Chapter 12
Prisoners
The rest of that night was stressful. Yelling men running through the mines looking for the prisoners. They never even thought to open the cells. Why would anyone trying to escape lock themselves back up? Nick and Rhen seemed to tense up every time a guard would come through the cell area. Rhen’s face was bruised and swollen from the encounter with the Dead One earlier in the night. Nick wasn’t worried that they would recognize Rhen. His face had been seen by the guards before so he wouldn’t seem out of place. The swelling would conceal his identity to the guards yet make him seem familiar. Nick was more worried about himself. He was a new face and he worried they would notice him.
They never thought to check the cells that night. Eventually they posted guards at the front of their cell and Nick managed to get a few hours of sleep.
Some of the prisoners in their cell recognized Rhen through the swelling and half-closed eye. They were more than willing to try and hide them with their group. The guards never counted the prisoners because they were always under watch by two or three guards when they were working. Rhen had been a prisoner there before and figured that the guards would recognize him enough not to think twice. Even if they did question him, Rhen had escaped when they moved him to the mill in Ashton beside the old castle. He would just pretend like he had been sent back weeks before. They weren’t sure what to do about Nick.
When morning came, Nick didn’t wake to the light of the sun, but did by the yelling of the guards. “Eat up it is time to get to work!” They had slid three very large metal trays under the door. They were full of a wet cold mush. There were no utensils and the prisoners used their hands to scoop the food into their mouths. They were very organized and made sure each person got their share. Nick was impressed at how they seemed to be bonded together like a family. He could tell they were looking out for each other. No one said a word but quickly got in lines and ate their share. Nick passed on the food at first, but Rhen urged him to eat. “You won’t make it through the day if you don’t. This day will not be pleasant.” He said.
Nick scooped up his share and slipped to the corner. The texture was that of cracked wheat. The flavor was very stale and had a metallic taste. It was cold and slimy. Nick would have spit it out if it weren’t for Rhen’s encouragement. He realized Rhen was right. They were prisoners and he was in for a terrible day. It would be a lot worse with nothing to eat and no strength. Soon the cell door was opened, and the prisoners lined up to head out. Rhen whispered to Nick to get behind him and to do as he did.
They lined up and headed out the door. At the mouth of the door a guard stood with a pale of water. He poured it out into the cupped hands of the prisoner as he walked up. Each eagerly drank as much as they could before it ran through their fingers and then hurried up the tunnel with the rest. The man holding the bucket must not have been a Dead One as he had no markings and had a top knot of hair that hung to his mid shoulder. The rest of his head was shaven. Pieces of splintered bone were stuck through the gnarled hair that dangled down. He was filthy like he hadn’t bathed in months. When Nick drew near he kept his head down and hands out. He feverishly slurped at the water to make it appear that he was as desperate as the others. He almost gagged at the terrible smell of the man holding the pale. Then he managed to quickly slip after the others. The man hadn’t even paid attention to him.
The guards pushed them up the tunnels and out onto the mine floor. The mine was alight with hundreds of torches and Nick was taken back at what he saw. The cavern he was in was enormous. It was obvious to him that all the stone had been removed by hand. He could see four other groups of prisoners with guards leading them to their working places. He could see scaffolding made of wood lining the far sides of the mines and several lifts like the one Nick had seen last night. He realized that each lift must lead to an exit from the mine. “That must be how they get the gold and silver out.” Nick thought to himself.
The guards lead them to a large tunnel on the far right of where they had come out of their cells. They sent the prisoners in without a word and stood guard at the entrance of the tunnel. Nick realized that there was not an exit the way they were going. Torches lined the walls and at the back of the large tunnel were shovels picks and make shift wheel barrows. Large canvas bags with two rope loops attached to them and a few movable oil lanterns. Nick could see large hammers and metal chisels lying on the ground.
