The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde (55 page)

“Kevik has a red gem that heals,” Bart said. “See if it’s in his pouch.”

“That’s right,” Chad said. “I saw him use it once.” Riyan immediately began searching through the pouches on Kevik’s belt.

Soth handed Bart his water bottle and waited while Bart drained it. After handing it back to Soth, Bart said, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he replied.

Bart cracked open an eye. When the pain didn’t flare up again, he opened the other.

“Might be a good idea to set up camp here for a few hours,” he said. “Neither Kevik nor myself are going to feel up to going much further right now.” Chad nodded and then proceeded to removed rations from his pack. “Anyone else want some?” he asked as he began handing out portions.

“Found it!” Riyan said. Pulling the red gem out of Kevik’s belt pouch, he looked at it.

Not sure how to activate its magical energies, he placed it against Kevik’s forehead.

‘Come on, heal!’ he said to himself when nothing appeared to be happening. Then all of a sudden, the gem gave off with a small flash.

Riyan couldn’t tell if it was working, but he held the gem against Kevik’s forehead just in case.

“Here,” Chad said.

Looking up, Riyan took the offered piece of dried beef with his free hand. “Thanks,” he said.

Chad sat down next to him and looked at the unconscious form of Kevik. “Think he’ll be alright?” he asked.

Bart shrugged. “Hope so.”

“It was the rings!” Bart said rather loudly and a bit irritated. The two friends turned to look at Bart who was talking with Chyfe. He had the hand which bore the ring held up before him.

“When I activated it to break his concentration, whatever was happening to him used it as a conduit and hit me like a brick wall,” he continued. “My mind is still reeling from the blow.” In fact, his vision was a bit blurry and he felt that he might need to throw up.

If Chyfe didn’t leave him alone about what had happened, he might spray in his direction should the need become overpowering.

“Let him rest,” Seth said. Chyfe nodded and backed off. He went over and joined the twins.

Riyan was chewing the rather tough piece of meat while he kept the gem in contact with Kevik’s forehead. Suddenly, Kevik’s eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. The movement knocked the gem from Riyan’s hand and sent it rolling across the floor. Riyan was quick to retrieve it.

Kevik looked around and it took him a moment to realize where he was.

“How are you doing?” Riyan asked. The others stopped what conversations they were having when Kevik sat up.

Wincing from pain, Kevik brought his hand to the back of his head and felt a lump.

“Sorry about that,” Chyfe said, coming over to him.

Riyan saw the confused look on Kevik’s face. “You were caught by another trap,” he explained. “Chyfe hit you to break the spell.”

Kevik nodded in understanding. “It wasn’t a trap,” he said. “I don’t know what it was, but there was nothing magical about it.”

“Then, what?” Bart asked.

“I…I don’t know,” replied Kevik. “The image that formed when I first cast the spell was hazy. None had ever done that before. Usually it’s clear.” Riyan offered him his water bottle and he took it. The others waited quietly for him to drink.

After several swallows, he handed the bottle back to Riyan. “Thanks,” he said as he handed it back. “The vision felt strange, I don’t know why. The identification spell always gives three visions concerning the object. The pain began with the first, and increased horribly during the second.” Turning to Chyfe he said, “Your blow kept me from receiving the third one. If the pain had increased as much with the coming of the third vision as it had from the first vision to the second, it might have killed me.”

“So, striking you was a good thing?” Chyfe asked.

Kevik nodded. “Yeah.”

Chyfe sighed with relief. “I’m glad,” he said.

“But what about the visions?” asked Bart. The pain he had felt had gradually been diminishing and was now only a dull throbbing behind the eyes.

“Not much to tell I’m afraid,” replied Kevik. “The first one was the fashioning of the weapon. Though because of the haziness, I couldn’t get much detail from it. In the second the weapon was being wielded.”

“Could you see who was using it?” asked Chyfe.

Kevik shook his head. “No. By that time the pain was so bad it was beginning to distort the vision.”

“So what caused the pain then?” Riyan asked.

“I don’t know,” stated Kevik. “I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before.” Glancing around, he tried to locate the weapon but was unable to.

