"I agree," Tun said with a nod. "I do not wish to hear the elf secret of the tiers at this moment. Such information is dangerous. The arrival of the algors may mean nothing to us, and I will not so willingly reveal the secret which keep the dwarves safe from evil magic unless it is as the interpreter says. I will wait for the doubts to be removed from my mind. For me, that will be the only time I will reveal the dwarf secret of Sanctum."
"Then we have nothing more to do than wait," Mappel said with an almost painful shrug. He hoped the suggested inactivity might force someone into compromise. Instead, it allowed the interpreter a moment to make an unsuspected announcement of his own.
"There is something I have to do," Stephen spoke as he stood. "Something has been nagging at my thoughts which I must see to. It has a lot to do with what is happening here, but it is not yet clear to me. I have to leave but I will be back shortly."
He left abruptly with no further explanation. Every other pair of eyes watched him leave.
Chapter 21
"It is good to see you safe, Ryson Acumen." Mappel extended a hand. As the delver responded in kind, the elder elf allowed a small smile to grasp his lips. They stood alone in Matthew's private chambers. A host of others waited in the basement meeting room, but Mappel requested they speak alone before the delver was brought before them. It was the elder elf's wish to explain the occurrences of the past few days, but he began by asking the delver about his own journey.
"When Holli brought the algors here, she told me what had happened in the hills. Mountain shags." He sighed lightly. "I can not believe that only a short while ago even I doubted Lief Woodson's word when he warned us of the danger in the air. Now we face so many things, so many uncertainties, including mountain shags. But by your appearance now, I can assume that all went well?"
"I handled the shag alright, but I can't say my trip back wasn't without its problems." Ryson's expression bordered on exasperation. "Things are starting to fall apart out there, and fast."
Mappel waited for the delver to continue with an expectant, yet curious expression.
"It seems vampires are now loose in the land and goblins are making raids on towns," Ryson explained with heavy emotion. He coughed after he spoke as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth. "I don't know how this will affect any of the plans you've made, but I can tell you the people and guards in Burbon are near total panic. I would expect the same in Pinesway. They're closer to the forest. I don't know how the people in Connel have reacted to your presence here, but I doubt you would be welcome in either of the other two towns. They're edgy about anything that looks even slightly out of place. Trust is stretched to a limit. I apologize for how this will sound, but if they saw you for what you are, they'd lock you up as a threat, or worse."
"I understand." Mappel's attention momentarily fixed upon the staff in his hands. He stared at the fine groves as if each represented another factor of the present dilemma, another external force trying to exert its own influence upon them all. "The land is in turmoil and it seems most humans with it. It is probably no surprise to any elf that the humans would treat us with the utmost mistrust. Their ignorance of the past has led them to their own confusion. While it would not justify such actions, it would not be unexpected. I would have to agree that revealing ourselves in such places would remain inappropriate at this time. Thankfully, however, our path does not end in Burbon or Pinesway. It will lead us from Connel to Sanctum."
"How have you fared here?" Ryson asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The magic has been slow to reveal itself here," Mappel offered with a look of relief. "What has happened has been kept quiet. Connel's own location has also helped serve to this end. With other border towns closer to the wilderness, there are more inviting targets. I imagine that the dark creatures have also not forgotten Connel's history. The ancient wall would remind them of their greatest loss. I doubt any goblin party would hasten to raid this town."
The delver found such theories less encouraging. "Even if there hasn't been a raid here, I know word is spreading. Soon, people are going to start hearing stories. Everyone's going to start looking for an answer. When I came in to town this morning, I saw everyone looking over their shoulders. I also saw guards on horseback at the town limits."
"I can not deny the truth in your words," Mappel conceded, "but for now we remain hidden, even the algors were brought to us without raising a single suspicion. Our presence here has been kept a secret, helped oddly enough by Mayor Consprite. He does not know of the dwarves’ presence, but he knows of mine and the algors. Those guards were his men, and they helped escort the algors here, keeping it as quiet as possible."