The prisoners all took places as though they were picking up from the day before. Luckily for Nick and Rhen there was an extra bag and pick. Rhen grabbed the pick and motioned for Nick to bring the bag. Rhen went to work on the side of the tunnel. The sound of the picks, hammers and chisels were almost deafening. The ping of ringing metal bounced off the walls and dust started to fill the tunnel.
Nicks job was simple. He was to pick up the rocks as gravel as Rhen broke them from the mine walls. Once he filled his bag part way. Rhen would help him shoulder the canvas bags like a back pack with the rope loops and Nick would carry it out past the soldiers and dump it onto one of the lifts. The lift would then carry the load as three prisoners pulled on the ropes hand over hand until they reached the top. When it reached the top, they would load the rocks into a wooden cart that was pulled by mules. From there Nick couldn’t see where it went.
While loading the rocks, Nick saw a glimmer and his eyes lit up. He reached out and picked up what looked like a small piece of gold. Rhen nodded to him that it was gold but pushed Nicks hand to the bag with it. Nick realized it must be for his own safety. The guards would not want to see one of the prisoners hanging onto the prize they were working for. Besides, what good would it be down here.
The day drug on and on. After what seemed like hours, the guards handed a bucket of water to one of the other prisoners carrying rocks to the platform. This must have been the signal it was time for a short break. The prisoners all gathered around on the floor of the tunnel. There were a few low whispers but not much talking. Nick was amazed at how quiet it had been as they worked. When he tried to talk to Rhen, Rhen had held his finger to his lips to tell him to keep quiet. It made the work even more painful with no conversation.
Nicks hands were getting raw and his shoulders were hurting from the ropes and the weight of the rocks he was carrying to the platform. When he thought he couldn’t go on, the guards stopped them for a break. The break was just enough to give him some hope of making it through the day. His legs were getting weak and he was extremely hungry. Nick was very glad that Rhen had urged him to eat the gray sludge from this morning. He could only imagine how hungry he would have been.
It was hard to tell what time it was, since everything was lit by torch light. Nick had no way to know if they were close to being done for the day or not. He also had no idea how late the guards would make them work. The tunnel they were working in looked completely different now. Nick had been counting how many trips he had made to lift to give him something to think about. This load would make forty-nine. When he looked at the size of each load he carried on his back, he could only imagine the size of a pile it would make. Then he looked at Rhen. He was tired, and he was taking short breaks between each swing. Nick realized he should have offered to switch him a long time before.
“Let me switch with you Rhen.” Nick said. Rhen looked up as if to protest and then gave in and handed the heavy pick to Nick. “Thanks.” He said.
Nick started to swing the pick awkwardly. At first it bounced of the rock at funny angles, but soon he figured out to aim for a small crack or to hit the same area over and over until the rock gave way and crumbled.
A few minutes later, Nick was glad he had relieved Rhen. One of the Dead Ones came into the tunnel to inspect the work they were doing. Everyone seemed to pick up their pace when he did. The rhythm of the hammers and picks hastened. All except for one. A short thin man with a beard seemed to be struggling with his pick. He was only able to get it up to chest level and drop it. He tried to do it with a
quicker pace, but it was obvious he didn’t have the strength left.
“Lift it over your head.” Screamed the Dead One. The man brought it up to chest level and his arms shook as he tried to raise it higher. He couldn’t do it and the pick came down on the rock.
With a scream of rage the Dead One hit the man upside the head with his fist. The man dropped to the ground in a heap. The Dead Ones hand went straight to his belt. He pulled a whip free and started to lash out at the man. Nick could hear his screams filling the air. Rhen’s voice brought him to. “Keep working or you will be next.” Nick realized he had been staring at the commotion and everyone else was working as though nothing were happening.
The whipping went on for an eternity it seemed like to Nick. When the Dead One was finished he yelled “That will be a reminder to you all. If you can’t work, you will pay the price.” The man hardly moved on the ground. His body was covered in blood and his tattered clothes had been shredded in the places the whip had lashed him.
