Trail of the Gods_ The Morcyth Saga Book Four - Brian S. Pratt [30]
“You sure?” asks Fifer.
“Completely,” replies Miko. “Though I remember it as being bigger.”
“You’ve grown some since then,” states Scar.
Getting a grim expression on his face, he says, “Yeah, I guess I have.”
Illan comes forward and shines the lantern’s light into the crack, “How far back does it go?”
“About four or five feet then it opens up onto a small storage room,” he tells him. “At least that’s what James thought it was. It hadn’t been used in a very long time.”
“Alright,” he announces. “Shorty, you go in first and take a look around.”
“Right,” he says as he moves to the crack in the wall. Squeezing through, he finds he has plenty of room. From the sewer he can hear Scar comment with a laugh, “No way Potbelly could’ve fit through there!” The picture of Potbelly trying to squeeze through brings a grin to his face.
Sidestepping, he slowly reaches the other side and comes out of the other end. “I’m through!” he hollers back.
Illan hands Miko the lantern and says, “You next.”
“But what about you?” he asks. “Won’t you need it?”
“You’ll need it more,” he tells him. “Besides, I may be able to make it through.”
Miko looks at him doubtfully before stepping into the crack. He’s able to make it on through with little problems despite his increased size. Next goes Fifer then Scar who has the hardest time making it through. Both have to remove the upper half of their armor in order to make it.
When they’re all through to the other room but Illan, he says, “Alright, I’m coming through.” Removing his breastplate, he tries to squeeze into the crack and quickly discovers there’s no way he’ll be able to make it, even without his armor. “You guys will have to go ahead without me,” he says when he once again stands in the sewer tunnel. “I’ll meet you back at the inn where we left the horses.”
“What should we do if we don’t find you there?” Scar asks.
“If I’m not there when you get there, assume I’m not going to,” he says. “If worse comes to worse, just get James and head back to The Ranch. If you don’t show at the inn, I’ll make my way back home on my own.”
“Alright,” replies Scar.
“Good luck,” they hear his voice coming from the other side of the crack.
“You too,” Fifer says, hating to leave him there alone. Turning to Miko, he says, “Lead on.”
Exiting the room, they follow the corridor as it moves away from the doorway. “At the end are stairs going up,” he tells them. “At the top will be a trapdoor with a barrel attached to the other side. James said it was there to better hide the entrance leading to this area.”
“Makes sense,” says Fifer as he follows behind Miko.
At the stairs, Scar and Fifer go up first and together are able to lift the trapdoor with ease. Everyone scrambles on through and they set the trapdoor back down.
“Doesn’t look as if anyone’s been here since you guys were,” Shorty states as he indicates only two sets of footprints leading away from the hidden trapdoor.
“Good,” Fifer says. “Maybe this way still remains secret.”
“That makes this a whole lot easier,” Scar adds.
Miko walks over to the door in the wooden wall and says quietly, “On the other side of this door is a hidden passage that runs within the walls of the estate. Once we’re in it, we should be able to move about the estate and find where they’ve taken James.”
“If he’s even here,” Fifer adds. “We’re not entirely sure this is where he’s being taken.”
“True, but we’ve got to start somewhere,” says Scar.
Miko closes the shutter on the lantern, plunging them into darkness and then opens the door. The hallway on the other side is completely dark, he sticks his head out and peers down both directions. Nothing but darkness.
“Come on,” he says as he opens the shutter a tiny fraction to let out a small amount of light. Stepping out into the hallway, he says, “Not sure which way to go. Last time