Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza (9 page)

Everything in front of Alex was dark, but the smell was almost unbearable. Alex listened for a moment. He could hear people moving around, but he couldn’t see anything. He took a step forward, holding out his hand in front of him so he wouldn’t run into anything. He stopped when he heard some faint whispers to his left.

“My friend will come,” said a dry voice. “I know he will.”

“He may come, but will it be in time?” questioned a second voice.

“He will come as soon as he can,” said the first voice. “If not in time to save us, at least in time to avenge our deaths.”

“Little comfort in that,” said a third voice.

“Take comfort where you can,” said the first voice.

“Skeld?” Alex whispered.

“Alex?”

Alex broke his spell of invisibility and turned toward the voices. It sounded like he had found Skeld and his companions only just in time. Conjuring a weir light that seemed incredibly bright after the total darkness, he had to blink several times before he could really see anything.

“Thank goodness I’ve found you,” said Alex, shocked by how thin and pale Skeld looked.

“I knew you’d come,” said Skeld happily, struggling to get to his feet. “I knew you would find us.”

“How long have you been in this hole?” asked Alex, moving to the door of the cell that held Skeld and his companions.

“Longer than I care to remember,” answered Skeld, coughing as he met Alex at the cell door.

Taking a moment to examine the lock, Alex whispered a few magic words, then hit the door with his staff. With a loud crack, the lock broke away, and the cell door swung open. Alex caught Skeld as he fell forward with the door.

“I should introduce you to my companions,” said Skeld, pulling away from Alex and turning back to his fellow prisoners.

“There will be time for introductions later,” said Alex. “I’ve got to get you all out of here.”

“How did you get in?” Skeld asked.

“Magic, of course,” answered Alex. “And that’s how we’re getting out as well.”

“But—” Skeld began.

“No time,” said Alex, cutting him off. “Where are your bags and weapons?”

“Taken,” said Skeld. “We were forced to put them in an iron lockbox after we were captured. If we’d had our bags, we could have escaped before ever reaching this cursed city. The lockbox was brought here as well, but I don’t know where it is now.”

“I’ll see if I can find it, but no promises,” said Alex. “I’m going to put you all inside my bag for the time being. There’s plenty of food and water there, and there’s a fire burning to keep you warm. If I can find your things I’ll call you out again so you can collect them.”

“It would be better if we made our own way out of this dungeon,” said one of Skeld’s companions. “The rules of honor—”

“None of you looks like you could make your own way out of this pit without help,” Alex cut in. “And as for the rules of honor, well, I’m invoking my wizard’s privilege to waive them. There will be no loss of honor to any of you for accepting the safety of my bag.”

“Wizard’s privilege—and some common sense,” said Skeld with a weak grin.

“There is a dark wizard here,” said one of the other adventurers. “You should be careful of him as you search.”

“I will be,” said Alex. “Now, everybody up. I think you’ll find my bag more comfortable than this pit.” He looked around. “Wait. I was told there were six of you. I count only five.”

“There were six of us,” said Skeld, a look of anger on his face. “The men of Nezza have no honor. They shoot first and ask for a peaceful surrender after.”

One of the other adventurers touched Skeld’s arm and he fell silent.

Without waiting for further discussion, Alex held out his magic bag and gave the command for it to put all five prisoners inside it. There was the sound of rushing air, and Alex was suddenly alone in the dungeon. He moved back to the iron door, then put out his weir light.

The guards were still asleep. Alex rebolted the iron door and relit the guard’s lamps. Then he worked his magic and became invisible once more. He thought it would be best to wake the guards before leaving. If someone found them asleep, it might raise questions and suspicions. Awake, the guards might remain where they were for hours. Plus, then they might be able to tell him where to look for the adventurer’s magic bags.

“Wake,” Alex commanded.

The two guards stirred, then struggled sluggishly back to their feet. They looked confused and worried.

“The iron box that holds the adventurers’ possessions—where is it?”

“Nothing came with the adventurers,” one of the guards answered.

“If there was something of great value, where would the wizard keep it?” Alex tried again.

“Things of value to the wizard would be in his private rooms at the top of the tower,” the guard answered.

“Forget,” Alex said.

The worried looks on the guard’s faces vanished, and they stood at attention on either side of the door. Turning away, Alex headed back up the passageway as fast and as quietly as he could. The guard’s answer was not what he had hoped for. He wasn’t ready to face Magnus, and recovering the stolen magic bags might mean that he’d have to. As he started up the stairway, he considered leaving the magic bags where they were for now.

Alex was almost to the stairs that would lead him up to the fourth level of the dungeon when he stopped short. The sound of moving men echoed through the dungeon, and torchlight filled the hallway in front of him.

“What’s all this?” a voice asked in the darkness.

“Orders,” came the answer.

Alex moved closer. He wanted to hear what orders had been given.

“The dungeons are to be searched from top to bottom. Every room is to be inspected without exception,” said a man who looked like an officer.

“We haven’t got enough men to do that,” another man answered. “There are rooms down here that nobody’s ever seen, and passageways that end in bottomless pits.”

“More men will be coming,” the officer answered. “For now, all of you are to stand guard in front of the stairs. Nothing is to get past you to the fourth level. Understood?”

The guards nodded and spread out across the stairway.

Alex’s only escape had just been blocked off.

