Beyond the Crags - 15. Chapter 15

Adga watched as the Falconling rushed up to the main table and looked at the chairs. His head moved back and forth frantically. A few tears trickled out of his eyes as he touched the crest of the largest chair briefly, then returned his hand to the crest and stroked it. “There… There is no power within the throne. Our king is dead!

Gordech ran his amulet and hand down the crests on a few other chairs and spoke titles and names, shedding more tears as he did so. He didn’t do more than glance at the chair with the sandglasses in front of it. Instead, he sagged down in a corner and looked up at Adga with hopelessness in his eyes. “They are all… dead. Seandrea is gone. I have failed in my oath to serve.”

Adga moved over to him and knelt. “From what you said, you thought you were responding to the call of those you gave an oath to. It is not your fault.”

Gordech hung his head, “Regardless, I have failed… And the two Sand Dragonlings I brought with me… they are all that is left… As soon as they are discovered, they will be imprisoned or killed. The last vestiges of the Sand Dragons… one boy one girl, not yet of breeding age… how do I tell them… what do I tell them…”

Adga let out a long breath. “They… they are really Sand Dragonlings?”

“Yes, both of royal lines, but if… if what you said is correct, and by the looks of this chamber, your words are verified… They have no Dragons over them. Nothing to protect them and nowhere to go.”

Adga carefully rubbed Gordech’s left shoulder and wing, taking a few more badly scorched and melted feathers off as she did so. “When I saw them, I took them as crossbred Dragonlings. My first guess was Brass and Copper. I am certain all the others have similar thoughts. If you can get them to agree to accept this…”

“Crossbred? No!” Gordech roared, “You cannot even hint at such a thing!”

Adga once again held up both hands. “Um, why?”

“Why? Have you not seen what is done to a mongrelized dragon-kin?”

“Uhhh,” Adga’s whole expression showed her befuddlement. “They tend to have a hard time getting more than day passes into the Northern Spires, and the tendency of most is to be fearful of them ‘cause they can breathe some pretty nasty and dangerous stuff, but…”

Gordech blinked and gulped. “You mean you have seen some roaming around?”

“There are over a dozen I know by name. I have arrested three and stripped one down to loincloth, handed him a full water skin, and a knife, and tossed him out of Bladed Sands to make it to the next town or let the desert claim him after he hurt a fellow guard. As far as seen what is done to them? Can’t say I have seen anything bad. Well, except for those I just told you about. But all four of them deserved it.”

Gordech scratched off a couple of other badly singed feathers as he gazed at Adga with an open beak. When he finally found his voice again it sounded soft and totally perplexed. “Are you saying they are not hunted down and killed by pure-bloods?”

Adga’s forehead scrunched up in confusion. “Why would they?”

Gordech looked up. His tear-filled eyes showed his own uncertainty coupled with what Adga took as exasperation. “A mongrelized dragon-kind, of any type… the Dragon races must, even where I find myself… The Dragons certainly see such an abomination as a threat to the purity of the lines!”

Adga shook her head, “No. Not even close. But, um, from what I have been told and scrolls I have read, mutt-born within the dragon homelands are considered valuable yet expendable combatants.”

Gordech looked into Adga’s eyes and blinked. It was hard to tell if it was to clear some of the tears or out of pure stupefaction. She guessed it was both so continued with what she knew. “All the Dragon Races were badly weakened during the Dragon Wars. Four races, the Blacks, Golds, Whites, and Bronze, managed to crossbreed with captives and got multiple True females. The Blues and Copper both have, or at least had one or two mutt-born True females that helped them churn out vast numbers of crossbred Dragonlings with a handful of Warrior Dragons and a smattering of True Dragons. Rumors say the Black Dragons still have a female True mutt-borne and the Golds and Bronze each have two.

“The Whites lost their last known True to an uprising of Fairy Dragons about a hundred years ago, but they still have two or three female Warrior mutt-born. Reports indicate they also have probably the strongest Great Dragon currently in existence, Waraweld. His name is spoken with fear and has been for over three centuries now. It sounds like this Waraweld has killed several Silvers. But all of this is nothing but gossip, rumor, and a few reports sent to the garrison of Twin Spires from their scouts scattered outside the Combined Desert Realm.”

Adga paused and grinned as Gordech stared at her. “The commanders tend to be pretty careless with written reports because so few can read. So, I probably know more than I should.”

Gordech blinked again and shook his head. He started to say something only to shake his head again. “Uh… I… I am torn on what to ask… Are you really telling me, in almost the same breath, there is such a thing as a mongrelized female Dragon-kin of any kind and… And the great house of Shunral has fallen so badly it hires guards who cannot read?”

