Thirty Five

Secrets of the Scrolls

A week after Sarah received the tainted beads, she received a second gift from her 'admirer'. She nearly choked on the heavy scent attached to the box. "Jareth!" She hung her head out the window gasping for air. "Oh God! Jareth!"

The king entered and joined her at the window. "Damn that man has no sense of smell." He covered his own nose, turned and deodorized the room. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sick to my stomach," she admitted. "God in heaven, what was that?"

Jareth opened all the windows in her office. "Stay at the window until the room freshens," he ordered. "That, Sarah was Euphoria. Some men use it to boost their pheromones. They think it makes them more sexually attractive to females. Personally, I can't see it."

"You don't use that crap!" Sarah was still agitated. "You always smell…good."

Jareth looked over at her, quizzically. "Sarah, how would you describe my…scent?"

Sarah closed her eyes. "It's like fine old leather, and rare spices."

The man moved closer. "And you like it?"

The nearness of his voice opened her eyes; "It's like nothing else in the world." She pointed to the offending box on her desk, "Unlike that crap."

Jareth took a deep breath."Yes. Well, it would seem your suitor has sent you yet another gift." He moved to her desk and disenchanted the package. "With your permission."

"Open it," she said turning back out the window to the fresh air. "I'd rather be in the bog of stench."

Jareth chuckled as he opened her gift. "Cheeky bastard," he muttered. "He sent you a pair of slippers."

"I don't want them!" she looked at blood red shoes. "I read about a pair of red shoes when I was a little girl. They made the wearer dance until they died of exhaustion."

Jareth sniffed the shoes, "No, these will just make you lust for the man who sent them." He tossed them into the air and they burst into flames. "We'll have none of that here!" Next he produced a pair that matched them perfectly. "Here, Sarah. These look like the other pair, but are safe."

She stayed at the window, still looking a bit green. "Jareth, you better call Gibbs. I feel really sick." She waved her hand, "And put those away. Just the sight makes me ill."

Concern for her health and that of their child made him drop the shoes. He gathered her into his arms. Instantly he brought her to Gibbs. "She's been poisoned." Jareth said with a voice that was now shaking with anger. "That idiot Grizbine sent her a gift doused in Euphoria."

Gibbs motioned the King out of the room and examined the woman. "Poor dear," he sympathized. "Never could stand that mixture myself." He poured her a drought and had her drink it all down. "We best bring His Majesty back in."

Jareth returned. "Well?"

"She was not poisoned. She had an allergic reaction to that vile mixture," Gibbs assured the King. "I think she need to be in some clean fresh air."

Relief covered his features before he could school them. "Then she's alright?" he saw her look at him and he quickly added. "And the baby?"

"Mother and child are fine." Gibbs said with serenity.

"I don't know what you had in that drought, but it did the trick." Sarah stood up. "I feel much better." She turned to Jareth. "Thank you for getting me here so quickly, Sire." She curtseyed and started to walk out of the Healer's rooms.

"Where do you think you're going?" bellowed the King.

Sarah stopped and looked at him, "I've a language lesson in less than an hour."

Fae looked at Elf who looked back at Fae. "She's serious," Jareth snorted. He moved toward her. "Woman, I thought that you had been poisoned. If you think for one moment, that I am going to let you out of my sight, you are sadly mistaken."

"Oh calm down." Sarah said. "I'll be with Clovis! You know she won't let anything happen to me…The Clerics support our union."

Jareth felt his knees buckle. "How do you know about the Clerics?"

"Clovis is teaching me some Goblin History that's not recorded. Seems the Fae Kings who took over had a little bit of envy when it comes to the natural inhabitants of the Realm." Sarah smiled cheerfully. "Really, Sire. I feel fine now. I don't want to miss today's class, Clovis is going to tell me about one of the Scrolls."

Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Here less than six months and already they are making her one of them." He resigned himself. "Fine, I'll take you back to your office. But I suggest you and Clovis go somewhere else for the lesson. I want to make sure your office is completely cleaned."

"Where would you suggest we go? An Oubliette?" Sarah said in her most stinging manner.

Jareth chuckled as he took her hand. "Come Sarah."

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Clovis was standing outside the office, "Stinks!" She pronounced as the pair appeared. "Not going in there! Will take a week to clean out that stink."

Sarah backed away from the office. "Something else must have arrived. She's right, it stinks in there."

Jareth looked at Clovis. "Clovis, Okekhann?" (Oubliette?)

The little baker frowned. "Rhaakhaar, Daalkaan." (Better, Temple.)She took Sarah by the hand.

The King smiled and sent the pair to the Goblin Temple on the far side of the Kingdom. It would be safe for them there. Jareth knew that the Widow would protect his Consort with her very last breath.

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The Temple of the Scrolls was unlike any of the buildings in the Goblin City. It was neither ramshackle, nor was it oddly shaped. It was a strangely beautiful circular stone building with an arched doorway. Clovis turned to Sarah, and smiled her crooked smile.

"This placed temple of scrolls." Clovis was looking very pleased. "Only Clerics and King know of this place. Now you."

Sarah looked at the arched door, the stone work, and the overall design. "Goblins built this?" There was no disguising the astonishment in her voice.

