“I’ll take up,” he says.
Jiron nods and turns to descend into the darkness.
On his way up the stairs, Miko is careful to make sure the steps will support him. On several different occasions over the last few days some of the buildings they’ve searched have been rotted, termites or other such insects having robbed the wood of its integrity.
He places his feet gingerly on each step before moving to the next. One step cracks and he immediately removes his foot. Stepping over the suspect step he continues up until finally reaching the upper rooms.
This area is smaller than the one below as most of the second floor is taken up by the upper reaches of the service area below. There are only three rooms here and he makes his way first into one and then another. The second room looks to have been living quarters of the priests, four beds are spaced evenly about the room. Two chests sit at either end of the room and he moves forward toward the one closest to him.
In the back of his mind he hears James telling him not to open chests as they may be booby trapped. He remembers that one occurrence in the swamp when a trap sent him flying across the room when it exploded in his face.
Disregarding James’ voice of caution, he continues toward it. I can’t imagine there would be anything dangerous with a chest here. Even though he feels that way, when he reaches it he slows down and hesitates a moment before reaching for the lid. Taking hold of it, he flings it open while at the same time jumping backward. The lid flies up, hits the wall behind it and then slams shut again.
Miko waits a moment and when nothing fatal happens, goes back over and opens the lid slowly. The inside of the chest is empty. He reaches in and feels around the sides and bottom but fails to feel anything which might indicate something hidden. Disappointed, he closes the lid and turns to walk over to the other chest.
As he moves across the room to the other chest, he looks at it closely. It looks just as the other had so it’s unlikely anything will be wrong with it too.
Three feet from the chest, the floor suddenly breaks open slightly and his foot crashes through. “Aaaaaahhhh!” he cries. Pain erupts from where his foot is wedged in between the broken boards.
“Jiron!” he screams. He tries to pull his foot out but that only increases his pain, the jagged edges of the broken planks are cutting into his skin. He starts to panic when he sees drops of blood begin to well from where the wood is imbedded into him. “Jiron!”
Down below in the basement, Jiron walks with a makeshift torch. He found a chair and broke it apart. Using one of its legs, he tied an old cloth around it and then used flint to strike a spark to light it.
The basement is fairly empty, some old boxes and crates. He rummages around for several minutes before he hears Miko’s cry from upstairs. Pulling a knife, he races back up the stairs to the ground floor then takes the steps leading to the second floor.
His foot hits the one step which Miko had bypassed before and it breaks in two beneath him. Losing his balance, his foot sinks through the step and he falls upon the stairs. The torch goes flying out of his hand as he stops himself and comes to land a few steps above him.
“Jiron, help me!” he hears Miko cry out again.
“Coming!” he hollers back. Pulling his foot out of the hole, he finds only a few scrapes on his calf and then gets to his feet. Stepping over the hole in the stairs, he picks up his torch and races the rest of the way to the top.
“Where are you?” he hollers as he reaches the top.
“In here!” Miko yells, a touch of fear in his voice.
Running down the hall, he bolts through the door to the room where Miko is stuck and comes to a stop as he sees him there. “What happened?” he asks as he sheathes his knife.
“The floor gave way and my foot’s trapped,” he explains. “Help me out of here will you?”
Grinning despite the gravity of the situation Jiron comes over to him. Miko’s leg is sunk into the floor to just below the knee and he takes note of the jagged edges biting into him. He puts out his torch so it won’t catch the building on fire and then kneels down next to him.
Blood is now flowing from a couple wounds. He tries to pull his leg out but that only drives the wood in deeper and elicits a cry of pain from Miko. “Don’t!” he cries.
Next he tries to push the boards away but that hurts just as bad. Not sure just what to do, he looks at Miko and says, “I need to get the others.”
A haunted look leaps to Miko’s face as he realizes Jiron is suggesting leaving him here alone. “Don’t leave me!” he exclaims.
“I don’t see that I have a choice,” he says. “I could get you out but not sure how much pain and damage I would cause in the process.” He gets to his feet, “I won’t be long.”
“Jiron,” Miko says pleadingly.
“I’ll be right back,” he says as he races from the room.
Taking the steps two and three at a time, he hits the bottom running and is soon out the front door, racing to where James and the others are searching. “James!” he hollers as he runs through the streets.
“James!” he cries again.
“What’s wrong?” Fifer asks as he and Qyrll dash around a corner to see what he’s yelling about.
“Miko’s hurt,” he says.
Just then James and Dave enter the street further down and run toward them. Uther and Jorry come running down a side street. “Where’s Miko?” James asks.
Turning back the way he came, Jiron says, “He’s hurt. His foot broke through the floor and it’s wedged in there pretty bad.” Breaking into a run, he leads them back to the old temple. “Need help to get him out.”
The others follow him as he races back down the street. When the temple appears down the road ahead of them, they see Miko being led out of the front by someone who looks just like the miner he mentioned seeing days before.
“Miko!” James cries.
