by B. K. Parent
All talk ceased once again, and Master Clarisse and Da proceeded unhindered to the plain stone. Both of them looked at the top of the plain stone, and then Da handed Master Clarisse the box and began brushing away at the top of the plain stone. There was a collective gasp when he bent down and pulled his knife out of his boot. When Da straightened up, I saw a number of the elite royal guards begin to step forward, their hands going towards their swords. Master Clarisse, seeing that Da’s action might be misinterpreted, quickly reassured those assembled that there was a recess in the top of the plain stone that had been filled over the years with debris, and some of it was packed in quite solidly. Thorval was going to, and she chuckled when she said this, use his knife to try to pry and scrape out the debris in order to clean out the recess. Da was muttering how it was a darn sad thing to use such a fine knife for. With the use of the knife, it took little time for Da to clear out what turned out to be a rectangular indentation in the plain stone. It came as no surprise when Master Clarisse carefully set the box into the indentation, and it fit perfectly.
“For those of you who are too far away to see, the opening Thorval has cleared out is the exact shape and size for the box to fit snuggly. Surprisingly, the opening has worn very little.”
“This just a fine little drama you have unfolding here,” the Regent commented. “How very lovely, the glittery box fits. So what? What does it have to do with the challenge? Now that it is in its resting place, do you just open it, and it will magically reveal the new ruler?”
“Would that it was that easy,” Master Clarisse said. “Our ancestors did not make the choosing of the succeeding ruler a simple task. As Thorval can attest, and from my observation, the box we just set in the plain stone has no visible lock or opening. It is like a hollow block, but the Book of Rules says that two keys are needed, but first we need to locate one or more key holes. Seeker Eshana, would you be so kind as to come forward? The book says a seeker is needed for this next step.”
Chapter Eighty-One
Seeker Eshana stepped forward, moved to stand next to Master Clarisse, and inquired as to what was needed of him. He was told by Master Clarisse that according to the Book of Rules, a seeker was needed to find the keyhole that would open the box. Seeker Eshana nodded that he understood his task, and a stillness overcame him. He stood silent for a moment, as if he were gathering the very air around him, before he moved and lifted the box, turning it over and over in his hands. After about a minute or two of scrutinizing the box, he placed it back in the opening at the top of the plain stone and began to run his hands over the plain stone itself, his long slender fingers brushing lightly across the surface, moving slowly inch by inch. Once he had covered most of the plain stone, he went back to the area towards the top center front, and as we watched, his fingers hovered there. Seeker Eshana bent down to take a closer look and then he straightened.
“It would appear there is a small key hole just here. Now all we need is a small key.”
“First a book, then a translator, then a box, then a place to put the box, then a seeker to find a keyhole, and now a small key. Is anyone else beginning to tire of this farce?” commented the Regent, sounding even more of sour grapes than before.
“I find it interesting that as each part of the Book of Rules has been translated, the means for achieving what is needed has been available. I cannot help but think that what is needed next will be provided also,” suggested Lady Celik.
“So what do you propose? That everybody here search their pockets, pouches, packs, or purses, to see if they have this mythical key, and then anyone who just happens to have several small keys on them, or knows of where they could lay their hands on several small keys, should line up and try it in this keyhole that the seeker thinks he has found?” spat the Regent angrily.
While the Regent and Lady Celik were talking, the elder rover on my right leaned towards me and said, “The Regent has the wrong of it, for the second key that is sought is not one made of metal but rather is an individual. It is time, Neebing blessed, for you to take up your part.”
What was he talking about? What part? And here we go with this Neebing blessed business again. I looked at him with what I know was a questioning look, but he had faced forward.
The Regent stepped off the speaker’s platform and stalked towards Seeker Eshana and Master Clarisse. When the captain of the royal guards would have stopped him, the Princess spoke up and told her to let him through. He marched up to the plain stone and tried to grab the box out of the opening it was resting in, but it would not budge.
“Now you have done it,” he groused at Seeker Eshana. “You have wedged it in there, and probably on purpose, so as to delay this continuing sham. So anyone got a key, or two, or six, and want to try it here?”
Just as the Regent finished speaking, the elder rovers I was sitting among stood in unison, as if someone had given some sort of silent signal. I felt a little foolish sitting there amid a group of folk who were standing. I was indecisive as to what to do next when the elder rover who had been sitting beside me reached down, and with a surprisingly strong grip, took the decision out of my hands and pulled me up. With Zeroun in the lead, the elder rovers moved towards Seeker Eshana, Master Clarisse, the Princess, and the Regent in a slow and dignified manner, and I was tucked in the middle, being guided forward.
“Rovers,” the Regent spat out, as if the word left a nasty taste in his mouth. “First, a rover shows up with what is alleged to be the right box, and now here come some doddering old fool rovers to do what? Does one of them conveniently have the second key tucked in his pocket?”
When the Regent finished talking, both the royal librarian and the royal historian stepped forward and intercepted the rovers as they continued to move towards the plain stone.