While the second half of the question caused a flash of anger within Adga, she forced herself to take a few calming breaths. Still, her voice lowered, and she spoke fast. “Gordech, you… I can’t say what it is like other places with certainty, but reports I have read indicate the Combined Desert Realm has more literate guards than almost any place, and House Shunral-sponsored guardsmen are offered free tutoring. Because of this, House Shunral has a higher number of literate allied guards than any other house other than Oldsurn. House Oldsurn will not allow the promotion of any sponsored guard above the rank of sergeant until they have the basics of both reading and writing. Non-sponsored guards can only get up to corporal within House Oldsurn until they have the basics of reading and writing Drylander.

“For House Shunral sponsored guards, the highest rank an illiterate can obtain is Patrol Leader. For the other houses, it is Commander, although I have never seen a Vylevin-sponsored lieutenant who cannot read, so they may require it for their lieutenants. No house allows a non-sponsored guardsman to command anything other than a patrol until they can fill out basic reports, and requisitions, and keep pay ledgers, so math is also taught to those who show promise!”

Adga took a deep breath as she noticed Gordech gulp. “Sorry if I got heated. I am totally loyal to the Shunral line. I don’t like bad things said about them…” She forced a grin. “As for what is commonly referred to as mutt-born Dragon-kin, yes there are females. As far as I know, there has never been a Great, but I bet if there was, they would have been killed almost as soon as they were born. To do less would be to risk a new Dragon Race, which is the last thing the other Dragon Races should want. They don’t need a new potential enemy race when for the most part the Dragon Wars have never really stopped.

“The Whites and Silvers are very much still at war. You’ll also never find a peaceful room if a Copper and a Blue are both inside it. I’ve helped break up a couple of those. Not fun at all.” She couldn’t help but snicker, “Especially for the Dragonlings I was tasked with taking down.”

Adga turned serious. “The real problem will be keeping the young female safe. Once she is of breeding age, every Dragonling around her is going to want her. This means she will be a focus for drunk or uncaring Dragonlings. She will also be a target for slavers and brothels. A slave or indentured female Dragonling could fetch more coin in a week than most other races could in moons.”

Gordech’s right hand fingered a throwing dagger on his chest for several silent seconds. “They will have to get through me first! However, it is really no different than what I would expect. For being a female Dragon-kin of any kind is… I am glad I am not one. Yet, for me to protect her I need to… I guess… learn what I am going to be forced to deal with. For I find myself in a world I know nothing about… But I can tell you where… maybe… when I came from, a mongrelized dragon-kin of any kind would have been eliminated as soon as it was found. Captive purebred females were handed over as prizes to the highest-ranking or more fierce fighters who would not normally be given a chance to breed. Normally this was the same since rank was very much based on fighting skills. The female was then, normally, ransomed back or in extreme cases, killed. However, mongrels almost never hatched. Their eggs were destroyed. However, there were rumors the Greens, Browns, and Whites raised a few to use as gladiators in special games. Regardless, none survived beyond the arena.”

“No longer,” Adga stated firmly. “And since we are on the subject, Rin is a mutt-born. He is one of my best friends, so…”

Gordech held up both taloned hands, “He is totally safe. I will need to talk to the others who came with me… They will not believe it at first, but it will help me to convince both Dykor and Ikenara that they can play the part of a mongrel. They will have to get over fear, being deeply insulted, and let go of their royal birthright. However, to live as a free being… I am sure I can convince them. Your friend Rin… He could help, yet it seems he cannot speak Dragon?”

“No, he was hatched into an arena and never got to know his mom or dad. He had no one to teach him.”

“I have never encountered a Dragonling who cannot speak and read Dragon… But if he is willing to show the two younger ones they can survive as mongrels, it would help. However, do you really think, if I can convince the Sand Dragonlings to pretend to be mongrels, they will be accepted.”

“Depends. I read tales of Sand Dragons. Do they breathe sand as a weapon?”

“Yes.”

Adga took a deep breath, “Then don’t have them, or let them use their breath weapons unless it is a life or death situation, or they leave no observers. All mutt-born I have dealt with have the same breath as their predominant scale color, so for Rin, it is hot sparks and fire. Although he seems to have inherited some resistance to shocking and electrical energies…”

Adga stopped as she looked at the chairs the Falconling had touched. “Speaking of shocks… You didn’t touch any of the shocking chairs.”

Gordech’s head jerked up, “Shocking chairs? Some of these chairs are still active after all the degradation I see in them?”

