Making a dash for the dais, Jaikus was abruptly brought to a halt by Charka grabbing him about the chest.
“Let me go!”
“He’s gone, son.”
Jaikus struck him across the chin in an effort to loosen Charka’s grip. “I have to get to him.” Squirming, he had almost wriggled from the Troupe leader’s grasp when he heard Charka say, “Ready?” To which Lady Kate responded, “Yes.”
Then he was free, but only for a moment. He took all of one step toward the dais before Lady Kate’s Webs of Binding encased his lower half in their sticky, immobilizing mass.
“No!” As he toppled over, he broke his fall with his hands, then used them in an attempt to crawl forward, but the webbing adhered him tightly to the floor.
“Son, listen to me.”
Twisting, he turned to look back with tear-laden eyes.
“He’s gone.”
“No. He can’t be!”
“Yes, he is.”
“We can get him back!”
“You don’t know that he went anywhere,” Charka reasoned.
“That’s right,” Seward added. “For all we know, that blackness could have simply dissolved him into nothing.”
Charka eyed his man with unvoiced retribution. “You let me handle this.”
Seward merely shrugged.
Returning his attention back to the lad on the floor before him, Charka said, “Kate will see if she can determine what that thing is, and maybe even a way to get your friend back. If that is even possible.”
Casting a hopeful gaze toward the magic user, he asked, “Will you?”
“I shall do my best,” she affirmed.
“But first, you are going to have to calm down. I am not going to lose both of you. Not if I can help it.” He paused a moment to let that sink in. “No one goes near that thing until she says it is safe to do so. Understand?”
Wracked with worry and fear, it was hard for him to see the logic in doing nothing. But he quickly understood that Lady Kate may be the best shot they had of finding out what had happened to his friend.
Miserable, yet resigned to waiting, he nodded. “Yes.”
Charka nodded to Lady Kate who then dispelled the webbing binding Jaikus’ legs. He watched him rise, ensuring his remaining Springer wouldn’t do anything foolish, then signaled for Lady Kate to begin.
Jaikus remained sitting on the floor. With knees brought up to form a rest for his chin, he wrapped his arms around them tightly for comfort. He watched Lady Kate as she cast her first spell. At any other time, he would have been greatly intrigued by the workings of magic. But now, all he could think of was that Reneeke was lost, or maybe even gone forever. Either way, it was his fault. He had been the one to drag Reneeke into being an adventurer. And if his friend never returned… Jaikus couldn’t bear to contemplate such a thought. Lady Kate would be successful, and they would be reunited!
“Jaik?”
The sudden immersion in darkness had completely unnerved him.
“Charka?”
Not even the barest hint of light could be discerned.
“Lady Kate? Seward?”
Reaching outward with his hands, he sought the comforting feel of another human being. But all he encountered was the cold, hard surface of the stone block that rested upon the dais. Had he gone deaf as well as blind? If so, the others should have taken charge of him by now. Yet they hadn’t.
Checking his waist, he found the rope to still be there, with a little over a yard hanging from where it knotted about his middle. Feeling the rope’s end, he discovered that it had been severed cleanly. He couldn’t feel so much as a single, frayed strand.
“Jaik!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, he was rewarded with an echoing of his cry. “At least I’m not deaf.” By the sound of the echo, he was in a large, enclosed area. Back home near Running Brook, there had been a series of caves high in the hills that he and Jaikus often explored. Their voices had echoed in a similar manner.
Concentrating less on sight and sound, he focused more on his sense of smell. Detecting the odor of earth and mustiness reminiscent of the caves back home, he nodded. Somehow, he had been relocated. It was the only explanation. Unless he had gone mad, a supposition to which he gave little credence.
In his pack was the bundle of torches acquired at Bella’s, as well as his flint. Kneeling on one knee, he took off his pack and rummaged within until feeling the hard surface of the flint. Praying to see sparks, he took out the flint and scraped it across the side of the square stone.
A line of sparks appeared in the darkness. Seeing them greatly eased his sense of unsettledness, for it meant he wasn’t blind. Reneeke then removed a torch from his pack and worked to set fire to its business end. Several flint strikes later, the combustible material ignited.
As the torch grew to full brilliance, Reneeke stood and looked around at his new surroundings. Though he still stood upon the dais, he was no longer in the hall, that much was certain. Rather, this new locale was located, as he had earlier suspected, within a large, underground cavern.
