The three warriors continued down the tunnel until they reached a collapsed wall that blocked the passage way. A loose mound of dirt and rocks created natural steps up to a ceiling of the tunnel.
Pacer laughed, “Well, Brother Patrick, can you pass through that wall?”
Smiling, the monk commented, “No, that is the real thing. I would get hurt if I tried to walk through the rocks.”
In a serious tone, Coaldon stated, “I feel the presence of magic. Not the minor energy of an illusion, but something of great power. Can any of you detect what it might be?”
Brother Patrick responded, “Look! There is a door over our heads.
The door was hidden in a recess and difficult to see. Pacer lit his torch to get a closer view of the door.
The door was made of a hard, smooth metal that reflected a bluish tint from the light of the torch. The door had no keyhole or any sign of a lock. Pacer walked up a pile of rocks, examined the door and gave it a hard push with his arms. He then spread his legs apart, bent his knees, took a deep breath and gave a mighty push with his shoulder. The door did not move or bend.
He said, “I wonder why the door will not open? Let’s take a closer look.”
He lifted a burning torch up to the door to look for any evidence of a latch. He noticed a dull flash of light flicking off the symbols inscribed into the hard metal. The script had long, delicate, sweeping marks flowing in a beautiful pattern. Pacer looked closely at the inscriptions, but could not decipher the unusual markings. He invited Brother Patrick to look at the script, but even Brother Patrick with his strong academic background could not translate the script. Without including Coaldon in the dialogue, Brother Patrick and Pacer began to talk to each other about the symbols.
Coaldon ignored the two men, as he crawled up the mound to examine the script. Holding a torch, he turned his head in different angles to gain a better view of the strange markings. As Coaldon’s eyes shifted back and forth over the inscription, he detected a pattern of script he had seen before. Grandma Ingrid had insisted Coaldon learn different elf dialects during his education in Lost Valley. He knew this ancient writing was the foundation for Roseland High Elf Script. The longer Coaldon looked at the pattern, the easier it was for him to translate the script. He was amazed at how the meaning of the ancient script was revealed to him. Coaldon heard about a living language, but had never experienced it. After several minutes, he was satisfied he understood the meaning of the inscription. He looked at Pacer and Patrick saying, “I believe I know the meaning of these inscriptions. I learned this dialect from Grandma Ingrid. If you look carefully at the scrolling pattern, you can see the same shapes as Roseland High Elf. At first, I was confused by the reversed characters and rotating sequence. It made sense once I detected the overall pattern of the symbols. It reads something like this, ‘Blessings to you. In the Book of Time, your arrival has been foretold. You will be the first allowed to pass through this door. You are to retrieve the Scroll of Revelations. The scroll will be a guiding light into the shadows of the future. Only the Grand Advisor to the Elfdom of Talltree will be able to share its words. The door will open at the name of the spirit within the stone.”
Brother Patrick and Pacer listened to Coaldon’s presentation with fascination.
Brother Patrick was the first to speak. “I have heard about the Book of Time. Yet, I have never seen a copy. Is it possible our journey was prophesied centuries ago? I find this difficult to understand.”
Pacer responded, “I agree with you, but I do not want to speculate about walking in parallel paths of reality. My mind cannot comprehend such a mystery. I am only interested in knowing more about the scroll inside the room. It sounds as if we will need Starhood to interpret the scroll. It must be our responsibility to rescue the scroll from the room.”
Coaldon followed, “I wonder what the inscription means, ‘The door will be opened at the name of the spirit within the stone?’ What stone and what name is the message talking about?”
Pacer commented, “Since our presence here was known long ago, it would mean the prophecy also projected our present circumstances. The only stone we possess is the Gem of Watching.”
In an excited voice Patrick said, “If this is the stone, we can assume the name of the spirit present within the gem would be our new friend. What do you think?”
Coaldon replied, “I know of nothing in the Gem other than our happy, smiling tag along.”
Pacer concluded, “If this is true, then we need to find out his name.” Coaldon pulled out the Gem of Watching from his money pouch. He received the Gem as a gift on his 18th birthday. He lifted it to the light of the torch to watch the white cloud flowing around the center of the stone.
Coaldon questioned, “I wonder if spirit will appear when invited?” Pacer responded, “Let’s give it a try.”
Coaldon said in a hesitant voice, “Spirit in the Gem, please join us.”
The three men watched the Gem to see if anything would happen. The Gem began to vibrate and grow warm. With a blue flash, a cloud flowed from the Gem in a slow, gentle stream. The first image to appear was a happy, smiley face, followed by a wispy body.
