Quest for the King (9 page)

"It was as though I had been translated to the most lovely palace
in the world. The palace was utterly real. I was not dreaming, but
really was inside a wonderful building. I stood on gold pavement, surrounded by pillars of gold-but clear gold, gold into whose amber
depths my eyes could penetrate, gold that shone gently from its very
depths with the light of the sun.

"And before I was aware of anything else in my surroundings I saw
a living column of smoke approaching me from a distance. I say living
smoke because that is how I thought of it, and as it drew nearer, it
seemed to glow with inner fires of pale blue. It approached until it
hovered a yard or so from me. I began to tremble. Then its form
changed, and it became a being in the form of a man, a man from
whom the same pale light was shining. I could not bear the power of
the shining of his countenance, and fell on my face at his feet, my
body shaking uncontrollably."

"I bet that was Gaal!" Wesley cried.

"Gaal? Who is that?"

"He's-I mean we-oh, dear, it's sort of complicated, an' it's part
of the secret. But do go on with your story. I'll try to explain later."

Alleophaz looked ahead, drew in a breath, and started again.
"When the person spoke, his voice was the sound of an earthquake,
and he said, 'I am Truth. I am the key to all understanding. I shall
be born as a man-child on your earth in one week's time. When I
come, the history of the world will take a new course. I want you to
see me there during my childhood. You will learn where I am if you
inquire at the royal palace in the ancient and evil city of Bamah in
the country of Anthropos.' "

"That's what Gaal called it once-'the ancient and evil city of
Bamah: " There was a frown on Wesley's face. His thoughts were
confused. In his mind was, "Ought I to tell him all we know?" But
Alleophaz had turned to him with interest, his eyes alight with intelligence.

"Gaal again?"

"Oh-well, like I said before, it's complicated-and Uncle John
talks about the pale blue light a lot, too. It must have been the person
we call Gaal who was talking to you."

Alleophaz was still watching Wesley keenly. "Then you really know something. Obviously Gaal is a key. How much do you know?"

"We-we know quite a bit-but, as I say, it is complicated. Obviously
I must explain, but later. Please go on with the story!"

Alleophaz's face bore a quizzical smile. "That is really all there is
to tell ... oh, except this. The strange being turned and pointed to
a painting that hung from one of the wide gold pillars. `Look at it
carefully,' he said, `before I send you back to where you were.'

"On the picture I saw three children on horseback. Two were boys,
one was a girl. They appeared to be following a pillar of smokeidentical with the one that had first approached me. They looked
rather like the three of you. `You will meet them in Playsion, and they
will guide and instruct you.' Then immediately, and without any warning, I was back in my ancestral home, my arms embracing the stone
and my head resting against it. Strangely, as I raised my head and sat
up I saw that the sun had risen. What had seemed to take but a few
brief moments had actually used up several hours."

Wesley was frowning. His thoughts had wandered toward the end
of the narrative, and he was trying to figure into what epoch they had
arrived. He knew that Anthropos time and earth time were totally
unrelated. "When was that vision?" he asked.

"It took place nearly two years ago. I decided at once that I must
leave for Bamah. But it took a week to make preparations for such
a long journey, and we have been traveling since then. The child, if
it was born as he said, must be nearly two years old."

For several minutes Wesley had been conscious of the sound of
rushing water, which grew constantly louder. The road was still descending, and soon they caught an occasional glimpse through the
trees of sunlight on the river below them on their right. Wesley was
still thinking about the story.

"Two years! That's an awful lot of traveling! How did you get here?"

"We have had two sea voyages. We were shipwrecked during a
storm on a small island in the Pasgal Sea, and it was nearly a year
before we were able to take ship for this part of the world. We arrived
in Playsion a week ago and purchased these animals along with pro visions. There were five of us when we first set out, but two of my
disciples returned home after the shipwreck"

"But Gerachti and Belak stayed with you."

"Yes." Alleophaz smiled. "I like Gerachti. He does not accept my
views without argument, and can be as stubborn as a mule, but he,
too, hungers for truth. It is just that he is hard to convince! He is
rather suspicious of my vision as a source of truth."

Very soon they found themselves following the river bank, and as
soon as they could they dismounted and led their horses to drink. The
river bed was wide, almost two hundred yards across, though the
actual channel-or rather channels-through which it flowed might
number three or four at any one time. It proceeded in the direction
opposite to the one they were pursuing, constantly dividing and uniting among islands of stone and rock. The water was swift, absolutely
clear, and pale green in color. Its bed was lined with boulders and
small stones, and there were fish to be seen in the five feet or so of
deeper water.

Once the horses were watered they resumed their journey, now
ascending slowly in the direction of the river's source. And because
the river followed many bends, the scenery changed constantly. They
could catch glimpses of peaks and distant mountain ranges both behind them and in front of them.

"I wonder what the river is called," Lisa said to Kurt.

"I've no idea. But surely it must become the Rure higher up. Remember the legend of the magician."

The voice of Alleophaz broke in. "It is the Rure. It is joined by a
smaller river-the Nachash, its most important tributary-which turns
a sharp corner to join it. The river flows from its source in Lake
Nachash, which is bordered by a swamp."

