by Pedro Urvi
“They’re chained and padlocked,” Valeria pointed out.
Nilsa raised one eyebrow. “Couldn’t we have saved ourselves the trouble of stealing the keys from the Grand Master and just used the picklocks on this door?”
“I’m afraid not. Neither you nor I are good enough to open these padlocks with just a picklock. I don’t even think you can, that way. You’d need something more advanced.”
“Where’s the numskull when you need him?” Nilsa grumbled.
“I’m sure he’ll be very busy at the moment,” Egil said with a smile.
“Yeah … I don’t even want to start thinking of all the trouble he’ll have got himself into.”
“Dragging Ingrid and Lasgol along with him,” Egil added. He shrugged. “Besides, we need the keys to the Library door.”
“We’d better concentrate on what we have at hand,” Valeria said. “We haven’t got all night. The sun’ll be up soon.” She was looking down the corridor with her hands on her weapons.
Egil nodded and set about trying keys in the lock. The first five attempts failed.
“Honestly, he couldn’t have had more keys, that Master,” Nilsa grumbled.
“You’re very tense,” Valeria said. “More so than usual.”
“It’s this place …. I don’t like being underground, it makes me nervous.”
“You always are.”
“More than just nervous, it makes me afraid.”
Valeria looked at her with interest. “Oh … because of being under the ground?”
“Yes … and it happens to me in enclosed spaces … I start to feel ill …”
Valeria grasped her hand helpfully. “Take a deep breath.”
“I’ve got it!” said Egil at last.
With a hollow sound, the great lock sprang open. Egil removed the chain and opened the door.
“At last,” he said, and went in.
Chapter 37
Egil went into the room and looked inside, illuminating it with the light of the oil lamp as he did so.
Nilsa came in after him, Ranger’s knife and axe in her hands. “Is there anyone here?”
“No, nobody,” Egil said to reassure her.
Valeria came in holding her weapons. “Clear,” she said, and they closed the door behind them.
Nilsa gasped at the mass of books, tomes and scrolls scattered everywhere: on shelves, against the walls, on tables, piled on the floor itself …
“They certainly like their books, you can’t deny that,” Valeria said. She flipped her hair to one side and picked up a large tome which was lying on a table. “History of the Kingdom of Rogdon, by Albert Espigos’,” she read aloud.
“This one’s a lot more interesting,” Nilsa said. “Evolution of the Nocean Empire in the last hundred years, by Mohamed Alsuf’.”
“Don’t be like that,” Egil reproached them. “There are great tomes of knowledge here. They’re a real treasure.” He was moving from one table to the next, looking at the books on them.
“There are hundreds of books in this great chamber alone,” Nilsa said, impressed.
“I’d say there are about a thousand,” said Valeria, who had made a quick calculation, counting very rapidly with her fingers.
Egil went on checking the books. He had now turned to those on the wall-shelves. “It’s amazing, all the knowledge in here. I’d give anything to have access to all these tomes of learning!”
“When you retire here, we’ll lock you up in one of these underground chambers,” Nilsa said with a giggle.
“What area of knowledge would you choose?” Valeria asked him.
“I wouldn’t know which to choose, I’m interested in all of them … history, war, arcane studies, races and languages, science, healing … there are so many …”
“Well, in that case, you’d better make friends with some goddess so she can reincarnate you over and over as a library mouse,” Nilsa said. She pointed to a little mouse running beside the wall.
“Better as a library cat,” Valeria said. “You’ll have a better and longer life in each reincarnation.”
“Reincarnation is a concept I haven’t studied yet, but I’d like to analyze that as well.”
Nilsa smiled sarcastically at him. “I think that even if you were to live ten lives, you wouldn’t have time to study everything you’d like to.”
“Very probably,” Egil agreed. He was still searching among the books.
“If you tell us what you’re looking for, we’ll try to help,” Valeria suggested.
“Oh, of course. Forgive me. I saw all these books, and …”
“And it went to your head, as always,” Nilsa added with a laugh.
