Saxthor whispered to Tournak. “This man resents the foreign guards lording it over him. Maybe I can exploit that resentment.”
The Dungeon Keeper returned.
“They treat you pretty badly, do they?”
The jailer ranted about all the abuses the new guards heaped on him. After he vented for a while, and Saxthor and the keeper were on friendly terms, Saxthor gently slipped in his question about the screams without it being a question.
“That was a horrible scream this afternoon. I don’t know how you can stand hearing that for long.”
“The man won't shut up. He’ll tell what he knows of any subject for company and attention,” Tournak whispered in Saxthor’s ear.
“Oh, that be a terrible thing, that is.” The keeper’s head shook side to side.
“I don’t think I ever heard an animal scream like that before.” Saxthor moved closer to the jailer.
“Nor like as ever you will again, neither,” the keeper said, apparently itching to tell what he knew and impress the stranger. “That comes from a beast what never walked the earth before.”
Bodrin and Tournak moved closer.
This man knows a secret and hopes to impress us with it, Tournak thought, focused on the jailer. The man must assume we’ll never leave the cell alive now that we’ve angered the chatra.
“Someone up there’s a bit of a wizard, but he ain’t too good at it,” the keeper said, snickering. “Seems he tried to fuse a man with a bear. His powers of wizardry weren’t none too sharp, and the whole thing blew up in his face. The man and bear went part together somehow, but the two parts fight. The monster was too much for the wizard to control. Now they keeps the mistake on the dungeon’s lowest level, so no one up above hears them screams. That thing hates them as made it.”
“Why not just kill it?” Bodrin asked.
“They done magic. None of them knows how to kill that thing. The pain drove it mad. They’re scared it’ll get out and wreck the fortress. They feeds it to keep it quiet ‘til they can decide on what to do with their mistake.”
The tickled keeper laughed. The foreign guards, who thought themselves superior, had such a serious problem on their hands and couldn’t handle it. The keeper beamed at Saxthor, waiting to see if his story impressed them and raised his status, at least in their eyes.
“You must be a very brave man to remain in the dungeon with such a creature. They must’ve kept you on for your bravery.”
The keeper straightened up and gripped his rusty sword hilt.
“I sometimes goes with them to feed it just to see it lash out at the guards what brings it meat.”
“Are you babbling again, Father?” A beautiful girl came down the corridor toward them. “You know the sergeant said he would crack your knuckles if he caught you chattering with the prisoners again.”
The girl was extraordinary with an olive complexion, full red lips, and glowing blue eyes all framed in long, glistening black hair.
Bodrin jumped from his place of concealment, startling Saxthor. “I have to see the face that goes with that voice in such a place as this.” Smitten, his eyes locked on the girl. As she came up to the cell, Bodrin melted. “What words are worthy of such a vision of loveliness?”
“He’s her slave,” Saxthor said to Tournak. Both grinned.
“Is this lovely young lady, your daughter, Sir?” Saxthor asked.
The Dungeon Keeper beamed. Father and daughter smiled at each other for a moment.
“This be my youngest daughter, Tonelia. She’s a bit of a wild thing. She spent most of her time in the woods with the boys growing up, and now I can’t do much with her.” The proud grin never left his face as he looked over at her again.
“Now, Father.” She blushed.
“She’s a vision of loveliness; you’re a lucky man to have so beautiful a daughter,” Saxthor said.
Poor Bodrin’s face stuck to the cell’s bars like gum. His blue eyes glistened while fixed on her. Tournak couldn’t contain his response, and periodic chuckles slipped out as he watched him.
Tonelia gave Saxthor an appreciative smile but held her stare with Bodrin for a long moment. Then her father cleared his throat. Tonelia smiled at Bodrin and slowly strolled up beside the dungeon keeper.
“Come on, Father, you must still feed the other prisoners before the sergeant scolds you for being too friendly with these poor people.” She nudged her frowning father to move him to the next cell but flashed back another smile at Bodrin. The poor fellow sank weak-kneed down the bars.
