Haven Keep (Book 1) Read Free

have any additional passages.  There was a fresh pool of water, probably like this cave once had before the spring and West Well went dry.”
    “Sounds exciting,” Dell said sarcastically.  “I bet it didn’t have any buried treasure.”
    “No,” Von admitted.  “No paintings, and no buried treasure.  Although I did leave something there once.”
    “Who cares?” Dell asked.  “When we retrieve what’s at the bottom of this hole, you’ll forget everything you ever dreamed about before.  We’ll all be able to buy our freedoms.  Even you Von.  We’ll buy your freedom for you.”
    “Thanks,” Von said, his voice as sarcastic as Dell’s.  “I appreciate the thought.”
    The fact Von wasn’t a native bound him by different customs than his two friends, customs almost as strong as law.  In their free time Dell and Reece did chores to earn extra money.  Money they could use to buy their freedom, pay off their indentured servitude early.  Von, a foreigner, didn’t have that privilege.  He could earn extra money, but not buy his freedom. He was a slave in all but name.
    “How much farther?” Von asked, his mood less jovial than before.  Reminders of his family and situation often gave him melancholy feelings.  Events in his early life left him scarred, his heart broken, but he did his best to appear happy to others, and after so many years the anguish was finally turning dull.  He still ached, constantly ached, but the pain was not so raw and jagged anymore.  It was almost bearable.
    “It’s just up here,” Reece answered.
    “Yeah, just around this next bend,” explained Dell.  He picked up his pace, his growing excitement evident.
    The cave narrowed, curved, and narrowed more.  Von turned his wide shoulders to ease through.  It was a tight fit, even for Reece.  No wonder they’d never come this way before.  Von ducked and slid between the narrow cave walls.  His chest and back scraped along the damp rock, the coil of rope catching on the rough surfaces.  Von removed the rope from his shoulder in frustration, holding it behind him in one hand, his lantern out front in the other.  He flattened against the rock wall, barely squeezing through the tight passage, ducked and turned, following closely on Dell’s heels.
    The cave eventually opened into a small room, its porous walls marred with old tool marks.  Someone from long ago had worked at enlarging this room. Von wondered why anyone would bother.
    A large hole dominated the center of the stone floor.  In the dim light it was impossible to view the bottom.
    “That’s it!” Dell exclaimed.  “Bring the rope. I want to see what’s down there.”
    “Hold on, don’t you think Reece should go down?  He’s the lightest.”
    “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Dell admitted.
    Von uncoiled the rope, and tied a double bowline at one end.
    “I’m glad you two feel comfortable enough to volunteer me,” Reece said accusingly.
    “Hey, you could lower me down,” Von offered.
    “Oh sure,” Dell said. “You’d pull us all down in there with you.  That, or we would need an ox to pull you out.”
    “You calling me fat?” Von asked.
    “Yes,” Dell joked.
    Von’s tall frame and hard muscle made him the perfect candidate for holding the rope. Baiden started training Von as a blacksmith soon after Von arrived in the north, and years working at the forge had given him a strong powerful body.
    Reece slipped the loop under his arms.  “Okay, I’m ready.”
    “I’ll drop a light down so you can see,” Dell offered.  He lit a cloth bound torch and  tossed it over edge.  The flames illuminated the hole, revealing an old wood and iron box hidden in the shadows at the bottom.
    “See, I told you,” Dell proclaimed triumphantly.  His eyes gleamed with anticipation in the faint light.  “We’re going to be rich.”
    Von had to admit the box did look like all the treasure chests he had ever imagined.  Since he’d never seen