Despite it had been so long, he found it to be almost automatic when he entered the hedge maze. Just like when he brought Jenna there the day before, the way seemed to open itself to him. He walked through those plant-bound passages resolutely, knowing that what was facing him was going to be long and not entirely pleasant. Reading books and doing scholar things didn't suit him. He was intelligent and quick, but he knew that he simply didn't have the patience to sit in a chair and read book after book after book. It would irritate him, and that would make him even more impatient, and that would create an endless cycle that would probably drive him away from the books in a bad temper. But what they were doing was important, so he had to endure the discomfort.
Slipping through the choked entrance, he found himself standing in the courtyard, and despite only having been there last night, he took a moment to marvel in this magical place, and the sense of peace that it never failed to incite within him. With its perfectly grown grass--never long, though never cut--and the elegant rose bushes that grew at either side of the single bench that rested before the fountain. It held at its pinnacle the statue of the nude woman that was so marvelously detailed that it looked alive. It was alive, of course, though very few people knew that. It was the center of the area of peace, the heart of the courtyard, the point to which all attention was drawn whenever anyone entered the place. He remembered the very first time he had come there, when he and Dar had been out exploring the gardens, at how mystified he'd been by this place. He even remembered his and Dar's argument over the statue. Dar, who was raised in a place where men and women bathed together, had been embarassed by the statue's incredibly detailed appearance. Tarrin remembered, with a bit of a guilty blush, that he had fondled the statue in the most intimate manner to assuade Dar's discomfort. But at that time he didn't understand, and he was sure that the Goddess wasn't too offended. At least he hoped not.
The statue was in a different pose now. For the longest time, it had been in a feminine stance, one leg bent before the other atop a small elevation in the base upon which it stood and one hip high, arms outstretched as if to welcome those who found the secret place into the courtyard. The set and pose of the statue hadn't changed, but now the arms were held out wide, as if to demonstrate something to those who gazed upon it, and the gentle expression that had been there before was replaced by a slightly sober look that belonged on the face of a schoolteacher, though it did not in any way detract from the beauty of that face. The hair had moved as well, he noticed.
Tarrin stepped closer, looking at the statue. "Mother," he nodded. "I didn't know you could move."
"Of course I can move, my kitten," the statue replied in a very audible voice, literally coming to life before him. The stone hair moved just like normal hair as she moved from that pose, elegantly sliding down to seat herself upon her base, feet dangling into the water. Her movements were fluid, like any living thing, and the stone that made up her being behaved like flesh or hair. He realized fleetingly that it was the first time he had ever heard that voice outside of himself, or outside of the Heart. "Icons aren't just pieces of stone. I could have my icon walk around the Tower, if I really wanted it."
"Does the Keeper know about you?"
"Yes and no. They know my icon is within the grounds of one of the Towers, but they don't know which one. Keritanima told them that they're here to destroy my icon, but the Keeper secretly doesn't believe that I'm here. She thinks that the tower in Sharadar is where my icon is, and even if my icon were here, she believes that I'd simply remove my icon to the tower in Sharadar if it were truly being threatened. But she doesn't understand that because of the forces at work you can't see or comprehend, I can't do that. Not right now. My restricting myself to this Tower is part of the agreement I had to make to be able to grant you the aid that I've granted you. To restrict myself in all ways as Val is restricted, so that I can grant you the same aid he grants his own children." She held out a hand to him, and he wasted no time stepping up onto the lip and wading across the fountain. He reached her and took her hands in his paws, feeling the stone, but sensing the incredible magical power that rested just beneath that mortal shell. He looked down into stone eyes, but he could see those same eyes that looked upon him when he was within the Heart, could feel that same sense of her presence that never failed to evoke powerful feelings of love and security in him, love and devotion to this ethereal being who so totally owned him. "I feel your love, my sweet one," she smiled up at him; despite being on the raised base, he was so tall that even that wasn't enough to put her eyes above his. "It has become so strong now, almost like a bonfire."
He couldn't really say anything to that, just looking into her eyes. "I hope I've done what you wanted me to do, Mother," he said with uncertainty. "I've tried."
"Oh, Tarrin!" she laughed. "You have no idea how proud I am of you."
That made him absolutely explode with relief and pride, knowing that one such as her was proud of him. He felt blessed, truly blessed. "Well, I know I can be a pain," he said self-effacingly.
"It's part of what makes you strong, my child," she said gently.
"What's going to happen after we find out where the Firestaff is, Mother?" he asked.
"You'll find out when you get there, kitten," she replied with a gentle smile. "For now, know that you're on the right track."
He nodded, then blew out his breath. "I'm not looking forward to this. Spending days learning Sha'Kar and then poring over endless books doesn't sit well with me."
"Well, I have a secret for you," she said with a little smile. "You're not doing it."
"Why not? Isn't that what I was supposed to do?"
"No, kitten. You had to recover the book. The task of unlocking its secrets belongs to someone else. You'll be here, and you'll help, but the main burden of that responsibility isn't yours."
"Kerri."
"It's not much of a stretch, is it?" the statue smiled. "This is just the kind of thing Keritanima is suited to do."
