The city is a bustle of activity, in many ways the same as any other. Even though it’s night, there are still many people out and merchants can be heard as they hawk their wares to those passing by. The crowds of people are beginning to disperse as the night progresses and some shops are in the process of closing for the evening.
Jiron directs them to a small alley adjacent to a store where they enter and move far enough away from the street until they’re hidden from the view of those passing by. In a hushed voice, he asks, “How do you plan on opening up the east gate?”
“I don’t,” replies James.
“But we told them we would,” argues Jiron.
“Not exactly,” James said. “Besides, once the gate is opened, we’d soon be found out. Something like that would be sure to draw unwanted attention.”
“I suppose you’re right,” says Jiron.
“Now,” begins James, “do you know anything about this Pytherian?”
“Heard his name a couple of times,” he tells him. “Like Miller said, he’s supposed to be some sort of great general. I think he is related to someone on the Ruling Council in Madoc, not sure who though.”
“Ever seen him?” asks James.
Shaking his head, he says, “No. How are we going to find him?”
“Not sure,” admits James. He looks over the tops of the houses to the Keep near the center of the city. Pointing to it, he says, “But considering whom he is, he most likely would be there.”
Looking where James is pointing, Jiron says, “You’re probably right, but how are we to get in there?”
“Haven’t a clue,” he tells him. “But that hasn’t stopped us before.”
Jiron just nods in response.
James turns to Miko and asks, “You ready?”
“Let’s do it,” he says with a startling eagerness. James gives him a sidelong look and then moves to follow Jiron as he walks out of the alley.
Upon entering the street, he follows the main flow of people down for several blocks before they come to another main road which crosses theirs. That road bears more toward the Keep than the one they’re on so Jiron turns and follows it.
As they continue toward the Keep, the amount of people on the street begins to steadily decrease. The street leads to the gate into the Keep area where two guards are standing watch. While they pause and observe those going through, they notice that the guards give comments and greeting to practically everyone who passes.
“Just about everyone who goes through that gate is probably known to them,” states James.
“I would think so,” agrees Miko.
“How are we to get through?” asks Jiron.
They move to another alley while they ponder the problem. When no answer is forthcoming, Miko says, “We could try the sewers.” When both Jiron and James look to him, he continues, “There has to be a spot where the sewers in the Keep and the sewers in the city intersect. If we can find it, we could walk under the walls.”
By the look on James’ face, he’s obviously not liking this idea. Jiron on the other hand, is nodding and giving Miko a grin.
Miko says, “If we look around a bit, we’re sure to find an access to the sewers.”
“Good idea,” says Jiron, patting him on the back.
“Alright,” James says with little enthusiasm. “Let’s see what we can find.”
They move down the alleyway and along several streets before finding a water runoff drain that they can use to gain access to the sewer. Making sure no one is watching, Jiron squeezes through and begins to descend down the rungs set into the wall to the bottom. James and Miko follow shortly afterwards.
As James begins to climb down the slime covered rungs embedded into the side of the sewer, the smell hits him. Trying not to gag, he continues down until he’s standing next to Jiron on a ledge running next to and slightly above the main flow of the sewer.
Suddenly, the orb springs to life, giving them light to see. James moves over to allow space for Miko as he reaches the bottom.
The ledge they are standing on is a foot wide and there is one running on both sides of the main flow of the sewer, allowing people to walk without having to step into the filth flowing by below. “Wish Bearn’s sewer would’ve had this,” Miko says.
“Me too,” agrees James. “The keep was to the north of here so we should try to head in that direction.”
“Follow me,” Jiron says as he begins moving north along the sewer’s ledge. They follow him for a hundred feet before coming to where the sewer tunnel splits, one going northwest and the other going northeast. Jiron glances back to James who indicates he should follow the northeast passage. Giving him a nod, Jiron turns to follow it.
They pass several more access ladders leading up into the dark, but they continue on past. Opening up on their left, another sewer passage connects to the one they’re in and is blocked by thick iron bars spaced half a foot apart.
“That’s got to be it,” says James. The iron bars would have been put there to prevent unauthorized access to the Keep.
“I would think so too,” agrees Jiron. “Now, how are we to get through?”
“Leave that to me,” James says as he looks for a way to get to the bars without having to step in the muck.
