Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1

by Brian S. Pratt

  When they returned to the large hall, Bart and Riyan went out and brought the horses in. If there was something going on around here at night, they didn’t want their only mode of transportation disappearing by morning.

  In one of the front corners of the hall they laid out their bedrolls and made a fire. None of them desired to be out among the ruins in the dark searching for another place to make camp. They closed the front doors and allowed the horses to wander at will within the hall.

  Riyan sat eating a bowl of hot stew that Chad had thrown together in their cook pot over the fire. Taking a bite he glanced at the others sitting around the campfire. “In the morning we’ll finish searching the rest of this building.”

  “We came across a couple places large enough to hide a secret room,” Bart said. “Once we’ve completed our search, we should be able to narrow down the possibilities.”

  “I’ll be glad when we find it,” Chad said. He glanced to one of the windows and the darkness outside. “Can’t wait until this place is just a memory.”

  “I know what you mean,” agreed Riyan.

  They turned in shortly after their meal. Chad pulled the last watch while Riyan got the unpleasant slot of just after midnight. You never seem to get a good night’s sleep when your rest is interrupted that way.

  Kevik, happily enough, had the first watch. The first one was always the best. You usually weren’t that tired right away and once you did get to sleep, you remained that way until morning.

  The night felt chilling to Kevik despite having ample wood to keep the fire going. He found himself wandering around the hall, at times stopping before the different windows and staring out into the dark. His watch passed without incident.

  Riyan took over from Bart sometime after midnight. “Everything okay?” he asked groggily as he made it to his feet. Eyes half closed and rimmed in red, he definitely did not feel like getting up.

  “So far,” he said. “Things have been quiet.” Then he let out with a yawn. “See you in the morning.”

  “Good night,” Riyan said before he went over and put another couple thick branches on the fire. After the branches were in position and had begun to burn, he glanced over to where Bart was laid out on his blanket with head propped on his pack. He was already asleep.

  Riyan grinned at his friend, then wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to rid the coldness from his bones. It was supposed to be midsummer, but the temperature here felt more like early fall. Not freezing by any means, just cold enough to sap the warmth from you.

  When the heat from the fire finally purged the cold from his body, he started walking about the hall in order to stay awake. He could feel sleep’s soft soothing touch as it tried to convince him to return to his blanket.

  He went and checked on the horses and found them standing peacefully nearby. Then he went to the window closest to the fire and looked out to the shadowed ruins outside. A shiver ran through him. With only the light from the stars and moon above, the ruins were a maze of shadows and darkness.

  Clang!

  For the briefest moment he thought he had heard the sound of two swords striking together, such as one would hear during a battle. Obviously it was his imagination again he assured himself.

  Clang!

  There it went again. He looked around the hall and saw that his companions were still sleeping. The horses too remained as they were, still and quiet. He tried to determine from which direction the sound was originating but couldn’t be sure. At one point he was almost ready to go over and wake the others, but then stopped. After all, what could he say? They would just think it was his imagination playing tricks on him.

  Riyan returned to the window and gazed out, all traces of sleep by this time having vanished. Nervousness had begun creeping in as visions of the goblin totem, and what it may be there to warn against, ran through his mind.

  Clang!

  There it went again! This time he was able to tell where it came from. It sounded like it was just outside the main doors. He knew this was not simply his imagination. Looking through the window again, he still saw nothing but darkness outside. No lights, nothing. Just the moon and stars above.

  Leaving the window, he moved over to where Bart was sleeping. He hated to disturb him but felt this was rather important. Placing his hand on Bart’s shoulder he gave it a slight shake. “Bart,” he whispered.

  Bart’s eyes few open and he quickly sat up. He looked around and when there was no apparent threat, turned his eyes on Riyan. “What is it?”

  “I…I heard something,” he told him.

  “What?” he asked. “What did you hear?”

  “I’m not entirely sure,” he explained. “It sounded like swords striking together in battle.”

  Bart looked at him quizzically as he cocked his head to listen. “I don’t hear anything,” he said. “It must have been your imagination.”

