Chapter X

  “I must say,” Aria was saying “I’m a little uncomfortable with the number of those ‘Wanted’ posters that have have been circulated throughout the city. If there are more guards like that Reynolds from yesterday, we could be in some serious trouble.”

  Darius shook his head. “We should be all right here in the capital. Lotch doesn’t have very many allies here.” They hurried along the rainy streets of Falconhome as the time for their audience with the King approached. “Besides, as long as we have these messages to deliver, we fall under the protection of Feldon. Messengers are protected under Feltharin law while performing their duties.”

  As they approached the entrance to the palace, a guard stepped forward to block their path. She held her spear menacingly, standing with a confidence that suggested she wasn’t alone.

  “What business do you have here?” the guard demanded.

  Darius held up the case containing the village reports. “We have an urgent message from Feldon for King Kyphen.” Darius removed the message from the case and allowed the guard to inspect the seal on the scroll, and continued "We should be expected."

  A fleeting look of concern seemed to pass across the face of the guard as she said. “The King is detained right now and is not seeing anyone. Queen Saleane, however, might be able to give you an audience.” The guard glanced into the shadows, nodding slightly. Another guard stepped out of concealment and hurried into the palace. Two more soldiers melted from the shadows and stepped into place behind Aria. Darius tensed slightly as the first guard led them out of the rain into an entry hall before requesting “Please wait here for a moment.”

  “Security seems a little tighter than normal, have there been problems recently?” Aria asked, glancing at the two guards behind her.

  The guard shook her head. “I’m not at liberty to discuss such things. The queen will have to answer your questions. However, I can tell you that yours is the first news that we’ve heard from the Southlands in over a month.”

  Before Aria could ask anything more, the doors to the hallway beyond were pushed open and they were escorted inside. A Page led them through the echoing halls of Falconhome Castle towards the throne-room. They were followed closely by two of the guards from the entrance.

  When they reached the throne-room, the guards took station on either side of the entrance, as the Page announced “The messengers from Feldon, Darius Ralma and Aria Altora.” he turned towards Darius and Aria. “May I present, Her Highness Queen Saleane Kestrel.”

  His duties fulfilled, the Page bowed and stepped aside until needed further.

  Darius led the way forward, taking in the room. On a raised dais, two impressive thrones were set. The larger of the two was conspicuously empty. In the smaller throne, Queen Saleane sat wearing a regal blue gown trimmed with gold. She looked tired, but wore a genuine smile.

  “Darius, it has been several years since you have graced the halls of House Kestrel with your presence.” she inclined her head in Aria’s direction. “Princess Altora, I haven’t seen you since my last State visit to Trideria over six years ago.”, she tactfully left unmentioned Aria’s exile and the subsequent murder charges. “It’s good to see you both, I wish my husband were here to greet you, but I’m afraid that he was unable to attend this morning.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Your Highness”, Aria answered, “I’m afraid that we’re the bearers of grave news. It seems that my Uncle has declared war on Malthorm, and is even now pushing into the Southlands of Feltharin as well.”

  Saleane sat up a bit straighter in her seat at this news.

  “It’s true, Your Highness.” Darius said, holding out the messages from the village. "We carry messages from the Feldon Elders, and a report from Commander Tyrell."

  As the Queen held out her hand, the Page stepped forward, took the parchments from Darius and presented it to her. Breaking the seals one at a time, she read and reread the messages with a look of growing concern on her face.

  “There are some rather extraordinary claims here.” she said finally, “...and if they had come from anyone other than you, Darius, I might be disinclined to believe them.” she said with an affectionate smile. “I will dispatch some soldiers immediately to reinforce the garrison at Feldon and bring the Enemy commander here for questioning.” With a nod from the Queen, the Page ran off to summon the commander of the military.

  After the servant left, the Queen turned her attention back to her guests, “Darius, Princess Altora, I have already called a Parliamentary meeting of the High Council in two days to discuss the situation in Trideria. I would appreciate it if you would stay, so that you can relate your firsthand account to them. If the attack on Feldon was officially sanctioned by Count Lotch, then this is an act of war.”

  “Your Highness, “ Aria began.

  The Queen held up her hand. “Please let’s dispense with formalities, they’re so tiresome.” Looking around at the guards, she said, “You may go now, there is no danger here.”

  After the guards left, she rose from the throne and approached them. ”Now then, please call me Saleane, I've known the both of you since you were children.”

  Aria smiled. “Then call me Aria.” she replied.

  Saleane led them to a small sitting room where they could speak in a more comfortable setting. The Queen's attendant scurried around, serving tea as the pair recounted the full story of the events surrounding the Battle of Feldon and the attack in the Sentinel Woods.

  “Something that has been troubling me about all of this...” Darius was saying, “...is that until recently, the creatures that had escaped from the under-realms have pretty much been mindless beasts. The ones that we have encountered recently, however, seemed to act intelligently and with strategy and purpose.” He sipped his tea, and stifled a grimace before adding more sugar. He had forgotten that the Queen had once been a guardswoman, and still liked her tea bracingly strong.

