"We are going to need torches to see inside," declared Wylan as he stood with Tedi and Arik at the entrance to the Tomb of the King.
"Maybe there are torches inside," suggested Arik as he slipped through the open doorway. "I will have a look."
"Arik," sighed Tedi, "the wood of the door has disintegrated from age. This place is probably thousands of years old. How could there possibly be torches inside?"
Light emanated from inside the doorway, and Arik returned to the doorway with a grin upon his face and a burning torch in his hand.
"Perhaps people have visited here in more recent times?" chuckled Arik.
Arik turned towards the dark interior of the tomb, and Tedi and Wylan quickly followed. Arik held the torch high to see the layout of the tomb. The room was carved out of the mountain, and the rough stone walls were dark, but a dozen sconces adorned the walls, and there were torches in each of them. Arik lit them all.
The room was bare and simple. Other than the sconces, there were only two aberrations on the rough rock walls. One was the doorway they had entered. The second was a doorway on the opposite wall. Arik led the way to the second doorway while Tedi and Wylan each grabbed a lit torch.
There was a small flight of stone steps leading down into the next chamber. When the boys reached the bottom of the steps, they stood staring. Their three torches barely illuminated one end of the great hall. Here the walls and floor were not merely the rough stone indicative of a cave in the side of the mountain, but rather they consisted of finely crafted stone blocks. The ceiling of the great hall was arched high and beyond the reach of mere torches. It reminded Arik of an important room inside a castle, like the Royal Palace of Tagaret. The hall stretched away from them into the darkness, but what caught the attention of the boys were the warriors lining each side of the great hall.
The warriors were dressed in full battle armor, the type that nations could no longer afford for their armies. Full suits of metal adorned the warriors, although each warrior was clearly different from the next. Arik stepped closer to the first warrior on his left. This particular warrior was an archer, and he held his bow proudly before him, the bow was only a skeleton of its former self. The wood of the bow had rotted ages ago, and only the barest of its frame was visible. Arik felt sure that if he touched the bow, it would fall to the floor in a shower of dust particles. The armor too was rusted to only a skeletal form. The form was clearly visible, but Arik knew that it could not withstand the touch of a feather before collapsing to tiny rust particles.
"What is this?" asked Wylan.
"I have never seen anything like it," Tedi shook his head, "but I could imagine it as something like a hall of heroes. These men were all different in their choice of weapons and armament. I think that means they were meant to portray real people."
Arik pressed closer to the archer and raised his torch. Above the archer was a coat of arms chiseled into the stone wall. Below the coat of arms was a word.
"This one has a coat of arms above it, announced Arik. "Does anyone know what Miram is?"
"It is a city in old Targa," answered Wylan. "It is a coastal city north of Tagaret."
"The coat of arms would suggest a country though, wouldn't it?" inquired Tedi.
"I have heard that in the beginning," replied Wylan, "Targa used to be a bunch of individual countries. It has returned to something like that now. Perhaps Miram was one of them."
"Maybe you are right," concluded Tedi. "This one says Southland."
"That is where I am from," Wylan said excitedly as he rushed to see the warrior from his homeland.
In his rush, Wylan's foot hit the pike, which the old warrior was holding. He watched with dismay as the warrior disintegrated into a flurry of rust particles that floated lazily to the floor of the room.
"You must learn to curb your enthusiasm," teased Tedi with his best imitation of Master Khatama.
"Sorry," frowned Wylan. "I guess they really are delicate. I wonder who still visits this tomb?"
"Whoever it is that visits," suggested Arik, "will not find us here when they arrive again. I do not plan to stick around that long. As interesting as this is, it does not get us closer to our goal. Let's look further into this tomb."
The great hall was tremendously long. Arik tried to count the warriors, but he lost track. He estimated that there were at least one hundred of the ancient figures. When they reached the end of the great hall, there was another archway. Again there were words inscribed above the doorway.
"Auric the Conqueror, King of Alcea," Arik read solemnly.
