A Confession

                  The sudden serious tone from the old woman surprised Jonas. Not being a natural liar, he wondered how he could keep his cover as he stared awkwardly at her question.

                  “I…I’m on a mission, from and for the kingdom,” Jonas shifted back into character. “There are some uncharted lands around this area, and I have been sent to gather further surveying information to add to the kingdom’s maps. I just happen to have a question about an, an intellectual, uh disagreement with a colleague, that’s all. Just a side trip to the reason I’m here. I am on the kingdom’s errand. That’s why I hired a team to help me on my surveying expeditions.” Jonas began to add superfluous information, trying to sell his cover.

                  “Mr. Jonas,” Brynhilda spoke politely, “who are you and why are you here?”

                  “I told you, it’s rather simple. I’m here to gather information for maps for the kingdom.” Jonas stated again. As much as he tried, he still couldn’t pull off a good lie.

                  “Mr. Jonas, I may be old, but I’m not a fool. A book from the ancient world is no subject of mild disagreement, especially with the monetary value of such a find.”

                  Jonas knew his actions stated the truth far more than his dialog ever could. He thought to himself for a moment, figuring out how to proceed.

                  Brynhilda remained calm yet straightforward. “Mr. Jonas, you know the dragon scholars dislike others researching the ancient world, yet you have one of the most compelling artifacts with untold keys to the ancient world. Clearly, if you took it to them first, you would not be here, and if you had to search all over the kingdom for anyone with knowledge of the subject matter, intentionally avoiding the dragon scholars, it seems to me, like this isn’t the journey of a mapmaker, this seems to be a journey to find answers.”

                  Jonas didn’t know how to address the truth, but the logic of the old woman saw threw his lies. He feared his expedition would be cancelled should he reveal his true intentions.

                  Brynhilda tried again to coerce the truth from Jonas. “How would a simple map maker come across a find like this? This is not a typical book from your local library.”

                  Unsure how to handle his true intentions, Jonas’s silence spoke for itself. He tried to sway the conversation away from him. “Then do you think this is authentic? If it were a work of fiction, it could show up almost anywhere.”

                  “I believe this is a book written by one of my ancestors from long ago.”

                  Jonas felt a sudden sinking feeling. Did she want to keep the book for herself? Or did he finally stumble on a bit of information?

                  Brynhilda pushed his book back to him. “Look at the symbol on the back.” She turned the book on its back revealing a small symbol on the bottom. Then opening the back of the children’s book, sliding it towards Jonas, she pointed out the same symbol. “My family has an extensive collection of books, books written by them, kept in the family for ages now. They never wanted to sell them, or have them published publicly. I never understood why. My grandmother always said it was a unique family gift, a way our ancestors could still speak to their children. It all started with a grandmother way, way back in my family. I don’t even know how far, but her passion for teaching children and youth blazed a path for generations down the line. We believe she is the one that started the collection, and has handed down her work ever since, with each generation adding to the collection. That symbol shows up on any books written by my ancestors.”

                  Jonas gazed at the two books in amazement. The two symbols matched exactly. His mind churned over the possibilities. A watermark, possibly indicating the publisher, or maybe a signature from an author of ages past. Such a simple bit of ink made a statement greater than anything he has found about the book so far.

                  “Mr. Jonas,” Brynhilda interrupted his amazement, “I’m not interested in money, or fame, or whatever you are looking for, but I can’t trust you unless you put your trust in me. What is the real reason you came to Eknor, and why did you come looking for me?”

                  Of all the people Jonas visited, Brynhilda seemed the least interested in the artifact itself, and more interested in his purpose. Reason told him not to trust anyone, but he felt at peace in the presence of the old woman. Of anyone in the entire kingdom, she might be the only one to give him answers. The dilemma of choice only lasted a moment as Jonas’s natural trust shone through. As protective as he felt over the discovered book, he needed someone else’s help to find answers.

                  Jonas took a deep breath, looked at Brynhilda, and confessed. “I’m not here to make maps. I’m hoping to find an ancient city.” Jonas revealed all that he knew, where he worked, how he came across the book, why he didn’t want to give it to the dragon scholars, the map he found in the back of the book, and how it inevitably led to Eknor. He realized that the old woman could put an end to his journey, but like she said, he would have to trust her if he wanted her to trust him.

