“Tares, we need to speak,” Nikolai said, pushing himself away from the stone wall and wincing at the harsh pain in his torso from his burns, “privately.”
“What’s with all the secrets Nikolai?” Lara asked suspiciously.
“It is all right Lara. I will speak with Nikolai, stay here. You and Darzan do what you can to make Wulfstan as comfortable as possible. Slade,” Tares turned to the former prince still slumped with his eyes closed against the stone wall, “if you think are capable perhaps you and Roulibard could go outside and see if you can get an idea of where we are in relation to the harbor and the city?”
The big minotaur then followed Nikolai a short way down the passage they had so recently fled from, the noise of the tunnel’s collapse becoming louder. Tares wondered briefly if the sounds could be heard above ground, or even if the effects of the tunnel’s collapse could be seen. Tares could only pray to Belenus that the tunnel no longer presented a threat.
“Tares, we need that stuff and we need it as soon as possible. Darzan’s right about the festival creating problems but…” Nikolai began once they were out of earshot of the others.
“You wish me to condone or allow stealing? From people who are practically slaves?” Tares interrupted his disdain plainly evident in his voice.
“No,” Nikolai answered with a smile, “I will not now, nor will I ever, ask the impossible of you my distrustful ally. I will give that particular order. I’m asking you, and it is a request, not an order, to trust me. I had planned for this occasion and I understand those people out there in a way that you never can. I know how best to exploit the situation so that we can get our mutual friend out of here and back to Lord Michael.”
“That is your plan? To go to Saxenburg and see Lord Michael?” Tares asked, astonished.
“That’s always been my plan. This may surprise you Tares but I’m determined to see that no further harm comes to him. The only way I know to do that is to take him, as quickly as possible, to the one person who may be able to help, Lord Michael Strong.”
Once again the minotaur was surprised; if Nikolai was trying to conceal something it seemed hardly likely that he would want to see Lord Michael. Tares was being forced to concede, albeit reluctantly, that the necromancer was being truthful; for now at least.
“And what of Slade?”
“We’ll be taking him exactly where he wants to go, once I receive more instructions from your boss then we can make other decisions but for now we need to focus on one thing at a time. I told you war was coming, it is, I don’t know how soon but I have a sense it’s coming quicker than we’d like. I need to be in a position to be effective but to do that I need our friend with me. That makes him my number one priority, keeping an eye on Slade, or helping him,” Nikolai held up a hand to forestall Tares’ interruption, “is also important but that’s secondary. Now, will you listen to my plan?”
Tares eyed at the necromancer for a long moment without speaking. Instinctively the minotaur priest distrusted everything about Nikolai and yet he could not deny that the mage had been helpful, forthright and was definitely working under the instructions of Lord Michael. The necromancer’s information and actions appeared completely genuine and even admirable. Abruptly the big minotaur made up his mind, although he would never have dreamed it possible Tares would work with the necromancer and do anything he could to help.
“Yes, I will listen and I will help,” Tares answered finally.
Erich’s Departure
Ursula slipped silently into the small, barely visible fissure in the rock only just in time. Mere seconds passed after she disappeared into the hidden cave before the patrol of Saxenburg guards had reached the exact spot where she now stood hidden, hardly daring to breathe, waiting for them to pass.
The four burly guards were all wearing the plate mail armor of the royal house of Saxenburg, carrying long swords and the traditional round shields emblazoned with Saxenburg’s symbol of a phoenix about to take flight. They also bore a new symbol that she could not see clearly but resembled a crystal surrounded by a rainbow of light. To her mounting horror the four stopped right outside the tiny cave where Ursula was hiding.
“There’s no sign of her anywhere,” said one of them, speaking to the largest and, judging by the thin gold band rimming his shield, the most senior of the guards.
“She has to be here somewhere, people don’t just disappear into thin air,” the large guard replied.
“Well…” began one of the others, who was quite young and probably new to his position.
