Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1) (7 page)

“My true reason? When I lost my mother, I knew that I would never be whole again. My life had been about understanding life itself. If you grow up, like I did, then there remains no time to live. My decision was not easy. In the moment in which I also would lose my father, I knew that it would also be the end of me. This was the reason at that time, but today I see it differently. My only objective has always been to finish the research my father, to find the last element and to save my mother. Her death wasn’t right and if god does not understand that, then I myself have to become god.”

“Such a power does not belong to any man. This is the reason why I began this journey. If Jasper really had found the book that holds the secrets of all life, then we must find and destroy it. It was always my dream to be a writer and do you know why? Because life is not interesting to me as long as I do not write. People like my father or my classmates never understood that. 

They follow a path on which I can’t join them without losing myself in the process.

But in the darkness that surrounds us, will always be a burning light, just as the torches on this carriage. If we follow it, then we cannot lose ourselves. And as long as I write this flame burns hotter than anything else in the world. Your mother may be dead, but neither god nor you can change this. Not all of the things that happen are fair. Look at me and tell me what I am,” I said and gave Isaac a smile; because now I understood that he was just like me.

“It doesn't matter to me. The understanding of the structure of all is everything I live for. You can burn the book; if we can find it, but let me just take a look at it first. That is all that I ask of you.”

“All the knowledge of the world is no use to the fool who doesn’t understand it. We are human beings Isaac and even if some things seem to be magic, alchemy or science to us, there will always be other things that we just can’t name. If you want to take a look at the book, than I want you to know what you could possibly find,” I said and accelerated our drive.

The rest of the route we didn’t talk as much and after some time Isaac preferred to sit in the back with Lucia. The cold air did not bother me because I enjoyed the peace and solitude. We needed many days to reach the city reasonably unnoticed, because now that law and order were no more, this was probably the most dangerous place in the whole kingdom. They hung up recruitment posters everywhere in the city looking for men to join the resistance. 

The mad executioner, as they now called the king, had already begun to publicly hang and torture the corpses of many supporters of the former royal guard. He decorated the exterior walls with the many guards and knights who had happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Not all of them had planned the attack on the throne, but for the king it made no difference. Many of the buildings surrounding the prison were burned down and the king waited now, desperate for help from the outside. Since the prison was a true fortress, it was almost impossible to simply storm.

But even if it was impossible, many were still committed to support this undertaking. I sat down with the followers of all parts of the city and after a few days I finally learned a name -Cyrus Danton. He was one of the leaders of the resistance and possibly the man who could give us access to the castle. We arranged a meeting in an old house that now served as a basis for the planning of the attack. Danton was a powerful and stout man whose body size exceeded mine by far. In the dark room where we met him, there were five men surrounding a table, however he ordered them to leave as soon as he saw us.

“Ah there they are, the men that I've been waiting for! And a woman? Well, as it is, we can currently use every hand we can get. Are you trained with weaponry? The attack is already planned, tomorrow you can join us and storm the fortress,” he said full of conviction and excitement, while he shook my hand as though he wanted to tear of my arm.

I took a step back and he immediately understood the signal that I sent him. He was used to have the upper hand and so he was very displeased with my very first words.

“This attack will not take place in any case; not tomorrow. My plan uses a different, better step before we attack.”

“Better? And why should a sapling like you have a better understanding of war tactics? My experience and my age make me one of the leaders and the rest of you are my subordinates. If you want to join the resistance, then you must follow my orders,” he told me with a strong emphasis and planted himself threateningly in front of me.

I put on my glasses and cleared my throat, because the words that I wanted to follow up with made me worried even before I had spoken.

“With all due respect, which you certainly deserve, your ideas are as old as you and they are really not appropriate. What we have here is one of the best and secure fortresses of this world. 

You cannot simply fire five cannons and they raise the white flag. This must be a targeted attack making it impossible for them to strike back.”

A long silence followed my words and suddenly I heard all the noise in the room more clearly, even the noise on the streets, and my heart beat faster and faster, until the moment in which Danton put his hand on my head and said: “You are a real tough guy. Then let me hear what the youth of today proposes as an idea to storm this fortress.”

At first my thoughts kept clinging to the fear that I felt before I had spoken the words, but now I felt free. I had changed and Lucia could also see it. Once I thought that she was the most courageous person in the world, but today I understood that I could also be this person, if I just wanted to.

“We have captured an old man, an old archmage. He lived past the limits of the mountain Ignis near the bone deserts, but he fell for our trap. His mental condition is questionable to say the least, and now we want to deliver him to the king. Of course, this magician is capable of relocating the king away from his castle, which is why the king will have no other choice than to take him into it first. As soon as we are inside and the cell is to be locked, we will see to it that the impenetrable fortress receives some weak points. All that we are asking of you is that you spread the rumour. The king will certainly soon get in contact with us. We will only have to wait and the doors will be opened for us.”

My plan of course was in no way ironclad. And as much as I wished for another way in, there just seemed to be none. Danton first showed little enthusiasm, but I guess my courage and my imagination tipped him over. He gave me a week and should the king not contact us until then, the attack would begin with or without us. Of course I knew that this would be the downfall of the uprising forces.

It did not take long for the rumours to spread, especially not after a small appearance of Magnus, running half-naked through the streets. 

Just a few hours after we had captured him again, we received a letter from an unknown and yet obvious source. It was expected of us to meet at the gate to the castle at midnight. Of course I handed this information to Danton, who wanted to speak to us one last time as soon as he heard the news. He stepped into the inn, in which we stayed, and heavy snow had made the roads impassable and the roofs in danger of collapsing.

