Champions of Light: Gaëtano's Sword [Book One]

Chapter Six

An Earthen Tomb

The dry walls and ground of the cell wafted into spurts of dust as Vikki paced the cell, looking for any loose stone or anything out of place. Kim was brainstorming ideas out loud, but most ended up requiring something from her bag. Alice sat next to her, fumbling with her hands as she stared at the cell door, waiting for something. Charlotte was whispering complaints or sweet nothings into John's ear, as he traced something into the dirt and Richard and Lany sat apart, looking apathetic and dejected in kind. In the center of the room, Skylar, Freddy, Sean, Chris, and Gregory shared stories of their lives to pass time.

They were laughing as Gregory was depicting a story about how Lany, Liona and he had met. Apparently, Lany and Liona were on what could have been called a date and had come into Gregory's family restaurant. That day had happened to be the anniversary of Gregory's parents and they were throwing a banquet. Gregory described the dishes in mouthwatering detail; grilled fish seasoned with lime, paprika, salt, pepper, and mango juice, paired with a potato and crab soup, garlic bread, and a side of pineapple salsa; oven-roasted chicken, marinated in yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala, paprika, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and ginger, paired with steaming rice, flat bread, and dipping sauce.

They stopped him before their bellies grumbled too loud. He carried on by joking that he had mistaken Lany as a dish, since Lany was as big as the portions Gregory had served. Then, he described how Liona had scared away some ruffians who had been bothering the restaurant for months, and the three became quick friends, and soon later, partners. It was bittersweet to talk about Liona, but even Lany smiled at the story.

"If I had a chicken to cook, we wouldn't be so miserable in here," Gregory finished.

"Well, if I had my pack, we'd be gone by now," Skylar playfully punched Gregory's arm.

"What do you mean?" Sean asked, curiously.

"Have you seen my bag? I've got all sorts of goodies. There would definitely be a lock pick or a shovel in there."

"A shovel?" Gregory laughed.

"Hey, you never know when you need a shovel."

"Would you really expect us to dig our way out of here?" Charlotte whined, overhearing the discussion.

"I'm a tinkerer, I could make a machine that would do all the hard work for us."

"We might not have to." Freddy spoke up. They looked to him. "I noticed the staircase kept going further below. If the builders were smart, they'd create an exit in case of a cave in or ambush."

"The staircase goes down for miles; how do we know it's not a dead end?" Richard asked, leaving his post.

"I think you're all forgetting we're still stuck here," Charlotte whined louder.

"And that if we do somehow sneak out of here, the guards are going to notice, and we have no way of getting the gem either," John chimed in.

"We have to time it," Alice thought out loud. They all looked to her, and she fumbled with her hands. Kim nudged her to continue. After a moment of gaining courage to speak with so many eyes on her, she said, "The guards will most likely come at certain intervals. If we time it, we might be able to discern whether there is a secret passage. If there is, we can time it again to get our things. Only, I don't know how we'd get the gem."

"Leave that to me," Lany spoke up in a determined voice.

"I think we're forgetting something again," Charlotte reminded them, "we're still stuck here."

Alice showed what she had been fumbling with. It was a lockpick.

"Where in the world did you get that beauty?" Skylar asked, jumping to her feet and getting a closer look, as if it were a precious stone.

"I have it with me always. Just in case."

"You are a woman of great ideals!" Skylar kissed her on the head and grabbed the lockpick. She jumped up and ran to the cell door.

"Wait," Sean bade, and Skylar looked to him as if he had refused a puppy its treat. "We have to time it, remember?"

As they timed the guard's patrol, Vikki suggested that instead of taking three separate trips to find their objectives, three people from their group should go at the same time. Sean had offered to find the exit, while Alice chose to unlock their belongings and bring them back, and finally, Lany was determined to find a way to get the gem. Once all three had come back safely--and if the secret exit existed--they would then all escape without detection. That is, if all went without a hitch.

Almost as soon as the guard left their cell, headed for the rest of his patrol, that Skylar unlocked the cell and let the trio out, bidding them good luck.

Sean turned down the dark staircase, while the other two went up, towards the light. He gazed into every passing cell to see if the passage was hidden inside while he took two steps in one stride. It was barely a minute when he was faced with a thick darkness. He took the last lit torch and delved deeper. Two minutes and he was at the bottom, out of breath and almost out of hope.

There remained one final cell, which he peered through. It seemed at first that it ended with more stone wall, but a small breeze flickered the torch, and he edged closer. There had been an illusion which made the cell seem to end, but instead it turned abruptly into a dirt tunnel. He almost blurted out a shout of triumph, but turned on his heels, and made his way back up.

Alice fidgeted with the lockpick in her hands. She had let Skylar unlock the door, but for some reason, everyone agreed that Alice should be the one who grabbed their belongings. She allowed herself to be proud for speaking up and for being of use to the group. But soon that pride turned to worry as she and Lany neared the terrace where their belongings had been stored.

They heard voices coming from within. They had not counted on guards there. Lany peered into the room, then scurried by, giving Alice a wave of encouragement. Alice peered into the room as well. There were two guards, playing cards with bottles of what she hoped was booze. Though she couldn't wait for them to fall asleep in a drunken stupor. She had to do something. She studied the interior, being aware of how visible she was, and quickly snuffed the closest torch.

"What the?" A female guard said.

"Go check it out," the other one ordered. The female guard clicked her tongue and went towards the stairs. She took three steps down and was snatched into an open cell. Alice had cuffed her mouth as she dragged her inside and used a loose brick to knock her unconscious. Alice mouthed an apology and waited.

The other guard soon came out to check on his friend and when he too took three steps down, he was dragged into the same cell and was knocked unconscious by the same stone. Alice apologized again and locked them in the cell, hoping that eventually, they'd be alright. She then unlocked the storage with ease and struggled to carry all the baggage back to the cell, and eventually got Kim and Skylar to help.

Lany took the longest. They had five minutes before patrols, and Lany had used three to locate the king without being discovered and climb up his massive bed. Lany was just now tiptoeing down the King's massive arm to pry the gem out of its socket. Lany used the King's toothpick, that was more like a pike, to wedge into the ring and begin to edge it out. The King stirred, and Lany froze. Then, Lany pried harder, breathing heavily and sweating. The King stirred again, and this time Lany waited only a second before resuming. Then, the gem popped out and landed with a clink on the floor. Lany winced and watched the King's breathing return to normal. Lany then scampered down the bed and grabbed the gem, which was the size of a small boulder but was surprisingly light. Lany carried it with ease and ran back to the cell with only a minute left.

Lany huffed as Alice closed the cell again, andthey softly cheered at their success. The guard came on time, unaware of whatthey had accomplished, and went away without even checking if the cell wasstill locked. They grabbed their bags--which they had hidden inside the boxeswithin the cell--and filed down the stairs towards the darkness.