Tamora Pierce owns the entire universe of this story, all the characters,
the world they live on and the very air they use to sustain life. Only the
vague plot and dialog I have attributed to TP's characters in this tale
belongs to me. I freely give my permission for Tamora Pierce to use any or
all of the plot/story/dialog/concept if she so desires in any way she
desires.
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System. Thank the Lord for spell checkers.
Chapter 26
Evvy went to her bag and pulled a double handful of light sticks out and passed them around to everyone. Entering the area beyond the hidden door they found a passageway about six foot wide and running the length of the library wall.
The Duke was searching the opposing wall and the floor, "There is usually a way of escape from these room." He said as he searched.
Sandry asked, "Why would someone build secret rooms in their home."
"Several reasons come to mind." Replied the Duke. "They could just like having secrets, they might have mortal enemies to flee, a fear of religious jihads, sneaking around with women not their wife. Like I said, many reasons exist."
"Ha," He said stepping back and crouching to examine the floor.
"Find something Your Grace?" Tris asked, coming over to him.
Standing the Duke used the light stick to search the wall above the section of floor that had attracted his attention. On the wall was a candle sconce, reaching up the Duke pulled on it, nothing happened, the Duke pushed it up and everyone heard a click and the, three foot square, flagstone popped up on one side. Taking it in the center of the raised edge the Duke lifted and the flagstone came up, swinging up to lean against the wall exposing a black hole and the top of a metal ladder.
Keth started to go down the ladder, "Hold it Keth, lets get some help." And Briar jogged out of the hidden room to the library door, unlock it and jogged to the front door, going outside he saw Rambow and Konan headed toward the barracks, Briar gave a loud whistle and when the two looked his way he waved them to come to the manor. When they reached him Briar lead the way to the open wall in the library and into the passageway behind it. Pointing to the open flagstone he said, "We don't know what is down there or where it goes."
Evvy came over tying a light stick to a length of cord. Using the cord she lowered the light down into the darkness below.
Rambow and Konan looked down the hole and then at each other, clenching their fists the shook them up and down three times. Rambow presented a flat hand and Konan had his hand clenched with the index and middle finger pointed and spread.
Rambow said, "Yours." And Konan lay flat on the floor and searched as much of the room as he could see, then he spun and started quickly down the ladder.
Rambow pulled a combat knife from a sheath at his side and started toward the ladder, Evvy handed him two light sticks with a lampshades wrapped around the light so the light could be shown in one direction and the holder would not be blinded by the glare. "For you and Konan." She told him.
He nodded and went quickly down the ladder.
Those standing around the trapdoor were quiet, trying to hear anything that would indicate what the two guards were finding.
Tris turned the Evvy and told her, "Go get some more guards, we need more security." Evvy left running.
Rambow appeared at the base of the ladder, "It's a large area, we are going to need more people to check it properly."
"They are on the way," Briar said.
"Tris, you, Daja and Sandry better change into something more suited to crawling around in a cellar if you are going to come with us."
"Think we will find the ghost?" Tris asked Briar.
"Ghost? What ghost?" Sandry wanted to know.
"Alfred tells me that the manor has had a ghost for several years, books vanish and reappear, some food disappears from locked areas."
Evvy crashed through the door into the common room and saw the Dukes guards around the room talking with friends stationed at Green Acres. "The Duke need guards in the manor at once." She shouted.
Chairs hit the floor as guards jumped up and headed for the weapon rack.
"Where in the manor?" Captain Patton asked as he followed Evvy out the door.
Running toward the manor Evvy told Patton about the hidden passageway.
"No immediate danger?"
"None apparent, but Briar wants to be sure."
"Good man."
Leading his men into the library Captain Patton saw the Duke standing by the open passageway.
Leading Captain Patton into the passageway the Duke showed him the open flagstone, "Konan and Rambow are already down there, Evvy, how many more light sticks do you have?"
"I have about twenty or twenty-five," Evvy said as she pulled a light stick and shade from the bag, using her stone magic she softened the shade and wrapped it around the glowing ball.
Fixing another she handed them to Nimogern and Chocise the two warrior scouts who nodded their thanks and dropped down through the open flagstone.
Daja, Tris and Sandry reappeared now dressed for rough work.
Ten more men with light sticks vanished down the ladder, "Enough for now," Said the Duke, "The rest of you stand by."
