C7 Chapter 7

Me be important

Countless thoughts raffled through her mind while she ascended the stairs from the underground tunnel. Would the dwarfs be able to decipher the old scripts with her help? Would she be able to use her newly found information – and if she couldn’t, who would? These and many more questions like it kept her busy while she walked back. Shari was unhinged, sitting silently on her shoulder, only emitting the faintest glow.

When she reached the magical portal, she pushed her head through the opening and waited to be greeted by the others. But – nobody was there. The cave was lying there in complete twilight. Only occasionally she saw random gleaming crystals that illuminate the immediate surroundings and cast a ghostly light onto the walls. At the bottom of the stairs, a crouched figure caught her attention. Whoever it was, he seemed to sleep. Dana quietly walked down the steps and realized that it was Gomek.

She walked over to him and cautiously pushed his shoulder to wake him up. Gomek cringed, jumped up, and looked around in a panic before wordlessly hugging her. Dana was completely surprised by his behavior and shook him off with mild force. She shot him a stunned look.

“I haven’t really expected this kind of enthusiastic greeting. I wasn’t even gone for an hour or two.” Gomek was still staring at her.

“Just one or two … You were gone almost all day. We couldn’t get through the magical portal to look for you guys. We were all so scared for you. Come on, let’s go! The others will be waiting.”

Gomek gently pulled her with him towards the building that, in earlier times, had probably been used as a lounge or bedroom. They were still on the stairs when Gomek was already calling for the rest of the group, which appeared in the entrance of the building. Olo rushed past them and raced towards Dana. He gathered her in his arms and almost hugged the life out of her.

“You’ll never do that to me again, you hear me? We were worried out of our minds! And what do you think Tala would have done to me if anything had happened to you. Plus, where the hell have you been and what did you see?”

Dana couldn’t answer all the questions right away. She was getting weaker and so Olo lead her inside and gave her a bowl of soup and a hot drink. Once she’d rested a little, she surveyed her surroundings. Everyone was sitting in a circle around her, waiting for her report. And so, she started telling the story: about the way to the cave, the cave itself, the book and how she’d used it. In the end, she told them about the imprisoned creature, leaving out the vicious details.

When she was done, silence settled over the group for a long time. But then questions were shot at her from all sides. She tried answering them as best as she could. Soon, most of her answers were interrupted by persistent yawns, until Olo had had enough and suggested to move the questions to the next morning. Olo brought Dana to her bed for the night and tucked her in. She was wiped out in a matter of seconds. He returned to the others and they talked until late into the night.

The next day, Dana woke up feeling completely wiped out. She looked around in distress because she was alone. None of the other expeditioners was anywhere in sight. Uneasy, Dana called for Shari. Nobody was there, it seemed, not even her little pixie. Finally, she grasped for her chest and noted the locket had gone missing.

“Looks like the scientists got ****”, she wondered and jumper up from her cot to find the dwarfs.

Dana discovered the group in the library. She walked over to Olo who was trying to use the locket to open a book.

“Hi, dad, are you stuck with the locket? … Let me try.” She took the locket from him and touched it to the book.

It opened instantly and another ray of light, like the one the day before in the cave, hit her right between her eyes. For Dana, it felt like only a few minutes, but for the rest of them it took about an hour until they could talk to her after the information transmission was over with. Olo asked her right away if it had been the same kind of transmittal and what kind of news she’d gotten. Dana shrugged, she wasn’t sure.

“To answer that, I need more books.”

Olo looked over to the opened book now, too, and understood what she meant. Everything was written in the language of the “Old People”.

During the next few days, Dana read several books. Apart from an increasing headache and wayward thoughts, she didn’t get any real new information.

She was only starting to feel better once the dwarfs managed to contain the ray of information that always came out when Dana opened the books. Afterwards, she could read and study the material like any normal person could.

It took almost a week for Olo to finally work up the courage to tell Dana that they would have to return home soon. He told her he’d weaseled all the information to Tala, who, in turn, had spoken to the prime minister. He wanted to be informed now, too. Tala had also mentioned the audience with the king. The same night, Miss Hurry showed up again with another letter from Tala, saying that the group was expected by the high men as soon as possible. He told Dana all about it once he’d finished reading the letter.

“We’re going back tomorrow. A few of the soldiers will accompany us. The rest will stay to further the research. Maybe they’ll find out something of value, now that all the books are open. It shouldn’t be too hard to manage without us.”

Dana looked at him, nodded, and lied down without saying another word – that’s how exhausted she was – to be ready for the following day. When Shari heard that it was time to return home, she got so excited that she buzzed through the cave as if she’d gone mad. She had long since been fed up with this gloomy place.

The next morning, Olo, Gomek – who was also done with the cave – and four riding soldiers started their journey back. They crossed through the caves without looking for the beauty they’d so admired when they’d first gotten there. The dwarfs could care less about it anyway.

