When Corvan awoke, the lumien light was fading and Gavyn was nowhere to be seen. He’d slept far too long. Scooping up a cup of fresh water, he leaned against the trunk of the tree, downing the sweet liquid, and studying his surroundings for any clue of which way he should go to get out of Gavyn’s tree room.
It was hard to know because the cavern wasn’t fully round; it also had seven sides, just like the hammer. Each section was divided by slender buttresses that soared overhead to meet in the center of the ceiling where the large lumien hung down. Only three of the sections had doors but which one had he come in? If Gavyn did not return soon, which one should he try to leave through? It might be better to wait here than get lost in a tangle of passages.
Corvan walked around the path on the edge of the low central wall to get a better view of the room and discovered that the paths in the room formed the same intertwined outline he had he’d seen on Kate’s medallion. The wall marked the inner circle on the medallion where the glowing words sometimes appeared. He looked inside around the tree trunk for any indication of words or stones that might give some clue to how this all fit together but there was only dirt and moss and the small water channels.
He completed his circuit around the great tree and returned to the gate when it came clear. He had been extremely tired when they had first arrived, but they had approached the gate from an oblique angle to his right. That path led to one of the open arches. He was about to check it out when Gavyn appeared from behind the thick trunk. The boy pantomimed eating things off a table, gestured eagerly for Corvan to follow, then ran back the way he had come. Corvan followed around the trunk to see the boy vaulting over the wall, running up one of the angled paths and disappearing into a door on the far side of the room.
“This is like chasing the White Rabbit around Wonderland,” Corvan muttered as he loped around the wall after him.
A short distance inside the doorway, the passage was blocked by fallen rock. A pebble bounced off Corvan’s head and he looked up at a rope slowly twisting in circles as Gavyn climbed overhead. Using a boulder for a stepping stool, Corvan grabbed the rope and followed. He was a good twenty feet off the ground before he realized that, for the first time in his life, he was climbing a rope with ease. If this was the result of the water from the base of Gavyn’s tree, he was going to drink a lot more of it. He was glad for the newfound feeling of strength in his arms and chest.
Reaching the top of the rope, he stepped onto a shelf and headed down a passage. Around the corner, Gavyn was spread eagle on a stone wall, his feet supported on foothold in the rock on each side so he could get high enough to peer through a small hole. The boy jumped down, pushed on a rocky knob in the center and a piece of the wall swung forward. Gavyn ran inside Corvan had to to avoid being left in the hall before the door closed again.
They were inside a large pantry full of food. Gavyn had somehow activated a lumien on a hook by an open door across the room. He pointed into the dark recess on the other side and put a finger to his lips. Corvan nodded back to him, then checked out the room.
Many cloth bags hung from pegs driven into the walls and clusters of fruit dangled from hooks embedded into the low ceiling. Baskets were piled on the tables that ran down the center of the room, and a rack of pointed jars occupied the far wall where a stream of water in a trough appeared to be keeping them cool.
Gavyn skipped about, popping things into his mouth from the baskets on the table. He looked across the table and indicated that Corvan should try some as well.
“This is great, Gavyn,” Corvan whispered. “I can take some of this to Kate and the healer in Molakar, but we should go soon.”
Long loaves were piled in one of the baskets. Gavyn picked out a small one and handed it to him. It smelled mildly of cinnamon and was a bit hard to chew, but it was the best bread he could remember eating in a long time. Going around the table he spoke quietly to the boy. “Do you know every secret passage in this place?” he asked between bites. “Is there a faster way to get back to Kate?”
A proud look on his face, Gavyn went to the far wall and pushed up on three pegs in succession. The bags suspended below the pegs bobbed and then low opening near the floor swung open. Gavyn crawled through and Corvan set his bread on the table and followed. The boy stood up just inside, put a finger to his lips and shook his head vigorously. There would be no whispering in this area.
Reaching into his tunic, Gavyn withdrew a round globe, gave it a quick shake and a soft light emanated from it to illuminate a passage constructed from stone blocks. As they moved along it struck Corvan that they were within in behind the walls of a building. Moving past a sharp ninety-degree intersection with a set of narrow stairs heading down, Gavyn led him up to a tight spiral staircase. Gavyn began to twist his way around the pole in the center and Corvan followed with a growing sense of déjà vu. Reaching the top, he realized why. Gavyn was crouched beside the small door leading onto the ledge over the High Priest’s Hall. It was right here where he had first met Jorad.
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“Do you want me to go out there?” he whispered to Gavyn. The boy nodded but when Corvan put his hand on the latch, Gavyn shook his head, covering his ears and wincing. He was reminding Corvan that this was a creaky door which meant there must be people on the other side. From his porch door back home, Corvan knew how to defeat a squeaky hinge. Leaning hard on the latch, he eased the door slowly and quietly open.
