Trail of the Gods Part 25

"I sure hope you can find that entrance," Jiron tells him. "I don't think we would have much luck making it past all those men."

Nodding in agreement, James indicates they should get down off the hill before they're spotted. Moving back down to the bottom, he dismounts. Jiron follows suit.

"The man said the entrance was two miles to the north of Saragon, hidden in amongst a pile of stones by the river," he says. "I would think that other river over there would be the one he mentioned. The one we've been following is more to the west."

"That would stand to reason," he says. "Maybe we should leave the horses here and work our way through the hills over to the river."

"In broad daylight, that's going to be chancy," James replies. "But sitting here for hours would be just as bad." Walking his horse over to a nearby tree, he secures the reins to it. Jiron brings his over and secures it as well.

"If we keep between the hills," Jiron says, "I think we might be able to get over there without being spotted."

"Let's do it quickly then," says James.

Jiron nods as he heads out with James right behind. It's a couple miles of hills they have to work through in order to reach the river. Keeping low, they're able to cross the distance within an hour while remaining unseen.

At the river, they look with chagrin at a stretch of broken stone over two hundred yards long. "We'll never find it!" exclaims Jiron.

"We don't have a choice," insists James. "Let's start looking, most likely we'll find it at the base of a hill or among some trees."

Nodding, Jiron says, "That does narrow the scope down some."

Getting busy, they begin combing the area, concentrating mainly within the parameters set up: within a couple yards of the river, by a hill or among some trees. "I think I found it!" exclaims Jiron after a half hour of searching.

James looks over and sees him at the base of a hill that looks as if it had collapsed sometime in the past. Several trees and bushes have overgrown the area, masking the entrance. He goes over to where Jiron stands next to a large boulder.

"I can feel air moving from behind here," he tells James as he joins him.

James checks it out and sure enough, he can smell the musky odor of the earth coming from behind the large boulder. "Can we move it?" he asks, indicating the boulder.

"I would think so," Jiron replies. Putting his shoulder against it, he begins to push as James adds what strength he can from his one good arm. The other one has steadily improved, but remains too tender to allow him to use it for this.

The boulder begins to move and then the top rocks to the side revealing an opening with a downward slanting pa.s.sage behind it. James looks to Jiron with a big smile on his face, "Told you."

"Okay, so you did," he admits.

Looking around, they make sure no one is in the vicinity before slipping into the pa.s.sage. Once they're both within the tunnel, Jiron manages to pull the boulder back into position, again hiding the entrance. Light suddenly floods the pa.s.sage as James' orb appears on the palm of his hand. He takes the lead with the orb held out before him.

The pa.s.sage is narrow, barely wide enough for them to stand side by side let alone walk next to each other. As they move forward through the pa.s.sage, they encounter water. The floor of the pa.s.sage has been flooded, maybe by rains or maybe by just seeping through the ground from the nearby river.

After several yards of first encountering the water, it deepens to the point of where their boots are completely submerged in it. "This better not get much worse," comments Jiron.

"Whoever built this should've antic.i.p.ated something like this happening," says James. "The river will at times overflow its banks and this place would then be completely submerged."

Sure enough, they come to an area further ahead with a grate in the side of the tunnel where the water is draining away. "See," says James when they come to it. "Stop worrying."

"Wasn't worrying," Jiron replies defensively. "Just stating a concern."

Continuing past the grate the water level of the pa.s.sage remains constant all the way through. It's a wonder smugglers would've used such a way to get their goods out of the city. Of course, back in that guy's grandfather's day, this pa.s.sage was probably better maintained than it is now.

It seems a long time before the pa.s.sage again begins to ascend back to the surface. James realizes they are again moving to the surface when the water level in the pa.s.sage begins to drop. After several hundred more feet, the floor of the pa.s.sage pa.s.ses out of the water and they're once more walking on dry ground.

Not too much further past where they are again on dry ground that the pa.s.sage ends abruptly at a brick wall. No handle or latch is visible for opening whatever door this may be. James hunts around for loose bricks, or ones that seem loose. So confident at first of being able to solve this riddle, he soon becomes more and more worried that he's not going to be able to figure it out as time pa.s.ses.

Bored, Jiron leans against the brick wall at the end of the pa.s.sage while he waits for James to finish searching the walls for the hidden mechanism. As his weight comes full against the brick wall, it suddenly swings open with a slight squeal of rusty hinges. Off balance, Jiron stumbles through the opening and falls to the ground on the other side, coming up quick with a knife in his hand.

"Found it!" he says to James with a smile.

