“Time will tell I guess,” Mat said, “but time is something we don’t have a lot of.”
Mat and Persephonie continued to discuss the day’s events while they waited for their chance to talk privately with their friends. It took a few hours, but their group of six was eventually alone again. They had a chance to hear about what the others had learned as well as share what they had learned.
“We spent the afternoon watching several of the coteries train,” Michael told them. “Each coterie typically has 10 members. One is trained in Druid magic, and the rest are trained soldiers who are open to Druid communication. Everyone is linked together through the Druid, and it allows them to fight together knowing exactly what every other member of the coterie is doing.”
“They say it takes months just to get used to all the extra information you have to process,” Arajin added, “but once you cultivate that skill, it’s possible to join another coterie relatively easily. You just have to get used to your new partners.”
“The Druids in each coterie can also communicate with each other,” Michael said, “but that requires them to have a personal bond which varies from person to person. Some, like the two ladies that were here earlier, are very close and can clearly communicate complete thoughts. Others can send general thoughts like a warning but nothing more.”
“The ladies here earlier are sisters,” Banji chimed in with a smile, “Anna and Bethany.”
“I think they want us to stay and train,” Michael said with a sudden seriousness. “The men and women that visited with us tonight make up a coterie. The older sister, Anna, is the Druid for that coterie. Her younger sister has trained for several years, but she is not yet part of a coterie herself.”
“Bethany did say she looked forward to training with us,” Banji added. “If we can train together with a Druid as well as have a strong link to another coterie, we could take out Anton all by ourselves.”
“I doubt that,” Arajin said with a chuckle, “and I doubt we could become a cohesive coterie fast enough to help.”
“I feel like Jeremiah is trying to control us,” Michael said, “and I don’t like being manipulated. We just need to decide for ourselves what we are going to do.”
“I agree,” replied Mat, “but I think we all have the same goals.”
“I hope so,” Persephonie commented, “but I feel strongly that there is something here we haven’t discovered yet.”
They continued to talk about the day’s events until after midnight. There were many unanswered questions still, but they knew they needed to be in El Fiducia, at least for the time being. The decision was made to learn what they could while they were there, and, when the time was right, they would return to Solandeus. They didn’t already know when that time would be, but felt confident they would know when it arrived.
Chapter 17
At breakfast, they were met by Jeremiah and Uriah and discussed the previous day while they ate. They also talked about the war in Solandeus, but little information made it to the hidden desert city. Since Michael had been unable to learn much in Sorgen, this left them almost completely unaware of what was happening currently in Solandeus. That was enough to put a damper on the mood until Jeremiah told them what he planned for them after breakfast.
“Now that you have been here for a couple days,” he told them, “I think it’s time to show you what you traveled all this way for. Today, we take you to the Breastplate of Righteousness and Belt of Truth.”
“I’m ready, let’s go,” Mat said immediately as he jumped up. Halfway to the stairs he stopped and turned back to the rest of the group who hadn’t moved. “Come on, this is what we came here for.”
“Mat, let us finish eating,” Persephonie said, trying to stifle a laugh. “I now you’re excited, but try to be a little bit patient.”
“Well, hurry up then,” he said as he plopped down on the steps to wait for the rest of his friends to finish.
“Why don’t you get ready,” Michael suggested. “You should probably bring the rest of the armor so everything is together. “
“Good idea,” Mat said as he jumped to his feet and raced up the stairs.
It took Mat less than 10 minutes to don the pieces of the Armor of God he already possessed and another 15 minutes to badger the rest of the group into leaving. After that, he practically danced down the street spurring everyone to hurry up. His mood was infectious, and by the time they reached a small building near the Academy everyone was giddy with excitement.
“As you know, protecting this armor is the primary reason for this entire city,” Jeremiah told them before leading them inside. “This is only the entrance and there is a long walk ahead. We will be traveling underground into a hidden chamber that is far below the Academy. Along the way, there are Druid wards that will encourage you to turn back and seek to confuse your sense of direction. I will lead the way, and Uriah will bring up the rear and keep everyone moving.”
As soon as they entered the small building, a sense of dread filled them all. The change was especially hard on Mat. One moment he was giddy with excitement, but the next he doubted everything he was trying to do and wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back into the sunlight. Persephonie put a hand on his arm to assure him and guided him further into the room.
Jeremiah opened a second door on the far side of the room to reveal a stairway that led below ground. The first stairwell went down hundreds of steps and abruptly ended at a platform with three passageways leading out from it. The temperature was now significantly cooler, and the urge to climb back up the stairs was overpowering. Uriah stood firm at the bottom of the stairs and turned everyone back towards Jeremiah who led the way down the passageway on the left.
As they walked, Jeremiah explained that the tunnels were built during the first century after El Fiducia was founded. The armor was initially in the first landing they came to, but, as more tunnels were dug, it continued to move further underground. They came to many rooms, each of which had three passageways leading from it plus the one they entered by. Several times, Uriah had to stop one of them from wandering off. Persephonie seemed to be the only one immune to the effects.
