Chapter Nine: The Thief
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Cronwyn was the first to speak
when the party arrived at the ridge where Kris was waiting. Peering down at
the ruins below them he whistled. "Quite impressive. I assume that
creature landed down there somewhere?" Kris
was covered in small bruises and scratches, but otherwise didn't even seem
out of breath from his super-human run. "It seems so. I saw the light
disappear behind this hill, and the ruins are right there." The skinny
pale faced man sudden gathered himself to his full height and faced off
against the tanned merchant. "I'm not going to disturb any desert spirit
or fight any more mysterious creatures without knowing what is happening
here. Malthus said that the creature stole a very precious item. What is it and
why are you going to risk your lives...("and ours," muttered Shayam
darkly) to rescue it?" The
Karameikan looked directly in the 'Glantrian's' eyes and added, "And if
we are going to uncover everything, why don't you tell us who you really are?
Your amusing fable about being from Glantri won't do any longer". Kris
was clearly waiting for answers, and Shayam, standing to one side also
appeared resolute. Cronwyn
looked at Turadyl and then to Malthus. Finally he sighed and shrugged his
shoulders. "You are right Kris, you deserve an explanation."
Cronwyn's gaze included Shayam, and his face was cold and hard in the bright
desert moonlight. "My name is not Malaast and we are not from Glantri.
My real name is Cronwyn Thraddan, and I am a Darokian merchant. We don't have
enough time to talk now, but we must retrieve the case that was taken from
us. It contains a map that is vital to the survival of the republic!" Cronwyn
felt uneasy about revealing the party's entire plan, but he figured that the
newcomers were trustworthy. His biggest regret was that he didn't get a
chance to talk to Turadyl and Malthus about this first. "So
you are a spy from Darokin well, this explains your presence here in the
desert..." Cronwyn
looked a bit bristly when Kris said he is a spy. "...it
could explain also the attack of riders, if that was directed against you and
your group .... Now I'm with you to recover your stolen case, but later I
want more explanation ... and maybe a reward" Kris said as he winked at
Cronwyn and gave a hint of a smile. Cronwyn
rolled his eyes, "We will see what we can do." Malthus
bowed his head, somewhat happy that the charade was now over. Lifting his
head, he spoke to Kris, "And I, am a priest of Halav. Though my name
actually is Malthus. You can see my hesitation in announcing this in these
lands, but enough of that. We have business at hand." Turadyl
seemed undisturbed at the breaking of their cover. "My full name is
Turadyl Feadiel, and I am from Alfheim, not Glantri But yes, we can discuss
that later, when time permits. Kris
hadn't finished yet. "Before we go there is just another question.
Usually monsters take gold, weapons or food, why has this creature stolen
only your case? Do you know who it's working for? " The
merchant shrugged. "No idea, shall we go ask it?", he asked rather
caustically. "We must go into the ruins now, before the creature gets a
chance to escape us." Cronwyn said forcefully. They all noticed that the
trader was getting impatient. "Then
lead on!" smiled Kris. Turadyl lead them down with his night vision. Malthus was
still using the magical lantern Meltar had made. Its shutters almost closed
so that very little light from the glowing rock escaped. The dark shape of
the ruins seemed forbidding in the night air. There was enough light to make
out the shape of a dark ramp rising up before the group them about a 100
yards away. Piles lined it on each side At the near end the pillars were
nothing more than broken stumps but were in better repair further up the
ramp. Further into the distance the temple seems to be built into a rock face
which loomed above the group. There was no sign of life. Shayam
sighed under his breath. He had done little talking since the creature had
been discovered. It seemed that now was the time for action. He did a quick
check of his belongings. His black coat was slung over his back for
protection against the cold and for camouflage over his leather armour. His throwing
knives were in place for ready access, as was his short sword "I hate
trespassing in temples", he muttered to himself. "It can be bad for
mind and spirit, and sometimes body as well." Cronwyn
scoffed a little at Shayam's superstition, but still felt uncertain as the
large temple became clearer in the desert night. He admired the effort that
must have been required to carve something this big out of the desert wall.
"Incredible", he breathed into the night air as he lit a torch.
"This temple must be being continuously covered and uncovered by the
drifting sands." The trader's feet crunched on the coarse sand
underneath, as he followed the elf's lead. They made their way up the ramp. The slope was relatively shallow and continued on for about
fifty feet. The top of the ramp brought them to the middle of an open
rectangular area. In the centre there was a stone pool, long since clogged
with sand. At the back of the area there was a large wall stretching a
hundred yards up and away either side into darkness. In this wall there was
an opening, directly opposite them and hidden in shadow. The pillars around
this area were hardly damaged at all, and several skeletons could be seen
propped up against them. Cronwyn
nervously unsheathed his sword, while his other hand held a burning torch.
