Not far from where they rescued Kevik, they found Chyfe. His body was hung up amidst a pile of driftwood and he looked for all the world like he was dead. Bart raced forward calling his name but Chyfe gave no response. Thinking the worse, he was surprised to find him still alive. His forehead sported a large knot from where he must have struck a rock on his pell-mell journey down the river.
“Riyan!” Bart yelled as he began pulling him from the driftwood, “I need your help.”
Leaving a still shaky Kevik behind, Riyan rushed to help.
“He’s still alive,” Bart said as he joined him. He gently turned Chyfe’s head toward Riyan. When Riyan saw the knot, he nodded. They soon had him free and brought back to where Kevik was sitting on the shore.
“Do you still have the healing gem?” asked Bart.
Kevik checked his pouch and nodded when he found it.
“Good,” replied Bart. “Stay here with him and fix him up. Riyan and I will continue to hunt for the others.”
Nodding, Kevik placed the gem on Chyfe’s forehead. The gem’s light shone forth and the healing began.
“Two down, three to go,” commented Riyan.
“We’ll find them,” Bart assured him. Silently he added that he hoped they’d find them alive. He didn’t want to add to whatever fears Riyan already held.
“Chad!” Riyan hollered.
“Seth, Soth!” Bart yelled as they raced down the shoreline.
The river continued its journey down the canyon, steadily growing calmer and quieter. Further ahead, they saw where the canyon took an abrupt turn to the right and passed from sight.
“Chad! Where are you?” Riyan’s voice cried out as he sought his friend. Looking not only on this side of the river but the other, he grew more worried as time progressed.
“Riyan!”
Riyan came to a sudden stop when he heard Chad’s voice. He scanned the area but couldn’t find him.
Bart gripped his shoulder with one hand as he pointed across the river with the other. “There he is.”
Following Bart’s direction, Riyan looked toward a sandbar on the other side of the river. He saw Chad waving his arms frantically. Standing as he was before a pile of driftwood, he was hard to make out.
“Are you okay?” Riyan shouted across the water.
“Yes,” he replied. “Though I think my ankle is twisted.”
“Stay there,” Riyan hollered. “We’ll get you.” He saw Chad wave in acknowledgment.
“How do you propose we do that?” asked Bart.
Riyan glanced around at all the driftwood on the beach. “Make a raft and paddle our way over,” he said.
“Think you can do that?” Bart asked.
Nodding, Riyan replied, “May take a bit, but yeah.” He and Chad used to construct rafts and float out upon the lakes near Quillim during the summer. What he had to work with here wasn’t much different than the materials they used back then.
“Alright,” he said. “You work on getting to him and I’ll try to find the twins.”
“Good luck,” Riyan said.
“You too,” replied Bart. Riyan was beginning to gather pieces of driftwood as he headed toward the bend in the river. There, the wall of the canyon jutted out to within a few yards of the water.
Calling the names of the twins, he ran along the shore. No answer was forthcoming. Upon reaching where the river began to pass around the bend, he was about to shout again when he heard voices coming from around the other side of the bend. Relief washed over him briefly before he realized the voices were not those of Seth and Soth.
Immediately, he slowed and proceeded with much greater caution. He paused just a moment as he removed the rolled leather containing his darts from his pack and placed them inside his shirt. Once they were in their familiar position, he again started toward the bend.
“…do with them?” a voice asked.
Bart slowed to a crawl as he reached the canyon wall.
“Send both of them up to the top,” another said.
Both of them? Bart didn’t like the sound of that.
Other voices began speaking as well, all of which Bart was unable to sufficiently make out. From the sound of it, the twins had been caught. But by whom? Bart wasn’t about to take any chances. He pressed his back against the side of the canyon and removed the rolled leather containing his darts.
“…back to camp…”
“You heard the…”
Snippets of conversation came from around the bend, then they began to grow quieter. It was almost as if they were moving away.
Bart quickly doctored his six remaining darts. One he kept in his right hand, three in his left. The other two were nestled loosely in the middle of the rolled leather once he had returned it to his shirt. He was about to start moving around the bend when the unmistakable sound of footsteps came from the other side. It sounded like two individuals.
