Knife of Rebellion: Battles of Eyenwar, Book 1

Chapter 25- Sandalone Castle

"I am Mister Gladden," The man leading us introduces himself. I find myself insanely jealous of his thick fur coat.

"There is more space here than I thought." Garen murmurs under his breath. If he's thinking like I am, he's imagining what this place would look like swarming with soldiers.

Through a second gate we find the stables, a training yard, a blacksmith's forge, and a medics building market by the cots lined from end to end. After stabling our horses, we shoulder what we can carry and continue to follow the mysterious old man. As we leave, I glance back and see a girl and a boy unloading parcels from our abandoned carriages.

Mister Gladden leads us through another gate, this one taking us inside the massive structure. The stone floor is covered by a thick rug made of sheepskin, which despite it's obvious age is soft enough for our feet to sink ever so slightly into the floor. Weapons of every kind hang from the smooth sandstone walls, and surprisingly not a single one of them is rusty.

"Do you polish all of these?" I ask in awe.

Mister Gladden nods, "And sharpen them. It is only one of my families duties."

We travel through a large dining hall similar to the one at Miraclus, only instead of a throne at the head of the room there is a roaring fireplace. The deeper into the building we go, the more dark and cave like it begins to feel, until I realize that the walls are no longer as smooth as they were in the first several rooms of the castle. The hallway shrinks, and is now lit by small glowing lamps, filled to the brim with some strange glowing liquid.

Mirabel notices them too, "What are those?"

Monika answers before our guide, "I would imagine they are bioluminescent creatures from the springs hidden underneath us."

"Very good Lady Monika," Mister Gladden awards. It is the first time he has seemed impressed with any of us.

Monika waves away the compliment with a graceful flick of her hand, "I have seen similar things in the springs below Miraclus."

"Ah yes... Our sister city." Mister Gladden says sadly.

I am about to ask him more about when this place was a city, but instead he stops us short.

"Through here are several rooms. Divide them up as you see fit. There will be dinner in the dining hall in an hour, if you so wish. As if on cue, Branon's stomach rumbles.

We laugh nervously, and let ourselves through the door Gladden indicated, finding inside a small network of rooms separated by solid oak doors with deadbolts on both side. Each room as a door that leads back into the hall, so it is all connected in a long rectangle. There are five rooms in all, and we quickly go about claiming and dividing. Monika, Mirabel and I share the room, at the end of the hallway. Summerhunt and Cairo occupy the room to one side (after much argument with Emilio), with Branon and Garen on the other. Emilio and Maso reluctantly take the room on the other side of Cairo, while the servant and two Miraclan guards on the other side of Garen.