Lord of the Libraries (45 page)
Finding the secret entrance that had been disclosed in Tuhl’s journal took almost another hour. Dawn had started to streak the eastern side of the Haze Mountains by that time, and Juhg worried that the day would come before they were in place.
He, Raisho, Cobner, Jassamyn, and thirty warriors culled from the ranks of the humans, dwarves, and elves—all of them trained and experienced warriors, guaranteed by their peers—made the climb.
At the top where the air was thin, Juhg had to stand for a moment to try to catch his breath. His head spun and his knees felt weak.
Raisho came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are ye okay, scribbler?”
Juhg nodded. For a moment, he couldn’t speak.
“Don’t want to put any more pressure on ye than ye already got,” the young sailor said, “but ye’re leadin’ these men. They’re goin’ on faith with ye. If’n ye take a nosedive in here, it might not go over so good with the troops.”
“It’s the height,” Juhg said. “It always affects me like this. I’ll be all right. Just give me a minute.” He looked up at his friend and saw the worry in Raisho’s eyes. “I’ll get this done. Craugh gave his life to get us this far, and the Grandmagister has held out this long waiting on us. I’m not going to stop now.” He took another breath and straightened, squaring his shoulders.
Another three hundred feet above, the rocky ledge where the goblinkin keep perched looked barren and alone. The goblinkin didn’t even bother to patrol above, knowing that no army could encamp in the broken
terrain on that side of the keep and certain that the long, winding road leading up to the keep’s massive front gates was well guarded.
terrain on that side of the keep and certain that the long, winding road leading up to the keep’s massive front gates was well guarded.
Juhg crossed to the boulder where Tuhl had indicated the secret door was hidden. The scrubby trees protected the area from being seen from above. Grabbing the boulder and finding it delicately balanced, Juhg rocked it in the manner Tuhl had written about, listening for the clicks that signaled the tumblers were closing inside the lock.
At the fourth click, the boulder leaned over and brought up the hidden door, revealing a square tunnel cut into the earth. Iron rungs mounted on the wall offered handholds down into the waiting darkness.
Cobner, dressed in armor he’d insisted on packing up the mountain, volunteered to go first. He swung down and started stepping down. When he reached the floor below, he called for a lantern.
Juhg lit the lantern and passed it down on a small rope. Then he swung down, followed by Raisho, who was assigned to stay with him no matter what happened.
The air inside the tunnel was musty and old. With thirty-four people standing in the narrow confines, most of them wearing armor and some more than others, bristling with weapons, the available space filled up quickly.
Cobner took the lead when they were all down and the hidden door was again hidden. Juhg trotted at the dwarven warrior’s side, just two steps behind.
No directions were necessary. The tunnel ran straight for a hundred yards, till it was up under the center of the keep.
Juhg felt tense and nervous. His stomach fluttered and he wanted to throw up.
That wouldn’t show much leadership,
he told himself glumly as he fought the urge.
That wouldn’t show much leadership,
he told himself glumly as he fought the urge.
By now Ashkar, Hallekk, and the other leaders who had been picked from the groups of humans, elves, and dwarves that had come to rescue the Grandmagister, who had protected the Vault of All Known Knowledge, were outside. They hid in the last of the night’s shadows on the western side of the Haze Mountains, well below the hundred-yard area the goblinkin kept cleared in the unlikely event they were ever attacked.
The pieces of
The Book of Time
felt hot against Juhg’s chest. Looking down, he saw that they glowed strongly enough to show through the leather. He reasoned that it had to be because they were in close proximity to the final piece.
The Book of Time
felt hot against Juhg’s chest. Looking down, he saw that they glowed strongly enough to show through the leather. He reasoned that it had to be because they were in close proximity to the final piece.
Does that mean that the goblinkin piece is reacting, too?
He didn’t know and it was far too late to do anything about that. Not too late to worry about it, though.
He didn’t know and it was far too late to do anything about that. Not too late to worry about it, though.
At the end of the tunnel, another set of handholds led up.
Cobner shined his lantern up, splashing the light against the iron door. “Where does this come out?”
“In the dungeon. Evidently the man who designed this thought it was possible he could get locked in his own dungeon.”
