“This place doesn’t look like a long-lost abandoned ruin like Sythal,” Jaikus complained.
“No it doesn’t,” Reneeke agreed. “Looks more like a place someone tossed their old junk.”
They spent a moment poking through the debris pile before moving to the other door. It opened onto yet another passageway. Six doors lined this one. First two held smashed-open chests. The next three were barren. The last room before the passageway made a sharp turn to the left, contained a crudely painted mural.
Lacking in any sort of skill, the scene it portrayed could possibly have been one of a battle, though it could just have easily been one depicting a group of men running along the bank of a river.
“This just gets stranger and stranger,” Jaikus commented.
“Doesn’t it though?” Reneeke examined the painting carefully hoping to discern some hidden meaning to it or perhaps it had been painted to hide something important. He finally came to the conclusion that the painter had just been lacking talent, perhaps someone holed up in there with nothing else to do. Leaving the room, they followed the passage as it jogged to the left.
It came to an abrupt end ten feet from where it turned. A wooden door bound with bands of iron stood closed before them. An attempt to open it found it locked.
Seeing his chance to be the Adventurer, Jaikus knelt before the lock with this knife. He inserted the blade into the keyhole.
Reneeke waited patiently while he tried to jimmy the lock.
“Wonder what’s behind here,” Jaikus mused as his knife worked to find the locking mechanism. In tales it was always fast and quick to open any lock with a knife blade. But real life seemed to have other plans. After minutes of fruitless attempts, he finally gave up.
“We should worry more about getting out of here and returning the chest to Master Tuppin than exploring, Jaik.”
His friend glanced up from where he knelt before the door. “The way out could be beyond this door.”
“Unlikely,” Reneeke replied. “I’ve been keeping a mental tab on where we are in relation to where we entered and I figure we are deeper within the mountainside. Any avenue leading out would be closer to the mountainside.”
Coming to his feet, Jaikus sheathed his knife and eyed the door. Visions of rooms filled with treasure danced through his head. If the door could just be unlocked.
“So then we are going to have to investigate beyond the door where the footprints led?”
Reneeke nodded. “Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice.”
“Maybe the key to this door is somewhere in that area.”
“Never can tell.”
Returning down the passageways, they came once again to the altar room and the sacrificed creature.
“I’ll check it out this time,” Jaikus said. He held out his hand for the torch.
Reneeke hesitated only a minute then handed it over. “Be careful,” he advised.
“You worry too much.”
Once at the door, Jaikus took hold of the ring and pulled. The door didn’t move. Remembering how Reneeke had opened the one door earlier, he spun the ring clockwise ninety degrees then pulled. This time, the door came open.
Immediately, voices were heard coming from the other side. Jaikus shut the door.
“Douse the light,” Reneeke whispered.
Jaikus dropped the torch and rolled it with his foot until it went out. Then he slowly opened the door. Dim light shone through. The voices weren’t close and what was being said couldn’t be made out.
After a quick glance through the opening he turned back to Reneeke. “The light’s coming from a doorway maybe twenty feet away.”
“Is that where the voices are coming from too?”
“I think so,” he replied. “Hard to tell.”
Reneeke joined him in looking through the crack. The door from which the voices emerged was the first one from where they stood. Another loomed on the opposite side of the passage a little bit further down. He listened to the voices for a moment then quietly pushed the door closed so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard by those in the room.
“I think there are at least three.” He shifted the chest from under one arm to the other.
“Getting heavy?”
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“I’ll go take a look.”
“Okay,” Reneeke replied. “But be careful.”
Jaikus nodded and pulled the door open.
Who was more surprised at seeing the other was uncertain, him or the man standing on the other side.
Reacting almost without thinking, Jaikus dove forward and tackled the man. A knee to the gut cut off his cry to warn the others. When they came to rest, Jaikus had his knife to his throat.
“Quick thinking,” Reneeke said as he came to his side. Glancing to the lighted doorway, he paused a moment to see if those inside had heard. When their conversation continued unabated and unaltered, he pulled the man to his feet.
“You say anything and you’re a dead man,” he warned. “Got it?”
With Jaikus’ knife still at his throat, the man nodded.
Casting another glance to the lighted doorway, he pulled the man into the outer room and shut the door.
“Who are you?”
“Not yet, Jaik,” Reneeke said. “We better take him through the other door and into one of the rooms.” He glanced to his friend. “There we’ll be more likely to remain undisturbed.”
“Good point.”
They led the man around the wooden altar with the sacrificial victim and into the other passageway. There they took him to the first room.
“Now,” Jaikus asked, “who are you?’
“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’,” the man said defiantly.
Jaikus grabbed his head and held it back. “Then, what’s the point in keeping you alive?”
“We’re not murderers, Jaik.”
Sighing, Jaikus let go of his head. “Rene, how am I going to get any information out of him if you go and tell him that we aren’t murderers? I know we’re not. And up until a moment ago, he probably would have believed me.”