Several days later, they reached the dwarf city – their hometown. The appointment with the king was scheduled for the next day, and so the little group had the chance to rest for a while. Dana was most excited to see Tala, to eat her good food, and to finally sleep in her comfy bed again. Right after Dana stepped into the living cave, Tala stormed over to her and hugged her so tightly that Dana almost suffocated. Afterwards – after the passionate reunion – she served a brilliant meal to welcome everyone home. While they were eating, Dana had to recount every little detail of their journey.

Dana talked until late into the night about the adventures they’d had, until Tala finally interrupted her and send her off to bed. Dana fell into a deep slumber right away, only waking when Tala shook her the next morning. She was anxious and excited – the king; she would actually, honestly get to meet the king. One last time, she tried to make it clear to Shari that the little pixie wasn’t allowed to get into any trouble at all while they were talking to the king. Then she followed Olo.

At the foot of the government pyramid, the prime minister was already waiting for them. He led them up the stairs until they reached the entrance to the throne room, all the way trying to teach them some last-minute manners. It was time. They passed the royal guards and crossed through the arch into the throne room. The room was incredibly large. On both sides, pillars supported the ceiling. Between them, vast doors lead into various parts of the palace. The prime minister explained:

“On that side – the one over there, with the crown on the door – are the private rooms of the king. The doors on the other side lead to the administrative district where the chancellor and his team of advisors have their offices.”

A red carped guided them from the entrance to the middle of the room. A magnificent throne was standing there. On it, an ancient, gaunt dwarf, dressed in a red ermine coat with a white collar, awaited them. He held the king’s insignia – scepter and sphere – in his hands. Dana thought they looked beautiful.

She noticed something else, as well. The ruler wore a thin necklace that carried a gleaming blue gemstone rimmed with gold. Only Dana and Shari felt the magical energy the gem was emitting. The small group was standing in the middle of the throne room.

Dana wanted to approach the king right away, but the prime minister guessed her intentions and held her back. He quietly whispered into her ear: “Not so fast. The king will come to you.”

“But isn’t it usually the other way around? The visitor walks until…”, Dana replied.

The prime minister nodded wordlessly, pressed a finger to his lips and by that interrupted Dana’s objections.

“Shh, he’s coming.”

The king slowly rose from the throne and laid the insignia on a side table. Then he shuffled over to them, very slowly and not looking like a royal highness at all, blubbering something quietly the whole way. At first, Dana couldn’t understand the king, but the closer he got the more she understood.

“I King … Me be important … Me be important most man in state … I great king.”

He stammered these words time and again. Dana gawked. If the king was sick, she thought? She looked at the prime minister, but his face was unmoving.

Finally, the king reached them and inspected them with his watery, dull gray eyes that seemed sad somehow. He offered Dana his hand – which was laden with heavy golden ring. He waited for her to curtsy, as was the etiquette when one met the king, as well as a kiss to the hand. But Dana, who didn’t know a thing about these things, only enthusiastically grasped his whole hand. Then she shook the offered arm of the monarch up and down, more excited every minute.

The king squeaked in anger, quickly wrenched his hand free, and jumped back several feet, only to then stuff his hands under his arms as fast as he could. He looked at the small group in fear and then shuffled back over to the throne, still repeating the same phrase: “… me be important…”

Dana looked at Olo. She was distraught. But before she could ask her questions, the prime minister pushed them through the room and into his office. Embarrassed, the prime minister started apologizing for the king’s behavior: “You know, he’s been alone for almost three hundred years now, and he keeps getting weirder and weirder. It doesn’t really help that he hasn’t had any task whatsoever for the past one hundred and twenty years. He just went … bananas.”

After this short, and by far not satisfying, explanation, he returned to business, letting Dana tell him her story. He listened attentively and asked a few questions occasionally. The rest of the time, he listened with interest. When she was done explaining what they’d experienced, the prime minister was lost in thought and lit a pipe. Then he cleared his throat, shot Dana a serious look and said:

“I’ve heard about these “Old People” before. My great grandfather told me about a legend. Back in the day, the dwarfs lived here together with magicians. Apparently, they didn’t get along all that well. Sadly, our library burned down, otherwise you might have been able to find something in our old chronicles.”

Finishing his brief explanation, he turned to Olo to decide what to do next. Dana started getting bored and busied herself by watching Shari, who in turn was busy working through the vast number of books in the office.

Suddenly, both noticed a book at the same time – one about old demons. If it was possible to find something in there about the demon in the cave?! Dana got up quietly to not disturb the adults’ conversation, but the prime minister saw her.

“Dana, you’re welcome to look around – all the books you see here can be studied and read by you. You’re welcome in my office any time. I can even lend the books to you. And of course, I will answer your questions – if I can.” Then he left her to her curiosity, and Dana didn’t hesitate for a minute. Two, three steps later she was standing in front of the book cases and grabbed the book she’d discovered minutes before. She dragged the heavy book with her into the next room, which was used as a reading room. She put the book onto the table and got lost in it for a while, but sadly she didn’t find the information she’d been looking for, and so she lost interest again.

