Trail of the Gods_ The Morcyth Saga Book Four - Brian S. Pratt [77]
“That’s good!” Jiron hollers to those in the hallway and then begins making his way down to James. The others enter and begin following him down.
“Stop!” James cries up at them when he sees they’re about to all come down the stairs at once. “The stairs won’t support you all,” he tells them. “You need to come down one at a time. And Uther?” he asks. Once he has Uther’s attention, he says, “See if you can find a thick piece of wood out in the woods, about three feet long.” He uses his hands to show the size he wants.
“What do you want that for?” he asks.
“Just do,” he replies.
Illan turns to him and says, “Take Jorry with you, and be quick.”
Uther and Jorry leave to do as requested. Once Jiron has reached the bottom, Illan begins to descend. The stairs groan badly in one spot and he even hears one of the boards give a little crack. Continuing carefully, he makes it to the bottom.
Looking around the room, he says, “There’s nowhere to go.”
“Yes there is,” James says as he moves to where the entrance to the secret door in the wall is located. Tapping on it, he says, “Behind here is the old escape route from this keep. It leads through an underground cavern to an underground river that eventually leads to the river at the bottom of the canyon.”
“And you plan to hide that,” he asks, indicating the box containing the Fire, “somewhere down there.”
“Precisely,” he says.
“Why do you need the boat?” he asks.
“I don’t plan to hide this in an easily accessible location,” he explains. “But rather somewhere that would make it very hard to get, even if someone should learn of its location.”
Illan nods as he glances around the room.
From the hallway at the top of the stairs, they hear Jorry and Uther coming back. They’re talking to one another and when they enter the room they both begin to descend the stairs at the same time.
Illan notices them and cries out, “One at a time!” but is too late.
The stairs give out with a loud crack and the top section upon where they’re stepping suddenly collapses and Uther falls forward, hitting the step just after the section that fell, and smashing though it with a grunt. They fall ten feet and land on the equipment James and Miko had left there from their earlier visit.
James and the others rush over and he asks, “You guys okay?” Pulling some of the broken stairway off of Jorry, they find them with only a few minor scrapes and cuts.
“Nothing broke,” Uther says as Illan helps him to his feet.
“Same here,” says Jorry.
Now that they’re all together, James lays out the plan to them. Taking a few of the items out of the backpacks, he explains how they’re to be used and so forth.
“Once we’re done, Jiron and I have something we need to do so won’t be coming back this way,” he explains. “You will need to return through here and take the horses and wagon back to The Ranch.” Pointing to the stashed equipment that now lies under the debris of the fallen stairs, he adds, “And take that equipment with you as well.”
“Where will you two be going?” Fifer asks.
“Saragon,” he tells them.
“Are you crazy?” Yern exclaims. “That place is in enemy hands. How are you going to get in there? And why?”
“As for how we’ll get in there,” he says, “there’s a way.” Pulling out the medallion, he holds it out to them and continues, “I still need to understand why this was given to me. The only place left for me to find out is in Saragon, it was the home of the last High Priest of Morcyth. Ollinearn, from the City of Light said that it’s possible he might’ve gone there before they disappeared. It’s all I have to go on.”
“You be careful,” Illan says.
“Oh, I plan to be, rest assured,” James tells him. “Now, to open the secret door.”
“Uther, on the wall along the stairs you’ll find a circle engraved into it,” he says. “Go up there and stand by until I tell you to press it. There are three triggers and they have to be pressed in the correct order.”
“Sure thing,” he says as he moves to