The man grinned at him before he doubled over from Reneeke’s blow to his stomach. A second strike to his jaw sent him flying backward to land with an “oomph” on his back.
“We may not kill you,” Reneeke said, “but you may wish we had before it’s all said and done.”
Glancing at Jaikus, he saw him nod and grin. “That’s the way,” he mouthed silently. Then he knelt with one knee on the man’s chest. “Who are you and what is this place?”
All he got in reply was a groan.
“Do you think breaking some fingers would speed things along?” Reneeke offered.
The man’s eyes widened. When Jaikus shrugged, grabbed his right index finger and said, “We can but try,” the man said, “Wait.”
“Why?” Jaikus said as he bent the finger painfully back almost to the snapping point.
“Cause I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Jaikus let go the finger.
“If you give me your word that you will let me go unharmed.”
“You got it,” Reneeke said.
“But you lie to us,” Jaikus warned as he put his knife to the man’s throat, “that will be the last thing you ever do.”
The man nodded.
He got off the man’s chest. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Arno,” the man explained. “I’m one of Bellar’s Band.”
Jaikus glanced to Reneeke. “You ever heard of them?”
His friend shook his head.
“Ever heard of Mackum the Red?”
“Oh, sure,” Arno replied. “Everyone knows Mackum. We did a job with him a year ago I think it was.”
“So,” Reneeke said, “this is nothing but a thieves’ den?”
“Hideout,” Arno said. “Wouldn’t really call it a den. We stay here from time to time.”
Jaikus got a thoughtful look. “What do you know about
that locked door at the end of the passageway?”
“Only that no one’s ever been able to open it from what I hear.”
“You’re thieves,” Jaikus argued. “Aren’t you supposed to be adept at that sort of thing?”
Arno shook his head. “Naw, you got us confused with those up at the Guild. We get by is all.”
“I see.”
“But enough about the door,” Reneeke said. “How many of you are there?”
“Me and three others. The rest went for supplies.”
“When are they due back?”
“A day, maybe two if they went drinking.”
Reneeke glanced at Jaikus. “So three more to deal with.” Once Jaikus nodded, he returned his attention to Arno.
“Is there another way out of here besides the front door?”
“Why?”
“Just answer the question,” Jaikus demanded.
He shook his head. “No, that’s the only way.”
Jaikus set his knife against his throat again. “Is that the truth?”
Arno nodded vigorously. “On my life! I swear it.”
“What do you think?” Jaikus asked.
“Can’t see why he’d lie about something like that.”
Their captive eyed the chest where Reneeke had set it on the floor and licked his lips.
“Don’t even think about it,” Reneeke warned.
“Oh, no,” Arno replied. “Merely admiring its craftsmanship.”
Then from the altar room, they heard a voice holler, “Arno!”
Jaikus’ knife immediately went to the man’s throat.
“Keep him quiet,” Reneeke said. Drawing his sword, he went to the door of the room and glanced down the passageway. Seeing that the door to the altar room remained closed, he hurried forward and put his ear against it.
Muffled voices came from the other side. He could tell they were some distance from the door. Taking a risk, he pushed the door open a very small amount to create the barest opening through which he could see.
“I don’t know where that layabout is,” one man said.
“He must have gone outside,” another said.
They and a third man turned and headed for the door to the outside.
Reneeke pulled the door closed then raced for Jaikus.
“Tie him up,” he said as he sped through the door.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“His buddies are going outside.”
“But they’ll be killed.”
Reneeke nodded. “More than likely. But that’s not the worst of it.”
Jaikus turned from where he was getting bits of rope he had in his pack to secure Arno.
“They’re going to let the creatures in.”
Chapter 13
Once Arno was securely bound and gagged, they returned to the door leading to the altar room. Reneeke listened for a moment before opening it. The altar room was quiet.
“Think they’re dead already?” Jaikus asked.
“I don’t know,” Reneeke replied. “You would think we’d hear something.”
“Maybe the creatures left?”
Reneeke glanced to him. “I don’t know.”
About then they heard the men’s rapid return. All three emerged from the passage leading outside with swords drawn.
Jaikus held his breath expecting the creatures to be on their tail. But when they entered the altar room, instead of turning about to deal with an incoming threat, they paused and looked around. One pointed to the floor and said, “There!”
Three sets of eyes turned toward the door behind which Reneeke spied upon them. They broke into a run.
“Damn,” he cursed and then shut the door. “Come on,” he hollered before racing back to the room.
“What did...,” Jaikus began before Reneeke cut him off
“His friends are on their way!”
They had no sooner entered the room wherein Arno laid bound and gagged when the door to the altar room slammed open.
Jaikus drew his sword where he stood in the middle of the room while Reneeke held his blade as he pressed himself against the wall to the left of the door.
Footsteps approached, then a man appeared as he raced down the passage. Glancing inside, he saw Jaikus standing there and came to a stop. “There they are!”
