Jay breathed in the freezing air, feeling the needles of the cold prickling her nose.
‘No time like now’ said Lethe, wrangling the sewer grate aside. Tentatively, Jay looked into it. Luckily there were no glowing eyes peering back at her. ‘Lead the way.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because it’s your job in the end. Go.’
The pale light of the magical globe at her waist shone into the opening, revealing the stone-cased edge of the manhole. She inched even closer and saw what was leading down there. She expected a ladder but there was none, just steel hand- and footholds immured into the brick wall. The light didn’t even reach half-way.
‘We should have taken a flame lantern’ she complained.
‘Kid don’t you get it?’ grumbled Lethe. ‘There might be gas down there. You can blow yourself up at your leisure but not when I’m around.’
Jay twisted her face but said nothing more. There really was no time like now. She turned around and kneeled with her back to the opening, slowly reaching with her foot to meet the first foothold. After she found it, the way down wasn’t as complicated. She grabbed one hold after another, lowering herself into the darkness below. After a few minutes she was standing on the bottom of the tight chamber that opened into the tunnels on one side.
She adjusted the gear on her arm, feeling encumbered. She still couldn’t understand how Lethe was walking so effortlessly carrying all that pouches, bandoliers and whatever else the job required. Herself, apart from the magical light at her waist she was carrying a coil of rope slung over one shoulder, her own set of lockpicks, her dagger and of course the spell-breaker. The spell-breaker was a bit of rebar that Burke supplied- a heavy piece of long steel with runes running all along it. The old man swore that it would disarm whatever magical traps or locks they might come across in the Cathedral. But it was also unwieldy and Jay had to carry it hung from her back like a sword made by the least talented blacksmith in the land.
Another moment and Lethe was standing next to her, the light from his magical orb adding to the general light ambience.
‘See? It’s not so bad here.’
‘Yeah’ she mumbled in response and wiped her eyes that were starting to water. And she thought that the Drowns reeked! The smell down here was much worse than anything she encountered before. But at least there were no rats or spiders about. Or at least not that Jay could see.
‘It isn’t really that far, but we need to go deeper than this, come on.’
As Jay took the first steps into the opening to the side she saw the tunnel that was leading ahead. It was arched at the top, the brickwork moist and glistening in the weak light. The middle of it was taken over with the stream of water, or at least Jay thought at first it is water but it turned out to be more of sludge. She stepped to the side, vowing to try as she might not to step directly into it. The sludge gurgled in its bed, rolling slowly ahead.
Lethe pointed the direction and they started walking. The tunnel was fairly wide and it was widening even more in places that looked like small chambers with four corners and four openings on each wall. In the corners, smaller channels were empting into the chambers, each ending with a statue of a vomiting gargoyle or a monster of some kind. Jay found them very creepy and she eyed them warily, expecting them to come to life the moment they passed them.
But the gargoyles weren’t what worried her the most. Pretend as she might, she couldn’t deny that she was hearing noises coming from the tunnels. Sometimes they were screeching and squealing of the rats, sometimes they were hissings that Jay could swear would belong to spiders, or gurgling made by throats of origins unknown. Once a spider scurried across her foot. It was a fat, white creature as big as her head. Luckily it had no interest in them but Jay felt bile rising in her throat at the very sight of it. Just in case, she shifted her dagger closer to her hand.
When Lethe said ‘deeper’ he really meant deeper. Off to the side, in one of the larger openings there was a staircase- the long, stone steps slippery and smooth from centuries of use and trickling water were leading down two flights. Now the tunnels were narrower, often ending abruptly in funnel-shaped chasms. Water would rush from above down into the black abyss during the storms, forming huge rapids. But now there was barely a trickle. It hasn’t snowed for quite a few days and frost locked up much of the water above the ground so it was relatively dry here if one could ever call the sewers dry.
There was this one funnel, its stone walls darkened with lichen and home to strange growths that undulated with the slightest movement of the air. Jay looked closer at those and immediately wished she hadn’t. The growth turned out to be stalks of purplish colour. Each one carried a small globule and close up it looked just like an eye that turned its lidless stare at anyone who came near.
‘Now that ain’t natural’ mused Lethe and flicked the closest globule with his finger. Jay shuddered at the sound of Lethe’s fingernail striking the fleshy growth. The globule retreated into the growth with a wet smack. ‘Magic leaks from somewhere up there.’
Jay looked towards the ceiling but the weak magical light wouldn’t reach that high and whatever it was that leaked the magic al by-products into the sewers remained unseen.
