The Lost Castle by Michael Pryor Page B

explore the castle,' Adalon said, and looked at his friends. 'Thanks to Simangee, we are safe from the Queen's rage.' He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Without your cleverness, we would never have found this place.'
    Simangee squirmed and smiled. 'Thank Targesh, too. It was his doing that got you out of the dungeon.'
    'Of course.' He turned to Targesh. 'You are our strength, my friend. I thank you.'
    Targesh rumbled happily.
    'But this is just the start of our journey,' Adalon said. 'Now we must do what we can to stop the Queen's mad plans to conquer Krangor.'
    'The three of us against Thraag?' Simangee said.
    Adalon shook his head. 'Not against Thraag. Against Tayesha.'
    Simangee looked downcast. 'We are so few.'
    'We are all we have. We will do what we can and it will be a beginning.'
    * * *
    The Lost Castle was silent and dim. The air was heavy with the weight of centuries. Adalon felt like an intruder as Simangee and he moved through halls, ballrooms, galleries and chambers of unknown purpose. The castle did not seem to resent their presence; Adalon thought it was distant, aloof, patient. It had survived long after the A'ak had disappeared, and he wondered if it would simply go on forever, occupying this place, outlasting the years.
    Adalon admired the cleverness of the builders. They had a way of working with stone and wood so that everything fitted together seamlessly, as if the blocks and beams had simply grown there. He examined joints and was impressed at how they had been made without nails, almost as if the timbers had been encouraged to bind themselves together.
    'How long has it been since this place was abandoned?' he asked Simangee as they entered a huge open area. Stone pillars held up a vast, domed ceiling. They were carved in the likeness of tree trunks, with rough bark and patches of moss.
    'Long before the seven kingdoms were founded,' Simangee whispered. Dust lay thick on the floor, in places higher than their ankles.
    They moved on.
    The furniture the A'ak had left behind had survived the years. Many of the wall-hangings and drapes were still bright and colourful. Adalon was intrigued by a particularly intricate tapestry filling one entire wall of a long narrow room.
    He gazed at the tapestry and then looked around the room, wondering about its purpose. Rows of seats lined the long walls, leaving an empty aisle in the middle. Light poured through windows high in the walls. The columns supporting the ceiling were sheathed in gold and glittered in the sunlight.
    Adalon stood still, admiring the tapestry. It was a scene in this same hall, but the hall was full. Rank on rank of richly dressed nobles, scholars and soldiers were listening to a tall figure. They were a mixture of saur – Long-necked Ones, Toothed Ones, Clawed Ones, Plated Ones and others. The figure standing on the dais was wrapped in cloud and barely an outline could be seen. The image disturbed Adalon in a way that he couldn't quite put his claw on.
    'There,' Simangee said, interrupting his thoughts. 'She stood there.'
    She was pointing to the dais under the tapestry. On the dais was a simple wooden chair. 'That was her throne.'
    'Who?'
    'The Queen of the A'ak.'
    Together, they walked up the long aisle. When they reached the dais, Adalon studied the wooden chair. 'A simple throne.'
    'This hall was where she ruled this kingdom, where the A'ak made their decisions.'
    'But where are they? Where did they go?'
    'Mysteries,' Simangee said, and she stared at the tapestry. 'We are left with mysteries.'

Eighteen
    Room by room, Adalon and Simangee explored. The outside world had not entered the castle, even in rooms where the shutters had been left open, exposing them to the elements. No birds had built nests, no leaves had been blown in. All was quiet and solemn. The dust was the only sign that the castle had not been built yesterday.
    Ballrooms and kitchens, studies and workshops, banquet halls and libraries full of books in the indecipherable A'ak