“Really?” asked Hal. “I always assumed that there were mines somewhere, or something.”
Laurel rolled her eyes at him. “You should know all of this, Hal. And also, you should know that the heartgem is not a part of the Temple’s standard doctrine.”
“They don’t have an opinion on it?” asked Hal.
Laurel shook her head. “They don’t say anything about it. I don’t doubt that they know that it exists, but any knowledge they have of it must be something they reserve for their higher teachings.”
“Well, that’s handy,” said Hal.
“I might be worrying over nothing,” said Laurel. “I just thought it was worth mentioning.”
Hal nodded. He glanced up at the sun and then back to Laurel.
“I should get moving,” he said. “Probably best to set off now, before it gets any later.”
“Right,” said Laurel. “I’ll see you when you get back.”
There was a tense moment where each of them looked at each other, as though both expecting something more than just a simple goodbye. Hal managed a clumsy wave and then hurried off, feeling confused by the direction his emotions were taking him in.
CHAPTER 33
Hal left the city through its northern gate and headed up the wide road that led to the Meldence docks. It was the first clear view of Lake Krestia he’d seen. The city sat above the massive body of water, but standing now at the docks he was struck by just how immense it was.
Lake Krestia could easily have been mistaken for an ocean or sea, but it didn’t smell of salt, which gave its landlocked status away. As Hal stood at its edge he detected other differences that weren’t immediately obvious. There was no inlet, and the docks stood exposed to the vastness of the water, though the wake was gentle. The sea life was lacking as well, the otters and seals he knew to populate the seashore were replaced by ducks and other inland birds. Nonetheless, he was awed by its size.
The docks were a sprawling series of jetties and moorings nestled against one of the lake’s beaches. A surprising number of ships were either sailing out or into the lake, or down along the coast, toward one of the rivers that Laurel had explained to him flowed off toward Ostreach.
It gave him a better sense of the city’s true economic power, and made it easy to see why Meldence was in the position it was in. Any city within a stone’s throw of a river or the lake would end up becoming part of the capital’s extended trade network. If Maxim Cedric wanted to, he could reward, punish, and moreover, rule, through simple economics.
The reflection of the setting sun was distorted slightly by the rippling water, making it look like a bloody gash in the center of the lake. Hal found himself looking back over toward it as he began asking around for Dresault at the docks.
He found the boatman easy enough, and within a half hour, they were out on the water. Hal was unused to the constant shifting of a ship on the waves, but Dresault reassured him that the trip to the Matron’s Tower was not a long one.
It came into view slowly, seeming to rise from the water like a horn piercing the water’s skin. The tower was made of smooth grey stone and almost totally uniform. It reminded Hal a little of the torch towers used back in the Collected Provinces, until their boat traveled closer, and the sheer size of it became apparent.
The Matron’s Tower was easily three hundred feet high. It was higher than any structure Hal had seen in Krestia’s Cradle, and made him immediately suspect that it hadn’t been built by human hands, at least not of the current era.
It’s a massive stone tower on a small island. Where did the stone to build it even come from?
A small dock jutted out from a beach that was more like an attached sand bar than a true shore. Hal thanked Dresault for the passage, and then felt slightly unnerved as he watched the boatman push his small craft back out onto the lake, promising he’d be back the next morning to ferry others across and could take him back if none of the Temple’s boats were available.
Hal slowly made his way up the path that led to the Matron’s Tower. It was getting dark, but he could still make out patterns in the towers structures, strange white lines that ran down the length of each side in symmetrical patterns.
Two black robed figures stood outside the door he was heading for. Hal slowed as he approached, holding up a hand in greeting and feeling tremendously out of place.
“Bliss be upon you, traveler,” said one of the black robed figures. “What might your business here be?”
“My name is Halrin Kentar,” said Hal. “The Keeper requested a meeting with me.”
The black robed figure nodded. “Of course. Head right on in.”
The door was unlocked and slid open smoothly. It was a little on the small side, with the top of Hal’s head only a few inches from the maximum height of the door frame.
A large, open room with crisscrossing staircases along the walls awaited him on the other side. Hal’s footsteps seemed to echo endlessly off the high ceiling and wide walls, and it felt unnaturally cold. He made it all the way to the room’s center before he spotted a woman heading down one of the staircases, on her way over to him.
“Bliss upon you, Halrin Kentar,” said the woman. “I am Keeper Rodani.”
She was an older woman, but Hal found it impossible to guess her age. Her hair was more silver than white, yet her face was smooth and unwrinkled. She was tall and lean, but it was impossible to discern more of her figure than that due to the loose white robe that covered her entire body.
“Hello,” said Hal. “It’s nice to meet you.”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He wasn’t sure whether to try to shake her hand, or bow, or possibly even drop to one knee as she drew in closer to him. If there was an appropriate protocol, Keeper Rodani seemed to forgive him for being ignorant of it.
“I must compliment you on your impressive tournament victories,” said Keeper Rodani. “I was not there myself to observe the bouts, but one of my emissaries sung praises of your mastery of Darros’s gifts.”
