章節 374: Cave of Wonders
"But my bags! They were in the carriage!" The doctor lamented as he realized how the plot was unfolding.
Nurlan placed his hand gently on the saddle bags. "I have taken care of everything. They are right here. Ezer passed me your bags as he boarded. As you may know, he is very good with his slight of hand."
The physician relaxed slightly before spinning himself into a new tizzy. "But Duchess Ashleigh—"
"Will by just fine without your miraculous ointment. We can send her a whole case when we return if you like." Aurora adjusted her sidesaddle position, as it was something she had not done for quite sometime, and then clicked her tongue. The horse whinnied at the rider's command and chomped at the bit.
The general took control of the reins, and led the procession in a different direction than the carriages had been. They plodded on for a half hour with the Doctor asking every manner of question and receiving only polite silence in reply.
They crossed into an open field. The late autumn grass was tall and brown, waving in the soft breeze. "We are terribly exposed here, especially with the horse." Nurlan grumbled. "We better get a move on."
"Agreed." Zan said with a slight shiver. He cloak had always made him feel safe when he was out and about. He had not felt this unprotected in over a decade. They quickened their pace.
Off to the left, Valiant's walls were creeping ever closer. The sight somehow made the physician uneasy. "We aren't going back into town, are we?" he wondered aloud, expecting no answer just like his last hundred queries.
To his surprise, Aurora turned and looked at him with a playful grin. "Of course not, Doctor. We are going under it."
Ahead of them, an outcropping of rocks grew out of the ground. It seemed natural enough in the open field to have the odd boulder, but this grouping was quite large.
"It has been a while, hasn't it, Your Majesty?" Zan sounded nostalgic somehow, which was funny to the Empress because he had used it most notably when fleeing for his life.
"Yes, it has," the woman recognized the same longing in her own voice. The exit from the tunnels was the beginning of her greatest adventure: her life with Devrim.
As Zan took the child, Nurlan lowered the Empress to the ground. While Aurora leaned against the horse for stability, the general removed the doctor's bags and handed them over to their owner. "You'll have to carry these from here on out." Then the general attached a note to his saddle, helped the Empress move away and told the horse, "Go home!"
The steed did not need to be told twice by his master. The day was waning and a full bushel of hay awaited him when he returned to the stable. The stallion trotted off to find any soldier willing and able to read the feeding instructions attached to the leather seat.
"Shall we?" Zan motioned toward the rocks. The group climbed over the uneven ground and curved around a rock into what seemed to be a dead end. But as a dank draft hit the physician's face, he realized it was not a dead end at all. It was the entrance to a hidden cave.
With Zan and Colvyr in the lead, the group moved down the tunnel until there was almost no light left. Then Nurlan lit a fire-stick and handed it to Aurora. Her weakened arm could not do much, but it could sustain the weight of the small torch.
"We've reached the barrier. Is it still active?" Zan paused and stared at the almost invisible shield that had been put up by Brinn years before. The shield had been broken by the gnomes, but with the help of the princess of the elves and a few members of her family, the barrier had been reinstated an strengthened.
"It is active, but it will let us through. I trust Brinn did everything correctly...Just in case, let me go first." With Nurlan by her side, Aurora pressed passed Zan and her son, who tried in vain to get her to hold him, and hovered her hand near the invisible wall. "It is supposed to let anyone out, but only let those with approval in."
She took a deep breath and pushed her hand forward. The light of the torch passed through, wavering wildly as it encountered the force emanating from the magical stones lining the floor. "See? Nothing to worry about." Aurora and Nurlan passed through without issue as did Zan and Colvyr.
"What exactly happens if the person does not have approval?" The doctor asked as he reached out tentatively.
The Empress furrowed her brow. "I am not sure, but nothing good."
"AH!" As the doctor encountered the magical wall, a bright spark of light filled the tunnel, overpowering even the firestick. He pulled back his hand, the tip of his forefinger charred black. "I guess that answers that question," he hissed with pain.
Aurora passed the torch to Nurlan and reached out her hand. "Hold onto me and you should be fine."
"Should?" The doctor presses his lips together, but obliged. As he encountered the barrier the second time, Aurora's necklace glowed as she closed her eyes.
Hurrying through, the physician panted then held onto his knees as he slowed down his heart rate.
"What was that?"
"You mean the Fate's chain? It has a way of breaking barriers. I am sorry about that. I will make sure Princess Brinn adds you to the approved list for next time." The Empress turned around casually and began her limp into the darkness.
"N-next time??" the doctor stuttered.
"Look at the bright side," Nurlan called over his shoulder. "Now you have something to use your pain ointment for. That finger will need all the help it can get."
It was not long before the group paused again, this time for a very different barrier. Before them in the tunnel, a long trough of water filled the floor for as far back as they could see. Off to one side, the discarded wet clothes of Anna, Ezer and Junayd lay along with the wax paper which had held their change of wardrobe.
"Why is there water here?" The doctor did not believe that the natural level of water was so high in this part of the city.
"We flooded the tunnel to keep out the gnomes. It is only about chest deep for humans, which is too deep for the average gnome. And I am sure you know how much gnomes hate water." Aurora pulled her mouth to one side.
The wet, shifting sand was the only way to level the battlefield when hey had fought the gnomic army. She liked water for this reason very much, though just now, the barrier was cumbersome.
"How shall we move forward?" The Empress was willing to take suggestions, though she had her own plan in mind.
Nurlan was quick to act. Releasing the Empress with the torch to lean on the wall, the general scooped up the little prince on his shoulders. "Since I am the tallest, I will keep the little prince high and dry. I think the doctor should be able to manage his own bags and himself. That leaves Zan to tend to you, Your Majesty. If it pleases you, of course."
"As long as Zan does not mind, I am amenable to that arrangement. Would you mind carrying me across the water, Chief. I know it is not among your regular duties, but I would be most appreciative." Aurora tilted her head as she waited for his response.
Everything happened so fast that Zan had barely had time to react. Knowing this barrier was ahead, the Guardian had taken Colvyr to avoid having to touch his ruler in such an intimate way. Now it seemed he had been out foxed at his own game by the general. There was really nothing he could do but oblige.
"It would be my honor, Your Majesty. I would never shirk from a request form the Empress." Zan carefully tucked his arms under the woman's knees and back and lifted her from the ground. She was much lighter than he had ever realized and shorter than her commanding presence suggested.
Without waiting for the others, he plunged into the water, lifting the woman he was holding as high as he could. Even with the incredible effort, the Empress's hem and bottom dragged in the cold pool. "Oh! Something touched me!" Aurora yelped.
"I think there may be fish or eels that have made there home here. Nothing to be concerned about," Zan said through a clenched jaw. He neglected to mention that one of the creatures had found its way into his boot and was slithering up his pants. "We will be to the other side soon."
The other side was farther than any of them thought, and all were relieved to reach it. On the other shore, Zan cried out, unable to take the unwanted guest's advances.
He reflexively dropped his human cargo and his trousers to return the eel back to its homeland. Aurora went spilling out onto the cold stone ground.
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!" Zan said, flustered as he stood over her.
"And well you should be! What are you doing with my wife?!" Out of the darkness, Devrim appeared, a deep scowl on his face.
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