The miner stops dead in his tracks and glances their way. He begins moaning and wailing as he reaches out toward them with one hand.
Jiron takes in the scene, Miko having his hands tied behind him and a gag in his mouth. “The miner is no ghost!” he exclaims, drawing both knives as he bolts forward.
Miko lurches toward the miner and knocks him down the stairs. Losing his balance, Miko falls as well and lands upon the steps with a thud.
The miner rolls down to the bottom of the stairs and quickly gets to his feet. One glance at Jiron approaching and all pretense of being a ghost disappears. The man turns and runs for his life down the street.
“Get the miner!” James yells to the others. “I’ll take care of Miko.” As the others take off after the miner, he approaches Miko and helps him to sit up.
With a groan, Miko gets to a sitting position. His leg that had been entrapped in the floor has a blood soaked cloth tied around it, with more blood still oozing through. James removes the gag from his mouth and then uses it to tie around the wound in an attempt to stop the blood loss.
“He came to me up there,” Miko says through gritted teeth. “At first I thought he was a ghost but then he gagged me and got me out of the floor.” Gasping, he stops talking when James tightens the knot securing the rag in place. “Ripped my leg some doing it.”
“I think that will do for now,” he says. “When we get you back to the horses we’ll do a better job.”
“Thanks,” he says.
The sound of approaching feet heralds the return of Jiron and the others. Marching in front of them and looking the worse for wear is the miner. His face is reddening slightly on one side and a trickle of blood can be seen from the corner of his mouth.
“Good job,” says James.
“He almost lost us by ducking into a building but Fifer was smart enough to run around to the other side and tackled him as he left,” Jiron says. Shoving the miner forward toward James he says, “Not much of a ghost.”
Shaking his head, James replies, “They usually aren’t once you figure out what’s real
ly going on.” He glances to Dave with a grin and says, “A man in a mask.”
At first Dave doesn’t know what he’s talking about but then cracks a brief grin as he nods. “I get you,” he says, remembering Saturday morning cartoons.
“What should we do with him?” Uther asks.
“I say we kill him right here,” Jorry threatens.
“No!” the miner cries out. “Don’t kill me. I wasn’t going to hurt anyone.”
“Oh yeah? Then what were you going to do with our friend here?” he asks as he indicated Miko.
Defeated, the man says, “I just wanted to scare you away. I would’ve let him go after awhile.”
“Were you the ghosts we saw last night?” Qyrll suddenly asks.
Glancing at the tattooed visage of Qyrll, the man nods. “Usually that’s all it takes before everyone leaves. You guys wouldn’t go.”
“Have you been doing this long?” James asks him.
“Years and years,” the man explains.
“Why?” Jiron asks.
When the man doesn’t reply, James says, “There are only two reasons I can think of. One, you like your privacy and I somehow doubt that would be the reason. Or two, you discovered something up here you would rather not share with the rest of the world.”
The miner’s eyes widen at the last one and James nods. “Thought so. What did you find?” he asks. “Gold? Gems?”
Staring back in silence, the miner refuses to answer.
Taking a knife out, Jiron asks, “Want me to persuade him to talk?” Holding the knife before the miner, he threatens him menacingly.
“No and put that away,” James tells him. “We don’t need to know that badly.” To the miner he says, “You keep your secrets, I really don’t care.”
“What are you going to do with me?” he asks.
“What should we do with you?” asks James in return.
“I will cause you no more trouble,” the man whines. “If you let me go, I’ll not bother you again. I swear.”
“Very well,” says James, seeing the earnestness in his eyes. “I see no benefit in either your death or keeping you with us. Get out of here.”
As the miner is about to leave, Dave pipes up. “Ask him,” he says.
“What?” asks James.
With the others looking on, Dave explains. “We’ve come all this way and can’t find what you’re looking for. Maybe he knows.”
The miner stops and glances around at everyone. “I don’t know anything.” He resumes moving quickly away from them.
“Hang on a minute,” James says to the miner.
The miner, having reached the edge of the group, bolts away only to be quickly tackled and returned by Jorry and Uther. “He wanted to ask you a question,” Uther tells him.
Standing once more in front of James, the miner looks at him in trepidation.
“I am on sort of a quest,” he tells the miner, “and it has led me here. Maybe you would be kind enough to aid me?”
Glancing at the others, he realizes he has no choice. “How?” he asks, feet shifting nervously.
Pulling out the medallion, he holds it before the miner. “Have you ever seen this design before?” James asks.
His eyes widen in recognitions. Nodding he says, “Yes, once.”
Getting to his feet, James asks, “Where?”
The miner’s lips twitch in agitation as he gazes into James’ eyes. Pointing off to northeast, he says, “Deep in the mountains near a small lake are some old ruins.” He glances around to see what effect his words are having. “I saw that design on one of the buildings there.”
“Can you take us there?” James asks him.
“Why should I?” questions the miner.