Seth indicated the entrance to the passage and said, “Tossed it out there. Want me to get it for you?”

“No!” Kevik replied, a bit more forcefully than he had desired.

Riyan held forth the red gem and asked, “Do you still need this?” Kevik saw the red gem and nodded. Taking it from Riyan, he placed it against the bump on the back of his head and soon, the soothing magical energies began working. It wasn’t long before the swelling had gone down and the pain was but a memory.

They stayed there for a couple hours while Kevik got some rest. Bart was allowed to rest too while the others took turns at watch. Seth volunteered for the first watch as he wasn’t tired. After a few minutes, his brother got up from where he had been trying to go to sleep and joined him.

“Not tired?” Seth asked.

Soth shook his head. “No.”

Seth had been sitting on the edge of the table. His brother came and sat beside him.

“Father would be surprised to see us now,” he said.

Soth grinned. “Not that he wouldn’t have wanted to be here with us,” he replied.

“Probably,” Seth said. “If mother would have let him.” At that they both laughed.

Their mother was a bit overprotective of her family. Where their father would have been excited by the prospect of finding the King’s Horde, their mother would have said it was a fool’s quest that wasn’t worth the danger. Maybe all mothers were that way.

“Want to explore?” Seth asked after they had spent several minutes talking about inconsequential things.

“Maybe we should stay close,” replied Soth.

“Why?” asked Seth. “What could there possibly be down here that would pose a threat?”

Soth shrugged. “I don’t know,” he replied.

“I want to see what’s down there,” Seth said as he pointed to the passage they had yet to enter.

“Bart said we needed to be extra careful,” his brother cautioned.

Seth gave Soth an annoyed look. He could always get his brother to go along with whatever he wanted to do. Even now, he could see his brother beginning to give in.

Seth snorted and hopped down off the table. He almost lost his balance when the section of the table he had been sitting on cracked and fell apart as he got off. “We will,” he replied with a glance back to the broken section of the table. Then he looked at their sleeping companions and was relieved to find that they hadn’t been disturbed by the table’s cracking. “Starting with no more sitting on old and brittle wooden tables.” His brother gave him a grin. “Alright,” Soth said after another half a minute. “But not too far.”

“Come on,” Seth whispered. Then he began crossing the room, being careful not to disturb any of the sleepers. They took one of the two torches with them, the other they left sitting in one of the torch holders attached to the upper section of the walls.

Seth paused at the entrance as he let the torch’s light illuminate the passage. The light showed the passage extending directly away from the room until disappearing beyond the light’s reach. Glancing back to his brother, he grinned and said, “We’ll only be a minute.”

Soth glanced back to the sleeping figures and nodded. “Let’s hurry then,” he said.

Then he followed his brother from the room.

Riyan awoke some time later to a dark room. “Seth?” he asked. He had the watch after Seth and was worried that he hadn’t been awakened before now. A second passed by and Seth didn’t answer. “Seth?” he said in a louder, more urgent tone.

“Riyan?” Bart’s voice came to him from the darkness.

“Seth’s not here,” Riyan replied. “He didn’t wake me for my turn at watch.”

“Seth!” Bart yelled.

Then the darkness was dispelled when Kevik’s staff erupted in light. “What’s going on?” Kevik asked. The others were now awake too.

“The twins are gone,” Riyan said. Getting to his feet, he looked at the torch sconces on the wall and saw only one of the two that had been there when they had gone to sleep.

It had burned itself out. “Damn them!” he cursed.

“What?” asked Chad.

Riyan pointed to the lone torch on the wall where there used to be two. “They went exploring,” he explained.

“What do they think this is?” questioned Bart “Some kind of grand adventure?” Anger was clearly visible on his face.

“Looks like it,” replied Riyan. Grabbing his pack, he made ready to set off after them.

The others likewise gathered their things, Chyfe took up Soth’s pack that he had left behind, and then headed for the passage they had yet to explore.

“Seth! Soth!” Riyan hollered as they entered the passage. Only silence answered his call. He glanced to the floor and saw two set of footprints disturbing the fine layer of dust.

Bart moved out with Kevik right behind to provide light. They followed the passage as it extended away from the room for a ways before it turned sharply to their right.

