“Close your eyes, girl,” said the voice of Maolsechlan, quiet but commanding. “What was following us?” Erilee asked in reply. A pause. She searched around with her hands, trying to judge what it was that blocked her. Whatever it was, it was big, solid and smooth.
“If you would see again, girl, close your eyes. There will be plenty of time for explanations later.” Maolsechlan was insistent, and strangely impatient. The urgency in his voice spoke volumes to anyone who would have known how to listen, but in her reasoning, Erilee believed her question to be more important, despite his urgings. It was only when a light so fierce erupted in a silent roar from absolutely everywhere that she barely shielded her eyes. There was no pain, but she had never seen a light so bright. The sun was a mere glimmer compared to this. When the light seemed to subside, Erilee cautiously opened her eyes. Everything was out of focus. Her eyes watered, and she moved to rub them, but found her hands restrained. “You do that girl, and what damage has been done by you not heeding my warning will be there permanently. Let us hope that you got your eyes closed in time.
Erilee was unsure whether she was crying or not, but her eyes continued to water whilst Maolsechlan and someone else mumbled something out of earshot The warm salty tears ran down her face, into her mouth or dropping off her chin, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision and the tears from her face when something grumbled with a startled jump off to her left. She realised that it was probably the same thing that was with her in the tunnel, not from any blurred picture of it, but from the sheer presence that she felt.
Whatever it was, the thing was huge, and when she tried to look at it, it filled nearly all of her vision. Before she could get a proper look at it though, it turned and ambled off, with a rumbling much more pronounced than before. The room she was in seemed clearer and long. In moments, her eyes had cleared of the blur, the drying tears allowing her to see clearly again. Wiping the moisture from her face, Erilee began to look around. She was not in a room after all, but in a huge well-lit tunnel that split off three ways.
She looked back the way she guessed she had come from. What she saw left her lost for words and paralysed with fear. Rooted to the spot, she was unable to take her eyes off of it. From within the depths of the tunnel, a huge, dark snake seemed to be writhing slowly. It had no eyes, and its mouth yawned open in a permanent circle. She started to shake, realising why she was told to stop poking.
“Rock worm, girl,” said a voice behind her. “They guard the lower entrances to the city and you must pass through them in order to gain access. As you can tell, there is a very good reason that you cannot see when you gain entrance to Raessa.”
The idea of walking through something that was alive repulsed her and she remained rooted to the floor, staring at the creature. “How did we get through into it?”
The voice continued. “The rock worms are open at both ends. If you see one in the wild, a very rare occurrence I might add, it ingests rock at one end, taking from the rock whatever it needs, and deposits something resembling earth out of the other end. It has been said that a group of such worms has the power to level mountains. It has also been said that on islands and mountain chains in far-off islands, they have actually done so. But here, they merely serve the master's purpose. They guard, and they consume where allowed. The point is that it is already light when you think that you are still in the dark. One of many defences created to keep the city safe from unwelcome intruders. But you have no need of worrying about that, my dear. You are more than welcome to this city and my master awaits you above.”
The voice was gentle, almost instructing. It was also intriguing enough for Erilee to turn around. What she saw surprised her. She had guessed from the voice that Maolsechlan and Maolmordha had left her, but she had assumed some guard would be there. Instead, a frail old man, almost withered to the point that he looked like a skeleton covered in the barest vestiges of life, was dressed all in grey, robes that hung to the floor. He bowed with a flourish that belied his frail appearance. “Greetings, girl. I am called Snook and I am steward to the master. He bids me to see to your needs until he has time to speak with you. Your two companions never graced me with your name.” He paused, obviously expecting her to answer him.
“I am Erilee D'Voss,” she replied in a clear voice, polite, as her mother had always told her to be when meeting new people.
The old man nodded. “Erilee, is it? So you took a tinker name. All well and good. Please follow me, Erilee D'Voss.” Erilee wondered what the old man meant by questioning her name, but never got to ask him. She was distracted by all of the sights. It took no more than a few steps to exit the tunnel through a door that she had not seen, and then everything changed. The walls were suddenly squared off, and decorated. The stairs they ascended were wide, enough to fit ten men across. Some were even adorned with wooden railings, carved into the likeness of creatures Erilee had never before seen – great winged creatures with sinewy necks and talons sprouting everywhere. From what Erilee knew of carpentry from Tarim, this sort of thing would have taken a lifetime to carve.
The corridors were all of the same ilk, wide enough for anything alive to pass through, and all adorned with decorations from the imagination. Along one wall was a bas-relief of huge snakes fighting men amongst red rocks in shapes that defied gravity. Another wall had alcoves carved into it, each containing pedestals upon which rested giant green gems nestled in satin cushions, appearing ready to rise into the air of their own volition. There were skulls of monsters, the occasional arsenal of weapons, and an obviously priceless work of art framed in gold. Everything that Erilee saw seemed more amazing and unimaginable than the last.
Most relieving to her though was the light. Natural light, coming in from the windows that graced the occasional wall.
