Mestel looked away uncomfortably and changed subjects. “I’m afraid we don’t have time for this. It won’t take long for Gram to regroup and come back in force. It would have been far easier if I had been able to kill him. I fear I have already failed my god by not taking revenge on him for kidnapping and imprisoning scores of magic-users, but that will have to wait for another day.”
Evisar said, “And what about the death of our father? Gram was responsible for that as well.”
“I free the wrongly imprisoned and strike down those who abuse their authority. Petty vengeance is beneath me now. Gram killed our father in combat, and he died with a sword in his hand.”
Evisar was appalled by Mestel’s words and stood there flabbergasted. Mestel quickly looked around with his night eyes and had no difficulty finding a set of keys on one of the guards that unlocked the cells. He handed the keys to Evisar and continued rummaging through the pockets of the other guards until he came across one pouch with several diamonds and platinum pieces worth several hundred gold pieces. Mestel pocketed the valuables, briefly wondered why a common guard would have that much cash on him, and moved to search the next guard.
As Evisar opened the cell door, Valihorn rushed out and embraced Mestel with almost as much enthusiasm as Evisar. Evisar, for his part, limped into the cell so that Xander could heal him. Xander had managed to close his stomach wound and limp to his feet. Xander stayed inside the cell and looked on with curiosity, refusing to come out while Mestel was in such close proximity.
Valihorn said, “Jefon, I am so glad you came back to us.”
Mestel hugged Valihorn back, but said, “I am called Mestel now.”
“Oh right, I forgot. Mestel it is then.” Valihorn quickly stepped out of the entrance. Rather than talking with Mestel, Xander removed the bolts from himself and Evisar, saying a few simple healing prayers to close their wounds as best he could.
As everyone came out into the common area, Mestel walked a few steps over to where Gaston had fallen and stared at the body for a few moments, not quite believing he had brought down such a dangerous foe. He bent down and picked up Neverlost, lying on the stone next to Gaston’s right hand. He also unbuckled the scabbard from Gaston’s body, stood up, and looked in awe upon his family legacy as he sheathed the sword.
He took three steps over to Evisar and held the sword out in front of him. “Here you go, brother. Try not to lose it again.”
Evisar raised his hands to take the sword and then pulled away as if to say, no, no more, not again. “I don’t know if I should accept it. Look where my leadership led us. Maybe you should take it.”
Mestel smiled self-assuredly and said, “Yes, look where your leadership led us.” He glanced at Gaston’s body and said, “Several prime leaders of the group that plagued us for several moons are dead, I have a stronger relationship with my god, we’ve communed with a dragon, saved a town by bringing down giants, and we’ve discovered an entrance to the Underworld.” He stopped for a breath before adding, “If we hurry, we may still be able to save Devin. He is our rightful king and I will travel with you for as long as it takes to free him from his wrongful imprisonment.”
He let the words sink in for a brief moment before he leaned in and whispered, “Take it, brother. My only weapon is now the bow. I don’t plan to draw a sword ever again. Besides, they will not follow me, only you. You are the one to find the First Heir.”
The words sunk in and Evisar extended both hands out and slowly grasped the sword. He half-drew it out of its scabbard and felt the weight and the grip in his hands once again. The pensive moment passed; Evisar’s face looked more like his father’s as he assumed the burden of leadership once again, with Neverlost at his side.
Mestel knew time was running short. He led the companions to the deeper part of the dungeon where he found a solid steel door similar to the one at the top of the dungeon stairs. He quickly tried every key on the ring until he heard a satisfying click. The door opened to reveal a stone stairway leading down. As he stared at the stone steps, his vision momentarily flashed to an earlier premonition where Valihorn was hit by a trap on these very stairs and turned into a stone statue before his eyes.
He turned to the rest of the group and said, “There’s a trap farther down the stairway that will turn one of us to stone if we keep going.”
Xander was nothing if not annoyed. “The enemy could be down here any moment, and you want us to wait because you think there might be a trap up ahead?”
“There is a trap up ahead. All of you stay here while I disarm it. I’ll call up to you when I know it’s safe.”
Xander said, “This is ridiculous. I’m not staying up here so you can betray us to your new friends.” Xander moved to the stairway and started going down into the darkness on his own.
Mestel quickly grabbed Xander by the collar and backed him up against the wall. “I’m trying to save your life! If you don’t want to be turned to stone, then I suggest you wait up here until I give the all clear.”
Xander quickly drew his dagger and held it tightly between himself and Mestel. “Get out of my way, Mestel. No one tells me where to go.” Xander lunged forward to break free of his grasp, and Mestel let him go.
Xander made it down the first step before Evisar spoke up. “Wait, Xander. Brother, could he disarm the trap for us and then call us down?”
Mestel said, “I suppose so. Better him than me.” He turned to Xander and said, “About halfway down there’s a step that will shoot an arrow straight up the staircase from the darkness below. If you simply move out of the way of the arrow, then you should be fine.”
Xander looked at him with a sneer. “How can you possibly know all of that?” Mestel simply shrugged and remained silent. Xander said, “All right, I’ll check it out.”