“Yes. She pointed to the smaller table. Several at…”

She stopped since Gordech jumped up and moved to the small table. It was clear he took note of the makeshift chairs scattered around it. He spoke in a hushed voice, “These are here because some of these chairs cannot be sat on!” Hope entered his voice as he added, “I am here… is it possible?”

Gordech stood in front of the smaller table. He stared at several of the chairs for numerous seconds. He appeared to go into prayer, pulled out his amulet, then moved up and touched the crest of the one with the cross-winged dragon with the amulet. He pulled his hand back fast. His eyes went wide. He moved over a chair and used his amulet to tap the crest. Once again, he quickly pulled back his hand. He moved around the smaller table rapidly, touching the crests of the chairs with his amulet quickly, stopping to cringe at those without a sandglass in front of them.

Gordech managed to find his voice. “Crown Prince Psyen-Raysyn’Xavier, Thane Welaras Prince of the Spires, Lucas Oldsurn Count of Sand Garden, Garnet Stormrider Earl of Jade Bluffs, Olpha Shardholder Marchioness of Sandstorm, Sythranel Shunral Earl of Càraid, and Malachi Battleforge Count of the Iron Fortress … The chairs are still life-linked… They… They live!”

Even as he continued to excitedly speak, the spirit flowed back out of Adga’s nose. This time she was ready. Even though it hurt a great deal, she stayed standing and pulled her bastard sword. It took her only a couple of steps to stand in front of Cuson.

Her actions weren’t needed. The creature seemed to smirk as it vanished without taking a step toward the Qling.

Adga sheathed her blade, took a knee, and wiggled her nose. A glance over to Cuson showed he was relieved the spirit decided not to come after him, but he still sat down and took a couple of deep breaths.

Cuson looked over, “I can probably do one more… but it took everything I had to keep it in you as long as I did, and it wasn’t even fighting me like the other. I really need a break!”

“Get some rest. You did great. Besides, I think we may have a way to talk to him. He was surprised I didn’t speak Drow since I have a Shunral pin. While I didn’t know there was a Drow language, if Tez can speak it we have a common language.”

“I know the basics,” Cuson stated, with a long breath. “It was something Count Shunral made both me and my half-sister learn as part of training. He said it would help us once we got to the Combined Desert Realm. It also was helpful in learning a couple of special learned auto-spells. As long as it hasn’t changed too much from when he… I mean I guess he has to be from way back right?”

“Yeah…” Adga let out a deep breath. “There really is no other explanation, no matter how crazy it seems and sounds.”

“Kind of my thoughts,” Cuson stated, with a shake of his head. “But if there isn’t too much difference from the Drow of his time to now, I should be able to talk to the Falconling.”

“Good. The more who can talk to him the better.” Adga kept a hand on Cuson’s shoulder as she watched Gordech. It was clear by looks alone he started to make a connection between the shocking chairs and the sandglasses in front of them. His eyes darted around the small table then focused on the single chair at the large table with a small and very large sandglass.

After several blinks he moved over to the single chair at the large table with both the tiny and much larger sandglasses. He looked over to Adga and spoke.

Cuson took a deep breath, held up a finger, and responded. There were several back-and-forth exchanges with Cuson often motioning downward with both hands. As this happened, Gordech started to speak slower and seemed to purposefully use smaller words. After a particularly long time of Cuson speaking, Gordech reached out and touched the crest on the chair. He withdrew his hand quickly.

Another long period of back and forth followed. Most of the talking was done by Cuson as Gordech pointed to each of the chairs with sandglasses in front of them.

Cuson finally turned to Adga, “While he speaks Drow, it is not quite the same… There are words we keep having to explain to each other, but we can talk to each other with some effort. Some of what we are telling each other is probably wrong or missing meaning, but it’s such an old language, much of it is similar enough to make this kinda work.”

“Better than the alternative!” Adga let out a sigh of relief. “I really didn’t want another of those ghosts up my nose!” She couldn’t help but once again ruffle Cuson’s hair as she snickered. It was just too hard to see the Qling as old as he truly was.

She gave a sheepish shrug as Cuson frowned at her. “Sorry.” She paused and smirked, “Kinda.” Getting a roll of the eyes out of Cuson, she grinned, “OK, so you had quite the chat. What did he tell you?”

“It was more about what I told him. He wanted to know about the sand glasses and the dreams. He did say the one shocking chair at the big table belongs to a Great Sand Dragon by the name of Sen’ry-nax. I guess Sen’ry-nax was thought killed. The crown prince's title was passed down to his younger brother. But when I told him of the dream sitting in the chair gives, he now firmly believes this Sen’ry-nax is actually alive. He also says the younger brother is also alive because the chair is still active.

