Chapter 97
We lost no time in making our way to the library, but found it empty and silent, the gloom of evening settling over the rows of dusty volumes stacked on the shelves. Idhrethil seemed concerned that Elien was not there to meet us, but we settled down to wait for her, holding each other close and speaking quietly of all that had befallen us since we were last together. The gloom gradually gave way to darkness, but we lit no light, and as we waited we became aware of new sounds in the distance, and at one point we heard footsteps running past outside the door. Idhrethil tensed in my arms at this, for we both knew what this must mean, and I reached down and loosened my new blade in its scabbard. "I fear the gates have been breached my love" I told her softly. "We may not have much time. Do you know what Elien purposed? I fear that if she does not come soon, then we must seek our own road without her". She nodded. "I regret that I do not, and that her choosing to meet here in the oldest part of the citadel, far from the gate, means our road will be long and perilous. But I may face whatever must come, for good or ill, if I am at your side my love". With that she smiled and took my face between her hands and we gently kissed.
A moment later we heard a commotion outside the window, in the shadows of the enclosed garden below, and I stepped over to the window just in time to see a small group of men pursue and overcome another who ran slowly as if at the end of his strength, perhaps old or halt. He fell and they were quickly on to him, showing no mercy, for there was a whimper and then the sound of a blade striking home. One of the pursuers laughed and cursed and then they quickly left the scene through the further archway, the path by which I had entered the place so many years before with Angon. "They are upon us" I whispered "we must go". I took her hand and drew my sword, and somewhat to my surprise she drew a dagger from her belt with her free hand, but I made no comment on it. We began to move towards the door, but quickly halted at the sound of footsteps and voices approaching. Doors further down the corridor were being opened, and some kind of debate was going on amongst the men who were presumably those we had seen moments before. See our escape cut off Idhrethil and I slipped behind the end of a row of shelves and crouched, waiting. Moments later the door burst open, and a man stood panting under the arch, though I could make out little of him. "Anything?" called another, and the man advanced a few steps into the chamber before replying. "Just a lot of old books. There's nobody and nothing worth having down here, and we need a light if we're going to go much further. Reckon we should go back up, that's where the fun is". The other voice replied, coming to the doorway to join the first. "Nah, there'll be pickings enough down here and there's no guards to fight. This must be a library of some sort, let's go back to where we found the old man hiding and come back with some lights. If there's nothing good in here worth the taking then at least it'll make a really good fire". They laughed, and then left, and the speaker barked an order and the men's footsteps receded back down the passageway. Moments later we heard them in the garden below again, and without a word stood up and made our way quickly out into the passageway.
It was almost completely dark there now, though there were pools of twilight here and there where a window or gallery admitted what little of the day remained, and they were enough for us to mark our path. "Which way?" I asked Idhrethil in a whisper, and she signalled the way we had come, and we began to move as quickly and quietly as we could. We had not gone far when there was a sudden sound directly behind us, and I spun round, slashing my blade into the gloom and automatically placing myself between this new assailant and Idhrethil. "Stay your hand" came the urgent whisper in a familiar voice "it is I Elien". There was much relief at our reunion, but little joy, for she had witnessed many terrible things and barely escaped herself. "It is only that I know this place like my own hand that enabled me to evade pursuit and make my way here. The citadel has fallen, and the city will soon follow, and many that I loved are dead or worse". She choked back a sob, then collected herself and told us to follow, and we set off back the way we had come. Passing the library door, we had reached the top of a short flight of steps when the way below was suddenly flooded with lamplight, and the men we had seen earlier appeared from an adjoining passage. There was no time and nowhere for us to hide, and they stopped, as surprised at our sudden appearance as we were at theirs. There were five of them, young soldiers, some of whom still wore the livery of a Greenwood company. They were armed, but several of them only carried daggers, and they raised them and prepared to advance. "Halt" I commanded, and for a moment some of them complied out of habit. "Do not hinder us, for we take common cause with you, and like you I too am lately come from the battle at Bearcliffe. We have no coin and nothing of value to you, let us pass and be on our way and you yours". The leader of the group, a handsome red haired youth, leered at me and replied, and I recognised him by his voice as the leader who had sent them back to fetch lights. "You don't look like you take common cause with us to me". His companions laughed. "You look like you're running away somewhere. And even if you haven't got any coin you've got plenty that I'd like, your fine blade, your pretty mail shirt, and two fine girls who should give us some sport". I didn't wait for any more, and before he could say anything further or raise his guard I had leapt down the steps and felled him, and then swung my blade and caught another of them. The third was already turning to flee, hampered by his lantern and only armed with a dagger, but I caught him in the back and brought him down too. The other two escaped, dropping their light as they fled, and we were once again plunged back into near darkness. Elien, impassive, followed by Idhrethil descended the stair and stepped over the bodies of the soldiers at the bottom without remark and we resumed our journey. I remembered that I had once considered her too kind and gentle to be queen, but I thought to myself that this was yet more evidence that I had underestimated her.