There’s a pattern, Persephonie said mentally to Mat after they passed a dozen intersections, It’s left, right, center, then repeat.
Mat smiled at her in acknowledgement. As he turned back towards Jeremiah to focus on following him, he marveled at Persephonie’s ability to so quickly recognize a pattern. He had a feeling that they would need that knowledge at some point.
When they eventually reached a room much larger than the others, Mat knew they were at the end of their journey. Opposite of the passageway they entered by, there was a stairway leading up, but no other obvious ways into or out of the chamber. Around the chamber, the walls were painted with scenes of battle reminiscent of the paintings in the chamber where the Helmet of Salvation was hidden. Once everyone was inside the chamber, the sense of dread dissipated, and everyone was noticeably less stressed.
“This is the end of our journey,” Jeremiah said, “those steps lead to a chamber that has collapsed, and there is no way out other than the way we came. The legends say this chamber and the stairs leading out were already here. Once it was found, they knew this is where the armor belonged. Now all you have to do is find it.”
“What do you mean,” Mat asked suspiciously.
“I have never seen the armor and don’t know where it’s hidden,” Jeremiah said simply. “It has been in this chamber undisturbed for 200 years now. It is said the one who is to wear the armor will know how to find it.”
“It’s just like the cave where we found the Helmet of Salvation,” Arajin said.
“Let’s see if there are any paintings that look like me,” Mat suggested so they split up to study the paintings.
Halfway around the chamber to the left side of the entrance was a painting similar to the painting in the Valley of Caves where the Helmet of Salvation had been found. In the pa
inting a knight that looked very much like Mat was holding a sword over his head.
“It’s weird to see yourself in a centuries-old painting,” Mat said as he studied it.
Unlike the painting in the cave, this painting was not full scale. Mat held the Sword of Spirit up to the sword in the painting, but the real sword was much larger. There was no attraction, and it appeared that the sword was not the key to opening a secret compartment this time. As he studied the painting further, he noticed an unusually thick line just below the arm holding the sword. When he brushed away the dust, he could see that it was actually a slot in the wall. He was still holding the Sword of Spirit and intuitively slid the blade into the slot. He used the sword to try prying open a potential hidden chamber, but nothing moved.
“How far in will it slide?” Banji asked.
Taking Banji’s suggestion, Mat slid the Sword of Spirit further into the wall. He was sure he would eventually hit something, but the sword continued to slide all the way in. There appeared to be nothing behind the wall, and the sword kept sliding until the hilt was touching the wall. As soon as the hilt made contact with the wall, an audible click could be heard.
As Mat withdrew the Sword of Spirit, a large section of the wall swung outwards revealing an alcove that was ten feet deep. At the back of the chamber, sitting upright on a pedestal, was the Breastplate of Righteousness. As Mat walked towards it, he could see that it perfectly matched the Bracers of Righteous Might and Boots of Peace.
Mat reverently picked up the breastplate, lifted it over his head, and put it on. He wasn’t surprised to find it fit him perfectly. After finding nothing else in the alcove, Mat turned and emerged to the anxious stares of his friends.
“There is no doubt this armor was waiting for you,” Michael told him as he emerged. “It fits you as if it was made specifically for you.”
“Were there any clues about the belt?” Persephonie asked.
“This was the only thing in the chamber,” Mat said. “We will just have to look around the room more.”
They continued to search the chamber at length trying to find another painting that looked like Mat, but there weren’t any. It was apparent they needed a different approach, but they didn’t know where to start.
As they discussed possible hiding places for the Belt of Truth, Persephonie had a revelation. “So far, every chamber has been symmetrical,” she said. “Even in this chamber. Straight across from where we came in is the stairway. Halfway between the entrance and the stairway is where the breastplate was. I think we should focus our efforts on the other side of the chamber halfway between the entrance and the stairs.”
Before she even finished speaking, Banji was running towards the area of the wall Persephonie suggested. As the others joined him at that section of the wall, he made a discovery.
“How did we not see this before?” he asked more to himself than the others. “It’s not Mat, but it is someone else we know.”
Banji turned to look at Persephonie, but she was already lost in thought as she stared at the painting on the wall. The painting was of a hooded druid with brown hair cascading down her shoulders. The eyes were hidden, but the shape of the nose, mouth, and chin were very much like her own. The woman in the painting held her hands out as if reaching for them.
Without thinking, Persephonie stepped forward and reached out. As she put her hands on the outstretched hands in the painting, everything around her disappeared. All she could see was the painting in front of her. She felt completely alone and started to despair, but a voice came to her. It was a comforting, familiar voice, although she was sure she had never heard it before.
“I am glad you are finally here,” the voice told her. “You have traveled far and have much farther to go. Your skills will be tested, and you will doubt your abilities. But know this: you have within you the ability to change the world, but you cannot do it alone. Neither can the Righteous Warrior. You are bound in more ways than you know, and without both of you the world will become a dark and evil place.”
