Erik And The Dragon ( Book 4) (2 page)

“Mithril walls?” he said astonished. He reached out and put a hand on the wall nearest him and felt the warm, strong metal. He then turned back to the pedestal, raising his arms to shield him from the blinding light and spy what was atop the pedestal. There he saw the box Lepkin wanted. The smooth mithril shone brightly, temptingly before him. He walked up to the box and took it in his hands. It was heavier than he had expected, but he managed alright. As he stepped back with the box the lamps died down until the flames were no bright
er than those of candles.

The box hummed and vibrated in his hands. He looked down and saw the runes Lepkin had said would be on top the box. They each glowed blue. He turned the box over, looking for the latch, or a hinge, or any way to open it. He found none. He couldn’t even see a seam or a keyhole. It wasn’t a box, but a cube of mithril.

“Just what do you think you are doing?” a voice cried out from behind him.

Erik wheeled around to see a short, thin man in the doorway. He bounded into the room and held his hands out expectantly. “Give me the box, right now!” he demanded.

Erik stepped back and twisted away from the man. “No,” he said.

The man pushed a pair of thick, blue tinted spectacles up on the bridge of his nose and he fixed his bright green eyes on Erik. “Give me the box!” he said again.

“Who are you?” Erik asked.

“Who am I?” the man repeated. “Who am I?” he snorted and set a large backpack down on the floor beside him. Then he ran a hand through his curly red hair and stuck a finger in Erik’s face. “I am Tatev, the librarian.”

Erik nodded and looked to the heaping pile of books about to fall out the top of the backpack on the floor. “Where did you get those?” he asked.

Tatev huffed impatiently. “I am the librarian, who else should have the books?” he replied. He stepped closer and held out his hands. “Now give me the box, you don’t know what you have there.”

“No,” Erik said. “Lepkin told me to get it, and the only way you will put a hand on it is by taking it from me.” Erik quickly thought of how he would maneuver around the golden lamps and get away. He guessed from Tatev’s build that the man was not much for physical exertion.

“Lepkin?” Tatev repeated. He pulled his spectacles off and wiped them with the bottom of his smudged, cream colored tunic. “The Keeper is here?” he asked.

Erik nodded.

Tatev’s angular jaw dropped and his mouth opened into a wide smile. “Oh my,” he said as his eyes started to sparkle. “You must be him!” he said excitedly. He stuck a hand out to shake Erik’s and then quickly realized that Erik wouldn’t be able to shake hands while holding the box. “Sorry,” Tatev offered as he turned back to pick up his backpack. “I didn’t realize who you were.”

Erik stood puzzled, watching Tatev. “Are you one of the priests?” Erik asked.

“Yes and no,” Tatev replied. “I have been in the temple for…” he stopped and tapped a finger on his pointed chin. “Actually, I don’t remember how long I have been here,” he said. “Perhaps twenty years now. Maybe a couple more.” He shrugged. “It is sure an honor to meet you!” Tatev said.

Erik wasn’t sure what to make of the man, so he summoned his power to discern Tatev’s intent. Even after he found no ill will in the man’s heart, he still kept a bit of a distance from him. “If you have been in the temple that long, then why are your eyes normal?” Erik asked.

“I never took the test of Arophim,” Tatev replied. “Someone has to be able to search the books, you know,” he added. He then hefted the pack onto his shoulders and held the straps with his hands near his armpits. “Once someone takes the test, they lose their ability to read normal books,” Tatev explained. “But don’t worry, I can read the magical books too.” He pointed to his spectacles. “These are the Eyes of Dowr. They allow the wearer to see the magical writings of the mystics. This way I can read both kinds of books and help the temple archive all of the knowledge in the known world.”

Erik nodded as though he understood and started to walk out of the chamber. “We need to find our way out,” Erik said.

“Yes, yes,” Tatev said as he pointed to the hallway across the room. “I cleared the way while I was coming here. It will be easy enough to get back now.”

Erik walked through the hall, ducking under a couple of cracked beams and stepping over a few fallen stones here and there as Tatev continued to talk.

