Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (51 page)

Nodding, Lord Pytherian glances to his right
and says, “Let no one in.”

A muffled reply could be heard. As he steps
into the room, two guards take position in front of the shattered
doorway. James can see Councilman Rillian’s guards standing in the
hallway looking anxiously within the room.

“I want these men arrested!” demands the
councilman. He indicates his dead underling lying in a pool of
blood as he continues, “They killed my servant and tied me here.
They were just about to begin torturing me when my men
arrived.”

Lord Pytherian looks from the dead body, to
Councilman Rillian and then to James. He moves over and begins to
untie the councilman.

“What’re you doing milord?” exclaims James
as he comes to his feet. “He’s a traitor to Madoc. He lured us
here, drugged us, and was about to begin questioning us about who
knows what before Jiron here showed up and foiled the whole
thing.”

“Surely you’re not going to take the word of
this thief and murderer, are you?” Councilman Rillian asks once
Lord Pytherian has untied him. Coming to his feet, he adds, “I want
them executed right now for what they’ve done here!”

“You know the law as well as anyone,
Councilman,” Lord Pytherian says. “No one is to be executed until
duly tried.”

“This is outrageous!” cries the councilman.
“Then I demand them to stand before the council first thing
tomorrow.” He stares at Lord Pytherian and says, “I want them
locked in the dungeon where they can’t get away.”

“As you wish, Councilman,” Lord Pytherian
says. Turning to the guards at the door, he says, “Come in here and
take these men to the palace dungeons.”

Eight guards enter the room with their
swords drawn and take James, Jiron and Fifer into custody. One of
the guards slings Fifer over his shoulder.

James glares at Lord Pytherian and says,
“But we rescued you! How can you do this?”

“I have no authority in civil matters,” he
explains. “Councilman Rillian here is one of the ruling body of
Madoc, he has the right in this matter.” Nodding to a guard, he
says, “Take them away.”

“But we have proof! Miller is holding a man
who works for him,” he says, indicating the councilman. “He’ll
explain everything!”

“We’ll see,” Lord Pytherian replies. To the
guard, he says, “Go ahead.”

“Yes, milord,” the guard says. Then to his
prisoners, he says, “You heard his lordship, move.”

The guards follow as James and Jiron leave
the room. Just as they begin to move down the hallway, they hear
Councilman Rillian begin yelling at Lord Pytherian.

Down the hallway and then to the bottom of
the stairs they’re led. When they exit the building, the crowd of
people in the courtyard parts, allowing them to pass through to the
castle.

James is trying to understand what just
happened. He was sure Lord Pytherian would’ve believed them and
been on their side. Strange things indeed must be afoot.

“James, can you get us out of this?” Jiron
whispers as he leans closer to him.

“Too tired,” he replies quietly. “By
morning, who knows?”

“Quiet you two!” orders the nearest
guard.

They can hear Fifer groan from where he’s
being carried by one of the guards, the drug must be beginning to
wear off.

The front gates of the castle are twenty
foot high and twice that wide. The classic moat runs around the
outside with a drawbridge allowing access over it. As they cross
the drawbridge, James notices a strong, iron portcullis hanging
above them that would be dropped in emergencies, effectively
blocking the entrance to the castle.

A forty foot tunnel leads from the gates to
the inner courtyard. No doors lead from it, but there are arrow
slits in the walls where defenders could fire upon any attackers
caught in the tunnel. Above the tunnel, the ceiling contains holes,
murder holes, where defenders could rein down rocks or burning oil
to cost the attacker’s dearly.

At the end of the tunnel hangs another
portcullis, similar to the one at the other end. Exiting the
tunnel, they enter the inner courtyard of the castle, itself
designed as a killing ground. Only two sets of doors lead out of it
and they’re lead to the one on the right.

Once through the double doors, they proceed
down a long corridor past several other closed doors before coming
to a flight of steps leading down. The lead guard takes a torch
that is burning in a wall sconce and begins descending the steps.
James and Jiron follow close behind with the rest of the guards,
the one carrying Fifer bringing up the rear.

The stair winds its way down until finally
opening on a large room with cells on both sides. “This way,” the
guard leading them says as he continues on toward the end where he
opens one of the cell doors and directs them to enter.

