Chapter 8. Masters Jonas and Amndo
“Did you sleep well Narny?”
Nar’Allia had just come downstairs yawning as she stood on the middle landing. Minervar was sitting at the long table a bowl of dried fruit and a dish of steaming oatmeal in front of her. She sipped on a cup of hot liquid, blowing on it occasionally as if to cool it. The aroma coming from the cup was wonderful.
Nar’Allia continued down the last flight and stood behind her step mother. “Yes momma, I had a wonderful sleep thank you. What’s that you’re drinking?”
“This? Oh it’s a hot refreshing drink, it’s called tea, a human invention. I haven’t had any for such a long, long time. It’s rather nice; would you like to try some?”
Jonas appeared and after seating Nar’Allia opposite Minervar, poured some of the hot liquid into a cup from a rotund ceramic pot called a ‘teapot’. Nar’Allia sampled the brew, but quickly drew the hot cup away from her mouth, for the liquid was far hotter than she initially thought.
Minervar placed both her elbows upon the table and sat there with the cup of tea just under her bottom lip. “I have asked Jonas to show us around the house this morning Nar’Allia.”
“eh hah.” Nar’Allia nodded as a mouthful of oatmeal was hungrily taken.
Minervar then said, “although I have been here before, my knowledge of the actual house is confined really to the public rooms and my bedroom upstairs, I didn’t get the chance to look any further when I was last here, apart from the library of course. Now, that is a room you should see, it is overflowing with books of all sorts concerning a myriad of different subjects. I think Solin has the most comprehensive collection anywhere in Dahl’Ambronis.”
Nar’Allia nodded intent on consuming her honey flavoured oatmeal before she felt able to say anything further.
But her face showed her curiosity as Minervar said, “Jonas also tells me that Solin has another guest staying, he had arrived before she left to visit us and apparently he is still here, although he has been gone about some business of his own the last few days. Jonas does expect him back though. His name is Master Amndo. At least Jonas says that his name sounds like Amndo.”
Nar’Allia turned to Jonas and asked what he meant by that. Jonas explained that the person called Amndo had arrived unannounced a few days before the lady Solin was due to leave to visit the elves in the forest. “Umm begging your pardon milady’s, that is visiting your good selves of course.” He went on to say that the lady Solin was pleased about Amndo’s visit, she had asked Jonas to cater for Master Amndo’s needs.
“What’s he like this Master Amndo?” Minervar enquired of Jonas.
“Well Ma’am, he is a strange character, not an elf or a human, but about the same size as a human male. He is peculiar looking, pale, without a single hair on his head or anywhere else as far as I could make out. He has the Lady Solin’s same deep blue in blue eyes though.”
Minervar sat up her eyes shining with curiosity. “By the Maker, he sounds like a Keeper, I wonder what he is doing here.”
“I’m sure I do not know milady, but he is fond of looking around the house, he asks odd questions. To be honest I’m a little suspicious, for I think he is searching for something, with some urgency I may add, at least it seems that way to me, but please forgive me milady, I have no wish to cast aspersions where they are not justified.”
“But many people come to Solin’s house to look for things Jonas, especially to view the books and tomes in her library.”
“Yes, milady, but this Master Amndo, he seems to be looking in other places, he started in the library, but I have caught him at odd times searching other rooms, when I enquire if I can be of assistance, he waves me away with some excuse, like being interested in the paintings, or the furniture, or being lost having taken a wrong turn. A little suspicious if you ask me, forgive me milady,”
“Don’t apologise Jonas, you are after all doing your job. I’m sure the lady Solin asked you to stay here to look after the place whilst she is away.”
Jonas nodded, he then looked surprised. “Oh bless me milady Minervar. Before I forget, the lady De’Teinde asked me to give you a message. She said to tell you that the lady Serinae, may have a few surprises up her sleeve yet.”
Minervar looked at Jonas with surprise, she waited for more explanation but none seemed forth coming. “That’s it?”
