Journey's Middle

by B. K. Parent

  Lord Hadrack, who had been quiet up to this point, stood up and addressed the Regent. “It would seem a challenge has been called which has great weight and tradition in Sommerhjem, and it has been called by the one who has, by more recent custom, more right to rule than you. Any way you look at it, your term as Regent has expired. I would think you would embrace the Gylden Sirklene challenge, since it leaves the door open to the possibility that your rule could continue should you win the challenge.”

  There were many shouts of yeas and nays coming from the assembled crowd, which I noticed had grown bigger. Word must have left the Well of Speaking and spread through the fair, for more and more folks were crowding in to listen. The Regent must have realized that his original plans for this day and beyond were not going to happen. Always the opportunist, he replied to Lord Hadrack’s statement.

  “I concede the Gylden Sirklene challenge has been called, and the lost Book of Rules has made a timely appearance along with someone who can read it. I would suggest we adjourn this assembly and retire to the palace so that I and my advisors, along with the Princess and this member of the Høyttaier clan, can study this Book of Rules and determine what to do next. Captain,” said the Regent referring to the head of the elite royal guards, “would you be so kind as to escort the Princess, the seeker, and the member of the Høyttaier clan out of here and take charge of the Book of Rules?”

  “Thank you for your kind offer, but I must decline,” the Princess stated quite emphatically. “I think those gathered here are just as interested in what this book has to say as you and I are, so I think I’ll stay put here as well as the book.”

  “I really must insist, Your Highness, if for no other reason than your safety and well being.”

  “You really have no grounds to insist on at this moment, and I think the royal guards who surround me now are more than capable of seeing to my well being and safety, so once again we are at a stand off. I suggest we let this member of the Høyttaier clan, Master Clarisse, take a look at the Book of Rules and see if she can read it.”

  “How do we know she even knows the language in the book or that what she would read is in truth what is written down?”

  “The Høyttaier clan was charged with keeping the knowledge of the ancient language so far back in time that no one to this day can tell you the origin of the language, or why it was to be kept a secret. What I can tell you is that I began to learn how to read, write, and speak this ancient tongue as a very young lass, as did my siblings and my cousins. We are charged with teaching what we know to our children.”

  “Yes, yes, that’s all very nice that you learned at your mother’s knee. How touching, but even if that is true, it still begs the question, is what she would read in truth what is written down?”

  Once again, there was a great deal of discussion going on among the large crowd assembled, and it was clear that the opinion was divided and getting louder and more contentious.

  “If I may address the assembly,” said what appeared to be a disembodied voice, and many of us looked around to see where it was coming from.

  I noticed Seeker Eshana bend down and heard him ask someone permission for something. When he straightened, he had Shueller on his shoulder high above the surrounding folks.

  “Thank you, Seeker Eshana. As I said, if I may address the assembly, I think I can resolve the problem of truth.” Suddenly all eyes were on Shueller, who even though he was sitting on Seeker Eshana’s shoulder and should have looked somewhat ridiculous, looked instead calmly dignified. “It is obvious I am a rover by my dress, but I am also quite apparently a man of the Günnary, a clan known for the mining and the seeking of rare gems. One of the rarest of the stones we have found is that stone known simply as a truth stone. No one knows why or how the properties of the stone work, but if in contact with someone who is truthful, the stone stays inert. However, if someone holding the stone tells an untruth, the stone sparks what some have described as akin to what they think a really small piece of lightening might feel like, thus the holder has a great deal of trouble continuing to hold the stone. Perhaps, Regent you would wish to test the properties of the stone yourself? I have one with me.”

  “Ah, well, that might not be the most convincing demonstration, since I would certainly, well, since I am, well, it would be better if we picked several folks out of the crowd at random to, ah, um, test this stone out.”

  I guess I could understand why the Regent was nervous about handling a truth stone, considering what he probably had to hide. In the end, it was determined that the captain of the regular royal guards and the captain of the elite royal guards would each pick one member from their patrols and a set of general questions would be asked such as name, rank, known favorite food, age, and color of hair. To the question of their name they were to answer truthfully, along with rank. As to the other three questions, they were to try to lie. It became clear to the assembly quickly that lying when holding the stone Shueller set in their hands was painful, and both the regular royal guard and the elite royal guard did not seem very happy answering the last three questions with lies.

  Since it was now established that Master Clarisse could be held to the truth by holding the truth stone, she asked for the Book of Rules from the royal librarian, took the truth stone from Shueller, and carefully opened the Book of Rules to the first page. When she had finished reading the first several pages, the silence in the Well of Speaking was so complete that even the gulls flying overhead had ceased their crying.

  Chapter Eighty

  The first several pages of the Book of Rules established that the idea of choosing the ruler of Sommerhjem upon the death of the current ruler was a tradition our folk had brought with them when they had originally come to Sommerhjem. The book did not explain where they had come from, or why they chose their leaders in this way. That explanation had been lost down the long corridors of time. What it did set out, however, was who was to rule from the time the challenge was called after a ruler died until a new ruler was chosen, during the time the challenge was being completed. The Book of Rules established that an interim ruling council was to be formed. This transitional council would rule for one year from the day that the challenge was called.

