“Speak to no one,” was Krom’s only instruction before leading them inside. It was a dark and gloomy sort of place. A place where one might hide in the shadows of a booth or far corner without attracting notice. A place where one went with intents other than to merely partake of food and drink. A place of purpose.
The companions sat in a booth far removed from anyone. Krom ordered them a loaf of bread, some cheese, and meat pies.
“Eat heartily,” said Krom. “We have a long night before us.”
They ate in silence, and, for Skylar’s part, without relish. He felt no hunger. Yet he forced himself to eat to preserve his strength. After what felt like hours, Grüny Sykes rejoined them, he too now wearing a hooded cloak. As the captain of the Luna ate, Krom went over their plans.
“Our first object is to get inside the castle,” he spoke in a low whisper. “There are but two ways inside: through the gates or an underground passage, whose location few in the empire know. Beneath the castle runs a secret river, from which it draws its water supply. A defense mechanism. Should an enemy besiege the city, he could attempt to cut off the city’s water supply by damming the Misted River, but the castle’s water would never run dry.”
“And how do we get underneath the castle?” said Rasbus. “Where is this hidden passage?”
“Through the sewer.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” said Endrick, “I knew I shouldn’t have volunteered.”
Krom paid no attention to Endrick’s outburst.
“The castle’s sewer drains converge with the city’s very near here, beneath the city streets.”
“And the drain pipes are large enough for us to enter?” asked Rasbus, his voice hinting at his incredulity. “They, at least, must have iron grating to prevent what you’re proposing.”
“They are too narrow—far too narrow. But they are merely a ruse, as distraction. The river I speak of, it too feeds into the sewer. Though, its outlet is well concealed. The original constructors put it there as an escape route should the royal family ever need to flee the castle undetected. That was over a century ago. But its purpose will serve us.”
“That is,” added Rasbus, “assuming no one has blocked it off in the last fourteen years.”
Krom looked at Rasbus with steady determination.
“We either enter the castle this way, or fail in our quest altogether. No other way exists.”
They waited until after midnight to put Krom’s plan into action. The night air was crisp as the companions slipped quietly through the darkness. The streets, now vacant, felt eerily calm, as if something menacing waited around every corner. Yet, Skylar felt no fear. The steady sound of Rasbus’ inexorable plod at his rear and the long powerful strides of Krom leading the way gave him a sense of invincibility not even a thousand soldiers could give him. He felt their loyalty, as he had felt Grim’s and his father’s.
After a few turns, Krom halted in an alleyway.
“Endrick, a hand with this,” he said, bending to the street and putting his hands on the bars of square metal grate. It covered an opening, a hole, in the street. Endrick hastened over, positioning himself on the other side of Krom. The two strained against it for only a moment before Rasbus took charge of the matter.
“I’ll handle this,” he said, shouldering Endrick aside.
Clasping the grate with his massive hands, he pulled upwards, his neck muscles bulging from the effort. Slowly, the rusty metal began to creak obstinately, then with one swift movement, the grate came free. Setting the grate aside, Rasbus motioned for Krom to lead the way.
They descended the hole by means of a grappling hook and cord—just like the one Lasseter had used when he and Skylar stole into Amrahdel the night his whole world changed. The recollection of his father sent a fresh jolt of pain to his gut. He should be here, too.
An astringent odor from the sewer burned his nostrils and watered his eyes as he descended into the blackness. Below him, the sound of splashing water echoed as Krom and Endrick reached the bottom. The sickly green glow of two phosphorescent torches suddenly illuminated the scene. Skylar touched down into the water. It came midway up to his calves. For a moment he just stood there, feeling nauseated by the stench.
“You’ll grow accustomed to the smell,” said Krom, holding up the torch and peering down the long conduit sewer. “You won’t notice it after a while.”
“That’s because your sense of smell will be gone by then,” said Endrick.
