“ But…”
“ It’s time for you to go,” Igor tells him. “You can stay no longer.”
“ But…” begins James but then the world around him fades away.
They are all gathered around him as he lays there unmoving, worried about whether or not he’ll come around. Suddenly, his chest heaves as he takes a deep breath and his eyes open.
He at first looks around, not remembering where he is. Then his eyes settle upon Jiron and Miko standing there with the others and the memory returns.
“Man are we glad you’re back,” Jiron says.
“We were worried about you,” Miko tells him.
Sitting up, he asks, “How long was I out?”
“Not too long,” Uther says. “Ten minutes or so.”
“What happened to you?” Fifer asks.
“It’s all fuzzy,” he says. “I think it was a vision of some kind.”
“A vision?” asks Qyrll, now keenly interested. “What was it?”
James looks around at the others and that’s when he realizes Dave isn’t among them. “Where’s Dave?” he asks.
“Who cares?” Jiron replies. “Probably gone off to be by himself again.”
Getting to his feet, he looks around and he’s nowhere to be found. “Dave!” he calls but receives no answer.
“Did you guys do something to him?” he asks, his eyes finally settling on Jiron.
“Don’t look at me,” he says. “If I had done something I would’ve told you. We’ve all been here next to you ever since you collapsed.”
“Dave!” he calls again, now becoming worried.
To Miko he says, “Get the Star and put it in your pouch.”
“Me?” he asks.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Jiron asks. “Considering what happened last time that is.”
“I don’t think you have much to worry about with the Star,” he assures them. “Morcyth is a god of learning. The worst that could happen is that you would become smarter.”
Looking dubious at the prospect of handling another item of such power, Miko gives in and goes over to the chest.
“Dave!” hollers James again, now becoming visibly agitated with worry. “Where are you?” His voice reverberates throughout the chamber but no reply from Dave is forthcoming.
“It’s gone!” cries Miko.
Everyone turns at his exclamation and James rushes forward. “What do you mean it’s gone?”
“Look for yourself,” Miko says, standing aside.
James comes forward and looks inside the chest only to find the velvet cushion. The Star is gone!
“I’ll kill him!” exclaims Jiron. A knife flashes in his hand as he races for the bridge spanning the chasm. He’s soon over it and through the door.
James comes to the same unfathomable conclusion as had Jiron. If the Star is missing, and Dave is missing, then Dave took it. But why? “Jiron!” he screams as he races in pursuit. The others run after him.
Increasing the brilliance of the orb, he races through the door and into the cavern. Ahead of him he sees the back of Jiron as he flies around the stalagmites and pools of water.
“No!” he hears Jiron yell as he somehow starts running even faster. In but a few seconds he realizes what made Jiron yell. The other door, the one that was opened by placing the cubes in the recesses is closed.
Jiron hits the hidden door but it withstands the impact and doesn’t budge. “Dave I’ll kill you!” he screams through the fissure.
James comes up to him and skids to a stop. Shoving Jiron aside he puts his mouth to the fissure and yells, “Dave!”
From the other side he can hear Dave’s voice, “Sorry James.” His voice is full of sadness and regret. “I…I have to.”
“Dave,” he says, trying to get his anger and hurt under control, “open the door.”
“You don’t understand,” Dave says. “My master needs this. H…he said I must bring it to him.”
“Dave, we’ve been friends a long time,” James says in a clam, soothing voice. “I can’t believe you will leave me here to die.”
Dave’s voice grows fainter as if he’s moving away from the door. “I…I gotta go. They’ll be here any minute.” A moment’s silence and then he says almost so quietly James can’t make out the words, “Remember, you said you would always be my friend. No matter what.”
“Dave!” James cries out. When there’s no response he screams for all he’s worth, “DAVE!” When only silence comes from the other side, anger boils up inside him and he tells everyone, “Stand back.”
Everyone scrambles back, Fifer grabs the miner when he doesn’t move fast enough and jerks him away from the door. Summoning the magic, James lashes out at the door and it explodes outward into the other room.
For a brief moment he can see the light emanating from the Star ahead in the narrow passage leading from the room to the stairs. Sobbing can be heard as Dave races up the stairs.
Jiron flies past James and enters the passage in pursuit. Rushing behind, James and the others follow. James no sooner enters the passage than he feels the tingling sensation of someone doing magic. Then it suddenly spikes and the ground begins to tremble.
“Back!” he yells coming to a stop. Turning around, he and the others beat a hasty retreat back to the room with the cubes. Barely able to keep on their feet due to the shaking of the ground, they race out of the passage and cross the rubble strewn room and make their way into the cavern.
“Jiron, get back here!” James cries as he pauses where the secret door had stood for a moment.
Then all hell breaks loose. The ground shakes even more and stones start falling from the ceiling. A loud roar and then a belch of dust explodes outward from the passage. “Jiron!” cries out James as the sound of a massive cave-in reaches them.
The rumbling continues for a few more seconds then all becomes quiet.
Chapter Thirty Two
“Jiron!” cries out Miko once the rumbling subsides.
