On Bated Breath We Wait

Chapter 4

The moment we were out of earshot of everyone in the mess hall Nathan turned to me and said, “We will be going to my home, but you seem a bit wet behind the ears so I’ve decided to also see what you know.”

Confused, I replied, “Okay? But first you might want to explain ‘wet behind the ears'? That's not a phrase I’ve heard before.”

Nathan chuckled, “It means you are inexperienced, you are young after all so it’s perfectly acceptable.” He began to walk slower and often paused to stroke his beard. After several pauses he said, “First question, what are the three types of currency of the world not just in the Temple? Wrong answers are okay, but think before you answer.”

As I thought about the question, my mind began to wonder. I knew coin was the first, but the second and the third I was clueless. As we continued to walk, numerous people either stopped to say good morning or to thank him for something. It dawned on me, one of the answers was favors. Before I knew it I noticed we were doing laps around one of the floors. I wanted to ask why, but something in me wanted to answer his question first, so I continued to think about my answer. I paused and admitted, “I only know two of the types of currency. Coin and favors. I don’t know the third.”

“Good, good. Both are in fact currency of the world. The third is bartering. And I can also skip the next question as you already answered it correctly.”, he declared smiling.

I asked, “How did I answer a question you hadn’t asked yet?”

He grinned and said, “You admitted you didn’t know the answer.” He explained that not everyone is willing to be wrong and those who insist they are not only cause problems. “Last question, and this one is a toughie. How many times have we circled my room?”, he smirked.

Without hesitation I replied, “Either five or six times. I don’t know which room is yours so I can’t give you the exact answer.”

“Hmmmm, you are your father’s son. Always observant and quick when you know the answer. That’s enough questions for now, we need to turn around. My room is a few doors back.” He turned and started to reach for something within one of his pockets, before he pulled out a key. As he unlocked and opened the door, I could see everything within his small room. His room was only about eight feet across, both walls covered in what looked like hundreds of small drawers, and in the back was a bed neatly made. He welcomed me to his home before pointing to the upper drawers, “See those upper ones? I’m not as young or as tall as I once was. I need you to go through all of the top drawers and help me sort everything to a lower drawer.” He gestured to the drawers about my shoulder height, and explained that anything higher than that needed to be moved.

I pointed out, “Anything above my shoulder? Okay might take a while.” I looked at the mountain of work in front of me. I on a good day was five foot eleven maybe six foot; his drawers easily went a foot higher than me. I joked, “Do you have a ladder or something? Most of the drawers you want me to organize I can’t even see in.”

He lifted up the bed sheets to reveal that they were concealing a large ladder under his bed. As I walked over to get the ladder he thanked me, “Thank you Nikos; I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

As I climbed the ladder I couldn’t help but ask, “So, how did you manage to acquire everything here?”

With a long sigh he told me there was a time when the Temple wasn’t as reserved as it was now, people from far and wide travelled to the Temple for various things. Knowledge, Religion, and Trade for every reason imaginable they came; but overnight about twenty five years ago everyone stopped. The elders at the time sent various groups of people to investigate what changed but none returned from the first dozen or so groups. A few years later one of the elders established the envoys as a group. Trained in combat, medicine, and business the envoy would attempt once again to investigate. Those highly trained men and women were the first to investigate and come back, however over the years since they all have passed away with exception to one of them. That person was from their first trip, the envoys returned with a friend they had met on their journey. Escaping problems of her own, she ended up joining them and later became an envoy herself. She had a child not long after, and that the child should be about my age. But, she would be important to everyone’s lives over time.

I started to wonder when he was going to explain how he got everything in here, but just when I was about to ask blurted out, “Oh, yes. You asked about how I acquired everything in here, I was that elder that started the envoy. I stepped down as an elder when my wife got sick, in this room was my work. Everything in this room was part of my research over the years; from trying out new medicines, to making a stronger glue, I tried it all. In fact, I think your father has one of my notebooks… Oh, what did I call it? I had turned it into a book before everything changed, hmmm. It was Colds, Viruses, Parasites, and Fungi: And How to Prevent Them.”