"Isn't Alcea supposed to be Tagaret?" questioned Tedi. "What is the king's tomb doing on the Island of Storms?"
"I have no idea," Arik shook his head. "None of this makes sense to me. Let's see what lies ahead."
The boys walked through the doorway into the next room. This room was wide rather than long. The floor was white marble, and the walls were covered in tapestries, or what used to be tapestries. Some were just piles of dust upon the floor. Arik felt that others soon would be if he breathed too hard. In the center of the room was an ornate sarcophagus. The lid of the sarcophagus was intricately carved and depicted a mighty warrior. Arik held the torch close and gasped.
"Look at his chest," Arik said excitedly. "It is the vision from the Sword of Heavens."
Tedi leaned closer and looked "This carving shows him wearing the breastplate in the vision," frowned Tedi. "Do you suppose we were destined to come here? Did the Sword of Heavens somehow direct us?"
"I don't know," stammered Arik, "but it is spooky. I cannot imagine the sequence of events that brought us to this particular place. It defies all logic. Something or someone is guiding us. If we had just stolen the Diamond of Edona while we were in Cleb, we would not be here now."
"And I wanted to steal it," frowned Tedi. "It does not belong to Azmet. It belongs to the Sword of Heavens."
"There is another doorway," called Wylan. "This one has a flight of steps going up. The words over the door are strange though. It says 'The Great Beyond'".
Arik and Tedi left the Sarcophagus and joined Wylan at the doorway. Together they climbed the stairs. The next room was round and breathtaking. The floor was a blood-red marble. Sky-blue marble lined the walls of the circular chamber, and the domed ceiling was a cloud-white marble. In the very center of the room was a small pedestal of green marble with one step leading up to it. It was a small square pedestal with only enough room for a person to stand upon it.
In a circle surrounding the green pedestal, was a ring of higher pedestals. The pedestals were half way between the green pedestal and the blue walls. On each of those pedestals was a statue looking inward toward the green pedestal.
"These are the gods," declared Arik. "I recognize Char and Aara."
"Dora and Risa, too," added Tedi. "And Thun and Mya."
"And Abuud," remarked Wylan excitedly. "This is what we have been looking for."
Arik and Tedi rushed over to where Wylan was standing. They looked up at the statue of Abuud, which by itself was imposing. Standing on the pedestal, it towered high above them. The statue was not in pristine condition. None of them were. The head had a crack running down it and a large section of stone was missing from its midsection, but there was no doubt that it was the one-eyed god.
"He is holding a torch instead of a sword," remarked Wylan. "And a book instead of a skull. Azmet really has perverted the image of Abuud."
"Well now that we found it," frowned Tedi, "how do we get it out of here? I don't suppose that you have thought about that."
"Actually," smiled Arik, "I have given it a great deal of thought. I figured the statue would be as large as the fake one. I had planned to build a small wagon or sled for it. That is why I requested the extra rope from Bin-lu. I will admit though, I did not expect to be on a higher level than the sea. Lowering it to the sand will be a problem, but I think we can conquer it."
"My father used to work in the carpentry shop in Sout
hland," offered Wylan. "I spent many a day there watching and helping out. I am sure that I could fashion rails for a sled. We can even make a slide to ease it off the pedestal. Let me show you what I have in mind," Wylan continued as he squatted and starting drawing in the dust upon the floor.
Tedi had no interest in constructing anything, and he felt that he had nothing to add to the conversation, so he wandered off. He walked around the circular chamber and examined the statues, but quickly grew bored. Suddenly, an inspiration flooded his mind. He looked back at Arik and Wylan discussing their sled and then eased through the doorway and down the stairs.
He emerged in the burial chamber. He wasn't quite sure why he was moving stealthily, but he walked softly to the sarcophagus. He gazed again at the intricate carving on the lid and then examined how it was fastened to the coffin. He could not find any latches holding the lid in place. Tedi drew his dagger and tried to slide it between the lid and the body of the sarcophagus, but he feared breaking his knife. He sheathed his knife and laid the torch on the floor.
