The Orb of Wrath (The Merchant's Destiny Book 1)

by Nic Weissman

  “What the hell is your brother doing?” Ithelas asked Mithir.

  “He's looking for traps,” the magician explained.

  “He looks like he knows what he's doing,” Thost indicated.

  Erion tried to open the door, but it was locked. Then he drew his toolkit from his pocket and, moments later, the door was open. He had opened it without making virtually any noise. They all held their breath as the young man left the hall. They had ventured into the lair of a dangerous vampire, taking a big risk by doing so. They could find him at any time and this could be their end.

  Erion entered a large room, which should be more than fifteen steps long. Again, there was no one in the room. On the wall to his right was a large double leaf door. The door was so large that two horses galloping could enter it, simultaneously, without the risk of touching each other. It had numerous steel reinforcements and a huge bar halfway up blocking its opening. It might well be the castle entrance. On the wall to his left was a second door, but this one was much smaller. It was very conventional, similar to the ones in the corridor through which had just come out of.

  The huge room looked something like a foyer. Erion thought it might also be appropriate to hold a grand ball. All the space in the center of the room was cleared, revealing the spectacular floor. It consisted of small smooth stones, little more than one finger wide, of multiple colors. The pavement formed a scene that would have rivaled a painting of the best artist. The painting showed a huge red dragon on top of a ridge running a large flash of fire into a valley; it was both grim and dramatic, eerie and unsettling.

  The room was covered by a barrel vault without any major decorations. He noted that the vault had had large windows on both sides long ago that were now boarded up. That would have been, without doubt, a room with plenty of natural light. The vault was painted a dark ocher color, thereby concealing well the elimination of the windows. Erion could still guess the faint marks that were left where once they were located. The furnishings in the room, of a very ornate and elaborate style, were all arranged on the perimeter of the room, against the walls. They were different types of armchairs and chairs and a small table between them. Erion could already imagine a large congregation of socialites dancing at the center, while others chatted cheerfully in the armchairs, drinking fine wines in crystal glasses.

  The young man began to walk toward the gate. There was a large lock in it that, depending on the type, perhaps could let him take a look at what was on the other side.

  “Hey, you! How did you get in?” a voice said from the other end of the room.

  Erion suddenly turned and saw a tall, gaunt, strange man. He wore a whistle around his neck and he had caught him. He was moving it to his lips. He was going to raise the alarm! Suddenly, a swift arrow crossed the room and went through the man's neck. The stranger managed to support the whistle on his lips but his injury prevented him blowing on it. Another arrow followed the previous one and this time stuck in the man's chest and fell to his knees. Yet he still tried to blow the whistle. When it seemed that finally, somehow, he had managed to get some air in his lungs and was about to blow the whistle, a third arrow dug a few fingers to the left of the previous one, and the man died moments later.

  The group walked slowly into the room with Samar leading. She wore her bow ready for a fourth shot, but soon saw that it was not necessary. Erion was never so glad to see the elf firing. Ithelas and the archer moved the body that was lying in the doorway slightly. After support him against a wall, they closed the door and stood beside her with their weapons ready. Mithir joined them shortly thereafter. Thost approached the big gate where Erion was, guarding his back.

  By gestures, the young man told them to stand still for a moment. Erion moved to the lock and, indeed, saw, with some difficulty, what was on the other side. It wasn't the entrance of the castle. Across he saw a large courtyard surrounded by stone walls. Clearly the light indicated that it was uncovered; it should be the inner courtyard of the castle. A large front hall ran through, also uncovered, by which carts with goods could have circulated and that led to an even bigger gate. The gate was open but it had a trellis, which they called portcullis, blocking the passage to the outside. Several soldiers watched over both sides of the rake. None seemed to have noticed what had happened. Samar's speed and accuracy had saved them.

  Erion heard the sounds of some animals. To his right he heard the neighing of a horse and to the left, to his surprise, he thought he heard the sounds of various farm animals. He was sure, at least, that he heard the mooing of a cow. He heard in the background the incessant cackling of chickens. Two soldiers came in, suddenly, in his narrow field of vision. They seemed to be sweeping the yard, on patrol, from one extreme to another. They were well equipped, like the ones they had seen outside. They wore armor plates, wide shield, long sword in their belts, and a halberd in their right hand. He had also seen some equipped with longbows.

  Given his experience in illegal incursions, Erion knew that the time factor was crucial. Although the recognizing that he had just made did not take him more than a few seconds, he had obtained enough information. The young man left the door and asked Thost, with a gesture, to follow him. They met with the rest of the group.

  “Please gather the corpse,” Erion said quietly. “Take him to one of the bedrooms that we just passed,” he requested.

  “You've heard; hurry up and do it quietly,” Thost said.

  “Yes please; here we are very exposed,” Erion reasoned.

  They went to the first of the bedrooms that was not in use and placed the man in a corner. Erion quickly explained what he had learned. After he thanked Samar for guarding him so successfully. They all complemented Erion for his ability of gliding silently and opening doors. It was obvious that this had created some additional questions in the group, but it wasn't a propitious moment to investigate details of how and when the young man had acquired those skills.

