by D G Palmer
Chapter Twenty-Six
Although it had been a few days since Trinity had last been in their room at The Dirty Dog, the elapsed time had not dispersed her distinctive floral aroma. It was a small comfort, as Daniel had been looking forward to reuniting with her, but it still brought a smile to his face as he entered.
As changed out of his Earth clothes and into his Ariest ones, he saw the communication shell that Princess Nyriel had given to him before she and Ch’tan left for the Shimmering Lake to avoid the fires of the Beltane Festival. Once it was over, he was supposed to contact them to let them know it was ok to return, but the whole reason they had come to the surface in the first place was to seek help from Gydion to destroy the Shade, but Daniel had done that. He could let them know and they could return to Pichini Palace and Murias City, after he had given the princess her present of course.
Daniel took the shell out and spoke her name into it. There was a series of bubbling sounds that emanated from the shell. It was some really strange magic, Daniel thought to himself, when he suddenly heard a voice on the other end. However, it was Ch’tan who answered and not the princess.
‘We heard about you vanquishing the Shade from some passing merchants,’ Ch’tan explained. ‘The princess was overjoyed by what you did and contacted her father to tell him as further proof of you being a student of Gydion.’
‘I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you what had been happening. As you can imagine, things got a little hectic. So, when will you two be arriving here? I have a gift for the princess.’
‘Unfortunately, the princess has already been summoned back to court and I have been tasked with another duty to perform. On behalf of his majesty, King Noi D’Laani, I am to pay his respect to the Green Man.’
‘The what?’
‘He is the spirit of the forests, protector of the Goddess and patron of the druids. Perhaps you would like to accompany me, I believe it would be an eye-opening experience for you.’
‘That would be amazing! I’ll be waiting for you at The Dog.’
They ended the conversation and Daniel stared at the shell. Amazingly, the quality of it was better than the so-called modern mobile phones he was used to. A big tick for magic over science, he thought.
IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON when Daniel finally made his way to the Almedia bank. Rebuilding of the city by the Ganygu Conglomerate had carried on unabated whilst he had been away. He was coming to like living here in Almedia, the buzz it had was infectious, but he knew that he wouldn’t be staying in this city much longer. He was destined to go to Imperial City to attend the Mage Academy.
He hoped that the capital of Ariest would have a similar atmosphere to Almedia but he doubted it. Most capitals tended to be overwhelming for first time visitors but at least he’d have Trinity there with him, and he was more than sure that Finn would take every opportunity to visit, especially since he had property there and he himself was really looking forward to seeing this new home. Things were moving at a pace for Daniel now, this was his new life going forward, and he couldn’t wait to get it started. First thing to do with his new independence was get some coin in his pockets.
All of a sudden, Daniel could hear his name being called. He turned around to see Finn running towards him and then leaping onto him when she was in range.
‘I got to the tavern and Eveline told me you had already gone. So much for waiting for me, then,’ she said as she punched Daniel on the arm.
‘Sorry about that,’ he replied as he tried to rub away the ache. ‘Something came up. My friend, the one I was with when I first came to Almedia, is coming back and I wasn’t sure how long you’d be with your uncle, so I thought I’d get things started.’
‘Quinn is my step-dad actually,’ smiled Finn. The look of bemusement on Daniel’s face was something that she would have to get used to as more and more people found out the whole story. ‘Basically, that author is my mother, Niamh. And not only was she married to Quinn but she had an affair with his brother and after having me, ran off with him. What a lovely family I have, huh?’
‘Wow, that’s quite a story. How are you coping?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Finn responded seeing the look Daniel was giving her. ‘I’ve had a few drinks with my uncle...I mean my step-dad. I’m still getting used to saying that. Everything’s fine,’ she grinned. Finn ruffled Daniels hair before she linked arms and kissed him on the cheek before they continued on towards the Almedia bank, ‘Seriously, I’m all right, but thanks for caring though.’
The facade of the bank was rather impressive, thought Daniel. It wasn’t a particularly big building; merely two stories in height, it was wider than it was tall, but the front was styled like an Ancient Greek temple with its pillars, statues and coloured frieze of dragons.
‘Are they the Tuatha?’ He asked.
Finn looked up to where Daniel pointed. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Notus is the red dragon, Zephyrus the blue, Boreas the copper one and the gold one is Eurius. They’re the principle Tuatha deities although there are many others.’
They walked into the bank, there were only three customers queuing ahead of the two friends. There were paintings of small people, suited and booted, that Finn claimed to be gnomes. The only image of gnomes that Daniel had up to this point were of the garden variety that could be seen in some people’s gardens.
Straight ahead was a stone masoned counter at the far wall, with four arched openings where the gnomes addressed their customers. There were only two gnomes working at that time on the counter, that Daniel could see, and a third explaining some banking matter to a potential new client.
As they waited, Daniel gazed around, noticing that it wasn’t as lavishly decorated as the outside suggested.
