Valley of the Ancients: Book Three of the Restoration Series Read online

  Heather wasn't overly worried about Dagan's staring. She got the feeling that was the normal response for someone seeing this room for the first time. They probably shouldn't gawk for too long, though. "We need to start moving but we can go slowly."

  Dagan turned his head slowly to look at her and she began to get worried. The old man had an awe struck look on his face. His mouth was slightly ajar and his eyes were wide.

  "Are you okay?" she asked. She gave another little pull and got him moving, albeit rather slowly.

  He blinked several times and looked back at the relief. "It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

  Not exactly the words she wanted to hear. "Should we change the plan?" If he couldn't get the secret door open, then perhaps they should cancel this and regroup.

  Dagan didn't answer right away. "No. I don't think so," he said finally. He looked over at her. "You don't see any of that, do you?"

  "Any of what?"

  "To my eyes there are some rather interesting wards placed on that relief."

  "Can you handle them?"

  "Of course, but I think that what I see is only the first half."

  Her forehead wrinkled in confusion, "What do you mean?" They were nearing the relief now and Dagan watched it intently.

  "I think the wards have to be removed first, but then I think we'll need Cassandra's help. It's ingenious. I think they deliberately used a sorcerer and a magician."

  Heather glanced around, not wanting this conversation to be overheard. "Explain," she said simply.

  "It makes perfect sense," Dagan said in a patient tone. "The biggest threat to the treasure room was from the Church, so they used a sorcerer and a mag ^istu

  "Couldn't they just hire someone?" Heather asked, as they passed through the secondary entrance into the library proper. She led them towards the back through the enormous number of bookshelves.

  "Perhaps, but sorcerers such as myself are rather scarce. I would imagine they would have some difficulty in finding someone with the necessary abilities."

  With her head tilted down Heather grinned, wondering if the old man might just be overestimating his own worth. Then again, one did not get to be the king of Telur's sorcerer for nothing.

  It took a while at their slow pace but they finally neared the back wall. Aaron already stood there, apparently busy inspecting some old books nearby. No one was around, so they didn't try very hard to hide.

  "What took so long?" Aaron asked, looking relieved to see them.

  "Had to go slow," Heather answered. She nodded at Dagan, "I had to help the old man along."

  Aaron grinned, but Dagan scowled at the both of them.

  "Have you seen any of the others?" Heather asked.

  Aaron shook his head. "No, but they're not due yet."

  They didn't have to wait long before the others began to gather. Atock was the first to arrive. He looked around and then moved over and joined the other three.

  "Any problems?" Heather asked.

  "No. No one even looked at me twice."

  The other three followed quickly. Mikela arrived first and she was followed closely by Cassandra and Enton arriving together.

  So far they hadn't seen anyone and this part of the library seemed deserted, but Heather didn't want to try the fates. "Okay Aaron, lead on."

  Without a word, Aaron headed off farther into library. Heather had them follow in groups of one and two. Just in case someone was still around, she didn't want to raise their suspicions.

  Aaron stopped just short of the back wall. A lone door broke up the endless stone of the wall. He waited until Heather arrived and then motioned over at the door. "The other day, there was a guard on this door." He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe they only guard it when it's being used."

  Heather shrugged and motioned him on.

  Aaron stepped away from the last rows of bookshelves and approached the door. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle and stepped through. It didn't quite smell as bad as the other day but it was pretty close. More importantly though, the room was empty. Turning, he looked around one more time and then motioned the others over. This time the others came over in one big bunch.

  "Gods," Dagan muttered. "What's that smell?"

  Aaron shrugged apologetically. "I think they repair books here." He motioned to the two long tables that filled the majority of the room. They were partially covered with old, half-mended books.< ^e weds,&qu/p>

  "Doesn't matter," Heather said quickly. "We're just waiting here until they clear the library." Another little piece of knowledge the guard captain had given them was that after closing the library, the guards verified it was empty, and then locked it up. They only patrolled outside the library, not inside. Once it was closed and the guards gone, it would be simple for them to move around. The problem was getting to that point.

  "Are you sure that you can do this?" Heather asked Dagan, starting to feel the first pangs of worry. If the old man wasn't up to his part, then things were going to go bad very quickly.

  In answer, Dagan scowled at her and waved his hand at the back wall. "Everyone against the wall." For a moment no one moved, "Go on. Get next to the wall."

  Bringing up the rear, Dagan paused and set his wooden staff down on the floor. He laid it parallel to the wall and then stepped back and leaned against the stone of the wall. He was silent for a moment, just staring at the staff and then he looked up smiling. "Done." He announced cheerily.

  "Done?" Heather repeated, a little less confident. "Done with what?"

  "As long as we are on this side of that staff, then no one will see us." Dagan answered, pointing to the staff on the floor. "Anyone who enters this room will see a wall even with that staff. They will not see us."

  Heather and Mikela shared a worried look. A look that Dagan caught, making him scowl at the two ladies. "If you don't believe me then why don't you take your chances out there?"

  Both ladies opened their mouths to answer, but neither did. Several voices were could be heard outside the door.

