"Listen," Atock said quietly, "why don't you head that way?" He pointed up the street in the direction the guard captain had always headed the previous nights. "Go hide in that third alley and take this." He handed over the little something special that Cassandra had given them.
Accepting the item, Enton studied it silently for a moment. "You sure?"
"Yeah. Once he comes out, I'll follow him till we get close."
Without another word, Enton pushed himself away from the wall and started out into the street. He and Atock had been on the opposite side of the street from the pub, but the alley that Atock wanted him in was on the same side as the pub and just a little farther down. He kept his head down, even though the streets appeared empty.
Watching his comrade walk down the street, Atock began to feel the first nervous excitement that always accompanied confrontation, although he hoped this didn't turn into a full fledged battle. Enton had come here ahead of the guards, and staked out a good location while Atock had remained outside the library. Once the small group of guards had exited the main entrance, Atock had discretely followed them here.
The guards had been inside for an hour or so now, and if they followed their pattern of the last several nights then the captain should be leaving alone fairly soon. Atock sincerely hoped they didn't choose tonight to change their routine. He had pushed this idea rather hard and he didn't want it failing.
Once again, he wished Flare was here. He didn't completely trust Dagan or Cassandra and, to be honest, he had some questions for Flare. Even in his country they knew of Kelcer. They didn't have quite the paranoia of these mainlanders, but they knew enough to be troubled by the prophecy.
He had a second worry though. Aaron reported the possibility that one of the human enemies from Fort Mul-Dune might be here and that was troubling in itsel N" widown, evf.
The thoughts of Flare disappeared from his mind as the front door cracked open and a lone figure stepped out and headed up the street. The person wore a captain's uniform.
Atock waited a moment, watching the other man walk slowly down the street. The captain moved with a slight unsteadiness, a sign of a moderate amount of drinking.
Atock scanned the door of the pub again to make sure no one else would be emerging and then he pushed away from the wall. Leaving the safety of the shadows, he stepped down into the cobblestone street and hurriedly crossed over.
The buildings on either side of the street had a stone walkway around them for the sole purpose of making sure the street was a good six inches lower. Several times a year, Eled Aminor got almost torrential rains and the streets would turn into small rivers. The stone walkways did a good job of channeling the water away from the buildings.
Reaching the other side of the street, Atock stepped up on the walkway from the street and hurriedly walked after the captain. He glanced around quickly. His quick pace might draw eyes and he didn't want anyone watching when he caught up with the guard captain.
Turning back around, he sped up even faster. His quarry was way out in front and he began to suspect that the guard would most likely pass Enton's hiding place before Atock got near.
It was no use, the guard would pass the alley before Atock could even get close. A new thought occurred to him that caused a chill to run down his back. What if Enton didn't wait for him to get there? Things could go bad very easily.
He stopped and looked around for an inspiration. He was standing in front of a shop, a seamstress' shop judging by the dresses hanging in the window. The shop had an overhang to keep rain off of its customers, and the overhang was supported by three wooden posts near where the street and the walkway met up. Without hesitating, without even really thinking, Atock kicked out. He struck the pole with a loud thump and the structure shook but nothing broke.
The captain stopped walking and turned, looking back the way he had come. For a moment, he and Atock stared at each other. Then a large shadow seemed to rise up out of the darkness behind the captain, touched something to the man's back, and the captain crumpled.
Enton caught the man before he could hit the ground and held him, waiting on Atock. As soon as Atock reached him, Enton shifted the man's weight, supporting him from the left side with the captain's arm around his shoulders. Atock moved in on the other side and together they got the man moving. He was not unconscious, but appeared heavily intoxicated.
"Where's the stone?" Atock asked.
"Back in the alley," came Enton's answer. The stone had been given to them by Cassandra after she cast a spell on it. She had warned them to not let it touch their bare skin as it would affect them like the worst drinking spell they had ever endured. It would only work once, so there wasn't any danger of someone discovering it by accident.
They kept the captain moving in the general direction he had been going, appearing to anyone that saw them like a drunk man being helped along by two friends.
The walk was not a far one but they were slowed down by the seemingly drunk man between them. As soon as the others had agreed to Atock's plan, he had begun searc Vand slohing for a likely place. They couldn't very well bring a half-drugged guard captain to their rooms in the inn. It hadn't taken long to find a suitable location. Judging by the looks of the place, the shop had belonged to a glass blower. There was some fire damage near the front of the store and the windows and doors had just been boarded up. The fire appeared to have been a long time ago though, based on the amount of dust.
They walked right past the front of the shop and turned into the small alley that ran alongside the building. Near the back was a small side door and that is where Atock led them. He kicked the door twice quietly, and the door opened almost immediately. Mikela peeked out of the small opening, the room beyond was dark.
"Hurry. This guy's heavy," Atock said impatiently. Mikela moved quickly aside and the three men disappeared into the darkness.
It took about ten minutes to get the guard securely tied to a chair in the middle of the one room basement. The walls were made out of thick stones and should muffle any loud noises, although they all hoped this wouldn't turn into a torture session.
