before the dinner rush. It was nice to meet you both. Oh, father said that your food is ready.” Wes turned and walked out the door. Jonas looked at Kiln and they both laughed.
***
The dried meat was exquisite; cured with exotic spices that made Jonas’s mouth water. He washed it down with some hearty ale before stuffing a thick slice of white cheese in his mouth. The food was delicious, better than anything he had ever tasted.
“What’s the plan now?” asked Jonas, reaching for another slice of cheese.
“I say we go to the kulam and try to get those answers you came for. Then we come back here for dinner. After that, your guess is as good as mine,” replied Taleen.
“I agree. Let’s go to the kulam first. See if we can find anything out about Jonas, the demon that attacked us, the missing cavaliers, and whatever they know about Malbeck. What we learn will decide our next course of action.”
“What do you think will happen to me?” asked Jonas.
“I don’t know,” Taleen replied. “They will probably want to test you. It is unprecedented that you would have the powers of a cavalier without going through the training. I imagine they will have a lot of questions for you as well.”
“I would really like to travel to Finarth with Kiln.”
“That may or may not be possible. You may get a calling, or the council may request that you stay here for more testing. I do not know,” Taleen responded as she finished the last piece of cured meat.
“What of you, Taleen. What will you do?” asked Kiln.
“If I get a calling then I will go where I’m directed. If not then I will stay with Jonas. Something tells me that we need to stay together.”
Kiln nodded his head in agreement. “I agree. Let us go to the kulam and get some information. It is a waste of time to speculate until we know what the council will do with Jonas.”
They found the kulam easily. It was a huge stone temple, as big as a small castle, and at least three levels high. The building was surrounded by a well manicured lawn. It was an oasis in the middle of the bustling city. The center part of the temple stood fifty paces high with sharp spires rising towards the clouds. The entire façade was covered with carvings of gods and their symbols, Shyann’s great oak, Ulren’s four pointed star, Bandris’s axe, and many more.
There was a main door located at the center of the impressive structure. It was made from a solid white stone over ten paces high. The symbol of Ulren was carved into the stone and the seam that split the double doors was so thin that it was barely visible. It gave the door the appearance of a solid piece of flat rock.
Flanking the large temple were two large buildings that appeared to be two story barracks or warehouses. There were several entrances along the fronts of these buildings, and the entire kulam was made from the same white stone. Taleen explained that the center building was a temple representing the various gods of the realm. The outer two buildings were the training facilities and living quarters for the potential cavalier candidates.
They walked up the stone stairs that led to the white stone door. As they neared the door its marvelous craftsmanship became apparent. The polished stone was covered with a detailed carving of Ulren’s symbol, one that was so intricate and the lines so graceful that it was obviously done by a master craftsman.
“It doesn’t even look like a door. You can’t see the seam or the hinges,” Jonas said, running his hand over the smooth stone.
“This must have been created by dwarves. No one else could do this,” added Kiln.
Taleen reached out and grabbed what looked like an impression in the middle of the door. There were two impressions on each side of the middle seam and once your hand was inside you could firmly grip an inner edge giving you the leverage to pull. She pulled hard expecting the door to be heavy and cumbersome, but she almost fell backwards as the door, a foot in thickness, easily swung outward on invisible hinges that made no sound.
“Incredible,” muttered Taleen.
They stepped into a large interior room covered with polished stone. Jonas looked down and saw a large mosaic of Ulren’s four-pointed star on the floor. The mosaic was made from different pieces of marble ranging from