Adventure of Danial Tienad 1

Danial leaves The Splintered Stool with Rhon's map and sealed terms concealed beneath his coat. Rain has thinned to a cold mist over the alleys.

At the stable yard, Mattheas ben-Igari waits among the shadowed stalls. A coil of rope, two hooded lamps, wedges, and iron tools rest beside his boots.

Mattheas lifts one lamp and checks its oil, keeping his broad shoulders between the stable door and the open yard. His voice remains low, practical.

The lantern light reaches the yard stones. Fresh mud marks a broken trail toward Lantern Row, its edges sharp beneath the fading rain, as if someone passed recently.

Danial crouches over the fresh mud, studying heel depth, stride, and the broken rain crust. Mist beads on his fingers while the trail fades beneath deliberate scuffing.

The marks refuse a clean reading. Several impressions have been dragged sideways, disguising direction and number, and Danial's examination smears the remaining edges beyond useful pursuit.

Yet a pale grit clings inside one deep heel mark, coarser than yard mud. It matches the salt-stained stones near Lantern Row's cistern access, offering a route rather than a watcher count.

Mattheas gathers the rope and wedges, leaving the disturbed track behind. The obvious trail is useless now, but the concealed cistern approach has gained a tangible lead.

Mattheas nods, and the two of them leave the stable yard for the salt gate. Mist clings to the stones as they descend toward the narrow drain mouth.

The passage admits them shoulder to shoulder for only a few paces. Then its roof dips sharply, forcing Mattheas ahead while Danial must follow single file through brackish darkness.

Mattheas tests the stones with one boot. A slab shifts beneath him, and a sheet of salty water rushes from a concealed channel, sweeping the rope and wedges from his reach.

He catches the iron lamp before it falls, but the surge fills the lower passage to their knees. The direct route ahead now lies submerged beneath cloudy, moving water.

Danial catches the hooded lamp against the wall, shielding its flame from the surge. With his free hand, he finds the drain's raised stone lip beneath the water.

He braces himself and guides Mattheas's boot onto the firmer ledge, then steadies the older warrior by the forearm until both stand clear of the strongest current.

Mattheas shifts his weight onto the ledge and retrieves the rope's loose end from the water. The lamp burns steadily above the brackish flood.

Together they advance along the raised stones, shoulder to shoulder where the passage allows, with the current confined below their boots and the stairway ahead.

The words carry softly through the drain, competing with the water's rush. Mattheas studies Danial's shadow in the wavering lamplight, then continues toward the bend.

His boot slips from the raised lip. Danial catches his sleeve before the current takes him, but the movement strikes the lamp against the wall and cracks its oil reservoir.

A thin stream of oil leaks across Mattheas's glove. The flame survives, though it burns lower, shrinking their light to a trembling circle.

They reach the upper inspection stair. Its first stone rises above the flood, and Mattheas plants the rope around an iron ring before climbing.

Mattheas climbs three steps before the lamp's trembling glow catches fresh scrape marks across the stair dust. Water has not softened their edges.

Above the stair, a rusted inspection hatch stands ajar. A thread of warmer air descends through it, carrying lamp smoke and the faint odor of wet leather.

A dull knock travels through the masonry overhead, followed by two softer taps. The sound comes from beyond the hatch, somewhere within the cooperage cellar.

Mattheas lowers the failing lamp and grips the rope, leaving the hatch untouched. The cistern route remains open, but secrecy now depends on what lies beyond the inspection stair.

Danial climbs the inspection stair without disturbing the rope or the failing lamp. At the ajar hatch, he lowers himself and peers through the narrow gap.

The cooperage cellar lies below, crowded with stacked barrels and wet shadows. Two raiders stand beside the hatch, one holding a covered lantern, the other a curved blade.

A third figure kneels over an open chest near the far wall. The necromancer's tome rests inside, wrapped in dark oilcloth, while a clay cup marks the signaler's reach.

The signaler waits beside a cracked support post, listening toward the drain. None of them looks toward the hatch, and their attention remains fixed below.

A fourth raider waits beyond the stacked barrels, half-hidden beneath the cellar stairs. His hood is turned toward the hatch, listening for the expected reply.

The kneeling raider tightens the oilcloth around the tome. Beside the open chest lies a ring of iron keys, including one marked with the cooperage's cracked saint.