  Riyan shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I heard it three times. The last time it sounded like it came from the other side of the doors.” They both turned to look at the closed double doors leading out.

  He could see in Riyan’s eyes that he believed what he was saying. “Was it a solitary sound, or more like a continual battle?”

  “Each time it was but a single clang,” he answered.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Bart said as he laid his head back on his pack. “Probably just the wind blowing something around that’s making the noise.”

  “I don’t think so,” he argued.

  “We’ve all been a bit jittery since coming here…” Bart began.

  “I’m not jittery!” insisted Riyan. “I want you to come with me to see what’s on the other side of the door.”

  “You’re serious aren’t you?” asked Bart.

  “Yes, I am,” he replied.

  Bart saw in his eyes that he wasn’t likely to get any sleep until they checked the other side of the door. “Alright,” he said as he got to his feet. “But if there’s nothing there, you’ll let me go back to sleep and not bother me again?”

  “Yes,” Riyan said gratefully. “I promise.” So with Bart beside him, they walked to the doors.

  Clang!

  “There!” exclaimed Riyan. “Did you hear that?” Again the sound came from the other side of the door.

  Bart nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “I did.” Now not so sure it was Riyan’s imagination, he strode toward the doors. The doors loomed before them and have now taken on an ominous aspect with the coming of night and the sound coming from the other side.

  They both paused when they came to stand before them. Bart glanced to Riyan. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” replied Riyan. “Open it.”

  Bart moved forward the last couple steps and gripped the handle of the door. Then with a final glance to Riyan he pulled it open.

  Riyan was braced for anything but what they saw. Nothing. He watched as Bart stepped through the door and looked around before returning inside.

  “There’s nothing out here,” he said.

  “Are you sure?” Riyan asked.

  “Come see for yourself if you don’t believe me.” Bart stepped aside to allow Riyan the chance to check.

  Riyan stepped through the doorway and into the night. He spent almost a full minute just outside the door looking around. “But there has to be something here that was making the noise,” he said. Returning back inside, he glanced to Bart.

  “I don’t know what it could have been,” Bart replied. “But there’s nothing out there, just the night.” He closed the door. “I’m going back to sleep.”

  “Sorry,” Riyan said as he walked with Bart back to where his blanket was laid out on the floor.

  “Don’t wake me unless there’s something actually happening,” he said.

  “Alright,” replied Riyan. He went back by the fire and spent a few minutes warming himself after the time spent in the cold of outside. It didn’t take Bart long before he was once again asleep. Riyan
felt bad about waking him, but there must be some explanation as to why he had heard what he did.

  It took him some time before the fire warmed him sufficiently. He stared into the fire and watched the flames dancing along the wood. When he was finally warm enough, he put more wood on the fire and then started walking around the hall. The need to sleep began to come to him again, and as long as he stayed in motion, he wouldn’t succumb to it.

  At one point he reached down to pick up a rock that had somehow made its way into the hall from outside. He was sort of close to one side and he looked over to the windows on the far side across the hall. Figuring he could make it through one of the window frames, he arched his arm back and threw. The stone soared through the air and struck the wall next to the window with a loud Crack!

  He glanced over to his sleeping comrades and was glad the noise failed to disturb their sleep. Then he walked across the hall and picked up the rock. “I’m going to make it this time,” he mumbled to himself.

  Aiming for a window gaping in the far wall, he took a few deep breaths to settle himself. When he felt he was ready, he launched the rock towards the window. As it sailed through the air, he braced himself for the impact against the wall. But it flew true and before it reached the window he knew it would make it through the opening.

  Smash!

  As the rock entered the window space, a loud sound likened to the smashing of glass, split the night. The sound made Riyan jump for there wasn’t any glass in any of the windows throughout the ruins. The sound hadn’t come from the window the rock sailed through, it had come from the one behind him.

  Turning around, he saw a pale ghostly form dressed in armor. It held a sword in his hand and appeared as if he was fighting someone or something that was trying to get in through the window.

  Smash! Crash! Bang!

