Terrin materialized beside Rowan.
“Blimey, Terrin! Ya almost made me soil me knickers,” he exclaimed with a hand over his heart.
Terrin didn’t acknowledge him. He quickly removed the pack from his shoulder, pulled out one of the larger boxes, and opened it. There were four strange, metal disks. There were also places for a dozen smaller circular objects, but some of them were missing. Terrin pulled out the four discs and closed the box.
“What’re ya doin’?” Rowan asked, obviously confused.
“We have a little problem. We need to push the revolution up to tonight,” Terrin said as he set the disk down and pressed the opaque center. It beeped and started flashing red.
“What kinda problem?”
Terrin walked a few strides away and set another disk down. He pressed the center of that one, and it mimicked the first.
“Nitiri’s men. We need to gather everyone and hold a conference in this chamber.”
“Did they discover our central base er sumthin?”
Terrin laid down the last disk and activated it. The lights in the centers turned green, and a clipped beep echoed off the walls. Terrin had created a rough square about six feet across.
“Almost.”
He gave a sharp command in Prath, and a whizzing sound filled the air. Rowan jumped in surprise when three unconscious men in soldier’s garb appeared on the ground in front of him, all gagged and bound.
“Nitiri seems to know a lot about where the Rhai Cudd hideouts are. They were poking their noses in the wrong places. It won’t take her long to notice the soldiers sent to our inn are missing, so we must act fast. Snore, Blade, and Herb are finalizing our plans. They sent someone to find Plague and Tristen. We’ll gather here tonight to put everything into action.”
Terrin put away the equipment and pulled out another metal box of almost identical dimensions. Rowan looked at him critically.
“Terrin, there ain’t enough room in ’ere for ah army. How we supose’ ta fit everyone in this tiny hole?”
“You seem to forget we’re doing some major renovations.”
Terrin pulled a thin pole about six inches long out of the box. He uttered a command, and it expanded by a foot. Rowan took it gently and handled it like he expected an explosion.
“What’s this?”
“Watch and learn.”
Terrin removed another long cylinder from the box and pressed the tip of the pole against the stone as far above his head as he could reach on the wall. There was a sizzling noise as the device carved a hole in the rock and slid into the solid surface. Only a centimeter of the end of the pole stuck out a moment later. Terrin backed away and inspected his work.
“Reach up, push it against the wall, hold the button on the end, and then you’re done,” he instructed Rowan. “Just don’t pull it away from the wall when you push the button. Apparently, the beam coming out of the tip can easily sever limbs.”
Rowan’s eyes grew wide, and he delicately did as he was told. He yelped when the pole slid into place, but everything went smoothly. Terrin knelt and placed another pole as close to the floor of the cave as possible. He handed Rowan the last one. When they finished, the poles created a rectangular shape in the wall.
“Now what?”
Terrin pulled out a small, box-shaped device with buttons and a small screen. He closed his eyes for a moment before typing a long list of numbers.
“What’re ya doin’ now?” Rowan asked, craning his neck to read the screen.
“I’m giving it coordinates. This is a short-range teleporter made for mining. Apparently, this is how the Guardians could make their elaborate underground bases in under a week. I’m telling it to dump this rock into the sea. At least, I hope I am. Anchor explained coordinates to me and gave me a map, but it’s pretty confusing,” Terrin muttered as he pressed “enter.” There was a bright flash, and the chunk of wall before them vanished. Terrin hummed in approval, and Rowan grunted.
“I refuse ta be impressed anymore. Nothin’ those fancy gadgets of yers do will surprise me.”
Terrin laughed and rubbed the back of his head.
“That’s no fun. I’ll have to try harder next time,” he said with a grin as he pulled one of the rods out of the wall.
“What now?”
“We do this about a hundred more times until we find the dungeon.”
Rowan groaned.
They quickly discovered the job was very boring. Terrin showed Rowan what angle to place the poles each time so they would eventually intersect the dungeon tunnels, but that was the only communication needed. After a dozen rounds, they could complete the process in less than a minute without saying a word. They both noticed two inevitable facts as they moved farther from their starting point. First, the tunnel steadily grew smaller. Because they could only place the rods in the corners of the hole they previously made, each rock that was pulled away was a fraction smaller than the one before it. It also grew steadily darker. Terrin hadn’t originally considered needing more light.