She looked around this room. There were endless shelves here as well that reached all the way up to the ceiling. In addition, there were two overstuffed armchairs and the table. Daylight filtered through a stately, colorful, leaded window into the room and bathed it in a warm light. A door lead out onto the balcony. Dana was curious to see what was on the other side and opened the door to get out.

What a magnificent view! She was standing high above the cave and was looking out over “The Land”. Below her, meadows and pastures gleamed in the light. Farmsteads formed the occasional golden flecks. One could look incredibly fat into the distance but still there wasn’t and end of the cave to be seen anywhere. Dana considered where she was at that moment. The government pyramid was built into the rocky wall of the cave; the same wall that separated the city from the large cave. Later, these offices and the palace had been carved and built into the rocks. By that logic, this balcony was facing the backside of the government district. Up here, one could get lost in dreams.

There was an armchair situated next to the balcony doors and she sat down on it to let the wonderful view and the silence relax her. Dana sat there for more than an hour before she was jerked from her dreams. Olo had suddenly appeared next to her and reminded her that they had to get going. They bid their goodbyes to the prime minister and left the office the same way they’d gone before – with the only difference that this time they didn’t run into the confused royal.

“Sheer luck”, Dana grumbled and bumped Shari, laughing, “…another mishap isn’t what I need today.”

The same night, after Dinner, Dana told Tala all about the things she’d experienced in the palace – from the strange behavior of the king up until the prime minister’s invitation that she was welcome any time to read his books. They talked about it for hours. Shari was bored with the conversation. Listening made her tired and she fell asleep on the table at one point.

The next days and weeks passed without any noticeable events. Dana spent a large amount of time in the prime minister’s private library without ever running into the king again. She wanted to find out more about her past and the demon in the cave. Gomek could accompany Dana to the prime minister’s rooms to help with her research – an incredible honor for a young dwarf!

After reading all the books without finding any useful information, Dana remembered her visit to the museum, after she’d thought long and hard. There was still the old book she hadn’t been able to open before. She told Gomek about it, telling him she had to go there.

“Too bad you can’t come with me to the museum, but, as you know, you’re … too young! Maybe later”, she tried to appease her friend.

She said goodbye to Gomek and marched over to the museum for the sole purpose of opening the book, since she now knew how to do it. But before that, she dropped in to see her father for a moment. Dana found him in his office, where he and his colleagues were in the process of analyzing the expedition’s latest finding.

“Hey, dad! Found anything new? Have you been able to translate a part of the hieroglyphs yet? Have you found out anything that could help us?” Dana looked hopeful.

“Sadly – no. We’re not making any progress. What about you?”

Dana told him about her idea to open the ancient book in the library. It might be their last hope to find new information. Olo wished her luck, and so she got on her way to the museum – much to Shari’s dislike, who was more than fed up with all the research they’d been doing there.

Once there, Dana stormed into the measly leftovers of the library – that part that had survived the fire. After a brief search, she found the book, carried it over to a bookrest, and touched it with her amulet. Once the ray of information had ended and the beam of light had subsided, she shot Shari a devastated look. All the transmitted info was still in the language of the “Old People”. To her dismay, she hadn’t made any progress and had only gotten a new headache.

Her head buzzed with the hieroglyphs, images, and formulae she didn’t understand. She was about to turn away in resignation when she was struck with an idea. Shifting through the book by hand once more, she found a strange puzzle on the last page that was probably referring to the large monolith on the plaza.

The puzzle talked about a portal to a faraway place.

If you want to travel, far away from here

place your locket inside of me – truly all that near.

Turn to the left once, and then turn right two times –

Press one, three, four, sixes – all those chimes –

Then my portal will open for you.

It wasn’t much, but it was a point to start at; a point to start finding out how to use the monolith for travelling.

“I wonder where we would land...”, Dana thought. “But I guess we’ll see once we get there.”

She laughed and bumped Shari with her shoulder. Then she wrote down the poem and ran back to her father. It was turning out to be a long day after all. All the scientists in the department wanted to comment on the poem, some even offered solutions. And so, the discussion lasted until late into the night. And the consequence of that turned out to be that nobody really knew what to do – nobody except for Dana. She had become clear on one thing: If she wanted to gather new information, she most definitely had to take the way through the monolith.

That same night, she told her parents that she would go to the monolith the next morning.

“… and right there I will find out how to activate the thing with my locket and the poem!”, she stubbornly announced. After a brief pause, she continued:

“I will be going alone!”, she explained, “…remember the seal in the cave. Only I could pass through…I’ll be ok!”, she said confidently, even though she was feeling everything but that.

The excitement as well as the fear of what was waiting for her on the other side would be her companion.

A smile flitted over her face: Luckily, she had Shari! The little fairy would accompany her wherever she went!