  The sound of glass breaking filled the hall as other ghostly forms began to appear before the rest of the windows. In each case, it looked as if they were battling with something that wanted in. The only problem was, it didn’t look as if there was anything there at all.

  “Bart! Chad!” he yelled. “Get up!”

  The horses suddenly reared and bolted to the back of the hall and into one of the hallways.

  As he yelled to the others, he raced across the hall to their camp. The horses had disappeared by the time he reached the fire.

  Bart sat up and one glance around the hall brought him fully awake.

  “We’re under attack!” Riyan yelled.

  Bam!

  The front doors slammed open and more ghost soldiers appeared at the entrance. Swords rose and fell as they attacked whatever was trying to pass through from the outside.

  “What’s going on?” Chad asked as the four comrades backed into the corner to defend themselves.

  “I don’t know,” replied Riyan. “There was the sound of breaking glass, then this.” He and Chad both had their swords out and Bart held his new knife in hand. Though there appeared to be a furious fight going on between the ghosts and unseen adversaries, they didn’t seem to take any notice of the four comrades.

  More of the ghost soldiers appeared, each bearing the coat of arms depicted on the front of the building, the dragon coiled around the sword. The ghosts at the windows looked to be holding their own but the ones by the door were falling to the blades of unseen enemies.

  “Maybe we should get out of here,” Kevik said.

  “That would be a good idea,” agreed Bart. “But how would you suggest we do it? They’re fighting at every exit.”

  “Not at the hallways at the rear of the hall,” he said. Indeed, the fighting was contained along the sides and at the entrance.

  “Look!” Chad said as he pointed to the winding stairs leading up to the second floor. There at the top was a group of five, ghostly men. They practically ran as they raced down the stairs to join the fray. The one in the lead had to be the lord of Algoth. His shield and armor were emblazoned with the dragon-sword coat of arms. As the lord came to the bottom of the stairs, he began shouting orders to his men.

  “Come on,” said Bart. “They don’t seem to be paying us much attention so let’s try to get to the back.”

  “I’m with you,” Riyan said.

  As Bart began to wind his way through the fighting, the lord joined the fray. He moved to the fore of his men and began laying into the unseen attackers with great skill. While those around him fell, the lord continued to fight. He was unwilling to give ground.

  Around the four companions, the ghosts fought fiercely, but their numbers continued to dwindle. Despite the ferocity of the lord’s attack, he began to give ground.

  “Watch out!” Kevik yelled from where he was bringing up the rear.

  From the side, a magic user appeared on the second floor and began raining death on the unseen attackers. Bolts of flame flew from his outstretched hands and erupted in massive balls of fire by the front entrance. More bolts of energy such as what Kevik’s master used flew like a swarm of arrows towards the windows.

  For a brief moment, the soldiers defending the building were able to recover ground. But then they began being pressed back once more.

  “Where are the horses?” yelled Bart.

  “They fled deeper into the building when all this started,” explained Riyan.

  He and the others reached the far end of the hall just as a large explosion rocked the area near the entrance. Whatever the magic user had done was very powerful. Bart had them pause there as they watched the battle rage.

  All of a sudden the defenders begin falling in droves. The magic user that had slowed the advance of the attackers fell from the second floor and landed on the winding stairs. He didn’t get back up. The lord still fought at the fore of his men but then was practically dragged from the lines by what must have been his lieutenants.

  The four friends watched in awe as the lord was pulled from the battle. His men sacrificed themselves to allow their lord the chance to break away from the battle. Then the lord and the four men with him began moving directly towards the hallway in which Riyan and the others were standing.

  “They’re heading this way!” exclaimed Chad.

  “Down the hallway,” Bart said, “quick!”

  They turned and fled down the hallway. As they passed rooms situated against the outer wall of the building, they found defenders fighting unknown assailants who appeared to be breaking in through the windows there as well. “What’s going on?” Riyan asked.

  “Their being slaughtered is what’s going on!” replied Bart. Then up ahead there was an opening where another hallway opened up going deeper into the building. “Here!” he cried. “Follow me!” Turning into it, he ran for all he was worth.