“Ah, Zeroun, my old friend, I did not know you were in town,” said the royal historian, grasping both of Zeroun’s hands warmly in his own. “Allow me to introduce this doddering old fool to the assembly,” offered the royal historian. “Someone I am proud to call a friend and an esteemed colleague.”
The royal historian turned to the assembled crowd and told them that Zeroun was a venerated historian among the rovers and highly regarded among other historians in Sommerhjem. He then asked Zeroun if he could assist them concerning the keys that were needed to open the box.
“Much as I would like to claim the honor of holding the key to open this box, the honor is not mine, but rather this young woman’s,” Zeroun announced.
The group of elder rovers surrounding me parted, forming an aisle for me to walk down towards those waiting at the plain stone holding the box. No, nope, no, no, no, I thought to myself, as I looked down that corridor of rovers stretching towards the plain stone. This could not be happening. I certainly did not have any key, nor was I a key. Just as I thought that to myself, I felt a warmth begin to form where the pouch made of golden pine spider silk lay against my chest, and with each passing second, the area became hotter and hotter until I remembered the small key that I had found in the Neebing room. I hastily reached into my shirt, pulled the pouch out, opened it, and removed the key. Once I had it in my hand, the heat seemed to flow out of the key, leaving it only slightly warm as it rested in my hand. My feet felt rooted to the ground, and I must have swayed just a little.
Shueller walked up the center space between the elder rovers and gently laid a hand on my arm. In a very soft and gentle voice, filled with just a touch of amusement, he said, “There is nothing to fear, Neebing blessed. This is but the first and simplest step in your journey, so you really need to move those feet of yours.”
I did not have time to think about what he had just said, for I found myself being urged along by the rovers who stood on either side of me, and soon I was standing in front of the plain stone. I was glad Carz was standing next to me, and he leaned into my leg, giving me a feeling of reassurance. I did not
even realize he had walked beside me or that I had dropped his rope. I hoped no one had noticed.
“You need to place the key in the keyhole,” Zeroun directed, pointing to the area Seeker Eshana had indicated the keyhole was located.
Just as I reached forward, the Regent snatched the key out of my hand, and said, “I’ll just do this myself to make sure there is no trick going on.”
Seeker Eshana leaned forward as if he were about to stop the Regent, but Zeroun stopped him with a quick word. All of us stepped back. The Regent then took the key, put it in the keyhole, turned it to the right, and nothing happened. He turned it to the left, with the same results. He turned the key right and left several more times, and then with a look of triumph on his face, he turned to the assembled crowd and said, “It looks like this key is not the one. So how many other keys, and how many days do we have to go through, before we declare this whole Gylden Sirklene challenge a waste of time?”
With that said, he carelessly tossed the small key high over his shoulder towards the sea.
No one was close enough to intercept it, and we all looked on as it reached the top of the arc and was about to begin its downward journey. The crowd gasped. Afterward I was never quite sure if the gasps were because the Regent had so carelessly tossed away the key, or because at the very last minute, Carz made an astonishing leap, caught the key in his mouth, and then twisted his body at an impossible angle, which caused him to land on the low wall rather than sailing over it and falling to the rocks and the sea below.
My feet were not stuck to the ground anymore as I rushed towards him. I did not care who was watching when I flung my arms around his neck. After giving him a quick hug, I rapidly ran my hands over Carz, trying to determine if he had hurt anything in his amazing feat of acrobatics to save the key. I was finally brought back to the present when Carz head-butted me and reached up his paw, placing it on my arm to still one of my restless hands. He then leaned down and very carefully placed the slightly wet small key in my hand. As I closed my hand over the key, I ran my other hand over Carz’ head in a silent thanks and felt a wave of warmth and calm that I had felt a few times before this summer. It was a feeling of reassurance, and I am not sure where exactly it came from. I did not have time to think on it any longer when Master Clarisse stepped up and asked me if now that I had the small key back in my possession, could she take a look at it?
“Well that certainly was entertaining but senseless,” the Regent said, and I noticed that he had his sneer down to perfection. “I must say, I have never seen a hunting cat that was trained to fetch. So now what? You have one worthless key, and didn’t you say we needed two keys? As I said, this whole drama unfolding here seems just too far-fetched. I suggest we just adjourn and gather at the palace to try to hash things out. We can even form up an advisory council.”
“I would suggest that while you were unable to get the key Nissa holds to work, that does not necessarily mean that it is not one of the keys needed,” Zeroun stated with such grave dignity and authority that a hush fell over the crowd. “Remember the Book of Rules stated there are two keys needed. Master Clarisse, did the book describe either of the keys?”
“Yes, and I had just read that section before this last little bit of drama. The book clearly describes the first of the keys and has a drawing. I have had a chance to compare the key Nissa is holding, and it matches both the description and the drawing I see here on this page,” Master Clarisse said, as she showed the picture to those around her, who confirmed what she had said.
“So, it would seem that the key this young rover holds is either the right key or a very good copy,” the royal librarian stated.
