PART FOURTEEN
The morning found the six friends once again mounting their trusty steeds, each burdened by a knapsack containing various provisions they had determined might be needed for the quest for the final Portent Orb and the retrieval of the Key of Integrity. Kymberly glowered at Jason when they met at the stables, her expression all but daring him to make any sort of comment regarding her joining the excursion. Jason, however, was as intelligent as he was brave; he decided that giving in gracefully would be the most prudent idea, so he greeted her with his customary warm smile and no comment.
Jason's parents and brothers were gathered on the lowest balcony at the front of the castle, cups of fragrant coffee and plates of delicate pastries littering the table around which they sat. Various members of the court occupied other nearby balconies, as it was customary in the warm seasons to have the morning meal outside. The six travelers stopped below, Jason standing in his stirrups so he could more easily see his family.
"Be well and safe, my son," King Olscott said gravely, while at his side Queen Marjory wiped a stray tear away. They'd said their private goodbyes earlier, of course, but a mother was allowed some extra sentiment. "I hope your quest concludes well."
"Thank you, Father. Mother. I will send word as to the outcome," Jason replied formally. A low murmur of well wishes from the other balconies reached the young people, surprisingly heartwarming. Jason usually hated these 'formal' farewells, preferring to slip out unnoticed, but this time was different and he was grateful for the support.
Nodding once, Jason lowered himself to the saddle and applied his heels to the horse's flanks, moving out at a quick trot. He paused and turned one last time as the neared the gate, imprinting the image of his much loved parents and brothers on his mind, returning their waves before passing out of the courtyard and onto the road. For just a moment he felt a sense of impending doom, a foreboding that he would not pass this way again. The feeling passed in a blink of an eye, then his full attention turned to the matter at hand. They could not fail on this quest.
~*~
The Vermiglio Mines were only a couple hours ride from the castle, but seemed much further considering the vast difference in the landscape. Whereas the valley that housed the royal court was lush and green, this area was a gray-scape of rugged granite outcroppings between which a motley selection of low, prickly sagebrush grew. A wandering wind swirled around the jagged edges, creating an eerie low whistling, while a trio of large birds circled high above, seeking their next meal. Even the narrow river that wound its meandering way through the area was a washed out gray.
Jason followed the directions he'd been given to the entrance of the mines, dismounting and tying his horse to the crooked sign that stood just to the left of an arched mine entrance at the base of a particularly large outcropping. The mines were located in a flat, depressed area surrounded by hills and rocky outcroppings that created a sort of natural amphitheater. At the center stood a stylized statue of a wolf, as if standing guard over the area.
"Lovely place," Zack noted dryly, as the rest of the teens dismounted. "Think I might consider retiring here. Surely wouldn't have to worry about the neighbors."
Trini smiled at her friend, recognizing his comment for what it was: an attempt to disguise his unease with humor. There was a distinctly ominous feeling to this place.
"There are four entrances here, any idea which one we should take?" Tomas asked briskly, his sharp eyes taking in all the details.
"Will, what did Merdrick tell us?" Jason queried, turning to his friend.
A thoughtful look crossed Will's face as he repeated from memory: "The eyes of the wolf will show you the way, follow the frog's chill path. Take the bird's eye view to the inner room, where a ferocious guardian is your final test."
"Well, the eyes of the wolf are looking at that entrance," Tomas noted, pointing to an opening on the north side of the clearing. "Shall we start there?"
"Makes sense," Jason agreed, reaching up to untie his saddlebag. "Let's get what we may need. A torch or two, some rope, shovels, picks, anything else you think we may want," the young prince ordered, pulling out a length of stout rope which he looped over his shoulder and around his neck. Soon the others were outfitted and standing around the prince looking at the mine entrance with something akin to dread.
"By the gods this place is creepy," Kymberly noted, shivering slightly. She was dressed in a sensible pair of soft breeches and a form-fitting top. Her long hair was tied back in a simple braid, and sturdy shoes protected her feet. The deadly Collar of Garrotidus was now flush to her delicate neck. Had it been on someone of Jason's size he would already be dying or dead from the cutoff of blood flow.
"Let's get this done," Jason said stoutly, leading his small cadre of companions to the entrance. Before ducking inside he used his flint to light a torch, then ignited the one Trini carried with his own.
Though the entrance was low, once inside the ceiling was more than high enough to allow them to stand upright. The stale air reeked of waste and death, and a deep chill caused them to unconsciously group closer together. The walls were unadorned and rough, and in the near distance they could hear the soft burble of water.
"Frogs like water," Tomas muttered, looking at Jason questioningly. "Wasn't that the next part of the old wizard's instructions?"
