The Key of Ban
With growing anticipation of the rescue attempt, Coaldon left the cabin to help Hilda and Topple. Meanwhile Pacer, Earthkin and Brother Patrick departed for their expedition under the palace. After a search of the area around the tunnel entrance, the team removed the flat rock, entered the opening and replaced the stone cover. The luminous moss provided adequate light in the tunnel.
After an hour of steady progress through a maze of collapsed ceilings and walls, they entered the old winery. Pacer’s investigation revealed the room had not been disturbed since their last visit. The three men crossed the floor, careful not to disturb anything as they passed. They left the winery, locking the door and walked into the basement of the palace.
The group stopped before entering the hallway leading into the old guard quarters. With vivid memories of Brad’s warning of ancient traps, they cautiously proceeded into the passage. Pacer, followed by Earthkin and Brother Patrick, slowly progressed down the narrow passageway. Brother Patrick paused half way down the tunnel to study several old paintings on the wall. The vague images of the Cathedral of Toms could be seen outlined by the maze of canyons.
As Brother Patrick continued to walk down the passageway, he stepped on a large flat stone. With a loud crack the stone floor collapsed under the monk’s feet. With a shout of surprise, he fell out of sight into a black gaping hole. A dull boom resonated throughout the tunnel as the hole consumed Brother Patrick. Pacer and Earthkin rushed to the hole in the middle of the hallway.
With a strong sense of guilt, Pacer said, “I should have been more careful. I hope Brother Patrick has not been hurt.”
Pacer and Earthkin lowered their torches into the black, empty space. Below them they saw Brother Patrick’s unconscious, crumpled body lying on the floor of a large room with two doorways on opposite sides. They saw a puddle of blood next to his head.
Earthkin commented, “The latch on the trap door must have been old and rusty, causing it to stick. I have heard about this type of trap. In ancient times beasts or evil spirits were placed in these rooms to kill anybody unfortunate enough to fall. An evil spirit may still haunt the chamber. One of us must climb down into the room to help Brother Patrick. I volunteer. You can stay here and watch the hallway.”
Earthkin found a metal hook to attach a rope. He tossed the rope into the hole and used his powerful arms to lower himself into the chamber. Pacer dropped a lit torch and a bag of medical supplies to the dwarf. Earthkin discovered that Brother Patrick had no broken bones, but the monk had received a cut on the back of his head. He concluded Brother Patrick must have hit his head on the edge of the trap door when he fell. Earthkin stopped the bleeding by applying a generous layer of healing ointment. He then wrapped Brother Patrick’s head with a bandage.
Opening a small jar of medicinal cream, Earthkin spread it under the monk’s nose. The cream had a powerful herbal ingredient that would stimulate the mind and body. With a sudden jerk Brother Patrick opened his eyes. The monk tried to sit up, but Earthkin pushed him back onto the floor. The dwarf realized Brother Patrick needed to rest and regain his orientation before getting to his feet.
As Earthkin attended Brother Patrick, he felt extreme fatigue slowly envelop his body. The suddenness of this weariness seemed unusual. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but soon drifted into an uncomfortable sleep. As he slept, a swell of fear crept into his mind. In a dream he saw a grotesque creature approaching him with its arm extended. It touched Earthkin with the tip of a deformed finger. The dream escalated into waves of dread. Fighting off the fear, the dwarf forced himself to awaken. His body was trembling, his clothes were drenched in sweat and his face was contorted into a grimace.
His burning torch still lay on the floor of the chamber. As Earthkin looked around the room he saw the outline of a figure step from a doorway into the chamber. A short, hairy beast with a round body, black scaly face and large teeth moved toward him. Earthkin tried to stand up but discovered his body was paralyzed by panic. He knew he had to gain control of his emotions or face death. The beast moved toward him in slow, deliberate steps. As it drew closer, the dwarf lost control of his thoughts. The more he struggled against his panic, the more he became confused. His entire body was a massive knot of cramped and distorted muscles. As his heartbeat became uneven, he gasped for breath.
In a weak, desperate voice, Earthkin pleaded, “Help me, or I am lost!”
A sensation of hope filled his mind. He felt a warm breeze sweep through his spirit. The power of the One Presence answered his call for help. A quiet whisper flooded his mind with a gentle caress of peace. At first, Earthkin thought he had died, but realized he was still conscious. The monk lay on the floor with the trap door outlined over his head. The vision of the beast became transparent in his mind. Unexpectedly, he remembered, as a youth, reading an ancient story about this creature. He relaxed his thoughts in an attempt to remember the details of the story. Eight fuzzy letters took shape in a recess of his mind. These letters drifted in random order in an eerie, yet beautiful dance. Suddenly, in quick rotation, the letters formed into a sequence. The letters created the word FEARNUMB.
