Legends from The Warlock's Chair - Book One - Ravengaard

Chapter Twenty-two - Sildo's Dilemma

DEEP IN THE BOWLS OF THE DARK KEEP, Sildo Gweir was suddenly awoken by a frantic hammering on the door of his little room. The room, set back from the library, was one of the few luxuries afforded to him. His fellow workers did not receive such indulgences but shared one room, not a great deal bigger than his. All the Gnomes library workers slept, ate and laboured down here, kept close to their work. There was no time to waste in the continual search for the secrets held in the ancient scripts stored in the archives.

The little wizened Gnome sat up on his cot and tried to clear the muzziness from his head. He could not have been asleep for very long, he thought, what could be so important...?

With a  loud splintering of wood, the door was flung open. Goblyn guards rushed in and forcefully pulled him from his bed. Sildo cried out as their clawed fingers bit into his scrawny arms beneath the thin nightshirt he was wearing. 

He tried protesting, but his words fell on deaf ears. The Goblyns dragged him out into the hallway and shoved him along the cold, dark passage.

They stopped in front of a wooden door banded with strips of rusted iron, one of the Goblyns rapped loudly. The door creaked opened and he was marched in. The room was circular with a stained flagstone floor; huge thick beams hung with chains, crisscrossed the ceiling. Torches flickered smokily in iron brackets, casting shadows around the stonework. With the exception of a wooden chair positioned in the centre of the floor, the room lay empty. On the opposite side,  was another doorway, the twin of the one they entered by, this was also guarded by a Goblyn. 

Sildo found himself forced into the chair and straps pulled tightly around his skinny wrists and ankles.

There was a creak behind him as the door opened.

A voice spoke to him, whispering in his ear.

'Sildo dear, do you have something to tell me?'

An icy fear trickled down his spine. He shivered.

Caranaxus. 

He now knew why they had roused him from his bed and brought him here.

One of his colleagues had betrayed him.  

'N...no, Mistress,' he stammered. Already knowing it would be useless trying to deceive her.

'Oh, but I think you do. Now, why not save yourself a considerable amount of pain and suffering and tell me about the missing spells that you have discovered?'

Sildo squeezed his eyes shut, afraid what was about to happen.

'I am sorry Mistress, but I can never tell you that. I would rather die first.'

'My dear Sildo, I do not expect you to die,' she whispered softly in his ear. 'But your friends. Now that is a different matter.'

She clapped her hand together loudly. He opened his eyes again; the door in front of him swung open and one by one the Gnome's who worked in the library filed in. Thirteen in all, shackled together with heavy chains, it required all their strength to drag themselves into the room. He watched the sorry looking bunch line up around the wall in front of him. 

Sildo now knew who had betrayed them; Urien Hir was not among the group. Sildo had known deep in his heart that he could not trust Urien with the secret. He of all the Gnomes in the library had expressed the desire to escape, no matter what the cost. But he had hoped...

'Now who shall we pick first?' the Dark Witch was saying. She moved forward so he could see her. A deep purple cloak and hood wrapped her body, warding off the chill in the room. Her silvery eyes surveyed the line of chained Gnomes.