~*~
"I thought they would help," Maude said, sounding lost.
"It's alright, Maude, you tried your best," Mary Jane soothed, giving her sister a comforting pat on the back from where she sat on the barge behind her.
"I suppose we'll have to head back towards the Green Forest now," Jack said. "At least we've only lost a day."
He started to move toward the dock, but unexpectedly, the water began to churn in front of the barge as it had when the water horses first appeared. Jack dove back away from the boat's edge.
"The water horses!" He shouted, just as the creatures' heads again broke through the water.
This time, the water horses were so close to the boat that the children could almost reach out and touch them. They could see the creatures' powerful backs just beneath the water, their fish-like tails stretching out beneath the boat and their front legs churning just beneath the water.
"The harnesses!" Archipel shouted. "Throw them the harnesses!"
The wolf picked up in his mouth a heavy silver harness that had been lying unnoticed on the front of the barge and paced along the edge of the boat excitedly. Jack crawled towards Archipel on his hands to avoid tipping the boat over and knees and took the harness from him. Its design was ingeniously simple: a circle just large enough for the water horse to slip its head through, tethered to the boat by a long metal chain. Jack threw the harness towards one of the water horses like a lasso, aiming for its head, but missed. The harness landed in the water beside the creature instead. The water horse ducked under the water and came up beneath it nose first, letting the harness settle at the base of its neck just above its shoulders. Jack repeated the action with the second harness.
Once the water horses were harnessed, Maude and Mary Jane quickly untied the barge from the dock, throwing the ropes into the boat so that they would be able to tie the barge on the other side. The moment the boat was free, the two water horses began to swim forward against the current with all their might, pulling the boat slowly through the water. It was tough going. The barge was heavy, and made more so by its living passengers, and the current was against it. The water horses snorted and fought harder, forcing the boat foot by foot toward the island and the Hall.
The farther they traveled into the current, the more violently the barge was rocked by waves. Alcide and Archipel both lay flat against the bottom, clinging to the dark wood as the water slammed into the boat time and again, while Aldair stood with his feet splayed for balance. The children did little better sitting on the barge's benches. After several harrowing minutes, however, they left the worst of the current and reached the matching silver dock on the island of the Hall of Heroes. Jack knew that he would have to immediately tether the boat to the dock or it would be carried away by the current, so when the boat was close enough, he bravely jumped onto the dock and caught the ropes that his sisters threw him, looping them around the dock to lash the boat to it.
The rest of the boat's passengers disembarked as quickly as they could. Mary Jane handed Maude up to her brother, then scrambled up behind her. Alcide leapt from the boat and ran to the end of the dock, where her feet could stand upon solid ground, followed closely by Archipel. Aldair was the last to leave the barge. He stood for a moment upon the silver dock, his amber eyes fixed upon the Thornmir Valley, watching for danger. When he was assured that they were safe, he rejoined the children as they walked to the shore.
At the end of the dock was a great crystal gate twenty feet high and inlaid with a branching tree of silver with golden leaves. Two giant white statues of Taran knights in full armor flanked it on either side like larger than life guardians. They looked down menacingly upon the children with blank, stony faces from beneath plumed helmets, their sharp spears held by their sides at the ready. Mary Jane saw no means by which to open the gate, but when the group came within ten feet of the gate it opened on its own. Without hesitating, they stepped through.
Past the gate lay a long rectangular courtyard. A wide path ran down its center, lined on both sides by statues carved out of white marble: armored knights astride rearing stallions, a woman in a flowing gown sighting a bow and arrow, a half-naked man wrestling with a lion, a woman in breeches and a loose shirt holding a mariner's spyglass, and many more. The children walked slowly, peering at the statues, amazed at how lifelike they were. The artists who had carved them seemed to have captured their subjects at their moment of greatest strength, neither exaggerating nor hiding their flaws and strengths.
"The heroes of Tarah," Alcide commented.