“Yes, milady, that’s all she said to tell you. She said as soon as you arrived. You will forgive my bad memory milady.”
Something stirred in Minervar’s mind, Serinae? Surprises? She had come across this before somewhere, but she couldn’t think where.
“Jonas, the lady Serinae, when she stayed here she had a room in the house of course?”
“Yes, well a suite of rooms actually, they are empty now, have been all the time I have known the house, but there they remain on the top floor, no one has stayed there since the Lady Serinae di……. Oh, forgive me milady I didn’t mean to ….umm before she ummm left.”
“That’s alright Jonas. Perhaps we could start our tour there, in the lady Serinae’s old rooms?”
“If milady wishes, yes, of course. I must warn you though, not much remains there, after the lady Serinae, umm went away, my lady De’Teinde had the rooms emptied.”
“Oh, how strange, I wonder why. Well let’s take a look anyway if you please.”
Jonas bowed and left the room, the two women resumed their breakfasting.
Nar’Allia said, “a Keeper momma?”
“Yes, a Keeper, they are a strange race of beings, we met them on occasion when we travelled, they are a quite a secretive race, but they have great knowledge and ability.”
“Yes, momma I know who they are, I can remember you mentioning them in your stories. Their city of TeraT’Inu’Itil, I also heard about them from my father.”
“Yes, of course Narny, you were born there in TeraT’Inu’Itil were you not, your parents were both there as emissaries of the T’Iea long ago, I’m sorry I forgot for a moment.”
Nar’Allia smiled at her step mother, “yes but I do not remember anything about it, only the forest. We left when I was very young. My parents were given a task, but of course you know this. Not long afterwards my mother …….well.” Then changing the subject said, “but why here, what could they seek here?
“I have no idea Narny,” but suddenly it occurred to Minervar where she had heard that message before, the one about Serinae and surprises so she said, “of course, there is a picture of Seri in my room upstairs, there is an inscription on it that says much the same thing. I wonder if Solin is trying to tell us something, give us a clue to something we do not yet know. Perhaps even linked to Master Amndo’s searching, who knows.”
Nar’Allia looked bemused.
Minervar smiled and waved her hand, never mind let us enjoy this breakfast.
Following breakfast Jonas returned with two maids and after supervising the clearing of the table led the two women back up the stairs and along the corridor to the far end. Here he reached into his house coat and withdrew a large bunch of keys. He carefully selected one and unlocked a door at the far end of the corridor. The door opened revealing a small ornate room without any furniture. A film of dust lay across everything. They made their way across the room and there in front of them they saw a further door. As before Jonas selected another key and this door was opened to reveal a wide staircase going up and around out of sight.
“Above are the lady Serinae’s old rooms, no one has been in here for many years, the lady De’Teinde ordered them closed and locked after everything had been removed, she was quite insistent that no one be allowed to use the rooms.”
They entered and climbed the stair case. It wound around and around. Nar’Allia remembered seeing a wide turret at the end of the house as they walked up the hill towards it, they must now be within that turret.
Minervar was thinking about the last time she was in the house, it never occurred to her to ask Serinae
where she slept; she just assumed that she had a room similar to her own, probably just along the corridor, she wished now she had asked to see her rooms. She could just imagine the fascinating things that filled Serinae’s suite. Serinae had spent much time in this house, from the beginning, from the first day that Solin had purchased the property, so it was only right that Serinae’s private place within it would be more permanent.
Eventually they came across double doors, not locked this time in fact one lay ajar. These doors opened into a large room, a sitting room by the design but containing no furniture. This room was dusty to, but its grandeur remained in its carvings in the wooden panelled walls and the ornate plaster work in its cornices and ceiling. A large picture window with doors led out onto a wide balcony, the view beyond was of the town and the wide-open ocean. But nothing of note could be seen. They walked forward to another door this one led into a smaller room, just as grand but supposedly a bedroom, there was a large bed-sized dark patch upon the wooden floor where the wood had been protected from the sunlight which shone through the windows. As before, nothing of note remained in the room, no surprises here it seemed. Off this room there proved to be a dressing room adjoining a bathroom with a large ornate bathtub in the centre.
