heads, dozens, then hundreds of fireflies were swirling around. They descended suddenly toward Beorf and gathered inside the big glass lamp he was holding in his hand. This was how light filled the underground room, which was in fact a library.
The four walls were covered with books. Tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones—there were books everywhere. A large desk and a comfortable chair occupied the center of the room. In one corner lay a heap of hay and some blankets to be used as a bed. Beorf went up the ladder to close the trapdoor.
“This hiding place is safe—no one will find us here,” he said. “Welcome to my father’s lair. He was a fanatical reader. Always studying. You’ll find books on everything. Some are written in strange languages that I can’t understand. Feel free to look at them. As for me, I’m dead tired and I’m going tosleep. If you want the fireflies to turn off their lights, you just have to grunt three times. Good night, Amos.”
Beorf had barely lain down on the floor before he started snoring. Amos walked around the room, looking at the books. There must have been more than a thousand. Some were old and dusty; others seemed more recent. Amos noticed that one book was sticking out from one of the shelves. It was an old book, transcribed by hand; its title was
Al-Qatrum, the Territories of Darkness
. Amos took it, sat down at the desk of Beorf’s dead father, and started to read.
The book talked about a region located on the Hyperborean border, a world hidden in the earth’s belly, where the sun never shines. It was the lair of the creatures of night, the birthplace of a race of monsters who had dispersed on the earth’s surface.
To his great surprise, Amos came across a drawing representing the exact creatures Beorf had described at the inn. They were called gorgons. Their origins seemed to date far back in time. Long ago, Princess Medusa, a lovely young woman, had ruled over one of the islands of the Hyperborean great sea. Her beauty was such that Phorcys, the god of the waters, had fallen madly in love with her. Ceto, Phorcys’s sister, wanted to keep her brother’s love for herself and transformed Medusa into a repulsive and dangerous creature. To be sure that Phorcys would never meet Medusa’s gaze again, she gave the princess the power to transform into stone any living being that looked into her eyes. Each time one of Medusa’s snake-hairs bit her, the drop of blood that fell onthe ground immediately became a snake that years later would change into a gorgon. It seemed that Medusa’s beautiful island still existed and was inhabited by stone statues.
Amos closed the book. Now that he knew the history of these monsters, he had to find the reason why they were attacking villagers within the realm of the Knights of Light. No doubt Beorf’s father had been trying to clear up this mystery before his death. If the book had not been put back in its proper place, it was probably because he had looked at it recently. Searching the desk drawer, Amos discovered Mr. Bromanson’s notes. On a sheet of paper, he saw a drawing of the skull pendant worn by Yaune the Purifier. Wishing to further his research, Amos continued to read.
According to Beorf’s father, Yaune the Purifier had stolen this sacred relic in his youth. At that time, he was called Yaune the Agitator. In a faraway land, he had attacked a village of sorcerers with his knights and had stolen this valuable object of black magic from a sacred temple. The pendant belonged to a cruel magician of darkness, who had been looking for it ever since. Only one of the Knights of Light had returned safe and sound to Bratel-la-Grande—none other than Yaune. He had set out as Yaune the Agitator and had been renamed Yaune the Purifier after boasting that he had vanquished all his enemies. As Yaune the Purifier, he had also been designated lord and ruler of the capital.
Everything is clear
, Amos thought.
Barthelemy’s father
The four walls were covered with books. Tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones—there were books everywhere. A large desk and a comfortable chair occupied the center of the room. In one corner lay a heap of hay and some blankets to be used as a bed. Beorf went up the ladder to close the trapdoor.
“This hiding place is safe—no one will find us here,” he said. “Welcome to my father’s lair. He was a fanatical reader. Always studying. You’ll find books on everything. Some are written in strange languages that I can’t understand. Feel free to look at them. As for me, I’m dead tired and I’m going tosleep. If you want the fireflies to turn off their lights, you just have to grunt three times. Good night, Amos.”
Beorf had barely lain down on the floor before he started snoring. Amos walked around the room, looking at the books. There must have been more than a thousand. Some were old and dusty; others seemed more recent. Amos noticed that one book was sticking out from one of the shelves. It was an old book, transcribed by hand; its title was
Al-Qatrum, the Territories of Darkness
. Amos took it, sat down at the desk of Beorf’s dead father, and started to read.
The book talked about a region located on the Hyperborean border, a world hidden in the earth’s belly, where the sun never shines. It was the lair of the creatures of night, the birthplace of a race of monsters who had dispersed on the earth’s surface.
To his great surprise, Amos came across a drawing representing the exact creatures Beorf had described at the inn. They were called gorgons. Their origins seemed to date far back in time. Long ago, Princess Medusa, a lovely young woman, had ruled over one of the islands of the Hyperborean great sea. Her beauty was such that Phorcys, the god of the waters, had fallen madly in love with her. Ceto, Phorcys’s sister, wanted to keep her brother’s love for herself and transformed Medusa into a repulsive and dangerous creature. To be sure that Phorcys would never meet Medusa’s gaze again, she gave the princess the power to transform into stone any living being that looked into her eyes. Each time one of Medusa’s snake-hairs bit her, the drop of blood that fell onthe ground immediately became a snake that years later would change into a gorgon. It seemed that Medusa’s beautiful island still existed and was inhabited by stone statues.
Amos closed the book. Now that he knew the history of these monsters, he had to find the reason why they were attacking villagers within the realm of the Knights of Light. No doubt Beorf’s father had been trying to clear up this mystery before his death. If the book had not been put back in its proper place, it was probably because he had looked at it recently. Searching the desk drawer, Amos discovered Mr. Bromanson’s notes. On a sheet of paper, he saw a drawing of the skull pendant worn by Yaune the Purifier. Wishing to further his research, Amos continued to read.
According to Beorf’s father, Yaune the Purifier had stolen this sacred relic in his youth. At that time, he was called Yaune the Agitator. In a faraway land, he had attacked a village of sorcerers with his knights and had stolen this valuable object of black magic from a sacred temple. The pendant belonged to a cruel magician of darkness, who had been looking for it ever since. Only one of the Knights of Light had returned safe and sound to Bratel-la-Grande—none other than Yaune. He had set out as Yaune the Agitator and had been renamed Yaune the Purifier after boasting that he had vanquished all his enemies. As Yaune the Purifier, he had also been designated lord and ruler of the capital.
Everything is clear
, Amos thought.
Barthelemy’s father
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