Chapter 10 - The Hermit's Lair

"Hmmm...what are these people doing here?  Brandonio thinks this is very strange.  Yes, very strange indeed.  Hmmm...what shall Brandonio do?  Strangers are in the cave.  Strangers are very strange.  Hmmm..."

Cable could hear the voice in the recesses of his consciousness.  It was a curious voice, and it didn't make much sense to Cable's muddled mind at the moment.

Cable then felt something warm behind him.  He opened his eyes, and saw that he was in what appeared to be a vast cave.  The room was very dimly lit.  He couldn't see the ceiling.  A silence ensued once again, and Cable closed his eyes again.  When it came to choosing between being awake and being asleep, Cable would almost always choose the latter.

The voice continued.  "Hmmm...Brandonio wonders if maybe the people are dead?  Could they be dead, Brandonio?  Hmmm...let us see..."

At that point, the warm feeling on Cable's backside became rather painful.  He abruptly emerged from his slumber and leaped to his feet.  That's when he realized that his hindquarters had been set on fire!  He dropped back to the floor and rolled around.  The small flame was quickly smothered.

At that point, Cable turned around and saw the source of his torment.  The voice he'd been hearing was that of a rather small man who kept wandering around the room, talking to himself.  The torch that he was carrying was the only source of light in the cave.  That's when Cable came to his senses and realized that the three boys must have immediately drifted off to sleep after escaping into the cave.  The exhausting events of the preceding two days had finally caught up with them.

The little man with the torch turned toward Cable and said, "Hmmm...one of them awakes!  Brandonio says, he must therefore be alive!  That is good news, very good news, good for the boy to be alive, yes!  But what about the others, Brandonio?  Let us see..."  The little man stooped down and placed the torch next to Andres' backside.

Cable darted over the Andres, gently pushed the torch away, and tried to wake his brother up.  Then he bellowed, "Hey, quit setting us on fire!  That hurts!"  He was not intimidated by the little man, even though he was older and had a torch.

"Hmmm...what do you think, Brandonio?  He's a very bold boy.  What will Master Romanix think?  Oh my, strangers in the cave is very strange.  Brandonio does not know what to think.  Hmmm..."

As the little man continued to talk to himself and pace around the room, Devlin and Andres slowly rose to their feet.  The boys had been asleep for many hours, and it took them awhile to remember what had brought them to this cave.  Andres was the first of the boys to put all of the mental pieces together.  He finally blurted out, "Hey mister, does the Hermit live here?"

The little man pondered the question.  "Hmmm...the strange stranger asks a question.  What do you think, Brandonio?  Should you answer the question?  Hmmm...let us think.  Okay, strange boy, Brandonio will answer you.  As a matter of fact...what, Brandonio?...oh yes, good point...well, strange boy, Brandonio wants to know what you are doing here first!  That's right!  Before Brandonio will answer you, you must answer him!"

Cable got rather aggravated by the little man's odd manner of speaking.  "Would you stop talking like that?" he demanded.

"Hmmm..." the little man replied.  "Brandonio thinks that one of the strange strangers is rude.  Well, if that's how it is, Brandonio will just leave.  That's right, he will."  And the little man turned and started to walk away, taking his light with him. 

As darkness started to envelop the boys, Andres--who was no fan of the dark--piped up.  "Hey, Brandonio!" he yelled.  "Would you please take a coin for your troubles?  After all, you did provide us some shelter, and that was really nice, since we were just about to be killed.  We do appreciate it." 

At the mention of his name, Brandonio turned around.  "Oh my," he said, "no one besides Master Romanix has called Brandonio by name for many many many years!"  He appeared to wipe a tear from his eyes.  "How did you guess Brandonio's name?" he continued.  Cable shook his head in aggravation.  Andres, on the other hand, chuckled to himself as he reached into his satchel, pulled out a coin, and handed it to Brandonio.

Brandonio studied the coin intently.  "Hmmm...what does Brandonio think?" the little man said to himself.  "The strange strangers bring a strange coin.  Very strange.  Brandonio must show this to Master Romanix.  Yes, Brandonio must do this now!  Master Romanix will want to see this, won't he Brandonio?  Yes, he will!"  And the little man started to walk away.

"Hey!" Andres blurted out.  "Don't just leave us here, Brandonio!"  He figured he'd get better results if he called the man by name.

