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