*
Hendrel was first to see the ornsmak, noting an almost imperceptible ripple searching for the energy trace of its recipient. It scrutinized the inn for Saxthor, then following his trace, flowed on to the Castilyernov Hoyahof. It was the day after his companions left for the fortress, and they should’ve been back or sent word by then.
“The ornsmak could only have come from Memlatec, the last wizard capable of creating it,” Hendrel said to Delia. “It’s searching along our trail, so it’s searching for Saxthor or Tournak. Should I go south and warn Memlatec of their predicament or go in search of them? It’s still too dangerous to send word to Memlatec through any means I have, lest it be intercepted and betray their location. I’ll pack all our belongings and leave them and you with the innkeeper for safekeeping.”
Delia stood up, wagging her tail, and Hendrel patted her. He started for the citadel soon after not knowing how to free them from the Hoyahof, but he’d have to try. Twit followed close by.
*
The ornsmak found Saxthor in prison that evening. No one else there saw the rippling in the air. He’d received ornsmaks twice a year while on Helshia and immediately recognized it.
Making sure no guards were in the corridor, Saxthor took the message in his hands and held it, verifying his identity. The shimmering transformed into plasma, releasing its message. Memlatec sent word of the court and his worries about the Dark Lord’s growing strength. The wizard warned Saxthor to suffer no delays but to press on in his mission to retrieve the “lost artifacts.”
The message stung. Again, it exposed Saxthor’s poor judgment and the consequences they now suffered. Tournak joined him.
“The chatra won’t wait forever to discover our identity and significance. Eventually, when no inquiries came from Konnotan, he’ll decide we’re of no consequence and eliminate us.” Saxthor turned to Tournak. “We must escape, and soon.”
Saxthor held the ornsmak between his two hands again. When it warmed, it transformed, ready to accept his reply. Saxthor alerted the wizard to their imprisonment in Castilyernov Hoyahof by a foreign ‘chatra.’
“I suspect the Dark Lord sent the man to discover the defenses of the most fortified border town on the main route down the peninsula,” he said. “We’ll escape somehow, but Prince Henri is under the chatra’s spell. He can’t be counted on for assistance.”
Saxthor closed the ornsmak, sealed it, and dispatched it back to its originator. Memlatec would know how to handle the situation openly with the queen or quietly through other means. Meanwhile, he needed to devise an escape.
*
“Here she comes again,” Saxthor said.
“I told you to open the gate and let me pass,” Tonelia said to the guard outside the cellblock.
Saxthor heard her, as did Bodrin, who tripped getting to the cell bars.
“If you don’t let me pass, and anything happens to those men, Father will tell the chatra, and you’ll go to the thing on the lowest level.”
Tonelia got her way and came down the corridor with a food tray for the prisoners.
“Isn’t she’s beautiful.” Bodrin dangled on the cell bars like an ornament.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” Tonelia’s flirtatious voice glided through her smile, cast to Bodrin. “I trust you’ve had a good day under the circumstances.”
“She’s teasing Bodrin trying to make conversation,” Saxthor said to Tournak. She handed Saxthor the plate throu
gh the door’s food slit. Waiting for them to eat and return the plate was a convenient excuse for lingering.
“You’re so lovely,” Bodrin mumbled.
Tonelia flicked her hair in the moonlight, where she positioned herself to show her face and hair to the best advantage.
“You’re too kind, Sir.” She held Bodrin in her enticing gaze. For an instant, she turned to Saxthor. “The guards are betting on how long you’ll be here. They think not more than a week.”
Tonelia was as attracted to Bodrin as Bodrin was to her. Saxthor suspected she wasn’t happy confined to the fortress dungeons with little company and no future. Being young, she would want to see more of the world. It dawned on Saxthor she was their best hope, and he must take it.
“It must get awfully lonely in here for a beautiful young girl,” Saxthor said. Bodrin’s glare stung.
Jealousy isn’t a pretty sight, Saxthor thought. Still, I have to develop my plan since Bodrin isn’t thinking of escaping the castilyernov or its mistress.
