The bull of a man is pressing Jiron, who now only has one knife and is reluctant to close with him. He’s trying to stay just out of reach and stall for time, hoping that Tinok can finish with his two and come to his aid.
James scans the room but the only stones he can find to use are the ones near the collapsed passageway, and he is unable to reach them due to the fighting.
He tries to think of some sort of a spell he can use when he sees Jiron fall to the ground and the man raise his sword to finish him off. Cassie screams.
Seeing his chance, he releases the power and the man is picked up and thrown against the wall. Bones can be heard breaking as he connects with it. He slides to the ground, the tapestry that had once hung on the wall, falls with him, covering him as if it’s his death shroud.
James looks to Tinok as one of his attackers falls to the ground, the man’s tunic under his left arm, now red as his life’s blood flows from him. Tinok easily parries a series of attacks from the remaining soldier, before slicing him across the forearm, causing him to drop his sword. He twists and with his other knife, comes in and thrusts between the ribs, piercing his heart.
As the last attacker falls, Tinok turns and looks at Jiron, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he replies, “my arm’s a bit numb but it’s beginning to get its feeling back. You?”
Shrugging, he says, “Got a couple cuts, but nothing major.” He turns to James and says, “Now what? With the passage blocked we got nowhere to go.”
“I don’t know,” he admits, “let me rest a second and we’ll see what I can come up with.”
They sit down while James considers the options. Jiron walks over to the large man, looking closely at him. “I’ve never seen someone so big,” he says to the rest of the group.
“I thought he had you for a second there,” Tinok says. He picks up Jiron’s knife from the floor and hands it to him.
“Me too,” agrees Jiron as he takes the knife. Turning to James he says, “That was sure some spell you used. Why did you wait so long?”
“I am new to this magic business and as long as you were in close contact with him, I couldn’t do it without possibly hurting you as well.”
Nodding, Jiron glances back at the giant. Then his eye catches something on the wall, behind where the tapestry had hung. “Look at this!” he says, waving everyone over.
On the wall is an indentation in the form of the Star of Morcyth. When James sees it, he unconsciously grabs the medallion through his shirt.
“Wonder what it is?” Cassie asks.
“I don’t know,” admits Jiron. “Strange how we never noticed it before.”
“It’s the Star of Morcyth,” James explains.
They all turn toward him and Delia asks, “The star of what?”
“The Star of Morcyth,” repeats James. He reaches in and takes out the medallion, showing it to them. Looking around as if for the first time, he says, “And this must be part of the High Temple of Morcyth that was destroyed centuries ago.”
He removes the medallion from around his neck and goes over to the wall, placing it within the indentation. It’s a perfect fit.
From behind them, they hear the sound of stone scraping on stone. Turning around, they are surprised to discover a section of the floor sliding over to reveal a staircase leading down.
“I’ll be damned,” Tinok says.
“Maybe it’s a way out,” suggests Cassie.
“Don’t know,” says James as his glowing orb appears in his hand. “But there’s only one way to find out.” He goes over and begins to descend the steps.
The rest glance at each other and then follow him down.
Chapter Two
Fourteen steps take them down to a hallway that runs for a hundred feet before ending at a door. James can see another indentation, similar to the one found in the room above them, carved into the door. Taking the medallion, he places the face of it within the indentation and the door begins to silently swing open.
The first thing they notice when the door swings open is a four foot high white marble pedestal standing in the center of the room. Centered on top of it is a small, raised platform which looks to be made entirely of crystal.
James is the first to enter the room and a soft light springs to life, growing until it illuminates every corner. It seems to come from the very walls themselves. The room is octagonal in shape, with no discernible exit except the doorway he just passed through. The walls are unadorned, just plain ordinary stone, the floor is simply dirt. The only thing of interest in the room is the pedestal.
“James,” Delia asks as she crosses into the room after him, “just what is this place?”
“I don’t know,” he replies. “I’ve never been here before.”
When Cassie enters the room, she goes over and comes close to the pedestal, looking closely at the crystal platform on top of it. She runs a finger over it and says, “Remarkable.”
“What?” Jiron asks as he comes over to her.
“Oh, just never saw such a large piece of solid crystal before,” she replies, still fascinated by it.
Jiron turns to James and asks, “Do you think there may be another way out of here?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he says, “Maybe, after all the High Priest would have wanted a way to get out in emergencies.” He starts to examine the walls and floor. Remembering the last time back in Merchant’s Pass, the ceiling as well, but to no avail.
“It looks like something at one time rested upon this platform,” she announces.
They all come over and she explains. “Here in the middle,” she indicates the center of the crystal platform, “it looks as if something could have rested in there.”
James closely inspects it and can see a place where something might have at one time rested upon it. There’s an open space within its center in the shape of an inverted pyramid. “Wonder what it could have been,” he wonders. Pressing down on the platform, he halfway expected something to happen and is disappointed when nothing does.
He turns away from the pedestal and once more resumes the search for a hidden door.