“This also means there is a major problem because there are two crown princes of the Sand Dragons.”

Adga shrugged, “Well, neither are here so it, thankfully ain’t our problem! Last thing I want is to have to step between two dragons!”

“Would you?”

“To prevent a war within the combined desert realms… Yeah, I guess I would have to. Cause I sure don’t want to know what an angry Great Dragon would do to us, let alone two! But is he sure they are alive?”

“Yes. The chairs would not be active unless the person… being… dragon… whatever… Um, anyway, if the chair is active it means whatever the crest belongs to is alive. He is calling it a life-link. A very strong living memory from each of those the crests refer to. He also said he is certain, by the description I gave of the red-armored Halfling, it had to be none other than the god Rovnar. Both this Sen’ry-nax and Rovnar were very high channelers for an ancient god by the name of Dawnbreaker. It sounds like Sen’ry-nax and Rovnar even knew each other.”

Adga had to shake her head, “What?!”

“Yeah, same reaction I had. But he insists it’s true. He also says one of those living… at least according to what the chairs are telling him, is a Channeler of Rovnar. One of the first for what he called the fledgling god. Sometimes he called it what I think was a quasi-god.”

“When the spirit or whatever was up my nose made me hear Gordech say Rovnar was or is a Demi-god, which is pretty much the same as a quasi-god. But… If all this is true, and he comes from when this place was made…” Adga shuddered. “Then… me thinking this place is old doesn’t even scratch the surface…” Adga looked around. “Even if the Great Dragon was extremely young and grew to an old age this place is SEVERAL thousands of years old!”

“Amazing it’s still in as good shape as it is. But he did say he heard three or four of these… closest words we could find to match what we both know would translate to ‘catastrophe shelters’ but it had a royal or noble connotation to the way he said it… But the king, the king’s father, and what I translate as the king’s grandfather, with the help of Rovnar, Quati, and Vaneuben made this and at the least, a couple of other hidden shelters. They were built in secret locations throughout the kingdom of the Sand Dragons. The initial work was done by something he called rock titans, then the rest was finished with magic with the help of those we now worship!

“They were supposed to be safe havens should the Brown Dragons trap them behind their lines. There was talk of trying to get to one of them, but there was no way to safely get here once some kind of barrier fell.

“He thinks the kingdom sorcerer or maybe king’s sorcerer managed to open up a path out, then held him there until someone was here to open the exit. Since the young Shunral lord is of one of the trusted family lines, and even has a chair down here, Gordech thinks it is why the pathway opened for him. He also says it seemed like he and those with him were only in the tunnel for way less than a bell toll. I asked him how long a bell toll is since it sounds like the same time reference as the magical scroll at Sand of the Dragon. He said there were twenty-five in one day, basically from dawn to dawn.”

Adga’s eyes arched in interest. “So it sounds like a bell toll is close to one of our sandglasses. He must know all sorts of ancient history! I need to find a way to talk to him for long periods of time.”

“Maybe the bracelet will work without threatening us or trying to get us to go outside and get killed once the Dead Storm is done.”

Adga nodded in both hope and agreement as she watched Gordech. The Falconling continued to look around the dining room. As he seemed to stare at the long unused chandelier, She returned attention to Cuson, “What does he know of this room and for that matter, this whole place?”

“I didn’t really get a chance to ask. He is too focused on taking care of those he brought with him and trying to find his missing… lost… whatever… um, friends. And while we can talk, it isn’t easy.”

Conversation stopped as Gordech moved into the foot washing room and tapped lightly on the metal panel. He turned to look at Cuson and spoke. Adga heard the name Psyen-Raysyn’Xavier, but nothing else made sense. She frowned at the exchange, but it didn’t last long. Instead, Gordech ran his hand over the smooth metal surface and nodded.

Cuson glanced over to Adga, “He wanted to know if the protection magic is still… um, guess the best way to put it is he wanted to know if magic to protect it was in place. Not really the right words, but best I can come up with. When I told him about the shocks, he said it had to stay protected until someone by the name of Prince Psyen-Raysyn’Xavier gets here to open it. Not sure what this means, but he called it a ‘forcing house’. He also bets it isn’t empty.”

Adga shrugged, “Sounds like some kind of torture chamber or something, but I can’t see anyone or anything putting one of those behind a magical barrier. And if it is, and not empty, whoever is in there is certainly dead or a dead walker by now. You sure you’re right about what he called it?”

