The Song and the Serpent

“We need to leave now,” Adan said.

Kian nodded.

They turned away from the open hole and tip-toed to the hallway that led to the wooden gate.

“Do we have some kind of plan?” Adan asked. “They’re not going to let us just walk out of here.

Kian stopped and furrowed his eyebrows. Then he turned around and dashed back toward the iron gate that led into the arena.

“Kian!” Adan whispered, unwilling to shout lest they attract the attention of the beast below.

Kian ignored him. When he reached the gate, he bent down over the figures of the dead acolytes. He removed the white robes from two of the acolytes and brought them over to Adan.

“Put this on,” he whispered, tossing one to Adan.

Adan complied, trying to ignore the blood stains on the robe.

“Follow my lead,” Kian said after donning his disguise.

“I hope that means you actually have a plan,” Adan whispered back as they made their way to the wooden gate. They both pulled the white hoods over their heads to hide their faces.

As far as they could see, the gate had no lock or key stopping them from opening it.

Kian grabbed one of the iron handles on the door and pulled. It opened without protest.

Bright daylight streamed into the black temple and blinded them. Tears filled Adan’s eyes, and not just because of the blinding light. Their time in the dark was finally over.

Adan was vaguely aware of the two guards that stood outside the door. He and Kian kept their heads down, partly to block the sun, partly to hide their faces from the guards.

“Prisoner escape!” Kian shouted. He held up the blood stains on his robe as proof. “The prisoners are breaking out, go stop them before they kill us!”

The guards hesitate, looking at each other.

“Quickly!” Kian cried in desperation. “They will kill us.”

The two guards drew their curved swords and dashed into the black opening. Adan and Kian slammed the door shut behind them.

There were hooks mounted to the doors where a board could be laid to force them shut. Adan looked for the board to lock the door.

“Over there!” Kian gestured to their right, holding the door shut.

Adan saw the small beam leaning against the wall nearby. He lunged for it, lifted the heavy plank over his shoulder, and brought it back to the door.

He and Kian slammed it into the hooks, locking the gate from the outside.

No one would escape from Undelma today.

They turned away from the black spike and looked around. Gray clouds hovered low over the city. No sound echoed off the stone walls. There was no one in sight.

Adan and Kian stood still for a moment, waiting to see if anything happened.

Silence.

“Do we just walk away?” Kian asked.

Adan looked around. He saw no reason not to.

He shrugged, and they began walking forwards.

Before they had made it ten paces, a bell pealed in a tower to their left.

Adan and Kian both jumped at the sound.

Another bell rang out from another tower ahead of them.

They heard shouts and began to see figures in a street opposite the door they had left.

“That’s not good,” Kian said.

The figures began running toward them.

“That’s definitely not good.”

Adan looked around to see if anyone else had spotted them. The other streets that were visible from where they stood were empty.

“Do we run?” He asked.

“Do they even know we’re trying to escape?” Kian asked. “They can’t see who we are.”

The small group reached the circle of black sand and then suddenly veered off to the side. Instead of running toward them, the group began running in a wide circle around them.

“What in the name of…” Kian trailed off.

Adan looked down and understood. They had forgotten the white paving stones that spiraled out from the temple.

He and Kian had ignored the pavers and walked straight toward the street. The group coming for them, were running on the pavers as they came. Apparently, to leave the path was a such a heinous sin, that they were unwilling to leave the white stones even to chase two escaped prisoners.

That’s how they know we’re escaping, he thought. True acolytes would never leave the path.

“They know we’re escaping,” He said. “The paving stones.”

Kian nodded. “You’re right. They can’t leave the path.”

The group had turned left, leaving the right side of the circle open.

Kian looked to the right before glancing back at the group of soldiers running around the left side. “Does that mean that we’re desecrators? We are violating their temple by walking off the path.”

“Most likely,” Adan replied, looking at Kian.

Kian smiled. “Wonderful.”

Then he began running toward open space. Adan was right behind home.

“It’s a pity we don’t have boots!” Kian shouted over his shoulder. “Something tells me they’d really hate that.”

They heard shouts of frustration and rage from their pursuers.

They crossed the open space in seconds. Kian reached the stone street before Adan, and he turned and faced the temple while he waited for Adan to catch up. To Adan’s surprise, Kian began dancing in the sand, moving back and forth, and taking great care to step anywhere but on the white stones.

They heard cries of outrage from their pursuers.

Kian stopped when he heard them and nodded. “That felt good.”