"I wish we had time to learn about them," Maude sighed.
At the end of the courtyard was the Hall of Heroes itself. Its door was ten feet high and four and a half feet wide, cast from a solid slab of silver. Maude pushed against it with her shoulder and it swung open easily and soundlessly to her touch. She passed through without hesitation. Mary Jane, following her, was blinded for a moment as she stepped through. She stood still, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the hall after the bright sunlight outside. Torches were attached to the walls of the cavernous room, although spaced too far apart to effectively light all of it, and they burned with the blue flame of magical fire, illuminating row upon row of marble coffins.
The sight of so many coffins was unsettling to Mary Jane. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as the silence closed in around her. This was a place for the dead, indeed, and not the living. It felt as though death itself was struggling against their presence, trying to pull it to them or force them out. To distract herself, she looked more closely at the coffins nearest to her. Each coffin was ornamented differently, reflecting the period and deeds of the hero buried within. They were interesting, and she wished that there were more light to see by.
All of the sudden, every torch in the room went out, throwing the group into blackness more profound than any Mary Jane had ever experienced. The blackness was like a giant vacuum that sucked everything into it and sent it spinning away, anchorless and alone. Mary Jane stood completely still, knowing that if she did not move she could not become lost. She was exactly ten steps from the door, and if she retraced her steps, she would be able to find it even without light. Jack bumped into her from behind, and she felt her brother's hands feeling her back to identify her.
"Can you see?" Jack's voice asked.
"No, of course not!" she replied, a scowl in her voice.
"Even I see nothing," Alcide remarked. "It is a most unusual darkness."
"What happened?" Archipel asked.
Before anyone could answer, a white light appeared at the far end of the room. A perfect sphere, it floated towards them slowly, growing larger and brighter the closer it came. Aldair snorted uncomfortably and pawed the ground softly, his hoof scraping against the stone. A minute later, the light was close enough to illuminate the faint outlines of the children and their companions like ghosts. A few steps closer and they were completely exposed, bathed in white as though covered by layer of fine white powder. Mary Jane saw a human shape at the center of the circle of light and realized that they were seeing a man carrying a very powerful light.
The man walked until he was within five feet of them, then stopped. He wore a long dark robe that covered everything but his face. Even his face was hard to see, however, for the hood of the robe was up, hiding his face in shadow. The light that accompanied him came from a glowing ball that floated beside his head, casting light in all directions. When he stopped, it sank to the palm of his left hand and dimmed, shrinking so that it was no larger than a grapefruit.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The man asked.
His voice was like nothing the children had ever heard before. It was like the wind racing across an arctic tundra, or the ocean lapping against the shore. It encompassed time beyond all reckoning. It was not, in a word, human.
"I'm Maude," Maude said, standing her ground bravely before him. "And this is Jack, and Mary Jane, and Archipel, and Aldair, and Alci
de."
"But who are you?" The man asked again.
The light pulsed brighter for a moment and Mary Jane was able to see the man's face. It was the wrinkled and lined face of a very old man. His eyes, however, were like black, burning coals. They burned into the children as though he could see their souls. Mary Jane shivered and crossed her arms as if to protect herself from him.
"We are humans, but not from Devorian," Maude said carefully. "It's true that we're alive, and we're not supposed to be, but we've come here to find something that was lost long ago. Something that will help us stop someone from doing something very bad, I think."
Mary Jane marveled at her sister's courage. She put her hand upon Maude's shoulder to give her strength, and felt Maude stand straighter beneath it. Maude asked the man in return, "Who are you?"
"It is the Immortal," Aldair murmured behind her, "protector of the Hall of Heroes. The Immortal guards Devorian's most honored dead from grave robbers and tends to the Hall."
"He must be hundreds of years old!" Maude exclaimed.
"Thousands," Alcide said gently. "The Immortal is not human. It is a spell that was given human form."
"By who?" Maude asked.