The light from the torch illuminates a
sizeable cell with several benches situated about the floor. He
finds it empty, much to his relief.

Jiron follows him in and then the guard
carrying Fifer comes and lays him on one of the benches. Then they
proceed to remove all their weapons, Jiron looks like he’s ready to
protest when they remove his knives but stands passively as they
take them.

Once all their weapons have been removed,
the guards leave the cell, closing the door behind them. They then
proceed from the room in silence, taking the weapons with them. As
they move up the stairs, the light from the torch gets dimmer and
dimmer until they’re finally in total black again.

Light suddenly flares up as James’ orb
springs to life in the palm of his hand. “I thought you were too
tired?” asks Jiron.

“I am, but this is fairly easy to do,”
replies James. “How’s the shoulder?”

“Hurts,” he replies. “I think the blood has
finally stopped oozing out.”

James gets up and moves over to Fifer who’s
beginning to groan once again. “Fifer!” he says as he sits next to
him. Holding the orb close, he can see his eyes are open. “Can you
hear me?” he asks him.

Fifer nods his head and says weakly,
“Yeah.”

James helps him to sit up and has to hold
him steady as he’s still not completely over the effects of the
drug and it’s messing up his equilibrium.

“Where are we?” he asks.

“In the dungeon under the castle,” replies
Jiron.

“What?” he exclaims. “How?”

James proceeds to relate the events since he
woke up back on the couch. Fifer’s eyes widen when he hears the
accusations being brought against them. “That’s absurd!” he cries
out, the glow from the orb accentuating the anger on his face.

“We know that, and you can bet Councilman
Rillian knows it too,” James explains. “But he’s just covering up
his own hand in all this, at our expense.”

“What about that one eyed guy?” Jiron asks.
“That one Miko mentioned?”

“We’ve got to get word somehow to Lord
Pytherian about him,” says James. “Before it’s too late.”

James moves over to Jiron and takes a closer
look at the bolt sticking out of his shoulder. “Can’t leave that in
there to fester,” he says.

“I know,” he replies. “You better pull it
out.”

“But we have nothing to close it with,”
counters James.

“What choice do we have,” says Jiron. “It’s
got to come out.”

“Alright,” agrees James as he gets in
position to pull it out. Just before he takes hold of the bolt, the
stairwell begins to lighten up again and the sound of approaching
footsteps can be heard. He takes his hand away as they all turn to
see who is coming.

Lord Pytherian, along with another man
bearing a bag and a torch, move into the room. They come and stand
before their cell.

James glares at him from where he’s sitting
next to Jiron.

“I believe you,” Lord Pytherian tells him.
“Go ahead,” he says to the man with him who produces a key and
opens the cell door.

“He’s a healer,” he tells them. “He’s here
to remove the bolt from your shoulder, Jiron.”

James gets up to make room for the healer.
He then goes over to Lord Pytherian and asks, “If you believe us,
why are we here?”

“You must understand,” he explains, “I have
no authority in civil matters. Councilman Rillian is a very
powerful member of the council with many friends. I could not side
against him, it would’ve created severe problems we can ill afford
with that army sitting on our doorstep.”

A muffled cry escapes Jiron as the healer
pulls out the bolt. They glance over to him as he begins sewing the
wound closed. Fifer is there giving the healer a hand.

“But we have proof,” insists James. “One of
his agents is being held by Miller at an inn.”

“One man’s word still wouldn’t be enough,”
he says. “If the enemy should launch an assault now, it’s all we
could do to simply withstand it. I cannot afford to have a rift in
the council, as that would surely happen if this is brought to
light.”

“But he could be your biggest danger!” James
exclaims.

“I know,” he says. “But as long as the
illusion is held, his men will fight in the city’s defense should
it become necessary. I don’t think he’d turn on us outright unless
he thought it would be to his benefit or if he had no choice. As
surely would happen if we pressed this matter.” Pausing for a
moment, he then adds, “If he turns too soon, then everyone on the
council will turn against him. He can’t afford that right now so I
believe he will attempt to sustain the illusion of his patriotism
as long as possible.”

“I see,” replies James. “What do you plan to
do?”

