Chapter 2

Take Five

'Nobody heard you,' said Eric. 'Knock again, louder!'

Hank had barely taken his hand from the door before the Cavalier complained, and the Ranger turned to frown at him.

'Er-ic!' said Diana in an exasperated tone. 'Give them a chance, it's only been five seconds! I know you don't have to open your front door yourself, but it takes time to get to it.'

Eric gave her a petty sneer in reply, but much to Hank's surprise, he didn't say anything else. Since when did the Cavalier not take the opportunity to boast about servants?

Another few seconds had passed, and Hank felt the weight of Eric's scornful stare on him again. The Ranger was sure that if Eric had been wearing a watch he would have been counting off the seconds!

'Relax, Eric,' said Presto. 'I'm sure their butler is on his way!'

A moment after Presto had spoke, there was a noise from behind the door, and the Magician beamed at his friends, proud of his perfect timing. A moment after that, the handle on the door turned, and it swung open without a sound.

From what Hank could see of the interior, it was well lit, but plainly decorated in maroon, white and black. There was a sweet, sandy fragrance that wafted out of the doorway. But he could not see anyone who could have opened the door. In spite of that, he had a good feeling from this place, now that he could see in, and he led his friends inside.

There was a still air of peace and thoughtfulness about the room they were in. It was a wide hallway, with a low roof, and a chequered floor. Every so often there were small pools of light from windows set into the roof. The others gathered round him, waiting to see what he would do next.

As Hank looked round, he noticed that there seemed to be a man waiting for them, sitting in an ornate chair at the far end of the hall, in front of what seemed to be a corridor. The moment Hank saw him, the other man rose.

'Approach!' he called, raising his right hand. He seemed to be holding a short staff, but it was difficult to tell exactly what it was.

With a shrug to Sheila, Hank moved forward along the corridor, and the others all did the same.

'Greetings, honoured Pupils of the Dungeonmaster!' said the man, bowing very low before them. 'On behalf of the Keepers, I welcome you to the Monastery at Esagil'

'Umm… Hi!' said Hank weakly, after failing to think of something more impressive. After a moment, he bowed as well, as it seemed the correct thing to do. Again, his friends followed his lead.

When he looked up, he could see the other man more clearly. He was very tall and broad, with a regal and austere air that reminded Hank of King Rahmoud. He had short-cropped blonde hair, and a short blonde beard, and very green eyes. His face was rounded, with high cheekbones and a fair complexion. He wore a white tunic, dark red pants and boots, and on his head he had a thin circlet of black metal that contrasted with his light hair. In his right hand there was indeed a short staff, a little like an electric torch in shape, but with a bulbous red crystal at the top.

'I am Enlil, the Herald of the Monastery,' he said. 'It is my duty and my pleasure to be your guide while you are within the walls of the Monastery.'

Hank could see Eric rolling his eyes. He knew what the Cavalier was thinking as he was thinking the exact same thing: Not another guide!

Enlil the Herald gestured for them to follow, and he turned and led them down the corridor behind him. The corridor was short, and after less than a minute it opened out into a small, richly decorate hall.

Hank didn't pay much attention to his surroundings as, right in front of them as they entered, there was a wide velvet dais covered in weapons and objects of all kinds.

'Wow!' said Presto breathlessly. 'Magic.'

'Yeah, I suppose it is pretty cool,' said Eric.

'Jeez, Eric! No!' replied the Magician with a scowl. 'They're all magic weapons.'

'Indeed you are correct, Magician of the Realm,' said Enlil. 'And this is where your weapons shall rest peacefully while you are within these walls.'

'Hey, y'know, I'm not so sure about that,' said Eric, pulling his Shield up to his chest protectively. 'What if we need them, or something?'

'You will not need them within these halls,' Enlil replied.

'How do you know?'

'Because they will not work,' the Herald said in a totally reasonable tone. 'No magic but the will of Fate may work within these walls.'

Eric looked down at his Shield. He took a few moments to formulate his next argument.

'Even if that's true, we're just supposed to leave them lying around on a table?' He turned to look at his friends. 'Does that seem like a good idea to any of you?'

When it was put like that, it didn't seem that good an idea, but this was not a normal place. Hank could sense a great deal of power here; he was sure even Eric could sense it too, and that the Cavalier was just being awkward for the sake of it. But the feeling of peace and safety was so intoxicating that he refused to get angry, even at Eric!

'I'm sure they'll be perfectly safe,' Hank said. 'Dungeonmaster said this was a place Evil could not enter.'

'You speak the truth,' Enlil said. 'And once you place your weapons on this dais, none but you may remove them, such is the power of this room.'