Miko sees him as he is looking around and smiles. Then he says, “I think there’s no other way but to step into the flow.”
Sighing, James replies, “I know.” Gritting his teeth, he steps off the ledge and into the main flow of the sewer. His leg sinks a foot and a half into the filth and he almost loses the contents of his stomach from the stench that produces.
As he pauses there in the flow, Jiron says, “You okay?”
He just shakes his head. How can he explain to them just how much this nauseates him? Taking several more steps, the muck making a sucking sound every time he pulls his foot out, he makes it over to the bars.
Standing there in front of the bars, he begins to consider the best way to get through them.
“James!” Miko whispers urgently.
When he turns back to look at Miko, he sees him pointing down the sewer where it continues. He glances to where he’s pointing and sees a light coming toward them. Quickly canceling the orb, he plunges them back in darkness as they watch the light approach.
A lone man is approaching, the flickering of his torch becoming brighter with every step he takes. They can hear him muttering to himself as he walks along the ledge, the same ledge Miko and Jiron are standing upon.
As he continues looking at the approaching man, he sees a shadow begin to move toward him. A glint of reflected torchlight from a knife blade tells him Jiron is moving to intercept the man.
Wishing there was another way, he stands there silently as Jiron moves closer. Then there’s a cry as the torch falls into the sewer and is quickly extinguished. “It’s okay now James,” he hears Jiron say.
The orb blossoms into light once more and he can see Jiron moving back toward them. He sees James looking at him and he says, “He’s not dead, just unconscious.”
Relieved, James turns back to the bars and begins to work the magic to bend the bars enough for them to squeeze through. When the bars begin bending, a vibrating noise can be heard coming from them.
Once the noise stops, James glances back to them and says, “Let’s go.” He squeezes his way in through the bars and then stands there as the other two make their way through the filth and join him on the other side. Then he again uses the magic as the bars begin to move back into place. By the time he’s done, his head is beginning to hurt and his breath is a little labored. Turning back to the others, he says, “That was tougher than I thought.”
“You alright?” Jiron asks, concerned.
“I’ll be fine,” he assures him. “Let’s go.”
Jiron again leads them as they move down the sewer. James is certain they are passing under the wall of the keep area, or soon will be.
This section of the sewers has no ledges upon which to walk. The sewer here is not as deep as the other had been either, much to their relief. They pass by another set of rungs leading up and Jiron pauses as he glances back to James.
James shakes his head and says, “Let’s move further in toward the keep, that one would probably come out in the outer courtyard area. We need to find access into the main keep.”
Jiron nods and then turns back as he continues down. Several more sets of rungs come and go before they decide to stop and investigate.
“Just go up and see if you can tell where we are,” suggests James.
Placing his hand on one of the rungs, he replies, “I understand.” Then he quickly climbs up until he disappears into the darkness.
A thud can be heard above them, probably from a trapdoor or something that he had to open in order to leave the sewer. Several minutes pass before they hear a quiet thud again and soon see Jiron descending the rungs.
“These rungs lead to the basement of some kind of home,” he says. “I didn’t move too far into it before finding a window. We’re about a hundred feet south of the walls of the Keep itself.”
“Good,” James exclaims. “Let’s move on then and try to find the one we need.”
Nodding, Jiron again takes the lead. When they come to a junction of sewer passages, he moves to follow the one that’ll bring them closest to the Keep. They follow the new passage for a little over a hundred feet when a set of rungs becomes visible ahead of them.
“This might be it,” Jiron says as they reach them.
“Go up and see,” James tells him.
Jiron quickly climbs up into the darkness and then they hear his voice calling down, “It’s clear, come on up.”
Miko goes first, with James right behind. The light from the orb shows Jiron and Miko standing in a barren, small room with a single wooden door as the only exit.
When James finally exits the sewers, Jiron indicates the door and says, “It’s locked. Can’t hear anything from the other side.”
“Can you open it?” he asks.
Taking out a knife, he says, “There’s only one way to find out.” He moves to the door and begins working on the lock. James closes the trapdoor to the sewers, in an attempt to block off the stench, but soon realizes that they’re the source of the intense odor. That could cause a problem as they move through the Keep.
Click!
He looks to Jiron who has a smug expression on his face. “It’s open?” he asks him.
Jiron nods in reply.
