by Mara Amberly
“So what now?” Knave asked, as bright light gave way to near-darkness inside. Even with patches of sunlight filtering down from a skylight above, it was hard to see.
“We rest and then follow our orders, I guess,” Cassia told him. She glanced around at their surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the difference in light.
“What about food and water?” he asked with a furrowed brow. “If we’re heading to the desert, we might need more supplies than we’ve been able to carry.”
Cassia didn’t seem as concerned. “I heard some of the Sisters talking and there’s a well here, but I think food may be limited. I know the senior Sisters brought some with them but everyone’s going to be looking for a share of it.” With a soft sigh, Cassia gave him a tired smile. “We’ll be alright. If we run out, we can return, though we need to make the best use of time that we can.”
Knave nodded. “Why don’t you just tell me what the secret is since we’re here now? There’s no natural way we could reach the desert all that quickly, unless you have abseiling in mind.”
Alexa grinned at that. “Well, Mount Bridha has tunnels to many places and some tunnels get you where you’re going faster than others.”
His brow furrowed at that. “Eh? I’m not sure I understand. Do these tunnels mess with time?”
She tilted her hand back and forth, indicating yes and no. “Distance seems to pass more quickly, while time seems slowed down in there. Effectively they’re short cuts to many places. The Painted Desert happens to be one of them. In fact, there are a number of tunnels that lead to the desert, so the Magister and I discussed which one might be the most appropriate.”
Cassia rubbed her eyes – it wasn’t just tiredness, they were damp from sweat and her hair kept clinging to her face.
“Which one did you decide on?” she asked Alexa.
“There were a few we were discussing. There’s a tunnel that comes out near a settlement north-east of Haledor. It was Magister Kelcedone’s opinion that we should avoid the city if possible, unless we need to travel there for information. Another tunnel comes out right in the centre of the desert. The tunnel we’ll be using comes out more or less midway between Haledor, Feidhlim and Zysa. There are records suggesting a manse was once housed near that location.”
Cassia tried to picture where that would put the tunnel’s end. As near as she could tell, it was in the middle of nowhere. “So you’re not sure there’s one there?”
Alexa shrugged. “A prophecy had a role to play in the decision. An Oracle named Lilian foresaw future events that had the potential to shape and destroy the kingdom. She wasn’t a Sister of Destiny, though she had many gifts of sight – until one day she disappeared. No one knows where she went, but her writings contained a series of symbols. It’s the belief of Magister Kelcedone that these may be the correct tunnels we should take to find the manses. These symbols don’t appear anywhere else together that we know about, but they’re on the walls here. One of the tunnels is the one we’ll be using.”
“Do you really think she could’ve fed us this information to try and help us?” Cassia asked. “Are we sure she was on our side?”
“I’d say she was on her own side,” Alexa said, “but she tried to help the kingdom during her time as Oracle, so it stands to reason that the information she shared would have that goal.”
Knave shook his head slightly. “Don’t ask me about prophecy – I don’t even know if I believe in it or not. So how did these tunnels come to be here?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” Alexa replied. “It’s said the Sisters created them, but they’d have to pre-date the Temple of Victory. They were probably intended as an escape route from Kelbani.”
“Then why aren’t they in Kelbani , instead of being out here instead?” he asked with a tone of curiosity.
“Maybe the people who created them were reluctant to create a network of caves beneath the city in case they collapsed? Or they might’ve been concerned that they’d mess up the magick, so they cast it out here to be sure the danger was minimal?”
Knave’s eyes widened. “You’re not even joking about that a little bit, are you?”
Cassia laughed. “Not at all. Sometimes things can go wrong or an unrelated spell can interfere with one already in place.”
Knave grimaced. “Well, at least they had the good sense to cast whatever it was out here. See, this is why I don’t trust magick – it’s not as solid and reliable as a sword in your hand, though it sure can be useful at times, as you ladies have demonstrated.”
It brought to mind a deadly ball of flame. He left the thought there and started exploring the building it had taken them so long to reach. It reminded him of an old feasting hall, only without a table or other furnishings you’d normally see in one. The floor held large flagstones, and there were recesses along the walls that might once have held lamps. A dark alcove at the far end appeared to have stairs leading up and down.
The Sisters ahead of them were already investigating the stairs, while others took a well-earned break from the long hike.
Sister Anya – the dark-haired, blue-robed priestess in command of the mission, stood nearby issuing orders. Cassia approached her, as she like the others had many questions.
“Excuse me, Sister Anya.”
The elder Sister turned sharply toward her. Cassia noted a flash of annoyance in her eyes and shrank back slightly.
The expression quickly faded from Sister Anya’s features, but it left a lasting impression on Cassia.
“Er, I’m sorry, Sister. We were wondering how soon we could head down the tunnel. I’ve been told there’s a well, and we’ll need water and some more food, as we’re travelling to a desert region.” Cassia had more questions, but she tried to pace herself and let the Sister answer her first.
“You can go ahead as a group when you’re ready. Do you know the others?”
“There’s Knave, Alexa and myself. Magister Kelcedone said we could travel there together. That’s all, I think?”