“Yeah. ‘Forcing house’ is a direct translation of the Drow words, so it may mean something different to him. But I really don’t think so. My guess is the two words together must have some meaning we don’t understand. Whatever it is, he thinks only a prince by the name of Psyen-Raysyn’Xavier can open it. But added if Prince Sen’ry-Nax is really alive he probably could as well.”

Adga nodded, “Makes sense…” She frowned and looked around. “But if both of them are really Great Dragons I cannot see how they’d fit to get down here.”

“Good point… But since everything gets bigger the deeper we get, maybe there is a hidden entrance for a dragon below us.”

“Interesting thought…” Adga frowned as she stared at the alcove and the metal panel. The section and whatever was beyond reminded her of the Elvin steel chest. She knew something was inside, but couldn’t open it. It was beyond frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it. One thing was for certain. Since the magic protecting the panel had reportedly killed someone, she was not going to play with it.

Gordech continued to investigate his surroundings. He exited the dining room. He first investigated the upper pathways. He asked about the exit and the thief training room. It was obvious he was not happy to hear what the room had been turned into. Like Adga, he tried some of the closed, twisted, and jammed doors. One thing he did point out, by taking one of his daggers and dragging it down the bronze, was the doors were bronze coated. Under was Gnome Stone Steel.

Adga realized there were probably thousands of silver worth of the metal in this shelter. She briefly wondered how she could get some of the doors off to sell them.

Her thoughts didn’t last long since Gordech pushed hard on the barred doors as Adga and her patrol fought in the upper passage. She hadn’t seen or heard anyone come through them since the truce. She asked Cuson about it.

Cuson shrugged. “Not much to say. The first one goes to the back of the Twisted Spoon. Most who fled went through it ‘cause there was a way out. The one the Falconling is currently pushing on goes to five more doors, only two can be opened. One is a small room with some extra gear the adults stashed in case of an emergency. It’s locked, but Dassen managed to get a duplicate key somehow, so I bet she is back there.

“The second usable door goes to a cave. We know there must be a way out, cause there is airflow. It actually gets windy sometimes, but we never found an exit. There isn’t many critters, just some cave rats and a few snakes. But we did kill a pair of bone walkers over a year ago and got help on a hide walker Dragonling several moons ago. It had scales a lot like the two Dragonlings the Falconling come with. What are they, a mix of Brass and Bronze?”

Adga shrugged, deciding to keep the secret as long as possible. “My thought was Brass and Copper.”

“Brass for sure, maybe a mix with both Copper and Bronze. Kind of pretty the way they sparkle.”

“I thought the same thing. Other than your sister, how many went through the door to the five doors and caves? And just as important, do they have water?”

“Half-sister, and not sure who went where. You hit us too hard and fast. The first blast of cold almost took me out and burned my eyes, so I couldn’t see right for several seconds. They still don’t feel right!

“As for water, there is a couple of pools of water and a small stream in the cave. There is too much iron in the pools for me and my half-sister to drink, but the stream is fine. I bet it is where Dassen and those with her went. Like I said, she managed to get a duplicate key to the adult storeroom made a moon or so ago. We were hoping to find a way out of the cave, steal enough gear, and head to the Spires.”

“Why there?”

“Cause more caravans go there than anywhere and we hoped to find one to hire on and get out of this cursed desert.”

Adga tried but couldn’t hold back her disappointment. “So, you don’t plan to be with my patrol long?”

“Depends on Dassen, but if we have spots in the guard, then I’d be willing to stick around longer. Especially since I want to get guild certified, and the Combined Desert Realm is one of the few places that has my guild.”

Cuson took a deep breath as he watched Gordech try to shoulder the door a couple of times with zero success. He spoke in Drow, causing Gordech to stop. Still, the Falconling gave the door one final frustrated push. “I told him it's not a good idea to open any locked doors leading to exits at this point. I just hope the Dead Storm can’t get in there.”

“Any way to get it open from this side with it being barred?”

“It’s just drop in brackets, so if you have something strong and thin you should be able to force the bar up on one side. But I’d bet they put something against it so it stays wedged closed even if you get the bar off.

“We’ll work on the bar then I’ll give it a hard shoulder as soon as the Dead Storm ends. I know you want to find your sister and I’m sure she’d make a great addition to the patrol, but I can’t risk opening the door to find her with the storm raging.”

“Half-sister… and yeah, if the storm got into the cave and she’s there, trying to rescue her will only get us all killed. Hopefully, it’s secure. If not… He shook his head. “She had some water so maybe she holed up in the back-up store room. The door has a latch and is as heavy as the rest of the doors, so it should hold up against the storm.