“It gets so lonely here,” Tonelia said to Saxthor, turning her gaze back to Bodrin.
Saxthor saw a charging wild ox couldn’t turn his gaze from her.
“I’m going mad here. Father always says we’ll go into the city more so I can meet an eligible man, but then we just stay here.”
“You should help us get away from here, and you can come with us and see the world,” Saxthor said. His joking tone belied its seriousness. She didn’t look afraid or reject the idea outright, so at least she heard and would think about it.
Saxthor stood back and let Bodrin get closer to the girl. The more she bonded with Bodrin, the more likely she was to help them. He’d have to detach her from her father while bonding her with Bodrin.
“Your father seems to like it here, even if he dislikes the guards. You may have to accept a suitor from among these guards.”
Again, Bodrin flashed a dagger glance.
“Well, if Father thinks I would marry one of these men, he’s in for a real shock.” Tonelia looked around at the dismal prospects. “I’ll run away before I marry one of these oafs.” She frowned and began to fidget at the mention of the guards. Saxthor gave her back her tray and thanked her for the food.
“Will you come back and visit us again soon?”
“You must,” Bodrin blurted out.
Saxthor frowned. “We may not have long, but we do enjoy your company.”
Accepting his thanks for the food, Tonelia smiled politely at Saxthor, took her tray, and gave Bodrin a beaming smile that made him clutch the bars with white knuckles. She ambled back up the corridor, knowing Bodrin followed her exit. Her pace picked up approaching the gate, where she ordered the guard to open it. She rushed on, avoiding his advances.
Saxthor and Tournak talked with Bodrin that night.
“You have to understand that the girl is our only hope of getting out of here,” Saxthor said.
“I don’t want to involve her.”
“I recognize your feelings for Tonelia, and we can all see the attraction is mutual. I assure you I won’t interfere to pursue her for myself. You’re my lifelong friend. I won’t risk losing my best friend. I cede the field to you.”
The next day, Tonelia came with her father when he brought the morning meal. As her father passed on along the corridor, Tonelia held back and whispered to Saxthor.
“I’ve thought about what you said last night. I’ll be back tonight to talk with you again.”
That evening she came with another tray of food, and this time the guard didn’t bother to search it. Tonelia went to the cell where the adventurers languished. While the men shared and ate the food, Tonelia whispered to Saxthor.
“You’re my best chance to escape from here. I fought with Father this afternoon about going into the town. He told me he expected me to find a husband among the guards. The marriage would gain acceptance for him, I suppose, which is his main concern. You’re my only chance to get out of here.”
Saxthor motioned the others to gather close in the cell’s corner, where the guards couldn’t see or hear them. “I’ve given the escape my full attention since our first day here.”
“Don’t put Tonelia at risk,” Bodrin said.
Tonelia glanced at Bodrin. “Shut up.”
Bodrin cocked his head, staring at Tonelia, then settled back to listen.
“Here’s the plan. Tonelia, we need you to open the cell door. Then we’ll sneak down the stairs at the end of the cellblock, overpower the sleeping guard, and release the monster below. It hates those that created it and the guards that imprison it. It’ll take its vengeance on the guard while we make our escape back up the stairs to this cell where we can hide. When the creature climbs the stairs, it’ll follow the corridor and break through the gate at the end.”
“What if it stops here and eats us first?” Bodrin asked.
“Our troubles will be over,” Saxthor said to his bug-eyed audience.
“Okay, he’s joking,” Tournak said.
Saxthor continued, “We’ll hide; the cell bars will protect us. In the confusion among the guards as they try to restrain the monster, we’ll escape with Tonelia. She knows the fastest way out of the citadel. What do you think of the plan?”
While the others thought through the prospects, Tonelia’s tough resolution showed.
“We’ll do it,” she said, ending the whispered discussion. “That thing down there wants vengeance on those that created it and keeps it alive, not us. I already left a jug of strong ale with the guard at the gate. He’s been drinking it. By now, he’ll be drunk. I have to go back and get him to open the gate before he passes out.”