  “The castle garrison is larger than we had thought then,” Thost said.

  “Possibly. Between the outer perimeter guard, the one guarding the parapet, those who defend the two drawbridges and the ones I just saw guarding the entrance and courtyard, there must be more than thirty men. They all have high-quality equipment, and I guess they will be well trained in combat,” Erion said.

  “It was almost a miracle that we got in without alerting them,” Ithelas said.

  “It was Erion and his amulet,” Mithir gestured.

  Samar reflected on the comment of the magician. Thanks to the amulet, they could climb the only place that was lightly covered in the view from the battlements; they could do it at the right time when the perimeter guard walked away from that place. Besides, they also knew where the skylight was, the only entry point that was not well guarded.

  All this was the key, but it wasn't enough. Only thanks to Thost's enormous force, enhanced by Ithelas' magic, they could break the entrance gate; and they did so just in time. And again Ithelas' magic allowed repositioning the fence, so that the perimeter soldiers didn't know about the forced entry. Samar snorted. Now that she thought about it, it was almost a miracle to have entered that way. However, she sensed that the hardest part was still to come.

  “So... Now, what do we do?” the elf asked.

  “Until now we've had the upper hand because Erion could inform us of the layout of the exterior of the castle. But we know nothing of the interior, and in the second room we walked into, that weird man almost set off the alarm. It would be over. We have nothing to do against so many soldiers,” Thost reasoned.

  “I think it's time,” Mithir said to the cleric with gestures.

  Ithelas could not help but shudder. When they had made plans before the assault, the cleric had realized that Mithir’s idea was possibly the best option they had. But now they had to execute it, which would be downright uncomfortable. Everyone looked closely at the body of the strange man. He was tall and thin. His face was extremely pale, even when he was alive. His
eye sockets were very marked. The face looked almost emaciated. He wore a long brown robe woven with high quality wool and was barefoot. He had large hands with long, thin fingers and in each one wore a large gold ring. It was difficult to determine what the occupation of the man was, but they agreed that, probably, he was a high ranked servant in the organization of the lord of the castle. This made him an ideal candidate.

  Ithelas crouched beside him. His knowledge of anatomy allowed seeing that the vocal cords had remained intact. Carefully he removed the arrow in his throat that was blocking, to some extent, the passage of air from the lungs. Then he applied a couple of patches over the holes on both sides of the neck, to prevent air leakage from them. The young cleric then began a chant that indicated, as always, the execution of a spell. The duration of the prayer, which Ithelas murmured almost in whispers, and the various complicated gestures he made, seemed to indicate that it was a spell much more elaborated than usual.

  Suddenly the dead man opened his eyes slightly. His gaze was lost in the infinite. His eyes lacked any luster or expression. Ithelas then turned to the dead and began to speak.

  “Where is the treasure hidden?” he asked.

  “Downstairs. South Wing,” the body pronounced with difficulty.

  His voice sounded hoarse, from beyond the grave. It lacked any inflection or expressiveness. It was the strangest and scariest voice they had ever heard.

  “How can we access that area?” the cleric asked again.

  “Stairs. Laboratory. Hidden door. Library.”

  The cadence of the throat of the dead seemed to not fully complete any of the words, but everyone could understand the five he had just pronounced.

  “Where is the crypt where the vampire lies?”

  “Downstairs,” the corpse said, which a moment later closed his eyes and went back to lie "lifeless" again.

  CHAPTER 7: THE LABORATORY

  The answer to the last question was what everyone feared. Samar could not avoid swallowing loudly. To get to the treasure, where they hoped to find the box they were looking for, they'd have to pass close to the vampire. In fact, in the process of finding the treasure room, it was possible that they ended up facing him. They had already discussed this scenario as the most likely, and had agreed to the plan of action in that case.

  They decided to hide the body. Erion crouched next to him and, after putting a pair of very thin black gloves, took two rings and put them it in his bag. Then Thost and Erion slid the body under the bed and went back into the hall. As they had done before, Erion led the group. He went to the door from where that strange man had appeared. Although he knew that it would be open, Erion again performed the entire ritual of reviewing it, to finally open it without much difficulty.

  The young man walked into another room. It was a large dining room. In it there were two more doors, to their left and right respectively. It had many of the features of the other rooms. Not a soul was seen there either. By gestures, he ushered the group to prevent remaining in that hall, as close to the door behind which they knew they had a complete detachment of soldiers armed to the teeth.

  “This may be a good place to cast an evil detection spell,” Ithelas said, as he began a brief chant”. I will be able to tell if there is some evil being in the next room before entering.

  “How long does it last?” Mithir asked.

  “I hope long enough to explore this floor,” the cleric answered.

  They approached the door on the right. This time, as Erion revised it, the cleric was concentrated very close to him. When Erion finished, he looked at Ithelas, who nodded. He opened the door and stepped into a kitchen. The whole group went in after him. It was a spacious kitchen; inside it one could prepare comfortably, food for fifteen or twenty people. On the opposite side of the kitchen there was another door. On the roof they saw a couple of small skylights, also boarded up.

