by Sam Ferguson
*****
Lady Dimwater and Master Lepkin stepped through the magic portal. “Can you stand?” she asked.
“I am good,” Master Lepkin replied weakly. Dimwater nodded. She had spent the rest of yesterday afternoon and all of the night weaving spells to heal Lepkin. Because she was weakened by her recent encounter with Jerutho, she was unable to heal him completely, but she restored enough of his energy to bring him out of his sleep, and to be strong enough to travel through the magical portal.
“We are here, at Valtuu Temple,” Lady Dimwater said. “The healers will help you.” The two of them walked up to the main door of the wall and it opened slightly.
“We have been expecting you,” a guard said. He held a large shaft with a curved, wide blade on top with a steel point on the bottom of the shaft. “I can see to him, but you can not come in.”
Lady Dimwater regarded the man curiously. “You mean, because I am a woman?” she asked.
The guard shook his head. “You and I both know the answer. I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you in.”
“This time, you will make an exception,” Master Lepkin said hoarsely.
“Sir, she will defile the temple. I cannot allow it.”
“Those who seek the book will defile and destroy not only the temple, but also the rest of this realm. I am the Keeper of Secrets, my word is law. I stand even above the prelate of your order. You will let her in or I will take your head.” Master Lepkin stood as erect as he could, trying to appear able to make good on his threat. He reached to the hilt of his sword and paused, looking at the guard.
“As you say,” the guard replied through his teeth.
Master Lepkin and Lady Dimwater walked through the gate. The guard walked behind them slowly, waving other guards off as they tried to bar Dimwater from entering. Lepkin made doubly sure that they all understood by keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword.
They entered the front door of the temple and a man in white, silken robes greeted them. He smiled to Lepkin, but when he saw Dimwater his mouth fell agape and his expression turned most sour. “What is this?” he hissed.
“She is here at my command,” Lepkin coughed. “I trust no other to help me.” The man nodded slowly, but his scowl didn’t disappear. “Where is Marlin?” Lepkin asked.
“He is in the council chamber, on trial for heresy,” the man replied with a shrug.
“What?” Lepkin asked. Some of his strength returned to him at the news.
“There is much to explain. Follow me, I will take you to our healers and then you may speak with the prelate after the hearing is concluded.”
“No, I will attend the hearing,” Lepkin said. The man turned to protest, but Lepkin slid his sword free a few inches. “You will take us there now,” Lepkin threatened. The man was visibly shaken at the threat. He nodded quickly and led them to the chamber.
Lepkin didn’t look at any of the murals or decorations. He had only one thing on his mind. Whatever Marlin was being accused of, he had to save the man. Dimwater seemed to understand the severity of the situation as well. She walked rigidly, her head on a swivel at all times, looking for any threat as they passed through the halls. At the end of the hall the man in white shooed away two guards and pushed open the door to the council chamber.
They entered the chamber amidst gasps of horror and murmurs of defilement. “May I present Master Lepkin, Keeper of Secrets,” the man said. Lepkin didn’t miss the fact that the man refused to announce Lady Dimwater’s presence. He would tend to that insult later. He took in the room quickly and noticed that Al and Erik were also present, as well as another guard that he didn’t recognize who stood next to Marlin.
The room was circular, with the main floor, the space for the accused to stand, being the lowest point in the room. The prelate sat upon a raised bench that overlooked the entire room and ten other seats flanked him, also set up on a dais. These seats were filled with higher ranking members of the order, but one seat remained empty. The seat for the bishop, second only to the prelate, was empty. It was Marlin’s seat, Lepkin knew. Behind the main floor was a slightly raised dais, though not nearly so high as the prelate’s seat or even the other ten seats for the tribunal members. This is where the common members of the order were allowed to stand and watch the trial.
Lepkin pointed to the floor. “We will go and stand there,” he said to Dimwater.
“As you wish,” she said with a nod.
