Quest for the Sun Gem (17 page)

The thirteen priests stood on the deck, shrouded in long black tunics, with sweeping hooded black cloaks. Their faces were hidden deep in the shadows of their hoods. The only sign of colour or life was a small brooch each wore at the throat to fasten their cloaks. A glowing red eye gleamed above two crossed silver cutlasses, encircled by silver wire.

‘Welcome,’ Lord Lazlac said softly. ‘We are most honoured to have the priesthood of Krad here in Tiregian. My soldiers are looking forward to taking you out to the far corners of Tiregian to spread the law and word of Krad, and our most fearful majesty, Emperor Raef. You may be sure his law will be enforced with the full might of our army.’

‘As it should,’ replied the Head Priest. ‘Emperor Raef is most impatient to hear from you. He wishes
the first and most valuable coffers of Tiregian treasure to be sent to Sedah as soon as the ships can be loaded. The ruby is particularly important. It will make a fitting tribute to our most powerful Emperor.’

Here the Head Priest rubbed the red eye he wore at his throat.

‘I myself will see to the education of the Tiregian prince,’ he continued. ‘I will set off for the far north in the morning. My brothers will start work immediately on stamping out the local superstitions and rituals. We have an arduous task ahead of us all.’

Governor Lazlac bowed.

‘Follow me to the Palace of Tira,’ he invited. ‘I have had rooms and a meal prepared for you.’

‘That will not be necessary. We will stay here tonight. My brothers and I will fast to prepare for the battles ahead. We will spend the night praying to Krad for guidance.’

‘Krad be praised,’ intoned Governor Lazlac automatically.

He hurried back to the palace, his mind whirling with all the things he had to do.

The left-hand tunnel wound down for a few minutes then started to climb more and more steeply. No-one had any clear idea in which direction they were walking. They had been underground for so many hours and had twisted and turned so often that they could almost be walking in circles.

Once again, the tunnel turned to steep, slippery steps, running with rivulets of water. Roana slipped and skinned her knee but scrambled up silently and kept on climbing.

Aisha stopped and turned to face the rear of their column, her ears pricked. Ethan, who was now
bringing up the rear, stopped too. His ears strained through the darkness. He thought he heard a faint noise behind him. A moist flip-flop.

‘Ssshhhh,’ he hissed. The others stopped obediently. It was clearer now. A soft rhythmic padding.

The noise stopped too.

‘It sounded like footsteps,’ Ethan whispered. ‘I think we’re being followed.’

Lily shivered. ‘Let’s keep going.’

They kept walking, a little faster now. The noise continued behind, coming gradually closer, despite their increased pace. They came to a sharp bend in the tunnel.

‘You keep going,’ whispered Ethan. ‘I’ll wait here and see if I can find out what it is.’

‘We should all wait,’ argued Lily. ‘It might be dangerous.’

‘No,’ insisted Ethan urgently. ‘It will stop if it hears we have stopped.’ Sure enough, the padding footsteps had halted too. ‘You keep going. I’ll keep Aisha with me for protection.’

Saxon nodded in agreement and tugged at Lily’s shoulder. ‘Come on.’ As the footsteps echoed away up the tunnel, Ethan crouched behind an outcrop of rock. In his right hand he tightly clutched the
dagger and the edge of his cloak, holding it away from his body to make a tent. In his left hand, he held the candle, with its flame hidden underneath the cloak. His eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness.

Flip-flop. Flip-flop. The padding footsteps came closer and closer.

A small shadow hobbled around the bend. Ethan pulled out his candle so that it shone on the creature.

Huge round eyes stared up at him for a second. Then with a shriek they closed and moist webbed hands covered them from the harsh light. The creature was about the size of a small toddler, dark green and slimy like a frog. It had a long pointy nose and large ears, and its skin bubbled with warty protrusions and knobs. It wailed and cowered back from the candle.

Ethan stared at it, fascinated. He had never seen a creature like it before. Was it dangerous? Or merely curious?

The creature peeped slyly from between its webbed fingers. Then it made a sudden leap for Ethan, knocking the candle out of his hand. The tunnel plunged into darkness and Ethan felt cold, froggy hands clutching him tightly around his neck, squeezing the breath from his throat. Ethan choked
and spluttered, wrestling with the slimy creature who was clinging around his neck.

He tried to stab the creature with his dagger, at the same time using his left hand to try to break the creature’s choking grip on his throat.