Coughing, James begins working his way back through the room toward the collapsed passage. “Jiron!” he cries out. “Dave!” He increases the luminosity of his orb and the light manages to cut through the dust.
“Nothing could have survived that,” states Uther as the passage leading out is revealed. Choked with rubble and large stones, it doesn’t look like they could have survived.
“Maybe they made it through to the other side?” Miko asks hopefully.
“Let’s hope so,” says Fifer.
James works his way through the room to the passage and is able to move several feet into it before being forced to stop. “Jiron! Dave!” he cries.
From somewhere within the passage, a muffled, “Here!” can be heard.
“Someone’s in there!” he cries and begins removing the rubble.
Coming to help him, Miko says, “It must be Jiron.”
“He was in the rear,” agrees Uther.
As Miko and James remove the rubble, the others take the stones and pile them further back in the room away from the opening. Slowly, the rubble is removed from the passage. Fortunately it’s only the smaller blocks of stone which made it this far and so between them, they are able to move them out of the way.
“Are you okay?” asks James.
This time the unmistakable voice of Jiron replies, “My leg’s trapped under a block of stone. I think it’s broken.”
“Sit tight, we’ll get you out of there,” Miko hollers.
“Is Dave with you?” James asks.
“No,” he replies. “Saw him make it out before the ceiling caved in.”
Dave on the loose with the Star, and from what he said on the way to the Empire’s forces to hand it over. He just can’t believe Dave would do such a thing. What did they do to him?
“I see your light,” Jiron tells them after another ten minutes of digging.
James quickens his pace and removes several more stones and climbs to the top of the remaining rubble. Holding his light so it shine
s beyond, he looks down and finds Jiron lying upon the stairs. A massive stone rests just above him and seems to have given him some shelter against the falling rubble. His left leg looks to be wedged under another large stone.
To the others James says, “Hurry up, we’re almost there.”
Moving back down, they continue to clear away the rest of the smaller stones. They’re forced to leave a couple big slabs as they are simply too heavy for them to lift. When at last they have all the loose rubble cleared away, James backs away and lets Fifer and Qyrll through to see about getting that large slab off him.
“Miko, lend us a hand,” Fifer hollers out. “Help Jiron get his foot out when we lift the rock.
Moving in close, he says, “Alright.” He moves in next to Jiron and takes his leg.
“Take it easy now,” Jiron tells him.
Giving him a reassuring grin, Miko says, “Of course.”
Qyrll and Fifer get in position to lift the stone. “On three,” says Fifer. “One…two…three!” Lifting with all their might, he and Qyrll strain against the weight of the stone. They manage to lift it an inch and Miko quickly pulls Jiron’s leg free.
“He’s out!” exclaims Miko.
They carefully set the stone back down and then move to help Jiron to his feet. Miko scrambles out of the way as they help him back out of the passage and into the cube room.
“Set him down over here,” James tells them, indicating a spot on the far side of the room. He doesn’t want a sudden collapse by the rubble in the passage to possibly cause more damage.
They bring him over and set him on the floor. “Easy!” he says as pain courses through his leg. When they finally have him seated comfortably with his back against the wall, he looks to James. “You’re friend has left us here to die.”
“I know,” he replies in anguish. “I’m sorry.”
“What do you plan to do now?” he asks.
Fifer rolls up Jiron’s pants and inspects the leg. “Looks like it is broken,” he says. He glances to Qyrll and says, “Come with me.” With Qyrll behind him, they return back to the cavern and the others can hear them walking off into the distance. Before they get too far, the sound of a flint stone making sparks is heard and another of Qyrll’s candles springs to life.
James sits there in silence for a moment and Jiron says, “You haven’t answered my question.”
“I think the first thing we need to do is figure a way out,” he says.
“No, I mean about your friend,” he clarifies. “He took off with a very important item.”
Sighing, James says, “I know. After we get out, we go and get it back.”
“And Dave?” he asks.
Turning sad eyes onto Jiron, he opens his mouth and then closes it again without uttering a sound. Finally he just shakes his head and says, “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Dave anymore.”
“Why?” Jiron asks, surprised by his answer.
“Remember back when we got the Fire?” he asks. When Jiron nods yes, he says, “The guardian spirits said that ‘Only a son of this world may touch it. All others must surely perish.’ The Star is similar in nature to the Fire.”
“You think he’s going to die?” Jorry asks from where he’s been listening in.
Nodding he replies, “I don’t know what else that could mean.”
Smashing sounds can be heard from far off and soon, Fifer and Qyrll come back with several long wooden pieces they broke off from the chest which had contained the Star. Using them for splints, they tear off strips of cloth from their shirts and bind the broken leg tight.
“That should hold for now,” Fifer says. “A priest could do a better job, but we’re lacking one just now.”
“You could do it,” Jiron says.
James turns his attention back to Jiron and sees him staring at him. “I’m no priest,” he protests.
“Didn’t you say that the spirit of the long dead priest of Morcyth called you one?” he asks.
“Well, yes he did,” he replies. “But he was mistaken.”
“I don’t think so,” he says. “You’re in good with Morcyth, after all you bear the medallion with his Star. And it has sprung to life for you before.”