James cancels the orb to avoid it being seen as Jiron begins to slowly push the door open. The hinges squeal as it opens, protesting after long years of not having been used.
It’s dark on the other side of the door. Jiron moves out and says, “Need the light.”
Soft light fills the room as the orb springs to life once again and partially illuminates the passage running outside. “Come on,” Jiron says. “It looks empty.”
The passage extends in both directions, doors lining both sides at three foot intervals. Each door is wooden, sturdily built with a small window at eye level, as well as a lock similar to the one Jiron had just opened.
“Looks like cells,” James guesses.
“Must be in the lower dungeon under the keep,” Miko says. Turning to James he asks, “Would this be where they’re holding Pytherian?”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I wouldn’t think so, but you never know.”
“Which way?” asks Jiron.
“One’s as good as another,” replies James.
So Jiron leads them down to the left. All the cells are quiet, no sound comes from them. James pauses at one of the doors and holds the orb to one of the windows to see what’s inside. Within the room lies a skeleton wearing scraps of clothing that’s all but rotted away. A shackle is attached around one of its legs and is secured to a ring set into the wall.
“Poor guy,” he whispers as he moves to follow Jiron down the passage. The level of undisturbed dust on the floor and doors tells James this area of the dungeon hasn’t been used in a very long time.
The passage suddenly ends at a wooden door, slightly different from the others. When Jiron checks it, he finds it locked and begins working on the lock. When they hear a ‘click’ again, he opens the door slowly.
On the other side, they find a stairway leading up into darkness. Jiron begins to climb the stairs with the others right behind him. The top of the stairs opens up onto another corridor running the same direction as the one below. This area shows the same signs of disuse as the area below. There’s also another door across from the stairs down.
Jiron glances back to James who indicates the door. Taking out his knife, he begins to work at the lock until they hear the familiar ‘click’.
On the other side of the door, is another flight of steps leading up. Again Jiron leads the way until they come to where the stairs end at a stone wall.
When James sees the wall, he says, “Jiron, back away and let me look at it.”
“Another secret door?” Miko asks.
“Possibly,” he replies. He hands the orb to Miko as he begins to inspect the walls. Pressing lightly upon the stones, he finds one loose and glances at the others. “I think I may have found it,” he says as he presses on it.
The wall begins to slide to the right and they are suddenly bathed in bright light from a torch on the opposite walls.
They hear a gasp from the other side and Jiron is through in a flash. “Don’t kill him!” James whispers as he passes by.
He hears a crash and then Jiron says, “It’s just a servant.”
James and Miko leave the stairs just as the wall begins to slide closed once more. They see Jiron with a man held at knife point against the wall. The man is obviously a servant and at his feet are the broken remains of a chamber pot that had been full. A disgusting mess, but after the sewers, it has little effect on James’ senses.
Coming to the servant, James says, “Do you understand me?”
The servant looks back blankly, clearly not understanding and completely terrified.
“What are we to do with him?” asks Jiron.
James looks down the corridor in either direction. It looks identical to the corridors below, except this one looks to be currently used. Across from them is an open doorway with a flight of stairs leading up. To their left, the corridor extends further down, a couple of torches spaced along its length gives off some light.
“Knock him out,” James tells him.
Jiron strikes the poor man in the back of the head and he slumps to the floor, unconscious.
James goes over to one of the cells and looks in. Finding the cell empty, he has Jiron open it and put the man inside, tying him up and gagging him.
When Jiron leaves the cell, he holds up a four inch ring with several keys attached to it. He tries them and finds the one that fits the lock to the cell where the servant lies. Locking the door, he turns back to James.
James moves to the door before the stairs and looks up. Not seeing anyone, he closes the door and turns back to the others. “Let’s go down this way,” he says indicating the corridor of cell doors.
“Why?” asks Miko.
“He was removing a chamber pot from somewhere down there,” he explains. “I doubt they would supply one to an ordinary prisoner.”
“You think Pytherian is down there?” Jiron asks.
“Maybe,” he replies. “Only one way to find out, though.” Turning to Miko, he says, “Stay by the door and let us know if anyone comes.”
“No problem,” he replies as he puts his ear to the door.
