Elements of Change

Secret of the Keeps

They traveled north of Malla City but headed east once they passed it to avoid any major cities. As much as Ezo wanted word of Jaroh's Traveling Players, he couldn't draw attention to himself right now. He'd forgotten about Voth while he was in the safety of Mountainkeep. If Ezo went looking for them while Voth and the Imperium were still hunting for him and Kammon, it would just cause them trouble.

They asked in the villages as they passed and heard a few rumors. Some players had been seen near the Shafra border. Some players were causing trouble with a new satirical play about the noble lords of Distria. Some players had been taken under the protection of a noble family to ensure their safety as they traveled.

Kammon had shown interest in that, but there was nothing solid. Nothing that made them run from their current goal to protect their friends.

Ezo hoped they still considered him a friend.

It was late afternoon, and they'd been riding hard for days. As much as Ezo wanted to relax, though, they were almost there. They were traveling along the Sanguine River. The sound was soothing to Ezo, who had fallen asleep to the water in Riverkeep.

"We can make it there before nightfall," Ezo told Kammon.

Kammon nodded. "I haven't traveled in this part of the country," he admitted. "It's beautiful here."

"The people are very friendly, too," Ezo said. "I never had a problem making money out here. They welcome an elementalist."

"The borders with Nara and Galif have held for a long time. There hasn't been destruction the way there was on the other borders. They haven't learned to fear it like the other parts of the country have."

Ezo frowned at Kammon. For someone who believed strongly enough in the War-Sworn to have joined them in his youth, he was jaded now. Jacob must have been the same. Ezo needed to get to Riverkeep and see if there were any journals like they'd found at Mountainkeep. Jacob might have known about it and left his journal there.

"Maybe they just met the right elementalists instead of a bunch of assholes."

Kammon shook his head, but Ezo saw the smile forming on his lips.

"Come on, I want to be home." He urged his horse into a run, and Kammon followed quickly behind.

Ezo didn't slow until he saw the ruins of the Fire Born Castle.

"You willingly walked in there?" Kammon said as he stopped next to Ezo.

"I wanted to find more books."

"Sounds like you did."

Ezo smiled. "Wait until you see it. Mountainkeep was great, but I'm partial to Riverkeep."

"Please tell me I don't have to sleep in ashes."

Ezo rolled his eyes as he dismounted and walked the rest of the distance. Something about the castle spooked the horses, just as it had Rile when Ezo first arrived.

"I miss Rile," he said, but he patted the nose of the horse they'd bought a few towns away from Mountainkeep.

Kammon's hand brushed against his and when Ezo looked at him, the Disavowed was frowning.

"Kammon?"

He shook his head. "It's just a headache. Too many days of hard riding. I'll be fine with a good night's sleep."

Ezo nodded, but he kept an eye on Kammon. His lover wasn't the type to complain about a headache if it was minor. Thankfully, a soft bed and plenty of rest were close at hand.

Ezo led them to the small pasture to leave their horses to graze, and then he took Kammon into the ruins.

He didn't bother to show Kammon around tonight. Instead, he walked to the room where the hidden passage was. Kammon entered but stopped to stoop down at the spot that had been saved from fire. He brushed his hands over the stone floor. When he stood up and nodded, Ezo moved straight to the fireplace. He pressed the hidden mechanism, and the panel disappeared, showing them the stairwell to Riverkeep.

"This is amazing," Kammon said. "Much more clever than the hidden cave of Mountainkeep."

"I told you Riverkeep is better," he said proudly. Not that it was his work, but he thought of Riverkeep as his now. Ezo began walking down the passage, and Kammon summoned fire to light the way.

It wasn't nearly as long a tunnel as they'd made for Remec at Mountainkeep, but Ezo was happy when they reached the door. Kammon moved forward, pressed his free hand to the lock, and nodded. "This is how you could unlock the other library," he whispered. His voice echoed down the hallway.

Ezo undid the lock quickly and pushed Kammon forward. His lover dropped the fire element as soon as he entered the room.

It was just as Ezo had left it. Right in front of them was a large window that faced the backside of a waterfall. The name Riverkeep was carved into the wood at the top of the window.

Ezo smiled at Kammon. "Welcome to Riverkeep."

Kammon looked around and noticed the hallway. He didn't say anything, but walked to the end. He used a small flow of air to dismiss the pocket of air that Ezo had left behind and opened the only door on the left wall.

Ezo smiled as he followed him into the library.

Tables ran down the middle of the room, but the walls were lined with shelves of books and scrolls. Kammon stood still in the middle of it all, looking from shelf to shelf. Ezo smiled as he moved past him to the far wall and started a fire in the fireplace.

Kammon seemed to snap out of the silence that had held him. He turned to the shelf closest to him and ran his fingers over the first book he could reach.

"This is incredible. The university has the best library in Distria, but I don't know that they have anything as old, or as precious as the books we found in Mountainkeep. I'm guessing these are the same?"

Ezo nodded. "I should have done an inventory or something when I was here, but I couldn't help myself. I just kept getting lost in the pages."

Kammon smiled. "Hopefully, that will be less of a problem for Remec at Mountainkeep than we will here."

Ezo laughed, but he turned to look around the room. "What is this all about, Kammon?" he asked. "Why did someone set up these secret libraries, and what were they hiding them from?"

Kammon shook his head. "I don't know, Ezo. But I think we need to figure that out. Your uncle was a Truthkeeper. I think our duty is to unravel the secret of the keeps."

Author's Note: Ezo brings up a great question. Who were the Truthkeepers and why did the create these libraries? What do you think? We're they protecting history, or hoarding it?