“Where is it we go?” Jerico asked near the end of the first day as they stopped at a spring for their horses to rest and drink.
“They call it the Castle of Caves,” Kaide said. “Though it’s more a prison than anything. Arthur’s been holed up there for years, wary of guests and allowing in only those he approves. Always living in fear of his brother’s assassins, though I’ve heard only rumors of any actual attempts. Arthur’s never done anything outward to give Sebastian justification for open battle between them.”
“You said Arthur’s disgraced. How so?”
Kaide stroked the neck of his horse, who was still breathing heavily from the ride.
“Not sure. He’s the older brother, and should have inherited the Northlands instead of Sebastian. Something ill happened between Arthur and his father, right before he died. I don’t know what, and there’s plenty of rumors saying Sebastian’s actually to blame. The wealth and power passed over him. Arthur could have fought for it, but instead he retreated to his castle. It wasn’t until I came to him, revealing Sebastian’s dishonorable actions in Ashvale, that he agreed to help me in any way.”
“Will he do so now?”
Kaide chuckled.
“He wouldn’t even give us steel weapons for fear they could point back to him. He’s a careful man, but I feel there’s honor in him. I’m hoping you can instill a bit of fire into his heart, since you paladins seem talented at that. I don’t want secrecy any longer. I want a war.”
“You’re certain he should have been the rightful lord?”
“Without a doubt,” Kaide said.
Jerico nodded.
“Good enough for me. Let us hear what he has to say.”
They continued northwest, toward the great ocean that formed the western edge of all of Dezrel. The ride was long, two weeks of hills broken by intermittent forests. At least the road was well-cared for, and remained so by the many people they encountered on their way.
“Plenty of trade in the North,” Kaide had said at one point, after they’d sneaked off the path to remain unseen by a large caravan guarded by Sebastian’s men. “Our towns practically survive off it. Makes the winters particularly harsh.”
“Durham was the same,” said Jerico. “But we at least had the river.”
“No rivers here,” Kaide said, his knife hand twitching at the sight of the loaded wagon. “Just blood and gold.”
Twice more they had to shy off the path as they approached the Castle of Caves, through no fault of Sebastian’s. Men, either dark paladins or priests, rode with the standard of Karak upon their horses. Jerico kept off the road, watching them pass.
“I never heard reason for our hiding,” Kaide asked one night as they camped.
“All forces of Karak hunt for my kind,” Jerico said, the words foul on his tongue. “I fear I’m the last. The Citadel has fallen, and with it went the vast bulk of my order. Whoever is left is like me, alone and in hiding.”
“You’re terrible at hiding, then.”
“I’m at the side of bandits. Who would look for a paladin there?”
Kaide laughed.
“Now I wonder … how much of a reward could I get for turning you over? I’m a good barterer. Maybe I could fund an entire mercenary army with what they’d pay, especially if you’re the last.”
Jerico threw his bread at him.
“You’re not amusing.”
Kaide shot him a wink.
“If you say so.”
At a fork in the road, they traveled west instead of north. The path immediately grew wilder, much of it covered with a thin layer of dying grass. The land, which had evened out for a few miles, once more rose into many clusters of hills. Atop the tallest loomed a castle built of gray stone.
“That it?” Jerico asked, pointing.
“That’s it.”
Before they could reach the gate, a patrol rode out to meet them, four men on horseback. They appeared on edge, but kept their swords sheathed as they formed a circle about them. Their crimson armor bore the standard of the Hemman family, except the rose was violet instead of yellow.
“What brings you to the caves?” asked their leader.
“I’ve come for a stay in your dungeons,” Kaide said, all smiles. “Tell your lord the man from Ashvale comes, and has brought a guest.”
The gruff man seemed unimpressed.
“Keep your weapons at your sides,” he said. “If you want to see our dungeons, then come with me.”
Instead of leading them to the main gate, they veered off the path at a hurried pace. Jerico wondered what was going on, but then the horsemen pulled up.
