Chapter Thirty-one

The Third Test


Keothi and Sindus immediately stepped into the darkness and disappeared into it. Remembering the last time I had been instructed to step forward into darkness, at Dromar's tomb, I braced myself and stepped forward.

Everyone stepped through, and the darkness was lifted. It was a sizable room, with a platform at the other end. Lying on this platform was a huge lioness with wings. Her front paws were crossed over each other, and she had a knowing smile on her face, still laughing.

Next to her was a huge stone door with intricate carvings of many different creatures and scenes. Some scenes I recognized from what I had learned of history, others were fairly commonplace. The one that caught my eye the most was towards the bottom, a carving of a dragon atop a treasure hoard.

Something arcane seemed to divide the room in half, though I couldn't be sure. The center of the ceiling rose up to a dome. There were four braziers placed evenly around the walls, larger than the one that allowed us to pass through the mirrors. In the very center of the room was a small pedestal. There was a scroll sitting on it.

Melima gasped and whispered quietly to us. "This is a gynosphinx, a legendary keeper of knowledge. Very rare, very powerful, very dangerous."

The sphinx spoke, "I'm glad you could make a choice, finally. I've been watching and waiting. Many have come, many... got lost."

"What is the purpose of this place?" Keothi asked.

"I am a guardian, the gatekeeper of the Temple of Talush." She bowed her head slightly.

"What are your intentions?" Naidaroe asked.

"I am one of many tests of those who wish to enter the Temple of Talush."

"So we are not yet in the temple?" Keothi asked.

"In a way, you are. But the final destination is up to you. What is it that you seek?"

I stepped forward, trying to be more of the leader my friends looked for in me. "We are here in search of Kima of Vord. We have been requested to help her, and rescue her if necessary."

"Ah, Kima. She passed through this. She is wise, powerful, strong, and smart. You wish to find her?"

"We do."

"Is she lost?"

"It is believed that she is lost," Keothi said.

"Her friend is worried about her, and requested that we help her in her quest," I replied.

"Yes, indeed a wise choice. Those who are far from us for too long are those we should seek to find. For the lost is sometimes hard to find. You wish to follow in her footsteps?"

"If they are good," Sindus said.

"She was looking for that which was dark. I warned her of that which she might find. The Temple of Talush is a place of great magic of which you may be able to find a great many things. Though it is full of perilous, perilous pitfalls for those that are filled with greed," she looked at Sindus and Naidaroe, "those who wish to test their mettle," she looked at Keothi, "and those who wish to find their way," she looked to Melima, Ari'yasa, and myself.

"I am a keeper of knowledge, the gatekeeper of this temple. What do you wish?"

"I wish to know what is the meaning of this scroll," Naidaroe said.

"It is one of the last of four tests. Two you have passed. Though by chance conditions you may have passed, you still have passed.

"At this point I give you a choice, you may either read and answer the question given on the scroll, or you can answer the question of mine that I have."

"Can we read it first?' Sindus asked.

"If you choose to read the scroll you must answer the question it contains. Discuss amongst yourselves, only one choice may be made."

"What is your name?" Keothi asked.

"A name must be earned," The sphinx replied.

After some discussion and clarifying questions, one-third of our party wanted to answer the sphinx' question, one-third the scroll, and one third didn't have a preference. I preferred the scroll, being able to see the question, and hoped we could persuade someone who didn't have a preference to decide the same.

Naidaroe and Melima, who preferred the sphinx, and Keothi, who didn't care, stepped closer to the scroll to examine it without touching it.

I gathered in more of the surroundings in the room as they examined the scroll. The walls were completely smooth, almost polished, which made the intricate door stand out even more. The braziers also had motifs carved in them, each of a different element. Fire, earth, air, and water.

Ari'yasa finally decided she would prefer to answer the question from the sphinx. I nodded and looked to the sphinx. "We will answer your question."

She nodded her head, and the podium and the scroll disappeared. The barrier dividing the room also vanished. The sphinx began to stand up and spread her wings. "Indeed, my question." She looked at each one of us, settling on Keothi. "My question is, what is my name?"

She reared back and set to pounce towards Keothi. The brazier by the door lit up into flame. My bow was out, blazing bowstring activated, and a flaming arrow was into the sphinx before it even left the ground. Melima had also gotten several magic missiles off, and Sindus got one arrow into her shoulder. My second arrow landed just as she leapt into the air. I ran to the carved door to give me some distance. The brazier next to this door was filled with rocks.

Ari'yasa went down on her hands and morphed into a black bear, going towards another brazier. Naidaroe went over to the flaming brazier as the sphinx roared at her. The sphinx flew into the air instead of pouncing, and Keothi disappeared. She shouted, "What is my name?"

Melima threw a lightning bolt at the sphinx, which it mostly dodged. I cast my mark on the sphinx and shot arrows at her. I grazed her side and pierced her wings. I moved to the brazier by me and reached for a rock. There had to be a reason they were there.