Then Aisha was upon them, snarling and leaping, snapping at the creature’s webbed feet dangling around Ethan’s waist. Ethan fell backwards and at last Aisha could get a good hold on the creature. She bit it on the hind leg and shook it furiously. The creature squealed and loosened its choking grip on Ethan’s throat. He gulped in sweet lungfuls of the dank tunnel air.

As it shook back and forth in Aisha’s strong grip, the creature seemed to open the knobbly protrusions on its body, which leaked out a bitter evil-smelling ooze. Asha sneezed and spat the little creature out, shaking her head furiously to remove the taste.

The creature shot a venomous glance at Aisha and Ethan, then loped away into the darkness. Ethan grabbed for it and caught its leg in his hand. But it slipped through his hand like a greased pig, leaving a searing acid burn on Ethan’s skin.

He ran down the tunnel after the creature but it had disappeared back into the darkness. Ethan
stopped and wearily jogged after his companions, Aisha at his heels.

By the light of their final candle, Lily examined the bruises on Ethan’s throat and the burn on his hand. She sighed and rummaged in her pack for ointment and a bandage.

‘What sort of creature do you think it was?’ Ethan asked them all after he’d described his experiences.

‘I have heard stories of hobgoblins living down in these caverns, but I thought they were merely servants’ gossip,’ replied Roana. ‘The kitchen maids leave out saucers of milk for them in the larder. I always thought it was the cats who drank it.’

‘That creature was no cat,’ murmured Ethan ruefully, nursing his burnt hand. ‘I’m glad there was only one, or it would have been much worse.’

‘It has given you a nasty acid burn,’ agreed Lily as she gently dabbed and probed. ‘We’re certainly running through Mama’s medical supplies. Aisha’s lips are burnt from the ooze too, but fortunately her tongue seems unscathed … There. That’s all I can do for you, girl,’ she murmured, gently rubbing the last of the ointment around Aisha’s lips.

Ethan winced as he brushed his hand against his pack. Roana picked it up and tried to carry it for him.

He smiled. ‘Thanks, Roana, but I can manage it, if you could just swing it round onto my back.’

‘We’re off again,’ Saxon called, leading the march.

So it was that, stumbling with weariness, they nearly missed the end of their journey.

On their right in the shadows, Roana, walking in the rear, spied a shallow arched niche that seemed to be merely decorative. Above it were the familiar rays of a carved sun.

‘Stop a moment,’ hissed Roana in excitement. She took the candle and examined the carving, brushing over the rays with her fingertips as she had done in the first cave. The rounded sphere of the sun gave slightly under her fingers. She pushed harder.

With a shuddering, grinding noise the back of the archway slid aside to reveal a secret opening.

The others crowded around to peer inside.

‘I think this might be the secret way into the palace,’ Roana exclaimed. ‘This should lead us into the cellars and dungeons underground.’

‘Well, the way has been marked everywhere else by the royal sun,’ Lily agreed. ‘Let’s go. Lead us to your palatious abode, your royal majesty,’ Lily said with a mock curtsey.

‘Follow me, my trusty courtiers,’ said Roana, lifting up the hems of a pretend gown and stepping
daintily over the step into the new tunnel. ‘Come, trusty hound, lead on!’

The new tunnel was in fact the back of a dusty storeroom filled with ancient crates. They crept through the towers of crates and boxes.

The last candle had burnt down to a spluttering stub. They came to a low doorway that led out into a passage, wider and taller than the one they had been following until now.

To the right the passage stretched away in a long straight line, while to the left it petered out in a dead end. On either side of the passage were more doorways, some open and some barred with stout timber doors, securely padlocked.

They peered into a couple of doors. Each was filled with shadowy barrels and crates.

‘Storerooms,’ muttered Roana. ‘I have never ventured down here before. I know there are treasure chambers down here on the east side, the side of the rising sun, while on the side of the setting sun are the dungeons.’

Everyone gave an involuntary shiver.

‘That might be where our parents are being imprisoned – in the dungeons,’ murmured Ethan. ‘They must have arrived at Tira weeks ago.’

‘But which way is east and which way is west?’
asked Saxon. ‘We have twisted and turned around so many times underground that I hardly know which way is up and which way is down, nor how long we have even been down here.’

‘I think we must be on the south side, the seaward side,’ said Roana, drawing a rough map in the dust with the toe of her boot.

