Sauragia: Journey to the Red Mountain

Chapter 17

With the aid of the shadows, Oric and his chosen helpers managed to sneak into the Palace unhindered through the open cellar door. They worked their way furtively upstairs to the third storey, where they were certain the good things were kept. The experienced robbers stuck to the shadows where possible, and moved as swiftly and silently as they could through the complex of corridors and stairs.

When at last they reached the third storey, they checked for danger before opening the first door they came to. Upon entering they found themselves in an unoccupied guest bedroom, where they helped themselves to a couple of small ornaments on the desk. They moved from room to room along the rear corridor then, filling their bags with whatever struck their fancy. Oric was more selective in the items he chose, estimating carefully the value of each article as he picked it up. Reddi and Bandor were not as choosy, however, gladly grabbing whatever they could fit into their bags and stuffing their pockets besides.

Once they had cleaned out all the rooms they cared to along the rear corridor, they decided to venture out into the central corridor. They tried a couple of doors, but found them locked. They could have picked the locks, but it would take too long in this exposed corridor. They were not discouraged though, and continued checking every door along the way until Oric fortuned to find one open and looked in. Seeing it abandoned, he signalled to his companions.

“You two keep moving along this wall, then work your way back up along the opposite side. I’m going to have a look in here,” he told them, then passed furtively into the room.

A number of tables and chairs were set up inside, though none were occupied just now. Everything was neat and tidy, and the fireplace lay dormant, though the ashes of winter fires were still piled up inside. He crept slowly through the dark room, quickly assessing that there was nothing worthy of pocketing here, and moved across to the next door. This, too, was fortuitously unlocked, and he ventured to look inside. It took a great deal to impress Oric, who had seen a lot of wondrous things in his time. But even the king of thieves had a hard time keeping his jaw from dropping just a bit as he looked around.

In the dazzling moonlight flooding in through the vast west-facing window, everything inside was resplendent with colour. The polished marble floors and the tall, gilted columns standing along the walls bespoke a kingdom with a vast hoard of wealth. Far too much for its own good, surely, he thought as he moved silently into the room.

At the back upon a raised dais stood a pair of high, ornate chairs with their backs to the window. So this was the Throne Room! Oric’s tail wagged a bit at the exciting prospect. There had to be something worthwhile in here. Certainly, as he explored, he found many things of great value, but none that could be easily moved.

He reached the end nearest the thrones and sighed. Well, this looked to be a waste of time. He was about to head back when a door off to the side caught his eye. He doubted very much that there’d be anything inside, but it was worth a peek. So, he hopped down off the royal dais and hurried over to it. This door was locked. Normally this would have deterred him, but something about this door felt different. Why would they go through the trouble to lock it unless something really important was housed inside?

He checked his surroundings once more to ensure that there was nobody else about. Then, drawing one of his thin-bladed knives, he began working at the lock. It was a very old lock, and was easily picked by the experienced intruder. His face brightened upon hearing that satisfying click, and with a slight creak the door was open. That annoyed him a bit, as the sound echoed terribly through the chamber. However, ascertaining that there was still no one about, he slipped in without further hesitation.

Inside were a number of ceremonial cloaks and uniforms, neatly folded or hung up as required. They were very nice, but a bit bulky for running off with, and probably not worth all that much when he thought about it. He was quite disappointed overall, but decided to check one or two of the little chests before he left. The first one was empty. Opening the second one, however, Oric knew immediately that all the trouble they had gone through had been well worthwhile.

Reddi and Bandor had checked the front hall for good things, but there were more guards and servants about up there, so they had quickly pulled back to a little alcove to await Oric’s return.

“Where is he, d’you s’pose?” questioned Reddi out loud. “Think he found anythin’ good?”

“Oh, I can assure you he did.”

They jumped with fright, then turned toward Oric. “What is it, sir?”

