by P D Ceanneir
‘What, who is?’ he asked.
‘Havoc Valient is yours,’ Eleana’s voice cracked a little; ‘he’s your son, Havoc.’
‘Mine! Are you sure?’ he stood up, gripped her shoulders kindly, heart racing.
‘Oh yes, I am sure, but I don’t think Magnus knows, and I don’t want him to know. Promise me this will remain a secret Havoc, please?’
‘Yes of course, as you wish.’ He felt a little confused and happy at the same time. He thought of Bronwyn and his second child cradled in the arms of another man, and then sadness overwhelmed him. The negative energy associated with that emotion fluttered into Pyromantic heat in his stomach. He would have to meditate it away before he went to bed tonight; though sleep was now the furthest thing from his mind right now.
‘Whatever ventures that you’re going on tomorrow, be careful, and bring back my Magnus safe?’
‘I will,’ he tried a smile but failed. His eyes still looked sad, ‘if I’m looking after Magnus then who’s looking after me?’
‘No-one, you can look after yourself,’ giggled Eleana and Havoc was pleased to see her smile. They hugged and walked silently back to the house.
On the second level balcony of the log cabin, Magnus watched the couple on the pier. He pulled the woollen blanket over his shoulders to keep out the chill even though it was a warm night.
Lord Ness looked at the collapsed tunnel entrance as the River Mali trickled slowly by. Only the crumpled arch remained, covered in moss.
‘If this was a secret entrance,’ said Havoc, ‘why was it in plain view?’
‘This was here long before the tunnel was even constructed. It was used as a storage and chill room for the local river fishermen in the nearby villages. There was several of them in use up and down the Mali and were locally called Hoarders Huts. The actual tunnel entrance takes up little space; your grandsire secreted it at the rear somewhere. If you want to hide something, my prince, then hide it as something else where everyone can see.’
Havoc thought about that and understood that his concerns about his sons were unfounded. He thought of Havoc Valient and Bronwyn’s unborn child, they are well hid he thought, and safe where they are.
‘I felt what you did at the Tarridun River, quite remarkable,’ said the Ri, ‘but this is different.’
‘Yes, different from bending trees. However, I will use the same principle. There is a vast resource of energy underground.’
‘You mean the Dragon Lanes don’t you?’
‘Yes, you should have seen energy matrix I witnessed, master. They ebb and flow from everything, the ground, the plants and the Falesti singers, the trees were virtually aglow with it. All shades of yellows with other, dimmer, colours merging inside the streams of energy. Linking the Surges to the streams was instinctive, do you know why?’
The Ri shook his head.
‘Because they are the streams of energy, although not all of it,’ Havoc frowned trying to find a better way of explaining what he witnessed. ‘The only way I can explain it is that there are volatile energies inside the Dragon Lanes, and that is what I linked to.’
‘Fascinating, what you are describing has only been witnessed by a handful of Ri’s down through the ages, especially when they Driftwalk.’
Havoc was standing in front of the grassy mound with the collapsed entrance at its centre; he was moving his hands in front of him, back and forward, “feeling” for the energies that emitted from the earth element and the ground under him.
‘How do you know Verna was right about the passage in your dream?’ asked Lord Ness.
‘What she said was more of a prophecy. I deliberately excluded the first part of it, for good reason,’ Havoc stopped what he was doing and looked at his old tutor. The Ri was waiting patiently.
“Vengeance shall be brought down among you from the Sword that Rules. The daggers of the Nithi shall find their way home to the blood of their owners,” quoted the prince.
‘Ahh I see, and this was well before the Blacksword of Prophecy was forged in the Vale. I’m sure Ciriana will be interested in this,’ mused the Ri.
‘Quite so, this is why I know I will discover the entrance and get into the citadel.’ Havoc said that as he concentrated again on the entrance searching for energies oozing from the ground. He found them and linked his Pyromantic power to them.
‘You had better get behind me master, this may get messy.’ Lord Ness did so. Havoc summoned the earth element. Holding all Pyromantic Surge, the Dragon Lane energy and the first element together took a lot of concentration.