“Jonas, why did lady Solin have all of Serinae’s things removed and what happened to it all?”
“I don’t think she rightly said ma’am. I believe she was sorely grieved that the lady Serinae would not be returning to the house. I thought it may have been anger that made her want to forget, but then I thought it may be grief. But I may be doing her an injustice. As for all the furniture and items, I believe it was all sold off at auction. Curiously the only thing that remains is a picture, it hangs in your room now milady, the picture of the Lady Serinae. I don’t know why the Lady Solin kept it, why should she keep such a memento, is what I say.”
Minervar again recalled the inscription upon the picture and said thoughtfully, “why indeed Jonas, why indeed.”
Minervar was lost for further words, why were these rooms cleared, and quite obviously never used again? Perhaps as Jonas had eluded Solin just didn’t want anyone else to be able to use the rooms after Serinae had gone. But wait a minute, if what Jonas had just said was true, then why the sentimental picture of Serinae in her room, why then had the picture been deliberately placed there where Minervar would notice the change? She rushed back down the stairs, along the corridor and burst through the door into her room. She grabbed the picture from off its hook on the wall and looked closely at it. A few minutes later Nar’Allia and Jonas appeared at the doorway to her room and peering in looked questioningly at her. Minervar turned the picture over looking closely at it from all angles, but she could see nothing. She sat on the bed; Nar’Allia sat beside her and put her arm around her shoulders.
Eventually Jonas resumed the tour of the house, but Minervar decided to stay in her room and try and think through the puzzle once more.
Nar’Allia was shown around the many rooms, for the house seemed much larger on the inside than the view from the outside. She was shown what Jonas referred to as the ‘Dwarven Room’, there were paintings of Gwéldølĩn and of Dwarven folk lore. Whole sets of armour were mounted on wooden dummies, large, heavy-looking war axes stood leaning against the wall or hung on mountings along the wall.
They came across a room that Jonas referred to as ‘The Sword Room’, although it was not as Nar’Allia expected. The large room was empty; sure there were swords and other weapons of all sorts hanging upon the walls, along with shields and other objects of military origins. A rack towards the back of the room held hangers on which various pieces of very old and worn-looking armour hung, and some sort of padded jackets. Jonas explained that here was the practice room where the Lady Serinae used to spar and maintain her skills.
“But this room Jonas? It was not cleared out after Lady Serinae was gone.”
“No, milady, the lady Solin insisted that all members of her staff take up the practice of arms. I think after the lady Serinae, she wanted us to be practiced in all forms of combat, both men and women. I think she felt more secure knowing that we were proficient in protecting ourselves, the house and her.”
“So you Jonas, you can wield a sword?”
“Aye that I can milady, as can the rest of the staff.”
A sudden thought had popped into Nar’Allia’s mind, “could you teach me?”
“Umm well, yes milady if you so wish, although you must understand I am nothing like as good as the lady Serinae.”
Nar’Allia laughed and said, “neither am I Jonas, neither am I. But I would like to try. Perhaps it may come in useful. I would like to learn the art of dual wield, I have two short swords, I feel I may as well make use of them.”
Jonas nodded, “as you wish, milady.”
So it was that Minervar would spend much of her days, searching the house for interesting items and trying to work out what was meant by the surprises that Serinae may yet yield. Whilst Nar’Allia would help on many occasions, enjoying the freedom of the house and the interesting rooms and things found within. But she would also spend a lot of time learning the art of swordsmanship from Jonas.
