It was a steep, narrow, and winding path the steps led until they ended at another passage moving directly away from the mouth of the stairwell. Leaving the steps, Bart began following this new passage. As the others below, this one too had been undisturbed for some time. Bart got to thinking that perhaps the knowledge of this secret area, if secret it was, might have been forgotten over the years.
As he followed the passage, he kept his eyes and ears alert for any sign of a way out. Fifteen feet from the mouth of the stairwell, he saw a light ahead. At that point, he slowed his progress as he closed the distance to it.
The light as it turned out was sunlight shining through a very narrow opening in the right side of the wall. No more than six inches by one, the opening probably wasn’t large enough to be noticeable from the outside.
A barely noticeable breeze was blowing through. The fresh air was a relief after the mustiness of the lower passage. Putting his eye to the opening, he saw that it faced a large inner garden.
The opening was a good twenty feet above the garden which led him to believe he was on the second floor of the castle. The garden itself was completely encompassed by the castle, a place where those of the castle could go to relax and meet without being observed by the common man.
Three ladies sat in chairs near a fountain. What they were saying went unheard as they were too far away. Bart continued to peer from the opening for several more minutes before continuing down the passage. He still didn’t have a way out, and from where he figured himself to be based on what he saw through the opening, he wasn’t very close to the outer edge of the castle.
Not far from the opening overlooking the inner garden, he spied another area with light. This time, it was on the left side and extended in a four foot vertical line. A door was Bart’s first thought as he hurried toward it. When he reached it, he found that he was correct. About midway up the vertical line of light, a wooden sliding bar locked the door into place. He was sure that if he slid open the bar, he could pull the door open. The light didn’t have near the intensity of the sunlight which had shone through the opening he came across earlier. It must be coming from a candle. And a lit candle meant someone had to be there.
Bart first tried to peer through the crack but couldn’t see much more than a picture hanging on the wall across from him. It was probably a guest room of some sort. No sound came to him as he peered through the crack. It could be that someone had just stepped from the room. But he decided the chance wasn’t worth the risk. If he continued along and found no better way from the secret passage, he would come back and try it.
Moving on, he continued down the passage. In the course of the next five minutes, he came across another secret door similar to the one he had first encountered. Only this time he could hear someone moving around on the other side. A moment’s peering through the crack of the secret door revealed it was one of the castle’s servants going about her work. Leaving the door behind, he continued on.
He had until nightfall to find a suitable exit from which to leave the hidden area. Until then, he would continue to explore in the hopes of finding one which would afford him a good chance to escape. If one didn’t present itself, he would take his chances with what was available.
Chapter Sixteen
“We should wait until dark,” objected Kevik. “If by three hours after sundown he hasn’t shown, then we should try locating him.” He and everyone else but Seth had returned to the inn after talking with Bart via the rings. Seth remained near the castle gates to keep an eye on things.
“But you have two flasks of mixture left,” countered Riyan. He and Kevik were arguing over whether they should use one of his two remaining mixtures of the far seeing spell to locate Bart.
“While that is true,” stated Kevik, “Bart could be holed up somewhere dark. In which case, we would have wasted the mixture for nothing.”
Chad was as worried for Bart as Riyan. But he was siding with Kevik on this one. “I agree with Kevik,” he said. Then as Riyan turned to him he added, “Suppose we find him in serious trouble, what could we do about it anyway? Storm the castle?”
Riyan stewed as he knew his friend was right. “Still…”
“Wait until dark,” Chyfe said. “Bart is very resourceful.”
“That’s right,” agreed Soth. “And at night, we will have a better chance of helping should it be needed.”
“Very well,” he said. Turning to the window, Riyan stared out at the castle.
Ten minutes later, still staring out the window toward the castle, he saw Seth appear out of an alley, racing hell bent towards the inn. “Uh oh,” he said as he turned to the others. “Seth’s returning and it doesn’t look good.”
The seconds ticked off as they waited for him to come upstairs. Soon, the sound of heavy footfalls thundered down the hallway and the door burst open. “We got to get out of here!” he blurted out.
“What?” asked Soth as he crossed the room to his brother.
“Did Bart get caught?” asked Riyan in fear.
Panting from the exertion of running through the streets, it took Seth a moment to catch his breath. Shaking his head, he said, “As far as I know, no.”
“Then why must we leave?” demanded Chyfe.
“They’ve begun searching the city,” he stated. With everyone looking on, he explained. “I was in the plaza keeping an eye on the gates when they suddenly opened, and squads of guards began coming through. I followed one of the groups to try and discover what was going on.”
“They went to an inn and while two remained outside, eight men entered. A short time later they emerged with two men from Byrdlon. One was unconscious and being carried by two of the guards. The other had a black eye and blood was flowing from his nose. Both were bound.”
“What are they doing?” asked Chyfe though he was afraid he already knew the answer.
“I asked one of the guards who said they were rounding up people to question about the disturbance at the castle,” he explained. “It’s only a matter of time before they come here.”
Chyfe raced for the window and looked out at the street. “No guards yet,” he told the others. “Grab your stuff. We’re leaving.”
“What about Bart?” objected Riyan.
Chyfe rounded on him and asked, “What good are we going to do him if we’re thrown into a cell beneath the castle?”
“He’s right,” agreed Chad. Racing for the door, he said, “Meet you in the stables.” He was soon out the door and heading for his room to retrieve his pack. The others began doing the same.
It didn’t take long before they were in the stables setting a speed record in saddling their horses. Chyfe was the first to have his mount saddled. With reins in hand, he led his horse over to the stable door. Looking out, he saw a city guard exiting from the back of the inn. The guard glanced around the courtyard then his eyes settled onto the stable.
“Trouble,” Chyfe whispered to the others. He mouthed the word ‘guard’ and pointed to the courtyard.
“Damn!” he heard Riyan curse as he worked to cinch the final straps tight.
Chyfe was soon joined by Seth and Kevik and they watched the guard begin walking across the courtyard toward the stable. Thus far, he was the only person in sight.
“What are we to do?” asked Kevik.
“We can’t let them take us,” Seth said.
“I’m well aware of that fact,” stated Chyfe.
The guard had now covered half the distance. He paused a moment and glanced back to the inn when another guard emerged through the door and said, “They’re not in their rooms.”
“Did they take their belongings?” asked the guard in the courtyard.