by R. F. Pace
They sat on the overhang for several hours before Trueway announced, “Okay, I think it’s time. While we are in this next area, we will have to move one at a time. Before you move, make sure you have located a place to hide, just in case you have to. Don’t just blindly move to where someone was without looking or knowing what you need to do.” They slipped back through the hole and into the tunnel. The traveling from this point was slow. They moved just like they had been instructed to do, one at a time, from point to point.
Just before they arrived at the tunnel intersection where two guards were stationed, Trueway said, “Here you need to ensure the guards have their backs to you before moving. I will unlock the first door where the books are so Taragin can move over. Once I unlock the other door, you will need to proceed, one at a time. When all have moved across, I’ll join Taragin. Keep the door closed until you are ready to leave.” Everyone nodded in understanding.
Trueway made it to the intersection and with luck on his side, both guards were facing the other way. He slipped across from one tunnel to the other. He had been gone for less than a minute, but to everyone else, it seemed like hours. After waiting for what seemed like forever, they heard a click. Jake whispered to Taragin, “That’s your cue.”
Taragin cautiously approached the intersection to check the guards. Their position hadn’t changed. To Taragin’s relief, he was able to stroll right across to the open door near Trueway. Taragin slipped through the open door.
He was amazed at the collection of ancient books in the room. He went from book to book and shelf to shelf, inspecting each. Taragin found several book that peaked his interests. He took a total of five from the various shelves and set them aside. However, he left the vials containing the liquids alone. Not knowing the contents could be a very dangerous thing. The scrolls he had hoped contained old spells and such, turned out to be messages or letters sent from one kingdom to the other. They were not what he had hoped for. Taragin started checking for hidden items. He looked under the shelves and even checked larger books for hollowed out pages. When he finished, he began searching for hidden spaces. After a short time in this area, he was satisfied he had obtained everything worth taking for the moment.
Jake watched Taragin go into the room and waited patiently for his turn. He heard the second click and smiled at the others. Jake pointed at George, then Tammy, then Sara and he went last. The four were also able to slide one at a time into the other tunnel. Jake thought to himself, this was going a bit too smoothly.
Trueway was heading back into the book room as Jake was arriving. The other three were already inside the treasure room. When Jake entered there, the other three were still staring at all the valuable items around them. Jake was pulling the door closed when Yatuku started glowing green in his hand.
Jake began to hear voices from the past and see various people that had wielded Yatuku. History went by in the blink of an eye. When Jake’s head cleared, the other three were staring at him. Jake asked, “What?” Sara said, “We’ve been trying to get through to you for about a half hour. Taragin and Trueway have already gone back. Are you alright?” Jake shook the cobwebs from his head and said, “I had a flashback of other people’s past, you might say.” Jake looked down at Yatuku and it was no longer glowing. He thought to himself how weird that was. Sara asked, “Are you doing it again?” Jake looked at her and smiled, “No.” George commented, “I don’t like it in here. Let’s just find the stone and go.” Jake nodded, “I agree.”
Jake held Yatuku out in front of him like it was a homing device. Sara smiled and commented, “What are you doing? I don’t think you have to hold it out in front like that.” Jake felt a bit silly and let Yatuku fall to his side. He had no clue where the stone was, nor how to use Yatuku to find it. He started walking around, gazing at the various items. After a few minutes of just looking, he decided Yatuku might work better if his hand made contact with the object.
The first thing Jake touched was a gold mug that he was trying to move to look beneath. The face of an old Dwarven king appeared before him. His hard, weathered face turned and stared at Jake. He was trying to say something, but Jake was unable to make out his words. When he started to approach Jake, he let go of the mug and unconsciously jumped back into Sara. She was knocked off balance, but didn’t fall. She regained control of herself, just before she stumbled into a large pile of treasure. She asked, “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
Jake turned to look at her and was white as a ghost. She asked him again, “Are you alright?” Jake smiled and said, “”I touched that mug and saw the face of someone and it scared the crap out of me.” That caught George’s and Tammy’s attention. George picked up the mug and asked, “This one?” Jake said, “Yea.” George looked at the mug carefully before sitting it back down. When nothing happened, Tammy picked it up to look at it and nothing happening to her either. Tammy said, “It must be Yatuku helping you see things.” Jake was reluctant to touch anything else in the room.
Sara asked, “What about this?” She handed him a necklace made of gold, studded all around with precious stones. Jake reached out and took it in his hand. He could see a beautiful young lady was standing in front of a mirror admiring it. Years flew by, showing the same lady as she aged. Each and every time she placed the necklace around her neck, Jake saw a new vision happening before him. The last image was of heartbreak. Jake could see a man ripping it from her neck while she was crying and the image faded away. Everyone was watching Jake’s face as he went through each of her emotions with her. He started off smiling and happy, but ended up very sad with tears rolling down his face.