Briar and the Duke went down the ladder, followed by Daja, Tris and Sandry. As Sandry went down she told the guards, "Leave two men up here, the rest come down and stay at the ladder unless you here trouble." Oama and Kwaben, Sandry's bodyguards were right behind her.
With everyone carrying one of Evvy's light sticks the area below the floor was fairly well lit, the group could see a large room with stone pillars supporting a series of domed stone roofs apparently carved from solid stone. There were crates piled around in random stacks.
"It looks like it's as big as the entire manor," Briar told the Duke as he came down the ladder.
"Does it go under the interior garden?"
"No, just the U shaped main building."
Daja was examining the area, "Look, more ladders." She told the group, "It looks like there are more secret ways down."
"In order to get these boxes down her there has to be stairs somewhere." Commented Sandry.
Konan moved past one of the pillars and light flashed from a weapon. He spun like a cat with his sword flashing to the ready position and found himself facing his own reflection in a full length mirror. Rambow spoke quietly, "Don't hurt him."
Konan glared at him.
Rambow hissed and motioned for silence, as faint sounds could be heard coming from the end of the cellars southwest arm.
Checking carefully the guards moved toward the sounds with the Duke, Briar, Sandry, Tris and Daja following.
Reaching the area that had to be under the kitchen they found that it had been partitioned off with heavy curtains, creating a enclosed area.
Through the curtain could be heard a voice, "'Kel!' shouted Neal, 'Are you going to dream all day? She's waiting for me!'
Lovers, Kel thought, rolling her eyes. At least there was one headache she didn't have. She was about to tell her friend he could wait when she remembered that she'd get to see Dom while at Steadfast. It would be nice to be able to sit and chat for a while without kidnapping, flight and war to distract them.
She nudged Hoshi to a trot.'"
"That's the end of 'Lady Knight', Mog, and I haven't been able to find another book in the series."
Konan and Rambow opened the curtains and exposed the area inside. It contained chairs, tables and two beds. A small fire was warming the enclosed space and several candles lit the area.
Seated at one of the tables, with an open book in front of him was a small slender man, he had protruding hazel eyes, a lean face, long sharp nose, big ears, and light brown hair. He appeared to be in his forty's and he had a twisted spine with a hump on the right side of his back.
"Shurri Firesword" he shouted, invoking the Goddess of war, law and justice and defense, "Please, don't hurt us, we'll leave. Just let us go, we haven't done anything wrong." Fear emanated from him in waves.
They watched him cower, it was clear to all that this man had been abused all his life for being different.
Briar stepped toward the man and suddenly something ran to a place between the man and the other people in the room, it was a wolf with dark red fur and grey eyes, with teeth bared and growling a low vicious growl the wolf advanced toward Briar.
Konan and Rambow drew their swords and advanced.
The small man lunged from the table and seized the wolf around the neck, "Don't, Mog, they will kill you." Pulling the wolf back with both hands he kept saying "Stop, don't."
Briar held out his arms and stopped the advance of Konan and Rambow.
"To the eyes of Tris, Briar, Sandry and Daja, the wolf glittered with the silver light of magic."
The slender man was speaking quietly in the ear of the wolf, "You will have to change Mog, the will not trust a wild animal. If you show them they will not hurt you."
The wolf stopped growling and looked at the small man. Then the glitter of magic flowed over and brightly lit the animal and it brightened to the point where everyone could only see a form inside the light, then the form started to change, shifting to a different shape. Then the light faded and a nude young man with red hair and grey eyes, crouched next to the hunchback, glaring at the people facing them.
"Goddess of the moon," Said Tris, "A shape shifter."
"I thought they were a myth." Said Sandry.
"This one isn't." Daja commented.
"Tris, look at him." Briar told her.
"I see him."
"Tris, he has your red hair, nose, grey eyes and your glare."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Appendix for Chapter 26
A List of the Gods of Living Circle from the Novels.
Tuhengri Stormlord - God of storms, winds and weather.
Asaia - Bird-Winged goddess of birds, intellect, achievement and striving.
Mila of the Grain - Goddess of cultivated lands and crops, spinners and weavers.
Green Man - God of vigorous, chaotic and sometimes, destructive growth.
Shurri Firesword - Goddess of war, law and justice, defence and martial arts.
Hakkoi the Smith - God of smiths, volcanoes and earthquakes.
Runog of the Deep - God of the oceans, rivers, and streams.
Yanna Healtouch - Goddess of healing and love.