The murmuring grew louder as the two of them pushed through the spectators and walked out onto the floor. The members of the tribunal all glanced to each other worriedly at the sight of Lepkin and Dimwater.
“How dare you defile the temple?” the prelate shouted from his seat at Lepkin. “This is a holy site. It is dedicated to the Ancients and those who serve them. You can not simply walk in here with trash from the street. I don’t care if you have feelings for her or not.”
Master Lepkin took the prelate’s words silently. He looked to each of the others on the floor, without even acknowledging that the prelate had spoken to him. He could see that Marlin had been beaten. His face was puffy, and the rope that bound his wrists made his forearms bulge. The guard next to him seemed in worse shape. Erik had dried tears on his cheeks, and was also restrained, though Lepkin could see that his wrists were not tied so tightly. Al stood next to them, unbound, but apparently on the defense with the rest of them.
Lepkin drew his sword, slowly. He wanted all eyes on him. The murmuring stopped. Lepkin stepped toward Marlin and cut the man’s bindings. Marlin nodded his thanks and rubbed his arms. Lepkin then cut Erik free and turned the boy around. “Is this other guard a friend?” Lepkin asked, motioning with his chin to Tegeruk. Erik nodded. Master Lepkin set him free as well.
“Who do you think you are?” the prelate roared. “You have no right to defile the temple and then set loose others who would have sealed our doom if left to their own devices.”
“I am the Keeper of Secrets,” Master Lepkin boomed. His strength buoyed by his anger. In Lepkin’s mind there were no better men than Marlin and Al, and Erik had never let him down before, no matter how hard he had pushed the boy. “I will ask the questions, and you will answer me,” Lepkin said to the prelate and others sitting around him.
“You forget, Keeper,” the prelate replied, his words dripping with malice. “We are appointed by the Ancients to appoint the Keepers. That makes you subordinate to us. I will decide the fate of these men, your boy included.”
“You twist the words of the Ancients, and their intentions,” Lepkin replied. “They appointed this order to find and appoint the Keepers that much is true. But the Keeper is set above this order. The Keeper is the agent of the Ancients themselves. My word, though uttered from a human mouth, is to be heeded as the law of the Father of the Ancients.”
The prelate straightened in his chair, scowling all the while at Lepkin. “Your candidate has tried to flee from this temple,” the prelate said. “He shirked his duty, his obligation to take the Exalted Test of Arophim. He willingly doomed us all to death. Marlin, ex-bishop of our order, and Tegeruk helped him escape. It took many of my guards to bring them back.”
“How did you discover they were missing?” Master Lepkin asked.
“Your dwarf noticed that Erik was not in his bed, and he sounded the alarm.”
“Master Lepkin, I only tried to-”
“Be silent!” the prelate ordered. “You will not speak unless I authorize it.
Master Lepkin turned to Al and nodded his head. “I will hear you speak, good dwarf,” Lepkin said. He noticed that the prelate opened his mouth to speak, but Lepkin let his sword ignite. The flames lent an eery quality to Lepkin’s angry face. The display of power was enough to stay the prelate’s protests.
“To explain in as few words as possible,” Al began. “I have been receiving messages from House Lokton lately. The nature of the messages was grim. House Lokton and House Cedreau have fallen into a blood feud. I have tried to kee
p the letters away from Erik, but last night he found them. I worried only for his safety, and that is why I sounded the alarm, I had nothing to do with the prelate’s order to keep Erik here.”
“Thank you, Al,” Master Lepkin said with a nod. He mulled the words over in his head. For a moment he found it hard to concentrate. He felt a sweat break out on his forehead, but he knew he had to press on. He could not show any sign of weakness, or the prelate would control this trial. Lepkin turned to Marlin next. “Tell me of the prelate’s order to keep Erik here,” Lepkin said.
“I have been training Erik in preparation for the Exalted Test of Arophim,” Marlin began. “He shows great promise. He is the best I have ever seen, or even heard of. But, I am afraid that his power is too strong. Without the proper amount of training, the test will kill him.”