There was a bridge thrown across this funnel, a wooden construction that was clearly not originally part of the funnel’s but added later just to make it possible to traverse the funnel with some degree of safety. It was put together from scraps of building materials and Jay put her foot carefully over the first board, not trusting the bridge at all. It creaked a bit but after a few steps it became clear to her that it would be able to withstand her weight. It didn’t take too long to cross it. There was another staircase in the tunnel beyond, smaller one and just with one flight of steps. But when they got to the end of it, they found themselves in a place that was less of a sewer and more of a cave tunnel. There was no more brick or hewn stone, just grey walls of dirty sandstone. Once upon a time an underground river must have run through here. But now the river was gone, leaving just a passage that it carved over the thousands of years.
‘Not far now’ said Lethe. ‘Unless that bastard of a grubber was lying his arse off.’
Jay looked around but wasn’t sure what to look for. Everything was looking the same here, just the smooth walls and washed-out floor.
‘He said there would be a small side tunnel with a hole’ continued Lethe. ‘Go and look for it.
Jay touched the wall and ran her fingers along the stone. Then she remembered the ‘eye stalks’ in the funnel above and quickly snatched her fingers away. It was better that she doesn’t touch anything down here.
There was a small tunnel a few meters ahead but no opening, just a pile of rubble under one wall.
‘I think this might be it’ called Jay to Lethe who was still scanning the walls.
‘Not so loud’ he hissed. ‘You know that there are things down here that would love nothing better than chomp down on a loudmouth.’
By the time he came over, Jay had removed the top stone from a pile. Some of the rubble slid down with a slight rumble. The both of them froze, anticipating the sound to stir something within the shadows. But there was no movement, no sound but the dripping of water somewhere close by.
They returned to their work, trying to remove the obstacle but at the same time not to cause more stones to slip. Soon enough, there was an opening wide enough for them to crawl through.
They squeezed themselves past the narrow cleft and Jay’s heart started to beat faster when she realized they’re indeed standing on the bottom of a dry well. Heavy stone walls closed around them, rising up like a chimney. A bit of light fell into the well, but only enough to make out the round opening above them.
Lethe ran his hands on the stones.
‘Slippery’ he said. ‘But also old and with huge gaps. Time to get some climbing done.’
Jay slipped her foot into the first gap in the wall she found and grabbed a protruding stone, lifting her body. It was a slow-going, long climb. The moment she thought she had it all figured out, the places for putting her hands would stop abruptly forcing her to move to the side or even backtrack. The rope over her arm and the rod at her back were of no help either, pulling her down with every move. Finally, she felt a slight breeze washing over her face and saw darker shapes just above her head that criss-crossed themselves in a lattice pattern.
‘Why are you stopping?’ said Lethe. ‘He was just below her and slightly to the left, she could barely see his face- a brighter shape over the darkness of the well.
‘There is a grate here’ she whispered.
‘Don’t touch it!’ he whispered back. ’Use the spellbreaker.’
Jay shifted, trying to reach the heavy piece of steel and almost losing grip on the stone she clung to. She managed to grab it in one hand though and slowly touched the lattice above her head. The air suddenly turned hot and the lattice flashed like blazing steel being stricken. Jay shut her eyes waiting for the brightness to abate. Almost as soon as it started, the light disappeared and she felt the grate giving way.
‘It worked’ she hissed to Lethe.
‘Well keep climbing, it’s not like it’s a picnic spot down here’ scoffed Lethe.
Jay pushed the grate with her hand, half-expecting it to be still hot. But it turned out that the steel was completely cold, the magic that was guarding it dissipated completely.
Jay climbed out of the well, rubbed her arms then stretched. She took the rope off her arm and left it close to the well. They will need it coming back. Lethe climbed out of the well just a moment after her, while she was looking around. There was nothing in the well-house but for three doors, one on each side. Just to be careful, Jay touched each of them with the spell-breaker but there was no reaction. It appeared that the doors were just locked but with no magic put on them. This of course was not a real obstacle and soon both of them passed out into the open.