No one moved to help him. The hammers and picks continued to ring out. When a few minutes had passed, and they were sure the Dead One was not returning, two of the prisoners loading bags and wheel barrows including Rhen ran to the man’s side to tend to him. They propped his head up and tried to make him comfortable. The only good thing that had come of it was that the man rested there until the shift was done.
When the guards came back into the tunnels and ordered them to clean up and dump the last load. They pointed to the two people closest to the man who had been whipped and told them to help him back to the cell. Nick was glad that they only had to deal with One Dead One today. The other guards were cruel, but nothing like the Dead Ones. It seemed That they wanted to hurt people, lived for hurting people. He couldn’t stand their white cloudy eyes and odd corpse colored skin. It made him ill just to be near one.
The prisoners were soon winding back down the tunnel into their cell. When the door was closed the guards pushed six large trays like the ones from this morning under the door. They were full of moldy bread and cooked potatoes that had long been cold. The food had no flavor except for mold. The fact it was cold brought no comfort like a home cooked meal, but Nick welcomed it to sooth the hunger he was feeling after the hard day’s work.
His hands were sore and starting to blister. His shoulders hurt from carrying rocks and his arms felt weak. Nick started to feel overwhelmed thinking that this was his lot every day. There were no beds to sleep on, just hard cold floor. There were no blankets, no pillows. There were no bathrooms, just two dirty buckets in the dark corner. No wonder these people looked like they did. Ragged and worn, skinny and tired. There was no hope in their eyes. Just pain and sadness.
The door opened to the cell and the guards brought in three buckets of water. Nick could see another set of guards dragging two chairs and a small wooden table into the cavern opposite of the bars. After getting them into position they headed back up the tunnel.
“Looks like we will have company tonight. They must be upset about the escape from last night. They don’t want to chance anther escape.” said Rhen. Nicks stomach turned. He was looking forward to being able to ask questions and talking quietly with Rhen during the evening, but this would definitely be a problem now.
“You worked hard today.” Rhen said to Nick. “It is exhausting work. Mind numbing with the silence. Eventually everyone breaks down after a few weeks. I was worried about you today, but you are a good worker. Just keep doing like you did today and we will be okay until we figure out a plan.”
“Do you still have the key?” asked Nick. “Yes, I do.” Rhen whispered back. “I hid it in a crack in the cell wall where we slept last night. It will be safe there until we need it. I covered it with that nasty food from this morning to hide it in the crack at the bottom of the wall. They will never know it is there.”
It was so good to hear a person’s voice. So good to talk to someone after the silence from the day. Nick did notice that his ears were still ringing from all the noise from the clanging tools, but they seemed to be eased at the sound of Rhen’s voice.
Rhen motioned to Nick to move back to the place where they had slept the night before. It was a small area in the front left corner of the cell. It was a small nook in the cave that bent back slightly out of sight from where the guards had placed the table. A set of bars lined the side of the nook and the light of the torch filtered in from the side. The opening of the bars was only about two and a half feet tall. And then above that was solid rock. It was the perfect spot for Rhen and Nick to hide away for from the guards but would also let them see what was going on outside the cell.
Nick and Rhen slid back into their private cubby and quietly discussed the day’s events. They even tried to come up with some escape plans, but none of them seemed to be even remotely possible. For a moment Rhen got a concerned look on his face. “Where is the book?” he whispered into Nick’s ear. Nick pulled the black piece of cloth from his pocket and showed it to Rhen. Rhen hadn’t seen Nick fold up the robe after like he had. Nick unfolded the piece of cloth. He was amazed again as he did how the robe seemed to get larger than it seemed to be when it was all folded up. When the pocket was exposed, Nick reached inside and sure enough he could feel the smooth leather under his fingers. He pulled a corner out and Rhen broke into a smile. “How does it do that? Do you have the wand?” Rhen asked. Nick pulled it part way out of the spine so that Rhen could see its hand carved handle and then slipped it back into place.
“In all of the commotion I forgot all about it. I just had a moment of panic. You have to keep it hidden. They can’t know it still exists.” Rhen said. Nick nodded. “At the same time, we have to find time to read it. If you can learn just something simple it could get us out of here.”
