“There are a great many traps, to keep out intruders. Please do not, under any circumstances, touch the walls.”
“I will be careful.” The knights took up positions to their front and rear as Sofitia and Ariel ascended the staircase that extended up along the walls. Through careful observation of the walls, she realized there were unnatural indentations and little holes set into the stone at irregular intervals. She supposed a trap would snap up any intruder who brushed the outer wall before they had time to react.
After thirty minutes spent ascending the stairs, Sofitia started to get out of breath.
“This isn’t too hard on you, is it, Seraph?” Ariel asked.
“I am quite all right. I hope I do not come across as insincere after it was I who made this unreasonable request of you, but this isn’t too hard on you, is it, Your Holiness?”
Ariel stopped with one foot on the next step up. He turned, and Sofitia saw at a glance that his face was dripping sweat.
“Much as I’d like to say it’s not, my years have gotten the better of me.”
“I’m sorry to have made you come so far.”
“You needn’t worry about that,” Ariel brushed her off. “The place has to be aired out regularly, or it stagnates, so I make the climb twice a month. All part of my duties as archbishop. There’s no one else I can trust with it, after all.” Ariel turned back, then set off again up the stairs.
After a little over an hour of climbing, they arrived at the top of the spire. The knight at the head of their group mopped the sweat that glistened on his neck with a handkerchief, then went around to light the candles affixed to the walls. On a clear day, the window set in the ceiling would have let in the light, but from what Sofitia could see of the scenery outside, the fog had still not lifted.
“Please watch your step in the dark,” the knight said.
“I’m used to it. See you attend to the seraph.”
“Your Holiness.”
The torches led away straight ahead. Stepping carefully, Sofitia followed Ariel until they arrived at another solidly built door.
“A moment, if you will.” From his pocket, Ariel took out a gold key that closely resembled the silver one. He inserted it into the leftmost of three keyholes, then turned it clockwise. There was a click as he withdrew it, then inserted the same key into the rightmost keyhole and turned it counterclockwise. Finally, he inserted the silver key into the central keyhole and carefully turned it left, then right. A screech that sounded like the coiling of an iron chain filled the passageway.
“Just a little longer,” Ariel said. A minute passed, then silence fell once more. Ariel removed the silver key from the door, then turned to Sofitia, who had watched all this without a word. “I am sorry to have kept you waiting.”
The rumbling as the two knights pushed the door open shook the floor beneath them. Sofitia followed Ariel and saw at the other end of the room a plinth carved from black glass, standing as tall as herself. What was more, despite its great size, she could see no pins or wedges holding it together. Truly astonishing though it was, this was proof that it was entirely unworked black glass.
“I’ve never seen black glass like this before...”
Needless to say, black glass was a rare mineral, and even in the Holy Land of Mekia, where it was mined in abundance, a piece of this size was by no means a common sight. Sofitia doubted the merchants who based themselves in Mekia would have said differently.
Having said that, there was nothing other than the plinth that stood out. Placed against the wall were a small desk with a chair, and that was it. She cast her eyes over the whole of the room, but there was nothing especially elaborate in its construction.
Without specific reference to the plinth, Ariel said, “You will find the Book of Stella Vera over there.”
“You surprise me. It is in a very conspicuous place.”
“It would be meaningless otherwise,” Ariel said with an air of significance. Eyeing his smile dubiously, Sofitia walked up to the plinth. She saw a richly bound book resting atop it.
“Is this—” Before Sofitia could finish, Ariel’s stern voice cut her off.
“Do not let your hands touch the book.”
“You mean,” Sofitia said slowly, “that this is another trap.”
Ariel nodded gravely. He explained that picking up the book activated a mechanism that dispersed a tasteless, odorless poison into the area around the plinth. Inhale even the slightest amount, and it would slowly eat away at the body until the flesh rotted off one’s bones.
“Then where is the real book?” Sofitia asked.
Rather than reply, Ariel inserted the medallion around his neck into a depression in the center of the plinth. There was a whir of gears turning as a single board emerged. Lying atop it in a symmetrical arrangement were two discs inscribed with ancient Levinian script. Ariel placed a hand on each and began to move them with practiced gestures. Sofitia watched in fascination, then from beneath her feet there came a humming vibration as another plinth slowly rose.
It’s extraordinary that they made it this elaborate, she thought. She found her gaze drawn to the center of the new plinth. Nestled in a cleanly carved-out square was an old book. Handling it carefully as though it might fall apart, Ariel picked it up.
“This is the real Book of Stella Vera,” he told her. As she took it from him, he added sternly, “I’m sure I don’t need to say it, wise as you are, but you will refrain from removing the book from this room.”
“Naturally,” Sofitia replied as she looked over at the little desk and chair. “Might I make use of the desk over there?”
“Anything in this room is yours to use as you please. I will have the knights wait for you outside. Call out through the door when you are done reading, and we will return to escort you.”
“I am much obliged to you for all the troubles you have taken for me.”
“I pray your search bears fruit, Seraph. May the blessings of Strecia be with you.”
As Ariel left the room, the great doors swung tightly shut behind him with another heavy rumble. Though he had not said it explicitly, she could sense with powerful certainty that, ruler of Mekia or no, he would not suffer any abuse of his trust in her.
Well, then, she thought. I hope you have the answers I seek. Without further ado, she lowered herself into the chair, then set the Book of Stella Vera down on the desk. Then, slowly, she turned the first page.