Aglanthol 3 - The Castle of Saelethiel (The Law Cannot Be Shaken) - 6. Chapter 6

Magath and Qildor gazed at Neldor. The wizard joined the two men. He skipped any introductory words and came straight to the point.

"The palace without entrance guards a powerful magical tool. Only those who are summoned are able to see it. It must not fall in the wrong hands," he said.

Magath and Qildor gazed at him. Neldor looked between them grumpily.

"I really don’t know why fate summons an old man. So be it. We must find the man," he said.

Qildor cleared his throat.

"Err, Master Neldor, so far we have no evidence that anybody is looking for that said palace," he said.

Neldor made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"Somebody is watching me. But so far I have fooled him," he replied.

"What?" Magath and Qildor asked at the same time.

Neldor told them of his crystal and the energy clone that he had built up to deceive the observer.

"Why should he watch me? He suspects I could stop him. He is a trained wizard, this I can say," he said.

Magath leaned forward. He recounted Dran’s story.

"And you say we don’t have evidence," Neldor said.

He straightened in his chair.

"I was suspecting that the Khalindash had a powerful magician, wasn’t I, Qildor?" he asked in a sharp voice.

Qildor just nodded.

"Unfortunately, we dropped this thought," Neldor said. "What a fool I was. I should have inquired Leandor. He must know the man."

Neldor grimaced at his mistake.

"Do you think he was trained in the Castle of Saelethiel?" Magath asked

Neldor nodded slowly.

"He knows how to gain access to somebody’s life force. This is what you learn at the castle. He must have been there. Years ago probably. He has augmented his skills and probably planned to retrieve Norlorn’s sword in order to release Khaalindaan’s energy. He seeks power. However, he apparently found out that someone has already retrieved the sword and neutralized Khaalindaan’s energy," he said.

"That’s why he plans to gain access to the palace without entrance," Qildor mused.

"The palace is hidden from men’s sight. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. I can only speculate, but I suspect the palace is hidden in the Western Mountains like the Castle of Saelethiel is," Neldor said. He paused. "The palace and the castle are most likely one and the same."

Qildor and Magath exchanged a long look.

"How did this man find out about the hidden tool?" Qildor asked finally.

"I don’t know how he found out about it. Perhaps he received the same gift that I got," Neldor said.

"Gift?" Magath asked.

Neldor rose to his feet and fetched his bag. He took a book out of it.

"Look," he said, holding the book out to Magath.

Magath took it cautiously. The book looked old, almost ancient. Qildor leaned forward to have a look also.

"Words of the Wise Men," Neldor said. "I received this book as a farewell gift when I had finished my training and left the Castle of Saelethiel. The palace is mentioned in it."

Magath turned the pages cautiously.

"I can’t read the words," he said.

"Ancient Aglanthol," Neldor explained.

"Like the books in the secret chamber of the castle?" Qildor asked.

"Yes," Neldor said. "There’s a brief chapter in it about the palace. A brief passage only, revealing no deep secrets or mysteries. It’s not like Gwyn’s story," he said, referring to Qildor’s message. "The woman’s story sounds more like a fantasy tale."

The wizard scratched his head.

"I was puzzled and I was wondering. I think Gwyn’s story was built around the words of the wise men. I think that in ancient times these words were not a secret to man."

Qildor looked at the wizard.

"What are these words?" he asked curiously.

"It’s a poem actually," Neldor said.

He took the book from Magath and opened it. He read the poem to the two men.

"All is vanity and chasing after wind

One thing ends and another begins

In every beginning an end is implied

What we now see is soon out of sight

What we build up now, will crumble to the ground

In every truth something false can be found

A good thing is evil from another point of view

What is bad for me might be good for you

So, your heaven might be my hell

I hear a demon while you hear a bell

Who knows which way is the righteous way?

Can you say for sure that on all other paths we go astray?

Can you say for sure that death is the ultimate end?

Or is rather life the time that in deep sleep we spend?

