Chapter 13: A Treasure Found

Young Henry, one of my stable boys ran into the Tavern, “MASTER LAN!”

I turned from helping Flower with a large tray of dishes, “Henry?”

He swallowed, “Peter fell into a hole in the barn.”

I straightened, “What hole?”

Henry looked a little wide eyed, “The one a horse broke in the floor.”

I started moving quickly, “Get me a rope.”

I came into the barn to see a small hole in the floor in front of the first stall. I knelt and looked down, “PETER!”

“I am okay master Lan!”

I could see him standing in what looked like a stone floored room. I laid down and put my head in the hole to look around. The walls were old cut block stones and there were stone torches on the walls. I could make out what looked like rubble blocked stairs leading up and on the other side a doorway. I glanced back as Henry brought a rope from another stall.

I made a loop and lowered it down into the hole, “Put the loop around yourself.”

I stood and braced myself as Henry looked into the hole. He looked at me and nodded, “He is ready sir.”

I pulled the boy up and out until he was laying on the barn floor. I glanced back at Song standing in the barn doorway and smiled, “Peter, why don’t you go with Song so she can check you.”

He reddened and stood dusting himself off, “Yes sir.”

I looped and tied the rope around a stone pillar and moved to the hole. I sat and put my foot in the loop while holding the other rope. I slid down and started letting the rope out lowering myself. When I reached the floor I stepped out of the loop and released the rope. I knelt and looked around carefully before going to one of the stone torches.

I could smell the old oil they had used for the torch and glanced at the open doorway. I walked to it and looked out. It was a small landing with stairs going down. I glanced toward the bottom of the doorway to see a thin piece of rotting cord. I turned and walked back to the hole, “HENRY!”

He face appeared looking down at me, “Master Lan?”

I smiled, “Bring me a lantern. Use the rope to lower it.”

“Yes sir.”

A moment later he was lowering one of the small storm lanterns. I turned and went back to the doorway and knelt. I looked at the landing stones to see a couple raised slightly. I stood and carefully stepped over the old cord trip wire. I moved to the stairs avoiding the two floor stones. I checked each stair as I began going down. I had to step over three before I reached the bottom.

The bottom of the stairs was at least fifty feet below the landing. It ended in what looked like a huge hall with stone fireplaces at each end. I could see across the hall from the stairs and there was another shadowy hallway. I knelt to look at the cut stone floor and realized most of the stones were tilted slightly or raised. I drew out a piece of chalk and started across.

I used the few stones that were lower and even. I kept stopping to squat and mark each stone. I looked down the hallway when I reached it to see thin barbed spears on the floor. I could see several old rotten cords that had broken so I knew they had been tripped. I grinned as I unwound a light cord from my waist and pulled out a dagger.

I tied the cord to the dagger and careful leaned out of the hallway. I threw the dagger down the hall and several spears slammed into the walls as old cords broke. I started pulling the dagger back and more spears started hitting the walls and small darts began hitting the floor around the dagger. Once the dagger reached me I threw it down the hall again.

I did it three time before carefully moving down the hall using only the stones I knew were even. Along the way I checked the walls carefully for hidden doorways. At the end of the hall was another landing at the top of a spiraling stairway. I moved to the far rail and looked down into darkness. I turned and knelt to look at the first few stairs.