Sara asked, “Jake, will you please tell us what’s going on with you?” Jake looked at her and said, “Yes, but I’m not holding anything else in this room. I’ll do a quick touch, but I don’t want to keep reliving someone else’s life through their eyes.” George was thinking how cool it must have been to be able to do something like that. George asked, “What did you see?” “A lady going from young to old, the one who wore this necklace. How happy she was when she received it and how heartbroken she was when it was taken from her,” Jake answered.
Jake continued through the room just using the tip of his finger to touch the items. He knew when he touched the stone, he would immediately know it was ‘the’ stone. The only problem was picking through the mounds of items piled all around. Jake stopped, “We know the stone is green and has been gone for a long time, right? So the odds of it being located on the top of a pile or near the front are very low. Let’s work our way from the back of the room forward, and clear the top items so we can get to the bottom. We are looking for a stone that would attach to Yatuku. I’m not sure how, but my guess is it has to be larger than a golf ball, but not as big as a baseball. It might fit on the top.”
Everyone moved to the back of the room and started digging. The two girls were together and showing each other how various pieces of jewelry looked on them. Jake had to smile at the scene. When in a million years would they have such fine items, to do what they pleased? Jake was about to say something when George said, “Jake, come check this out.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at George.
Jake went to George and knelt down. Sara and Tammy also walked over, looking over Jake’s shoulder at the item George found. As Jake was reaching for it, Tammy said, “That looks evil.” Sara agreed. Jake was now reluctant to touch it. The item was a very intricately carved ghoulish figure in what appeared to be a very large, dark red ruby. Sara stated, “I bet that was created by a master wizard or carved by a master craftsman of some type. As Jake’s hand got closer to it, Yatuku started glowing red. Jake could feel t
he heat from it and pulled his hand away from the stone. Yatuku faded back to normal. Jake said, “I’ll bet my last dollar its evil. Just stay away from that stone.” “I wish I had my phone to take a picture of it,” Sara sighed. The others snickered at the thought. Everyone went back to the area where they were searching.
Jake looked over at the girls every now and then when he heard them giggle or whispering. He couldn’t tell what was being said, but if he had to guess, it was probably about a piece of jewelry. George looked like a kid in a candy store as he was digging. He was picking up each item, admiring it, then placing it in a pile. George had three piles in front of him. Jake thought to himself, I bet they are ‘no go’, ‘might go’ and ‘should go’ piles.
Jake stood up, stretched, then walked over to George, and asked, “Why three piles of stuff?” George pointed toward each pile and replied, “This is just junk, this one is good, and this one I was thinking about putting in my backpack.” As Jake looked at the various items, he could tell they were things that George might want for Tammy or himself. All the items were expensive pieces that none of them would ever be able to afford. Jake said, “Guys.” When he had everyone attention, he continued, “As nice as all this stuff is, we can’t take any of it back home with us. It would raise too many questions where we got it.” Jake could see the disappointed look on everyone’s face. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said, “but if you want to take something, it has to be plain and simple. Something that wouldn’t bring much attention to it.”
Without thinking, he reached over and picked up a plain-looking ring. When his hand made contact with the ring, another flashback started. He could see through a knight’s eyes as the king gave him the ring and he placed the ring on his own finger. He then turned to see a huge crowd that had gathered to celebrate with him. What caught Jake’s attention was off to the side: an elderly elf holding Yatuku with the stone attached to it. The stone was greenish in color like a jade. Jake couldn’t make out any details other than that; the stone was too far out of his view and the knight had turned away from the elf. He did notice that the stone attached by wrapping near the top, not seated on the end, like he originally thought.
Jake dropped the ring and smiled at the others. George said, “Let me guess: another flashback that was funny?” Jake shook his head, “No, but I’ve seen the stone for Yatuku.” The excitement level went up in the room and everyone was eager to know. Jake played it up for a minute until Sara nudged him on the arm and said, “We need to know so we can find it before their troops start waking up. If they do, we’ll be forced to sleep in here.” The smile left his face and he described the stone.
The search was on and playtime was over. Jake was moving what he could with his foot so he didn’t have to handle anything risking another flashback. After about 20 minutes of searching, Tammy moved several items and Yatuku started to glow in Jake’s hand. “Yatuku just started glowing. Did someone do something?” Jake asked excitedly. Everyone stopped digging and looked at Jake. George was still sitting in front of his piles, he shook his head no. Sara was holding a necklace and said, “No, just admiring this necklace.” Jake turned to Tammy, she replied, “I just dumped a bag of gems.”
Tammy turned back to the area where she was working and saw a small green object covered by various gold items. She reached down to pick it up. When her fingers made contact, a small ark of an electric charge hit her. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, pulling her hand back. At the same time, everyone shushed her. “I was just shocked by something,” she stated.
Jake walked over to where she was, and as he moved closer, Yatuku started glowing brighter. “What shocked you?” he asked. She pointed at an object near the bottom of the pile. When Jake looked he could see the end of something green. As Jake reached for it, the item started glowing the same color as Yatuku. Reluctantly Jake grabbed the stone. When he touched it, he felt warmth flowing through his body, not only from the stone, but also from Yatuku. Jake knew they had found the stone.
