The Bander Adventures Box Set 2
Page 18
The steward was a tall man in his late sixties, with a hawk-like nose, bushy eyebrows, and thick grey hair that had been slicked back over his scalp with garin oil.
“What is the meaning of—”
Jaden cut him off with a sharp jab to the throat. The steward crumpled to the ground, grasping at his desk for balance and gasping for air. Jaden stepped over him and choked him until the man expired.
Then Jaden closed the door to the office and took a deep breath. He looked around the room but did not see any exits other than the door he just came through and one tall, narrow window. But that couldn't be. He distinctly remembered a passage between this room and the chamber leading to the dungeon. Perhaps there was a hidden door. The walls were paneled—with inset bookcases. That looked promising.
Jaden stuffed the steward’s body back behind the desk, then fished a small round focusing mirror from a pouch. He used it to direct the shaft of sunlight from the window on to the floor in front of the north wall. It illuminated every particle of dust and dirt and Jaden was able to see a break in the grime. After a minute of running his fingers along the edge of the paneling, he found a hidden lever and sprung the door open.
The air inside the corridor was cool and a little musty, and the passage was dimly lit and narrow. But Jaden had a bright crystal and used it to illuminate the way. Soon he found himself in a large chamber adorned with various statuary. Perhaps Gredarl Kar was an art collector, but it was more likely that these sculptures were the property of the previous owner of the fortress.
A wide staircase led down to the lower level. As far as Jaden could tell it was unguarded. He glided down the steps into a shadowy corridor, barely lit by veins of lightstone running along the top of the walls. The corridor opened up into a cavernous chamber, spanning several hundred feet or more—the entire length of the keep. The chamber was sunk down at least a dozen feet like a gladiator amphitheater. A narrow walkway circled it.
At the bottom level was what looked to be some sort of laboratory. It was difficult to see in the darkness, but Jaden could barely make out racks of bottles and tables with equipment. What he didn’t see was anything that looked like a sanctum or a reliquary. The floor plan had indicated that the room of power was directly east—at the far side of the large chamber, but Jaden saw no passages in that direction. Unless there was a tunnel from the laboratory below.
After listening carefully for any signs of guards, Jaden vaulted over the walkway’s rail and hung for a moment. All he could hear was his own breathing, so he dropped down, landing as softly as a cat.
This bottom level was indeed a laboratory. Now Jaden could make out an array of tools and stacks of books, as well as hundreds of bottles, jars, beakers, and other containers. Moving silently along the east wall, Jaden eventually felt a soft cool breeze blowing from the shadows. He felt his way along and discovered a dark passage running due east. Shielding his bright crystal so the light would not reveal his position, he was still able to make out his surroundings. He was in a rough passage that appeared to be a natural cave or tunnel. He followed it for twenty or thirty feet until it opened into a larger cave.
There he saw the object of his quest: the Tree Heart.
But no one had told him it would be locked in an imposing cage with bars as thick as his leg.
Chapter Thirty-Three
GREDARL KAR BARELY BELIEVED WHAT HE WAS SEEING. That worm Asryn was urinating on a dead man in the middle of the courtyard. This must be a dream—or more likely a nightmare. But no, it was real. The idiot was grinning ear to ear and dancing a little jig around the body.
“What the hell is going on here, Asryn?”
“Kar, get over here. Look what I got. C’mere!”
Gredarl Kar moved closer and took a look at the body. “Is that who I think it is?”
“Yes, indeedy. My old friend Bryn Eresthar!”
“How did he come to appear in my fortress?”
Asryn grinned smugly. “Well, it was all my doing, naturally.”
“Explain yourself.”
“I hired the doldar. And they put a death mark on him. That was a week or so ago. Have to say, I’m not happy about how long it took, but they finally did the deed.”
Gredarl Kar rubbed his temples. This imbecile was giving him a headache. “I will ask you again. How did he come to be in my fortress?”