Hank gave quick Eric a look, stepped forward and placed his Bow down between an axe and a horn. He could see a huge range of different objects; swords, staffs, capes, hats, crowns, a whip, various books, chain mail, armour, a few rings, some bracelets, a coil of rope, a phial or two of some odd looking liquid… the more he looked, the more things he saw.

Eric was still staring at him, but when he saw that nothing happened to the Bow, he gave a shrug and propped his Shield up at the back. One by one the others relinquished their weapons too.

As the last weapon was placed on the dais, Uni gave a soft plaintive whine; she looked tired and unhappy, and Bobby put his arm protectively around her, giving the Herald a glare. Enlil smiled, and knelt down beside the unicorn, and tenderly patted her flank.

'Magical creature,' he murmured, placing his hand on the top of her head, near her horn. 'Do not struggle against the power of this place. For I say to you, you are blessed by the power of Light.'

At the words, Uni sighed, and leaned against Bobby, as if trying to find something comfortable to fall asleep against.

'She must rest now,' Enlil told the suspicious Barbarian. 'And when she wakes she will be at one with the magic. But she will not be able to use her own powers until you leave. If she tries, she may hurt herself. It is up to you to make sure she is safe, and you must look after her. Do you understand?'

Bobby nodded at the sombre words of the Herald, and gave his unicorn a hug. Enlil rose, looking round at the group.

'The Feast of Zagmuk is prepared for the equinox, until then you may rest here.'

Hank gave a slight nod in acknowledgement, but behind him, the others shifted uneasily. A moment later, Eric voiced the questions that they were all thinking.

'You know,' said Eric, 'good ol' Dungeonmaster didn't give us a lot of information about this party. When's the equinox? And what's gonna happen? Who…?'

He stopped as Enlil lifted his hand.

'In this place, Destiny is decided and they must not be afraid. Whatever must happen, will happen. The iron hand of Fate will not fail you.'

'How do we know when…?' continued Eric.

'You will be called.'

'But… but what do we do?' asked Sheila timidly.

'Do what your heart and mind tell you to,' Enlil replied.

Before anyone could ask more questions, and before Eric could start to complain about riddles, a door at one side opened. Six white-clad servants appeared, each one going to stand next to one of the kids. The one that stopped next to Hank gave him a slight bow, and Hank bowed back politely.

'Now you will be shown to your separate rooms,' said Enlil.

'On our own?' asked Bobby, sounding surprisingly nervous.

'You must be alone to find yourselves,' was the suspiciously Dungeonmaster-like reply from the Herald. 'You cannot hear your soul's voice without listening, and you cannot listen without silence.'

Confused, the Barbarian looked at Hank for reassurance, and so he smiled and nodded.

'But don't we get shown around, a guided tour, or something?' asked Eric.

'There is no need,' insisted Enlil.

'Maybe they have guide books in rooms,' the Cavalier said in a mock whisper to Presto. 'And I wonder if they have room service?'

Diana gave him a whack on the arm.

'Grow up!'

Enlil bowed low to the group, and they were led out through the door the servants had entered, Bobby now having to carry the sleepy unicorn. As they walked, one by one, they split up heading a different way until it was only Hank and Sheila. Then it was time for her to leave as well, and they shared a warm smile as they parted.

It was very strange to be without his friends, even more so because he was without his Bow. He didn't feel like talking as they walked and his guide didn't seem to mind.

The halls were a dull, brown-red, plainly decorated, and there were a number of other doors and corridors dotted around as well. It all looked roughly the same, so he had no idea where he was relative to the others, or anything else. But that didn't seem to matter at the moment.

At last, they arrived at a plain door that the servant opened, and Hank went inside.

The door swung shut behind him, and Hank realised that he was alone at last.

His room was large, there was a fireplace in one corner, with the glowing embers of a fire that had left the room comfortably warm. There seemed to be dark red on the walls, and on the floor but it was difficult to be sure. The shutters on the windows were closed and there was very little light, but enough to make out a bed in the centre.

For a while, he sat on the edge of the bed, not sure what to do. But then he decided that he was monumentally sleepy. As if to emphasis the point, he gave a huge yawn.

Stripping off his out clothes and leaving them in a pile on the floor, he crawled into the soft, fresh-smelling bed and closed his eyes.

A moment later he was asleep.

The Cavalier had no idea how long he slept for, but it didn't seem to be for quite long enough. He often woke once or twice during the night, perhaps just out of habit, but always turned over and went back to sleep. But in the early morning when he did wake up, he couldn't seem to rest. So instead, he lay in bed with his eyes closed, savouring the by-now-unfamiliar sensation of safety.

