Book 3: Chapter Twenty-Six

Ellerie rubbed her temples, trying to hold back a headache. It was growing late, much later than she’d anticipated staying within the mountain, and they’d spent hours searching through rooms empty of anything other than rusted or rotting furniture and miscellaneous odds and ends.

Even an empty room was an important find to add to their knowledge of Tir Yadar, but somehow, after the giant sphere and the blue lights illuminating the animal statues, Ellerie had been expecting something more.

The latest find was the worst—a library, made obvious by the wooden bookshelves that had somehow been preserved against the ravages of time. There was enough space for tens of thousands of books, yet every shelf was empty, every book was gone. There was little debris, suggesting the contents had been carried away rather than falling to pieces, but it almost seemed like a deliberate insult that so much knowledge had eluded her grasp.

“Shall we head back?” Boktar asked her.

“We might as well. It must be after dark by now, and it’ll take us at least an hour to get back to camp. Let’s go find the others.”

“They’re on their way here now,” Leena said.

Sure enough, a voice called out, “Ellerie?” and Corec, Bobo, and Treya rounded a corner.

“We were just about to head back,” Ellerie told them.

Bobo exclaimed, “We found an armory! With weapons!”

Ellerie’s gloom lifted. “You found something? What was it like?”

Corec said, “A lot like the room we found in Tir Navis, if it hadn’t been emptied. There’s enough left to see how their army must have been organized—that’s the sort of information you’re interested in, right? And we know how to open the warded doors. Do you remember that little metal plate? All you have to do is touch it. We found one in the armory, locking away a handful of enchanted weapons.”

“Can you take me there? Leena, could you let the others know we’ll be late getting back?”

“I will,” Leena said, and disappeared.

The group made their way out of the library. They were passing by the sphere on their way to the eastern tunnel when Corec stopped.

“We should try the other door while we’re here,” he said.

Ellerie nodded and headed in that direction.

“All I have to do is touch it?” she asked.

“That’s how it worked on the other door.”

She reached the doors and pressed her fingers to the metal plate, but nothing happened.

Corec’s face fell. “I hoped it would work here, too.” He laid his palm against the plate and there was a clicking noise.

Ellerie pulled on the nearest of the doors. It swung open smoothly. The light from her lantern danced around the darkened room beyond.

“Why did it work for me and not you?” Corec asked.

“It must be the warding spell. It accepted you for some reason.”

Treya said, “The people who lived here, aren’t they the ones you think created the wardens? Maybe this area was reserved for them.”

“That makes as much sense as anything,” Bobo said.

Leena reappeared nearby, a bag slung over her shoulder. “I brought food. It’s well after dark, and I wasn’t sure how long we’d be down here.”

“Is everything all right up there?” Boktar asked.

“It’s fine. Everyone’s eaten already, and Katrin’s singing to the wagon drivers now.”

“Then we can stay down here for a while longer.”

Ellerie bit her lip, looking first through the open doorway, then to the eastern tunnel.

“I don’t know what to look at first,” she admitted.

“We can’t explore the whole city tonight,” Boktar said. “We’ll still be here tomorrow.”

She nodded. “The armory now, since we know there’s something there. We’ll try these doors tomorrow.”

#

Corec carefully trudged down the slope from the cave, trying not to trip. In the dark, with his arms full, he couldn’t see where he was putting his feet. The people in the camp stood to greet them.

“What’s that you’re carrying?” Marco called out, squinting.

Ellerie surrounded the camp with mage lights, then jerked her head to the side.

“Let’s go talk,” she said to Marco, and drew him away from the farmboys who’d driven the wagons.

Corec followed them, then dropped the tower shield he was carrying to the ground, propping it up against a boulder. “There’s no way anyone carried that thing into battle,” he said, trying to work out the kinks in his shoulders. “It’s too damned heavy.”

“They wouldn’t have enchanted it without a reason,” Ellerie pointed out as she laid the two arming swords next to it, still bundled in her coat. Anytime someone grasped them by the hilt, they started glowing red.

“Enchanted?” Marco asked, sounding hopeful.

“All of it; everything we brought out.”

Boktar and Nedley set the other weapons nearby, including nine arrows in a case that had enough space for twelve. The case had been propped up near the door, and Corec had missed it on his first examination of the room. The metal shirt had turned out to be mail, but made from chain links so fine they weren’t any thicker than cloth. Enchanted or not, it seemed unlikely the mail would provide much protection, but they’d brought it out with the other items.

Ellerie told Marco about their find while the rest of the group joined them. Josip stayed back with the wagon drivers, trying to distract them.

“There’s more still down there?” Marco asked when the story was over.