Gazing about his new environs, he saw another of those stony faces carved into the cavern’s wall not far from the dais. Ones that Charka said often indicated the presence of a trap. Fortunately, the cavern grew wider as it extended outward from where he stood, and the face’s vicinity could readily be avoided should further exploration be required.
The cavern itself wasn’t remarkable in any way, at least not the corner of it illuminated by his torch. Rock growths dotted the floor as well as cascading down from the ceiling. The floor was uneven as a cavern’s should be, though there was a narrow area moving away from the dais that looked slightly worn down, quite possibly due to the passage of many feet.
How did he get there?
The answer to that in some way dealt with the dais. Being the only similarity between where he had been, and where he was now, it had to mean something. Reneeke put the fear he felt aside as he considered the problem.
He had been with the others one moment, then there in the dark the next. Magic? Had to be. Bards often spoke of devices used to travel far distances in a blink of an eye. They were rumored to be rare and powerful, and not to be trifled with. It was also said that such devices were jealously guarded by those who created them. That thought brought him no peace of mind. Alone as he was in an unfamiliar place, the last thing he wanted to think about was fending off an attack of some kind.
“I have to do something,” he murmured to himself. Recalling the earlier shouts for Jaikus, he worried that perhaps he had inadvertently alerted someone, or some thing to his presence. He scanned the darkness surrounding his small radius of light. Should he remain where he was in the hopes that the others could find him? Or would he have to make his own way back? As he struggled to determine which course of action would best suit the situation, he again started to feel that odd sensation he had felt when first he climbed onto the dais before arriving in the cavern. Nervousness filled him as he didn’t know what it could mean.
Before he was able to decide on a course of action, the darkness took him once again.
“It is very powerful,” Lady Kate said after several minutes of magically examining the dais and stone block.
“Can you tell what it did to Reneeke?” Jaikus asked anxiously. He stood back a ways with Charka and Seward while they waited for Lady Kate.
She turned her attention onto the young, worried Springer. “It wasn’t so much that it did something to him. Rather, it sent him somewhere.” Gesturing to the dais, she said, “This, is a teleporter.”
“A teleporter?” asked Jaikus and Charka simultaneously.
Jaikus glanced to his leader and could see the man had a certain gleam in his eye.
She nodded. “I’m not sure how he activated it, but your friend was sent somewhere.”
“Can we follow?” Jaikus and Charka spoke in unison.
Nodding again, she said, “I would think so. Most devi
ces like this need to recharge their magical energies before a second teleportation can take place.”
“How long?” Charka questioned.
“That, I don’t know. It could take a minute, or even a week before the magical energies are refreshed.”
Charka slapped Jaikus on the back. “Boy, you may see your friend again!”
“You mean to follow?” Seward questioned.
“By the gods, I do!” He gazed at the teleporter with undisguised avarice. “Something like that has to lead to a treasure horde, or some other place of importance. There’s no telling what we’ll find on the other side.”
“But, oh fearless leader,” Seward began, “we must be back to meet Hymal by the time the sun rises. And as our Lady of the Arcane Arts has just said, it could take longer than that before this teleporter thing is ready.”
“Let’s try it now,” Jaikus suggested. “I’m the Springer, so it is my job to test it first.” Such an offer would never have left his lips, had it not been for his need to discover the fate of Reneeke.
Charka glanced questioningly to Lady Kate. “What do you think?”
She shrugged. “Either it is ready and he will be sent to wherever his friend went, or nothing will happen.” Turning her gaze toward Jaikus, she said, “Reneeke claimed to have felt something strange when he stood upon the dais. It would be reasonable to assume that what he felt was the power of the device.”
“So if I feel something, it might be ready?” He waited only long enough for her to nod before dashing for the steps. Vaulting to the top, he moved to the exact spot where Reneeke had stood prior to disappearing.
“What now?”
“Do you feel anything?” Charka asked.
Jaikus closed his eyes. Not sure exactly what he searched for, it didn’t take him but a moment before he felt…something. He nodded. “Yes. There is something here.”
Lady Kate moved closer until she almost came into contact with the dais, then stopped. “Can you describe it?”
“No. It’s just like Reneeke said, a strange sensation.”
Then just as the first time, a quick pulse radiated outward from the dais followed immediately afterward by the rising of the darkness.
“It’s working,” Charka observed as his last Springer was swallowed by the dark field until a shimmering dome covered the area above the dais. He and the other two watched as the dome remained in position for several seconds, then quickly sank back down into the dais.
The vanishing of the dome left behind a person, but it wasn’t Jaikus.