  “So, Regent Klingflug, the Book of Rules is quite clear about who is to rule now that the challenge has been called. Master Clarisse, I trust there is an established method describing how the council is to be chosen,” inquired Lord Hadrack.

  Master Clarisse explained that the interim ruling council should consist of an heir of the deceased ruler if there was one, leading members drawn by random selection from the ruling houses, which in our time would translate as the larger landholders or nobles, leading members of the various guilds, and representatives from a variety of clans including the rovers, the Günnary, the Høyttaier, the foresters, and others I had not heard of. The number to serve on the council from each group was listed. Each predominate group, such as nobles and guilds, would put the names of those considered eligible into a hat and a neutral party would draw out one or more names. It would seem our forbearers were either well-versed in human nature or not exactly trusting of their neighbors. I could hear quiet discussions buzzing through the crowd when Master Clarisse had finished reading.

  “It would seem, Regent Klingflug, that a temporary council could be drawn this day from the nobles and larger landholders, for many are in town for the fair,” suggested Lady Celik. “Master Clarisse could represent the Høyttaier clan until such time they can choose their own. The other clans can place a temporary member until they can meet and send in their representatives. Word could be sent out by swift runners or messenger birds and . . .”

  “Pardon the interruption Lady Celik, but I have had a chance to read a little ahead and the Book of Rules mentions that something called the rolls should be consulted. Does anyone know what that is?”

  The royal librarian ga
ve a swift glance at the royal historian, and both looked somewhat mortified.

  “Of course, why didn’t we think of that?” questioned the royal historian. “The rolls the book refers to can only be the records gathered every ten years as to who lives in Sommerhjem and what group, clan, or landholder they owe allegiance to. It would be easy to make up a list of the leaders of each pertinent group and put the names in for a drawing. Now the current list is about seven years old so we might need to draw an alternate for each name drawn. Well, it really would not take long to get it set up. We could post the lists by tomorrow and ask representatives who are here in the capitol to add or delete from the list. I appreciate that there are many more folks in Sommerhjem than when it was first settled, so this choosing the final council might take awhile, but with swift runners and messenger birds, we should be able to get the word out, and the final council could be seated within the month.”

  “That gives us a plan on how to govern the country that I think we can all agree on. Do you agree, Regent Klingflug?” suggested Lord Hadrack.

  I could see that the Regent and those on the platform had been neatly boxed into a corner. If they did not agree, there would be nothing to gain.

  In a voice that was less than gracious in defeat, the Regent responded. “I concede that our forbearers seem to have thought this transition from one ruler to the next through, but I would hear more of this Gylden Sirklene challenge, as I am sure many of us would. Seems you have produced the Book of Rules and a member of the Høyttaier clan to read it. What then? I am sure this is the question that is on all of our minds. Just what was the Gylden Sirklene challenge and what does it entail?”

  “Besides the instructions on who would rule in the year following a current ruler’s passing, the Book of Rules states that a special box, which it describes here as gleaming of gold and decorated with cut gems . . .”

  “Well, isn’t that helpful? There are untold hundreds of gleaming gold boxes decorated with cut gems scattered across Sommerhjem. How are we to know just which box is the right one? Is anyone else beginning to wonder about this so-called challenge?” asked the Regent.

  “It is not just any gold box, but a very specific one, and there is a picture artfully rendered on the page that says that the box is needed as part of the challenge,” replied Master Clarisse.

  “How nice for us that there is a picture, but it will still take enormous effort and time to locate the box, if it still exists,” the Regent suggested.

  The tide of optimism that had begun to rise among those who had been less than happy with the Regent began ebbing away.

  “Perhaps I can save all of you some time,” a new voice said from the middle of the assembled crowd, and my heart nearly stopped, for it was Da’s voice.

  The word “no” screamed in my head, and I even turned and was about to move out of the group of rovers I had been sitting with to move towards him. I do not know what I thought I might do, and fortunately, the elder rover I was sitting next to put a restraining hand on my shoulder.

  “You must let this unfold, youngling. All will be well,” he reassured me quietly. “Your part is not yet.”

  What he said distracted me enough that I sat back down. My part? What was he talking about? Meanwhile I saw that Da, a very clean shaven Da, had made his way to the stairs and was slowly descending, heading towards Seeker Eshana, Master Clarisse, the royal historian, and the royal librarian. Once he reached them, he began to speak, or at least tried to.

  “If I may speak. I am rover Thorval Pedersen . . .”

  “Captain, I order you to seize that man,” shouted the Regent.

  The captain of the elite royal guards began to move forward just as the captain of the royal guards turned and called to one of her patrols to surround Da and escort him down the steps. I think at that moment I stopped breathing. We had trusted her, and now she had ordered one of her patrols to take Da into custody. Much to everyone’s surprise, once Da had reached the bottom of the stairs, he was escorted to stand next to Seeker Eshana, and the patrol swiftly moved back.