Corec said, “The rest of it isn’t enchanted, but it’s still in good condition. We’ll need several wagons just to haul it all with us, though.”

“I have to admit, I don’t know how to appraise magical items,” the factor said, looking over the weapons. “We usually hire a wizard by the name of Deshin for that. What do these do? Are they like your sword?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Hildra can help us look at them if we stop by Aencyr on our way back.”

Ellerie said, “There’s a lore spell in that spell book I bought in Tyrsall. If I can learn it, we won’t have to depend on Hildra.” The elven woman still seemed suspicious of any other wardens they encountered. “It won’t help us with prices, though.”

“I looked into it a bit before we left,” Bobo said. “If we find the right buyer, just one of these might pay for this entire trip.”

“Oh?” Marco said. “Not many people have that sort of money.”

“We’ll have to proceed carefully. It’s better to take time and do it right, even if that means going farther than Tyrsall.”

“I know some people down south,” Razai said. “Collectors with more money than brains. I’ve had to sell certain items in Deece before, and in Valara. And there’s a fellow in Abildgar, but it’s been a few years. I’m not sure if he’s still around.”

“I figured you’d be gone as soon as we got back to Tyrsall,” Corec said.

The demonborn woman smirked. “You owe me an eighth of a share. I’ll be gone as soon as Senshall pays out, and not a moment before.”

Sarette lifted one of the staff-spears out of the pile. “Vartus has one like this, with the metal shaft,” she said. “The museum holds onto most of the weapons from South Valley, but the stormrunners were able to requisition a few.”

“There are more below if you want one,” Corec said.

“I do. The metal shafts don’t break, and they carry a charge longer.” She rapped the butt of the spear against the ground. Jagged lines of white and blue light flickered over the weapon. Sarette swayed and grabbed Boktar’s shoulder to steady herself. “Oh! That was … Vartus’s never felt like that.”

“Like what?” Treya asked.

“I don’t know how to explain it. It was just different than usual.” She swung the weapon back and forth, then stepped forward with a thrusting motion. “The charge isn’t fading. I like this.”

Shavala held up one of the arrows. “I’ve never seen an arrow with a metal shaft before. These are magical?”

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“Yes,” Corec said. “Can you use them?”

Marco cleared his throat and stared at the two of them pointedly.

“No,” Shavala said. “They’re too long for my bow.”

“I think there were different sizes back in the main armory,” Bobo said. “Not the magical ones but the other ones.”

“There are more?”

He nodded. “A lot.”

“I will look tomorrow, then.”

“Should we all go in tomorrow, to help haul the other items out?” Marco asked.

Ellerie said, “I’d like to wait on that. There’s another warded door that Corec was able to open, but we didn’t have time to explore it tonight. Let’s start there in the morning, and then we’ll decide what to do next.”

Josip came over then. “I could hear what you were saying. The boys don’t speak trade tongue, but they’re getting curious. They saw you carrying things out of the cave. I didn’t tell them what they were.”

“For now, just tell them we found some old weapons buried in there,” Boktar said. “They already know we’re exploring the ruins, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise. We may need to offer the village something to keep folks from coming out here before we’re finished.”

Ellerie nodded. “Whatever we do, this may be our only chance to explore Tir Yadar without being disturbed, whether it’s curious villagers or other historians. We’ll have to get all of the information we need for our book before we leave. I don’t know when I’ll be able to make it back here again.”

Leena opened her mouth as if to say something, but then bit her lip and kept quiet.

#

Shavala poked through the debris, examining the piles of metal arrows that had been left in the armory.

“These are shorter than the others,” Katrin said, showing her several arrows. Each had a broadhead tip with four sharp, wicked-looking blades. “Are they the right size?”

Shavala took one from her and examined it. “This will work. I wonder why the different sizes, though. Did elves live here, too? Or did the Ancients just use different types of bows?”

“Corec said none of the bows survived.”

Shavala nodded. “Perhaps Ellerie will know. But I’ve never heard of anyone using metal arrows before. Even in the Storm Heights, Sarette said they only found arrowheads in the ruins.”

“Will these work?”

“I think so. The weight feels fine, and they’re perfectly straight. I’ll have to practice with them, though. Are there more?”

“Yes, this whole stack.”

Shavala pulled one of her foraging bags out of her coat pocket. “I’ll take a few dozen. See if you can find some bodkin points too.”

“What’s a bodkin point?”

“The long, thin ones,” Shavala said, and pulled one of the larger arrows from the pile she’d just been looking through. “Like this.”

In the end, they didn’t find any bodkin points among the shorter arrows, but they discovered that the arrowheads could be twisted off and replaced. Shavala removed a handful of the slender bodkin points from the longer arrows and slipped them into her bag.

