Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 (24 page)

When their horses began crossing the drawbridge, the soldier raised his arm. “I’m sorry boys,” he said. “No one’s allowed inside unless they have business.” When the other two came to a halt, Bart rode forward another foot before he too halted. “That’s what we’re here on,” Bart said without skipping a beat. “Our father will be on his way in the morning with a load of goods to trade at the Marketplace from Wardean. He sent us ahead to see about getting everything arranged for making the trip over the pass.”

The guard stared at Bart for a second as if he was trying to determine the validity of what he was saying. Then he turned his gaze to Chad and Riyan who worked hard at maintaining a relaxed demeanor. After coming to a decision, the guard nodded and said,

“Very well. You can enter.”

“Thank you,” said Bart as he got his horse moving again. Then with Riyan and Chad behind him, he entered Crag Keep.

Now that they were inside the walls, they could better see the layout of the keep.

Between the walls and the cliffside was a large courtyard. A group of five wagons were huddled together off to one side with a party of merchants moving in and around them.

The keep itself was almost entirely within the mountain. At the other end of the courtyard stood the main entrance, a double door of sturdy construction. Other than the door, there was no other opening in the lower portion of the cliffside. Not until twenty feet above the ground did the first opening appear which had to be a window though it was rather narrow. Other windows gaped from the cliff face for another hundred feet above the first one.

“Pretty impressive,” stated Chad.

“Now what are we to do?” asked Riyan. Lowering his voice, he turned to Bart and asked, “Tomorrow morning that guard is going to expect to see a caravan show up with our ‘father’.”

“Keep your voice down,” he said. Then he nodded to a small building on the opposite side of the courtyard from the five wagons. “If what I heard is accurate, that’s an inn. We can stay there tonight.”

“But how are we to get into the great hall and view the map?” Chad asked in a very quiet voice.

Bart shrugged, “I don’t know. Let’s get settled in. I’ll figure something out after that.”

“I hope so,” said Riyan as Bart led the way over to the building.

It turned out that his source had been correct for it was indeed an inn, a rather pricey inn in fact. They used most of one of the gold coins they had left for a room for themselves and stall space for their horses.

After settling in their horses, and on the way back to the inn, Riyan stopped to stare at the opening to the keep. Two guards stood watch and he knew they wouldn’t allow them to simply walk in and look around. He hoped Bart knew what he was doing, the place looked pretty daunting. Then he followed the other two into the inn for dinner.

The inn had very little in the way of amenities for its guests. The rooms were quite small, in fact they were forced to share a single room with one small bed. Still, it was better than sleeping outside on the ground.

They had but two choices for dinner. One was the stew that the cook at the inn provided or they could choose the food they brought with them. Forget about entertainment. There was a very small spot where a bard of some kind could have entertained those eating there, but none made an appearance. Riyan commented to the others that he thought it unlikely a bard ever came this way.

Once they finished eating, they stepped outside and tried to figure a way into the keep. The same two guards were still standing there to either side of the entrance. Any attempt at scaling the walls would be immediately seen. The prospect of gaining admittance seemed remote in the extreme.

“We could still ask,” Riyan said.

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea,” countered Bart. “Though if no other opportunity presents itself, we may be left with little choice.” For over an hour they wandered around the courtyard, all the while maintaining an eye on the keep while trying to appear like they weren’t. Finally, Bart noticed two men emerge between the two guards as they left the keep. They were dressed like merchants and were making their way over to where the five wagons sat.

Bart watched them cross the courtyard and grew thoughtful. Riyan noticed him following the two men with his eyes and asked, “What?”

“Those two men just came out of the keep,” he said. “I wonder what they were doing in there?”

“Good question,” Chad said. “Maybe you should go over and ask them.” Bart turned to him and nodded. “I think I will,” he said. Before Bart or Chad could say anything he stepped out and hurried over to the caravan’s camp.

“What does he think he’s doing?” asked Chad. He had been kidding when he suggested that he go talk with them.

“I don’t know,” replied Riyan. Then he watched as Bart arrived at the wagons and begun talking with the two men. “I hope he doesn’t get us into trouble.” They remained where they were in the courtyard until whatever conversation Bart had been having came to an end. Then he turned around and began heading back to the inn.

He indicated with a nod of his head that they should meet him there. They met up with him at the inn’s entrance where he came to a stop. “So?” asked Riyan.

“Inside the keep is where you acquire your permit to travel across the pass to the Marketplace,” he explained.

“You need a permit?” asked Chad.

“So it would seem,” replied Bart. He grinned and said, “This is just what we needed.”

“They’re not going to give us a permit,” Riyan stated. “We have no logical reason for going over there.”

“We can use the same story you used to get us in here,” suggested Chad. “That we are waiting for our father’s caravan.”

“But we can’t prove that,” objected Riyan.

“Look,” said Bart. “If we can just get past the guards at the entrance, then it doesn’t matter if we get a pass or not. All we really need is to look at the map in the great hall.” Chad looked to Riyan and shrugged, “It’s worth a try.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “The worst they could do is not let us in.” Bart gave him a grin and said, “That’s the spirit. Let’s go.” They left the front of the inn and made their way toward the entrance to the keep.

Riyan felt his insides tighten up in nervousness that he prayed wasn’t mirrored on his face. As they approached the guards at the entrance, Bart took the lead.

One of the guards stepped forward and held up a hand indicating they were to stop.

“Sorry boys, but the keep is off limits,” he told them.

“We were going to see about getting passes for our father’s wagons before they arrived in the morning,” Bart said in complete sincerity.

“Passes?” the guard asked.

“That’s right,” he replied. “Our father wants to see if the goblins would be willing to purchase some jewelry and trinkets that he recently acquired.”