From the outset it seemed that Jonas was more than a little modest about his skill, for he proved to be more than accomplished at swordplay of all sorts and also well practiced with axe and mace to boot. But his favourite was the wielding of a great sword; he exhibited much skill in handling these massively heavy two-handed weapons to great effect and destructive power. They practiced with wooden sparring sticks and Nar’Allia exhibited more than a few trophies in the way of bruises. But she was definitely learning and improving. Jonas was also getting to know the cool salve they used to plaster their bruised arms and torsos after every bout. Apparently the salve was a concoction of the lady Solin’s and it proved very good at alleviating the pain.
After a few weeks of this, Jonas suggested that they actually spar with real swords. He remarked how he thought that Nar’Allia knew enough basic moves to be able to defend herself, and now was the time to give it a try. So the following morning he waited for Nar’Allia in the sword room, he was donning leather armour and padded vest as she walked in. He looked up and noticed the bronze coloured bracers and the two short swords she carried.
“I recognise those from the descriptions of others milady, did they not belong to the Lady Serinae?”
“Yes Jonas they did, we brought them from our home, it occurred to me that perhaps they should be used, I thought I’d like to learn to fight with them.”
Jonas viewed the blades she held with a sort of odd suspicious look, “they are elven are they not, made by your people, they possess some magic of their own I believe?”
Nar’Allia didn’t know what he meant by magic so she just shrugged.
Jonas walked across to where the practice armour was hung and selecting a thick padded jacket from its hanger offered it to Nar’Allia saying, “I was told the lady Serinae used to wear this, I think you are probably a similar size milady. Although I don’t know why the lady Serinae bothered for as far as I know, not once did my great grandfather manage to get past those two swords of hers and certainly never close enough to her to make this worth the wearing.”
Nar’Allia took the jacket and slipped it over her tunic. It felt bulky, but was pliable enough, she fastened the sword belt around her hips and after getting Jonas to help her place and fasten the two bracers about her forearms she withdrew the two short swords, they sang as they were withdrawn from their scabbards. Holding them up she once again saw them glow and the T’Iea runes appear as if by magic on their well worked and ornate blades. She took a couple of practice swings, but then something caught her eye, a flash of steel, Jonas was raising the great broadsword he had been holding and without hesitation brought it down towards her head, she jumped sideways and felt the air move past her as the great heavy blade passed within inches of her body before it struck the wooden floor sending splinters flyin
g. She looked at Jonas, horror and surprise etched upon her features, did he mean to kill her, was he after all in league with some unknown enemy? The great sword was being raised again for another blow. She jumped backwards; again the great blade missed her by inches. She looked as shocked as before, all she could do was stare at Jonas, confusion and fear etched onto her features.
Jonas then said, “come milady fight, do you think your enemy will wait upon your readiness before pressing home an attack?”
Nar’Allia sputtered, “no, but you, err, you took me by surp …..” her words were cut off as the big blade was swung once more, this time in a horizontal arc towards her midriff, she jumped back and stumbled, as she fell she thought – by the maker that would have cleaved me in two, but the sword that had again so narrowly missed was now raised high once more. Taking a step forward Jonas swung the blade down hard. Nar’Allia gasped, she was prone upon the wooden floor there was no way of dodging the blade that was already descending, she closed her eyes, death would surely follow, but she did not feel the bite of the sword, she felt a slight jarring in her arm. She opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe what she saw. She had raised one of her blades and now the blade of Jonas’s great sword rested upon her outstretched short sword. She gasped as she realised that she had parried the blow. She looked surprised, the great sword that Jonas was wielding along with the speed it was moving at must have exerted a force almost as much as she weighed, yet she had managed to stop the blow with a sword a quarter of its size and weight, with muscles that must be far weaker than Jonas’s bulky forearms.
Jonas smiled and nodding said, “that’s more like it, come milady, at last you realise the potential of the workmanship you hold.” He placed the tip of the great sword on the wooden floor and leaning forward offered his outstretched hand to aid Nar’Allia’s rise from where she lay. She shakily took his hand and as she was pulled to her feet she glowered at his smiling face.
“You could have killed me,” she spluttered.