"It was a gift from Radamanth, the first and greatest of the magical beasts, to the first human king. It was Radamanth who set the protective spells around the Hall, and declared that not even magical beasts would be able to use their magic around it," Aldair explained.
"Aldair," Jack said nervously, "what does the Immortal do to people it thinks are grave robbers?"
Jack was watching the Immortal as Alcide and Maude talked. Although it had not moved, he suspected that it was far more dangerous than any of the monsters they had encountered in the woods around Tarah. Its glowing eyes fastened on him now.
"A riddle," the Immortal said. "If you can answer me true, I shall allow you to pass and help you in your search."
"No!" Jack hissed. "What if we guess wrong? It will kill us. Please, Maude, let's go. Turn around and go back now."
"It is too late to leave," the Immortal said. "Only by answering the riddle can you safely depart."
"What is the riddle?" Maude asked.
"Very well," the Immortal said with a slight bow. "I once began to write a great tale. I wrote night and day of battles, kings, and deeds. One day my friends came to me and begged me to change what I had written. Said one, 'It is too sad.' Said another, 'Let your heroes be more brave and your villains be more villainous.' I told them all, 'My friends, not for all your pleas and or love could I change a word of what I have written.' Why did I tell them this?"
Jack moaned and put his head in his hands. He wailed, "It could be anything!"
"Quiet," Mary Jane shushed him. "Be calm and think. Giving up so easily won't do us any good."
"How can you think at all knowing what happens if we're wrong?" Jack whispered.
"Have faith," Alcide murmured for his ears only. "All will turn out well in the end."
There was silence for a full minute as the three children--as well as Archipel and the two magical beasts--thought. Jack scratched his head and looked at the ceiling. Mary Jane chewed on her lip and stared at the floor. Maude looked deeply into the Immortal's eyes. At last Jack said with quiet panic, "I don't know the answer."
"Nor do I," Mary Jane said sadly.
Maude said, "Well I know it. It's not terribly difficult. You can't change what you wrote because you're history, and true history can't be changed because it's fact. If you changed something, it wouldn't be history; it would be fiction."
The Immortal's bushy white eyebrows arched, though whether in surprise or approval it was impossible to say. Jack's stomach twisted in knots. It was too terrible to think of what would happen if Maude had guessed wrong. To Jack's surprise, the Immortal bowed low before them, sweeping its hand to its waist and almost touching its nose to its knees.
"Correct," it said.
Jack felt his knees go weak with relief. Mary Jane hugged Maude in a great bear hug that lifted her off her feet. The Immortal straightened from its bow, its face less foreboding than a moment ago. It asked, "And now, what is it you seek?"
All eyes turned to Maude. Only Maude knew the reason behind their journey to the Hall of Heroes. She said, "The horn of Duhaim."
"The horn of Duhaim?" Jack repeated in surprise.
"But the horn has been lost for centuries!" Alcide exclaimed.
"According to the History of the Kings of Tarah, Volume IX, King Kettrick the Third was buried with the horn in the Hall of Heroes because he had used it shortly before his death to bring rain to Devorian after six years of drought," Maude said matter-of-factly.
"Goodness, where did you read that?" Mary Jane asked in surprise.
"At Tarah."
"Is it true? Is the horn here?" Jack asked the Immortal.
The Immortal nodded. It said, "It is. The horn has lain here untouched in the Hall of Heroes since King Kettrick's arrival over five hundred years ago. Having once entered, nothing has ever left the Hall again."
"Will you let us take it? Will you show us to it?" Maude asked.
"I will. It seems the time for old traditions has passed."
The Immortal turned and began to lead them down a row of coffins. Each coffin was perfectly rectangular, carved from a single block of rose quartz that must have weighed several tons. The Hall was cold and still and dark, but immaculately free of dust. The Immortal stopped before one of the coffins and ran its long, bony hand along the lid of the coffin, lightly tracing the name and basilisk figure etched upon it.