"I know. We make a good team."
"She'll have plenty of help, of course," the statue smiled. "But one of Keritanima's strengths is her ability to organize many and set them onto a single goal."
"She is a Queen."
"Yes, she is."
Tarrin remembered something. "You did that to her, didn't you?" he asked insightfully. "I once scoffed that she wouldn't be queen, but you told me to wait and see. You had a hand in that, didn't you?"
"I told you after that that her being queen was more important than her being with you, remember, kitten?" she told him. "Of course I did that to her. It pained me, because I don't like seeing my children suffer, but sometimes the suffering makes you stronger. Just as it pained me when I told the Keeper to send Jesmind after you. I knew what was coming, and I hated it. But sometimes we don't have choices. Not even the gods." He bowed his head, and she reached up and put a stone hand under his chin, lifting it so he would look into her eyes. "But you forgive me, don't you, my kitten?"
"I understand why you did it, Mother," he sighed. "I understand it now. I didn't at first, but I do now."
"I want to hear you say it, Tarrin. Do you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you," he told her emphatically. "You're my Goddess. I know you love me. You wouldn't do anything like that to me unless you really had no other choice."
He could palpably sense the surge of power that flowed into that statue, flowed through it. She had once told him, long ago, that even Elder gods gained power from the worship of mortals, though Elder gods didn't depend on the worship of mortals for their existence the way the Younger gods did.
"If you can forgive me, then you must forgive the Keeper," she told him gently. "She was acting on my orders. The Council was only doing my bidding. It's wrong for you to blame them for things they had no choice but to do."
"My reasons for not forgiving them go beyond just what they did, Mother," he growled.
"No, kitten," she told him gently. "Everything
they did was because of what I told them. You must find it in your heart to forgive them. They have suffered just as you have."
He squirmed a bit under that gaze. To forgive his Goddess was one thing, but to forgive the Keeper and the Council went against his instincts. "I'll, I'll think about it," he hedged.
"For now, that's enough," she smiled. "The others are in the maze," she announced, looking over his shoulder. "It's time for me to go back to being a decoration, kitten. The others may understand what I am, but I think they'll be too overwhelmed to do what they need to do if they see my icon moving. Dar especially may have a problem with it," she said with a slightly mishievious smile.
Tarrin blushed furiously. "I really hope that didn't offend you," he said immediately. "You weren't, uh, you weren't really here when I did that, were you?"
"I'm always here, kitten," she grinned. "But I'm even harder to embarass than you are, so be assured that I didn't take offense. I knew that you didn't know what I was at the time. You were pawing a statue, after all." She stood up, still keeping hold of his paws. "Actually, it impressed me. I needed a champion with courage and strength, but I also needed one that was willing to go beyond the bounds of normal thinking. What you did proved to me that you had both of those qualities."
He still felt mortified, not willing to look her in the eye. That made the statue laugh, that same cascade of silvery bells. "Dar's problem with it is because he had something of a crush on me, kitten," she confided to him. "He was absolutely struck by the appearance of my icon. But he's gotten over it. A certain mid-grade Initiate has caught his fancy now," she said with a wink.
"I hope it's Tiella. She has a crush on him."
"Of course it is," the statue affirmed. "I've been urging them to notice each other for a while now. Tiella was very receptive to it, but Dar was a bit harder to reach. He still fears that his parents are going to show up with a pre-arranged bride for him," she chuckled.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Why not?" she asked winsomely. "I may be a god, but first and foremost, I'm a woman, my kitten. Women like to see their children find good husbands and wives. Dar and Tiella will be very happy together. They are a match. When I see that two of my children will be a match, I bring them together. Their happiness is my happiness."
"That, and their children will also be Sorcerers," he realized.
"That may be true, but I gain much more from the happiness of my children than by the children they bear." She looked over his head. "Allia ever was swift," she chuckled. "It's time for me to return, kitten."
"Alright. It was good to actually talk to you, Mother. I mean face to face."
"There is a peculiar form of satsifaction in it, isn't there?" she agreed with a curious expression. "We'll have to talk again like this soon."
He let go of her hands, and she returned to her place on the base, spread her arms out, and resumed the sober expression. And then she moved no more.
Tarrin sighed, looking up into the stone face of his Goddess, and then turned and waded back out of the fountain. It was always good to talk to her, even if it wasn't important. Especially if it wasn't important. It only showed him that she did really love him, if she was willing to give him her time for no real reason other than to talk to him. He stepped out of the fountain and sat down on the lip, looking over to the crystalline dome that covered the tent they'd erected. Inside that tent, somewhere, were the answers they were looking for. All they had to do was find it.
The dome. Of course.
"Uh, Mother," he called.
"I've already taken care of it, kitten," the statue replied audibly. "Just press your paws against it, and you'll be pulled inside. Oh, and don't worry about running out of time. I've taken care of that too."
"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to look at the statue.
You'll see, came the impish mental response, though the statue's expression did get a bit whimsical before resetting into its deceptive mask.
