Grishma (Book One in The Necoh Saga)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

“Pidifer, are you sure this is going to work?” asked Ryder.

“Of course!” he replied.

Ryder and the other creatures snuck through the damp grass and approached the wall. The air, thick and warm, caused beads of perspiration to form on everyone’s brows.

Pidifer put one hand on the wall and then patted the ground in several spots with the other. “Okay, it should be right around here.”

“It’s so dark out here. How are you going to find anything?” whispered Albie.

Ignoring his comrade’s questions, Pidifer kept patting the ground, looking for something. “Yup! Here it is. I found it!”

Ryder squinted and tried to make out what Pidifer had found.

Pidifer motioned for everyone to come closer. “Ready? The quicker we get out of sight, the better!”

They all nodded in agreement.

The orvba carefully turned a mechanism that was cleverly disguised as a protruding stone near the base of the wall. At the same time, he pulled an unseen lever up that was hiding in the damp grass. A soft clicking could be heard and a small, dimly lit space in the ground suddenly became visible.

Patting the stout creature on the back, Ryder whispered, “Wow! That’s impressive, Pidifer! Nice work!”

Pidifer beamed with pride. “Orvbas are very resourceful creatures. I know lots of secret entrances all around Necoh. Now come on, let’s get down in the tunnel before someone sees us.”

Ryder volunteered to climb down the tunnel first. Crouching down near the opening, he swung one leg inside, then the other. Clutching the soft ground, his dangling feet lightly brushed the ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw a flaming torch hanging securely on the wall.

“You can drop down, it’s not far,” urged Pidifer.

Letting go, he fell for a brief second. Then, his feet were safely on the floor of the tunnel. Inspecting his surroundings, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the torch lit room. The musty smell of the earth and the cool air reminded him of his own home in the caves. Ryder closed his eyes and thought about the last time he was home. The last time I was home, I held Brooklyn in my arms all night.

Interrupting his thoughts, he heard Cridifer say in a hushed voice, “Give us a hand, Ryder, the drop is a bit far!”

Ryder reached up and firmly grasped each creature around the waist as they dropped into the tunnel. Once they were all safely inside, Pidifer pulled a lever attached to the wall with the torch and the opening closed.

All of the creatures except Ryder were able to stand comfortably in the tunnel. Forced to crouch, he looked at Pidifer and said, “Okay, what’s our plan? Where will this tunnel take us?”

Pidifer replied, “It will take us to an alley about a stone’s throw from the castle gates.”

“Lant, where is the secret entrance to the castle?” asked Ryder.

“Well, I would have to get my bearings above ground first, but it’s on the east side of the castle, near the kitchen. Let’s get above ground first, then we’ll see if we can make it to there tonight,” said Lant.

Cridifer grabbed several torches from the floor and he carefully lit each one. After he passed out the torches to his comrades, they started down the tunnel.

They veered to the right, then the left, and stopped in front of three different openings.

“This way,” instructed Pidifer as he ventured down the passageway furthest to the left.