“My thanks for the escort,” Kaide said, kneeling down in the grass. “Take care of our horses, will you?”
His hands searched, and then he lifted up a trap door hidden underneath a layer of dirt. Jerico looked around, realizing the men had them surrounded and hidden with the bodies of their horses.
“Tight fit with your armor,” Kaide said, sitting down and then sliding in feet first. “I trust you’ll manage.”
And then he vanished into the tunnel. Tightening the straps that held the shield against his back, Jerico took a deep breath and then followed. The tunnel was steeper than he expected, and he more fell than crawled into it. When his feet touched solid ground, the trapdoor closed above them. In the darkness, they heard thuds as the men covered up the entrance.
“No torches,” Kaide said. “Not for a while. Just take careful steps, and keep your hand against the wall.”
Instead, Jerico pulled his shield free and held it before him. The blue-white light bathed them both, easily illuminating the tunnel.
“Hrm,” Kaide said, raising an eyebrow. “That works too.”
“Lead on,” Jerico said. “I’d hate to keep our gracious host waiting.”
“Keep the sarcasm to a limit,” Kaide said as he walked ahead, his left hand still touching the wall as if he feared the light of Jerico’s shield could fade at any time. The whole while, the floor slanted sharply downward. “Arthur’s not much for joking of any kind. Terribly serious man, but not much to do about that now. He’s always had me come through this tunnel ever since I began my raids on Sebastian’s men. Like I said before, he’s a careful one.”
“Is this cave natural?” Jerico asked, inspecting the walls closer.
“This one? Probably not. There’s at least twenty tunnels I know of. I’m sure the early ones were, but even those have been worked and extended. In the span of minutes, the entire castle could vanish underground, and I pity the poor sods stuck trying to chase after them.”
Around a curve the tunnel expanded immensely. They entered what seemed like a great hall of an underworld king. Stalactites, some at least twenty feet in length, stretched from the ceiling like teeth in the jaws of an ancient beast. In the light of his shield, the rocks sparkled, showing a hundred different crystals Jerico had never before seen. On either side of their path the stone ended abruptly, and Jerico’s light could not pierce the darkness below. The stone bridge had a single rope running across its center, both ends firmly nailed, and Kaide grabbed it to steady himself.
“Step carefully,” Kaide said, and he laughed at Jerico’s blank stare. “What? You aren’t afraid of a little fall, are you?”
Jerico glanced into the chasm, and a shiver ran through him.
“Not before today,” he said.
“Put your shield away if you’ll feel better. Just use the rope to guide you.”
“I’d rather see.”
The bandit shrugged.
“If I was to fall to my death, I’d prefer not to see the ground coming. Up to you, though.”
The paladin ground his teeth.
“You’re not helping.”
Kaide walked along the stone bridge across the chasm, eventually vanishing beyond the reach of the shield’s light. Praying to Ashhur for the steadiest footing known to man, Jerico began crossing. The bridge was several feet wide, and it felt sturdy enough wh
en he stepped. But the stone itself was wet, for water dripped from ceiling as if it were a lazy rain. The thought of a single slip, a lost grip on a rope, all leading to a very, very long fall …
“You still alive?” Kaide called out, his voice echoing.
“Yes,” Jerico said, unable to muster a worthy retort to such a stupid question.
Halfway across he felt something smack against his shoulder. He immediately froze, and had to choke down his cry so Kaide would not hear. It was a rope, just a rope, though what it hung from he had no clue. Deciding that just for once they could have used the front gate, he continued. When reaching the other side, Jerico hurried the last few steps, beyond relieved to be inside another, much smaller, tunnel. Kaide clapped him on the back, then pointed back toward the bridge.
“Feel that rope?” he asked. “When I first came here, I was told that if you pulled it and held, it’d collapse enough stones from the ceiling to crush the bridge into a thousand pieces. Like I said, I pity the fools trying to give chase through here.”