"Oh yes, the strange boy says something wise.  Boys!  Brandonio says that you should follow.  But please be silent.  Master Romanix treasures his silence.  Follow, follow, follow!"

The three boys closely followed Brandonio as he meandered through the strange cave.  Andres was right on the little man's heels.  He couldn't bear to be too far from the light, and he rather enjoyed listening to the odd man's dialog with himself.  Cable was behind Andres, ready to protect his brother if need be.  But Brandonio's muttering was driving him crazy.  Devlin, ever the cautious one, was in the rear, constantly looking over his shoulder in case they were being pursued.

Eventually, they came to a spiral staircase that had been chiseled out of rock.  The little man stopped for a moment and turned to face the boys.  "Brandonio invites you to climb the stairs now.  But please--do not harm the bats.  If they bite, it is just their friendly way of saying 'hello'.  Yes, yes, it is!  And Brandonio also warns you not to fall.  No, falling is not fun.  Do not fall.  Yes, that is good advice, isn't it, Brandonio?  Yes, yes, it is!"  And with that, the little man began to climb.  And the boys followed.

After what seemed like nearly 10 minutes of climbing, the boys came to a landing.  Cable was relieved on two accounts--he'd seen no bats, and Brandonio had kept his mouth closed for the entire ascent.  Then Brandonio turned and said, "Be silent for a moment, strange strangers.  Brandonio must tell Master Romanix of your arrival and show him your coin.  So please relax...yes, Brandonio urges you to relax!  And don't fall down the stairs!"  With that, the little man--and his light--disappeared.  Cable was relieved for a respite from the irritating voice. 

Andres, on the other hand, hated the darkness.  He edged closer to Cable and asked, "Do you think he's just going to leave us here?"

"I hope so," Cable replied.  "I think I'd rather just sit and decompose in a cave rather than listen to that man talk again."

Andres was about to object when three small doors opened before the boys.  Each boy walked through a different door, and together they entered into a square chamber about 30 feet across.  A circle had been marked out in the middle of the room.  The chamber was lit by a series of torches mounted on the walls.  A deep voice then resonated throughout the room.  "Boys, enter the circle," the voice demanded.  The boys could see no one, but they obeyed immediately.  There was something about this voice that commanded their respect.

"Boys," the voice continued, "look across the room."  Again, the boys obeyed.  As they did so, three more small doors opened on the opposite side of the room.  As they gazed at the doors, they could see that their names were etched in stone above them.  Each of the boys had two doors with his name above it--one on the side from which they had entered, and one on the opposite side. 

After a moment's pause, the voice resumed.  "Boys, you have a choice to make.  You may turn around right now and pass back through the door which you entered.  If you do so, Brandonio will escort you back to the village of Corrin.  I give you my word that you will be given safe passage.  If, on the other hand, you wish to continue your mission, you must pass through the door on the opposite side."

Cable was the first to reply.  "Sir, what will happen if we continue our mission?  Will we be safe that way, too?"

"I guarantee nothing, if you go through that door," the voice stated.

The boys turned to each other and passed around some questioning looks.  None of them dared to speak.  Then Andres took a step out of the circle toward the opposite door.  "I've had enough of thinking," he declared.  "I'm moving on."  As he entered his door on the opposite side, his door on the side toward the staircase slammed shut.  There was now no retreat for him.

Devlin was the next to move.  "There is no way I'm going back," he declared.  "If I do that, I'm sure to get caught and returned to slavery.  I'd rather live a dangerous life as a free boy than live a safe life as a slave."  And he passed through his door on the opposite side.  As with Andres, Devlin's door on the side of the staircase slammed shut.

Cable now stood alone in the circle.  He simply couldn't decide.  He asked, "If I go back, will my dad be okay?  Will Andres and Devlin carry on with the mission?"

At that point, Cable's door on the opposite side--the side which Andres and Devlin had entered--slowly started to close.  Then he heard the voice.  "This is not a time for questions!" it bellowed.  "It is a time for decision.  And make no mistake...failing to make a decision is indeed a decision.  What do you choose?"

Cable was tormented.  Decisiveness was not his strength.  But he didn't want to be alone, and the thought of returning to Corrin with Brandonio as an escort was too much for him to bear.  He therefore dashed to the opposite side and dove under the door, just before it closed.  He then stood to his feet and joined his two companions in the presence of Master Romanix.