"Consprite did that?" Surprise and suspicion edged Ryson's words and the tone was not lost upon Mappel.
"I am perplexed by the man myself. He has kept his distance, yet has made it clear he wishes to be involved. His men did as promised, yet they appeared more elusive than helpful. Through Matthew, we have been sending him information, telling him only of what he needs to know. I doubt it satisfies him, but he appears content, at least for now. I do not trust him. Am I misjudging him?"
"I doubt it," Ryson responded in earnest. "I've only spoken with him a few times, but I never met anyone who was more ambitious. If he wishes to be involved, it's probably because he believes he can benefit."
"Of that, I am certain, but we will all benefit if our mission is successful."
Ryson shook his head with a near sorrowful expression, as if it pained him to discuss the subject of human greed and overabundant ambition. "That's not want I mean. The mayor won't see anything advantageous in a general gain for the land. Consprite will want to gain personally. It's not beyond him to take advantage of another's misfortune."
"Then, my initial judgment has been correct. I can not dismiss the perceptions of a delver, especially upon a subject I know so little about. The mayor will be dealt with only as needed and always wearily."
"Good idea," Ryson nodded.
Mappel moved on with urgency, as if it pleased him to leave behind discussions of Mayor Consprite. "What about the vampires you spoke of?"
Ryson hesitated. The thought burned his mind like acid. He tasted the bitter anger on the tip of his tongue.
"It's not a pleasant story," he finally admitted. He told the sequence quickly and briefly, speaking in short pointed sentences. He gave an adequate account to be accurate but refused to recount anything with great detail. He spoke of the most important specifics, being followed by Evan Chase, Chase's demise, and the final conflict with the vampire herself.
The mention of Evan Chase and his reasons for following the delver cast the discussion back upon the mayor. Mappel displayed more than a hint of annoyance. "So Consprite sent out a tracker to find what you had been doing. I do not like that. It indicates he may not accept our decisions. I should like to treat him with as much care as we would treat another vampire."
"That reminds me," Ryson interrupted and his attention descended to his belt where the Sword of Decree hung sheathed. "It's time for me to return this now. To tell you the truth, it's the main reason why I came back to Connel. Had it not been for the sword, I might have stayed at Burbon to help protect them against goblin raids. But I knew it was important to you, so I knew I had to return it. I've learned how special it is, and I understand why you made me promise to look after it with such care. I wish you would have told me of its other powers, though. It does more than burn an enemy; it can free your mind. That in itself saved me from the vampire. I can't explain it, but I knew what to do as soon as I grabbed the handle."
The statement confused Mappel. He sifted through the words as if a puzzle, or a mystery where the perpetrator was known but not the crime.
"You are certain?" Mappel questioned with a wrinkled forehead.
"Absolutely." Ryson returned Mappel's questioning looks with a confused demeanor of his own. "Didn't you know that?"
"No, I did not," Mappel said firmly. "Such power is not
supposed to be. Could it have come from something else, something other than the sword?"
"I don't think so." Ryson fought through the ugly images of his encounter with the vampire to establish his certainty. "No, it came from the sword. I know it now and I knew it then. Do you want to try holding the handle?" He went to dislodge the scabbard from his belt.
"No, I can see the truth in your eyes," Mappel answered.
Ryson continued unfastening his belt. "Well, its time for you to take it back anyway. It has been quite an honor, but it belongs to you."
Mappel made a statement which could do no less then shock the delver. "Not anymore. Leave it at your side, Ryson Acumen. I do not know why the sword is now blessed with a new power, but it was blessed in your hands and there it must stay."
Wide-eyed, Ryson refused. "I can't accept this."
"If you deny it, you are denying providence. None of us are in a position to do that."
"But this is a magical item that belongs to the elves. You've guarded it for so long."
"Yet it never earned its name in our hands. Now it has. If it will now reveal mysteries to you by some act of benevolence, then the Sword of Decree will belong to you."