“What are we looking for?” Delia asks.
“Something that will trigger a release and open a secret door,” explains James. “Of course, there’s no guarantee that there will be one.”
Cassie, still intrigued by the crystal platform, tries to lift it up and it easily lifts off the pedestal. “Look!” she cries excitedly.
Everyone turns at her cry and sees her there with the crystal platform in her hand. James rushes over and looks where the platform once rested. There again is the indentation in the shape of the Star of Morcyth. Removing his medallion once more, he sets the face of it within the indentation.
The pedestal begins to sink silently into the floor, while at the same time a section of the walls across the room from where they entered, begins to rise up into the ceiling. The opening reveals a crudely formed tunnel leading away into darkness.
To Cassie, James says, “Replace the platform.” To everyone else he says, “Let’s hurry, no way to know if it will close again on its own.”
They all hurry toward the tunnel and when Cassie replaces the platform, the section of the wall begins to slide once more back down toward the floor as the pedestal begins rising. She runs quickly to get to the passageway before it closes completely and has to duck her head in order to clear it as she passes through.
Once the wall closes, leaving them in total darkness, James makes his glowing orb which gives them ample light to see their way down the passageway. Taking the lead, he follows it for several hundred feet, until it comes to an end. An old wooden ladder is there, leading up out of sight, into the darkness above.
Jiron says, “Let me check it out,” as he elbows James aside and climbs the ladder. He disappears into the darkness above while everyone waits at the bottom of the ladder for his return. A minute passes and then from above they hear him say, “Come on up, it’s safe.”
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James begins to climb the steps of the ladder, with the girls following and Tinok bringing up the rear. Upon reaching the top, James finds that they are now in another deserted basement. He looks around as the rest make their way up, and sees Jiron over at a door fiddling with the lock.
Coming over to him, he says, “Locked?”
Without halting what he is doing, Jiron says, “Yeah, but I should have it open in a sec.”
James sees him using two small, thin, metal tools on the lock. Just after everyone gets up from the tunnel below, he hears a ‘click’, and Jiron opens the door as he turns to James with a satisfied smile on his face.
“Good job,” congratulates James.
“Thanks,” he replies. Opening the door, Jiron steps through, followed closely by James.
On the other side, they find themselves in a small, deserted alley, wedged in tightly between two buildings. “Do you know where we are?” James asks him.
“I think so,” replies Jiron. “If I’m right, it isn’t far to where we can get out of the city.”
“I hope you’re right,” James says as he follows him down the alley.
Following the alley, they soon come to where it opens upon another, slightly larger one. Jiron holds up his hand for them to wait as he peers around the corner. He steps out into the larger alley and signals for them to follow.
He turns left down the new alley, hugging the side as they make their way carefully and quietly to where the alley intersects with a main thoroughfare. He has everyone stop and then motions for James to come closer. “Look down there,” he whispers to him, pointing down the thoroughfare.
James looks where he’s indicating and sees a gate. “Yeah?” he asks.
“Earlier when I was out, I saw some workmen trying to repair it,” he explains. “I think they damaged it during their attack and may not have had the time to repair it. If we act quickly, we should be able to get through before anyone realizes we’re no longer in our hideout back at the park.”
“You may be right,” James acknowledges. “Once they realize we’re loose, we won’t stand a chance of sneaking out.” He looks down the road toward the gate and doesn’t see any guards.
“They don’t have any guards posted,” Jiron says. “I think they’re arrogant in their own superiority. They probably don’t believe anyone would be foolhardy enough to try to sneak out with thousands of troops stationed around the city.”
“What’s on the other side of the gate?” he asks.
“A large courtyard that separates this gate from the one leading out of the city,” he explains.
“What if that gate is shut and locked?” James asks.
“Last night they left it open,” Jiron tells him. “I guess they see no reason to keep it closed because there is no one to keep out.”
“Yeah, who would be stupid enough to come visit?” James reasons.
“Exactly,” Jiron agrees. “Last night, there were horses picketed in the courtyard that we may be able to appropriate if they’re still there.”
“Alright,” James says, “you sold me. Let’s not spend the night here jabbering. Let’s get the heck out of here!”
“Follow me,” Jiron says as he takes one last look around and then cautiously makes his way over to the gate. The rest of them quickly follow until they’re all huddled by the gate. Jiron pulls on the gate and it swings open, squeaking slightly on rusty hinges.
He pulls it open just far enough to allow them to squeeze through and holds it open until everyone else has made it to the other side. He follows the last person through and closes it again until it once more appears shut.
James looks around the courtyard but the horses that Jiron had mentioned are no longer there. The courtyard is not completely empty either, there are four cook fires spaced around the courtyard, each with several soldiers hanging around them. Pulling Jiron close, he points to the enemy soldiers and says, “There’s no way we’re going to make it across there without them seeing us.”
“Maybe we need a distraction,” he suggests.
“Like what?” James asks.
“I don’t know,” he shrugs, “what can you do?”