When they were done, they joined the others who’d come with them to look at the armory. Sarette was leaning against a wall, holding onto the new staff-spear she’d come down to retrieve. Her eyes were closed and there was a grimace on her face.

“Are you all right?” Katrin asked.

“I don’t like being down here,” the stormborn woman replied, not opening her eyes. “There’s too much stone above us.”

“We should help you back to the surface,” Corec said.

“Ellerie’s waiting for you. I can make it on my own.”

“I can go with her,” Katrin offered. “I’d rather be outside than down here.”

“I’ll go too,” Josip said. “Boktar may need me to translate.” Boktar and Nedley had remained at the camp with the drivers, to keep watch as well as to check over the wagons, making sure they were in good condition before leaving for Livadi the next morning.

Corec nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Josip held up a gleaming blade and said, “Hey, Marco, can I take one of these daggers?”

“It’ll have to come out of your share,” the factor replied. He was taking notes while he circled the armory.

“That’s fine with me,” Josip said, slipping the weapon into his pocket.

Marco finished his circuit of the room. “Well, it’s not quite what I expected to find, but well-made arms and armor always go for decent coin. We could probably sell this stuff in Aencyr. There’s no reason to haul it back to Tyrsall.”

“Actually, I’m thinking of keeping some of it,” Corec said. “Maybe most of it.”

“What? You can’t do that. We’ve got to sell it so we can divide the shares.”

“You know this won’t sell for anywhere near what the enchanted weapons will go for. We can work out a deal.”

The factor frowned. “I suppose after we figure out the value of each item, we could take it out of your share, but you’ve only got the one share. That won’t be enough to pay for all of this.”

“Not just his share,” Katrin said. “Mine, Shavala’s, Treya’s, Sarette’s.”

The five of them had spoken about it late into the night. Between Leena’s enemies, the red-eyed men, and any other forces Prince Rusol might send after them, there were plenty of potential threats, and Corec insisted he was tired of never being prepared for an attack. With the discovery of the armory, he’d agreed to an idea Katrin had suggested—hiring their own soldiers. The weapons and armor would give them a good start on equipping the men, and if the five of them split the armory between their shares, it would hopefully still leave them with enough money to pay the soldiers’ wages. Shavala had little interest in metal coins. If she received anything from their trip to Cordaea, she had no objection to spending it to protect her friends.

Marco’s jaw worked as he considered the suggestion. “It’s your money, I suppose, but we can’t finalize anything until we’ve sold the other items. And don’t think I’ll go easy on you for the prices. I know damned well that weapons that have lasted this long will sell for more than something made out of steel.”

Corec laughed. “Don’t worry, Marco. I’d never suspect you of going easy on us. Are you ready to head back to Ellerie?”

The factor frowned, as if unsure whether he’d been complimented or insulted. “I should really take an inventory here first.”

“It’ll be easier to do that after we haul it all to the surface. Let’s go find out what’s behind the other door.”

#

After the other group left for the armory, Ellerie waited for a few minutes but then grew impatient. “Let’s go in,” she said. “The others can find us when they get back.”

She passed through the large double doors Corec had unlocked the night before. Leena, Treya, and Bobo followed her. Inside, they found themselves in a vestibule or greeting room. There were two archways in the east wall and two more in the west wall, plus a wider walkway leading straight north.

“They left their artwork behind,” Razai said, nudging an empty picture frame that had fallen to the floor. The wood had survived, but the painting had fallen to dust.

“I think these were vases,” Bobo said, sifting through a pile of ceramic shards, then moving on to another. The debris lined a central aisle that divided the room into halves. “Yes, here’s one!” He lifted a dented brass urn and held it up to Ellerie’s lantern to get a better view. “I know some people in Matagor who’d be interested in something like this.”

“Maybe we should keep it,” Ellerie said. “We can sell those weapons, but the vase is like the statues. We should leave it here, or find out if there’s a museum like the one in Snow Crown.”

“What? Why?”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “It just seems like we should try to preserve the place the way it is.” The more they discussed what would happen to the city after they left, the more worried she’d become.

Razai gave her an odd look. “What’s to stop the next person who comes here from taking everything?”

“I think Corec can reset the wards on the door. If we’re right about how it works, only another warden would be able to get in.”

“The statues are outside the wards.”

“I know. I’m not sure what to do about those.”

Bobo said, “You want to preserve things the way they are? Or restore them to how they used to be?”

Ellerie hesitated. She hadn’t considered that. She thought back to the vision Katrin had shown her of what the western colonnade might have looked like. “That would be a lot of work,” she said. “I just don’t want anyone coming here and ruining the place.”

