The Scrolls of Skava

The Ruby Keep - Part 2

     They went down corridors and around corners until they came to a room containing a dozen padded couches lined up along the wall. The teamsters were carefully laid out on the couches and then the men left, closing the door behind them as they went.

     Arroc lay perfectly still for a few minutes longer, just in case, and listened hard, but he heard nothing except the soft breathing of his companions. He opened his eyes a slit and risked a careful look around, but saw nobody, so he quietly and carefully sat up on the couch.

     The room had no windows and only one door. Walls, floor and ceiling were made of the same semi-transparent ruby as the rest of the keep, but were too thick for him to see through, either with normal vision or infravision. The only furniture was the twelve couches; six of them occupied by himself and his companions, the rest empty.

     They seemed to have been left alone, so the trog got down and went to examine the others. They were breathing regularly and had strong heartbeats, as if they were merely sleeping, but no amount of shaking or slapping would bring them round. They were in some kind of spell induced coma, and it was obvious that they’d be of no use to him until the spell was broken. He was on his own.

     He went over to the door and listened carefully, trying to detect the sound of guards on the other side. He heard nothing, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. The guards might be standing silently, making no noise, or the door might simply be impervious to sound. There was nothing for it, therefore, but to trust his luck and hope their captors had put all their faith in the sleep spell.

     He took hold of the door knob, turned it as gently and quietly as he could and gave the door a gentle tug. It didn't move, and neither did it when he pushed instead. It was locked. “Drass!” cursed the trog in frustration.

     He pulled again, then pushed again, harder, and then lost all patience and attacked it furiously with his scimitar, all thought of stealth forgotten, but all his fury and his massive trog strength failed to make a single mark on the smooth, translucent ruby. In the end he gave up, defeated, and stamped up and down the length of the room, shaking in helpless anger.

☆☆☆

     Lord Ruby entered the examination chamber in which Jasper and Garnet had undressed Thomas and laid him out on the couch, and he looked down at the wizard with an expression of hope and expectation. Behind him were three others; a man and a woman dressed all in blue and a woman dressed all in green. All six had the design of the two legless dragons embroidered on the tunics they wore, the women’s just above the swell of their left breasts, and they all wore large gemstones on their wrists, each one the same colour as the clothes they wore.

     “Is this the one?” said the woman in green, looking down at the naked wizard. “Not bad looking, in a skinny sort of way.” The woman in blue shot her a venomous look which the first woman pointedly ignored.

     “Back off, Jade,” warned the Gem Lord, scowling at her. “He’s not to be interfered with. There are two other young men in the waiting room if you really can’t help yourself.”

     “Bah! Sword waving muscleheads!” spat Jade contemptuously. “You can find a thousand like them in any decent city.”

     “Then why don’t you?” said Jasper angrily. “We’ve got important work here. We need to concentrate.”

     “What have you found out?” asked Lord Ruby, ignoring the cry of protest from the woman.

     “We’ve confirmed the Oracle’s report,” said Garnet, waving a gem encrusted artifact over the wizard’s chest. “Mentally, he’s an almost perfect match, better than any of the others. I’d say we’ve got a good chance.”