‘What do you see?’ said Ness Ri in a whisper, conscious of the fact he was distracting the prince, but curious to know the answer.
‘Colours. Everywhere,’ Havoc’s voice sounded strained and harsh as he linked the Surge to the earth element, ‘but I know that the blockage has shades of yellows within it, the Dragon lanes are not strong here, which could cause a problem.’
‘What about the Volatile Energies within them, do you see them?’
‘They are also a part of colour structure; negative energy living in harmony with the positive, vibrant and constant,’ his voice cracked a little as the pressure of the Surge intensified, ‘but I don’t see any.’
‘You don’t, but how can you...?’
‘I don’t see them, master, but the Blacksword does, he is the only one that can, he shows me everything,’ Havoc suddenly flung his arms to the sides and the blockage of earth and brick shot from the mound in two horizontal streams as if they were fired from the ground by volcanic pressure. The ejected debris gushed to either side of Havoc and Lord Ness making an awesome din as it flew by them on either side with feet to spare. It landed in two even piles behind them ten feet high. Havoc collapsed to his knees and the Ri caught him as he fell, dust settled around them.
‘Are you alright, my lord?’ Ness Ri’s face showed concern for his prince.
‘Yes I’m fine, it was a little taxing that’s all,’ Havoc stood a little ungainly and surveyed his work. The blockage was gone and so was half the mound that used to be a chill room. Instead, there was a large, dark, deep hole in the ground. When the Ri used the fire element in his hand to use as a torch, they could see a set of steps leading down into a black, damp cavern.
‘By the gods you have done it!’ cried Lord Ness, ‘or the Blacksword has.’
‘Seems we have reached a stalemate, him and me. I can’t see the right energies to link to, and he can’t produce Fire without me.’
‘You have found your emotion for summoning Fire?’ Ness Ri looked happily at the prince.
‘Yes I found the emotion to do it, shame or pity, I don’t know which but they work,’ Havoc looked down the narrow stairs, ‘emotions that the Blacksword does not have.’
‘Be careful of the fourth element. Use it sparingly until the Canndali, then you will be able to control it better.’
‘Bit late for that. He and I used it to burn the fleet at Cosshead.’
‘You used the fire element on the whole fleet? I thought you let a team of Raiders in to fire the ships!’ Lord Ness’s eyes were wide in wonder.
‘Ah! It’s amazing the amount of damage a Pyromantic Surge linked Fireball can do.’
They rode back to Cone Camp together, which was an hour’s ride away. Magnus and Verkin greeted them as they entered camp.
‘Have you found a way through the tunnel?’ Magnus asked.
‘Luckily enough, yes,’ said Havoc, ‘we must make plans tonight, Lord Ness, you will have to ride back to my father and let him know about the hidden passage. Tell him the plan continues as normal.’
‘What if you find more cave-ins or the palace entrance blocked?’ said the Ri.
‘Then we unblock it, but we must have faith in my sister,’ he winked at Lord Ness who smiled back and nodded.
Havoc, Magnus, Verkin and Little Kith all ventured down the steps of the tunnel. Lord Ness had bid them farewell and good luck as they parted the next morning, Velnour went
with them to mark the location in his mind then departed with Lord Ness to the king’s camp, which was several miles to the east. It was his task to bring the Raiders back to the entrance as quickly as possible. By now, the king would be on the move with most of his army after sending out summons calling his soldiers to arms. They were to gather on the east side of the Rattan Plateau and wait for word from the prince. Havoc guessed that he would need a day to traverse the tunnel and catacombs under the palace, giving himself plenty of time to find the exit. His father was then to commit himself and march out to the Aln Plain to offer battle to Plysov. Havoc and his friend’s would exit at the other end, wait for the Raiders, and then be ready to open the Northgate for that was where Sir Colby would be hiding the Princes Legion amongst the reed beds before the Mali flowed into the citadel and behind the palace itself.