  "Quiet! All of you." Atock hissed quietly.

  He had barely finished speaking when the door opened and a guard stepped in. He was a young man who hardly looked old enough to need to shave. He glanced around the room, bent down and looked under the long tables, and then stepped back out closing the door behind him. "Clear!" they heard him call out.

  Heather released her breath. She hadn't even realized that she had been holding it. She turned to Dagan, smiling. "Good work."

  "Naturally," was Dagan's somewhat smug reply.

  They waited in the smelly room for nearly an hour and a half, until Dagan said the library was empty. He used sorcery to tell when all the guards were gone.

  Emerging from the small room, the library looked totally different than just a few shorts hours ago. It was dark with just a little moonlight filtering in from the high up windows.

  Atock looked up at the windows that were so far over their heads. "How is this place lit up so well during the day? It has to be more than just the light through the windows."

  "Magic," Cassandra and Mikela answered in unison.

  "Quiet," Dagan hissed. "Aaron lead the way back to the gallery."

  Aaron paused, glancing at Heather. He waited for her nod before he moved out.

  Cov ^">

  ering a smile, Heather followed Aaron and Dagan through the bookshelves. She was rather pleased that Aaron had looked to her before following Dagan's order. It showed that he still viewed her as in charge. That was a rather pleasant thought.

  Upon reaching the entrance gallery, they spread out in a semicircle staring at the relief.

  "Now what?" Enton asked.

  That was a very good question, Heather thought. Silently, she turned to Dagan. He took the hint.

  "First, I need to undo some very complicated wards placed on the relief." He motioned vaguely towards Cassandra. "After that, it'll be up to her."

  "Me?" Cassandra repeated dully. She looked from
the relief to Dagan and then back to the relief. "What am I supposed to do?"

  "If I'm right," Dagan said slowly, "Once I remove the wards, you'll have to deal with the magic spells. I think that a magician enchanted that relief and then a sorcerer put wards on top of the magician's spells."

  Cassandra looked thoughtful but the others all looked lost. "Clever," Cassandra said after a moment.

  "Care to explain to the rest of us?" Atock asked.

  "If Dagan's right, then it would take both a magician and a sorcerer to get through this secret entrance. If a magician tried to open it with the sorcerer's wards still in place," she didn't finish the sentence, but let their imaginations do the guessing.

  Looking a little pale, Mikela cleared her throat. "Does that mean I could have accidentally set something off with the reveal spell?"

  Dagan grinned and nodded. "You are lucky to be here, my dear."

  "How long will it take?" Atock asked. Practical and to the point, it was like he hadn't just heard that one of his comrades nearly set off a trap.

  Dagan studied the relief for several moments. "I'm not sure. Everyone be quiet and let me get started."

  They all watched him, not sure what they should expect. Dagan stared at the relief, that's all, he just stared. He didn't move or look away. He focused on the stone relief and barely even seemed to breathe. Gradually the others moved away from him. They spread out across the entrance gallery and some took a seat on the marble floor.

  Nothing changed for over an hour, except the room got a little bit darker. Finally, Dagan slumped. He looked exhausted, his face red and covered with sweat. He was grinning at them, though, as they rushed over to him. "Done," he said simply. He turned his attention to Cassandra. "All of the wards have been removed. It should be safe for you to," he cut off and wiggled his fingers at the direction of the relief.

  Cassandra's eyebrow arched up at that. Heather wasn't sure but she got the feeling that the old man had just insulted Cassandra in some way.

  Without saying a word, Cassandra moved over and studied the relief.

  Dagan had stood there like a statue doing whatever it was he had done, but Cassandra did things a little differently. She paced back and forth in front of the relief for nearly ten minutes. N ^th=" buot saying a word, not doing anything else besides studying the relief.

  Finally, Cassandra opened a small pouch that hung on her belt and began tossing powder on the relief as she spoke. She spoke quietly. The others could hear her but couldn't make out the words. She stopped speaking and the relief and the air around glowed a golden color. Cassandra removed a small stone from another pocket and tossed it into the golden cloud. There was a loud popping noise and the golden cloud disappeared leaving the relief wrapped in what appeared to be glowing red ropes.

  "What's that?" Heather asked.

  "Silence!" Cassandra snapped. "There must be absolute silence while I work."

  Heather's eyebrows rose at the command in Cassandra's tone but she chose to remain quiet.

  "Mikela, assist me." It was not a request and Mikela sprang forward to help. The two women put their heads together and whispered.

  Atock sighed heavily. "Magicians," he said to Heather, albeit very quietly.

  The two magicians spent nearly the same amount of time working on the relief that Dagan had. They quietly spoke at the relief, sometimes the others could nearly hear what they were saying and it always sounded foreign. They put things on the relief, powders and such, and they even wrote on the floor and the wall beside where the relief hung. Finally, Cassandra turned to face the others. "Done."

  "Really?" Heather asked. "I thought it would be open when you were done."

  Cassandra glowered at the other woman for a moment and then walked over to the relief. Reaching down, she took a hold of the relief in the very middle and easily swung it away from the wall. A narrow set of stairs descended into the darkness.