Tedi placed his hands on the lid and began to push. At first the lid refused to budge, and he strained as he exerted more pressure. Finally, the lid moved slightly, and Tedi stood up and let his muscles cease their quivering. He was anxious to see what was inside the coffin, but the rim of the sarcophagus was too wide. The lid had not been moved far enough. Tedi moved to the stairway and stood listening to the faint voices to make sure that Arik and Wylan were not coming.
Tedi returned to the sarcophagus and placed his hands on the lid again. Once again he tried easing the lid a little further, but it would not move. In frustration, Tedi pushed as hard as he could. The lid slid swiftly across the coffin and teetered as it rested on only one rim. His first thought was to find something to prop the lid up in case it wobbled and fell. He turned to search the room and felt an icy tingle run up his spine as the crash reverberated through the room. He whirled to see the lid gone. When the reverberations died, Tedi heard the running footsteps pounding down the stairs. He sighed as he bent down and picked up his torch.
"What happened?" shouted Wylan. "Are you alright?"
"What are you doing, Tedi?" scowled Arik.
"I didn't mean to break it," protested Tedi. "I was looking for something to prop it up when it fell."
"I can almost picture that," frowned Arik, "but why were you opening it? I do not like stealing, even from the dead."
"I have heard stories of kings being buried with jewels and gold," shrugged Tedi. "I figured nobody would ever miss it. I am sorry, but we might as well look now."
Tedi turned and held his torch over the coffin. He gasped as Arik and Wylan came running over.
"It is the breastplate in the vision!" Tedi exclaimed. "Not a carving of it, the real thing."
"What is this vision you keep talking about?" Wylan asked as he gazed down at what had been a skeleton wearing the breastplate. Now the bones had turned to dust.
"The Sword of Heavens shows us visions sometimes," explained Arik. "Normally it is a vision of the gem required by the sword and the creatures who possess it. This time, it was just a vision of this breastplate."
"Then you should take it," declared Wylan. "King Auric does not need it any more. Plus you said that something was guiding you to come here. What if it wanted you to find the breastplate, and the statue of Abuud was just an excuse to get you here?"
"He is right," agreed Tedi. "As much as you do not care for taking things from the dead, you cannot afford to leave this behind. It may be important to the Ancient Prophecy."
"It is not mentioned in the Ancient Prophecy," argued Arik.
"Do you think the Sword of Heavens issues its visions for no reason?" countered Tedi as he reached in and grabbed the breastplate.
"This is way too light to be a breastplate," frowned Tedi as he handed the breastplate to Arik. "It weighs almost nothing at all. It can't be metal. It is more like a decoration worn under your tunic."
"It is very light," nodded Arik. "Seeing as you have already defiled this grave, it makes sense to take it with us. I do wish you would refrain from your old habits though."
"It comes naturally," shrugged Tedi with a grin on his lips. "Perhaps it is a talent the gods have granted me."
"Put it on," urged Wylan. "Let's see what it looks like on a king."
"It just came off a dead body," frowned Arik. "Besides, it looks like a ceremonial breastplate and meant for the king. I am not the king."
"Yet," grinned Wylan. "And the body has been dead so long that you need not fear catching anything from it. Plus what better way to carry something valuable? You could lose your pack and that includes what you put in it. Try it on."
"It looks too big for me," frowned Arik as he stripped off his weapons and his tunic.
Arik eased the breastplate over his head and pulled it down. As soon as he had it on, the red eyes of the serpent-like creature burst into brilliance that bathed the room in a red glow. The glow slowly subsided and the brilliance of the eyes returned to normal. While the breastplate had looked overly large before, it now fit Arik snugly.
"What do you suppose that was?" questioned Tedi. "This is getting really weird."
"It didn't hurt us," remarked Wylan. "I take the glow as a good omen."
"I cannot even feel it," frowned Arik. "I feel like my chest is naked, but I can see the breastplate clearly. I think there is something magical about it."
"You think?" laughed Tedi. "Put your tunic back on and let's get to cutting some wood."