Carrying torches, saturated in pine resin to keep the flickered flame burning in the damp, the quartet walked deeper into the inky blackness of the tunnel. It had a low ceiling and narrow walls with wet slurries of algae running down its hastily hewn out flanks. They had the feeling that they were heading forever downward, there was no bends or drops, just constant carved rock walls.
‘It must have taken hundreds of men to carve this lot out,’ said Little Kith
‘Probably, but it is bloody boring, wet and cold’ groaned Magnus behind him.
“Embrace the lightless places of the world, but always fear the darkness in the mind”, quoted Little Kith in, what he thought was, as a stage actor’s oration.
The other three stopped and turned to stare at him. The torchlight flickered and cast dark shadows over their surprised looks.
‘What?’ the big man asked.
‘That’s a line from Treaties of the Mind by Sevaris the Mage,’ explained Havoc, ‘you surprise me that you even read him, Kith.’
‘I’m surprised he could read,’ Magnus joked.
Little Kith grunted and ignored Magnus’s comment, ‘I lived in a paupers convent with my mother when I was younger. It sat behind the Derma Ken Priory in Sonora; the priests there spouted that shit every day until I committed it to memory and use it to impress noble folks like yourselves, my lords,’ he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice that left them all in no doubt that he was far cannier than he made out.
The two princes looked at Verkin, who knew Little Kith the longest, for confirmation of this story, but he shrugged and said, ‘I never know when he is telling the truth. He once told me he started juggling boulders when he was three.’
‘It was not boulders,’ added Little Kith, ‘It was two cast iron anvils….and the smithy.’
Havoc shook his head while Magnus chuckled. ‘Come on, let’s keep moving.’
After a couple of hours of constant walking, they found their first upward climb. The tunnel opened up into a natural cavern. Water flooded the floor through narrow cracks in the roof of the cave and drenched the four in fine spay. A cliff ledge, with another set of steps cut into them, led upwards to another cave mouth, which opened onto an arched stone bridge.
‘Great-grandfather Valient seems to have done anything in the name of love,’ commented Havoc.
‘Well, according to father, great grandmother Eutriss was somewhat of a beauty,’ said Magnus.
‘Good, I hate to think she wasn’t worth it.’
‘If she wasn’t, we would not be alive to talk about it.’
‘That’s a good point.’
After crossing the bridge, they entered the catacombs and the route started going up. They climbed through smaller, narrower tunnels, or helped each other when the path got too steep to climb. Then another opening revealed a pool with stalactites’ hanging above it like an attacking spear formation.
However, there were ten more tunnels to choose from and they lined the walls around the pool, five on each side.
They had been walking for hours now and Havoc called a halt. They all sat and ate soft bread, hard cheese and smoked beef washed down with water from their canteens.
‘Surely we must be under the palace by now?’ said the prince, ‘one of these tunnels has to be the exit point.’ The other three agreed with him and after their meal, they all split up and tried the openings. After half an hour, they all returned from their individual explorations each finding out that all the openings led to dead ends.
‘There is something we’re missing. Search around, look for a smaller opening perhaps with a leaver to release a mechanism that opens a secret door, or something,’ Havoc was feeling frustrated. Verna’s prophesy had to be true. This had to be the hidden passage she was on about. It could not just end here.
They searched for another hour without any luck.
‘Maybe if we backtrack a ways, we may have passed it,’ said Little Kith trying to be helpful, but feeling doubtful of this whole venture.
‘We would have noticed. There is only one way in, and this is it,’ said Verkin, ‘it’s got to be here.’ Havoc smiled at Verkin’s enthusiasm, but did not see hope in his friends eyes.
‘I judge that it is night, probably late evening. We still have some time, and father won’t march until first light,’ Magnus said to Havoc in a hopeful tone.
Havoc nodded, ‘let’s rest for now. I need to think,’ he said.
They all found rocks to lean against; each wore their Raider armour and carried short grey rain capes, like the type the Vallkyte soldiers wore when they patrolled the walls and the gates. The longer they delayed the sooner the Raiders would arrive down the tunnel, which would not be long now.