“I can’t help it.” He shrugged and smiled. “We’re looking for a special book entitled Achievements, feats and epic history of the Kings of Erenal, by Quinos Octavos.”
“Why are we looking for a history book?” Valeria asked with a frown. “I thought we were looking for a book with the cure in it, a book about healing.”
“Because the illness that afflicts Dolbarar afflicted King Leonidas Inversmal of Erenal, and my hope is that it mentions what illness it is. From there we can get hold of the cure.”
“That’s a lot to expect,” Nilsa said unsurely.
“We have to keep our hopes up and follow the trail to the end. You never know what you might find out.”
“While we’re looking,” Valeria asked him, “how did you find out that Leonidas had already suffered an illness like it?”
“I’ve been investigating the illness ever since Dolbarar fell ill,” Egil explained as he went on searching among the books, “and I realized that all Edwina’s and Eyra’s efforts were doing nothing for him. I’ve written to all the eminences and Erudites of the leading kingdoms of Tremia. They’ve replied with different illnesses and ailments and different hypotheses about the cause. One by one I eliminated them. That’s what you have to do when you don’t get an exact answer, which unfortunately is the case we’re confronted with.”
Nilsa blew on a tome covered in dust. “That makes sense, to make sure that the answers aren’t the right ones.”
“When I was about to lose hope,” Egil went on, “a letter arrived from here, from the Library of Bintantium. It was from Persis, a Librarian of the Knowledge of History. He told me that similar symptoms had been encountered in the illness that attacked King Leonidas Inversmal.”
“Oh, really? And why haven’t we spoken to this Persis?”
“Because he’s been forbidden to speak to me.”
“Why?” Valeria asked. She was chasing after two grey mice, stamping her foot without managing to catch them.
“Because his superior Rubulus, the Master Archivist of Historical Knowledge, forbade him to.”
“Confidential information,” said Nilsa.
“Exactly. When Rubulus found out that Persis was writing to me and what we were talking about, he forbade him to give me any more information. The matter’s considered private and Royal, so it can’t be divulged.”
“Wow …” said Valeria.
“Luckily he’d mentioned the tome and the patient’s name.” Egil smiled. “Equipped with that, I had enough to embark on this expedition.”
“And what happens if we don’t find the tome?” Valeria asked.
“Don’t say that, it’s a bad omen,” Nilsa reproached her as she ran her fingers along the books on a shelf, reading the titles as she did so.
“In that case I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until the Master Archivist comes here, to his place of study, and then we’ll get it out of him …” There was a dangerous gleam in Egil’s eyes as he said this.
“Have you brought your little friends?” Nilsa asked. She looked disgusted.
Egil smiled. “They’re in their pouches, hanging from my belt.” He pointed to his side.
“You really have some pretty sinister hobbies,” Nilsa said reproachfully.
Valeria shuddered. “Those vermin are horrible.”
Egil shrugged, quite unmoved by this. “Of course they’re horrible. That’s why I carry them with me. Their function is to be feared. They’re assassins of men.”
Valeria shuddered again.
“Well,” said Nilsa, “I hope we find the tome and that there’s no need to bring out your little friends. I don’t even want to see them.”
They went on searching for a long time, but without luck. There were so many books that they divided the room into three parts, and each searched one of them. The problem was that they would not have time to check everything before dawn, and if the scholars began to arrive they would be in serious trouble. They continued without a break.
“Hmm … I don’t think it’s here,” Egil said suddenly.
“Why d’you say that?” Nilsa asked.
“All these tomes are very valuable … but they’re not the most valuable ones.”
“I don’t follow you,” Valeria said.
“Well, you see… the most precious tomes are missing. It’s like a royal treasure, but without the crown jewels.”
“And where are those jewels?” asked Valeria.
Egil was scratching his forehead in concentration. “In another place, a safer one, somewhere more protected.”