“The test only kills those who are evil,” the prelate interrupted.
Master Lepkin turned and pointed his fiery blade at the prelate. “You will be silent.” The prelate paled and sat back in his chair. Lepkin held his threatening gaze on the prelate for a moment before letting Marlin continue.
“Normally, the test punishes only those with evil in their hearts. Sometimes, however, the test can kill without finding wickedness in the heart of the one tested. The test awakens the full ability of the individual. It is something that has to be done in order to search the individual’s heart. In Erik’s case, the gift is so strong that awakening it fully will literally rip him apart. If I had a few more years to train him, I think he could master it and take the test with minimal risk, but there would still be a significant danger even then. I could not, in good conscience, force him to undertake the test while he is still raw. The time we have spent together has not been even a fraction of the time required for him to be properly trained.” Marlin’s glossy eyes filled with tears.
“Did you inform the prelate of this?” Lepkin asked.
“I did, but he said that should Erik refuse to take the test, he would be forced against his will,” Marlin replied. “Even if I could go against the laws of the Ancients and compel someone to take the test, I could not resign Erik to death.”
“I have heard enough,” Master Lepkin said with a nod. The fire around his sword roared and crackled, dripping liquid fire onto the floor, scorching the marble with a hiss. “I am Dragon-born, as all Keepers have been. As such, I wield the power to remove the head of the order when I see fit to do so. Now is such a time. I command the prelate to step down from his bench.”
“This has never been done before,” one of the high priests of the tribunal called out. “This is not something that can be done out of spite, Keeper.”
“It is not spite that I hold in my heart,” Master Lepkin said. “There is a war coming. The armies of righteousness will need competent generals. Therefore, I am making a change. You may also step down, high-priest. I have no need of you either.” Murmuring rippled through the entire room.
“I will remind you that in order to win this war you speak of, we need the Champion of Truth,” the prelate growled. “Even the Keeper will fall to the powers of the book. You know this.”
Lepkin nodded soberly. “No one can be forced to become the Champion, just as no one can be forced to become the Keeper.” Lepkin looked to Erik and smiled faintly. “Many years ago, I was stationed at Gelleirt monastery. My duty was to guard the trio of elderly monks that lived there, and above all, a collection of books that they had been translating for more than half a decade. It was a boring assignment. Nothing like the missions I had been given before. Still, I remained because of my sense of duty. Because I chose to stay.
“One day, I received a written notice of challenge. Master Orres had challenged me for the right to Lady Dimwater’s hand in marriage. If there was ever a reason to pull me away from my duty, this was it. I gathered my belongings and rode away from Gelleirt monastery. The monks pleaded with me to stay. They said their work was most important. I did not listen to them. I was almost a mile away before I stopped on a tall hill to ponder my actions. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the guilt that nagged at me for leaving. As I looked back to the monastery, I saw a horde of Tarthun horsemen galloping straight for it.
“I had two choices. I could go on as though I had not seen the horde. After all, there were far too many for me to defeat, and I was too far away to help the monks escape. They would likely be slain before I could return to warn them.” Master Lepkin turned to Lady Dimwater and saw the tears in her eyes. “I desperately wanted to continue on my way to meet Master Orres. Lady Dimwater and I had fallen in love previous to my assignment at Gelleirt monastery. We had discussed marriage many times, but she had been promised to Orres by her father. I pleaded with Orres to call off the engagement, but he would not. He claimed I had insulted his honor. After a heated argument, he accepted my offer to duel for her hand, but he said that he would choose the time and place. Master Orres had no way of knowing that Gelleirt monastery would be attacked when he issued the challenge.
“My decision to return and fight the horde has been one that I have secretly regretted all of my life. Yes, I saved the monks and the monastery. I slew all three hundred men by my sword. My deeds at Gelleirt monastery earned me both fame, and ultimately the invitation to become the next Keeper of Secrets after my predecessor had grown old. Though these should be things to be proud of, I am not. My battle at Gelleirt monastery robbed me of the right to fight for my love’s hand. Because I failed to show for Orres’ challenge, I lost all right to court Lady Dimwater.