“I know, but I don’t understand how that happened,” he counters. “I don’t even know if I can heal. Frankly it scares me to death. I just don’t know enough about cell structure and vein integrity or anything.” He looks at Jiron and finally says, “I could wind up doing more harm than good.”
“Very well,” he says.
“So, how are we to get out of here?” the miner asks. “I don’t know much about what you all are mixed up in but I do know we’ll never move that stone without more falling down on our heads.”
“Any ideas?” asks James as he glances around the assembled group.
“Blast it out,” Miko says. “Use your magic and clear it away.”
“Even if I could, there’s no guarantee that I wouldn’t bring down more on top of us,” he says. “Remember, we’re under a mountain, a really big mountain.” When he sees the lack of hope in Miko’s face, he adds, “If all else fails, I’ll try.”
They pick up Jiron and aid him in moving to the large cavern, finally stopping next to the stream. James bends over and takes a long drink as he considers the next step. He doesn’t have that long to dink around, the Star is most likely on the move toward the Empire. He’s not sure exactly what would happen should it reach Dmon-Li’s priests, but it can’t be good.
Almost absentmindedly his eyes follow the stream to where it leaves the cavern through the hole in the wall. Sudden realization hits him, the hole is large enough for them to make it through. Coming to his feet, all eyes are drawn to him as he indicates the outflow of the stream and says, “Maybe we could make it through there?”
They turn to see where he’s pointing, Uther jumps up and says, “Might work.”
“Yeah,” adds Jorry, “the lake out there has to be fed from somewhere. There was water flowing out of it so there must be water flowing in as well.”
“What about Jiron?” Fifer asks. “His leg is in no condition to be climbing around in caves.”
“Fifer,” Jiron says. “What other choice do I have other than staying here?”
“We can help him,” says James. To Jiron he asks, “Did you bring that rope with you?” The last time they traveled to Saragon, he had brought a coil of thin rope for emergencies.
Lifting his shirt, he grins as he shows them the rope coiled about his waist. “You know it,” he says.
“Alright then,” announces James. He motions for Jorry and Uther to come over and he hands the orb to Uther. “Take this and try to find a way through. We’ll be right behind you.”
Taking the orb, Uther is about to ask if he’ll need the light when another orb materializes upon his hand. Nodding to Jiron he says, “You just take care of him and we’ll find a way out.” To Jorry he says, “Come on,” and they head toward the hole in the wall.
Fifer and Miko help Jiron to his feet and they make their way to the opening. When James nears he sees the light from the orb Uther holds already yards away. He’s hunched over as he works his way along the narrow passageway.
James enters the opening and finds the footing extremely uneven and treacherous, algae covers many of the rocks and most are not stable. Stepping carefully, he works his way along.
“Easy now,” he hears Fifer say to Jiron as they begin entering through the opening. The splint on his leg allows him to put some weight upon it but not nearly enough to enable him to walk on his own.
“James!” Uther hollers to him from up ahead.
“What?” he replies. Slipping and almost falling, he catches himself on a small rock protruding from the side. Looking ahead, he sees them stopped.
“We got problems,” he says.
Moving as quickly as he can, he makes his way to where Uther is standing with the orb. When he draws close he sees what Uther is talking about. The stream they
’ve been following suddenly goes over a drop-off and flows down a steep, uneven incline further than the light from the orb illuminates.
The sides of the passage end there as well so there’s no way to go around. Down is the only way to go. Shortly everyone makes it there and understands what is before them.
“How far down do you think it is?” the miner asks.
“Could be another five feet or five hundred for all we know,” Qyrll states.
“This rope is only fifty feet,” Jiron says. “Let’s hope it isn’t much further than that.”
“Maybe there’s another way?” Fifer asks.
“The only other one I can think of would be the chasm surrounding the area where we found the Star,” James explains. “I doubt if we’ll have any better luck with that.”
Looking over the side, he sees that it’s not a sheer vertical drop, rather a steep narrow incline. With luck they could possible make it. Jiron though will have a hard time, but like he said, what choice has he?
Turning to Uther and Jorry he asks, “Think you can make it?”
“Possibly,” admits Uther.
Stepping forward, Qyrll says, “Allow me to lead here.” Everyone turns his way as he continues. “Back where I come from we have many instances where we must scale cliffs and overhangs such as these. I would have little trouble with this.”
Glancing to Uther, he sees him give a nod in agreement and then says, “Alright. Uther, hand him the orb.” After Qyrll has the orb and begins to descend over the side he adds, “We’ll stay here, let us know if this way is feasible.”
“I will, worry not,” and with that he begins to descend in earnest.
James comes over to where Jiron is propped up against a rock. “You doing okay?” he asks.
Shrugging he replies, “As best as can be I suppose. I’m alive at least.” He shifts his broken leg and grimaces.
“How’s he doing?” James hollers over to where Fifer is keeping an eye on Qyrll’s progress.
“Better than I would have,” answers Uther. “He’s moving fast.”
They wait there for another five or ten minutes before Fifer turns from the drop-off and says, “He’s waving the orb. I think he’s reached the bottom.”
The star of Morcyth ms-5 Page 41