There was a distinct stench in the streets of Arcadia. The dead that the storm left in its wake were beyond counting and were lying all the way through the poor quarters. The dirt roads were stained with blood and marked by collapsed houses. Clouds of thick black smoke were rising from the shoreline where those who didn’t have to work in the Arcadium mines were saying farewell to their loved ones. A final goodbye to guide their passage from this world up to Rhux’ eternal halls where their souls would finally be freed from the burden of poverty and prejudice. The burning had been going on for a few days now, because there were too few people who had the time to say goodbye, the others were too busy working in the mines or sowing clothes for the rich people, providing for their families. On the third day after the storm, the guards gathered what was left of the bodies and piled them up in the centre of the poor quarters. It was hideous and ungodly sight. The people were also out of fuel and the rich people wouldn’t lift a finger to help out. Every time Jonah walked by that pile he felt his anger burning. So many of his people lost their lives that night, while the rich were sitting safely inside their homes. He had been busy the last few days as well. Underneath the city was a complex network of stone sewer tunnels that had been dug some decades ago. Jonah had found the end of those tunnels where the water flowed into a cave that was partially filled with water coming from the sea. The cave was dark and dank and the entrance was only small, but the hidden space inside was unfathomably large. It was the perfect place for secret discussion that should never see the light of day, the one place where no one would find out about the rebellion that was going on in the shadows of Arcadia. Rumours had spread all the way through the rich quarters, that sooner or later, blood would be spilled, rich blood. They heard the commotion at the shoreline on that particular night and some of them even claim that they saw the burning of Jonah’s mother, a pillar of the poor community. Guards were placed at the gates that separated rich from poor, happy from unhappy, but Jonah knew what had to be done and he wouldn’t let anyone stop him…

It was getting dark outside. Slowly the golden sun sunk into the sea, while the silver moon came out of its hiding place. Everyone was preparing to go home to their families, even though some of them didn’t have any of those two left. The mines were packed with people desperate to earn enough gold to rebuild their broken homes, for the storm had left not only countless dead, but even more homeless. Children were roaming the streets during the dark hours of the night while their parents had to sleep in the mud. There was one man, however, who was not heading home, but heading for a dark side path instead. Arcadia is built on a cliff with paths along the edge of the cliff leading down to the beach and to the mines. While most of these paths are known, some of them have fallen into disrepair and have decayed over the passing of time. These paths are often deemed as dangerous and aren’t commonly used by many people, including a hidden path that leads to the cave. This path started high above the sea level and slowly descended along the cliff’s walls down to the cave’s entrance which was slightly below sea level. Jonah first saw the path when he was a kid and spent a lot of time trying to cross its many gaps and crevices and after some months, he had found the entrance to the cave. The entrance was only small and narrow and partially flooded. Inside the cave was a path, about twice as wide as the entrance, which led upwards deeper into the cave, while slowly widening along the way before ending into a huge open space. The walls were covered with moist and the air was dank, but it was not dark for shining crystals were growing from the ceiling and shed light upon the sewer entrance. The crystals were probably man made and their light powered by some kind of magic, but to Jonah, they almost seemed natural, they seemed like a sign. A sign that told him that there is a light, even in the darkest nights and crevices, if you know where to look for it. It told him that not all was lost just yet.

It was the first time in almost 15 years that he visited the path. He remembered where it was, only he, because he carefully hid the path back when he was still younger. He remembered the bridges he built to cross the gaps, but the wood had rotten and the rope had snapped on most spots.

‘I’ll have to rebuild most of the bridges if I want to make this work, not to mention all the reinforcements I’ll have to make along the path,’ said Jonah as he looked upon this familiar sight.

He knew it was going to be a lot of work, but he had to do it. He couldn’t just leave all those people wandering the streets. The cave offered some serious possibilities for his people. Not only did it provide shelter for those who had lost their homes, it could also serve as a secret meeting place and an access road to the city. Sure, this access road wasn’t really hygienic or something, but the poor people of Arcadia were used to trudging through mud and filthier things, so it wasn’t a very big deal for them. The cave itself was mostly clean because the sewers emptied inside a deep well that was directly connected to the sea through a tunnel that ran deep underneath the entrance, or at least that’s what the people think since no one has actually seen the bottom of the well.

‘I’m going to need some equipment as well as a group of strong and capable men. We could take some equipment from the mines and there are plenty of capable men around here. With the right tools and enough willpower, I think I make this work.’

The renovations would probably take them about two or three nights if they worked hard and fast and if their work remained unnoticed. It wouldn’t matter all that much if the guards would find out about what they were doing, because they probably wouldn’t stop them anyway, but if the rich and powerful, which often mean wrong, people were to find out they would know exactly where to find Jonah and his followers when the rebellion hit them. That was one thing Jonah was sure about at this time, one way or another, things were going to change in the city. Now that he knew what he had to do and that he could not do that at this time, Jonah decided that it was time for him to head home.

He wandered through the streets, or rather what was left of them, past the broken homes, the crying people and the pile of bodies. He stopped for a brief moment when he walked past the pile and looked at it in horror and thought. People were sitting around it, mourning for the lost who were on the bottom of the pile, the ones who would never be burned. The people believed that a soul would never be able to reach Rhux’ halls if its body wasn’t properly burned. Guards were walking there as well, patrolling the area for any people that might be causing trouble.

‘And to laugh at people’s misery,’ thought Jonah out loud.

‘Whose misery?’ asked a sudden voice behind him.

It was Elise, Rhyddion’s girlfriend.

‘Nothing, I was just thinking…’ said Jonah as he was looking at his feet.

‘Don’t think you can fool me, Jonah, I know what you’re up to…’

Jonah stayed quiet for a while, not knowing what to say.

‘Do you think…Do you think he would approve?’ asked Jonah.

Elise took his hand between her hands. Her touch was warm to his skin and he looked into her deep blue eyes.

‘I think Rhyddion would be extremely proud of you. I think he’d be right there with you if he was still here.’

‘Yeah, but he isn’t,’ said Jonah in a sudden burst of anger as he pulled his hand away.

‘He just stood up and left us here.’

‘That’s only because he had no choice, you know that.’

‘He could have said no? He could have stayed here and help us, but instead he chose to go with that Archmage.’

Jonah expected Elise to get angry with him, but instead she looked calmly at him.

‘He’ll come back, trust me, he always does and when he does, he’ll help us.’

Elise turned around and was about to start walking home when she looked back and said,

‘He’s out there for you as well, Jonah, he’s out there for all of us…’