Bart pressed himself against the wall again and waited.
“Can’t believe anyone would be dumb enough to ride the Wrath,” one voice stated.
“There’re always those who think they can’t die,” another said.
Bart listened as the duo made their way ever closer to where he stood. “Think they’re from Tryn?” the first one asked.
“Maybe,” replied the second. “They’re not wearing Orack’s colors though.”
If Bart had any doubts the twins were in these men’s hands, that settled it. Standing with dart in hand, Bart watched as their shadows appeared. Then when the first of the two men appeared from around the bend, Bart stepped away from the wall.
The two men stopped in surprise just as one was hit with Bart’s dart square in the chest. Before the second had a chance to react, he too was struck. The poison on the darts, entering their body so close to their hearts as it did, quickly stopped its beating. Without a word, both men staggered then fell to the ground, dead.
Bart had another dart in hand as he hurried toward them. His eyes scanned the point from which they appeared to see if any more were on their way, but found the two men to be alone. Upon reaching their side, he retrieved his two darts and quickly redoctored them.
The two men weren’t soldiers. Rather, they wore civilian clothes and were very dirty. When Bart checked their pockets, he discovered that each of them carried a number of small candles. Curious. Once his darts were again ready for battle, he left the two men behind and continued to slowly make his way around the bend.
He didn’t have far to go before the canyon opened up before him. He saw a group of eight men walking away from him on the beach. Six were armed, and in the middle walked Seth and Soth. They were heading to a camp of sorts set against the wall of the canyon. In and around the tents of the camp were another half score men.
Motion on the wall of the canyon caught his eye. A man was making his way down a series of steps that had been crudely cut into the canyon’s wall. Another below the first had a large box or crate strapped to his back as he made his way up. The steps progressed from the top all the way down where they came out near the rear of the tents.
But that was not the most interesting feature of this area that drew Bart’s attention. Not far from the camp and a hundred feet above the canyon floor sat a dark opening in the side of the canyon. Near it, stacked in a haphazard manner, were crates similar to the one the man on the steps carried. More of the crates were stacked near the base of the steps leading to the top of the cliff.
Unable to give the area more than a passing glance, his gaze was soon back on the group with the twins. He watched as they brought Seth and Soth to one of the tents. There they directed them to enter. Once they were in, the tent flap was closed and two men were posted as sentries outside.
Bart had seen enough. Moving back to the two dead men, he dragged their bodies over to a pile of driftwood and hid them as best he could. Then he hurried back upriver to Riyan and the others.
He found Riyan some distance further upriver than where he had left him. He was beginning to push his makeshift raft into the water to cross over to Chad. The conglomeration of intertwined branches and narrow logs didn’t look like it would work. But when he pushed it out onto the surface of the water, it floated and remained together.
Hearing Bart’s rapid approach, Riyan stopped and glanced in his direction. He knew something was wrong as the twins weren’t with him. Keeping a hold on his raft to prevent the river from taking it, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve got trouble,” Bart said. He then gave Riyan the gist of the situation. When he finished, he turned his attention downstream to where Chad sat on the other side of the river. From where Riyan had chosen to enter the water, the current should carry him downriver just fast enough for him to land close to Chad’s position. A hundred yards further downriver was the bend around which lies the camp where Seth and Soth were being held.
“On your return,” he began, “are you going to be able to get back to this side before reaching the bend in the river?”
Riyan calculated the distance and the speed of the current. “I think so,” he replied.
“You better,” asserted Bart. Turning his attention back to his friend, he added, “I don’t want to have to rescue you and Chad as well as Seth and Soth.”
“You won’t,” Riyan assured his friend.
“I’m going to get Kevik and Chyfe,” Bart said. “We’ll meet you by the bend. Then we’ll see about how we can get them back.”
Riyan nodded and began pushing the raft further out onto the river. “I’ll be right back,” he said then kicked off. When he had been constructing his raft, he had discovered one of the oars they had used on their trip down the river. Using it once again, he paddled his makeshift raft across to the other side.
