A
large breaker bar. A water skin. A dagger, torches, or a lantern.”
“A lantern
with a shutter would prove safer,” said Malar.
“True,”
agreed Jimmy, “but as we don’t have one, we must settle
for what is at hand. There may be other caches still intact, and
perhaps we can find a lantern there.”
He glanced
around in the murk and said, “Gods!”
Malar said,
“What?” concern obvious in his tone.
“Look at
this mess.”
“Sir, it’s
a sewer,” replied Malar, irritation in his voice.
“I know
that. But look at the walls and the water.”
Malar saw then
what Jimmy meant. While expecting moss-covered stones and brackish
water, he didn’t expect to see every surface covered in soot.
He glanced at his own hands and said, “Sir, I think we must
bathe once we get above, else we shall surely be noticed.”
Jimmy glanced at
his servant and said, “If I’ve scratched my chin as much
as you, it is certain I look like a chimney sweep.”
Malar said,
“You’re filthy, sir.”
Jimmy said,
“Well, no one said this would be easy.”
As he set off,
he heard Malar mutter, “No one said it would be impossible,
either.”
Dash nodded and
Gustaf jumped. He landed behind the big stone they were attempting to
move, and ducked out of sight of the guards. He held a piece of
broken crockery he had secreted in his shirt two days before and
quickly sawed at a key rope in the net used to haul the stones.
The rope net was
a clever device that could be placed around the stone, fitted under
the corners as men used levers to raise them. Once hoisted aloft, a
quick pass of two ropes beneath the stone put on a second lifting
net, and once above the intended destination, the two ropes were
removed, and the stone lowered a few inches as the webbing loosened,
dropping the stone. Dash knew a practiced crew of stone masons could
do this with a tolerance of a mere fraction of an inch. With Dash’s
crew, they were happy to get the stone within an inch of ideal
tolerance. The only masons in Krondor were Duko’s engineers,
and there was a severe language problem with most of the workers.
Gustaf stepped
around from behind the stone, nodding to Dash. “Haul away,”
he shouted.
Dash stepped
back as two men readied the ropes to be passed under the stone, and
watched. The stone lifted two feet in the air, then suddenly tilted
as a loud snap sounded. The strand Gustaf had cut had parted, and now
the stone hung a few feet off the ground, spinning slowly. The two
men with the support ropes backed away.
“Get it
down!” shouted a voice from below, and suddenly the rock was
dropped.
“No!”
said the foreman, too late, as men who should have slowly lowered the
stone released the rope. Instead of settling quietly to the ledge,
the rock bounced a bit then teetered, as Dash had hoped, then slowly
started to fall.
“Look
out!” cried a man near Dash as men started scrambling out of
the way.
“Come on,”
Dash said to Gustaf as confusion erupted.
They hurried
past a guard standing still in fascination as the rock slid outward,
overhanging the parapet, slowly moving to balance a moment in the
air, then start its dramatic fall to the cobbles below.
Dash, Gustaf,
and some other men hurried down a flight of stone steps, as if intent
on helping those below. But at the base of the wall, Dash moved
quickly to his right, into what appeared to be a slight gap in the
stones. The others ducked into the gap after him.
The ancient wall
of Krondor was hollow in places, storage sheds used to house grain,
water, and weapons against siege. Many of the old storage rooms had
been used during the last war, but several had been left empty, like
these along the easternmost wall.
Dash had waited
a week to find this one, an ideal exit from captivity if he had
judged correctly. Either there was a sewer entrance here, or a
passage to another abandoned storage area that had one. The only
danger would be if they were caught ducking into this room, or
large breaker bar. A water skin. A dagger, torches, or a lantern.”
“A lantern
with a shutter would prove safer,” said Malar.
“True,”
agreed Jimmy, “but as we don’t have one, we must settle
for what is at hand. There may be other caches still intact, and
perhaps we can find a lantern there.”
He glanced
around in the murk and said, “Gods!”
Malar said,
“What?” concern obvious in his tone.
“Look at
this mess.”
“Sir, it’s
a sewer,” replied Malar, irritation in his voice.
“I know
that. But look at the walls and the water.”
Malar saw then
what Jimmy meant. While expecting moss-covered stones and brackish
water, he didn’t expect to see every surface covered in soot.
He glanced at his own hands and said, “Sir, I think we must
bathe once we get above, else we shall surely be noticed.”
Jimmy glanced at
his servant and said, “If I’ve scratched my chin as much
as you, it is certain I look like a chimney sweep.”
Malar said,
“You’re filthy, sir.”
Jimmy said,
“Well, no one said this would be easy.”
As he set off,
he heard Malar mutter, “No one said it would be impossible,
either.”
Dash nodded and
Gustaf jumped. He landed behind the big stone they were attempting to
move, and ducked out of sight of the guards. He held a piece of
broken crockery he had secreted in his shirt two days before and
quickly sawed at a key rope in the net used to haul the stones.
The rope net was
a clever device that could be placed around the stone, fitted under
the corners as men used levers to raise them. Once hoisted aloft, a
quick pass of two ropes beneath the stone put on a second lifting
net, and once above the intended destination, the two ropes were
removed, and the stone lowered a few inches as the webbing loosened,
dropping the stone. Dash knew a practiced crew of stone masons could
do this with a tolerance of a mere fraction of an inch. With Dash’s
crew, they were happy to get the stone within an inch of ideal
tolerance. The only masons in Krondor were Duko’s engineers,
and there was a severe language problem with most of the workers.
Gustaf stepped
around from behind the stone, nodding to Dash. “Haul away,”
he shouted.
Dash stepped
back as two men readied the ropes to be passed under the stone, and
watched. The stone lifted two feet in the air, then suddenly tilted
as a loud snap sounded. The strand Gustaf had cut had parted, and now
the stone hung a few feet off the ground, spinning slowly. The two
men with the support ropes backed away.
“Get it
down!” shouted a voice from below, and suddenly the rock was
dropped.
“No!”
said the foreman, too late, as men who should have slowly lowered the
stone released the rope. Instead of settling quietly to the ledge,
the rock bounced a bit then teetered, as Dash had hoped, then slowly
started to fall.
“Look
out!” cried a man near Dash as men started scrambling out of
the way.
“Come on,”
Dash said to Gustaf as confusion erupted.
They hurried
past a guard standing still in fascination as the rock slid outward,
overhanging the parapet, slowly moving to balance a moment in the
air, then start its dramatic fall to the cobbles below.
Dash, Gustaf,
and some other men hurried down a flight of stone steps, as if intent
on helping those below. But at the base of the wall, Dash moved
quickly to his right, into what appeared to be a slight gap in the
stones. The others ducked into the gap after him.
The ancient wall
of Krondor was hollow in places, storage sheds used to house grain,
water, and weapons against siege. Many of the old storage rooms had
been used during the last war, but several had been left empty, like
these along the easternmost wall.
Dash had waited
a week to find this one, an ideal exit from captivity if he had
judged correctly. Either there was a sewer entrance here, or a
passage to another abandoned storage area that had one. The only
danger would be if they were caught ducking into this room, or
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