The Quest

'When the wind shifted, the spray blew over us here, as cool and blessed as rain.' He smiled with pleasure at the thought. 'Thus, from here, I had the view of a vulture over all the momentous occurrences of that time.'

'You watched the temple being constructed?' Fenn asked. 'Did you know that there is much ivory and many precious stones within its precincts?'

'Indeed, my pretty child. I watched the strangers bring them in. They used hundreds of slaves as beasts of burden.'

'From which direction did they arrive?' Taita asked.

'They came from the west.' Kalulu pointed into the hazy blue distance.

'What country lies out there?' Tait asked.

The dwarf did not answer immediately. He was silent for a while, and then he responded hesitantly: 'When I was a young man and my legs were whole and strong, I travelled there. I went in search of wisdom and

learning, for I had heard of a wondrous sage who lived in that far country to the west.'

'What did you discover?'

'I beheld mountains, mighty mountains, hidden for most of the year by masses of dense cloud. When it parted, it revealed peaks that climbed to the very skies, peaks whose bald heads were shining white.'

'Did you climb to the summits?'

'No. I saw them only from a great distance.'

'Do these mountains have a name?'

'The people who live within sight of them call them the Mountains of the Moon for their tops are as bright as the full moon.'

'Tell me, my learned and revered friend, did you see any other wonders on these travels?'

'The wonders were many and legion,' Kalulu replied. 'I saw rivers that burst from the earth and boiled with steam as though from a seething cauldron. I heard the hills groan and felt them shake beneath my feet, as though some monster stirred in his deep cavern.' The memories illuminated his dark eyes. 'There was such power in this range of mountains that one of the peaks burned and smoked like a gigantic furnace.'

'A burning mountain!' Taita exclaimed. 'You saw a peak that belched fire and smoke! You discovered a volcano?'

'If that is what you call such a miracle,' the little man acceded. 'The tribes that lived within sight of it called it the Tower of Light. It was a sight that filled me with awe.'

'Did you ever find the famous sage for whom you went in search?'

'No.'

'The men who built this temple came from the Mountains of the Moon? Is that what you believe?' Taita brought him back to the original question.

'Who knows? Not I. But they came from that direction. They laboured for twenty months. First they carried in the building materials with their slaves. Then they erected the walls and covered them with timbers and thatch. My tribe provided food for them, in exchange for beads, cloth and metal tools. We did not understand the purpose of that building, but it seemed harmless and posed no threat to us.' Kalulu shook his head at the memory of their naivety. 'I was interested in the work. I tried to ingratiate myself with the builders and learn more about what they were doing, but they turned me away in a most hostile manner. They placed guards around their camp and I could not get close. I was forced to watch their works from this vantage-point.' Kalulu lapsed into silence.

Taita encouraged him with another question. 'What happened after the temple was completed?'; 'The builders and slaves departed. They marched back into the west, the way they had come. They left nine priests to serve in the temple.'

'Only nine?' Taita asked.

'Yes. I became familiar with the appearance of every one of them, at this distance, of course.'

'What makes you believe they were priests?'

'They wore religious habits, red in colour. They conducted rituals of devotion. They made sacrifices and burnt offerings.'

'Describe the rituals.' Taita was listening with great attention. 'Every detail may be important.'

'At noon every day three of the priests descended in procession to the head of the cataract. They drew water in pitchers and carried it to the temple, dancing and exulting in some strange dialect.'

'Not the Tenmass?' Taita demanded.

'No, Magus. I did not recognize it.'

'That is all that happened? Or do you remember anything else? You spoke of sacrifices.'

'They bought black goats and black fowls from us. They were very particular about the colour. They had to be pure black. They took them into the temple. I heard singing, and afterwards I saw smoke and smelt burnt flesh.'

'What else?' Taita insisted.

Kalulu thought for a moment. 'One of the priests died. I do not know why. The other eight carried his body to the lakeside. They laid it naked on the sand. Then they retreated up the slope of the bluff. From there they watched as the crocodiles came out of the lake and dragged it under the waters.' The dwarf made a gesture of finality. 'Within weeks another priest arrived at the temple.'

'Coming from the west again?' Taita hazarded.

'I know not, for I did not see him arrive. One evening there were eight, the next morning there were nine once more.'

'So the number of priests was significant. Nine. The cipher of the Lie.'

Taita mused for a while then asked, 'What happened after that?'

'For more than two years the routine of the priests was maintained.

Then 1 was aware that something of consequence was about to take place. They lit five beacon fires around the temple and kept them burning day and night for many months.'

'Five fires,' Taita said. 'At what positions did they set them?'

I

'.

'There are five stele built into the outer wall. Did you remark them?'

Kalulu asked.

'Yes. They form the points of a great pentagram, the mystical design over which the temple stands.'

'I have never been inside the temple. I know nothing of any pentagram.

I know only that the fires were placed at the five points around the outer wall,' Kalulu told them.

'Was that all that occurred which was untoward?'

'Then another person joined the brotherhood.'

'Another priest?'

'I think not. This person was clad in black, not red. An airy black veil covered the features, so I was unable to tell with any certainty if it was male or female. However, from the shape of the figure beneath the robes and the grace of its movement I thought it might be a woman. She emerged from the temple each morning at sunrise. She prayed before each of the five fires, then returned to the temple precincts.'

'Did you ever see her face?'

'She was always veiled. She moved with an ethereal, haunting grace.

The other priests treated her with the greatest reverence, prostrating themselves before her. She must have been the high priestess of their sect.'

'Did you observe any significant signs in the heavens or in nature while she inhabited the temple?'

'Indeed, Magus, there were many strange celestial signs. On the day I first saw her pray at the temple fires, the evening star reversed its track through the skies. Shortly thereafter another insignificant and unnamed star swelled up into monstrous proportion and was consumed by flames.

During all her tenure in the temple strange lights of many colours danced in the northern night sky. All these omens flew in the face of nature.'

'Do you believe they were the works of the veiled woman?'

'I say only that they occurred when she arrived. It may have been mere happenstance, I do not know.'

'Was that all?' Taita asked.

Kalulu shook his head firmly. 'There was more. Nature seemed plunged into turmoil. Our crops in the field turned yellow and withered. The cattle aborted their calves. The paramount chief of our tribe was bitten by a snake and died almost at once. His senior wife gave birth to a son with two heads.'