  “No doubt, this is not the place where the food of the soldiers is prepared,” Samar said, observing the little use that the kitchen seemed to have.

  “However, look there. It seems that they recently have cut vegetables,” Erion said, pointing to a table that was next to one of the two fireplaces of the room.

  A small black cauldron was located in the center of the fireplace on a charcoal fire, already off.

  “Possibly someone has prepared here a vegetable soup, or something similar; I would say yesterday,” Ithelas added.

  The cleric and looter repeated their exploratory routine on each door. Erion opened it and they entered a larger room. It was a bedroom, which once would have housed eight people, possibly the servants of the castle. Now only one of the beds was used. The room looked alike the others in every detail, except the quality of the furniture. They were also very old but its sorry state denoted that they were not of the same quality. Probably its limited use had allowed it not to fall apart literally, but it hadn’t stopped it from looking worn.

  The bed that had sheets and blankets was of a different type. It was much newer, perhaps less than ten years old. It was loreda, a wood of light color that was reasonably strong, but much more mundane. It was also unadorned and lacked special quality. Its mission seemed purely functional. The checked the closets of the room. All of them were empty except the one that was close to the new bed. They found more sheets in it, some towels and two robes identical to the ones of the man who they had questioned earlier. Erion found nothing of value.

  The next room was locked. Erion used his picks and this time it took a little more work to open it because the lock was a bit old and a little rusty. Finally it relented and they managed to enter.

  They had to cover their noses immediately. A horrible stench filled the room. On the ground they found several dead animals. There was a large cow, which was completely pale. It was the strangest color.

  “Because of its appearance, I believe that it's been dead for one or two days,” Ithelas said, after briefly checking the animal.

  The cow's sides had several holes through which a trail of blood had flowed. It was as if a flock of crows had pecked it and had left it to bleed; however there was barely any blood on the floor. There were two pigs in similar conditions, but with the difference that the state of decomposition of their bodies was much more advanced.

  In the center of the room, there was a large table under which they saw several knives and other butcher utensils. There were also sharp hooks hanging from the ceiling, next to a wall. At the slaughterhouse there was no other furniture, but there was a gate at the far end of the room. It was split in two, so we could open the top half while the bottom was kept closed.

  The looter and the cleric approached it. Erion parted only a couple of fingers of the upper part, looked and closed it again. The next room was very large and elongated; maybe about twenty steps long. It was a kind of barn, which had accumulated enough animals in a small space. It was divided into three sections; the biggest had half a dozen cows, in the opposite corner there was a herd of pigs, and included a partition separating a chicken barnyard. In one corner there were large amounts of straw and feed; possibly enough food for a week for these animals. They returned with the group.

  “The barn is connected to the outer courtyard of the castle, but access to it is closed by a lattice,” Erion said.

  They returned to the servants’ bedroom, happy to leave behind the nasty slaughterhouse and trying to forget the terrible smell. There was one last door in that bedroom. With steel reinforcements at different heights, it was really resistant. Erion and Ithelas were coordinating even better and took less time to carry out their checks. Although Erion found no traps, the lock was closed and was of high quality. The young man had to apply himself for a long time to get it open, but finally the mechanism relented.

  Erion did not enter the room immediately. There was something strange on the floor. He felt that the first tile behind the door was separated from the others. After closely inspecting it he concluded that, when pressing it, some mechanism would
be triggered. The remaining tiles were normal, harmless. He opened the door wide and told them where they should tread. He waited until they were inside the room and then gently closed the door again. He decided it was best not to find out what danger the trap would trigger.

  The room in which they had entered was the most spectacular of all he had seen. It was huge! More than forty steps long. And the ceilings were high as well. It was a huge library. There must be thousands of books, even tens of thousands. Wide shelves covered the walls. They were so high that it would take a long ladder to reach the books that were on the upper shelves. In fact, halfway up, there was a narrow steel footbridge with a handrail. A pair of staircases accessed the catwalk.

  The center of the room was occupied by reading tables, chairs; there was even a small copy shop at one end. Multiple windows exposed various objects such as maps and ancient scrolls, gold and silver coins minted in various countries, some jewelry and other objects of the nobility such as scepters. A showcase in the center of the room contained two manuscript books, ancient and beautiful. The room was decorated with several statues, mostly innocent scantily clad maidens or animals and hunting scenes.

  They walked to the other end of the room and found a way out. Erion and Ithelas proved that there was no approaching danger and returned to the center of the library. Erion observed the room carefully again. The words dead, stairs, laboratory, library and hidden door, had been etched in the minds of them all.

  “I would say that this room occupies the entire width of the castle. Also, all the walls of the room contact with the outside except this one, the north wall,” Erion said, pointing to the wall where the two doors of the room were.

  “Erion had a lot of experience interpreting indoor spaces quickly,” Mithir explained. “We must listen to him.”

  By now the whole group had appreciated the skills of the young man and although it had aroused new doubts for them, it was clear that the boy knew what he was doing.