Chapter 20- The Lost Chapter
A man sat on his knees, head bowed to the polished jade tiles. Firelight flickered off stonewalls from mounted torches in the large chamber. The smell of exotic incense wafted from metal pots that hung from the outstretched arms of marble statues. The man sitting on the round floor-pillow wore tattered travelers clothes. His deep crimson hair was long and peppered with grey strands. Renault opened his eyes. He sat up.
His connection was broken.
After disappearing from the top of the structure far away, he had meant to use his farseeing gift to watch his charge in flight, invisible to them, but there none the less. Instead he opened the eyes of his own body and was back. Back to the mountain top temple, far from any kingdom in the known lands. What had happened? The answer shouted from the back of his mind, but he refused to hear it.
Renault lifted his head and took to his stiff legs. His feet still felt as if they had been pounded on with blacksmith’s hammers. The journey had been long and intense, a search for a rumor that tales could be sung about. And he had done it alone. Thus, here he was, the final push to achieve his desires and he knew deep down that he had broken a rule.
At the far end of the domed hall, the lifelike statue of the great wizard dominated. Renault worked the stiffness out of his legs as he walked toward the enormous blue sodalite stone statue. The blinking statue gazed upon the small man that approached with an expressionless face. The Wizard had a mighty beard and hair that looked like the crashing of waves. He wore only a tattered loincloth over a thick muscled frame. Age showed on his face despite the physique, giving the stone figure an air of omnipotence. Renault halted ten paces from the pedestal in which he sat.
The soft slap of sandals preceded the spread of light produced by an old woman holding a torch that walked out from behind the statue. The messenger, Renault thought. He had met the woman before, when he first entered the temple and begged to prove himself worthy of a gift. She was bald, smooth skinned and covered in a wide swath of tan cloth that was held to her figure by a rope at the waist. She would speak for the Great Wizard who sat on the mountain top overlooking all lands.
“What has happened? Why have I been cut off from my quest?”
The messenger stood silent for a moment before she spoke. “You know why. You have acted inappropriately.”
“Great Wizard,” Renault began, clasping his hands together and looking up at the silent animated statue. “Am I to forfeit my quest for one minor infraction?”
“A minor infraction?” the messenger exclaimed. “You have journeyed far and thrown yourself at our mercy, asking for a gift that few men should ever command. And for this gift, all we ask in return is a token of your time and to follow certain rules.
“But, now that we have reached this circumstance, you should know why we have asked for so little in return. Gifts like this are not bestowed upon any who travel here and ask. Quests, such as the one you have just failed, are for you to prove you are fit to wield such powers.”
“Failed…”
“Yes, failed. The rules were simple. You were to guide the three on their quest. You were not to interfere, only to provide information. When you project yourself in this manner, you are incorporeal. Exposing this fact is highly undesirable. The ability to make yourself look any way you imagine is to make yourself blend in with the people in the land you project yourself to, not to frighten them. You did this, exposing yourself as more than an ordinary man. Doing such is not the goal of having this gift. Should ordinary men know of such things, the gift looses its power and becomes an ordinary thing.”
“Please, Powerful One! I did such only for the benefit of those that I was sent to help! Search my heart, its intentions were pure!”
“We do not fully believe your claim. Part of you did it out of spite, to prove you were better than those who were in pursuit of the three.”
“I yield to your judgment…” Renault said, shoulders slumping.
“The quest was both training and a test, to see how you would handle what you were given. If you cannot use your gift properly in a closed world, how could we let you loose on the possibility of all the worlds, of this and every other level? There is another climbing the mountain as we speak. He will likely be better deserving than you.”
Renault was flattened at the rebuke. He wanted to collapse on the floor and cry out defeated. But something stopped him. Something tugged at the reserves of willpower he was not aware he had. It was the faces of the three young men he was sent to help. Their quest meant as much to him as his own. More possibly, in fact. Theirs desire to heal was touchingly selfless.
“Please, I beg of you. Return my gift for a short time. I accept the failure of my own quest, but not theirs. Permit me to see their journey to the end. I owe them that much. Let me help them before I leave this place forever.”
The messenger looked up at the statue, who’s stone gaze was locked with the red haired man that knelt before him. The animate blue stone head gave a slight nod, and the bald woman turned back to Renault.
“Your heart is pure. The lesson has been learned, and you shall be given a second chance. The three have crossed the river and one is hurt. You will have one last time to visit them before they go off on their own to finish what they have started. Should they succeed, the gift will be given to you. You will have succeeded at your quest. But this will be your final contact with the three. Your fate rests in their hands. Is this still acceptable?”
“Yes! Thank you, Powerful One!”
“Then return to your place and watch the conclusion. We have another about to join us,” The messenger said, looking to the back of the hall.
“You said one was hurt,” Renault said before he walked away.
“A leg injury from their escape. It will hamper them, but such is the way of things.”
“One last request. Let me give them something to ease their pain. They still have such a long walk and a final confrontation,” Renault beg.
“You push your luck, Renault of Castt. But we will grant you this. It cannot be that such a small request will not influence the final outcome. Return to them and watch the game play itself out.”
Renault turned and walked away from the statue. He had let his passion get the better of him, but at least he had gotten a second chance. His round pillow sat near the base of another statue, partially in the glow of torchlight. He lowered himself and closed his eyes. The exhausted man jumped back into his quest before he had fully lowered his body to the position he had taken up in total concentration.
While Renault’s mind interacted with the world his image was projected into, the doors to the great hall opened on their seldom-used hinges. In a way that he had not yet experienced using the gift he had been lent, Renaults’ body heard the opening of the door and felt the cold blast of air as the second traveler sought refuge from the harsh winter conditions.
In the last two days of his time using his new ability, when he was gone from his body, it was as if it was forgotten. But now that the temple was no longer a place of total silence, he was able to devote a small fraction of his attention to what was going on at his anchor.
Standing in a field near a riverbank, addressing three new friends for the final time, Renault knew that in a land far away, the messenger had brought a second pillow for the newcomer and had placed it for him to rest on across the hall from him. But this fact distracted him little and he went on with his task; prepare his charges for their final deed.
“We rarely receive travelers here,” the messenger told the man sitting across from Renault. “Never two at once.”
“What is he doing? Meditating?”
“He is on his own path. But do not concern yourself with him quite yet. For now, warm yourself and rest. You may come to find what seek when you are ready. Take as long as you like.”
With his final visit complete, Renault removed his image. His body took a deep breath as he had done all he could now do to ensure all of them succes
s. At this point all he could do was watch the rest unfold. And so he did, projecting his vision all around, watching from every vantage point the endgame. It took all he had not to appear and attempt to intercede, with information or the sudden appearance of his image, for this was his final test as well. This was his test to see if he had truly learned his lesson and was fit to retain his gift.