My addition
Goddess of the Moon. - Goddess of magic, tides, earthquakes, lighting, wind and weather
Tris can get strength from the tides, earthquakes and lighting.
Moons cause tides,
Moons have a great influence on magic or so it is rumored.
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System. Thank the Lord for spell checkers.
Chapter 26
Evvy went to her bag and pulled a double handful of light sticks out and passed them around to everyone. Entering the area beyond the hidden door they found a passageway about six foot wide and running the length of the library wall.
The Duke was searching the opposing wall and the floor, "There is usually a way of escape from these room." He said as he searched.
Sandry asked, "Why would someone build secret rooms in their home."
"Several reasons come to mind." Replied the Duke. "They could just like having secrets, they might have mortal enemies to flee, a fear of religious jihads, sneaking around with women not their wife. Like I said, many reasons exist."
"Ha," He said stepping back and crouching to examine the floor.
"Find something Your Grace?" Tris asked, coming over to him.
Standing the Duke used the light stick to search the wall above the section of floor that had attracted his attention. On the wall was a candle sconce, reaching up the Duke pulled on it, nothing happened, the Duke pushed it up and everyone heard a click and the, three foot square, flagstone popped up on one side. Taking it in the center of the raised edge the Duke lifted and the flagstone came up, swinging up to lean against the wall exposing a black hole and the top of a metal ladder.
Keth started to go down the ladder, "Hold it Keth, lets get some help." And Briar jogged out of the hidden room to the library door, unlock it and jogged to the front door, going outside he saw Rambow and Konan headed toward the barracks, Briar gave a loud whistle and when the two looked his way he waved them to come to the manor. When they reached him Briar lead the way to the open wall in the library and into the passageway behind it. Pointing to the open flagstone he said, "We don't know what is down there or where it goes."
Evvy came over tying a light stick to a length of cord. Using the cord she lowered the light down into the darkness below.
Rambow and Konan looked down the hole and then at each other, clenching their fists the shook them up and down three times. Rambow presented a flat hand and Konan had his hand clenched with the index and middle finger pointed and spread.
Rambow said, "Yours." And Konan lay flat on the floor and searched as much of the room as he could see, then he spun and started quickly down the ladder.
Rambow pulled a combat knife from a sheath at his side and started toward the ladder, Evvy handed him two light sticks with a lampshades wrapped around the light so the light could be shown in one direction and the holder would not be blinded by the glare. "For you and Konan." She told him.
He nodded and went quickly down the ladder.
Those standing around the trapdoor were quiet, trying to hear anything that would indicate what the two guards were finding.
Tris turned the Evvy and told her, "Go get some more guards, we need more security." Evvy left running.
Rambow appeared at the base of the ladder, "It's a large area, we are going to need more people to check it properly."
"They are on the way," Briar said.
"Tris, you, Daja and Sandry better change into something more suited to crawling around in a cellar if you are going to come with us."
"Think we will find the ghost?" Tris asked Briar.
"Ghost? What ghost?" Sandry wanted to know.
"Alfred tells me that the manor has had a ghost for several years, books vanish and reappear, some food disappears from locked areas."
Evvy crashed through the door into the common room and saw the Dukes guards around the room talking with friends stationed at Green Acres. "The Duke need guards in the manor at once." She shouted.
Chairs hit the floor as guards jumped up and headed for the weapon rack.
"Where in the manor?" Captain Patton asked as he followed Evvy out the door.
Running toward the manor Evvy told Patton about the hidden passageway.
"No immediate danger?"
"None apparent, but Briar wants to be sure."
"Good man."
Leading his men into the library Captain Patton saw the Duke standing by the open passageway.
Leading Captain Patton into the passageway the Duke showed him the open flagstone, "Konan and Rambow are already down there, Evvy, how many more light sticks do you have?"
"I have about twenty or twenty-five," Evvy said as she pulled a light stick and shade from the bag, using her stone magic she softened the shade and wrapped it around the glowing ball.
Fixing another she handed them to Nimogern and Chocise the two warrior scouts who nodded their thanks and dropped down through the open flagstone.
Daja, Tris and Sandry reappeared now dressed for rough work.
Ten more men with light sticks vanished down the ladder, "Enough for now," Said the Duke, "The rest of you stand by."
Briar and the Duke went down the ladder, followed by Daja, Tris and Sandry. As Sandry went down she told the guards, "Leave two men up here, the rest come down and stay at the ladder unless you here trouble." Oama and Kwaben, Sandry's bodyguards were right behind her.
