Dreams of Giants -- Chapter 3, Part 2

The pair of doors that marked the main entrance to the library flew open. Gondahar the seventh, High Priest of Kavaria's tall form appeared behind them. He strode majestically into the massive hall. Books and scrolls lined the wall of the circular room. Bookcases were divided into orderly sections, and were laid out evenly across the library's floor. Gondahar's eyes wandered over the hundreds of shelves, before they settled on the librarian who sat at the ebony desk in the room's center.

He walked towards it, curled his finger into a fist and grimaced. “Where's Miana?”

“Where do you think she is, Gondahar?” the librarian said. Gondahar met his eyes. He stared into them coldly. He spun around, and walked hastily to the marble staircase at the back of the room. He descended three levels. A door of stone lay in front of him. Echoes of his footsteps could be heard amidst the stale smells of moisture that hung delicately in the air. Out of his pocket, Gondahar withdrew the set of keys. They clanged loudly. He inserted a key into the lock and twisted. Click.

Gondahar pushed the door open. Torches illuminated the passage before him. Shields, swords, and helmets hung on the walls. Gondahar walked about fifty paces before he came to an abrupt halt. He slid another key into its keyhole and yanked it open. The room appeared empty. He stepped inside. Where was she?

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Someone was behind him. Holding a weapon no less. He froze. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, Gondahar sensed the weapon disappearing.

“Don't scare me like that.” The voice was Miana's.

“Miana,” he breathed. He pulled her into an embrace.

“Father, what's wrong?”

“I'd hoped that I wouldn't need to tell you this, but Mintrow's keys have been stolen. This happened two days ago. Circumstances have changed slightly since then. Not an hour ago, my Aunt Gienra was found dead on the beach front. A clean shot through the head. Cutthroat's work.”

Gondahar watched his daughter's face. Her eyes remained steady, but slight signs of tension became apparent as her head became more rigid. She was upset, but she was controlling her emotions well.

She swallowed. “Have you sent Mintrow word?”

“He should know by now that his keys have been stolen. He will, in all likeliness be returning from Vileri. He should get here by tomorrow.”

“I meant, does he know that his mother's dead?”

“No. We only found out today. But he'll be here before we can send someone to him,” he said. “And we couldn't have expected to have known beforehand. Gienra often disappears for days on end. Her absence was nothing out of the ordinary.”

“I hope that he agrees,” Miana said.

“So do I,” said Gondahar. He paused. “Miana, come with me. I've got something that I need to show you.”

Gondahar exited the room, locking it behind him. Miana followed him down the passage. It passage spiraled downwards, with doors randomly scattered on either side. The air grew colder as they descended deeper below the ground. Gondahar looked to his daughter. She was shivering. He removed his cape and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“It won't be long now,” he said.

“I've never been this far down.” Miana's voice shook as she said the words.

“One more turn and we'll be there,” Gondahar said.

“We'll be where?”

“At the end of the passage.”

The familiar door appeared in front of him. A wry expression passed briefly over his lips.

“Miana, Open it.” Gondahar watched his daughter extract her set of keys. Their clang echoed through the air demonically.

“Which key is it?” she asked.

“Which ever key you feel it is.”

He watched as she took the handle of the big gold key and pushed it into the keyhole. It turned. She pushed the door open.

Gondahar took in the familiar sight of the room. It hadn't changed over the past twenty years, he mused. Like the library itself, it was circular. Eight torches lined the walls. Each torch held a different flame: Red, green, blue, yellow, violet, orange, silver and gold. The room's radius was about six paces. At its center, a perfectly spherical stone lay. It was slightly sunken into the ground.

A beam of light illuminated it, and perfectly balanced on its round top, was a book. The Book of Truth. The last time he had come to this room, the book's cover had been a bright blue. Now, it was a volcanic red.

“What is this place?” Miana asked.

“This room, is the purpose that the library was built.” Gondahar paused. “The library was built to hide this book, The Book of Truth. Too many have been corrupted with the power that it contains. The Book of Truth accounts the most dangerous events imaginable. It is so named because it tells only the truth. Like many with greed, Galdiff has been after this book. He has obtained the key now. It is no longer safe in the library.”

“Why do you show it to me, then?”

“It is yours now. You must be the one to protect it. Guard the book with your life, Daughter. I hope that I have given you the ability to survive. I say my goodbye here. You need to find a safe place for it. Hide it where nobody would think to look. But I warn you Miana, do not allow the book to corrupt you. Take your horse, and ride like the wind.”