“Keep going if you can. I’ll grab us some candles,” he said.
He nabbed one of the lamps from the main cavern and was about to head back when someone descended into the cave and gasped. It was the hideout owner.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Terrin said a few choice words under his breath as he glanced at the three unconscious soldiers and the dark hole in the wall.
“We remodeled a bit.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
I thought I told Rowan to take care of him? Terrin groaned internally.
"W-what happened to my wall?" he sputtered.
"The missing bits are currently collecting at the bottom of the ocean.”
“The bottom of the ocean?” the man choked out, his face pale with a combination of disbelief and fury.
“You should feel honored. This is going to be the main base of operations for the invasion. You need to spread the word. The attack is tonight, so we all need to be ready.”
The man stumbled over a reply, but Terrin ordered him away, and he reluctantly retreated up the stairs. Terrin couldn’t help but grin as he took the lamp back down the tunnel. Rowan sighed in relief when he arrived.
“That’s much better,” he said gratefully.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell him we were going to dig a tunnel through his wall.”
“Couldn’t find ’im,” Rowan said without making eye contact.
“You didn’t even go upstairs, did you?”
“I didn’t wanna accidentally give away tha hidin’ spot. Ya never know who’s on the other side of tha wall,” the ginger said with a sly grin.
“The walls are transparent on this side!” Terrin exclaimed as he jammed the last pole in. He yelped in astonishment, saving his compatriot from having to come up with more excuses.
“What is it?” Rowan asked.
He grabbed the lamp off the floor and raised it so they could both see.
“There’s empty space on the other side,” Terrin said. “I almost dropped the rod through the hole. Looks like you made some progress while I was gone.”
With a familiar flash of the transporter, the stone in front of them vanished, leaving a dark, gaping hole. A skeleton hung off the bars in front of them. Rowan yelled and jumped back. Terrin cringed and looked away.
“I didn’t consider we’d probably tunnel in behind a cell,” he muttered distastefully.
Rowan gave him a pointed glare. Terrin moved forward and shook the old iron bars a few times. The lock came loose, and the door opened with a creaky complaint.
“At least we had more luck than he did.”
Rowan raised an eyebrow skeptically as he peeked into the dark dungeon hallway. “Should we tell tha others?” His voice echoed eerily down the long hall.
Terrin shook his head. “First, we need to mark a path and establish an ally.”
“How are we suppos’ta mark a path?”
Terrin glanced at his friend, and his eyes fixed on Rowan’s bandanna. Rowan covered it protectively.
“Don’t ya even think about touchin’ ah single thread of me hair cover.”
Terrin grinned and pulled out a knife. “That’s a really nice color for markers.”
Fifteen minutes and a small argument later, Terrin was cutting the bandanna into thin strips, and Rowan was scowling.
“Coulda used string or sumthin’, ya know,” he grumbled.
The map in Terrin’s head was invaluable. He led them down the correct hallway at every crossroad and marked which path to take so others could find the way. The cells gradually began looking less rusty, and the locks seemed more secure as they ventured deeper.
“Who is it yer lookin’ for?” Rowan finally questioned.
“An old acquaintance of mine.”
“Ya know people in tha Lur Alavian prison?”
Terrin grinned mysteriously. “I’ve done my time. You meet a lot of people when you travel.”
“I’ve traveled a lot more than you ’ave, and I’ve neva made friends with ah jailbird.”
“All your friends just haven’t been arrested yet,” Terrin snickered.
A disgusting smell suddenly assaulted their sinuses. Rowan gagged and held his nose. “What in tha name of King Parcus tha fifth is that wretched stench?”
“We’re getting close.”
Sure enough, the smell got worse. They finally rounded a corner and saw fresh corpses littering the cells on either side of them. Rowan looked ill, and his pace slowed as he studied the rotting bodies with morbid fascination.
“Rowan, focus on the path, not the cells, or you’ll make yourself sick.”
The ginger tore his eyes away from the death before him and did as he was told. They quickly made it through the forgotten cemetery, but the worst was yet to come. As soon as they found the prisoners on the edge of death, they stopped in their tracks. When the light touched them, their animalistic howls filled the dungeon.
“We can’t bring our men through here. No one should have to see this,” Terrin said over the din.