“It must be a very good copy since obviously it did not work,” quipped the Regent.
“That is one possible conclusion,” suggested the royal librarian. “Does the book also describe and picture the second key?”
“No, it does not,” replied Master Clarisse.
“Well, how in the world are we supposed to find and recognize the second key then? I, for one, am becoming bored with this whole travesty,” the Regent said with an exaggerated yawn, which drew a laugh from his supporters who seemed to feel that things were shifting back in the Regent’s favor.
“Perhaps the box holds some clue as to what type of key the second key should be,” the royal historian suggested. “Seeker Eshana, could you look it over again?”
The Regent made a loud scoffing noise and made a great show of rolling his eyes, indicating how foolish and unnecessary he thought this request was since he had already tried to remove the box and could not. Seeker Eshana, not at all discouraged by either the Regent’s scoffing or inability to remove the box, easily pulled it out of the stone and reexamined it.
“I still cannot detect a keyhole on the box, and so I am afraid I cannot help in this instance,” stated Seeker Eshana regretfully.
“The problem is,” suggested Zeroun calmly, “all of you think we are looking for another small key, but perhaps you need to expand your thinking about the second key. I very much suspect it is not an object, but an individual.”
Zeroun’s statement certainly got everyone’s attention. A ground swell of talking rose, and it took some time before the crowd quieted down. While the crowd was discussing this latest development, the elder rovers who were close to me had drawn closer and were all looking at me with what I hoped were kindly and encouraging looks. I was beginning to get a very strange feeling I was about to become even more the center of attention than I already was. I felt movement to my side, and the elder rovers closest to me parted ways to make an opening. Da slipped through to come and stand beside me, putting a strong reassuring hand on my shoulder. Carz moved closer and gently leaned against my other side, and I put my hand on his shoulder. I know it sounds silly, but I think I could feel their strength flowing into me. I found myself standing up straighter, ready to face anything.
“Nissa, since you hold the key that fits the description and matches the picture of the one in the Book of Rules, I suggest you try it in the lock,” Master Clarisse said with quiet authority.
The Regent said something mocking and derogatory about the impossibility that a mere youngster, and a rover at that, could somehow be the key to this important challenge, but I think even his supporters were beginning to tire of his snipes. They were also becoming worried, since with each turn of the pages in the Book of Rules, what was needed had come to fruition. Da leaned in and whispered to me that he was proud of me, that he loved me, and then he stepped to the side. Carz gave an abbreviated purr and straightened. Others who had been standing near the plain stone stepped back, leaving me a clear path. The Well of Speaking was so quiet you could have heard a mouse squeak. All eyes were focused on me.
When I reached down to hold on to Carz’ ruff to steady myself, I felt something swiftly run up my arm, but strangely enough I did not jump or try to brush it off. A very slight weight seemed to settle beneath the thick single braid that fell down my back, and a feeling of extreme peace fell over me. I took a deep breath, clutched the key more firmly in my hand so it could not be taken again, and stepped forward. No one stopped me. No one said a word. There was an unnatural stillness to the air, and I felt as if even time had stopped. I was no longer aware of the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks below me, or the blue of the sky above. I no longer could hear the rustle of the clothing of hundreds of folks behind me. I was only aware of the key in my hand, which grew warmer with each step I took towards the plain stone, and of the slight weight on my back, which also grew warmer with each step.
Though the keyhole was very small, it was easy for me to see it, for it began to emanate a slight bluish glow. With trembling fingers, I inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it once to the right. I heard a click, but nothing happened. I then turned the key to the left and heard a second click and a grinding noise. The box sank down furthe
r into the recess in the plain stone so that only the very top of it was now visible. Some instinct urged me to turn the key one more time to the right, and what happened next stunned all who gathered there.
Chapter Eighty-Two
The lid of the box sprang open, and the light that shown forth was of such intensity that all of us stepped back, shielding our eyes. Once the initial shock wore off, I peeked through my fingers and was surprised that I could look at the column of light that rose up out of the box in a steady stream. Rose up would be an understatement at best, for the light from the box, which carried all of the colors of a rainbow, rose and rose until it almost touched the clouds, and then arced out in all directions until it formed a canopy in the sky. Where the ends of that light touched down was anyone’s guess. The light pulsed out of the box for several minutes, and as abruptly as it had started, it just stopped. The lid of the box remained open.
When the light ceased pulsing upward and I came back to myself, I found I had drawn out the small pouch that hung on a cord around my neck and had removed the golden pine spider silk covering off of the two rings I had carried for so long. I do not know what compelled me to do that, but it felt like it was the right thing to do. Slowly untying the cord that had held the rings, I took one in each hand and reclaimed the several steps I had moved away from the plain stone. Very slowly and cautiously, I leaned forward and looked into the open box. The inside surprised me, for I had expected it to be hollow, but it was not. The inside of the box was divided into nine sections. Each section was square in shape. There was a raised circular post in the center of each section. If I was not mistaken, the interior of the box was carved out of quirrelit wood.