“You know,” he began. “The Eyes of Dowr have a unique history. They are made from Aluriyum crystal, and are the only pair in existence today. The Mystics
created them, though it is uncertain why they did so since they could read magical writings as they were the ones who wrote them. It is thought that they could see into the future and knew that they would need to provide a pair of spectacles like these for someone like me, so we could retain the ability to read normal books after others take the Test of Arophim and lose their natural sight.”

Erik looked back to the red haired man and opened his mouth to say something but Tatev just kept talking right over him.

“The rims are made out of mithril, which is peculiar as there are no known sources of mithril in the east where the Mystics lived. That would suggest that the elves perhaps traded with the Mystics and or that perhaps the two societies created the Eyes of Dowr together. No one knows for sure, and I would be the one to know as I have read all of the books on the subject, believe you me!”

Erik sighed and stopped when he emerged into another ruined room. He glanced around but could find no way up. A hall branched off to his left and another to his right, but he wasn’t sure which way to go.

Tatev kept walking toward the hall on the right as he talked. “I never thought I would meet the Champion of Truth,” he said. “Sure, I have read a lot of the books of prophecy, and I knew that Lepkin had found a candidate, but to think that I would actually meet you, here, now—it’s astonishing!” Tatev stopped suddenly and looked back to Erik, who was still standing in the middle of the room. “Well, are you coming or aren’t you?”

“Is that the way out?” Erik asked.

Tatev nodded his head and gestured for Erik to take the lead. No sooner had Erik stepped past the man than he started talking again.

“If you are interested, I managed to save the book that talks about the Eyes of Dowr, and the special crystals that form the lenses. It is really quite interesting. The Aluriyum crystal is only found in one mine to the east, where the Mystics used to live until they were wiped out by some mysterious plague. It’s too bad too, if not for the plague, perhaps they would still be around and they could help us solve all the puzzles they left behind.”

Erik sighed and tuned Tatev out as best he could. He walked through the rubble, occasionally stopping until Tatev would rest his tongue long enough to point the right direction before continuing on with his rambling lectures. The boy was only all too happy to get back to Lepkin when the two finally emerged from the rubble and the dwarves helped them climb up to the surface.

“Tatev!” Marlin shouted out as the two
returned to the ground in front of where the entrance had been. Erik stepped aside while the two embraced and peered back into the pit. He could see Lepkin climbing over the rubble.

“Erik,” Marlin said as he pulled Tatev along. “This is Tatev, our librarian.”

“Yes, he told me,” Erik said.

Marlin smiled wide. “Tatev is one of the most knowledgeable members of our order.”

“I see he still has a great fondness for books,” Lepkin said as he approached.

Tatev beamed with pride as he set the bag down in front of them. “I saved as many as I could!” he said. “You know, when the temple was first built…”

Lepkin held up a hand. “Perhaps we can discuss it later,” Lepkin said. His voice was polite, but it was also stern enough to make Tatev blush and nod nervously.

Thank you!
Erik thought to himself.

“Put the box in here,” Lepkin told Erik as he held out a burlap sack. Erik angled the box in through the opening and Lepkin sealed it closed.

“What is this?” Erik asked.

Marlin sighed and walked away, frowning. Lepkin watched the prelate go and then turned back to Erik.

“This box contains Nagar’s Secret,” Lepkin said.

Erik’s eyes went wide. “The book is in there?” he asked incredulously. “All this time Tu’luh was in the same building as the book he was after? Why didn’t he just take it and leave?”

Tatev jumped in excitedly. “Time is of no importance to a dragon. Lesser drakes have finite lifespans, but a great dragon has no such worry. If the beast you fought really was Tu’luh the Red, then he was one of the most powerful Ancients, and is older than Terramyr itself!”

Lepkin held up a hand, silencing the eager librarian. Then he told Erik, “He was waiting because he was looking for you.”

“To see if I would join with him,” Erik said as he remembered the dragon’s words and his mind swirled through the visions he was shown. “He wanted me to help him use the magic in that book.”

Lepkin arched a brow. “Had I not seen the dragon with my own eyes, I would not have suspected he could have deceived so many.”

