“Of course,” Falrinth replied, nodding in acquiescence. “I will let you know as soon as I discover their whereabouts.”
The wizard rose to leave, drawing his heavy robes about him.
“What have you learned from the key?” Hedrack said, stopping the wizard in his tracks. “Have you determined yet how we may use it?”
“I know some of its workings, but not all. When I locate the four gems, then I will have the answers you seek.”
“Find the interlopers, first. Do not fail me, wizard. And hurry,” Hedrack warned, scowling. “The time grows nigh for us to move against our enemies. I want this resolved before then.”
“I understand,” Falrinth said as he stepped through the chamber door. “I will bring good news.”
Hedrack, still deep in thought, shut and locked the door then returned to his chair. He sighed, feeling the heavy burden of command upon his shoulders today. The temples are fighting again, he reflected, and she gives little help in finding herself. Her own foolish pride let her be caught, and now I must dig her out again.
A soft noise distracted Hedrack from his thoughts, and he glanced across the room to where Mika and Paida stood, trembling. It was Paida who had whimpered, though both girls stared at their master with plaintive expressions on their faces. They both had been forbidden to speak, and Paida’s own doe-eyed stare seemed particularly expressive. She kept her lips firmly closed, but she mewled softly nonetheless, obviously trying to plead with Hedrack for permission to break his rule of silence.
The high priest smiled and strolled over to where his two serving girls stood. He squatted down beside Paida, noting with satisfaction how her calves were corded with the strain of standing on her tiptoes. He checked Mika’s, too, running his hand along the back of her leg, feeling the rock-hard muscle quivering there. The girl whimpered at his touch.
Each girl currently stood inside a box, her feet trapped there by a lid with holes in it that closed and locked about the ankles. Except where the girl’s toes touched, the floor of each box was covered entirely with small, thin metal spikes that jutted up underneath each heel. Each girl had two choices: raise herself up on tiptoe or rest her heel, and thus her weight, on the spikes. The lid of the box was high enough up the ankle that the girl’s leg was forced to remain perfectly vertical, and she could thus not sit down.
The wine that Mika had spilled upon one of Hedrack’s silk robes had been a particularly good vintage, and of course the robe itself was now ruined. Hedrack had decided to punish both girls so that Paida would learn just how high her new master’s expectations were for obedience, diligence, and care. He considered one quarter of an hour in the box a reasonable punishment, and the burning candle on his desk told him they had perhaps five minutes remaining.
Hedrack smiled at his two lovely maidens. “I must go out again for a while, but I will return soon.”
The two imprisoned girls whimpered in unison, but they obediently avoided speaking. A single tear trickled down Paida’s cheek, and her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides as she struggled to remain on her tiptoes. Hedrack nodded in satisfaction and departed.
14
Shanhaevel barely suppressed his gasp of surprise as he watched the man, holding a pair of throwing spears in one hand, fling his other arm over the side of the well and climb out. In the glow of the moonlit night, the elf could see that this unexpected visitor was wearing a chain-mail shirt and had a shield across his back. Amazingly, the fellow hadn’t noticed either the elf or his two companions crouched next to the well. Swinging a leg over, the man scrambled out of the well, heading toward the dilapidated barn next to the farmhouse. Immediately, a second and then a third armored figure followed.
Shanhaevel counted six men by the time the last one was up and out of the well, all of them well armed and armored. Fortunately, it didn’t appear that any of them carried bows of any sort. The six strangers were talking softly, discussing something in urgent tones as they moved across the clearing toward the barn.
Neither Shirral nor Ahleage had made a move yet, and Shanhaevel remained frozen, caught totally off guard by the appearance of these strangers.
Gathering his wits about him, the elf quickly chose a spell and prepared to cast it. He raised himself up and peered over the side of the well, but it was empty, nothing more than a dry shaft. Satisfied that no one else would be coming out of the well for the moment, Shanhaevel crouched back down.
“Nothing in there,” he whispered to his companions. Pointing to the retreating men, he said, “Let’s do it.”
Both the druid and Ahleage nodded.
Shirral closed her eyes and mouthed a prayer. When she was done, she swept her arms out before her, gesturing in the direction of the line of men walking toward the barn.
At the same time, Ahleage rose and moved forward, his body slung low and his feet silent in the grass. Shanhaevel followed him, his own spell at the ready. There was a sudden shout from ahead as the men moving toward the barn halted, suddenly milling about in confusion.
That would be Shirral’s spell, Shanhaevel noted with satisfaction, watching as the surrounding plant growth came alive, writhing and wrapping itself around the feet and ankles of the six men, holding them fast. Only one of the men managed to avoid the reaching, grasping grass and weeds, stumbling away from the others and nearly falling as he did so. Ahleage moved toward him, gaining the drop on the man and threatening him with a dagger to the throat before he knew the man was there.
“All of you surrender!” Ahleage ordered. “Throw your weapons to the side and do not resist.”
Several of the men grumbled in defiance, trying to turn to better face the man, but when they realized they were helpless, trapped by the magic of the entangling plants, they reluctantly surrendered, tossing their weapons down.
Shirral had remained behind, her blade drawn, waiting to see if any more surprises appeared at the mouth of the well. Shanhaevel gave a shrill whistle as he collected the discarded weapons, signaling for the rest of the Alliance to come out of hiding. Elmo and Draga were already out the front door of the farmhouse, and Govin appeared a moment later, carrying a lit lantern to guide their way. The other two had their bows out. Once they joined the other three, Govin gave his lantern to Ahleage and bound the captive so that Ahleage could join Shirral by the well. Holding the lantern high, he peered down inside the mouth of the well, studying the interior. Then, setting the lantern on the edge, he swung his legs over and disappeared inside.
Shanhaevel gathered what weapons he could, although a few had been tossed down in the midst of the area of Shirral’s spell, and the wizard could not reach them without becoming entangled. By the time he was done, Ahleage had crawled back out of the well, and he and the druid had moved to join the rest of the group.
“What’s down there?” Govin asked, gesturing toward the well.
“Looks like some sort of secret passage,” Ahleage replied. “A set of ledges drop about halfway down into the thing, and then there’s a ladder propped against the side. At the bottom, there’s a door painted to look like the side of the well. I took a peek, and there’s a tunnel that goes back a long way. The door bolts shut from the inside, but it wasn’t latched.”
After a nod from Elmo, Shirral told the trapped men, “I am going to release you from the entanglement. Don’t even think about going for a weapon.”
The six strangers glared at their captors, but when Shirral released the magic from the plants, none tried to resist. Govin, Elmo, Shirral, and Ahleage herded the men into the barn while Shanhaevel stayed behind, gathering the rest of the weapons. Draga took a position to watch the well, his bow handy. When Shanhaevel had collected everything, he joined his friends inside, leaving Draga alone to stand watch.