Rocalla's Saga: Arrival

15: Underground Escape Route —

1054 Kyabalaka 1

“Let’s go,” Elanor hisses in my ear.

“Be still,” I whisper back. “Hold this.” I hand her the lantern and ready my quarterstaff.

The footsteps draw nearer and the glow beneath the door becomes brighter. I just barely discern Dierdra’s shadow stepping back from the portal. Then the footsteps stop, and we hear a hand try the latch.

“I can’t believe he forgot to lock this room again,” a voice says from the other side.

The door opens halfway, and the light from a flickering torch illuminates Dierdra’s fiery red hair and sparkling jewelry.

“Hey, who are you?” the voice asks.

Dierdra turns and flees toward the storerooms.

“Stop! Hejrt trom!” the voice calls, and a foot soldier trots into the room after her. Before the man has a chance to notice me, I step forward and swing my quarterstaff, catching him in the stomach. He stops in surprise and lets out a moan, then turns to face me. “Intruders!” he shouts over his shoulder, “Intruders in the castle!”

While he is busy bellowing and drawing his sword, I decide to take another swing to shut him up, aiming for his head. At the last minute, he ducks, but not far enough. The quarterstaff glances off of the top of his uncovered head and he stumbles to the floor. Momentarily stunned, he offers little defense as I shove the end of my quarterstaff into his midsection. He doubles over with a groan, and I come down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

“Elanor, the light,” I say. While she fumbles to uncover the lantern, I shut the door, and then Dierdra and I prop up the guard behind it.

“It’s time to go,” I say. “Now!” I race back to the storeroom; Dierdra is right beside me, pausing only a second to pick up the three arrows.

“What are they for?” I ask.

“More evidence,” says Dierdra as we rush into the storeroom.

Elanor brings up the rear, carrying the lantern and one of the books. Once she is inside, we shut the door. Dierdra sticks the arrows into her pack, then jumps up and grabs the bottom of the window. Pulling herself up with a groan, she is through the window in half a minute. She turns and sticks her head through again, and I start to throw the backpacks up to her. Next comes the book that Elanor has collected.

“You’re next, Elanor,” I say.

“I can’t jump that high,” she says.

“Here, I’ll help you.”

I give Elanor a boost. She catches the window and steps up on my shoulder. Dierdra is helping her as well, but it is going slowly. By the time Elanor’s feet have disappeared through the window, I can hear voices outside the laboratory.

“The door is stuck,” says one voice.

“Push it,” says another.

Dierdra’s head pops out again and I hand her my quarterstaff. Once it is out of the way, I run up and jump to grab the window.

I misjudge the distance and slam my body into the wall, scraping my face on the rough stone. Touching the window, I am unable to get a grip, and I fall backward on my behind once again.

“Get up, Rocalla,” Dierdra calls, “You can make it.”

Worried that her voice is going to draw the guards to me, I hop up and try again. This time I get a grip on the window ledge, but it is difficult for me to pull my weight up.

“Climb up, Rocalla. Now!”

I pull with all my might and manage to get my shoulders up level with the window. Dierdra grabs my arms and starts to pull me in.

“Where are the intruders?” says one of several voices in the laboratory.

“Check the storerooms,” says another.

The top half of my body is through the window when I hear a door open and pray that it leads to the other storeroom. I throw my right leg onto the window ledge, and Dierdra pulls my body through the window forcefully, bruising my left thigh in the process.

Another door opens. “There!” someone shouts.

I get up on my hands and knees and crawl away from the window. Elanor has her pack on and is already headed down the stairs. Dierdra is putting her pack on and drawing her machete. She pulls me to my feet. I grab my backpack in one hand and my quarterstaff in the other and we start running down the hall.

Before we even reach the stairs, the heavy door at the end of the hallway behind us crashes open.

“You there, stop! Hejrte trajm!”

Dierdra and I race down the steps toward the sewer. Elanor has already jumped into the water and is making her way into the tunnel. When I get to the bottom, I just jump right in and start trudging through the water, ignoring the stench and filth. Dierdra takes the time to climb in, and gets a chance to look up the stairs.

“They’re right behind us,” she says.

Fortunately, we are a third of the way through the tunnel before they reach the bottom of the stairs.

“Come back. There’s no way out. Come back and we’ll go easy on you.”

“Yeah, right,” says Dierdra in a low voice. We just keep pushing our way through the water.

“If I have to come get you, I’ll make sure you become well acquainted with pain.”

We keep moving. Elanor is going slowly, struggling to push her way through the waist deep water while keeping the lantern and book above the foul liquid. We catch up to her when we are two thirds of the way through, and we each grab one of her arms to help her along.

“All right, I warned you.” The gruff threat is followed by the sound of several large splashes.

We move through the water as quickly as we can, dragging Elanor along. When we get to the far end of the tunnel, Elanor sets the book and lantern on the stone next to the ditch, while we each climb out. Then together we lift her up out of the dank water and set her on the floor. The guards are still well back in the tunnel when we start running away from the sewer.

We race into the first large circular room, and Elanor stops.

“Elanor, let’s go!” I say.

“Take these,” she says, handing me the lantern and giving Dierdra the book.

“Come on, we need to keep moving!” I say.

“Give me just a second.” With that Elanor turns and faces the passageway through which we have just come. Raising her hands and chanting, she casts a spell. When she has finished, the entire passageway is filled with a roaring fire. The flames are strange, unearthly somehow, full of scarlet and purplish reds.

“Okay,” Elanor says. “It won’t last long. We should get out of here while we can.”

With that, we retrace our steps through the rooms and tunnels beneath the castle. The door through the foundation is still propped open, and we hurry through it, shutting it behind us. Then we run along the underground passage toward the Sikorallan ruins beneath the cathedral. Once we reach the cathedral basement near the baptismal pool, we stop to catch our breath. Elanor collapses on the floor, panting. Our ragged breathing is the only sound that breaks the silence.

After a few minutes, we pick up our stuff and cautiously make our way to the stairs leading to the main floor. Given that it must be two or three hours past midnight, we are surprised to find a couple of the priests waiting for us at the top of the stairs.