The stone was marked with various symbols and carved like a spring. It was hollowed out to slide over the end of the shaft of Yatuku Jake took the stone and slid it over the top of Yatuku. It stopped about a foot from the top and appeared to lock into place. Yatuku starting glowing a very bright green. The light was so bright it filled the room, making everything glow with a greenish hue. Jake placed his body between Yatuku and the door to prevent light from escaping the room.
George said, “Good find! Now we can go.” Tammy interrupted, “Wait! What are we going to take from here?” George pointed to the pile of items he selected. Jake cautioned, “Remember, this can’t go back into our world with us. So gather a few items that can help others that are in need.” Jake grabbed several pouches that were filled with mostly gold coin and a couple full of various precious jewels. The others followed suit. Jake turned and asked, “Is everyone ready?” George was cramming the last of his items in his backpack. He secured it and said, “Yep.”
CHAPTER 38
Jake cracked the door open to check the area for the guards. Walking toward the end of the tunnel, he could see both guards were facing in his direction. They were seated eating their dinner, and talking with each other. Jake went back to the others and said, “This may take a while. Frick and Frack are sitting down to their evening meal.” Sara noted, “That could be a good thing if they get sleepy after they eat.”
Once again time was in slow motion. Every noise they heard, made them jump. Jake kept checking on the status of the guards every five to ten minutes. After his fifth check, he reported back to everyone they had finished their meal and were kicked back against the wall, but still facing the tunnel. George moaned, “At this rate, we might end up spending the day.” No one wanted to hear that. Jake said, “When they change shifts, this might be our only chance to make a break for it. Everyone needs to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
Another hour went by. Finally one of the guards was dozing and the other was moving around to stay awake. Jake was ready to get everyone together, but the appearance of two additional guards caused a big problem.
One of the new guards kicked the guard that was asleep. He didn’t like it very much and went at the guy that kicked him. The two guards were in a full blown fight. The two guards watching their partner’s, were yelling at them instructions to do this or that to the other. All the commotion caused several others to arrive to see what the uproar was all about. The once quiet intersection was now full of activity. Sara, Tammy and George had slipped out of the room to see what was going on. The fight ended when a huge hobgoblin arrived and grabbed the two guards fighting, lifting them in the air. He turned and told everyone to get to their assigned area before he also took them to the dungeon. No one had to be told a second time. Everyone disappeared immediately. The two partners were told they had to finish the watch together as the hobgoblin carried the other two off. It was such a scene to watch as the hobgoblin carried them off, that Jake didn’t notice the two guards had followed, watching as their partners were being carried away.
Sara nudged Jake and said, “Let’s go.” Jake quickly snapped out of it and the four dashed across to the other tunnel. With all the commotion, no one remembered they left the door to the treasure room cracked. They made their way as fast as they could without making a lot of noise. Noting that George was starting to lag behind a bit, Jake asked, “Are you okay?” George snapped, “I’m fine.” George was the only one sweating hard. His shoulders were slumped and he appeared to be straining to carry his backpack.
When they arrived at the tunnel that lead to the overhang, Jake took them through the hole so they could rest. When Geor
ge sat his backpack down, Jake walked over and picked it up. It had to weigh four or five time what Jake’s did. Jake asked, “What do you have in here?” When Jake went to open it, George stopped him and said, “Just a few things I liked.” George took the backpack and walked a little way from Jake and sat it down. Jake commented, “It’s a long way to carry that heavy load. You may want to stash some of that here where we know it won’t be found.” George snapped, “I’ll be fine. It’s not that heavy.” Jake just looked at him like he was crazy and shrugged, “It’s your back.”
Jake slid over to the edge and saw that the camp was starting to wake up. He went back to the others and said, “The camp down there is starting to wake up. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired and think we should stay here for the next fourteen to sixteen hours. We can get some sleep and be well rested for tomorrow.” The whole group was tired so no one objected to it. George asked, “How are we going to set the watches?” Jake looked around at the others, “I wasn’t planning on anyone standing a watch. I think we’re all on edge and won’t sleep that deeply. The slightest little noise will wake us up to see what’s going on.” Jake hadn’t made a more incorrect statement than he just made. The four of them were so worn out, they were sleeping heavily.
***
The camp below was in such an uproar and a flurry of activity the noise level increased greatly. Troops were starting to move in small groups into the various tunnels. Sara was the first to be awaken by the noise, and knew something wasn’t right. She nudged Jake and said, “Jake wake up. Jake!” Jake was groggy and disoriented with his surroundings. He smiled at seeing Sara’s face. The realization of where he was and that something was going on hit him all at once. Tammy woke up to Sara trying to get Jake’s attention. She in turn woke George up.
Jake moved over to the hole that led into the tunnel. He could hear troops moving about. He grabbed a large stone and placed it in the opening. The others noticed what he was doing and also grabbed some large stones, bringing them over to him. Within a few a minutes, the hole was sealed and appeared to be a solid wall. Jake held his finger to his lips to ensure everyone was quite. His quick thinking may have saved them all.