With everyone carrying one of Evvy's light sticks the area below the floor was fairly well lit, the group could see a large room with stone pillars supporting a series of domed stone roofs apparently carved from solid stone. There were crates piled around in random stacks.
"It looks like it's as big as the entire manor," Briar told the Duke as he came down the ladder.
"Does it go under the interior garden?"
"No, just the U shaped main building."
Daja was examining the area, "Look, more ladders." She told the group, "It looks like there are more secret ways down."
"In order to get these boxes down her there has to be stairs somewhere." Commented Sandry.
Konan moved past one of the pillars and light flashed from a weapon. He spun like a cat with his sword flashing to the ready position and found himself facing his own reflection in a full length mirror. Rambow spoke quietly, "Don't hurt him."
Konan glared at him.
Rambow hissed and motioned for silence, as faint sounds could be heard coming from the end of the cellars southwest arm.
Checking carefully the guards moved toward the sounds with the Duke, Briar, Sandry, Tris and Daja following.
Reaching the area that had to be under the kitchen they found that it had been partitioned off with heavy curtains, creating a enclosed area.
Through the curtain could be heard a voice, "'Kel!' shouted Neal, 'Are you going to dream all day? She's waiting for me!'
Lovers, Kel thought, rolling her eyes. At least there was one headache she didn't have. She was about to tell her friend he could wait when she remembered that she'd get to see Dom while at Steadfast. It would be nice to be able to sit and chat for a while without kidnapping, flight and war to distract them.
She nudged Hoshi to a trot.'"
"That's the end of 'Lady Knight', Mog, and I haven't been able to find another book in the series."
Konan and Rambow opened the curtains and exposed the area inside. It contained chairs, tables and two beds. A small fire was warming the enclosed space and several candles lit the area.
Seated at one of the tables, with an open book in front of him was a small slender man, he had protruding hazel eyes, a lean face, long sharp nose, big ears, and light brown hair. He appeared to be in his forty's and he had a twisted spine with a hump on the right side of his back.
"Shurri Firesword" he shouted, invoking the Goddess of war, law and justice and defense, "Please, don't hurt us, we'll leave. Just let us go, we haven't done anything wrong." Fear emanated from him in waves.
They watched him cower, it was clear to all that this man had been abused all his life for being different.
Briar stepped toward the man and suddenly something ran to a place between the man and the other people in the room, it was a wolf with dark red fur and grey eyes, with teeth bared and growling a low vicious growl the wolf advanced toward Briar.
Konan and Rambow drew their swords and advanced.
The small man lunged from the table and seized the wolf around the neck, "Don't, Mog, they will kill you." Pulling the wolf back with both hands he kept saying "Stop, don't."
Briar held out his arms and stopped the advance of Konan and Rambow.
"To the eyes of Tris, Briar, Sandry and Daja, the wolf glittered with the silver light of magic."
The slender man was speaking quietly in the ear of the wolf, "You will have to change Mog, the will not trust a wild animal. If you show them they will not hurt you."
The wolf stopped growling and looked at the small man. Then the glitter of magic flowed over and brightly lit the animal and it brightened to the point where everyone could only see a form inside the light, then the form started to change, shifting to a different shape. Then the light faded and a nude young man with red hair and grey eyes, crouched next to the hunchback, glaring at the people facing them.
"Goddess of the moon," Said Tris, "A shape shifter."
"I thought they were a myth." Said Sandry.
"This one isn't." Daja commented.
"Tris, look at him." Briar told her.
"I see him."
"Tris, he has your red hair, nose, grey eyes and your glare."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Appendix for Chapter 26
A List of the Gods of Living Circle from the Novels.
Tuhengri Stormlord - God of storms, winds and weather.
Asaia - Bird-Winged goddess of birds, intellect, achievement and striving.
Mila of the Grain - Goddess of cultivated lands and crops, spinners and weavers.
Green Man - God of vigorous, chaotic and sometimes, destructive growth.
Shurri Firesword - Goddess of war, law and justice, defence and martial arts.
Hakkoi the Smith - God of smiths, volcanoes and earthquakes.
Runog of the Deep - God of the oceans, rivers, and streams.
Yanna Healtouch - Goddess of healing and love.
My addition
Goddess of the Moon. - Goddess of magic, tides, earthquakes, lighting, wind and weather
Tris can get strength from the tides, earthquakes and lighting.
Moons cause tides,
Moons have a great influence on magic or so it is rumored.