Will and Jason nodded in tandem, Will's attention focused on the area from which the water sounds came. "Come on," Jason instructed in a soft voice, starting toward the sounds. "I think we're going in the right direction. Watch out for...anything."
The passage grew tight and lower, forcing the young people to move forward single file. It was several minutes before Jason, who was in the lead, realized he was walking in shallow water. The rank smell of the cave intensified, changing subtly.
"Put out the torches!" Will suddenly demanded, his urgent voice startling his companions. "I know that smell. Put them out!" To their credit, both Jason and Trini immediately extinguished their lights without question, plunging the group into deep darkness.
"Will?" Jason asked, taking pains to keep his voice neutral. "How do you expect us to move forward now?"
"Jason, that smell in here? It's a gas that is highly explosive. If it reaches a dense enough concentration the torch would set off an explosion that would be more than adequate to kill us all."
"So we move ahead blindly?" the prince asked with some asperity.
"I would think that would be preferable to being incinerated," Will retorted, his irritation at himself for not recognizing the odor earlier making him sound sharper than he intended.
"Wait!" Zack cut in, his voice unusually serious. "Remember when we first touched the Orbs we already have? Didn't they glow? I wonder if we can somehow make them glow again, at least enough to light our way? Wouldn't take much light in here to make it so we can go on," the jester noted.
"It's worth a try," Tomas agreed, already reaching in his pack for the Orb he'd obtained at such risk just two days ago. The others did the same, for none of them had been willing to let the Orbs out of their possession at any time. For a time Kymberly had carried them all, but a few nights ago shed returned all but the one shed gotten from the Firebird of Paradise. Each Orb glowed softly with its distinct color as long as it was held in the hand of the person who had earned it.
"Wow. You can...you can...almost FEEL the power. It's right there, below the surface, waiting...wanting...to come out," Kymberly breathed, her lovely face solemn in the soft pink glow of the Orb she held.
Zack's idea proved to be a good one, with five of them holding Orbs they had enough light to proceed. How very fortunate they were that Will had recognized the odor was brought home graphically: they had not gone very far when they realized the walls around them were black with old soot. Someone - or some ones - had not known about the gas and had paid with their lives. Kymberly gasped in horror at the sight of whitewashed bones under the shallow water they were walking through and all of them moved forward even more slowly, trying desperately not to step on the remains.
"Thanks Will," Jason said in a subdued tone, horrified at what could have happened to his group of friends if Will hadn't warned them to put out the torches.
The sound of falling water soon reached their ears, growing steadily louder. Still, Jason nearly stepped over the edge of the abyss, it was only Tomas's quick grab of the back of his shirt that kept him from tumbling to his death.
"I'm really not liking this place," Zack noted, as the other three stopped behind him. "What now?" he asked Jason.
"Now I guess we go across this bridge," the young man replied, indicating a natural limestone bridge across the fissure. The Orbs provided only minimal light, nowhere near enough for the group to see how deep the opening in the ground was. At least there was an adequate ledge leading to the bridge, and in the faint light it appeared there was a similar ledge on the opposite side. What they could not see was any sort of opening in the opposite wall.
"Are you sure it is strong enough to support our weight?" Tomas wondered, indicating the bridge. "I'd hate to get halfway across and find out it can't."
"We'll use the ropes," Jason decided, removing the lengthy coil he'd brought. "I'll go first, and you guys hold the other end. If the bridge collapses you should be able to haul me back up."
"And then how will we get across, if that happens?" the young hero asked.
"Tomas, let's deal with one obstacle at a time, okay? Here, help me tie this on," he requested, looping the rope around his chest, just under his arms. Tomas knotted the rope carefully, then joined the others at the mouth of the cavern they'd just come through. They would need room to brace themselves should Jason actually fall. As soon as they were set Tomas gave Jason the go-ahead.
The prince chose his foot placement carefully, shifting his weight as gently as possible, not liking the occasional creak and groan from the bridge under him. He released a pent up breath as he stepped onto the opposite ledge, untying the rope as he did so.
"Come on across, Tomas. Just take it slow and careful," he instructed, wishing he had an Orb to let him explore while Tomas crossed. Seeing the five colorful glowing Orbs across the way made him feel strangely left out, a feeling he couldn't recall ever having before. He didn't much like it.
Having seen Jason successfully across gave Tomas the confidence to cross more quickly and he joined the dark haired prince in half the time it had taken Jason to cross. He used his Portent Orb to light the way along the narrow ledge, until they found what appeared to be a stone door. The barrier was about six feet tall and four feet wide, arched at the top and embossed with the image of a bird of prey.
