I had this chapter mostly done so I wanted to finish and post it before I disappear for a while…

Thanks to Owlkin, for editing and generally chatting. And to everyone reviewed, including "A", whoever you are.

The story so far (continued from Part 1) : A badly injured Karigan was found by the caretakers in the Queen's tomb, and Agemon decided she must stay down there for good this time. At the D'Yer wall, Alton and Estral have decided to lead a small party into the forest to recover her voice. Meanwhile in the castle, King Zachary is using his political wiles to force Estora into agreeing to annul the marriage, in the hope that Karigan will be found some day.

Now to see what happens for Karigan… can she escape? Or will her plans be foiled…

Chapter 7

Karigan limped forward the last few steps to the corner, vainly trying to mute the sound of her footsteps on the cool stone. In the corridor around to her right she could see the party gathered, dimly lit by the flickering lanterns they carried. Her sabre slapped against her thigh from the makeshift belt. Miraculously her Blackveil uniform had been washed and mended as far as possible, given its tattered state, rather than being disposed of, and Maddon had also been able to give her back her broach, which was now pinned firmly in place, and her moonstone was securely in her pocket.

Turning back to the smaller passageway they had come down, she could see Iris' grey-green eyes and Maddon's large brown gaze glimmering in the darkness behind her. Impulsively she reached out and put her arm around Iris' shoulders, hugging the slim girl to her side, and then released her to grasp Maddon's hand. The boy smiled bashfully, looking all at once sad and hopeful, and she couldn't help but smile back. She gave his hand a final squeeze, to reassure him that she remembered her end of the bargain, then gave them both a gentle push back in the direction of their village and a small wave as they set off.

She had already thanked them for their assistance, and had told them firmly to go straight back home, hoping they wouldn't get into any trouble for helping her. There would undoubtedly be a fuss once it was discovered she was gone, but with Agemon and Brandin both going on this expedition it should be a while before that happened, and with any luck no-one would link the whereabouts of the two children to her escape.

She sighed, and forced herself to turn forward again and focus her thoughts. She couldn't afford to make a mistake—this could be her only chance to escape being stuck underground permanently.

The men were still standing in a group, a stone's throw down the corridor, talking quietly. She counted seven of them: Brandin and Agemon; two short, wiry looking fellows who were probably brothers; a wrinkled, stooped man who looked even older than Agemon; a young man with the same pinched face and pale eyes; and lastly a solidly built man whose face was hidden under a large hood.

This corridor was wider, big enough for all seven men to stand in a loose circle. It was smooth and the ceiling high, but had no ornate sconces set in the walls or any sign of the ante-chambers that were located along the important corridors like the Avenue of Heroes. Karigan gathered it was one of the main caretakers' routes, which as far as she could remember ran parallel to each of the Avenues, allowing the caretakers to move coffins and tomb stones without disturbing the dead.

She shivered slightly, but not from cold. If she could follow the caretakers, they should lead her into one of the areas where the Weapons patrolled. But if she lost sight of the party for some reason… the tunnels through the tombs were long and dark with many branching turns; she would easily be lost for long enough to starve to death. That would be a cruel irony indeed—to have been rescued from the arms of Westrion, only to end up with him again in the attempt to escape from her rescuers.

The men finally finished talking and a few gathered large sacks onto their back; Brandin and one other still held lanterns aloft. Agemon moved to take the lead, and the rest followed quietly. Karigan waited for the lights to move a little further ahead, and then followed cautiously.

Gods, she had not fully felt the pain before, what with following Iris and Maddon, and her attention focused on leaving the village unseen. But now every step she took caused her to grit her teeth. The throbbing pain in her left thigh was worsening, and seemed to be echoed by the pain in her right wrist. Somehow she had not realised that her right ankle seemed to be injured, probably sprained, as well as every muscle screaming in her legs, and several shallow cuts on her arms had started to open up again in the effort to get this far. She expelled a large breath as silently as she could and instantly regretted it; from the feel of the stabbing pain in her abdomen she also had some broken ribs. She felt she was perilously weak as well, although whether from blood loss or simply her body trying to recover, she didn't know. It was all she could do to force herself to continue walking, a strange sense of déjà vu coming over her, although she was walking down dark tunnels now instead of through a dark forest.

She had decided not to use her broach for now—the darkness should be enough to hide her, and she couldn't afford to waste precious energy if she didn't need to.

The men turned another corner, and another, quickening their pace. Time itself seemed to stretch and warp as Karigan shuffled quietly after them. They continued down this new corridor for a long time, and then Karigan lost count as they began to turn off down various corridors left, then right, right again, then the path forked and they went left. Twice she nearly lost them; but managed to catch sight of the bobbing lanterns just in time. Each corridor was the same size, their footfalls marking a steady muffled beat on the dirt floor, and no markings to distinguish one stretch of wall from another.