My hand passed through the rock. There was a little resistance, but not enough to grab anything. "I can't grab any of these rocks, my hand passes right through them!"

Melima's arm was in the brazier by her, almost to her shoulder. "This water is deep!"

Naidaroe also chimed in. "This fire is not very hot!"

The sphinx vanished, and reappeared in front of Naidaroe, roaring at her and slashing her claws into the pirate. The bear, Ari'yasa, pulled her head away from the air brazier and ran towards the sphinx.

Naidaroe pierced the sphinx with her rapier, and Sindus hit it with a couple of arrows. The sphinx roared again, but sounded more frustrated than angry. "What is my name?"

"I name you, What!" Naidaroe said.

"No! What is my name?" she growled back. She flew up to the top of the domed ceiling. Keothi appeared again where he had been standing.

Keothi looked at me. "Tawariell, can I use your broomstick?"

"Um, sure?" He started running towards me.

The sphinx yelled again as Keothi ran. "What is my name?" She disappeared.

"Is your name Wind?" I asked. There was no response. It was becoming more obvious to me that the sphinx didn't really want to hurt us, but somehow wanted us to find her name.

I climbed onto the platform to find any clues to her name. There was some type of edible substance I didn't recognize, and scratch marks where she must have sharpened her claws. There was nothing to indicate a name.

I spoke the word to activate my bowstring, and had it ready should the sphinx appear again. Her voice echoed through the room. "Stop using your feeble minds and think!"

"She doesn't want to hurt us!" I said.

Sindus pointed to Naidaroe. "She sliced her up pretty bad!"

"She doesn't want to hurt us," I said again, with emphasis.

Naidaroe jumped into the fire brazier. The flames surrounded her, and she disappeared. The voice of the sphinx boomed out again. "Someone begins to see!"

Sindus ran to the brazier and pulled out Naidaroe. The brazier tipped dangerously, but remained upright.

I felt wind beating down on me. The sphinx must have turned invisible, not teleported outside, and was coming towards me. She landed on the platform next to me and became visible again. "A name must be earned!"

I let down my bow instead of attacking her again. "I don't want to hurt you."

She shoved me off of the platform with great force. I landed on the floor below on my back. Keothi ran past me towards the earth brazier. I heard a splash at the water brazier. The sphinx spoke again. "You are beginning to see. What is my name?"

She walked down the stairs from the platform as she spoke and stood over me, slashing into me with her claw. "Do not be so quick to attack that which you do not know!"

She stared into my eyes and roared, her huge mouth gaping over me. It reminded me of the huge spider that nearly killed me in the forest. I felt terrible inside, a pit growing in my stomach. "I'm sorry."

I scrambled away from her, trying to reach the air brazier. She tore into my back as I moved away from her. I hadn't thought she would actually attack me again. My arrows must have really hurt, they had been excellent shots. "What is my name? Use those brains of yours!"

I ran to the brazier and put my head into it. There was no bottom to it, just clouds. It seemed this must be a portal to the plane of air, a place Melima had told me about as we traveled. The clouds swirled and formed the letters D and O. I mentioned the letters to my friends, and they said the letters they had seen.

Naidaroe had seen T and H in the fire brazier. In the earth brazier, Keothi had seen R and A. Melima saw A and N in the water.

As soon as the last letter was said it went black again in the center of the room. "What is my name?"

Ari'yasa backed out of the blackness and returned to her normal form. She paused. "Andorath?"

"The name is earned." The darkness dispelled, the braziers became empty and the sphinx sat up straight. "Do not be so quick to judge."

She returned to the platform and sat back in her relaxed position. "It took you long enough. You have earned my name."

We gathered together before her. She looked at Melima, Naidaroe, and myself, "Don't be so trigger-happy." Her look pierced my heart.

"Not everyone in this world, or in other worlds, has harmful intentions. I am a keeper of knowledge, I can defend myself, but do not be so quick to harm those that have not harmed you." I had judged too quickly, again. Just like I had with Bahamut. The pit in my stomach returned from when she had attacked me. I thought back, the only ones of us she had actually harmed had harmed her first.

"So, what do you wish?" The sphinx glanced to the intricately carved door.

"We wish to find Kima," I said.

"Is that what you all wish?" she asked. Everyone agreed. She looked at each of us with a gaze that seemed to pierce into the soul. I had nothing to hide, but it was still unnerving.

"Stay your course, and that which you seek you will find." She slammed her paw on the ground, and the door slid open just enough for us to get through.

"A pleasure," Keothi said, and he started for the door.

"Keep your mind on your goal and you will find it," the sphinx said.

I bowed humbly, in gratitude. "Thank you, Andorath, for the lesson."

She crossed her paws again and bowed in return. "Go safely. Return to me when you are done, and I will grant you passage out."

We thanked the sphinx, and departed through the beautifully carved door.