“Optimistic sort, wasn’t he?” The dwarven warrior grinned. “Me, I figure if they catch us and get they chance, the goblinkin will kill us outright. I know I’m planning the same for them.” He moved the lantern light over to the tunnel cut into the wall beside the door. “And where does that one go?”
“To the lord’s private chambers.”
“Be interesting to find out if we could catch Aldhran Khempus abed, now wouldn’t it? Would make short work of this attack. Aside from killing a lot of goblinkin, of course. But that’s something you can develop a liking for.”
“We get the Grandmagister first,” Juhg said. “Then we try to find the final piece of
The Book of Time
and shut down whatever power Aldhran Khempus is siphoning off of it.”
The Book of Time
and shut down whatever power Aldhran Khempus is siphoning off of it.”
Cobner grabbed the first rung on the wall and started up. “Whereat does this come out in the dungeon? ’Cause if it’s at the front door, I want to know if I’m going to have goblinkin trying to thump my knob soon as I stick it up.”
“At the back,” Juhg answered, and hoped that was right. Tuhl’s drawings hadn’t been to any specific scale and that had bothered him. Details mattered.
Crowded in behind Cobner, Juhg waited till the dwarf raised the iron door a little and peered through. Then Cobner went slow and stealthy, with the grace and ease of a cat in spite of the armor he wore.
Juhg went up into the room after the dwarf, feeling his injured ankle twinge a little with the strain. He breathed slow and easy, which was hard because his lungs still felt like they were starved for air.
Cobner squatted behind a corner of the dungeon cell they’d come out into. Juhg took up a position behind him and looked over his armored shoulder.
The Grandmagister hung limply in the same manacles Juhg had seen him in when he’d managed to visit him briefly through the blue gemstones. Some of the cuts on the Grandmagister’s back and arms had healed a little only to be broken open by new violence.
Unconsciously, Juhg started to get up. Cobner laid a big hand in the middle of his chest and sat him back down again. The dwarven warrior pointed to Jassamyn and the elven archers in the group, then at the six goblinkin that stood guard in the dungeon. Three of the goblinkin were asleep, sitting and standing in their assigned positions along the hallway. One of them was pulling nits. And the other two passed the time talking to each other about meals they’d made of dwellers.
Cobner lifted a hand, held it, then dropped it.
Elven-made arrows leapt from elven-made bows. All of them pierced their targets through the throat, making it impossible for the goblinkin to yell a warning to anyone posted outside the dungeon. Two of the goblinkin dropped dead on the spot because the arrows had caught them with their heads leaned back and the arrowpoints had driven deeply into their brains as well. The other four stumbled around in shocked surprise, but Juhg was certain they would get around to remembering the door any moment.
They didn’t get a moment, though, because Cobner jumped out of hiding and lunged for the goblinkin. His axe swung twice, eviscerating one goblinkin and splitting the skull of another. More elven arrows accounted for the other two.
Juhg ran to the Grandmagister’s side, his heart torn at the bloody sight of his mentor.
“Juhg,” the Grandmagister whispered in his hoarse voice. “Is it really you?”
“Yes,” Juhg said. He took out the lockpick he’d brought to deal with the manacles and quickly unlocked them.
Once free of the iron bands, the Grandmagister would have slumped to the floor if Juhg had not caught him. Tears burned Juhg’s eyes but he refused to shed them.
Don’t be weak now
, he told himself.
The Grandmagister isn’t safe yet.
Don’t be weak now
, he told himself.
The Grandmagister isn’t safe yet.
Ashkar knelt beside the Grandmagister. “Is this him? The Grandmagister?”
“Yes,” Juhg answered.
The Grandmagister’s eyes opened.
“They already knew,” Juhg told him. “Since the attack on Greydawn Moors, they knew.”
Weakly, the Grandmagister nodded. It was the most bedraggled Juhg had ever seen his mentor look, even after they had spent weeks on the run along the mainland. Open sores wept infection. He stank terribly.