"What was it Merdrick said about a bird?" Tomas wondered, startled when the answer came from behind him.
"Take the bird's eye view to the inner room," Trini provided. "The others are going to stay over there until we know what the next step is."
"Good idea," Jason approved, looking closely at the engraved image on the door. "I wonder..." He reached up and pressed on the eye of the bird, gratified when the door moved upward with a swirl of dust. "Stand clear, we don't know what to expect but I figure there will be booby traps."
Beyond the door was a tiny room, barely five square feet, and dominated by an altar topped by a five foot tall statue of a standing, snarling bear with glowing ruby eyes. Far more ominous was the scattering of human bones at the base of the altar. Bones that were brittle as glass, whitened with age. Resting in the cupped forepaws of the bear was the sixth Portent Orb. Despite the smallness of the room it would still be necessary for someone to take at least two steps into the room to reach their goal.
"I don't like the looks of those bones," Trini commented, standing at the entrance with the two young men. None of them was yet ready to step into the chamber, instead trying to determine what sort of traps were set up, a task made much harder with the limited visibility the faint light from the Portent Orbs provided.
"Nor do I, but we have to do something," Jason replied. He studied the area once again, seeing nothing out of the ordinary on the walls. He turned his attention to the floor, kneeling down to shift some of the bones away so he could see the floor itself. Very carefully removing those remains he could reach he realized the floor was patterned in squares of black, white and gray.
"What are you thinking?" Tomas asked, seeing the expression of concentration on the prince's face.
"I'm thinking that if I don't step on the right squares I'll trigger something bad. Like these guys did," he replied, indicating the remaining bones with a sweeping gesture of his hand.
"So what color? White - the color of goodness? Black - the color of evil? Or good old neutral gray?"
"Hmmm...you may have something there. The Orb can go either way, right? Either good or evil may possess it? So gray makes the most sense, really," Jason mused.
"Unless the magician who set this up wanted to only allow good in," Trini countered.
"True. But I have to be honest, I FEEL the neutral gray is the right way. It's not something I can explain, just something I feel in the marrow of my being."
"Then go for it," Tomas advised, not even wondering at his lack of interest in going for the Orb himself. It was simply right and proper that this Orb be Jason's.
"Be careful, Jason. We'll be right here to help," Trini added.
As soon as Jason stepped on the nearest gray rectangle he realized it was a mistake. A discordant note sounded and the heavy door began its descent back down as the remaining gray and white rectangles disappeared completely. The powerful young man shifted his weight on his back foot to the area outside the door, while keeping his front foot on the gray rectangle. Thus braced he caught the descending door and held it up with sheer strength.
"Tomas," he gritted out, "Get the damned Orb!" His powerful arms were already trembling with exertion.
"Not quite yet, Jason," Trini advised, looking over the situation carefully. She had untied herself from the safety rope and was looking at it, considering. Tomas realized she was analyzing the problem and allowed her the time.
"I suspect once the Orb is removed this whole side will disintegrate completely, I'd heard of such traps before. I'm going to tie this rope around you, Jason, then return to the other side. Tomas, you must move in as quickly as you can, grab and secure the Orb, then tackle Jason, driving him and you over the edge. You have to keep a grip on Jason, and we will pull you both to safety," she proposed, speaking with quick intensity.
"Can you do that?" the prince gasped out, shooting her a worried look.
"We have to," she assured him, tying the rope tightly around his barrel chest, making sure the knot was secure. "We can't lose either of you. Move quick," she reiterated to Tomas before moving with lithe grace back across the bridge.
Tomas considered his course of action carefully. Only the rectangle where Jason's right foot rested remained, along with four black ones that looked none too sturdy. The spaces where the white and gray tiles had been were empty, and as with the fissure they'd crossed earlier, they had no way to determine how deep the opening was. Plus, the tall teen realized that he would have to put away his own Orb before proceeding, which would mean he'd have to do it all in the dark as the others were also going to have to use both hands to support them. Not wanting to prolong Jason's ordeal, he still took a good amount of time before deciding on exactly how he was going to do this.
"Ready?" he asked at last, turning his attention once again to his princely companion.
"As I'll ever be. Are they?" Jason ground out, jerking his head in the direction of their four traveling companions.
"You guys ready over there?"
"Not quite, give us a couple more minutes, we're trying to make sure you two don't take a shortcut out of here," Zack's voice replied from the dimness across the abys"s.
Well hurry it up!"
Will had pulled a metal hoof pick out of his knapsack, eliciting a curious look from Trini. The fair-haired teen quirked her one of his small, slanted grins before replying to her unvoiced question. "I have no idea why I brought this with me, but I'm glad I did."
