The Missing Crown ⚜ Ch. 10

Teyrn was anxious as he waited at the mouth of the tunnel. This was a huge risk. And a long walk back. The castles were close to each other, but it still wasn't a leisurely stroll to get between most of them.

As he waited, a scuff caught his attention. He looked into the dark tunnel to see a figure approaching. The man came up to him and stopped. "You'll get me in?"

"I'll get you in. Not out. That's on you," Teyrn clarified.

The man nodded and put on a mask. "Let's go. We're burning darkness."

Together they climbed the rocks down right next to the school. Teyrn went up to one of the classroom windows and put his hand on the glass. Thinking an incantation, it swung open towards them. He climbed in and left the man to his own devices from there. He only hoped no one got hurt.

He hurried to find the dungeon, and stopped at a possible entry. Using his key, the lock glowed in the darkness and opened. But it was just a passageway. He closed the door and kept searching.

At last he found a large iron door that undoubtedly led to the dungeon. Again he used the key and slipped inside. Like all the others, torches lit themselves as he went down the stairs. He searched the two long wings of it, finally seeing a glow on one of the pillars.

He sighed in relief.

'Descendant Of The Ancient Celts, Pass This Test Of Body If Ye Would Be King.'

At the very top of the pillar, a decorative stone scrollwork moved aside, revealing an alcove with the third piece of the spell inside.

Teyrn looked up at it wistfully. "A test of body? Weren't the stairs enough?" With a sigh, he took off his cloak and jacket, repinning the brooch to his shirt.

Going up to the column, he found that it was very smooth all the way up. He would have to try to climb it - and the only way he would succeed was with enough strength. He was slim, but he hoped his upper body strength would be enough.

With a huff, he wrapped his arms around it and tried to push up with his feet. They slipped off. He tried hugging it with his legs, and used his arms to try to pull himself up. Immediately he realized this would work, and moved as fast as he could. Moving one arm up after the other, he clung desperately to the pillar, going up a considerable distance off the ground. It felt like something besides gravity was pulling him downward, forcing him to work harder.

Panting, he tried to keep moving, holding tightly. If he fell, no one would be there to find him. He went further and further up the pillar, his arms shaking with the effort. Finally he was there. Blindly, he reached up and tried to find the alcove, at last catching hold of the spell. He carefully put it between his teeth and threw his arm around the pillar again.

Now to go down... He let himself slip a little, then caught himself. Slipped a little more and caught himself. By this point he was so exhausted that he finally had to let himself slowly slide down the rest of the way, collapsing in exhaustion at the bottom.

He groaned and laid on his back, his shoulders and legs aching. Holding the piece in a trembling hand, he laughed to himself. "Oh what people do to be king."

After recovering for a few minutes, he shakily put his cloak and jumper back on, tucking the precious parchment deep in his pocket. He went to the dungeon door and quietly slipped out.

Teyrn quickly realized that the man had set off an alarm, as the sound of shouting and running could be heard in every direction. He darted towards back towards the classrooms, but nearly ran into someone.

The redhead girl snarled and opened her mouth to scream. "Intru-"

He quickly cast a silencing spell and jumped back as she slashed at him with her sword. It missed him by a hair's breadth. He reached out and grabbed her hand, only to again find himself at the edge of her blade. But it couldn't touch him. He smirked, glad he'd kept the shamrock brooch on. Weaving an entrapment spell, he dropped it on her and dove out of the way.

The girl fell under the weight of invisible heavy ropes. He stood over her and put a hand on her forehead to cast a memory erasing spell. She fell limp, and he waved away the entrapment. With a wave of his hand, she got to her feet and was petrified for about thirty seconds.

He dashed past her to get to a classroom, seeing her come to and continue walking as though nothing had happened. With a sigh of relief, he went to the window, using the same spell as before to slip out. He grinned, looking up to find that he was on the same side of the castle he'd come in.

Thank goodness for luck.