Chapter Six

The Escape

As he retreated from the torchlight, Alex let his right hand brush against the wall. His mind felt empty, unable to think or plan. When his hand found an open space in the darkness, he turned into another hallway. After walking another hundred yards, he stopped and closed his eyes.

What is Magnus doing right now?
Alex asked himself.

The answer came to him, and it was as if Alex could almost see what Magnus was thinking. He knew that Alex was in the dungeons somewhere, and he knew that he’d found the adventurers. With guards at all the stairways, and more searching the dungeon from top to bottom, there was little chance for Alex to escape. Alex thought he could magic his way past most of the guards, but sooner or later someone would notice, and then Magnus would know exactly where he was.

Conjuring a weir light to guide him, Alex broke the spell that made him invisible. If Magnus could track Alex by his magic use, then Alex couldn’t stay invisible forever.

He has a plan; he must,
Alex thought, remembering what Savage had told him.

Magnus had known that Alex was in Nezza for at least four days. He might have been planning for something like this for years, but what was his plan? Alex couldn’t guess, but one thing became clear in his mind. Whatever Magnus had planned, he would need to be close by to make his plan work. Magnus would want to be in the dungeons when Alex was found.

“If I wasn’t stuck in the bottom of the dungeon, now would be the perfect time to enter Magnus’s rooms and find the missing magic bags,” Alex said.

Then you need to find a way out of the dungeon,
his O’Gash answered.

The soldier in the tavern had mentioned the pipes under the dungeon, but Alex didn’t think there was much hope there. He was so far underground that any pipes leading to the river would be flooding the dungeon with water. Still, if he could find the pipes, he might be able to use them to move into one of the higher levels of the dungeon.

Alex continued to walk, keeping his eyes open for any sign of pipes along the walls or drains in the floor. He shivered in the cold, damp air, and he pushed his right hand into his pocket to get it warm. If he’d known he’d be trapped in the dungeon, he would have worn warmer clothes.

After what felt like a long time, Alex was forced to stop at the edge of a large open pit. The floor appeared again about twenty feet beyond the pit, but everything ahead of him was in darkness. He sent his weir light down into the pit but soon called it back. The pit was deep, and he didn’t want to think about what might be at the bottom of it.

Wake up!
Alex’s O’Gash screamed inside his head.
Magnus’s magic is dulling your wits already.

Alex hadn’t felt any magic, but he knew it was there just the same. Magnus had done something to put him into a trancelike state. If he didn’t shake himself out of it now, it might be too late.

“What options do I have?” said Alex.

Go back the way he had come? No good—too many soldiers. Staying where he was only meant that the soldiers would eventually find him. He could move forward, but to where? The passageway might continue on the far side of this pit, but there was no way for him to know where it would lead. He could wonder aimlessly for days and still be stuck in this dungeon.

Someone built the passageway, so it must go somewhere,
said his O’Gash.

Forward was his only real choice, but he didn’t like it. He sent his weir light across the empty space, changing into a swallow to follow it. Alex instantly returned to his own form on the far side of the pit and increased the brightness of his weir light. There was little chance of anyone seeing the light, and the glow made him feel more awake.

Worried that Magnus’s magic would dull his mind if he didn’t stay focused, Alex started off at a quick pace. He felt more awake and was even curious about why this passageway had been made so far under the city. He continued to watch for pipes or anything else that might help him, but he saw nothing.

The tunnel started to bend and twist as he followed it, and in places it seemed to be moving in an upward direction. The possibility that the tunnel might lead to the surface encouraged Alex, and he hurried forward. The bends became regular corners, turning sharply every hundred feet or so. When the floor became steeper, he knew that the passage was leading toward the surface and he had to slow his pace.

A short set of stairs appeared out of the darkness. The stairs went down into what looked like a massive room. Alex took the first two steps down and then froze in his tracks. His eyes went wide as he looked into the room, and his whole body felt cold. There was a huge pile in the middle of the room and crawling over and around that pile were thousands and thousands of rats.

Go back, go back, go back,
a weak-sounding voice at the bottom of Alex’s brain squealed.

Why? They’re only rats,
said a stronger voice at the top of his brain.

Evil, disgusting, nasty rats,
the weak voice answered.
They are watching every move I make. They are watching for their chance to attack.

Alex looked around the room, and thousands of little eyes reflected his weir light, shining back at him. The rats were watching, but that was all they were doing.

They see the light and are afraid of it,
the stronger voice in his head said.
If I enter the room, they will run away from the light.

They will attack and drag me down with their numbers,
the weak voice answered.

Alex tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry. He ran his tongue over his lips and it felt like a piece of sandpaper. Cold sweat ran down his back, and his whole body shivered.

I’ve seen rats before, and I’m not afraid of them. I don’t have time for this,
the stronger voice said.
I can see a path on the far side of the room. I need to hurry, so stop complaining and get moving.

Alex tried to move but he couldn’t. His muscles were tight, ready to break into a run, but they would not obey his commands. A strange, squishy, splatting noise pulled his eyes to the rat-covered pile at the center of the room. He looked up and saw a faint light coming from the ceiling. There were holes in the ceiling. The light seemed to flicker, and then shadows fell onto the pile below.

I must be under the kitchens,
said the strong voice.
They are dropping their garbage into this room to get rid of it. That’s why all these rats are here. I’m close to the surface now.

They are breeding the rats to destroy anyone who tries to escape the dungeons,
said the weak voice.
If I go too close, they will swarm over me. Rats will eat anything they can get their paws on—dead or alive.