‘The underground tunnels are built radiating out from a central circle, like the rays of the sun. The centre is the guardroom and weapon storage and the stairs that lead up to the main palace. The wine and food cellars are to the north. If we follow this passage it should lead to the central guardroom. If we can creep past the guards there we should be able to get to the other tunnels.’

‘The treasure chambers to the east may be where the Sun Gem has been hidden,’ said Lily. ‘You can be sure the very first thing the invaders would have done was set about finding the treasure chambers. They may be storing their plunder down here until they can send it across the sea on ships.’

‘So dungeons first – then treasure chambers?’ asked Saxon.

‘Dungeons first,’ echoed Ethan.

‘Quiet as mice,’ warned Lily.

‘Quiet as rats,’ agreed Saxon, with a flash of white teeth from his blackened face.

Once again, everyone picked up their packs, squared their shoulders, took a deep breath and set off in single file, heading to the north and the guardroom.

After a few minutes walking up the straight tunnel, they caught a murmur of muffled voices and laughter, and the flicker of a light.

Saxon held up his hand to stop the others, then crept forward on his own to reconnoitre.

A few moments later he crept back.

‘There are seven guards playing a game of cards around a table in the guardroom,’ Saxon whispered. ‘A circular passage rings the guardroom where the weapons are stored, and the various tunnels lead off that. I think if we are very careful and very quiet, we might be able to sneak past the guards through the weapon passage.’

Lily kept her hand firmly on Aisha’s collar to remind her to keep silent. They all crept forward to the outer ring passage, which was hung with shields, swords, daggers, chain mail, bows, arrows and helmets.

First Saxon then Lily slipped into the passage and crept on hands and knees, neither looking to left nor right. Aisha followed like a shadow.

They slipped down the passageway past cold dark tunnels opening on their left and two brightly lit doorways on their right. At last they reached what they guessed to be the westward tunnel, where they crouched in the shadows to wait for the others.

The Sedah guards continued to laugh and shout uproariously as they played a noisy game of gambling cards. Roana crawled down the passage close behind the others. Her heart sounded impossibly loud in her ears. She could not believe the guards did not hear it. She crawled past one doorway and caught a glimpse of the table full of guards, weapons leaning against their chairs, but did not slow down.

Roana crawled on down the passage and then had to crawl past another doorway that led into the guardroom. She did not dare to breathe. At last the agonising crawl was over and she was safe in
the west tunnel with Saxon and Lily. Panting, she leant thankfully against the wall, her heart hammering in her chest.

Ethan set off last of all. He saw Roana disappear around the curve and then he set off crawling as fast as he could, past one door, then past the other. He crawled past a suit of chain mail and his pack swung against it, making it jingle softly. His heart stopped and then he crawled faster. Had they heard him?

They had.

‘What was that – did you hear something out in the passage?’ called one of the guards nervously, jumping to his feet.

‘I’ll take a look,’ called another. ‘I’m closest.’ Ethan panicked and stood up and ran as fast as he could. He slammed round the corner of the west tunnel and pressed down into the shadows with the others.

‘No, there’s nothing here,’ called the faint voice of a guard. ‘Must have been those accursed rats again. You’re just too jumpy, Sharik – afraid of a few rats.’

There was a loud guffaw of laughter from the other guards, and the game resumed as noisily as before.

The four children walked quickly down the west passage, away from the guard room. They passed a
series of heavy wooden doors, heavily barred and padlocked. Each one had a peephole, so prisoners could be observed. Inside each cell a lantern was burning so the guards could easily check on the prisoners.

Everyone took turns at peeking through the spy holes, on either side of the passage, to see if they could spy any familiar faces. Each cell was crowded with prisoners, from all walks of life.

Bodies lay curled together, moaning and tossing in the confined spaces. Aisha ran ahead, sniffing at the cracks under the doors. She stopped at one and started wagging her tail furiously, whining softly and pawing at the crack.

Ethan ran to the door and peered anxiously into the gloom. He gestured excitedly to the others. In a moment all four were huddled around the peephole.

There were less people in this cell. In one corner lay a group of three court ladies, still wearing the silken gowns of the hunting ceremony, although they were badly stained and torn now. Four gentlemen-in-waiting lay stretched out in the centre of the cell, one snoring loudly.