“Oof!” ejaculated Rasbus, splashing down next to Skylar and spraying Skylar’s legs with the filthy water. “Smells worse than a week of latrine duty.”
As soon as Grüny was down, Krom retrieved the grappling hook by tugging on the cord using some cryptic pattern, just as Lasseter had done.
“This way,” said Krom, motioning with the torch, before striking off down the tunnel. The others sloshed behind. They walked for less than a quarter of an hour before Krom halted. To Skylar, however, it felt much longer, with the odor, the darkness, the constant sound of water streaming in from all sides.
They stood at a nondescript portion of the sewer. A few open pipes protruded from the stone-paved wall next to them, pouring slowly into this main sewer. Aside from this, nothing else set it apart from any other spot. Wordlessly, Krom crouched down, put his hand into the water, and searched for something. A moment later, he unsheathed his sword, thrust it into the water, the tempered steel scraping against the stone, then began to pry at an unseen object. At first nothing seemed to happen. Slowly, though, the surface of the black waters began to churn and morph into a shape, as yet another iron grate lifted out of the water.
Endrick and Rasbus hastened to take hold of it, moving it away from the spot.
Krom shed his cloak.
“Below here is the mouth of the drain of the secret river. Take a deep breath.”
Without another word, Krom took the torch, dove head first into the water and disappeared. For a second, Skylar stared at the spot, expecting Krom to resurface and give further instructions. He did not. Endrick shed his cloak and handed his torch to Skylar.
“I hate the water,” he grumbled, then stepped out over the same spot and immediately plunged into the water.
Gone.
“You next,” ordered Rasbus to Skylar.
He looked at the old harbor master then back at the spot that had swallowed Krom and Endrick.
“Hurry, Prince, before Krom’s light is out of view.”
Skylar removed his cloak, but did not let it fall into the water. He clutched the coarse paqua-hair garment in his hands and remembered how his father had given it to him. How could he part with is now?
“Hurry, Skylar.”
Ruefully, he held the cloak in his outstretched arm and slowly forced his fingers to release their grip, let the precious fabric fall into the foul water. As he did so, and the black water consumed his cloak, he felt as if another piece of him were swallowed up in blackness, despair.
Everyone, everything I care about...
Then he stepped out to the spot where Krom and Endrick disappeared, vaguely wondered how long he would have to hold his breath, took a deep breath, then plunged in feet first.
The water engulfed his body like icy fingers on his skin. A void of space and light it seemed to be. His lungs sought for air, his eyes opened. The same green glow illuminated this underwater hole, only more dimly. He looked down and saw the black shapes of Krom and Endrick swimming downward, deeper into the hole.
Deeper!
Quickly he turned his body around and began kicking and clawing at the water with all his strength. He’d never swam before. The thought briefly entered his mind that he never wanted to again.
Down...down they went. His lungs began to scream for air. Still, he swam.
How much farther?
Krom’s form vanished from underneath some opening he couldn’t see, most of the light vanishing with it. Following just behind Krom, Endrick’s shape disappeared from view. Skylar swam on, still downw
ard. Panic swept over Skylar. He was alone, underwater, his lungs burning for air. With more frantic strokes he tried to move faster, keeping his eyes riveted to the spot where his companions had slipped out of sight.
Reaching the spot, he found a barrel-sized hole gaping before him. From it, the welcome green glow of Krom’s lantern shown. He kicked his way passed it and found that it opened up on the other side after a few feet. And there before him, in the open water were the two dark forms of Krom and Endrick, swimming upward.
Exerting what strength remained in his weary arms and legs, he struggled after his companions. Desperate, his lungs burned with pain. He felt that any moment they might explode.
Up.
With each passing second, the surface seemed to get farther and farther away.
Up.
He couldn’t go on. His limbs were barely moving, threatening to give out at any moment. His mind throbbed. An edge of blackness began filling the rim of his vision.
