“They probably broke the mechanism,” she said to herself, so she wouldn’t get her hopes up.
She pulled a thin probe from the kit and a small metal tool from the middle of the group. Slipping them into the lock she listened and worked the set. Seconds later she pulled the bent metal tool free and put it back in the kit. Retrieving the one next to it, she slipped it and the probe into the lock and worked it. She shifted the metal piece back and forth, listening to the sound of metal on metal inside. She heard a soft click, removed the probe and twisted the bent metal.
It stuck.
She tried twisting it back, but it refused to budge.
“Dammit.” She tried to twist the jammed piece of metal free.
It moved. She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned it again, the metal turned easily and slipped free from the lock mechanism. Behind it, the small head of the tool that had been twisted off fell free of the lock and disappeared in the sand.
Amber dropped back onto her rear and looked at the ruined tool in her hand and then at the intact lock. With anger rising in her, she threw the tool at the chest and kicked the locked several times with the heel of her boot, cursing it and all the locked chests like it. Her final kick slipped off the lock as it popped free of the latch which held it in place.
“Amber, you have a talent for this,” She whispered out loud and clapped her hands together.
She grabbed the edge of the lid and lifted it open. The lid fell back on its hinges, revealing a mass of scarlet and white ruffled material. Amber thrust her hands into the middle of the material and pulled it free. Standing, she held the mass of fabric in her hands and let it fall, revealing a dress covered in small silver buttons and patches of lace. She held it up to her body for a moment and then tossed it to the deck and looked in the chest again.
Amber was struck, transfixed by what she saw. Hidden beneath the dress was a shimmering mound of treasure, the largest collection of gold and silver coins, colorful gems and countless golden pieces that she had ever seen, and she was stunned by the sight of it. With her vision swimming in tears, she began to dig though the mound, shoving pieces aside and picking up others, examining them with her experienced eye and separating the items into a take and leave pile.
She grabbed the items in the take pile and dropped them into her pack, laughing with glee as she did so. She lifted the pack after every couple of handfuls to gauge the weight and went back to get another handful of valuables.
Amber paused when she saw what was uncovered by her last grab. Nestled in the depression she had created, lay a clear diamond the size of a small chicken’s egg. She dropped her pack against the side of the chest, and reached into it, brushing aside the gold coins that lay against it. Picking it up, she wrapped her hand around it and brought it out into the little light that there was and held it up between her finger and her thumb into one of the light beams and looked at it closely. The surface of the gem sparkled and cast rainbows reflections around the area.
Suddenly, the ship lurched forward. Amber lost her footing and the diamond slipped out from between her fingertips and slid across the deck. The ship lurched again, and a deep rumbling echoed through the cramped quarters of the hold. Amber fell onto her hands and knees and crawled after the diamond. With the last movement of the ship the diamond slid again.
“No…” Amber screamed as the diamond disappeared through a hole in a missing piece of floorboard.
* * * *
When the ship lurched to one side, Kyle lost his footing and slid on the sandy deck. He slipped past Legan, who grabbed him just as the ship rocked back in the opposite direction.
“What-what is going on?” Kyle asked when Legan helped him back to his feet and pushed him against the railing.
“I don’t know, but you hold onto that. I need to find that foolish thief of yours,” Legan said and moved toward the broken hole in the deck.
When the ship lurched again and the deep rumbling sound vibrated through the ship, Kyle looked over the railing and down the side of the hull. One of the holes made by a missing plank in the hull, was closer to the sand line. Kyle leaned out further, hoping to get a better view and his suspicions were confirmed. Along the line where the ship met the sand, the sand was giving way and the ship was sinking.
Jumping back onto the deck, Kyle wheeled around to yell to Legan. I’ve got to warn him.
Legan was gone.
* * * *
Legan groped along the floor, scanning in the near darkness for the way to get to the hold. He moved along the inside hull, using the supports as hand and foot holds. The angle of the deck seemed to be increasing and the combination groaning and grinding sound didn’t make him feel much better. Something was happening to the ship and with the bow moving downward and the aft end doing the opposite, it was obvious what was going on.
The ship was sinking and he was below decks looking for Amber.
“Amber,” He called.
“I’m down here.”
Legan looked in the direction of her voice and saw the tip of the ladder, just as Amber had before. He moved as quickly as possible in that direction, his foot slipping once or twice, but his strong hands held fast onto the dry timbers. He worked his way around and made it to the ladder, grabbing hold and dropping down into the hull.
He saw Amber lying on the floor. It appeared she was missing her arm.
No. It looked that way from the angle where he was standing. He shuffled to her side and saw that her arm was thrust through a hole in the planking.
“Amber, we’ve got to get out of here. The ship is sinking in the sand. Whatever you’re reaching for, forget it.”
“I can’t,” she grunted, the sand near her face blown away by her breath.
“What do you mean?”
“My hand is pinned. When the ship shifted something broke and pinned me behind my elbow and behind my hand. I can’t pull free.”