James takes the torch from the wall and begins to make his way down the corridor, looking in through the windows of the cell doors. The first ones he checks are empty, but then he comes to one with someone lying on the floor, dead. From the looks of him, he didn’t die all that long ago. A rat looks up at him from where it’s chewing on a part of the poor man’s exposed leg. From the size of the missing section, the rats have been eating for a while.
Disgusted, he continues on, finding more empty cells until he at last comes to the end of the corridor. The second to last cell contains a man of average build. When James looks in through the window, the man lifts his head up and looks back. He can see sitting over in a corner, another chamber pot similar to the one the servant had been carrying.
“Who are you?” asks James.
The man’s eyes open wide when he realizes James isn’t another guard. He comes to the door and cries, “Help me!” He brings his face to the window and looks pleadingly to James.
“Who are you?” James asks again.
“My name’s Braelin,” the man tells him. “We don’t have much time, let me out!”
James looks to Jiron who shrugs. “Do you know Pytherian?”
The man just looks at James with a blank expression, then he cries, “Yes! Yes I do.”
“Who is he?” Jiron asks as he looks in the window at the man.
The man looks at both of them then sinks down to the floor and begins sobbing. “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
“Why are you locked in here?” James asks him.
“For having an affair with Cyel, the Lord’s daughter,” he says with resignation. “We loved each other, but she was betrothed to another. They’re going to execute me in the morning.”
He looks up from the floor and says piteously, “Please, please get me out of here.”
James brings Jiron away from the cell and gives him a questioningly look.
Jiron just sighs and says, “You can’t save everyone. This man broke the law and he’s going to pay for it. If you let him go, you put our mission in jeopardy.”
“I know,” he says with resignation. He goes back over to the window and says, “I’m sorry.” As he walks away, the man inside begins crying and wailing for them to help him.
They go back down the corridor to where Miko is watching the door. He sees them returning and asks, “What was all that about?”
“Nothing,” James says somewhat sadly. “It wasn’t Pytherian.”
“It’s been quiet on the other side of the door,” he tells them.
“Then let’s go,” he says.
Jiron opens the door and peers around to the stairway leading up. At the top of the stairs is another lit torch, bathing the whole area up there in light. He gestures for them to remain here as he moves quickly and silently up the stairs.
Upon reaching the top, he cautiously glances around the corner and then waves for them to join him. When they reach his side, he says, “Doesn’t look like anyone is around.”
He steps out into the corridor and begins following it down. This area has the look of frequent use. Doors line the walls, not set nearly as close as the ones below had been. James glances in through one of the windows and sees large cells used to hold multiple people, all of which are currently empty.
From further down the corridor, they can hear the cries of a man in pain. Ahead of them, Jiron suddenly slows and then quickly returns.
Whispering quietly, Jiron points back down the corridor and says, “It opens up onto a room ahead. It sounds like someone there is being tortured.” As if to emphasize what Jiron is saying, the man cries out again, gibbering incoherently. Other voices can be heard as well, speaking the Empire’s tongue.
As they make their way slowly down the corridor to where it opens up, James is able to begin to see within the room ahead of them and recognizes many of the implements there. It’s a torture chamber, or rather, a room used for extracting information.
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, they can see a naked man lying spread-eagled on a table, his arms and legs stretched out and secured to the corners. There are two men standing next to him, both dressed in similar attire. One is holding a glowing hot poker and James watches as he brings it down to the man’s left breast. The man cries out as smoke arises from where his flesh is being burnt by the hot poker, the smell of burnt hair permeates the room. They can tell the man on the table is of northern stock.
Jiron bursts out of the hallway, knives flashing as he advances upon the torturers. They turn at his advance, one crying out while the other throws the hot poker at him. They both turn toward the door behind them and make a break for it.
Jiron reaches them before they have time to even open the door. With a couple quick strikes, they fall to the floor. One starts to cry out and Jiron stomps on his neck, smashing his windpipe. Gurgling, the man chokes for a minute before becoming still. The other had already died from where one of Jiron’s knives had punctured his heart.
The man on the table looks around at them, his single eye wide. The other eye socket is filled with what looks like lead. James can see numerous cuts and burns marring his flesh. Two fingers had been cut off as well as a couple of toes. His eye darts around, not really seeing anything.
James comes over to him and stands next to his head. The man flinches when he realizes he’s there. “It’s okay,” James assures him. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
The man just jibbers, saliva running down the side of his face.
“Who are you?” James asks.
