Miko sees the dead body illuminated by the orb and gasps. “James, we shouldn’t be in here,” he says with a tremor of fear in his voice. “Let’s find another way.”
“Don’t be scared Miko,” He says reassuringly. “It’s only a dead body.” He leans down and grabs a stick and then begins poking through the dead man’s clothes. “Most likely this was a merchant traveling through the Pass that ran afoul of bandits and they dumped his body in here. See, look, there is no purse on him, nothing at all of value.” James uses the stick and turns the head. “And look,” he says indicating the back of the head, “it’s cracked like someone hit him in the head with something hard.”
“Maybe the bandits are still here?” Miko says worriedly, looking around.
“Not likely,” he replies. “If they were still using this place, they would hardly have left a dead body rotting in the hallway. They would have dumped it out back where they wouldn’t have had to walk over it and smell it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” admits Miko, though still not sounding very reassured.
“So relax, we’re going to be okay,” he assures, trying his best to calm Miko.
“If you say so,” Miko replies halfheartedly.
Leaving the body behind, they continue down the hallway, passing two doors before coming to a halt before the third.
“Why are you stopping?” Miko asks.
“It’s indicating that we need to go through this door,” he explains. He tries the handle but finds it locked. He hands the compass and glowing orb to Miko before throwing his weight against the door. With a crash, the door bursts in, breaking off a two foot section of the door jamb in the process. His momentum carries him a little ways through the door where he stumbles and falls as his foot fails to find purchase on the floor. He rolls down a flight of stairs coming to rest at the bottom. Bruised and scraped but otherwise unhurt, he gets to his feet.
From the top of the steps he sees Miko illuminated by the glow from the orb in his hand looking down at him. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” replies James, “come on down. But be careful, I might have broken a few of the steps during my fall.”
Being extra careful, Miko takes it one step at a time, having to skip over one due to it being in such bad shape that he doesn’t think it will support his weight. He finally makes it to the bottom.
By the time he’s reached the bottom, James has taken a cursory look around the room. It’s a small room, only about ten feet by maybe twelve. The only exit is the door at the top of the stairs. The room itself is empty except for the dust that has accumulated over time.
He retrieves the compass from Miko and sure enough, it’s still pointing the way. Only this time it’s indicating the direction they need to go is through the wall. Pointing to the wall indicated by the compass, he says, “It says that we are to go this way.”
“Another secret door like in Lord Colerain’s estate?” suggests Miko.
Nodding his head, he replies, “I think so, give me the orb for a second.” Holding out his hand, Miko passes him the orb.
He does a thorough inspection of the wall and fails to find anything that looks like it could be a trigger to open the secret door. He then moves to the adjoining walls, searching for some trigger or other mechanism that could possibly open a secret door.
Miko looks around as well and notices a design on the floor, partially hidden by the accumulated dust. “James, look at this,” he says as he points it out to him.
James comes over and kneels down, taking a closer look. Brushing away the dust he discovers that it is a square shaped stone engraved with a design of a circle within a circle within a circle. He presses on it but nothing happens. Getting to his feet, he has Miko step on it while he goes over and pushes on the wall but nothing happens. “Maybe there are others we need to release first,” he theorizes. “Look around for any more similar designs.”
They look around and Miko discovers another one on the wall about midway up the stairs. This one is just a single circle. Excited, James says, “If there is one with three circles and another with just the one, then there may be another with two circles. And hopefully by pressing them in the correct order, it’ll enable us to open the secret door.”
“Makes sense,” agrees Miko.
They continue to look but fail to find two circles, one in the other. “I don’t think there is one here, James,” Miko says after they’ve searched for a while.
“There has to be,” he insists. “It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.” He continues to look around, getting on his hands and knees to closely examine the floor inch by inch.
“But we’ve examined all the walls and floor over and over,” Miko goes on. “There is no such design here.”
Stopping and standing up suddenly, James looks at Miko, “You’re right. We have searched all the walls and the floor, but we haven’t looked at the ceiling.” He turns his gaze up toward the ceiling and sure enough, there is the design with two circles, one inside the other. “I knew it!” he exclaims excitedly.
“Miko, go and press firmly on the single circle,” James tells him.
Miko cautiously makes his way up the stairs and presses the circle, “Now what?”
“Toss the piece of the door jamb that I broke off down to me,” he replies.
Miko looks around and finds the broken door jamb, he tosses it down to James.
Catching it, James raises it up toward the double circle in the ceiling. Holding it steady, he puts the end against the design and presses firmly. Miko by this time has made it back down the stairs.
James lowers the broken door jamb and lets it drop to the floor. He walks over to the triple circle on the floor and presses firmly on it with his foot. Suddenly, a section of the wall begins to swing inward, creating a three foot wide by five foot tall opening.
He brings the orb close and discovers the opened door has revealed a narrow passage which looks to have been carved out of the mountain.