"What if it’s just the effect of the tainted magic in the air?"
Mappel shook his head. "According to Holli, she used the sword against a monster at the edges of the Lacobian desert. She claimed no powers of any kind. And you yourself just stated with certainty that the power came from the sword. No, Ryson Acumen, the blessing has occurred in you hands and we are in need of all the blessings we can get. You must hold onto the sword."
Ryson stood silent. Not knowing what else to do, and not wishing to insult the elf, he finally accepted the gift. "Thank you. I'll try to wear it with honor."
"You already have," Mappel said sincerely. "Now, however, we must come to more difficult matters. With your assistance, we have achieved a great stride toward our goal. In the basement of this church, in a town as time-honored as Connel, we have gathered representatives of the dwarves, the algors, as well as the humans and elves. I am pleased that this gathering has taken place so quickly. Never could I have imagined that the races involved in the tiers of Sanctum would be together in one place during my lifetime. Yet, it has happened, and it is now. There are, however, two problems."
Ryson listened intently as the elf continued with an explanation.
"The first is that you are the only delver in our presence. You have already admitted to a lack of knowledge over what the delvers placed in Sanctum to guard the sphere. Every other key is now within our grasp. Even the human element is here. Stephen Clarin is the interpreter of the book of Godson. Matthew told me he spoke of the interpreter to you?"
Ryson nodded. "Yes. Yes, he did. That's why he was so worried about the quake. This interpreter was able to foresee many things, but he didn't predict the quake. He's here? Now? What can he tell us about what's going on?"
Mappel shook his head sadly. "Precious little I'm afraid. It seems he believes the sphere defies even the prophecies. He can not predict the outcome of this event, although he has experienced a vision which yet brings us hope." Mappel quickly yet thoroughly explained the visions as witnessed by the interpreter. He emphasized Ryson's involvement in entering Sanctum, hoping to make it clear that the delver was expected to be part of the force.
Ryson exhaled deeply but did not decline. "It seems I can't get away from this. Truthfully, I was hoping to become more of an observer after I helped bring back the algors. I never hoped to be included any further."
Ryson's thoughts returned to Burbon and Linda. He would have liked to return there, to help them all. He remembered his promise to go back and tell her of what was truly happening, but as he did, he recalled everything she said. It became a blueprint in his mind. She asked him to return when he discovered everything he needed to know, even if it took a season. He faced the true crux of his dilemma with that simple edict ringing through his head. Would he be satisfied if he walked away now? Could he truly turn away from the opportunity to enter Sanctum? Every instinct that was his, every natural desire demanded he follow this to its end. He spoke with that conclusion.
"I can't tell you it makes me happy, but as a delver I can't refuse the opportunity to explore a monument such as Sanctum. If you invite me to go along, I will have to accept."
"It is more than invitation, it is an urgent need. We need you, and in all honesty, we have need of the Sword of Decree. I might have been hasty to offer it to you as a gift, but I see now in your eyes it was no mistake. Without it, we would not pass through the tribulations of Sanctum, and without you, we would not fulfill the vision of the interpreter."
"Then I will accompany you," Ryson responded, accepting his fate.
"It is good you feel that way. We will need you then, and we still have need of you now. This returns us to the first problem. Assuming we convince those that are present to reveal the secrets of what lies ahead in Sanctum, we will still be missing one part of the puzzle. No one present knows the delver's portion of the secret. Stephen Clarin is aware of what the humans placed within the mountain, but he has no idea of what the delvers placed. No one does. I am hoping that you might direct us in that matter."
Mappel looked to the delver expectantly, but Ryson could only shake his head.
"I just don't know," he admitted. "I don't even know where to begin. I was told of the importance of Sanctum as a kid, I was also told to avoid it. As far as I know, no one knows what's in there. It's kind of strange. You would think that Sanctum with all its secrets would be a place which would really call to a delver. But it hasn't, until now. It was one of the only places that delvers accept must not be explored."
