They all stood staring in for some time when Raven said, “It looks as if we are to enter here. Perhaps the back will open so we can go through once we are close enough.”
All four of them entered the small room and after they moved away from the door, it closed. So quickly did this happen and unexpectedly that Andrew panicked and rushed for the closed door. As he was about to place his hands on it, the door opened, once again revealing the room they had just come from. At this, Andrew calmed down and stepped back away from the door and it closed once again. Andrew was not the only one who had felt rising panic when the door closed so suddenly. They all felt like caged animals caught for a moment. Everyone was now more relaxed seeing they could leave whenever they wanted.
Raven was just as surprised, but less tense than the others, believing in his heart and telling the others that the ancients intended them no harm, to expect strange things maybe, but not dangerous things from them. They looked around the small lighted room and saw nothing except a strange panel. Raven looked at this and saw that the same inversion of his family crest was present, along with the other four dukes’ rings as well. Now with confidence, he placed his ring in the slot and pushed. But to his disappointment, nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. Raven turned to Andrew and asked him to try his ring with the Brickens’ crest on it. Andrew found the appropriate slot, placed his ring in and pushed. But nothing happened with his ring either.
“I do not understand,” Raven said. “The ring should open the door or do something like it did in the cavern at Happiness Creek.”
They were all getting a little claustrophobic in the small room when Lorriel spoke, “What if it takes more rings for it to work? Remember there was only one slot on the chest, but there are five here.”
Raven thought of what Lorriel said and it made sense, but now his hopes were dashed because he had no idea where the other three rings had disappeared to over the years. It had only been by foresight that the aging Brickens' king had put his back in the weapons’ room for Raven to find and give to Andrew.
Andrew spoke to Raven and suggested, “Why do not we try both of our rings at once? It would not hurt to try.”
Raven nodded. They both came forward and began to place their rings in the correct slot. At the moment the second ring made contact in the slot with the first present, there was a mechanical sound and then there was a jolt in the room. Their stomachs sank as a funny feeling came over them. It took a moment for all of them to realize that they were moving. They had not expected this but had looked for a second door to open somewhere.
A panic rushed over them and Lorriel began to cry out. Rebekka was gripping Raven and Andrew made a mad rush at the door. Only this time it did not open as before.
Raven, feeling panic himself but seeing it was greater in the others, shouted authoritatively for them to all calm down and then when he had their attention, he spoke, “We are going somewhere in this moving room and we should just relax and wait for it to take us there. Please do not panic. I warned you the ancients would have different things than we have experienced but they will not hurt us.”
Rebekka leaned on Raven harder and whispered to him, “I feel kind of ill.”
Shortly after she said this to Raven, they could feel the room slowing and coming to a stop. After it became motionless, Andrew once again started for the door and it opened, but not to anything they had imagined.
There was full sunshine filling the small room which told them the door opened to the outside. As they emerged, all their mouths fell open in astonishment at the sight that lay before them. They all grasped the fact that they were at the top of Brickens' Falls but that was not the fact that caused such astonishment in each of them. They stood on a beautiful marble pathway that wound its way along the head waters of the Halfstaff River that flowed in a sort of mini valley or small plateau. It was the most beautiful spot any of them had ever seen, not because of the quaint tiny valley they were in or the gorgeous mountains surrounding it, but because of something else. There were colored flowers everywhere and trees of all varieties, not randomly placed but in carefully selected plots and designs. This tiny valley was the most beautifully manicured garden a mortal could lay eyes on.
None of them moved for the longest time. They just stared and absorbed the surroundings. Somehow things had been so well placed, it eased the tension from their minds and bodies. They just felt grateful to even glimpse a place such as this for a fleeting moment as in a dream when one would almost cry upon awakening, realizing it would soon fade and lose its impact on the soul. Only this was no dream.
Raven cleared his throat and the others looked at him, now shaken from their trance. He pointed down the path and they all, without saying anything, began to walk slowly ahead. They passed daffodils, tulips, roses and irises of every imaginable color. Shrubs pruned and groomed into different shapes gave definitions to the landscape around the path. As they traveled down this path, several small paths took off to the right and left to other parts of the garden with benches and fountains here and there. One small path was seen going to the right and over an arched footbridge that crossed the Halfstaff to the other side, winding its way in the trees and disappearing. There were nut trees and fruit trees scattered in this wondrous garden and some that Raven did not even recognize, all placed with wonderful purpose. Walking farther on, they came to a small rise, almost a hill that blocked off the view ahead. And as they topped over, Raven was looking to his left when Rebekka began tugging on his arm frantically. When he looked over at her, she was pointing straight ahead. Raven followed the direction she pointed and could not believe his eyes once again. Down the path in front of them was a mansion of glass, almost as large as Crestlaw Castle. The front and the entrance were of stone and other materials, but the rest that could be seen sparkled and shimmered in the mid morning light.