The man doesn’t respond, just makes nonsensical noises.
James looks over to Jiron who says, “He’s mad.” Gesturing to the two stiffs on the floor, he continues, “They drove him mad, probably just for fun.” He comes over to the poor man and cuts his throat.
James looks at Jiron in horror, “What did you do that for?”
“Mercy killing,” he says. “We can’t take him with us and I’m not about to leave him here for someone else to have fun with.”
He watches as the man chokes on his own blood and slowly begins to calm down and dies. Maybe it was the best thing for the poor guy.
Miko’s over at the door leading out of the room. “I don’t hear anything,” he tells them as he pulls his ear away from the door.
“If anyone shows up, they’ll know someone’s been here,” Jiron says as he cleans his knives on the torturers’ clothes.
“Then let’s hurry, shall we,” James says, coming around the dead man lying on the table as he makes for the door.
Jiron listens a moment at the door before slowly opening it. A series of open cells, similar to the ones the slaves had been in back in Korazan are lined along both sides of the corridor. There are several men inside who come to the front of the cages when they see them leave the room, speaking to them in the Empire’s tongue. They hold out their hands, obviously asking for them to be let out.
They move along, ignoring the pleadings of the prisoners. At the other end of the room is another thick wooden door with a small window.
Jiron moves to the door and peers out through the window. He turns to the others and says, “Don’t see anyone.”
He sees James nod, then he turns back to the door and opens it. Sticking his head out, he slowly opens the door further until there’s enough space to pass through.
Miko and James follow him out into the corridor, closing the door behind them and cutting off the cries of the prisoners.
The hallway they find themselves in is dark, extending away from the door, with a single torch at the far end giving off light. Moving quickly, they hurry down the hallway toward the lighted area.
Upon coming near, they see a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway going up to the left. They slow down as they approach the stairwell, Jiron moves to the fore as he peers around the corner and up the stairs.
He turns back to the others and says, “It curves out of sight as it spirals up.”
James nods his head, “Okay, take it slow and listen for anyone coming down.”
“Right,” Jiron replies as he turns back to the stairs and begins going up.
They follow the stairs as they wind around several times before Jiron pauses. He holds his hand up for the others to stop as he cocks his head to the side as if he’s listening. Then he turns back toward them and whispers, “Someone’s coming.”
Moving quickly and quietly, they return back down the stairs. At the bottom, they run along the hallway until they come to the door to the holding area. Opening the door, they slip inside and shut it just as two guards round the corner from the stairs.
The prisoners are making lots of noise as they plead with them to release them, at least that’s what James thinks they’re trying to say. But the guards don’t seem to be paying it much attention, the door muffles most of it.
Jiron waits next to the door, knives ready. The prisoners become quiet when they realize what they’re about to do.
In the quiet, they hear the two guards talking as they approach. Suddenly the door opens up and Jiron strikes out, taking one of the guards across the throat before they even realize what’s going on.
He kicks out at the other as he tries to draw his sword, knocking him against the wall and throwing him off balance. Then he’s on him, knives striking fast.
Before James even realizes it, the battle is over and the guards lie dead on the floor, their blood beginning to pool by the door. He and Jiron take the bodies and drag them into the room with the cells.
The prisoners begin to once again clamor to be let out. Once the guards are within the room, they again leave and close the door behind them.
Going back to the stairs, they once more begin climbing to the next level, making what feels to James as three complete circles before coming out into a basement of some sort. It’s a large, dark room with boxes stacked around the edges.
A door sits in the wall to their right and across from them, a stairway extends up. James signals for Miko to watch the stairs as he goes over with Jiron to the door. “Which way?” he asks him.
“I don’t know,” replies Jiron. “My best guess would be the stairs, since he wasn’t below. We need to find someone who can tell us where to find him.”
“I know, we’ll never find him in time hunting blind,” admits James.
“Can’t you do that bubble thing to find him?” he asks.
Shaking his head, James replies, “No, I don’t know him at all so it wouldn’t work. If I had something of his, maybe, but I don’t.”
Before they head up the stairs, they check the other door first, just in case while Miko watches the stairs. Opening the door a couple inches, they discover a darkened corridor extending away from the room. James looks to Jiron and says, “Not this way, let’s go up the stairs. He isn’t down here.”