At the end of the lower passageway we followed Elien into a small empty room with wooden panelling on the walls and closed the door. In the distance the sounds of shouting and the clash of steel could now clearly be heard, and still hot from the fight I could not help give vent to my impatience and frustration at this strange diversion. "Peace" she replied, opening the shutters and allowing the weak light of the waning moon to enter the room. "You will soon see my purpose in bringing you here clearly enough". She was dressed in similar fashion to Idhrethil, and watched with interest as she knelt down and began counting the plain wooden panels along one of the walls, before drawing her own dagger and inserting it into one of the joints to use as a lever. Suddenly I understood, for after a few moments four of the panels swung out and away from the rest revealing an opening large enough to pass through. "Behold, here is a secret way that will take us to the foot of the cliff below. There are several such in the citadel, but the knowledge of their whereabouts is given only to those of royal blood, passed down from one generation to the next. The way is steep and dark, and long, but not difficult". With that she slid her legs into the opening, turned onto her belly and dropped just out of sight. Idhrethil followed and then it was my turn. I was a little taller than they and somewhat hindered by my sword, so found it more awkward, but soon I was stood on a small stone landing and was able to reach up and pull the panelling closed behind us. We were immediately plunged into complete darkness, and following the sound and voices of the women below I found the top step behind me and began the steep and dizzying descent. After a while the masonry of the walls was replaced by rough hewn rock, and the steps became more irregular and slippery, causing me further concern, but the calm voices of the women and their gentle teasing of me as we descended greatly eased my fear of falling in that dark place.
After what seemed an eternity and with no warning the steps came to an end and I found myself squeezed into a small space with the others. Elien called me to her side and I found her struggling with an ancient and heavy bolt that had seized into place. At first no amount of effort could release it, and I began to fear that we would have to retrace the perilous stairway back up to the citadel. However this thought spurred me on to greater effort and eventually, to the great relief of all I was able to release it and draw it back. Beyond the ancient and heavy wooden door the darkness was less absolute, and I could hear a few birds singing night songs. Other than that there was no sound and we cautiously emerged at the top of a narrow high walled ravine beneath the towering cliff. Closing the door fast behind us we began the short but steep and awkward descent in the darkness through dense thickets of trees until we emerged onto a narrow lane that ran along the base of the cliff. From there it was no more than a third of a league to the main square and the river beyond, a journey which would have taken us no than half an hour in normal circumstances. However from our vantage point it was clear that there were large numbers of people abroad despite the late hour and the night breeze carried the distant clamour of many voices, shouts and screams to our ears as we watched. Here and there fires could be seen, springing up hungrily into the night sky. "Lastbridge is in ferment" said Elien, her voice grim. "I fear what happened in Bearcliffe is about to be repeated, and it seems that we have escaped one peril only to be faced with another greater one. We will have to avoid the road and try and reach the bridge by the lanes and alleys instead, let us hope for some good fortune this night". With that we set off down the hill, hoods raised but alert to any possible danger. Idhrethil and I were so close now to our long hoped for escape that to be thwarted again with it almost within our grasp would have been unbearable.