The trip to Riva was pretty uneventful. Neither Belmakor nor Zedar tried to
attack us, so all there was to do was fly (which, as you doubtless know,
I'm not very good at) and talk. There was no way I was going to talk to
Zedar any more than I absolutely had to, so that just left me my son-in-law
and Belmakor to talk to. In spite of this, I enjoyed the flight. Most of
this was due to the presence of Belmakor. I'd say that other than Beldin,
Belmakor was always my favourite brother. It was like old times. While we
flew, he would keep me amused with his dry wit while from time to time we
would discuss our most recent research projects.
We arrived in Riva a week or so after we left the Vale. Garion was obviously not expecting us to arrive, so I gave him a call. Garion, if you're not too busy I've arrived on your doorstep with a few guests. Would you come and meet us?
Garion's reply was very quick. Of course, grandfather. I'll be down immediately. A few minutes later, Garion was in the courtyard accompanied by Kail and a few others. "Grandfather," he greeted me genially. "What are you doing here? Grandmother said that you were going to be closeted in your tower until she returned."
"Something came up. It has to do with the disturbance I'm sure you felt a couple of weeks ago. I need to find out what the cause of it was, and I need your help to do so."
"I see. Well, why don't you all come inside? It's much warmer and more comfortable in my study than it is out here."
"Excellent idea, old boy. Nice to see that you picked up some civilized habits before your grandfather got a hold of you," Belmakor put in.
Garion looked slightly baffled at this, I don't think he expected anybody to talk about me quite that way, but he ignored it as we traipsed past him, Durnik giving him a quick greeting before going inside. As Zedar passed him, Garion reacted. "That's Zedar," he said in shock. "Grandfather, why have you let him out?"
"I didn't. That's one of the things we need to talk about. I'll fill you in when we get inside. Oh, make sure that he doesn't go near the Orb. I don't trust him just yet, and even if I did he's always been obsessed with the thing."
"Yes. It's probably a good idea to keep him away from it. Kail, would you see to it? Take them to my study by a route that completely avoids the orb. Preferably one that gives grandfather and I time for a little talk before they get there."
"Yes, your Majesty," Kail said as he left to obey his king.
The two of us took a more direct route to Garion's study than the others, so we were there within a few minutes. "Now, grandfather," he said. "Would you mind explaining to me what's going on?"
"To be honest, Garion, I haven't a clue. There was the disturbance a couple of weeks ago. You felt it, right?" I asked. Garion nodded, so I continued. "Anyway I thought that it felt a bit like the time you played around with the weather, although on a larger scale, so I tried to work out who could have done it. It was definitely nobody in the Vale, Beldin wouldn't do it and I was sure that no Grolim or you would have either. I did get the dangers of playing with the weather through to you last time, didn't I?"
"Absolutely, grandfather. There is no way I'd do anything to the weather until I've had at least a century of study."
"That's good. Anyway, I was trying to work out who was responsible, so I roped Durnik and the twins into helping me look through the records of the spontaneous sorcerers that we've encountered over the years in the hope of finding something. None of us found anything, so I was going to pay a call on Urgit and Drosta, hoping that the Grolims had some records that would help. Before I set off, however, I saw Zedar's raven land next to his old tower. I was angry, and I tried to get details of him of how he escaped, but he didn't seem to know what I was on about. I'd probably have killed him if Belmakor hadn't showed up."
"Belmakor? Isn't he dead?" Garion asked.
"Well, he should be," I replied. "But you saw him in the courtyard, and he seems to have the personality of the real Belmakor. Either he's the real thing and he and Zedar are here from over three thousand years ago, or Zedar has become a better actor and he's got the world's best actor who also happens to be a sorcerer to help him. That's the main reason I'm here. I'd like to see if you can get in touch with your friend and whether he can provide us with some answers."
"All right, grandfather. I'll see what I can do."
Within a few moments, Garion spoke again. Now, however, his voice carried the overtones of the Necessity. "What do you want, Belgarath?" it asked me.
"You know about the disturbance a few weeks ago, right?"
"Of course I know. Let me guess, you want to know what caused it."
"Yes. I also want to know if the Zedar and Belmakor that showed up in the Vale are the real thing. They claim they are from the past."
"I see. Well, they weren't brought here by my design. But then, I didn't plan the disturbance either"
"There's been another Accident then? Is there more than one of you again?"
"No, Belgarath. I'm still the only Necessity. And it wasn't exactly an accident. You know that even before the world was created UL had bound the King of Hell. The King of Hell has never liked being bound, so every once in a while he tries to break his bonds. This disturbance was the result of his most recent attempt. He was pretty close to escaping this time, actually. That's why you could feel the aftershock of his escape attempt when you didn't know about the previous ones."
"So could my brothers actually have travelled through time?"
"Possibly. What exactly did they tell you?"
I repeated what Belmakor had told me and added some opinions of my own. "Well, Belgarath, I can't tell you for certain yet. I need to actually see them before I am sure. However, it can't be a coincidence that the time they claim to have come from is exactly when the King of Hell last tried to escape." With that, the Necessity was gone and Garion was back. "What do you make of it, grandfather?" he asked me.
