.\u201d She agreed. \u201cAnd \u2026 Is it just me, or is it really wide? It looks wider than it needs to be.\u201d
\u201cAnd not as dark?\u201d Luce added. \u201cThough I think it\u2019s just wide because of the angle? It\u2019s not going straight into the hill, it\u2019s sort of curving in?\u201d
The trio looked at the tunnel for a while, then walked closer.
\u201cSo, a bit of a let-down of a tunnel?\u201d Cy asked. \u201cAnd I think you\u2019re right, Luce; More light in there than I\u2019d expect for the inside of a hill.\u201d
\u201cIf there are weird magical glowing crystals in there, I\u2019m going to be very annoyed.\u201d Muttered Bug. \u201cNot at the crystals or the tunnel; At whoever decided that all those books I read were \u2018fiction\u2019.\u201d
\u201cMister Station would make a good dragon rider or something.\u201d Luce suggested, squinting at the tunnel entrance. \u201cAnd I\u2019m pretty sure I can see light in there. Not much, but more than there should be. Maybe the hill isn\u2019t that thick?\u201d
They stopped at the entrance, looking in.
Cy made a show of examining the tracks and as far into the tunnel as they could see, then threw up his hands in frustration.
\u201cAbsolutely no sign! No idea if the Wanderer came this way!\u201d He bitterly complained. \u201cI\u2019d at least hoped for rocks that had been moved, or a cave-in with a cleared path, or \u2026 or something!\u201d
\u201cNot even any convenient footprints in the mud, because it hasn\u2019t rained in forever, no discarded packaging, because that was all back at that station, or anything else.\u201d Bug agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s not really our fault that we\u2019re not good at being \u2018plucky young adventurers\u2019 from a story, because this valley really isn\u2019t well set up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cutting became steadily more narrow after the little station, changing from a flattened path on the side of a hill to a narrow track obviously carved right out of the rock of the valley wall, looking barely wide enough for a train carriage. \u201cThe views are spectacular, at least?\u201d Bug suggested as they walked along. Cy took a short break from walking ahead\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[6],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-261","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-easi-wesi-rail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/261\/revisions\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}