Asryn looked confused for a moment. “I told you. The doldar brought him here.”
“And how did they know to bring the body here?”
Asryn paused, clearly confused. Gredarl Kar could see the Lord Governor’s eyes dart as his feeble mind tried to work out the answer.
Finally, Asryn said, “Them doldar are smart! They got ways!”
“You didn’t tell anyone where you were?”
“Of course not. Do you think I am stupid?”
“I do, but I gravely misjudged just how stupid—”
“Watch it, Kar. Remember who I am…”
“Right now you are nothing more than a cog in Morin’s schemes.”
Asryn’s face colored, but he didn’t respond.
Gredarl Kar continued, “And he made it clear to all of us that we were to guard against the enemy’s subterfuge.”
“You think this was a trick? They killed Bryn Eresthar to get in here?” Asryn bellowed in laughter. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! Besides, they weren’t in here for more than five minutes. And I watched them go. Two men. In and out. Five minutes.”
“What about the wagon?”
“The wagon? What about the wagon?”
“Where is it?”
“They took it with them. Drove it away. Five minutes. I told you. In and out.”
“Did you search it?”
“No, I didn’t search it. It’s a wagon. What’s there to search?”
“What about this?” Gredarl Kar nudged the corpse with his boot. “Have you checked the body?”
“I think you’re getting a little paranoid, Kar. Eresthar’s as dead as a lump of stone. There’s nothing to check.”
Gredarl Kar looked away. He was trying hard not to lose his temper. He took several slow, deep breaths. Then, without another word, he turned his back on Asryn and went in search of Daras Mirth.
Chapter Thirty-Four
JADEN STARED AT THE TREE HEART THROUGH THE BARS OF ITS CAGE. It looked like a living thing, but its appearance was strange and disturbing.
It was perched on a stone pedestal and appeared to be a three-foot tall stump, but made of a glowing green material that was wet and fleshy and translucent. At the top of the stump were dozens of thick tendrils, reaching out like fingers and slowly moving of their own accord. As he looked closer, Jaden could make out various polyps and lobes at the base of the tendrils. These quivered and pulsed as the tendrils reached out.
Whatever it was, this Tree Heart was certainly freakish and alien. Jaden didn’t want to even be within a hundred yards of it, let alone be close enough to kill it or disable it or whatever he was supposed to do.
But he wasn’t going to be able to do anything if he couldn’t reach it. And right now it was a good ten feet away behind a barred door. Next to a pile of gold bars stacked nearly as tall as him.
He briefly wondered if he might be able to throw something through the bars at the Tree Heart or even use a long stick to get at the artifact, but he quickly dismissed those ideas. No, he would need to gain entrance to this cage.
Jaden crouched down and studied the lock on the gate. It was a Bhirma combination lock—a fairly rare design, but not impossible to pick. That wasn't the problem, however. The problem was an alarm—connected to the lock. He saw the thin cables running from the lock up through the ceiling. He knew what would happen if someone tried to force the lock or tried the wrong combination. Alarms would ring in the upper chambers. And 90 seconds later, there would be a dozen guards here.
This was bad. Very bad.
“I JUST WANT TO KILL HIM NOW,” DARAS MIRTH SAID.
“I will ease your mind,” Daras Mirth said, heading towards the keep.
“Take Wilmot with you.”
“I will be fine, My Lord. Let Wilmot continue his patrol.”
“As you wish.”
Daras Mirth turned and bowed. “Do not trouble yourself, My Lord. I have a good feeling about all of this.”
“Since when did you indulge your feelings, Daras Mirth?”
The First Man didn’t reply. He just nodded and strode away into the great hall. He could smell the scents of cooking from the kitchen down the corridor. And it made him hungry. In truth, he had eaten nothing since midday yesterday and the thought of some fresh-baked bread and smoked meat made his mouth water. But first thing’s first. He needed to check on the Tree Heart.