“Begging your pardon milady, But not with those blades in your hands.” Jonas nodded towards the short swords that Nar’Allia held.
“How could you be so sure?” Was her reply.
“Because milady my grandfather sparred with them many times before, did you not hear me when I said he had never been able to get close to their previous owner?”
“Well yes, of course I heard, but I didn’t know what you meant you never gave me the chance.”
“Well milady like I said, your adversary in battle will not give you the chance either, you will not receive a polite warning of an impending attack. But if it pleases you I’m giving you the chance now,” at these words he stepped back and raised his sword into a defensive stance.
Nar’Allia drew in a deep long breath and raising both the short swords, a slight anger flaring within her; she stepped forward and started to execute a series of hard and fast slices and stabs. She was pleased to see that Jonas was now forced to take on the role of defender.
As the days and weeks past Nar’Allia gained confidence and skill. Jonas proved to be a good teacher, he was strict but fair and insisted that they spar for longer and longer periods so that Nar’Allia’s stamina would increase and her reactions become like second nature. Jonas easily parried her blows to start with, but as time passed and she gradually improved, he became increasingly taxed; his breathing became more ragged as he was hard pressed to parry the succession of blows that Nar’Allia rained down upon him. After about twenty or so sessions he never again managed to get back on the offensive. Nar’Allia swung at him, she could see how easy it would be to slip one of the blades up and under his ribs, how easy it would be to remove his head from his neck, nothing he could do could resist her attacks, she smiled toying with the ideas in her head, but really knowing that she would not be able to end the life of this man she had only known for a few weeks. She understood his purpose now, he meant for her to learn quickly and his methods had worked. He knew all along that the swords she wielded would protect her from any fatal blow. But now she knew that not only did they defend that also attacked. She realised that she could think two maybe three moves ahead and the swords would follow her design every time.
They sparred as usual one day for a lengthy period, Nar’Allia’s focus remained upon the short swords and wielding them to best advantage whether that be in defence or attack. Only when she had beaten Jonas back against the wall of the chamber and he had cried out in horror did she allow her concentration to lapse. Again Jonas cried out.
Nar’Allia looked upon Jonas, he was now lying upon the wooden boards, his sword lay beyond arm’s length upon the floor, the point of one of her short swords was at the skin at his throat, “I yield milady, I yield.” Real fear showed in his face.
Nar’Allia withdrew her blade in shock and a little guilt, she looked at the swords in her hands. “I’m sorry Jones, so sorry I don’t know what came over me.”
He smiled at her as he regained his feet clutching at his throat, but no mark was there.
Nar’Allia was staring at the short swords. “But how? How can I be so skilled yet have only a few weeks teaching?”
Jonas gasping for breath said, “I think you have learnt all I can teach you these past weeks, learn the remainder from the swords you wield, for they may teach you much.”
She looked at the blades, she wondered at them, she then found herself thinking that they almost had a will of their own; certainly her own skills had improved many fold since she first started to learn and Jonas was undoubtedly a worthy teacher and man-at-arms, but the swords seemed to have grown with her, adapted to her style somehow. She was reminded of the black bow, yes, just like the black bow.
Jonas smiled, “the swords milady, they learn from the wielder. The skills you possess are amplified by those swords. Not just anyone can be that good, it requires an inbuilt level of skill or the swords would have nothing to work with. I congratulate you, your skills are already great.”
Nar’Allia returned both swords back into their scabbards. She stretched her taught muscles. The strength in her arms and torso was getting greater and tighter, the exercise was changing the shape of her body as her muscles toned and enlarged to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. As a result the sparring jacket was now a somewhat tighter fit than when she had first started to learn. She rubbed her arm, she was aware that something had repeatedly dug into her elbow as she fought. She felt around the area and could feel many metal rods sawn within the cloth to limit the damage of any sword blows, although she doubted they would make much difference against the terrifying momentum of Jonas’s great sword. Still something dug into her elbow, she thought one of the rods may have been broken and an end was digging into her, certainly the end of something could be felt. At the finish of the practice session her elbow was feeling quite tender because of the incessant jabbing of whatever it was in the suit that was digging into her. In the end she removed the padded jacket. Then taking a small knife she gently separated the stitching to reveal whatever it was, so that she could at least remove it and be relieved of the stabbing pain.
