"Hello, Mr. Haslem."

"Now, let us begin," said one of the men.

"Very well," said Golsel. "What are the charges?"

"These kids have made contact with Thelore," said Mr. Haslem

"Do you have proof of this?" asked Golsel.

"Yes, our meter found a high power signal that could only come from ancient magic, which only Anet, Thelore’s assistant, could create," Mr. Haslem said. "And it just so happened to lead us to Anet and these two."

Tom was beginning to tell that these two weren’t exactly friends. He had managed to keep quiet but couldn’t contain himself.

"We didn’t do anything. He led me into the room; then the parchment sitting in the room spoke. After that he disappeared."

"Impossible. The Anet hasn’t spoken a prophecy for a thousand years."

"We have traveled here only to meet Golsel at the command of Gilta," said Anco.

The name shook Mr. Haslem.

"Do you have proof of this?"

"Yes, but only for the eyes of Golsel."

Anco was still showing no sign of worry.

"Allow me one day to have them prepared and out of the castle," said Golsel.

"Very well, but for the rest of their stay they will sleep in the village until they are proven innocent. Dismissed."

A guard untied their bonds. "Come with me."

They followed them until they were out of the arena. Golsel led them down a series of staircases and hallways until they reached a hall with a long line of doors stretching down the hall. They stopped at the last door to the right. "Come in," said Golsel.

They were standing in a small room with a bed and a table. The table was covered in a mess of paper and an inkbottle. Golsel walked over to the table, bent down, and withdrew a small key from his robes. He stuck the key into an opening in the side of the table. There was a small click and an opening in the bottom of the table dropped. Golsel withdrew a scroll. The handles were made from what was probably at one time shiny metal but was now old and rusted.

"This, my friends, is the Map of Golinstine. It may be the key to your journey. It will lead you straight to where you're going."

He lay the scroll on the table and spoke.

"Son of the mapmaker sealed in paper, help us. Show us the map of Rickton!"

Instantly, the map filled with ink and showed the most detailed map of Rickton Tom had ever seen.

"How?" asked Tom. It was the only word he could manage to say.

"Many years ago, when the great hero himself disappeared, people realized he had not left them empty handed. He left them with magical items like this and the parchment you saw in that room which had the power to speak prophecies."

The parchment!

"That isn’t the Anet from the stories, is it?" asked Tom.

"Yes, it is, and it is no story," said Gilta.

Tom suddenly felt he was going to be sick. The Anet had spoken to him. He tried to remember what it had said.

"Is something wrong?" asked Gilta.

"Nothing." Tom shoved the thought out of his mind.

"Now, this map is very special. Many years ago a very talented mapmaker made it. His son was in great pain. From the day he was born he was pained. One year it was worse than any other. The mapmaker used the small magic he knew to seal his son in one of his maps to stop his pain. They call it The Map of Golinstine because they believe that this was the name of the young boy trapped in the map. Ever since, the mapmaker's son has guided the owner of the map to wherever he desires. So, where do we start?"


The Crystal Cave

That night Anco, Rawl, May and Tom slept in the village, hidden behind the large walls of the castle. The houses were small, sort of like huts. Golsel had found them a place to stay with a friend of his.

“So, what’s your name?” Tom asked.

“My name is Madam Araza. I work at the orphanage”

There was a sound of stumbling at the door, and then the door opened and a girl came running through.

“Sorry I’m late, Madam Araza,” she said as she tried to calm her breathing.

“Not a problem, Rosemary,” she said.

Rosemary had long black hair and was about a head shorter than Tom.

“Madam, I have news from . . ."

For the first time Rosemary noticed the children. She gave an acknowledging look toward them.

“Come, Rosemary, we can talk outside. If you will excuse me, children.”

Rosemary and Madam Araza stepped out of the still open door. Tom heard muttering; he could only make out two words: “They’re coming.” With that the door opened.

“Thank you, Rosemary. I will see you tomorrow." And then Madam Araza closed the door.

“Well, Anco, Rawl -- it seems you two won’t be getting much sleep tonight. We are needed in the council hall immediately.” Madam had a high voice of authority.

“And you,” she said, looking at May and Tom, “Golsel needs you.”

“What’s the problem?” Anco asked.

“Natives. Now get going. Hurry!”

May grabbed her bag, and then they were off.

“How are we going to get inside the castle? They won’t let us in.”

“Oh, that part's easy,” May said as she withdrew an old piece of parchment from her bag. “We use The Map of Golinstine.”

May and Tom stood outside the castle walls.

"It should be right here," she said, tapping the ground below them. Then there was a loud bang, and slowly a boulder began to move away from the castle. And behind the boulder they found a large corridor, the walls made of a clear green crystal.

“Whoa!”

“Well, we know the map works,” May said. “Come on. We need to get moving.”

As they entered the corridor, they found it filled with battle armor and gold and many other treasures. “This is Renlore gold,” May said as she picked up a gold coin out of one of the chests. “This must be from the first great war.”

“It is indeed,” said a voice from the shadows . . . and out stepped Golsel. "From when the Great Hero battled Thelore and trapped the dreaded curse that controlled him."

“Golsel, how did you get in here?” Tom asked.

“I discovered this tunnel long ago, but let's not get into that right now. Come, we must hurry. I’m afraid we have some trouble."