Tommy nodded. He and June took off toward the front corner of the building while Sean and Adriana went to the opposite corner and began investigating every recess and alcove along the chapel’s bottom floor. They moved in and out of the shallow cavities, making their way toward the grand entrance of the main sanctuary. After several minutes of thorough searching, the four met in the middle at the other end of the basement floor.
“Nothing,” Sean said. “You guys find anything?”
Tommy shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t understand. Those symbols should be here.”
Sean frowned and walked up a set of steps, leaving his friends for a moment to get a better view from above. He scanned the stone façade of the walls, columns, and openings, but nothing stood out. He spun around and stared at the two big structures that formed the entrance to the main sanctuary. Most of its walls had long since been destroyed, the floor of the nave replaced by the same green grass that pervaded most of the grounds.
The other three joined him at the top of the stairs, hoping he’d seen something of note.
“The codex said the lady hides the symbols on high. So maybe the basement wasn’t the right place to start,” Sean said.
“You think they may be up closer to the roof?” Tommy asked.
Sean leaned his head to the side for a second. “I hope not. The roof was destroyed a long time ago, along with the upper walls. If the symbols were that high up, we might never find them. They’d be long gone by now.”
“What about over there?” June asked, pointing at the two opposing edifices across the way.
“That’s the main sanctuary,” Sean said. “But it’s worth a look.”
The four made their way across the lush grass and onto the walkway that led to the crumbling ruins of the old basilica. Time, it seemed, had been far crueler to it than the Lady Chapel. The walls were completely gone in some places, collapsed or torn down long ago.
The group wandered around the interior where the nave used to be. Sean imagined what it must have looked like long ago with dramatic flying buttresses, high ceilings, stained glass windows, and gold adornments sparkling in the rays of sunlight streaking throughout. Now it was a shadow of its former glory.
After wandering around for several minutes, they still didn’t see any symbols that were out of the ordinary.
Sean wandered out the side of the structure and looked to a building a few hundred feet away. It had an odd shape, much like a six-sided pyramid atop a square base.
A man with white hair and a wrinkled face approached. He wore a green sweater and tanned corduroy pants. A name tag on his sweater claimed his name was Robert.
He smiled politely at Sean and waved as he drew near. “Enjoying your visit to Glastonbury?” Robert asked in a smooth accent.
“Yes, sir,” Sean answered. “Just having a look around the abbey. Fascinating history here.”
“Oh, to be sure. Lots of interesting stories about this place.”
“So we’ve heard.”
Robert followed Sean’s gaze to the odd building across the way. “That there is the abbey kitchen,” he said. “It’s the only building on the grounds that remains undamaged.”
“You work here?” Sean asked.
“Yes, going on about ten years now.”
“Maybe you could answer a question.”
“I’ll do my best. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more about this place than me. Lived here in Somerset my whole life, mostly in Glastonbury.”
Tommy and the two women walked around the corner to find Sean talking to the older man. They stopped short and listened in to the conversation.
“I’m wondering if there are any ancient symbols on some of these structures. I’m not talking about the usual ones you’d find in a church. We’re trying to link the history of the abbey to pre-Christian times. Might there be some sort of Celtic runes or something of that nature?”
Robert thought hard for a moment, staring off into the little forest on the edge of the property. Intermittent drops of rain splattered on his sweater, seemingly having no effect on the man’s disposition.
“I don’t recall seeing anything like that in this abbey. Although it was a Catholic monastery for a long time. Most of the symbols in here were Christian in nature.”
“Well, I appreciate your help nonetheless,” Sean said. “You probably want to get in out of the rain. Nobody likes to walk around soaking wet.”
“Ah, this is nothing. Been through far rainier days than this. I’m sure I will in the future, too. Sorry I couldn’t be more help. That’s an interesting project you’re working on. You from the States?”
“Yes, sir,” Sean said. “My friends and I came over just this morning. We’ve been working on this for a while, but it looks like maybe we’ve reached a dead end. I don’t suppose there’s anything worth looking at in the abbey kitchen?”
Robert’s wrinkled face scrunched as he considered. “Maybe. But I doubt it. Only interesting thing over there is a well… wait a minute.”
The four visitors’ curiosity rose a notch.
“The well. Oh, goodness me. I can’t believe I forgot about that. Had a few too many pints last night, I suppose.”
“Well?” Sean asked. “What well?”
“The well over by Glastonbury Tor. It’s between that and Chalice Hill. There’s a cover on it with all kinds of interesting symbols. Originally, it was the well that was supposedly used by Queen Guinevere when she would take long walks around the area. When she needed a drink, she’d walk over to the well and help herself. According to the story, that was one of the places Lancelot first noticed her.”
Tommy stepped forward. “Sorry, Robert, is it? My name is Tommy Schultz. I’m a friend of Sean’s. You said there are symbols on the well’s cover?”
“Sure. Lots of ’em. Although the original well cover has been replaced by a replica. The old one was made of wrought iron and wood. It rotted away long ago. The new one isn’t an exact match, though.”
“Would you mind showing us?” Sean asked.
Robert’s face brightened. “I’d be happy to. Don’t get many Americans asking unique questions. Except that it’s not on this property. It’s not far away, though. You could walk there in no time.”
Robert proceeded to tell the group how to get to Chalice Well. When he was done with the directions, he asked if they had any other questions.
“Just one,” Tommy spoke up. “You said some of the symbols from the original well cover were no longer there.”
“Yep. That thing has been gone for a while now.”
“Do you happen to remember what they were?”
“The symbols? Hmm. Seems like I saw pictures of it at one point. I never actually saw it in person. They took it away before I got here. I do remember a few of the symbols, though. There were some stars and lions. Other than that, I don’t really recall anything else.”
“Stars and lions,” Adriana said, contemplating the answer. She turned to Sean. “England is usually symbolized as the lion.”
“Three lions, actually,” Robert chimed in.
Adriana smiled at him. “Right. Three lions.”
“Yeah,” Tommy said. “That would make sense, especially if it’s a reference to the early kingdom, maybe even the Arthur story.”
“But what about the stars?” June asked. “How do those figure in?”
No one answered immediately.
“Maybe that’s one we need to ask the kids,” Sean said.
Robert drew his head back. “Kids?”
“We have some younger folks who do a bit of online research for us,” Tommy said.
“Oh.” Robert nodded his head but clearly didn’t understand.
“Thanks for your help,” Sean said. “We should get going.”
He shook Robert’s hand, as did Tommy and the other two before they turned and started walking back toward the parking area.