The pick was made of metal at least a half inch thick, and curved into a two-thirds completed circle with a tapered flat end for picking road debris out of the horses' shoes on one end, and a handle on the other. Will moved a few feet back into the tunnel until he located a crack in the wall that angled away from the opening. Using a nearby fist sized rock he drove the tapered end into the crack and secured the end of Jason's rope onto the protruding hoof pick.
"There's our emergency stop, if we need it," he commented, as Trini's face lit up in understanding.
"Will, you're a genius!" she exclaimed as Zack and Kymberly came to inspect what he'd done. "But, we need to tie ourselves in and get this done. Try to find a way to brace yourself against the wall of the cavern," she advised, suiting action to words as she looped part of the rope around her narrow waist. Zack took his position at the front of the group, with Will at his back and Kymberly as the anchor, just ahead of Will's makeshift "nail."
"Make sure your Orbs are secure," Zack advised, then snickered as he realized how that sounded. Only Will seemed to understand, and somehow that made it even funnier to the dark youth. When the last Orb disappeared into a bag he called across to Tomas, now as serious as he had ever been. "All set, let's do this."
Tomas took a deep breath and huffed it out in an attempt to calm himself. "This is what we're going to do," he told Jason, standing close to the one-time perceived rival who was now undeniably a friend. "I'm going to leap to the altar using only one step along the way. Whether it collapses or not is immaterial. Once I've secured the Orb I will literally launch myself from the altar to you, tackling you and using my momentum to carry us both over the edge. I'll give you a heads up and just as I push off from the altar I need you to push to door as far upward as you can. Got it?"
"Got it," the burly young man agreed breathlessly. "Just hurry, would you? This isn't light."
"Be ready over there!" he called out. Tucking his Portent Orb in his knapsack he launched himself toward the altar, using only one step to make the distance. He braced his feet on the tapered base while wrapping his left arm around the shoulders of the bear statue. He quickly shifted his knapsack and liberated the Portent Orb from the bear, securing it in the bag. Shifting to a hold that allowed him to crouch down tightly, his muscular legs coiled like a powerful spring.
Aiming for where he remembered Jason to be - it was now completely dark in the cavern - he called out "Now!" and launched himself toward the youthful prince.
Jason responded immediately, pulling from a reserve of strength he didnt even know he possessed, he pushed the stone door up as far as he could. Almost simultaneously he was hit from the side by Tomas, the impact sending them both out of the doorway and over the ledge. The sound of the now unencumbered door crashing down filled the area.
The two heroes fell a good ten feet before swinging over to slam into the opposite side of the abyss. The bone jarring collision very nearly sent Tomas tumbling to his death, and had Jason not instinctively grabbed Tomass arms as they fell that is surely what would have happened. Fighting to maintain their grip on each other both young men groaned as they bounced repeatedly against the rough surface, until at last they hung still over the seemingly bottomless pit.
Above them the other four struggled to maintain their own grips, the combined weight of the two largest members of their group almost more than they could support. The fact they were all standing in the stream complicated matters, and the water falling over the edge made it more difficult for Jason and Tomas as well. Both Zack and Will had been pulled off their feet and uncomfortably close to the edge before stopping and now they struggled to regain their footing and start pulling their friends to safety. Ominous creaks and groans filled the cavern as it appeared the chamber on the far side was beginning to disintegrate.
"Come on, guys, PULL!" Zack gasped out, his voice hoarse with effort in the darkness. "HURRY!"
Below the lip of the ledge, Jason was searching with his feet for anything he could brace with to help lever him to the top. Tomas had appeared to be nearly knocked senseless in the initial impact, but his death grip on Jason had not slackened. Thankfully his grip was around Jasons chest and shoulders, not his neck.
"Stay still, Tom," Jason panted, "and hang on." Finally his right foot found a stable outcropping and he used that and his free left hand to pull them close to the side. "Zack, I have a foothold, keep pulling and I'm going to try to step up. It should help," he instructed, offering up a quick prayer that his foot wouldn't slip on the damp surface.
"Good idea," Zack replied, having found a convenient indention in the ground where he could brace himself as well. When Jason made his step upward, the quartet on the surface was able to quickly take up the slack and keep the supporting pressure on the rope for the burly royal. Jason immediately sought, and found, another outcropping he could use. Thusly they were able to finally haul the exhausted prince and Tomas to the surface. As Jason's dark head appeared at the top the four on the surface scrabbled frantically for any and all handholds to haul them up and over the edge. As soon as the two heroes were safe they all collapsed in an ungainly heap for a moment, too winded and exhausted to move. But the escalating sounds of the caves collapse soon galvanized them to action.