In another corner lay a crumpled couple, sleeping with their arms entwined. The woman
cried out in her sleep, tossing with the hidden grief of endless nightmares. Her husband curled closer and soothed her with gentle strokes down her arms, so she settled back to a deeper sleep.

‘Mama and Dadda,’ whispered Lily, her voice choked with tears. ‘They are still alive.’

Roana scowled furiously ‘And look there, my poor mother, the queen of Tiregian, sleeping on a bare cold stone floor. How dare they! Even our dogs slept better than this! Those Sedah devils will pay.’

‘Ssshhh,’ soothed Saxon gently, rubbing Roana on the shoulder. ‘First we need to wake your parents so we can talk with them, and then we can decide what to do.’

Ethan tried the door, but of course it was bolted and padlocked with three large locks. He opened the small shutter in the door, which revealed a barred window through which food and water could be passed to the prisoners.

He gave a shrill bird whistle that his father had taught him while hunting in the forest. No-one stirred. He tried it again, a little louder. This time Willem stirred in his sleep and rolled over. Ethan whistled a third time.

Willem sat up yawning, rubbing his eyes and peering around the cell in astonishment. Ethan
whistled again more softly. Willem stood up and tiptoed over to the door. He looked haggard and aged since they had last seen him. His clothes hung loosely from his once strong frame.

‘Ethan, by the mighty Sun Lord, is that you?’ he whispered incredulously. ‘But you’re dead. They told us you were taken by a great sea beast. And Lily too? What miracle is this? Or are you ghosts come to haunt us?’

Ethan gripped his father’s hand through the narrow opening.

‘No, Dadda – we’re not ghosts. It’s true. We are all alive, as you are – thank the Moonmother.’

‘What are you doing here? Have the invaders been defeated? Praise the Moon Goddess. I must wake your mother and let her know,’ Willem whispered. ‘I thought she would die of grief when they came to tell us you were all dead. And your mother too, Princess Roana. The queen has taken it very hard.’

‘No, Dadda,’ Ethan shook his head. ‘The invaders have not been defeated. We crept into the dungeons through a secret passage Roana showed us. We crept past the guards playing dice in the guardroom.’

Willem blanched.

‘You must go,’ Willem said urgently. ‘They will be
here at any time. The soldiers check on us every hour. They wake us all through the night taunting us with tales of their misdeeds throughout Tiregian. They must not find you here. It would give us great strength if we knew you were out there, alive and free.’

‘No, we came to rescue you all, Dadda,’ Lily murmured. ‘We are not leaving without you.’

‘No,’ Willem cried, ‘it is impossible. There are three padlocks on the door. The key to each lock is carried by a different person – the Head Duty Guard, Captain Malish, and Governor Lazlac himself. All three must be here together to open the door.’

Willem smiled grimly. ‘They said that they weren’t taking any chances with the queen, after the escape from the hunting lodge barn and the rescue attempt on the ship. We have you children to thank for that! So you see it is impossible. You must go and get as far from Tira as you can.’

‘All right, Dadda,’ said Lily soothingly. ‘But first can we please talk to Mama?’

‘Also we need to talk to you about our quest,’ Saxon added. ‘We must find the royal Sun Sword.’

Willem agreed to wake Marnie and Queen Ashana, in return for the story of their adventures since Goldcoin Cove.

There were many tears and whispered endearments as the two families reunited through the dungeon bars.

‘Is it really you, my dearest Roana?’ begged Queen Ashana. ‘I would scarcely have recognised you. Your poor hair, what have you done to it? Oh, my poor darling. This is simply dreadful!’

‘Mama, at least I am free and alive. It does not matter about my hair – it will grow back. That is, if I want to grow it back. I quite like it short. It is certainly much easier,’ Roana cried rebelliously with a toss of her shorn head.

‘We thought it was best if Roana could not be recognised,’ Lily explained defensively.

‘It is a mighty undertaking you have pledged yourselves to – to find the different parts of the Sun Sword and bring them together again,’ Willem interjected, tactfully changing the subject. ‘Why would the Sedahs want to dismantle the Sun Sword?’

‘It is a symbol of our people, a symbol of the royal family and the faith which underpins Tiregian,’ Queen Ashana replied gravely. ‘The ruby and the pearl are both gems which bestow great power.

‘The Sedahs do not believe in the Sun Lord and the Moon Goddess. They believe in a malevolent deity called Krad. Lazlac says their priests are even
now embarking through our country to spread their dark religion through Tiregian.