Raven again broke the silence and awe by saying, “Let us go, for this is why we came, to find the wisdom of the ancients.”
Forward they walked until they came to the entry of the incredible structure. Raven’s heart was beating rapidly as they all faced the large double doors that provided entry. Raven reached out, took hold of the handles and pulled. The doors opened easily and silently and all four entered.
They stood in a large room and the doors silently closed behind them. Although the beauty of the room would later be absorbed by them, the thing that caught their attention was a figure in the middle of the room who had its back to them.
Whether it was a statue or alive they could not tell until it slowly turned and greeted them thus, “Welcome, son of Kallestor and son of Brickens.”
The form was that of an old man with white hair and long beard. The shock of seeing anyone here froze them all with their mouths open and eyes staring in disbelief. Raven recovered first and in a flash had the ancient sword out and before them.
Now the figure spoke again, “Please, son of Kallestor, put away your sword for I mean you no harm. If you strike me, you may break the sword or gravely injure me.”
Raven felt tugging on his arm and heard the voice of Rebekka, “It is all right, Raven. Remember you said the ancients would never harm us, and he is here so he must be connected to them somehow.”
Raven nodded and slowly put his sword away. Besides, the man was old and really did not look very threatening at all, almost like a grandfather.
Raven finally found his voice once again and spoke, “We did not expect to see anyone here in this place because so much time has passed since the time of the ancients.
The old man spoke calmly once again to them, “I should introduce myself. I am the Keeper of Wisdom, but you may call me Andronicus.”
Raven now recalled what they had read in the cavern at Happiness Creek, how the Keeper of the Wisdom was here. But that was written over a thousand years before, so how could he still be here?
Andrew, who had a puzzled expression on his face, now spoke, “Why di
d you call me the son of Brickens? I am a Crestlaw.”
“Yes,” Andronicus said, “that would make sense. You bear the crest of the Brickens and had to use the Brickens’ ring to get here. I knew which crests were used before you arrived, so I assumed it was a Brickens that bore the crest.”
“There are no more Brickens,” Andrew said sadly. “Their family line ceased over four hundred years ago.”
“Yes,” Andronicus again nodded, “I know. I saw the Kallestors move into the king’s castle and your family move into the Kallestor’s, but the Brickens' line is not extinct, just the name. You have Brickens' blood in you; I can see it.”
At this Andrew was stunned. “Yes,” he confirmed, “several Brickens women have married into our family over the centuries before the kingly line ended.”
Lorriel now stepped a pace forward and asked a very pointed question. “How could you see the change in kingly line? That was over four hundred years ago. You could not have been alive then.”
“I was,” Andronicus stated. “I have been here from the beginning, keeping this place, waiting for over a thousand years. And you, Lorriel, Raven, Rebekka, and Andrew, are the first to find your way here in all that time.”
It was Rebekka’s turn to speak and she asked in her flawless logic, “How do you know our names? And if you are as old as you say, why do you not speak to us in the tongue of the ancients?”
“I couldest speaketh thus to thou,” Andronicus stated, but smiling, he went back to the modern dialect. “Your questions are connected. When you entered the cavern by Happiness Creek, I was alerted. There are ways for me to see and hear what goes on in that place. I learned your names, and I heard the change in speech and have adjusted mine to match the change that has taken place with time. I know the answers I give you lead to more questions. That was why I have been left here by the ancients, as you call them, to answer any questions their descendants would have when they finally found this place. Now let me cut to the very heart of this matter. I do not age like you because I am a machine, built by the ancients to keep this place. I grow old much, much slower, but some day even I will cease to function. My bones are made of the same metal your sword is made of. Come here and I will show you.”
They all hesitated, but yielded as he beckoned gently to them. When they were close enough to see, he held out his wrist and opened a panel in his skin, showing them the moving parts within. It was almost too wondrous to comprehend, but they now understood he was not flesh and bone as they were.
“You sent the dreams, did you not?” Lorriel asked.
“Yes, it was I who sent the dreams to you,” Andronicus affirmed. “Too much time has gone by with no one ever coming here. It is time for a select few to know what is here and why. When you found the cavern at Happiness Creek, I expected you to come soon to this place. But when you delayed, I sent the dreams because I feared you decided otherwise. But come, I have prepared food and refreshment for you. Please follow me.”
As Andronicus turned to lead the way, Raven said, “Wait. We have a sense of urgency in coming here.”
“Yes,” said Andronicus, “I know that as well, the plague in the northeast corner of the kingdom. It is most likely the result of poisoning or contamination of the water supply. We shall take care of that after refreshment. Come.”
They went with him then to another room filled with wonderful colors, fresh cut flowers and a wonderful table filled with food. As they circled the table, he motioned for them to sit, and he sat at the end where there was no drink or food. They all sat down and still hesitated.
Finally Lorriel started to reach for some fruit, but Andrew grabbed her hand stopping her and stood up, “I see you do not eat. Is it because the food is poisoned?”
