Prophet of Moonshae - Douglas Niles [72]
"Us? We should each take something?" asked Keane carefully.
"Yup!" Newt beamed. At least one of these humans seemed to understand a concept after it had been explained no more than five times!
Once again the companions looked across the mounds and stacks of treasures and objects. Light winked, reflected from countless golden coins. A bronze shield had somehow retained its mirrorlike sheen, and now their reflections stared back at them from its smooth surface. Alicia saw a great sword, a dark-hafted crossbow, an iron helm-all the accoutrements of a great warrior.
"A harp!" Tavish exclaimed breathlessly. Gingerly she knelt among the gold and silver coins, scattering several of them to the sides to reveal a small, gracefully curved instrument with a soundboard of wood so dark it was almost black. Reverently she picked it up, letting her fingers trace across the strings.
The sound that filled the tomb was mournful and joyous at the same time, a perfect blending of notes that climbed through the scales in matchless beauty. Though the instrument was plain, with none of the gilded trim or silver keys that were common on splendid harps, the sound surpassed anything they had ever heard.
"It's unbelievable. For hundreds of years, it lay here, and yet it's perfectly tuned." The bard looked at the tiny dragon questioningly. "But such a thing as this-surely it should remain here."
"Nope. It's yours now." Newt beamed happily. "Better to have it out where we can hear it, don't you think?"
"You're right, I suppose," said Tavish. She turned the instrument in her hands, looking over the frame, the silver strings, and the ivory tuning keys. "There are symbols by each of these keys. I can't make them out, though. It's a form of writing even more ancient than the Old Tongue."
"Or of different origin," said Keane thoughtfully. "It's indeed a splendid harp."
"And you?" asked Newt, suddenly popping into sight between the bard and the mage. "Now, you choose something!"
"I already have," Keane admitted. He, too, knelt among the coins and reached into the pile. His hand emerged holding a small brass ring.
"How'd you know that was there?" asked Alicia, amazed. The ring had been completely buried beneath the coins.
"I don't know," Keane replied, his tone wondering. "I saw it there-but you're right, it was buried. It's almost as if it called to me…" His voice trailed off as he looked at the plain circlet of brass, or perhaps bronze. The ring seemed pale and ordinary amid the splendors surrounding them, yet there was no hesitation or regret in the mage's manner.
"What is it? Does it have anything inscribed on it?" Alicia wondered.
"No-it's plain and unadorned. Sort of like me." Keane slipped it onto the middle finger of his left hand. "Fits like a glove," he noted.
"Your turn," Newt urged Alicia impatiently. "You pick something now."
The princess shook her head, confused and reluctant. "I can't! It seems so… so…" Her voice trailed away, though they knew her meaning.
"It seems wrong to you, child, but it isn't," said Tavish softly. "Trust Newt-you must."
"But I don't know what to choose! It's not like you, where something seemed to call and you found it. There's too much here, and it's all so magnificent!"
"Come on!" whined the dragon. "Don't you see anything that you want?"
Alicia laughed. "That's not the problem." She looked at the great sword and knew that the weapon was too large and heavy to be practical for her. Though she would be a warrior queen, that didn't mean she had to pick a weapon more suited for a brawny male twice her size and weight.
Besides, she reminded herself, the true Sword of Cymrych Hugh had been borne by her father. He had used it to triumph in the Darkwalker War, sacrificing the weapon in the final battle against the beast and its dark god. Any sword found here must be a replacement for her ancestor's legendary weapon.
The axe she also passed over. Like the blade, it was too heavy for her, and her skills leaned more toward