My jaw dropped and I exclaimed, “Wait, you wrote that book? I was looking through it yesterday, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it!” He assured me he wrote every word and at a future point in time he would gladly explain anything I had questions about. He directed me to a drawer opposite to where I was working. It was one of the largest drawers in the room with ease, you could put a loaf of bread or a pair of shoes in it. As I opened the drawer he advised me to be careful, it had something of his daughter’s. I paused, “Wait, you never mentioned you had a daughter, do I know her?” As I posed the question, I pulled out a small wooden chest adorn with silver trimming.

I carefully descended the ladder and handed him the chest; as he accepted it I saw his face fill with sorrow as he began to hold it tightly. Looking up from the chest, he started to sob. I gently walked him over to the bed and gestured for him to sit down. Rather than press him and try to figure out who his daughter was, I resumed my work in helping him organize his drawers. Organizing his drawers became a bit more difficult, as I pulled something out of a drawer I would ask him where we would like it. Still clutching the chest, he would point to a lower section of drawers. From there he would point left or right until I found the correct drawer he wanted me to place it in. From dried plants in jars, to odd rocks he knew the exact place where he wanted them; most of the time the drawer he directed me to already had some.

As the day went on he slowly held that chest less tightly, and began to not only point to where I needed to move something but verbal directions; left, right, up, simple directions. One jar and what we wanted to do with it shocked me, as I pulled out of the drawer he shouted, “Bring that here, now!” He inspected the jar closely, to me it looked like a dried blue flower with a good bit of the plant still attached; and several seeds laid at the bottom. He gently put the chest aside, and sprung up with energy I hadn’t seen from him. “Come with me, and bring that jar. We have to destroy what is in that jar. It isn’t safe.” Without question I followed him out of the room and he started to mutter.

“What was that, I didn’t quite catch that.” I asked.

“Nothing, nothing. Berating myself for still having that dreadful plant.” He scowled when mentioning the plant.

I remarked, “You couldn’t have known what was in all of the drawers. Also, I will not ask why but how we need to destroy this plant.”

He looked up at me with a glare, his anger wasn’t directed at me but inward; I could tell it was self-loathing that filled his mind. He recounted, “Fire, the hotter the better but during this time of year I doubt we will find fire hot enough. We must see if any of the smiths have their forge running.”

Now concerned with what I was carrying I followed him out of the Temple. In the shadow of the Temple we stood, him recounting who might have a lit forge. I looked up at the Temple, a building carved into a cliffside, its hallways stretched through the mountain. Countless halls and rooms that had never seen the light of day, and at the top of the cliff laid one room built on top of the cliff. It was there that the Temple and its people performed ceremonies; mostly weddings and other happy ceremonies. Something about it drew my eye to it, and as I stared at it my head started to throb.

From a distance I heard, “Nikos, are you daft? Get a move on.” As I turned to see Nathan a fair bit away.

As I caught up to him I apologized, ”Sorry, I just couldn’t stop staring at the Summit Sanctum. I don’t know why.” I continued to follow him.

He commented, “Same, I learned that a while ago. It’s just easier to not look at it.”

“I can’t help but notice we are going a bit ways away from the Temple, why is that?“, I asked. He pointed into the distance to where smoke was rising and explained that it was the home and forge of Wulfric Ghortash. I couldn’t help but ask at that moment, “Wulfric Ghortash? I’ve never heard of him.”

“Ghortash, isn’t much of a people person. From what I’ve been told with the hours he likes to work, I doubt the people in the Temple wouldn’t be very happy if he tried that in the Temple. Plus, running a forge puts out a lot of heat and also requires a lot of wood.” As we approached the building I could hear the sounds of someone working with metal. We rounded the corner of the building to see Ghortash, he was the largest person I had ever seen. He was easily around seven feet tall, his whole body corded in muscles. Sparks bounced off of his body as he continued to work. I could tell that he had spent years working with hot metal as I couldn’t see a single hair on him. Nathan spoke up, timing his words between Ghortash’s hammering, “Ghortash. We. Need. To. Use. Your. Forge.”

It was then that Ghortash stopped and looked over at us, in the deepest and thickest voice I heard him say, “Oh. It’s you Nathan. Yeah, you can use it. What do you need it for?”