  Heather turned to Enton. "You go first." The big man nodded and stepped over to the stairs.

  "I'll go second so that he can see." Mikela said glancing over to Heather, who nodded back at her. Mikela stepped up close behind Enton. "Il-lum," she said, and a little ball of light appeared in the air beside her. It lit up the stairs and Enton began slowly to descend.

  The stairs led down to a sub floor; a basement that was a fraction of the size of the above ground levels. A small desk sat off to one side, with a single shelf of books behind it on the wall. Several comfortable looking chairs were scattered around the room. A large wooden door sat off to the side of the desk.

  Heather was third down the stairs and she stopped and surveyed the small room. She waited until Dagan climbed down the steps. "This reminds me of a room where you wait to meet someone important."

  Dagan slowly studied the desk and shelf of books. Finally, he nodded. "I agree." He motioned towards the desk, "That looks like the desk of a clerk of sorts. Probably records the names of visitors in that book."

  "I got the feeling that this place was rarely used," Atock said, running a finger across the top of the desk to show the thin layer of dust.

  Nodding, Dagan stepped closer. "I agree. I guess the clerk only comes down for planned visits. It's too much trouble opening the door otherwise." ^Goodhis place

  Enton hadn't been still this whole time. He had made a quick circuit of the room and he now stood next to the only door. He reached out to take the handle.

  "Stop!" Dagan called, rather louder than he meant to. Several of the others jumped in surprise at the loud noise.

  Enton jerked his hand away from the door handle like it was a poisonous snake and turned to stare at the old man. "What? Isn't this the treasure room?"

  Dagan stomped over and shooed Enton out of the way. "Perhaps it is, but it too may be warded. Did you stop to think of that?"

  Judging by the wide eyed look on Enton's face, he most certainly had not thought of that.

  They remained quiet for several moments as Dagan studied the door and its frame. Finally he straightened up, "It's not warded with sorcery. Cassandra, would you please check it with your craft?"

  Atock sat down on the top of the desk and watched as Cassandra moved over and began speaking quietly in the general direction of the door. "Magicians," he mumbled again, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.

  Cassandra, like Dagan, was also much quicker than she had been in the entrance gallery. After five or ten minutes she straightened up, looking surprised but pleased. "Nothing. It's safe to open." As she said it though, she stepped back to let Enton open the door.

  Enton stepped up to the door and placed his hand on the handle, pausing only long enough to motion for Mikela to join him. She quickly did so and the little ball of light floated along with her. He opened the door and stepped inside.

  Undoubtedly, they had found the treasure room.

  Chapter 10

  Enton led the way into the dark room and he could feel the others crowding in right on his heels.

  This room was larger than the waiting room they had just passed through. This room was maybe thirty feet square and not overly packed. Five small tables, square and made of stone, ran the length of the center of the room. A single item rested on each of the tables, giving the feeling of importance to each of the five items. The left hand side of the room was covered with two long shelves. Piled on the shelves were smaller and less valuable items, everything from books, to expensive looking jewelry, to old looking weapons.

  "It's not what I expected," Heather said, looking up and down the room.

  Dagan didn't seem to hear her but moved over to the first of the five stone tables. He glanced briefly down at what set on it and then moved to the next. In this manner, he passed the first four tables and came to a stop at the fifth and final table.

  Heather and the others hurried to follow him. Hurrying as she was, she still looked at each table as she past them.

  On the first table sat a book. Heather thought it rather unimpressive but she did noti
ce that both Cassandra and Mikela lingered a moment, they seemed to find the book more interesting than did the rest. Must be a spellbook, Heather thought.

  The second table's contents we ^th="0t bre equally as dull as the first. On it sat an old and rusty short sword. There was nothing at all interesting about the sword but on this table Heather noticed a small bronze plaque that said:

  Elkron Zur

  Sword of Rama Aphon, first king of Eled Aminor

  Heather found the contents of the third table more to her liking. On it sat a golden necklace. The necklace was made out of golden rectangular plates that were held together by a small golden chain. It was covered with expensive looking gemstones, with the biggest being a gigantic ruby as big as a small bird's egg.

  After briefly pausing to look at the necklace, she moved to the next table and recoiled in horror. Upon the fourth table, a golden helmet sat. The others were also avoiding this table, giving it a wide berth. Golden helmets were considered an abomination and no warrior would wear anything like it. "Who would make such a thing?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

  Cassandra stopped beside the table and glanced at the helmet. "It was not always considered bad luck to wear a golden helmet. There was a time when whole armies wore such helmets, led by generals and kings who also wore a golden helm."

  "Really?" Heather asked, still staring at the helmet. She had never really thought about why it was not done; it simply was not done. No warrior wore a golden helmet, not even in a parade. It was disgusting.

  Cassandra opened her mouth to say something else, but she didn't get the chance.

  "Stop!" Enton called out rather loudly. His voice echoed in the room, making nearly everyone jump. Everyone including Dagan, who had just reached out to touch something on the fifth table.