"I'm worried, Garion. This is something I've never experienced before. Mad gods and Grolim plots, I'm used to, but I have no idea how to deal with the King of Hell and time travellers. Whatever is going on, I'm afraid it means my vacation's over and I'm going to have to get back to work."
Little did I realise how prophetic my words would be.
That's all for now. I'll add more when it's written.
We arrived in Riva a week or so after we left the Vale. Garion was obviously not expecting us to arrive, so I gave him a call. Garion, if you're not too busy I've arrived on your doorstep with a few guests. Would you come and meet us?
Garion's reply was very quick. Of course, grandfather. I'll be down immediately. A few minutes later, Garion was in the courtyard accompanied by Kail and a few others. "Grandfather," he greeted me genially. "What are you doing here? Grandmother said that you were going to be closeted in your tower until she returned."
"Something came up. It has to do with the disturbance I'm sure you felt a couple of weeks ago. I need to find out what the cause of it was, and I need your help to do so."
"I see. Well, why don't you all come inside? It's much warmer and more comfortable in my study than it is out here."
"Excellent idea, old boy. Nice to see that you picked up some civilized habits before your grandfather got a hold of you," Belmakor put in.
Garion looked slightly baffled at this, I don't think he expected anybody to talk about me quite that way, but he ignored it as we traipsed past him, Durnik giving him a quick greeting before going inside. As Zedar passed him, Garion reacted. "That's Zedar," he said in shock. "Grandfather, why have you let him out?"
"I didn't. That's one of the things we need to talk about. I'll fill you in when we get inside. Oh, make sure that he doesn't go near the Orb. I don't trust him just yet, and even if I did he's always been obsessed with the thing."
"Yes. It's probably a good idea to keep him away from it. Kail, would you see to it? Take them to my study by a route that completely avoids the orb. Preferably one that gives grandfather and I time for a little talk before they get there."
"Yes, your Majesty," Kail said as he left to obey his king.
The two of us took a more direct route to Garion's study than the others, so we were there within a few minutes. "Now, grandfather," he said. "Would you mind explaining to me what's going on?"
"To be honest, Garion, I haven't a clue. There was the disturbance a couple of weeks ago. You felt it, right?" I asked. Garion nodded, so I continued. "Anyway I thought that it felt a bit like the time you played around with the weather, although on a larger scale, so I tried to work out who could have done it. It was definitely nobody in the Vale, Beldin wouldn't do it and I was sure that no Grolim or you would have either. I did get the dangers of playing with the weather through to you last time, didn't I?"
"Absolutely, grandfather. There is no way I'd do anything to the weather until I've had at least a century of study."
"That's good. Anyway, I was trying to work out who was responsible, so I roped Durnik and the twins into helping me look through the records of the spontaneous sorcerers that we've encountered over the years in the hope of finding something. None of us found anything, so I was going to pay a call on Urgit and Drosta, hoping that the Grolims had some records that would help. Before I set off, however, I saw Zedar's raven land next to his old tower. I was angry, and I tried to get details of him of how he escaped, but he didn't seem to know what I was on about. I'd probably have killed him if Belmakor hadn't showed up."
"Belmakor? Isn't he dead?" Garion asked.
"Well, he should be," I replied. "But you saw him in the courtyard, and he seems to have the personality of the real Belmakor. Either he's the real thing and he and Zedar are here from over three thousand years ago, or Zedar has become a better actor and he's got the world's best actor who also happens to be a sorcerer to help him. That's the main reason I'm here. I'd like to see if you can get in touch with your friend and whether he can provide us with some answers."
"All right, grandfather. I'll see what I can do."
Within a few moments, Garion spoke again. Now, however, his voice carried the overtones of the Necessity. "What do you want, Belgarath?" it asked me.
"You know about the disturbance a few weeks ago, right?"
"Of course I know. Let me guess, you want to know what caused it."
"Yes. I also want to know if the Zedar and Belmakor that showed up in the Vale are the real thing. They claim they are from the past."
"I see. Well, they weren't brought here by my design. But then, I didn't plan the disturbance either"
"There's been another Accident then? Is there more than one of you again?"
"No, Belgarath. I'm still the only Necessity. And it wasn't exactly an accident. You know that even before the world was created UL had bound the King of Hell. The King of Hell has never liked being bound, so every once in a while he tries to break his bonds. This disturbance was the result of his most recent attempt. He was pretty close to escaping this time, actually. That's why you could feel the aftershock of his escape attempt when you didn't know about the previous ones."
"So could my brothers actually have travelled through time?"
"Possibly. What exactly did they tell you?"
I repeated what Belmakor had told me and added some opinions of my own. "Well, Belgarath, I can't tell you for certain yet. I need to actually see them before I am sure. However, it can't be a coincidence that the time they claim to have come from is exactly when the King of Hell last tried to escape." With that, the Necessity was gone and Garion was back. "What do you make of it, grandfather?" he asked me.
"I'm worried, Garion. This is something I've never experienced before. Mad gods and Grolim plots, I'm used to, but I have no idea how to deal with the King of Hell and time travellers. Whatever is going on, I'm afraid it means my vacation's over and I'm going to have to get back to work."
Little did I realise how prophetic my words would be.
That's all for now. I'll add more when it's written.