Now they were standing in the middle of meditative garden the Lector had told her about. Jay held her breath. The garden was serene and silent, like something took out of a peaceful dream. At some point, as they travelled underground, the snow started to fall again and now the entire place wore a veil of fresh snowfall. The thick green needles of the tube pines slept under its cover. Scorpionapples still wore their blushing fruit close to the branches, dusted with white. The fluff embraced the lawns and the paths that trailed across the garden. Each patch was guarded by a statue of a Saint. They wore snow over their shoulders like fur cloaks and in their hands there were blazing candles in glass jars, which lit up the garden sleeping in the whiteness. It smelled fresh here, as if the odours of the city were lost in the serenity alongside with the noises. On the right there was a cloister, its thick columns supporting the dormitory above it. Jay looked at the windows of the dormitory looking over garden they were standing in. It would be enough for just one Lector to wake up and look out to see them. On the left the wall of the Cathedral rose up like a mountain, the white stone decorated with triangle leaves of climbing ivy. Apparently the newest gardener was neglecting its removal. In the middle of the wall there were doors wrought of black steel, encased by finely-hewn stone. There was no doubt that was the side entrance that led to the sanctum of the Cathedral.
Jay wanted to step forward and onto the path that would take them directly across the garden and to the door, but Lethe grabbed her by the wrist. Instead using the path, he disappeared into the shadows of the cloister, moving towards the front wall, circumventing the garden altogether. Jay followed him, angry that she didn’t realize that earlier- if they moved across the garden, their footmarks would be clearly visible over the freshly fallen snow. The way around even if longer, wouldn’t betray that the garden had visitors, visitors that were not invited at all.
As they passed through the door, Jay had to cover her mouth as not to let a cry of astonishment. The Cathedral was exactly as the Lector described. It was all white marble and gold and even more than that! The main nave was guarded on both sides with a colonnade of spiralled white columns, their marbled grooves inlaid with gold wire, their strong, carved arms holding up a gallery above. Flags and pennants cascaded down from there; woven from colourful silks and dripping with gold, embroidered with precious stones. Under Jay’s feet, marble slabs made up the floor. Each had runes carved into it and inlaid with copper, silver and gold. High above their heads a vaulted ceiling shimmered, its white bricks incrusted with crystal rosettes like the clear sky is incrusted with stars. The entire place was filed with light where barely a shadow was permitted to exist. Heavy candelabras stood at each column, each bearing thick candles that shone with warm blaze. Far ahead, next to the Lector’s chair, two lamps were lit, their golden-plated bodies reflecting the magical glow that was shielded by their stained-glass shades. The entire Cathedral was overflowing with the smell of expensive incense- sandalwood and amber. There was such silence in this place! The silence that only dwells in one’s head, when there is nothing to listen to but the beating of one’s own heart.
But the most striking feature of the Cathedral was the statues on a dais behind the Lector’s chair, surrounded with glittering gifts and opulent votive offerings. Lord and Lady stood on a pedestal each of their own. Both pedestals were surrounded with branches of a bush growing in front of it. The Lady’s feet were encircled with blooms of the dark crimson roses. The statue of the Lord was encircled in the blooms of hawthorn, as white as the snow outside. Each statue was three times as tall as Jay was and looked ahead with the expression of benevolent serenity. The Lady’s right, and The Lord’s left, hand was outstretched; their fingers almost touching each other. Across their almost-joined hands a wide strip of crimson silk was wrapped and flowing down nearly brushing the ground. The silk was embroidered with gold and encumbered with tassels so heavy it seemed almost impossible for the material to move. It was the centrepiece of the Cathedral, the Sacred Bond, the symbol of the divine unity. Each stone embroidered upon the silk would bring a fortune if it could be sold.
Lethe elbowed Jay under her ribs.
‘Work’ he said.
Jay woke up from the daze and moved forward. It was time to make the Cathedral a little bit more modest. She moved towards the statues, eager to swipe the votive offerings into her bag while Lethe started working on the many ornaments that were displayed in the Cathedral.
Jay stepped into the cloud of incense and started looking over the items under the pedestals. All around the Lady, golden rings were laid in circles and massed in piles. Each of those rings symbolised a man that had pledged their life in the service of the Sacred Pair: Lectors, temple guards, questers. At the day of their vows they were to offer a golden ring to the Lady as the custom ordained. And only those that could afford a golden ring would be admitted. Jay looked on the other side, seeing the long pins amassed under the Lord’s statue. This on the other hand was a custom of the brides, a pin capped with a precious stone was to be offered on the wedding day. Otherwise just a chapel ceremony was to be sufficient for those who could not afford one. Jay looked at the golden rings and the pins that shone with pearls, tiny emeralds and druse crystals, then started to sweep them all into her bags mixing both the bridal offerings and the symbols of eternal devotion. After she was done, she started looking over other offerings, the things that the rich left behind after they had proven their faith in front of the divines. Jay stuffed her bags with everything that seemed to be of value: coins and carved beads of onyx and mother-of-pearl, vials wound with golden wire and even jewels that shone with pressed magic just like the diamond crumb she wore around her neck.
