“You didn’t know?” Kat questioned in surprise. “How could you not know? You are a great wizard. How could you not know what you are?”
“Who really knows what they are or what they may become? We learn about ourselves as we do things. We discover what we are as we move through life. If we don’t like what we see, we try to change. That is how we grow, that is how we become all that we can be.”
“But what if I am not strong enough? What if I can’t do what is needed?”
Alex heard echoes of his own questions in Kat’s voice, his own doubts and fears.
“I asked the same questions of the Oracle Iownan once,” Alex said. “I asked what if I was not strong enough to be a wizard. Do you know what she told me?”
“No.”
“She said if I was not strong enough, I would break.”
“That seems a very direct answer from an oracle,” Kat said, a slight smile curling her lips.
“Iownan was kind to me, and she answered me as openly as she could.”
“So I must try to do what is needed, and if I am not strong enough, I will break,” Kat said softly.
“I will tell you this,” Alex said as he turned and started back toward the camp. “I do not think you will break.”
“Then at least I will have hope,” said Kat.
When Alex and Kat returned to camp without any firewood, the others simply accepted the fact that their friend the wizard had talked with their friend the new oracle, and what was said did not concern them.
They continued their journey the next day and the next, always moving south, but never seeing anything that might be the golden rocks. After another week of riding, the Lost Mountains had almost vanished behind them, and the world seemed to open into a wide grass-covered plain in front of them. After the second week, they could see a single mountain in the distance, but even Arconn could not guess at how far away it was.
“We will ride toward that mountain,” Thrang said in a decisive tone. “If ever a mountain called to a dwarf’s heart, that one does.”
The next day it started to rain, and the mountain was lost from sight.
“Spring rains, moving north,” Arconn commented as they rode south. “I would guess they will last for several days.”
“Weeks perhaps,” Thrang said in a slightly grumpy tone. “The spring rains of Thraxon can sometimes last for a month or more.”
“Then we will all be well watered before the sun comes out again,” Barnabus said.
“We may all be drowned,” Nellus added, pulling up his hood a little.
“How will we see the golden rocks if the sun isn’t shining?” Thrain questioned.
Nobody answered, but they were all thinking about it. Of course, they knew the golden rocks were more myth than anything, but a little sunshine would help them to find such rocks, if they really existed.
A week later, as they continued to ride south through the rain, Kat suddenly stopped her horse. Alex paused as well, feeling something powerful move above them in the clouds. None of the others seemed to notice anything, but they stopped and looked from Kat to Alex and back again.
“Something big,” Kat said, turning her face toward the rain clouds. “Something powerful.”
“I felt it as well,” Alex said. “Though it didn’t feel evil, if that’s the word.”
“No, not evil,” Kat agreed. “Yet powerful and possibly dangerous. We should try to move more quickly. We will need to reach the cover of the mountain before the rains stop.”
“And if the rains stop before we reach the mountain, then what?” Thrang questioned.
“Then we will see what moves above us,” Kat answered, her eyes still fixed on the sky.
“Must be part elf,” Thrang grumbled, urging his horse forward.
For another week they rode as quickly as they could. When they camped, they only made small fires, allowing the rain to put them out as soon as Barnabus was finished cooking.
Alex remained alert, trying to feel whatever it was that had passed above them, but there was nothing. Finally, late on the eighth day, they came to the mountain.
“There is an entrance to the east of us,” Kat said, pointing.
“Are you sure?” Thrang questioned. “Have you seen what lies in the mountain?”
“Yes,” Kat answered. “Or I should say, I have seen someof what lies in the mountain. We have reached our goal, but I fear we will find sorrow here.”
Thrang didn’t ask any more questions, but nudged his horse forward. They all followed him through the gathering darkness, and suddenly they found themselves on a well-made road.
“This is dwarf work,” Thrang said as he looked at the road. “Albrek’s people must have made this road.”
“Then it will lead to their city,” Arconn said in a hopeful tone.
They all rode forward, eager to reach the dwarf city. It was almost completely dark when they reached the city gates, and they were shocked when they saw that the gates were nothing more than a pile of shattered stones.
“What could have done this?” Thrang asked. “The gates must have been three feet of solid stone, yet they lie broken like old wood.”
“Whatever did it was powerful,” Alex said. He looked up at the sky. “I think we might be safer inside the gates; the clouds are starting to break up.”
“Has what you felt before returned?” Arconn questioned.
“I don’t feel it now, but I would be happier inside the mountain than out here in the open,” Alex answered.
“Yes, let’s get inside,” Thrang said, climbing off his horse. “We’ll take the horses in as well, and find a place to make camp.”
The others dismounted, leading their horses into the darkness. Alex conjured weir lights to show them the way, but the lights did little to make the dwarf cavern look inviting.
“It would seem that there are no dwarfs left here,” Nellus said as they unsaddled their horses.
“And there haven’t been any for some time,” Arconn added. “There is a great deal of dust on the floor.”
“Such a city should not be empty,” Nellus said. “Something terrible must have happened here.”
“Perhaps,” said Alex. “I suspect the dwarfs were here for a long time because even dwarfs could not have built such large gates quickly.”
“It would take months, even if they had worked on them night and day,” Thrang agreed. “It is a mystery, but not the first one we’ve found on this adventure.” He turned to Kat. “Kat, what do you see in this city?”
“The dwarfs of the Golden Mountain have either fled or died,” Kat said in a trancelike tone. “Only their memories remain. Tomorrow, I will lead you to Albrek’s tomb, but now I must rest.”
“Very well,” Thrang said with a bow. “We should all rest. Whoever has the watch should wake everyone if they hear or feel anything strange.”
They all agreed and moved a little deeper into the cavern. There was a sad and lonely feeling in the empty city, and a sorrow seemed to have settled on them all.
Alex stood for a while, looking into the darkness outside. He stared at the ruined gates, wondering what could have destroyed them so completely. So many questions, and once again, he didn’t have the answers he needed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Albrek’s Tomb
When morning arrived, the rising sun blazed into the cave where they were sleeping, waking them all at the same time. Without speaking, they walked back to the ruined gates. Looking out across the open plain, it was easy to see the truth of where they were.
“The rocks all shine like gold,” Thrang said softly. “Even those in shadow seem to shine.”
“The rain and the sunlight combine to make it look this way,” Arconn said. “A wondrous sight from a very sad city.”
Kat stepped up next to Thrang, a troubled look on her face. “I will take you to Albrek’s tomb now. The Ring of Searching is there, waiting to be claimed.”