As the sounds grew closer, the two guardians stepped forward to the door. At the same time the pendent on a gold chain seemed to just fall from around the neck of the dead King of the Plains. It fell to the floor at the feet of the King. A section of the wall behind the throne opened and revealed another passage, just as the first of the Orcs reached the door of the tomb. The sound of cold steel upon steel rang out and filled the air in the room. It was Pippen who moved to the throne like chair and snached up the pendent. A simple but elegant piece of work that was shaped like a horse.<br/><br/>Merry moved up behind the two four armed guardians. "We should help. Fight the Orcs. Grandfather said they were nasty and cruel creatures that deserved nothing but death." he had his sword at the ready, wanting to join the guardians in their fight.<br/><br/>One of them laughed and said, "A brave soul in the body of a small person. Your people should be proud of you young one. We have this, so go with your friends. Your trials have just begun and they may need the way you look at the world to help them."<br/><br/>Thorgan ushered Merry and Pippen to the door that had opened and then entered first to begin a decent through the escarpment. Lotharn followed and Timberlane and Flagdon brought up the rear. The passage lead down and out to a spot not far from where the entrance at the bottom was. "An escape route." Timberlane said as they all exited the passage. "It seems the King of the Plains knew one day that someone would be comming for the stone."<br/><br/>"Who were those creatures." Lotharn asked. "They seemed to know much about us without us doing anything?"<br/><br/>Timerlane chuckled. "I have heard of such creatures in myths, spirits from another place that at times serve as guardians. Very rare but they have bodies that never age and are posted as they were in the tomb. The spirits roam freely till something triggers the need for them to come to the bodies. It was said they could search a persons soul and learn much about them. I think that is the case here. Had we not been worthy to receive the Key Stone, they would have attacked and possibly killed us all. Come let us be away before the Orcs and Wights discover we are not within." he moved to the horses.