"But," Gideon added, "with so many temples having been built, it's possible that we can
find one containing a viable Talisman."
"Where do we look?" Judge Zeesrom asked.
"Everywhere," Gideon answered. "But more specifically we must discover and search any
ruins known to have been from the Old World. I know it's a long shot, but if we are to find a lost
Temple of Elderon, it will be in those places."
"May I see the Blood Orb?" Salamus Pryderi asked, and his glowing image leaned
forward.
Jase handed the Talisman to Gideon, and it was passed down the table to Talia who held
it before Pryderi's semi-transparent face. "I have seen its like," he said, and Jase felt his heart
skip a beat.
Gideon's face was bright with excitement. "Where?"
Pryderi looked up. "Two months ago some ruins were discovered by one of our logging
companies harvesting trees in the Callisar Mountains forty miles southwest of Thesston. I
ordered the logging put on hold until our archeologists could determine what they had found. I
journeyed there myself last week when they finally managed to open a door to a chamber on the
upper floor of the largest structure. It contains an altar of crystal." He glanced back at the
Talisman. "And inside the altar is an orb of gold about that size."
"Word from the south," Gideon said, and the tone of reverence in his voice was so
profound that Jase looked at him in surprise. So did everyone else. The Dymas ignored them all.
His eyes, glittering with conviction, remained fastened on Pryderi. "Who else knows of this?" he
asked.
"In addition to the loggers... a handful of archeologists, a few warders assigned to guard
the place, and a handful of politicians who drew up the legislation to have it protected."
"A worthwhile cause," Gideon told him. "Because it seems you've found a lost Temple
of Elderon."
|
|