Finn described to Daniel that gnomes and their Dwarf cousins were earth elementals with Boreas as their deity. As guardians of earthly treasures, such as minerals, metals and precious stones they also made perfect bankers. ‘Although,’ Finn added, ‘banker gnomes can be very stoic compared to the others that I’ve come across. Complete opposites, really. The gnomes I’ve met in the guild, for instance, can be a bit obsessive and they have an enthusiasm, which although infectious, makes them a bit unpredictable, flighty, unreliable and a bit reckless. They can be excellent thieves, mind you, but vekt, once something glittery takes their eye, if you don’t have a good grip on them, they’ll be off, headlong, direct to the treasure, without scoping out the whole situation, busting the whole vekting...’
‘Ahem,’ the gnome banker interrupted. The pair had made it to the front of the queue without them even knowing it. The gnome looked down on them from the counter ‘How can I help you?’
‘Oh... I... uh,’ stammered Daniel as he realised for the first time that he didn’t actually know how the Ariest banking system worked. ‘I... uh... would like to take some money out?’
‘Certainly,’ the banker replied.
Daniel’s gamble was a success and he gave himself a little fist pump.
The banker continued expectantly. ‘I assume you have the vault key and combination?’ After being shown the aforementioned items the banker pointed to the last door on the right. ‘If you go through door three, the cashier will see to you.’
As the pair made their way to the door to see their assigned cashier Daniel was intrigued, considering that his dad had told him that his account was at imperial city, he wondered what to expect next. It wasn’t like the money in Ariest was a virtual thing that you could beam wirelessly over a computer system; here, if you had ten gold, you had ten gold. ‘So, what happens now?’
‘I don’t know,’ shrugged Finn.
‘What do you mean you don’t know?’
‘I don’t have a bank account! Are you kidding me? Have you seen the security of this place? Or should I say... lack of.’
‘Now that you mention it...’ Daniel trailed off into thought as he looked around and noticed that there were no guards of any description except for the three gnomes he’d seen.<
br />
‘Exactly! And that’s why I keep all of my money at home.’
‘What? All of it?’
Finn shrugged. ‘I have a big home.’
Still a little taken aback by Finn’s revelation, Daniel opened the door, and shut it behind them.
A gnome in blue robes, who had been sitting at a desk reading as they entered, marked his place in his book and then sat crossed legged in front of them with his eyes closed. Whereas the appearance of the suited gnome was somewhat sedate, this gnome was anything but. His horseshoe hairstyle was spiked, he had an extra-long English moustache and classic goatee and all three were coloured bright green. Daniel and Finn were separated from the robed gnome by a large circle drawn on the stone floor.
‘Please stand in the circle, hold hands and if the principal holder could think of your combination number,’ the gnome said.
The two friends did as they were told and took a couple steps forward. The combination in question was a seventeen-digit alphanumeric 39409NH03703WT713, a cinch to remember for someone with a photographic memory.
‘Ah, a very nice clear image,’ the gnome commented. He began to chant and cast a spell. The circle they stood on began to slowly raise up and each part of their bodies it passed vanished.
The portal had reached halfway when a question in response to the gnome’s statement popped into Finn’s mind. ‘Waitaminute! What if the image wasn’t clear?’
‘It’s the customers responsibility to make sure it is. Unauthorised attempts to access vaults, even by mistake, are dealt with swiftly by security,’ the gnome replied before they vanished completely.
‘See, I knew they’d have some sort of security,’ Daniel told to Finn. ‘You of all people should have known that, come to think of it. I mean a bank with no protection would be a prime target for a thief guild to rob.’
‘And who said they didn’t?’
‘What? When did they do it?’
‘Well, they didn’t. Well, they didn’t succeed anyway. Well, not that we know of, at least. A group tried and were never heard of again.’
Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘A veritable font of information as always, Finn.’ Together they gazed around and marvelled at the bank’s underground vaults. They were in a huge excavated oblong cavern which had levels built at every three meters, Daniel estimated. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t so curious and this was one of those times as he looked over the protective barrier and into the seemingly bottomless pit.
‘I wonder how deep we are,’ said Finn as she looked up to see the levels of vaults extended up as far as she could see. ‘You got to hand it to those gnomes and dwarfs, they sure know how to work stone.’
‘Anyway, let’s get this coin and get out of here.’ Something suddenly dawned on Daniel. ‘How do we get out of here?’
‘All you do is hold hands again and think of the circle you stood in at the Almedia bank and I’ll bring you both back,’ the extravagant gnome’s voice said in their head.
‘What do you mean “back”? Aren’t we there now?’ Finn questioned.
‘Of course not,’ the gnome replied. ‘All the vaults are beneath Imperial City. Each level has a thousand vaults and there are thousands of levels. That’s why it’s imperative to have the correct combination.’
‘Because they’re coordinates!’ Daniel suddenly exclaimed. ‘The 713 is the vault number!’
Finn turned around and sure enough the vault they were standing in front of had the number 713 embossed on it. She couldn’t help but think back to the story, which had become somewhat of a legend within the guild, of the four that had supposedly robbed the bank and how it could have been done. Even with this unconventional way of getting to the vaults, all it would need, she concluded was a skilled mage to port in.
Daniel approached the massive metal round vault door. The keyhole was smack bang in the middle and he took the key out of his pocket and slotted it in. Try as he might, however, the key would not turn.
