The Sceptre of Samnos

The Maze of Samnos - Part 7

      Estinas was woken in the middle of the night by the cheerful chiming of a bell. He had never heard it before, but knew exactly what it meant, having dreamed and prayed many times that he might live long enough to one day hear it, and he sat bolt upright on his simple cot in complete amazement and disbelief. "I'm dreaming," he muttered to himself at first. "I still feel guilty about letting those kids go down there. But what else could I have done? I am sworn not to turn away any who want to try the Maze." He tried to wake himself up, and found to his even greater surprise that he was already awake.

     "It's not a dream," he said aloud to himself. "Then that means... No, it can't be, it's just not possible. Those kids just couldn't have..." The chiming continued, however, getting louder and even more cheerful, wiping away his disbelief. He leapt out of bed, not bothering to get dressed, and ran out of his room and down the corridor in his nightshirt. Arriving at the grand display hall, he burst in and saw the six young travelers standing on the far side of the invisible barrier, the cleric holding the Sceptre in her hands.

     "It's true!" he shouted in pure joy and delight. "They made it! They actually, Gods bless ‘em, made it!" He ran over to join them, the invisible barrier dividing the room dissolving as he reached it, and they looked up as he arrived. "You made it!" he gasped breathlessly. "Thank the Gods, you made it!"

     "Yes," said Diana. "With the help of the Gods, we have succeeded." She held the Sceptre lightly in one hand. By all rights, a solid gold sceptre that big should have required two strong men to lift, but it felt as if it were made of light wood.

     "I want to see the sky!" said Lirenna urgently. "Please, I need to see the sky again!"

     "Yes, of course," said Estinas. "Follow me."

     He led them out of the hall, down a couple of corridors and to a high cave thirty feet above ground level from which they could see the landscape spread out below them. It was near midnight but Derro, the red sun, was high in the sky, and the land was further lit by the three quarters full largest moon and three large comets. As they watched, Kronos, the smallest moon, rose above the western horizon and sped upwards into the sky.

     The six travelers looked out in relief and gratitude. "I never thought I'd see the sky again," breathed Lirenna, tears in her eyes. "A couple of times down there, I thought I was going to go mad."

     "I think we all did," said Thomas, putting a gentle hand around her shoulders. "I know I came close. Never mind, it's all over now."

     "Not quite," said Estinas. "There are about a hundred Shadowsoldiers out there somewhere, all looking for you. You'll have to get past them somehow. Luckily they're spread out pretty thinly, but you're bound to run into some of them. Now that you have claimed the Sceptre, you are responsible for its protection until you hand it over to a Captain of Samnos. If you are killed or captured, they will take the Sceptre deep within the Shadow, beyond all hope of rescue. So long as the Sceptre has only you six young people to guard it, and a hundred Shadowsoldiers searching for you, the world is in its greatest peril."

     “Maybe we should have gone to the Samnians first,” said Matthew. “A whole country ruled by the church of Samnos, right here on our doorstep. We could have come here with a whole army to keep it safe.”

     “They could not have come,” said the priest, though. “The laws of the Church of Samnos would not have allowed it. Those seeking the Sceptre must do so with no help from the priesthood, with the sole exception of myself.”

     Shaun, looking tired, sat down on the rocky floor of the cave, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his hands. Diana knelt down next to him. "Shaun, are you all right?" she asked anxiously.