“Hey!” Reneeke exclaimed in jubilation. “I’m back!” Torch held aloft, he turned toward the trio of onlookers. It didn’t take him long to realize they were one short. “Where’s Jaik?”
“Are you okay?” Lady Kate asked.
“Yes.” Hopping from the dais he asked again, this time with more urgency tingeing his voice, “Where’s Jaik?”
“Wherever it was the dais took you,” Charka replied. “He was trying to reach wherever it was you had been sent.”
Seward laughed. “Now the other one is missing.”
“Quiet,” Charka ordered and his man reined in his amusement.
Lady Kate came and looked into his eyes. “Where did the teleporter take you?” Seeing nothing untoward about them, she relaxed.
“Yes, lad,” Charka asked, “Where did it take you? Was there treasure?”
“Treasure? No. It was a large cavern. Jaik’s there?”
“He was on the teleporter when it activated,” Lady Kate explained. “You came here, he went there.”
Turning back toward the teleporter, he said, “Then I have to go back and get him.”
“We all will,” said Charka. “I think that cavern may be a good place to continue our search for treasure.”
Taking the steps, Reneeke returned to his spot while the others gathered in about him. “There wasn’t any treasure.”
“Are you sure? Did you check every nook and cranny?”
“Well, no. I was more concerned about how to return.” Pausing a moment, he then added, “But I did see one of those stone faces carved into the cavern wall.”
“I knew it!”
They had to wait several minutes before they felt the strange sensation.
“Magic,” Lady Kate told the others. “This is magic that you are feeling. Very…powerful…magic.”
“Interesting,” Charka commented just before the teleporter activated and they were no longer in the room.
“Rene!”
Jaikus’ cry drew his friend’s attention to where he stood next to a tall stalagmite. Face alight with happiness at seeing his friend, Jaikus hurried his way. “I was getting worried there for a moment.”
Reneeke hopped off the dais and met Jaikus halfway. “You know I wouldn’t leave without you.” Giving his friend a brief, fierce hug, he heard Jaikus say, “Neither would I.”
Seward had the lantern in hand and was beginning to investigate the vicinity surrounding the dais.
“Don’t go too far,” Charka said to his man. “That’s a Springer’s job.” Turning to Jaikus, he held out the now shortened rope and said, “Your turn.”
Resigned to the inevitable, Jaikus nodded and took the rope. After tying it securely around his middle, he gave Reneeke a half-grin. “I hope it goes as well as your stint did.”
“It will,” his friend assured him. “Adventure awaits.”
Jaikus nodded. “Adventure awaits.”
Charka indicated for him to proceed along the narrow, slightly worn path Reneeke had discovered leading away from the dais. Jaikus held the lantern and panned the light to the left and right as he continued along.
The path led through a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, some actually having grown together to form magnificent columns that stretched from the cavern floor all the way to the ceiling high above. For a hundred feet or more the path remained discernible. It wasn’t until the cavern narrowed that a man-made construct came into view from out of the darkness ahead. Five feet tall and obviously made of stone, an obelisk rose from a squat, box-like base to a tapered peak. Runes were etched into the surface.
“Hold up a second,” Charka said to Jaikus. As his Springer came to a stop, the Troupe leader asked his magic user, “Is it a threat?”
After speaking a single word and making a gesture toward the obelisk, she shook her head. “It holds no magic and I detect nothing malignant in its nature.”
“Have you seen these before?” Jaikus asked.
“A few,” Charka replied. “But none bearing this writing.” Returning his gaze toward the obelisk before them, he added, “It must mean something special.”
“Like turn back or you’re dead?” Seward quipped.
“Quite possibly,” Charka agreed in all seriousness.
Jaikus gave the obelisk a thorough once-over, then turned the lantern’s light toward the cavern ahead. The well-worn path continued through the illuminated area and disappeared into the dark. Considering how the walls of the cavern continued drawing closer together the farther they went, he figured they should be fairly close to reaching the end.
Glancing back to Charka, he asked, “Shall I continue?”
“By all means.”
Once past the obelisk, the cavern diminished rapidly as the walls and ceiling steadily drew closer together. When the light at last reached the end of the cavern, Jaikus was greeted by the sight of two massive rock columns, three feet in diameter, standing a mere two feet apart before the rock wall. The path continued through the columns and into a dark opening beyond.
Jaikus came to a stop. “Something ahead,” he hollered back to the others.
Charka saw the twin rock formations and had him continue on. “My guess would be that once past yon pillars, things will get more interesting.”
