David Dalglish - Clash of Faiths

“You’re certain he should have been the rightful lord?”

“Without a doubt,” Kaide said.

Jerico nodded.

“Good enough for me. Let us hear what he has to say.”

They continued northwest, toward the great ocean that formed the western edge of all of Dezrel. The ride was long, two weeks of hills broken by intermittent forests. At least the road was well-cared for, and remained so by the many people they encountered on their way.

“Plenty of trade in the North,” Kaide had said at one point, after they’d sneaked off the path to remain unseen by a large caravan guarded by Sebastian’s men. “Our towns practically survive off it. Makes the winters particularly harsh.”

“Durham was the same,” said Jerico. “But we at least had the river.”

“No rivers here,” Kaide said, his knife hand twitching at the sight of the loaded wagon. “Just blood and gold.”

Twice more they had to shy off the path as they approached the Castle of Caves, through no fault of Sebastian’s. Men, either dark paladins or priests, rode with the standard of Karak upon their horses. Jerico kept off the road, watching them pass.

“I never heard reason for our hiding,” Kaide asked one night as they camped.

“All forces of Karak hunt for my kind,” Jerico said, the words foul on his tongue. “I fear I’m the last. The Citadel has fallen, and with it went the vast bulk of my order. Whoever is left is like me, alone and in hiding.”

“You’re terrible at hiding, then.”

“I’m at the side of bandits. Who would look for a paladin there?”

Kaide laughed.

“Now I wonder… how much of a reward could I get for turning you over? I’m a good barterer. Maybe I could fund an entire mercenary army with what they’d pay, especially if you’re the last.”

Jerico threw his bread at him.

“You’re not amusing.”

Kaide shot him a wink.

“If you say so.”

At a fork in the road, they traveled west instead of north. The path immediately grew wilder, much of it covered with a thin layer of dying grass. The land, which had evened out for a few miles, once more rose into many clusters of hills. Atop the tallest loomed a castle built of gray stone.

“That it?” Jerico asked, pointing.

“That’s it.”

Before they could reach the gate, a patrol rode out to meet them, four men on horseback. They appeared on edge, but kept their swords sheathed as they formed a circle about them. Their crimson armor bore the standard of the Hemman family, except the rose was violet instead of yellow.

“What brings you to the caves?” asked their leader.

“I’ve come for a stay in your dungeons,” Kaide said, all smiles. “Tell your lord the man from Ashvale comes, and has brought a guest.”

The gruff man seemed unimpressed.

“Keep your weapons at your sides,” he said. “If you want to see our dungeons, them come with me.”

Instead of leading them to the main gate, they veered off the path at a hurried pace. Jerico wondered what was going on, but then the horsemen pulled up.

“My thanks for the escort,” Kaide said, kneeling down in the grass. “Take care of our horses, will you?”

His hands searched, and then he lifted up a trap door hidden underneath a layer of dirt. Jerico looked around, realizing the men had them surrounded and hidden with the bodies of their horses.

“Tight fit with your armor,” Kaide said, sitting down and then sliding in feet first. “I trust you’ll manage.”

And then he vanished into the tunnel. Tightening the straps that held the shield against his back, Jerico took a deep breath and then followed. The tunnel was steeper than he expected, and he more fell than crawled into it. When his feet touched solid ground, the trapdoor closed above them. In the darkness, they heard thuds as the men covered up the entrance.

“No torches,” Kaide said. “Not for a while. Just take careful steps, and keep your hand against the wall.”

Instead, Jerico pulled his shield free and held it before him. The blue-white light bathed them both, easily illuminating the tunnel.

“Hrm,” Kaide said, raising an eyebrow. “That works too.”

“Lead on,” Jerico said. “I’d hate to keep our gracious host waiting.”

“Keep the sarcasm to a limit,” Kaide said as he walked ahead, his left hand still touching the wall as if he feared the light of Jerico’s shield could fade at any time. The whole while, the floor slanted sharply downward. “Arthur’s not much for joking of any kind. Terribly serious man, but not much to do about that now. He’s always had me come through this tunnel ever since I began my raids on Sebastian’s men. Like I said before, he’s a careful one.”

“Is this cave natural?” Jerico asked, inspecting the walls closer.

“This one? Probably not. There’s at least twenty tunnels I know of. I’m sure the early ones were, but even those have been worked and extended. In the span of minutes, the entire castle could vanish underground, and I pity the poor sods stuck trying to chase after them.”

Around a curve the tunnel expanded immensely. They entered what seemed like a great hall of an underworld king. Stalactites, some at least twenty feet in length, stretched from the ceiling like teeth in the jaws of an ancient beast. In the light of his shield, the rocks sparkled, showing a hundred different crystals Jerico had never before seen. On either side of their path the stone ended abruptly, and Jerico’s light could not pierce the darkness below. The stone bridge had a single rope running across its center, both ends firmly nailed, and Kaide grabbed it to steady himself.

“Step carefully,” Kaide said, and he laughed at Jerico’s blank stare. “What? You aren’t afraid of a little fall, are you?”

Jerico glanced into the chasm, and a shiver ran through him.

“Not before today,” he said.

“Put your shield away if you’ll feel better. Just use the rope to guide you.”

“I’d rather see.”

The bandit shrugged.

“If I was to fall to my death, I’d prefer not to see the ground coming. Up to you, though.”

The paladin ground his teeth.

“You’re not helping.”

Kaide walked along the stone bridge across the chasm, eventually vanishing beyond the reach of the shield’s light. Praying to Ashhur for the steadiest footing known to man, Jerico began crossing. The bridge was several feet wide, and it felt sturdy enough when he stepped. But the stone itself was wet, for water dripped from ceiling as if it were a lazy rain. The thought of a single slip, a lost grip on a rope, all leading to a very, very long fall…

“You still alive?” Kaide called out, his voice echoing.

“Yes,” Jerico said, unable to muster a worthy retort to such a stupid question.

Halfway across he felt something smack against his shoulder. He immediately froze, and had to choke down his cry so Kaide would not hear. It was a rope, just a rope, though what it hung from he had no clue. Deciding that just for once they could have used the front gate, he continued. When reaching the other side, Jerico hurried the last few steps, beyond relieved to be inside another, much smaller, tunnel. Kaide clapped him on the back, then pointed back toward the bridge.

“Feel that rope?” he asked. “When I first came here, I was told that if you pulled it and held, it’d collapse enough stones from the ceiling to crush the bridge into a thousand pieces. Like I said, I pity the fools trying to give chase through here.”

Jerico pushed further ahead into the tunnel, wanting nothing more to do with the chasms. He hoped Kaide didn’t notice the slight shaking of his shield as he held it aloft for light.

“How much farther?” he asked.