“As I trained to become the next Keeper I learned all of the rights and responsibilities that that office would entail. One of the things I found most interesting was that I would become Dragon-born. I was to be imbued with the ability to shift into a dragon, if need be. This granted me not only physical strength to fight the forces of evil, but also the right to preside over all matters of this order. The Keeper who trained me explained that I should never again shirk my duties, as I almost had at the monastery. I would forever be in a position that required the highest standards of honor. I wanted to say no, but because I had already lost all claim to Lady Dimwater, and because my predecessor was near unto death, I agreed to become the next Keeper.
“I forced the grief of losing Dimwater out of my mind by devoting myself to my duties. My life since then has been one of total dedication.” Lepkin turned to look at the prelate. “Now that I am the Keeper, it is my responsibility to ensure that this order is run properly. You claim that I defile the temple by bringing Lady Dimwater inside, but it is you who have defiled the temple. You have twisted the laws!
“I will not allow Erik to undergo the Exalted Test of Arophim. The law of the Ancients is clear on this matter. No candidate shall ever be forced into the test. To compel someone would pervert the test. What you fail to understand is that even if he succeeded, his heart would not be pure unless he chose to take the test of his own free will. So, even if he lived through it, he would not pass, and we would still be without a champion.” Master Lepkin’s eyes turned cold and he leapt up to grab the prelate by the collar, pulling him over the front of the bench and glaring into the man’s darkened eyes. He leaned in close so that only the prelate would hear his next words. “And I will not let you take his family from him, as my love was taken from me, by forcing duty upon him without regard for his desires. You will step down.” Master Lepkin yanked the prelate over and flung the man to the floor. The prelate landed hard, flailing about in his robes like an overturned beetle.
“This is an outrage!” the prelate roared. “You have gone mad!”
Lepkin pointed to Marlin. “This is the new prelate of the order. Marlin is now the head of Valtuu Temple. His wisdom and strict sense of morality is an example for all of you to follow.” Lepkin turned to the guard next to Marlin. “You also helped Erik and Marlin. That means that you also honor the laws of the Ancients. You are the new bishop. Both of you take your places.”
“This cannot be done!” the p
relate shouted. He reached forward and grabbed the back of Master Lepkin’s neck. Lepkin felt a rush of pain in his head, threatening to cripple him. Then, as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared. The prelate wailed in agony, grabbing his own head.
“I warned you,” Lepkin said. “My word is supreme in this temple.” Lepkin turned to the others watching. “Let this be a warning to any who would seek to pervert the ways of the Ancients.” Lepkin pointed to the prelate. “I pray that the new prelate will see to it that the laws are always honored.”
“I will,” Marlin replied with a humble bow of his head. “This order recognizes the Keeper of Secrets as the agent of the Ancients. We will heed your counsel always.”
Master Lepkin nodded. “There is still a vacancy in the tribunal,” Lepkin said as he pointed back to the high-priest he had also told to step down. The high priest immediately scrambled out of his chair and knelt before Lepkin. “The new prelate shall pick a replacement that is honorable.”
Marlin nodded and bowed again.
“I will step down, as you have asked, but allow me to stay in the temple?” the high-priest pleaded.
“I will let the new prelate decide your fate,” Lepkin replied. Lepkin pointed to the ex-prelate with his flaming sword. “I want this man cut off from the temple. Get him out of my sight.” A pair of guards rushed in and swept the ex-prelate away. He was still moaning and grabbing his head as he was taken out.
“What has the Keeper decided about the test, and of Erik’s family?” Marlin asked.
“The test will have to wait,” Lepkin decided.
CHAPTER 12
“That was some display,” Al said after they had all gone into a bed chamber to allow Lepkin to rest. Erik nodded silently.