As he strode through the central north/south corridor which connected the main areas of the east wing, Daras Mirth thought about the Asryn problem. Although he was not privy to all of Gredarl Kar’s conversations with Morin and Chiran Hemmig, he did know that Asryn was increasingly becoming more of a liability than an asset. Yes, the Lord Governor did have a silver tongue—and was skilled in the art of persuasion, but the man lacked any common sense. He was undeniably an idiot, who acted only in his own best interest.
Daras Mirth lit a torch from the hearth in the kitchen and then walked over to the wide staircase leading down to the laboratory. Although there were lightstone veins and braziers and oil lamps throughout the lower level, the laboratory was almost always engulfed in darkness—unless Morin of Thect was using it. Otherwise, the only people who ventured down to this subterranean chamber were the hand-picked guards tasked with feeding the Tree Heart.
If he were being truthful to himself, Daras Mirth would have to admit that being down here was unnerving, to say the least. Beyond Morin's recent arcane human experiments that had been conducted in the laboratory, there was also a haunting presence—almost like an echo of what these stone walls had seen and heard over the past centuries. But Daras Mirth forced his fears from his mind and proceeded along the observation walkway down to the laboratory proper. It would not take him long to verify that the artifact was indeed secure, and the sooner he completed that task, the sooner he could be away from here.
He lifted the torch to illuminate the cave tunnel that led to the Tree Heart chamber. All was quiet—as it should be. Daras Mirth’s footsteps echoed throughout the cavern as he passed into the rough cave which housed the artifact.
There it was, behind the caged gate—just as it should be.
He had come to think of it as an animal of sorts, not unlike the big ebon hogs of Minster’s Farm. Only this creature never left its pen.
The Tree Heart’s emerald glow cast soft shadows from the bars that surrounded it. Like a baby’s hand, the artifact’s tentacles stretched and grasped at nothing in particular. Daras Mirth wondered if it was “hungry” for another gold bar. Usually, it would consume the treasure every two weeks, and those who were familiar with the Tree Heart could tell when it was time. The artifact’s color changed slightly. It became more grey than green—almost as if it was withering from hunger. But now it looked robust and bright.
Daras Mirth looked over at the stack of gold bars. It was an incredible fortune—more wealth than he had ever seen in his life. And it was all for this thing, this artifact. In a way, it was a tremendous waste.
He briefly considered just turning back and reporting to Gredarl Kar that all was secure in the Tree Heart chamber, but he didn’t want to leave any sliver of doubt. So he moved the rotating discs on the lock into the proper sequence and then slid the large lever out to unlock the gate.
Stepping into the cage with the Tree Heart was always unnerving. The artifact seemed to sense that he was nearby and its tendrils slowly turned and undulated in his direction. Daras Mirth was very careful not to touch the Tree Heart. He had seen how quickly it consumed gold, and he did not want to determine if its appetite extended to other substances—like human flesh. Although it might be an interesting experiment to feed one of Gredarl Kar’s enemies to the artifact—if he could convince the crime lord to agree to such a thing. He wondered if—
At that moment, Daras Mirth felt a searing pain across his neck and he couldn't breathe. His head snapped back and something thin and sharp cut into his windpipe.
“Sorry, friend,” a grim voice said from behind him.
Then he was jerked back off his feet and into oblivion.
SOMETIMES YOU JUST GET LUCKY. Jaden released his garrote from around the neck of the tall lanky man. He hadn’t expected that anyone else would come down to this chamber so early in the morning—let alone someone who knew the combination to the gate. But every once in awhile, the fates smiled on his endeavors. He hoped that his luck would hold.
And then he recognized the man. It was Daras Mirth, the First Man of Gredarl Kar. One more charang piece off the board.
He pulled Daras Mirth’s body to the far side of the chamber and dragged it to a shadowy corner. A quick pat down revealed a ring of keys and a finely-crafted silver dagger—both of which Jaden took.