Adga and Cuson continued to talk as Gordech moved into the junk and used supply rooms.

“So why call her your half-sister instead of just sister?”

Cuson sighed, “Promise to keep it secret?”

“You can trust all of us, but for now, yeah, it’ll stay between us.”

“OK… but if it gets out we will look even worse than we already do.”

“You will find me, Rin, Vyrax, and Ven accepting no matter what. You got nothing to worry about.”

“We’ll see. But we both say half ‘cause we’re both sure our dad was a Drow or mostly Drow and was the same man. Making it worse, our moms were identical twins, so not only are we half-siblings, but we’re also cousins. Even worse, we look almost exactly alike. Most say I look girlish, while many say she looks boyish.

“Making us even weirder, according to the orphanage, we were born on the same day. Dassen’s mom died giving birth to her. My mom took both of us but was driven out of town for having Drow born. The town elders wanted her to kill or sell us because the village didn’t want Drow taint.

“We were told my mom left the village and lived in the deep woods, but she was arrested for thievery. I don’t remember much about her cause I was so young, but both me and my half-sister remember her screaming about it being false and she was being punished for keeping us.

“Some wanted to kill us, but a channeler of Brandal threatened to label those who wanted to kill little kids as murderers and would do what she could to prevent any who would do such a thing from peacefully passing on when they died. Because of this, we went to the nearest orphanage…

“It was horrible. We were almost killed a few times and fed only scraps. The Channeler heard about this. She managed to get us to another Brandal Channeler who transported us to a bigger orphanage where the kids didn’t know of our background. Anyway, the orphanage headmistress at Bitter Creek didn’t want us. But the Brandal Channelers in and around Bitter Creek are feared, so she took us in. It wasn’t much better.

“The mistress threatened to withhold food and clothing and to make it known our moms were Drow lovers and criminals unless we called each other half-sister and half-brother and stayed away from each other. We couldn’t even call each other by name without getting punished. I think she did it because it made it easier for the others to gang up on us.

“To survive, we had to do what the headmistress wanted. I guess it became ingrained. Besides, it still seems creepy that my half-sister's mom is my mom’s twin sister, we have the same dad, and we were born on the same day.” He sighed, “But… Well, we dealt with it until we started casting Autospells.

“I burned a kid with sparks and my half-sister put a glow into a kid’s eyes. He couldn’t see right, fell and broke his arm. Crazy as it sounds, it happened on the same day.” A smirk crossed Cuson’s lips. “The headmistress sent word, trying to get us banished, but the local lord found us tutors and we got hired by the merchant family I told you about. The headmistress really hated us but didn’t have much choice but to treat us better… I still want to go back there someday and… punch her… or something.”

“Maybe one of these years we can all go to this Bitter Creek and take turns on her.”

Cuson grinned, “That would be fun!”

Their conversation was interrupted by Gordech. The Falconling coughed and gagged a few times. It was clear he was disgusted by the stench and mortified by some of the traps and hazardous vermin still scattered under the trash. The exploration in those rooms was quickly abandoned.

Gordech’s final stop was the area where the kids slept. He started in the ‘pickers’ chamber. He quickly moved on to where the ‘robbers’ bunked. He paused and looked back and forth between the two rooms.

Cuson exchanged a few words with Gordech. Cuson pointed to the final two open rooms. This time a longer conversation was held. It caused what Adga took as a scowl to cross Gordech’s features. However, after another short and what sounded like a tense exchange, Gordech sighed and seemed to calm. He moved into the final accessible rooms and poked around. He pulled on the handle of one of the locked doors and even shook it.

Once again, he turned and spoke to Cuson. This time the conversation was quite heated. Gordech repeatedly pointed to the keyhole and pushed on the door. Another exchange caused Gordech to make a snarling sound. He turned abruptly and made his way back toward the room with the captives.

“What’s going on?” Adga demanded to know.

Cuson hustled to catch up to Gordech. He looked over his shoulder at Adga and spoke, “He is angry about this royal sanctuary being turned into a thieves’ den. When I told him most down here were recruited and then forced to become members, including me, he got mad. He thinks several of the rooms down here were looted and he wants to know what was in them, but I couldn’t tell him. It’s been like this since I first came down here. He hates I was with the bandits, but I don’t think he is holding it against me too much… Probably should have just lied…”

“No, be truthful. It will build better trust, to be honest. But why are we going back down?”

“He wants to know what happened to what was originally in the rooms and what is behind those other doors. I told him the Halforc, Wyger, is the only one who might know.”

