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Kahlan put the compass in Cara's hands without any further protest. The Mord-Sith opened it up and held it flat in her palm- again, despite all odds, it began to glow.
"It must be somewhere in the People's Palace, we were right," Kahlan smiled. "We did it. You did it."
In your light we thrive.
"So, you've finally come," a voice from behind them called, and the three companions felt their hearts drop down to their stomachs.
Zedd stood up and glared at the stranger, expecting someone more… threatening. Instead what he found was a portly older man with soft, brown hair that was greying at his temples. He wore a barely yellow tunic with a worn, brown belt tied around his middle. His boots were muddied, and on his back was a scholar's pack with the insignia of the Explorers Beyond Boundaries pinned to the left shoulder strap. The man stared back at Zedd with sharp, blue eyes that were familiar, but Zedd couldn't understand why.
"I've been waiting for you ever since Darken Rahl was disposed of," the stranger continued without pause. "As soon as we knew that the veil to the Underworld had been torn, I was sent here to protect the secret of the People's Palace."
"And what would a traveller know about the People's Palace?" Cara asked pointedly, staring directly at the man. He chuckled and shrugged.
"I am not just a traveller, but I do not need your trust. I need the Seeker's… is he not with you?" the man asked, and Kahlan looked to Zedd before standing up. Cara instantly followed suit.
"We parted with the Seeker about a month ago, we are trying to find the Stone of Tears on our own. The compass led us here," Kahlan said evenly, and Cara could see her Confessor's mask quickly surfacing. That cold, serene look that made you wonder if your truths were actually lies all along.
At that, the man frowned. "Then how did you manage to knock on the door of the final resting place of the stone without a Seeker of Truth?"
"I got the compass to work. Magic isn't as selective as you think it is, old man," Cara told him, which made the man shoot her a skeptical look.
"I've never heard of a Mord-Sith having such power, but there's a first for everything," the man chuckled.
"And who exactly are you?" Kahlan asked. She was growing less comfortable by the second, there was something about this man that she didn't agree with. "You don't need our trust, but we need to trust you before we go anywhere with you. We can find the stone on our own, we have the compass."
"And do you know how to get past the spelled corridors? Do you have a map? No, you don't. So I will remain nameless. And you should trust me."
They had a choice- to go with the nameless man and risk unknown peril, or find the Stone of Tears on their own and potentially lose the game of cat and mouse with the Keeper. Kahlan turned to Zedd with a look that Cara could only describe as understanding. In the short year they had travelled together, Kahlan and Zedd had become close friends. When she was still hiding herself from Richard he was the only one she could turn to for some small sense of comfort. He knew what she was and knew the struggles of her power. Zedd knew just enough to be one of the most supportive people Kahlan had ever met.
"We will go with you. Take us to the stone," Cara announced. Kahlan turned to her with shock, which Cara returned with a smirk. "Don't think I'm so stupid- I have two Agiels." Secretly, Kahlan knew that Cara could somehow tell what she was thinking. It was always safe to bet on a Confessor.
The old explorer smiled and nodded. "Right this way, Mother Confessor," he told Kahlan, pressing his foot down on a white tile below him. It sunk down about half an inch and it made the stone wall slowly bury itself into the floor. Dust billowed down from the roof of the entrance, which was cold and dark. Against the beautiful, austere construction of the palace, this looked like a bear cave.
"Quickly, there's not much time," the explorer hissed, ushering the three through the doorway. Cara, Kahlan, and Zedd were pushed inside the tight opening. When the traveller took his foot off the tile the wall immediately began to rise up again, forcing him to quickly scramble to jump over the stone barrier and make it safely to the other side. He hopped over the wall like a careful breeze and fell against the wall beside Cara. Breathing heavily, he looked up to the ceiling.
"Is there a torch, or are we meant to find the stone with our noses?" Cara asked in the darkness. It was black as pitch, no one could see the person beside them. With his labored breathing, however, Cara knew exactly who was beside her.
"Give me a moment," the explorer huffed, and Cara could hear him digging into his bag. Zedd smelled something familiar, but before he could place it, something happened. A small illuminated cluster of specs began to float from where the explorer was standing to further down the hall.
"Traveller's Dust, of course," Zedd smiled. "An early imitation of Night Wisps. I'm surprised there's still any left."
"You'd be amazed at what the Explorers have hidden away over the centuries. Much must be hidden in order to keep it safe from tyrants. That's partially why the Stone of Tears has been moved here."
"Why would it be moved right under Darken Rahl's nose?" Kahlan questioned, following the explorer as he carefully moved down the hall. "Surely he must have known about a tunnel system inside the walls of the People's Palace."
"Rahls have been on the throne of D'Hara for so long that they have become a tyrannical dynasty. They can't fathom the idea that something so powerful would be hidden so close to home. I'm sure Rahl would've never dreamed that his key to pleasing the Keeper would be steps away from his front door."
"Stupid oaf," Cara snuffed, rolling her eyes. For a moment she felt something touch her shoulder, but then it left. Then it was there again— she turned around to see Kahlan's hand on her.
"Afraid of the dark?" Cara smirked. Kahlan shook her head and looked down at Cara.
"Not at all. I'm just afraid you'll get lost down here," Kahlan smiled. She never thought she would be so close to Cara, standing beside her and teasing her. It seemed that the explorer thought the same, looking back at the two women before facing forward again.
"Wait, everyone- Kahlan no!" Zedd said all at once just as Kahlan's foot sunk into the floor. The tile slid out from under her boot and engulfed her foot up to the ankle. Cara immediately grabbed her arm as Kahlan began to sink down.
"Zedd?" Kahlan called out nervously. "What is this?"