  “We’ve been noticing the same thing.” Saleane said as she hid her smile. “About a month ago, communication with the Southlands was suddenly cut off. Roving bands of Weylin have been seen patrolling the Sentinel woods. We sent several messengers south, but none have returned. My husband was considering a millitary assault to re-take the woods, however..." She trailed off for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision before continuing. "The King has fallen deathly ill, and I have had my hands too full with overseeing the kingdom in his absence to do anything up until now. We have kept this fact quiet for the most part, but most everyone has noticed his absence.”

  “What are the circumstances regarding his illness?” Darius asked, suddenly suspicious.

  “You probably suspect the same as I do," the Queen confirms, "but so far, the Healers have been unable to find any trace of poison, or anything else wrong with him.” Saleane lowered her voice. “As his condition continues to worsen, he slips in and out of a consciousness, and there seems to be nothing that we can do about it. We have kept the seriousness of his condition secret, but it won’t stay secret for long. I’m at a loss for what to do.”

  A knock came from the door, and the Page entered, announcing that the commander of the military had arrived. Saleane asked him to wait a few moments more.

  After the Page had gone, she told Darius and Aria, “I will make arrangements for you to stay here at the palace until the High Council convenes. If you need anything, just let the staff know, and your needs will be taken care of.”

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  Aria thought for a moment, before asking, “This Tristan Telgan that Tyrell asked us to talk to.... Do you know anything about him?”

  Saleane smiled fondly, “He was a scholar at the Aralistran Scientific Academy in Trideria until his radical views on the 'Reality of the Atlans' caused his peers to revoke his tenure. He has been conducting research here at the palace for several years now, searching our archives and examining some of the relics left among the national treasures. Tyrell is probably right, if Morsteck has found some ancient Atlan devices, Tristan might have more information about them.”, she thought for a moment. “I’ll ask him to attend the council meeting as well. He has a lab in the cellar. You will probably find him there.”

  The Queen rose to her feet with a rustle of satin, and the pair hurried to follow suit. “If you will excuse me," she said apologetically, "I have to see about dispatching some soldiers and craftsmen to Feldon to assist with the fortifications. If Feldon were to fall, Morsteck would have quite a foothold into the Kingdom.”

  After she left, an attendant showed Darius and Aria to their rooms. The servants had already drawn hot baths in each room for them, so the duo agreed to meet back up in an hour.

  In his room, Darius found that his belongings had already been brought from the Prancing Pony and unpacked. After checking to ensure that all of his belongings were there and in good shape, he stripped off his armor and gear. With a sigh he climbed into the the copper bath, letting the hot water wash his weariness away. The visit with his friends last night had been nice, but he still felt bone-tired from the constant pace of the past few days.

  While he soaked his tired muscles, Darius let his mind wander. As hard as he tried not to, he kept thinking about Aria. He had always been protective of her; mostly regarding her has a younger sister. Lately, however, that was beginning to change. Try as he might, Darius just couldn’t decide how he felt about her.

  One thing he did know for certain was the fact that he wouldn’t rest until he found her father’s murderer and cleared their names.

  ...And if that person turned out to be Count Lotch, then not even all the armies of Trideria would be able to save the Count from Darius.

  Darius was already out of the bath and toweling off when the knock came at his door. He barely had enough time to cover himself, before the door started to open.

  Aria casually came into the room saying, “I’m going down to try to find that Scholar, did you want...” her eyes fell upon Darius as he stood, trying his best to keep his towel from slipping. Aria choked on her sentence as she blushed a deep crimson. “OH! I’m so sorry.” she squeaked as she hurriedly left the room, slamming the door behind her in her haste to leave. From the hall, Darius heard an embarrassed “I’ll be in my room when you’re ready to find him.”

  Darius laughed at her reaction while he changed into a fresh set of clothes and left his room. When Aria answered her door her cheeks were still slightly pink from embarrassment.

  They found the stairs to the ground floor, and asked directions from one of the attendants. The attendant - Nancy - led them down several flights of stairs, and along a torchlit hallway, while she cheerfully caught the pair up on the castle gossip about the strange scholar.

  “He stays down here most of the time.”, Nancy told them, “Studying some manner of contraption or another. Nobody knows what he does in there all day. Most of the time he’s reading from some of the dusty old books they keep down here. Other times he studies some of the ancient devices that have been found in the ruins scattered around the lands.”

  Nancy finally stopped in front of a large oak double door that was partially opened. “This is the old Library, where they keep all of the ancient books that no one can read anymore. He’s in there.” she told them, gesturing. Someone brought him some strange gemstone with a bunch of weird writing on it last week, and he’s been down here ever since. He’s hardly left the room to sleep. The cook sends meals down to him whenever she thinks of it, but we’re starting to worry a bit about him. If you can, please try to get him to come up for a meal or two.”

  “I’d better get back upstairs”, she said at last as Darius surreptitiously tried to peek through the doors. ”Dinner will be served soon, and the Queen has requested that you both join her. I’ll send someone when everything is ready.”

  Nancy left, and Darius knocked gently on the partially open door. As heavy as the door was, it opened without a sound at his touch. Inside, they could see massive shelves containing row after row of ancient books. Darius stepped cautiously into the room.