"We don't have the tools to fell trees," stated Wylan. "We will need to search the jungle floor for pieces that we can use."
Arik put his tunic on over the breastplate and picked up his weapons. The three boys returned through the great hall to the small entrance chamber. They extinguished the torches before exiting to the jungle.
"What do we do after we build this sled?" asked Tedi. "It is a long haul back to the boat."
"Very long," frowned Wylan. "Not to mention the cannibals between here and there."
"One of us could go get the boat while the others build the sled," suggested Arik.
"Just one of us on the island trails is dangerous," argued Tedi. "If he met anyone at all, he would die."
"Maybe not," mused Arik. "We did not meet any opposition on the beach. I am willing to bet that the beach below us goes all the way around to the boat. It would probably be a lot faster than through the jungle, too. The trails we took to get here were anything but straight."
"You are right," agreed Tedi enthusiastically. "Most of the time our choice of trails was poor at best. I will go for the boat while you two carpenters build whatever it is you are going to build."
"Alright, fisherboy," laughed Arik. "I was wondering how you were going to get out of the real work."
"It's just another talent the gods gave me," grinned Tedi. "Hurry up and get the building started. I plan to run the whole way, and I don't want any work left over when I return."
"Can he sail the boat alone?" asked Wylan after Tedi had left.
"He can," nodded Arik. "He is a natural at it. Let's get gathering the wood. I will check to the right and you go left."
Arik and Wylan searched and gathered wood until it became too dark to see. They met back outside the Tomb of the King.
"Tedi is not here yet?" frowned Wylan.
"The scow was not that close," replied Arik. "He will sail it here during the night. You will see it in the morning. He will probably drop the anchor offshore and get some sleep."
"Can he find us during the night?" inquired Wylan.
"Not really," frowned Arik. "The best he can do is approximate. Perhaps we should build a fire."
"What about attracting attention?" objected Wylan.
"There is nothing alive in this section of the jungle," answered Arik. "Everything is afraid of the mountain. I think smoke coming from the vicinity of the volcano would not make anyone curious with this mountain about to blow."
; "Shouldn't we be afraid, too?" asked Wylan.
"Yes," nodded Arik. "I am afraid, but we must complete this task. The problem will be with the wood needed to build the sled. Most of the wood that we have found is rotten. It will not hold the weight of the statue. We don't have enough good wood to build anything."
"We could look some more in the morning," suggested Wylan.
"We will have to," agreed Arik. "In the meantime, we will burn some of the rotten wood and have something warm to eat. After the meal I will introduce you to our method of practice. We did not bring the wooden practice swords with us, but we can use some branches for staffs."
"You practice with staffs, too?" asked Wylan.
"Yes," nodded Arik. "Also bow, knives, and stars. Alex also taught us many other important skills such as tracking and hiding our tracks. I am afraid that we have not been very good about using those skills on this trip. That will not happen again."
"I would like to meet Alexander Tork," declared Wylan as he helped Arik build a fire. "Do you think we will ever get the chance?"
"Of course," grinned Arik. "We normally travel together, but this trip caused us to become separated. As soon as we deliver the statue we will be heading back to join up with him."
"I look forward to that," grinned Wylan. "I have heard so many stories about him. Many think he is dead."
"They have spent many years searching for the Children of the Prophecy," explained Arik. "They had assumed many names and disguises so those seeking to kill them did not distract them from their task."
"They?" frowned Wylan as he heated some dry meat over the flames of the fire. "There is not more than one Alexander Tork, is there?"
"No," laughed Arik. "I meant he and his wife, Jenneva."
"The famous magician, Jenneva?" Wylan asked excitedly. "That is his wife?"
"Yes," nodded Arik. "I thought everyone knew that."
"Not me," replied Wylan. "I have heard of both of them, but I never knew they were married. I have never heard Jenneva's last name. I didn't know she had one. I cannot believe the friends you travel with. I hope you continue to allow me to travel with you."
Abuud: the One-Eyed God Page 33