Just then, the crown of his head broke through the surface of the water. Air, sweet air. It was pouring into his lungs as he gasped and choked violently. A few seconds later, two more heads popped up, likewise choking down air.
“What’re ye trying to do? Drown us?” cried Grüny Sykes, once recovered.
Krom ignored him. “This is a reservoir. The water is shallower just ahead.”
He swam away from them, deeper into the cave of black rocks which now surrounded them.
“At least the stench is gone,” muttered Endrick, as he and the others followed after Krom.
Within a few meters, they reached an underwater bank on which they could walk with the water scarcely to their waists. The water ran in a gentle current. Still, the force of the water challenged their every foot step and slowed their progress.
An hour or more passed. The landscape of the cave never varied. Just ragged rock, a mirror of running water, and the steady swoosh of their legs plowing through it. Soon they came to a place where the cave turned a sharp corner. Krom slowed his pace and approached it cautiously. Holding up his torch, he stuck it partially around the corner.
Sharp screeches echoed through the cave. Krom rapidly retracted the torch, as two bursts of blaster fire shot past where it had been.
“Seems the castle has a new security system,” said Rasbus in an unsurprised tone.
“Morvath’s doing, no doubt,” replied Krom. “I’m sure they’re just machines, automatons of some sort.”
“I really hate his little creations,” said Endrick. “They’re so unnatural.”
“Can we not get past them?” asked Skylar.
“We must,” said Krom placidly. “We have no other recourse.”
“I say we try the whole besieging business,” suggested Endrick. “It sounds considerably drier.”
“I’ll deal with the blaster machines. You four try to keep them firing in this direction.”
“Sure. We’ll just stand there in the open and hop around.”
Krom didn’t reply. Already he had slipped under the surface of the shallow river. The companions watched momentarily as the ripples on the water disappeared around the corner.
“He didn’t give us much time to come up with a distraction,” said Rasbus.
“Our swords,” exclaimed Skylar. “We can use our swords.”
Without explaining, he unsheathed his sword, stuck the tip of it out into the line of fire and waved it up and down rapidly. Instantly, the blaster fire resumed, whizzing past the blade in a steady stream. A few blasts struck the polished blade, but they only ricocheted off. Endrick and Rasbus soon joined in, waving their swords next to Skylar’s. The blasters kept firing.
“How long do we keep this up?” hollered Endrick above the din.
“Until they stop, I suppose,” yelled Skylar.
Endrick nodded his head.
“Smart plan.”
The fact was Skylar didn’t know what Krom had in mind. What if Krom was shot? They wouldn’t know. And if the blast didn’t kill him, he would drown. Come on Krom! I don’t want you to die, too.
He was taking too long. Krom couldn’t have possibly held his breath for so long. Something was wrong—he knew it.
Without warning, the firing ceased, silence fell around them. None of them stirred. Then a soft whistle echoed through the cave, then another. Endrick poked his head around the corner.
“What are you whistling like a bird for?” he hollered.
Skylar exhaled in relief. “He’s alive.”
“Of course he’s alive. He’s much harder to get rid of than that.”
They found Krom waiting for them on a narrow landing on the side of the tunnel. Above him, still attached to the cave’s ceiling, were the mangled remains of their two mechanical assailants. The landing led to a doorless portal, the darkness of which the green torch-light only partially dispelled, revealing the first steps of a spiral staircase.
“That leads straight up into the castle,” said Krom, pointing toward the portal. “Once inside, caution and stealth will be our greatest allies.”
“That and sleeping guards,” added Endrick.
“I’m giving each of you a few of these.”
Krom produced a leather pouch, from which he drew out a handful of black eyeball-sized spheres. These he distributed among the companions.
“Sleep bombs,” continued Krom. “Take care you do not drop one unintentionally. Roll one along the floor near the feet of a guard. He’ll be asleep within seconds. Use them sparingly.”
