****Castle Wyvern, the library
Arthur gave a bit of a stretch as he reshelved another book in the large castle library, his circadian rhythms still adjusting to the time change from the flight from Egypt, something he has come to expect on his travels and the new world he has experience from the time he once knew.
"Aren't you going to get some sleep?" someone asked, giving him a bit of a start to see it was only Xanatos.
"I've had little chance for rest," Arthur said, "and it becomes even less so as my time grows limited."
"You're that determined," Xanatos said with a bit of a wearied shrug, "I guess I can't blame you for that, but I'm sure even Merlin would tell you get some rest because you need to take care of yourself, too, if you want to help him."
"You're not wrong, David, but I know not when I may be able to tend to my own needs. Am I intruding? I apologize as I thought your library open to us."
"No, it's perfectly okay, I'm the one that's intruding, I just thought you'd like some rest, maybe I could give you a personal tour of my home."
"That's very hospitable of you, but I must decline for the moment as I really should figure out what to do next."
"You weren't able to find anything in my library? I have the biggest collection of rare and contemporary books to nearly rival the Library of Congress on the East Coast."
"You're collection is impressive, David, but unfortunately I haven't found anything I haven't already come across on my journeys."
"Well, I did say I have the biggest, but even I've had challenges finding rare books to add to it, and that's part of the fun of looking for rare things to collect. There was this one book I once had that was the crown jewel of my collection, but it got lost some time ago. I guess it's a good thing I at least make backups just in case, as I hate wasting such value. Anyway, maybe the next best thing to do is consult an expert, one I know of is at Columbia University, a Professor Lennox Macduff."
Arthur seemed to consider this with a look of thought as the name was familiar to him.
"I suppose we could consult with this scholar friend of yours," he said, "And I actually know this Lennox Macduff by another name, Macbeth."
Xanatos just smirked as he shook his head a bit. "I guess there's no fooling you, is there."
"We have on occasion allied with each other when our paths crossed."
"I guess that's bound to happen to two semi-immortal and iconic kings of the Middle Ages, considering you two have a lot in common."
"While there is much presumption to our reputations, we have only a few things in common, one of which is a mutual respect for each other as kings now without kingdoms, warriors, and to the code of Chivalry."
"Fair enough, anyway, his class doesn't start at Columbia University until tomorrow afternoon, so I suggest you get a good night's sleep and we'll see where things go from there."
"I suppose you're right, as determined as I am to carry on the quest I must rest. Good night, David."
"Good night, Arthur."
****The next afternoon, Columbia University
A place of great higher learning and scholarly pursuits, the academic institute was a like another city-state unto itself within the great megalopolis of New York City to overwhelm even a former king.
As Arthur and Xanatos made their way through the Morningside Heights campus to where they were told the Medieval Studies class being taught by Professor Macduff was, Arthur couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the many buildings dating back to America's Colonial period mixed with more Gothic and Victorian styles while more contemporary signs of the 20th century could still be infrequently sighted such as from the coffee shops, the student dorms, and to the students and their manner of dress.
"Doing okay, Arthur?" Xanatos asked.
Arthur got snapped back to the moment after looking intently upon a building that supposedly was some sort of library to reply, "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, David, it's just there are times I'm still surprised by how much has changed since my time, and I realize there is far more to this very city than I saw the last time I was here. To think an entire institution for learning and academics exists like another city-state within this island of towers, glass, and stone. No doubt if Merlin was in better health to see this place, he would indeed approve. Some things about him that particular film got right, especially in my own education."
"I went to Dartmouth, myself," Xanatos said with a prideful smile, "Majored in business management with a minor in economics. I'm considering sending Alex there when he's old enough, or another Ivy League college depending on what he decides to do with his life, though no doubt follow in his proud father's footsteps. If you ever have kids of your own, I highly recommend it, and never stop showing them what they mean to you no matter how resentful they may get."
Arthur just gave him a bit of a look as he said with a sigh, "As pleasant as a thought as it is, I'm not sure children are in my future, as I didn't have the best experience the last time. I've been far too focused on finding the Holy Grail and curing Merlin, and no matter what his age or appearance he is my oldest friend and I can't imagine a future without him. Besides, I would first need to win the affections of a noble lady."