  The others entered into it after him and Kevik, who was still bringing up the rear, glanced behind them to see whether or not the ghosts were going to follow. When the ghosts appeared, they continued on down the other hallway.

  “They’re not following,” he told the others.

  Bart brought them to a halt. “Back!” he yelled. “We’ve got to follow them!”

  “Are you mad?” questioned Chad. “We could get killed.”

  Bart passed them as he headed back to the previous hallway. “They could be heading to where the key is!” he hollered.

  Riyan and Chad glanced at them quickly then turned back to follow Bart.

  “What key?” Kevik asked as he too turned and raced after the others.

  Bart reached the other hallway and immediately turned to follow the direction the lord and his comrades went. Back the other way he saw where the hallway was filled with battling defenders as they slowed the advance of the attackers.

  “Hurry!” he yelled to the others. They had yet to make it back to the hallway down which the lord had fled, and the defending ghosts were falling back quickly.

  Riyan reached the junction of hallways and fled down the other one just as the defenders reached the mouth of the hallway he just fled from. Chad and K
evik came to a quick stop as the battling defenders moved backwards and blocked the way.

  “Riyan!” Chad shouted as he stood there not five feet from the battling spirits.

  “Find another way!” Riyan yelled back to him.

  “Come on,” Chad said as he turned and raced back down the hallway. Behind them, the battle raged.

  Bart kept the lord in sight as he and the others moved quickly deeper into the building. They were traveling down the hallway that ran past the room where he had been trapped with Chad earlier that day.

  He raced past the room and continued following the lord. The end of the hallway opened up onto a large kitchen, large enough to feed a thousand men if it had too. Bart was surprised that the lord had come here.

  The lord and his men went to the edge of one of the large ovens and appeared to depress three separate bricks in the side of the oven. They paused there for a moment, then seemed to walk into it. When the lord and his men disappeared into the oven, the kitchen was plunged into darkness. The light which the ghosts had been emitting was gone.

  “Bart?” hollered Riyan from the hallway.

  “In here!” he yelled. He moved back to the hallway and was almost bowled over by Riyan as he emerged into the kitchen.

  “Where did they go?” Riyan asked.

  “Into the oven,” he replied.

  “The oven?” he said incredulously.

  “That’s what it looked like,” admitted Bart.

  Then down in the hallway the last defending ghost fell. The fallen ghost laid there for a second, then an unseen tremor seemed to roll through the building. When the tremor subsided, all the fallen ghosts simultaneously disappeared and the building was again plunged into darkness.

  Bart and Riyan stood there in silence for a few moments before Riyan asked, “Is it over?”

  “I think so,” Bart said. “We need to get back to the hall where our equipment is.”

  “Why?” Riyan asked.

  He heard Bart chuckle. “In our haste, we forgot our packs. So unless you want to continue to be in the dark, we need to get back there.”

  “Alright,” he said. He then turned around and with his hand laid against the wall of the hallway, began returning to the hall.

  After a minute or two, their eyes began acclimating to the darkness. Vague shadows formed from where the moonlight filtered in through the windows in the side rooms.

  “Riyan!”

  He heard Chad call out from far away. “Here we are Chad!” he hollered back. “Meet us back in the hall. It seems to be over.”

  “On the way!” Chad replied.

  As they came closer to the hall, the light from their fire became a beacon in the dark. The two groups met back at the hall at about the same time. Riyan and Bart arrived first. Just after they arrived they saw a white light, brighter than what a flame would produce, coming from another of the hallways. At first they thought it might be one of the ghosts but then Kevik appeared with a white, glowing sphere that moved and bobbed in the air around him. Then Chad appeared leading their three horses. They had found them in a room where they fled after the initial onslaught of the ghost soldiers.

  “What is that?” Bart asked as he saw the glowing sphere.

  “Just a simple cantrip I know,” replied Kevik. Then the light went out and a second later, it reappeared. “It doesn’t last very long though.” He let it continue to bob even though the light from the fire was more than sufficient. “This was the first cantrip I learned. Actually it was the very first magical skill I ever mastered.”