“Keep an eye on him,” he explains. “Because
of your outburst back there, he now knows I know. That will make it
harder to discover his plans, but not impossible.”

“Don’t you have the alliance for support?”
asks Jiron, joining the conversation. He’s a little pale but the
wound is stitched closed.

“Some remain,” he replies. “I’ve sent riders
after the others that have left, but how soon they’ll return is
anyone’s guess.”

“There’s an agent from the Empire here in
the city,” James tells him. “A one eyed man named Korgan. He was
instrumental in opening the gates of the City of Light the night it
fell.”

Nodding, he says, “My agents have reported
seeing the man in the company of Councilman Rillian on several
occasions. But they didn’t know who he was. If we can find him,
then we could possible lay charges before the council.”

“How are you going to do that?” Jiron
asks.

“Not me, you,” he replies.

“Us?” asks James incredulously. “How are we
to do that from in here?”

“You’re not,” he states. “You’re leaving
here right now.”

“But you told Councilman Rillian that you
were going to lock us up,” Jiron says. “You’re not going to go back
on your word are you?”

“I said I’d lock you up,” he replies with a
smile. “And I’ve done that. I never agreed to how long I would keep
you here.”

The healer comes to Lord Pytherian and says,
“The wound is clean but will take a while to heal.”

“Thank you,” he says, taking the torch away
from him. “On your way out, can you ask Henri to come in?”

“Yes, milord,” the healer replies. Giving
Lord Pytherian a slight bow, he begins walking toward the stairs.
Shortly after the healer leaves the room, a guard enters and comes
over to them.

“Yes, milord?” Henri asks.

“I want you to assist them to get out of the
castle and into the city without them being seen,” he tells him.
“And make sure we return their weapons, they may need them.”

Giving him a bow, Henri turns to the
prisoners and says, “Follow me.”

“How are we to get in touch with you?” James
asks.

“Henri here will be at the north gate,” he
says. “He’ll get you in to see me.”

“Okay,” says James as they move to follow
Henri from the room. He glances back to Lord Pytherian when they
get to the stairs and sees him standing there by the cell, the
light from the torch creating a circle of light about him. Then he
turns to follow Henri from the room.

The other guards who had escorted them here
are waiting at the top of the stairs. They return their weapons to
them, Jiron is mighty happy to have his knives back. “Is there
anything else you need before we leave?” Henri asks.

“Actually,” begins James, “a mirror would be
most helpful.”

“A mirror?” Henri asks. “What do you need
with that?”

“Just do,” replies James. “Can you get me
one?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” he says. He nods
to another of the guards who begins running down the hallway.
“He’ll get one.”

“Thanks,” says James.

The guard returns a few minutes later with a
small, hand held mirror. Henri takes it from him and as he hands it
over to James. “Will this do?”

It’s three inches by four and fits snugly in
his hand. “Yes,” he says, nodding, “this will do perfectly.”

“Then follow me,” Henri says as he begins
moving down the hallway.

“How are we to get out of the castle without
anyone seeing?” James asks. “Everyone out there saw us being
marched in.”

“Leave that to me,” he says. He leads them
through the castle’s back ways, keeping away from commonly used
areas. Whenever they see someone approaching, he has them quickly
move in a different direction to avoid being seen.

Finally, Henri comes to a door and opens it.
He waves them in and follows once they’re within the room. The last
guard in closes the door behind them. One of the guards had brought
in a lit candle from the hallway and the light shows the room to be
a storage room. Boxes and crates line the walls.

Henri goes over to a tall stack and says,
“Here, give me a hand.”

James and two of the guards move to help him
as he pushes the stack to the side. Behind the stack is a narrow
doorway. Henri reaches into his tunic and pulls out a key. Placing
it into the keyhole, he turns it and they hear a click as the door
swings open an inch. Replacing the key inside his tunic, he says,
“Follow this and it will lead to the outer edge of the castle. The
corridor will end abruptly and there you’ll need to find a loose
stone, three feet above the floor on the right side. Press it, and
another doorway will open allowing you to leave the castle. You’ll
have but a few moments to pass through before the door slides shut
once again. There is no way to open it from the outside.”