Nathan sternly declared, “To destroy this.” Nathan gestured to have me show the jar with the plant.

“A plant?”, questioned Ghortash before adding, “A bit much to destroy a plant with me forge.”

Nathan reassured Ghortash that only something as hot as his forge could destroy this plant. He explained that it was a plant called Suflux. Suflux is otherwise known as the sweet vein plant, and it is a very problematic plant in fact. Suflux can survive almost anywhere and only extremely hot or cold temperatures can render its seeds permanently unable to grow. Without missing a beat both Ghortash and I asked simultaneously, “Why is it so dangerous?”

Nathan reiterated, “It’s a weed and a pain in the ass one to boot.” He continued, “And even worse it‘s a drug. It’s worse than opium. Have you ever heard of the legend of vampires? Well, once a person is addicted to the plant, Suflux will start to alter the person's state of mind. Next, goes that person’s sense of taste and lastly their sense of self. Until the only thing left is a person who has an abnormal sense of smell and a taste for blood. I learned long ago to imprison anyone who is on the drug and to destroy the plant on sight.” Nathan continued to rant about the plant before shouting, “Nikos, what are you doing? Destroy it already!” And with that I walked over to the forge and tossed the jar in. As the jar melted and the plant began to burn, a sweet smell filled the air. Nathan informed us that such a small amount of the plant wouldn’t affect us and it would only make the air smell sweet for a bit. The fire of the forge began to crackle as the seeds popped from the heat, and finally Nathan let out a loud sigh of relief. “Now that’s been taken care of, I do believe you to haven’t met.” Nathan proclaimed. He continued on, “Ghortash, this is Nikos Laury, son of Donahugh and Kyra Laury.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Donahugh had a boy.” Ghortash mentioned as he reached out his hand. “Me, name is Wulfric Ghortash. I am the blacksmith here in these parts. Actually, wait a second…”, he paused before walking away and into the nearby building. Before long he came out holding two long objects wrapped completely in cloth. He stopped in front of me, kneeled down resting both objects on his bent leg and stated, “Your father asked me to make these a year or two ago; but he never picked them up. Each time he visited he always said he would pick them up another time, but that time never came. Since you are here and he is gone, they are yours.” He unwrapped the objects to reveal two swords. Each shined in the light of the sun Ghortash declared, “Treat ‘em right, and they will treat you right.” Before I could ask he started to explain proper maintenance for the swords.

As Ghortash finished his explanation of proper maintenance Nathan chimed in, “Well, Ghortash thank you again for letting us use your forge. But this boy needs to continue his work for me, so we will be heading off now.” Ghortash wrapped up the swords in the same cloth they were in and handed them to me. Then we set about our walk back to the Temple. As we walked and the Temple came back into view, Nathan reminded me not to look up at the Summit Sanctum and suggested to only look where we were walking only about ten or so feet in front of us. I felt the urge to look up as we continued to walk, it was like a burning itch in my head; however I resisted the urge by holding onto the swords tightly. The moment we stepped inside, the feeling disappeared. Our walk back to Nathan’s room was long and full of strange looks. I think it was because of the swords but maybe it was because Nathan and I went outside of the Temple. I thought about how over the years growing up people inside the Temple slowly became more suspicious of the outside world; in recent years even the people of the Temple that worked outside started to be shunned. They had lived and worked with people inside the Temple for years, some for a lifetime and now they were being treated as outsiders. By the time we had gotten back to Nathan’s room and stepped inside he commented, “Now those were some mean looks. I had heard about the growing tension but knowing and seeing are two different things.”

I agreed, “Yeah, that was something.” I started to climb the ladder to resume working but Nathan stopped me.

“Nikos, wait.”, he paused, hesitation filled his voice. He walked over to his bed and picked up the chest, his eyes affixed to it. “Nikos, it’s about this chest or rather what is inside it. I don’t have the key but I’m pretty sure you do now, I gave it to your father for safe keeping.” He looked up, ”It’s about time I told you this. I am Nathan Clearwater, my daughter was Kyra Laury. I am your grandfather. What is in this chest is yours by birthright; but I ask of you to either keep it locked in this chest or on your person at all times.” He extended his arms holding out the chest, expecting me to take it.