He could relax, he reminded himself. There was no need to worry about who was next on guard, or how they were going to find food, or having to walk for miles the next day, or what was going to go wrong. He could lie around in bed and do nothing for as long as he liked.

Back at home, he could have done that every day of the week, unless he was told to get out to school but his Dad. But a lie-in had become a luxury in the Realm, and one he was determined to enjoy.

He let his mind drift, hoping he would go back to sleep, maybe even dream. His mind was too active, and though he found it hard to concentrate on just one thing, he found it impossible to sleep.

Eventually, after an hour of lying around, he pushed himself out of bed. His armour was on the floor just beside his bed, still dirty from that stupid spell yesterday. He was probably still dirty as well, so the first thing he decided to do was wash.

There were two doors, one was presumably the door to the outside, since it had a lock on it, so he opened the other one. Behind it was a bathroom, a real, proper genuine bathroom, with a bath in it! It didn't quite have gold-plated taps, but that seemed less important than it had done before the Realm. There was a system of levers and a sort of nozzle, and that was all that mattered.

So Eric ran a very hot bath, as hot as he could stand, stripped off the rest of his clothes and sank into the water.

When was the last time he had had a proper bath like this? When was the last time when water wasn't in short supply, or far too cold to lie around in? When was the last time he'd had peace to lounge about, without a queue at the door?

He didn't bother trying to answer the questions. He just lay there, letting him mind wander as sweet, musky steam filled the air. As before in bed, he found it impossible to concentrate on one thing, but that seemed even less important than it had before.

Eventually, after a very long time lying about, he washed the dust out of his hair, and scrubbed away all traces of dirt. There wasn't any soap, but he hadn't expected any, and he was used to going without it by now. Presto's Hat didn't like soap; rather it only produced the rough carbolic kind that was more useful in stripping the paint off things than keeping people clean.

Once he was finished, he lay there again, letting the water go cold, just thinking about anything his mind came up with, and feeling more relaxed than he had earlier. Before the water became too cold to bear, he pushed himself out and dried off.

He walked over to on the shuttered windows and peeped outside.

'What!' he said out loud.

It was still dark, the sky was the violet of early dawn, and he could tell that the suns wouldn't be fully up for a number of hours.

'That's great!' he muttered. 'What am I supposed to do for the next three hours!'

As if in answer, he gave a yawn and, like last night, he realised he was very tired.

With another yawn he wandered back to the bed and clambered in, pulling the sheets up round his head. Within a few moments, he was asleep once more.

Presto had slept until the first rays of the suns had touched his window, flowing into his room through a chink in the shutters like a river of liquid amber. Even before he opened his eyes, he could sense the warmth and smell a warm, relaxing aroma that reminded him of a meadow in sunshine.

For a moment, he almost turned over to go back to sleep, but his sense of excitement and anticipation had prevented it.

Instead he opened his eyes, and pushed himself upright to take a look around his room.

The first thing that struck him was that it was red… all red: red wall, red, floor, red curtains, red ceiling, red covers on his bed, even glowing red embers in the maroon-coloured fireplace. There were slightly different shades of red everywhere. For a moment Presto thought that it was just his mind playing tricks. (No, Presto. It really is all red!) That's just weird! (You're telling me!)

Beyond the colour, it was a plainly decorated room, with very few pieces of furniture. There was a bed, a table and a red rug on the floor. On the table near the bottom of his bed, he caught sight of his green Magician's robes, neatly folded up, not the way he had left them the night before! Next to them were more clothes, also neatly folded and red, of course. (Hope they're not more robes!)

Relaxed and well-rested for once, Presto didn't feel much like getting out of bed to investigate, so he let the fact that someone might have been in his room pass for the moment. After all, they probably had some sort of laundry service here. It would be better than letting the Hat do the laundry.

(The girls would be happier) Eric would be happier too! (But it wasn't my fault the Hat didn't understand) And it wasn't my fault about the starch either (or the soap) or the soap! (Nobody liked the soap!)

With a smile at the memory, he linked his fingers behind the back of his head, stared up at the red ceiling and let his mind wander.

Here in this ancient Monastery, he felt as if he could be truly at peace for once in his life. Words could not describe what Presto felt in this place. There was power like he had never felt before. Incredible, monumental, impossible… they all seemed to fall short somehow.

It almost felt like coming home; he could clearly remember what it had felt like in those few precious moments when they'd thought that Zandora's Box had sent them back to earth (before Venger had made his unwelcome appearance). This was the same. He felt safe in a way he would never have imagined feeling in the Realm.