So saying, Krom led them up the spiral staircase. Skylar lost count of the number of steps. Thousands, it seemed. They had to climb the full height of the hill on which the castle stood.
At last they reached an old wooden door with rusty hinges, which they found unlocked, and passed through into a cellar as damp and chilly as the cave below. Wine casks stacked to the ceiling lined one wall, while barrels for meal and flour, shelves for cheeses and cured meats lined the other. Silently, they passed through the cellar out into a short hallway. The hallways led them into a kitchen, where a cook snored at a table with his head resting on his pudgy forearms, while the last embers of a cook fire glowed ruddy-orange beside him. They slipped past the slumbering cook out into a corridor, deeper into the heart of the castle.
THIRTY
SKYLAR AND ENDRICK pressed themselves against the cold stone wall, hiding in the shadows of a flanking tower along the castle’s inner curtain wall. Two guards paced the parapet they needed to cross. They were close enough that both guards posed a threat, yet far enough apart that a single sleep bomb would not suffice.
“I could throw one at the far guard while you throw one at the other guard,” whispered Skylar.
These two guards were the only obstacle between them and the east tower, where the first of the five cannons awaited them. Three more were positioned on the high towers. Krom had delegated himself to disable those. Rasbus and Grüny had gone to sabotage the main gates. If all went as planned, they would signal Arturo and Lord Rowvan just before daybreak to mount the attack.
“It’s too risky,” answered Endrick as they watched the two guards. “If one of us misses, the other guard will be alerted.”
They waited.
Skylar’s heart pounded within his chest. He scarcely breathed.
The guard nearest them had been walking steadily toward them, each second drawing closer.
“Another foot or two and the sleep bomb will put us to sleep with him,” said Endrick. “I think it’s the sword for this fellow.”
“No, wait.”
Suddenly, the guard turned and planted himself facing out over the battlements toward the city below. About that same time, the second guard passed within the east tower and then out the other side. A minute later and he was out of ready earshot. Seizing the chance, Endrick rolled one of the metal spheres out across the curtain wall. It chinked softly on the stones.
Startled, the guard nearest them jerked around to face the sound just in time to see
the sleep bomb strike his armored boot. He crouched down and picked it up, and then collapsed across the battlement as the gas reached his nostrils.
Hastily, Skylar and Endrick dragged the unconscious soldier into the shadows of the flanking tower, then made for the east tower across the curtain wall. They gained the east tower without attracting the other guard’s attention. The guard had continued his patrol along the parapet, never turning around, still moving steadily away from them.
“What if he turns around and comes back?” said Skylar.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t. Come on.”
Mounting the tower stairs, they swiftly ascended the spiraling steps all the way to the top. They found the cannon unmanned and unguarded, and for good reason; there was no visible means of operating it.
“How do they use the accursed contraption?” said Endrick, as they hunted for some means of disarming the blaster cannon.
“It might be controlled remotely,” said Skylar, his words echoing his thoughts more than responding to Endrick, “from some control room within the castle.”
“Good thing, too. This whole business was beginning to seem too simple. Now, at least, we have a challenge and a good possibility of getting caught and ground into paqua slop.”
Skylar continued to inspect the cannon.
“There must be something we can do to it.”
“I bet if you beat at that armored sheeting with your sword, you could make a few scratches. Maybe even a dent or two.”
“There must be something...” Skylar’s voice trailed off. He admitted to himself that there didn’t seem to be any weak point of the weapon. Well armored, it bore a barrel, six-sided, with the top and bottom sides longer than the other four, which projected out through a slit in the tower wall. The slit was wide enough that the cannon commanded nearly a full one hundred and eight degree range for firing at frontal-assaulting enemies. By means of two hydraulic arms, the barrel could also point toward the ground or sky. Every part was constructed of heavy steel. Impenetrable. Not a wire exposed anywhere.
“If only we had a wrench...” murmured Skylar. “Or had some way of jamming it.”
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