“Grandmagister Lamplighter,” Ashkar said politely as he took a small stopper vial from the kit that hung at his belt, “I’ve got a potion here that should help you regain some of your strength and stave off the pain for a while. Afterwards, you’ll sleep for a day or two. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” the Grandmagister said. He looked at the elven warder. “You’re a Woodwind elf, from the Sighing Forest.”
“Yes.” Ashkar smiled. “Once of the Silverglen elves before Lord Kharrion destroyed our homes. We had all but forgotten what Silverglen was like until your apprentice told us.”
“It was,” the Grandmagister said in his weak voice, “beautiful. You should see it.”
“Juhg tells me that I can if I come to the Library.”
“Of course.”
“Now, if you’ll drink this we’ll see how you feel.”
Juhg held the Grandmagister as Ashkar poured the contents of the potion down his throat. Weakly, the Grandmagister lay back on Juhg and breathed deeply and evenly for a moment. Juhg thought he saw a faint shimmer around the Grandmagister’s body. The potion didn’t heal the Grandmagister’s wounds, only time and rest would do that, but it would give him strength. The potion helped when necessary, but it had drawbacks to its use.
“We’ll get you out of here,” Juhg said.
“Do you have the pieces of
The Book of Time?”
The Book of Time?”
“Yes. They were where you said they would be in your journal.”
Looking up, his eyes already more alert and filled with less pain, the Grandmagister touched Juhg’s wounded face. “Someone has hurt you. I am so sorry, Juhg, for having to send you after those things.”
Tears ran down Juhg’s face. “We’ve both been hurt, Grandmagister. We will get better. Just wait and see. We will get better.” He fumbled the leather pouch from around his neck as the Grandmagister sat up.
Cobner and the rest of the warriors held the dungeon, waiting to see what the Grandmagister wanted to do.
Pouring the pieces of
The Book of Time
into his palm, Juhg showed them to the Grandmagister.
The Book of Time
into his palm, Juhg showed them to the Grandmagister.
“Well, I have to say it doesn’t look like what I had figured. I had envisioned something with more—more—”
“Pages?” Juhg supplied.
“Frankly, yes. Though I know I should realize by now that not all books are made of paper. Still, they are more comforting and handy when they come in that fashion.” The Grandmagister tried to pick one of the pieces up between his forefinger and thumb. His fingers slid through the green gemstone. “And
that’s
certainly surprising.”
that’s
certainly surprising.”
“I know,” Juhg said.
“They look like they go together,” the Grandmagister mused. “Have you tried putting them together?”
“Yes,” Juhg answered. He folded the pieces in both his hands, trying combinations. “They’re slotted, and it looks like they should slide together, but—”
One of the blue gemstones slid into a green gemstone and locked into place.
“That’s never happened before,” Juhg said.
“How long have they been glowing like that?”
“Since we climbed to the top of the mountain.”
“Then proximity to the fourth section does have an effect on them.” The Grandmagister frowned. “Which could well mean that Aldhran Khempus knows the other three pieces are here. Give me your hand.”
Standing quickly, Juhg helped his mentor to his feet. The Grandmagister looked at Ashkar. “I do feel much better. Thank you.”
“Of course, Grandmagister,” Ashkar replied respectfully.
The Grandmagister looked at the elven warder. “Well, that’s something new, too.”
“What?” Ashkar asked.
“Respect. That’s not something I’ve seen a lot of.”
“But you’re the Grandmagister,” Ashkar replied. “You have read the books and histories of many people. How can anyone not respect everything you’ve done?”
“Believe me,” the Grandmagister assured him, “it’s far easier than you think.” He turned his attention back to the gemstones. “Let’s have another look at these.”
Together, solving another puzzle together, Juhg and the Grandmagister put
The Book of Time
together. Juhg was surprised at how easily everything seemed to fit when he had spent frustrated days with them.
The Book of Time
together. Juhg was surprised at how easily everything seemed to fit when he had spent frustrated days with them.
“It’s a tesseract,” the Grandmagister announced when all the pieces were formed.
Amazed, Juhg looked at the device. All the pieces were hinged together and could be swung open for viewing. He’d learned about tesseracts in books on geometry written by dwarves, who had the best heads for imagining spatial alignments. When the tesseract was fully opened, it could lay flat, then closed and opened again another way.
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