Jerico pushed further ahead into the tunnel, wanting nothing more to do with the chasms. He hoped Kaide didn’t notice the slight shaking of his shield as he held it aloft for light.
“How much farther?” he asked.
“Not far.”
Sure enough, the cave angled upward, then ended with an iron door. There was no handle of any kind, and when Jerico pressed against it, it lacked the slightest give.
“Locked and barred from the inside,” Kaide explained. “Just in case someone gets too clever. Bang on it a few times. The jailor will hear.”
“Jailor?”
Kaide looked at him as if he were dimwitted.
“I said we were visiting the dungeons, didn’t I?”
Jerico struck the door with his fist, hurting his ears with the loud clang of his platemail striking metal. After a wait, and an impatient gesture from Kaide, Jerico did so a second time.
A tiny slit in the door opened up, letting in a beam of light that fell upon Jerico’s breastplate.
“The man from Ashvale,” Kaide said, stepping in front of the paladin. “And a friend.”
“You know the password?”
“I know you, One-Eye, and you know me. Now open the damn door.”
“Was that the password?” Jerico asked as the slit shut, and they heard a heavy thud as the bolt on the other side was removed.
“Nah. I just like messing with One-Eye. One time he kept me waiting for an hour while he tried to convince Arthur that the king of Mordan was down here.”
“Why’d he think that?”
“Because that’s who I told him I was.”
The small, circular door opened, flooding the tunnel with light. Kaide exited first, then offered Jerico a hand. As the jailor dropped the door shut behind him, Jerico took in his surroundings. Sure enough, they were in a dungeon, albeit a small one. He saw only two cells, and both were empty. The walls were packed dirt instead of stone. The jailor himself was an ugly man with, true to his name, only one eye. The other was missing, and without an eye patch, the vacant slot made his face all the more grotesque.
“Is milord expecting you?” One-Eye asked.
“I don’t know. Should we go ask him if he is?”
One-Eye scratched his head.
“Guess that’s all right. You go find out if he is. I’d hate to bug him if he ain’t.”
“That’s a good man,” Kaide said, smacking One-Eye’s shoulder with an open palm. “Stay sharp. I heard something big following us in the tunnel. I think it’s a dagadoo.”
“You seen it, too?”
One-Eye clutched his club tightly with both hands.
“I heard it. You can, too, if you listen quietly enough. Come on, Jerico.”
Kaide led him toward the stairs out of the dungeon.
“Dagadoo?” Jerico asked.
Kaide shrugged.
“He’s been hunting it for a year now. One-Eye’s a half-orc, you know.”
Jerico glanced back at the big lug, who crouched atop the closed tunnel door with his ear pressed against the metal.
“Does that explain the … you know…”
“That and more.”
Two guards stood at the top of the stairs, each holding a spear. They appeared to have been waiting for them, and without a word, one gestured for them to follow. They walked through the castle, which appeared plain and open compared to the earthen beauty of the caverns. At last they reached the lord’s hall, which was just the throne, two benches, and many, many guards.
“Kaide,” the lord of the caves said upon their arrival, standing to greet the man.
“Arthur,” Kaide said, bowing low. Jerico did likewise.
Arthur was a tall man with a heavy beard. When he stood, it was with the perfectly straight posture of a man who had spent years among fighting men. His green eyes were youthful, though his beard betrayed a hint of gray.
“I see you have brought a guest,” Arthur said, his deep voice booming in the enclosed room. “Greetings, paladin of Ashhur. I ask the privilege of your name.”
“Jerico of the Citadel, your grace.”
“The Citadel? I’ve been hearing rumors of its collapse. Is there any truth to the matter, or are the peasant-folk spreading lies?”
“No lies,” Jerico said quietly. Arthur’s face softened.
“Accept my condolences. No man should lose his home. Perhaps some other time you may tell me the story of how it happened, if you even know it.”