“Seth!” Riyan called again, and as before, no reply.

“I’ll kill them,” Bart said. “If they’re not already dead that is.” Not too far from where they turned the corner, they saw a torch lying on the floor of the passage ahead. Bart immediately slowed his step when he saw it.

“Looks like their torch,” observed Chyfe. Indeed, a wisp of smoke wafted from it indicating that it had been lit not too long ago.

“But where are they?” Riyan asked. His annoyance at their decision to explore began to make way for genuine concern for their well being.

Bart brought them to a halt while they were still ten feet away from the torch. “The rest of you stay here,” he said and then moved toward the torch. When Kevik made to join him, he said, “You too. I can see well enough if you stay with the others.”

“Alright,” replied Kevik.

Moving forward alone, Bart took one hesitant step after another. The fact the torch was lying on the floor of the passage could only mean two things. Either there was someone else down here with them, and Bart didn’t even want to think what that might mean. Or that they had ran afoul of some sort of trap. Of the two, he felt the latter possibility was the more probable.

“Seth! Soth!” Chyfe hollered. Still no reply.

As he continued forward, Bart painstakingly scrutinized the floor before taking each step. He could readily see where their feet continued to disturb the dirt and dust. Their tracks went to just past where the torch lay, and then ended. The dirt and dust in the area where the prints ended was greatly disturbed. It almost looked like Seth and Soth had rolled on the ground before disappearing.

Bart grinned and nodded. He was pretty sure of the type of trap that they had run afoul of. Turning back to the others, he said, “Riyan, bring a rope.” A moment later, Riyan was there with a coil of rope. Bart took one end and secured it around his waist. “I think the floor opened up on them, then reset afterward.” Riyan glanced at the rope tied around Bart’s waist. “Do you plan to trigger the trap?” he asked.

Nodding, Bart cinched the knot tighter. “Yes,” he replied. “Only way to discover exactly where they went.” Once he was satisfied the rope was securely tied about him, he glanced to Riyan and said, “Ready?”

“Yes,” he replied. By this time the others had come forward to join them. Chad and Chyfe took hold of the rope as well to aid Riyan in holding it should such help be needed.

“Alright,” Bart said. “You guys give me a little slack.” When he had several feet of slack, he turned and began walking past the torch. With every step he drew closer to the area where the footprints ended. He reached the end of the footprints and came to a stop.

The falling away of the floor as he had anticipated hadn’t materialized. Standing in the spot where he was sure the twins were when it happened, he turned around to the others.

“Well?” asked Riyan.

“There’s a trap here,” Bart said. Glancing back to the floor he considered the dilemma. Then he got an idea and jumped high, coming down hard on the floor.

That did it. When he hit the floor, the right side dropped away to form a steep ramp.

Bart lost his balance and fell. He began tumbling down the ramp and into the dark opening that the dropping of the right side of the floor had revealed.

As soon as Bart jumped and the floor opened up, Riyan and the others gripped the rope tightly to prevent him from sliding into the opening. “Hold on Bart!” Riyan cried out and then began pulling him back.

“Don’t pull me back!” Bart said. The rope had stopped him just before he had slid off the slanted floor. He could feel the floor trying to rise back into its previous position, but his weight was preventing it. “Just hold me here.”

“Bart?”

Seth’s voice came from out of the hole that the triggering of the trap had revealed.

Bart looked into the dark recesses of the hole. “Are you and your brother alright?” he asked.

“Think so,” Seth replied. “We’re in some kind of holding cell. There’s a locked door.”

“Thank goodness they’re alive,” breathed Chyfe.

“Now all we have to do is get them out,” Riyan said.

Glancing back to those holding the rope, Bart said, “Maybe.”

“Get us out of here!” Soth hollered.

“You two can cool your heels for a little while longer,” Bart hollered down the hole to them. Then he turned back to Kevik and pointed to the edge of the ramp. “Can you goo it there?” he asked.

“Why?” asked Riyan.

“To keep it from returning flush with the floor,” he replied.

“Sure,” said Kevik. A second later, the side of the ramp on the other side of Bart became covered in goo.