Finally they reached a narrower passageway that seemed to stretch on and on forever, Karigan's eyes threatening to drift closed as the undulating movement of the lights swayed hypnotically before her. Her legs had started to turn numb, for which she was grateful but some small corner of her mind registered that this was not at all a good sign. Her breathing was steady; luckily the rapid pace the Eletians had set through the forest had kept her rather fit, but her ribs were now burning with a dull ache and every now and again a tingling sensation shot down one arm.

Suddenly they turned again, and she had to stop so suddenly she nearly fell backwards, for the party had stopped just around the corner, and the corridor they now entered was brightly lit with torches. She backed away further around the corner.

This appeared to be an intersection of three different tunnels, and so the end of the wall formed a sharp angle between herself and the men; with her back to the wall they were now directly behind her, on the other side of the wall. She bit down hard on one hand to muffle her cry as she sank down to the floor, exhausted. She was momentarily nonplussed as to which part of her hurt the most; she settled for placing her good hand on her thigh, where blood was seeping though the bandages.

The men appeared to be arguing. She realised as she listened to them that she had followed them without really worrying about what their goal was, only caring that they were travelling far away from the caretaker's village. Now as they talked, she began to realise it was something more significant that she could have possibly imagined.

"Agemon, if young Gideon had not returned to collect the chisels he left behind, and got lost coming back, we may never have found it." This was followed by a few mutters of agreement from the group. "That may be true," replied the reedy voice of the head Caretaker, "but we cannot risk the wrath of the Gods!" Again more mutters. "But respectfully," the first voice persisted, "what are our promises to Westrion if we do not protect our kingdom?" There was silence for a few moments. Karigan strained to hear the next voice. "We cannot risk their wrath! We have sworn to watch and protect the dead, not leave our duties to seek out some fabled city! The Kmaernian Village of Stone is but a myth, a story to lure young 'uns into the tunnels to their death!"

The youthful voice of the prentice piped up eagerly. "But, what if it's true? Maybe Westrion led Gideon to the end of that tunnel, like the end of the earth, and beyond it that great chamber, containing a whole stone village… what if it really does hold the secrets to their magic stone work? Wouldn't that help us to build our village too?" "Fool of a boy", spat Agemon. "The meddlers up above will want their magic secrets to stop the Black One, or whoever next threatens their plans. They will come tramping through the tombs and doom will come upon us all."

Karigan couldn't believe her ears. They had found something that could possibly hold the key to saving Sacoridia from the return of Mornhavon, surely it was their duty to tell the King, to protect him in life as well as in death? She grit her teeth; these men were unbelievable, couldn't they see past their ridiculous notions to what was obviously the right thing to do? She felt exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt before; exhausted not just in body but in spirit. She had risked her life so many times, seen friends die, honoured those who died before her time, all in the pursuit of duty. She felt like the safety of the kingdom was always just out of reach, dangling on a string in front of her like a tempting piece of chocolate before being whisked cruelly away. So close. But so far. She could not reveal herself, or Agemon would surely haul her off back to his village and lock her up permanently.

Rousing herself from her thoughts, she realised the men had stopped talking and moved off down the passageway, presumably to have a look at this Village. She managed to slowly get to her feet, wiggling her toes as her muscles cramped painfully. Peeping around the corner, she could see the lantern-lights receding into the distance. She watched for a few more moments, to be sure they would not turn around, and then carefully emerged into that passageway and shuffled down it in the opposite direction.

As the lights faded behind her Karigan wondered, certainly not for the first time in her life, if she would make it through the next few hours. But the determination drove her—she had to get news of this discovery to the king. Soon it was completely dark. She walked a little further in the darkness, trailing her left hand along the wall to keep herself from bumping into it. She felt tears prick in her eyes, wondering if this was what it was like for Yates, eyes straining uselessly for light, movements strangely disoriented. Eventually she reached another intersection and felt safe enough to take the moonstone out of her pocket, revelling in its cool, soothing glow.

She was standing at a t-junction, and now needed to choose a path either to the left or right. Raising the moonstone she realised this was one of the large Avenues, with walls covered with painted figures and motifs. That meant she must be close to the outer part of the tombs where the tomb weapons were stationed. Her heart quickened, and she chose to turn left.

After some time limping in this direction, she began to think she may have turned the wrong way, when the ground began to slope ever slightly upwards. For a few moments she thought perhaps she had fallen asleep and was dreaming that the ground tilted to tip her over, but no, the pain in her limbs proved she was awake, and she staggered on with a renewed sense of hope. Some minutes later, she reached a part where the Avenue widened, and a wider area appeared up ahead, with a bench and a small table, where one weapon would be stationed while the others patrolled the passages nearby.