Dumbstruck I cautiously asked, “Why did you wait until now to tell me? You have been in the Temple this whole time.” My temper started to get the better of me as I shouted, “We could have been a family you, me, dad!” Sadness and self disappointment filled his face and he looked down avoiding my gaze.

Tears fell onto the floor from both of us, I stepped closer and hugged him. He divulged, “When Kyra died, I blamed your father. It should have been avoidable. Even with me blaming your father, Donahugh gave what is in that chest back to me, but hidden inside that chest. Your father being your father didn’t believe what happened was normal and he started to investigate the events that lead up to her death. While I don’t think he ever figured out what was going on? He did inform me only a few weeks ago that he was onto something. I was surprised to hear after all of these years he was still looking into it. I say this now to you my grandson, I’m certain someone killed your father. I don’t know who, but I have a guess as to why; I’d wager he was killed because he got too close to the answer he was looking for. If you choose to look into his death I will understand. I will support you as much as I can but only from the shadows. I don’t want you to lose the only family you have left.”

I couldn’t believe what I was just told. My father was killed, and for what, investigating my mother’s death which happened only a few months after my birth? The word, why, echoed in my mind. It seemed around every turn laid a new mystery, each one piled on the last. I recited the words from under the bed, “Trust not your eyes. Believe in what does not exist, for to not breeds ignorance. Lastly, what is hidden will be easily seen in the corner of your eyes.”

From the hug, grandpa Nathan rapidly moved his hands from around my chest to gripping my shoulders tightly. He asked, “Never, I mean never say those words, not even to people you trust. Those words are dangerous. Do not ask why. I will say this, listen to them.” He let go before leading me back to the ladder, the following hour or so was quiet. I wanted to ask him various questions, about my mother, my father, his life but I thought it was best not to.

By the time I had finished organizing everything I could hear in the hallway, nearby doors open and close; it was now dinner time and everyone was making their way to the mess hall. Nathan spoke up, “Good work.” As he handed me a small pouch, as it landed in my hands I felt the weight of it. It was heavy, too heavy for the small amount of work I did today. I tried to bring it up only for him to stop me and said, “Think of this as payment for the work today, me buying your silence about the events and things we talked about today. As well as a little bit extra for all of the birthdays and holidays I’ve missed as your grandfather.” I agreed to take it, but only if I could do a job for him ever so often, he agreed. I started my way out only to hear him say, “Stop.” I turned around to see him holding the chest, as he handed it to me he stressed that I should put this away in my room, preferably hidden before I went to get dinner.

As he suggested, I hurried back to my room with my chest and swords in hand. Once there, I looked for a place to hide the chest. But while this room was a mess there wasn’t exactly a place to hide something. As I looked, I recalled that grandpa Nathan also mentioned keeping it on my person. I darted over to the desk, if I was correct the key I found the other day would be to this chest. With the key in my hand I opened the chest only to find a small, pitch black crystal. The crystal sat cradled within the bail. It was attached to a braided strand of cloth, the bail was made of a goldish silver metal I had not seen before. The moment I picked up the necklace, I could feel something was special about it. Though I had never seen this necklace before it felt familiar. Once I put on the necklace and tucked it under my shirt to hide it, I felt as if something was off with it. Wearing it filled me with unease, but I chose to ignore the feeling. Before I left for dinner, I closed and relocked the chest, and concealed it the best I could.

As I walked to the mess hall I could feel the necklace move with every step, almost as if it wanted to stay on my mind, or maybe my mind wanted to stay focused on it. Dinner was pleasant, I was able to run into and eat with both Duran and Meryl, both were exhausted from their days. Neither one of them wanted to talk much. However, I did notice Duran looked especially tired. I thought he had a tough day because anytime he moved I could see him wince in pain. I tried to ask about it but he brushed it off and blamed it on his first day of training. Once we all finished eating we each went our separate ways, I too felt as if this day had lasted forever. Once I returned home I locked up and made my way to my bed. As I stared at the ceiling, I contemplated thinking about what I needed to purchase from the general store but decided against it. Drifting off to sleep, I thought I heard a voice quietly say, “Nikos…”