Oric lifted his cloak to allow them to gaze briefly upon the object of his search. It was a beautiful silver diadem adorned with diamonds and rubies about the top, and etched with the symbol of the Royal House of Cardolin in the centre. It was in every way exquisite, no doubt worth a fortune or two, and even the little glimpse was enough to take their breath away.

“That should more than pay for our foray, along with whatever you two managed to collect.”

“Not much compared to that,” said Reddi, still in awe of Oric’s find.

“I’m sure. Have you checked those rooms over there?” He pointed across the corridor as he once more tucked the diadem away beneath his cloak.

“We were just about to.”

“Well, let’s get on with it. We haven’t got all night.”

So, they did a quick sweep of the rooms along the opposite wall, opening what doors they could and passing over those they could not. They added only a little to their haul, and were more than ready to make their getaway when Oric heard sounds from within the last door and held his companions back.

“Hold on there,” he whispered. “It sounds like somebody’s home.” He paused to listen at the door, then added, “Several somebodies.”

Oric was endowed with very fine hearing, and with his ear slit pressed against the door, managed to hear every word of the conversation going on in this bedroom.

“It’s just not fair,” complained Arnor. “Why did dad have to be so mean about it?”

“I told you, he was just being protective of us,” stated Rose. “Couldn’t you see how scared he looked?”

“No!” exclaimed the youngest sibling bitterly.

“Rosie’s right, Arnor,” said Frederik, who had been very pensive all day. “I mean, dad loves us and wants what’s best for us. He says so all the time.”

“Then why hasn’t he been up here to tell us today, huh Freddie?” pressed Arnor, knowing full well that they were right, but feeling angry all the same.

“I don’t know. He just feels like being firm, I guess. Proving that we’re not exceptions because we’re royalty, like he said.”

Royalty! The word exploded in his mind as Oric listened. So, these were the children of Princess Alyssa and Prince Consort Astron. The heirs to the throne of Cardolin! His eyes lit up suddenly as they always did when his mind was working on some devious plan. He continued to listen as the siblings’ argument escalated.

“How would you know what dad’s thinking?” asked Arnor.

“I don’t,” replied Frederik. “I’m just using good sense.”

“You mean like making me jump off the walltop?”

“It wasn’t my idea to go on the wall in the first place! You were too stupid to know better!”

This shocked and angered Arnor to no end. He had never ever been called stupid in his life, much less by his brother. Frederik, who was smaller than Arnor by a fair bit, had never provoked him to fight either, as he always lost. But that was just what he was going to do right now, and had it not been for Rose, Arnor would have jumped on him in the blink of an eye.

“Stop it, both of you!” she ordered, sounding very grown up. “If it hadn’t been for you two, I wouldn’t be here at all right now!”

The brothers went silent for a moment, for they both loved and respected their sister, however much they disliked each other at times. Before they could say any more, there came a timid rap on the door.

“Pardon me,” an unfamiliar voice spoke. “Is someone in there? Could you help me, please?”

The three siblings looked at each other in complete bewilderment. They were not sure what to say. Their normal reaction would be to answer, of course, but for some reason they hesitated.

“Hello?” the voice spoke again after a moment.

Slowly Arnor approached the door, and slowly he opened it. Standing before him was a greyish green, fairly handsome dinosaur of middling height, wearing the garb of a traveller from far away. He looked nice enough, but something deep inside Arnor told him to be wary. Though he had never met one before this moment, he knew this must be a Gorvosaurus, and his father had told him to always be careful around their kind.

“Hello there, young master,” spoke the stranger in a very friendly voice. “Could you help me, per chance?”

“What do you need?” asked Arnor simply, finding it rather odd that a grown-up should ask him for help.

“Well, you see, I’m new to this town and don’t know my way around that well, especially in this massive palace you have here. So, I was wondering if you could direct me to your Guard quarters? I’d like to talk to your Captain about joining up.”