Closing the door, they move back over to where Miko is keeping an eye on the stairs. “Anything?” James asks him.
“No,” he replies. “Haven’t heard anything.”
Jiron takes the lead as they move up the stairs. It runs fairly straight up and after fourteen steps comes out on a wide hallway running to the right and left.
Candles spaced every twenty feet or so give off a soft light. To the right, the hallway extends for a hundred feet before turning to the left. The other way, it extends further until finally disappearing into the distance.
Jiron glances to James who just shrugs. Stepping into the hallway, Jiron begins moving to the right, the others following close behind.
They pass three doors before the hallway turns to the left. Glancing around the corner, he sees it extending further into the distance. “It’s clear,” he says as he goes around the corner and continues following the hallway.
All the doors they pass are closed and a quick check fails to hear anything within. Suddenly, further down the corridor, a door opens and a woman walks out into the hallway. A servant by her dress, she glances their way and her eyes open wide.
Jiron sprints toward her as a scream escapes her lips. A second later, Jiron grabs her and clamps his hand over her mouth, silencing her. She struggles to free herself but is no match for him.
Placing a knife against her throat causes her to cease her struggling and to become quiet. He walks her back to where James and Miko stand, all the while expecting other doors to open in response to her scream. But either there’s no one else down here or a woman screaming in this area is common, for no other door opens.
“Do you understand me?” James asks her when Jiron has brought her close.
She nods her head and they all breathe a sigh of relief.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Elspa,” she replies.
“Elspa, do you know where they’re keeping the captured general?” he asks.
“I think in the north tower,” she says, a fearful quaver in her voice.
“Where’s that?” Miko asks.
Elspa looks to him and says, “It’s on the other side of the Keep.”
“Of course,” mumbles James. Couldn’t be just above us, oh no, it has to be all the way on the other side!
“You’re going to take us there,” James tells her. “And if you give us away, or trick us, my friend here will make sure you’re the first to die.”
He sees her eyes open wide as they flick momentarily to Jiron. “Do you understand?” he asks her.
Nodding her head, she quietly says, “Yes, I do.”
“Now, what’s the best way to get there?” he asks. Then he adds, “Without being discovered.”
“There’s no direct way to get there,” she tells him. “And the whole tower is full of guards, you’ll never make it to where they’re keeping him.”
“You let us worry about that,” he says. “Now, I understand that servants often have a way of moving about to avoid being underfoot. I want you to take us along those ways as best you can.”
She nods her head. “It’s this way,” she tells him, pointing down to where she had just entered the corridor.
James nods to Jiron who takes her by the arm and holds her close as she begins to lead them down the hallway. As they reach the door that she’d exited from, she pauses a moment before opening the door.
They move through into a narrow hallway. “This leads to the lower kitchens,” she says as she continues along. “Another of these passages leads from the kitchens to the main banquet room which should be relatively empty at this time of night.”
“What about the kitchens,” Jiron says. “Will there be anyone there?”
Sighing, she replies, “There’s always someone there but any other way and you risk being spotted even more.”
“Alright,” James says.
They continue down the hallway until they begin to smell the yeast of many loaves of bread rising as they’re being prepared for the morning meal. Slowing down, Jiron hands the girl to James as he moves forward to check the kitchen.
The kitchen is a large room with many tables and ovens. Ten tables are lined with loaves of bread dough, and beneath one of them is a boy sleeping. The boy appears to be the only one currently in the room.
He goes back to the others and tells them what he’d seen. “That’s Kibby”, she tells them. “He’s the baker’s apprentice and is there to make sure the bread is ready for baking in the morning.” She looks to them and asks, “You’re not going to hurt him are you?”
“If we can get through without waking him,” James assures her, “then I see no reason to harm him.”
She nods her head and they move closer to where the hallway opens up into the kitchen. She points off to the right where another small hallway leads away from the kitchen, “That’s the one you want.”
James indicates with a nod of his head for her to precede them. She moves out, stepping cautiously, trying to remain as quietly as she can as she moves around the table where Kibby is sleeping.
As they move through the kitchen, Miko snags some bread sitting on a counter that was left over from the night before and begins munching on it. When James looks at him, he just gives him a smile as he continues chewing. James grabs one as well.
They reach the hallway and James glances back at the still sleeping Kibby beneath the table. Then he turns back and follows Elspa as she continues to lead them through the Keep.