The basement had been cluttered when they had first entered, but they had piled the old shelves and furniture against one wall, freeing up a significant amount of room. Atock had thought the room unusable due to the unbelievable amount of dust but Mikela had simply cast a spell. The dust remained on the floors and covering every exposed surface, it just refused to get stirred up. There were swirl patterns in some of the dust covering the floor, indicating that this basement flooded from time to time.
"Will anyone be able to hear us?" Heather asked, looking up at the rickety ceiling. The room was extremely dark with the only light coming from four or five candles scattered around.
"No," Atock answered motioning around at the solid walls, "these stones are too thick."
"But what about the ceiling?" Heather persisted. "There are gaps in it. It won't block sound very well."
Atock chewed his lip looking upwards. "Perhaps." He turned to Dagan and Cassandra, who were both studying the bound man. "Maybe you should put a ward around the room."
Dagan shook his head, "No. Everything I do might be sensed by another sorcerer. I want to do the least that I can." He glanced at Mikela. "You know a silencing spell?"
Mikela looked a little insulted, she hated the way the old man always condescended to her. "Since I was ten," she snapped. Turning her back, she moved to the far side of the room and began speaking low and quiet. They could hear her speaking but not make out the words. After a moment, she returned. "Done."
"Good." Dagan nudged Cassandra. "Time to undo what you did."
She shot the old man a warning look and then moved up to stand directly in front of the guard. Clasping his head in her hands, she too began talking low and quiet.
Atock turned away in disgust. "Magicians and sorcerers." It was then he realized that Mikela was standing right beside him and regarding him with a sour look. Not kno
wing what else to do, he simply grinned at her, which did not help her dour expression. Luckily, Cassandra chose that moment to step back from the guard.
The Captain of the Guard that they had drug here had looked like a man after a long and drawn out drinking binge. He had not been able to stand and his head lolled from side to side. His eyes had been unable to focus and he had even drooled a little, but that had all changed. If Atock hadn't know better, he might have thought that this was a completely different person tied to the chair. This man held his head straight, an anger showing in his eyes. He surveyed each of his captors in turn and there was an unspoken threat in his gaze. "Where am I? Do you have any idea who I am?" he demanded in an angry, but still controlled tone.
Cassandra moved a little farther away and Dagan stepped up directly in front of the guard. He smiled down at their captive. "We know that you're an officer of the guard at the royal library, which is why we kidnapped you."
For a moment the anger disappeared from the guard's face and was replaced by confusion. "The library?" He looked around confused, "I don't understand."
"We need to remove something from the treasure room," Dagan said. He was still standing in front of the bound man and looked like a wizened and tired old man. It was not exactly a fear inspiring display.
The confusion disappeared and the angry look returned. "The treasure room!" He spat the words in disgust. "That's a foolish old story used to entertain young kids and gullible women. There is no such thing."
Everyone in the room was taken aback by the vehemence of the guard's words. If he was lying then he was doing a masterful job.
Atock glanced at Heather and saw his own sudden fear mirrored there. They had followed Dagan in this, believing the old man knew what he was talking about, but now that belief was being shaken to its core.
Panic flashed across each person's face, everyone except Dagan. He continued to stand in the middle of the room and smile down at their captive. When he spoke, he spoke not to the guard, but to the Guardians around him. "I do not know if there is another sorcerer around here now, but there has been one in the past."
"How do you know?" Cassandra asked. Her words cool and formal. She appeared to be holding onto her doubts.
Tilting his head to one side, Dagan studied their guard. "This man has been ensorcelled."
"Are you sure?"
Sighing deeply, Dagan swiveled his head around to stare at Cassandra. "Do I question you about your craft?"
"Actually, yes, you do." Cassandra answered, not flinching from the heat in the old man's gaze.
"Well, do not question me. This man's mind has had layers of wards placed on it and I must be careful in my removing of them," Dagan spoke through clinched teeth.
"You're going to remove the wards?" Heather asked. "Is that a good idea?"
"Only if we want to find out how to open the treasure room."
For a moment no one said anything, they just looked from one to the other, doubt showing in their eyes.
Dagan sighed again. "I will remove the wards and find out what he knows. Once I am done, I will replace the wards and send him Viv height="0 on his way."
"Won't the other sorcerer realize that his wards have been tampered with?" Cassandra asked.
"Yes, but not until he touches this man's mind again and who knows when that will happen. It could be months before this is discovered and we should be long gone before that happens." He pointed up the stairs, "Now, I can't work with all these interruptions. Please give me some privacy."
They waited upstairs while Dagan did, whatever it was he did. Heather ordered Enton and Aaron to return to the inn for some much needed sleep. Both men looked on the verge of arguing, but Enton closed his mouth at the look on Heather's face. Once Enton had given in, Aaron followed rather meekly, apparently unwilling to fight the battle on his own.
Atock stretched out on the floor and dozed off. Atock knew, like all soldiers do, that it's wise to always take advantage of an opportunity to get some sleep. A soldier never knows how long until the next such lull will present itself.
Cassandra sat on the floor with her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. It was impossible to tell if she actually slept though.