“If you do,” James tells him, “I promise that we will keep the secret of who and what the ghost inhabiting Ironhold really is to ourselves.”
“Otherwise we tell everyone from here to Cardri,” Jiron assures him.
Sighing, the miner says, “Alright. I suppose you want to leave now?”
“That’s right,” replies James.
“Very well,” he says. “I need to get my horse and some supplies before we head out.”
“Jorry, you and Uther go with him so he won’t have a change of heart,” Jiron says.
“Don’t you trust me?” the miner asks.
At that several of them there break into a short laugh. “Hardly,” replies Jiron. To Uther he says, “When he’s got his stuff together, bring him back here.”
“You got it.” To the miner Uther says, “Let’s go.”
As he and Jorry escort the miner to collect his horse and belongings, the others go to retrieve their own horses.
“Now maybe we can get back home soon,” Dave says as he walks next to James back to where the horses are tied.
He said home. Encouraged that his friend may be coming to accept his life here, he feels like a load has been lifted off of him.
They return to the horses, and after doing a proper job on binding Miko’s wound, are soon back at the temple. Another ten minutes and they see Jorry and Uther come walking back with the miner, his horse trailing along behind.
Once they’re all mounted, Jiron asks, “How far is this place?”
“Couple days,” he replies. “It’s not really all that far, it’s just hard to get to.”
“Lead on,” James says. The miner nudges his horse into motion and the others follow.
When they’ve disappeared down the road, two figures leave a nearby building. “Spread the word,” one of them says. “They’re on the move.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
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They take the east road out of town and travel for a couple hours. It’s much smaller than the main one going north and south. As it turns out, it does in fact lead to one of the abandoned mines in the area. A small ramshackle cluster of buildings sits several hundred feet from the entrance.
“Every mine in the area had a small group of buildings to house the miners while they worked,” the miner explains to them when they come into view. “These were little more than barracks, the miners spent their off time in Ironhold.”
“How do you know this?” Fifer asks.
“Been here long enough now to piece it together,” he explains.
“Ever seen an actual spirit?” inquires Qyrll.
The miner eyes him before replying. “Never actually saw one, no,” he admits. “But I’ve heard things while here that has set my nerves on edge, could’ve been just the wind.”
They make their way through the buildings, several of which are in need of an extreme amount of repair to make them serviceable. One has a roof that’s collapsed and another has a big hole in the wall, looks like something at one time ran into it.
Past the buildings they head toward the opening of the mine, but turn off onto a small path before reaching it.
Looking at the dark entrance, Jorry asks, “How many mines are there?”
“Three main ones,” the miner replies. “I found several other places where it looked like people had begun a new one but gave up.”
“Where do you mine?” Uther asks.
At that the miner becomes quiet and leads them on in silence for awhile.
The path they’re following is little more than a game trail and at times are forced to ride in single file. In the lead is the miner with James following right behind. Jiron is behind him with Dave next in line. Jorry and Uther have the thankless duty of bringing up the rear. Winding through the trees, the path makes its way through the hills until finally coming to a place where the trees open up. In the valley below is a large lake.
“Is that the lake you were talking about?” James asks as he gazes at the panoramic view. The lake is a startling blue, nestled in against the backdrop of a mountain range to the north. Altogether a stunning scene.
Glancing back to him, the miner replies, “No. That one lies another day or two to the north. We’re going to have to ma
ke our way to the left around this lake until we come to a river that flows into it from the lake we’re heading for.”
“Oh,” grunts James.
By the time they get to the shore of the lake, the sun has dipped to the peaks in the distance. “We should stop here and continue in the morning,” the miner announces.
“I agree,” states James. To the others he says, “We’re staying here tonight.”
Dismounting they set about making camp and have a fire going in no time. Sitting around the fire, the miner glances to James and asks, “Just what is your interest in this place anyway?”
“A long time ago, there was a god named Morcyth whose followers were fairly wide spread,” James explains. “Ever heard of him?”
Shaking his head, the miner says, “No.”
“Not surprising, his followers disappeared around five centuries ago.” Taking out the medallion, he shows him the design and says, “This was the symbol for their religion. I’ve been trying to find where the last priests went, you see they disappeared about the same time.”
“And you think they went here?” the miner asks.
“Perhaps,” he replies. “Won’t know until we get there. But it’s likely.”
The night begins to settle in and the stars appear above them. They’ve acquired a good store of wood for the evening, already the temperature has dropped significantly. The clear sky above them tells of another cold night to come.
“Do you think they followed us?” Jiron asks after the meal when they’re sitting around the fire.
“Who?” asks the miner. “Who followed us?”
“You didn’t see them around Ironhold?” asks Fifer.
Shaking his head, the miner says, “The only ones I saw were you.”
“Forces from the Empire have been camped in the hills around Ironhold since we showed up, maybe before,” James tells him.
“What do they want?” the miner asks.
“Me, us,” replies James.
“You going to get me killed!” the miner exclaims.
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 37