It wasn't just raw power, though. He'd felt raw power that day in the Dragon's Graveyard when they had faced off against Venger, and won. He would recognise that difficult, uncomfortable and crude feeling anywhere, and there was nothing like that here. The power here was as muted as it was powerful and all encompassing, magic in its true form, nothing like the confusing muddle he experienced every day with the Hat.

Magic was beautiful. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to go home to earth to see his Mom and Dad, and the fact that he wanted to be with his friends, he could easily have stayed there forever enjoying its subtle intricacies, always with the prospect of something new to discover just around the next corner.

Again, Presto smiled at the fantasy, content to enjoy the feeling for the moment, savouring the sensation.

There seemed to be the scent of fresh flowers on the air, a warming, soothing smell that he liked, so Presto took a long, slow breath in and closed his eyes once more.

Diana liked to lie around in bed, especially one so warm. It was once of the few vices she ever indulged back at home. Her training regime was hard, and she enjoyed the few times a week when she could stay in bed without having to get up and run and exercise.

It felt like she was filled with excitement and anticipation this morning, like the morning of a big sports event, where she was going to compete. She liked feeling like that, the buzz of adrenaline that filled her body and made her tingle.

She lay stretched out in her bed, marvelling at the softness of the sheets and how much space there was to enjoy. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd slept in a proper bed, let alone a king-sized bed so soft and comfortable. No one had ever slept in a bed like this before; probably not even Eric for all his protestations of luxury!

There was no worry about what they were going to face today. There was no worry about Orcs or Lizardmen or Venger, or the unknown terrors that stalked this world. There was no worry about where to find food, or who was going to be on watch.

She gave a huge stretch, like a cat, debating whether or not to make the effort and get out of bed. Then she mentally shrugged. There was no reason to move. Not just yet. There was no rush to get anywhere, or do anything today.

So Diana closed her eyes and let herself drift back off to sleep.

Sheila liked to pull the covers up tightly around her and drink in the sensation of safety. It was as close to bliss as she had ever come, she couldn't ever remember feeling so relaxed, and above all, safe.

Here in the Realm they had to be constantly on the alert, the few times they hadn't been careful something bad had happened. And bad things occasionally happened even when they were being careful!

But just now she could be at ease. She was safe, Bobby was safe, and Hank, and the others too, and she lay in bed, enjoying the serene silence.

She had never felt in need of a good sleep before, or so grateful for a roof over her head. She had never enjoyed sleeping outside, the few times they had gone camping back at home with her Mom and Dad had been terrible and she'd hardly spelt at all.

And now, every night she woke at least twice, often much more. She was sensitive to what was going on around her and it seemed that any slight noise would waken her; the sounds of the night, the call of the animals, Presto snoring lightly, Eric occasionally talking in his sleep.

Bt though she was still sleepy, she didn't want to go back to sleep just yet.

There was a sense of anticipation that she had never felt before, but she had no idea why she was so nervous and excited. Normally she would have been apprehensive at the thought of such an important gathering; from what Dungeonmaster had told them it seemed that it was one of the most important events in the Realm. And they were invited to it!

What was it about this place that made her feel so unlike herself? She should be worried, and she should be missing her Cloak and the implicit option she always had to hid underneath it and vanish. And what was going to happen?

She had no answers, but instead enjoyed playing with the possibilities, imagining all sorts of situations.

The only thing she knew for sure was that there was a party tonight, and she wondered who else would be there. It was going to be of some size, probably filled with important people, maybe Kings and Queens and Princes and Princesses; who knew which of their old friends they might meet again. A small smile crept across her face. And she was going too, along with Hank and the others.

It might actually be fun!

When was the last time they had fun in the Realm?

Fun, she thought. Wouldn't it be a pleasant change if we all had fun.

She closed her eyes, thinking of fun and happy things, and drifted back to sleep.

Bobby the Barbarian slept.

In fact, he slept like he had never slept before, unaware of anything and everything that was going on around him, deep in a dreamless sleep.

And curled up at his feet, like a cat on a favourite cushion, Uni slept too.

Once again, the suns crept towards the horizon and over the land a respectful silence fell, a silence that no one dared disturb.

Though only the chosen few understood the significance of this night, all creatures in the Realm felt its power. It was a night for peacefulness, the most sacred of nights: The Night of Destiny.

All things came to rest, all people and powers and animals.

Venger the Arch-Mage closed his eyes and rested, unable to remain awake.

Dungeonmaster too relinquished his hold on the land and gave himself up to sleep.

Even Tiamat the Dragon Queen succumbed to the power from the Monastery and curled up in her bed of gold to dream.

As the last rays from the suns slid into twilight, all was still. A painted veil lay over the Realm, and the only spark of life that stirred was at Esagil.