The spirit declared. “I am so happy to see you gentlemen. It is nice to travel with you. I see you have arrived at the Room of the Scroll. I was here when they built it. It seemed like it was only yesterday. Oh, I have been thinking about going on a vacation. Would you take me on a trip? Maybe, we could go to the mountains or maybe visit the ocean. I would like to go fishing. By the way, why did you call me? Wow! Wow! Would you like to join me for dinner on the veranda?”
Coaldon finally interrupted saying, “What is your name? It would be nice to place a name with your face. Or maybe I should say ‘a name with your smile’.”
The spirit developed a thoughtful look on its face. He twisted his face in strange and contorted shapes. At one point the spirit’s smile actually drifted to his forehead.
Then he said, “It has been a long time since I thought about my name. Let me think about it. Could it be? No, Potdog is my cousin. Hidy! Hidy! Hidy! This is most embarrassing. I cannot remember my name, but I keep hearing the phrase, ‘Cando More.”
In confusion Coaldon replied, “What are you talking about? What can you do?”
The spirit responded, “No, Cando More.” Brother Patrick asking, “Cando More?”
The spirit replied, “Yes, you are most correct.”
Coaldon looked at the spirit with frustration pasted on his face. He asked, “What are you talking about? What can you do more?”
The spirit laughed, “Not Cando What, but Cando More!”
Finally Brother Patrick looked at Coaldon smiling, “We are trying to figure out the name of our new friend. So think about what we have been talking about.”
In aggravation Coaldon erupted, “I don’t get it!”
The spirit exclaimed, “Yes, now I do remember, it is Cando More.”
Coaldon’s face grew red with embarrassment as he hung his head. He responded, “Could your name be Cando More?”
His companions gave a hearty cheer. With a rousing burst of amusement, the spirit flowed back into the Gem.
Pacer said, “We could spend a long time talking about the strange events of today, but we have more important things to do. We must gain access to the room and get the scroll. Now that we have Cando’s name, our next step is to open the door.”
Coaldon walked to the door and said, “Cando.” Nothing happened. Coaldon then looked at Pacer and Brother Patrick.
Patrick commented, “Coaldon look at the writing on the door again to see if you might have missed something.”
Coaldon positioned himself to gain a good view of the inscriptions. He held the torch to his right side to obtain the best reflection off the ancient symbols. He was quiet for a long time before he gave a yelp of satisfaction.
He said, “I found the answer. The last line of the script has an unusual ending. I thought it was only a farewell statement. It reads, ‘Farewe
ll and blessing you. Allow the Gem to guide your way.”
Pacer commented, “Then we are to use the Gem of Watching while opening the door.”
Coaldon raised the Gem to the Door saying, “Open in the name of Cando.”
A loud snap was heard as the door opened inward. A gentle, fluctuating light flowed from the room. Pacer slowly raised his head into the room. The room was about 8 strides square with a door exiting to his right side. The white stucco walls were embedded with many sparkling gemstones. The light source was a round ball buried in the ceiling. On the floor to his left, was a trunk with elfin script decorating the top and sides.
The three warriors entered the room with respect for the power maintaining its presences. All three men heard a deep humming sound created by the throb of magic. Coaldon looked around the room in awe. Everybody was concerned when the trap door closed with a sudden snap. The outline of the door blended into the pattern of the floor. The three men became uncomfortable as they watched the walls change color. The room became unbearably hot and humid. With a sudden jerk, the room began to slowly vibrate and shake. Plaster fell from the ceiling in large chunks. Large cracks appeared in walls as the floor crumbled into small pieces.
Coaldon closed his eyes to focus on the sources of the problem. He detected the blackened hand of Crossmore trying to penetrate the magic protecting the room.
He yelled, “Crossmore is attacking the room. He knows something is here but he cannot break through the magic. We need to rescue the scroll and get out of here. We must use the side door.”
Coaldon hurried to the trunk and said, “Open in the name of the Gem of Watching.” Nothing happened.
Finally he commanded, “Open in the name of Coaldon of Rocknee, heir to the throne and master of the Gem of Watching!”
He saw a ripple pass through the trunk as the lid opened. He grabbed the metal tube lying on the bottom.
Under the power of Crossmore’s attack, the walls of the small room began to sag into molten rock. The light in the room dimmed to a dull, eerie glow. The red-hot heat in the room was starting to cause the three men to grow faint. Pacer rushed to the side door and threw his shoulder into it. The door swung open without resistance. Pacer looked into pitch-black darkness.
