Cobalt Crown - Book One

2 The Key

     Caiaphus stood in a small chamber in the northeast portion of the main castle of Aurum, dim torchlight bouncing off of his silhouette. The words of the king still lingered in his thoughts. It had been an hour since the council chambers had concluded. Of course, nothing came of his speech. Lord Grumbeard and Lady Sorieth took cold stances to the matter, preferring to leave the issue to the count of the area. It was the threat of invasion that brought it to their table, but with no proof forthcoming, the master of coin and master of nobles were sadly in the right, and Caiaphus knew it. Still, two of his students would be travelling to Lomrien, River's Boon, and Dirrem to investigate. They were in the county of Yewen, famous for its beautiful trees. Old traditions had weathered the maddening age in such outlying parts. As such, many small cities out there held festivals for the yews, dressing them in fine silken ribbons and hanging cold lamps from them. They would then celebrate the yews as protector gods. Some of them had been there for over four-hundred years, so it's no wonder why folk who grew up knowing nothing else would flock to the opportunity to appease the only protectors they had ever known.

     Caiaphus knew all these things, and was idly thumbing through them in his head, trying to occupy his ever- spinning mind. Trying not to think about the king.

     "Caiaphus."

     The wizard shot his eyes leftward, landing on the king.

     "Your majesty." Caiaphus bowed deeply. "I expected you."

     "You did? I've been looking for you as well. I seem to have misplaced a very important key and the servants say they cannot find it either. I have need of your magic."

     Caiaphus was stone.

     "Your majesty, I assume this key is something of great import, something that warranted the special summon you called for earlier today in the council?"

     "The what? I know not of what you speak, but your implications are unfounded and unwelcome here, wizard. My reasons are my own, and you will help me without them."

     "There, you called me 'wizard' again, in direct address. It was our code that something was terribly wrong and that we needed to meet in secret, here. Do you not remember?"

     "I don't appreciate these games, Caiaphus, I very much need to find that key, I am tired, and I am running thin on patience. It was white, with the seal of my house upon it, shouldn't be difficult to find in your crystal ball. Let me know when you have it. Immediately, when you have it."

     A flustered Caiaphus bowed as the king turned on a heel, and left the way he came.

     "What was that all about?" Thought Caiaphus. "He most certainly would have remembered that night. It was the night he almost killed Alerra. He would never forget anything even remotely attached to her memory. He even remembers things that I don't about our past as long as it had to do with finding her, or looking for her, what she would do in a situation such as this, or some such thing. And what else could have brought him here, to this specific spot in the castle? No, something else is going on here. And that key might be my way of finding out what it is."

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     Caiaphus' eyes turned a cloudy white as he gazed into the sphere. Around him lay hundreds of his personal belongings, mostly implements for the use of magic. Bells, baubles, and vials filled with various scents and tastes; cloaks of numerous color, some of which shimmered and shifted in different lights; and trinkets of complex texture. All things to affect the senses in a particular manner. The clouds in the crystal ball were one such mechanism. His third eye searched the castle for the key. He felt himself being pulled through the castle's corridors. He flew through the plaza and out through the main thoroughfare. He continued into the noble quarter located to the south of the main castle, eventually coming to rest upon the home of one of the seated lords of the council. Lord Talmud of Wilbury. Caiaphus concentrated and retracted his vision, and once again he was inside his chambers, but not alone. He gasped hard, catching his breath while simultaneously looking to his now open door.