The Time Travelers' Club -- Chapter 118: Let Them Rest

Sam lay on his back. A flash of light almost blinded Sam, but he was quick to put up his arms over his face.  After it subsided, he saw Tinean flat against the invisible shield.  He was on fire.  His head looked like a ball of flames. Sam gasped in horror as he watched the clothing burn off Tinean's body.  Finally, Tinean's burnt carcass sled down and fell backwards into the pool.

Sam got up. He saw Rose looking horrified at first, realizing that whatever she was seeing wasn't Sam.  He could see her looking around for something.

"Rose, it's me," yelled Sam.  "I'm OK."   She couldn't hear or see him.

Letting out a big sigh of relief, he knew he was safe.  He reached down and picked up the bag.

"It's time for me to do my quest,” said Sam proudly.

After a look around helped him get his bearings, Sam followed the dark passageway away from the entrance. He could hear the echoing of water slowly dripping from somewhere. It was the only sound that broke the silence.  He felt his way along the smooth stone wall.  His eyes gradually adjusted to the low light until a soft glare from somewhere ahead helped brighten the way.  Sam realized that he was at the end of the short passageway.

An opening in the wall led to a rounded chamber. In naturally formed crevices in the wall, bluish-white orbs in old metal lanterns sat shining bright, illuminating the whole room.  Sam felt a moment of exhilaration. This was the place where his ancestor had taken the scroll.   The scroll that led to a book.  And now, his own adventure.

"Look at this place." The chamber wasn't large, but Sam was awed by what he saw.  He turned to look at one of the lanterns.

"How do these last?"  Sam tried to stare into one of the orbs but couldn't.  "Isn't there an incantation that you have to use?"   Sam reached up to tap on the metal lantern.  When his finger got close, the orb swelled and spit out sparks as if to say "don't touch me."  He yanked his finger back and the orb returned to its normal size.

Sam walked around in a daze.  There were various-sized niches chiseled into the stone walls.  Each had something sitting in it.  A glass box held what looked like scrolls. Worn books bound in leather. A crystal ball perched on a brass stand.  Crudely made canisters with dusty labels. A wooden chest with hand-forged wrought-iron straps sat on a slab of stone in one corner.  All looked like they had been carefully placed in their spots.

In one niche several scrolls were stacked filling the entire space.  Their ends partially stuck out.  Sam pulled out the top scroll from its resting place, not noticing another piece of paper had fallen to his feet.   The heavy parchment paper he held rolled open easily to expose its secret.  Sam recognized the outline of Europe.  All he could read was a date of 1211.  Someone had written notes along the edges.  He found one in English that he could read.

“Trees of gold.  Ruins in the valley.  Leading to the resting place of Iordanus is a brass plate with the inscription.”  Sam didn’t understand what it meant, but he knew the name.  Someone had drawn an arrow from the words to a mountainous area in the center of the map. Sam rolled the map back and returned it to its proper place on the stack.

Sam looked down and saw the paper at his feet.  Picking up the brown paper, he saw that it looked like part of a map.  A line started on the left side and ran to the far side of the paper.  He couldn't read any of the words at the bottom.  He did recognize two of them -- Tempos Servos.  At the top right corner was a strange symbol, almost faded.  Holding it up to put light behind it, he could see it clearly.  It looked like some kind of compass with moons, stars, and letters.

"Hmmm... I wonder what that could be.  Oh well, now's not a good time." He tucked the paper along the side of the scrolls.

Moving on, Sam spotted a gold jeweled box sitting in one of the upper crevices.    He stood on his tiptoes to grab it.   It wasn't heavy despite all the jewels.  As he lifted the lid, an odor of black licorice mixed with something else hit his nose.  Inside were small yellow and brownish rocks. In the box lid, someone has written a note, but he could only make out "myrrh," "manger," and "traced to France."  He closed the lid and put the box back in its place.

As he started to reach for a small leather-bound book with gold inlay, he stopped himself.

"You have a mission."  Sam said to himself.  “You have to place the books here.  That’s your mission.” Sam fumbled with his bag and pulled out the four books.   Looking around he saw an empty crevice.  He walked over and tried to place the books upright, but they tumbled over.

“Well, I guess you will have to be stacked.  I can’t get you to stand like proper books should.”  Sam neatly stacked them.  As he went to place the last one on top, he held it.  He ran his hands over the leather binding.

“These are the books that have all the answers.  I could keep this one.  No one would ever have to know that I kept it.”  Sam gazed at the book, before opening it and turning a few pages.  The incantations fascinated him.  He stumbled on the one that turned rocks to gold.  He saw one that was for reading people's thoughts.  Another was titled "to reveal secrets."

Sam closed it and ran his hands over the binding again.  "So much to learn. I could.  I really could keep this copy."  He shut his eyes and stood silent for a moment.  He pretended he was the greatest member of the Time Travelers Club.  The head of the International Council.  He fantasized that he was addressing the Club members.  He looked around at them and...  Mrs. Steers.  She was standing front and center.  His eyes flew open.

Without thinking or saying anything else, he put the book on the stack.  "Someday I can come back here.  I can read it."

Sam stepped back and marveled at the collection.  "I can come back and learn all the secrets this room holds.  And Mrs. Steers can help me learn everything I need to know.  And Rose.  And Xavier. And Ari.  And everyone else."

Turning, he headed back through the passageway back to the opening.  He wondered for a moment if he just stepped right through it or if there were some words he had to say.