Wesley's mind received a jolt. That confirmed what Lisa said about
Bamah. He saw that they had arrived "in Uncle John's time." Hence
the way the river was flowing. The legend about the sorcerer who built
the bridge now made sense. "Well, I never! The sorcerer and the
bridge!"

"Then this road really will take us to Bamah, and we follow the
river-or some river all the way ..." Kurt turned to interrupt.

"But the Rure is-well, more sedate than this river," his sister said,
frowning.

Alleophaz smiled. "True, and I can see you are familiar with the
country. As for this river, I imagine that it can be dangerous when it
floods. Probably this road gets washed out at times."

All of a sudden Kurt saw with his own eyes the "living column of
smoke" on the road ahead of them. It was on the left-hand side of
the road, the side of the forested slope. Merging with the trees, pale
gray in color, it seemed to Kurt to pulsate with a life all its own.

"Look, Lisa, there it is!"

"There what is?"

"The column of smoke that Alleophaz talked about. Look-thereahead of us on the left!"

"Where? Where? I can't see anything!"

Kurt pointed. "See that tree that leans forward?"

"Yes."

"Well just this side of it-almost right against it."

There was a moment's silence.

"Kurt, I can't see a thing," she said. "You're sure you're not imagining it?"

"You could be looking in the wrong place. Look, it's only ten yards
ahead now! See, right there!"

Lisa shook her head, laughing a little. "Kurt, there's nothing! I can't
see a thing."

Kurt's face was red. "We're passing it now, it's as clear as day!" he
cried in anguish. He turned to his sister, whose face was full of concern.

"Kurt, I'm sorry. I'd see it if I could. But all I see are trees and the
slope of a hill."

Kurt looked back. "It's still there." His shoulders drooped. "It'sit's as clear as a bell-glowing with inner fires of pale blue, just as he
said. Lisa, I'm not making it up!"

At that point the road swung left to follow the nver bank, so that
whatever Kurt saw, or thought he had seen, was lost from view. It was
a point at which the main channel, which must have been fifteen or
twenty feet across, and very deep, flowed with unusual speed. As they
looked at the water flanking the road they saw it fast, deep and only
a foot below the level of the road. On their left there was a face of
rock rising sheer for thirty feet or so. Twenty yards ahead the road
ended abruptly. It had been washed out. Two or three hundred yards
further ahead they could see where a large tree had fallen out of the
bank over the river, and beyond that point the road emerged to rise
above the level of the river once again.

Alleophaz reined his horse and dismounted, handing the reins to
Wesley.

"Oh, boy, that tears it!" Kurt said.

Alleophaz walked toward the point where the road was washed out Belak and Gerachti hurried to join him. Lisa, weary and aching after
sitting side-saddle, released her left foot from the stirrup, slid down
and stood beside her horse, still holding the reins. Kurt longed to join
the men, but restrained himself. They watched the three men discussing the situation. Sometimes one or the other would point ahead and
they would look at the rock face on the left, or back in the direction
from which they had come. Gerachti seemed to point frequently to
the river itself, and to the far side of it.

Wesley turned to his brother and sister. "I hope he isn't trying to
talk him into crossing it," Wesley said. "That would be absolutely
insane. That current would sweep us away in no time-and the
horses . . . I"

think I he is suggesting we use ropes."

"Insanity!"

They were relieved to hear Alleophaz saying as the men returned,
"No. Absolutely not. It would be far too dangerous. In any case it is
time we stopped to eat. We will all feel better when our stomachs are
full."

They opened the leather panniers on the pack animals and, seating
themselves in the roadway, began a meal of oat cakes, fruit and sweet
wine. They positioned the horses on the side nearest the break. The
men began to discuss the situation again. Alleophaz and Gerachti did
most of the talking, but after half an hour nothing was resolved.

"Where's Kurt?" Lisa asked Wesley in a low voice.

"Goodness knows. He's not here. Did he eat?"

"I don't know. I think so."

"Where would he go?

'Just before we got here he thought he saw a column of smoke like
the one Alleophaz saw in his vision. I couldn't see anything-an' I
think I must have hurt his feelings. Perhaps he's gone for another
look."

Alleophaz was still talking. "I think we should go back slowly, looking for some point where we can enter the wood, and circumvent the
washed-out area. We may have to dismount and lead the horses."

At that moment Kurt rounded the corner. "You won't need to look,"
he said. "There's a trail that starts fifteen yards back. I followed it a
little way. It's easy enough for the horses."

Kurt seemed elated and very sure of himself. Alleophaz looked at
him with interest. "I wonder ..." he said.

"You wonder what, my lord?" Gerachti responded.

"Well, in Risgah, before we set out for Bamah, they told us our
choice for the first twenty leagues lay between the high road and the
low. The low, they said, mainly followed the river and was easier and
broader. The high road was narrow in places and could be waterlogged at this time of the year. They also said there were trails connecting the two, but that you had to know what you were doing to
follow them. The forest was full of dangers, they said, and it is very
easy to lose yourself in it."

He turned to Kurt "It puzzles me that I did not see this column you
saw as we were passing."