The Fourfold Key

Ruth gazed around the room in wonder. From this angle it didn’t look very big, but if you walked a few steps either way you could see the whole library was a massive spiral, circling into itself until it reached the center. The decorations were similar to her room, except instead of a white wall it was creamy colored, and the leaf tops were the color of ivy. The bookshelves were double sided, and spiraled in with the rest of the room. They were so high they reached all the way to the ceiling. Ladders were needed to reach the top of the shelves.

All right, you can do this. Let’s start with what you know. Ruth turned to the maid. “Would you mind telling me where stuff on dwarves would be?”

The maid led her into the spiral, stopping after a few rounds and pointed to a small section on the bottom shelf. At least, it was small compared to the rest of the library. It was really about the size of the kids’ section in her library at home.

“Is this all the books on dwarves?” Ruth asked, thinking there might be more somewhere else.

The maid assured her it was and hurried off, saying there was much to be done, at least for her.

After the maid had left, Ruth collected a few of the books and settled down to read. In the book Dwarves For Beginners, she read:

Dwarves rarely leave their underground tunnels, which are located beneath the Elven Woodlands. They keep to themselves but can fight brutally and without mercy. Over the past years, they have stayed at peace.

Dwarves are expert miners and metal smiths; usually they will have more talent on one of the two mentioned then the other.

After that paragraph, the rest of the chapters she read—more accurately put, skimmed through—were not all that helpful. In A History of Dwarven Metal Smithing and Mining she discovered a few interesting and helpful facts.

The dwarves work with their metals underground—where they stay for their whole lives—and mine for the metals they forge with.

Dwarves create weapons, mining tools, and various other necessities. There are many debates as to why they make the weapons. Some say they are just making them to protect themselves, while others argue that they are making them all the time and are planning an attack with the Sorceress from the tales.

The dwarves mine with incredible skill and speed. Since underground is their natural habitat their eyes have no need for lights, though they use them anyway for smithing.

It seems that every time a dwarf mines in a particular place, the ground becomes rich and many great treasures are found beneath the surface. No one knows why this happens. Some say it is just because they are expert miners, but this has been tested and it appears that the only logical explanation they can come up with is that it is just some odd form of dwarf magic.

This was interesting, but the rest of the book wasn’t very helpful. Ruth wanted to read on, but she knew she should continue to another, more helpful book. She had just picked up All You Need to Know About Dwarves, when Tom entered the spiral. As soon as he caught sight of Ruth he rushed over to her.

“There you are, Ruth! Who knew a place could have so many libraries. Hrrmph. What did you find?”

“Not too much. Here, I made a list,” she told him, eyes shining with excitement. “Is there a map somewhere? We could look it over and see if we can guess where the Keys are.”

Tom pulled out a large rolled-up piece of parchment. “This is a map of Adonia.”

Ruth studied the map carefully. The Middle Kingdom lived up to its name. It was placed directly in the center of the map. In the northeast corner sat the Gnome Forest, which then tapered down and covered the whole eastern side of the map. Dwarfshead River ran along the border of the Gnome Forest and covered part of The Middle Kingdom’s side. At the end of Dwarfshead where it disappeared off the map, was a small lake branching off the river. The lake was marked Mermaid Lagoon. Hmm, Ruth thought. I wonder if this is the Mermaid Lagoon from Peter Pan. It could be. I mean, it’s possible. Since my great uncle lived here, it could have been one of the books he sent to Earth

Wedged in the bottom corner between the Middle Kingdom and the Gnome Forest was the Fairy Kingdom. There was a bridge going across Dwarfshead River from the Gnome Forest, going into the Fairy Kingdom.

Then there was the Goblin Kingdom. It covered most of the bottom half of the map underneath the Fairy Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and a piece of land called Troll Swamps.

Troll Swamps was on the center edge of the west side of the map. An odd strip of land from the Elven Woodlands cut the Troll Swamps off from the Middle Kingdom. Ruth asked Tom why it was there and he answered:

“The trolls are dirty, villainous creatures. They are guilty for most of the highway robberies around those parts. The Middle Kingdom is really quite peaceful, so for a portion of their land—the strip here—the elves keep the trolls from invading the Middle Kingdom. The elves and the Middle Kingdom are allies, but I’m not sure why the elves agreed to that. The Middle Kingdom wouldn’t cause much of a difference in a war.”

Ruth nodded and turned her attention to the Elven Woodlands. It took up the whole northwest corner of the map. Running down the center of it was a river marked Gelendeil. Off to the left of that was a place marked Dwarf Mines. She pointed to it.

“Is that where my dad is?”

Tom nodded and Ruth jotted that down on her piece of paper. She glanced at it again and her pulse quickened. She wished she could push her way through the map into the Dwarf Mines that very second.

The last place was Blizzard Peaks. It was a small section in the south-west corner. Drawings of foreboding mountains filled the small area, giving her a chill as she looked down upon it.

“Alright,” Ruth said, turning to Tom. “You’re the expert. Where are the Keys at?”

Tom turned to look at the map, studying it intently, and began to say only half of the sentences he was thinking. “Well…the north, east, south, and west of the map. West…Troll Swamps. To narrow that down I would say the troll camp. The troll camp is wherever the trolls are staying at that point.” He glanced up at Ruth, who was busily writing notes. “The north...I can’t think of anything dangerous there—wait! I know. The Whirlpool.”