The moon-lit night seems to sap all the strength out of the torch light, and
the flames made strange shadows dance along the floor and pillars. The
merchant cautiously approached one of the skeletons, and gave it an
exploratory poke with his rapier. An armoured arm fell from the skeleton and
hit the floor with a metallic ring that echoed in the night air. The
skeletons were nailed to the pillars in grotesque stances, their weapons and
armour, old and corroded. "Great
Halav's ghost," Malthus whispered a few steps back. He gripped his
hammer closely to his face, mumbling words of prayer to Halav. Shayam
moves with Cronwyn. Goose pimples raising on his hairless arms.
"Merchant, I like this not at all. This place stinks of death. And think
about it, some hell-spawn came to our camp; it knew exactly what it wanted
and it knew exactly where it was! Listen to me Cronwyn, as you value your
life, we are not the hunters here. I doubt not that some foul demon awaits us
here, already knows we are here. Is this map truly required for the Republic
to survive? Is there no other way?" He reminded Cronwyn, "I hate
trespassing in temples - bad for body, mind and soul... Skeletons, it's
always skeletons . . . or worse." He kept muttering. "We
must have that map back!", Cronwyn said (Ed. Don't ask me why we didn't
copy it. We just didn't, OK?!). He instantly flinched at the sound of his own
voice in the still air. Quietening a little he adds, "We're pretty sure
that it will help us find the root of the attacks against Sindhi and
Darokin." The tanned merchant appeared a lot paler in the moonlight,
which contrasts Shayam's dark features. "I appreciate your warning
warrior, and believe me, I am not keen to enter either. However, it's
something we have to do." Cronwyn swallows deeply, and it is clear to
Shayam that he is unnerved too. "I
guess the creature went inside", said Cronwyn loudly to the rest of the
group. With that comment the old trader looked at Turadyl. "I hate to
ask you, but would you be able to take the lead again? I know that your
eyesight is outstanding, and it might make a big difference in this
darkness." The Darokian feels bad about asking his friend to be in
front again, but knows he is the best person for the position. Shayam
suddenly gripped the merchant's arm tightly and pulled him close. Adrenalin
high, he whispered, "Did you hear that, merchant?! Don't look! Behind
the pillar to the left I heard something just now. Pretend to walk away with
me; take two steps; turn and you rush round the pillar to the left and I'll
take the right." Cronwyn's
eyes widened as he listened to the fighter's words. He gave a barely
perceivable nod at the end of Shayam's instructions, and then turned to walk
a way. After walking two paces he flipped around and rushed behind the
left-hand side of the pillar, with his rapier held in front of him. As
they leapt around the pillar they found a small creature cowering behind it.
It dropped its sword, and put its his shield up. "Please!
Help, no! Don't kill me!" it cried, in a pathetic voice. Its gaze
shifted from one to the next, "Bandits?" It whispered to itself in
Thyatian. Cronwyn
stared at the small creature which was cowering beneath him. After a glance
at Shayam he yelled at it. "Stand up! Who are you and what are you doing
here?". The trader only lowered his sword slightly, as he brought the
torch a bit closer to the creature. He tried to see what this wretched thing was.
The
small creature finally poked its head out from behind its shield. To their
surprise, Shayam and Cronwyn recognised the sun-blistered face of a halfling.
The small man, young by the standard of his race, stood about 3 feet and was
equipped for battle, wearing chain armour and a short sword. But his
equipment was covered with a layer of filth and he seemed near to death.
"Kill me if you must, but at least let me drink first", he
whispered hoarsely. Cronwyn
realised that over his armour the Hin was wearing the tabard of the Five
Shires, green cloth with a black circle and a white flame in the middle. The
Shires had sent troops to help the Republic against the Nomads. On its shield
was the mark of "The Fangs", one of the Halfling regiments.
"Oh great," he muttered. "Just what we needed." Shayam
perceptibly relaxed, but kept his sword en guard. Breathing heavily he asked,
"Hin, we are not bandits, but neither are we trusting or patient. Who
are you and how did come you to be here?" The
Hin looked at Shayam then back to Cronwyn. He seemed to calm himself enough
to answer. "My n-name is Leeham Treeshadow of Deepmoss. I was a soldier
of the Fangs, come to help the Republic of Darokin against the desert nomads.
