Here you go! No more cliffhanger! Yay!

The Grotto of the Gods

Kel pushed herself off the ground, waiting for Neal as he shoved his way through the foliage. At the entrance, Kel moved ahead of Neal; the gap was only wide enough for one of them at a time. She inched her way into the hidden alcove. She ground to a halt two steps past the gate, motionless with awe. Behind her, Neal wriggled through the gate, and gave a gasp of reverence as he saw what lay before them.

In front of them was a statue garden, but that wasn't what inspired their awe. The statues were set up in around the outside of a stone base about twenty feet across the middle. The base was what caught their eyes. It had a brilliant design: all the major gods, their heads on the outside of the circle and their feet pointing toward the center. The craftsmanship of the art was superb. Kel thought that the gods could have done it themselves. And who knows? she thought. Maybe it was.

Kel looked and saw the Great Mother Goddess, more beautiful than any mortal woman; Mithros, the Sun God; the God of the Sea. She even saw what looked like the Trickster God, a young man with a mischievous smile and a face that looked remarkably like a combination of Neal and Baron George of Pirate's Swoop. The images of the gods were inlaid with thousands precious stones that caught the light and reflected it around the grotto, making the knights feel like they had wandered into a rainbow.

"Well, whatever this quest is, it's obviously approved by the gods," said Neal, breaking the reverent silence.

Kel nodded. "Hey, what are those statues, anyway?"

They walked over to the first statue and saw it was an eagle, caught eternally in flight, proud and fierce. The statue was constructed from pure white marble. Again, the person who had shaped the stone was a master, creating a beast that looked as if it could begin moving at any minute. Walking around the circumference of the circle, they saw all the statues were animals: wolf, bear, snake, horse, and dragon.

"Okay," said Neal, voicing their unspoken question. "Where's the parchment?"

They stood silent for a few minutes. Suddenly, Kel gave a short yell of frustration and stamped to the center of the circle.

"Why are you making this so hard?" she shouted at the inlay of the gods. "Do you want me to find these things, or not? Give me a clue! Help me out!"

As she expected, nothing changed. The statues didn't move. The gods didn't point. She slumped her shoulders, staring at the ground in defeat. Neal looked at her, a nameless expression on his face. Suddenly, his jaw tightened, and he strode over to her.

"Oh, come on, Keladry!" She looked up in surprise. "You, who spent eight years alone in the palace, by your own stubbornness, is giving up? You, who I have never known to quit in the entire time I've known you? Give me a break! Just because you're hitting trouble doesn't mean you won't figure it out! Remember all the times this has happened before? With tilting, and sword fighting; in fact, just about everything we had to learn, you went above and beyond all of us! How is this any different?"

"This is not my strong point, Queenscove!" Kel shouted back, flaming. "I am a fighter! I don't spend my time poring over ancient riddles! That's why I asked you to accompany me on this idiotic thing! And besides, who are you to lecture me on giving up?" She glared furiously at him, but his attention was elsewhere.

"Hey," he said, pointing to her feet. "Look."

There was miniscule writing inlaid in the circle.

"Oh, my gods." Kel knelt down, her head in her hands. "I have a headache."

"Yeah, me too." Neal retorted.

They knelt at the base of the writing, their quarrel of the previous minutes forgotten. Kel grabbed a spare piece of parchment and held it out. "Here."

"I have to do everything, don't I?" Neal grumbled. He muttered a spell, and a ghostly image of the writing lifted off the circle, shrank, and attached itself to the parchment, as strong as any ink. Kel carefully grabbed the parchment and read.

So now, thee found mine hidden words,

Long waiting to make history.

I lead thee to three foreign lords,

Unraveling thy ancient mystery.

The Six are scattered, flung apart,

Three are hidden, three are found.

Thee who quest must swiftly start,

For danger follows all around.

Now, to direct thee as thee seek

To find that which was hidden from thee:

One: a precious gift from one who knows.

Two: close by inside a dusty room, alone with Ancient scholars.

Three: across imperial waters, guarded by daylight and silver.

Four: laid in a grim rocky tomb of heroes, defended by smoke and snow.

Five: protected by crashing white, blue and purple, underneath thy feet upon crazed shore.

Six: last found, last placed, yet close all along.

Place all in thine sights

Use thy lessons well learned

Fly fire to ignite

And thy battle will be turned.

Kel handed the parchment wordlessly to Neal. He read it slowly, eyes scanning the words. He gave it back to her, quipping, "They weren't exactly hidden, though, were they?"

"Do you have any idea what it means?" she asked.

"Not a clue."

So? What do you think? Do you know what it means? Tell me!