Several hundred feet into the corridor, they came to a balcony with five broken bridges leading away into a black expanse. An enormous chasm several hundred feet wide and far longer and deeper than light could reach stretched out before them. Above and below were several balconies, platforms and buildings set into the walls, all separated by the open air and connected by bridges that looked more like ribbons of stone than viable pathways.
Grant lifted the lantern and started searching the platform. He went immediately to a nearby pile of dirt and stone. It looked like the beginnings of a stalagmite, but without its counterpart. He kicked it over and a crystal almost a foot long and two inches wide went skittering across the floor.
He picked it up and dusted it off, appraising it tenderly before putting it in a bag. What struck Alexander were the crystal’s colors-bright and vibrant, rich and multihued … almost lifelike. Grant found another mound of dirt and another crystal within it, then another. With three of the crystals in his bag and no more mounds of dirt on the platform, Grant left without a word, returning the way they’d entered.
Alexander suspected that the crystals were indeed what the Babachenko was after, but the discovery had only led to more questions. He wanted to delve further, look across the bridges, find some answers he could use, but he dared not get too far from Grant lest his collar start choking him.
Before he reached the entrance to the tunnel, Grant handed Alexander the bag, then stopped at the threshold, glaring at the wizard standing guard, who saw them immediately this time.
“I demand an explanation!” Grant said. “I hold the mining charter, yet this mine has been worked without my permission or knowledge and without the knowledge of the Miners Guild. I demand that you send for the Babachenko, the High Overseer and the Master of the Miners Guild at once. Serious crimes have been committed here and I will have justice.”
“How did you get in there?” the wizard asked, seeming a bit alarmed by their sudden appearance.
“We slipped past while you were napping,” Grant said. “The better question is, why are you trespassing in my mine?”
“I’m here by order of the Babachenko, as you well know.”
“Well, I guess you’d better send for him.”
The wizard seemed torn, but finally raised a horn to his lips and blew one long blast that reverberated down the tunnel. Grant gave Alexander a look of smug satisfaction and sat down on the edge of the platform to wait.
Not long after, one of the overseers guarding the entrance to the tunnel came trotting up to the wizard, giving Grant a suspicious look, before leaving with a note. Alexander sat down next to Grant.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Now we wait, and then I find out who you really are,” Grant said, smiling at him like he’d just sprung a trap.
“I told you who I am,” Alexander said.
“Stop talking.”
Grant didn’t say another word, apparently content to wait in silence while the wizard resumed his post in the center of the circles as if nothing had happened. Nearly an hour passed before a group of men came parading down the corridor flanked by six overseers, all carrying lanterns.
“Here we go,” Grant said, getting to his feet but remaining on the platform just behind the shattered wall. “Don’t say anything unless you’re asked a direct question.”
“Lord Grant, what is the meaning of this?” the Babachenko said, his eyes flicking to Alexander and his colors rippling with calculation and deceit.
“I must ask you the same question,” Grant said. “As you well know, I hold the mining charter. You have no right to do mining work without my knowledge or sanction. Further, you have no representatives from the Miners Guild, whom I see have not been summoned.”
“Please, Lord Grant,” the Babachenko said, climbing up onto the platform where he could face him on level ground, “I understand your anger, and it is warranted, to a degree. By the letter of the law, you are correct. However, the decree of war issued by the king could be construed to supersede your rights, in very limited circumstances, of course.”
“Is that a precedent you want made public to the other charter holders?”
“No, no, of course not,” the Babachenko said. “They’d be impossible. I’m sure we can work something out.”
“I was hoping you would say that,” Grant said, taking the bag from Alexander. “You see, I think I’ve found exactly what you are looking for.” He held up one of the crystals.
The Babachenko’s colors surged with excitement and the promise of power. Even his face gave him away, though he tried mightily to hide it.
“Perhaps you have, though I would have to do some tests,” he lied.
“Of course,” Grant said. “I stand by the product of my mines. As a show of good faith, I’ll give you these three crystals for your testing. Once you’ve confirmed their value, we can have a chat about price. After that, I can have a crew working day and night by week’s end.”
“About that,” the Babachenko said, looking intently at Alexander. “There are some security concerns that need to be addressed, starting with him. Who exactly is he?”
“Oh, him? He’s just a slave I picked up at the auction a few weeks ago,” Grant said offhandedly, while scrutinizing the Babachenko carefully. “Although something strange did happen today with this particular slave. Tyr came to buy some horses from me. Then he decided he wanted to buy this slave … and all without cutting you in. Of course, I refused. I wouldn’t dream of infringing on your business rights.”
“Well, you know Tyr, always trying to violate the rules,” the Babachenko said, his eyes never leaving Alexander. “Perhaps it would be best if I took this slave into custody … for security reasons.”
“If he’s a security risk, then he needs to be put down,” Grant said. “If not, then taking him into custody is just taking my property.”
The Babachenko bored into Alexander with his grey eyes. He was sure the man knew exactly who he was so he kept his head down and avoided eye contact.
“If you’re really concerned about it, I’ll put him down,” Grant said, touching his ring. Alexander’s collar began constricting around his neck, bringing him to his knees in moments.
“I’m coming, My Love.”
“Wait! But stay close.” Alexander fell over on his side, struggling for a breath, the world starting to go dark. In the distance, he heard the Babachenko.
“Stop!”
Grant released the collar at once. “So he isn’t a security risk then?”
“No, I don’t believe he is. We will speak about price tomorrow.” With that, the Babachenko turned on his heel and strode away trailing his overseer guards.
Grant looked at Alexander as he regained his feet, still struggling to breathe past the violence done to his throat. “Now, I wonder why he did that. Care to shed any light?”
Alexander shook his head, rubbing his throat.
“No? I didn’t think so. Stay close. I’ll never hear the end of it if I’m not home in time to hear this new minstrel my wife is pining over.” He led the way out of the mine, this time taking the main shaft and the counterbalanced lift to the surface.
When they returned to the manor, Grant showed Alexander to a small room adjacent to the master chambers, telling him to get cleaned up before dinner. Then he was taken to the kitchen and assigned the task of bringing Lord Grant his meal courses during a formal dinner his wife was hosting for nearly twenty guests.
He spent the evening keeping his head down, except to wink at Anja once when no one was looking. Jack ate with the guests, regaling them with stories of events that Alexander was quite sure had never happened about people that Alexander had never met. All of the stories had a single theme in common-the heroes were always Lancers, overseers or the Andalian King himself. For the entire meal, Jack never once looked directly at Alexander.