Sister Anya shook her head. “I’d like you to take Sister Ariane with you. She’s a competent battle mage and if you encounter trouble, you may need her help.”
Cassia nodded. “Of course. Thank you, Sister.”
While Cassia liked the idea of travelling alone only with Knave and Alexa, in a fight Sister Ariane could be very useful.
“You’ll find the well outside if you take the path around the side of the mountain. It isn’t far – just a few minutes’ walk.”
Cassia smiled. “Thank you, Sister. Uhh, the food?”
“Rations are limited. I’ll ensure Sister Ariane is given some for you all.”
The senior priestess reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of silver coins. “Take these and you may be able to buy better fare, if it’s available.”
Cassia accepted the money with a smile. “Thank you. We’ll do what we can to hunt down and secure that manse,” she promised. “One more thing, Sister; if I may? If we find it and can’t bring it back with us, how do we destroy it?”
A moment passed, then two. “It will absorb most magick cast at it and grow stronger. At its heart it’s a gemstone, though a strong one. A hammer might do it or a similarly-heavy blunt object. Don’t touch it directly. I’m warning all of the Sisters about this, because manses are dangerous. If you retrieve it, keep it well-wrapped in your pack.”
“It will be as you ask, Sister, provided we can find it. We’ll do all we can. Once we go out there, can we return the same way?”
Sister Anya nodded. “You can return down the same tunnel. Take care to remember the way. We may call on you later if our attempts to retrieve the other manses fail. Stay safe and our thoughts go with you.”
Cassia returned to Knave and Alexa, who immediately turned their attention back to her.
“How did it go?” Alexa asked with a note of uncertainty.
“It went alright,” she exclaimed. “Sister Anya gave us some money for the journey and explain
ed about our tasks.”
Cassia took the opportunity to rest while she brought the others up to speed about the manses and what they needed to do.
After venturing out to refill their canteens for their continuing journey, Cassia returned to find her companions waiting where she’d left them, with the addition of another Sister. She presumed this was Sister Ariane – the seasoned battle mage who was sent to assist them.
The priestess was petite with dark hair, which reminded her of Sister Anya’s own. She wore a blue robe and she had canny amber eyes.
“I don’t think we’ve spoken before,” Cassia said, extending her hand to the priestess. “I’m Cassia.” She assumed that Sister Ariane had already met the others, and that seemed to be the case.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ariane,” she said, smiling at the red-haired priestess and shaking her hand. “I’m ready to go when you are. I should tell you, I favour stealth where possible. When your presence is known, it’s no longer an advantage but until then, I believe in using what advantages the gods bestow.”
Knave grinned. “A woman after my own heart.”
She blinked at that and acknowledged it with a smile, understanding it in the spirit it was intended.
“We can go now,” Cassia said, nodding toward the stairs.
“So does anyone have an idea of how long these tunnels actually are?” Knave asked, wondering to what degree he was still being kept in the dark.
“I don’t,” Alexa answered, glancing at her sister.
“Me either,” Cassia said, as she started down the stairs. “But I know which passage it is.”
Sister Ariane smiled. “It varies, from what I understand. We’ll just have to see. It’s good you know which passage because I’m just following you.”
As it turned out, Sister Anya was already waiting downstairs, directing groups to the correct tunnels. The tunnel that Knave, Alexa, Cassia and Ariane planned to take had a symbol over the entrance like an eye. The cave entrance curved out of sight into darkness, and seemed too smooth to be natural.
There were torches in sconces just inside the wall of the cave, and Cassia took one and lit it with a burst of magickal flame.
“I’d suggest we bring the other torches,” Cassia said.
The others nodded in agreement and fastened them on top of their packs.
Entering the cave, there was no obvious sign of magick at work other than the craftsmanship itself, and the voices behind them soon fell out of earshot. Somewhere out there, the desert was waiting for them, and with it perhaps the destiny that Oracle Lilian saw.
Chapter 4
It was dark outside when Jonas woke in the empty house where he’d hidden. The town of Feidhlim was practically uninhabited now, other than for its walled compound where a large force of armed cultists and their servants resided, and a few locals who hid out in the town, reluctant to leave when their loved ones were unaccounted for.
It had been a thriving town once, built on the ruins of a more ancient one. The Warriors of the Dusk had come and taken the compound, which wasn’t so protected then. Jonas wasn’t here at the time, but he’d heard stories, like how they’d herded the townsfolk into one of the buildings. There were no bodies, no dead that Jonas knew about, but the people never returned.
Jonas was sure something terrible had happened to them. While he didn’t know for sure, he’d begun to form suspicions… ideas that seemed almost too disturbing to contemplate, while inwardly he hoped the people were imprisoned and it was still possible to rescue them.
Jonas rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced around. He lay silent for a minute listening. He could feel his heart beating, and he heard the slight creak of the roof from the wind outside. Somehow Jonas sensed that something wasn’t right – that he wasn’t alone. If the soldiers had found him, then he was in trouble. If he was captured, no one would come to help him.