Xanatos gave a bit of a smirk as he seemed to see a longing in Arthur's eyes as he inquired, "Is there a particular special noble lady you have your eyes on? Because I bet there is."
Arthur just tried to give a blank hard stare as he said, "We should stay focused on our reason for being here at the moment."
Xanatos just smirked as he shrugged as they finally found Professor Macduff's class. The classroom was comparable to a mini Greek amphitheatre, which was filled to full capacity with dozens of students watching their teacher intently and hanging onto his every word as they listened to his rich Scottish brogue baritone voice.
"And why do you think he sought immortality as the ultimate reward?" Professor Macduff asked a student in the front row.
"Because he was afraid to die like his friend," the young woman answered, "I mean, who wouldn't."
While Professor Macduff just gave an amused smile, deep down he felt a sorrowful deep longing as the student's words hit a cord with him.
"Perhaps," he smirked, "But as the story progresses, and Gilgamesh goes through his trials and journeys to find immortality, we the readers learn about the world around him and the people in it, yet he seems oblivious to it due to his focused tunnel vision on his goal, and just when he thinks he's achieved his ultimate goal it's snatched away from him in an unexpected way. Now what does all that tell you?"
The young woman seemed to give this some thought for some long moments to finally say with some careful consideration, "Well, I don't think he was always oblivious to what was around him, he just didn't want to pay attention or listen to other people and it took his quest to see what was really important."
"Very good, and after his quest ended you see he has indeed achieved immortality, albeit in a different sort of way."
"I guess, but who wouldn't want to live forever?" she questioned, "I mean even if the world changes, the thought of being there to see history made is so amazing, and doesn't death just take that away? Limit us?"
If only Professor Macduff could tell her.
He then realized his class had company as he looked up at the door to his classroom, and the discussion would have continued but the clock showed time had run out, so he instructed his class,
"Alright now, everyone, I want you all to give some thought about what's been discussed here and write a one page essay on your thoughts of death and immortality, its pros and cons, to be turned in next class. Appreciate the here and now and enjoy the rest of your day."
The dozens of students gathered their belongings and meandered out the door, Arthur and Xanatos overheard a few students talking about the lesson and how fascinating yet thought provoking it was and how even some were seemingly disappointed the lesson had ended too soon for them.
As soon as the classroom was empty, Professor Macduff, or rather Macbeth held up a copy of Gilgamesh the King written by Jeffery Robbins.
"One of the world's oldest stories, and yet it's still so important millennia later. This is indeed an unexpected but not unwelcomed surprise to see the two of you, gentlemen. What brings you here, Xanatos, and how have you come to be in the company of Arthur Pendragon?"
"It's good to see you, too, Macbeth," Xanatos said as he held out his hand, to which Macbeth took civilly but tightly.
"It's quite the story, my friend," Arthur said as he and Macbeth shook forearms as warriors do.
"I assume it has to do with your quest; you're still searching for the Holy Grail?"
"Indeed."
"We were hoping you could give us some insight or clue to where it could be, Macbeth," Xanatos said, "given your own great experiences and knowledge of history."
"I see. Well, as you should remember, Arthur, from our last encounter at Eynhallow I am unfortunately not worthy of the Grail myself, and my knowledge of it is limited. I had taken a rather long sabbatical from my teachings for personal reasons and recently returned within the last few months, so I haven't really had the time nor the desire to pursue anything having to do with the Grail."
"So, you won't help us?" Xanatos said disappointed.
"Oh, I didn't say that, though I just don't see how I can as I don't know its whereabouts at this time."
"Well, any sort of help you can offer is welcomed and greatly appreciated, Macbeth," Arthur said a bit disappointed as well, "though I also wish this meeting was again under more pleasant circumstances."
"Certainly better than the last time," Macbeth laughed a bit. A thought then suddenly came to him as he gave a smile like it should have been obvious in the first place.
"Actually, I just might know someone who can help you. I'll give him a call right away and we can all meet at the Nightstone coffee shop in an hour."
Exactly on the hour later, Xanatos and Arthur stood just outside the campus coffee café called Nightstone Coffee which made Xanatos give a raised eyebrow wondering when this happened. He usually kept a really close eye on all of his competition, especially Nightstone. This was a small surprise to see Nightstone Unlimited branching out and he had to wonder who started it, Demona or Thailog, and if he should also branch out into the coffee industry.