Xander disappeared down the stairs. The companions did not have to wait long before they heard the twang of a crossbow. A bolt came shooting out of the dungeon doorway at a forty-five degree angle, struck the stone ceiling, and fell harmlessly to the floor. Looking at the point of impact, Mestel saw that a spider and its web had been turned to stone, a product of the spell embedded in the crossbow bolt. Mestel shook his head in disgust and couldn’t figure out why everyone distrusted him. Standing next to him, Evisar whistled in disbelief.
Valihorn said, “You were right, Mestel.”
Xander called up from down below with disappointment in his voice. “I’ve made it all the way down the staircase. You can come down now.” Mestel didn’t say anything as he humbly fell in line behind his brother and hurried down the stairs. As they came down the stairs, Xander met them at the landing. “How could you have possibly known where the trap was, Jefon? None of us have ever been down these steps before.”
“I told you to call me M…”
“Mestel, yes I heard, but old habits die hard. Tell me, how do we know who you really are?” Mestel held up his arms as if to say, I am what I am, take it or leave it. “You could be anything and we would never know it. You could be possessed by a demon perhaps.”
Once upon a time Mestel might have responded by pointing out that Xander had come back from the dead as well, but Mestel just didn’t care about things that weren’t important anymore. He didn’t need Xander and wouldn’t take the time to convince him. The way of the Faithful Falcon is the way to self-sufficiency. “I know who I am, and that is all that matters. Come with us, or stay; it’s your choice, but make it now.” They needed to get the hell out of the dungeon, and Xander was slowing them down.
Xander was caught off guard by Mestel’s brashness. Jefon had never talked to him like that. “Tell me, Mestel, do you remember anything that happened in purgatory while you were dead?”
“I do. You were there with Tristan and me. The God of the Dead sat on his throne and called us forth for judgment, and I was lucky enough to go first.”
“And then what happened?”
“My god came to claim me and took me back to his celestial home.”<
br />
“Do you know what happened to Tristan and me after that?”
“No, I wasn’t there.”
Xander nodded his head in acceptance, but Mestel could tell there was something more. Xander was visibly happy he didn’t know what happened in purgatory after he had left with Martel. “You’re still a dangerous self-righteous bastard, but you have Jefon’s memories and you did save my life. I’ll come with you for now.”
“As you wish. Don’t do me any favors.”
The stairway opened up to a T intersection in the subterranean tunnels. The tunnels were lined from floor to ceiling with stone and mortar. Torches were spaced every fifty paces to provide minimal lighting. The stone corridor ran as far as anyone could see to the left and to the right. Even Mestel’s night eyes failed to see the end of the corridor. Evisar started out instinctively going down the corridor to the right.
The hallway was quiet and rang with the footsteps of the companions. After several hundred paces the hallway showed no sign of ending, but the companions came upon the last torch. Evisar grabbed the last torch off the wall while Valihorn cast a simple light spell on a rock he held in his hand. The wall of darkness in front of them did not faze Mestel. While everyone took a moment to look down into the blackness, he continued forward into the darkness on his own, without saying a word, and passed out of sight.
___________________________________
Xander came up beside Evisar and said, “Is it just me, or does your brother seem even stranger than before?”
Evisar looked at him with humor. “With all your secrets, you’re calling my brother strange?” Then the smile disappeared from his face and he said in all seriousness. “He just came back from the dead; give him a chance.”
For once, Xander didn’t share his humor. He came right up next to Evisar’s ear so only he could hear. “I just came back from the dead last night as well, but you don’t see me heading off into the darkness alone. Are you sure that’s really your brother? He did say Jefon was dead, and in his place was only Mestel.”
Anger flashed briefly across Evisar’s face, and he gave Xander a little shove to back him away from his ear. “He’s part of my family, and that’s all I need to know.”
Xander raised his voice loud enough for Valihorn to hear. “What makes you so certain he’s part of your family? He could be anything. He could just be biding his time until he can betray us, possibly even to the Talon Guild itself.”
Evisar cracked an all-knowing smile and said, “Well I’m no expert, but aren’t we in our most desperate hour right now? Wouldn’t this be the time to betray us as we run for our lives? But he hasn’t betrayed us. Instead, he freed us and saved your life in the process. You owe him a chance.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one, but does he honestly seem like the brother you grew up with?”
Evisar would hear no more. “I will trust him until he gives me good reason not to.”
Evisar hurried down the corridor after his brother with the rest of the group close behind. After fifty paces, Evisar nearly ran into Mestel in the dim light of his torch. He had stopped for no apparent reason and was staring at a section of stone wall that looked just like any other section of stone wall.
Evisar stood back and evaluated the wall before he asked, “Jefon, what are you looking at?”
___________________________________
Mestel stood still and then reluctantly broke his trance with the stone wall and turned to Evisar, saying matter-of-factly, “I asked you to call me Mestel.”
Mestel could see there was more doubt in Evisar than there had been just a short time before. A product of a few choice words whispered in his ear by Xander, no doubt. He didn’t want to disappoint his brother, but he couldn’t be anything less than what he was.
Evisar said, “You’ll have to give me some time. I knew you as Jefon for over forty years. Your change in name has caught me a little bit off guard. What about brother? Can I still call you brother?”
