Part 22 (1/2)

With bitter humor, the Pathfinder said, ”I'll be here, squire.” James hurried to the far corridor. He moved quickly along one wall until he came to an intersection, then he vanished into the gloom.

William and Treggar both drew their daggers at the sound of movement. They had been lost in thought, after talking on and off for a time, when the approaching noise startled them.

”Easy,” came James's soft voice in the darkness. A moment later, he lit one of his tapers and said, ”We have a problem.”

”Only one?” asked Treggar.

”Big one. The last of our Pathfinders is going to be sacrificed at midnight if we don't get him out first.”

”Can we get him out?” asked William.

”Yes.”

”Then we get him out,” said Treggar.

”It's not going to be easy. We have no food, water, or horses, and it'll be at least two days before Arutha gets here-if he even knows where to find us. I'm not sure how many a.s.sa.s.sins are holing up here, but I'd hazard a guess of at least three hundred, maybe more.” James handed the taper to William. ”Hold this.”

He drew with his finger in the dust on the floor. ”This is where we are,” he said, ”and directly to the east of us is the main center for the Nighthawks, or whoever they really are. To the north are some abandoned rooms, storage mostly. I spent a little time crawling around in the sewer-”

Treggar said, ”You don't smell like it.”

James shook his head. ”That part of the sewer hasn't been used for centuries.” He drew a rough rectangle around the areas he had outlined. ”We're in the southwestern corner of the old dungeon. We saw the armory, which they're using as a temple. The barracks seem to have become their commons, probably because the old below-ground kitchens are there. To the north are some empty rooms. To the east is their stable and there's an old sally-port there they use as their main access.”

”What about the way we came in?” asked William.

”I checked it again on my way back here. It's a bolt-hole, but one with a hidden trigger. I suspect it was originally installed that way to keep less faithful members of the Guild of a.s.sa.s.sins from departing unexpectedly. The triggering mechanism is located behind a false rock at the last intersection you come to before reaching the door. It's a tricky one; if you open it from the outside incorrectly, you spring a trap.”

”What kind?” asked Treggar.

”I don't know, and I wasn't willing to experiment, but there were cogs and wires connected to the pivots. It's even rigged to go off if you push the door in the wrong fas.h.i.+on. You push on the bottom, and you're in trouble.”

”I thought the way you opened it looked pretty awkward,” William observed.

”By design. The least comfortable way is the correct way.”

”How did you know?” asked William.

”Old thieves don't get that way by being stupid. Smart young thieves listen to them when they reminisce about how brilliant they were at springing traps. I was not a stupid young thief. I listened.” He chuckled. ”The door has pivots on both sides, instead of hinges, so it wasn't designed to be opened like a normal door. After that, I a.s.sumed the way you would most wish to open it would be the way most likely to get you killed.”

”What about the original western entrance?” asked Treggar.

James said, ”I couldn't find a direct route. But I think I found a way up.” He pointed to the rubble clogging the western wall of the storage room.

”That's the way up?” asked William.

”Maybe,” answered James. ”The main entrance would be a marshaling yard and bailey around a keep, I'm guessing. So the wall and gate would have stood right above us. There would have been a couple of quick routes from the armory back there-” he pointed down the corridor ”-to the yard above us.”

Treggar stood and inspected the fall. Most of the rocks were manageable, with large boulders clogging the bottom of the room. He picked one and tried to move it. After a few moments' effort, he got it to move a little. He gave up.

James said, ”I thought of that. The timbers here are weak. Pull the wrong rock and the ceiling comes down on us. There is another corridor leading to a room even more filled with even more rocks to the north of here. So, unless there's another way up, father east, the only way out is through the way we came, or the east gate.”

”Which?”

James said, ”The way we came in is easiest, but as soon as they see Edwin the Pathfinder gone, they'll comb the hills around here. If we take horses from their stable we might be able to steal a march on them. If we reach Arutha before they do . . .” He shrugged.

”Have you even seen the stable?” asked Treggar. ”Do we know how to open the gate? Is it a windla.s.s and ropes? Is there a portcullis? Counterweights? Is it a drop-bridge over a moat or just flat rock on the other side of the doors?”

”Your point is taken, captain,” said James.

”Besides,” said William. ”If we escape and carry word to the Prince, will they still be here when the army arrives? Wouldn't it be easier for them to scatter and just set up somewhere else?”

James looked at William and then said, ”Yes, probably.” He sat back. ”I need to think.”

He extinguished the light and William and Treggar could hear him settle down, his back to the wall. For over an hour the three of them sat in silence.

Then James's voice cut the darkness. ”I have an idea!”

James lay motionless in the broken sewer pipe, listening.

When he was sure there was no movement, he climbed up into the guardroom next to Edwin's cell.

He looked in.

Edwin glanced up and said, ”Now?”

”Now,” said James, examining the lock. It was a simple mechanism, very old, and he could have opened it while blindfolded. He reached into his belt-pouch, pulled out a long metal probe and inserted it into the lock. A moment later he heard a satisfying ”click” and turned the probe. The lock opened.

The Pathfinder came through the door immediately and followed James back into the sewer pipe. As they crawled through the darkness, Edwin said, ”They'll start searching when they find me missing.”

James spoke softly as he pulled himself along. ”I'm counting on it.”

They reached the end of the pipe and James flipped forward, gripping the lip of the pipe with both hands and landed easily on the floor below. ”I'm below you,” said James in a whisper. ”Hang from the pipe and drop. It's only three feet.”

The Pathfinder dropped silently to the stones. James put his hand on his shoulder and whispered, ”From here, silence. Keep your hand on my shoulder, for we move in darkness.”

James was relieved to discover Edwin was calm and surefooted in this awkward situation. He neither hesitated nor hurried but followed at even pace, so James was slowed only a little.

Several times James halted and waited to hear if anyone else was moving nearby. He was pleased that not once did Edwin ask why.

When they reached Treggar and William, Edwin finally spoke.