Then he and Adan ran down the street, away from the circle of black sand.

“If anyone asks,” Kian said. “We’re fleeing from the escaped prisoners.”

“We shouldn’t run,” Adan replied, once they were out of sight. “It will look more suspicious.”

They looked around at the gray buildings. The street they had entered was completely empty.

“Very well,” Kian replied. “But we might need to run if we meet that group again. They will probably try to cut us off.”

They walked briskly down the deserted street making for what they thought was the main gate. Other than the peal of the warning bells, and the distant shouts of their pursuers, the city lay silent, as if asleep.

“Where is everyone?” Kian asked, looking over his shoulder. “It was busier when we first arrived.”

“I know,” Adan replied. “I don’t like this silence.”

They continued down the street until it ended, running into a large road. They approached the larger walkway with caution, looking right and left.

Nothing stirred.

“Which way?” Kian asked.

“I think left will take us toward the gate,” Adan asked.

Kian nodded and they turned left.

The street wound onward, surrounded by stone buildings two or three stories high. Several alleys and side streets branched off the main road. Adan and Kian glanced down each one, only to see the same emptiness.

The city of Undelma seemed deserted.

The sounds of their pursuers eventually faded into silence, although the bell continued to ring behind them.

A door slammed to their right.

Adan and Kian jumped and looked toward the sound.

A lone man in a black tunic had opened a door in a nearby alley. He dashed away, further down the alley without even looking at Adan and Kian. They watched him disappear around a corner.

“I don’t think he even saw us,” Adan said.

“Yes,” Kian breathed. “We’re still safe.”

“There they are!” Someone shouted behind them.

They turned around to see seven soldiers rushing toward them.

“Well that was bound to happen,” Kian said.

They turned to flee only to see five more men appear in the road in front of them.

“This way!” Adan shouted, running down the alley.

He heard Kian follow him as they ran for cover. Shouts from behind drove them forward at breakneck speed. Adan knew he had never run this fast.

They turned left at the first opportunity, and then right, trying to zig-zag through the buildings in an attempt to evade their pursuers. But the shouts from behind didn’t fade into the distance. They only grew closer.

“We can’t get away like this!” Adan shouted as they turned a corner. “We need to shake them if we’re going to exit the gate.”

“Up ahead!” Kian replied.

Adan look up the small street and saw a small door sitting partly open on their left. He dashed for the door and flung it wide. Kian followed Adan inside and he shut it just before their pursuers rounded the corner.

They stood quietly by the door, panting in the silence.

They could hear running footsteps through the tiny cracks in the old oak partition,

“Keep going!” Someone shouted. “Don’t let them past the gate.”

The footsteps passed and it became silent outside.

Adan held his breath and listened.

Silence.

He turned and examined their surroundings.

They had entered what appeared to be a small kitchen. Jars of spices lined a high table that sat in the middle of the room. Herbs and cooking tools lined the walls and larder sat in the corner. There was another door opposite the one they had entered which was cracked open.

Adan's heart was still pounding, and he felt dizzy. He swayed and leaned against the door. Lack of food and water had begun to take its toll.

He saw a large bowl of water sitting on the counter and moved toward it. He picked up the bowl and drank deeply, thanking the Maker for the gift of water.

He wiped his mouth before handing the bowl to Kian. Then he walked over to the larder and looked inside.

A loaf of fresh bread sat on a board inside. Adan thanked the Maker again and grabbed the bread, tearing through the thick crust and stuffing his mouth.

He walked back to the door and handed half the loaf to Kian. They ate quickly at first, satiating their ravenous hunger. Then, when their starved bellies were full, they stood leaning against the door, slowly enjoying the rest of the recently baked loaf.

Once the bread was gone, Adan walked quietly around the table and over to the door. He peeked through the crack before throwing the door wide. An empty dining hall lay beyond, lit only by three windows on the exterior wall.

Kian left the outside door and walked over to Adan. “I say we try to throw them off by leaving the building by a different door,” he whispered.

Adan nodded and they crept into the empty room.

They passed a long table, still covered in plates of half eaten food. A meal had been enjoyed here recently.

Beyond the dining hall, they passed into a long corridor that passed several closed doors on one side before turning right, around a corner. The exterior wall on their left ended and several curved archways stacked on columns led out into a courtyard.

Adan and Kian stopped at the corner and watched the courtyard for any sign of movement.

The stone yard was still and quiet.

