“Do you ever stop complaining?” Lorik asked.
“Sure, just put me in front of a crackling fire, place a mug of ale in my hand, and keep any monsters far away. I’ll never complain again.”
“Too bad,” Lorik said, suppressing a grin. “If you keep groaning, I’ll lock you in one of these cells.”
“Can you imagine?” Stone said seriously. “Locked away, down here in the dark. A man would go insane in a place like this.”
“You were on the fast track to a dungeon, as I recall, before my wholesome influence changed you.”
“Perhaps, but I think I’d rather die fighting than be locked away in the dark.”
“Are you afraid of the dark?”
“I wasn’t before I realized that monsters were real,” Stone said. “Now tell me that the dark isn’t a little bit more frightening than you thought.”
“Alright,” Lorik said. “Well, we won’t be down here much longer and if this really is the passage out of the castle, then we’ll keep torches lit all the way.”
“Good,” Stone said. “I don’t relish running through a dark passage being chased by monsters. That’s when they always get you.”
“Baby,” Lorik teased.
They came to the storage room and Lorik pointed to the wardrobe and the chest.
“I think this is it.”
“You think the passage is here?”
“Behind the wardrobe,” Lorik said. “Why do you always make things so difficult?”
“I thought that was my job.”
“No, your job is to help. Here, hold this lamp.”
Stone stood to the side, holding both lamps so that the room was filled with yellow light. There was a mark on the floor, it was faint, but Lorik bent down and studied it.
“I think this is where the wardrobe dragged on the floor,” he said.
“It probably did,” Stone agreed, “when they moved the ugly thing in here.”
Lorik shook his head and heaved on the wooden furniture. It didn’t budge.
“There, we tried. Now let’s get out of here,” Stone said.
“What is your hurry, you can’t be that hungry?”
“I don’t like it down here, it’s hard to breathe.”
“Stop complaining. Can’t you see that something is going on with this wardrobe. I mean, why won’t it move? If it were just an old piece of furniture, it would move when I pulled on it.”
“Not if it was filled with something heavy,” Stone said.
Lorik considered that for a moment and decided to open the wardrobe. There was no latch, but the door was stuck and Lorik had to use his dagger to pry it open.
“See,” Stone said. “It’s full of old books. And books are heavy. This is just a junk room. Every castle probably has half a dozen rooms just like this.”
“No,” Lorik said. “This is different.”
“How do you know?”
“The mist led me down here.”
“The mist?” Stone asked. “Like the mist in the Wilderlands that you said led you through the forest at night? Are you sure you didn’t get hit on the head or something?”
“You can joke all you like. The mist appeared in the castle last night. It led me down here and disappeared between this wardrobe and that chest.”
“What’s in the chest?”
“I don’t know,” Lorik said. “It was dark in here last night. You never would have made it.”
“Shut up,” Stone said. “Open the chest.”
The chest was locked, and Lorik started to find something to smash the lock with.
“What are you doing now?” Stone asked.
“I need something to break the lock.”
“Hold it,” he said. “Take the lamps.”
Lorik took one lamp and set it on the wardrobe. Then he took the other and held it over his head. Stone stooped down in front of the chest and looked at the lock. Then he pulled out a small knife that was hidden in his leather belt. It was little more than a thin strip of metal, the size of a blade of grass. He inserted the small knife into the opening of the lock.
“You can pick locks?” Lorik asked.
“It’s a useful skill I learned in the wild days of my youth.”
“You’re a crook. I’m telling Vera.”
“She knows, that’s what she loves about me.”
The knife rattled in the lock, then it clicked and the chest lid popped. It was still closed, but a tiny gap had opened around the edge of the lid.
“Try it now,” Stone said, standing up and taking the lamp from Lorik.
The big man bent down and pulled on the lid. It creaked, the wood seemed to groan, then it popped open. Both men stood back, shocked by what lay inside. The chest was full of gold, and three pale, human skulls sat on top of the mound of coins.
“Now we know why you couldn’t move it,” Stone said.
“What is it?” Lorik asked.
“It’s hidden treasure,” Stone said. “It’s the kind of thing thieves look for when they sneak into a lord’s estate. Hidden treasure is the best kind of treasure. You can steal it and no one knows.”
Lorik looked at his friend, who shrugged as if to say he were just being honest.
“Okay, so why is there a chest of gold here?”
“Well, this room seems pretty secure,” Stone said. “No way in except through the dungeon. No thief wants to go anywhere near the dungeon. And if there really is a secret escape tunnel somewhere in this room, it makes sense to have a stash of coin to take with you while you flee.”
“What about the skulls?” Lorik asked. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Probably just there to scare thieves, but it could be a cursed treasure. I’ve heard stories about that before.”
“Those stories aren’t true,” Lorik said, his hand moving toward the gold.
“Neither are stories of dragons or monsters,” Stone said.
Lorik hesitated, then decided it wasn’t worth the risk.
“Okay, so we don’t touch the gold,” he said as he closed the lid on the chest. “I doubt the books are cursed.”