I was separated from my company in an ambush and I've been lost for days
since then. I was out of water and crawled here to die basically. I was
almost gone until I heard your voices. I didn't know who or what you
were..." It looked like the Hin might faint. Cronwyn
and Shayam pulled him around the pillar so the rest of the group could see
him. "We have a visitor," said Cronwyn. "And I think he would
like a drink of water." Malthus rushed to pull a water bottle from his
backpack and hold it to the halfling's blistered lips. Leeham gulped it down
quickly. "You
better be careful not to give him too much. If he really has been out here
for days without water, more than a few mouthfuls will make him sick,"
said Turadyl. Leeham
looked around to see who was speaking and noticed the elf for the first time.
He almost choked on the water. "G...gentle one! A gentle one!" He
stammered. "On
second thoughts, maybe he does need some more water," suggested Turadyl.
The elf had thought that most Hin had gotten over their hero worship of his
kind years ago. Perhaps this boy came from somewhere remote. He found the
Hin's reaction surprising all the same. "Do
we take him with us?" Asked Cronwyn. "Better than leaving him out
here," replied the elf. "At least we'll know what he's doing."
Turadyl is obviously not impressed with this new development, but even though
he knows there are exceptions, his experience has been that elves can usually
trust Hin. Cronwyn
walked back to the Halfling and looked him in the eyes. "Well Leeham, we
can't take you back to the caravan right at the moment, so you've just
volunteered to come with us into the temple. I'm Cronwyn, a Darokin merchant,
and tall man who helped 'capture' you is Shayam. This is Malthus, a priest of
Halav", Cronwyn says while motioning to the war hammer welding, bearded
cleric. "The elf guarding the temple entrance over there is
Turadyl". Leeham
smiled and bowed his head to each of the party members. His smile was frank
and open - he was obviously relieved to be in such company. When Turadyl's
name is mentioned, he did a full bow, and avoided the elf's gaze. Cronwyn
looks over at the start of the ramp and strained his eyes, "That only
leaves Kris, who is hiding in the shadows somewhere with an arrow aimed at
your heart." The Hin blanched a bit when the bowman was mentioned, but
regains his composure quickly. "Thank you for your help. I expected only
death tonight, but..." His eyes glistened. Kris'
appeared from the darkness where he had been watching everything. "The
first rule when you are pursuing someone is not to loose time. Let him come
with us but we should not be ready to trust him yet." The archer
retrieved the Hin's short sword from around the corner but didn't offer
it back to him. "I'll keep an eye on him", he said to Cronwyn. Kris
offered his free hand to Leeham who was still slouched on the ground where he
had been dragged to. "On you feet. Stay close to me and don't make trouble."
The Halfling responded as quick as he could, although he was still
disorientated from lack of water. The party cautiously moved to the only obvious way to go
forward, the opening on the far side of the stone pool. Through the opening
they found an enclosed room about 10 feet deep and about 20-30 feet wide.
There was another opening on the other side of the room, that lead down a
dark staircase. On either side of the doorway was a pair of stone sarcophagi.
The room has small piles of rubble and decaying wood scattered around. Cronwyn
looked around. He was particularly interested in the sarcophagi opposite
them. Quietly muttering something about "not feeling too good about
grave robbing", the merchant looked like he was going to do some anyway.
He pushed past Turadyl and started towards the ancient stone coffins. Shayam
was quick to intercept. "Perhaps I should take a look first," he
said. "If
you insist," replied Cronwyn, but I do have a little experience in this
area." "Oh,
trust me," replied Shayam. "So do I." The
large man produced a series of tools from his belt and set about using them
to feel into some of the crevices on the first coffin. Cronwyn was surprised,
"You know, those look a lot like those a thief would..." "A-ha!"
Said Shayam. He used a small pair of pliers to grasp a concealed piece of
metal and pulled it out with a slight twang. "A dart. The poison has
lone since dissolved, but still, might have caught you in the eye." "What!"