But, just like in so many of her dreams, something was wrong. Badly wrong.

The weapons were gone.

She felt a small sob escape from somewhere inside her, as she just managed to make it to the bench. She collapsed onto the cold wooden surface and slid into unconsciousness.

Karigan remained unconscious in the neverending darkness, as the shadows outside lengthened. A stray beetle crawled over her boot, bemused at this new thing that had appeared in this domain, and then trundled away into the gloom.

Up above in the world of the living, the King returned to his quarters exhausted, after a mostly successful day. His thoughts strayed to Karigan briefly, never imagining she was so close, and in danger once more.

The Black Shields' celebration was underway, an unsurprisingly sober yet somehow cheerful affair. It would be several hours yet before the final reverences were finished, and the tomb weapons attending were not rostered on until the next day, given the late hour. Eventually they would make their way back to their quarters for a well earned rest before their next duty.

Westrion was amused to see several humans re-entering the domain of the Black One, straying into danger as it seemed they were wont to do. So often these mortals threw away their lives, seemingly so careless, ending up carried into the afterlife by him. Although these two were interesting, there was a touch of magic about them and a stronger, twisted magic nearby, and he watched curiously to see what would come of it. Preoccupied, he did not notice his avatar once more in danger, slipping into dreamless oblivion, her body growing colder as the last of her strength faded.

The passageway remained dark and silent for a long time that passed like an instant in that timeless place.

A white cat appeared at the far end of the passage, nearer to the entrance, turned its lamp-like eyes on the still figure, and prowled away again.

Fastion walked along beside Brienne as they left the celebration, talking quietly. Both were headed to their rooms for some well-earned rest; Fastion felt his face relax slightly from its usual granite expression. The Samhain Day celebrations had been very successful, and several new Black Shield initiates had been sworn in. More comrades-at-arms, more Brothers, and that made him glad. But for all he carried out his duties with utmost seriousness, he missed his little sister, who made him laugh at himself for the first time. Gods, I miss Karigan, he thought. "Me too," replied Brienne, and he realised he must have spoken out loud. They continued in thoughtful silence as they neared the entrance to the castle, but had to stop suddenly as a white cat appeared in front of them, blocking their path. Unusually for a cat, it regarded them directly for a few moments, making Fastion feel distinctly unsettled. Just as suddenly it appeared to lose interest, raising one paw to lick it thoroughly before walking jauntily in the direction of the tombs.

Fastion and Brienne looked at each other for a moment, and then set off after the strange feline. It was probably just a spoiled castle cat, and Fastion couldn't exactly explain why they were following it, but anything strange should be checked, he thought to himself. The cat picked up speed as it reached the doorway to the tombs, and they had to speed up to keep up, nodding to the weapon on duty as they hurried past.

The cat reached the entrance to the Avenue of the Royals, where the more distant relatives of the Kings and Queens were laid to rest. It sniffed at the air in the corridor, gave a small yawn, and wandered away down an adjoining corridor. Fastion's heartbeat quickened and as one the two weapons crept cautiously down the corridor, mindful of the Second Empire forces and other intruders that they had intercepted down here in the not-too-distant past.

Suddenly Brienne stopped abruptly next to him, and he saw what she was looking at. A small figure slumped against the wall up ahead. He thought it looked like Karigan—but no, must be just wishful thinking, borne of him thinking about her just minutes ago. Both weapons moved swiftly towards the figure, instinctively still checking for danger as they approached. But Westrion's Wings—it was Karigan sitting there, apparently unconscious, dusty and bleeding. He shook his head. How did she manage to do it? Thank goodness they had found her in time, thanks to that mysterious cat... Brienne placed one hand against her shoulder and carefully pushed her upright. Karigan moaned and mumbled something about "the village… tell the king… the wall… magic."

"Shhh", soothed Brienne. She looked to Fastion and he nodded, relieved a woman was there with him. They always knew what to say. "Karigan, we found you, it's ok. You can tell us later, there is time. Time to rest, time to heal, time to tell us everything, time to see the king."

At the mention of Zachary, Fastion's mouth quirked into a smile, breathing a sigh of relief. King Zachary would be very glad his Kari had returned to him.

THE END

I'm sorry if this last part seemed rushed—I had planned to make it several chapters longer but as I'm putting my writing on hold for the moment, and I had most of it already written, I wanted to rescue Karigan before I went away ;-)

Thanks to everyone for your support and comments along the way.

I hope that May 2014 comes quickly for all of us, and that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year in the mean time!