Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [104]
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