She had no idea of how long she had been walking, and it was only now that she began to feel how tired she was; she had been distracted for so long on her journey through what she assumed was the lower city, that all fatigue had dropped away. Even now, Snook walked along with a seemingly endless reserve of energy coming from somewhere within his skeletal frame. He had not said one word to her since leaving the tunnel, but then he had not had the need, so engrossed was Erilee with everything she saw. They walked down the middle of a great corridor, which spanned to each side as far as Erilee could see. The columns with objects on them followed even here, until they reached a wide, open space where a raised platform, shining with a brilliance as if it had been made entirely from highly polished pure gold, was surmounted by one stone pillar with its centre carved out.
“What is that there for?” asked Erilee, almost overcome that so much gold could be in one place.
“A book the master craves, child. A book he believes that you can help him find.” Puzzled, Erilee stopped, looking around the great hall. The golden platform was obviously the centrepiece to the whole room; in fact it looked as if the entire room had been built to accommodate this structure. The windows in the ceiling were immense, and patterned in ways that Erilee had never seen before, full of minuscule spirals and whirls that were visible to the naked eye even from the great height they were at. They were also huge. Erilee was sure that windows that big could never have been fashioned by hand. They lit up the room perfectly though, even reflecting the light onto the golden platform so that it shone even more.
Outwards from the platform radiated eight aisles of apparent equal length. At the end of seven of them, a dark pair of doors could be seen. There were rows and rows of benches to each side, enough space to fit an entire army. The eighth aisle, which was the aisle they had been walking down, ended in a pair of doors so huge they could have guarded infinity. They were more splendid than the rest, worked in so many different coloured metals that they almost seemed alive when the light played off of them. Erilee stared in wonder at the immensity of everything around her. Outside, the mountains had seemed aloof and uncaring because of their siz
e. Here, the grand hall seemed to welcome one and all, almost making one feel cosy and at home. The order of it all, with the stalls laid out symmetrically and the patterns in the ceiling windows, fascinated her to the extent that she could not stop craning her neck to look at it all.
The walk down to the large doors was much more than she had expected. Appearances were deceiving in this place. It did not matter though; the almost reverent pace that Snook set allowed for plenty of time for sightseeing. Erilee was looking up at the windows to her right with their fine filigree workings when she bumped into the old man, who had slowed almost to a stop. Looking at him, she could see that he was concentrating on something. His eyes were shut, and his mouth was moving as he whispered something too quiet for even Erilee to hear. His head bobbed ever so slightly and his hands dropped to his side. Erilee stepped around in front of him and peered into his face. The old man was in some kind of trance; he had no idea that she was even staring at him. Then all of a sudden, and with no warning, the old man's eyes flicked open, and he was staring right at her. She jumped back in surprise, her heart pounding in her chest as she bit back a yelp. Snook pocketed something small into the folds of his robe as he smiled with amusement. “You really shouldn't stand in front of someone like that when you don't know what is going to happen, my dear Erilee. Once I knew someone who liked to hide behind doors and jump out on people in the road. He found it immensely funny, until he jumped out in front of a horse and cart and was run down. He lost all use of his legs and couldn't see out of one eye after that. Hmmm, I wonder if he is still with us, the gods preserve him.” Snook looked up at Erilee and smiled, yet again.
“But I digress. You would want to know what I was doing, wouldn't you dear Erilee? I was communicating with my master. I am honestly surprised you haven't picked up the conversations before. Someone of your skills should have picked that skill up a long time ago.” Erilee was as confused now by the old man's opinion of her as she had been back in the roots of the city. What was it she was supposed to know? And when was she supposed to have learned it? Maybe their master would know the answer, if she were to ever meet the man. She looked up at the doors, expecting them to open. The worked metal was beautiful; twisted ropes of metal twined in every direction, even out towards them. It gave the impression of something organic, as if the metal had grown rather than been shaped by man.
“It doesn't seem so alive from up close,” observed Erilee.
“A simple trick of the light,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “When this was being built, the focus of the room was always the platform. The light was always to focus there. However, when the master had these doors put in, light was reflected by the platform and refracted by elements of the windows. From down the hall, it appears as you said, but once you pass a certain point, the doors appear differently.”
Erilee looked back down as Snook pointed back past her. The stalls receded into the distance, almost appearing like they would in a doll's house from the distance. “Why so many seats? Are there that many people that you need such space?”
Snook folded his arms into the deep sleeves of his grey robe. “It is purely a matter of demand and supply, my dear. The focus of this room demands such grandeur, and the people of this city demand such space to see it. It is but our gift to them that we supply such a place. It is the least that is worthy of them.” Strange, thought Erilee to herself. Where were all of these people? The old man talked about people wanting to see the podium, but where were they all? She voiced this question, bringing the old man up short.
“The room is not complete. There is but one thing missing from it. That which you will bring to us.”
