So what was he worried about? When measured against his initial expectations, Landover was far more than he could ever have hoped for, wasn’t it?
But Abernathy’s veiled warning and his own doubts nagged at him nevertheless, and he could not seem to set the matter to rest. He finished his bath and climbed from the tub, toweling dry. The water in the tub had stayed an even temperature the entire time he was bathing. The room felt comfortable as well — even the stone of the floor was warm against the soles of his bare feet. There was an odd sense of vibrancy in the air, as if the castle were breathing…
He cut short the thought, unwilling to pursue it further just then, and began to dress. He pulled on stockings, some loose undergarments that fastened together with stays, a pair of forest green breeches with ties and a belt, and a loose fitting cream tunic with loops that slipped over metal hooks. The makeup of the ensemble seemed strange to him — the whole of it free of the buttons, zippers, Velcro fastenings and elastic bands that he was accustomed to — but the fit was good and he felt comfortable dressed in it.
He had just finished pulling on the pair of soft leather boots and was wondering what had become of Abernathy when the door opened and Questor appeared.
“Well, you seem rested and refreshed, High Lord.” The wizard smiled — rather too broadly, Ben thought. “Was the bath satisfactory?”
“Quite.” Ben smiled back. “Questor, why don’t we cut through all this bull, and get…”
“This what?”
“Bull.” Ben hesitated, searching for a better word. “Smokescreen.”
“Smokesereen?”
“The social amenities of Kingship, damn it! I want to know what I’ve gotten myself into!”
Questor cocked his head thoughtfully. “Oh, I see. How would it be if I were to show you exactly that?”
Ben nodded at once. “That would be fine. That would be wonderful, in fact.”
“Very well.” The wizard turned and started from the room. “Come with me, please.”
They exited the bath chamber and passed back into the hall. Questor took Ben deep into the castle where a pair of massive scrolled doors opened into a tower well with a staircase that spiraled upward into shadow. Wordlessly, they began to climb. When they had reached the landing at the head of the stairs, Questor had Ben press his palms firmly against a crest of the medallion’s image of castle and knight that was graven into a massive oak and metal-bound door seated in the tower wall. The door opened soundlessly, and they stepped inside.
They were in a small, circular room. The wall before them opened halfway around from floor to ceiling into clouds of mist that swirled past the towers of the castle as they rose darkly against the coming night. A silver guardrail on stanchions curved at waist height across the opening. A silver lectern was fastened at its midpoint. Ben looked at it momentarily, then looked at Questor. The room had the appearance of a speaker’s platform designed to permit royal addresses to whatever audience could be found in the clouds.
“This is the Landsview,” Questor said. “Step over to the rail, please.”
Ben did as directed. The silver of the rail and lectern was stained with the Tarnish, but, beneath the discoloring, Ben could see thousands of tiny characters scrolled into the metal, etched by the hand of some enormously patient craftsman. Questor fumbled through the pouches he wore strapped about his waist and after a moment produced the same worn map that he had shown Ben earlier when explaining why it was that Ben could speak and read Landoverian.
He unfolded the map carefully and placed it on the lectern.
“Place your hands upon the railing before you. High Lord,” he said.
Ben did so. Questor put his hands upon the railing as well. They stood together that way for a moment, staring out into the darkening mist. It was almost dusk.
Then a sudden warmth spread through the metal, a vibrancy of the sort that Ben had experienced in the bath chamber.
“Keep your hands firmly fixed upon the railing,” Questor admonished suddenly. “Look at the map before you and select anything drawn upon it that you wish to see. The Landsview will show it to you.”