Two days after returning home, in the middle of the week, a young boy came knocking at Farin's home. Barely eleven or twelve years, with a too large robe, he stared up at the northern woman that opened the door with wide eyes, fidgeting.
Farin's mother waited patiently until the little orphan managed to explain that the temple master had sent him with a message for Farin and whether he could come inside for a moment, because the temple master had said that the message had to be told directly and while he doesn't want to be rude he can't disobey that although he's really sorry to disturb and-
He was let in.
Cookies and some tea - as well as some soothing praise - had helped to coax the boy enough for him to stop stuttering as he stood in front of the carrier, back straight and stiff. Farin tried his best to look gentle and not like a person with authority.
"I-I apologize for disturbing you in your free time! The temple master said, uh, told me to come down here because he said-" He stopped talking for a moment, ordered his thoughts and then began anew with his high, boyish voice. The small face was scrunched with tension. "Uhm, the temple master asks for you to come up sooner than usual because he has something important to discuss with you. He said that unless something very urgent is keeping you here, you should please come up immediately."
Farin patted the boy's head, curtly praising him for delivering the message. "Well done. Sit down and eat something, I'll be getting my things. Since it's urgent, I'll be coming right up with you."
The boy nodded his head up and down like a little chicken, staring at the snacks on the table with unhidden delight. Watching the boy getting completely distracted by food, the carrier quietly left the room, walking right into his worried parents.
"Why would the temple master call you up so suddenly?", his father's dark voice asked. With a frown on his face, he looked like a bandit. His wife placed her hand on his arm, taking a realistic approach.
"He sent a young boy down here and offered Farin the possibility of rejecting. It shouldn't be something that is bad for Farin." To that, her son gave a sound in agreement. "Although the brats will be unhappy to see you leave sooner..."
"They're all out right now. I'll leave immediately, that way they won't be able to hang onto me. I'll be back in a few days again, anyway."
With the short discussion finished, Farin went up into his room to change into his carrier's robes and to fetch a small bag with some things he liked having around. "Mom, can you tell Eylir and Skari for me? They won't be home right now, so I can't tell them myself." "Of course. You just hurry up the mountain."
Two quick hugs of parting, then he went to call the small boy still munching on cookies. The orphan jumped down the chair, then obediently stuck to Farin's side as they made their way to the eastern edge of the village, where a steep slope was leading up the mountain. Some parts even had stairs, where walking would be too hard otherwise.
This really is the worst part. If he had one complaint about being a carrier, this was it. Two full hours of just walking upwards. With the thick trees surrounding the path all the way up to the cliffside of the mountaintop, the temple peeking through was terribly far away. Two hours of walking weren't even that long, actually, but stairs could turn any walk into something tedious.
Worried, Farin glanced at the small boy at his side. Some years in the temple had given him a rounder look, but he still looked a bit too small and thin for someone his age. The young man was slightly doubting his ability to make it up the mountain.
"Can you do it?" "I can! I've been up and down several times already!" The boy puffed up his chest in pride, earning a tiny smile from Farin. Slowly they forced themselves to walk, the minutes stretching endlessly until the road turned less steep and lanterns were appearing at the side, not yet lit up in the afternoon sun. Through the gate and past the guards, Farin walked towards the main building where he was already being expected.
"There you are. Well done, girl. Go and get yourself lunch", the old master said, first to Farin and then to the fidgety child beaming at his side. The boy... ah, no, girl ran off with a spring in her steps, proud to have helped the temple master.
Wordlessly, Farin followed the old man into the building, up another set of stairs into his private room. Two guards stood on each side, not reacting at all when the two of them entered. Farin glanced at their spears, then at the thick door. It made a dull noise when it fell close behind him.
With a wave of his hand, the temple master invited Farin to sit in front of him, not mincing his words as soon as he did.
"I need to go to the capital." His voice was calm but grave. "It's nothing too bad, but the current crown prince is insisting on me attending his wedding for blessings. I could reject it, but I'd rather not unnecessarily tense up the relationship between us."
"I understand. The temple needs the royalty's support, after all. How can I help in this matter?"
The next words stunned Farin. "As you know, I'm already raising my heir. He is older than you and can take over most of the urgent duties while I'm away, but there's one I don't want to give to him yet. After contemplating, I came to the conclusion that you doing it is a benefit for both of us."
Suddenly, he began to undo his clothes. Were he another man, Farin would have been wary inside this locked room, but his trust for the temple master was strong enough. If the other was stripping down, he probably had a good reason. Waiting, he watched as the old man took off the upper half of his clothes, revealing something akin to a chain mail made of two separate layers. In between those layers, something golden was glimmering through.
The old man carefully took the thing out, revealing.... a weird looking, metallic something that he placed on the table between them.
Farin frowned, although his feelings told him he already knew what it was.
"Except for the temple master and the carrier, no one ever goes up to the door. Except for the temple master, no one even knows how to open it. That's why I am the one to put on your blindfold, and only then do I open the door. In fact, acting like there is some kind of complicated mechanism that only I know is a lie. This key here is all that's needed."
He poked the object on the table, sighing. "I will send my boy to the door with you, but I'll order him to wait farther away. There is a reason why only the temple master has knowledge about everything. Do you know why?"
