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"I don't know about this," Lannon said. "Maybe we should talk things over first, Vorden, just between us three boys."

"Don't worry about it," said Vorden. "Aldreya's word is good."

"My word is very good!" said Aldreya, glaring at Lannon. "Why would you think otherwise? Birlotes do not lie."

Lannon stared back, unfazed. "I guess I don't trust you."

"I don't trust her at all!" said Timlin.

A hurt look appeared on Aldreya's face and she turned away for a moment. When she turned back, her face was impassive. "Think whatever you want, Lannon. If you don't want me to go with you, I'll leave."

"We want you to go," said Vorden. "Don't we, Lannon?"

Lannon shrugged. "I guess so."

"Then let's get going!" Aldreya snapped. "We don't have all night."

The boys grabbed their weapons and donned light armor (which had been specially crafted for stealth and ease of movement), blue cloaks (of the thick winter variety), and soft leather boots. Vorden peered out into the hall, and then motioned to the others to follow. As they made their way down from floor to floor, they stayed in the shadows as much as possible. The Blue Squires knew how to move stealthily through the dimly lit areas, but they could not hide themselves nearly as well as Aldreya, who seemed to all but vanish completely at times.

Chills crept along Lannon's flesh. This was Taris Warhawk's tower, and he was a great sorcerer. Would he somehow know what they were up to? Lannon felt like he was betraying Taris, and for a moment he hesitated, until Vorden turned and gave him a hard, questioning stare that got him moving again.

They met no one, and at last they reached the tower's first floor. Timlin moved towards the door marked Old Keep, and then turned back to Vorden with a puzzled look on his face. "What do I use to pick the lock?" he whispered. "Master Garrin keeps all our tools and stuff."

Vorden smiled and removed a set of lock picks from his cloak. He tossed them to Timlin. "Don't ask where I got them," he said.

Aldreya gave Vorden a cold stare.

Timlin grinned, gazing triumphantly at Aldreya-daring her to speak in protest of Vorden's thievery. Then he hurried over to work on the door.

Vorden listened at the front entrance, while Lannon-his body trembling and his heart pounding-kept watch at the stairs.

Several moments passed by in silence. "Hurry up, Timlin!" Vorden whispered. "You're taking way too long."

Finally Timlin turned and nodded. Vorden grabbed a Birlote torch from the wall, and they gathered before the door. Without hesitation, Vorden yanked it open and stepped inside. The others quickly followed, pulling the door shut behind them.

Before the Squires, a stone stairway descended into the darkness. A musty smell arose from below, and even here at the very gateway to Old Keep the gloom had a sinister feel to it. The dark was deep and heavy over the cold stone that had lain undisturbed for centuries. The Birlote torch could not shine far enough down the steps to penetrate the blackness below.

"Let's not do this!" Timlin whispered shakily. The boy was trembling from head to foot. "I don't want to go down there, Vorden."

Vorden turned and glared at him. "We're still in Taris' keep, Timlin. We haven't even entered Old Keep yet, let alone the mines! What's left of the Old Keep is pretty much underground, from what I've heard, and so we have to go down a ways. Do you really think something lurks right down there? If so, it must be pretty weak, or a simple wooden door wouldn't stop it. Now quit being a coward. We've come this far, and we have to finish this!"

Vorden seized Timlin's cloak. "Dremlock Kingdom is in trouble. We all know it. It might even fall to the Goblins, or worse-the Deep Shadow. I dreamt of the Divine Essence, and it has all the answers. This quest could be incredibly important. I may discover something to help save the kingdom."

Timlin nodded sheepishly.

Lannon said nothing about his dream, but secretly he wondered if Vorden was lying about his own.

With that, Vorden draped his battle axe over his shoulder and started down the stairs. Lannon held his sword ready, and Timlin unsheathed his preferred weapon-a long, curved dagger called a Flayer. Then they followed him below, struggling to keep pace so the shadows wouldn't engulf them.

The stairway led down to a circular chamber. The stone walls were made of uneven, crudely cut blocks that hadn't been fitted together well. Two iron doors stood here, and another stairway descended into darkness.

"Which way should we go?" said Lannon.

Vorden pointed to the stairs. "We need to keep going down. From what everyone seems to think, the Divine Essence dwells in the mines somewhere. This is just the keep the old Knights built above those mines, and hopefully the entrance leading down there isn't sealed off with bars of Glaetherin like Cordus Landsaver said. If it is, then I guess all this is going to be for nothing."

The stairs led them down to another round chamber-this one with four doors. Iron torch holders hung from the walls, and the broken remains of several tables and chairs lay scattered about the room, as well as chunks of pottery. The Squires checked behind all the doors, and found the remains of a kitchen, a forge with a blackened stone furnace, and a large room with wooden bunks lining the walls.

Behind the last door they checked, they found what they were looking for.

The square room behind this door was cut from the stone of the mountain. Steps led down from the doorway to the chamber floor. Directly opposite the stairs, on the other side of the room, was the dark mouth of a tunnel that was blocked by a gate of silver bars. A wheel lock stood at the center of the bars.

"No!" muttered Vorden, leaping down the steps. He lowered his axe in defeat. "Bars of Glaetherin, just like Cordus said. Indestructible." He turned back to the others, who were right behind him. "That's it. We can't go any farther."

Vorden gave the wheel a hard spin. It twirled for a couple moments and then slowly came to a stop. No click could be heard.

"Is there a way to pick it?" asked Timlin.

Vorden glared at him. "Are you stupid, Timlin? This is a wheel lock like those ones on the gates of Darkender Tunnel. Only a Wheel Master is able to open a lock like this-and only if he has been trained to open a specific one. And the pattern that opens this particular lock has probably been long forgotten. That means no one alive could open this, most likely. From what I've heard from Cartlan, wheel locks are so tough that you could spin one all day for the rest of your life and still never open it. It has to be spun at a certain speed, while an extremely precise amount of pressure is applied-and then the wheel must spin for a certain length of time. Trust me, it's practically impossible. It's an Olrog creation, and the Grey Dwarves are masters at making such devices."

"Then I guess we go back," said Lannon, feeling both tremendously relieved and somewhat disappointed. Maybe Lannon's dream had meant nothing after all. Now if only they could get back to their quarters without getting caught!

"Let's go," said Timlin. "I don't like it down here, anyway." The lad continued to shiver, his flesh covered in large goose bumps.

"Not even sorcerers can open a wheel lock," said Aldreya, "without knowing the process for a specific lock. It just cannot be done."

"But there has to be way!" said Vorden, turning back to the bars.

Lannon found Vorden's refusal to give up bizarre and a bit frightening. What was driving Vorden on like this? Clearly they weren't meant to go farther.

Suddenly Vorden turned back to them, his eyes blazing with excitement. "We can do this. We can use the Eye of Divinity to open the lock!"

"The Eye of what?" said Aldreya.