  “Hello?” he called out. Nobody answered.

  They entered the room and looked around, curiosity getting the better of them both. The Library consisted of several large rooms, connected by flowing stone archways supported by columns covered with intricate writing in long-forgotten languages. Along one wall, a large hand-sewn tapestry map of ancient Aralistra ran from floor to ceiling. Beside it, old scrolls and maps were piled haphazardly to one side.

  Bookcases lined the walls of every room, filled to overflowing. Oil-filled lamps hung from iron holders at regular intervals along each wall, providing plenty of illumination for such a cavernous space. Towards the back of the Library, a strange flickering light came at odd intervals, accompanied by bursts of sound that almost sounded like garbled speech. Aria was drawn to the light and sound, curious about the source.

  At the back of the Library, a large space had been cleared, and an old man with shoulder-length white hair was seated at a workbench tinkering with an intricate-looking device and muttering under his breath.

  The device was a silver and bronze box with a fixture on the top that almost looked like the gemstone setting from a ring. The old man had placed a magnificent green stone into the setting. A bundle of metallic ropes ran from the back of the device, down to the floor, and over to another contraption that looked like a three-legged bowl covered with a milky crystalline netting. It was from this device that the light and sound would spring forth as the man tinkered with the stone.

  Aria cleared her throat. “Excuse me, are you Tristan Telgan?” she asked.

  “I Am.” the old man said, glancing at them warily. “And you can tell Nancy and the rest of them, that I will come up to eat once I finally manage to get this dadblasted contraption working.” he said grumpily.

  Darius walked over to the three-legged device on the floor, nudging it with the toe of his boot. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Be careful with that!” Tristan complained. “These things are very delicate instruments.” he tried once more to activate the device before answering. “It’s an Atlan reader. They used these stones to record their history much like we use books.” He pointed at the fixture. “I finally managed to locate a reader, a record stone, and a viewer, but haven’t been able to make them work together.”

  “Maybe you have it in upside down...” Darius suggested.

  Tristan gave a disgusted sigh, “It probably is the wrong type of reader for the stone.” he said finally. “I’ve been working for almost a week trying to get it to work.” He gave it one final adjustment, before tossing the box onto the workbench in exasperation. Aria suppressed a smile at the rough treatment of the device despite his earlier warning.

  With a crackle of sparks and a burst of light, the device on the floor sprang to life. On the bench, the stone glowed with an inner fire in it’s setting.

  From the surface of the crystal mesh, a figure appeared, wavered, and then solidified. The figure stood about a foot tall displaying a handsome man with friendly blue eyes and brown hair. He was gesturing, his lips were moving, but no sound came out.

  “Amazing,” Tristan said fascinated as Darius passed his hand through the figure. “A holographic display in perfect detail.” he made an adjustment to the box on the workbench, and a voice sprang from of the device as well.

  “...been almost two hundred years since I discovered the first Gateway that led to Aralistra. We’ve come a long way since then, and the thirteen worlds have since enjoyed a long peace. Up until today, we thought that all of the Gateways had been found, but a new one has just been discovered in Nexxus this morning. That makes this new Gateway the fourteenth portal that we've found since they were first discovered. Filgon of the elves has been chosen by the Council to lead the team that will explore it. Hopefully they’ll be able to leave in a couple of....”

  The display collapsed into static, and the voice cut off abruptly.

  Tristan cursed under his breath, and started tinkering with the controls again. “I don’t think that it’s the reader.”, he said to no one in particular. “The crystal my be corrupted.”

  New images formed on the pad briefly, but disappeared just as abruptly. “Let’s try skipping ahead a bit”, Tristan muttered, jogging the controls on the reader. Abruptly the figure re-appeared.

  “Atlan Year 309, day 231. The search party returned with the survivors from the 14th world today. It’s been over a year since I recorded the entry about our finding that Gateway. I wish now that the portal to that accursed place had never been found. The race of beings there are very warlike. I’m told that Filgon was killed during the escape attempt, and that his Elem has been taken. If these creatures discover the secrets of the Elem, we could all be in serious danger. It may only be a matter of time before they discover the Gateways and learn how to use them to invade Nexxus.”

  Aria looked at Tristan with wide eyes. “This is a history of the Great War, isn’t it?!?” she said excitedly.

  The old scholar was grinning from ear to ear. “I believe that this is the personal journal of Jareal Daleene himself.”

  On the display pad a new entry had formed.

  “Atlan Year 309, day 336. The enemies, call themselves Jalk’Jadaar. They have seized their Gateway in the Nexxus realm. They surprised us with a sneak attack during the night. By all accounts, they are an incredibly powerful force to be reckoned with, and with control of the gateway and a foothold in the Nexxus realm, they may be able to bring an entire army through. I can’t help but wonder: could this be the beginning of the end for us?”

  The display dissolved again, and Tristan turned the device off with a big grin on his face. “I don’t know about you both, but I’m a little hungry.” he started for the door with a spring in his step, but suddenly stopped short. Turning with a look of confusion on his face, he asked “By the way, who are you two anyway?”