He thought, “I remember reading stories about fearnumbs. They are ancient spirits that use fear to entrap their victims. It transmits the sensation of terror into the victim’s mind. The spirit projects the image of it being a vile, vicious beast. The victim is lost, if he yields to the crippling grip of dread. Yet, outside of creating the illusion of fear, the spirit is totally harmless.”
With this new insight, Earthkin relaxed his muscles and mind. He remembered that there was more to the story. Fearnumbs can be released from the spell of evil by offering it understanding and compassion.
Earthkin stood up and pointed his index finger at the spirit saying, “I release you from your enslavement to evil. You no longer need to roam the world as a captive to the forces of wickedness. Go in peace.”
Earthkin watched as the spirit grew into a bright light, then dissolved into a blue mist. After the blue mist disappeared, the dwarf could detect the faint odor of carnations filling the chamber.
Brother Patrick lurched into a sitting position with an expression of fright on his face. He said, “What happened to me? I thought an evil spirit had possessed my body. I was terrified.”
Earthkin responded, “It was a fearnumb. The spirit uses fear to control its victim. How do you feel? We need to get out of here and back to work.”
Brother Patrick commented, “My head hurts; my body aches; and I feel terrible. Other than that I am doing great.”
Earthkin smiled, saying, “Do you think you are capable of climbing a rope?” With reluctance, Brother Patrick responded, “It will be a challenge, but what choice do I have. There is no use babying myself. I am ready.” The dwarf yelled, “Pacer, are you there?”
With sleepy eyes, Pacer’s face appeared in the trap door opening. Pacer said, “I can not believe I fell asleep. I had such a bad dream. I am sorry, but I lost track of you.”
Earthkin responded, “We are going to climb out of here. We will need your help when we get to the top.”
Brother Patrick was first to climb out. He had to try several times, but he was finally successful. Earthkin easily climbed the rope and crawled through the trap door.
He commented, “Pacer, I have a good story to tell you, but it can wait. Let’s get started removing rocks from the shaft. Brother Patrick can rest while we work.”
The three men entered the room at the end of the hallway. Brother Patrick sat next to the door to allow the dizziness to clear from his mind. Pacer led the way to the plugged shaft. He pulled rocks from the hole and passed them to Earthkin. It took several hours to remove the stones from the base of the shaft. Earthkin carried the rocks to the side room for storage while Pacer struggled to loosen the stones still tightly wedged inside the shaft.
Finally, Pacer could not reach any higher up into the shaft without stepping inside. He started to step inside the shaft, but paused to consider the consequences if the r
ocks should accidentally break loose. He stepped back to consider the next step.
He invited his companions to sit down with him to discuss the problem of the plugged shaft. As the group consumed the meal sent by Hilda, they heard a loud rumbling. The floor shook as rocks and dirt collapsed down the shaft, releasing a cloud of debris into the room. The dust was so dense nobody could see anything. Gasping for breath, each person was forced to cover his face with a piece of cloth. The team instantly knew that one problem was solved, but another one had been created. The plug in the shaft had broken loose, but the sound of the collapse would have been heard in the palace. Somebody would be sent to investigate.
Once the dust had settled, Earthkin said, “This dust will cover any trace of our visit. I suggest that we leave the palace immediately. I do not believe we have any time to waste.”
Each person took special care to cover his tracks by dragging a piece of tarp behind him. Each warrior carried a piece of furniture from the dungeon and deposited it in the winery. As Brother Patrick locked the winery door from the inside, the sounds of many feet could be heard rushing down the hallway. After the three men entered the tunnel behind the wine vat, the door to the winery was thrust opened with a bang. The scuffle of feet could be heard in the room.
A deep voice said, “I didn’t know this room was again being used for storage. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Let’s check the rest of the rooms. I want to find out what caused the noise.”
After a short time, Pacer left his hiding place and stood with his ear to the door. After a long wait he heard the soldiers returning from the basement. The sounds of laughter echoed as the soldiers joked with one another.
“I did not know that the basement had traps. I almost fell into that hole. I do not want to go back down there again.”
“The noise must have come from rocks falling down the shaft in the old guards quarters.”
“I agree with you. The basement is a spooky place to visit. By the way, what do you think happened to Regee?”
“Wherever he has gone, I am glad. He is so worthless.”
The voices drifted away as the soldiers marched up the passageway into the palace.
Pacer walked back to his friends in the passageway and shared the content of the soldiers’ discussion. After listening to Pacer’s story, the group hurried through the network of tunnels to escape the repressive atmosphere of the palace basement. As they left the tunnel, the cool air of night greeted them like an old friend.
Earthkin was the only person who had enjoyed the underground journey. His dwarf instincts found comfort and security in the confined, closed environment of the tunnel. Brother Patrick had forced himself, in spite of the pain, to walk the full distance in the tunnel without help. Yet after emerging from the passageway he lay down on the ground to regain his strength. Pacer and Earthkin put their arms around Brother Patrick’s shoulders and carried him to Hilda’s house. Pacer hoped Hilda would have the power to assist Brother Patrick in his recovery.
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Final Plans