They took a hesitant step toward the courtyard.

“Have we heard from our spies in Threcalax?” A muffled voice said.

Adan and Kian froze.

“Our network there has only been able to send one communication so far, sir,” another voice, muffled like the first, but nearby.

Adan peeked around the corner and saw a door along the wall that sat opposite the courtyard. It was cracked open just enough to hear voices from within.

“What is the situation at the capitol?” Asked the first voice. Adan recognized the speaker.

Commander Hugo.

“What we expected,” the second voice replied. “King Selwyn has listened to the voices we put in place around him, and only those voices. Our network has managed to undermine anyone who speaks of invasion or danger from the north.”

“Did they give examples of anyone trying to warn the king?” Hugo asked.

“Only one, the Chief Bard.”

“Of course.”

Adan heard running feet in the courtyard. He and Kian slid further back so as not to be seen by whoever was approaching. Adan prayed they wouldn’t come around the corner he and Kian were hiding behind.

The footsteps ran up to the door and Adan heard the hinges groan as it was thrown open.

“M’lord!” An out of breath voice said. “I beg your most humble pardon for my intrusion, but I have the most distressing news.”

“What is it?” Hugo barked.

“Two prisoners have escaped from Undelma, and the drynth is loose in the temple.”

“What?!” The second voice cried out in shock.

“Explain.” Hugos voice was calm and level.

“Two figures were seen leaving the temple, wearing the white attire of our own priests, but they strayed from Org’s Spiral. They left the path as they escaped. We tried pursuing them but they shook us off. As far as we know they are still in the city.

“Desecrators!” The second voice spat.

“What about the temple?”

“A handful of us went to the door to make sure all was well. The guards were missing, and the door had been bolted from the outside. When they opened it, they saw the great serpent on the main floor.”

“What about Dias? What about our priest?”

“Nowhere in sight. But there was blood on the floor. You’ll understand why they didn’t hold the door open for long, m’lord. Once I heard this I came straight to you.”

There was a long silence.

“What should we do?” The second voice asked.

“We must contain the drynth and discover what has become of Dias,” Hugo replied. “But we must be sure to avoid further desecration in the process. We will seek the counsel of our city representatives. They will tell us how to approach this breach at the temple.”

“What about the desecrators? They cannot go unpunished.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“We can’t afford to stop our warriors moving through the main gate. To stop and search everyone would slow us down too much. We wouldn’t be able to sail for at least another day. We have no choice but to risk letting them escape the city. But we won’t let them get away. They won’t be able to board any of our ships unnoticed. Give every captain instructions to search every vessel and interrogate their men. There’s no other escape from this valley.”

“What about the mountain pass?”

Adan's head perked up.

“If they find out about that, then they will certainly be lost in the maze. No one has ever passed through the Morkil without the map, and there are only three maps in existence: Dias, the copy I carry, and this one here.”

Adan heard a thump as Hugo put his hand on a hard surface in the room. He looked at Kian, whose wide eyes reflected Adan’s excitement.

There’s a mountain pass out of this valley with a maze in it, and the map through the maze is in that room!

“We must consult the representatives at once,” Hugo continued. “You two, stay here and guard this room. Zedek, go to the docks and tell the captains what has happened. Await further instructions there.”

“Yes sir,” the second voice said. They heard boots on the stone as Zedek walked out into the courtyard.

“Have your men continue the search for the desecrators, and come to me if you find them.”

“Aye, commander,” the third voice replied, and Adan heard another set of footsteps leaving.

“The rest come with me,” Hugo said, and three more sets of boots on the stone signaled Hugo’s departure. The footsteps echoed off the stone walls, slowly fading into the distance.

Adan and Kian looked at each other again, not daring to speak.

Adan held up a finger before turning and creeping to the corner. Adan peeked around the cut stone as slowly as he thought safe, only revealing one eye. He caught a glimpse of two warriors in orange tunics stationed in front of the door, facing the courtyard with spears in hand. He backed up slowly and turned back toward Kian.

He held up two fingers and mouthed the words, “Two of them.”

Kian nodded and mouthed back “What do we do?”

Adan thought for a moment.

We need to get into that room, and we need to get out of these robes. We’ll be too easy to recognize and we need a means of escape.

Adan decided it was worth the risk. He looked at Kian and put his finger to his neck, making a slashing sign. “Kill them”

Kian nodded.

Adan turned and ran around the corner. His bare feet were silent as he leapt toward the unsuspecting guards.