Garinor decided he would listen to Terrian’s tale later. Questions swirled in his mind about his father’s occupation and his own upbringing, but he couldn’t deal with tales now.
Without a word, he turned and followed the prince, who signaled for one soldier to join them. It wasn’t until they left the camp that the prince explained, “The prophecy speaks of three. One is chosen by the heir to wield the scepter. All you need to do is keep in your heart that you want him,” and he signaled to the soldier, “to claim the scepter and to choose the ruler.”
Garinor nodded and they walked toward the northeast, all of them eager to have this business finished. They reached the cave in under two hours, as the sun slid closer to the horizon. The foot of a gigantic mountain greeted them with a gaping maw. Torches waited in a basket near the entrance and the soldier instantly lit one and carried it for them. Into the cave they went.
Garinor had once found an underground cavern with his best friend Tomli, but this cave had a grand sense about it. Stalactites reached down from the ceiling and they ducked around them as they went. The ground had a slight incline and Garinor felt like he was climbing into the throat of a giant mountain lion, where the rocky teeth above him were ready to crunch down and make him its meal.
The feeling intensified as the air grew colder and the light of the torch started to fade. It was lit as strongly as before, but somehow its light didn’t carry through the air. The prince looked around unfazed, and they pressed onward.
All at once their senses were flooded with a pale gray light. It permeated a large circular chamber with a domed ceiling. The light seemed heavy there and it prevented the torch from shedding its normal glow. The guard set the torch into a brace mounted on the wall for the purpose.
Garinor looked around and knew that this was no natural chamber. The walls were too perfectly carved for that. In the center of the room was a rectangular pedestal, carved head to toe with ancient runes, and upon it was the scepter.
He looked at it in awe from the entrance of the room, unwittingly taking steps forward. He could see in the misty glow that three iron rods were braided together and topped with a crystal dome. The light of the room seemed to emanate from the scepter, though it didn’t shine like a source of light.
The guard spoke and his voice sounded very distant. “You mean for me to go touch that, when all those are around?” The guard motioned to the floor.
Caught by the sight of the scepter, Garinor had completely missed that strewn all about were dozens of white skeletons, all with an arm outstretched toward the pedestal.
Garinor waited for the prince to answer, but he was the heir. He needed to choose the one who would assign the ruler of the kingdom. “Yes. I choose you to take the scepter and to give this kingdom to the prince.”
The guard looked at the prince, who gave him an encouraging nod. Reluctantly, the man made his way forward and stepped around the fallen corpses until he found a clear path to the pedestal. He reached his hand out and grasped the iron artifact.
A wild light shot up from the center of the scepter and the soldier screamed in terror. Garinor watched in horror as the man’s features lost their detail and his whole body shriveled. He tried to look away, but he was transfixed, unable to pull his gaze away until only a skeleton remained. It hit the ground with a thud.
When he could move again, Garinor spun around to the prince, whose jaw was dropped open. They looked at each other for a moment and then Garinor turned back toward the scepter.
He stared in awe at the sculpted relic, wondering what he had done wrong that had caused the poor man’s death. Perhaps he hadn’t spoken with enough conviction. Or perhaps he doubted himself for turning over the kingdom. Or perhaps he was still distracted by seeing his father in the camp.
Whatever the reason, he was unable to debate it any longer, for a strange noise sounded behind him. He turned and a red dot floated into the room. It was another torch whose light was suffused in the odd chamber. Holding the torch was someone else that Garinor knew.
“Tomli!” he called, though his voice was dulled by the gray air.
“Garinor!” Tomli panted. “I heard you… at the camp. I was in the tent. Your father… he had me held there.”
Garinor’s face crinkled in concern. “Held? Tomli, I’m so sorry.”
“What? No, it was for my own good, so I wouldn’t run out and be captured like him,” he tried to explain. “Garinor, you don’t understand what’s happening. Your father—”
“He isn’t my father, Tomli.”
Tomli stopped with his mouth agape, then he closed it a moment later and lowered his head. “I know. We all knew, Marrin and Besfa, too. It’s why we tried to protect you.”
“It’s over now.”
“But Garinor, the prince—” and he looked to the side to see the prince standing there listening patiently.
“It isn’t what you think, Tomli. It’s the king who was trying to find and kill me. The prince’s army was trying to stop them.”
The taller boy shook his head. “No, Gar, it’s not so. It’s the Daggerfists that are trying to protect you and all the other boys who were being targeted. That’s how I came to follow you, you know. That chain that was in your nightclothes. It led me to them. And, Garinor, your father is the one who started it all!”
Garinor nodded but he wasn’t sharing Tomli’s awe. “My father started it all, that’s true. He lied to me about so many things. My heritage and his job, for starters. Who knows what else?”
“Just talk to him, Gar.”
The prince stepped forward. “There is plenty of time to speak with him. But now is the time for destiny. We are here and there lies the scepter.” He turned to Garinor and bowed his head. “I know not what happened to my man when he touched the scepter. Perhaps the prophecy was misinformed and you must take it yourself. Or maybe you had not believed in his right to take it. I don’t know. But let us resolve this now and then return to the camp where I can then take down the defenses and we can smooth out the other details.”
Tomli gasped. “You aren’t going to touch that thing, are you? You can’t! Garinor, I’ll do it. I made my choice to be by your side long ago when I left Paligar to find you. Now that I’m here, let me serve you truly and take the scepter.”
Garinor looked from one to the other. It was time to act. The image of the melting guard haunted his mind’s eye and he couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to see his best friend suffer the same fate. But neither could he comprehend himself oozing away.
One way or another, it was time to face his destiny.