As James stands there looking down the passage, the door slowly begins to swing closed. Finding no way to keep it open, he backs out of the way and lets the door close. Turning back to Miko, he says, “Let’s go back up and get our things from the horses.”
“You mean we’re leaving them up there?” Miko asks incredulously.
“Our way lies through there,” James says, pointing toward the secret door. “And I seriously doubt if the horses will be able to make it. Besides, can you think of a way to get them safely down that broken flight of steps?”
“No, I can’t,” Miko admits as he glances over to the steps in question.
“Okay then, so let’s go and get what we are really going to need and hide the rest, just in case we manage to come back this way again.” He walks over and carefully climbs back up the stairs, trying to place his weight evenly so as not to cause another step to break. Miko waits until he has made it to the top before following.
They walk back through the hallway, past the corpse and through the front door. Around back they find their horses and mule just where they had left them. James grabs the jackets, throwing Miko’s over to him who grabs it and puts it on. They take everything off the horses and mules, tying them loosely so that if they don’t return, they will be able to break free.
In several trips, they manage to haul all their equipment and the tack down into the little room at the bottom of the stairs, secreting it under the steps. As they are bringing in the last load, James sees the supply caravan they had passed the day before trundling past along the road on its way to the refugee camp.
He stashes the last of the equipment under the steps and says, “Unless someone comes down here, our stuff should be safe.”
Miko nods agreement, “It’s too bad we have to lose the horses.”
“I know, but we have money to buy new ones and we’re pressed for time,” he says. Taking out his traveling scribe case, he places it on the stairs and opens it.
“You’re not taking
that with us are you?” Miko asks.
“No,” James responds, “I just want to take the notes I have written.” He removes the note filled parchment and rolls them into a tight roll, placing them in his backpack. Closing the case, he places it with the rest of the equipment under the steps. He turns to Miko and asks, “Did you get the money?”
Miko pats one of the bags he has over his shoulder and says, “Right here.”
“Okay, looks like we’re ready,” he says. “Go push the circle by the stairs and we’ll get going.”
Miko climbs up the stairs and pushes the circle on the wall, James again uses his makeshift stick and pushes the double circle on the ceiling, then goes over and steps on the triple circle on the floor. The secret door swings open and James takes the lead, holding the glowing orb in his hand as he passes through the doorway and into the tunnel.
Chapter Twenty Two
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The tunnel they find themselves in is quite narrow, wide enough to accommodate them side by side and barely tall enough to allow them to pass without ducking. Once through the door, it begins to swing closed again until finally shutting tight. The orb gives them sufficient light to see, illuminating the tunnel as it continues deeper into the mountain.
James hands his things to Miko and then begins searching the area near the door in an attempt to find the hidden mechanism that will allow them to reopen the door from this side. After several minutes of fruitless searching, he gives up, unable to locate the trigger mechanism. “Let’s hope that we don’t need to come back this way in a hurry,” he says to Miko while he takes his things back.
“Yeah,” agrees Miko nervously, “let’s hope that.”
When his packs are situated properly about his person, James again takes the lead and heads off down the tunnel. Ten feet or so from the door, they come across a bundle of torches. Miko removes his knife and cuts the ties holding the bundle together. Taking several of the torches, he places them in one of his bags.
James looks at him questioningly and Miko just shrugs and says, “You never know.”
Nodding his approval, James turns and leads them further into the mountain. The tunnel continues for some time before opening onto a subterranean cavern. The orb’s light reveals many stalactites and stalagmites, the play of shadows as they pass through gives the cavern an eerie feeling. From all around comes the steady drip, drip, drip of water coming off the stalactites.
“Wow,” Miko says, in awe of the extraordinary rock formations revealed by the orb’s light. After a brief pause to marvel at the rock formations, they continue on. The orb’s light reveals further marvelous, breath taking sights as they wend their way through the cavern, some being quite brilliant with many contrasting colors. Miko stops briefly to touch one.
“Pretty impressive isn’t it?” James asks, coming up behind him.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” he replies. “How did all this get to be here?”
James indicates one of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, “Water drips through cracks in the ceiling and runs down one of those stalactites.”
Miko looks at him, confused.
“Stalactites are what the ones from the ceiling are called and stalagmites are the ones rising up from the floor,” he explains. “Over a very long time, hundreds and thousands of years, the continual passage of water leaves minerals behind. Over time, they harden to form the structures you see here.”
“Amazing,” Miko says as he rubs one, “it’s as hard as rock.”
“It is rock,” James explains. “Over time the minerals come together and form the rock.”
“Hard to believe,” Miko says in wonder. “Wouldn’t have if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Come on, we need to get going.” James hurries Miko along and they make their way further through the cavern.
In pools and scurrying among the rock formation they encounter many strange animals in this subterranean world, most being pale in color. In one large pool of water, Miko notices little dots of light moving below the surface.
“James,” he hollers, “come here, you gotta see this.”