Once he was on his way, Bart headed upriver at a run to where they had left Kevik and Chad. Smoke was rising to the sky and he could see them sitting next to a small fire. Kevik must have built it to dry their wet, cold clothes. As he ran toward them, Bart hoped the smoke would not be noticed by those around the bend.
Kevik was the first to notice his approach and grinned. But the grin quickly faded when he realized Bart was alone and coming fast. When he drew near, Kevik came to his feet. “Where are the others?” he asked.
As Bart started to answer, he began kicking sand and dirt on the fire until it was out. “Everyone’s alive,” he replied. Then just as Kevik was about to start complaining about his ruining their fire, he filled them in on what was going on.
“Are they okay?” Chyfe asked once Bart finished.
“Last I saw they were,” he replied. “How’s your head?”
Chyfe brought his hand up and touched the spot where the lump had been. “All that’s left is a dull ache,” he answered. “Kevik’s gem is miraculous.”
“Good. Grab your stuff,” Bart told them. “We need to return before Riyan and Chad make it back across the river.”
Kevik and Chyfe grabbed their packs and the three of them were soon headed back downriver.
Bart scanned the river ahead for Riyan and his raft. When he found it, he saw Riyan and Chad were both upon it and heading back.
Chyfe saw them too. “Are they going to land before the bend in the river?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Bart replied. “It’s going to be close.” Increasing his pace, Bart was soon flying down the beach as he raced toward the bend. If they didn’t make it, they would need his help when those around the bend took notice of them. So far though, it didn’t look as if those at the camp had. The area at the bend was quiet.
On the raft, Riyan was paddling for all he was worth. Chad had his arms over the edge of the raft and was using them to increase their forward momentum.
Riyan had his eyes on the bend, and the area around to the other side. The current had brought them to a position where the tents began coming into view. There was movement in and around the tents but he paid little heed to it. His concentration mainly lay in propelling their raft toward shore as fast as possible.
Movement upriver caught his attention, Bart was running for all he was worth down the beach toward them. Behind him came Chyfe, with Kevik rapidly falling behind though he tried to keep up.
“We might make it,” Chad said as they drew closer to the shore.
Indeed, the current seemed to lessen once they had crossed the center of the river. As Riyan’s paddle rose and fell, the camp gradually disappeared once again behind the outcropping of rock that was the bend in the river.
When they finally came to shore, it was a mere half a dozen yards before the beginning of the bend. Bart raced up to them and helped drag the raft onto the beach. He saw Chad favoring his left leg as he disembarked the raft and moved onto shore.
Chad noticed Bart taking note of him limping. “It’s not that bad,” he explained. “Twisted it a little. I can still walk.”
Bart nodded. Then Chyfe arrived while Kevik was still some distance back. “Stay here,” he told them. “I’m going to have a look.”
“Be careful,” advised Riyan.
Without responding, Bart moved off toward the bend.
“Are you sure your leg is okay?” Riyan asked Chad.
“It’s been better,” he admitted. “But I’ll survive.”
Just then, huffing and puffing, Kevik rejoined the others.
“Out of shape are we?” Chyfe asked him with a grin.
Kevik flashed him an annoyed look as he tried to catch his breath. “Physical activity had never been a high priority for me,” he explained.
Chyfe chuckled.
“We should follow Bart,” Riyan announced now that they were back together.
“I hope Seth and Soth are still alive,” said Chad.
“No reason why they shouldn’t be,” replied Riyan. Turning to follow Bart, Riyan had taken only a couple steps when he heard Kevik gasp behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Kevik moving quickly toward the raft.
“What?” he asked.
“My staff!” he exclaimed.
“Your staff?” asked Chad.
Ignoring Chad’s question, Kevik reached the raft and began disassembling it. A moment later, he pulled forth a long piece of wood.
As soon as Riyan saw it, he recognized it as Kevik’s staff. Somehow, after having slipped from Kevik’s grip, it had washed ashore and he had used it as part of the raft. A little embarrassed for not having recognized it, he turned his attention back forward and continued on.