  “I ordered you to seize that man, Captain. You would defy a direct order?” the Regent questioned.

  “Well, I had two problems with the order, sir. First and foremost, I am unclear as to your authority to issue the order since I understand you are no longer the one in charge, but more importantly the Well of Speaking is safe ground similar to the royal road. Any who enter its gates have safe passage and the right to speak on their own behalf.”

  Turning to the royal historian, the captain questioned him to clarify that she had her facts right and was given the affirmative. The majority of the assembled crowd nodded and voiced agreement. The Regent looked less than pleased.

  “Requesting your pardon, rover Thorval, but before you speak, I would like to clarify for my own curiosity why you have been labeled a wanted man by the Regent,” Lady Celik broke in.

  “No pardon needed, Lady Celik. It is something I have also wanted to know since the time when three of the Regent’s agents came seeking me in my home in the spring,” said Thorval.

  I noticed the Regent wipe his brow of sweat and wondered why he was sweating so profusely. The very chilly damp breeze that was blowing off the bay had made the Well of Speaking very cool, despite the large assembly of folks.

  The head of the elite royal guards leaned in to speak urgently to the Regent, who then said, “The Captain here has just informed me that there has been a grievous error made, a clerical error really. It appears the clerk who issued the warrant heard the name wrong and so put down the wrong name. The Crown has an interest in finding a rover named Torger Peterson. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

  And if you believe that story, I would be glad to sell you some very fine bog land for a large number of silver coins. The Regent was sorry for the inconvenience, was he? Da had to leave home and go into hiding for the summer, leaving Nana at home to fend for herself and sending me on the road hoping to meet up with him, at great risk to all of us, but he was sorry for the inconvenience? I would like to . . ., well, what I wanted to do should not be mentioned in polite company.

  “I would think a formal pardon for rover Pedersen sent throughout Sommerhjem would be a fine first order of business for the interim council, would you not agree, Your Highness?” said Master Rollag, directing his comment to the Princess. She wholeheartedly agreed. “But back to the business at hand. You had requested a chance to speak, rover Pedersen.”

  “Thank you, Master Rollag. As I started to say, I can save all of you some time concerning the box that is mentioned in the Book of Rules. I think,” Thorval said, as he opened the daypack he carried and pulled out a box that caught the sunlight and sparkled, “this box might be the one that is needed.”

  Thorval handed the box to the royal historian. He and the royal librarian looked carefully between the box and the drawing in the Book of Rules. After careful examination, the two told all of us assembled that they felt the box was the one pictured and described in the Book of Rules and asked Master Clarisse if there were further instructions concerning the box.

  “Give me a moment to read this next section,” she requested. “Ah, now that is interesting.”

  I am sure everyone behind me turned to look at her, waiting for her to go on, holding their breath in anticipation.

  “Don’t keep us in the dark too long,” suggested Master Rollag, with just a touch of exasperated humor in his voice. “As fascinated as you might be by your reading, Master Clarisse, I fear the crowd will grow restless if you don’t speak soon.”

  “What, oh, sorry. It’s just that this book just solved a mystery that I have wondered about all of my life, from the first time I ever came to the capitol to this very day.”

  “And what mystery might that be?” the Regent asked, clearly impatient.

  “The plain stone.”
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  “The plain stone? What plain stone?” the Regent shot back.

  “I always wondered why the builders of the Well of Speaking left that one squat stone unadorned, in the middle of the wall behind you, Regent Klingflug. All of the other boundary stones have been carved, but that one stone is not. No one ever could either explain it or was moved to change it.”

  “And now you know?” the royal librarian asked. “I, too, have noted how that plain stone always looked like it did not fit, but I could never find any reference to it in any of the books or scrolls in the library.”

  “Apparently the plain stone needs no special decoration for it has a purpose far greater than being decorative. Jonzee . . . I beg your pardon, Thorval, would you please accompany me to the plain stone we are speaking about.”

  “I would be honored, Master Clarisse.”

  As Da and Master Clarisse began to move towards the squat plain stone, the Regent and the elite royal guards looked like they were going to move off the speaker’s platform, as though they were either going to intercept Da and Master Clarisse, or were going to surround them once they reached the plain stone. I became very worried about what might happen to both Da and Master Clarisse if the elite royal guards made a move that would be taken as ill by the part of the assembly who thought little of the Regent. Things could get very ugly in just a few short minutes. It was Master Clarisse who surprised me at that moment. As before, at those times when I felt she was more than what she presented as simply Master Clarisse, I saw that subtle transformation. She seemed to stand taller and take on an air of command. Master Clarisse stopped her forward walk, turned to face the Regent and the formidable elite royal guards, and in a voice that rang throughout the Well of Speaking, simply told him to halt. What was more surprising is that he did, as did the elite royal guards.