His hand moved to the first of the knives at his belt and he firmly gripped the hilt. Still nothing –no one, but he could’ve sworn he was being watched.
He rose carefully from his blanket on the floor, observing his surroundings.
That was when he noticed movement and he drew his knife swiftly, holding it defensively in front of him. Jonas almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a yellow pair of eyes watching him.
It was a cat. A black cat. It was standing in the darker shadows of the room, with its tail sticking up. It rubbed against the wall as it walked, gazing at him as he watched it transfixed. He lowered his knife, but only when he was sure he was otherwise alone in the room.
“How did you get in, kitty?”
He grew nervous at the thought and carefully crept down to check the door. It was still locked, but the cat could’ve got in through one of the windows that were open to the elements.
Feidhlim still had a lot of animals that had once belonged to the locals. They roamed free, competing for what little food there was. Sometimes they became food, but Jonas wasn’t going to kill a cat and he couldn’t risk a fire this close to the compound.
Night had fallen, and he looked carefully out the window, trying to figure out how late it was. It was fully dark outside, with the moon high in the sky and a scattering of stars.
He returned to the cat, which looked friendly. It meowed at him in the way cats had when they wanted food, but he didn’t have all that much to offer. He had some dried meat, so he broke off a small piece and threw it to the cat. It rushed forward, eating it immediately, while it watched him with placid yellow eyes.
He would’ve liked to keep it – the cat, but he could barely feed himself and he survived by stealth, frequently moving around to avoid the patrols. It wasn’t practical to do that with a cat. The wrong sound at the wrong time, and he’d be dead.
Still, he watched the cat with interest and threw it another piece of meat. Its presence made him feel less alone.
He knew he should be going. He’d studied the compound and its patrols, and he knew the best place to enter. If they had the manse in there, and he was fairly sure they did, he had to find it and bind it with magick so they couldn’t use it. His people would want it back, as well.
Carefully stepping forward, he reached out a hand and stroked the cat.
It let him, and Jonas smiled.
“Stay away from cultists,” he told the cat.
It nuzzled his hand.
Jonas could’ve left his blanket on the floor, but the fewer signs of habitation the better. For now he folded up his blanket and stored it in his bag with the other possessions he wasn’t taking into the compound with him. There was an old, broken cabinet by the wall, and he hid his bag inside it. There were some footprints in the dust that coated the room in places, but he wouldn’t worry about those. Deciding it was good enough, he readied himself to head into the compound and studied the view outside from the front and side windows. He waited until he saw a patrol go by, and allowed several more minutes to pass. Their timing was unpredictable, but they usually weren’t more frequent than fifteen minutes apart.
He didn’t want to use the door, in case anyone was watching it, so he chose a nearby window and slid back the shutters, climbing out into the night. He travelled light, with little more than his knives, a canteen of water and a coil of rope. It had taken great effort to find rope he could use, and if his first attempt to enter the compound failed, he wasn’t sure he’d get the chance again or have the rope to use for an escape. Jonas knew he had to get this right if he could.
The air was crisp and cool outside, as the temperature rose in the day and dropped down at night. The cat didn’t make any move to follow him, and he left the house without glancing back.
A dusty road ran along the side of the compound. It was little more than hard-packed earth, though sand had intruded on to its surface.
Jonas cautiously made his way toward the compound. When he got close, he crossed the road in a patch of darkness. While he wasn’t slow, he didn’t run. The eye could sometimes
be drawn to fast movement, even in the shadows.
The compound wall was high but tall timber supports jutted up from the wall at regular intervals, likely harvested from near the River Deiren.
Jonas knew the river pooled into a lake a fair journey from the town, but he was certain there would be a cultist presence there, in case any of the locals escaped the town in search of water and safety. He didn’t know if anyone had succeeded in getting word out about what had happened, because no one had coming looking to fix the town’s troubles so far as he knew.
Jonas stayed close to the wall, glancing along the road, first in one direction than the other. He listened for any presence, including through the wall. There was no way to see through it properly as it had been shored up on the inside with stone, but he’d been able to see over it from the roof of the house where he’d stayed. He knew where the buildings were; the backs of two of them were just beyond the wall. The stables were across the compound – he’d intentionally avoided them, in case he startled the horses and they revealed his presence.
“I guess here goes nothing,” he murmured to himself.
Jonas made a rough slipknot with his rope, and threw a loop up and over one of the timber supports that jutted up from the wall. Ever-cautious that he might be seen, Jonas carefully but quickly pulled down on the rope, tightening it until he was certain it was secure and could support his weight. Then he began to climb.
He was young, light and a strong climber so it didn’t take him long. Jonas took a careful look around once he reached the top, on both sides of the wall. It was a long way down and he couldn’t afford for the rope to be discovered, so he pulled it inside the compound and climbed down it. When he was near the bottom, he dropped down on to the grass.
He was certain no one had seen him, but he acted with care. He flicked the rope to unloop it from the fence and then pulled it down. Certain no one was watching, he coiled the rope and hid it beneath some bushes. He hoped it wouldn’t be discovered, and it would be here in case he needed it again to get back out, or in again at a later time.