Father laid the book on the table and opened it to a map of the city of Lauressa. “There may be a reason for that,” he said. “If you look at the map, you can see that our city is built with a series of underground tunnels beneath it.” He pointed to the map, which showed an elaborate web of tunnels below the city’s foundation.
“Yes,” Heidel said. “Didn’t we travel through one of those tunnels in order to get inside?”
“We did,” Maveryck answered, “but I thought those tunnels were built by the Gravidorum.”
“That is what I believed as well, except after doing some research, I learned that those tunnels date back thousands of years, well before the Gravidorum came to this city.”
“Then who built them?” I asked.
“It’s possible those tunnels were built by the Madralorde. They may have created a gateway from Tremulac to Lauressa, but in order to open the gateway, one would have to be in the castle at Tremulac.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
Father leafed through the book to a page near the back. On the paper, a map of the elven continent, Laurentia, had been inked in detail onto the parchment. In the center of the page, where the city of Lauressa should have been drawn, sat empty space.
“What happened to the city?” Kull asked.
“It’s hidden,” my father answered. “Several hundred years ago, the elven nobles tasked several of their best wizards with the project of hiding the city. Their experiments were successful, and they managed to cloak the city for several days. Outside the city walls, the countryside seemed to continue on forever. And above, it seemed as though only fields were beneath.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “Do you think the same thing happened to Tremulac?”
“I’m not sure. It took a great amount of power to fuel the spell that hid Lauressa, so if the same thing were to happen at Tremulac, and for it to last for so long a time, seems improbable.”
“But not impossible,” Kull said.
“Even if the island was hidden by magic, how would we find it?” I asked.
“What if we were to follow the elves through this gateway you spoke of?” Heidel asked.
“No, I’m afraid that is not a possibility. The elven queen is expecting you to come after the staff, and she has prepared a trap for the four of you. If any one of you were to pass through her gateway, the queen would immediately be alerted to your presence and take you prisoner. She needs a blood sacrifice to initiate the spell, and it would be within her reasoning to use any one of you. I believe we would be safer finding an alternate path to Tremulac.”
“Is it even possible to find?” Kull asked. “Some have been searching for centuries and have never found it. It doesn’t seem likely that we will.”
“Except that we have an advantage,” Father said.
“What advantage?” Heidel asked.
“For an entire castle to be hidden by a spell, it would put off a great deal of magical energy. In theory, we should be able to find the castle by searching for the spell.”
“If that’s so,” I said, “then why hasn’t anyone found it before us?”
“Because they never knew what sort of spell to search for. The queen and her royals discovered it recently, and if they could find it, then we should be able to do the same.”
“But where do we start?” I asked. “It could take ages to roam through the countryside looking for a spell.”
“We won’t have to.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve already narrowed down the search area.” Father flipped to a section of the book that mapped the wild lands. He pointed to several large lakes at the center of the page. “I believe Tremulac exists on one of these lakes.”
“The wild lands?” Maveryck said. “Have you been there yourself?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then how do you know it’s there?” Heidel asked.
“Because I have been closely following the royalty. I was able to scry upon Veladon, the queen’s vizier, one evening as he left the castle. He entered the wild lands, and I could see no more after he entered, but when he returned, a gateway was opened up in the catacombs beneath the city—a gateway that led to Tremulac.”
“So you believe Veladon found Tremulac in the wild lands and created a portal back to Lauressa?”
“Precisely.”
Kull worked his jaw back and forth. “I still think it would be easier to enter through the catacombs under the city. The wild lands aren’t far if we take the rails, but we’ll only get as far as the border. Once we arrive, we’d be lucky to survive crossing that waste.”
“At any other time, I would agree,” my father said. “But it’s too risky. The sky king will perish, the queen will harness Theht’s powers, and there is more at stake than even you can fathom. I must insist that you make this journey. The wild lands are dangerous, yes, but they are safer than the alternative.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. “What else is at stake? What could possibly be worse than my stepfather’s death? Or the queen ruling with Theht’s powers?”
After I asked it, I realized what a dumb question it was. By now, I should have known to never ask how things could get worse.
My father took in a deep breath, then he stood. “If you will promise not to speak of what I reveal to you, I shall show you all.”
“Show us what?” Kull asked.
Father shook his head. “Follow me if you wish to see. But be warned, this must stay between us.”
We stood and followed my father down a short hallway, but we passed the doors and stopped instead at a blank wall. He lifted his hand and whispered a word of magic, making his fingers glow
