Castle & Conceit

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Torin was resting, casually listening to more stars, as they made their way around the world. Some made little sound – especially the blues, because they wandered so slowly – but Torin could still hear where they had been, millennia ago, and wherever they would go. He received these signals whenever he wished, because he regularly drank the waters of the Atrejan Ocean.

  “Can we talk?” Celio asked him.

  “Sure,” the boy answered.

  “Inside?” Celio continued.

  “Alright,” Torin replied. They went inside the boy’s house.

  Celio had his star charts with him and showed Torin what the path followed by the yellow sun they had discussed.

  “Your prediction about the yellow sun’s movement was correct,” Celio said.

  “I told you what it would do. You seem surprised,” Torin said.

  “If you were guessing, you had a one (1) in one billion two hundred million (1200000000) chance of getting it right,” Celio said.

  “I wasn’t guessing,” Torin said.

  “I know. You must have some sort of mathematical shortcut for seeing this. You’re just mathematically gifted, more than I ever was. There are alternatives to trigonometry, and you be working with them without even realizing it, like the rotational numbers,” Celio said.

  “There really aren’t any numbers in my head when I make these predictions. I just hear the sounds that tell me where the suns are going, or where they’ve been. The Atrejan waters let me hear that,” Torin said.

  “There must be something to them, but no one is sure how they work. It might just be that a different type of physical and mathematical understanding is unlocked – possibly more geometric than algebraic or numerical,” Celio said to him.

  Torin said: “I just don’t know that much math. There’s no formula that I use! You don’t want to believe it, even though you see that the prediction came true. Why won’t you believe it? I think that’s the most important question.”

  “The stars aren’t alive. They can’t talk to you. They give off light. You might have an instinctive ability to read the flickering light patterns. I think that’s what all the navigators are doing and they taught you that. The Atrejan waters probably just enhance your view of the light,” Celio said.

  “If you drank the Atrejan waters, you’d hear the stars for yourself and you’d believe me. Why don’t you?” Torin asked.

  “The waters are dangerous. Once you drink of any of them, all the rest become, effectively, poison. There’s something fundamentally wrong with that – it means all the waters are hazardous. I don’t want to depend on something toxic to live my life. Besides, if we all depended on the waters for our abilities, we would never be forced to exert ourselves and develop our innate potential to its fullest,” Celio said.

  “The water you do drink isn’t toxic. You’re missing out by looking at it that way. But all that matters was that my prediction was right? And your math prediction was wrong,” Torin said.

  “Somewhat. Your prediction was more accurate, I’ll grant you that. But it also matters how you did this, and not just the results,” Celio said.

  Torin’s parents had heard all of this from another room. Then, they entered and listened more closely. “Are you convinced yet?” the father asked with a grin.

  Celio answered: “I don’t know about his methods, but his results are convincing – enough that I think that it’s worth looking at his predictions even more closely. Much more closely. Torin, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  “Who?” the boy’s mother asked even before Torin could.

  Celio answered: “A colleague of mine – Professor Desmond. He has questions, and only someone who knows where the stars have been in the past would know the answers.”

  “Alright. He can come if we can be part of this. He’s still our son, and still not ready to go off alone,” Torin’s mother replied.

  “Thank you. I’ll be back in just a couple of hours,” Celio said and left the house.

  ~~~

  “He’s obsessed with math. That’s the only thing I think he believes in,” Torin said.

  “Math is useful, and you should learn more. But that’s not all there is – we know that,” Torin’s father said.

  “You were right and he was wrong. Pride gets in the way, and he’s looking for answers,” Torin’s mother said.

  “Also, the Atrejan waters are not the way to get wealthy – navigators aren’t paid well, no matter how well they chart the stars – so a lot of people don’t respect their value,” Torin’s father said.

  ~~~

  Later that day, Celio returned with Professor Desmond and they met Torin and his parents at their house.

  “Torin, this is Professor Desmond. He studies archeology,” Celio said.

  Desmond then explained himself, saying: “What he means is that I look for objects left over from ancient cultures. Sometimes I find ancient books, artifacts and treasure, even entire lost cities.” He was hoping to appeal to the boy’s sense of adventure with his descriptions.

  “Does treasure mean a few old coins or something valuable?” Torin asked.

  Desmond continued, saying: “Sometimes, it’s very valuable. I believe that between seventeen thousand (17000) and twenty thousand (20000) years ago, a city existed in this forest, and those who lived there were in possession of incredible wealth, in sapphires and emeralds. They were a superstitious people, and they mined incessantly for the gemstones, thinking that they were frozen teardrops from their gods which gave eternal life. The city was buried in a landslide, and the area was overgrown with trees. There were maps of the buildings within the city, so I believe that I know how it was laid out, but there were no clear maps of the paths between the city and the edge of the forest. The maps that do exist convince me of its existence and its approximate location, but they are unclear and incredibly challenging to follow. There are so many different ways to read them that there are too many different possible locations in which to dig, and we can ill afford to dig in more than a few of the possible locations.”

  “So why do you want our son’s help?” his mother asked.