“If you wish, milord.”
“Forgive me for the intrusion,” Kaide said, “but matters have pressed me beyond courtesy. Sebastian has gone too far, Arthur. His knights descended upon Stonahm, killed many, burned our crops, and raped our wives and daughters. Twice now he has brought ruin to my home, and I will stand for it no longer.”
Arthur sat down on his throne, plain wood stained a dark brown. His hand stroked a crease in the wood, a habit of thought.
“I have never denied my brother’s occasional brutality,” he said, sounding distracted.
“But this is beyond that. This was unprovoked, nothing but a vicious display to enforce his rule. Stories of it should be reaching your hall very soon, if they have not already. I’ve sown with gold and coin a hundred seeds of rebellion, and now is the time for them to sprout. The people are ready to rise against him. They just need a name, a leader to call them to action.”
“And I wonder, why is that not you?” Arthur asked, leaning back in his chair. “The common folk love you. They tell stories of such generosity that show either they are mad to believe them, or you are mad to have done them. You would have me depose my brother, and then what? Set you up as a lord of some sort? Hand the realm over to you, so I may return to my caves? Or will those same people yearning for rebellion find the stories changed, so that I am now the villain?”
“I seek vengeance against Sebastian,” Kaide said, struggling to remain calm. “That is all I desire. You know this.”
“Aye, I do. And I know that vengeance is blinding, and once it is met, a hole remains. What will you see when your sight returns?”
“I’ll see my daughter,” Kaide said softly. “The one Sebastian’s men ravaged only two weeks prior. My men will lay down their arms, and we will return to our homes. I’ll fill that hole you speak of with the love of my Beth, the only child I have left of my precious wife. My wife, whom your brother killed. Do not doubt my loyalty, my aims, or my honor. It is you who should have ruled the North, you who could have prevented all of this. I ask that you do so now.”
Arthur pressed his knuckles against his lips as he thought. His eyes flickered between the two of them. Jerico felt the air about him thicken, and the guards seemed nervous. No doubt Kaide speaking of Arthur’s denied inheritance was a grievous breach of protocol.
“Sebastian has thrice my number of soldiers,” he said at last. “He has all the coin, all the wealth, and all the land. Can your simple villagers make up for that? Can they
wield weapons on a battlefield, pay for our food, and lay siege to the Castle of the Yellow Rose?”
The slightest smile curled at Kaide’s lips.
“Just because we might not win doesn’t mean we are wrong to fight. Claim your inheritance, Arthur.”
Jerico’s mouth dropped a little. He couldn’t decide if Kaide had learned from what he’d said, or simply felt like using it because it furthered his cause. The paladin almost felt betrayed, though he knew it silly to think so.
The words had their effect on Arthur, though, far more than they had on Kaide. The lord sat up straighter in his chair, and he motioned for his guards.
“I will need time to think on this,” he said. “For you have given me much to think on. Until then, you will stay as guests in my castle, and have what little comforts I can afford. Sir Cyan, please, take them away.”
“With me,” said a dark-haired man, stepping from behind the lord’s throne. “I’ll escort you to your rooms.”
Their accommodation was simple, but acceptable, with the two to share a room. They flipped a coin to see who got the bed, Kaide winning. Jerico eyed the coin, suspecting trickery, but Kaide refused to say either way, denying the paladin the chance to know if he spoke truth or lie.
“Do you think Arthur will join us?” Jerico asked as he spread sheets across the cold floor and began taking off his armor.
“He’s easily manipulated, so long as you can tug at his sense of honor. Your earlier words did that pretty well, I think.”
“Nice to know I was needed.”
Kaide chuckled.
“Consider yourself emotional support. That, and having a paladin at my side does wonders to elevate my own status in the eyes of Arthur. Trust me on that. It makes it harder for him to see me as just a rugged, lawless bandit.”
“Even if that is what you are.”
“You’re free to leave at any time.”
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