“What idiot used my staff as part of a raft?” he demanded. Silence greeted his question. When he glanced to Chad, Chad nodded to Riyan.
“At least you have it,” Chad said mollifyingly. Next to him, Chyfe couldn’t help but grin at the expression on Kevik’s face.
Kevik glared at Riyan’s back as he followed. He was happy that he had his staff back, but still a tad upset that it had been used in such a way. With a thought, he caused light to flare at its tip, then quickly dispelled it. At least it hadn’t been damaged by such ill treatment.
Riyan could feel Kevik’s eyes boring into his back, but he kept his attention focused before him. Bart stood at the edge of the outcropping and was peering around it. Moving forward, Riyan worked his way to stand behind Bart. “Can you see them?” he asked. Stepping to the side, he peered over Bart’s shoulder toward the camp.
“No,” replied Bart. “See the tent with the two men standing in front of it?” When Riyan said he did, Bart said, “That’s where I saw them being put.”
The camp was just as Bart had described. The steps leading to the top of the cliff were steep and two men were on them. One heading up with a crate strapped to his back, and another coming down. For a brief moment, Riyan wondered how the two men would pass each other on the narrow steps.
“It doesn’t look as if they plan to move Seth and Soth any time soon,” Riyan observed.
Bart nodded. Then he glanced back to where the others had gathered behind them. “Kevik,” he said, motioning the magic user forward to join him.
Riyan backed off as Kevik moved next to Bart.
Looking around the bend, Kevik took in the camp and the tent with the two men standing guard before it.
“Do you think your sleep spell would affect them all?” Bart asked.
Kevik took a moment to figure it out in his mind then said, “I’ll need to cast two to cover the entire camp.” As Bart started to nod, he added, “But those within the tents will be shielded from the vapors the spell produces.”
“That’s okay,” replied Bart. “If we wait until most are out and moving around, then we’ll stand a better chance at rescuing them. Keep an eye on the camp. When you think the time is right, don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t,” Kevik replied. “You can count on me.” He then turned his attention back to the camp.
Bart patted him on the shoulder. “I know we can,” he said. Then he moved back to the others.
“After Kevik casts his spells,” he began, “we’ll need to move fast. Once they’re unconscious, we free Seth and Soth.” To Riyan he said, “Have your sling ready.”
Riyan held up his hand and opened his fingers. Three stones rested on his palm. “Way ahead of you,” he replied.
“Keep an eye on the steps leading to the top,” he told his friend. “We can’t let anyone make it there to sound the alarm.” When Riyan nodded, he turned to Chyfe and said, “You and Kevik make for the mine opening and make sure no one takes us by surprise from there. Take out anyone who gets in your way.”
“Not a problem,” replied Chyfe.
“Now,” Bart said, “we wait for Kevik.” Turning his attention back to the magic user, he waited.
Minutes clicked by and Kevik remained motionless. Then, a few quick gestures and the spells were cast. Glancing back he nodded. “It’s done,” he said.
“Let’s go,” Bart said. Moving around Kevik, he rounded the outcropping. The scene before him was obscured by a yellow, vaporous cloud that permeated the camp from one side to the other. Bodies of those who had succumbed to the cloud’s affect littered the area.
The man with the crate strapped to his back was only about a third of the way to the top. It looked as if he was still oblivious to what was transpiring below. The other man who had been on the steps heading down was lying on the ground next to the bottom step. Apparently, he had already reached the bottom and succumbed to Kevik’s vaporous, yellow fog. Bart turned to Riyan and pointed toward the man with the crate. “Think you can get him from here?” he asked.
Riyan gauged the distance. “Maybe,” he said. “If I miss, the sound of the stone hitting the rock wall will definitely alert him.”
“He’s too intent on keeping his footing,” offered Chad. “I doubt if he’ll even look down.”
Bart glanced back to the man on the steps and nodded. “Then let’s be quick,” he said. To Kevik he said, “Get rid of the spell.”
In a moment, Kevik had it dispelled. He and Chyfe then immediately headed toward the mine entrance as Riyan, Bart, and Chad hurried to the camp.