"I knew this wouldn't be easy," Zedd told her, rushing to investigate the dark mass that was slowly pulling Kahlan down. "Kahlan, you have to stay calm, the more you-" Kahlan sunk down another 3 inches "- worry, the more it will pull you in."
"Fascinating," the explorer said, taking a bit of the mud-like mixture onto his finger. Cara looked at him like he had three heads and a set of leathery gar wings. "The D'Haran forces were decimated with this 1,000 years ago, when the wars before the boundaries were fought. This mud only exists in the Old World. D'Haran's called it 'Faa'zral'- literally, it translates to Worry Mud."
"You'll be doing more than worrying if you don't help Zedd get her out," Cara snapped, still holding Kahlan as she sank another inch into the floor. The mud had now pulled her down to her thigh as she tried to brace her other leg on firm ground. The explorer wordlessly bent down and looked at Zedd.
"You know what would work, wizard," he said, and Zedd nodded. "Let's not waste any more time, then."
Together, the explorer and Zedd began to chant slowly, a spell which neither Cara nor Kahlan could understand. The more they focused, the mud began to spit Kahlan's leg out. Within a minute, Cara was able to yank her free of the mud. Kahlan held onto her for a moment to steady herself before letting go. Zedd looked to the explorer with intense confusion- who was he?
"Let's not tarry, that won't be the only challenge we face," the explorer told them hastily, taking a torch off the wall and covering it with the Traveller's Dust. It glowed just enough for them to see the path ahead.
"Cara, I-"
"Richard made me swear to protect you, and that's what I'll do," Cara interrupted dismissively. Her face had new shapes cast by shadows in the dim glow of the dust, the darkness casted a softer glow on her face. In this light, Cara looked absolutely beautiful. Kahlan caught herself in her own thoughts and shuddered at them- what was she thinking? What did that mean?
But Cara was already halfway down the hallway, and Zedd's hand was on her shoulder with concern in his voice.
"I'm all right, Zedd, just thinking."
"Me too. I'm not sure our guide is as common as we think."
Kahlan turned to Zedd, confused.
"That spell can only be used by a wizard of the second order. Not many are left that I don't know of. Keep your wits about you Kahlan."
The underground tunnel system beneath the People's Palace seemed to go on forever. There were dozens of hidden rooms that the four of them had falsely gone into. One had a golden mask, another had a suit of armor that was meant to animate like the sentinel they found at the gate. Zedd could not believe the amount of priceless artifacts that were hidden underneath the People's Palace, seemingly never seen by Darken Rahl.
To his surprise the explorer never seemed tickled with any of this. The Explorers Beyond Boundaries were an order which sought to preserve history at all costs. They belonged to no nation and had a large supply of Night Wisps who voluntarily stayed as their guides through boundaries. Any curator would have been endlessly fascinated, but this one seemed unbothered. Perhaps he was bent on his mission to help them find the stone. Perhaps he was just as preoccupied with the Banelings and the Keeper as they three were.
"Kahlan," Zedd whispered as Cara and the explorer attempted to open another door. "I want you to pay very close attention to our guide."
Kahlan looked at Zedd for a moment before catching on to what he was saying. "Do you think he's…"
"Lying? Yes, and I'm not so sure his intentions are true. He seems to know his way around here."
"I found it odd that we've been backtracking so much. Why would we pass one door only to open another? He's done that a few times. I can't tell if Cara has noticed it too," Kahlan said, giving Zedd a nod. "I'll ask him."
"Be careful dear one. If he is truly an agent of the Keeper, or of Darken Rahl, then we are trapped with him down here."
Kahlan nodded and adjusted her pack on her shoulders before walking up to where Cara and the explorer were. "Find anything?" she asked.
"The stone isn't here either," the explorer sighed. Kahlan could tell he was telling the truth.
"Did you think it would be?"
The explorer looked at her quizzically before chuckling. "I have no idea where it could be. The only thing I know is that it's down here, somewhere." Kahlan could tell he was lying.
"We've been down here for a while, now. I thought you had a map?" Cara asked, suddenly interested. She looked at Kahlan for some sign of what the questions were about, but her Confessor's mask had slid over her once soft features. It was almost imperceptible to someone who didn't know Kahlan, but Cara did.
"I do, but the map doesn't exactly have a large circle with STONE OF TEARS written above, now does it?" the explorer said, clearly getting annoyed.
"Show us the map, then," Zedd demanded, standing behind Kahlan, his face barely illuminated by the Traveller's Dust light. Zedd was kind and friendly to Kahlan, Cara, and Richard, but it was easy to forget that he was a Wizard of the First Order, who wielded power beyond imagining. Sometimes, like now, that shone through.
The explorer began to panic. His eyes grew wide and he began to step back. Cara instinctively drew her agiels and held them at her sides. Kahlan's eyes flitted to Cara and then to the explorer. Zedd just watched.
"Please… let me just explain…" the explorer begged as Cara came closer with her agiels. "I didn't mean-"
"Tell us who you are," Kahlan ordered. "Or we won't stop Cara." Cara drove her agiels into his stomach and watched him convulse. His eyes locked with hers in that delicious, fearful way before she let him go. The older man heaved and fell to the floor, his hands shaking as they pressed and pushed over his face as if it wouldn't be there afterwards.
"It's been… a long time since I felt that," the explorer managed, looking angrily at Cara. "I need you to trust me."
"Then tell us who you are," Kahlan ordered.
The explorer saw how serious both Kahlan and Cara were and sighed. He passed a hand over his face to reveal thinning blond hair, ocean blue eyes, and a broad nose. Cara looked to Kahlan in confusion.
"You didn't answer our question," Cara said angrily, jabbing the man with her agiels again.
"Stop Cara, he has told us who he is. He's Panis Rahl."