Chapter Sixteen - The Tamtan

Adric was at a brisk walk. He had been in his cabin when Garrin came to him and told him they were needed in the Thale’s office right away.

“What for?” Adric had asked.

“I’m not sure, Thale said it was urgent; something about Lorlea,” Garrin said. Adric had grabbed his things and left the cabin at once. They were now making their way down the hall on the fifth floor toward Thale’s office.

“He didn’t want to meet in the conference room?” Adric asked.

“No, it’s just you, me, Verrik, Daea, and King Amos.” Adric felt his stomach do a somersault at the mention of Amos. If the King of Soceria could be bothered to come all this way for this meeting, it must be urgent.

They turned down the familiar hallway and opened the wooden door that led into the steward’s office. They were the last to arrive. Verrik and Amos sat in chairs across from Thale at his desk. Daea stood against the bookcase by the wall to Thale’s right side. Adric and Garrin stood beside him. Adric caught Amos’ eye, who smiled warmly at him as though he were happy to see him.

When they arrived, Thale pulled from a drawer in his desk the treaty he had initially left in the conference room, and he placed it on the desktop.

“I thought we had a few more days to look that over,” Garrin said.

“You won’t be needing them,” Thale told him.

“Have you found a way around her wording? Verrik asked.

“Unfortunately, that’s no longer the issue. I just finished the strangest meeting I have ever been a part of. The wood nymphs came to see me.” At these words, everyone except Amos gasped. “They came to tell me that Narda means to betray us.” At this, Verrik actually rose from his seat in protest.

“That two-faced old…” Verrik started, but Amos silenced him.

“I don’t mean to add to the mounting dislike, but I’m afraid Lady Narda has already betrayed you,” he said. “It seems she has cut a deal with the Rhodhinians. She gets aid and protection from them, and in exchange, she gives you over to them.” Verrik snorted in humor and sat back down.

“I’d like to see her try.”

“She already has tried,” Amos said darkly. “I have a useful contact inside the Lorlean government. The nymphs speak the truth. She means to recreate Shadowsong.”

“Shadowsong?” Verrik asked.

“The Staff of Lorlea,” Amos clarified.

“Oh yes, sorry.”

“That still exists?” Garrin asked.

“Yes. It’s quite broken, but yes.”

“And why would Seevus help her to rebuild the Staff of Lorlea?” Verrik asked.

“Believe me, Seevus has no interest in strengthening Lorlea. I think our best guess lies inside Gnostgate.” Silence followed Amos’ words. It was a moment before Thale spoke.

“Gnostgate? You mean the old city across the Rhodhinian border?”

“That’s the one,” Amos said, flatly.

“But…” Verrik fumbled for words. “But, Gnostgate is one of the most heavily guarded areas of Rhodhinia. We would never get in.”

“I can get in,” Amos said easily. More silence followed his words.

“No. No way. With all due respect, I know you have great abilities, but you could no more get into Gnostgate than you could take this stone from my hands without my knowledge.” As soon as Verrik had said the words, the stone seemingly vanished and reappeared in an instant in Amos’ outstretched hand. Verrik stared in disbelief.

“Do not test me,” Amos said. “These are desperate times. We have to know what Rhodhinia is doing. I can get into Gnostgate.”

“Well, we all know you don’t need clearance from us to do anything. I only ask that you share what you find,” Thale said.

“There will be no need for me to share what I find. I plan to bring Adric with me. That is why I am here.” For a moment, everyone in the room was looking over at Adric who did not know what to say.

“Alright. Adric, I want you to go with Amos as soon as he is ready to depart. Verrik, I want you to start rousing the army. Get them into shape, check the weaponry, the armory, make sure everything is ready to go in a moment’s notice. I fear hard times are ahead. Daea, Garrin, I have a special mission for you two. I want the two of you to make way for Alderhaven. Garrin, you spoke to me recently of wanting a military leadership role. This is your chance.”

“Thank you, Lord Thale,” Garrin nodded.

“Elric and his team were picked up by the wood nymphs. I sent special instructions to them and I want you to stay in Alderhaven and wait for further instruction. Is that understood?” Daea gulped but looked directly into Thale’s eyes. Garrin nodded.

“Meet me in the entrance hall first thing in the morning. We will ride together,” Amos said to Adric before rising from his seat and making for the door.

“You’re dismissed,” Thale said to them all. They rose and left the room. Adric made his way back to his cabin. Garrin had gone the other direction to prepare for his mission. Adric found himself wishing Garrin did not have to go. He enjoyed Garrin’s company.

He left the meeting with a lot to think about. He had the whisper stone. It would be easy to send Gaden a message to let him know that Garrin and Daea would be making their way toward them. But it was the issue of Gnostgate that had his mind most occupied. He was reasonably sure he had read of Gnostgate in his book, but he couldn’t remember anything about it. No doubt Amos could have told him, but he didn’t wish to bring it up in the meeting. He was anxious to get back to the book and look it up.