“You’d have to convince Varsin Senshall to not announce the location. And bribe the folks in Livadi to leave things alone. Those wagon drivers are going to gossip when they get home.”

“If the profit on Varsin’s shares is high enough, I might be able to convince him to renegotiate.”

“And our book?”

“We can leave the location out, and wait to tell people until we’re we’re ready. We wouldn’t be the first to do that.”

Bobo nodded slowly but didn’t reply. Ellerie couldn’t tell what he thought of the idea.

“The floor feels different,” Treya said suddenly. She was standing on the balls of her feet, flexing her toes. As usual, she was barefoot. She knelt down and wiped the floor with her sleeve. “Is that marble? It’s not the same stone stuff they used for everything else.” By now, they’d seen enough of the stone-like material to know it wasn’t natural. There was too much of it, and it was too even and too uniform.

Ellerie said, “If this section was warded against entry, it’s probably the central part of the fortress. It makes sense if it’s better appointed. It might have been something like a palace.”

“We should explore the rest,” Bobo said.

“North, I think,” Ellerie said. In a palace, the most important public rooms usually followed the widest corridor.

They passed through the archway to find themselves in an empty chamber, again with multiple exits. There was nothing left to indicate its purpose, but Ellerie suspected it was a reception area or sitting room.

The next room was larger. Ellerie summoned a mage light so they could see the far end. It illuminated a carved wooden throne, with two smaller chairs to either side. The five thrones were on a dais overlooking the rest of the chamber.

The group walked toward the dais, stopping to stare at a series of weapons hanging from the walls. Unlike the weapons in the armory, these were rusted and pitted. One shield had corroded to the point that the lower half had broken off and now lay on the floor below.

“If their other weapons are so much better, why would they display these?” Treya asked.

“Trophies,” Razai said. “You display your enemies’ weapons as trophies, not your own.”

Ellerie took the three short steps up to the dais and ran her fingers over the intricate carvings on the center throne. Like the double doors or the bookshelves in the library, it hadn’t rotted away. The Ancients—or the Chosar, if that’s who they were—must have had some way to preserve wood in good condition.

Bobo joined her. “This is where the king of Tir Yadar must have sat. Or maybe the emperor of all the Tirs.” He shivered and rubbed his arms. “It’s been here all along and nobody knew.”

“We needed Corec to open the doors.”

“To get into the palace, yes, but not to find the rest of the city. At least one group made it here before us, and there were almost certainly more. Why didn’t word of this place ever get out?”

“Think about it,” Ellerie said. “How many stories have you heard about people finding old ruins, but when you ask about it, nobody seems to know where it happened? How many centuries was the cave buried before it was dug out? If someone found this place, they were either killed by the zombies or they explored the upper levels and didn’t find anything. Or maybe someone did find something and make off with it, and then didn’t tell anyone because they wanted to come back someday.”

“It still feels wrong that it’s just been sitting right here all along and nobody knew.”

Razai snorted and rolled her eyes. “That’s what lost cities are. If people knew where they were, they wouldn’t be lost.”

Ellerie held back her snicker.

There wasn’t much to look at in the throne room, so they followed another corridor leading away from it, exploring more rooms as they passed them. The most significant find was a formal dining hall, with the table still set as if for a meal.

Bobo examined the plates and cutlery, rubbing at the grime and tarnish with his finger. “Why would they just leave it like this? They had time to empty the upper levels and most of the armory, but they left this and the artwork behind?”

“Maybe it just wasn’t worth taking,” Ellerie said.

“Perhaps.”

They were about to move on when Corec and the others joined them.

“Where are Sarette and Katrin? And Josip?” Ellerie asked.

“They went back up to the camp,” Corec said. “Sarette wasn’t feeling well.”

“Does she need help?” Treya asked.

“It’s just the mountain again.”

The human woman nodded. Her healing hadn’t been able to do anything about Sarette’s dislike of being underground.

“Is that silver?” Marco asked, peering at the table.

“The serving platters are,” Bobo said.

“Have you found anything else?”

“Did you see the throne room?” Ellerie asked. “This must have been the king’s palace.”

“Yes, yes,” Marco said impatiently. “I meant something we could take with us.”

Now wasn’t the time to tell him about her new idea. She needed to have a better idea of what she was proposing first.

Instead, she said, “This is a big place, and there’s a lot to explore. We should probably split up.”

“I’d like to go back to the eastern tunnel,” Corec said. “We didn’t finish looking there yesterday.”

“I’ll go with you,” Treya offered.

Bobo said, “Ahh, Corec, I think I’ll stay here this time. Between an army barracks and a palace, I can be more helpful here.”

Corec chuckled. “Sure, that’s fine.”