From up ahead, they hear someone coming toward them. They duck down another side passage and hold still and quiet as the person approaches.
Jiron holds a knife to Elspa’s throat to prevent her from crying out. Then a man walks by their hiding spot and continues down the passage. Once the man’s footsteps can no longer be heard, they return to the passage.
“That was Olyth, the baker,” she tells them once Jiron has removed his knife from her throat.
“Let’s go, we’re running out of time,” urges James.
She begins leading them again down the passage. They go for several hundred feet when she again comes to a stop. Indicating further down the passage ahead of them, she says, “Up ahead, it opens into the banquet room.”
Jiron moves forward and then pauses at the end of the passage. He returns quickly and says, “She’s correct, it’s the main hall alright. It looks empty.”
They move to the end of the passage and James asks, “Where now?”
She points over to another, wider passage across the hall and says, “We’ll have to take that one, there’s no servant’s way on that side of the keep.”
“Where does it lead?” James asks her.
“To the north tower,” she tells him. “There’ll be guards, you’ll have no chance to sneak in there.”
“We’ll see,” he says. Moving to the edge, he glances around the room and then they move quickly across to the other hallway.
It’s much wider than the one they’d been in and has more candles keeping it well lit. Moving down the passage, they pass many doors made of finer quality than the ones they’d seen earlier.
Suddenly from up ahead, three guards suddenly move into the passage heading in their direction. James opens the door they’re closest to and they all rush into the room before the guards spot them.
Once the door is closed, Jiron keeps his ear to the door as James looks around the room. It looks to be a sitting room, where ladies could visit and entertain guests. A doorway leads to another room and James moves toward it to see if there’s anyone there.
As he gets closer, he begins to hear the unmistakable sounds of someone snoring. He looks through the doorway and sees a large bed with two bodies sleeping under covers. Backtracking quickly and quietly he goes back to where the others are waiting by the door.
Jiron opens the door and peers out to see if the guards are still there. Bringing his head back in, he says, “They’re gone.”
“Good, there’s someone sleeping in the other room,” James tells him as he points through the doorway.
“Then let’s go,” he says as he takes Elspa and returns to the hallway. The others follow and Miko closes the door quietly behind them.
“How far to the tower?” James asks her.
“Not very,” she replies. She points to a set of double doors further down where the hallway turns to the left and says, “That’s the entrance. It’s the only way I know to get there.”
As they continue to approach, he says, “How many guards are there?”
“I don’t know,” she replies, “I’ve never been there, my duties were always elsewhere.”
“Then I’m afraid this is where we must part ways,” he says to her.
Her eyes open wide, expecting to be killed on the spot. He moves to a door and listens for a moment. When he doesn’t hear anything, he opens it up and finds another sitting room. This whole area must be guest rooms for visiting nobles. Moving quickly, he looks through to the bedroom and with relief, finds it empty.
Returning to the sitting room, he grabs Elspa and drags her to the bedroom where he gags her mouth and ties her up securely. “I’m not going to kill you,” he tells her. She calms down somewhat when she sees a gold piece appear in his hand. “I appreciate your helping us,” he says as he places the gold piece within a pocket of her outfit.
He gives her a wink and then returns to the front room where the others are waiting for him. Jiron is by the door and when he sees the nod from James, opens it up and checks to make sure the hallway is empty before they step out.
Moving down toward the double doors that Elspa had told them led to the north tower where Pytherian is being held, they quickly cross the distance and stand before them.
Miko keeps watch down both hallways while Jiron listens at the doors. After a minute, he lifts his head away and says, “I think there’re two guards on the other side, can’t be sure. I do hear something though.”
“What do you propose?” James asks him.
“If there are just the two, we might be able to silence them quickly before they alert the whole keep,” he whispers to him. “But if there are more than two, then we’ve got problems.”
“No way to know for sure is there?” James asks him.
He shakes his head, “No, there isn’t.”
“Then let’s move quick and decisively,” he says. Jiron nods in agreement.
Drawing his knives, he makes ready to pass through the doors. James takes three stones out of his pocket, the last ammo he has, and prepares.
Miko takes the handles of the doors as he prepares to swing them open to allow Jiron and James to fight those within.
When both James and Jiron signal Miko that they’re ready, he swings open the doors.