  Desmond answered her, saying: “Yes. Because there are a few clues that are clear, and they are written in terms of the positions of the suns.” He then unfolded some maps and pointed to the locations of the suns, saying: "The second (2nd) blue sun was here, and these seven (7) red suns were in these locations, according to the writings of the ancient astronomers.”

  Torin took a vial hanging on a chain around his neck – a vial with classical symbols carved on it signifying the stars – and he drank the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from it. He was now energized and began to count in his head and then he listened. While doing this, he held his hands over his eyes as if to see only what was within him. Several minutes passed and he did – and said – nothing.

  The silence was long and awkward and even his mother and father were surprised.

  “Torin? Is something wrong?” Torin’s mother asked.

  “Is this boy troubled by our presence here? Is he ill? If we are bothering you, we can leave. I’m so sorry to trouble your family,” Desmond said, apologetically.

  “I know when this was. I know where it was. About one hundred twenty (120) miles from here, toward the southeastern edge of the forest, and near the southwestern coast of the continent,” Torin said.

  His mother considered the distance and looked distressed. “That’s too far! I don’t want you to go that far out,” she said.

  “I agree,” his father said.

  Desmond considered this and said: “You don’t need to go, young man. I agree with your parents. Can you draw an arrow on this map, to the same scale, and indicate the position, as clearly as possible?” He handed Torin a map and a pencil.

  Torin took the map and pencil from Desmond and drew a narrow circle, with two small line segments indicating the position of the circle’s center from the edge of the coast. To scale, the dig site was two (2
) miles in diameter.

  “It’s in that circle, that’s the narrowest range I can give,” Torin explained.

  “Thank you, Torin.” Desmond answered.

  “Yes, thank you. Thank you all for your help,” Celio said.

  The pair of professors then left to find the city at the edge of the forest.

  CHAPTER 15: City under Sun

  The astronomer, Professor Celio, along with the archeologist, Professor Desmond, paid for transport on a riverboat and thereby made their way to the edge of the forest according to the directions provided by the boy. They were able to identify the location with a few careful measurements checked against the map markings, and then they set up a small camp with tents. They had brought only small tools and spools of thread and used these to create a grid of markings around the area the next day. Then, they spent the next five (5) days digging in various spots around a central point, finding small shards of pottery and occasional drinking goblets, which increased their confidence in the boy’s account of the star positions. On the fifth (5th) day, they found objects made of gold and silver, in the shapes of heads of falcons and eagles, and others in the shapes of spheres like the stars. These appeared to be some sort of idols from primitive cultures that worshipped birds of the sky and the suns. Their historical value was significant and the professors marked off the objects’ locations in the grid very carefully, so as to discern the layout of the lost city based on the distribution of the locations of its artifacts.

  Their continued successes justified their continuation of the exploration; however, their supplies ran low and so they needed to secure more supplies and additional help. They traveled on foot to a town on the coast and began purchasing food and more tools and they asked around for the availability of help.

  ~~~

  Their questions were overheard by Garbhan – a thirty-one (31) year old muscular sailor with a slight hunch – who brought news of it to the ship on which he served. Captain Keallach was waiting there: he was a harsh and terrible pirate, with a dark beard and a darker heart.

  “Cap’n, we have a little goings on in town. Someone be lookin’ for help, help diggin’ for somethin’, maybe somethin’ good,” Garbhan said with a grin.

  Captain Keallach was somewhat interested, and said in reply: “We’re always here to help…help ourselves. Take five (5) of the men and get yourself jobs digging! Whatever you find, send word of it back to me.”

  Garbhan took five (5) strong men who were on deck and said: “Drink up and come with me.”

  Garbhan and the chosen men each took vials that they wore on chains around their necks – vials marked with the classical symbol of the tiger, denoting speed and strength – and drank the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean from those vials to become energized.

  “You’ll need your strength for diggin’ deep,” Garbhan then said.

  ~~~

  Garbhan and the five (5) chosen men returned to the town, where they approached Celio and Desmond as they walked about the marketplace buying shovels and pickaxes, ropes, wheelbarrows and bags. Seeing that these men were serious about spending money to find something, Garbhan asked them: “You be wantin’ some help?”

  Desmond looked at the burly man and thought that he might be a bit dangerous rather than helpful. “Just a bit, but you look like an experienced man, and I doubt I could afford the price you deserve,” Desmond said.

  Garbhan replied: “No, no. I haven’t had a good job in a long time, a real long time, sir. I be willin’ to work for little. And me friends, they be willin’ to work for even less!”

  Five (5) more men – some looking like they had seen the worst part of the troubles of the sea and war – stood up and walked behind Garbhan. “We’re ready for ya’, all we be wantin’ is a little bit,” Garbhan said.

  Desmond realized that further refusing their help might be more dangerous than accepting it. “If you’re ready now, let’s go,” Desmond said, heading in the direction of their digging site. Celio and Desmond led, followed by Garbhan and five (5) of his fellow crewmen. Garbhan noted the directions carefully – his beaten body concealed his shrewd mind – and he waited for the right moment.

  When they arrived at the digging site, they were given tools to proceed. Garbhan and his fellow crewmen were strong and swift – because of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean they drank – and soon discovered more gold and silver items.