Rhen had stated the last sentence so matter of fact that it surprised Nick. He hadn’t really thought about learning anything new that could help them. He hadn’t thought about the man that had spoken to him when he had passed out. He had said that he was the only hope for the people of Terran. He had told him he must learn to be the keeper now. With all the running and hiding and work in the mines, Nick had not even given any of this real thought until just know. He didn’t know if he really believed it. He had seen things like the robe and the book and ending up here, but he still couldn’t believe that he could control some magic power.
“We will have to watch the guards. When it gets late, and they fall asleep or when they are not here, you will need to study and read. These people need you Nick. I need you.” Rhen said seriously.
“I’ll try, but I have no idea how to do this. Don’t get too excited.” Nick whispered back. “Then open it now, read what you can, and I’ll let you know when they are coming to put it away.” Rhen replied.
Nick did as he had been asked. He scooted into the cubby a little farther and pulled the book out turning it to the side, so he could read the words on the page. He started from the front page. It was a title page of sorts. It was written in a calligraphy “Odd Fellow Book of Secrets” the next page was a warning to the reader that with in the book were the family secrets of the Odd Fellow family. It explained how they were to be entrusted from father to son and passed on forever. The parent was to teach the child as an apprentice. A warning was included that if the person learning from the book was to use the power for evil or their own personal gain they would be struck down and cursed under the oath of the keeper.
The next page was the oath of the keeper with instructions to read it out loud and to insert the new keeper’s own name. He felt silly, but he whispered the oath as he held the wand in his hand. “I Nick Channing give my life to fulfill the role of Keeper. I accept the responsibility that comes with this great honor and will be held accountable for my actions. I will fight for honor and good. I will serve the people of Terran and defend their ways and legacy. I will give my life if required…” Nick paused as he thought about this and then continued “I will serve the people with the powers I now ta
ke upon me. This is my oath and my bond.” As he finished, Nick felt a surge of energy emanate from the book and rush through his hands and arms spreading throughout his whole body. It was a real feeling of power. He could not describe it with words, but his doubts about himself seemed to be diminished for a moment as he knew he couldn’t deny what he just felt.
The weight of the oath he had just made seemed just as real. He felt a nervous feeling and reread the commitment he had just made over and over. After he felt he truly understood what he had read he looked up at Rhen. He was frozen with a look of awe on his face staring at Nick. “I could feel that” Rhen said quietly. “I was always with my uncle and saw him do magic tricks for us, but never did I witness anything like that.” There was a reverence in Rhen’s voice. The look on his face told Nick that he truly believed that Nick was the new Keeper. “Keep studying, I’ll keep an eye out for you.” Rhen said and turned towards the bars again.
Nick read for at least another hour. The first pages of the book helped to explain that with the Oath in place that the book would bestow all the rights and privileges of keeper to the new keeper. It went on to explain how this power was always there but that his body would not be able to physically keep up with the power it held. If too much power were to be used before the keeper had properly trained and built the magical stamina for, the power would weaken his body and kill him. The book cautioned and warned the user not to do too much too fast. Nick got the idea. He now had a powerful force inside of him, but if he did not train carefully and consistently it would be dangerous to use.
The first spell that it led him to, was a simple light spell. It instructed him to hold the wand handle and to say “illumino”. Nick tried this over and over. He could feel a stirring inside, but there was no light. The book warned him not to go on until he could master this spell. Frustrated Nick continued to try. He knew it was there, he could feel it. He just couldn’t get the result. According to the book, the end of his wand would glow a soft white. He would be able to control the light by how hard he would squeeze the wand. Just then Rhen was tapping his shoulder. Nick looked up to see a fur booted leg swinging by the bars in front of him. In a moment Nick had the wand pushed back into the spine and the robe folded back into a small handkerchief. They could hear the chairs scrape slightly on the ground and then the muffled echoes of two guards muttering to each other.
The Scent of Death Page 13