The two girls stared at him. “But where?” Nilsa said.
“Yeah, where?” Valeria echoed her.
Suddenly the door opened. “I hid the guards,” said Gerd’s head, appearing from behind the door, “but you’d better hurry, it’ll soon be dawn.”
Nilsa, who was not expecting him, had the shock of her life. She gave a jump and tripped over a pile of books on the floor, was carried against the far end wall and hit the stone between two shelves full of books.
There was a crack.
“Nilsa! Are you all right?” Gerd asked her, greatly concerned.
“Did you crack your head open?” Valeria asked Nilsa, looking very concerned.
“It wasn’t me,” Nilsa reassured her. She waved to them with one hand. The other had vanished inside the wall, where a rock had slid inwards under the impact.
“It wasn’t?” Egil was staring at her wondering what had made that noise.
“Look!” Nilsa said. She pushed the wall behind her, and it slid to one side as if it were a stone door. As it did so there came a sound of rock grating against rock.
“By the Gods of Ice!” cried Gerd.
Egil smiled. “A secret door in a stone wall.”
“All credit to the Librarians of Historical Knowledge,” Valeria said, sounding impressed.
“We’ve got to go in,” Egil said with a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
“Is this where we’re going to find what we’re looking for?” Valeria asked.
“I’m sure it is!” Nilsa said excitedly.
“Just in case, be on the alert,” Egil warned them.
They glanced at one another and got ready to go in.
Chapter 38
Egil brought his lamp close to the secret door.
“Can you see any danger?” Nilsa asked in a whisper beside him.
“No, it all looks quiet.”
This chamber was smaller. Against the four walls were elegant shelves in gold and silver and hermetically-sealed glass cabinets. Inside these were well-cared-for tomes. Several work-tables in elaborately carved oak, together with a lecture pulpit, filled the rest of the secret chamber.
“I have the feeling this is where we’re going to find the book,” said Egil.
“Then let’s get a move on,” Gerd said impatiently.
“Handle the books with the greatest care!” Egil warned them.
“As ever, right?” Nilsa joked as she rubbed her forehead where an impressive lump was taking shape.
“Of course. You should always handle books with the greatest respect and care.”
“Take it easy, we will,” the redhead reassured him as she turned over an extremely ancient tome with the greatest care.
“Well, if they’re as rare and valuable as that, they seem to be pretty common here,” Gerd protested. Clearly he wished there were not so many of them.
“These Librarians certainly love their books,” Valeria commented sarcastically as she checked a shelf.
Egil opened the doors of the central glass cabinet, and inside it he saw three large tomes, ancient and precious. The first was called Compendium of the Secret History of Erenal, by Eduard Maximo. It was not the one he wanted. With extreme care he put it back in its place and picked up the second. This weighed so much that he had to prop it on his arm while he read the title: Summary of the Important Historic Feats of Tremia by Cesar Decamos. This was not the one he was looking for either. He did not allow himself to lose heart. It was somewhere here in this chamber, and he was going to find it. He examined the third, and smiled from ear to ear.
“I’ve got it! I found it!” he cried joyfully.
“At last!” said Gerd with enormous relief.
“Find the information, quickly!” Nilsa said impatiently.
Egil took the book to the lectern and propped it up gently, opened the precious tome in the middle and began to turn the pages very carefully.
“Have you found it?” Nilsa asked him. She was very nervous.
“Let him get on with it in peace,” Valeria said. She was beginning to be affected by her comrade’s nerves.
Egil was reading avidly as he turned the pages. Suddenly he turned several at once, as if he already knew where he needed to look. His gaze grew more intent, and he brought the lamp closer to see better. He had been avoiding doing this for fear of damaging the book with either the oil or the flame.
“I’ll hold it for you.” Valeria offered.
Nilsa’s gesture suggested that she herself might not be the best person to do this. Egil handed the oil lamp to Valeria, who carefully avoided allowing their own shadows to fall on the book.