"Once," Clovis' voice filled with pride. "Goblin not doltish. Once Goblin was creative. Built this, and castle. Wrote, painted and wove." Her voice turned sad

Sarah looked down at her Goblin mentor, "Wait, Goblins built the castle?"

Clovis nodded. "Goblin Kings, real Goblin Kings ruled for a thousand years." She placed her hand on a marking on the wall, and the arched door opened. "You come in, you learn. Kingdom belong to you too now."

Sarah followed the little Goblin woman, "Are you sure it's alright?"

"I Cleric; if I say you come in, you come in." Clovis stated in a firm voice. "When Goblin lived above, we lived like you mortals. Our life was seven decades long, give or take." The woman stopped to open a painted door, and pull out two robes; one for herself and one for Sarah. "We were warrior race then, strong, smart, and cunning." Within the Temple was a corridor that led to many doors. Clovis opened one of the doors and invited Sarah to step in. "Before the rise of the man race, when magic ruled the universe."

Sarah looked with open eyes and dropped jaw at the room. From floor to ceiling there were scrolls. "I've never dreamed that you had a place like this."

"Many of the races found they could not live with the new race, Man." Clovis unexpectedly took on a regal appearance. "Our race, not beautiful in the eye of man… Man find us ugly and thought us evil. Goblin may not be pretty to other eyes, but we beautiful to each other." She moved to a shelf and took the scroll siting on it off. "We find thin place in the barrier between world of man, and this one. Many races already here." She unrolled the scroll on a table and motioned Sarah to come look. "This history of our exodus from Realm of Man."

Sarah looked at the words, written in clear hand, but the words were Goblin. "Your entire race left the world above?"

"No, not all Goblin want to leave. Some took to caves, some to other dark places, to hide from eyes of man." Clovis sadly said. "Your people have tales of them still."

Sarah looked around at the Goblin Mentor. "When your people found the…thin places, did it lead here? Or were you driven here?"

"Portals lead here. First Portal to this spot. Here we build our first settlement, and temple." Clovis reached for another scroll and brought it to the table. "Zuken the Conqueror was our leader. He became first Goblin King."

Sarah read the history scroll, telling the tale of how Zuken and his warriors set the boundaries that became the borders of the Kingdom. "He sounds like a very brave…Goblin indeed." She had nearly said man.

"Brave, strong, and smart!" Clovis stated proudly. "He leave Clerics and artisans here while workers and warriors find places to build city. Clerics record history. Clerics saw changes. Above we lived short lives, much longer here."

"How long did this Zuken rule?" Sarah was amazed with the wealth of knowledge housed in the scrolls.

"Zuken King for nearly hundred years." The little Goblin woman took a seat beside Sarah. "When we first come here, we cunning. We worked to make kingdom ours. Labyrinth already here, and we make peace with it. No other race wanted our Kingdom because Labyrinth here! Others not see beauty in Kingdom or Labyrinth." Her voice was sad.

"None so blind as those who will not see." Sarah repeated the phrase her granny had said often.

"True words, Chatelaine." Clovis agreed. "Goblin live here, work land, keep kingdom safe. Learn to travel portals, bring back things needed, things wanted. Some Goblins still longed for world now in control of Man." The woman unrolled the scroll and a map appeared. "Portals all over Labyrinth! Many not work now, some just sleep."

"When did the Fae come?" Sarah asked.

"First visit by Oberon, when Zuken build castle." Clovis ran to get another scroll, "See, Oberon." There was a fine sketch of the Fae King. Sarah could see a strong resemblance between father and son. "Oberon good, make pax with Zuken."

Sarah read the scroll, some of the Goblin words she didn't understand. "What does this mean?" She pointed to a phrase.

"It means change." Clovis took her seat again. "We changed."

"Changed? How?"

"Warrior need war and conflict to stay…sharp like sword. No war, loose..edge." Clovis sighed. "Life here good, too good. Goblin forget how to be warrior."

"But there's an Army…" Sarah contested.

"Now," Clovis said. "King says must have, so we have."

"Jareth brought back the army?" Sarah looked down at the scrolls. "When did Goblins start taking children?"

Clovis smiled. "Long before we come here." She took scrolls back to the shelves and brought a new one. "Above we took women and children… here Oberon said we could take those who were not wanted above. He set up the summons, gave us use of the portals, and protected us with magic. In return, we opened our kingdom to the unwanted of all kingdoms. Soon, we had Elf, and Gnome, and others coming to live here." She held her head up proudly. "We turned no one away."

Sarah looked at the writing, it changed. "What happened?" She pointed to the scroll. "The handwriting is different, less careful."

Clovis nodded. "Clerics hand secrets and skills down generation to generation… Today few remember this skill."

Sarah looked around her, "How long have the Goblin race been here?"

Clovis shrugged. "Time and telling of…lost." The little Goblin woman looked at the scrolls. "You Chatelaine, you now keeper of our secrets. Chatelaine, is our way."

Sarah stood up and looked round the room, "What else is in the scrolls, Clovis?"

"All the secrets! Portals, in and out, and how to open! Magic, medicine, art, history….all of it."

Sarah looked at her friend. "The heart and soul of the Goblin race. All in one place."