Searching for the entrance to the supposed tunnel gave a welcome distraction away from the caliber of enemy invaders. Any with the unlucky chance to fall prisoner could expect the most awful tortures known.


    “At least a generation forgot about this passage as you said, mylord,” Sir Grimmore remarked, “but we might look back thirty or more generations before finding memory if they dug it 600 years ago.”


    “That is truly wonderful to think about,” he answered the knight. “To think Rohia has survived since then is a marvel. One year can bring many adventures and I’m honored to walk where for hundreds of years our ancestors have defended freedom. May we not let the length of years diminish our honor for what they went through to regain this fortress.”


    “Hearing the heroic tales of men such as Eusebius always quickens my blood, sir,” commented Sir Chesterfield. “I love luxury too much and a reminder of others’ lives is good for me.”


    Lord Marillac placed his hand on the knight’s shoulder as they walked side by side and turned to face him. He nodded his assent then turned forward again and continued nodding. “I need frequent reminders, too.”


    “I’ve never seen the fire in your eyes extinguished,” Sir Grimmore said.


    “Sometimes it dims,” he said then continued after a few second’s pause, “but it shines bright again. I can feel a great weight will be placed on our shoulders soon and we must be strong enough to bear it well. The kingdom is ready. Our people will bear the trial well.”


    As Sir Grimmoe said, the glow in Lord Marillac’s eyes never diminished much but now shone brightly. His nose flared and his eyes opened wider as if in expectation of a tremendous challenge he must overcome.


    “The people will look to you, mylord,” Sir Chesterfield said. “You will bear the trials well and provide an example.”


    “For them and for the King.”


    They continued their walk without saying another word until they got near the dungeon. “According to Brother Walter’s deduction from the ancient writings we should be nearing the upper entrance,” Lord Marillac said to his two knights.


    “How will we discern it?” Sir Chesterfield asked.


    “I hope we find an inscription. A carving rather, in the form of a diamond surrounded by a circle or a circle inside a diamond. Anthanasius found that symbol engraved into some Shalmen armor and Brother Walter discovered the same while translating the instructions to lead us here. The latter symbol is in the infirmary and who knows what other locations around this castle,” Lord Marillac answered.


    “Why would the entrance not be in the infirmary?” asked Sir Chesterfield.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “It may, but this is where Brother Walter said the translation described as good as he can deduce. Besides, if the tunnel leads to near the base of Echo Slope, it would make sense to start from a low point in the castle.”


    The knights searched for two hours without finding anything. Lord Marillac stopped searching a while back due to another commitment around the castle.


    “I’ve had about enough of this,” Sir Chesterfield said. “Let’s get the squires to help; they’d love it and surely search in different places than we would.”


    Sir Grimmore agreed and the two knights exited the lower storerooms and made their way up to the courtyard where they soon found squires Kay and Rasil working on their swordsmanship with blunted weapons.


    Sir Chesterfield got right to the heart of the matter and said, “Boys, we need your help finding something. It’s a secret tunnel down in the lower levels of the castle we think has been walled up for centuries.” The squires’ eyes grew wide as the knight spoke in a way to deliberately create curiosity in their young minds. “We need you to not tell anyone about what you’re doing or where the entrance is.”


    Keeping such an exciting mission a secret raised their excitement to an even greater level. “Where is it, Sir?” asked squire Kay.


    “Perhaps in a storeroom. Come; we will show you what to look for,” Sir Grimmore answered before leading the way to the mostly-vacant infirmary. The two squires walked and bounced along behind the knights in their excitement and exchanged glances and pokes in the ribs with the excitement of their mission.


    Sir Grimmore quietly explained to them that while they hoped the same engraving as in the infirmary would mark the tunnel entrance, any inconsistency in the stonework of the walls or floor might be the only indication of where the tunnel once existed.


    “Now let’s go down to the storerooms,” he said as they left the infirmary.


    Once in the lower regions of the castle the knight spoke again. “We’re not sure exactly where this tunnel should be; Brother Walter translated an ancient manuscript for us and it points us in this direction. We’re thinking a storeroom would make the most sense and that’s where we are asking you to begin your search.”


    “Don’t go into the dungeons,” Sir Chesterfield said. “At least until you’ve made an exhaustive search of the rest of the rooms. And then come get us to accompany you if you must.”


    The squires concealed their excitement as best they could and shuffled around with racing hearts before the knights even finished speaking. Soon they noticed the knights departed and they began to speak more than a whisper. They didn’t fear discovery because their superiors assigned them this mission, but the sensation of secrecy kept them quiet until they knew they worked alone.


    “What do ye think is in this tunnel?” squire Rasil asked.


    “Sir Brian said the lower regions of the castle,” answered squire Kay.


    “Yes, but isn’t that where we already are?”


    “Do you mean you think there is more to Echo Slope than what everyone thinks?”


    “I think so. How could there not be with a tunnel leading downward from the lowest point in the keep.”


    Rasil spoke this last bit as a statement and Kay didn’t feel any reason to question him; his mind, too, spun with the possibilities and enlarged it first into an underground city with people locked down there for centuries then quickly morphed it into a sort of catacombs. He made his voice sound brighter than he felt and called out, “Having luck o’er there?”


    “Yes.”


    Kay straightened up with a jerk from examining the floor between some barrels and ran over to see. “What did you find?” he asked as he approached.


    In answer Rasil smiled mischievously and held up a worn and rusty horseshoe. As his smile turned into a laugh Kay gave his friend a light punch on the arm then laughed too.


    “I can tell this is going to be a long job if we don’t make it fun,” Rasil said, gazing around him. “There are many storerooms.”