When she was finished, she turned around, just to see Lethe struggling with a heavily-carved chest under one of the walls. The chest had a slot at the top and was there for the faithful to put coins in to be used by the Lectors for the alms.
‘Help me with this will you?’ he said, pointing at the massive latch that kept slipping from his fingers before he was able to grip it firmly enough to have it picked.
‘Lethe what are you doing?’
‘I’m courting the High Lector bastard daughter, what do you think I’m doing right now?’ he grunted as the lock slipped again. ‘I need to open this fucking lock or we’ll never get to the coin inside.
‘But…those coin are for the needs of the poor’ said Jay, taken aback by Lethe’s attempts to get into the collection chest.
Lethe stopped his efforts to stabilize the lock and looked at Jay, his gaze at the same time amused and irritated.
‘For the poor?’ he said. ‘And how much have you yourself have gotten from this stash ‘for the poor’?’
Jay didn’t answer. It was true that the Temples organised meals to be handed in their vestibule. There was hot cider dispensed in the frostiest days of the winter. There were alms of every kind given on the days where there was a reading and the Cathedral- the main Temple of Arklington was no different. The Lectors would feed and water and clothe those who needed it. But only to those who were deemed worthy and clean in the eyes of the Sacred Pair.
But it was also true that Jay was not deemed to be worthy, barred from entering the vestibule on many occasions by temple guards. No one that could not afford their clothes to be without a stain and without good repair ever crossed the threshold of a Temple, let alone the Cathedral. Those who were known to the Lectors as workers who pay their taxes to the King and their offerings to the Lord and Lady could have count on their mercy and taste the charity. But not those whose only home were the streets of Arklington. Not the ones who were motherless and fatherless and did not give themselves into the care of the Lector-run orphanages. Not those who sold their bodies or took what was not theirs out of desperation. The Sacred Pair judged and they had judged Jay and her kind harshly.
‘Look around you kid’ continued Lethe. ‘Look around you and tell me that they need whatever is in this chest to give to the poor.’
Jay looked around at the splendour of the Cathedral, at the gold and marble superior Temple to the Lord and Lady. Then she shook her head and grabbed the heavy lock of the chest, steadying it for Lethe to open. A few seconds later and the lid swung open, spilling the coins on the ground. Without missing a beat Lethe shoved them into his bag.
They wandered some more, picking up all the trinkets and baubles that were adorning the main nave when Jay looked again at the scarlet knot binding the statues’ hands.
‘What about this thing’ she pointed it out to Lethe. ‘Can we take it?’
Lethe measured the Sacred Bond with his eyes, then he measured Jay the same way.
‘Are you nuts kid?’ Just look at it! How could you ever sell it? Who would buy it? One look at it and it would be clear where it comes from! This thing is a first-class ticket to Ostrah Gate! It’s-’
He stopped abruptly; the now-familiar expression of pure greed contorted his sharp features.
‘You know…this isn’t as stupid as it might seem. Yes…yes, I know a thief-taker that could negotiate with the Lectors for a ransom, for a price of course. But then we could name whatever amount we please and they’d pay it for sure! Kid! This might be the best shit we can get from here. Get up there and pull that thing down!’
‘Me?’
‘It was your idea, wasn’t it? The whole thing. I say: get up there!’
Jay looked at both statues. The bushes were guarding the pedestals, but if she could get past them… chose the statue of the Lady, counting on the numerous folds of her sculpted dress to get her more purchase for her feet and fingers as she climbed. Luckily for her, the rose bush’s thorns were small and weren’t really a problem. Soon enough she was sitting on the divine shoulders, inching closer and closer to the knot of the Bond. The Lady’s outstretched hand was too long for Jay to be able to reach so she wrapped her arms and legs around the white marble and inched slowly to the end. ‘Don’t look down’ she reminded herself. Finally, she felt the crimson silk under her fingers.
It was harder than it looked. The decorations at the end of the Bond were weighing the fabric down and Jay had to pull hard for it to lift. A few minutes of working and pulling she was holding the end of the fabric. Then it was just a question of un-looping it from around the marble wrists. With the last loop gone, Jay grabbed the end of the fabric and jumped off the statue. The weight of the other end going up slowed down her descent and she landed on both of her feet. A few last pulls and the Bond descended completely, piling up on the floor. Jay smiled widely.