Adga made it into the room with the captives moments after Gordech. She watched as his head darted back and forth. He glanced over at Tez and Nuk, both of whom were, based on the noises they made, already in the dream given to them from the chairs. Only a few beds away, Rin and Tur were also asleep. Both tossed, turned, and mumbled. Adga bet they had been hit with enough of the magic to also have the dreams.

As Adga started to move over to check on Rin, Gordech’s eyes settled on the Halforc. He pointed a talon at it and spoke in an angry tone. His other hand reached down and pulled an odd-looking off-white colored knife from its boot.

Even though the Halforc had been healed, it was still chained. It looked at the Falconling in confusion. As the blade drew closer, it tilted away while speaking, “What?! Whats ya want!”

Gordech’s blade hovered close to the Halforc’s neck even as it tried to lean further away from the blade. The chains holding its hands behind its back clattered noisily as it struggled to get further away.

“Stop!” Taglon barked even as several captives let out fearful gasps and a few cried.

Gordech ignored this, instead, he pointed back in the general direction of the dining hall and spoke again.

Adga stepped up and put her hand between Gordech and Wyger. She gently but firmly pushed Gordech back. She shot him a smirk and wink.

As the Falconling’s brow furled, she held up a finger where Wyger couldn’t see and shot Gordech a grin. It was hard to say the look she got back was a frown since the beak prevented the normal look, but she was pretty sure the look he gave was indeed a scowl. However, he at least gave a slight nod and took another half-step back.

Adga turned her attention back to Wyger while speaking to Cuson. “I need you to let Gordech know what I am saying.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Adga glared down at the Halforc, “So let’s get straight to the point. My new feathered friend wants to know about how this place was found and what you did since you found it. He also demands to know what happened to what was originally in the open rooms.”

“Not know. None a us does. Be like dis when it be found. Least dat what Gojiness say. Say, hear about dis when she got pay ta get somethin’ fer someone out a here.”

Gordech’s eyes narrowed as he squawked something.

Adga didn’t need a translator. “What did she take?”

“Her say she got a old greenish bronze neck guard-like thing wit gem fer a weird green eye Colossus. Her say it pay in book spell and lot a silver. Gojiness say it be kinda short fer Colossus. Um, Gojiness tells me it had key and know ‘bout this place, but say needed someone ta gets it. Colossus pay her ta come down here and get.

“Gojiness say found dis whole place pretty much like dis. Her get what Harpy want and got keys ta the back room from da Harpy. Make it a hide place. Me help set it up like it be now. But me think her gots a few more room back where her live. Not know fer sure. Only Gojiness and her special loot go back der. Not know nothin’ more!”

“Not good enough!” Adga snarled. “You best tell me how to get past the locked doors in the brutes’ rooms. I tried the key and they clicked but didn’t open. You are going to tell me or I will move from between you and him and let him do whatever he wants to you.”

“Ya can’t let him cut me! Da dead walkers ‘ll come fer me!”

“I can’t?” A smirk with a mean glare accompanied the words. Once he started to squirm and pull at the shackles Agda snorted. “And yeah, the dead are drawn to the wounded and bloodied.”

“But yer a guard lead…”

Adga cut Wyger off. “Yeah, and you’re a robber guild leader. Keep in mind you have encouraged those we captured to try to escape. You wounded a young lord with an arrow, and you have been nothing but a pain in the ass. Me handing you over as you are, or a bloody mess won’t matter after all you’ve done. Since you got healed with everyone else, I’d be more than happy to start from scratch.” For emphasis, Adga clenched her left fist and patted the spikes on the gauntlet with her other hand.

The wide eyes staring up at her caused her to smirk. She nodded toward the bed Tur was in. “If he wasn’t sleeping, I’d let him beat the crap out of you again just so I could watch, then let Gordech here,” she pointed to the Falconling, “finish the job. But Tur is sleeping so Gordech will get the first shot and hopefully leave enough for me to pound on unless you tell us how to get back there.”

After a pause and getting nothing but a deep frown from the Halforc, she let out an angry breath. “Also you get nothing to eat until you talk, and we have at least another full day, probably two… maybe more. Then, if you are alive, you will shovel. Bet you don’t get fed well as a criminal on a shovel crew.”

With still no response, Adga spun and shot Gordech a smirk, “Cut him to ribbons. Just make sure there’s enough left to shovel. I bet all the snakes, rats, and dead walkers will be drawn to his wounds and make short work of him!”

As the knife was pulled again, Wyger finally shouted, “No! Wait! Not want dead walkers lookin’ fer me none!”

