“They know,” said Kara, walking quickly. “They know even now. They can sense our presence.”
Ryana glanced around uneasily.
Kara led them across the plaza, from which three streets led off in different directions. Suddenly, Ryana had an eerie sense of deja vu. As they crossed the plaza, she realized that this was exactly like the game they’d played back at the Desert Palace in Salt View. One street led off the plaza to the left, curving slightly, so that they could not see what lay around the bend. Another street led straight away from them, offering an unobstructed view for several hundred yards. And the third street led off to the right... and part of it was blocked by rubble. It seemed too much for coincidence.
“Sorak...” she said.
He nodded. “I know. It is just like that game we played back in Salt View.”
It seems exactly the same,” Ryana said. “Exactly, right down to the pile of rubble there. But how can that be?”
Sorak glanced toward Kara, walking ahead of them with a purposeful stride. “Perhaps she had something to do with it,” he said. “The manager of the Desert Palace was the son of Kallis, the apothecary, above whose shop she lives.”
“You think she purposely designed the game to mirror the reality?” Ryana asked. “But why?”
Sorak shook his head. “I do not know. And I do not know that she designed the game. It is possible that she told Kallis about her journey here all those years ago, and that he may have told his son, perhaps in the form of a story. And perhaps his son recalled it when he designed the game. It could be as innocent as that.”
“Or else there could be a purpose to it,” said Ryana.
“Yes, I suppose there could be,” Sorak said. “Time alone will tell.”
“Could the Guardian probe Kara’s mind?”
“A pyreen?” Sorak shook his head. “Not without her being aware of it. It would be foolhardy to attempt using psionics on a pyreen. They are masters of the art. And there could be no greater display of disrespect”
“No, I suppose not,” Ryana acknowledged. “But I would feel much better if I knew what to expect.”
“Expect the unexpected,” came a voice within both their minds. Kara stopped and turned to smile at them. “The ears of a pyreen are even sharper than the ears of elves,” she said.
They continued walking. Kara chose the street that led to the northeast.
“I meant no offense, lady,” said Ryana.
“I know,” said Kara. “Your reaction is quite understandable, under the circumstances.”
“But the game, my lady...”
“I know about the game,” she said. “And you were right. There is a purpose to it. There are many adventurers who come to Salt View hoping to seek me out and pry the secret of the treasure from me. They do not know, of course, that the Silent One can speak, or that she is pyreen. They have only heard the story, since elevated into legend, that I have been to Bodach, that I had found the treasure and survived. They assume that I am some old woman who had embraced the druid vows after her ordeal, and they imagine they can prevail upon me to write down what I know.”
“So the game is an attempt to draw them out so they can be identified,” said Sorak.
“More than that,” said Kara. “There is no adventurer who can resist the lure of Salt View’s entertainments. And “The Lost Treasure of Bodach’ is played in each of Salt View’s gaming houses. Who would not be tempted, if that was what they came to seek? And by the way they play, the gamemasters can evaluate their responses. You would be surprised how much can be learned about an individual by watching how they play.”
“And what did you learn about us from the way we played?” Sorak asked. “I assume that word had somehow reached you concerning us long before we reached the apothecary shop.”
“Indeed,” she said. “I had been told to expect you long before you arrived in Salt View, but I needed to be sure you were the ones. I did not wish to expose Kallis to unnecessary risk.”
“You care for the old man,” Ryana said with a smile.
“Of course. He is my husband.”
“Your husband?” Ryana was shocked. “Do not be deceived by appearance,” Kara said. “Remember that I am far older than he is, but I am pyreen, while he is human.”
“Then, that would mean that the manager of the Desert Palace is your son?” Ryana asked.
“No. Kivrin is the son of Kallis and his first wife, who died in giving birth to him. But he is my adopted son, and has taken the vows of a preserver.”
“Why marry a human?” Sorak asked. “Why even live in Salt View? I have always thought pyreens avoided humans.”
“Most pyreens do,” she replied. “There are not many of us left. And while we are strong and long-lived and have abilities superior to those of humans, we are not invulnerable. We do not take unnecessary chances, but each of us has a purpose to which we devote our lives. Mine requires that I live in Salt View.”
“Why?”
“You will soon learn that for yourselves,” she answered enigmatically. “And Kallis?” asked Ryana. “Even a pyreen can get lonely,” Kara said. “Kallis is a good man, and his heart is pure. His wife’s death left a great void within his life. I have done my best to fill it.”
Sorak stopped suddenly before an old building that somehow looked familiar, even though he had never before seen it. And then he realized what it was. “The stone tavern,” he said.
Kara smiled. “Yes. But unlike the game scenario, we will not seek shelter here.”
They continued on. “And there is the walled home of the aristocrat,” Ryana said, as they turned a bend in the street.
“Filled with the undead?” asked Sorak.
“Perhaps,” said Kara. “They do move around, you know.”
They bypassed it and continued on.
“There is one thing I have been wondering,” said Sorak as they walked down the twisting, sand-blown street. “Why did you come to Bodach in the first place? What use would a pyreen have for treasure?”
“None,” Kara replied.
“Then ... why?”
“I came seeking something else,” she said. “The true lost treasure of the ancients.”
“The true lost treasure?” Sorak said, puzzled. “That would seem to imply that there is a false one.”
“Yes,” Kara said, enigmatically. “It would, indeed.”
“Why do I feel suddenly as if I am back in the Desert Palace, playing the same game?” asked Sorak.
“Every game is a test,” said Kara. “A test of skill, of luck, of perspicacity. Some games are merely more difficult than others.”
“So this is a test, then?” Sorak said.
“Did you not know that when you came?”
“Whose test? Yours? Or the Sage’s?”
“It is your test,” Kara said, looking at him.
“And what if I should fail?”
“You mean you did not consider that before?” she asked.
Sorak said, “I have considered it at length.”
“Good. One should always give considerations to one’s actions.”
“Is there a purpose to these riddles?” asked Ryana irritably.
“There is a purpose to everything,” said Kara. “We must turn right here.”
They proceeded down another street, deeper into the heart of the ruined city. Sorak asked no more questions. Kara had made it clear that he would discover the answers for himself in due time. She was here to provide guidance, not answers. So be it, he thought. He had come this far, there was no turning back now.
As they walked down the narrow, twisting, turning streets, Sorak recognized many scenes from the game he had played back at the Desert Palace. It was almost as if he could hear the voice of the gamemaster describing them in detail. .
“You come to a juncture where two streets branch off, one ahead of you and to the left, one ahead and to the right. Directly to the left and right there are two dark and narrow alleyways. You cannot see where they lead. Which course do you take?”