"Kettrick the Third, son of Kettrick the Second, fifth and final king of the line of Magar," the Immortal intoned. "Revered for his wisdom, generosity, and piety. Saved his people from famine when all hope was lost."
Immediately after the Immortal finished speaking, the lid of the coffin started to rise and a blue light shot out from the newly created space between the lid and the coffin. The light carried the lid higher into the air, and the Immortal leaned under it to reach inside the coffin. When it withdrew its hand, it held a short, ordinary white horn less than a foot long. The horn was capped at both ends by gold bands, attached to which was a short gold chain that enabled the horn to be hung. The Immortal held the horn flat on its palm and solemnly presented it to Maude.
"To use it," the Immortal said, "place your lips against the small end and blow. Even if your breath is but a whisper, it will sound."
"Thank you," Maude whispered, taking the horn.
The Immortal looked down upon her. It was several feet taller than she, taller than an ordinary man. It said in a voice that contained centuries of moons and stars, "You will know when the time comes to use it. Do not use it before that time."
Maude nodded, her black hair flapping past her eyes. She clutched the horn tightly to her chest. She asked, "What will you do now? Will you stay here even though there are no more humans to bury or grave robbers to protect against?"
The Immortal blinked at her owlishly. It said, "I shall protect this Hall even after the last living creature in Devorian has returned to the earth. So long as this world exists, I shall remain here."
"Oh."
"Let us go now," Aldair murmured gently. "It is time."
They walked back to the door from which they had entered, the Immortal following soundlessly behind them. When they reached it, the Immortal left them there and retreated back into the darkness, a shrinking ball of light. Maude led them out. Having become accustomed to the complete and total darkness of the Hall, the world outside seemed impossibly bright in comparison. It was a hopeful light, however, in a blue sky free of clouds. It gave the children the feeling that everything might turn out for the best in the end. Jack reached for the horn and took it from his sister, turning it over in his hands.
"All that trouble for this?" He asked. "I hope it's worth it. Why not blow it now? It might take us to the tree and get us out of here."
Maude snatched it back from him and car
efully put it in her leather pouch. She said, "No. Not yet. We can't blow it yet."
"We have a long journey ahead of us," Aldair said wearily.
The travelers hastened through the courtyard of statues, and when they reached the silver dock, they found the water horses where they had left them--waiting patiently in their harnesses, gently treading water. Maude and Mary Jane clambered onto the barge, with Archipel and the magical beasts following quickly after. Jack untied the ropes from the dock and cast them into the boat, jumping in as the water horses began to pull away.
The return trip seemed easier than the first, and the boat quickly crossed to the other side. Jack tied the barge once more and the passengers disembarked. Once the last of them was off, the water horses ducked their heads beneath the waves and emerged several feet away, free of the harnesses that now floated empty upon the water. Maude knelt down at the end of the dock and reached for the nearest water horse. It whinnied softly and obligingly kicked its tail to bring its head beneath her hand. She stroked its face for a moment, feeling skin more like a dolphin than a horse.
"Your work is done," she told them. "There are no more humans in Devorian to carry to the Hall. You are free."
The water horse whickered softly, then rejoined its mate. Together they disappeared beneath the water, and Maude watched them go with a smile. Jack, understanding what Maude meant, untied the barge from the dock and with his foot carefully pushed it into the current. The heavy boat moved reluctantly for a moment, but the current quickly took hold and carried it swiftly away. Now the six travelers stood where the ground met the dock and looked out at the Thornmir Valley. Jack's face fell.
"It will take us forever to reach the Green Forest," he groaned.
"Yes," Alcide agreed, "so we had better start walking. We will not want to be in the Valdale Forest when night falls."
Mary Jane shivered, remembering the terrible lamiae that lurked within it. Just then, a cloud passed over the sun, bathing them in shadow. Mary Jane shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up. She gasped. It was not a cloud, but rather four extraordinarily large birds flying far overhead whose wings had eclipsed the sunlight. She pointed to them.