  The dig site had long since been abandoned by people, but it was in a forested area that had not been abandoned by wild animals. Among those wild animals were predators, including three (3) hungry mountain lions, who pounced on the working men.

  Desmond and Celio jumped back in surprise when the mountain lions attacked.

  Garbhan and his men laughed and quickly grabbed hold of the mountain lions by their necks and swung them around for sport.

  “These lions are just a little hungry. Ain’t nuttin’ to be afraid of,” Garbhan said. He and the other men threw the mountain lions with great force such that the creatures crashed into trees and cried. The mountain lions then retreated into the forest.

  “Good to have you here,” Desmond said, relieved. He realized that hungry lions were merciless killers, while these pirates could be bargained with, or at least he hoped so.

  “You were quicker than those lions – and stronger,” Celio said.

  “We drink the tiger waters, and everybody knows tigers beat lions,” Garbhan said.

  “You mean the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean, right?” Desmond asked.

  “Yeah. That’s it. Drink up again. We need our strength to dig for the gold!” Garbhan said. He and the five (5) crewmen he brought then drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean from their vials and were energized with strength and speed. They resumed their digging in the ground for more of the treasures.

  ~~~

  Garbhan realized this was indeed a treasure trove, and saw a moment when everyone was so busy digging that they didn’t notice anything else, and so he made his way back to the coastal town, and then boarded the ship. He went to Captain Keallach, excitedly, and said: “Found it, we did! Gold and silver things, in an underground city.”

  Captain Keallach smiled and said: “What once was lost, now is found. I always wanted a city of me own! Gather the crew.”

  Garbhan ran to the crew cabins, rousing the men by yelling and slapping some of them on the heads to wake them, while shouting: “Get up! Cap’n be wantin’ ya. There’s gold out there! In an underground city!” This caught their attention, and Garbhan led the way back to the dig site, as Keallach and the crew followed. Garbhan remembered the directions to where the men were digging for the treasure, and he was feeling for a short while like he was a captain, as he was inflated with pride for having overheard the valuable information.

  When they arrived at the dig site, more of the treasures had been found with no small help from the pirate crew who were not at all lazy when treasure was at hand. Desmond and Celio were carefully recording each finding.

  Keallach announced himself, saying: “I, Captain Keallach, hereby declare that all the treasure here belongs to me. Who can I thank for finding it for me?”

  The men who had stayed to work pointed over to Desmond and Celio and said: “It’s them, captain.”

  Captain Keallach then approached the professors and asked: “What is this wonderful city you have found? Does it have a name? No, don’t tell me. Let me guess. Is it Kahar? Or is it Jadezan?”

  Desmond could immediately sense the danger, but rather than react out of fear – which he knew would be useless – he merely answered the question at hand, and said: “Those cities are too recent, historically speaking. This is apparently the remains of Tak Bavadan. It is at least seventeen thousand (17000) years old, perhaps closer to twenty thousand (20000).”

  “Big numbers,” Keallach answered. “I like that! I like it more in gold than years, though! Now, it’s time that you told me how you found this city, being buried as it is,” Keallach continued.
At this, he drew a sword and used it like a cane, walking as if he were a man of class and style. Keallach’s only style was a brutal tactical combination of theft and murder and kidnapping and threats, and his smile and tone of voice gave that away all too quickly. He also gestured to the other pirates using some hand signals. Some of them began taking the discovered treasures back to the ship. Desmond and Celio were cornered between Keallach and the pirates who remained.

  Fearing for himself, Desmond began to design a believable half-truth, and said: “We had star charts. We found the city by following them.”

  Keallach asked: “Where did you get these star charts? I’ve seen many charts in my days, and none of them cover this area so well, inside a forest, no less.” Keallach knew of Tak Bavadan, and many other cities, as legends. They may have been written about in Emeth, but their records would have been difficult to find among the nearly four hundred (400) millennia of records of the whole world. Keallach was well aware that accurate star charts were far too difficult to make at that time by the primitive people of Tak Bavadan, and the charts were only made over ocean routes where it was most profitable for trade. Even then, these were too often full of errors and led to many extra days of exploration on some of the oceans, where it was easy to get lost. Many sailors lost their lives while spending far too much time when traveling or hunting for treasure, especially while sailing the “maze waters.” Luck had too much to do with whether you survived.

  “Are you sure you’re telling me everything you know? It would be a shame if I had to find out the rest of the story from someone else… It might be a bloody messy process. And hurt a little. More likely, hurt a lot,” Keallach said with a most vicious smile. He began swinging his sword around in the air, as if an enemy were engaging him.

  “What more could there be?” Celio asked.

  “Isn’t the treasure here all that really matters to you?” Desmond asked nervously.

  Keallach then said: “Let me tell you of the time I made a bet…a bet between me and a king. I wagered this king that I could get his daughter to agree to marry me in three (3) days. If I was right, he’d give me a chest of diamonds from his treasury and I’d sail away. If I was wrong, I’d just sail away. The king agreed to the bet. So I got her to agree to marry me. Pretty thing she was.”