Timestone

Chapter Twelve ϟ Tanek

As I wait for Tanek, I recall Vela's stories about him. She painted him as a mythical tyrant. If I had believed her tales, I might have expected to see a supernatural being, perhaps draped in mysterious robes. At the very least, I might expect an extremely old man—older than possible—since Vela claims that he's ruled over the people since the time of her great-great-grandparents. As it is, I never placed stock in her legends, so it doesn't surprise me when an ordinary man enters the room.

He wears the usual dark uniform. He looks significantly older than Andrik, but not a century older—maybe close to sixty years old. Wrinkles line his eyes and forehead. His thick, wavy hair gleams silver. He doesn't have an impressive physical stature—roughly the same size as Andrik, perhaps a bit shorter and his gut wider. His wrinkled face exudes confidence.

I'm surprised when he greets me politely instead of the gruff, accusatory voice I imagined. "Hello there. I am Tanek. I'm delighted to meet you."

I pull myself a little higher in my seat. "Hi . . ." I manage to say.

He sits across from me. "Let me begin by telling you how much I regret you've witnessed such unpleasant things today." He gives me an apologetic look. "You see, the people of the caverns have been trying to harm us for as long as I can remember." He glances up to the ceiling. "They have attempted to infiltrate our camp. They have disguised themselves in our uniforms to get close to us. They have even resorted to poison on occasion." He shakes his head and lowers his gaze back to me. "I can't begin to tell you all the brutal acts we have endured. So, I hope you can understand why we take such cautious measures."

I respond with an unsure nod. His scent has now had time to fill the room—mothballs and peppermint.

"Now . . . I hear you have an interesting story for me?" he asks. "As I understand, you have been accused, or rather mistaken for, a hero in a child's fairy tale?"

"Uh . . . yeah." I fumble, unsure what else I should say.

He starts to chuckle. "No need to worry. Let me assure you that we are more grounded to reality than the cavern dwellers. You have nothing to explain. Please, why don't you tell me about yourself." He says it like that's supposed to be a simple task.

"Well . . ." I begin. "I don't know if you've heard, but I've—"

"Lost your memories?" he finishes my sentence. "Yes, and that's quite alright. Please, just tell me whatever you can remember."

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel leery of this man. He seems accommodating and polite but a tad too polite. It almost feels like he's here to sell me something. I put faith in Vela too quickly. I'm not going to make the same mistake with him. So, I relate the short story of my awakening, but I avoid divulging anything too specific.

He listens attentively to my short account of waking with no memories and eventually ending up here. He seems particularly interested in knowing the location where I awoke. I almost tell him but stop short at the last second, not even sure why. Then, I lie. "I was groggy when I awoke, so I can't remember very well."

Tanek scrunches his face in apparent suspicion.

"It was a cavern somewhere between the cliff and the mountain," I quickly add. That doesn't seem to sway his suspicion, so I offer more invented detail. "I woke up behind a walled-off part of the cavern. I had to tear down a rock wall to get out." My face grows hot, and I start to worry that I might be a terrible liar.

Tanek sits with a pensive look as if he's taking in everything, trying to formulate an opinion. "So, you don't remember anything about yourself?" he asks.

"Not really," I confirm. "Just a few general details . . . nothing specific."

"What about your family? Can you remember anything of them?"