Royce ignored them and started to reach down.
“Wait,” Hadrian told him, then shouted. “Come back! We’re pulling the lever!”
Hadrian noticed the water rising frighteningly fast. Did one of them do something to cause that? He couldn’t tell, couldn’t see them. Wilmer would be at the door by then all the way on the far side. Myra was likely in the center of the room, just a few dozen feet away, but the water had already snuffed out almost all of the candles. When it reached the ceiling, and the last one went out, they would never find their way back. Even if they knew how to swim, it would be impossible with only a single breath of air. Still he waited while the water level consumed chain links, ticking out the seconds.
“Can you hear me?” Hadrian yelled.
“They aren’t coming,” Royce said, looking impatient as the two bobbed closer to the ceiling.
“Do it!” Hadrian shouted.
“You sure?”
“No, but do it anyway.”
“Good enough for me.”
Royce disappeared below the surface.
The chain stretched taut. The keystone was yanked free and fell into the froth. Hadrian braced himself for the ceiling’s collapse, but none of the other stones moved.
“It’s an exit!” Royce shouted the moment his head broke the surface. “Take a breath and swim!”
“Broken leg. Bad arm. And I can’t see in the dark the way you can. Maybe you should just—”
“Shut up and hold your breath.”
The water rose, and the last candle was snuffed out as the room topped off. Hadrian had seen no sign of Myra or Wilmer.
He struggled to find the hole in the darkness, his fingers fumbling over rough stone. Grabbing him from behind, Royce shoved Hadrian into the opening where their heads broke the surface. With the room below filled, the water had nowhere else to go and surged up the narrow shaft, bubbling, frothing like a fountain and lifting the two up with it.
“Did you see them?” Hadrian asked. “Did you see Myra or Wilmer?”
From somewhere above, a white light shone enough for Hadrian to see Royce’s face. He was grimacing. “The door and the chest were both open.”
“And? Did they get out?”
“In a way, I suppose. Wilmer’s head was smiling at least.”
“What about Myra?”
“You don’t want to know.”
They spilled out into another chamber, where the water filled a basin that formed a small pool. When the water rose high enough to reach the chiseled edge, it stopped.
The light came from the full moon overhead. They were in a beautiful domed chamber with a crystal roof that allowed the moonlight to illuminate the interior. The space was circular and in the center was the unmistakable shape of a stone coffin. On the far side, Hadrian saw a door, which lacked any sort of latch, lever, or knob. In the very center was a tiny keyhole.
The chamber, vast, flat, and sparsely adorned, possessed an unexpected atmosphere of tranquility. Unlike any room they had visited since descending into the jester’s cave, this space felt safe, even hallowed.
Royce and Hadrian glanced at each other, then back at the center of the pool they had just climbed out of. They waited. The surface remained undisturbed except for a single candle that floated, listing to one side. Beyond that, not even a bubble. It could have been a mirror. Slowly they got up. Royce lent Hadrian an arm, and together they made their way out of the pool.
“Look.” Royce pointed out magnificent carvings in the stone walls surrounding the chamber. “This joker just had all kinds of time, didn’t he?”
Hadrian was still looking back at the water.
“If either of them had been at the lever while we were at the door or chest, they wouldn’t have hesitated,” Royce said. “Myra would’ve jumped at the chance to rid herself of us, ensuring she got all the treasure, and Wilmer didn’t have the courage to wait.”
As much as Hadrian wanted to deny it, Royce was right. They had made their choices.
With his partner’s help, they moved to the coffin. Etchings similar to those Royce had pointed out adorned its side. Some of the markings appeared to be writing, but not in a language Hadrian could read. “Pretty,” he said, wiping off the dust.
Together they lifted the lid.
Inside lay a small body, wrapped and decayed. At his head was a multicolored hat with bells, at his feet, a silver box. Royce carefully removed the little container, took a step away, and set it down beneath a shaft of moonlight. The box had no lock, just a simple clasp and hinge. Tilting the lid back, they found the interior lined with fine blue velvet. Inside rested a small stone tablet and a key. Carved into the stone were four sentences that Hadrian could read.
Cowardice and greed will drown one’s soul.
The greatest treasure a person can possess is freedom.
I stole mine by playing the fool.
Now, so have you.
Royce took the key and, with Hadrian in tow, placed it in the lock. A single click echoed. The door swung open, revealing a mountain trail and a starry night.