Heather and Mikela were the most anxious of the group. Heather paced the floor for a while, only stopping when she disturbed Atock for the third time. After that she moved into another room and remained there.
Mikela, for all her nervous energy, moved over and sat down in the dark shadows near the front window. The window had been boarded up a long time ago, but there were sizeable cracks and she was able to watch the stars. She enjoyed stargazing and normally it relaxed her, it did not do so tonight. Her thoughts wandered between hoping that this guard knew where the storeroom was, to hoping that it didn't even exist, to thinking about Flare. Strangely thinking of Flare tended to make her worry now. That had never happened before. She had always trusted him, but claiming Ossendar gave her serious doubts about him. She sat there, in the dark, and struggled with all the possibilities.
Several hours later Dagan climbed the steps from the basement. He was followed closely by the captain of the guard. The captain looked unfocused, his eyes were glassy and he stared straight ahead.
"Is that safe?" Heather asked, returning to the main room at the sound of Dagan's footsteps. She noticed that Atock had tensed up as well. Dagan smiled at them. "Quite. He is completely under my control."
Atock stared at the sorcerer, a thinly disguised look of disgust twisting his features. "You can do that?"
"Well, not normally, no," Dagan answered, the smile slipping from his face, "But I can with this man." Several confused stares greeted him so he continued with a sigh. "This man has been ensorcelled so many times that his mind's natural barriers have been lowered."
"Does that mean that the other sorcerer is stronger than you?" Cassandra asked.
Now it was Dagan that looked confused, "Why do you ask?"
"Because you said that you couldn't normally control a person like this, but apparently the other sorcerer can."
Dagan shook his head, "No. I think the guards voluntarily allowed themsel V>
"Why would they allow that to happen?"
"I would assume that they were ordered to by the king." Dagan replied. "It would make sense that this is a part of the security to protect the treasure room."
"Did he know about the treasure room?" Heather asked excitedly.
Dagan smiled, "Yes. Deep under all those wards was the knowledge that we seek. He has been through the secret entrance."
"So he told you how to open it?" Heather prompted.
Once again, the smile slipped from Dagan's face, "Well, no. Not exactly. You see, our good captain here did not see how the entrance was opened. But he saw who opened it." Everyone had a blank look so he hurried on. "The king's sorcerer and magician opened it together."
"What's that mean?" Cassandra asked.
"Well, it means that it takes a sorcerer to open the secret entrance. I'm assuming that whatever the secret is, it will only be something that someone such as myself will know about."
"Hold on," Atock said, interrupting. He pointed at the blank looking guard. "Shouldn't we do something with him? I mean we wouldn't want him to listen to our plans and then have the other sorcerer make him tell what he knows."
Nodding, Dagan turned back to the guard. He stared at the blank looking man but didn't say anything. After a moment the guard started walking. He opened the door and moved out into the darkness, the whole time still walking stiffly.
"How long is he going to walk like that?" Cassandra asked.
"Not too long," Dagan answered. "He should be back to normal before he reaches his barracks."
"Okay. So what's the plan?" Mikela asked. "Do we try and break in tomorrow night?"
"I think so," Dagan answered rubbing his chin. "But I think I should take a look at that relief before we try anything. I would hate for us to break in and
not be able to open the secret door."
Chapter 9
Early next mid-afternoon, Heather helped Dagan up the steps in front of the library. The old man wore a long cloak that gathered tight around his neck, hiding everything but his head. He leaned heavily on an old wooden staff and slowly climbed the steps.
Heather patiently helped support the old man's weight. To her eyes Dagan looked like he always did, but he had assured her that he would look much older than normal to everyone else.
They reached the top of the stairs and stopped. Dagan wheezed heavily, making an excellent show of trying to catch his breath.
"Is that all acting or are you about to have a fit?" Heather asked quietly, trying not to grin.
Dagan paused for the briefest of moments, right in the middle of a particularly deep breath, but he remembered and continued the wheezing quickly. He glared at Vuardit;Is that Heather though. "Behave yourself, young lady."
They continued toward the main entrance of the library and the going was much easier now. The ground here sloped upwards, but as least all the steps were behind them.
Pausing momentarily, they both stared up at the monstrous building that loomed above them. She had seen the building but this was Dagan's first up close look at it.
"Don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open," Dagan mumbled sideways at her, "let's get inside."
Glaring sideways at the old man, Heather ground her teeth together. Her mouth most certainly had not just been hanging open.
Passing through the eight inch thick wooden doors, they paused again inside the entrance gallery. This time, however, it was Dagan that stood with his mouth hanging open. To be fair, there were plenty of reasons for the old man to be taken aback. The walls were lined with impressive paintings and tapestries, scattered around the floor were numerous highly detailed statues, and the marble ceiling was vaulted way above their heads. Dagan didn't stare at those items though, his attention was focused on the enormous relief along the back wall of the gallery. It appeared to have been carved somewhere else, then someone had cut the thing into massive pieces, carried them here, and reassembled them.
Valley of the Ancients: Book Three of the Restoration Series Page 11