‘Our people will be punished and persecuted for following the daily rituals that their families have observed for generations. The Sun Sword is an icon that unites our people and will give them the impetus to band together and fight the Sedah invaders.

‘Without it, we are a humble rabble of farmers, foresters, fisherfolk and mountain tribes. But with the sword before us, we are a cohesive community of Tiregians. Some call it magic, others symbolism, but whichever way you look at it, Tiregian needs the Sun Sword.’

‘It is all right, Mama,’ soothed Roana. ‘We will find the Sun Sword and we will make it whole again. We have already come so far. And have you had any news of my brother? Where is Caspar?’

Queen Ashana’s voice caught in her throat. ‘He has been taken to the north, to Bryn. Lazlac taunts me that he is learning the culture and religion of the Sedahs, ready to travel to Emperor Raef’s court. Lazlac says he is happy, that he no longer asks for me, that he is a willing student …’ Queen Ashana stopped, her voice faltering.

‘I wouldn’t believe a word that snake says, Mama,’ Roana retorted angrily. ‘After all, he also told you
I had been eaten by a sea monster!’

Queen Ashana laughed. ‘You speak the truth, my beautiful daughter. We pray you are right and that he only seeks to taunt me with his tales. You have grown up so much, my little princess, but your brother is still so young and all alone.

‘I comfort myself with the thought that Caspar is integral to the Sedahs’ insidious plans, whatever they might be, so at least they will take care of him. He is safe as long as they need him.’

She took Roana’s hand through the bars. ‘But Roana, you must also be protected. You must leave these terrible dungeons and make your way to the forests. We have heard that some of the Royal Guards are living there and are training Tiregian rebels to resist the Sedahs. You will be safer there.’

‘Yes, you must go,’ urged Willem. ‘The guards are due to check on us again soon. It would do none of us any good if you were to be discovered.’

‘What have we here?’ purred a silky voice, from the back of the cell. ‘Beggars’ children seeking to steal our jewels and fine food? Let them have it all, I say!’

A proud courtier reclined his head on his crooked arm, for all the world as though he lay on a velvet couch, not the stone floor of a prison cell. His lip sneered in disdain.

‘Lord Mortimer, look – it is the Princess Roana with Willem’s children. They have found their way here,’ Queen Ashana cried. ‘They are hoping to find the Sun Sword of Tiregian and restore it.’

Lord Mortimer laughed mockingly. ‘I imagine the Sun Sword is safely in the treasure houses of Emperor Raef in Sedah by now, my dear cousin.’

Lord Mortimer stood and languorously wandered over to the door to inspect the grubby gang of children crowding there. He smiled at Roana and bowed with a grand flourish.

‘So … it is my pretty little kinswoman – Princess Roana. I would never have recognised you, my dear. How fortuitous that you survived the Sedah’s attack. Although I am rather distressed to find you are keeping such common company now, my dear, that really will not do. What would your father have said about running around the countryside like a hoyden?’

Roana smiled back, but her eyes glittered with irritation. She swept a quick curtsey, her head held tall and proud. Her bearing was every inch a royal despite her cropped hair and stained breeches.

‘My dear cousin, how delightful to see you again,’ Roana replied with her best court manners and sweetest voice. ‘I too had difficulty recognising you in your current situation. By the blessed Moon
Goddess, what a calamity! My dear cousin, it looks as though you have broken a fingernail! No, several. Oh, how devastated you must be. I know how much time it usually takes your man to dress you in the morning. And your hair! It looks as though this dreadful incarceration has made the roots of your hair turn grey. How odd that it should only be the roots. I am inconsolable, my poor cousin.’

Willem seemed to have developed a nasty cough and nearly choked. Ethan bit his lip to stop himself from laughing and Lily became very interested in fussing over Charcoal inside her pocket. Lord Mortimer flushed angrily and turned away.

‘As you say, Princess – this incarceration has taken its toll on everyone,’ he spat in annoyance.

The children all noted that Lord Mortimer did indeed have long glossy black hair, tied back with a riband, yet a half-inch strip at the top of his crown was streaked with grey.

Willem stopped coughing, his eyes watering, and winked at Roana, suppressing a grin.

‘So will you please leave now?’ asked Queen Ashana, trying not to smile.

‘And may the Moon Goddess light your footsteps every step of your travels,’ added Marnie, squeezing Lily’s hand through the bars.