                   As Jonas explained all he found, Brynhilda became enthralled in the mystery and fantasy of it all, just as quickly as Jonas did when he first analyzed the book himself. They opened the book, going over the pages one by one, trying to decipher the history behind it. They examined each page, comparing the illustrations in the found book with some of her very old children’s books, finding the illustration style and technique extremely similar if not identical. That, plus the symbol in the back of the book, convinced her that the book connected to an ancient ancestor. Jonas and Brynhilda talked late into the night as they tried to decipher as much as their knowledge could muster.

                   “Could this be another work of fiction, from whomever wrote the children’s book? Did they ever create longer works of fiction?” Jonas asked, accepting that this book did not belong to the ancients. If connected to distant ancestors of Brynhilda, it most likely did not come from the ancient tribes. The book seemed to be authored in either Hallador or Eknor, both of which were not readily considered part of the ancient world. Although, if authored in Hallador, the evidence confirmed the potential presence of a large ancient civilization buried in the mountains.

                  “I doubt this is a work of fiction. This book looks more like a journal than anything. The random drawings, the diagrams, notes here and there, it’s like every page has a unique life to it. I have seen some old journals in my family written in Gumtal, although I don’t recall seeing much anything like this. Yet the children’s book with the same symbols is about a girl that could decode writing like this. It’s possibly a clue.”

                  “Is it possible the writing is a unique version of Gumtal, maybe a lesser-known tribe of the Gummundir?” Jonas asked.

                  “My grandmother was very passionate about teaching me Gumtal language. She always taught the importance of connecting with our heritage. But, my memory is not like it used to be Mr. Jonas. She taught me many things about the past, yet something like this, I would have to study, that’s for sure.” She continued her evaluation of the text and for the first time, Jonas felt like they finally found some answers. The excitement in his soul surged.

                  Brynhilda flipped through the book, examining every page. “It’s funny that you should show up at my door. I’ve been thinking about my grandmother a lot recently. She would have loved studying a book like this, she loved everything about the ancient languages. Unfortunately, I was a distracted student. Lately, I can’t stop thinking about her. It’s like she knew you would show up!” Brynhilda looked over the book, deep in thought.

                   Brynhilda suddenly asked, “Do you mind leaving the book here? I have some other references, old books about ancient human languages. My grandmother gave them all to me. I just need to locate them. They’re around here someplace, and then I could research it. I think even possibly translate bits of these pages. Although it’s going to take me a couple of days.”

                  Jonas thought about it for a moment, and though he didn’t want to trust anyone with such a find, Brynhilda seemed to be an exception. He felt at peace, trusting her. She brought significant insight into where the book might have come from. She seemed to have no interested in selling such a find, and if it truly connected to her ancestors, she should be part of the journey for answers. Jonas agreed.

                  Together, they planned out their next few days. Jonas took the map in the back of the book for the journey up the mountain, hoping to find any evidence from that point of view. Brynhilda even has some old records and maps of trails that led to an overlook of the Valley of Myrr. She planned to spend the next several days researching a translation for the book. When Jonas returned from his survey venture, they would share what they found. Jonas packed up his things, quite excited about having some forward progress in solving the mystery of the found book. He said his goodbyes to Brynhilda and made his way out the door.

                  “Mr. Jonas!” Brynhilda suddenly called out, stopping him from leaving. She paused in thought for a moment. “If you are going to travel up to survey the valley, be careful. Something about that valley is not right. It’s dangerous. Survey what you can, but don’t go into the valley.” Brynhilda smiled, nodding at Jonas. Jonas nodded back in acknowledgement, then waved goodbye and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

                   Jonas took a deep breath and began his walk back to the inn. His excitement took a strange shift as the feeling of dread returned. The same feeling he had while walking to the Consortium. Something about the book that did not feel right. Jonas thought about Brynhilda’s description of the Valley. Dangerous is one thing. The wild is always dangerous. Yet when she said, “Something is not right about the valley,” it sparked the sinking feeling in his soul. His logical mind felt obligated to find answers to his questions. Suddenly he worried. He felt as if he did something wrong, with no explanation of why.

                  The logical mind of Jonas struggled with such a thought. But Jonas had to find answers regardless of any danger involved. What’s an adventure without a little risk.