She saw many visions of things yet to come and knew that none of them were certain. In all of the futures, either Mat or her or both were present. When they were together, no matter how bad things looked, they prevailed. When they were separate, evil reigned, and in some of those, Mat or she was at the center of the evil. She knew these were but some of the infinite possibilities the future held, but she also knew that the only hope of a future worth living involved her and Mat, not just Mat and the Armor of God. As she made that revelation everything faded, and she felt herself falling into a black nothingness.
The real world came back into focus slowly for Persephonie. As she opened her eyes, she looked up to see everyone looking at her with concern. She was lying on her back with her head on Mat’s lap. The look of concern on his face brought a smile to her face.
“Are you hurt?” Mat asked her.
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “What happened? How long was I out?”
“I don’t know what happened,” Mat answered. “You stepped up to the painting and put your hands on it then passed out. I caught you when you fell backwards. You were only out for a few seconds before you opened your eyes again.”
“Someone spoke to me,” she said, “then I had a vision of many different futures. Some were good, but others were terrible. Then I blacked out.”
With Mat’s help, Persephonie slowly got to her feet. As she stood, she looked at the wall and pointed out the now open doorway. In the commotion of her fainting, no one had previously noticed it. The alcove was similar to the one on the other side of the room and had a single item in the back.
Before he could even see it, Mat knew it was the Belt of Truth. He walked slowly into the alcove and picked up the belt. As he buckled it around his waist, he looked to see if there was anything else in the chamber. He found nothing.
As he walked back into the main chamber, Mat was both elated and puzzled. He now possessed six of the seven pieces of the Armor of God, but he had no idea where the Shield of Faith was. He hoped there would be a clue with the breastplate or belt, but there was nothing helpful. He was also concerned about Persephonie. Even before he put on the Belt of Truth, he could sense she wasn’t telling everything she had seen in her vision. With the Belt of Truth on, he was certain she was hiding something.
“Do you know where the Shield of Faith might be located?” Mat asked Jeremiah hopefully.
“Unfortunately, I don’t,” he replied. “According to our histories, only the breastplate and belt travelled with our ancestors into the desert. It must have been hidden somewhere else.”
“Is there any mention of it in your histories at all?” Persephonie asked.
“Only that it was one of the seven pieces of the Armor of God,” Jeremiah answered. “I’m sorry I cannot be of more help.”
“Maybe there is something else in the Druid libraries,” Persephonie offered. “We can sail to Greystone Island on the way back to Solandeus.”
“Maybe,” Mat replied. “For some reason, I’m not worried about finding it. It is called the Shield of Faith. Maybe I just need to have faith that I will find it when I need it.”
Everyone looked at him skeptically, but none of them said anything. As Jeremiah led the way back to the surface, Mat looked at Persephonie with concern and put his hand under her arm to steady her as she walked.
“I will be fine,” she told him, but she didn’t do anything to disengage from his support.
The trip back to the surface seemed much faster than the journey to the underground chamber, but when they finally emerged from the tunnels, the sun was already setting. Noting their confusion, Jeremiah offered a quick explanation before anyone asked.
“Time seems to move slower down in the tunnels,” he said. “What seems like a few hours underground appears to be a full day on the surface. I think it has something to do with the Druid enchantments. It could also just be an illusion.”
“Have you ever trie
d to test it?” Banji asked. “You could light two candles, leave one at the top of the stairs, and bring the other one down into the tunnels. When you come back up, you could see if one candle burned more than the other.”
“Honestly, I have never thought much about it,” Jeremiah said. “No one spends much time in the tunnels, so it never seemed important.”
“But don’t you want to know?” Banji asked incredulously.
“I have truly never considered it,” Jeremiah assured him, “but if you want to test your theories, you have my permission.”
As they walked back to their quarters, Banji talked with Brasco about how he was going to test the time difference. Mat and Persephonie walked in companionable silence, each lost in a world of concern for the other one. Michael, Arajin, and Jeremiah discussed legends of how the tunnels were built while Uriah ran ahead to make sure there was a meal ready when they returned.
By the time they returned to their quarters, the table in the common room was set and a hearty dinner was waiting. Despite the success of the day, a weariness permeated the group, and they ate in near silence. Persephonie was the first to finish eating and leave the table. She excused herself saying she needed to rest.
Back in her room, sleep eluded Persephonie. She lie awake for hours thinking about the visions she saw and the voice she heard. She could accept that she would play a large role in the upcoming struggle, but it was hard for her to accept that she would be as important as Mat and if they were not together the world was doomed. She didn’t even know what it meant to be together with Mat. Was it as a friend, an advisor, a partner in battle, or something more?
When she finally fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams were confusing and terrifying. She dreamt of battles fought at Mat’s side. She dreamt of being at his side as an old lady. She dreamt of sitting around a large table in a formal setting as a key advisor. And through it all, she dreamt of an unseen being that spoke to her and encouraged her.
Armor of God (Salvation of Solandeus Book 2) Page 12