Mobi nodded and gathered his spear. Rejji peeked out the door and saw no hellsouls in the square. They left Voltak on the floor and slipped quietly out of the door of the temple. Rejji started across the square at a very fast walk, hoping to silently cross the square. They got halfway across the square before a shriek rent the air.
Chapter 25
The Staff
The shriek came from the barracks and Rejji turned his head to look as they raced towards the palace. Dozens of hellsouls poured out of the building and Rejji shouted a warning.
“Hellsouls on our left,” called Rejji.
“And more on our right,” added Mobi. “This is going to be close. Grank and I will try to protect our rear while you enter the palace.”
Mistake shot ahead and bounded up the stairs to the palace as the hellsouls converged on the rest of the party. She threw the door open and entered the building as Rejji and Bakhai reached the bottom of the steps. She turned and watched as Mobi and Grank shoved their spears at the first hellsouls to catch up to the party. Rejji turned and raised his sword to a hellsoul that had come around from the side of the palace. The hellsoul swung its sword at Rejji and Rejji blocked it with his sword. The swords clanged when they met and Rejji’s blade snapped just above the hilt. Bakhai grabbed Rejji from behind and pulled him clear as the creature swung again. Mistake hurled a dagger that caught the hellsoul in the head and its body fell to the ground. Rejji and Bakhai raced into the palace as Mobi and Grank back up the stairs while fending off the hellsouls.
“Do not let their blades touch you,” warned Mobi.
“This door has braces,” shouted Bakhai. “We need to find the bar for it.”
Mistake was the only one to have brought a torch from the temple and she held it as high as she could, while Bakhai and Rejji scrambled to each side of the massive doors in search of the bar.
“Over here,” shouted Bakhai as Mobi and Grank entered the building. “It is too heavy for me to lift.”
Mobi and Rejji dashed to the sound of Bakhai’s voice while Grank slammed the door shut and held it closed against the onslaught of the hellsouls.
“Hurry!” called Grank. “I do not know how long I can hold this closed.”
The hellsouls were pounding loudly on the door as Rejji and Bakhai took one end of the huge bar and Mobi hefted the other with a grunt. Mistake pulled another dagger from its sheath as they lifted the bar over Grank’s head. They slammed the bar against the door and slid it down towards the braces just as Grank’s body fell backwards. The men panted from exertion as the bar hit a sword that was stuck between the doors.
“Force it down,” yelled Mobi. “There is a sword stuck between the doors that is stopping it.”
Mistake dropped the torch and leaped on top of the bar as they struggled to force it downward. The sword slowly gave way and the bar snapped into position. The men sagged to the floor with their backs against the door. Mistake hopped down and went to retrieve her torch.
“That was close,” sighed Bakhai. “A few seconds longer and they would have broken through.”
“It was too close for Grank,” Mistake said sadly. “He is dead. That sword pierced through his eye.”
“I am sorry, Mobi,” Rejji said as he rose. “I never meant for your people to be harmed.”
“They are your people as well,” Mobi replied as he went and knelt next to Grank. “Being sad for a fallen warrior is appropriate, but do not confuse that with regret for the mission that we are on. Coming to Angragar was the pinnacle of Grank’s life. Do not diminish the glory of his sacrifice by taking the blame for his death upon your own shoulders. Let’s get what we have come for so Grank can smile down upon us.”
The group gathered together as Mistake held the torch high and started moving deeper into the palace. Nobody spoke as they marched through sitting rooms and offices. By the time they reached the throne room, excitement had eaten away at the despair felt by all. The throne room was immense and fine tapestries covered the walls interspersed with statues on pedestals. The throne was elevated on a large platform at one end of the room and a large velvet curtain hung behind it.
“Go behind the throne,” directed Mobi. “Look for a staircase leading down.”
Mistake nodded and mounted a small set of steps leading to the platform. They searched for a break in the velvet curtain and Bakhai held the curtain open when he found it. Mistake led the group through the curtain and stood in a long hallway. At the end of the hallway were stone steps leading down and Mistake led the group down them. At the bottom of the steps was a large door. Mistake tried opening the door, but it would not budge. Bakhai eased up alongside Mistake and also tried the door.
“It is magically sealed as I suspected,” frowned Mobi. “It was meant to be opened only by the king. It may take a great deal of time to get through it, if we can get through it at all.”
“Time that we don’t have,” frowned Rejji as he sat down on the steps. “Can you use magic to open it, Mistake?”
“Me?” replied Mistake. “I doubt that I have any magical ability other than the Air Tunnel and I think just about anyone could do that.”
“Try to open it, Rejji,” urged Mobi. “Your hand worked on the gates to the city.”
“That was different,” objected Rejji as he rose. “That was supposed to happen for the Astor. That is the spell that was cast upon it. This door is for the king.”
“So it is,” Mobi grinned as the door swung open to Rejji’s touch. “Considering the Astor is much more to our people than a king, I suppose the door was wise enough to obey.”
Rejji shook his head and stepped into the room. He looked around the room as the others entered. Mistake held the torch high and her eyes opened wide.
“Look at this,” she chirped. “There is probably more wealth in here than all of Fakara.”
The walls were lined with chests, which were overflowing with gold and jewels. There was a pile of carpets in one corner that were rich with colors and interwoven with gold threads. Paintings hung on the walls and lifelike statues occupied another corner. There were several golden birdcages hung from the beams and a few unstrung bows adorned a freestanding rack. Rejji turned and peered towards the far end of the room. He could barely make out a large table against the far wall. The light in the room grew dimmer and he turned and looked for Mistake. He found her bending over one of the chests, pawing through the gold and jewels.
“Mistake,” scowled Rejji. “This treasure does not belong to us. Get another torch from the wall and light it for me.”
“Actually,” interjected Mobi as Mistake sulked towards a torch hanging on the wall, “the treasure does belong to you. The door opened at your touch because it is your treasure room. Besides, the Qubari have no need of gold or wealth. Take what you need to accomplish your goals in Fakara and leave the rest for later.”
Rejji’s puzzled face frowned as Mistake handed him a lit torch. Her face was aglow with a mischievous, elfish grin and he nodded slightly.
“Take only items that have no historical value,” stated Rejji. “Like coins and ingots. And take only what we will need to buy food and tools from Lord Marak.”
“And lumber to build a dock and a building to store the food in,” chirped Mistake as she looked around for something to carry the treasure in. “And some extra to persuade the tribes to work for us.”
Rejji shook his head and shut out the rest of Mistake’s chatter. He raised his torch and headed towards the far end of the room. Next to the table was a large rack of weapons. He felt Bakhai next to him and turned to look at his brother.
“Find a weapon that will not offend your animal friends,” instructed Rejji. “You may need more than just your hands to get out of this city.”
Bakhai nodded and headed towards the rack while Rejji approached the table. Sitting on the table was long, oblong case made of black glass. The case was several feet long and looked like it could hold the staff, which was pictured in the mural. Rejji felt drawn to it and he examined the case, looking for some way to open it. Eventually, he felt the front of the case move slightly and was able to fold it down. He stooped to peer into the case and saw the long staff pictured in the mural in the temple. He reached in and seized the staff and felt a surge of power burst through his body. He almost shattered the glass case as his arm trembled when he removed the staff. He held the staff and stared at it. It felt much lighter in his grip than he would have imagined and he swung it back and forth a few times.