After parting the outer layer of cloth she then started to cut through the dense padding material. Her knife struck something hard; again she thought it may be the broken piece of metal, but trying to cut through it proved impossible. She was forced to enlarge the area she had cut to reveal whatever it was inside and lay within the padding. Jonas looked over her shoulder intrigued by what she was trying to do. Something glinted in the sunlight shining through the glass roof of the Sword Room. She reached in with her finger and grasped something hard. Then tugging away at it eventually pulled out a long piece of metal with a flat area one end and an oval ring the other. Upon this oval flat piece was a design that looked like a face, but not a normal face, this was very round without any hair, the eyes were two thin slits and the mouth the same, another thin horizontal slit. The nose was a criss-cross pattern set into a circular disk. It looked more like a face
mask or armoured head gear. These appeared to be the only features upon the metal object. Jonas leaned forward to take a closer look.
“By the Maker milady that looks to be some kind of metal key. I have never seen it before, I don’t know what lock it fits I’m afraid.”
A few minutes later Nar’Allia exited the sword room leaving Jonas to tidy up, she couldn’t wait to show the ‘key’ to Minervar, she didn’t bother getting changed or washed up after the exercise. She had noticed that her step mother had become increasingly absorbed in finding whatever it was she sort, and increasingly frustrated at not being to find anything, she seemed to have become prone to clutching at straws, anything that seemed might lead to, or actually be the surprise from Serinae however small and insignificant. But Nar’Allia was convinced this was what all the cryptic messages had meant. Nar’Allia found Minervar in the library. She smiled excitedly and holding out the key said, Momma look at this.
Minervar took the key and scrutinised it closely.
After Nar’Allia had explained where she had found the key Minervar did indeed became very excited and said, “That’s it Narny you found it, the lady Serinae, having a surprise up her sleeve! Who would have thought to look there, in the sleeve of her sparring jacket?”
That evening the ladies decided to go back into the library to see if any reference to the key could be found within any of the books upon Solin’s shelves. They were talking excitedly to each other as they both burst in through the library door. They gasped and were silenced by a figure sitting at one of the reading desks. His skin was pallid, his eyes the deepest blue in blue like Solin’s. He looked up and regarded them.
Nar’Allia thought he looked at them with an air of aloofness.
Minervar was the first to speak, she bowed and said, “Master Amndo I presume?” She played with the key in her pocket but kept it out of sight. The man’s eyes went to look at the movement her hand was making inside her pocket, so she stopped and withdrew her hand quickly.
He smiled and standing walked over to them holding out his hand. “Yes, I am he and you are the ladies Minervar and Nar’Allia. Jonas told me earlier that you had arrived. I am very pleased to meet you at last. I am sorry I was not here earlier, but business called me away at short notice and I have only now managed to free myself and return.”
Minervar replied. “Please Master Amndo, it is not necessary to make apologies here, we are guests the same as you and we certainly do not presume or demand anything of you. But perhaps you would explain why you are here? Why a Keeper should come to this house, when one such as you has not been seen in Amentura perhaps for many lives of men?
Amndo chuckled, “do I note a slight feeling of suspicion perhaps my lady?”
“Not suspicion Master Amndo, please forgive me, but I admit to feeling a little cautious. Solin did not speak of you when we met her in the great forest; I wonder why that should be.”
“Ah that’s easy, she was expecting me to be gone from here but a few days after she left to travel to see you. But I have found this house most interesting, it contains many tantalising volumes here in this library and many artefacts that I find captivating. Is it not so?”