Jaden returned to the Tree Heart and observed it for a few moments. He didn't want to get too close; clearly, it knew he was there. Its tendrils quivered and it appeared agitated. Hopefully, Daras Mirth wasn't the Tree Heart's friend.
“You hungry?” Jaden whispered.
He pulled the heavy metal bar from his satchel. It wasn’t a gold bar—just the opposite. The dull grey bar was cast from solid lead. Bander had told him that Meomannan Quill believed this substance would have the desired effect.
“Hate to do this to you, mate, but here goes.”
He held out the lead bar and gradually offered it to the Tree Heart. Tendrils slowly touched the metal, and it was almost as if the artifact was hesitant. But after a few seconds, the appendages curled around the bar and slowly drew it into the maw-like center of the stump.
Jaden watched as the bar was consumed—in less than a minute. He could follow its shape through the translucent body of the Tree Heart and watched as the metal dissolved into small round chunks and then was completely absorbed. Soon there was nothing left of the bar.
He wasn’t sure what to expect.
The Tree Heart looked the same. It didn’t shrink or explode or vanish in a puff of smoke. It just sat there on its pedestal, slowly undulating.
After several minutes, Jaden withdrew the scrying crystal Bander had given him and examined it. The device was cold and dark and silent. It did not look to be activated in any way. He spoke into it, but nothing happened.
He waited another ten minutes and then tried again.
Nothing.
Dynark’s blood. This was bad.
Jaden’s mind raced. If the bar didn’t work, he wondered what might. Could he kill the Tree Heart? Just stab it or something?
He lifted the silver dagger he had taken from Daras Mirth and pointed it at the Tree Heart.
Let’s see what effect silver has on you.
With a quick motion, he slashed at one of the tendrils.
Instead of cutting off a tendril, the blade itself was severed. No, that wasn’t quite right. It was melted off. Almost like placing the tip of a candle into a blacksmith’s forge.
Jaden took a step back. He didn’t think he was going to be able to kill this thing. And he didn’t want to anger it either. For all he knew, those tendrils might be able to shoot out, like the tongue of a frog.
He had one more idea.
From a sheath on his back, he removed a blowgun and a set of a half-dozen darts, wrapped in a leather case. The darts were tipped with batra, an especially virulent poison which was currently his venom of choice. One dart could kill an ox within a minute. He intended
to put all six into the Tree Heart.
But first, he wanted to get some distance between the artifact and himself. He could easily hit a target at twenty feet, but when he stepped out into the tunnel and turned around, he found himself looking at a difficult shot.
Even though the Tree Heart itself glowed faintly, most of the chamber was enveloped in darkness. Plus there was a noticeable draft blowing through the tunnel which would affect the flight of his dart. And, finally, even though the barred gate was open, he would have to shoot through a gap that was less than a yard wide.
Well, time was wasting and Gredarl Kar might very well send someone to check on his man. Besides, there was only one way to find out how this would work.
Jaden loaded a dart and took up a position. He steadied himself and took aim. Then inhaled deeply through his nose. He aimed again, compensating slightly for the breeze and then expelled his lungs in a sharp, explosive movement. The dart flew true and stuck in the stubby body of the Tree Heart.
But then the artifact’s tendrils reached down and plucked up the dart. Soon it was being sucked into the Tree Heart’s maw and then a few moments later, the dart was gone—dissolved into nothingness.
“Did you like that?” Jaden muttered. “How about another?”
He repeated the process with the five remaining darts, scoring solid hits with each one. And, again, the tendrils slowly picked off each dart and the artifact consumed them.
And the poison seemed to have no effect on the Tree Heart. It continued to glow green and wave its tendrils at him—mockingly, Jaden thought.
He didn’t know what else to try. Maybe burn it?
But before he could do anything further, he heard a far-off voice calling his name.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“GO, GO, GO!” BANDER YELLED. His assault team raced towards the fortress. But they had been spotted. Which Bander expected, since it was difficult not to notice nearly fifty people running towards a fortress.