Pacer yelled, “Follow me!”
The three warriors rushed into the unknown dark tomb without considering the consequences. As they stumbled into a dark room, they tripped over a pile of wooden boxes. The men landed on top of each other with their arms and legs kicking and flailing. Lying on the dusty floor, they struggled to gain their bearings. Small, delicate shafts of light filtered into the room. The small beams outlined what appeared to be a large door. They could smell the musty odor of decaying materials. Coaldon still held the long tube tightly in his right hand.
The room looked like an old storage shed with large double doors opening to the outside. They could not see any sign of the door through which they had escaped. It was as if they had just walked through solid rock.
Pacer said, “We must be inside the city walls.”
Brother Patrick was first to approach the double doors. He discovered the doors were held shut by a long board placed into several brackets bolted to the inside of the door. He lifted the board from the brackets and placed it on the floor. He cracked the doors to look outside. The monk could only see a weed-choked courtyard surrounded by stonewalls. The courtyard had not been used in many years.
After a long day in the tunnel, the three explorers welcomed the blue sky and refreshing air. The long shadows of early evening were spreading in uneven lines across the yard.
After entering the enclosure, they noticed the East Tower looming over their heads. They ended up in a courtyard next to the palace. On the north wall, the vague outline of a small door could be seen through dense underbrush. Pacer pushed through the brush, pulled open the latch and pushed the door open. He looked down an empty street.
Pacer said to the others, “Are we ready to enter the city? I guess we do not have a choice because we cannot go back into the tunnel. Let’s go. We can decide what to do when we reach the market place.”
Each of the warriors assumed his role as a vagrant. With hoods pulled over their heads they slowly entered the flow of people moving through busy streets. People walking in the narrow street pushed away from the undesirable vagrants. The travelers entered the market square as the sun was setting in the west.
The marketplace still had several booths open after a long day of trading. Coaldon noticed that certain homeless people jealously claimed the best locations for begging. These beggars would throw rocks and wave sticks at any vagrant who got too close to their territory. Against the walls on the main streets, the homeless built rough shelters out of old pieces of lumber and tarps. The warriors found an empty space along the north wall of the marketplace in an isolated alcove. From this position they had a good view of the street and the West Tower. The three men sat in silence as they observed the flow of life in the square.
Several local citizens, walking down the street, were having a loud conversation about events of the afternoon.
“Crossmore must have had a bad afternoon. Seldom have I seen him so angry.”
“I actually heard him cursing and yelling about discovering a room. Did any of you notice the earthquake? It was like a raging battle between opposing forces. It gave me an uncanny feeling.”
“Yes, I felt a tingling in my body. Something strange must be taking place. I believe an unknown power has been challenging Crossmore. Maybe the rumors about the Age of Change are true. I often wonder if Emperor Brad is still alive. I hope so.”
As the people disappeared into a side street, the three vagrants could not hear any more of the conversation. Coaldon looked at the West Tower with growing concern.
He told his companions, “Our encounter in the Room of the Scroll was noticed. I hope we have not made ourselves too obvious? Could we have jeopardized the chances for the rescue of Noel?”
Pacer and Brother Patrick sat quietly as they considered Coaldon’s questions.
Pacer finally said, “Coaldon, we need to have a meeting with the group to discuss your concerns. We do not want anything to threaten the rescue of Noel. It might be a good idea for us to hide out until the rescue.”
In the distance the cackling laughter of an old woman could be heard. To the three men’s surprise, Hilda marched down the street, waving her walking stick in front of her. Several people ran away to escape a glance from her blind eyes. Her friends watched as she approached them with sure, steady steps. She then paused in front of them with her face contorted in irritation.
She yelled, “How dare you stare at me! I am just an old, blind lady. I do not need your disrespect.”
She caught her breath before she commanded, “Be gone from the city!” Pacer led the group as they rushed down the street toward the West Gate.
Hilda waved her arms over her head, as she hobbled with amazing speed after the men. When they reached the West Gate, several guards tried to stop them, but the group pushed past the guards with Hilda in hot pursuit. Hilda pointed toward Coaldon, as he tripped over some unseen obstacle. He fell to the ground with his arms and legs flopping in spastic twists. He stumbled to his feet and hastily ran away. Hilda laughed in triumph. She was still cackling as she walked out of the city with impunity. The guards found great humor in the comical escape of the three vagrants. The three men disappeared into the darkness as the people settled into another night of terror.
~ ~
Return to the West Tower