“You think so?” Reneeke questioned.
“Yes, I do.” Then to Jaikus he hollered, “Keep on your guard.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied
. But then under his breath he added, “What do you think I have been doing?”
A rough-hewn passage extended past the twin columns and made its way deeper into the rock. Jaikus eyed the opening with suspicion, but as he could discern no tangible threat, continued forward.
Charka’s words prophesying that things would “get interesting” were ever present upon his mind. A sense of foreboding settled over him that increased with every step. Twenty paces beyond the pillar, he found himself placing each foot carefully before him, dreading some unpleasant repercussion to descend upon him for daring to defy the totem’s warning.
Maybe it wasn’t a warning? It could have been nothing more than a marker, such as the one the elders of Running Brook had placed to inform visitors of the village’s name. His edginess slackened off somewhat as he began thinking of alternate, non-lethal meanings behind the totem and its enigmatic etchings.
Another thirty paces passed before an abrupt widening of the passage became visible in the lantern’s light. Not rough-hewn as was the passage they had been following, it instead was constructed of worked stone. Ceiling, walls, and floor were all crafted of stone blocks set one atop the other, or side by side as was the case in the floor and ceiling. So well did they fit together that there were hardly any seams. Not far from where this new area started, it came to a dead end.
Jaikus paused at the end of the narrow passage just before the new area of worked stone. “We can’t go any farther.”
“What?” Charka queried. Coming to stand beside his Springer, he saw where the new passage ended. “There must be a hidden door.”
“Do you think so?” Jaikus asked.
Giving his young Springer a grin, he replied, “I’d stake Seward’s life on it.” Patting Jaikus on the back he indicated for him to continue. “Walk to the wall, then back. If nothing happens, I’ll send Seward in. This is his area of expertise.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call myself an expert,” came the reply from back in the narrow passage.
“You’re the best we have,” replied Charka. Then to Jaikus, he jerked his head toward the dead end and said, “Go ahead.”
This is it, he thought to himself. I’m going to die. After first taking a calming breath, he stepped forward. Recalling tales of adventure spun by bards, Jaikus made sure to place his foot on only single blocks of stone. One tale in particular came to mind about a thief that had infiltrated a demon’s lair. He remembered how the bard had described the way a thief had stepped on single blocks of stone in an attempt to make his way through a trapped area. Jaikus wasn’t sure if such a strategy would be effective, but he wasn’t about to take the chance.
Two steps, then three. He carefully made his way toward the wall at the far end.
“Do you see anything strange or out of place?” asked Seward.
Pausing, he glanced back. “Like what?”
“One stone not sitting flush to its neighbor. Or maybe of a slightly different color?”
Panning the light about the walls, he shook his head. “I don’t see anything.”
“Okay,” Charka said. “Continue.”
A quick count of the stone rows making up the floor revealed he had nine more to cross. Nine steps before he could turn around and return to safety. Let’s do this quick.
Picking out the most stable looking stone in the row before him, he stepped forward.
One.
When that was easily accomplished, he did two more in quick succession.
Two. Three.
Then…
Four. Five. Six.
At seven, Jaikus froze when he felt the stone shift beneath his foot.
Reneeke saw his friend come to a sudden stop. “What’s wrong, Jaik?”
“The stone!” he shrieked. “It moved!”
“It’s probably just loose,” his friend hollered back.
“Don’t count on it,” Charka said.
“What do I do?”
“Does it move up and down, or side to side?” Seward questioned.
“Both, I think.” A pause, then… “There’s more side to side movement.”
Charka glanced to his man. “What do you think?”
His gaze lingered on the stone floor beneath Jaikus’ foot. “The fact that the stone is near the center of the passage would tend to make me believe it’s a trap. But it is possible he could have found the way to access the hidden areas.”
Thinking for a moment, Charka then asked, “Did you put all your weight on the stone?”
“No. I had barely touched it when I felt movement.”
“Remove your foot,” Seward suggested.
“Are you crazy?”
“For good or bad, you are going to have to take your foot off sometime,” Charka explained. “It may as well be now.”
“O…okay.”
They watched as Jaikus simultaneously lifted his foot from the stone floor and leaped backward with a powerful thrust from his other leg. He stumbled upon landing, but kept his balance by placing a hand against the wall.
Reneeke came to his side. “Pretty snazzy footwork there.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.
Knees and arms trembling, Jaikus leaned upon the shoulder of his friend.
Amusement turned immediately to concern. “Are you okay?”
