“Yes,” replies James. “Then we had a side trip to the City of Light.”
“Interesting?” he asks.
“Oh yes, very,” says James.
“I’d say,” adds Scar from where he’s riding behind them.
Once inside the main courtyard, guards come and take their horses. “Follow me,” Illan says as he leads them into the keep.
As they begin removing their things, Illan says, “Leave them. They’ll be taken to your rooms.”
Everyone but Miko takes his advice. Miko removes the saddlebag containing the Book of Morcyth and carries it with him. He plans on never letting it out of his possession.
Within the fortress they move down the somewhat familiar halls. As they pass down one of the hallways, Ceadric makes his appearance from out of a doorway and holds it open for them. Nodding to Illan, he stands there as they pass through.
On the other side of the door they find themselves in a large room with many tables and chairs. Once they are all in, Ceadric closes the door and stations himself outside to prevent them from being disturbed.
Illan moves to the far side of the room and takes a seat at one of the tables. The others take seats in the other chairs close to him. Brother Willim and the other two priests of Morcyth sit together at the table adjacent to his.
“Now,” says Jiron, “why all the secrecy?”
“Is the Empire up to something?” asks Stig.
He sits back a moment, then says, “I’m not sure.” Pausing for only a moment, Illan continues. “The day you left, one of my Raiders was found dead in one of the hallways. There was no discernable cause of death. No wounds from weapons,” then he gestures to the two priests of Asran, “and they said it wasn’t poison.”
Brother Willim and his brothers begin whispering together as the others assimilate what he just said. “They were kind enough to postpone their journey to return their fallen comrades until the following day. Unfortunately, by then two more had died, again within the keep and no discernable cause of death.”
“After the first death, a thorough search was made and the keep was locked down, no one allowed in or out. The brothers joined the search that first day but nothing was found. By this time the Ambassador from the Empire arrived.”
“Were they somehow involved do you think?” Potbelly asks.
“Nothing points in their direction, but you can’t dismiss the coincidence of my people being killed and their presence here,” he replies.
“Have you spoken to the Ambassador about the situation?” Jiron asks.
Shaking his head, Illan says, “No, it could possibly be taken as an implied accusation. At this stage in the negotiations, we can’t afford to do anything that would adversely affect the talks.”
“But people are dying,” insists Brother Willim. “Surely you could talk to him about aiding you in ferreting out the killer?”
Again Illan shakes his head. “Our negotiator, who by the way is Councilman Tethias and one of the members of Madoc’s ruling Council, says that we should not mention it in any way.” Seeing the suspicion arise in James’ eyes he adds, “Don’t worry, his House is currently at odds with that of the former Councilman Rillian.”
“That’s good to know,” states James.
“We do have the Ambassador and his people under constant surveillance,” Illan tells them. “We know that he has been informed of the deaths, though he has yet to comment upon them.”
Just then the door opens and Ceadric sticks his head in. Illan gives him a nod and servants come in bearing food and drink. “Thought you might be hungry,” he says.
“Yes, thank you,” affirms Scar.
The servants hurry about their work and platters of beef, bread and cheese are sitting before them. Pitchers of ale arrive too. Once everything has been placed upon the tables the servants quickly leave the room and Illan relates to them the rest of the events while they eat.
“The morning of the second day, another died but this time there was a witness,” he explains. “One of Hedry’s archers, Galin, was on his way to meet with him when one of the new additions to the Raiders entered the hallway further down. The man waved to Galin and took three steps when what looked like an arm reached from the wall and touched him.”
“Staggering, the man gave out with a groan and remained there with the hand on his shoulder for no more than a second before the hand let go. Then he sagged and hit the floor. When Galin reached him, he was already dead.”
“And there was no one else in the hallway?” asks Jiron.
“No, there was not,” states Illan matter-of-factly.
“Did Galin get a good look at the arm?” James asks.
“He said the hallway was dark with but a single candle at either end,” he replies. “Said he didn’t really pay much attention to it, that at first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Possibly a trick with the shadows.”
“Shadows?” asks James. He looks to Illan and who nods his head. “Could it be one of those shadows that tried to kill me on the way to Korazan?”
“There have been three other deaths since,” he says. “Another attack was witnessed. The witness said that the wall came forth and enveloped the servant.”
James sits back and thinks while whispered murmurs pass between the others in the room.
“My brothers say they have not sensed the presence of evil or anything magical the entire time we were gone,” Brother Willim states. “They have searched the keep from one side to the other but thus far have been unable to locate it.”
“We’ll be able to find it,” bursts out Scar. Patting Miko on the shoulder he says, “We have the High Priest of Morcyth here.”
Illan’s eyes widen as Miko blushes slightly. He glances to James who nods his head then launches into a brief description of what happened in the City of Light. When he’s done, he looks to Miko with a grin, “So what do I call you now?”
“Miko will do nicely,” he replies.
“We’ll need to…” begins James when Miko suddenly stands erect.
The Star of Morcyth suddenly bright in his hands he turns for the door. “Someone has died,” he announces.
“How do you know?” Jiron asks.
“I felt his passing,” he replies.
Green auras spring to life around the brothers as Miko reaches the door. Pushing it open, he strides into the hallway. Pausing only a moment, he moves to the right past a startled Ceadric with the others right behind and hurries down the hallway.
“Another has been killed,” Illan tells Ceadric as he leaves the room. Nodding, Ceadric draws his sword and falls in with the others.
The light emanating from the Star fills the hallway with brilliant light. “Can you sense the shadow?” James asks.
“Yes,” he replies. “It’s above us and on the move.” Quickening his pace, Miko passes stunned servants and guards as he hunts the shadow. One guard of the keep had to practically jump out of his way to prevent from being run over.
Reaching a flight of steps going upward, he turns into the stairwell and proceeds to the next floor.
“Can you sense anything yet?” James asks Brother Willim.
Nodding, he says, “We do now.”
Hurrying along the hallway, Miko comes to a stop before a closed door and opens it. “We’re near,” he says. “Its pace has quickened.”
“Could have sensed our magic approaching,” suggests James and Brother Willim nods in agreement.
The door opens up onto a storage room filled with boxes, crates and barrels. Moving into the room, the light from the Star blazes forth revealing every nook and cranny. Across the room from them stands another closed door.
