The Key of Ban
The campsite was a welcome sight for Pacer, Coaldon and Brother Patrick after their adventure under the palace. Topple and Earthkin had a hot meal ready for their friends. Coaldon was especially hungry and ready for a good nights sleep. As he sat in front of the fire, his thoughts stormed with the events of the day. He kept reliving the battle with the monsters, the appearance of Cando, the escape from the room of magic and of course the encounter with Hilda.
Hilda arrived at the camp shortly after the group had finished eating a hearty dinner. She found great delight in describing how she had helped the three men flee from the city. Coaldon listened for several minutes before he collapsed into a deep sleep while Pacer and Brother Patrick told the story of their adventure under the palace. When Topple heard the account of Cando, he jumped to his feet shouting with happiness.
He exclaimed, “Cando was my best friend! We shared many adventures together. I thought he was gone forever when Doomage the Wizard separated his body from his spirit. I have heard stories about a spirit in the palace, but I did not relate it to Cando. It will be wonderful to meet him again.”
Pacer said, “We are tired, so let’s meet tomorrow morning to make plans for the rescue. It is only three days before the first day of spring and we have many things to do before we can complete the rescue.”
The next morning the group met at Hilda’s home. She demanded all five men take baths before they could eat breakfast. She decided the cause of the rebellion would not be hampered if the men would submit to the cleansing power of hot water and soap. Nobody complained about bathing except Topple. He finally submitted after seeing the plentiful food awaiting him if he took the plunge. Hilda’s acolytes served a large breakfast of boiled grains, honey and cooked pork roast.
The meeting of the rescuers was held after breakfast. It was decided that Earthkin, Pacer and Brother Patrick would return to the palace to remove the rocks from the shaft. Coaldon would meet with the Robbet’s messenger at noon to start making plans for the diversion on the day of the escape. Topple and Hilda would continue to buy horses for the escape to the mountains. Topple explained in great detail how they had purchased five horses. These horses were being kept on a farm under the pretense of being used by merchants going on a trip. Saddles and tack were stored at the farm. After Coaldon had told the story of finding the metal tube in the Room of Magic, he pulled it from his pouch for everyone to examine. The tube had a bright silver color with elf script inscribed into the metal.
Coaldon said, “The elfin writing on the chamber door stated only the Grand Advisor of the Elfdom of Talltree could read the scroll. We will need to protect the tube until Starhood can open it and share the contents with us.”
Pacer looked at Topple with a sly grin saying, “Coaldon, will you please remove the Gem of Watching from your pouch and invite our new friend to join us.”
Coaldon raised the Gem of Watching into the air so everyone in the room could see the cloud rotating in the center of the stone.
He requested, “Cando, please join us.”
A deep rumbling noise rattled through the house. The pleasant scent of roses flowed across the room. Then a yellow cloud of smoke shot from the Gem forming circles of rotating rings. Cando’s face appeared from the center of the cloud surrounded by a sparkling halo. His smile literally spread from ear to ear. Cando gave a loud shout as his transparent, ghostly body leaped from the smoke.
He shouted, “Hidy! Hidy! Hidy! I have always wanted to make this type of grand entry. How did I do? Did you like my introduction? Topple, I am so happy to see you. It has been a long time since we have had the opportunity to talk. What have you been doing for the past several centuries? I have missed you! You have not changed one bit. You look just as homely as ever. They rescued me from the basement of the palace. I like my new home in the stone. I have decided to remodel the whole house next week. The present décor is too simple and basic. I want something more formal.”
Interrupting Cando, Topple said, “If the present company will excuse us, Cando and I have many things to catch up on.”
Coaldon followed, “Well, we have work to do. Each of us has an assignment, so let’s get started. We will meet here tonight to make plans for tomorrow.”
It was late morning when Coaldon casually walked into the crowd of vagrants milling in the area near the West Gate. The soldiers were late arriving with the daily ration of food, causing the crowd to begin protesting. The guards warned the crowd with uplifted weapons. The threat was enough to force the crowd to return to an uneasy state of submission.
Coaldon walked through the crowd to the area next to the gate. He saw a man wearing a red hat sitting by the wall. Coaldon sat next to the man saying, “I have been sent by Bodso.”
The man looked at him with questioning eyes, responding, “What are you talking about?”
Coaldon answered, “Bodso said a messenger would be stationed by the West Gate wearing a red hat. By the way, ‘spring is beautiful.”
The man replied, “I have noticed that the flowers are red.”
Coaldon sat for a long time watching the crowd grow in size and irritation.
He finally said, “We will need your help within the next few weeks. We are asking you to create a disturbance west of the city by making three or four hit and run attacks on military targets. We will only be able to give you a few hours advanced warning. We will pay you well for your services. I would like to arrange a meeting with Robbet.”
The man replied, “We have been waiting for you to contact us. You can meet with Robbet in two days in this same spot and time.”
The two men walked away from each other in opposite directions. Several men in the crowd were encouraging the vagrants to attack the soldiers. The guards were starting to advance on the crowd with spears and swords when the food wagon arrived. The arrival of food was enough to return order to the volatile situation.
Coaldon thought to himself, “The Empire is ripe for rebellion. We need to put a plan into operation to tap into this growing state of dissatisfaction. We cannot wait for Crossmore to crush the life out of the people before we act.”
As Coaldon was getting into the food line, he heard a booming voice. An officer of the Emperor’s Court was standing on the food wagon waving his arms.
He yelled, “Emperor Regee has disappeared from the palace. We believe enemies of the Empire have kidnapped him. Crossmore the Great will assume the role of Emperor until Emperor Regee can be rescued. Long live Emperor Crossmore!
This announcement was greeted by both cheers and boos. Several fights erupted between groups of differing opinions. Order was quickly restored by the point of a spear.
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