Suddenly, a large patch of the wooden hull off to their right splintered and sand began pouring in, filling in the spaces and sweeping along the floor. The ship groaned again and a loose piece of wood slid on the floor toward the bow, it caught on a rough spot and began tumbling until it disappeared into the darkness.
Legan slipped his fingers into the hole where Amber’s arm was trapped and pulled on the edges, straining with all of his strength. Veins sprung from his skin and his face turned a bright red but the planking wouldn’t give way. He repositioned himself and tried again, but to no avail.
“I could go out and get my axe. It would make short work of this wood,” he said, the strength running out of his words as he looked at the rising sand coming in through a second hole in the hull.
“I have a better idea, get Kyle off this ship. Get him to safety.” Amber said.
“I’m not going to leave you here,” Legan said and positioned himself to once more try to pull on the stubborn wood in the floor. He suddenly felt something grab his ankle and saw that Amber’s free hand was wrapped around it.
“Legan, go. Please. Kyle will need your help. You need to protect him from whatever is lying in wait for him-us. Go.”
Legan saw the tears in her eyes, and started toward her.
“Go. Legan, now,” she screamed, pounding the deck with her fist.
Legan heard the splintering of wood behind him and moved off toward the ladder, grabbing hold where he could until he made it to the ladder. The bow of the ship was dark, any cracks or holes were filled with the rushing sand.
“I’ll see you again,” he whispered and climbed up the ladder, his footsteps masked by the sound of rushing sand.
* * * *
“Where’s Amber?” Kyle said, pulling Legan onto the steeply pitched deck. He looked into the hole and shifted to see deeper into the opening.
“She was trapped. Caught up on something. She told me to go. To make sure you got off the ship.”
“What? We’ve got to help her.” Kyle pushed past Legan and moved to the edge of the hole.
/> Legan grabbed Kyle by the back of his shirt and kicked the feet out from under him. Kyle fell, but was supported by the dwarf, who dragged him quickly across the deck. Fighting the whole way to the railing, Kyle clawed and tried to get out of the strong dwarf’s grasp. Finally they stopped and Kyle was able to regain his footing once again. He spun around and the dwarf grabbed him once again, this time by the front of his clothes and tossed him over the railing.
Kyle fell, escaping injury as he thudded against the hull and tumbled away, down the mounds of sand that had built up around the sinking ship. Legan took a long look at the jagged hole in the deck. He stepped toward the hole and stopped. Shaking his head, he climbed over the railing and dropped to the sandy ground below.
He staggered away from the ship and caught Kyle in his arms trying to fight his way back aboard.
“We can’t leave…We can’t…” he screamed at the dwarf, their faces inches apart.
“It’s too late, lad.” Legan said softly and held Kyle in his arms as the ship splintered with a dull creaking sound and disappeared beneath the sandy surface.
Kyle fought his way free of the dwarf’s grasp. He stumbled in the direction of where the ship slipped below the surface, but stopped short, an uneasy feeling coming over him. He watched the sand waver as the wooden vessel sank deeper below them. He waited a long time, silent, staring at the place where the ship had once lay and was now gone, hoping he would see Amber fight to the surface.
The shadows grew longer as the sun crept closer to the horizon. Finally, Kyle turned, found his pack and slung it over his shoulder.
How could he let her die like that?
With a smoldering glare in Legan’s direction, he set his jaw, turned and headed off into the wastes in the direction of Oldenmill.
She died because of me.
Chapter Sixteen
Jennifer leaned against the stone wall, her butt sore and asleep, but she didn’t move an inch. She breathed in measured doses, slow and steady. She watched the moonlight travel along the floor and halfway up the opposite wall.
As she watched, she listened.
I’m alone.
She continued breathing and listening for a while longer.
Slowly, carefully, she pulled the small bit of metal from its hiding place and gripped it between her thumb and forefinger. She laid it against an inner seam of her dress and began to saw back and forth.
Cocking her head, she listened a final time and then started tearing her first cloth strip.
* * * *
“Arrrgh” Delas grunted, pushing away the scrolls spread out across the table. She rubbed her eyes, and looked over at Adam, who was slumped over in his chair, eyes closed. His chest slowly heaved in sleep. She examined his features, cataloging his good looks. Her eyes lingered for a few long moments before she turned back to the mass of scrolls and the small stack of books on the edge of the table.
“All this effort, for what?” she asked quietly, careful not to wake Adam. She stepped back from the table and paced, stretching her sleepy legs, stopping to rub the pins and needles away with her hands.
It had been three days since they’d managed to get inside the building and locate the histories and information on Gnorepenne. They’d spent most of the time staying in the shadows, avoiding other students. They soon found out that the sub-basement level where they were studying was entirely absent from other students. They hadn’t heard so much as a footstep in the last day and a half.
With the feeling returning to her legs, Delas stepped back to the table and thought about waking Adam up to send him out for some fresh food. They’d worked out a system where they alternated leaving the building while the other waited inside the front door until their return. Since neither one had the correct talisman to open the magic locks from the outside, only one could leave at any one time, and it was Adam’s turn to go.
As she reached out to touch Adam’s shoulder, a voice broke the quiet of the library storage. “Have you found what you came looking for?”