When in darkness we go, we don't see a light

When the light is bright, we don't think of the night

Yes, all is vanity and chasing after wind

All is null and all is naught

Every laughter, every look, and every single thought

But even vanity will come to naught

And thus reveals to us the beauty sought

                          ∞

Whoever has ears ought to hear

Whoever has eyes ought to see"

Magath and Qildor exchanged a look.

"Very unlike Gwyn’s story," Qildor said.

"And it reveals no secrets and mysteries?" Magath asked. "In all honesty, Neldor, I did not understand the meaning of the verses."

Neldor looked up.

"You did not?" he asked. "But it’s rather obvious. Plain to see."

Magath and Qildor exchanged another look.

"I did not hear that the palace was mentioned," Qildor said.

Neldor looked at Qildor. Then he looked at the book again.

"Right," he said. "It’s not mentioned in the verses. The palace is only mentioned in the title of the poem. The title actually is The Palace without Entrance."

Qildor and Magath exchanged another long look.

"I can’t see any connections to Gwyn’s story," Magath said. "Except of the title."

Qildor nodded.

"So what do you think, Neldor?" he asked. "After all, this poem made you leave the royal court at once and travel to Tanmil."

Neldor scratched his head.

"I was thinking. In all honesty, I can’t believe the wise men left a poem with that particular title for future readers to enjoy their musings," he said. You can in fact read a lot from the verses. But what intrigued me most was that the title does not seem to fit the poem at all. Also, the words are written in an ancient book that looks like the secret books that you can only find in the castle. I was wondering."

Qildor sighed. He saw Neldor’s next words coming.

"Yes, I fear we must go there again," Neldor said. He put the book on the table and folded his hands on his belly. "This man is after something. I have not yet figured out what it is. But from Dran’s observations, from the words that the Khalindash man overheard, I must suspect that the unknown man is looking for the palace. If we want to find out more about it, then we must visit the Castle of Saelethiel once more."

Neldor looked at the two men seriously.

"I don’t know why fate summons an old man. This journey won’t be easy," he said.

The three of them looked at each other.

"You mean, Master Neldor, we have to follow that man?" Magath asked.

Neldor nodded.

"I have to follow him, yes. I am the only one who can stop him," he said in a sober voice.

Magath and Qildor exchanged a look. Neldor watched them. He read their minds with ease.

"In all honesty, I do not want to brag about it, but my magical skills are far above average," he said.

Magath and Qildor exchanged another glance. Qildor turned his eyes back to the wizard.

"The skills of that man might exceed yours," he said.

"So you want to let him do what he likes?" Neldor asked grumpily. "I, for my part, won’t sit and wait. Don’t you see that he is ahead of us?"

"He left only a couple of hours ago. We could surely catch up with him," Magath said.

Neldor took the crystal out of the pocket of his robe and placed it on the table.

"He used to watch me at this time of the day. Wait and see," he said.

A few minutes passed and then beams of light emanated from the crystal. The three of them looked at it until the light had faded. Qildor and Magath looked at the wizard. Neldor took the crystal and put it back into his pocket.

"I suspect he has no idea where to find the palace. But his plans are wicked and he fears that someone could take notice of them," Neldor said.

"I understand," Qildor replied. "This is why he is watching you. If you left your place, this would be a warning to him."

Neldor nodded.

"My energy clone will be deceiving him for another while. But sooner or later he’ll notice the pattern of the energy movements, and then he will get suspicious. For now, he is focused on my energy clone. We must take advantage of this and we must follow him quickly," he said.

"This means we’re heading for the Castle of Saelethiel?" Qildor asked.

"I’ll be travelling tomorrow," Neldor said.

"I will come with you," Qildor replied.

"I’m in, too," Magath said.

Qildor looked at Magath with surprise. But then he nodded.

"So be it," Neldor said with a grave look.

Qildor gave a serious nod and a cold shiver ran down Magath’s spine.

~~**~~