Soon, he reached his door and he entered, locking it behind him. He walked through the kitchen and into the bedroom where he stored the book along with many other things from his house. The old book was inside a box and hadn’t been opened for several weeks. He withdrew it from the box and went to sit down and read — something he had neglected to do for far too long.

Adric opened the book and turned gently to the most logical page, titled, The Staff of Rhodhinia. He scanned each page slowly, turning them with care. He went over each of them multiple times, but nowhere did he find any mention of Gnostgate. Frustrated, he sat back in his seat to think, wondering if he perhaps read about it in another book, he went back to his closet. He ran his finger along the spines of the books in a box. He stopped when his eyes saw a book title that was written in the ancient Rhodhinian language.

Suddenly curious, he pulled it from the box and went back to his chair. He had almost forgotten about this book. He sat back and skimmed through its pages. Nothing likely came to him. The entire book was written in ancient Rhodhinian. Most of it he could decipher, but certain phrases left him stymied. Still, there was no overt mention of Gnostgate.

He sighed heavily and rested his head in the palms of his hands, wondering why he had such a vivid recollection of the term Gnostgate but couldn’t find any trace of it in his research. Thinking he would soon find out everything he wanted to know about Gnostgate, he put the books aside and began to gather his things.

He took his grandfather’s sword from its case and placed it along with his pack. It would take them at least two days to make the journey to Rhodhinia, so he packed well, and then he tried to get some rest, knowing it would be several days before he was back in his own bed.

The next morning’s sun was as bright as ever. It beamed down onto his face, warming him. Adric walked to the stables and found Ylandyr near the end of the row, her head protruding from the stable door.

“Good morning,” he said to her. She snorted as he placed his hand against her cheek. He opened the stable door and began to prepare her for the trip.

“There you are.” Adric looked up. Amos’ voice rang from some distance, and he walked toward Adric.

“So, Gnostgate,” Adric said. “You can really get in?” He asked.

“We can get in.” Amos nodded. “Although we might not be uncontested.” Adric wasn’t sure how much he liked that thought. “But we will definitely get in.”

“What makes you so sure?” Adric asked.

“You will be with me,” Amos said. He either was not aware, or just did not care about his arrogance regarding the matter. Adric must not have looked convinced, because Amos continued, “Nothing is going to stop me getting into that cave.”

“Did my grandfather know about Gnostgate?” He asked. They had just mounted their horses and set off toward Rhodhinia.

“Oh, yes. We made several trips to Gnostgate when he was still alive.”

“It sounds so familiar, but I couldn’t find it in the book last night. I looked all through the Rhodhinian pages, but I couldn’t find it anywhere in there.”

“You wouldn’t find it in there. Gnostgate was added after he wrote the section about the Staff of Rhodhinia. You should have checked under Necraphym.” The spark of an idea clicked inside Adric’s mind. He made a mental note to check the book when they stopped.

They pressed on in silence for some time. They tried to wait as long as possible to stop for rest because they needed to make excellent time and get to the Rhodhinian border as quickly as possible. Even so, the horses did need water, so they stopped by the edge of Meromar Lake, and Amos pulled out a pack of his own. He rummaged inside and pulled out something lumpy wrapped in brown paper. Inside, were what appeared to be lumps of cake.

“Here,” Amos said, handing half of it to Adric. “It’s sponge bread from Alderhaven, made by the wood nymphs.” Adric took it and pinched off a small bite. It was surprisingly tasty. He hadn’t expected so much flavor from something that appeared so bland and tough on the outside. Adric ate his fill and wrapped the rest. He put it back in his own pack and then began gathering small branches for a fire. He piled them strategically in the center of their small camp and then Amos stopped him.

“Here, this is quicker,” he said, and he ignited the branches with his staff. They burned warm. The night air was cold against his arms. The fire felt wonderful to him. He made himself comfortable and pulled out the book he had been reading the night before. He flipped over to a page labeled, Necraphym.

“What are the necraphym?” He asked. Amos’ face went cold.

“They are terrible beasts. They were created. They go around destroying all that gets in their path. They seek the stones. It is their wish to create more of them. They want this world for their own. They see human life as insignificant to their own existence.”

“Who created them? Seevus?”

“No, not Seevus. Although he presently controls them.”

“But, who?” Adric pressed. Amos looked down at the ground. It was suddenly very quiet in their camp. The fire seemed to be crackling more distinctly in the silence. Adric could hear the trees swaying in the wind.

“I created them,” Amos said lowly.

“You, but, why?” Adric was in disbelief. He had always thought Amos to be a man of pure heart. He may be cryptic at times, even a little intimidating, but never evil.

