CHAPTER 6

    Lord von Bielefeld paused silently before the mountain of mud. The motions of the soldiers, who had spent the entire night performing the search operation, had become sluggish from exhaustion.

    They had not been able to recover the smallest object that could be matched to the missing persons, neither from the space behind the church nor the territory on the slope affected by the avalanche. There was still only the presumed left arm of Lord Weller that had been found at the beginning. They hadn''t gotten a single step farther.

    If they''d been carried away by the landslide, then why hadn''t the bodies been found? Everything had been dug up. Even if the explosion had ripped them apart, the blue demon stone at least should have been there. Conrad''s sword, a collar pin, a soldier''s boot, something. Yet even though every stone had been turned over twice, nothing had been found. Thus the chances of survival for the two of them were continuously increasing.

    "Hey!"

    At Wolfram''s call, the soldiers lifted their heads from the dirt.

    "As soon as the reinforcements get here, you will be relieved from duty. Until then, take a rest."

    "But Your Excellency, don''t we need to work as fast as possible...?"

    "No. The rain has stopped. The work can wait until mid-day. Morgan, has there been any news from the castle?"

    "No, not since we learned that His Excellency Gunter had regained consciousness."

    "All right. I''m heading back there anyway to try to ascertain the current state of affairs. As for the rest of the search, I''m relying entirely on you.

    "Yes, sir. But Your Excellency...?"

    "What is it?"

    The soldier couldn''t hide his concern from Wolfram, who had jumped up onto his horse smoothly.

    "Please take an escort with you for your protection."

    Although more riders were going in and out than usual, an air of peace lay over Blood Pledge Castle.

    The people could not be allowed to discover that an assassination attempt had been made on the king''s life, and that his life was still feared for. The city lay right at the foot of the castle. Even the smallest sign of disturbance would be noticed by the civilians. One couldn''t be careful enough.

    After riding slowly through the city, Wolfram increased his pace. He passed the castle gate and turned his horse to the north, towards the foothills of the mountains. Spring was on its way, and a delicate green began to line the path. When they reached the mountainside, the animal was exhausted, and further progress could only be made on foot. Silently, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld tackled the incline.

    Fire burned day and night in the Ancestral Temple of the Original King. Without permission from the priestesses, entrance was forbidden to men. A burly female soldier guarded the entryway.

    "Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld? What is the reason for your visit?"

    "I have a question for the priestesses. I''m coming in now."

    "Please wait, Your Excellency! Even though you are a man of high rank, you can''t enter without an invitation from the Original King or his priestesses."

    "This is an emergency! Out of the way!"

    "But Your Excellency!"

    Shaking off the guard, Wolfram forced his way into the building. His quick steps echoed to the tall ceiling. His swirling hair was mirrored in the highly polished black floor. He had visited this place a few times before, following the laws of etiquette, but this was the first time he''d done so on his own initiative. In the wide hallway, he passed young women keeping a close eye on the intruder. They whispered things to each other with their mouths hidden behind their sleeves. Most of them were still in training to become priestesses and were still wet behind the ears. They still wore their hair at the customary hip length.

    "Your Excellency Wolfram," a voice suddenly called. When he turned around, a young woman with a bowl of fruit was coming towards him. It was Lord von Kleist''s daughter, a talented military doctor. She looked different than usual: her hair was up and she wasn''t wearing a military uniform. Her green eyes darkened with concern as she gently reprimanded the colleague she''d known since childhood.

    "What''s happened? Men aren''t allowed to enter the temple without permission and an escort."

    "Gisela, I''m in a hurry. What are you doing here, anyway? You''re obviously not on duty."

    "That''s true. After my father''s life was saved, I wanted to pray for the safety of His Majesty and Conrad... I mean, His Excellency Conrad."

    Even though Wolfram now found himself in the company of a woman, he would never dream of slowing his pace. This inconsiderate behavior was one of the reasons he wasn''t particularly sought after by the opposite sex. Gisela, on the other hand, didn''t place great importance on the special treatment of women, and so they hurried forwards together at a soldier''s tempo.

    The deeper into the Ancestral Temple they pressed, the higher the rank of the priestesses they came across. They became aware of younger girls at the side of the hallways and behind the doorways, hanging their heads. The collective sadness seemed strange.

    "It seems to have hit them very hard that the priestesses lost track of His Majesty," said Gisela.

    Just before the entrance to the inner sanctum, a female soldier barred his way again. Behind this door lived Ulrike, the highest and oldest of the priestesses; the receiver and herald of the venerable word of the Original King.

    "The Oracle Priestess Ulrike receives no one."

    "This is an emergency!" Wolfram barked at her, but she didn''t so much as bat an eyelash. Although she didn''t appear to be particularly athletically built, she made no move to retreat even one step back from Wolfram.

    "Holing yourself up in there just because you botched Yuri''s return trip is pointless!" Wolfram roared. "Open the door immediately!"

    "Your Excellency! You could be a little more considerate," Gisela commented.

    "Do you want money? A financial sacrifice? Is that it? If so, name your price! I''ve had enough!"

    "Your Excellency! That''s a shameful sacrilege against our priestess! Venerable Ulrike! Please answer as quickly as possible! This person might dare to break down the door!"

    Wolfram''s pent-up feelings discharged in a powerful explosion. His threats had such an intimidating effect that even the guard looked down at the floor.

    "I''m going to break down this door here and now! I make no promises! If you drive me to it, I''ll even use magic right here in the Ancestral Temple!"

    Wolfram was out of breath; Gisela pushed him to the side and called out in a friendly voice, "Venerable Ulrike! Please open the door and tell us the whole story. Otherwise, this maniac will give you no peace. Venerable Oracle Priestess, you can trust me. I will personally vouch for your safety. I won''t allow him to harm even a single hair on your head."

    The stone double doors opened a fraction and through the gap, silver hair was visible. It was Ulrike.