Havoc sat at the edge of the pool. It was wide and lapped quietly against the granite rock he sat on. Over on the far side sat a huge slab of vertical rock protruding from the pools other bank and light from their torches reflected from the mirrored surface of the pool, slight ripples shone orange flickers of firelight on the slabs flat face. The entrance tunnels that led to dead ends looked back at him, dark and mocking. He had felt so sure that at least one of them would lead him to the palace grounds.
He withdrew SinDex and concentrated on the Muse Orrinn, hoping that it would help him think and to reveal the way forward, the silver surface opened and glowed brightly in the gloom of the cavern. The light from the glowing orb surprised Havoc, it was brighter than he thought having only used it in the daytime, or dull evening light when he needed to see through Mirryn’s eyes. However in this place, it shone brighter giving a silvery cascade of pale cool light similar to the moons.
Havoc drew in a sharp intake of breath, ‘Moonlight!’ he gasped. The others were watching the almost hypnotic glow of the Orrinn, but turned their attention to the prince when he spoke.
Havoc looked at the pool; it was similar if not the same, to the one he saw in the Orrinn with Verna standing on the water and the silver reflection of the strange being under its surface, but there was no Verna or the creature, just the Orrinns silver glow, like the moons.
He peered closer to the surface using the Orrinn for light; he could see the gravel on the pools bottom, which sloped downwards to...
‘I’ll be dammed...!’ he said.
‘What is it?’ asked Magnus.
Havoc jumped up suddenly and then waded into the pool.
‘Havoc...what are you...?’ began Magnus.
‘I’ll be back,’ then he took a deep breath and dived in.
Earlier that day, Lord Ness and Velnour had rode hard and fast to the gathering point east of the Rattan. They reached it just before midday. The Rogun forces were well hidden amongst the glens and trees that lined the course to the Rattan and the passes out onto the plain. Perimeter pickets took them to the king and they found him by a small river talking to Vara.
‘He has done it, sire. We must despatch his Raiders now,’ said Lord Ness as he dismounted.
‘He has done it?’ the king smiled back at his consul and then turning to Velnour, ‘good, Captain Velnour, Major Powyss is ready, you have my permission to depart.’
‘Thank you sire,’ Velnou
r pulled round his mount and trotted off to find the major.
‘You do realise, both of you, that if Havoc pulls this off, I may have to forgive him,’ said Vara with a neutral expression.
‘I think in your heart you already do, my lady,’ said the Ri and smiled when Vara raised an eyebrow in surprise.
While Magnus and Verkin shone their torches over the surface of the pool to look for the De Proteous, Little Kith paced up and down behind them.
‘He’s been under too long!’ said the big man.
‘There must be a way under that huge rock,’ said Verkin, just as he finished the sentence Magnus gripped his arm.
‘Look!’ he said pointing, ‘the water level is dropping.’ Sure enough, the edges of the pool were receding quickly. Soon they heard a sucking, draining sound, like someone pulling out a bath plug, only louder. With the water disappearing, it revealed a natural opening at the bottom of the slab of rock. There was another smaller hole to its right where the water flowed into and disappeared quickly.
Havoc’s face appeared at the opening. The water by this time came up to his knees.
‘Well, this is the way, gents; there is a lever here that opens the drainage mechanism. The water fills up another pool on the other side,’ he said, ‘bring the torches I need more light.’
They all squeezed through the narrow opening and found themselves in another chamber, smaller then the previous one with some rubble cave-ins on either side of them, but there were also brick foundations and curved arches high above their heads covered in ancient cobwebs.
‘I think these arches are the library foundations,’ said the prince and took a torch from Verkin, ‘there are steps over here.’
The light from the torch revealed old broken stone steps that twisted to the left. At the top was more rubble, undeterred, they started clearing it away. Little Kith moved large heavy boulders with his muscled arms, Magnus doing the same, as if he was competing with the bigger man. Soon they broke through into a small curved corridor with a guttering system running obliquely to the opening. Above them was the wide iron grating that helped to drain rainwater from the yard above and the moonlight flittered through the grating as it shone past the leaves of the old yew tree that grew in the Library Cloisters.