Delas stopped in mid-reach and pulled her hand back. She turned and standing next to one of the shelves covered in dusty tomes and leather-bound cylinders was the elder man in the blue robe they saw the morning they tried to enter through the admission office.
Under the harsh light of the oil lamp on the table and the enchanted spheres placed in metal holders against the walls, he looked older now.
“Have you lost the power of speech, young lady?” he tried again.
Delas opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Finally, she cleared her throat, and after a pregnant pause she spoke.
“No, no, I haven’t. Yes, we have found what we have been looking for, thank you, Sir. We were just finishing up here. My friend was making notes all night, and was exhausted. So I didn’t wake him up to return to the living quarters.” Delas said, willing her voice to stay even and steady.
“I would say that is quite impossible,” the elder man said, stepping away from the dusty shelves and walked toward Delas. “You can’t return to the living quarters since you two are not students here. You are an apprentice of the Guild of the Rose, a guild that has ceased to exist, and unless I miss my guess, your sleeping friend there is not part of any guild. He looks to be someone who is used to a life of labor.”
Delas’ mind was racing. Who was this man?
As if to answer her question, he continued, “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Thomas Akilea, of the Guild of the Silver Dagger.”
At the mention of the Guild’s name, Delas gripped Adam’s shoulder hard. He snapped awake, on guard. His eyes grew wide when he saw the man in the blue robe standing before them.
“Do not be concerned young man,” he said. He pointed a finger at Delas.
“The paths of our pasts have crossed and I believe the road to the future-all of our futures-will find us intertwined as well.”
With a wave of his hand, the old man turned and started walking, a pronounced limp on his right side. “Come, we must talk.”
* * * *
The office was small and cluttered with piles of books, scrolls and papers stacked along the walls and on the shelves of tall bookcases. The ceiling was arched, with varied carvings in the stonework set in the ceiling and around the pillars supporting the stonework. In an alcove in one of the walls was a small fireplace large enough to warm a kettle of water and take the chill from the room but little more. To the right of the fireplace was an intricately carved, oaken desk with a chair neatly tucked underneath and two straight-backed chairs in front of it. Thomas slipped behind the desk, maneuvering his leg deftly, as if he had done it countless times before, and flopped himself in the chair. He waved to his two companions, stopped in the doorway, and gestured at the wooden chairs facing him. Delas looked at Adam who shrugged his shoulders and settled into one of the chairs.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” the old man said, waving at the door.
Delas closed the door and then settled into the other straight-backed chair next to Adam.
Thomas leaned forward, interlocked his fingers and rested his hands on the desktop.
“I’m sorry. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t have the manners to ask your names,” Thomas said.
Delas introduced Adam and herself.
Thomas nodded and looked from Delas to Adam and then lowered his head and sighed.
“Where to begin. First, as I told you, my name is Thomas Akilea, and I was on the elder council of the Guild of the Silver Dagger.” He raised his head. “You look surprised young man. Why is that?”
Adam closed his mouth and paused before speaking. “The emblem on the silver buttons, that’s your crest isn’t it?”
“Silver but-are you speaking of uniform buttons with a dagger horizontal under the letter ‘C’? Yes, those were the buttons on the uniforms of our guards...couriers, assassins...what have you.”
Adam stood and his chair barked on the rough wooden floor. “It was those buttons that started this whole mess with
my friend.”
“Sit down, sit down. I’m afraid this may be much bigger than the recovery of a few silver buttons. I pray it is not, and I am wasting our time here. “
Thomas rose from his chair and turned, looking into the modest fire in the hearth.
“Tell me, have the artifacts been found?”
“I…I’m not sure what…” Adam attempted, but Thomas cut him off.
“We are not playing childish games here. These are unfortunate times and there may be dark days ahead for not only our lands, but the lands beyond the seas. If you are willing to be honest with me, I will be the same and perhaps we can find a solution to the situation we find ourselves in. Agreed? Agreed?”
Delas cleared her throat and agreed for both of them.
Thomas repeated his question.
“Kyle found the medallion,” Adam whispered.
“Kyle? Who is Kyle?” Thomas asked.
Delas and Adam looked at each other and chuckled at their foolishness.
“Adam, why don’t you tell Thomas the story?” Delas said.
For the next hour, Adam proved to be a skilled storyteller. He told the story starting from the beginning, making it clear to Thomas part of the story was told to him by Kyle. The tale grew richer and the details sharper when he moved beyond the point where he arrived at the stone cottage on Kyle’s family farm. When he spoke of their meeting of Delas on the Barrow Road, he didn’t tell Delas’ story of the fate of her Guild and why she was on the Road traveling. He paused his story and for both Adam in telling it and Delas still affected by it, it was an awkward moment.
“I will explain the Guild of the Silver Dagger and what they were responsible for. I assure you, as heart wrenching as your losses were, what is to come will dwarf them by a factor of hundreds...perhaps thousands of times worse.”
Thomas offered them tea, which they refused, and grasping a cloth, pulled the steaming kettle from the edge of the fire. He poured the liquid into a glazed ceramic cup.
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