“And you are the Guardian.”
The man put his hand to his chest, close to his heart, as if feeling a tender place. “No longer. Thanks to you,” he said quietly.
“But — you are not Endon, are you?” Lief already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it aloud.
The man smiled. “No, I am not. My name is Fardeep. Once I was a rich man, it is true. A respected man, and very well content. But I was no king. Just the keeper of an inn in a place called Rithmere, far from here. Bandits invaded the town. My family was killed, and my inn was taken from me. The Shadow Lord, it seems, had a use for it.”
The companions exchanged glances. “Could you be speaking of the Champion Inn?” Barda asked.
“You know it?” said Fardeep. “Yes. The Champion Inn was once mine. I have always liked games.”
His mouth twisted ruefully as the companions shuddered. “Now the games played at Rithmere are of a different sort, I hear,” he said. “And the inn is much larger, and run upon very different lines from those in my time, and for a different reason.”
He sighed deeply. “But in those days the Shadow Lord’s plans were not known to me. It all happened long before he took possession of Deltora. Before Endon ever became king. I knew nothing, and cared nothing, for what was ahead. I escaped Rithmere and fled to this valley seeking refuge, and peace.”
He bowed his head. “But peace was denied to me. My misery and anger was felt, and used, by the one who knows how to use them best. At first I did not know he was the one who had caused my trouble. Later, as gifts were showered upon me, it did not seem to matter. I told you how it was. Pride, envy, hatred, and greed grew in me. And as time went on I became — what you saw.”
Again his hand crept to his heart.
“But why did your game — the Guardian’s game — make us think your name was Endon?” Jasmine asked. “Why did that name open the door?”
“The Shadow Lord wished it,” said Fardeep simply. “From the first, he wanted anyone who came here for the diamond to be deceived. To think that King Endon had turned to the dark side, and become his servant. As the Guardian, I found the idea — amusing. And as I told you, I have always liked games. That part of me had not changed.”
He looked up, grim-faced. “Until you came, only the scar-faced man — Doom — had ever solved the puzzle. And the effect on him was everything my master could have hoped.”
He glanced across to where the Torans had gathered, murmuring to one another. He straightened his shoulders and went to speak with them.
“We have learned one important thing from this,” said Jasmine, as soon as they were alone. “It means that the Shadow Lord does not know that it is Endon’s heir, not Endon himself, who is important.”
“Or if he does, he does not know that we are aware of it, too,” Lief answered thoughtfully.
Fardeep and the people were coming towards them. “We hope that you will stay with us, for rest while you can,” Fardeep said rather stiffly, stepping forward. “We can offer you little luxury. But there is wild food enough for all now, in the valley. And friendship in abundance.”
“That is luxury enough,” smiled Barda. “And we will be glad to stay — for a time. We must bury our companion, Neridah. And we have much to talk about.”
Fardeep’s whole body relaxed in a shuddering sigh of relief. “I would not have blamed you if you had loathed the very thought,” he said. He glanced over his shoulder at the crowd. “They, too, have forgiven me,” he said in a low voice. “It is more than I expected. And far more than I deserve.”
“We forgive you heartily,” called a stout, blue-clad woman at the front of the crowd. “Your fault was only blindness, as was ours. And we will stay here, for as long as you allow it, and be grateful. For we have nowhere else to go.”
“Tora is perfect, as it always was,” called Barda. “It is waiting for you!”
But the people shook their heads regretfully. “We can never go back,” the blue-clad woman murmured. “The stone that is the city’s heart is cracked, and its fire is no more. The vow was broken, and that evil can never be undone.”
It can, Lief thought. It can be undone.
He thought he knew how. But it was not time yet. The heir to Deltora still had to be found.
But where? Where in all the wide kingdom was the hiding place that had kept Endon, Sharn, and their child safe for so long? How could he and his companions find it, with no idea of where to look, or where to start?
For a moment he felt a sinking in his heart. Then, again he touched the Belt, heavy around his waist.
We will find the hiding place, he told himself. Wherever it is, no matter how far. For we are not without guidance any longer. The Belt is complete. And it will show us the way.
This book has been compiled in secret. If the work had been discovered by any authority, I, its author, would have paid with my life. Or so I believe.
The risk was worth taking. Forces are working in Deltora to suppress the facts of our past as well as those of our present. Lies are everywhere. King Alton believes that the kingdom is thriving. He thinks that if monstrous perils once existed in far-flung corners, they exist no longer.
I know this is false. Because I, who once wore the silken gloves and velvet tunic of a palace librarian, now scavenge for food in the gutters of Del. I now know what the common people know, and more. I could never have imagined such a future for myself. But I regret nothing.
Perhaps I would never have fled from the palace if the king’s chief advisor, Prandine, had not ordered me to burn The Deltora Annals. The threatened destruction of the Annals, that great, vivid picture of Deltora over the ages, was more than I could bear. And so it was that while pretending to obey Prandine’s order, I saved the Annals and myself.
This book contains material drawn from The Deltora Annals as well as new information I have gained in the past few years. It describes many of the dreadful, mysterious beings that haunt this land. Some of these creatures are as evil and unnatural as their master in the Shadowlands. Others are native to Deltora. All grow stronger every day. Yet the king does nothing to offer his people protection. They hate him for it. But why should he help, since he does not know the monsters exist? None of them are spoken of in the palace except as beasts of legend, dangers of the past.
Books such as this are needed to correct the lies that have become official truth. The people are too busy scraping a living to write down what they know. Writing, in fact, seems almost to have disappeared among them. I fear that lies may one day become the only “facts” available to students, unless people like me act to prevent it.
What the future holds for us, and for Deltora, I cannot say. But when my hopes dim, I take heart in remembering another thing I did before I left the palace. It concerns yet another book — The Belt of Deltora. It is simply written, but full of wisdom. From the day I first found it in the library, I believed that it was of vital importance, and that it contained the keys to Deltora’s future, as well as its past. I kept it hidden, for I knew that if Prandine saw it, it would quietly disappear. I had planned to take it with me, but at the last moment something moved me to change my mind. I hid it, instead, in a dim corner where it would only be discovered by an eager searcher.
I cling to the hope that one day Prince Endon might find it. Even Endon’s friend, young Jarred, might do so, for though Jarred has no great love of books, his wits are keen. He may remember the library if one day he is in urgent need of knowledge. I know in my heart that if Deltora has a future, it lies with these young ones. It would be my joy to know that in some small way I have helped their cause. In faith —