“Here it is!” he cried at last. He read aloud: “‘The opinion of the renowned Head Surgeon of King Leonidas Inversmal, Aderen Morstan, was that the illness which afflicted the monarch was undoubtedly a self-inflicted one. A putrefaction of the blood from a natural cause generated by the body of the King himself. No doubt because of this, every time His Majesty managed to recover a little under the intensive care of the royal surgeons and healers, the illness struck again and the monarch relapsed. The illness, although very rare, had occurred in the past in both Rogdon and the Nocean Empire, where its existence was known, and also in the large city-states of the far east. The Master Archivists had found proof of this in their studies.
“‘Since the ailment had been treated by Healers of the Order of Tirsar in Rogdon and by a famous healer in the Empire, Ahamad Salusiaman, they were summoned to help. The urgency of the case and the importance of the patient were impressed on them, without revealing who he really was. The Healers of Tirsar attended out of a sense of duty, and the Healer from the deserts for the gold offered. Other healers of the East were also invited, but did not arrive in time to offer their services. The Healer of Tirsar who examined the King stated that this was the same illness of the blood which she had seen in patients from two related noble families in Rogdon. The illness was known as Putrefaction of the Blood, and in her experience it had no cure, The Healers were able to palliate the adverse effects and prolong the patient’s life a far as they could. But they could not heal the root of the illness, with the result that the patient eventually died in spite of all their efforts.’”
“Wow … that’s very bad news,” Nilsa said unhappily.
“It fits in with what’s happened to Dolbarar, and all those fruitless efforts of Edwina’s,” Gerd said. He too sounded downcast.
Egil went on: “‘Nevertheless, after analyzing Leonidas, the famous healer of the lands of the south Ahamad Salusiaman established that although the symptoms, as well as the manner in which the illness was attacking the King’s body, pointed to Putrefaction of the Blood, in fact that was not what it was.’”
“I k
new it!” Valeria said, smiling.
Nilsa could barely stay still. “It wasn’t the illness?”
“What was it, then?” Gerd asked. “The Healers are never wrong,” he added in surprise.
Egil went on reading: “‘He asked for a little more time to study the case, and this was granted, even though both the royal surgeons and the healers thought that the Desert Healer was wrong. Unfortunately, since his Majesty did not improve, there was no choice but to grant the healer’s request, since there was nothing else they could do and he offered the last chance left to them. A week later Ahamad Salusiaman finished his study, and his conclusion shocked everybody. In fact, it was not Putrefaction of the Blood at all, but a poisoning which presented the same symptoms. Someone was poisoning the King, and disguising it as the rare illness.’”
Nilsa clapped her hands to her mouth. “Now that’s something I didn’t expect!”
Valeria’s eyes were wide with amazement. “Nor did I, and now things start to get really interesting.”
“Poisoning? I don’t know …” Gerd said, frowning and wrinkling his nose.
“Go on, Egil, go on,” Nilsa urged him, almost beside herself.
“‘The King’s surgeons and the healers rejected this diagnosis, since had there been any poisoning, they would have noticed. Ahamad Salusiaman did not oppose them, but he proposed to Aderen Morstan, the King’s Head Surgeon, that Leonidas should be isolated for three weeks and that only he personally should attend on him, taking sole charge of the administration of all food, water and medicines. Nobody else would be permitted to do it.’”
“Clever guy, that Ahamad,” Nilsa said.
Valeria raised an eyebrow. “Interesting plan …”
Egil went on: “‘Finally, and after much debate, controversy and hesitation, Aderen Morstan yielded, as the King was not improving and he had little time left to live. A desperate situation required desperate measures. For three weeks Aderen Morstan cared for the King in complete isolation, and to everybody’s surprise, the monarch’s condition improved. Three months later the illness had completely vanished from his body, and he made a full recovery. King Leonidas Inversmal thanked Ahamad Salusiaman for his intervention and gave him many presents, besides paying him an exorbitant amount of gold for his services.’”
