a hand on his plated arm and
walked toward the vault with him. “Shall we go steal a crown, my
brave Knight?”
Chapter
11
Just when Tathan thought things couldn’t
possibly get odder, something new would throw him for a loop. A
millennium and six centuries would be enough to make Tathan break
an oath. He knew that for a fact. The knights of today were a joke.
Most were controlled by kings or priests and were used for
political purposes, not purposes of honor.
There was a cool draft coming from the
vault, which struck Tathan as unusual because vaults were shut off
from any source of air. Liselle and her knight and Tathan
discovered the source of the draft.
A rough tunnel tall enough for a man to walk
through reached from the forest to the back of the vault. Not an
ounce of treasure was left, unless one considered the nuts and
harvests of forest rodents to be treasure.
“Powerful wards and runes protect those
doors,” Sir Danth said, his voice filled with raw irony. “And only
fifty paces of simple rock protected the back wall of the vault.”
He began to laugh. It was a hollow, haunted laugh. “They even took
the pedestal the crown was on!” Sir Danth walked over to the
nearest wall to bang his helmet against it. The laughter became
uncontrollable.
“Oh, Tathan! Should we do something?”
Liselle asked, looking at the poor knight.
“No. Sometimes a man just needs to bang his
head against a wall for a while.” Tathan put a comforting hand on
her shoulder. “Let him be. The helmet isn’t taking any damage. I
can’t say the same thing for the wall.”
“This will be a perfect entrance if I dig it
out some more!” Vevin told them excitedly. “There was another set
of doors on the north side of the last cave that might hold a
vault.”
Liselle was looking at Sir Danth with pity.
“That sounds nice, Vevin,” she said.
“Do you think Sir Danth will let me have
this as my home now?” He was doing a hopeful dance. Tathan was
beginning to notice that Vevin had different dances for each
mood.
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care anymore,
Vevin. You may have to patch up the hole he’s making in the wall by
banging his head against it though.” Tathan pointed at Sir
Danth.
“Tathan, we should do something to
help him,” Liselle pleaded.
He studied Sir Danth for a moment. “Sixteen
hundred years of guarding an empty vault alone? If he’s still
banging his helmet tomorrow, we’ll talk to him.” He linked his arm
in Liselle’s. “Let’s see where the tunnel leads to, shall we?”
Without waiting for a response, he dragged her to the tunnel.
“Let me know what you find!” Vevin shouted
after them. “I’m going to go look at those other doors to see if
they lead to a vault.”
“Scream if something tries to kill you,”
Tathan shouted over his shoulder.
“I will!” Vevin danced away.
“Neither one of them is human you know,”
Tathan said to Liselle as they walked down the tunnel.
“I know Vevin isn’t, but Sir Danth seems to
be . . . Isn’t he?” she asked.
“Humans don’t live for sixteen hundred
years, Cousin. He may have been human at one time, but not
anymore.”
Realization dawned in her eyes. “Oh . . . I
hadn’t thought of that.”
They reached the end of the tunnel and
looked around. The entrance was on the side of a verdant hill
leading down to a small valley, which had a stream running through
it. Above them was the edge of the ruined city. To the north, the
stream fell over a cliff.
Liselle pointed to an animal trail going
through the trees at the level of the tunnel. It appeared as though
forest animals had used the tunnel as shelter over the years. “I
think we can get to the cliff without going all the way down to the
stream.”
“Let’s go have a look then,” Tathan
agreed.
It was a short walk to the cliff. A blanket
of thick trees covered the valley thousands of feet below. Liselle
held onto Tathan’s arm as she peered over, a big grin
walked toward the vault with him. “Shall we go steal a crown, my
brave Knight?”
Chapter
11
Just when Tathan thought things couldn’t
possibly get odder, something new would throw him for a loop. A
millennium and six centuries would be enough to make Tathan break
an oath. He knew that for a fact. The knights of today were a joke.
Most were controlled by kings or priests and were used for
political purposes, not purposes of honor.
There was a cool draft coming from the
vault, which struck Tathan as unusual because vaults were shut off
from any source of air. Liselle and her knight and Tathan
discovered the source of the draft.
A rough tunnel tall enough for a man to walk
through reached from the forest to the back of the vault. Not an
ounce of treasure was left, unless one considered the nuts and
harvests of forest rodents to be treasure.
“Powerful wards and runes protect those
doors,” Sir Danth said, his voice filled with raw irony. “And only
fifty paces of simple rock protected the back wall of the vault.”
He began to laugh. It was a hollow, haunted laugh. “They even took
the pedestal the crown was on!” Sir Danth walked over to the
nearest wall to bang his helmet against it. The laughter became
uncontrollable.
“Oh, Tathan! Should we do something?”
Liselle asked, looking at the poor knight.
“No. Sometimes a man just needs to bang his
head against a wall for a while.” Tathan put a comforting hand on
her shoulder. “Let him be. The helmet isn’t taking any damage. I
can’t say the same thing for the wall.”
“This will be a perfect entrance if I dig it
out some more!” Vevin told them excitedly. “There was another set
of doors on the north side of the last cave that might hold a
vault.”
Liselle was looking at Sir Danth with pity.
“That sounds nice, Vevin,” she said.
“Do you think Sir Danth will let me have
this as my home now?” He was doing a hopeful dance. Tathan was
beginning to notice that Vevin had different dances for each
mood.
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care anymore,
Vevin. You may have to patch up the hole he’s making in the wall by
banging his head against it though.” Tathan pointed at Sir
Danth.
“Tathan, we should do something to
help him,” Liselle pleaded.
He studied Sir Danth for a moment. “Sixteen
hundred years of guarding an empty vault alone? If he’s still
banging his helmet tomorrow, we’ll talk to him.” He linked his arm
in Liselle’s. “Let’s see where the tunnel leads to, shall we?”
Without waiting for a response, he dragged her to the tunnel.
“Let me know what you find!” Vevin shouted
after them. “I’m going to go look at those other doors to see if
they lead to a vault.”
“Scream if something tries to kill you,”
Tathan shouted over his shoulder.
“I will!” Vevin danced away.
“Neither one of them is human you know,”
Tathan said to Liselle as they walked down the tunnel.
“I know Vevin isn’t, but Sir Danth seems to
be . . . Isn’t he?” she asked.
“Humans don’t live for sixteen hundred
years, Cousin. He may have been human at one time, but not
anymore.”
Realization dawned in her eyes. “Oh . . . I
hadn’t thought of that.”
They reached the end of the tunnel and
looked around. The entrance was on the side of a verdant hill
leading down to a small valley, which had a stream running through
it. Above them was the edge of the ruined city. To the north, the
stream fell over a cliff.
Liselle pointed to an animal trail going
through the trees at the level of the tunnel. It appeared as though
forest animals had used the tunnel as shelter over the years. “I
think we can get to the cliff without going all the way down to the
stream.”
“Let’s go have a look then,” Tathan
agreed.
It was a short walk to the cliff. A blanket
of thick trees covered the valley thousands of feet below. Liselle
held onto Tathan’s arm as she peered over, a big grin
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