Darros. One of the Five, chosen by Lyris and nicknamed The Flame by his companions.
Hal nodded, already feeling a little uncomfortable by where he suspected the conversation was headed.
“That’s very kind of you to say,” he said.
“You’re probably wondering why I invited you here, are you not?” asked Keeper Rodani.
Hal nodded.
“I must admit,” said Keeper Rodani. “Even with the Temple of Lyris being as widespread as it is, we are not above proselytizing. According to my emissary at the tournament, you displayed the ability to enter a Ruby Trance, along with strong and confident spellcasting. You would be a good fit among the disciples here at the tower.”
Hal suppressed a frown, instead offering a noncommittal shrug.
“I see that look in your eyes,” said Keeper Rodani. “And I well remember what it is like to be young. All I ask is that you hear me out, Halrin Kentar. Would you indulge an old woman this one, little thing?”
“I’ll listen,” said Hal. “But there’s no way I’d be able to commit to joining your Temple. I have too many other concerns in my life right now.”
Keeper Rodani nodded, seeming unaffected by his refusal. A sudden, heavy salvo of rain struck the tower’s outer wall, followed by the crack of thunder. The rain continued pelting the tower, creating an ambient rhythm of droplets against stone.
“Please, let me give you a tour of the tower,” said Keeper Rodani. “You’ll likely have to stay the night unless that storm breaks within the next few minutes. I fear sending one of our boats out into a gale at night.”
What amazing timing…
Hal followed in Keeper Rodani’s wake as she led him up the stairs to the next floor. The room above was almost identical to the one on the bottom level, but with cozy furniture and smaller rooms partitioned off along the walls.
“This is a dormitory for our newest disciples,” said Keeper Rodani. “Most of them are either still lear
ning to use their gems, or have only recently reached Baseline. They live here and study under the tower’s teachers, learning as much about living a good, blissful life as they do about advancing their knowledge with gemstones.”
A group of three pretty young women passed by Hal and the Keeper. Two of them followed him with their gazes as they went by, and he felt his face flush as he let himself make eye contact with one and caught a small, flirtatious smile.
“There is a purpose beyond power, Halrin,” said Keeper Rodani. “Beyond money, titles, and possessions. We are all judged by the choices we make, both in life and in death. One of the main teachings of Lyris is that we are more than we are.”
Hal kept his mouth shut, doing his best to smile at her words. Religion had been a bit of a novelty back in the Collected Provinces, where a strong sense of secularism had taken hold amongst large swathes of the populace. Hal had never actually met someone who believed in a god, or gods, before coming to Krestia’s Cradle, and he was still adjusting to the idea that it was common in the realm.
“If we live honorable, pious lives, we’re rewarded with an eternity in Bliss,” said Keeper Rodani. “If we cheat, steal, and kill, we’re sentenced to an eternity in Misery.”
If we kill. I killed, earlier today. I killed someone who murdered those I love, and possibly might have gone on to murder others, if I’d left him alone. Where does that fall under their teachings?
He was almost tempted to ask the question out loud, but he wasn’t sure if there was a way to phrase it that wouldn’t leave room for Keeper Rodani to try to hook him into the faith. Instead, Hal kept his polite, muted smile on and nodded at her explanation.
She led him up a small slight of smooth stone stairs and then into a small chamber nestled in the corner of the tower’s third floor. A young disciple was inside, along with an older man in a white robe who was in the middle of instructing him. Both glanced up at Keeper Rodani and Hal, but with a wave from the older woman, they continued on with their lesson.
“Try again, Phillip,” said the teacher.
“Alright.” The discipline held a loose diamond in his hand. The teacher lifted a small, folded piece of paper up off the ground, holding it up above the disciple’s head and then dropping it.
Hal watched the disciple channeling the essence inside his diamond, using it to create a channel of wind to keep the folded bit of paper aloft. The disciple’s clothes and hair rustled as he worked to control his magic and keep the bit of paper from hitting the ground. He let out an annoyed groan as he lost his focus and dropped the spell. The teacher shook his head.
“You must keep breathing in order to maintain a Wind Lift,” he said. “Watch.”
The teacher took a deep breath, his own diamond ring pulsing with white light as he channeled the essence. His eyes flashed white as he entered a Diamond Trance, and then he made a show of using the same spell the disciple had been attempting to lift himself a few inches into the air.
The wind was concentrated in a channel directly underneath the teacher, but some of it still pushed outward, making Keeper Rodani’s hair flutter into a mess of scattered locks. She let out a small laugh and led Hal out of the room.
“Mystra’s gift,” she said. “It’s quite amazing what can be done by an experienced diamond mage. Many of them serve as couriers and scouts, flying short distances through the air and traveling along routes that would be otherwise impassable.”
Hal nodded, though it was hard for him to agree with her completely when her religion was deeply tied into her perspective of the magic.
“I can tell that you’re skeptical, Halrin,” said the Keeper. “Let me ask you this. If you were walking through the woods, and stumbled upon a cabin, would you assume that someone had built it? Or would you assume that it came about on its own, or had always been there?”
Hal suppressed a chuckle.
