Part 4 Chapter 5

CHAPTER 28

 

 

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orcale is sitting in the same spot he was sitting when Olraym and Trugaime met him and made their deal. He has waited long enough, so he has sent someone to find out what has happened. That person has been gone for a half hour and Morcale is starting to lose patience.

  ‘How long does it take to find just two people?’

  Suddenly there is a knock on the door. His man servant enters and tells Morcale the man he sent has returned. The man servant ushers the man in the room then leaves.

  “What have you found out?”

  “That Cultist lady and the guy with her have left Burden.”

  Morcale suddenly stands angry. His nostrils flare and his eyes sharpen. The man in front of him backs away.

  “What happened?”

  “They… they left some time after they came here.”

  Morcale takes an angry step towards him and the man backs away again with his arms raised defensively.

  “But I hear he was attacked,” says the man quickly which makes Morcale stop, “that is why they left.”

  “Attacked by whom? Tell me everything.”

  The man gives Morcale a pleading gesture to sit back down. Morcale stares at him a moment longer before backing to his chair and sitting. Morcale then gives the man a gesture to talk.

  “From what I can tell they went back to their room in The Weeping Child. I don’t know exactly when but my people say they were attacked in their room, they were able to get out and run to the stables in the back.”

  “Who attacked them?”

  The man shakes his head and shrugs, “I have no idea who exactly, just some old guy. But they did say he might have been a Cultist.”

  Morcale nods and smiles, then makes a gesture, “continue.”

  “Well this Cultist got himself thrown out the window. Then all three ended in the stables. No one knows exactly what happened, but it ended with them tow leaving Burden and the Cultist dead.”

  “What’s the Cultist’s name?”

  “They said it was something like …Hampke? Harke maybe something like that.”

  Morcale’s smile widens, and then turns into a laugh at a punch line at some joke that only Morcale only knows. The man looks confused but stands still and waits for it to subside.

  It soon does and the room becomes silent. The man stays silent for some time, wondering if the laughter might return if he tries to talk. When he thinks Morcale is not going to laugh again he starts talking again.

  “Is there something I should know?”

  Morcale shakes his head with his smile still on his face.

  “It doesn’t matter that they’ve gone. Let them go. I still got what I want from them.”

  The man still doesn’t truly understand but decides not to tell Morcale this.

  Morcale soon sends the man out of the room, once done Morcale sits silently with a smile and stares ahead as if thinking of what he can do next.

 

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When finding the village in the middle of the night, just as Trugaime said they would, Olraym feels they might be wrong. It is just a small village: basic homes, small gardens, nice firelight to lead them through. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong in the village.

  He knows Divinwood is another day’s walk from here. So that might account for this empty feeling.

  But after having a better look his mind changes, there are things wrong. They are small things that go unseen if no one looks for them. But Olraym looks for them, he notices them. Being this close to Divinwood cannot explain all this.

  “They live here? You live here?”

  “Yes, I lived here.”

  “…Sorry I meant nothing by it.”

  Trugaime shrugs; she looks unoffended by his remark.

  The silence enveloping them makes Olraym uncomfortable and the fact that he cannot see anyone inside the houses makes him worse.

  They arrive at the edge of the fire light and they slow down until their eyes are used to the dark. Soon they stop at what looks like a large wooden barn. The door in the centre looks new or just well cleaned; it is hard for Olraym to tell. Trugaime opens the door, it creaks as she does, and they both enter. Inside dancing light from two torches at either side of the barn illuminate all. It is so bright Olraym is surprised he didn’t see it outside. The ground is covered in hay and there are stall all along the walls for what Olraym guesses to be horses, but there are no horses, no animals of any kind. And no evidence animals have been in these stalls for some time. The wooden support beams seem to go on forever, ending high above them on a flat ceiling that seems to be low enough for Olraym to think there is some attic up there. The sight of a hatch on the ceiling confirms it. There is a ladder at the left of the barn leading up to a walkway halfway between the floor and the ceiling. A second ladder goes from the walkway to the hatch on the ceiling.

  Trugaime walks forward to the centre of the barn and looks down. Olraym follows her gaze; under the layer of hay is a trapdoor. It looks similar to the hatch on the ceiling except wider. Trugaime bends down and takes hold of the door and after the count to three she pulls it up and it opens.

  Inside the light spills into the hole and shows them a set of wooden stairs that leads down further into the darkness.

  “What’s down there?”

  They hear mumbling voices, they are getting closer.

  “We’ll find out soon.”