“Yes, I created them. I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought if I created something as powerful as the necraphym, that they would help us to defeat King Seevus. I was wrong. Just as I was wrong to aid Rhodhinia in its attempts to refine the sapphire, just as I was wrong to create the Staff of Soceria, I was wrong to create the necraphym. What business did I have in creating a being of such power?” He went quiet for a few moments. Adric felt quite awkward now. He had obviously struck a sensitive nerve with Amos, yet Amos was honest and forthright about it.

“The necraphym soon realized I had no real power over them. I could threaten them, I could bark orders, but ultimately, I had no real power to stop them from doing what they wanted to do. And so, they did. They left Soceria and soon found King Seevus. He was the one they wanted to see. Someone whose mind was corrupted by the evils of the stones. Someone they could easily manipulate. Seevus believes they are under his control, but he is wrong. He is too blinded by his own desire for power, both physically, and by the authority to realize that he is being controlled by them. They are playing a smart game, the necraphym. They give him what he wants, and he continues to do as they ask.”

“Why are you telling me these things? You could have easily kept them from me.” Amos looked up at him. He stared forcibly into Adric’s eyes.

“I told you from the beginning. Your grandfather was the wisest man I ever knew. He was the only other person who ever knew the truth of the necraphym. I asked him to keep it to himself, and he did. I am the cause of his death. He was spending his own time trying to work out how to destroy the beasts. That’s why Gnostgate is in your book. I tell you these things because you are so much like him. You are so innocent, so wise. I need your help to right these wrongs. The world cannot suffer for what I have done.” Amos reached over and took the book from Adric. He turned to a particular page and handed it back to him. Adric took it and looked down at the book. And there it was. The page he had been looking for the night before. The page Amos had turned to was mostly blank. There was only one word written in large letters across the center of the page.

Gnostgate.

Beneath the word was a symbol he had seen before, he recognized it merely because he had seen it, but he did not know what the symbol represented. A triangle was scratched into the page underneath the word Gnostgate. At each corner of the triangle, a circle had been drawn, and in the very center of the triangle, another circle. Archaic symbols had been drawn inside each of the circles. Adric wasn’t sure he recognized them. He had never seen these glyphs before. As though Amos had read his mind, he leaned over the book and placed his forefinger on the glyph at the far left corner on the bottom of the triangle.

“Rhodhinia,” he said and slid his finger across the symbol to the glyph at the bottom right.

“Lorlea,” he drew another line to the top-most corner of the triangle.

“Alldel,” he said, and then finally, pointed his finger at the glyph in the center of the triangle.

“Soceria,” he said with finality. He withdrew his hand from the book.

“I have never seen these images before,” he said.

“No, I don’t expect you have. This is a tamtan. It is an ancient Socerian glyph that was created by magic. With encouragement from the Staff of Alldel, it will unlock all of the experiences and knowledge from your grandfather. This language hasn’t been used officially for several millennia. It is dangerous. I tried to convince Wystan not to use it. But he insisted it was the only way. The only ones who still use it work in the depths of our halls of alchemy.”

“Armon Drael,” Adric whispered to himself.

“Exactly.”

“But that means, you…” Amos nodded.

“I wrote this page, yes. This page contains secrets that can be revealed only by the light of the ruby that rests inside the Staff of Alldel. You need the information contained inside this page. Without it, we have no hope of defeating Rhodhinia.” And then it all came home to Adric.

“Are you telling me you know where to find the Staff of Alldel?” Adric asked. Amos sat still for what seemed an age to Adric. And then he nodded.

“Did you never wonder why, in nearly six hundred years, not one of Wystan’s descendants assumed the throne?”

“I suppose the thought had occurred to me from time-to-time,” Adric said. Amos tapped the tamtan with his finger again.

“Old magic. Very old magic kept the line of stewards in power until the right man was ready. Until the time was right for the king to return,” Amos said it quietly, somberly, and slowly.

“You mean…” Adric started, but couldn’t finish.

“You, dear man. You,” Amos said, and pointed at Adric. Adric’s heart skipped.

“Why me? Aside from my bloodline, why me?”

“It isn’t just because it’s you, although you are a worthy candidate to be sure. Forgive me, I don’t mean to insult you. Rhodhinia is growing more active again. The necraphym are pushing him to complete his objective. The Staff of Alldel, Dawnwood, can only be risen by the hand of the king. It is time for the king to return. It is time for the Dawnwood to rise again. The Staff of Alldel rests safely under my spell in Gnostgate by order of King Wystan. I took it from your grandfather’s hands the night he died. I knew what powers it possessed. I knew what secrets it held. And I knew I would have to wait for a suitable king to rise from his bloodline before it could be wielded again. Under Wystan’s instruction, I put a spell on it to keep it hidden from anyone who came seeking it. That is why we must go to Gnostgate. It is time to reawaken the Staff of Alldel. It is time for the line of stewards to end, and the line of kings to reign over Alldel once more.”