The next day, the whole royal family followed Thomas down to the chamber. They were amazed to find that the whole area was lit up by the grove, as if sunlight was coming from the grove.
“Well Thomas, it appears to be just as you say,” said King Carlyle.
“And you say they all disappeared into that grove?” asked Queen Benevois.
“Yes. But before they did, Robert was trying to reach into that grove. He said he could hear the voice of his father.”
“Midor?” asked Vivian. “I haven’t seen Midor in years.”
King Carlyle frowned, but he chose to ignore that statement. “I’m going to reach into the grove,” he said.
“Be careful not to step into it,” said Thomas. “Actually, let me reach into it. You hold my arm. That’s what they were trying to do before Talon came.”
“Be careful Thomas,” said Charlotte. “Make sure you hold him tight, King Carlyle.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve got him firmly,” said King Carlyle.
“This whole thing doesn’t make any sense,” said Rufus. “Why would Talon attack them? He’s been a loyal member of this castle for years. There must be some misunderstanding.”
************************************************************************
They could hear the voices from the grove. They tried to shout back to Thomas and King Carlyle, and tell them what to do. But it was no use. “It’s as I’ve suspected,” said Midor. “There must be some sort of spell that blocks their hearing.”
“Eventually, they saw Thomas’s hand come through. It appeared first as just a hand hanging in the air. Then they saw his body start to emerge. Eventually all of him came through except for his left hand. His left hand was being held back by someone they couldn’t see.
“Grace? Henry? Robert? John? Are you there? I can’t see you.”
“The spell,” said Midor. “He still can’t see or hear anything from the grove.” Thomas started to look confused, and Midor said, “We have to act fast before he leaves, and we lose our chance.” Midor ran up and grabbed Thomas’s hand. Thomas yelled in surprise, and jumped back. Midor kept a tight grip on Thomas hand, and was pulled back with him. As Midor was pulled out of the grove, all of the people sitting in the grove were able to suddenly see the underground chamber. They were back in the room again.
“The spell’s been broken,” said Midor. “All it took was for one of us to get pulled back into the chamber, and the whole enchantment came undone.”
Those who had been in the grove could now see the chamber again, and those who were in the chamber could see everyone who was sitting in the grove. There was a great deal of happy confusion as everyone greeted each other.
Vivian looked at Midor, but then looked away again embarrassed. “Vivian!” Midor said. “I’ve been trying to see you for years now. I come up to the castle once a year, but they always turn me away.”
Vivian started to cry. “I know,” she said. “But we cannot be together. I have my duties as a princess. That’s why I had to leave in the first place.”
At this point, King Carlyle started to lose his patience. “Midor, what are you doing here? I told you never to come back to these lands. And why is Talon tied up? Untie my sorcerer!”
“Your highness, with respect, I believe Talon has not been honest with you,” said Midor. “I believe it would be dangerous to untie him now.”
“You what?” King Carlyle turned to his sons. “Untie Talon immediately!” George and Rufus ran forward and unbound the ropes around Talon, and took the gag out of his mouth. Midor did not try to stop them.
“Talon, what has Midor done to you?” asked King Carlyle.
“Midor is right, my king,” said Talon. “I haven’t been completely honest with you. And now there is something very important I need to tell you. The monsters have never disappeared from this forest.”
“Nonsense,” said King Carlyle. “There haven’t been any monsters here for hundreds of years.”
“For hundreds of years,” said Talon, “Sorcerers have been sending the monsters to another realm. You can see it here now.”
Indeed, they could all see the grove. And King Carlyle and the rest noticed that now they could not only see the grove, but see the land far beyond it--the flat grasslands extending beyond the grove. It seemed to go on for miles.
“What is this place?” asked Jason.
“This,” said Talon, “Is another realm. It was created by magic, and until now, only magic could send someone there. But once someone had been sent to the other realm, no amount of magic could bring them back.”
“But we brought them back,” said Thomas. “I did. I pulled Midor back with me, and the rest followed.”
“You brought them back,” said Talon, “But that wasn’t magic. The spell was specifically designed to only send creatures one way. They couldn’t be brought back by spells or magic, but there was nothing to stop you from pulling them back. But once something has been pulled back through the entrance, then the magic is broken, and all the monsters will be free. Now, I cannot stop them from coming into the forest.”
“Talon, I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying,” said King Carlyle. “There are no monsters anywhere in the forest. Our ancestors got rid of them hundreds of years ago.”
“According to the history books,” said Jason, “the monsters mysteriously disappeared hundreds of years ago. It was as much a mystery to our ancestors as it is today. But whatever happened, they didn’t kill off all the monsters.”
“It was the sorcerer's guild,” said Talon. The sorcerer's guild imprisoned all the monsters, and the secret has been kept within the guild.”
“What?” said King Carlyle. “Why did you never tell me?”
“I was sworn to secrecy when I entered the sorcerer's guild,” said Talon. “It was decided hundreds of years ago that this needed to be a secret kept only within the guild. If word got out, people might get curious and start investigating. And if people started investigating, the spell might get broken. And now the spell is broken.”
