Disclaimer: I do not own Troy or any of the affiliated characters
Chapter 3: Secret Paths
The following morning, Adara was dragging herself down the hallways to Daan's room. The sun had just risen fully above the horizon when she entered, failing to stifle a huge yawn.
"Good morning," Daan greeted in a cheerful voice that gave her the strong urge to hit him. "You're on time."
"I would hate to sleep and be late," she grumbled, though she was sure Daan heard her. He brought over a cup of some drink with a wonderful aroma. "Here."
"Thank you," she said, feeling the warmth of the cup in her hands. She took a sip and nearly gagged. Daan couldn't help but laugh at her face. "This is foul! What is it?"
"A blend of herbs, of course. It helps you wake up."
She eyed the nasty liquid and pushed it away from her. She did feel more awake, but was not going to put her taste buds through the torture again. "It's because it tastes so bad. I don't think the herbs have anything to do with it."
Daan took the cup, mumbling something about young people having no palate. He returned to his seat with a piece of parchment. He handed it to her and said, "These are the plants I need from the temple and the shore. If you can't find any, ask Briseis or Salus. They said they'd be happy to help." Adara studied the list, reading all the places where each herb could be found. And then she noticed it: Although the ingredients were out of order, all of these herbs were used in the poultice she and Daan had made the previous day. His voice jerked her out of her thoughts. "Briseis should be here any minute, but until then, tell me what's first on the list."
"Turmac," she replied. It was one that grew on dry ground near the temple.
"Properties?"
"It protects open wounds from infection."
"Good. Next?"
Adara read, "Bloodrose." Daan looked at her expectantly. "Clots the blood to stop bleeding so other herbs can be applied."
"Next."
"Lonwort. Brings down fever."
"Next."
"Seaweed. Lessons swelling and soothes burns."
"Next."
Briseis arrived only a few minutes later, but it felt like an eternity to Adara, who had run through the list twice before her friend walked through the door.
"Ready to go?" Briseis asked. Adara nodded and jumped to her feet. Daan smiled inwardly, pretending not to notice his pupil's need to be free of his quizzing. He understood, having once been an apprentice too.
"Be careful!" he called as they left. Briseis shot a worried glance at her friend. There shouldn't have been any need to be careful, but suddenly there was, and they both knew why.
"Briseis! Adara!" They turned to see Hector walking with fast, long strides towards them, worry evident on his face. When he reached them, he repeated Daan's warning. "Please be careful. They could arrive any minute; it just depends on how long it takes them to gather their armies, which usually isn't long.
"Briseis," he continued, "the Greeks will most likely come from the north, so have someone keep watch on the city. If anything is seen, we will alert you. Use the tunnel to get back if something happens."
Briseis furrowed her eyebrows. "The tunnel? I didn't know it was still in use."
"It's not," he replied. "I don't know how bad it is down there after all these years, but it is the most protected way back to the city, where you'll be safe." Briseis nodded her understanding, and the prince relaxed a little, though not much.
"Tunnel?" Adara asked as they walked to the edge of the city. They were taking the shore road along the water, which was the fastest way to the temple.
"The priests used the tunnel to carry certain offerings they didn't want in the heat from the temple to the city. That was before Troy was large enough to have its own temple and house its own sacrifices, over two hundred years ago," she explained as they walked through the gates. "But the tunnel is still there, even though no one uses it. I'll show it to you as soon as we arrive."
After twenty minutes of walking and casting quick glances at the sea, the two finally reached the temple of Apollo. Adara had been to the temple many times before, but the giant golden statue of the god himself always left her in awe. As a healer, she liked to think she was among those that had a connection to him, but she didn't have time to think on it as Briseis pulled her up the stairs and into the building. She grabbed a torch and led her through the main hall and to a secluded corner, where there was a flight of narrow, steep stairs Adara had never been down before.
"I never even noticed these were here," she admitted.
Briseis swept a cobweb out of her way. "Not many people do." They took a left turn, then a right down a short hallway. Another few turns and small stairway later, they found themselves in a wide, open, semi-circle room. The stone walls from the hallways and stairs behind them turned to cool, white marble. Six different statues of Apollo stood evenly spaced in a arc around the rounded end of the room.
"How far underground are we?" Adara asked, spotting window-like openings on the walls, at least twenty feet up. There was practically no light coming from them at all, and Adara made a mental note to remember to bring a torch if she ever needed to use the tunnel.
"I'm not sure, but we're fairly far under. Those holes are more for air than light," she explained. "As are those."
Adara followed her pointing finger to a series of slits in the floor she stood on. "The tunnel runs under us," she deduced. Briseis nodded, leading her past a statue of Apollo shooting his bow and one of his legendary victory over the Python. They stopped at the next statue, which depicted the god playing the lyre. Briseis pulled on the first string on the left, and, to Adara's surprise, it gave, apparently not made of stone. Briseis pulled Adara around to the back of the statue, which was moving forward to reveal the entrance to the tunnel. A spurt of dust rose from the opening, and when it cleared away, there was a square hole that allowed enough room for someone to drop down into the passage below.
"See how that works?" Briseis asked. Adara nodded, watching as Briseis rose to her feet and pushed the string back into its original place. The statue moved back until it was completely covering the square entrance.
"Where does it let out?" she asked as they started back to the main part of the temple.
"There is an identical statue in the palace temple. When you reach the end of the tunnel, there is a particular stone that you push, and the statue will move like this one did."
"I thought you said it was for religious purposes. Why all this trouble to keep it secret?"
"At one point during the time the priests were still using the tunnel, there was a war going on. The temple was attacked, and one of the soldiers discovered the tunnel. There was almost an invasion, but by the time the soldier relayed the news, the army had been almost entirely wiped out.
"The temple was rebuilt and the tunnel was hidden. That's why it's not used much anymore. It became a hassle to get to it, and people in the cities started raising animals, so there was no longer a need to bring sacrifices from the temple to the palace."
Remembering something her father had told her long ago, Adara asked, "Are there any other tunnels in the city? For evacuation routes?"
"Yes," Briseis answered as they reached the landing and returned to the lively temple routines. "But they are hidden too." Suddenly, a horn blast sounded. Briseis looked up, then back at Adara. "I have to go now, but if you need anything, find me later."
Bit of a filler chapter, but things pick up soon! Please let me know thoughts so far!