“Indeed what you say it is true, the lady Solin has indeed amassed a unique collection in her long and fruitful lifetime.” Minervar then approached to where Amndo was sitting and bending picked up the book he had obviously been reading.
Nar’Allia was shocked at her blatant disregard for his privacy.
But Amndo just bowed as if in acknowledgement of her action.
“Ah, the Great Rust Desert,” she thumbed through the next few pages and there something made her start, for upon the page was a small drawing of a face, she immediately recognised it, it was the same slit eyed depiction of a face that also appeared upon the key she had in her pocket. Before she could stop herself her hand crept to the pocket and fondled the key inside but then she drew her hand quickly away.
Amndo stared at the hand, then raising his eyes to meet those of Minervar he said, “The symbol my lady Minervar? Have you seen it before?”
Before she could think her reply was said. “No, no never, what is it?”
Nar’Allia was sure that Amndo frowned slightly, but he again smiled once he realised that she was looking his way. He then gently took the book from Minervar’s hands and looked upon the page, “It is an ancient icon, a talisman almost. It has meaning to the race of humans that inhabit the Rust Desert. They are but a nomadic tribe now, but ancient myth and legend hints that they are descendants of a flourishing and great empire that stood sentinel upon the world in times long gone by. No one alive remembers this time for that knowledge is lost across the passing of the ages.”
“Then how do you know of this talisman.”
“Ah well, it is also depicted upon the wall of the temple in TeraT’Inu’Itil, only as a small thing but never the less it is there. It is for this reason I am here, the Grand Master sent me to try and find out more of the talismans history and meaning. The only reference I have found to it is here within this book, but it is just mentioned as a talisman, one of many. It seems that human kind is extremely superstitious, they love to believe in such trinkets. Some believe such things will give them something they desire. But the book gives it no name, nothing of note, only that it is referred to by the nomadic tribes as some kind of guard or sentry, sometimes as a doorman or gatekeeper. In their language they refer to the image as a ‘Dolan’.”
Doorman? Gatekeeper? Minervar thought about revealing the key to Amndo, but something stopped her, a feeling of impending dread. Something within her was sounding alarms, Amndo sort this key she was sure of it, that was why he was here, why he searched through the house. She was also sure that he was hiding something from her. He had been here many weeks. If he hadn’t been able to find out much then she would have thought him long gone by now, yet here he was still. He had discovered enough to keep him here, enough to make him believe perhaps that the key was still here. She resigned herself to keeping it a secret for a while.
Nar’Allia seemed to understand her intent and did not mention the key either. Minervar held onto Nar’Allia’s arm and gently turned her away. The two ladies left Amndo to his reading and retired back to Minervar’s room on the first floor. On the way they passed Jonas who said that he would bring some tea up to them.
Once they were safely inside her room Minervar said, “this key, I am sure it is the item that Amndo seeks, perhaps it belongs to his people, has some meaning to them. If Amndo is here at the request of the Grand Master then his mission must be of some great importance. Keepers seldom leave their city and venture into the world, if they do; even then it is with secrecy and stealth via their control and use of the portals.”
Nar’Allia had a sudden thought, “yes, portals, they have that ability, they assign control over a certain portal to one individual do they not? These certain individuals they call ‘Keys’? You have said so in the past as part of the stories you tell to the twins. There are a lot of coincidences here Momma. That key you found, it has what looks like a representation of a face upon it. Perhaps it’s the face of a ‘Key’? What did Amndo say about the human nomadic tribes, they called it a guard or sentry, even a doorman or gatekeeper, isn’t that what the Keepers are, what their ‘Keys’ are?”
“By the Maker Narny, your right. What if this key in my pocket unlocks something, or someplace that the Keepers are desperate to gain access to?”
“Or by finding it, prevent others from gaining access.” Nar’Allia said in response a suspicious expression upon her face. Perhaps they lost it and Serinae found it. Perhaps it leads to the same place that Serinae went to!”