The youth in front of him gave a hesitant nod. "Everyone thinks that Master and carrier are needed to open the door. The carrier knows that only the Master is needed, and going by the sounds believes that the lock is some larger mechanism." That much was the knowledge he already had. "If you gave the key to your heir, the situation would stay the same. By giving it to me... The heir would think that it is the carrier opening the door, and the master only comes along to watch? He wouldn't know that you're keeping anything from him just yet. If he was caught then he wouldn't have any sort of info, but someone going that far would already know from old carriers that they can't open the door. The confusion would give us time."
The master gave a satisfied nod. "Correct. Right now, I'm more willing to entrust this to you. I've thought about it, and trying to control you might only force you to do much riskier things." He held the younger man's stare, squinting his eyes. "You are not the first to do what you are doing right now, Farin. I'd rather you not, but maybe this is fate. Just be careful, no matter what you do."
Farin's jaw dropped.
I am not the first one to- what?! Does he know I met a God? He didn't dare ask, but merely let his eyes drop to the key. With the words his master said added to this situation, he was basically given the permission to enter the mountain out of order. Surprisingly, more than wanting to go, right now he just had the desire to shake the old master and ask for an explanation.
Knowing he couldn't do that, he just ended up staring blankly for seconds until his master's voice pulled him out of the daze.
"There's another chain mail that should be your size inside that wardrobe over there. Put it on before you leave and never take it off, not even when washing. It's not sensitive to water. Only when I'm back in hopefully two weeks can you give it back to me, do you understand?" "That means I will be taking the key down the mountain?" "I'm sorry. You will have to stay up here."
The disappointment was showing on Farin's face, but the master knew how to lighten his mood. "The little brat that I sent down to call you, Lori, will be to your beck and call. If you want to see your friends or family, send her down the mountain. I'll allow it this once."
"I thought she was a boy at first..." "No surprise, she prefers it that way. Makes it easier to get along with the other children, since she's the only girl of the batch. If she behaves as unrestrained as she usually does, they play with her more, but it makes her seem like a little boy."
Farin stood up, going to the wardrobe and taking out the chain mail while continuing the conversation. It was surprisingly light, not uncomfortable at all on his skin. With the way it was built, the key looked like it was a mere ornament keeping the two layers together. Even if someone saw him wearing it, it was unlikely they'd recognize the meaning and just think he was protecting himself.
"When are you leaving?"
"Since you're here already, right now. Ives is informed, you will be seeing him around. He is easily recognizable since he will be wearing my robes for the time being." The old man cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow at Farin. "If you go inside the mountain at... unusual times, go around the forest. Just say I had some tasks for you to do. Also, when you enter the door, close it behind you. It'll look closed from the outside, but it can be opened from the inside without problems. Don't let anyone see you."
Farin nodded repeatedly, looking like an obedient child. "I will, Master. Thank you."
The old man smiled wryly and waved his hand. "Off with you. Goodbye, Farin. I will be seeing you in a few weeks."
"Goodbye, Master."
The guards only glanced at him when he came out of the door before staring straight forward again. Those men had been trained to be nothing but guards ever since they were children, making them look more like moving puppets in armor and uniform rather than humans, truthfully creeping Farin out a bit. With a shiver, he hurried down the stairs and outside. He still had to bring his bag into his room.
'I need to do something on the master's order' was a beautifully convenient excuse for wandering around and Farin used it to the fullest. For two days, nearing the weekend, he kept on wandering around in the forest, often taking out bags and returning without them or bringing back different things hidden in the bags. No one questioned his behavior, allowing him to wander wherever he wished. In these hours, the people had already gotten used to him walking around everywhere.
When he felt that his movements had become common for them, he took a large bag in which he had packed the things from home and walked out, curtly informing Ives that he would be gone again. He took a long route on purpose, circling around the temple and forcing himself through the forest for a long time before taking the path to the door. The evening sun was drawing shadows on the ground, dying the large door in reddish tones.
With a deep breath to steady himself, Farin took his time to inspect the door and lock closely for the first time. Numerous small parts were interlocking with each other, cogwheels and indentations covering the central part. Had Farin not known what the key looked like, he wouldn't have been able to figure out where to use it. Off to the right side, beneath what looked like half a clockwork, the indentation for the key was placed. All around it were movable parts, creating the image of the door not using a key but a certain order of moving or pushing to unlock it.
The familiar grinding and growling sounded when Farin pushed the key in - it didn't even need to be turned or anything - and a loud, dark click signified the opening of the door. Pushing at it with all his strength, a gap opened, large enough for Farin to slip through.
With his bag in hand, he hurried inside, pushing the door close again.
Darkness descended on him. There was no lantern or other light sources in the cave path and almost absolute silence. Farin could hear himself breathe. Blindly reaching into his bag, Farin took out a lightly glowing stone. The material would absorb daylight over hours and, in turn, give off a dim glow in the darkness. It wasn't much, but enough so that Farin would be able to take a glance at the inside of the door. He didn't want to be locked in permanently, after all.
Satisfied at being able to see his surroundings even just a little bit, he packed the gem back into his bag - a bag full of food, since he wanted to see whether the Alvarr would like any of it. With his left hand, he tugged the bag to his chest, his right touching the cold stone wall.
In the darkness of the cave path, he slowly edged forward.
Thanks for the chapter
We don't need to keep up with Mc daily. Just write about 2 days a week with occasional side story between.
Well of course I could do that, but I dont want this story to be purely about the two main characters :) the pacing is fast enough as it is, for my taste, and there are more timeskips to come