A voice floated up from the great hall below. Gavyn gestured for Corvan to go out but stayed close by the door as Corvan crawled onto the ledge, lay flat and looked out to where the mother plant had been. A chandelier with more of the glowing orbs hung from a rope, low over the great table. Six men were sitting around the table; three in white cloaks, two in the green cloaks of the priests, and one in a hoodless black tunic, with his chair tipped back on two legs, was mostly hidden by the hanging lights. Everyone’s eyes were focused the far wall towards the tapestry and the hidden entrance.
“No doubt the Chief Watcher had that piece destroyed,” said one of the priests. “We will never know the message it contained.”
“It is for the best.” Jorad spoke from somewhere under the ledge. “We have wasted far too much time and energy searching for a Cor-Van from outside to come help us.” The top of Jorad’s head came into view. “I think we should use what resources we have at hand to work together and bring peace and prosperity back to Kadir.”
An older man in white turned to Jorad. “So, you no longer believe the Cor-Van exists, Jorad?”
“The scrolls and tapestries all describe the Cor-Van as a great leader,” Jorad replied, pointing at the ruined tapestry. “Someone who speaks the truth and rules with authority. I no longer believe those sacred words point to a specific person, but rather to the office of the Cor-Van, a leader we can all follow. Tarran was such a leader. He was a great man.”
“Who brought us the lost hammer,” a thin man in a green robe interjected.
“And who saved Tyreth from the karst,” added another priest, “paying for his brave deed with his life.”
Jorad walked forward and leaned on the table. “All of those are examples of a Cor-Van, a true leader. That is the point of the ancient words. Our leaders are already here among us, whether in the priests or among the people of the city. We have only to open our eyes and we will find the Cor-Van we require. Tarran was one,” he paused, “and his sister Tyreth is another.”
The oldest priest snorted and shook his head. “Our people will never follow a young woman, even if she is the High Priest’s daughter. With the Rozan rebels threatening to tear Kadir to pieces, rumors of more Rakash at large, and reports of Broken gathering in secret caverns, we need an older man to bring us through these troubled times.”
Another man in a white robe finally spoke up. “As the youngest member of the city council, I believe it is time to change our attitudes about who is allowed to be a leader in Kadir. After today, there is not a person in our city who does not believe Tyreth is capable of leading us.” He pointed at Jorad. “She was certainly more courageous than all the priests who cowered in the stands.”
“It is not up to the people of the city,” the old priest retorted and the other two men in the white robes sat up straighter. “It is up to this council to decide together.” Heads nodded. “I consider Tyreth to be too headstrong, just like her father. That man put his foolish plans with Morgan and Tarran into action without the knowledge of the city council. We lost good men from both the priests, loyal palace guards and from the council because of his foolishness.”
Jorad folded his arms across his chest. “Her father is dead and after today’s events, I believe that if we do not appoint Tyreth to the palace, the people of Kadir will rise up against us. The division would tear the city apart and leave us open to attack from the rebels or the Broken or even from . . . Him.”
The old man in white waved Jorad off. “You have just said that the Cor-Van is not a specific person, why would you not believe that the evil ruler of all the Cor is now just a legend as well. Do you think you can frighten us into agreeing with you that Tyreth should lead us by insinuating he is still alive and a threat to Kadir.”
Jorad turned from the table and walked back under the ledge. His voice floated through the room. “If I were to be appointed the new High Priest and Tyreth were to govern from the palace, would a marriage between the two offices dispel your fears?”
The old priest grunted and pursed his lips. “Are you certain she will accept you?”
“Tyreth and I have been close since we were children. She has no one else in her life to consider. Everyone she loved is dead.”
The man in the black tunic tipped his chair forward onto the floor with a thud as he spoke out. “Your plan for a union has some merit but this is not the right time.” Everyone around the table turned to look at him. Corvan recognized the voice. It was the captain they had met at the city of the dead. “Many of the soldiers are suspicious of the priests, but everyone trusts Tyreth. Now that she possesses the hammer, she will embody the truth. I would agree that if she had someone at her side to manage the political sides of leadership, we may create the stability we all require, including the soldiers.” He stressed the final word as he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms and stared across the table to where Jorad stood out of sight below. There was a long moment of silence as those around the table shifted uncomfortably as Jorad reappeared at the table, then took the empty seat.
“We should at least take the first steps,” declared the old priest. “Jorad shall be appointed High Priest, and Tyreth can become the interim leader of Kadir. In a short time Tyreth will be of age and permitted to marry, then she can make her own choice.” The old man looked between Jorad and the Captain. “Once she does, we shall celebrate the first marriage between government and religion.”
“Or government and the military,” the captain said firmly.
The old man in white clapped his hands together. “This may yet prove to be a prosperous time for us all. Let us proceed with our plan and inform Tyreth of the decision of this new council of Kadir.”