Arnor looked the Gorvosaurus up and down quickly. He was far too old to be joining such a physically demanding force as the Saurahall Guard. Besides, joining up required high recommendation, and as a stranger, there was no way he could have one. Still, he figured it would be best to let him find out for himself, so he replied, “Captain Winstone’s out right now, but the barracks is on the first floor when you first come in.”

“Is it?” asked the Gorvosaur, sounding immensely surprised. “My, that was foolish of me not to notice. Could you show me the way, clever lad that you are?”

Arnor smiled at the compliment and cast a triumphant look at Frederik as if to say, “Who’s stupid now?” Then, seeing that this stranger was not so bad after all, he nodded and said, “Come with me. It’s really not that hard to fi…”

Right as he stepped out into the corridor, he felt himself pulled sharply to the right as something whacked him on the back of the head from the left. As he collapsed unconscious onto the floor, his brother and sister at once cried out his name and ran forward to help him. There was little they could do, however, before Reddi and Bandor each took hold of one and reapplied the manoeuvre of knocking them out cold. With that deed done, Oric turned to his companions.

“Right. Now let’s get them to the window and get out of here,” he said excitedly. “And be quick about it!”

“But what about the loot?” questioned Reddi. “How are we s’posed to carry it at the same time?”

“Drop the treasure, you fool!” ordered Oric impatiently. “Don’t you realize these little brats are the heirs of Cardolin? These soft Saurahallers will pay the entire kingdom’s worth of treasure to get them back.”

“We’re gonna’ ransom ‘em?” spoke Bandor with a little uncertainty.

“Of course we are! Now hurry up before someone spots us.”

And so, lifting the unconscious youngsters over their shoulders, the three bandits made for one of the back rooms with a window. With the aid of a rope tucked under his cloak, Oric quickly clambered down onto the wall below. The other two were slower and more careful in their descent, and Oric tapped his hind claw impatiently. Once his companions were down, he jerked the rope sharply upward, causing it to come down with its loop still intact. Untying the knot, he called down to his other companions:

“All set down there?”

“Righto, boss!” responded Renwig.

Oric quickly tied the rope loosely around a battlement and tossed the rest over.

“Coming down fully loaded!” he cried. And with unparalleled grace and skill, that was just what he did. The other two again followed suit until they were all down on the ground beside the north wall. The rest of the band eagerly lent a claw to help relieve Oric and his assistants of their burdens, but were greatly surprised to find that their quarry consisted not of gold or jewels, but living, breathing dinosaurs.

“What’s this?” spoke one bandit, a fat Gorvosaur named Rollo. “Younglings?”

“That’s right,” replied Oric.

“But what about the treasure?” spoke Renwig’s mate, Lorraine. “Silver an’ gold an’ all that?”

“I got this,” answered the Red One excitedly, showing them the crown. “But never mind that. These children are worth more than what the lot of us could have carried out of there combined.”

“What makes them so special?” questioned another.

“Because these are the grandchildren of the king, the precious princes and princess. Their ransom could satisfy us for the rest of our lives and beyond! Now, bind them up and throw them into the cart for now, then let’s get going before our visit is noticed.”

The others exchanged nervous looks. For the first time since joining the Red Claw, some of them were hesitant to carry out Oric’s orders. They could not really say why. Oric had done such things before. But something about this was different. Taking royalty from a land they knew very little about seemed rather bold, even for him. Thus, stepping forward to voice the concern of everyone, an Alvarosaurus named Tiller spoke.

“Uh, isn’t it a little risky, sir? Stealing royal children and all? Mightn’t we be chased?”

“Of course we’ll be chased!” replied Oric with more than a hint of annoyance at being questioned. “This is a risky profession. But we know the way, and if we hurry up we’ll get a good head start.”

He turned and walked briskly away, indicating that this discussion was over. The others exchanged looks of concern, shrugged and sighed, then carried out the order. Afterward, under the cover of the Elderwood Forest and nightfall, the Red Claw bandits made their way steadily north and east towards the distant Sauragian Mountains, whose razor-edged peaks jutted up sharply against the starry spring night sky.