“Usually the passes aren’t given until the wagons are actually here,” explained the guard.

“I know,” continued Bart. “Last year we were here with the wagons and it wasn’t a problem. Is Sergeant Akers still issuing the passes?”

“Yes he is,” the guard replied. His manner seemed to relax just a little.

“How is his little girl doing?” Bart asked. “Still giving him problems?”

“Oh you know it,” the guard said with a grin. “She’s not so little anymore. She drives him crazy whenever he’s home on leave.”

“Is he still in the same room as last year?” Bart asked.

“Yes,” the guard said. “Down the hall, fourth door on the right.”

“Thanks,” Bart said then moved forward to enter the keep. Behind him Chad and Riyan follow and to their astonishment, the guard stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

Once they left the guards behind, they entered a large hall. At present no one was in sight. Riyan tried to ask him about how he knew so much about this Sergeant Akers but Bart waved him silent. “Later,” he said.

At the far end of the hall was the corridor the guard had referred to. Another corridor left the hall to their right and two closed doors sat in the wall to their left. “Which way?” asked Chad.

“You got me,” replied Bart. “Let’s hope we find it before they find us.” Moving quickly to the corridor on their right, he soon left the hall behind as he made his way deeper into the keep. Sconces bearing burning torches lined the walls, both in the hall and in the corridors extending from it.

The great hall had to be in a prominent location, it would stand to reason that they would want it to be very accessible to visitors. So Bart moved down the corridor with the other two right behind, all three trying to be as quiet as possible.

The corridor extended for over a hundred feet before ending at a closed door. Other doors had sat along either side of the corridor as they moved along it, some open and some closed. The closed ones they left closed, and paused only a moment to peer through the open ones. They were making sure that there was no one on the other side who might see them pass. Not to mention making sure the door didn’t open onto the main hall, though Bart doubted if any of theses doors would do that. They simply were not in what he felt was the right place.

When they reached the door at the end, Bart listened at it for a moment until he was sure it was quiet on the other side. Then he opened the door slowly and peered around.

There he found another corridor running perpendicular to the one they were in.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard approaching down the corridor on the other side of the door. Bart closed it quickly and turned to the others. “Someone’s coming!” he said.

They moved back quickly to the closest door to them and opened it. Fortunately it opened up onto a storage room and they hurried inside. No sooner did they get the door closed than they heard the door at the end of the corridor open. The footsteps began walking towards them down the corridor and they listened as they drew abreast of the door then continued on past. A second or two later they heard another door open and close.

Bart cracked open the door to the storage room and looked out. The corridor was once again empty. “Come on,” he said to the other two. Opening the door wider, he left the storage room and made his way back to the door at the end of the corridor.

This time when he peered out into the other corridor, there were no footsteps to be heard and both ways were deserted. Waving for the others to follow, he passed through the doorway and started following the corridor to the left.

The corridor they found themselves in now was fairly similar to the one they just left.

Voices could be heard coming from up ahead and Bart had them pause in a small alcove as they listened. A few seconds later they determined that the voices were neither approaching nor moving away. So they returned to the corridor and resumed their progress.

Thirty feet further down stood an open doorway and it was from there that the voices were originating. He motioned for Riyan and Chad to remain where they were as he continued forward to peer into the room. Creeping forward silently, he reached the edge of the open door and very slowly looked around to the other side.

It turned out to be a room where several soldiers were taking their ease before a fireplace. The table they were sitting around had a pitcher of ale and several cups resting on top. One of the men was facing in such a way that the doorway was in his direct line of sight. However, in Bart’s opinion, the man appeared rather drunk and may not notice when they moved across the doorway quickly.

Turning back to the others, he waved them forward. When they reached his side he said, “Need to be quick.” Once he received nods of understanding, he stepped out and very quickly, passed in front of the doorway. Riyan and Chad followed right behind him.

Bart didn’t stop when they reached the other side. Instead, he kept leading them forward as he listened for anything that might indicate they were seen by the men in the room behind them. When nothing materialized, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued down the corridor.

Several other corridors at times branched off, but Bart continued following the corridor they were in. Each time they came to a branching, they would slow down, check for anyone in the other corridor, then proceed when clear. It was the third such branching to the left when they saw what had to be the great hall opening up at the end of the new corridor.

“I think that’s it,” he said as he turned them down it. When Riyan and Chad entered the corridor, they agreed with him. The corridor extended for about twenty feet before opening up on a large hall with many tables set in three neat rows running from one side to the other. A servant was seen passing through towards one of the exits on the far side.

They waited until the servant had left the great hall before they entered. As they stepped from the corridor, Riyan glanced up at the vaulting ceiling that arched overhead

“Wow,” he breathed in awe as the sheer size of the room overpowered him. He had never been in such a massive room before, other than what they found in The Crypt that is.

“We don’t have time for gawking,” Bart admonished them. “Let’s find the map and get out of here.”

They looked for the map and didn’t see it. From what Bart had said it should have been quite large and out in the open. Then Chad turned around and looked at the wall through which they just emerged. “I think I found it,” he said.

The other two turned about and saw that most of the wall was painted with a map depicting a large portion of the Kingdom of Byrdlon, of which the lands of Duke Yoric were but a part. It also showed the mountains to the west that separated the goblin lands from theirs and beyond.

“There’s Quillim!” exclaimed Chad.

Riyan looked to where he pointed and saw a tiny dot with the name of their town upon it. “It isn’t that big,” he said.

“No it isn’t,” said Bart as he backed away from the wall to get a better view. As much as he stared at the map on the piece of the key when he was lying in bed, he had the area depicted upon it memorized. His eyes scanned the map and came to an area that matched what was on the key.