Erilee possessed nothing more than the clothes on her back. She had owned a few things in what she preferred to call her previous life, but they were the playthings of a pampered child. She had no need of combs and dolls now. Her hair was tied back by a leather thong, and her clothes suited her purpose. Those material things were what made one weak, even one who would believe they followed the one law. Erilee had come to understand all of Layric's teachings now. Instead of leading the simple life helping others and trying not to stray, she saw what the one law was; a flawed law, to keep the weak in thrall. Mayhap the merchants were correct in their intention to break free of its beliefs. Erilee knew her father had not agreed, and had argued the toss with many a merchant. But again she found herself wondering about her past. Her future began now, in this palatial hall with its grand sculptures and magnificent golden dais. “When do we enter the doors, Snook?” she asked out of curiosity, hoping she did not sound impatient.
“Whenever the master deems it appropriate, girl,” answered the old man as he gazed at the rope-like structure of the door frame. “He controls access to whomever goes in and out.”
Coincidence or not, Erilee could not decide, but as Snook answered her, there was a heavy low click, almost a thud. The doors began to swing open, ponderously slow. It was difficult to see at first, as the door seemed to ripple. But then Erilee could see the cause the rippling. Many of the ropey strands of metal were interlaced, and were coming apart. The door had been made to disguise the join at the middle and make it appear one huge door. The truth was that the metal on the surface had been so cunningly wrought that it fit together with absolute precision. Erilee watched in fascination as the metallic rope snakes wound their way about each other in near silence. The silent dance of the metal serpents ceased as they split apart to reveal a widening gap with something huge and dark behind it. The noiseless doors opened further, and she saw a huge shape, roughly humanoid, but composed entirely of rock. She took a step back in fear. The thing was easily twice as tall as her, young though she was. It looked like a series of boulders had been wired together and given life. As the doors silently reached the apex of their swing, it looked up, or rather down at them. Erilee beheld the creature's eyes for the first time.
Black as night and malevolent as anything she had ever seen, the creature just stood there. Its skin was dark – brown or black depending on how the light fell, and despite its bulk, it moved aside with relative ease as Snook gently but firmly nudged Erilee forward. She was beyond words. The bulk of the creature loomed behind them as they walked through a corridor composed of structures similar to those on the doors. Erilee kept a pace, trying to stay in front of the creature. Occasionally, it would reach forward for a grip on something, scaring her more. Its hands were twice as big as her head. She did not like this at all, and just for a moment, she wished her mother were with her. Knowing she had seen this creature before helped a bit. She knew from the feeling she had that this had been the creature that had walked alongside her in the darkened tunnel. She could feel the same stirring in the air as she felt before, but only when she closed her eyes could she sense the disturbances, the flighty little wisps of whatever accompanied the huge creature.
Erilee did not trust herself to speak in the presence of this walking monolith, so she stayed quiet, trying to imagine where such a creature had come from. The corridor had been built to accommodate the huge creature, for it walked without stooping, as silent as it was before. For all of the gaudy displays and the grandness of the halls and rooms leading up to the great hall they had passed through, this place paled in comparison. Eventually, the walls lost their metal adornments, and became plain, covered in white painted mortar. The rooms that led off it were exactly the same, some with wooden doors and some without. It was as stark as could be. The floor was polished clean though, and the windows were in good repair, the light shining through them as clear as crystal.
They came upon a small door at the end of the corridor, furnished with a simple handle, but none of the finery that appeared elsewhere. Erilee could still not bring herself to speak, but made herself smile inwardly when she imagined how odd this group of old man, little girl and rock beast would look if someone came upon them. She was still a little disturbed that for all her walking through this huge city of corridors, she had not seen a single pers
on other than the old man.
She followed Snook with her eyes, as he walked past her and knocked soundly on the door with the heel of his palm. He turned back to her and whispered, “Whatever you do my dear, be polite. The master is within and politeness goes a long way.” That was not a problem to her, if Snook wanted politeness, he would get it. The old man opened the door with the slightest of creaks, and then beckoned her to enter. Erilee looked back for the creature, but it was gone, off on some silent errand maybe. She walked through to find herself in a room that was completely round. The walls were as bare as those without, but there was a blazing fire roaring in a hearth off to one side, and a series of candelabras hung along the centre of the room.
The focus of the room was a huge oak desk, scratched and pitted with age and use. All over it were spread maps and bits of stone. Off to one side rested a huge chunk of stone, of the blackest midnight, but with specks of silver and gold in it that Erilee could see even from her place at the doorway. She took her eyes off it and saw that Snook was bowing. She did the same – properly, as her mother had once shown her. Standing up, she looked in the direction that Snook had bowed. A man of middle to late years was advancing on them. Not unlike Snook, the man was thin to the point of being emaciated, but unlike Snook, this man did not walk with an airy lack of care. Instead, he nearly stomped towards them, almost swaggering with confidence. His face seemed plain enough; an old man's face behind an old man's beard, all wispy and tattered. He was dressed very finely though, which led Erilee to believe that he valued appearances. She thought that someone who dressed fine always appreciated it in others. She was ashamed that she did not still have her dress on. He smiled as he neared them. His walk across the room had taken a while for the room was indeed immense, much bigger than Erilee had thought when she first entered. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he smiled, and Erilee thought this was nice at first, but the closer he got the more she became less sure. There was something in his eyes that was not quite right. There was a bit too much white around his pupils, and the white was laced with streaks of red.
The Focus Stone (The Tome of Law Book 1) Page 36