“This weather gets more and more out of control. Since the fall of Sarpien it went crazy. We have never had such a winter; it’s almost like a whole year in Farion. Did the message of the king arrive?” he asked, although he knew the answer already.

“Yes, and we will enter the castle tonight. They will probably take us prisoner and bring only the old man to the king. However I have reason to believe that our aid will be needed, as soon as they find out, that he can’t seem to use his spells. If we see an opportunity, we will give you a sign. You must be ready at all times, because our escape is dependent on the fact that this fortress falls.”

Danton spread out a map of the city on the table and showed us the difficulties of our plan.

“As you certainly know, the prison was built directly at the gorge of Jik'Zur. It is many kilometres deep and it is the place where the king dumps all the corpses of the unnecessary criminals. This limits the sides from which we are able to attack. You have to remember that, if you want to give us a possible advantage. We do not have many men, but if you lower the drawbridge, we have a real chance. The castle was constructed in a way that the core of the complex is the heart of the information structure. From there the king governs not just this prison, but the entire country. 

He has only left this castle for a few days in his entire lifetime, so you will find him surrounded by strict security. The outer areas were divided into four blocks, Block 1 and 2 for the criminals who await their execution and Block 3 for the lower task criminals. These are criminals, who aren’t as dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that this also applies in this situation. 

Block 4 is the area for special criminals like magicians, scientists or alchemists. 

Also various mixed beings and other creatures of the night will be held captive there. The king himself hardly dares to unleash these monstrosities from their cells, so you should try to avoid them too. Should anything go wrong, we will cancel the attack, because as you already said at the current stage, we would all die.”

Danton did not know that my plan foresaw exactly this. If we lowered the drawbridge the prisoners would be impossible to keep in check. I saw the outbreak of the prisoners in this case as the lesser evil, if I thought about what was at stake. We couldn’t let this book fall into the hands of someone else.

“We have complete confidence in you and your men. But we should go now and it would be better if you wait a little longer before you depart as well. It would not be of advantage, if someone sees us together,” I said and grabbed my things.

“You knew my father - Jasper Lawrence?” Lucia asked restrained, and it was the first time in a long time that she actually said something.

Her gaze was cloudy, and her mind suffered badly under the circumstances she found herself in. Her father had died in this city. On many walls people had written about Jasper’s supposed lies and it seemed that he delivered the first defining blow that shaped this revolution.

“Lawrence was your father? Of course I knew him. He told me a lot about you, but you are nothing like his stories at all. This time is probably too hectic, the world has gone mad. He was a valiant man, the toughest I have ever met. His words have inspired me to lead the attack. I still do not know how the king found out about his plans. It all went down so quickly that we did not even have the opportunity to speak with each other one last time. He was hung publicly on the fortress walls. A cruel end. But let me say to you that his deeds will not only liberate this city, but all of our country. 

The mad executioner terrorized us for many years and your father was the first to publicly rebel against him. I heard that he was not even born in Jimosien.”

“Yes, he was born in Farion. His parents came to Jimosien, as it became larger. They believed to find better opportunities in this country.”

“There will be better times young woman, I assure you,” he said with a smile and let the heart of Lucia grow new courage.

Our way to the fortress proved more difficult than expected, especially with Magnus in tow, who always asked where our trip would go. His lack of understanding should however change itself into an advantage as soon as we entered the castle itself. We only had a few hours left before it would become necessary that he’d drink another sip from his elixir. All we could do now was to trust in Jasper and that he had planned for all of this. He had led us to this point and if he was indeed still alive, he could lead us along an invisible path. When we reached the gate, a shadowy person stepped out of the darkness and spoke to us. He was a supporter of the king hiding in a little guard house that was concealed by many trees.

“This is the mage? He does not seem like a conjurer to me. Why should we trust you?”

“Look at us. We only want to prove ourselves to the king. If you believe that this man is a magician or not is of little importance. What should the two of us do in a fortress like this?” I said and convinced the man to give a signal and the drawbridge was lowered.

I hoped that Danton adhered to our plan, and that he wouldn’t just attack as soon as the bridge was lowered. But it seemed as if they believed in my words and so we entered the fortress without further trouble. Inside we were immediately examined by security guards. They led us through many strong metallic doors and the interior slowly changed from dark corridors and damp dungeons to golden rooms and impressive halls. It was an own kingdom within a prison. 

This was the place from where everything was planned, the palace from which Jimosien was ruled. To my surprise we were allowed a personal audience with the king without further concerns. They led us straight into the throne room, which was arranged with an array of bountiful tables. The king was a mighty man, also in appearance, and he seemed incapable of leaving this fortress even if he wanted to.

“These are the guests, Patrick? I have been waiting for an eternity; where is the seventh course. Where is the food? Two hours ago everything was still on schedule. And please change the music, I cannot enjoy anything while being harassed by this atrocious screeching,” the king uttered while munching on different meals at the same time.

It was as if he was stuck in a trance, and while eating from plate after plate, he hardly managed to understand what happened around him. And Magnus knowing nothing of manners and etiquette run over to the tables to sit across from the king, where he, just as I would expect it from him, stole one of the chicken wings on the table to eat it without any remorse.

“I would prefer some pudding, yes pudding is so sweet! But so too is this chicken, which my stomach now will greet! Why is there only water? I would much prefer a little wine, because than better we can dine!” he began to sing and eat wing after wing, until the king noticed, what was happening.