Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1) (9 page)

What should you do, if you are presented the choice between serving the common good and helping the people you love? Not every decision has two sides, some are simply always bad. Only a few seconds after I had decided that the corpse of my idol, and the father of Lucia, had to be thrown down into the Gate of Hell, I felt sorry. It was no mistake, but I still had to suffer for it now. Lucia was hardly able to think clearly and thus Aton carried her outside on his shoulders. We blended in with the rest of the prisoners and tried to keep our heads down as much as possible. Isaac realized now that I would also go up against him if I would deem it necessary, and I knew, that it could make keeping this group together increasingly difficult.

The crowd’s anger grew by the minute and it only made worse, what I knew would happen next. As soon as the gates opened and the bridge was lowered, I could see the faces of Danton and his men in the distance. They were rebels going up against the king and were therefore not considered anything more than criminals themselves. But people like these, locked away and tortured for years in dark prison cells, didn’t care about these differences. It only took a minute before the first man fell, and only a few seconds for the next. The massacre offered us a good opportunity to escape, but I knew that this blood was on my hands.

“We must hurry. The pirates will soon gather. Only a few days left. Meet me in Amnia,” said Aton and ran forward with Lucia on his back.

His speed was breath-taking. Neither the density of the snow nor the cold air could stop him. Only Isaac and I remained now, but the carriage we had used to get here was lost. We had left it behind believing that we would no longer need it, and now where time was the only limiting factor, we had no other choice than to steal horses from the stables of the city.

“Did you ever plan on granting me a look at the book? I doubted you from the beginning, but now it seems almost ridiculous to have ever thought otherwise,” said Isaac and tramped forward through the high snow.

Around us one could hear the cries and shouts of the people running away or standing around, stunned by shock, staring at their houses burning down and seeing the resistance vanish in a tidal wave of blood.

“My father always thought that I am a weakling, a person without the courage to make difficult decisions. Today I know that he is wrong. The decision to free these men was mine, and even though it was Aton who did it, it was my strong will that made him do it. This fear that I had felt right before we walked onto the property of your father, or when I even just thought about the fact that a power existed, that could make a man become a god; all of it had been too much for me. Jasper had always been my role model because he was strong and charming, but what I really wanted from life, were freedom and power. No, I never wanted to grant you anything. And I never wanted to save Jasper, just as I never expected to support Lucia in her beliefs. For me this is not a treasure, it is a curse that rests on all of us.”

My words came as no surprise to him, but he appreciated my honesty despite it being everything he never wanted to hear.

“Don’t get me wrong, but I think that you are a fool. The power in this book may be used for something good. Lawrence knew this, and he has sacrificed his life for it to be retained. Why would he have sent you otherwise? He could have just destroyed it to begin with. We should understand and improve the world, but you want to protect it, by destroying it in the first place. You said that we should not raise ourselves up to the gods, but you have already done so. Hundreds of people died today just because you allowed it to happen. There may be a way to make use of this knowledge, without unnecessary bloodshed. My path and yours continue to be intertwined, because alone none of us will ever find this treasure. And yes, I think it is a treasure.”

There was the possibility that Isaac was right, but all that I could see within his petty words, was shrouded by his past and the still unknown reason why he even wanted to find this treasure. I couldn’t believe him when he told me, that he wanted to save his family and I was especially sure, that he didn’t just want to save the world. He still had secrets that he kept from us, and even if Lucia trusted him, I couldn’t do it at all. My actions may have led us down the same path, but when the time would come, I would be ready to sever this bond without hesitation. With all this chaos and destruction, it was not difficult to steal two horses, without it being noticed. So we rode in the direction of Amnia, although not as fast as we would have wanted to. Isaac still had plenty of his elixir left, but without Aton, telling us how much time remained, we had no idea what to do. But a further trip with Magnus would make reaching Amnia almost impossible, as his fear and fragile mind wouldn’t make for a great travelling companion.

So we reached an inn on the Golden Road, the main road through all of Jimosien, once built to unite all of the kingdoms. Many traveling merchants and scholars, who went from town to town, used this road and thus there were guest houses like this every few kilometres. We did not attract any attention and we planned to spend a whole day at this place, since it was a much bigger risk moving on while Magnus assumed the control.

“Two nights? Quite unusual for travellers, what brings you to this place? Are you refugees from the city? I heard that the resistance had started its attack on the fortress. I wonder what comes next for these countries. There are exciting times ahead, or dark times, depending on who you are,” giggled the old woman behind the counter and showed us our rooms.

They were outfitted with simple beds and nothing else, but we wouldn’t need anything more. And as much as we were pressured to reveal who we were, so we tried to prevent it. No one should know that we were involved in the attack, but it was unlikely after the death of Danton and his men. But as soon as the nightfall started I began to hear disturbing noises from the distance, which made me understand, what beasts I had let loose into the night. 

If beings like Aton had been held captive at this place for thousands of years, than I couldn’t even dare to imagine, what horrors had been caged in these shadows. More and more of my attempts to fall asleep failed, so I started to just stare out of the window into the dark night. I thought about seeing my father again after what I had done to him. Although it was not even a month ago that I had seen him last, this was the longest period of my life I spent separated from him. A life like that of Isaac was inconceivable for me, to always be united with one person, without any possibility of solitude.

There was a time when I wished that Lucia had been more than just a friend. Today I prayed to the gods that she could even accept me as that. One day she will understand why I did it, but she could probably never forgive me.

“So you can’t sleep as well. I thought to myself that perhaps you might like some company before I take my elixir and my father takes you with him into the madness,” said Isaac quietly while he opened the door gently.

“Come in, I just thought about what will happen next. This island Singasteinn, what do you know about it?” I asked Isaac and lit a candle, while he sat down next to me on the bed.