Rowan, who was very pale, nodded in agreement.
“Maybe Damond knows a way to avoid this.”
“Who’s Damond?” Rowan asked as he tried not to breathe the putrid air.
“You’ll see. I’m sorry for bringing you through this, Rowan.”
The pirate closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths through his mouth.
“Don’t worry ’bout it, Terrin. I’ll follow ya wherever, so lead me outta here, if ya please.”
As Terrin navigated the maze, he did his best to avoid looking at the dead and dying on either side of him, although their bony, grasping hands made it difficult. They finally reached the end of the hall and turned to see the next tunnel glowing softly with the promise of torchlight. They sighed in relief and made a beeline for it. Prisoners filled the hall as well, but they only stared at the two young men with keen interest. Clearly, they’d heard the ruckus and were interested in finding out what had caused all the fuss.
“Lookie ’ere! How did’ya get down there without passin’ us?” one of the prisoners demanded.
“I win tha bet. They don’t look like ah escaped, decayin’ brute,” another said.
“What are ya doin’ here?” yet another asked.
The general clamor rose, and the prisoners all started yelling to be heard over one another. Rowan clapped his hands over his ears and pressed his back against the wall. Terrin urged him forward, and they avoided the grasping hands asking for keys and food. About halfway down the hall, a younger man with a large beard exclaimed in surprise and called to the man beside him.
“Barch! Look at his eyes!”
Barch, who was missing almost half of his teeth, burst into a fit of laughter.
“Well, we found tha princess’s boyfriend only ah couple ah months late. First tha princess comes stumblin’ out ah tha dark parts askin’ for ’im, then the fellow comes struttin’ out a few months later! Who’d ah thunk it, Yano?”
Before Terrin could ask what they were talking about, someone bellowed, “What’s all the ruckus?”
Most of the prisoners stopped talking, and all eyes turned as Damond appeared from around the illuminated corner.
“Damond!” Terrin exclaimed happily.
The older man’s jaw dropped. “Do my eyes deceive me? I thought you were dead!” he said.
“Nitiri will have to try harder than that to get rid of me.” The corners of Terrin’s mouth twitched upward in a signature, satisfied smirk.
Damond’s eyebrows bunched together. “How in Incari did you get down here?”
“We dug ah tunnel,” Rowan told him.
At his words, Damond noticed the redhead for the first time. “You did what?”
“We need your help to overthrow Nitiri,” Terrin interrupted, jumping to the point.
The prisoners had been muttering among themselves, but a roar of questions and approval exploded around them as soon as the words left Terrin’s mouth.
“Quiet!” Damond roared. “I’m always in favor of overthrowing Nitiri, but it won’t be easy.”
“We have an army and a plan. How hard can it be?” Terrin smirked.
“Has the Rhai Cudd gathered enough people?”
“Look around you, Damond. This is our army,” Terrin said, gesturing to the cells.
The noise unexpectedly stopped as the prisoners fell into a stunned silence, then a deafening roar filled the halls. It took several minutes for them to quiet down again, but by then, Damond was smiling.
“There isn’t a group of men in all Incari who would like to tear Nitiri apart more than this one. In the last few months, she’s filled more cells than her father ever did—and he went on that crusade to capture all the magicians in the kingdom. I’ve had to start clearing out skeletons to make room for everyone.”
Rowan and Terrin exchanged a subdued glance, but then remembered the countless men around them and smiled.
“Start letting people out of their cells,” Terrin said. “We have a revolution to plan, and everyone needs to be ready by tonight. If there’s anyone here who can use Magic, group them together. We have special weapons for them. As for everyone else, use good judgment. You know your prisoners. We also need to find the best way to bring the rest of our troops down here without going through…them,” he shuddered as he gestured toward the dark caves full of dying men. “I need to get back to the rest of the group to tell them the tunnel is ready. Do you have any string?”
“I’ll go get string and a lantern, and I’ll lead you back through the maze,” Damond replied.
“I’ll leave Rowan here with you to help organize everyone.”
The jailer turned to retrieve the supplies, but something occurred to him, and he spun back around.
“Where is Princess Elurra?”
A hush fell over the prisoners. Terrin debated whether to tell him, but in the end, he decided the truth might help motivate their cause.
“Nitiri captured her. She’s somewhere in the castle.”