Bodrin sighed. “She’s a treasure.”
Tonelia pretended to flirt with the guard until he fell on the floor, grabbing at her. She smacked him over the head with the empty wine jug. Drunk, the smack on the head was enough to knock him unconscious. Tonelia grabbed his keys and rushed back down the corridor to Bodrin’s cell, where she freed the troupe.
“Good girl,” Saxthor said.
Tonelia grinned. “You all say that when you get what you want.”
Tournak blushed.
Saxthor dashed back up the corridor. He took the guard’s sword and knife and propped him up in his chair to appear sleeping. He rushed back along the cellblock. The three men proceeded with caution down the stairs to the level below. Asleep, the guard snored slouched in his chair beside the monster’s dark cell.
Bodrin and Tournak watched from the staircase as Saxthor crept across the floor.
The guard snorted, his body shook, and he almost slipped out of his chair.
Saxthor froze.
The man rubbed his nose, almost waking himself up, but then settled back asleep. The rhythmic snoring resumed, and Saxthor crept forward again, almost reaching the guard as he started to wake up.
The guard’s eyes cracked open. He stumbled up out of his chair on seeing Saxthor just to his side.
“Who are you?”
Saxthor leaped forward and around behind the dazed guard, shoving Sorblade under the guard’s throat, pulling back and choking him.
“Help!”
Saxthor choked off the yell.
The guard grabbed the sword, struggling with Saxthor. Blood from the man’s hand ran down the blade onto his tunic. Saxthor jerked back harder, and the guard succumbed, slumping to the floor as Bodrin reached them.
“He dead?”
“He soon will be,” Saxthor said, looking at the cell.
The commotion had awakened the beast. It stood at the door, having watched Saxthor fighting with the guard.
“Go back to the stairs, Bodrin, “Saxthor approached the cell door.
“You can’t unlock it now, the monster is holding onto the bars.”
Saxthor looked back at Bodrin, “Keep quiet and go back to the stairs.”
He turned to the creature. The two stared at each other for a moment. The tortured beast had human eyes, and to Saxthor, it seemed t
hey searched deep into his soul. Saxthor nodded to the beast, not knowing how else to communicate with it. The anguish Saxthor saw in those eyes made him look away.
“I can’t undo what was done,” Saxthor said.
The creature ogled him. They searched each other’s faces again in silence. Then Saxthor unlocked the creature’s cell door, stood for a moment, and he backed slowly away toward the stairs. He remained silent but nodded to the creature, who cocked his head like a questioning dog.
“Time to go,” Bodrin said.
The creature watched Saxthor until they reached the stairs before testing the door. The two continued to monitor each other until the beast looked down at the guard crumpled on the floor. First nudging, the creature then pushed the creaking door. Realizing no one was stopping him, he threw open the heavy oak restraint with a crash and rushed the unconscious guard.
Not wanting to see what happened next, the men dashed up the stairs, but Saxthor glanced back to see the monster tear off one of the guard’s arms and begin to eat.
The men rushed up the cellblock and hid with Tonelia in the cell’s dark corner with the door closed and locked from within.
“You free it?” Tonelia asked.
Bodrin nodded.
In a few moments, a foul smell came through the bars ahead of heavy breathing and a chain dragging on the floor.
“The creature is somewhere along the corridor outside our cell,” Saxthor said.
They froze, silent, waiting for some sign the creature had passed the gate to the tower’s upper floors. Heavy breathing came closer. The monster’s hand grabbed through the food slot and ripped the door off its hinges.
“It’s going to tear us apart,” Bodrin said.
For an interminable moment, the creature stared through the gaping hole at them.
It’s trying to show gratitude for its release, Saxthor thought.
The creature turned and went up the cellblock. The crashing gate and crunching bones told the prisoners the thing was dealing with the guard. They waited for the noise to stop, then rushed out into the corridor. The way was clear. All hurried up the hall and through the gate past the guard’s remains.
The N Arc of Empire- Complete Series Page 38