Andronicus said unemotionally, “I am a machine, remember. I do not eat as you have need of, so please be my guest.”
Andrew sat back down and Lorriel continued as she was about to do before Andrew had stopped her. They all began to eat and what a feast it was. There were various fruits and nuts prepared in different ways, fowl and fish, potatoes and vegetables, all cooked to perfection with seasonings and sauces that were far beyond anything any of them had ever tasted.
“Tell me,” Rebekka asked, “how is it that you do not need food but have all this in store for us when we arrive?”
Andronicus looked deeply into Rebekka’s eyes and spoke to her mind, “The ancients created this place to have food ready when their ancestors would arrive.”
“And how have you kept it so fresh?” Rebekka asked.
As she waited for Andronicus’ answer, she realized everyone else had stopped eating and was staring at her.
She looked at Raven and said, “What is it? Why are you staring at me?”
“Because,” Raven stated, “you asked the keeper a question, somehow heard his answer without him speaking and then asked another.”
“He did speak...” Rebekka started to say. Then it dawned on her that he had spoken to her mind. She whirled around and faced the keeper, “How can you talk to someone without using your voice?”
Andronicus now spoke with an audible voice for all to hear, “I will answer your question, but first let me tell you about the food. This place is mainly glass so I can grow vegetables and plants year around, away from the outside cold. Fruit and nuts I have gathered seasonally and keep some fresh for awhile. The others I keep in a place of ice and they stay frozen until they are replaced by the next season’s crop. The fowl I feed and maintain along with fish in a kind of pond in the back of the house. If the fish get too numerous, I release some in the river, and the foul I release in the valley below. Thus I have done for these many years waiting for someone to come.”
“You take care of the valley garden as well?” Lorriel asked.
“Yes, I prune and plant and replace when things grow old and die. It was what I was left here to do and what I will do for many centuries to come,” said Andronicus. “Now about the other question, it is not I who have the ability to speak to minds, but you, Rebekka. The women of the Prescotts possessed this ability long ago, and it has returned in you. I could have spoken to you long before this, but I feared it would frighten you terribly without an explanation. Now I can speak to you and call you to this place, or you can speak to me if a great need arises out of some emergency. I will help you understand this special gift you have, and explain the moral responsibility to use it properly.”
Then looking on the rest he said, “You all have special abilities, each one of you. King Raven, you descend from the Kallestor line of warriors. I watched you in the battle this past fall and have seen the ability with which you fought. In single combat, none could stand against you. But you have something else your forefathers did not have, a heart of love and compassion that draws people to follow you, for you are a true king. And you, Andrew Brickens Crestlaw, you have the best of both the Brickens and Crestlaws. Leadership from the Brickens and the ability to understand and analyze information from the Crestlaws. For this reason, it must be you who will learn what needs to be done to stop the poisoning in the north. After we have finished eating, I will take you to a place in the house where the words of the ancients are kept so you may read and understand what needs to be done.”
With that, the keeper finished talking and just sat there.
As they were finishing eating, Lorriel could stand it no longer, “Keeper,” she said meekly, “you said we all have special abilities but you did not say what mine were.” She called him Keeper because it was hard to pronounce Andronicus.
Andronicus looked at Lorriel and then spoke, “You have the potential for a greater power than anyone here, both for healing and destruction. It is not time for you to know this yet, but some day you will come here again and I will tell you. The reason I withhold this from you now is even I do not know the full potential of your abilities until they manifest themselves. Please trust me, you will know when it is time to speak to me of this again
.”
With that, Andronicus changed the subject and said, “I have one last special treat for you.” He left and soon returned with glass bowls full of something cold and sweet. “This,” the keeper said, “is a frozen dessert made from fruit, milk and honey. The ancients said it was their favorite dessert.”
Indeed, when the four tasted it, their eyes brightened and they all agreed there was nothing that could compare to the pleasure of this cold treat. Afterwards, Andronicus led them to another room that had some books on a shelf. But what he approached were some square boxes on a table, one of which had a glass front.
The keeper pressed a few buttons and the box with glass lit up. A voice spoke to them from the box and said, “Please state your request.”
Andronicus spoke to the box and said. “Please list all forms of poisoning that result from mining that can enter a water source and harm people. Include metals, chemicals, and radiation.”
Words began to appear in the box with the glass front and Andrew began to read. He then turned to Andronicus and asked, “Is there a small person inside this box?”
“No,” the keeper answered, “it is the voice of a machine. This is a computing machine. It stores information or books and will display this information on the glass front of this box. I have programed it to speak and show words that are familiar to your tongue, but if you should encounter a word you do not understand, ask the computing machine to clarify the word for you.”
Andrew nodded and sat down in front of the display screen and began to read.
He noticed right away the list of possible poisonings was too long to do any good, so he turned to Andronicus and asked, “Keeper, can you ask the computing machine to narrow the list down by the symptoms people experience?”
The King's Folly Page 27
