As he swam with the current he grew ever more certain the light he was seeing was in fact sunlight. Drawing closer to where the water once again emerged to the outside world, his hopes of a quick escape were soon to be dashed. For just before where the waterway emerged into the open, a wall of thick iron bars set six inches apart blocked the entrance. Bart ceased swimming as soon as he saw them. Instead, he allowed the current to carry him forward as he sought another way out.
Both sides of the waterway were stone and rose sheer all the way to the ceiling. The ceiling had been left rough when they hewed the tunnel, but it was solid without any openings through which he might escape.
The current carried him to the bars where he took hold of them and contemplated his situation. He tried moving the bars through brute strength, but he couldn’t budge them. Then he checked beneath the water to see if there was an opening. After several dives beneath the surface, he concluded that there was no way out at this end. Looking back at the dark interior from which the water issued, he realized that he was trapped.
It had been a couple hours since their return from the wine merchant’s shop. They had spent the time gathered in Riyan’s room going over what they knew, and what they hoped Bart would discover.
Chyfe had come up with the suggestion that maybe they should hunt for ruins similar to those found on the island near Catha. “Until we gain information that points in a certain direction,” he concluded, “I don’t know what else we can do?”
“Soth and I could make discreet inquires about town,” offered Seth.
Riyan nodded. “If anyone was to do it, it would have to be you two,” he said.
“I haven’t seen anything that could remotely be considered old enough to date from the time of the King,” Kevik stated.
“Neither have I,” agreed Chad. “Maybe we could ride around the countryside and look?”
Riyan shook his head. “We are supposed to be agents for a wine merchant,” he argued. “It would hardly be credible for us to do such things.”
“It was just a thought,” replied Chad.
“You know…” Kevik began then came to a stop as something tugged at his mind. Focusing inward, he heard Bart’s voice shout, Kevik!
Bart? he replied. Absentmindedly, he rubbed the ring through which Bart’s thoughts were being sent.
I’m in serious trouble, Bart told him.
What happened? asked Kevik.
Riyan noticed the look that came over Kevik. “Kevik?” he asked. When there was no response, he said to the others, “Bart must be speaking with him.”
“Trouble do you think?” asked Chyfe.
Riyan nodded. “Probably. We’ll know soon enough,” he told the others. The room grew quiet as everyone turned toward Kevik.
I was discovered, Bart explained. I don’t know how, but they knew I was there. He then sent a vision of the magic user and the static discharging purple orb.
Where are you? asked Kevik.
Beneath the castle, replied Bart. I’m in an underground waterway that empties into the lake.
Can you make it back to the inn? Kevik asked.
I don’t know, he replied. The mouth of the waterway is blocked with iron bars.
I’m with the others, Kevik told him. Give me a minute to tell them what’s happening.
Alright, Bart said. But hurry. You guys may be in danger too.
Kevik’s eyes came back into focus and then he related to the others what Bart had told him.
“Is he alright?” Riyan asked.
“I believe so,” Kevik replied.
Chyfe went to the window and looked out to the street below. When he didn’t see any guards approaching, he turned back to the others and said, “If he was discovered, they may have already connected him to us.”
“Yeah,” agreed Chad. “How many people have you seen from Byrdlon around here?”
“Exactly,” stated Chyfe.
“Can you do anything to get past the iron bars?” Soth asked Kevik.
Kevik shook his head. “No,” he replied. Then he looked to Riyan. “What should I tell him?”
“Maybe he could work his way to the other end of the waterway?” suggested Chyfe. When the others looked to him he shrugged and said, “It has to come from somewhere.”
“I’ll ask,” said Kevik. Focusing on Bart once again, he mentally said, Bart?
Not now! came the reply. He had a brief vision of water, iron bars, and figures standing on the other side looking in before the connection was broken.
“I think they found him,” he told the others.
Bart had moved back into the channel when he first realized people were approaching the barred mouth of the waterway. Making his way against the current wasn’t difficult as it moved along at a leisurely pace. By the time the guards reached the bars, he was twenty feet away and all but his eyes and the top of his head were submerged beneath the surface. His fingers held onto a small crack in the wall to prevent the current from carrying him forward.
Four guards stood at the bars as they searched the dark interior of the waterway. “Where is he?” one asked.
A large guard who appeared to be the leader of the group replied, “If he was dead, the current should have brought him here by now.”
“But wouldn’t have Geffen’s spell obliterated him?” another asked.
“Perhaps,” the leader stated. “But there would still be bits and pieces.” He stared into the dark tunnel another moment then turned to one of his men. “Tell the captain the body wasn’t at this end,” he said. “He may still be alive.”
“Yes sir,” the guard replied then began moving away.
The leader then turned to his other two men. “You two stay here and keep watch.” The two guards nodded and then the leader turned about and left.
Bart remained against the wall, the cold of the water beginning to seep into his body. He watched as the leader left and the two guards remained by the bars looking in. He was certain they couldn’t penetrate the darkness to where he hid.
Glancing back down the dark waterway, he realized that if he was to get out of this alive, it would have to be that way. Only problem was moving against the current. The depth of the water prevented him from being able to touch the bottom of the channel while still keeping his head above water. And should he try to swim, the guards at the bars were sure to hear the resulting noise. His only remaining option was to use the cracks in the wall as handholds and pull himself along.
Crack by crack, and there weren’t many, he began moving further away from the bars and the guards stationed there. Moving as quickly as he could, he gradually put distance between himself and the bars.
It was dark in the waterway and the light coming in from the end grew fainter the further he went. Once he figured to be far enough away that any splashing noise from swimming was unlikely to be noticed, he let go of the cracks and began swimming with all his might.
He had never liked swimming, though his father had forced it upon him. ‘The more skills a thief has at his command,’ his father had always said, ‘the better thief he’s going to be.’ More than once the skills Bart had thought of as useless for a thief to know had proven useful, even saved his life.
As the light from the end of the waterway dimmed, the darkness became ever more absolute. At one point he got to thinking that he may very well be swimming past a way out. Should there be stairs or rungs leading up, he’d never be able to see them. He needed a source of light. Then it hit him. Stupid! he cursed. Moving closer to the wall, he found a crack that he could use to hold him steady against the current. Once he had a secure hold, he used his other hand to remove his waterlogged pack.