Even without his new wisdom to interpret intent and body language, Mestel knew his brother well enough to sense a test when one was put forth. “Yes, you may still call me brother, but the answer to your real question is that you are just going to have to trust me as you once did. My old life ended with Jefon’s death, and my new life began with my rebirth.”
It looked as though Evisar wanted to believe, but questions still lingered underneath the surface. “Fine, but why are you walking down dark hallways by yourself? You handed me our father’s sword and told me to lead, but then you headed off on your own, expecting me to follow.”
Mestel answered without emotion. “My purpose in life has changed. I serve Martel in whole, rather than in part, and I will be all the better for it.”
Evisar said curtly, “That isn’t an answer.”
“Unfortunately, that’s all that I can give you.” Mestel looked back at the wall, eager to end this uncomfortable conversation. “I think there’s a hidden door here.”
Evisar reluctantly looked away from Mestel and took a more meticulous look at the wall. Evisar put his hand up against the stone and traced the outline of the door. “How in the seven hells did you find it in the dark?” Rather than give another vague answer, Mestel just stood still, looking straight ahead. When Mestel didn’t say anything, Evisar looked disappointed and turned to the other companions. “Xander, come up here and have a look at this secret door.”
The three of them felt around and eventually Xander pulled on a loose stone. A door-sized section of the wall moved back about a foot and then slid out of the way and into the wall. A blast of cold, stale air hit the group as Valihorn came up to join them.
*****
As the cold air smacked Mestel in the face, the world around him went black and then he was someplace else. He was floating like an eagle above the five companions, himself included, as they walked out of the tunnel they had just discovered. Mestel recognized immediately that this was a vision, and he struggled to pay attention to every detail. He watched his future self and his brother come to the end of the tunnel, light two torches, and marvel at the colossal underground cavern that opened up before them. Xander cast a light spell on a small rock and made a loud whistling sound in adoration of what he saw.
Valihorn said, “So this is what the Underworld looks like. I did not know it was so beautiful.”
From Mestel’s top-down view he gained an appreciation of the Underworld the others couldn’t see. His night eyes allowed him to see far into the distance. He noticed a huge underground lake with a fast-flowing waterfall more than a mile away. Strange and wondrous creatures ran through the forest that somehow grew underground without sunlight. His eyes continued to scan the beautiful horizon until he saw something that almost made his heart stop. A Krone scout scurried out from behind a group of rocks half a mile off and ran down a path into the forest. Mestel tried to shout out, to warn his future self and the others that they were in danger, but yell as he might, the companions ignored him and continued to look around until Evisar gathered them together and began to move forward. The scene flashed forward in time, and Mestel saw all of the companions’ bodies littered on a trail in the Underworld, dead. Mestel wondered what force of nature could have slaughtered all of them, until a large group of Krone soldiers came out of the forest to loot the bodies of their worldly goods. The disturbing image flashed back to the present where Mestel found himself alive and well, standing with his friends in front of the entrance to the Underworld.
The purpose of the vision was obvious – the companions were not ready to venture into the Underworld, and if they did, they would be killed shortly after emerging from the tunnel. Mestel said a silent prayer to Martel for trusting him with knowledge of the future and vowed that he wouldn’t be going into the Underworld today.
*****
Xander stood next to Evisar as the two tried to figure out where they should go next. The secret tunnel was lined with stone, just like the rest of the corridors, and wa
s utterly dark. Evisar spoke out to no one in particular, “This tunnel doesn’t look any different. Why would it be guarded by a hidden door?”
Xander turned to Evisar and said, “I say we head down the tunnel. It seems just as promising as any other direction, and the fact that it was a hidden door has to mean something.”
Before Evisar could make up his mind, forcing Mestel to go against his brother’s leadership once again, he interjected quickly, “That tunnel leads to the Underworld, but we can’t head down that way. We aren’t prepared.”
Xander stared at Mestel in confusion. “What are you talking about? You don’t know what’s down there. Besides, aren’t we looking for an entrance to the Underworld? If this is it, then I say we take it.”
Evisar also looked on with questioning eyes. “How do you know where this goes, brother?”
“Is how I know truly important? Isn’t it more important that I know we will all die soon after we emerge in the Underworld if we go down this tunnel? We aren’t prepared yet.”
Evisar said, “You and I have been looking for an entrance to the Underworld for many moons. Now you’re saying we’re not prepared? What is it that you propose we do?”
“This entrance is too well guarded. We need better weapons and a much better light source. It’s pitch dark down there. None of you would be able to see a thing. We would be going in blind, literally and figuratively blind. We should find another entrance. One that is less well guarded, and one where we can hire a guide who has been down there before. Then we might actually have a prayer.”
Evisar said, “What is it that kills us if we go down this tunnel? How do we die?”
“I can’t tell you any more than I have.”
Evisar’s voice rose with a little bit of anger. “Of course you can, you just aren’t! Valihorn and I watched as they took Devin down into the Underworld less than half a day ago. We have a duty to go after him and see if we can catch up with his captors.”
Do the Gods Despise Us? Page 24