Mappel spoke as if his hopes were quickly draining from him. "There is no one else you might know that we may ask?"
"We could go to the Night Watch Inn," Ryson offered. "There are other delvers in Connel. One of them might know, or at least might know where to go to find out."
"But you wouldn't know which is the best suited to ask?"
"I've spoken to almost all those with delver blood that spend time in Connel. None stand out as someone that might know what we need."
Mappel frowned. "I do not covet the idea of indiscriminately speaking to delvers at the Night Watch Inn, plodding about carelessly, hoping to stumble on information. We have done so well for ourselves so far. We have worked for the answers and they have come to us, some miraculously. I can not accept that we were meant to sift through the land for this secret as if searching for a single ant in a mountainous anthill. There must be another answer."
"Well, there's none that I can think of."
Mappel stood leaning upon his long staff. His eyes focused on nothing in particular. Long drawn out silence hung in the room like a giant tapestry. He became as still as a statue. If not for the slow relaxed breaths or the blinking of an eye, Ryson would have thought him carved of stone and painted to appear life-like.
Ryson arched his neck and examined the wooden rafters of the ceiling. He waited patiently as Mappel continued his pose of reflection.
Finally, the elder elf broke his silent concentration with a weary shake of his head. "I do not like this, not being able to decide what to do. Just as our other problem, there is no conceivable solution. I am left groping for options that do not seem to exist. Why are we brought so close, yet left without a final answer?"
"What is this other problem you're talking about?"
Mappel sighed heavily with frustration. The topic was a weight on his shoulders that he would have liked nothing more than to cut free. "It is the dwarves, mainly Tun. He is a prince, son of Folarok. He is here with his brother, Jon. He is not convinced the sphere must be destroyed."
"Does he know what Shayed said to me and Lief?"
"He knows. He does not doubt the exchange occurred, and he does not truly question Shayed's wisdom. Unfortunately, he wishes to explore other opportunities."
"Even though Shayed sa
id we had to destroy the sphere?"
"You must remember that the dwarves are not fond of the thought of magic. They believe it never truly benefited them. Tun Folarok echoes that belief in my ear at almost every chance. He has been told that both he and his brother are part of the interpreter's vision. It did little to convince him. In fact, it may have made things more difficult. He now states that if something such as the will of Godson will lead us, then the will of Godson will bring him the light of understanding. While he sits and listens, he only responds that nothing miraculous has yet occurred to sway his position. If he is waiting for some kind of miracle, I don't know if we will ever convince him.
"His brother, Jon, is more reasonable, more rational, yet he is cautious. He wishes to remain loyal to his brother as well as avoid his anger, thus he will not speak out against him. If it were just him, I am certain we could move forward, for he also knows the secret of Sanctum."
"Then why do we need his brother?" Ryson questioned. "We can leave Tun to wait for his miracle if we can convince Jon to help us."
Mappel's voice was thick with dissent. "They have been sent together by the king, and so together they will listen to our requests. Tun is the elder and has the right of the throne. Jon would never consider opposing his brother. Unfortunately, it is Tun who we must convince, yet he gives us little opportunity."
Mappel looked over his staff as he pieced the problem together. Hoping he himself might find an answer previously overlooked, he outlined the difficulty with a precise tongue. "The problem has been complicated further by Stephen's vision. Stephen sees both Folarok princes entering Sanctum. This is what truly creates the misfortune of our situation. I use it to explain that Tun must assist us. Tun uses it to accent his doubts. We traipse around in circles. I can not ignore the vision. Because of this, I am certain Tun must be made to see the reason of what we must do, but I do not know how to convince him. I keep hoping he will see what must be done on his own accord, but he shows no sign. He waits for divine intervention, so I wait as well. But I do not know how much longer I can wait. All I know is that Stephen believes they are both integral to our plans, and therefore we can not ignore them."
Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach Page 34