As James leaves the tunnel, the light from the orb reveals they are inside what used to be a bas.e.m.e.nt. The place reeks of charred wood, the ceiling having recently collapsed due to a fire that had raged through here, burning most of the wood.

Above them, light filters down through the rubble and wreckage that used to be a building. James extinguishes the orb, as the light filtering down gives them plenty with which to see.

Jiron holds very still as he listens for a sound that may indicate someone is nearby. "Stay right here," Jiron tells him.

He moves carefully through the rubble, trying not to disturb anything that may cause the wreckage above them to come crashing down upon their heads. He works his way to the other side of the room where a stone stairway still stands. At the foot of it, he turns to James and motions for him to come over to him.

When James reaches his side, he whispers, "I'll go up and see what's going on. Just wait here and I'll be right back."

"Okay," James says. Waiting there at the bottom of the stairs, he watches as Jiron moves to the top and then with a quick glance back he motions for James to remain where he is.

James watches as he moves away from the top of the stairs. Several minutes pa.s.s by before Jiron reappears and comes back down to where James is waiting for him.

"Well?" asks James.

"Up there is pretty messed up," he explains. "We are going to need to be really careful, the whole place looks unstable and about to cave in at any minute."

Nodding, James says, "I see. We're going to need this to remain open so we can get out of here."

"Exactly," agrees Jiron. Pointing up the stairs, he says, "Once to the top, we have to cross through the wreckage before we'll be able to reach the street. I couldn't see any better way, so we'll just have to step very carefully." He looks to James and asks, "Understand?"

Nodding his head, he says, "Yes."

"Follow me and try to go where I do," he tells him.

"Okay."

Jiron again moves to the top of the stairs, this time with James right behind him. When he gets to the top, James understands what he was talking about. The walls near them are still partially standing and no way to leave the building. The only way out is across the broken, burnt floor to where a wall has collapsed outward when the roof had caved in.

"Ready?" asks Jiron. When he gets a nod from James, he steps out onto a blackened piece of wood that used to be a support beam for the ceiling.

James waits until Jiron has completely navigated it and is on another section before following. Piece by piece, Jiron leads them closer to the hole in the wall. Suddenly from the street outside the building, they can hear footsteps approaching and they hold still upon their precarious perches.

The footsteps come close and James watches as several soldiers pa.s.s right in front of the hole in the wall they've been trying to reach. Had they but looked within the hole, they would've seen Jiron standing there on a section of the collapsed ceiling not six feet from them.

When their footsteps can no longer be heard, Jiron resumes moving until he reaches what remains of the floor beside the hole. Jiron steps to the hole in the wall, knife in one hand, as he looks out upon the street running outside the building. When James joins him he says, "Looks clear."

"Alright," replies James. "Let's go."

The building across the street from them still looks to be in good shape. Jiron gestures with his head toward it and raises an eyebrow questioningly. James nods his head in reply and after again making sure no one is on the street, they race across the street to the doorway.

The door proves to be locked and they have a heart thumping few minutes standing there exposed in the street while Jiron works on the lock. Finally, they hear a click and the door swings open. Rushing in, they close the door behind them.

Chapter Seventeen.

The room they find themselves in looks as if it had been ravaged by looters. Tables overturned, items from shelves thrown carelessly on the floor, and even a chair shows signs of being searched. The back of it has been sliced open and most of its stuffing lies scattered across the floor.

"They sure did a number on this place," James says. Looking around, he picks up a book which has been torn apart. From the intricate design on the cover and the few pages he scans through, it seems a work of art. Saddened, he drops it back to the ground.

From where Jiron is looking out a window he nods without commenting. "Looks like they have slave gangs working to clear the streets," he says after another minute.

Coming over to the window, James looks out and sees a dozen slaves with two guards further down the street where they're clearing away the rubble. Several wagons stand ready next to them for the debris of the collapsed and ruined buildings they're removing from the street. "Maybe they plan to stay here awhile?" he guesses.

"Probably." Jiron then glances at him and asks, "Now that we're here, how are you planning on discovering any information?" Gesturing to the slaves outside, he continues, "We'll be seen sure as anything if we spend any time out there."

"I know," he replies. "Any information would be hundreds of years old. We need to locate buildings that have been around for centuries and somehow find a way to search them."

"That could include over half the town!" Jiron exclaims. "It might take us weeks to be able to search all the buildings that would entail. And that's only if they're not currently occupied by the Empire's forces."

"We should probably work at night," James says as he breaks out in a yawn. "Less chance of being spotted."

"I agree," replies Jiron. "We could use some rest. I'll take the first watch. Don't think I could fall asleep right now anyway."

A tired James nods, not wishing to argue the point. He turns a couch back upright before lying down. Jiron standing before the window looking out is the last thing he sees before closing his eyes.

