Under Fragile Stone by Oisin McGann

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    ‘Whaddaya want?’ he croaked, raising his misshapen face to glare at them.
    ‘We would like permission to travel through your clan’s land,’ Emos told him respectfully, walking forward so that the man did not have to squint against the lights to see him. ‘We bring a gift for your chieftain.’
    He held up the pendant. The man’s eyes widened, clearly impressed as he took the chain. He grasped the quartz in his fingers and raised it up to the light.
    ‘Good workmanship,’ he nodded. ‘Bit on the dainty side, but good nonetheless.’
    He clucked his tongue several times and a large crow-like bird, dark blue and green, swooped in and landed on his shoulder. Dropping the pendant in a little drawstring bag, he held it up for the bird, which took off, grabbed the bundle and disappeared over the trees.
    ‘Where would ya be wantin’ ta go?’ the border guard asked.
    ‘To Old Man’s Cave.’
    The ugly man shuffled over to the trucks, noting the lifting gear on the back of the second one.
    ‘Gonna try and get in, are ya?’
    ‘Some of our friends are trapped down there. They got in another way, but there was a cave-in.’
    The guard shrugged and handed Emos a pebble, etched with the Reisenick symbol for ‘visitor’.
    ‘Ludditch’ll like the tribute. You can head on in, I reckon.’
    Emos thanked him and swung back up onto the flatbed. Draegar cranked the engine up while Jube took the wheel, and they rumbled on up the road. Taya and Lorkrin watched the border guard fade back into the trees, and then turned to gaze up the dark road.
    ‘Why is it called Old Man’s Cave?’ Lorkrin asked to relieve the boredom.
    ‘Because an old man lived there for many years,’ Emos replied. ‘They don’t believe in over-complicated names for things around here. In fact he had lived there for as long as anyone could remember. His name was Caftelous. He was a grouchy old hermit, but he had a great knowledge of alchemy. He helped me in my study of transmorphing after your aunt died. He couldn’t do it himself of course; he wasn’t a Myunan, but he was as skilled an alchemist as I’ve ever met and he taught me a thing or two about the nature of materials. A few years ago, I went back to see him, but the entrance to the cave was blocked by a massive stone slab. No one knew where he had gone. Some said he was dead, others that he was alive, but that he had wandered into the forest and disappeared. I tried to trans a hole through the slab, but it was made of something that I couldn’t affect. I’ve never seen its like. To this day, I’ve never found out what happened to the old man.’
    ‘Do you think he put the slab there?’ Taya asked.
    ‘It’s almost certain, he would know how to create something that couldn’t be transmorphed, and transing through the side of a mountain would take weeks, if it could be done at all, especially if the mountain’s spirit is strong. It’s likely that he didn’t want the cave disturbed after he was gone, which makes me think he’s still alive somewhere, or at least he was when it was sealed up.’
    ‘Maybe somebody sealed him inside,’ Lorkrin murmured, earning a sound thump from his sister. He scowled at her, but did not retaliate.
    They still had at least two days’ travel before they reached the cave, two days that their parents would spend beneath a soulless mountain. The Myunans silently urged the vehicles on, desperate for the wheels to eat up the long stretch of road ahead of them.
    * * * *
    The dratted donkey had seized up. The two Gabbit women pulled at its halter and pushed it and shouted and cursed, but it would not budge. At first it had tried turning itself to face the cart, but had only ended up walking around in circles . Now it just stood there shivering, its eyes wide, staring back at its load. It was starting to frighten the short woman and she gazed around at the trees that lined either side of the road and made a roof over their heads. This forest was