As soon as the vaporous cloud had dissipated, most of those on the ground began to stir. It would take some time for them to completely regain consciousness, and not all of them were stirring, but they took no chances. Using the pommels of their knives, they clubbed those on the ground in the head to keep them in a more unconscious state.
After clubbing the guards who had stood outside the tent holding the twins, Bart opened the flap. Inside he found Seth and Soth sitting on the ground with guarded looks on their faces. When they recognized Bart standing there, both immediately broke into smiles and came to their feet.
“Man, are we glad to see you,” Soth stated.
“You didn’t think we’d just let you rot in here did you?” Bart asked with a grin. From around them, the sound of pommels striking skulls could be heard, along with the occasional grunt. “Help us check the tents to make sure we get everyone,” Bart told them.
“You got it,” Seth replied. After taking up their now unconscious guards’ weapons, they began moving from one tent to another.
Bart glanced toward the mine and saw that Chyfe and Kevik had already reached the entrance. Chyfe turned his head toward the camp, saw Bart looking in his direction, then gave the all-clear. Bart waved back in acknowledgment.
“Everyone has been rendered unconscious again,” Riyan said, as he and Chad came and stood beside him. A few seconds later, Seth arrived with Soth right behind him. “Tents were empty,” he said.
“Good,” commented Bart. Glancing up to the man still climbing the steps, he figured the man still had a good ten minutes or more before he reached the top. “Wonder how many are up there?” he said.
“Kevik still has those flasks of his far seeing potion,” offered Soth.
Bart turned to him and said, “You’re right!” He started to move toward the mine then stopped. “Seth,” he said as he glanced over his shoulder to him, “you and your brother stay here and make sure no one wakes up.”
Seth nodded and then began moving among the bodies lying upon the ground. Nudging one with his foot, he made sure the man failed to respond, then continued on to the next.
With Bart in the lead, the others headed up to the entrance of the mine. Kevik and Chyfe were no longer in sight, they must have moved further into it.
“What are they mining here?” asked Riyan. It didn’t look like a regular ore mine. “Could it have been gems?”
“Maybe,” replied Bart.
As they drew closer to the entrance, they could see a bright light shining deep within the mine. It wasn’t hard to recognize it as light from Kevik’s staff spell. When he reached the entrance, Bart hollered, “Kevik, Chyfe! Everything alright?”
“Yes,” came Chyfe’s reply. “Just looking around.” He and Kevik then began returning to the entrance.
“The mine goes on for some distance,” Kevik stated as they rejoined the group.
“Didn’t see anyone in there,” added Chyfe.
Bart nodded. “Kevik, we need to know what’s going on at the top of those steps,” he told the magic user. “Could you do one of your farseeing spells and find out?”
“Sure,” he replied. “Just give me a moment to set it up.” He then removed his pack and placed it on a nearby boulder. Taking out his bowl and one of the two remaining flasks of mixture, he began preparing to cast his spell.
After pouring the contents of the flask into the bowl, he allowed the mixture a moment to settle and the surface to smooth. Then he spoke the arcane words of the spell. As the last word flowed from his lips, the surface of the mixture began to shimmer. Color and light danced across the top before settling into an image depicting the man on the steps.
“Can you move it further up?” asked Bart, indicating his desire to see more of the area at the top.
“I’ll try,” replied Kevik. Concentrating, he managed to get the image to slowly scroll in the desired direction.
As more of the area at the top of the steps came into view, they saw an encampment. Two single floored structures sat in the middle with an array of tents radiating out from them. Off to the left was a stable with several horses.
A wooden stockade surrounded the encampment from one end of the cliff’s edge to the other. Within the stockade were a score or more men in uniform, their exact nature was hard to determine. But one thing was for certain, this was no ordinary miner encampment.
“What’s going on here?” Bart asked to himself.
Riyan glanced to him and both could see the question reflected in the eyes of the other. Then both turned to look at one of the crates stacked nearby. Riyan moved from beside the boulder and walked over to it.
