“Maybe the bandits are still here?” Miko says worriedly, looking around.
“Not likely,” he replies. “If they were still using this place, they would hardly have left a dead body rotting in the hallway. They would have dumped it out back where they wouldn’t have had to walk over it and smell it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” admits Miko, though still not sounding very reassured.
“So relax, we’re going to be okay,” he assures, trying his best to calm Miko.
“If you say so,” Miko replies halfheartedly.
Leaving the body behind, they continue down the hallway, passing two doors before coming to a halt before the third.
“Why are you stopping?” Miko asks.
“It’s indicating that we need to go through this door,” he explains. He tries the handle but finds it locked. He hands the compass and glowing orb to Miko before throwing his weight against the door. With a crash, the door bursts in, breaking off a two foot section of the door jamb in the process. His momentum carries him a little ways through the door where he stumbles and falls as his foot fails to find purchase on the floor. He rolls down a flight of stairs coming to rest at the bottom. Bruised and scraped but otherwise unhurt, he gets to his feet.
From the top of the steps he sees Miko illuminated by the glow from the orb in his hand looking down at him. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” replies James, “come on down. But be careful, I might have broken a few of the steps during my fall.”
Being extra careful, Miko takes it one step at a time, having to skip over one due to it being in such bad shape that he doesn’t think it will support his weight. He finally makes it to the bottom.
By the time he’s reached the bottom, James has taken a cursory look around the room. It’s a small room, only about ten feet by maybe twelve. The only exit is the door at the top of the stairs. The room itself is empty except for the dust that has accumulated over time.
He retrieves the compass from Miko and sure enough, it’s still pointing the way. Only this time it’s indicating the direction they need to go is through the wall. Pointing to the wall indicated by the compass, he says, “It says that we are to go this way.”
“Another secret door like in Lord Colerain’s estate?” suggests Miko.
Nodding his head, he replies, “I think so, give me the orb for a second.” Holding out his hand, Miko passes him the orb.
He does a thorough inspection of the wall and fails to find anything that looks like it could be a trigger to open the secret door. He then moves to the adjoining walls, searching for some trigger or other mechanism that could possibly open a secret door.
Miko looks around as well and notices a design on the floor, partially hidden by the accumulated dust. “James, look at this,” he says as he points it out to him.
James comes over and kneels down, taking a closer look. Brushing away the dust he discovers that it is a square shaped stone engraved with a design of a circle within a circle within a circle. He presses on it but nothing happens. Getting to his feet, he has Miko step on it while he goes over and pushes on the wall but nothing happens. “Maybe there are others we need to release first,” he theorizes. “Look around for any more similar designs.”
They look around and Miko discovers another one on the wall about midway up the stairs. This one is just a single circle. Excited, James says, “If there is one with three circles and another with just the one, then there may be another with two circles. And hopefully by pressing them in the correct order, it’ll enable us to open the secret door.”
“Makes sense,” agrees Miko.
They continue to look but fail to find two circles, one in the other. “I don’t think there is one here, James,” Miko says after they’ve searched for a while.
“There has to be,” he insists. “It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.” He continues to look around, getting on his hands and knees to closely examine the floor inch by inch.
“But we’ve examined all the walls and floor over and over,” Miko goes on. “There is no such design here.”
Stopping and standing up suddenly, James looks at Miko, “You’re right. We have searched all the walls and the floor, but we haven’t looked at the ceiling.” He turns his gaze up toward the ceiling and sure enough, there is the design with two circles, one inside the other. “I knew it!” he exclaims excitedly.
“Miko, go and press firmly on the single circle,” James tells him.
Miko cautiously makes his way up the stairs and presses the circle, “Now what?”
“Toss the piece of the door jamb that I broke off down to me,” he replies.
Miko looks around and finds the broken door jamb, he tosses it down to James.
Catching it, James raises it up toward the double circle in the ceiling. Holding it steady, he puts the end against the design and presses firmly. Miko by this time has made it back down the stairs.
James lowers the broken door jamb and lets it drop to the floor. He walks over to the triple circle on the floor and presses firmly on it with his foot. Suddenly, a section of the wall begins to swing inward, creating a three foot wide by five foot tall opening.
He brings the orb close and discovers the opened door has revealed a narrow passage which looks to have been carved out of the mountain.
As James stands there looking down the passage, the door slowly begins to swing closed. Finding no way to keep it open, he backs out of the way and lets the door close. Turning back to Miko, he says, “Let’s go back up and get our things from the horses.”
“You mean we’re leaving them up there?” Miko asks incredulously.
“Our way lies through there,” James says, pointing toward the secret door. “And I seriously doubt if the horses will be able to make it. Besides, can you think of a way to get them safely down that broken flight of steps?”
“No, I can’t,” Miko admits as he glances over to the steps in question.
“Okay then, so let’s go and get what we are really going to need and hide the rest, just in case we manage to come back this way again.” He walks over and carefully climbs back up the stairs, trying to place his weight evenly so as not to cause another step to break. Miko waits until he has made it to the top before following.
They walk back through the hallway, past the corpse and through the front door. Around back they find their horses and mule just where they had left them. James grabs the jackets, throwing Miko’s over to him who grabs it and puts it on. They take everything off the horses and mules, tying them loosely so that if they don’t return, they will be able to break free.
In several trips, they manage to haul all their equipment and the tack down into the little room at the bottom of the stairs, secreting it under the steps. As they are bringing in the last load, James sees the supply caravan they had passed the day before trundling past along the road on its way to the refugee camp.
He stashes the last of the equipment under the steps and says, “Unless someone comes down here, our stuff should be safe.”
Miko nods agreement, “It’s too bad we have to lose the horses.”
“I know, but we have money to buy new ones and we’re pressed for time,” he says. Taking out his traveling scribe case, he places it on the stairs and opens it.
“You’re not taking that with us are you?” Miko asks.
“No,” James responds, “I just want to take the notes I have written.” He removes the note filled parchment and rolls them into a tight roll, placing them in his backpack. Closing the case, he places it with the rest of the equipment under the steps. He turns to Miko and asks, “Did you get the money?”
Miko pats one of the bags he has over his shoulder and says, “Right here.”
“Okay, looks like we’re ready,” he says. “Go push the circle by the stairs and we’ll get going.”
Miko climbs up the stairs and pushes the circle on the wall, James again uses his makeshift stick and pushes the double circle on the ceiling, then goes over and steps on the triple circle on the floor. The secret door swings open and James takes the lead, holding the glowing orb in his hand as he passes through the doorway and into the tunnel.