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“So do I,” replies James. “Guess we’ll have to go back down. Let’s hope there’s another way out.”

“What about secret doors?” Jiron suddenly asks.

“With the Empire’s forces above us, I don’t dare try to find any with magic,” he explains. “I doubt if we would find one otherwise, though you never know.”

With Jiron leading the way, they return down the stairs to the lower level. Passing back through the room with the busts, they take the corridor to their right which they have yet to explore.

As they move down it, they encounter several more tapestries, all of which are in such bad condition that whatever they once portrayed has been lost. They don’t walk far before the light from the orb illuminates a large door set into the right wall ahead of them.

“Wonder what’s on the other side?” Jiron asks as he moves toward it.

“I don’t know,” replies James. “But we better find out.”

Jiron goes up to it and pulls on the handle. The door moves only slightly before stopping. “I think it’s stuck,” he replies as he hands the orb to Aleya.

Taking the orb hesitantly, she takes a close look at it, almost as if she expects it to burn her palm.

“Give me a hand,” Jiron says to James.

Coming over, he grabs the large handle with Jiron and they both pull with all their might. A loud grinding sound of rusty hinges fills the corridor as the door slowly works itself open.

When the door finally clears the door jamb, a puff of stale air wafts from the room. They continue pulling until the opening is wide enough for them to squeeze through. Taking the orb back from Aleya, Jiron holds it out into the room as he looks inside. “Looks like someone lived here,” he says.

Moving through the doorway with the other two right behind, he finds three well preserved beds along with chests at their ends.

“The fact that the door remained shut all this time must have aided in the preservation of this room,” explains James.

Aleya comes over to one of the chests and moves to open it.

“Stop!” cries James, but is too late. She opens the lid and he braces himself for something bad to happen. When nothing does, he opens his eyes and finds her staring at him.

“What?” she asks.

“There is no telling what could happen in a place like this,” he explains to her. “Best to leave things alone.”

Giving him an exasperated look, she reaches in and pulls out a set of robes. From the cut of them, they look like ceremonial priest robes. She holds them out to him and says, “Looks like this place might have been a temple.”

Coming over to her, he takes a closer look at the robe. It’s rather plain but of very fine quality. Looking within the chest, he discovers the robe was all there is. “Come on,” he says to them, “we still need to get out of here.”

Aleya lays the robes on the bed before she follows them back out of the room.

Continuing down the corridor to the right, they arrive at a junction just past the room they left. The corridor ahead is blocked with rubble from a cave-in and is impassable. To their left, another corridor moves off into the darkness.

Moving down this new corridor, they go about fifty feet when on their right, a set of ornately decorated double doors appears. When James’ gaze first settles upon the doors, his feelings of foreboding increases. Aleya seems to feel something as well.

“Wait,” James says as Jiron moves to open the doors.

Stopping, Jiron turns and glances back at James. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Not sure, exactly,” he replies. “It’s just that there’s something about this place that gives me the willies.”

Looking at him in concern, he asks, “Do you want me to open these doors?”

Nodding, he says, “We have to. The way out could be in there.” As Jiron reaches for the handle, he adds, “Just be careful.”

“I will,” he assures him. “I’ve come to trust your feelings.” As his hand comes close to the door handle, he pauses just for a second. The worries James has about this place are beginning to affect him as well. Then he reaches out and takes hold of the handle to the right door and pulls.

Where the previous door had