Magic Weaver

Chapter Twenty four(v2)

Chapter Twenty Four

The Sanctuary

            Cedric froze, like a deer in headlights. Strangely, there wasn't a sound. It was as if time simply stopped in that moment. Cedric couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything except the white light, couldn't feel anything except for the cool barrel of the gun at Cedric's head. Nothing existed, only the bright, white light. After a few seconds, the white light dissipated, leaving only faint bright spots, and time began again. He could see that everyone, except Ghost who was in the back and couldn't be seen, was accompanied by a gun, held by men in ragged wear. Criminals, probably. They were standing on a platform, where there were stairs to the right, and a large railing in front of them. Cedric couldn't see over it. Although time was moving again, it still seemed extremely fragile. No-one dared to act, and shatter the newborn time.

            Then, Ghost stole the first move. He meandered forward, easily, pushing aside those that had guns on their heads. And like a light flickering on, time formed and was fully functional again.

            "Le Princeps!" One of them exclaimed when he laid his eyes on Ghost. "Le Princeps! How are you?"

            "Good, my friends, very good. And yourselves?"

            Before Ghost could forget about them, Jayson cleared his throat, causing 'Le Princeps' to glance at Jayson, and smack a hand playfully on his forehead. "Of course, how rude of me. Larson, I would appreciate if you didn't kill my companions."

            The man, whose name was apparently Larson, dropped his weapon smiling. "Of course." The rest followed his example. "Tell the Reaper I said hello."

            Ghost nodded his head absently, and motioned everyone to follow him down the stairs. They did, of course, for what else could they do? Once led down the stairs, Cedric could see the full splendor that the rogues of Yashu protected with their lives. The Sanctuary was a giant cement underground cave, a small but deep river running through it. There were two wide passages that led away from the cave, where the river entered and exited. On the river three bridges crossing over it, one large one and two smaller to each side. Tents of all shapes and sizes, from purple tents that could barely hold a single person, to obnoxious orange tents that were as large as a house. There must have been hundreds of tents, and whole forest of them, a whole sea of pointed festive tops.

"What is this place?" Cedric asked in awe.

"The Sanctuary." Ghost replied simply.

"But...I don't understand. How did it come to be here?" There was no way a group of scoundrels could build something of this magnitude.

"This was supposed to be Shining King Henry's greatest accomplishment, his greatest service to the people. He was building an underground train, a subtram, if you will, with all the world's greatest engineers. But, unfortunately for him, he died before he could complete the subtram, and because he had kept his project a secret, soon everyone forgot about the tunnels underground, until a nosy thief accidently slipped down a subtram station. Since then, the tunnels have served as a hiding place for those on the wrong side of the law."

"But then wouldn't there be trams, and tracks, and no river?"

" Eventually, we cleared out all the railroad, and developed them into rivers to give the people fresh water. We moved the trams and turned them into a hospital, of sorts. This place has been a blessing for us." There was a great deal of pride in Ghost's voice, as if he had built the entire structure by himself. His voice was also tranquil, as a small smile lit up his face. "We'll rest at my friend's, Gabriel's house, until we're ready to move on." Ghost told them, then was silent, for the rest were too busy gazing at the amazing structure around them to clutter the air with words. Cedric was thinking about The Sanctuary's interesting history. This was the second time King Henry had saved Cedric from death, the first in his tomb, the second in the never-finished subtram. Maybe a certain royal spirit is looking out for a certain rebellious servant. Cedric joked.