  “It’s pretty neat,” Chad said. After a few more minutes, the light went out.

  The front doors were once again closed and there was no evidence whatsoever of the battle that had raged here a little while ago. “So what happened here?” Bart asked. “Were the ghosts real?”

  “I don’t know,” Kevik replied. “They seemed real. I have heard there are places haunted by spirits. Some ghosts have even been rumored to replay the events leading up to their deaths. Of course that’s just conjecture.”

  “It seemed pretty real though,” Chad said. “The sound, the intensity, it all felt as if it was actually happening.”

  They grew silent as each considered the events, then Kevik said, “I guess we now know why this area is marked as death by the goblins.”

  Riyan nodded. “If any of them had ever witnessed what we did, I could understand them thinking this place was death.”

  “Did you feel something when the spirits vanished?” Chad asked Riyan. “We felt a tremor or something like it wash over us.”

  “Yes, we did too,” he replied.

  “But you are all not asking the right questions,” interrupted Kevik. “Who were they fighting and why? Could whoever or whatever it was have been the reason this civilization fell?”

  Bart glanced at him a moment then nodded. “You’re right. But I doubt if any of us here will ever know.”

  “Do you think this happens every night?” Riyan asked. “If our search takes longer, will we have another battle rage through here again?”

  “As to that,” replied Bart, “I don’t expect us to stay here much longer.”

  “Why do you think that?” Chad asked.

  “Because I found what we were looking for.”

  They all turned and stared at him.

  He picked up one of the burning brands from the fire and said, “Come on I’ll show you.” Standing up, he indicated for the others to follow. When he was certain they were going to follow, he led them to the hallway through which the lord fled the battle. Down its length he walked until he came to the kitchen at its end.

  “When I followed the lord here,” he explained as he crossed through the kitchen and came to stand next to one of the ovens, “I saw him and his party stop here. Then they pressed this,” he reached out and put the tips of his fingers against one of the bricks and pushed. The brick slid in a quarter of an inch. “And here,” he said as he pressed a second brick, “and here.” Pressing the third and final brick, he watched as the oven began sliding across the floor away from him.

  Staying next to the wall, the oven slid back half a foot then came to a stop. Bart brought the burning brand toward the base of the oven and the light revealed an opening. He got down on his knees and peered through it. “There’s a stair leading down.”

  “But why didn’t the oven move further?” Chad asked. “There’s no way we’ll be able to squeeze through that small space.”

  Bart returned to his feet and said, “I think the mechanism is just old and gave out.” He glanced at the others and then nodded to the side of the oven. “Give me a hand and let’s see if we can push it out of the way.”

  The others moved into position then Bart said, “On a count of three. One…Two…Three.” At three they shoved with all their might. At first the oven didn’t budge, but then very slowly it began sliding across the floor. They kept up the pressure until the opening was wide enough for them to enter.

  “An escape route?” asked Riyan.

  “Absolutely,” replied Bart. “I would also bet that somewhere down there we’ll find what we’re looking for.”

  “The key?” asked Kevik. All three turned to look at him. He pointed to Bart and said, “He mentioned it earlier during the battle.”

  “I did?” asked Bart. Then after a moment’s reflection he nodded. “I guess I did.”

  “What key?” Kevik asked. He looked at the three friends and could see that they were still reluctant to share their secret.

  “Part of a key really,” Chad finally said and that was all anyone was willing to tell him.

  “As you will,” he conceded.

  “Now,” replied Bart. “We are all still rather tired, and after the events of the night it might be hard for us to return to sleep. However, I feel it would be wise to get what rest we can before we descend these steps.”

  Riyan nodded. “I agree. It’s not going anywhere.”

  They each cast a final
look down the secret stairwell before returning to their camp. Once back at the fire, they settled in again to sleep until dawn. Chad, who had pulled the last watch, was forced to remain awake while the others were able to nestle in their blankets. For the rest of the night every little noise made him jump. Not until the sun’s first rays of dawn entered the eastern windows did he finally relax.

  Chapter Twenty-One

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