That piqued his curiosity, and little could motivate him more than that. He was just as curious as the cat he resembled. He padded over to the crystalline dome, and then fearlessly put his paws against it, just as he heard rustling in the hedges that told him that the others were entering the courtyard. The crystal seemed to be warm to the touch, and then he felt it part, give way for him, even as he felt it suddenly pull at him like hands grabbing his paws and dragging him inside. The pull was gentle, but it was absolutely irresistable, and he found himself being dragged through the crystal wall of the dome before he realized what was going on. He stumbled a bit on the other side, blinking, and then turned and looked back out. It was a perfect image through the crystal, just as it was a perfect view from the other side. He turned and looked at the tent, then stepped through the flap, ducking down to do so, and stepping inside.
It had been over a year, nearly two, since last he set foot in there, but absolutely nothing had changed. The table was still in the middle of the rather large tent, and against the wall of the tent were chests, four of them, all of them holding books and scrolls and individual sheets of parchment that they had plundered from the forgotten chamber in the Cathedral of Karas. Throw pillows surrounded the table and three chairs, extra seats for visitors. A glass Keritanima had brought in still sat on the table, and he realized that there was no dust on it. No dust anywhere.
That was when he noticed the silence. The absolute, utter, impenetrable silence. The only sound there was was the sound he was making. The sound of him moving, breathing, the beating of his heart. That was it. Someone had been rustling the hedges before he entered the dome, but that sound wasn't there. He went back outside the tent and looked to see who it was, but there was no one out there. He looked to the choked opening, and realized that there was someone there. The furry hand of Keritanima was visible coming through the hedge wall, but he could only see her arm, and it wasn't moving. What was she waiting on? He stood there and waited, and waited, and waited some more, but Keritanima's arm did not move. Not even a finger.
Now he was a little concerned. Keritanima had been stock-still for a good long moment. Something had to be wrong. He put his hands against the crystal of the dome, and again he felt it suddenly pull at him. He was pulled through it quickly, and as soon as he pulled free of it, he heard the rustling of the hedge, the sound of a gust of wind, and Keritanima crashed through the hedge, laughing as she looked back behind her.
Tarrin was startled. Did the dome stop time? He quickly pulled back until his back touched the dome, and he felt it drag him back through. As soon as he was completely clear of it, Keritanima suddenly froze in place, as if she too was a statue.
It did stop time! That was what the Goddess meant when she told him that they didn't have to worry about running out of time!
Not stop, just slow down a great deal, the voice of the Goddess touched him, obviously entertained by his little experiment. For every hour that passes within the dome, a minute passes outside. My father owed me a favor, so he set it up for me.
The father of the Goddess. Shellar, the god of time. Of course. Keritanima's arm didn't seem to be moving because of the distance that separated them. Had he been closer, he would have seen her hand move ever-so-slightly in the moment he waited. He pushed back through the dome, back to the outside, and Keritanima suddenly started moving again.
"--wait for that," she was saying as Allia came through the hedge behind her.
"I do not see why not. They should be more direct about it. You do not coddle the enemy," Allia retorted.
"That Demoness said she could pull the information from Amelyn's mind that we can't force out of her, but it would take time." That explained why he hadn't seen Shiika yet. "Oh, Tarrin, I didn't see you," she smiled. "Are you ready? We have alot to do, and we don't have much time."
"Actually, we have alot more time than we thought," he chuckled. "Mother's been busy."
"What are you talking about?" Keritanima asked as Miranda and Szath came through the hed
ge. Dar was just behind him, and Dolanna was just behind Dar. Dolanna hadn't been part of the original plan, but Tarrin couldn't argue about the value of bringing her in.
"Dolanna. Good to see you," he greeted her.
"So this is where you and the others went to go hide," Dolanna said, looking around the courtyard. "It's very peaceful here, is it not?" She looked at the statue, and then her face paled visibly. "Tarrin, my dear one, is that what I think it is?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Yes, Dolanna, it is," he said, motioning at the statue.
"That is her icon?" Keritanima asked in surprise. "I thought it would be something else, something hidden or grand or mysterious. Not a garden decoration!"
"Where better to hide something than in plain sight, Kerri?" Tarrin asked. "At least in a sense, anyway. I think the Goddess prevents anyone from finding the courtyard that she doesn't want to find it."
"Yes, she must. I have looked down upon the gardens from the bridges, and I never saw a courtyard within the maze," Dolanna agreed. "The Goddess must hide this place from everyone, even her own children."
"We figured that out a while ago, Dolanna," Keritanima said patiently. "When none of the spies tailing me could penetrate the maze. We realized that magic of some sort hid the courtyard." She looked to Tarrin. "Alright, we need to get started. I can't wait to get my hands on that book!"
"Before we do that, let me explain something," he warned, and then he told them about the unusual properties of the dome, and the slowed time that existed inside it. "Just put your hands on it, and it'll pull you through," he explained to them. "When we're inside, we'll be in that slower time. That'll give us the time we need to find what we're looking for, without feeling too harried."
"That is a most curious effect," Dolanna said. "I do hope I can study it from the inside. A weave that could alter time could be indescribably useful."
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