‘Good stuff’ Lethe chuckled shortly. ‘Now we just roll this bad boy up. ‘
Jay started on one end, tucking the tassels in and folding the fabric, while Lethe prepared a separate bag.
They were half-done when a sound of metal door opening rung out like a peal of a bell. Jay froze but just for a split second. Before even a second passed she dove to the side, into the cover of the spiralled column. She looked to the side and saw Lethe, his back glued to the column on the other side of the nave.
In the meantime, the door opened somewhere at the other end of the cathedral. Jay peeked from behind the cover just to see the heavy door to the vestibule swinging open. For a briefest of moments, the Cathedral was awashed with voices spilling from the vestibule. A man passed through the threshold then closed the door behind him, cutting off the sounds and letting the sanctuary be completely silent again. He was tall, or at least he seemed tall to Jay, with his peaked helmet and mail coif protecting the sides of his neck. The steel pauldrons on his arms made him seem wide too. He wore heavy chainmail over his torso, topped with a short surcoat. On his chest there were symbols embroidered into the fabric- a coat-of-arms of the Cathedral. At his side a sturdy sword hung in its scabbard, its steel handle thick and unadorned. There was no doubt that the man belonged here- a Cathedral guard.
Without looking ahead towards the nave, he turned to the side and went through the door, the one leading to the garden, and disappeared behind them. Jay winced. So much for the guards never coming inside the sanctuary itself. The Lector either lied or had no idea what was actually going on in the Cathedral at night.
Jay wasn’t sure what to do. The man was gone but was it really safe to move? She couldn’t see Lethe from her position anymore, he disappeared between the columns. Jay waited. Just as she thought it’s going to be safe to move, she heard the door to the garden opening again. The guard was coming back. Jay was listening to his metal boots ringing over the marble floor. Just a few steps more and he’ll be at the door to the vestibule. Just a few seconds more and he will be gone, leaving them to finish the job.
The steps stopped abruptly. Jay held her breath, listening for the sound of vestibule door opening. But instead she heard the guard muttering to himself.
‘What the hell…’
There were steps again, but not going away. A cold shiver went through Jay’s spine. The heavy steps were coming closer! He must have seen the Sacred Bond sprawled in the middle of the nave.
Jay broke through the ice that lodged itself up in her spine and very slightly peeked out from behind the column. The guard was standing in the middle of the nave, staring at the downed Bond, at the bags and trinkets on the ground. Then as if woken from a dream, he turned on his heel and almost sprinted towards the vestibule. Jay instantly realized- no one would hear him through the door, but if he opens it he’ll raise an alarm and the entire Cathedral will fill-in with guards! She couldn’t think of a single thing to do to stop him. Maybe when he opens the door she could slip past him and make a beeline towards the garden?
A shadow slipped from between the columns, leaped and hit the man in the side. The guard reeled but stayed on his feet. Lethe was in front of him, his teeth barred in a wicked smile. His serrated dagger shining in the candlelight. The guard recovered his balance, looked at Lethe then laughed.
‘Kou vermin what do you think you can-‘
He didn’t finish. Lethe sprang forward and up, targeting the only unprotected part on the guard’s body- his eyes. The dagger flashed. Jay held her breath.
But the guard was ready for that, stepped to the side drawing his sword in an instant. Lethe landed on his feet, regained his balance, and circled the guard. He was keeping himself between the guard and the door.
The guard stopped thinking about raising the alarm. Jay could see the amused confidence in his pose. What was but a single Kou to him anyway? Just a small target for his sword. He swung his sword nonchalantly, aiming at Lethe’s head. Lethe ducked under it, slashing forward. Now the guard surcoat had a wide gash, revealing the chain-links underneath. The guard grunted with annoyance and swung again and again. Each time Lethe would avoid the blow, countering with a slash of his own. The dagger couldn’t hurt the guard, just made his new and colourful surcoat looking more like it was mistreated by an enormous cat.
Lethe thumbed his nose at the guard and laughed. The man roared with outrage and launched an attack, swinging furiously. One of the blows connected with candelabra and sent the candles flying. Lethe dodged the candles as they fell to the ground, spilling the wax over the marble floors.