whispered Cronwyn. "You are a thief?!" "Its
a living," replied Shayam. Cronwyn
was angry, thieves were the natural enemies of merchants like foxes were to
chickens. "This is not the time but we will have to talk about
this!" Shayam
kept searching, but did not find any more traps. However, the thief did find
that one of the coffins was not lined up against the floor the same as the
rest. "I think it's hiding a way down. But we'll have to open it to find
out." "Five
minutes ago you said that going into temples was bad for the body, soul and
mind. Now you want to start opening graves?!" Stammers Kris, still
watching over Leeham from the end of the room. "If
there is another way down through here, it probably means that the main
staircase is trapped." Replied Shayam. Ignoring
the edgy Karameikan, Cronwyn motioned for Malthus to come closer. "Hang onto
this for minute", the trader said as he handed the torch to him. The
cleric was now carrying both the magical lantern and a torch. Now
with both of his hands free, and Shayam close by, Cronwyn gripped the lid of
the unusual sarcophagus. Using two hands he tried to pry it open. The
Sarcophagus opened with ease. The sight of the mummified body shocked Cronwyn
but his heart beat calmed as he realises that it is the inanimate, and not
about to rip his head off and drink his internal organs out through his nose.
It stood there, filling the sarcophagus neatly. Kris
frowned, "You shouldn't have done that! Now we could all be
cursed!". His confidence in Cronwyn had dropped to its lower level since
they met. Prudently, the archer put his bow on his shoulder and readied his
sword and shield. Cronwyn
looked at the fighter with a questioning look. Answering back in a low
whisper he replied, "Do not worry, only I'm cursed, the rest of you are
still fine!". Hoping that this piece of logic would keep Kris quiet,
Cronwyn glanced back to Shayam and nodded his head towards the back of the
sarcophagus. "Is there a door hidden in there somewhere?" Cronwyn's
unexpected humour caught Kris off balance and reduced his tension. "You
are joking about something so serious?" he muttered. The Karameikan
wondered if maybe the imprudent merchant knows what he is doing after all.
"One of these days I'll have to invite him for a journey in the woods
north-east of Luln. There he would find his match...". Malthus
was still nervous about disturbing the dead. Malthus uttered in a low voice,
"I shall have to do penance for a week for this. Maybe longer if we do
not find the map. May Halav see the wisdom in our ways." Malthus sighed
as he moved into position around the stone casket. Shayam
broke the bought of superstition. "Yes, the whole back of the coffin is
on hinges. There is a secret door here!" Cronwyn didn't look happy at
seeing Shayam so skilful, and his hands moved unconsciously to his money
pouch. "Don't worry trader," I could have had that off you weeks
ago if I’d wanted to!" Cronwyn
smiled at this. "Lets get ready to open this. Our little friend may be
behind." Leeham
spoke for the first time in minutes. "If the flying creature has been
hit by a magical light from the Gentle One, as you said, would we not notice
the light coming from the cracks in the coffin." "Gentle
One?", said Cronwyn with a screwed up face. "Oh, Turadyl...".
The trader thought that describing the person who just killed a man by sending
a lightning bolt through his body twice as 'gentle', was a little unusual.
"True, we might be able to see the light." Cronwyn chews his bottom
lip. "We still have to open it to make sure though." The Darokian
placed his hands on the mummy, and got ready to pull it. The back wall swung
outwards easily, the mummy held to it by a hidden hook. Behind was a dark and
very narrow staircase. Cronwyn
looked impressed. "By the craftsmen, you do have clever hands
Shayam!" He praised. Once
the light was withdrawn, Turadyl peered intently into the narrow passage,
trying to discern any differences in temperature. He noticed that that these
stairs went down as well. The steps were barely wider than a man’s shoulders
and wound down into the dark. The
elf spoke up. “Since these stairs seem to go down to the same place I guess
that they are safer. Not that I am keen to go down there, but I think I
should go first. My night vision will allow me to see anything before we
blunder into it.” Cronwyn
was distracted from his appraisal of Shayam by the elf’s words. “If you feel
comfortable going first I think you would be the best choice.” Turadyl
nods. “Stay here until I get back or call. I don’t want that light to
interfere with my vision, and we don’t want that creature to see it and know
we’re coming his way.” “Excuse
me,” interrupted Leeham in a serious tone. “But perhaps a change of
torchbearers is in order. I can carry a torch and free up another person to
fight unencumbered. You should be able to trust me with that at least…” Turadyl
regarded Leeham with the look of an exasperated schoolmaster. "Who
carries the torch matters little until the rest of you come down. As I said,
the rest of you will wait here with the torches while I investigate with my
night vision. A strong source of heat nearby would ruin any chance I have of
seeing anything while remaining unseen myself." Leeham's
face took on the cast of a child being scolded. "I am sorry gentle one.
I will not doubt your wisdom again." “Don’t
call me that!” Repeated Turadyl. Then with his sword ready, he tread
carefully past the mummy and made his way round the bend in the stairs. |