“I still don’t understand,” said King Carlyle. “How can the spell be broken? I see no monsters.”
“They’re out in those grasses,” said Midor. “Trust me. And they are terrible and frightening to behold. They probably haven’t realized that the magic is broken, and that they can enter the grove now. It may take them a few days to figure that out. But if they ever get loose in this forest, then we are all in trouble. They are the most terrible creatures you can imagine.”
“Well, then, seal the realm up at once,” said King Carlyle. “Put the spell back.”
Talon turned to King Carlyle, his face looked scared. “I cannot,” he said. “It is not within my power. The spell is hundreds of years old, and was made by the guild. No living sorcerer today was alive when the spell was cast. Maybe, if I contacted the guild, they could try to recreate the spell, but I couldn’t do it by myself.”
“How long will it take to contact the guild?” asked King Carlyle.
“I’ll send a raven tonight. I should have the answer back within the week,” said Talon.
“Right,” said King Carlyle. “In the meantime what can we do?”
“There’s very little we can do,” said Talon. “We can try to cover up the entrance to this chamber. We can try to secure it with rocks. But I fear it will not hold against the monsters for long. They are too strong. We must prepare for the monsters to come.”
“All of our training might come in useful after all,” said Thomas.
“Okay,” said King Carlyle. “Do what Talon said. Let’s demolish this chamber, and try to make sure nothing ever gets out of here. I’ll send workmen and guards over here.”
“My soldiers can help,” said General Graten. “I’ll start going house to house to ask them.”
“Talon, you’re in charge here,” said King Carlyle. “I’ll instruct all the workers and soldiers to do as you say.”
King Carlyle turned to walk back to the castle. Midor ran up to talk to him. “My King,” he said, “I would not trust Talon. It was Talon who imprisoned me in that realm with the monsters.”
“Away with you Midor,” said King Carlyle. “You are forbidden in this land.”
“But Talon also attempted to imprison my son, your grandson, in the same land,” said Midor.
“So you say!”
“My King, you saw your grandson emerge from the realm, did you not? Believe me, it was Talon who put him there.”
“Midor, you do not have permission to speak to me,” said King Carlyle. “Nor do you have my permission to enter the castle. By your own report, it will probably be several days before the monsters realize they can leave their realm. If I were you, I would use those days to get as far away from here as possible. Because you will not be able to shelter in my castle if the monsters come.”
“My King, I have always been a loyal subject. Why do you hate me so much?”
“Loyal? I told you years ago to stay away from my daughter. How did you show that loyalty? Begone. If you have anything further to say to me, address it to a messenger at the castle walls.”
So saying, King Carlyle stormed into the castle, leaving Midor outside the castle walls.
But once inside the castle, King Carlyle immediately went into a private room with his sons George and Rufus. He then asked for Talon to be brought into the private room. “Talon, is what Midor said true? Did you imprison him in the realm with the monsters?”
“I had no choice,” said Talon. “Midor was seeking to rescue a young bear who had stumbled into the realm. If Midor had succeeded in pulling that bear out of the realm, then the spell would have been broken.”
“The spell is broken now anyway,” said King Carlyle.
Talon nodded. “It appears I have failed. Nevertheless, I bought us a year at least. Midor was snooping around your Kingdom even though you had banished him several times. I assumed he was no longer under your protection.”
“What about my grandson, Robert? You put him in that realm as well.”
“I did,” said Talon. “But he was never really one of the family. He didn’t grow up with the rest of us. And you, my King, love him as the son of Vivian, but you hate him as the son of Midor.”
“My grandson is not to be harmed. Ever!” said King Carlyle. “As for Midor, I forbid you to harm him. I’ll not have his blood on our hands. But I also forbid you to help him. If he doesn’t get out of this forest before the monsters get out, it will be his own fault.”
Talon bowed.
“I’m also not happy that this realm with the monsters in it was kept a secret from me,” said King Carlyle. “But for that, I suppose I will take it up with the sorcerer's guild. It sounds like you were only following their orders. Do you have any other secrets you are keeping from me?”
Talon smiled. “That, as well, you would have to take up with the sorcerer's guild,” he said.
King Carlyle grunted. “Hmmm. I guess I will then. Okay Talon, I won’t waste any more of your time. You can get back to supervising the work of sealing off the chamber.”
After Talon left, King Carlyle turned to George and Rufus. “We can’t forgive him for what he attempted to do to Robert,” said King Carlyle. “But we’ll deal with him and his treachery later. At the moment, we need him. If anything were to happen to him now, it would be a disaster. He’s the only one who can control the spirits, and he’s our only hope of getting the chamber sealed up.”
“He’s served us loyally for many years,” said George. “And he’s dined at our table. He was practically one of the family.”
“I am just as grieved as you are,” said King Carlyle. “I loved him as well. He was bitter and a curmudgeon, but he was a part of our household for many years, and I loved him in my own way. We won’t harm him, but we can never trust him again.”
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