  Three figures appear at the bottom of the stairs, they each have something sharp in their hands. One has a short sword. The other has a two-sided axe clutched in both hands, and the third has two small daggers though Olraym thinks he has more. They are all dressed the same as Trugaime though with minor personal touches that make each different. Their hoods are up so Olraym cannot see their faces, but from their figure he guesses one is a woman while the other two are men.

  When they reach the stairs they look up to Olraym and Trugaime. They tense up and quickly climb the stairs, shouting orders to each other and to those still in the dark behind them. They climb watching as Olraym and Trugaime back up. Trugaime has her hand discreetly moving to her poison darts hoping they won’t notice, but Olraym has his hands at his sides. The three fan out until they are at least four feet from each other with the one in the middle just ahead of the trapdoor.

  “Trugaime, is that you?”

  The Cultist at the far right relaxes slightly as she recognises Trugaime. For a second she looks at her fellow Cultists and finds them still tense staring at the two intruders. She then tenses again like the other two.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “We are here for something important.”

  “Who’s we?” shouts the Cultist in the centre. He has a gruff voice.

  Trugaime gestures to Olraym and all three look at him as if they have just noticed him.

  “You brought an outsider here?!”

  “Yes I did!” there is a sharp edge to Trugaime’s voice, as if daring the other three Cultists to go after her.

  They stay still, none of them taking the bait.

  Olraym raises his arms though not in a defensive posture, more like one just to gain attention. It works and they all turn to face him, their weapons raised slightly and their legs bent.

  “I’m not here to harm anyone-”

  “You think you could harm us?” says the man to the far left in a tone of pseudo fear.

  All three Cultists start laughing, but don’t lower their weapons or straighten. They still are thinking of attacking.

  “I just want to talk to your Elders.”

  Their laughter dies suddenly. They all shuffle about uncomfortably and glance at each other. One by one they lower their hoods.

  The woman looks the same age as Trugaime, so Olraym thinks them friends. She has short black hair and delicate features that betray her deadly intentions. The man in the middle looks to be the oldest, with plenty of wrinkles and only a few old scars. And the man on the other side looks like a mix between the two in terms of age, though his eyes convey plenty of horrors.

  “No one goes to see them unless they want to be seen,” says the woman.

  From what little he knows of the Starlight Cult and what Trugaime has told him Olraym believes this to be false, but thinks better than to state that outright, Trugaime might get into more trouble than she is. Instead he tells them they are lying in a way that suggests he doesn’t truly know.

  “Believe me or not I’m telling the truth,” says the female Cultist, she then glares at Trugaime.

  “Who’s up there?” whispers a voice from below. The three Cultists take a quick glance at the trap door then turn back to Olraym and Trugaime.

  “Some outsider…he came with Trugaime.”

  There is silence in the barn. The Cultists look nervous. The two at either side of the barn slowly close in until they are side by side, almost touching, just ahead of the trap door. Olraym and Trugaime watch this. She now has her hands on her poison darts ready for use.

  A man suddenly comes up from the trap door, followed by three more. They are dressed in similar clothes as the others, but it is more elegant, simpler. They are more like robes than hooded jackets. Their faces are visible, all four are old men. They have heavy beards, wrinkled faces and a slightly hunched posture. But despite this they all look fit enough to fight and probably win.

  The four stand between Olraym and Trugaime and the three Cultists in a tight circle. The one in the back is taller than the others so all could see Olraym and Trugaime easily. Their hands are clasped in front of them, carelessly as if they feel no danger around them.

  “What is the meaning of this Trugaime?” says the one in front.

  Trugaime is silent, staring at them blankly.

  “Speak child!” he shouts.

  Trugaime stays silent, she doesn’t look scared of them but Olraym can feel there is definitely something she feels for them. Olraym takes a step forward getting their attention.

  “You are a named star shine giver” says the Elder in front as his head turns slightly to him, “You are the one that caused Trugaime’s failure.” Now the other three do the same.

  Olraym nods, “yes I am.”

  He can tell his admission is making both the Elders and the three Cultists prepare to strike at any time. Trugaime shows them she has her darts in hand, shows them what will happen if they attack. The Elders make no move but the Cultists tighten their grips though they back away as well.

  “Since dear Trugaime is not trying to kill you I can see she is not here to beg forgiveness. So the question remains, why are you here?”

  “We are here to talk.”

  The Elder in front turns around and the four start mumbling to each other, discussing what to do. The Cultists wait, their eyes staying on Trugaime since she seems to be the bigger threat, but once or twice they look at Olraym.