“Except mages,” the leader growled, “which we all know our little princess is not. That means she has to be here somewhere.”
“I was going to say maybe she branched off further down the path,” the younger one replied.
“No, I’m certain I saw her take this path,” the leader answered emphatically.
“Yes, but with all due respect we know that the princess has been training for years with the monks. We all know how quickly and silently monks can move. It’s obvious she’s not here and this is the only path this far up the mountain, so we must have either lost her further down as Gunnar suggested,” the fourth guard spoke for the first time, “or possibly she has doubled back and due to some tricks of the monks we missed seeing her.”
Tall and broad shouldered with flaming red hair that reminded Ursula of her father, she recognized this particular guard as a member of her father’s elite personal bodyguards although she could not for the moment remember his name. For a split second it seemed to Ursula that this guard looked directly into the fissure in the rock; that he could somehow see through the camouflage to the nearly invisible opening.
“We’ll have to go back then but I want you two,” the leader of the patrol said pointing to the young guard named Gunnar and the other, familiar guard, “to keep heading up the mountain. If she makes it to Solomon before we find her King Ulrich will not be pleased.”
Her heart in her throat Ursula watched through the thin slit as the foursome split up. The young guard named Gunnar and his companion stood watching as the other two moved down the path.
“You head up the path. Keep going till you meet up with the guards stationed near the entrance to the monastery, I’m going to have a better look around here,” the familiar guard pointed to the thick brush opposite where Ursula was hiding, “it is possible she slipped into the brush somewhere and is hiding out.”
“But shouldn’t we stay together to check?” Gunnar questioned.
“That won’t be necessary, it shouldn’t take too long. There’s not many spots on this old mountain where anyone could hide but it’s still worth looking at, I’ll catch you up.”
The young guard named Gunnar obediently moved off, heading up the path that would lead him directly to the Black Lotus monastery.
“Your Highness? Can you hear me?” The guard called softly once Gunnar was out of earshot. Ursula felt her blood had turned to ice; her suspicions were confirmed, he knew she was there.
“I’m a friend, Your Highness, I mean you no harm,” he continued, his voice low, “if I had I wouldn’t have sent the other guards away.”
“Why would you do this?” Ursula whispered.
“I’m a member of Saxenburg’s royal guard, it’s my duty to protect the royal family,” he moved so that he was standing closer to the fissure yet still facing in the opposite direction, “Your Highness I want to help you.”
Ursula wanted desperately to believe the young guard but recent events had proven to her, all too clearly, that not everyone was as they appeared and not everyone could be trusted.
“If that is true then you will help me get to the monastery. I need to get to Solomon,” she said.
“Solomon has already left, the monastery is under your brother’s control and the monks, along with everyone else loyal to your father have been expelled from Saxenburg.”
“What? Can this really be true?”
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“I’m afraid so Your Majesty but these tunnels also connect up with the Kemetian Mountain range. Solomon will meet up with you somewhere in the caverns. You must not, under any circumstances travel any further up the mountain. There are guards posted at the monastery, you must not allow them to discover these tunnels. They will come looking for you anyway when you do not arrive as expected.”
“I don’t know the way down, I only know this path to the monastery.”
“I understand Your Highness; unfortunately I can offer you no further assistance. Rest assured that Solomon will be waiting for you, I have no doubt that he will not leave you alone for long.”
“How do you know all this?” Ursula knew she was simply prolonging the contact.
“Not all of us are,” he paused obviously searching for the right words, “committed to your brother’s vision for the future of Saxenburg. We are few in number but we have managed to communicate with each other. We have had some time to prepare, there were some who anticipated this eventuality from the moment your father’s disappearance was reported.”
There it was, the question Ursula knew she would have to ask, the question she had desperately tried not to think of these past months.
“And what of my father? Do you know anything, have you heard…”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness but we have to assume that your father is dead.”
Ursula’s breath caught in