Lorik turned to the wardrobe and started pulling out the ancient books. Dust billowed up as he pulled several volumes out at once. He didn’t bother looking to see what the books were; he just stacked them against another piece of old furniture and turned back to the wardrobe. On his third armload of books, he felt a small bit of resistance, as if one of the books was stuck to the back of the wardrobe. Suddenly the big piece of furniture sprang forward.
“Look out!” Stone shouted as he back pedaled out of the way.
If the wardrobe had been a trap, it might have killed Lorik. The big man sprang backward, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver in the cramped space. A gust of air made the flames in the lanterns waver madly for a moment, but then everything was still.
“I told you,” Lorik said. “One of the books must have been the key to opening the passage.”
“If it was,” Stone said, “you broke it.”
They looked at the books that were still in Lorik’s arms. One had an ancient thread dangling out of it. Lorik set the books down and opened the passageway up, holding his lamp out into the darkness of the dank smelling corridor. Stone steps led down into a narrow passage that was dark and damp.
“Lovely,” Stone said.
“Let’s see where it goes,” Lorik urged.
“Shouldn’t we tell someone where we are and what we’re up to,” Stone said. “I doubt you want the others just milling around while we’re down here. There’s no telling how long that passage is and it could be a trap.”
“When did you become so timid?” Lorik snapped.
“When I found out I was going to be a father,” Stone said; the look on his face told Lorik he was being serious.
The statement hung in the air. Lorik wouldn’t have been more surprised if his friend had slapped him hard in the face.
“What?” he finally asked.
“I
’m going to be a father,” Stone said. “Vera’s pregnant.”
Lorik leaned back against some of the junk in the room opposite the secret passage.
“I don’t believe it,” he said. “I didn’t think she could have children.”
“I don’t think she thought she could either,” Stone said. “It must have happened after the wizard fixed my leg. Perhaps he did something for her and just didn’t say.”
“Are you sure?” Lorik asked.
“She is.”
“Well... congratulations!” Lorik exclaimed. “That’s great news.”
“Is it?” Stone asked. He looked as serious as Lorik had ever seen him. “I mean, the world is going to hell, literally. There are monsters and witches roaming around, some sort of mutated army marching this way. What are the odds that you and I survive this, Lorik? Be honest.”
“Not very good,” Lorik said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Damn it, man, why didn’t you go with Queen Issalyn?”
“What would that have done, given me a few more weeks before we’re all overrun by nightmarish creatures we can’t even conceive of? Vera told me last night, and I was excited at first, but the more I think about it Lorik, the more certain I am that we aren’t going to make it.”
“We will,” Lorik said. “We have to now. You and Vera should leave, go north, go to the Wilderlands and search for the elves. Tell them I sent you and that they should find a place for you in the King Tree.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Stone said. “We aren’t going to run and hide while you risk your life for us. Besides, we’re better together; you said that yourself.”
“I did, but now you have a child to think about.”
“I am,” Stone said. “I’m through taking needless chances with my life, but I won’t shrink back from my duty either.”
“You have no duty,” Lorik said.
“Friendship demands that I stay,” Stone said. “I’ve been alone most of my life. I’ve never had anyone to watch my back before, much less to care about. I won’t throw all that away now that I have it. It’s worth more to me than ten chests full of gold,” he said, kicking the chest that contained the coins.
Dark blades shot out of the sides of the ancient looking chest, causing both men to shout and leap backward in alarm.
“Are you okay?” Lorik asked.
“Yeah,” Stone said. “What happened?”
“I guess the chest is a trap,” Lorik said, a little breathless.
“I wonder what would have happened if you’d touched the coins?”
“I don’t want to think about it. But you’re probably right about letting people know where we are. I’ll stay here and you go get some help.”
“Alright, but don’t do anything stupid,” Stone said.
He hurried back down the dungeon passageway and Lorik leaned back against the old desk he’d stacked the books from the wardrobe on. He brushed away the dust and looked at the faded gold leaf letters that had been pressed into the leather bindings. The books were a collection with multiple volumes. The title was The Collected Wisdom Of The Venerated Society Of Mages. He started to open one, but then wondered if the books might be booby trapped like the chest of gold. He decided not to take the risk.
It took almost ten minutes before Stone returned. He had three other men with him and he was carrying the long staff used to open the high windows in the feasting hall. The other men all carried torches.
“You found it,” one of the men exclaimed.
“We also found a trap, so don’t touch anything,” Lorik warned.
“I thought we could attach a torch to this pole and stick it down into the tunnel,” Stone said.
“Good idea.”
They used some old twine Lorik had seen in the junk room to tie one of the torches to the hook end of the pole, then carefully moved it into the dark passage. The walls were stone, roughly hewn from the bedrock the castle had been built on. There were thick spider webs that melted as the torch got close to them. The light flickered on the walls and floor, but there didn’t appear to be any more traps. The torch began to fall from the makeshift position on the long pole, and Lorik started bringing it back into the storage room.