The covered lantern turns slightly, revealing a chalked arrow on the cellar floor. It points beneath the stairs toward a narrow service passage hidden behind loose barrels.

The trap is meant for the captain's returning men, not Danial and Mattheas. Their unexpected arrival has left the true key exposed and an unguarded path waiting.

Danial climbs through the hatch first, easing his weight onto the cellar stones. Mattheas follows close behind, one hand on the rope and the other shielding the failing lamp.

The hatch hinge gives a soft metallic squeal. Every raider below freezes, and the covered lantern tilts toward the sound, throwing a narrow bar of light across the barrels.

Mattheas steps fully onto the floor beside Danial, completing the climb. The rope remains secured below, but the lamp's cracked reservoir leaks another dark bead onto his glove.

The signaler rises and peers toward the hatch. The kneeling raider keeps the oil-wrapped tome against his chest, while the key ring lies exposed beside the open chest.

Behind the stacked barrels, the fourth raider shifts his footing and reaches toward the clay cup. The hidden service passage remains open beneath the stairs.

Danial's calm explanation settles over the cellar, but the signaler's suspicion hardens. His fingers close around the clay cup instead of lowering it.

He strikes the cup twice against the stone. The hidden raider answers with a third tap from beneath the stairs, and the men around the chest shift into a guarded retreat.

The retreat exposes the service passage fully. Beyond its loose barrels, a narrow stair descends toward a dry side chamber, while the raiders draw the tome and keys away from the hatch.

Danial steps across the retreat's mouth, planting himself between the raiders and the hatch. His shoulder catches the nearest man, turning the passage into a living barrier.

As the oilcloth-wrapped tome swings past, Danial seizes it with both hands and tears it free from the kneeling raider's grasp. The book is his.

The struggle slams against the open chest. Iron keys scatter across the stones with a bright clatter, and the failing lantern flares as its bearer recoils.

Danial keeps the tome pinned beneath his arm, but a raider's hooked shoulder strikes his ribs before Mattheas drives the attacker back with the rope-wrapped iron ring.

Mattheas hooks the rope around the hatch ring and hauls the iron cover down. Its warped edge drops into place with a heavy, final clang.

He drives one wedge beneath the hinge and another through the latch, sealing the inspection hatch before the raiders can reach it.

Above the cellar, fists strike the metal twice. The blows echo through the stone, then fade beneath the raider signaler's furious orders.

Mattheas retrieves the scattered keys with one sweep of his boot, then kicks them toward the dry stair while keeping his body between the hatch and the advancing raiders.

The side passage remains unguarded. Loose barrels stand undisturbed, and the narrow stair beyond descends into darkness without a waiting blade or watching face.

But the keys Mattheas kicked across the stones strike an iron hoop at the stair's foot. The sharp clatter carries through the cellar and up into the cooperage.

Behind them, the raiders hammer the barred hatch and shout over one another. The signaler's voice rises, directing men toward the service passage.

Mattheas gathers the keys from the stair's shadow and gestures toward the unguarded descent. The tome remains secured beneath Danial's arm, intact despite the struggle.

Mattheas lowers the failing lamp toward the dry stairs. Dust lies evenly across every tread, and no wire, loose stone, or disturbed grit betrays a concealed mechanism.

The stair descends between damp brick walls toward a dry side chamber. A faint current of cooler air rises from below, carrying cellar dust and old timber.

The raiders reach the loose barrels behind them, but the narrow passage forces them to come one at a time. Their boots scrape stone as the barred hatch groans overhead.

Below, the stair remains unguarded and sound. Above, pursuit gathers in the cellar, turning the unobstructed descent into their immediate advantage.

Danial descends the dry stairs with the oilcloth-wrapped tome secured beneath his arm. Dust muffles his steps until one loose tread shifts under his weight.

The stone drops with a sharp crack, echoing up the stairwell. Danial catches himself against the wall, scraping his palm, but keeps the book dry and intact.

Mattheas follows, lamp held low. Above, raiders crowd the stairhead, their pursuit slowed by the narrow passage and the barred hatch behind them.

Danial reaches the dry side chamber. Old timber braces frame a low doorway ahead, while the stair behind fills with boot scrapes and angry voices.

Bring the tome to Rhon