As the man raced to engage Jaikus, Reneeke’s sword sliced him mightily across the middle as soon as he cleared the doorway. The man dropped with a gurgle but was quickly replaced with another. Having seen what befell his partner, he was able to deflect Reneeke’s attack.
The third man entered the room and headed for Jaikus.
Jaikus stood at the ready and when the man approached, managed to deflect the thrust aside. Before he could launch a counterattack, the man’s blade came back for a slice. Jaikus danced back, hit the sword aside and thrust just at Larko had instructed. He was more than a little surprised when his blade sank two inches into the left side of the man’s chest. While it may not have been a mortal blow, it did wonders for Jaikus’ confidence.
The bandit faced off against Reneeke launched into a series of attacks. Remembering what Larko had once said about getting your opponent’s measure, he concentrated on defense while getting a feel for the way the man attacked. After the fifth blow, he thought he might have figured it out.
The man often repeated the same several maneuvers. Taking what Larko had told him, he adjusted his defense accordingly and gradually, maneuvered his opponent’s blade into ever widening arcs. When he knew the opening was imminent, he knocked the sword aside then followed through with a thrust, piecing him through the chest. His sword wedged in against the ribs. When the man fell he took Reneeke’s sword with him. Leaving it, he turned to find Jaikus steadily giving ground.
Reneeke picked up his opponent’s sword and came up behind Jaikus’ opponent. A single thrust through the back and the man faltered. Seeing his opportunity, Jaikus lunged forward and skewered him just below the sternum. The fight was over.
“Are you hurt?”
Jaikus shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Me either.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to die, Jaikus got a big grin on his face. “We won!”
“That we did.”
Returning to the man he killed, he flipped him over with the toe of his boot and reclaimed his sword. Had to put his foot on the man’s chest in order to pull it free. He then wiped it on the man’s shirt before returning it to the scabbard.
“Two against three, to boot.”
“Yes…”
Jaikus heard something in Reneeke’s voice. “What is it?”
“Something is not right.” He went to the men on the floor and turned each of them over then gave them a quick inspection.
“What are you looking for?”
“Claw marks.”
Jaikus glanced at the one he had killed. “They don’t have any.”
“No, they don’t.”
“I guess the creatures must be gone then.”
Reneeke thought back to when the men had returned from the outside, their swords had been drawn and looking at the tracks in the dirt. Almost as if they had known they were there to see. When they had left to hunt for Arno outside, they hadn’t cared to look, nor had they had their swords drawn. So what happened between the time they left until their return? He told Jaikus who looked at him confused and shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“If a man leaves a place and doesn’t know something, then returns shortly thereafter and does know that thing, how then did he find out?”
“Someone told him?” Jaikus guessed.
Reneeke turned on him. “That’s it! They were told we were in here.”
“But who?”
“Who indeed… Who knew about us?”
“Well, there was that Halfling fellow, and Mackum knew about us. That thief who helped us get our chest back, and of course Master Tuppin and his crew.”
“I think we could s
cratch off Master Tuppin; he wouldn’t be here. And I think if Fallon wanted to rob us he would have done it that night we were sleeping or just after we dealt with the Halflings.” He thought a moment. “It would have to be either that Halfling, or Mackum.”
“But Rene, they weren’t after us. It was those creatures.”
“Yes,” Reneeke mused, “those mindless, death-dealing creatures.” He turned to Jaikus once again. “Do you think anyone could control beasts such as those?”
“Jaikus shook his head.”
“Neither do I.”
Pieces were falling into place. As his granther always said, “Logic’s road can only lead one place. Rational or not, believable or not, truth is truth my young Reneeke.” His granther had been one of the smartest men he’d ever known. Most folks of Running Brook would say the same. There were many who thought Reneeke had inherited his methodical mind.
“What do you think?”
He held up a finger. “First, when we were being chased at the Keep, those creatures caught us fast.” Up went another finger. “Second, after encountering them the second time, we managed to keep ahead of them. Possible? Maybe”
A third finger went up, “Third, they chased us in here. And I would think that had they encountered any other living being, such as when the bandits went outside looking for Arno, they would have killed them on sight. Agreed”
Jaikus nodded his head. “Sounds reasonable.”
“Four,” he said, adding a finger to the first three, “Three bandits leave in a leisurely manner only to return moments later in a hurry with swords drawn looking for intruders. Why? Because someone told them.”
“I conjecture that waiting for us outside this place is not malicious creatures bent on ripping us apart, but instead,” he paused a moment, “Mackum and the Halfling.”
“How do you figure?”
Reneeke gestured to where Arno was lying bound and gagged. “He said that everyone knew Mackum. And only someone they knew and trusted could convince them that we were in here in such a short time.”
“But what about the Halfling?”
“Remember, Jaik, he’s an illusionist. I would wager that those beasts we fled from were nothing more than illusion. Else, they would have fallen on Mackum and killed him.”
“But if Mackum was outside, why didn’t he follow them in?”
Caravan to Kittikin Page 14