“I hadn’t even known what you have told me. I only knew the titans from legends and the Sun King of course from children's fairy tales. Just the thought that he really once existed amazes me even now. We have grown up in times in which the magic has almost completely disappeared. For us there is hardly a mystery that has not already been uncovered. Perhaps that’s why you want to keep yourself from the truth within this book.”

“Giving people an incentive to live is the least of my worries. When I think about why I had begun this journey, all I can do is laugh. I seriously thought for a moment that Jasper was still alive, and that all of this was just a rumour. The treasure that he sought and the help that he needed, that all of this was just an easier way for him to see his daughter. But when I stood there and when I saw Lucia leaning over his body I felt nothing. 

Only now can I understand that he is no longer there, and that he won’t be ever again. A frightening feeling, and yet I believe that I have done the right thing.”

Isaac took off his glasses and rubbed his hand through his face. I could see his fatigue, but just like me he was unable to sleep from hearing the noise of the lawless hour by hour just past the inn, like a raging storm. The Golden Road led to nearly all areas of the kingdom, and it was therefore the nodal point of all activities. We were in the heart of the chaos, but soon it would be more than a few knights could control.

“I am sure that the king will be sending for help soon enough, now that his fortress is no longer besieged. They will catch or maybe kill the escapees and the kingdom will be safe. My true fear is following Aton’s plan. Persuading a couple of pirates to grant us passage to an island with a treasure? That is more than a few words can muster,” I said and looked out of the window once more.

“One question remains. What exactly was the reason for the death of Jasper Lawrence? According to all that I have heard this was not his first adventure. Why would he publicly denounce the king? And who would risk supporting a rebellion that would inevitable fall into chaos? For me these things make no sense. He must have planned something,” said Isaac and put his glasses back on while also standing up from the bed.

“Do you think that he wanted to die? What reason would he have?”

“He knew the solution to this mystery, and I do not think that he wanted to die, but that he had to. Someone was on his trail, a powerful person, more powerful than the king of Jimosien.”

“But if you are right in that assumption, where is this person now?” I asked, as I opened the window and the strong wind blew out the candles in the room.

We reached Amnia a few days later than expected, and it had also cost us more in terms of most that we had left. Our gold was spent and since neither Isaac nor Magnus ever had worked a real job, I could not expect help from them. The city had, to my surprise, changed very much and many shady figures had found their way here before us. Of course it made sense that most of the men wanted to flee to the high seas, because they feared that the knights of the five kingdoms would be pursuing them soon. My first point of interest was therefore the 'Anchor Chamber', a small inn very close to the harbour. I had however not only hoped to find a drunken pirate there, but also wanted to see if Lucia had stayed at her shop. Much to my regret it was abandoned and closed off, no one seemed to have been here since we left. So I went on and continued my way to the inn, while Isaac withdrew from our little band and tried to find what he could to make our trip easier.

Only little hope remained to me that Lucia could forgive me, but I didn’t want to go on without her. The inn had seen better days, and the lack of a door, windows, and some wooden boards on the outside told me, that I found who I’d been looking for. The stone walls were stained with alcohol, and inside the bards played the music of the seafarers. I had never seen any of the men inside, and although it was a beneficial circumstance it also made it harder for me to find the exact person that I was looking for. Only little time remained, and the pirate we searched could have already disappeared, I was also concerned about Aton, as he was probably the most important person for the trip.

“What is it going to be little man? Out or in?” roared a drunken man who was about to leave the house.

“In, and if you allow me the question, do you maybe know a man named Lloyd Dylan?” I asked politely, as I was used to it, but the man only laughed at me for it.

“Of course. Who doesn’t know him? As far as I know, he died a few years ago. It is said that he had accumulated plenty of assets, but the debtor houses were on his heels. Well, we all need help to start a business, but I guess it was already over when he did,” replied the man and pushed past me.

I thought it was only natural that many thought him dead, because in a business such as this the reputation is much easier destroyed than it is established. But what surprised me was that there was only one man in this place who had a grey beard. Risking my sudden exposure I sat down near him and observed him for a bit. 

His manners were obviously not existent and his appearance seemed to more than match this personality. He wore short leather trousers, almost like a thin piece of cloth wrapped around his groin, and his naked torso was dripping wet from all the sweat, while little drops of alcohol drew little lines every time he spilled his drink. Unfortunately my experience in the field of spying was more than just poor, which is why one of his men quickly noticed what I did. 

He signalled his captain my position with a nod, and soon afterwards the captain stood up storming through the bar like a madman, ringing me down to the ground. He kept me down with all his power, while both sweat as well as alcohol dripped down from him into my eyes. His breath was heavy and it smelled like death itself, while his body seemed to be still missing his full strength, as he started to cough heavily from the stress.

“Who are you, bub? The king sent you?” he asked and held a small knife to my throat.

“My name is Jacob Ayrs; I am the son of the mayor. I apologize if I shouldn’t have bothered you. I just noticed your unusual appearance,” I replied, while I tried to gasp for air.

“Unusual appearance?  So in your opinion I am just an ugly old man who begs to be stared at? Perhaps I should teach you some manners.”

“Don't get me wrong, but you have no idea of manners,” I forced out of me, and pressed his heavy body away from me.

Even if he was famished and weak, his strength still exceeded my own by a long shot. He laughed and put the blade away. He had difficulties getting up again and without help he couldn’t even manage to stand and so he sat down and asked me to take the chair at his side.

“What exactly do you want from the mighty Greybeard? And do not tell me that you did not know who I am. Neither am I special nor am I in any way threatening. I know what I am talking about, because I know where I came from. But how do you know?” he asked me and took a sip from the cup that almost overflowed with beer.