The room got very quiet after Seeker Eshana made his announcement. Finally Master Rollag asked the obvious question. “Who can read it?”
“I don’t know. What I mean is, I don’t know a specific man or woman. According to all I have been able to find out, members of Høyttaier clan have passed down the knowledge of the ancient tongue, and thus the ability to read the Book of Rules,” stated Seeker Eshana.
“I hear a ‘but’ in that phrase,” suggested Lady Celik.
“In all my and my fellow seekers searching, none of us has ever been able to find a member of the Høyttaier clan. It would seem they were a small clan, and unfortunately those who were left have mysteriously disappeared since the death of the old Queen.”
“I can clear up part of the mystery,” said Elek, with a great deal of grave sadness in his voice. “While I did not witness any of what I am about to tell you, because it happened before I worked my way into the Raven’s group, I have heard stories. Seems the Raven’s rise to power as an enforcer of the Regent’s will has much to do with his earlier assignment to eliminate anyone connected to the Høyttaier clan. I do not think he moved them out of the country, or that they are imprisoned somewhere. My feeling is that the Raven disposed of anyone he suspected of being a Høyttaier, and did so with great relish.”
“We can only hope that he wasn’t completely successful,” suggested Da. “It also suggests that the Regent is both aware the Gylden Sirklene challenge is not just a legend and has set about trying to eliminate its possible completion. Not a good sign.”
“It is disturbing to me that the Regent has had a number of contingency plans in the works, starting much longer ago than the recent troubles,” suggested Lady Celik. “I had heard only faint rumors that members of the Høyttaier clan were disappearing, but then they have always been such a secretive and elusive folk that I was hard pressed to be concerned about them, with so much else happening that demanded immediate action. I can only wish in hindsight that I had paid more attention.”
“Nothing we can do about that now,” Master Rollag suggested. “We can only hope that some of the Høyttaier clan have escaped. Hopefully they are not so hidden that the news of what might come to pass on the third day of the fair has escaped their notice.”
“Let’s move on,” said Lord Hadrack. “Seeker Eshana, the Book of Rules is the second element needed to be available at the time the challenge is called. What else is needed?”
“There are the parts of the oppgave ringe that must be gathered over a year’s time from the date the challenge is called, and they must find their way to the site of the challenge. In addition, each part of the oppgave ringe must be placed in the vessteboks. They must each fit exactly to prove that they are true. There are false parts which have been made, and someone will surely try to pass them off, but the vessteboks will sort out that problem.”
“This is getting more complicated by the minute,” suggested Beezle. “How does one go about finding a vessteboks, whatever that is?”
“Well, first you have to find a ship and a captain who is crazy enough or desperate enough to take you to the Shadow Islands, and then . . .” stated Da completely straight faced, but I knew by the twinkle in his eye and the look on Johan’s face that Da was giving Johan a bit of grief.
“Thar’s what that whole mad trip be all about. Ye risked me life, not to mention me boat, in the Fiske Yates reef for a, a, a . . . well, what the heck it be called again?”
“Vessteboks, and yes, I risked your miserable life and equally miserable boat for it and would do it all again,” said Da. Before Johan could sputter a reply, Da continued. “There are not many in Sommerhjem who would know I knew not only where the vessteboks was hidden, but also that I knew how to retrieve it. Someone who we have trusted in the past may have given the Regent the information, which certainly should explain why I have been someone of great interest to the Regent and his followers.”
“Combined with the Regent’s concerted efforts to remove anyone who might be able to read the Book of Rules, that suggests the Regent did not dismiss the challenge as an old granny’s tale and has had plans in the works to eliminate any element that would be needed if the Gylden Sirklene challenge were called. All the parts and pieces required to call the challenge must be in place in order for the challenge not to be dismissed,” stated Seeker Eshana, who seemed to know a great deal about the Gylden Sirklene challenge.
“The coming together just now, here, of the Book of Rules and the vessteboks, both of which have been hidden or lost for a very long time, combined with what would appear to be the systematic elimination of the Høyttaier clan, certainly supports your conjecture, Seeker Eshana. The Regent must have surmised the calling of the challenge would certainly be a strong option if he tried to continue to rule, and one with enough basis in the history of Sommerhjem to possibly be accepted by the folk,” stated Lord Hadrack.
“It is also a solution that most folk would accept. Since neither the Regent nor I have the solid backing of all the folk, I do not think either one of us dares to risk dividing Sommerhjem and causing either a civil war or the same chaos that arose after the death of my mother,” the Princess said.
“Very wisely put,” Lady Celik said to the Princess, giving her a nod of approval.
“Alright, let me get this straight,” commented Beezle. “Now all we have to do is make sure Kiaya remains safe and out of the Regent’s clutches until third day of the fair, get all of us into the Well of Speaking without being arrested, reveal that Kiaya is the one true heir to the throne and not gravely ill, survive that without being taken by the royal guards, and then have someone call the Gylden Sirklene challenge, produce the vessteboks and the Book of Rules plus somehow find someone to read it, and then all will be well?”
“Not quite,” responded Lord Hadrack.
“That isn’t enough?” Beezle shot back with a half comic, half incredulous look on his face.
“In our study of the Gylden Sirklene challenge,” Lord Hadrack continued, “there was one more element that needed to be present, but I do not understand the reference. In several of the really old texts that I have read, there is a mention that the right time for the Gylden Sirklene challenge to be called would truly be known if one or more of the Neebing blessed walked among us. I have no idea what that means.”
I, unfortunately, had no idea what that meant either, but I had a strong suspicion I personally knew someone who was Neebing blessed. Before I could think more or say anything, Oscar spoke up.