He stared up at the crescent moon and dot upon a black background logo for only a moment to then have his attention be interrupted as Arthur said to him, "I believe Macbeth has arrived with his friend."
He pointed to where Macbeth approached from and was accompanied by another older man with shoulder length graying hair, if slightly balding, pulled back into a low ponytail and a well trimmed beard and wearing an old fashion looking business suit, like it was a cross between the kind Xanatos wore the latest trends of mixed with the turn of the 19th century of a European gentleman, and he even walked with a polished black cane.
"David, Arthur, this is my good friend, Alonso Proselli," Macbeth introduced the new man as everyone politely shook hands.
As the men took seats inside the cozy if clearly college trending café, a barista took their orders; a café latte for Xanatos, an espresso for Macbeth, a chi tea for Alonso, and a regular black coffee for Arthur. The barista left to bring their orders as Alonso began with an intrigued smile,
"So, Lennox tells me you're on some kind of quest for one of the most sought after artifacts in human history, Mr. Pennington. I'm curious as to why even though you aren't an archeologist or scholar like Lennox here, but I suppose this is a story for another time though my curiosity is piqued. Anyway, I brought all the books I have on the item of interest as well as what's written about theories of it's coming to America and the man who may have brought it. Unfortunately, what I have of the latter is limited as most in the scholarly community debate it as mere speculation with little or no evidence to support it, but nevertheless I hope what I have helps."
"It will, Mr. Proselli," Arthur said, "Words alone can't describe the gratitude I feel for any assistance you can give. What can your books tell of which I don't know yet?"
"Well, as I mentioned most of what I have is speculation and is a mostly obscure debate or dismissed as fantasized rumor in smaller corners of the scholarly world or of very little interest to the rest of the world, mostly due to much skepticism and lack of true hard evidence. But there are those who believe in this theory passionately enough to spend much of their careers searching for evidence, or even the Grail itself. Perhaps a place to start is narrowing down its most likely location, which I understand is either further north of here, or even somewhere in the Midwestern United States."
"How much farther north, or where exactly in the Midwestern part of this land?" Arthur tried to control the urgency in his voice.
"Further up in Maine some say, or Canada, supposedly as far as Nova Scotia. Though there has been some debate to it being somewhere in Minnesota or another one of the states along the Canadian border due to mysterious clues supposedly left by the Knights Templar, primarily something called the Kensington Stone with mysterious rune-like markings inscribed upon it."
"I would very much like to take a look at this stone, but perhaps we should start with the location nearest to the Isle of Manhattan up north."
Alonso looked through his pile of books, much of which Arthur recognized as copies he has already seen before, until Alonso came to one about myths and folklore from throughout Canada.
"Well, one place that has been most searched for is a place called the Money Pit on a place called Oak Island, which is rumored to be heavily cursed for some reason."
"Ah, yes, I think I've heard of that place," Xanatos spoke up nonchalantly as he took a drink of his café latte, "So called because plenty of other adventurers and treasure hunters sank millions into its excavation for the treasure it supposedly holds, but almost always in vain. Never really had much interest in the place myself, but now, who knows."
"Yes, first discovered in the late 18th century by accident of course, there was a shaft with oak planks and coconut fibers every 10 feet about 90 feet deep where a strange inscribed stone told of treasure a bit further down and was further excavated in the 1850s onwards. Unfortunately all was found was a kind of trap that further flooded the shaft that deep down, yet it has done little to deter more treasure hunters to this day."
Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment as he said, "This place sounds promising, and a place isn't usually cursed or full of dangerous traps for no reason and I say it's a place to hide and guard something of great value. As this is a vast land I must make my way there as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Proselli, your knowledge and assistance to me and my friends is greatly appreciated, though I have no way to repay you for your help."
"Quite alright, Mr. Pennington," Alonso said with a friendly brush off, "I'm always glad to simply share knowledge with anyone who's interested, and as the saying goes knowledge is power and I always believed that knowledge should be used for the betterment of all. It's just disappointing this meeting must be cut so short, but if you need my help again I have more books should you need them."