It's almost night before James wakes up. "You didn't wake me!" he says accusingly to Jiron where he still stands by the window.

"Wasn't tired," he says. "You looked like you needed it."

Getting up, James walks over to look out the window. "Anything happening?" he asks.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "The slaves continued all day clearing the rubble. A short time ago the wagons left and they were taken away."

The street outside looks deserted in the deepening shadows. The light is beginning to fade as the sun hits the horizon. Jiron points down the street off to the west and says, "The only really old looking buildings I could see from here are down that way. One has the look of a temple, though in its present condition it's hard to be sure."

"Then let's check it out once the light has completely faded," James tells him.

"Maybe I should go alone?" he suggests.

"No," replies James, rejecting the idea. "I need to go. There could be something there you'll not recognize but that I will."

"As you wish," he replies. He then nods when he remembers the bronze plaque they found in the complex back in the swamp and how James had recognized its significance.

For the next hour they wait by the window as the light continues to fade until darkness completely envelopes the city. Jiron then opens the door, peering out to make sure the street is deserted. When he finds no one about, he moves into the dark street with James right behind him.

Keeping to the shadows, they move slowly down the street in the direction of the church Jiron had indicated earlier. If there was indeed an old church there, there may also be others in the immediate vicinity.

No patrols walk the streets of Saragon. They've been in control of it for so long they no longer need worry anymore about hold out survivors from the time of the city's fall. This makes it easy for them to move quickly without being seen.

A noise in the night freezes them in their tracks. Keeping still against a wall bordering the street, they wait for a moment, listening. When the sound doesn't repeat itself, they continue on.

Coming to an intersection of streets, Jiron pauses a moment to make sure the cross street is empty of soldiers. Looking down both ways, he then motions for James to follow as he darts across to the other side.

"We're almost there," he whispers as they work their way further down the street.

A great shadow looms in the darkness before them. Its spire, once tall and majestic now lies broken on the street. The smell of charred wood permeates everything, a fire had raged through here not very long ago, a week or two maybe. James glances in through a broken doorway of the building they're moving along. The light from the stars above reveals a burnt out husk. What function the building held before the fire, can no longer be determined.

Jiron points to the building across the street and says, "That's the temple I saw."

"Let's go then," James tells him eagerly.

A quick look down the side streets and then they race across to the temple's double entry doors. The one on the left is askew and slightly ajar. Squeezing through, they make their way inside. Jiron jumps when a small light appears in James' hand.

"Sorry," James says, orb glowing softly in his hand.

"No one's going to detect that are they?" he asks.

"I don't think so," he a.s.sures him. "I haven't felt anyone do magic since coming here."

The interior is definitely that of a temple. Though it has been stripped and looted, it still has the unmistakable look of a place of worship. In the minimal light the orb is putting out, it's hard to tell just who had been worshiped here. "Where do you propose we look?" Jiron asks.

"I'd think in the bas.e.m.e.nt below," suggests James. "It's unlikely that had this been a Morcyth temple at one time, anything would have remained where the average person would be. The new occupants would've stripped off any old insignias and replaced them with their own."

The temple is filled with rubble, portions of the ceiling as well as half a wall have fallen in. The debris covering the floor makes their footing unstable. They split up as they search for access to the lower levels, if there are any.

"Over here!" shouts James from where he's searching near the back. Behind a fallen column lies a stairway going down.

Without waiting for Jiron to join him he moves down the stairs, taking care not to trip over the debris that has fallen upon them. As he makes his way down, the glow from the orb reveals where the stairs end at a corridor moving to the left and right. Glancing back to make sure Jiron is following him, he turns to the right and proceeds cautiously down the corridor.

Not very far down the corridor, he finds a body in the middle of the corridor. Hacked to pieces, it lays in a pool of dried blood. From the vestments the dead man is wearing, he looks to have been a priest of some sort.

Jiron comes close and after a brief examination says, "Asran. This temple must've been to the G.o.d Asran."

"Asran?" asks James questioningly.

Nodding, he indicates a symbol of a plant encircled by a ring of interwoven leaves embroidered on the dead man's clothes. "Asran is the G.o.d of nature, of growing things." Glancing to James he adds, "A very important G.o.d to farmers and the like, can't believe they would kill even priests, especially these."

"From what I've seen of the Empire's soldiers, nothing surprises me anymore," he says.

Throughout the hallways and rooms they find more of Asran's slain priests. In one room, they find coffers smashed open where the soldiers had looted the temple's treasure. A dozen slain priests lie just within the treasure room where they had died defending it. Shaking his head, James just continues on.