“And I suppose in this question, you’re comparing the world as we know it to a cabin?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure that’s entirely fair,” said Hal. “With the cabin, I know that if I wait for long enough, the owner will eventually show up.”
“Perhaps that’s what we’re doing now,” said Keeper Rodani. “Waiting for Lyris to return to us.”
“And the cabin is something that we can all understand the mechanism of,” said Hal. “I could build a cabin, if I wanted to. I can look at it, and see how it was built.”
Keeper Rodani’s smile made Hal realize that he’d stumbled blindly into her rhetorical trap.
“That’s what faith is, Halrin,” she said. “It is what closes the gap between our understanding and what our hearts know to be true. That our lives aren’t just pointless toiling against circumstance and nature.”
Hal shrugged.
“Fair enough,” he said. “And I would never fault anyone else for believing what they want.”
“Tell me Hal, have you ever gotten the sense that what’s happening to you in your life is part of something greater?”
Hal bit back his first response and actually considered the question. The chain of events that had led to him discovering the heartgem had been so improbable, and so tragic. And there was what Zoria had called him when she’d first discovered the truth behind his gemstone.
She told me I was the Heart Holder, some type of champion of legend…
Keeper Rodani took his silences to be an admission of her point, and perhaps it was. She stepped in closer to him and set a hand on his shoulder.
“I have business to attend to with some of the higher disciples,” she said. “No boats can travel on the lake during a storm like this. I invite you to stay the night, Halrin Kentar.”
Hal nodded slowly, feeling an unwanted sense of curiosity as to what he might learn from both her and her religion.
CHAPTER 34
Keeper Rodani left him on the second floor, heading upstairs to seek out someone to serve as his guide. Hal felt out of place in his court clothing amidst all of the robed acolytes, and tried to act as casual as he could under the weight of their stolen glances.
She returned after a few minutes with a younger woman in tow. She gestured to Hal, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.
“Halrin, this is Syler,” she said. “She’ll serve as your attendant for the rest of the evening. I’m afraid we can’t allow you to roam freely around the tower, but if there is anything you need, Syler would be more than happy to assist you.”
Keeper Rodani nodded to the two of them and then took her leave. Hal scratched his head, shooting an appraising look at the young woman who’d been saddled with him.
She was attractive, with big brown eyes, dark hair worn in a simple braid, and a body that was comely, even covered by her loose white robe. She smiled at Hal with generous red lips and motioned for him to follow her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Halrin,” she said. “Keeper Rodani explained your situation to me. Getting as far as you did in the tournament is impressive, especially considering you entered on your own behalf.”
“Thanks,” said Hal. He couldn’t help but wonder if word of his last fight had reached the Matron’s Tower yet. Would they still be singing his praises if they knew of the man he’d killed in cold blood?
It wasn’t in cold blood. It was in the arena, and with good reason.
“The Keeper has instructed me to provide you with a room for the night,” said Syler. “I’ll bring dinner to you once you’re settled.”
“Thanks,” said Hal. “So… You’re a disciple here, then?”
“Yes,” said Syler. “I’m a ruby holder, like you. And I’ve also reached the level of entering a Ruby Trance… like you.”
She flashed a coy smile at him that made Hal’s cheeks heat up.
“I see,” he said. “Well. I suppose we have a lot in common, then.”
“I suppose we do,” said Syler.
She led him up several flights of stairs, Hal following behind her and
trying not to notice how her hips swayed back and forth with each step. Eventually, they stopped in front of a door. Syler opened it and gestured for Hal to head inside.
The small windowless room was sparsely furnished with a narrow single person bed and a corner table. Hal didn’t see the point in complaining. Syler left to fetch him food, and he took a seat on the bed, feeling tired from the events of the day.
The dinner was a more extravagant meal than he’d been expecting. Syler set a plate of peppered chicken with a variety of roasted vegetables and a thick slab of rye bread down in front of him. Hal wondered how the tower managed to stay so well supplied, given its position on the lake. He also wondered where the money to pay for it all came from, and remembered Laurel’s comments about the tension between the Maxim and the Keeper.
Syler waited just outside his door, peaking her head in every now and then as he ate his food. Hal knew that she was there to keep him from wandering, but found the genuine curiosity in her expression to be rather endearing.
“Does the tower not get many visitors?” asked Hal.
“Oh!” Syler seemed surprised that he’d noticed her glancing in. “Well… No. Not exactly. And it’s rare for the Keeper to allow guests that do come to the tower to stay the night.”
“Lucky me,” said Hal. He finished his food, and Syler dutifully hauled his dishes off to another part of the tower.
He couldn’t think of much else to do other than to try to get some sleep. In the morning, he’d head back to Meldence, meet up with Laurel, and hopefully begin preparations for returning to the homestead.
***
Hal had only been asleep for a short time when the door to his tiny, dark chamber cracked open. Light from the outer chamber trickled in, along with a warm draft. A feminine figure slipped into the room, shutting the door firmly behind her.
“Halrin?” said Syler. “Are you still awake?”
“…I am now,” muttered Hal. “What is it?”
Harvest Tournament (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 2) Page 19
