Chapter 290
Bredan woke suddenly with no idea where he was.
It was dark, and the air was thick and stale. He felt pain, a lot of it, but it was diffuse and he didn’t feel as if anything was broken. There was a pressure on his body, as if something was holding him down.
He tried to move. The surge in the pain was about what he’d expected but it was bearable. Whatever was on top of him fell away and the pressure eased somewhat. But there was something else; a subtle shift a few steps away that suggested movement.
His hand came up and he reflexively summoned his sword. It was useless, he still couldn’t see, but as if in response to the thought the runes marked upon the blade began to glow softly. The illumination was faint, barely brighter than a candle’s flame, but it was enough to reveal Kalasien standing just beyond the tip of the steel, his hands raised.
“Peace, Bredan,” he said. “It’s just me.”
Bredan pulled himself the rest of the way up. With the light coming off the sword he could see that he’d been half-buried in a heap of loose rock and dirt. The mound rose all of the way to the ceiling of… wherever this was.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“We’re in some kind of underground chamber,” Kalasien said. “I think the roof gave way when that big ape dumped the pillar on us.”
His words reawakened Bredan’s memories. He felt a sudden and intense worry for Glori and the others, but first things first. “Where’s Kavek?”
“I was just starting to look for him when you woke up,” Kalasien said.
The two moved around the perimeter of the mound, which filled one entire side of the chamber. They were in some kind of vault made of stone blocks, with buttresses that supported the ceiling above. The light from Bredan’s sword was just barely enough for him to make out the breach in the ceiling and the large block of stone—probably a fragment from that pillar that had almost killed them—that was wedged into place there. He had no idea how much additional stone and dirt was above that blockage, but he guessed that any rescue would not be immediate.
“Over here,” Kalasien said.
Bredan hurried over to find the sailor lying half-buried in the collapse. Kalasien was already checking him over. “He’s alive,” the Arreshian agent declared.
“Should we pull him out?” Bredan asked.
“Moving him might hurt him worse. Do you have any healing magic?”
Bredan shook his head. “Used it all up. We’ve been relying on Glori and Quellan for that, but…” He gestured toward the ceiling, and Kalasien nodded.
Kavek groaned, and the two men turned back to him. “Don’t try to move,” Kalasien warned. “You took a nasty spill. Bredan is here.”
The sailor blinked and squinted at Bredan’s sword. “Where are we?”
“In a chamber somewhere beneath the plaza,” Bredan said. “Are you okay? Can you get up?”
With the others’ help Kavek managed to extricate himself. “I think I’m okay,” he said.
“What about the leg?” Bredan asked.
“I wouldn’t want to try to run on it, but I think it’ll hold up,” Kavek said. “How do we… how do we get out?”
“That stone looks pretty solidly wedged in there,” Bredan said. “There must be a decent amount of stuff on top of it, or we’d see some light, hear noises from up above, something.”
“I’m not sure how long we can wait here,” Kalasien said. He sniffed the air. “I think the air down here is bad. Some fresh air probably made it down here with us, but sometimes toxins can build up in underground places like this.”
“Well then, let’s look at our options,” Bredan said.
It did not take the three of them long to search the room. The place was mostly empty, but they found an archway in the far wall that held a stone slab that looked like it was separate from the surrounding wall.
“What kind of door is this?” Kavek asked. “There’s no hinges or handle.”
“I’ve encountered these before,” Bredan said. “We have to lift it up. Let’s just hope it isn’t too heavy for the three of us.”
The slab was covered in a relief that had worn down beyond recognition, but there were still subtle ridges where they could get traction. The three men spread out and placed their hands against the rough surface. Bredan put down his sword, which thankfully continued to provide enough light for them to see.
“All right, on three,” Bredan said. “One, two… three!”
The three men pushed at the slab, grunting with the effort. At first it refused to budge, but then it slowly shifted in its slots, rising a scant inch, then two. The men redoubled their efforts, muscles bulging from the strain as they pushed up and into the heavy stone. When it had reached a foot in height Kalasien reached down and grabbed hold of the bottom, giving him a better hold. Kavek quickly joined him, and together the three of them were able to push it up to waist-high.
“Go through!” Bredan gasped. Kavek ducked under, quickly grabbing hold on the other side, then held it for Kalasien to do the same. The two shared a quick look before Kavek said, “Come on, Bredan!”
Without letting go of the door, Bredan slid under it and shifted his grip to the other side. He used his foot to slide his sword over, although technically that wasn’t necessary, given his ability to summon the weapon instantly. The far side of the slab had similar markings on it, but while they tried to ease it back down it still landed with a solid thud.
“Well, if there’s anything down here, they probably know we’re here,” Kalasien said.
“If they didn’t hear the collapse, then they’re deaf or dead,” Bredan pointed out.
“Dead would not surprise me,” Kalasien replied.
They turned to an examination of their immediate surroundings. They were in a small antechamber, maybe ten feet across and fifteen feet wide. There was a deep crack in one of the walls that rose all the way to the ceiling. Bits of shattered masonry lay scattered on the floor underneath it, but it looked like an old wound rather than damage wrought by the collapse that had brought them here. Bredan went over and shone the light from his sword into the crevice just in case it was a possible route of escape, but while it was wide enough to shove his arm into, it narrowed to a close after just a few feet. Bits of stone crunched under his feet as he returned to rejoin the others.
There was one obvious exit, an arched passage opposite the door. The corridor was unremarkable, rising to a peak about twelve feet above the floor. From the dust and the few old cobwebs that were visible, nobody had come this way in quite some time.
“All right, let’s go,” Kalasien said, but as he started into the passage Bredan grabbed hold of his arm. “What is it?”
“There’s something not right here,” Bredan said.
“Can you be more specific?”
Bredan shook his head. “Just a feeling.”
“This whole place gives me a bad feeling,” Kalasien said, but he waited while Kavek went and picked up one of the larger chunks of stone under the crack in the wall. The other two men watched while he heaved it into the corridor.
The piece of stone landed heavily, bounced, and then skittered up against the left wall. At first nothing happened, but then, so suddenly that all three of them jumped, flames filled the space. The firestorm came and went so suddenly that they couldn’t tell where it had originated, leaving just a haze of smoke behind.
Kavek looked at Bredan. “I think we should trust your feelings,” he said.