Trini and Kymberly pulled out their Portent Orbs for light as they all stumbled to their feet, grabbing their knapsacks and hurrying back into the narrow passageway. This time there was no effort at delicacy or caution, they stumbled, lunged, and staggered as fast as they could through the dim, dangerous passage, helping each other in any way they could, until they tumbled out the entrance and back into the sunny clearing. They staggered toward their mounts, finally collapsing a hundred feet from the cave. A massive glut of dust and debris spewed from the entrance mere seconds after they escaped. Pale dust settled on them as they sprawled on the rocky ground too weary to even care about the dirt.
"Oh, my God," Zackary gaped, watching the jagged rocks above the cavern sink with majestically out of sight. "That was too close. Please tell me you got the Orb."
Wordlessly Tomas opened his knapsack and withdrew the newest Orb, rolling to his side so he could place it in Jasons hand. As soon as it was in the princes possession the Orb glowed a soft red and a sense of peace and well being suffused Jason as he turned a grateful smile on his friend.
"Well done, Jason," Tomas murmured as Kim slowly sank to the ground at his side. The others had also come over to form a sort of protective circle around the two friends theyd nearly lost in that dark place. They were soaking wet and filthy; caked with blood and sweat and dust, bruises already beginning to show. Beyond exhausted, Jasons body felt at least five times its usual weight, and even shifting his position sent waves of pain through him. The thought of trying to ride a horse was incomprehensible given how he felt. Still, the sight of the Collar at Kymberlys neck was enough to make him sit up with a groan he simply could not suppress.
"I'm not really sure I'm the one who earned it," the prince demurred, rubbing his sore neck and slowly trying to loosen now stiff muscles.
"I'm sure," Tomas countered his face solemn. "I had a good chance to look over the room, and what I think is that those before, who got that far, could not stop the door from lowering. They walked in, the door slammed down, and there they were stuck, until they died of thirst or hunger or whatever other trap might have been in there. The reason the floor started disappearing was the door not closing, I think. It was because of your fast action and incredible strength that we got the Orb out. None of us could have done what you did."
Jason felt warm color suffuse his face at the frankly admiring looks from his companions, and he held the final Portent Orb securely in his hands, reluctant for the moment to even put it out of sight in his battered knapsack. "It's beautiful, isnt it?" he asked softly, almost caressing the smooth surface. "I don't know why, exactly, but it's beautiful."
No one replied nor disagreed; each felt the exact same thing about the Orb they had acquired. Tomas knew he had not felt the same way when he held the last Orb as hed felt when he held the one hed gotten at the Wizard's Sanctuary in West Diamond. Holding that one felt right, holding the other one had felt...well, actually he hadn't felt... at all.
"Well, much as I'd like to take a nap for a week or two, now that we have all the Orbs we need to get to Seraph Mountain with all haste, find that monolith and get Kymberly free of the Collar. Then we can rest," Jason decided, pushing himself to a standing position. Overtaxed muscles protested, sending the young man stumbling, but Will and Zack steadied him until he had his balance. "Yeah, riding is going to be fun," he mumbled.
"We will only be riding until we find a place to spend the night," Kymberly declared, frowning at Tomas and Jason in turn. "You both need Will's attention, as does Zack," she noted, indicating the raw palms of the jester's hands. "And we all need a meal and a bath," she continued, all but daring anyone to argue with her. "It won't do us any good to kill ourselves this close to our goal. Seraph Mountain is not that far away, I would think well be at the monolith tomorrow even if we camped here."
'Yes, ma'am," Zackary retorted, giving her a humorously overstated salute. However, he kept a weather eye on Jasons progress, agreeing with her assessment. Though it was barely past midday they were all hurting and moving with considerably less energy than usual.
Wearily the group pulled themselves up on their horses and set out at a careful walk toward the distant peak of Seraph Mountain, watching for a likely campsite where they could prepare for what the next day would bring.
~*~
Back in North East Garnet Skullavich glared at the images he saw in the Vision Sphere, realizing that the heroes would reach the monolith in time to save young Kymberly. And worse, they were too close to their goal now; he wouldn't be able to launch a proper attack before they reached Seraph Mountain. But, he could be there at just about the same time.
And, if they were to fall victim to his attack, those six Portent Orbs would probably be enough to ease the sting of being rejected by the princess. Plus, hed still have his revenge, and even be there to see it personally. All-in-all, he realized, brightening considerably, things were going his way.
To be continued