The lid was securely attached and it took but a moment for him to use the blade of his knife to pry it open. When it came loose, he pulled it off and was surprised at what he found within. Turning back to the others, he said, “It’s a bunch of junk.”
“What?” asked Bart. Hurrying over, he and the others left Kevik alone by the boulder. When they came to see what was inside, they too were surprised. Inside the crate was rusted armor and swords. None of which could be construed as being worth anything.
“Grave robbers?” asked Chyfe.
Bart reached in and moved aside the old rusted chain mail armor lying on top of the contents. Beneath he found more of the same. “I can’t believe they’d get anything for this junk,” he stated. “It’s worthless.”
“A collector maybe?” suggested Riyan.
Bart shook his head. “I’ve known many and none would be interested in equipment in such a state,” he replied. Letting go of the armor, he allowed it to fall back in place as he turned his gaze toward the mine’s entrance.
“Hey!” Kevik hollered from where he was still looking at the image in the bowl. He never took his eyes off of it as he waved for the others to join him.
Riyan was the first to reach his side. “What is it?” he asked.
Kevik pointed to the image and said, “Look.”
The gate in the stockade wall was opening and four wagons began entering. There were a score of accompanying guards as well as another dozen civilians. From the looks of them, they may be additions to the work force here at the bottom.
“Reinforcements?” asked Chad.
“I don’t think so,” Bart replied. As they watched, the civilians accompanying the wagons began loading a stack of crates into the first wagon. “I think they’re here to collect what has been brought out of the mine.”
Then they saw five of the newcomers begin heading toward the top of the steps leading down. “This could make things interesting,” Chyfe said.
Bart nodded agreement. Turning to Riyan he said, “Go tell Seth and Soth we’re about to have company. Have them start getting the bodies out of sight. We don’t want to tip them off something’s wrong any sooner than we have to.” Then as Riyan hurried from the entrance toward the camp, Bart turned to Kevik. “Keep an eye on things.” Then to Chad, “Stay here with him.”
“You got it,” replied Chad.
With a final glance to the image in the bowl, he gestured for Chyfe to join him as he too, headed for the camp.
“What are we to do?” asked Chyfe. Glancing up the side of the canyon, he could see the five men already beginning to work their way down.
“I don’t know,” Bart admitted. “With the force up there, we’d be sitting ducks if we tried to climb the steps.” Then he indicated the river. “Would be nice to have a boat or raft, but as it is, we’d have to swim.”
“I doubt if we could make it very far,” commented Chyfe. Despite the relative calm of the water, it would be a long way to try to remain afloat before they could get away. Too long to avoid detection by the men descending the steps.
Up ahead, Riyan had already reached the tents and was met by the twins. Bart could see Seth had something in his hand and seemed pretty excited. He was showing it to Riyan.
“…tell you this has to be the place!” asserted Seth. Then he looked up as Chyfe and Bart joined them. In his hand he held the scabbard of a longsword. Holding it out to the new arrivals, he said, “Found this in one of the crates.”
Bart took the scabbard and his eyes widened. For emblazoned near the opening where the sword would enter, was the coat of arms for which they had been searching. He immediately understood the significance of what they had found.
Beside him, Chyfe gasped as he too came to recognize the coat of arms. “We’re too late!” he exclaimed. “They’ve taken the segment.”
“Not necessarily,” Riyan said. Patting his pack wherein the other three segments lay he added, “So far, we’ve needed one of these to gain access to where another was hidden.” He turned his gaze to Bart. “They may not have recognized the door leading to it as such.”
Bart nodded. “You may be right,” he agreed. Then he glanced upward to the men descending the steps. “Either way, we need to deal with this current situation.” Moving toward the nearest unconscious man, he said, “Get these men out of sight before they get any closer.”
“But what about the segment?” asked Riyan, as he moved and took another of the men by the arm.
“One thing at a time,” Bart said.
Moving quickly, they dragged the men into the tents. All the while, they continued to cast glances to the five drawing ever closer to the camp. Thus far, it didn’t look as if they had noticed anything out of the ordinary.
As Riyan helped Bart drag one of the last remaining men into a tent, he said, “They may just be coming down to bring the crates to the top.”