Jaikus nodded. “Just a little shaky.”
“He’ll be all right.”
Turning they saw Charka standing behind them.
“Seward, see if you can see what that stone is about.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have the Springers mess with it first?”
“Not this time.”
Shrugging, Seward took the lantern from Jaikus and went to investigate the loose stone that had caused Jaikus such anxiety.
Lady Kate offered the shaky Springer her water flask.
Taking the proffered flask, he said, “Thank you,” then drained it dry. The water helped calm his nerves. As Seward knelt down to inspect the floor stone, Jaikus whispered to Reneeke, “I don’t think I can keep doing this.”
His friend eyed him with compassion. “I know it’s nerve-wracking. But we have only the one day and it will be over. On the morrow we head back to Reakla.” Glancing over to where Charka watched Seward’s efforts, he said, “Why don’t you sit down until he’s finished?”
Jaikus nodded. Putting his back against the wall, he slid to the floor. Reneeke followed suit.
“You two are doing a wonderful job,” Lady Kate praised.
“Thank you, Lady,” Reneeke replied.
Turning his attention toward her, Jaikus asked, “Do you think Charka will put me forward for Guild membership?”
She was quiet for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. He did smile at you earlier, so I think your chances are better than they were. Just keep doing the best you can and cause no problems.”
“I will,” he asserted.
Reneeke nodded. “We both will.”
They sat quietly while Seward worked. Jaikus had his eyes closed and head leaned back, resting against the wall. He had almost fallen asleep when Reneeke jostled his shoulder.
“He’s done.”
Coming awake, Jaikus saw Seward and Charka walking toward them.
“It wasn’t a trap,” Seward explained. “At least, I don’t believe it to be. There are three loose stones, not just the one. I believe them to be the triggering mechanism that will open the secret way.”
“Did it work?” Jaikus asked.
Seward gave him a half-grin. “We won’t know that until you try.”
“Me?”
“You are the Springer, after all.”
The look Charka gave Jaikus indicated he agreed with Seward.
“Fine. What do I have to do?”
“It’s simple really. Press the stones in the correct order, and the way should open.”
“Should open?”
Seward turned to Reneeke and nodded. “Of course, if your friend gets the order wrong, the results could be dis
astrous.”
“Of course,” Jaikus said, copying Seward’s tone in a less than flattering way. Seward merely grinned. “Any idea what the correct order may be?”
“Nope. You’re going to have to trust in your luck.”
Reneeke laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Do you want me to do it?”
Jaikus shook his head. He would be ashamed if he allowed his best friend to assume a risk that he feared to face. And if Reneeke were to be hurt due to his cowardice, the guilt would be unendurable. “Thanks. But I’ll do it.”
“All you need do, is put pressure on the stones until you feel a click.”
“Are you certain this will work?”
“No.”
Jaikus paused and glanced at the man to see if he was messing with him. To his distress, it didn’t look like he was. Unable to escape this fate, he steadied his nerve, took the lantern and walked down to where the loose floor stones waited.
Three stones bore charcoal lines, markers placed by Seward to indicate which stones to press. Each looked identical to the next. Jaikus had hoped that perhaps there would be some tell-tale marking or deformation which might offer a clue, but was sadly disappointed. Picking one at random, he placed his foot upon it, and braced himself for the unexpected. Then he slowly transferred his weight to the stone and felt it shift under him.
With a quick, downward thrust, he stomped on the stone and stepped back quickly. When he looked, the stone was now recessed half an inch into the floor.
“Good work,” praised Charka. “Now, pick the next one.”
“Be careful,” he heard Reneeke holler from where his friend waited with the others. He cast a glance back over his shoulder and saw Reneeke’s encouraging expression. Jaikus nodded, then returned his attention to the task at hand.
Now another. Either it will be the right one, and all will be fine. Or it won’t, and he may not live much longer. Moving in front of the charcoal-striped stone nearest the end of the passage, he gently placed his foot upon it. Then just as before, he stomped on it hard while a fraction of a second later, jumped back.
Again, he completed the maneuver without eliciting a response. The second stone was now recessed into the floor half an inch same as the first.
“I think you got it,” said Charka. “Now do the third.”
As he moved into position, he heard Seward say, “I hope this works.”
Having successfully depressed the first two stones, he had some confidence in his chances of surviving the third. Setting his foot atop the stone, he put his full weight upon it, this time without the leap backward. Beneath his foot, he felt a click and a rumbling sound came from before him.
A section of the wall began sliding into the floor.
Chapter 9