“Be careful,” Stone warned. “It’s going to fall.”
“I’ve got it,” Lorik said. “You should have tied it better.”
“Don’t blame me,” Stone argued. “It was a good idea.”
The torch slipped again, this time breaking free of the twine and falling to the floor at the bottom of the stairs that led down from the storage room. Lorik was about to curse his bad luck, when the floor collapsed and fell into a deep, dark pit. No one said a word, they just leaned over the stairs looking down.
“I guess that answers the question of whether the tunnel has traps,” Stone said.
The light from the torch flickered on the bottom of the pit, which appeared to be stone. It was a deep pit, at least twenty feet. Deep enough to trap a man, even if the fall didn’t result in a broken leg.
“We still have to explore it,” Lorik said.
“We have to go in there?” asked one of the volunteers.
“It could be our only way out of here,” Lorik told them.
He stepped toward the entrance, but Stone grabbed his arm.
“Send one of the men,” he pleaded.
Lorik shook his head and moved forward. He stopped on the first step and took the long pole in both hands. Then he put the rod across his knee and heaved until the pole snapped into two pieces. He took the shorter piece and began tapping each step. Stone followed him, holding the torch high.
“This is how good men die,” Stone said. “Doing something foolish.”
“Stop complaining. You know we have to discover where this leads.”
“I don’t like booby traps. Any fool can stumble into them.”
“Well, it’s good we’re not fools,” Lorik said.
“Vera might argue that point with you.”
“Vera would argue with me no matter what. It’s her favorite pastime.”
“Maybe it was,” Stone said with a chuckle.
The gap in the floor at the bottom of the stairs was easily stepped over. Lorik recognized the purpose of such a trap. It was easy to avoid if you knew it was there, but if you were being pursued, it would slow the people behind you down considerably. Not because of the danger it caused, but because of the unknown danger it represented. Only a fool would go rushing down the passage once they knew it might conceal traps.
The volunteers followed Lorik and Stone, each carrying either a torch or a lamp. They stayed at least twenty feet behind their leaders, each one moving cautiously and trying not to touch anything unnecessarily.
“Why is it so damp?” Stone asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lorik said.
The floor of the passage was rough stone, but covered in a slick, wet moss. There were spider webs, which Stone burned away as they approached. A fetid odor hung in the still air of the corridor and the darkness seemed oppressive.
“Have I ever told you that I don’t do well in enclosed spaces?” Stone said.
“No, but you generally complain about everything, so I’m not surprised.”
“There’s no telling where this comes out,” Stone continued. “We could travel for miles and miles only to find the end all blocked up.”
“That is true enough,” Lorik said, still tapping his way forward.
There were no markings on the walls or floor. The ceiling was blackened from soot, but by all indications no one had been in the passageway for decades. Eventually they heard dripping.
“You hear that?” Stone asked.
“Yes,” Lorik sighed. “I hear it. Although it is hard to hear over your grumbling.”
“I get peevish when I’m hungry.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t let you eat,” Lorik said. “You complain more than a child.”
“I grew up hungry,” Stone said, undeterred by Lorik’s chast
isement. “You probably never went hungry a day in your life.”
“My mother was very good cook,” Lorik agreed.
“Well mine wasn’t,” Stone said. “Even when she was around, which wasn’t often. I can remember many a night shivering with cold, starving with hunger, all alone in the dark.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about that now, will you. You’ll have a family to keep you comfortable. And if you get too hungry, you can just eat the little monsters.”
“That’s not funny,” Stone said.
They came to a section of the tunnel that was dripping with water. The floor of the space was even slicker than before and as they continued the water fell on them, like a slow, cold rain.
“This is a miserable place,” Stone said.
“It wasn’t made to be pleasant,” Lorik argued. “It’s an escape tunnel.”
“I get that, but it’s not all that well made is it. I mean, it’s leaking after all. They must have built it under a river. That’s mistake number one.”
“You know a lot about making escape tunnels?” Lorik asked.
“I know better than to build one that gets flooded every time it rains.”
As if to back up Stone’s point, they came to a section of standing water in the tunnel.
“Great,” Stone said. “Now my boots are wet.”
“Really, do you have to constantly state the obvious?” Lorik complained.
“I understand the need for this tunnel, but I don’t have to like it.”
The water rose steadily, getting as deep as their ankles and smelling horribly like ancient sewage. Lorik had grown up in the Marshlands and was accustomed to foul, wet places. There were swamps and bogs in the Marshlands that smelled just as bad. Before too long, they were soaked from the water dripping down on them and the torches were nearly extinguished.
“Tell me we have plenty of oil in those lamps,” Stone said. “I don’t want to get caught down here in the dark.”
“There’s plenty,” Lorik assured his friend. “We could extinguish one and save the oil, if you prefer.”
“No, it’s dark enough now.”
It took them nearly an hour before the passage began to angle up. The water level receded and the tunnel became dry once again. The upward grade to the corridor was steep, but soon they saw light in the distance.
Lorik The Defender (The Lorik Trilogy) Page 13
