The Sharded Blade | Part 1 (A Dark Fantasy Novella)

Part 18

Once more down into the underground tunnels beneath the old inn and adjacent buildings, I stared like a dumbfounded idiot at a bricked up portion of wall in the cellar under the long defunct baker's shop.  Lantern up, casting light and shadows upon the stacked up stones in their neat rows, I sought to confirm what I believed Gertrude was telling me.

"A false wall, you say?"

She squeaked, jumped down from my shoulder, and began pawing at one of the stones.

"If you say so."  I put down the lamp and started searching for any that might be loose.  Unfortunately, it was pretty solid, but that also could have been an illusion because of the sheer weight of it.  Noting the obvious lack of mortar between the joints, I opted for a direct course of action.

Backing up, I surged forward and rammed into the impediment, my shoulder leading the way. The stones shifted, although my choice of techniques caused more than a slight discomfort in my muscles and joints.  I leaned back and hauled myself into them once more.  That second thrust caused a section to move just enough that gravity took over and brought the stones down in a cascading crash.

Obviously, someone had wanted to hide the now yawning passage before me, but also not wanted to seal it off for all eternity either.  Reacquiring my precious source of light, I held it inside to take notes on where I would soon be headed.

The architecture of this newfound passageway was a little more robust than the rest of the tunnel system I had used before.  It was lined from floor to ceiling in smooth stone, the overhead structure arched.  And it certainly hadn't been used recently by the looks of things.  At least, not as recently as the other tunnels.

"And I assume I'm supposed to see where this goes?" I asked.

A ratly growl.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."  So off I went, into the darkness, blindly trusting Gertrude's demonic guidance once she returned to her traditional perch.  Seeing how she'd never steered me wrong before?  I suspected she wouldn't this time either.

Traversing the catacombs unfolding before us, I followed the rat's cues as to what direction to take.  A left here.  A right there. Turn after turn, I wondered how many others actually knew of this place, and why it was built, all while trying to keep a map of where we in relation to the city above.  But I abandoned that foolish task in short order.  There was honestly no way to keep up.

The passage we followed ended abruptly, vomiting me into a large, cavernous space consumed by assorted ruins.  The buildings constructed of enormous hewn stone blocks were a megalithic testament to the determination of a people from history long before the massive port city now standing above us had been built.  I couldn't even fathom how this city under the city had come to reside here and been lost to the ages.

My lantern alone would never have been enough to illuminate the expanse now before me, but thankfully there was an array of massive and burning braziers atop various buildings casting an eerie glow over the discovery. They also told the important story that I was definitely not the first person to stumble upon this site.

Towering above the other structures in the center of it all was a pyramid-like temple, the largest brazier of all atop it blazing with the brightness of a miniature sun in the darkness.  "Now that's unexpected," I gaped in awe of it.  "Going to assume the Si Sisterhood has repurposed this site for their own use?  And that's why you led me here?"

Gertrude hissed.

"Yeah, I sort of assumed they were in that big temple.  Who wouldn't choose an ancient stone pyramid for their sex parties?" I pointed.  "Look at it!  It practically screams 'come have an orgy inside me!'"

This time a squeal.

"How many are we looking at?" I asked, squelching out my own personal light, sure that it would draw unwanted attention my way.  "I'm looking for four specific individuals, but how many will I have to avoid, or go through, to get to them?"

Gertrude answered with a series of chitters.

Shrugging, I considered what she told me.  "Guess it could be worse."

My companion responded again in her non-verbal way.

"Hey, believe it or not, I've taken on much longer odds."

Gertrude continued to feed me information after my boast.  She'd done a lot of scouting and reconnaissance on the target by the sound of things and was a virtual wellspring of information.  I was duly impressed.  She knew her shit.

My briefing completed, I stalked my way through the shadows and towards the target.  Just inside the limits of the ruins, we came across a particularly roccus sex party taking place in the middle of the street along our route.  Complete with all the moans and wails and screams one might expect.  Naked bodies writhing, I had no idea how the Sister of Si at the center of it all was handling those five men penetrating her various orifices at one time, and I didn't have time to stop and ask about it, despite my curiosity.  Ultimately, they weren't hard to avoid, being preoccupied as they were.

After that, and occasionally, we encountered members from the Cult of Si, usually in groups of three to five and draped head to toe in green robes heading to or from the temple.  They weren't exactly looking for me the way I was on the lookout for them, so they never saw me and my pet rat.

There were a lot more cultists than I had previously assumed there would be, and I did wonder, however, how they were getting down here.  The place was buzzing like a beehive.  Somewhere, there had to be another entrance to this lost city, and possibly several.  All were most likely well hidden.

The pyramid now before me, I confirmed Gertrude's assessment of the perimeter and an entrance on each of its four sides from the shadows.  And, just like she had said, there was a guard posted at each rectangular stone entrance with a gut piercing six foot spear in one hand.  As groups would approach, the guard made a sign with his other arm and hand, which was reciprocated by those seeking admittance.  I observed the procedure and committed the not overly complicated ritual to memory.

Gertrude gave a subdued squeak from our hiding place.

"Yes, I am actually thinking about going in through the front door," I confirmed for her.

Another squeak.

"Because I don't feel like climbing up forty enormous blocks of stone, that's why.  All I need is — ah!"  Stumbling off by himself, drunk, I spotted the perfect mark.  Did I mention he was alone?  And obviously inebriated?

Standing between two of the ancient buildings, he lifted his robes and proceeded to relieve himself in an alleyway.  I slinked up behind him, Gertrude hanging on my shoulder, approached to with a foot of him, and with a firm shot to the back of his head from my elbow, he was on the ground unconscious.

Stripping his robes off, I left the now naked cultist to sleep off his shame.  I hadn't been aware they wore nothing under their robes other than their shoes.  I personally wouldn't be going commando, that was for sure.  But the robes were such that I was able to hide my clothes and not have to worry about them being detected.

Now dressed for the occasion, I emerged from the alley, Gertrude hidden on the back of my neck under the hood, and approached the nearest entrance. The guard greeted me with the same hand gestures I had committed to memory.  I reciprocated with a fluid grace as though I hadn't just learned it and was inside without none being the wiser that someone not belonging here had infiltrated this diabolical place.