  The mumbling stops and the Elder in front turns back to Olraym.

  “Why should we not kill you both now?”

  “Because we found you,” says Olraym. The Elders are silent and wait for him to continue, “If we found you then whoever comes looking for me will find you as well, and they might come with more than you can handle.”

  The four Elders mumble with each other some more then stop again and then all four gestures to the trap door. Olraym hesitates for a long second then moves to it, Trugaime stays close behind with her eyes on the Cultists.

  One by one all nine of them walk down the steps through the trap door. First Olraym enters then Trugaime, then the three Cultists and finally the four Elders. The steps lead to a long dark tunnel: narrow and dark with walls and ceiling made from the dirt. There are a few lit torches attached to the walls but they are so far between there is very little light. With the length of the tunnel the lights look closer the further they go, making the tunnel look narrower and narrower. Though Olraym guesses this isn’t true.

  The light from the barn disappears as the last Cultist to walk down the steps closes the trap door. Now the darkness surrounds them, traps them. Olraym can smell Trugaime, making him smile, and he can smell the others, making him cringe. All he can hear is his own heart beating and the slow even breaths from those around him.

  All nine walk along now in single file. While everyone else is walking through it relaxed Olraym has trouble and hits his sides against the dirt walls. Progress is slow due to Olraym limping and whenever he is about to fall Trugaime steadies him from behind. The underground path slowly bends. At times the tunnel splits along making several more tunnels with torches along it every so often. There are no signs that one tunnel leads to somewhere different than any other, Olraym thinks the Cultists must know from experience. The nine of them continue along until Olraym sees another lit torch that shows the entrance to a room.

  The room is wide so all spread out when they enter. The room is empty except that there is a small round table and two chairs at one end. The female Cultist grabs the table and places it in the room’s centre, and then she does the same to the two chairs. The chairs face each other from opposite sides of the table.

  One of the Elders sits on one of the chairs and gestures Olraym to sit on the other. He hesitates then sits down. The other three Elders and the three Cultists stand behind the Elder and Trugaime stands behind Olraym. The Elder on the chair leans forward and places his hands together on the table.

  “What should we talk about?” asks the Elder. There is sarcasm in his question, with no attempt to conceal it.

  Olraym take a breath to relax and stares directly at the Elder in front of him.

  “We can talk about the passing of time, about days gone by. Or perhaps our families, we can talk about being surrounded by those we love. Maybe we can talk about what it’s like being one of you, and one of me.”

  The Elder smiles and chuckles, by the others behind him glare at Olraym. Trugaime glares back but inside she is laughing. She has never met any who spoke to an Elder this way.

  “Though what I really want to talk about is you and this…Cult,” he gestures to all the Cultists and Elders, “leaving us alone.”

 

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Thorne hears the violent voices turn soft, he still cannot hear exactly what is being said. He listens as they talk and can swear that after a while more people can be heard talking.

  When he hears the creak of wood again and silence inside he slowly opens the door. Inside his eyes immediately go to the trap door in the centre of the room. He creeps over to it and listens again for any noise from underneath. He hears Olraym, the Cult woman and whoever else is with them walk through what Thorne guesses is some sort of tunnel.

  He looks around and finds the ladders going up to the ceiling. He shakes his head, he knows going up there won’t help and thinks no one else is up there either. He looks around for any other trap doors that will give him another way down. The only doors are the one going down, the one at the ceiling going up and the one he just entered through.

  He considers going down with him. Sure Cultists are down there as well, but there is the chance the Olraym and the woman might get out some different way and he might miss them. He stays still for a moment longer, now unable to hear anything below him, and then opens the trapdoor. He waits a moment then walks down the steps into the dark tunnel.

  He reaches out to take hold of a lit torch, but stops himself as he realises a moving torch would attract attention. He walks passed the torch and reaches the next one and stops, shortly ahead of the torch is a split in the tunnel’s path: one path goes ahead and the other turns a sharp left. He looks from one path to the other, not sure which one Olraym went.

  He listens out for any sign: a faint whisper, a footprint visible in the light from the torch’s fire. But there is none.

  He decides the best thing is to stay on one path and check it, and then move to others until he finds Olraym. He follows the bend and hears voices. Low and conversational, and one most certainly belongs to Olraym. He sees an entrance to a room, inside is Olraym and the woman as well is seven other Cultists. They are all around a round table talking calmly to each other.

  He flattens himself against the wall, thinking no one will see him and he will have the element of surprise if anyone gets close.