“What’s your point?” Bart asked. At the tent flap, they dragged the man inside and laid him upon another that had already been deposited within.
“Just that, maybe Seth and Soth could make like they are in charge down here, load them up, and send them on their way,” he suggested.
“Don’t you think they’d be suspicious when they found only two others down here?” Bart asked.
Moving back outside, they saw the twins coming toward them. Off to their right, the legs of an unconscious man disappeared through a tent flap as Chyfe dragged the last of them inside.
“Suspicious of what?” asked Seth.
“They could tell them that everyone else was inside the mine bringing out more crates,” Riyan said to Bart.
“Who could tell who what?” Seth asked.
Bart thought for a moment as Riyan filled the twins in on their plan. “It might work,” he said.
“If it didn’t, Seth and I would be faced with a problematic situation,” Soth stated.
“First of all, they wouldn’t be expecting any trouble,” Riyan said. Turning to the twins, he indicated a stack of boxes at the foot of the steps. “Load them up as soon as they reach the bottom, and send them back to the top.”
Seth grinned at the plan and nodded. “Are they armed?” he asked Bart.
“Not that we could tell,” he said. “Kevik’s up at the entrance keeping an eye on them. If something began to develop, Chad would come and tell us.”
By this time, the five men had descended a quarter of the distance.
“Think you two can pull it off?” asked Bart.
Seth nodded again. “Sure,” he replied.
“Alright then,” Bart said. “While you two keep an eye on things here, the rest of us will hunt for the last segment.”
“Still no guarantee that it will be in there,” warned Soth.
“True,” replied Riyan. “But we have to check it out.”
“We’ll wait until you have the men on their way back to the top before beginning our search,” Riyan said. Then he turned to Bart. “It might be a good idea to give Soth the ring you use to communicate with Kevik.”
“Right,” he agreed. Removing it from his hand, he handed it over to Soth. “Just think of Kevik and speak what you want to say in your mind.”
Taking the ring, Soth slipped it onto a finger of his left hand. “Alright,” he said. Gazing at it, he looked almost as if he had expected the ring to do something and was disappointed.
“We better get out of here,” advised Chyfe. Glancing to the men on the steps, he added, “They’re getting close.”
“Okay, let’s go,” said Bart. With a last glance to Seth he said, “Be careful.”
“Of course,” replied Seth. “You too.”
Moving out, Riyan, Chyfe, and Bart hurried through the camp toward the mine.
As they neared the entrance, they could see Kevik still looking at the image in the bowl. Chad stood a few feet away and watched as they approached.
“What’s going on?” he asked as they came close. Riyan quickly filled him in.
All but Kevik stood just within the shadows of the entrance as they watched the men descending the steps. Kevik continued to keep an eye on the happenings at the top. It took the men another ten minutes to traverse the remainder of the steps and reach the bottom.
There, Seth came forward and began speaking with the men. Everyone held their breath as he spoke. At first it didn’t seem as if it was going to work. Then, the men went to the stack of crates at the foot of the steps. Each took one of the crates and positioned it upon their back, then began the arduous climb to the top. Once the last man had his crate in place and was climbing the steps, Kevik gasped.
Turning to the magic user, they could see the far away look on his face he always gets when conversing through the rings.
A moment later, Kevik’s eyes refocused. He held his hand to his forehead and groaned. “Everything went alright with the porters,” he told them. Then when he noticed their concerned looks, he added, “When Seth spoke through the ring, he broke my concentration with the far seeing spell which resulted in a magical backlash.”
“Are you okay?” Riyan asked, concerned.
Kevik nodded. “It’s beginning to fade,” he assured them. Gesturing to the mixture filled bowl, he asked, “Should I dump it out and take the bowl with us, or leave it?”
“I would think leave it,” replied Bart. “We won’t need it in there and I’d hate to waste it. Might need it when we return.”
“Very well,” stated Kevik. Taking hold of his staff from where it was leaning against the side of the entrance, he created his light spell.
“Let’s go,” Bart said. And with Kevik right behind him, he led them into the mine.