James comes over to where Miko has again stopped and kneels down, looking into the water. Seeing the little dots moving around, he says, “It’s probably just small fish.”
“Fish?” Miko asks incredulously. “With lights?”
Feeling like a school teacher out on a field trip, James explains, “When there is a total absence of light, fish and other animals will often produce their own.”
“How?” Miko asks.
“That I don’t know,” he admits. “I just know they do.”
“That is so weird,” Miko says, continuing to watch the dots flitter around.
“Yes it is,” James says. “Now, can we please hurry through here without all the stops?” He gets up and continues on, making Miko rush to catch up or be left behind in the dark.
The cavern continues on for another several hundred feet before they reach an open chasm cleaving the cavern in two. It looks as if the mountain had pulled apart some time in the past, leaving a rift over a hundred feet wide. A wooden bridge in poor repair spans the gap, some of the boards are missing and others are badly cracked, altogether looking as if it wouldn’t support their weight.
James checks his compass which indicates that their path continues across the chasm. He shows it to Miko.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Miko exclaims. “There’s no way that’s going to hold when we cross. We’ll be dropped into whatever is down there.” He moves to the edge and looks down, but only sees blackness within the chasm. “We’ll die!”
“There’s no other way to go,” James tells him. “We can’t go back, so we have to go forward. Besides, I haven’t seen any other passages we could possibly have taken.”
Miko gives him a defiant look and stands his ground.
“Okay scardy pants,” James says mockingly, “I’ll try it first. If it will hold up for me it should hold up for you.”
“But what will I do if you fall and die?” Miko asks. With a wild look on his face he shouts, “I’ll be trapped here!”
Coming over to where he’s standing, shaking slightly in fear at being alone here, James tries to calm him. “Look, I won’t ever leave you like that, but someone has to go first and see if it is safe.”
Miko gives him a look that could only be called pitiful, but nods his head. “Alright,” he says in barely a whisper.
James casts a short spell and the orb floats up and hovers above and a little behind his left shoulder, following him as he moves. He walks over to the bridge and takes hold of the single rope handrail on the right, the one on the left had long since fallen off. He places his left foot gingerly on the first board as far to the edge as he can and slowly eases his weight onto it. When the board is supporting his entire weight, he turns and looks over at Miko and says, “See, it’s going to hold.” Then he takes his right foot and places it on the next board.
Slowly, he repeats the process, board by board, until he gets about mid span. Suddenly, a board breaks in two from his weight, causing him to lose his balance as his foot goes through.
“James!” Miko screams from where he’s watching.
He catches himself on the handrail and is able to prevent himself from falling. Turning slightly, he waves back to Miko letting him know he’s fine.
Once his nerves settle down and his heart stops racing, he steps over the broken board and then tests the next board before trusting it with his weight. He’s relieved when the board holds firm and then continues on as he tests each and every board until finally making it to the other side.
Once safely on the cavern floor, he hollers over to Miko, “I made it!” made it…made it…made it, his voice echoes throughout the cavern. “I’m sending the orb back so you can use it during your crossing.” crossing…crossing…crossing… Concentrating, he makes the orb float across the chasm to Miko. He has the o
rb settle over Miko’s left shoulder and keeps it there.
“Okay, now it’s your turn,” turn…turn…turn… he hollers over to Miko. “Just keep your feet to the edge of the boards and they will hold your weight better.” better…better…better…
He watches as Miko approaches the edge of the bridge and hesitantly sets his foot on the first board. When he realizes it will hold his weight, he moves his other foot cautiously to the next, making sure to keep his feet as far to the edge of the board as possible. Both hands clutch the handrail in a grip only fear of imminent death could produce.
Slowly, board by board he makes his way across the bridge. Upon reaching a board that doesn’t look as if it will hold his weight, he steps over it and places his foot on the following board. It’s a stretch, but he makes it with no problem.
When he’s about a third of the way across, he places his foot on a board and hears a loud cracking noise as soon as his weight settles upon it. Realizing the board is about to break, he takes his foot off the board and pauses on the bridge. The board after the one that was cracking is broken as well, only half of it remains. Now he’s faced with a gap of two boards, he looks at it wide-eyed, paralyzed with fear.
Seeing Miko stop, James hollers out to him, “Come on Miko, it’s not much further.” further…further…further…
“The next board is cracking,” he hollers over to James, “and the one after that is broken in two. I can’t make it!” it…it…it…
“Yes you can, just calm down,” James says trying to reassure him. “Put your feet on the side beneath the handrail and scoot your way down to the next board!” board…board…board…
Working up his nerve, Miko does what James advises and places one of his feet on the side, then the other. Sliding slowly, he makes his way past the board that’s cracking and then past where the next one is broken in two. When he’s close enough to the next good board, he cautiously sets a foot on it and sighs with relief when it holds his weight. Once again he slowly makes his way across the bridge, one board at a time.
Unsuspecting Mage Page 38