“How about a big explosion with lots of fire and noise?” offers James.
Jiron breaks out into a big smile and says, “I think that may do.”
“All right, you guys wait here and I’ll be right back.” James slips back out the gate and runs up the street several blocks and enters a vacant building.
After several minutes, Jiron sees him coming back and holds open the gate for him. “You okay?” he asks when he sees how he’s not walking quite straight.
“The spell took a lot out of me,” he says, pausing before passing through the gate. “I should be okay in a little bit.” He then passes through to the other side and Jiron once more shuts the gate.
They wait several minutes and nothing happens. They wait several more and still nothing happens.
Jiron looks to James and asks “Are you sure you…”
Crumph!!!!!
The concussion of the blast knocks them down and a giant plume of fire reaches toward the sky. Several buildings surrounding the explosion begin to collapse from the sheer force of the blast. The soldiers in the courtyard are knocked to the ground and James can hear their cries of shock as they see the sky light up with fire. Once they regain their feet, they race off toward the sound of the explosion, leaving the courtyard empty.
“Damn!” Tinok says as he looks at the fireball reaching to the sky.
“Let’s go,” James says in astonishment as he races to the gates leading to the outside of the city. His legs are a little shaky but are able to keep up the pace. Debris begins to hail down upon them as they make for the gates, dirt and stones falling from the sky pelt them as they cross the courtyard.
Delia cries out when a sizeable stone strikes her in the left shoulder, knocking her to the ground.
Tinok comes to her aid. “Are you okay?” he asks as he helps her to her feet.
“Not really, but I can make it,” she says with determination as they hurry to follow after the others.
When they reach the gates, they discover that there’s a section still missing, allowing easy access to the outside. They hurry quickly through to the other side, where they pause momentarily as they see men racing toward the city from all over the countryside in response to the blast.
Staying close to the wall, they hide in the shadows as they begin making their way away from the gates. Jiron grabs James’ shoulder and says, “Look, over there.” He points to a section of the enemy’s camp off to the south.
Scanning the direction Jiron’s indicating, James sees several horses tied to a tree near a group of tents. Fortune! They’re all saddled. A large campfire is burning in a pit near them, bathing the entire area in light. They’ll have to make their way through some of the camp in order to get to them.
“With everyone running to see what’s up in the city,” Jiron says, “we should be able to get the horses with little trouble.”
“Let’s hope so,” James says apprehensively. “If anyone’s looking when we enter the light, we could have problems.”
“We’ve got little choice,” Tinok says when he joins them. “We’ll never get far on foot.”
Turning to Tinok, James says, “Jiron and I will get the horses, you stay and protect the ladies until we return.”
He waits for Tinok’s nod and then he and Jiron run toward the horses. When they get close, James sees that there are a total of seven horses. They slow down and approach more cautiously when they’re close to being illuminated by the fire. They edge around the fringe of the light, trying to get as close to the horses before entering the light and risk being seen.
When they’re as close as possible, James looks around and sees that no one’s in the vicinity. Signaling Jiron, they both hurry over and begin untying horses as fast as they can.
The horses begin making noises as they hurry about their
work and all of a sudden, the flap of the closest tent opens up and a man peeks out. “What are you men doing with my horse?” he asks with an edge to his voice as he exits the tent and begins to approach them. He’s wearing a plain cowled robe with the hood thrown back revealing shoulder length red hair. His eyes are dark and James can see anger smoldering behind those eyes.
James glances to Jiron and they both come to the same decision. Jiron’s knives flash in the firelight as they spring to the ready. James takes a stone he had in his pocket and casting his spell, unleashes the magic as he throws it at the approaching man.
The instant before the stone leaves James’ hand, the man flicks his wrist. When the stone nears him, it hits a barrier and ricochets away into the night.
Startled by the ineffectiveness of the stone, James hesitates a moment, trying to understand what had just happened.
“The mage!” the man cries out in shock, then his eyes get a calculating look.
Jiron launches himself at the man, knives flashing in a whirling pattern. As if he was dealing with an annoying fly, the man waves his hand toward him.
James feels a prickling along his skin as he watches Jiron being lifted off the ground and thrown a dozen feet away. Understanding comes, He’s a mage too! James directs his magic to the ground under the mage’s feet and lets it flow.
Crumph!!!!!
The ground explodes upward with incredible force. When the dust clears enough, James sees the man still standing there untouched. A three foot diameter of ground remains undisturbed beneath him.
“Is that all you have?” the man asks with contempt, words heavy in accent. He swirls his hand and it begins glowing red then he flicks it at James. A red light flashes toward him, striking him hard in the chest, knocking him backward onto the ground.
As the man makes his way through the crater that surrounds him, he says to James, “I was expecting more of a challenge, how disappointing.”
James lays there unable to breathe, gasping as he tries to take in a breath. He sees a knife fly through the air out of the dark toward the mage, but it hits an invisible protective shield and bounces harmlessly away, landing on the ground.
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