The Legacy of Mount Drood

Chapter 2

Decades passed, and true to his promise, Aaron kept the Key hidden safely away, never surrendering to its seductive spell. He also kept a journal, a journal documenting the whereabouts of two families that fled Balfour's kingdom at the same time as he did, and Aaron knew that both families carried away their ration of stones.

When he was an old man and unable to manage for himself any more, he called his eldest son to his bedside and told him the story of the mines of Drood and of the oath he took for his king; a task he was now passing on to his son. Years went by; generations grew old and passed away, each providing one member to perpetuate the guardianship of the Key.

With each new guardian, new clues were added to the mystery of the stones and to Aaron Pennistyle's original journal. And although none had been seen since the last days of King Balfour, there was a growing consensus that with the knowledge gained over the centuries, the owners of the stones might try to use them once again.

Rumours abounded about treasure hunters searching in vain for the mine in the Drood Mountains, now almost entirely overgrown with ugly dying and twisted vegetation, hoping to find the fabled magic stones.

Eventually, it happened that the responsibility of the oath taken by his great, great grandfather fell to Harkham Pennistyle, Jep's father.

*****

The hamlet wherein the Pennistyle family dwelt was nestled in a lush valley at the foot of the Troppus Mountain, a tall, rugged, snow-capped peak in the Kingdom of Graf. The King of Graf, Hugh, was a kindly, fair and generous ruler, loved by all his people, a generally content and happy lot— but his much younger wife, Queen Hella, was just the opposite; she was jealous, cruel, and above all, greedy.

Everything Queen Hella saw, she wanted, and she made certain that everything she wanted, she saw. The union of King Hugh and Hella was one not of romance, love or even mutual attraction; it was a pact of convenience and indebtedness.

King Hugh's father was the fourth cousin of Balfour the Mighty who was godfather to Aronda Bogendancer, great, great grandmother to Hella and her sister Gwendolise Bogendancer. When the kingdom of Balfour fell, Zamtar Bogendancer petitioned Hugh's great grandfather, as a matter of honour, for his son's hand in marriage to his eldest daughter, a pact that eventually continued down to Hugh and the eldest Bogendancer daughter, Hella.

That Hugh was twice Hella's age, and bereft of any feelings toward the young woman, held little sway in the eyes of the parents— Hugh would do as he was told. It wasn't until Hugh's father was on his deathbed that Hugh discovered the real reason behind his marriage to Hella, but by then, it was too late for him to do anything worthwhile. Hugh remained content to lead what was left of his own life keeping his own counsel.

Working for the Queen, to ensure she was kept satisfied was her private advisor, Count Bragen de Consiflore, a sly and sneaky little weasel of a man who was equally cruel and greedy. One of the Count's prime functions was to learn all he could about the Queen's ancestors and the survivors of Balfour the Mighty's kingdom.

This task was an obsession with his royal mistress and Consiflore devoted much of his time in its pursuit. While he suspected that her preoccupation with the subject had to do with wealth— her pet topic— he had no idea as to its extent, but Consiflore's own avarice suggested he would be wise to stick very close to his Queen, doing whatever her bidding.

*****

Occasionally, King Hugh liked to take short trips through the hamlet, greeting his subjects and allowing them some access to their ruler. On one particular excursion, he happened to stop at the Pennistyle home, noticing and admiring a series of carvings that Jep's father had done around the eave of their hut. The work was a depiction of the history of Graf and how the originalsettlers arrived from over the Troppus Mountain.

 Hugh spent considerable time complimenting and discussing the quality of the work, sincerely impressed by both the subject and the skill of its execution. Also, and more importantly, he was happy to shed his kingly image even for a brief time and enjoy some of the simpler pleasures with his subjects.

This suited one of the royal guards to a tee, and ever mindful of picking up noteworthy gossip for the Count, he began wandering about the property doing a casual snoop, peeking in barns, opening gates, and kicking through the bushes around the hut.

Glancing through one of the hut's open windows, the guard happened to spy a small, carved chest resting in a place of honour over the fireplace. When Jep's mother saw where the guard's attention lay, she casually but quickly, closed the curtain across the window, a move that only contributed to his curiosity.

After the royal party departed, she listened politely to her husband's account of the king's visit then told him about the guard and what he had seen. They both decided that it might be prudent to put their precious belongings somewhere safe and away from prying eyes and begin making the plans they had so long dreaded.

That evening, when the family meal was over, Jep's parents, after a long discussion, decided that the time had come to tell him about the family secret and what his responsibilities in that regard would be. Jep sat uncomfortably across from his father at the family dining table, the flickering yellow candle flame creating a game of tag across their faces with the dancing shadows. He listened solemnly as his father related the strange tale of their ancestors and the task they had passed down.

Back at the palace, Count Bragen listened closely to the guard's report, sifting the information and considering how best to use it to his advantage. First, he realized, he must discover whether there was any substance to the guard's suspicions, and to that end, he set his attention.