“How did he get in the temple?” Erik asked.

Lepkin shrugged. “When I was chosen as the Keeper, it was
Hiasyntar Ku’lai who emerged from the temple to find me.”

“The Father of the Ancients,” Tatev whispered.

Erik glanced to Tatev and then looked back to Lepkin. “So he was the dragon that was left behind? Why didn’t any of the books mention that? The books Al had me read said he was dying.”

“He was,” Lepkin affirmed. “To put it simply, Nagar’s Secret was worming into his mind and heart, killing him slowly as it attacked his very soul. He sent the others away and built a chamber in this temple to protect himself from the book, hoping that he would live long enough to administer the Exalted Test of Arophim and name the Champion of Truth.”

Erik scrunched his brow into a knot over his nose. “Why didn’t the book attack Tu’luh?”

“Tu’luh is the master of Nagar’s Secret,” Tatev said quickly. “He and Nagar the Black forged the magical book and created the spells that it holds. Because of this, they were always in control of the magic, and never affected by its blight.”

Lepkin nodded. “We all thought Tu’luh was killed in the Battle of Hamath Valley, so we had no reason to suspect that anyone could control the magic.”

“If the book was so dangerous, why keep it in the temple, near Hiasyntar
Ku’lai?” Erik asked.

Lepkin nodded. “It was always the plan to do so,” he explained. “From the first Keeper on down to me, we have always kept the book in the chamber you found it in. We let others assume that we either had it on our person or hid it somewhere far away, but we never moved it away from here. We enclosed it in a mithril box, and placed it in a room with mithril walls to help diminish the book’s influence on the realm.”

“How did mithril help?” Erik asked.

“Oh, well…” Tatev started to explain but he stopped short and looked to Lepkin with eager eyes and anxiously bit his lower lip.

“Go ahead, librarian,” Lepkin said with a relenting smirk.

Tatev smiled wide and nodded excitedly, pushing his spectacles up higher on his nose. “Mithril is not just a superior metal,” he started. “It is a special ore that is mined deep in the bowels of Terramyr. The metal itself is pure, and has a dispelling effect on dark magic. So, when Nagar’s Secret was encased in mithril, the box itself retarded the magic’s power and helped stave off its effects. Then, when the mithril walls were erected, it further hampered the blight’s power and it allowed all of the dragons to leave the Middle Kingdom and escape beyond the book’s reach. You know, mithril is actually mined in two places in the Middle Kingdom. Roegudok Hall is the site of the first and largest mine, though it dried up in the year…”

Lepkin held up a hand. “That’s enough for now,” he said.

“Right,” Tatev sighed.

“When did Hiasyntar Ku’lai die?” Erik asked.

Lepkin and Tatev s
hrugged. “It must have been fairly recently. Within the last twenty years or so, since I saw him before that. Though, I am not sure how the former prelate, or the current one for that matter, didn’t notice the difference between the two dragons.”

“It was dragons who gave man the gift of sight,” Tatev said. “But our ability has never equaled that of the dragons. It is possible that a dragon could hide its true nature from the members of our order, especially since only the prelate ever dealt with him. In fact, I was the only other person to know about the dragon. The librarian has the responsibility to inform the new prelate of the dragon’s existence, but beyond the two of us, no one else was ever aware, until today that is.”

Lepkin put a hand on Erik’s shoulder. “We have the beast on the run. He is wounded, and he will need rest. We should go on the attack and finish what we have started.”

Erik looked to the ground and shook his head. “How are we going to beat him? I was supposed to take a test and gain better powers, but instead I have nothing.” He looked to the burlap bag. “I don’t even know how to defeat the magic in that book.”

“For now we will take it one step at a time,” Lepkin said. “Instead of concentrating on what we can’t do, let us devise a strategy that utilizes what we
can
do.” The boy looked up to Lepkin’s strong, reassuring gaze and nodded. Lepkin gave one of his few smiles and pulled the sword from his belt. “This blade was given to me when I became the Keeper of Secrets. Now that I have fulfilled one of my tasks, I give it to you, the Champion of Truth.”