“Got it,” Ruth said, taking notes so quickly she knew her chances of being able to read them later were very slim. “Whirlpo—whirlpool!!! She put the Key in a whirlpool!? How are we supposed to get it out?”

“I have no idea,” Tom said. “In the east, well…probably the Gnome King’s dungeons. It’s the worst place imaginable. The torturing is the most painful, security most accurate, cells most inescapable in all of Adonia. I’m more worried about that than the Whirlpool.”

“What about the south? What’s dangerous there? The Goblin Kingdom?”

“No, actually, it’s Mermaid Lagoon.” He glanced at Ruth and her jaw fell slack. “Their singing is so beautifully haunting that people are drawn to it. The mermaids lure them into the water, where they disappear beneath the waves, never to be heard of again. The good news is, females are almost immune. To the mermaids’ voice anyway. And mermen rarely make an appearance above water.”

“So, what you’re saying is it would make more sense for me to go get the first Key alone?” Ruth asked. I wonder if this is his way of telling me I don’t need him.

“Well, yes, I suppose if I were to come with you I would only hinder you,” Tom admitted. “But if you’re thinking that I’m bringing this up to insinuate that you don’t need me and that I’m no help on this mission, you’re wrong. I said I would assist you to the Dwarf Mines. I will keep my promise.”

Ruth was relieved, but only gave him a stoic nod. “Okay. I’ll do a bit of research, then head up to bed. If I can remember where bed is.” She grimaced, then said goodnight and hurried off to get more books.

Ruth returned with a few books on each subject. She decided to start with the Whirlpool. She reached over the pile of books and pulled out 20 Interesting Facts About the Whirlpool. She settled down in a green chair and began to read.

Fact # 1: The Whirlpool is an incredibly dangerous

whirlpool located at the beginning of Dwarfshead

River. It sucks every living thing into it—even from

a mile inland!

Fact # 2: There is a legend that claims there once

was a water spirit that lived in the Whirlpool, who

gave it the strength it never would have had on

its own. So far no one has proven this true or false.

Fact # 3: Every tree from a mile around the

Whirlpool is stripped of its leaves because of

the strong winds.

Fact# 4: The trolls used to throw their victims they

didn’t want to eat into the Whirlpool. This practice

is not in use at the present.

Ruth glared at the seemingly useless book. How long is thi— “Eat people?” she yelped, looking back at the fourth fact to make sure she had read it correctly. Sure enough, there, in the first sentence, was her proof. She had to know more about this! Ruth hurriedly reached into the stack and pulled out a book called The Best Way to Avoid Trolls.

One of the first things you need to know about trolls is that trolls eat people. They find inflicting pain upon others amusing. If you are caught, they will tie you to a post then prod and poke you with all kinds of dangerous weapons. Once you are so tired out you cannot stand, they will eat you any way they please.

Trolls are the number one suspects for most highway robberies in their area. They take anything of value, plus anything shiny—they have a soft spot for shiny things—and any pretty ladies or any other people that look tasty. If you are being robbed by these horrid creatures and have not been chosen to be eaten or be married, you may think yourself lucky. Think again. Most of the people they don’t want get killed. You’re only lucky if they decide to spare your life. But as far as I know, that has never happened. My advice to you on this subject is to not go near the trolls at all. If you live near them, MOVE IMMEDIATELY.

Ruth shuddered. These guys were awful. No wonder Tom had no problem figuring out the dangerous spot in the west. I can’t read about the trolls anymore. They’re too creepy. Ruth decided to read a bit on Mermaid Lagoon. She selected a book titled All You Need to Know About Mermaid Lagoon, and settled down to read.

Do not be fooled by the mermaid’s enchanting looks. They are very dangerous creatures. A single note from a mermaid’s mouth will send even the strongest man to his death. Strangely enough, women are nearly immune to their haunting tunes. However, mermen are where the women go wrong. Fortunately, mermen are hardly ever seen, making it easier for women to enter Mermaid Lagoon. This is the only reason there are drawings of mermaids.

Like I said, women are nearly immune. They can be pulled in, but this happens very rarely but, just in case you are planning to visit Mermaid Lagoon—which I strongly advise against—I would suggest you stuff your ears with something.

It went on like this for some time, and Ruth stopped when she realized how late it was.

“I better read about the Gnome King’s dungeons before I fall asleep right here,” She mused, eyelids drooping. A book titled The Gnomes King’s Castle looked interesting, so she opened the cover, and selected the chapter on the dungeon.

The dungeon is a horrible place. If you are captured, there is no escape. Once, there was a secret passage that some of the prisoners created. It was soon discovered and destroyed. The dungeon’s surveillance is impenetrable. Guards are positioned at every corner to ensure no one gets in, or out. If a person is caught attempting to enter, they are tortured in a most severe manner, usually resulting in death.

The torturing system in the dungeon is excruciatingly painful. A few examples: The entire body of the prisoner pressed into multiple hot iron spikes, leaving scars all over the body. Being nearly wrenched in two by ropes attached to each of the limbs. Poisoning their victims enough to make them extremely sick, but not kill them. Severing various parts of the body. And much more.

Altogether, the dungeons of the Gnome King’s Castle is an extremely dangerous place that—if you have any luck at all—you will not be visiting soon.

The book slipped from Ruth’s hand. She had fallen asleep. After about fifteen minutes of her peaceful slumber, she was roughly shaken awake by the cranky librarian—who was locking up—and escorted to her massive bedroom.