"Look!" She exclaimed.
Jack looked as well.
"Oh no," he said. "Trouble."
"Perhaps not," Alcide said thoughtfully.
She did not elaborate. The birds banked to the left and began to circle counter clockwise, dropping lower on every turn until they were almost on top of the children and their companions. As they came closer, it became evident that what from a distance appeared to be four birds were actually three brown eagles and a fourth animal that had the wings of an eagle, the yellow body and hind legs of a large cat, and thin bird legs for its front legs. This last creature's tail flowed out behind it as it flew like the string of a kite. A memory fell into Jack's mind of the same creature sitting at the table of magical beasts in Tarah. That night felt years ago.
"It is Gildas, and he comes with rocs," Aldair observed.
The three eagles--which Aldair had called rocs--landed several yards in front of the children, their enormous wings stretching out to their fullest extent to break the speed of their descent. They settled themselves on the ground, switching their weight from one foot to the other while tucking their wings tightly to their bodies and watching the travelers with fierce black eyes. The magical beast Gildas landed last, his wings carefully lowering his heavy body to the ground.
In his shrill, eagle-like voice, the griffin said, "Aiglon sent word that you would need conveyance. I have brought you three rocs."
"I don't understand. What's happening?" Mary Jane asked.
"Fortune has smiled upon us. The rocs will take you to the Green Forest," Aldair explained. "It will be much faster than if we walk."
"But there are only three of them," Maude said.
"Yes, one for each of you."
"But how will you come with us?" Maude asked, distress pinching her voice.
"Brave child, you will have to go on without us," Alcide said gently, bumping Maude's hand with her nose encouragingly.
"No!" Maude protested. "I won't! Archipel, you can't let them!"
"You must go," said Aldair. "It is the best way. To travel on foot would take far too long. You know that. You race the witch now, and must beat her to the gate to your world. Gildas will keep you safe. You will not need us."
"But I do!" Maude cried.
"It's alright, Maude," Archipel said encouragingly.
Maude began to cry, fat tears cascading down her cheeks. She fell to her knees and hugged the wolf to her. Archipel leaned into the embrace, hanging his head over her shoulder with a deep sigh, his pale eyes closing. Maude's tears mingled with his thick gray fur. She murmured, "I'll miss you so much. Be careful."
"I will miss you, too. Travel safely, and may these unhappy times be forgotten," he replied.
After a minute, she released him and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, sniffling. Jack and Mary Jane also wept silently as they watched. Jack said in a choked voice to the two magical beasts, "We can't thank you enough for what you have done for us. Without you…"
"We have only done what was right," Alcide replied firmly.
Jack nodded stoically. After each child hugged each animal, they marched with sad resignation to the birds, their heads hanging and their feet dragging. The rocs crouched low to the ground and stretched their necks forward, patiently allowing the children to scrabble abroad them by clutching handfuls of their feathers and pulling themselves up. They continued to stand in this unusual pose even after the children were aboard, one child per bird, for if they straightened up the children would have slid right off their smooth backs. The children looked one last time at the companions they were leaving behind. There was so much to say, and yet no words to say it.
"Take care!" Mary Jane called, the words feeling hollow and inadequate.
"And you as well," Aldair replied.
"They will be safe," Gildas promised. "And now, away!"
The rocs flapped their giant wings and jumped into the air. The children clung desperately to their feathers to keep from falling off as the birds wheeled into warm currents of air and immediately shot up hundreds of feet into the sky. Rather than riding upright with their legs around the birds' necks as they had thought they might do, they had to lie on their stomachs on the rocs' backs and hold feathers on either side of the great birds' necks. It was an uncomfortable position, but it was secure.
"How long until we reach the Green Forest?" Jack shouted to Gildas.
"Not long," the griffin called back. "Rocs are fast and tireless. You will be home sooner than you think."