"I have no doubt I will, but preparations must be made now if I can determine this cursed island has what I search for."
"You don't need to go alone, Arthur," Xanatos said, "I've never been that far north from my home town of Bar Harbor when I was younger, but I know a little bit of the country up north, plus I know you'll need all the help you can get. In fact, why do you join us, Macbeth."
Macbeth looked taken a back for only a moment, but for some reason the opportunity for an adventure with two old allies seemed too good to pass up.
"Why not," he shrugged, "As much as I enjoy my teaching career, I could use a bit excitement every now and then. What about you, Alonso, why don't you join us? If magic is involved we could certainly use someone who's versed in that better than I. Besides, I reckon you need to get out of that musty old bookshop for a while."
"Oh, I couldn't," Alonso declined with reluctance shaking his head, "I'm far too busy running my bookshop, and my own studies. As well as you know I must be ready to welcome my daughter home for when she returns."
"She's been away for some time now, surly a few days away for you won't make much of a difference," Macbeth argued.
"Where is your daughter?" Arthur asked curiously.
Alonso gave a thoughtful rather sad look as a long minute passed until he finally said, "I can only say she is studying abroad and does quite well for herself. The work she and her husband do greatly helps my own in a way, as well as for the world. She may be grown, but she will always be my precious little Miranda."
Xanatos only nodded his head, suddenly wondering what the future held with him and Alexander, yet at the same time wondered about what could have been had he been there for AJ.
"When was the last time you heard from Miranda?" he asked.
"She tries to ring me often enough, as well as letters to tell of what she has been up to almost every week, so though she is far we remain in touch."
"Well, that shouldn't discourage you from taking a bit of time away," Macbeth encouraged, "Have an adventure once in a while."
Alonso still seemed reluctant, yet there seemed to no arguing with his rather charismatic friend and something about the experience of adventure alone was an opportunity not to be missed.
"Well, I'm not as young as I used to be, but what the heck, you're clearly not going to take no for an answer."
"There's just one thing to consider," Arthur said with a deep seriousness, "This is an unexpected development to my Quest, having someone new joining now. But I have come to trust someone with my life who has traveled with me for many months now and I would need to know now if you will have any reservations about his…rather unusual nature."
"Indeed," Xanatos agreed, "Arthur and I are well acquainted with some pretty strange people not everyone takes an immediate liking to and are often judged by their very appearance. They'll be a great help, but I'm afraid they won't be able to join us until early tonight."
Alonso just gave a faint laugh through his nose as he reassured, "If you are referring to the inhabitants of your exclusive castle, Mr. Xanatos, I can assure you I am no stranger to mythical beings, having encountered plenty in my life time, and they are something of an open secret in this city. I haven't always been cooped up in a 'musty' old bookshop."
"Thank you, Mr. Proselli, it's a relief to know," Arthur seemed to breath away some built up tension, "However, we must now plan the next steps to take and find a way to this Oak Island."
"We can all meet at my place tonight," Xanatos quickly offered, "It's the best place to make any of the best laid plans we need and the state of the art equipment for the expedition."
"I also have some equipment and resources which may prove useful," Macbeth said, "I've accumulated quite a number of unusual resources in my lifetime."
"Then it's agreed," Arthur concurred as everyone shook hands and departed the coffee shop.
Nearby, none of them noticed a seemingly normal looking college student sitting closely as he enjoyed his own coffee and seemed occupied with studying one of his college books. He would have been close enough only to have caught small snippets of the conversation, yet not really interested in the subject being discussed and ignored it easily. Yet this was no ordinary college student as his face seemed to sizzle and spark as not really his own.
"Interesting," he said wryly with Jackel's voice as his holographic disguise reset itself, "Whatever they were talking about must be of great value, and they're heading to Nova Scotia to find it. What do you think?"
There seemed to be no one there next to him, yet he heard the voice clearly through his cybernetic hearing.
"I would agree, though I'm more interested in what this has to do with Goliath's clan," a cloaked Coldsteel said coldly.
"Those old men briefly spoke of them, as if we couldn't tell, but there's nothing to do now except get the rest our little ragtag team ready to follow them. Who knows, it might be fun, and it's been a long time since I visited home."