As much as he tried, the guard couldn’t reach the offensive vermin. The tip of his sword always an inch too far away, the swing a split second too late. Slowly the guard’s movements became more and more careful as if he recognized that the Kou before him was not just a nuisance but an opponent to be reckoned with. As the fight continued, Jay could hear the breathing of the guard growing louder and louder. Lethe was keeping him on his toes now, harassing him from one side then the other, waiting for the guard to become too tired to defend his face. But now he grew wiser, instead trying to chase after the nimble Kou, he turned to defence. He inched step by step towards the door while Lethe’s dagger fended him off, trying to goad him away. He knew that the only thing to do was to get to the door and get help. Or wait out Lethe long enough for his comrades to start wondering why is he not back in the vestibule yet.
Jay furrowed her brow. Slowly she snuck from behind the column and out into the open. She grabbed the closest flag and pulled it off its mounting. She crouched and as quietly as she could, she closed on the overturned candelabra. As she moved she thought that she caught Lethe’s eye just for a moment. As if a message passed between them, he struck against the guard, pining his to himself and making sure that he wouldn’t see approaching Jay.
Jay crumpled the flag in a ball and rolled it in the melted wax, then put the dripping ball over a still-burning candle. Quickly as not to get caught in the flames the engulfed the fabric ball, she closed in on the guard. His back were turned and he didn’t notice until it was too late. Jay hurled the flaming fabric under his feet. She hoped that it would distract him for a second at least, but the effect was even more stunning. Some of the blazing fabric unfurled hen Jay threw it and got entangled between the man’s legs, setting his breeches and surcoat on fire. The guard shrieked and stomped, trying to shake off the flame tongues licking him. He forgot about the fight and lowered his sword, just a little bit. It was just a little bit, but it was enough for Lethe, an opportunity he was waiting for. He sprang from a low crouch, hitting the guard in the chest. He thrust his dagger upwards and jay heard the wet, smacking sound as it lodged itself into the guard’s eye socket.
For a split second, the guard stood unmoving, his sword lowered all the way down. Then, without a sound, he toppled backwards, hitting the marble floor with a loud crash. Still sitting on the top of his chest, Lethe wrenched his dagger out of the guard’s skull. Thick blood sprayed his face.
‘Aw shit’ he said, wiped the blood with the back of his hand, spat to the side and sheathed his dagger. ‘Good job with the fireball though, kid.’
Jay swallowed. The blood was still seeping from the corpse’s destroyed face and she looked away as soon as she could.
‘Now we need to finish fast and get the fuck out of here before the rest of those will start looking for him.’
Jay nodded in agreement and returned to rolling up the bond. As she finished, she wrapped it up in a bag and used the bag’s strap to hang the rolled material across her back. In the meantime Lethe took the rest of the loot bags and in a minute or two they were ready to leave.
As Jay was closing the door to the garden behind her, she heard the sound of the other door opening. She pulled the door shut, turned around and waved to Lethe to flee. Without skipping a heartbeat, Lethe dissolved into the cloister’s shadows. Jay followed him, making a beeline towards the well-house, remembering not to thread on the fresh snow. She could almost hear the guard’s shouting behind the Cathedral’s door.
As they got into the well-house, Jay’s heart was beating furiously. How long did they have? A couple minutes? Two? Seconds only? Lethe took the loot bags and threw them down the well without a second of hesitation. Jay threw the roll from her back into it too and then found the rope she left next to the well previously. She pushed one end in between the bars of the grate and looped it back out. Lethe took the rope and lowered himself down the dark opening. Jay braced herself against the well’s casing waiting for Lethe to reach the bottom. She kept looking behind her shoulder, expecting the guards to burst through the door at any moment. She strained her ears and would swear that she could hear the guards in the garden, hollering and making ruckus as they searched for the intruders.
Finally! Finally she felt the rope going slack and right after that, she felt it pulled thrice. She lowered more rope into the well as much as she could. Then she sat on the casing and wound it around her hand, grabbed it with her legs and slipped into the darkness below her. The moment she touched the bottom of the well, she heard the door opening high above her. The well-house was now filled with angry voices and hollering.
Jay pulled on the rope and felt the other end falling to the ground.
‘Leave it’ hissed Lethe. He grabbed the loot bags and scurried into the narrow passage
The well-house up above was now flooded with light from torches. The stray flash of light reaching even down here. Jay grabbed the rolled-up Bond and followed Lethe into the darkness. As she squeezed herself through the cleft in the well’s wall she breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the guards could somehow get to the bottom of the well, they would never be able to pass through here. Both her and Lethe were short and slender enough to do so but there was no way a man wearing an armour could do the same. They were safe. Safe and carrying a promise of wealth with them, spoils well deserved.