Adga spun back and spoke with a sneer. “Then tell us how to get back in those rooms!”

Wyger tilted as far back as he could as Gordech continued to move closer with a knife in his hand while Cuson did his best to translate for Adga. “Ok, Ok, me tell ya!”

Once the blade in Gordech’s hand was pulled back a little, Wyger took several deep breaths. Me key only work fer me and other leader doors. If’n ya gots Gojiness’ key, it work on all da door! But all work same. The key has to be turn all da way ‘round. It stop, then turn again. No take out, jus’ pull. Then turn all da way back two half turn ta pull out. It be easy ta lock when it close. Just need ta put key in door and do half turn!”

Wyger’s lower lip trembled. “Me gots nothin’ ta do wit what Gojiness done! Me key not fit her lock. Can no blame me none!”

Adga’s eyebrows went up, “What Gojiness did? What are you talking about?”

“Gots nothin’ ta do wit it,” Wyger responded again with clear fear. “Ya gots ta tell da nobles me gots nothin’ ta do wit what ya find when ya gets inta Gojiness’s room. It all be Komran and Gojiness…”

Taglon frowned, “Komran, as in Lieutenant Komran?”

Even as Wyger nodded with clear fear in his eyes, Adga glanced over at Cuson, “What is he babbling about?”

“Don’t know what he’s worried about, but Gojiness and the patrol lieutenant from Bethard Gulch, Komran, has… Um, had a thing for each other. He also brought in a few kids…” Cuson looked around. “Didn’t think about it till now, but none of those Komran brought are here… they shoulda been with the grunts… He must have told Evinda and Bryron to grab them when they bugged out on us… Wonder why… But anyway, the door on the left wall in the second brute room goes to Komran’s room.”

Taglon blinked and let out a gasp, “Lieutenant Komran has a room down here?… In a thieves’ den?

Torga let out a long breath as she looked at Taglon, “Has since we got here. But I bet whatever Wyger’s worried about has something to do with what happened about half a moon ago.”

She turned to Cuson. “Remember the night Wyger and the other adults took all of us up and out to the river?”

“Yeah… Even the new grunts went… We all got to bathe, fish, and have fun for a night and all the next day. Only the fourth or fifth time since I’ve been here it happened, and the only time it was for a full day. Why?”

Torga glanced over at Adga as she answered, “Cause, I was up top with a couple of pickers just before we went. Komran came into town with four or five cutthroat-looking types. He had me go down and get Gojiness. A sandglass or two later Wyger took us all to the river and kept us out there till the following night.”

As all eyes turned to Wyger, the Halforc gulped, “Me not know, really! All me knows is Gojiness say gots somethin’ a big wig noble from Eaglecrest was gonna pay for big time. Not know more. All her say is we be gettin’ big pay soon.”

Taglon spoke as both Adga and Gordech backed off. “and you don’t know what they took?”

“No.” Wyger shook his head.

“But you aren’t telling us everything, Wyger,” Torga stated. “Your neck muscles are flaring. It’s one of your biggest tells.”

Wyger glared at Torga even as he spoke. “No! Not know…” He stopped as Adga uncovered the spikes on both gauntlets. “Um, no.. wait! Me know whatever them take gots ta be fed!”

Adga’s eyes narrowed, “Fed? A hostage?”

“Not know. Never saw. Really!”

Adga stepped back from the Halforc and moved up to her equipment. “Vyrax, gear up. We’re going to take a look. Torga, you’re healed and know this place. If you want a spot in my squad, now’s the time to show it. Grab your stuff and what you want out of what we captured. You’re with us.”

She turned back to Wyger, “If anything goes wrong, anything you didn’t tell us about, we start over. You will shovel looking worse than you were before the healing. Lots worse.”

Taglon spoke up from where he was wiping sweat off Nuk’s head as the boy tossed and turned in the bed. “If anything happens to any of them, I will first let Tur beat you senseless then I will toss your ass in the well room as you are. I’ll pay the bounty in coin to make up for your loss.”

Wyger shook his head wildly, “Um, not know nothing…” He gulped as several hostile eyes turned to stare at him. “But um, give me food… Den I’ll tell ya how to get into da chest in me room!”

“Tell us now,” Adga demanded. “If we come back without getting hurt I’ll have someone give you a few hunks of dried meat.”

Wyger sighed as he hung his head. “OK… Me room be wit da beat bronze banded chest. No open latch. Poison. Um, pull pins out hinges ta open. Them come out easy if’n ya push ‘em to the middle on both side.”