“That might explain the large ingathering of the rovers, especially many of the older ones who don’t often venture from their well-established summer routes.” All eyes, except for Da’s and Bertram’s, looked expectantly towards Oscar. “It is something out of rover lore and tradition, and I really don’t want to say more until I’ve a chance to talk to Shueller.”
Since Oscar could not be budged to reveal more, for which I was thankful, the discussion went on to talk about how to gather any more information and support. In addition, a number of plans were presented and tossed about on how to get the Princess into the Well of Speaking, and what might happen after that. The hour grew later and later, and with no clear plan in place, the group determined to meet again the night of the second day of the fair to give themselves time to gather more information if possible and discretely muster more allies. We left in the small pairs we had arrived in, with the exception of Lord Hadrack and Lady Celik who would remain until midday to return to their quarters in the capitol. Master Rollag and Master Clarisse did not have far to go. They just needed to cross the gardens to the guildhall.
When I was part way back to my homewagon, it occurred to me that Master Clarisse had been unusually quiet, to the point of not saying anything during the whole evening’s discussion. That struck me as particularly odd, but I was much too tired to think about it at the moment. The minute I entered the homewagon, I mumbled a good night to Kiaya and Carz, or more correctly a good morning, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before it was time for the fair day to begin.
As we had hoped, the Captain showed up early at my booth, and I sent Shyla to alert Beezle. He arrived with a basket of morning buns and then proceeded to charm the Captain into going to his booth to check out “the best darn cheese she would ever taste.”
As we had anticipated, the fair was crowded, even for an opening morning, and I was grateful to Mistress Jalcones who arrived at my booth with meat pies and fresh apples at noontime. I had not had a chance to talk to Shueller and hoped to do so once the end of the fair day horn blew. I was glad I had had a chance the day before to see even a little of the fairgrounds, for there was really no chance to leave my booth all day, not that I would have left the Princess’ side at this point. I was amazed by how calm she appeared, sitting under the awning of the booth in the shade, floppy hat pulled down, contentedly knitting as if it were every day that her life was in danger, and she spent it sitting in the middle of her greatest enemy’s territory. It occurred to me that maybe her life had always been in danger, since she had grown up in the Regent’s shadow, so perhaps this was quite a normal day for her after all.
I was more tired than I can remember being by the time I dragged my worn out body back to the homewagon at the end of the fair day. As I pulled myself up the back steps to the homewagon, something seemed off, but I could not immediately figure out what it was. I looked around carefully, but nothing looked amiss. Carz was under the homewagon lounging but not on alert. Folks were setting kettles and pots over cook fires, several of Oscar and Bertram’s children were playing some type of complicated game involving a small ball, strange hand motions, and a great deal of laughter. Tannar was sitting next to Shueller concentrating mightily on some type of fancy stitching Shueller was showing him, and Mistress Jalcones had persuaded her mildly protesting husband to shell peas. It was not until I was inside the homewagon that it struck me what had been different. The green banners that had hung off both Shueller’s and my homewagons were missing.
The missing green banners were not the only thing I needed to talk to Shueller about. I had several other conversations I wanted to have with him also, such as why my homewagon was attracting so much attention. More importantly, just what did it mean to be Neebing blessed, and why do folks keep telling me I am? I did have an opportunity to ask him to find some time to talk to me as I served him dinner, for he had joined our group. I was stuck on clean up duty, so it was not until after the dishes were done and the evening chores finished that I had a chance to sit down with him. Fortunately for me, the rest of the group and others from nearby wagons were being entertained by an impromptu gathering of musicians who were fiddling up some very lively tunes.
I approached Shueller, who was sitting on the back steps of his homewagon. “May I join you?” I asked.
“Please, grab a step and keep an old man company,” Shueller answered. “You look like someone who has a head full of questions.”
I was a bit startled that I was so easy to read, but then maybe it was not me so much, but that Shueller was just a good reader. I thought I would start out with the question which was least on my mind and work my way up.
“I noticed that the green banner you hung off the back of your homewagon is missing, as is mine. Do you know what happened to them? Did someone have a great need for green material?” I said, trying to keep the moment light.
“I had Tannar take them down. Your homewagon was attracting too much attention without the added notice the green banner would attract, and my homewagon is right next to yours. Too many eyes looking our way.”
Shueller’s reply was not what I had expected, and it created more questions than answers. I was about to ask another when he continued.
“The green banner has always been a signal to a small group of folk who have, shall we say, been useful to the Crown in a discreet way. While it would have been a signal to others who might have casually stopped by to exchange information, attracting any more attention than need be to the homewagon that Kiaya is staying in, in retrospect, seemed at best foolhardy. I was also concerned that folk, other than those who should be stopping by, knew of the meaning of the green banner and would approach you. I thought we had better be more safe than sorry.”
That certainly made sense to me, so I went for the next question on my list. “Why are so many folks interested in my homewagon?”
“Because you have painted your homewagon in the old designs, and word has gotten out among the rovers, especially the older rovers like me who understand the significance of the designs on your homewagon,” Shueller answered.
Now I was really confused. What was he talking about?
Seeing my obvious confusion, Shueller continued. “Fashion comes and goes, and new ways often replace the old, but some traditions have certain significance attached to them. The keepers of the stories of the rover clans tell one in which when the Neebing patterns come around again to grace the land, then great change is on the wind, and one or more Neebing blessed will arise.”
I was just about to ask about this Neebing blessed business when Carz, who had been lying quietly at my feet, suddenly rose, hackles standing straight up, and growled a warning.