It was the wrong door.
‘Oh dear,’ the gnome said disheartened.
‘Are you sure it’s the right combination?’ Finn asked.
‘Photographic memory, remember? You can see for yourself; I still have the paper.’
Finn looked at it and took a sharp intake of breath. ‘Vekt! Your dad has a bit of a scribble handwriting. I mean, are those 3’s or 5’s and are those 6’s or 0’s?’
‘I think you two had better move whilst you decide,’ the gnome piped up again. ‘When you have it, hold hands and think of it and I’ll send you, but make it quick.’
‘What’s the rush?’ Finn scoffed. Then he heard what she thought was the sound of large wings slowly beating. Peered over the barrier and out of the darkness she could see flickering light getting larger and larger. ‘I think we’d better do as he says, Daniel,’ Finn said as she grabbed his arm and started to make a move.
It dawned on them that even though they would be in affect just running around a huge athletics track, they couldn’t escape forever. And the realisation came before they discovered what was actually after them.
A creature that looked like a lion with a fiery mane, leathery wings and a scorpion tail with quills protruding from it, flapped its massive wings and flew straight up pass them.
‘What the hell was that?’ Daniel shouted.
‘That is one of our beautiful Manticores,’ the gnome replied in their head. ‘He won’t be alone.’
As she heard that, Finn, saw the other creature climbing up, bounding from level to level until it reached the one they were on and stood where they had been at vault 713, where it roared and hissed. It had the body of a lion and its tail ended with the head of a snake.
‘And that is the Chimaera. A juvenile. It’s goat head still hadn’t sprouted yet.’
Finn was suitably panicked at the sight of the animal. ‘How’s that number coming along?’
‘I don’t know. We’re just going to have to do it by trial and error,’ Daniel replied.
‘I wouldn’t do that...’ the gnome began, but it was too late; Daniel had thought of a new combination grabbed hold of Finn and they both vanished to their new location.
‘As I was about to say,’ the gnome started, ‘I wouldn’t guess if I were you, because each time you get it wrong, a new Manticore and Chimaera will appear.’
‘Vekt! You’ll just have to try the key, Daniel,’ Finn said reluctantly as she looked over the side and tried to find their assailants. She looked down and saw nothing but as Finn turned to look up, she threw herself back against the vault door as a fireball from the Chimaera just missed her head. ‘You might want to hurry up!’
Daniel pushed the key in the hole, but again it wouldn’t turn.
Out of the corner of her eye, Finn caught sight of the Manticore flapping its giant wings, holding steady as it flicked its scorpion tail and showered poisoned quills in their direction. The darts bounced off the vault door as Finn dragged Daniel to the ground to evade them.
‘I’ve had enough of this dodgy around,’ Finn said as she drew her guns, ‘it’s time to show these beasts who they’re vekting with!’ She stood up and noticed that a second Manticore had join the first. No problem, she thought, as she aimed each gun at one of the creatures and squeezed the triggers.
Nothing happened.
‘The bank is protected against all unauthorised weapon and magic use,’ the gnomes voice said in their heads.
Finn ducked down as another barrage of quills came her way. ‘We need to move!’ She said urgently and scurried off with Daniel in tow.
‘So, it’s not the first three or the first six,’ Daniel told Finn as they crawled along.
‘What if it’s not just one number that’s wrong? What if it’s all of them? I mean all the 3’s.’
‘It could be. It’s worth a shot,’ Daniel agreed and reached out to touch Finn and thought of the new number.
They appeared in front of another door, number 715, where Daniel tried the key once more. He shoo
k his head as the key failed to move again.
A fireball suddenly exploded above their heads. The pair were shocked into action and sprinted away from their assailant. Neither of them said it but they both knew that their chances were running out; there were now three Chimaera and three Manticore’s after them.
Quills were striking the walls and vaults behind them and fireballs were exploding all around as they rounded the bend at the end of their level. Daniel came to a skidding halt as he saw the other two Chimaera running towards him and Finn. The creatures opened their mouths and they each shot a fireball at the frightened friends.
Daniel and Finn threw themselves against the nearby vault to avoid the deadly projectile. The numbers were against them now, however, as the three Manticore’s took their chance to attack. The quills peppered the vault door and the two teens couldn’t dodge them all; several of the darts found their target and pierced their skin. Finn’s left leg immediately began to go numb, as did Daniels right arm.
All of a sudden, three fireballs exploded into each other, temporarily blinding Daniel and sending him reeling backwards into Finn who toppled over the barrier.
‘Finn!’ Daniel was desperate to check on his friend’s safety that he put his own to the wayside and, still half blinded, he dragged his partially anaesthetised body and peered over the barrier. Finn held on for dear life. The fuzziness of his vision was clearing but not before more quills struck him. The poison was taking affect, the numbness was spreading.
‘Well, I’ve had a fun life,’ Finn said resigned to her fate as the three Manticore’s with their fiery manes came up behind her. ‘I’ll be waiting for your dad in the ever after... to kick his vekting butt for having such vekted up handwriting!’