Finding Me (Chapter 10)

Chapter 101

It had been decided that Canace would wear the necklace as they walked throughout the cities collecting the stones.  After all, she did own the center stone.  The librarians had something else to say about that, thinking that it belonged to the royal family and not to her.  She told them that she had paid for, and that she was going to keep it.  Despite that little dispute, the librarians were so pleased that they gave the group a slip granting them access to the rest of the precious stones. 2

They had wasted no time getting to the next city, Keiper.  It took awhile to get there, but they made it.  During the trip, Melissa seemed a bit more relaxed, and was very playful.  She spent most of her time playing with Melody, and hatching up pranks to pull on Jay and Danny.  Jay and Danny were having a good time discussing things, while being so deep in discussion, that they actually did fall victim to some of Melissa’s pathetic pranks. 3

Jay also spent a good deal of time talking to Canace, teaching her about some of the animals she had never heard of.  She learned that a Mincluious is a small, somewhat round creature with pale blue eyes that can see in the dark.  In addition, she learned that a Gyoptuim is a horse like creature, but it can disappear completely if it wants to.  Canace was fascinated by what she learned, and was eager to hear more. 4

A dark shadow passed over them.  Canace looked up, and a large, bird-like animal circled over them.  It was a purple animal that had two small hand-like objects coming from the end of its swirly neck.  It’s eyes were at the top of the neck, dangling on antennae like objects.  It had two wings and a tail with spirals on the end of it. 5

“Jay, what is that?” Canace asked, amazed at the creature.  Jay hadn’t noticed it, so he looked up and smiled, “Oh, that’s a Nolacky.” 6

“A what?”7

“No-lack-y” Jay enunciated clearly for her. 8

“What in Calder is that?”  she asked with uncertancy wavering in her voice. 9

Jay laughed, “It’s one of the animals that I was getting to.  A Nolacky is a mix between a bug and a dragon.”10

“It has fireballs that suck blood out of you?” 11

“No. I do not think it can even spit out fire.  But it has scales on it that are slippery.” 12

“Oh.”13

“Anyway,” Jay continued, “Messengers usually ride Nolackys because they can go faster then horses.”14

“So you’re saying it can be tamed?”  Canace peered at the purple blob flying away toward the setting sun. “It looks slimy, how do the riders stay on?” 15

Jay grinned, “That’s the best part.  A Nolacky is usually smooth.  But if a rider flew on a smooth surface, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.  So before a flight, the Nolacky licks itself all over.  The spit of one of these creatures is extremely sticky, sticky enough to hold onto anything.”16

Canace almost lost her stomach, “Are you serious?” 17

“Dead serious.”18

“Ewe!  People ride on spit?” 19

“They sure do,” Jay smiled as he enjoyed watching Canace’s face turn many different colors in disgust. 20

Ahead of them, Danny called, “Hey guys!”21

“Girl too!”  Canace managed to croak, still disgusted by the spit idea. 22

“Whatever, look!  We’re here!”  Danny pointed ahead of them.  Beyond him lay the large town of Keiper.  They made there way into the town, and Canace was surprised at how it looked just like Celestial.  Down to the last window was it just like Celestial.  The same shops were in the same places, and the same barns were in the same spot.  “It’s like we never left Celestial,” Canace whispered to herself. 23

Melissa overheard her and said, “No duh.  All of the Star Cities are like that.  All the same except for the library in every town.”24

“Wow,” Canace thought about this, “Not very original, are they?” 25

“Nope,” Melissa answered, picking up Melody and scratching her on the head.  Melody gave a yawn of contentment, and then fell asleep in Melissa’s arms. 26

“She’s tired,” Jay commented, “Almost, cute.” Canace smiled.  “I said almost, not actually cute!”27

“She’s not out to get you Jay,” Canace told him as he fell into step with her and Melissa.  Danny was absentmindedly leading them to the library and talking to himself in excitement. 28

“Have you seen the way the dog acts around me?  She practically ate me yesterday!” he pleaded.29

“You were trying to find out if dogs could land on their feet by throwing her in the air!” Melissa accused. 30

“Yeah, and I would’ve been able to if you’re mud pie-in-the-face prank hadn’t worked!”  Jay made it sound like it was all her fault. 31

“Jay, maybe if you tried to be nice to the poor puppy, she would warm up to you,” Canace suggested as they passed a bakery. 32

Finally, they arrived at the second library.  This time, the stairs did not lead straight to the door, but made its way by spiraling towards it.  The stained glass windows told a story of stars from the days of old, and flowers decorated the outside.  It was a peaceful looking building from the outside.  The inside was even better.  The floor was lined with carpet, and the walls were beautifully painted with murals describing the names of the stars.  It was only two stories, and had books, maps, reading tables, and some study groups flipping through endless pages of books.  Canace had followed Danny and Jay in, but hadn’t seen Melissa come in.  She turned around to see if she had come in, and saw her talking to a guard.  Canace remembered the no dogs allowed rule, and wondered if she should’ve told Melissa. Oh well, she thought, she’ll know it now.  She watched Melissa carefully hand the sleeping puppy to the guard then rush over to where she waited. 33

“You would think they would allow a harmless, sleeping puppy into the library,” Melissa complained as they walked to where the boys had gone.34

Jay had gone to find a librarian while the others waited by the case with the jewel inside. When he found one, he went straight up to him and whispered, “Excuse me sir.” 35

The librarian turned around and smiled, “What can I do for you?” 36

“My name is Jay from Venod.  I have a request for you.” 37

The librarian frowned, “This is the fifth one this week.  A person can only do so much.  What is it now?” he asked himself as he started reading the pass Jay had given him.  The librarian looked it over and his face brightened. Jay sighed in relief.  Suddenly, the librarians face turned to confusion, happiness, and then disgust.  A knot formed in Jays stomach.  This man could ruin every thing just by saying no! 38

“What’s wrong sir?”  Jay cautiously asked, “Are you not able to lend us the stone?” 39

The man looked at him in surprise, “No son, it’s not that.  I would happily give it to you…if I could.” 40

Now Jay was confused, “What do you mean?” 41

The librarian picked his words carefully, “Well, if it had been a month ago, I could’ve handed it to you and you would’ve been gone already.  Sadly, a couple of weeks earlier, three of the Star Cities passed a law concerning these precious stones.  If anyone ever came to claim a stone, he or she would have to go through a series of tests for each stone.  The tests wouldn’t be too hard, just hard enough only royal family members and their closest friends would be able to solve.”  The librarian slowly started raising his voice in anger, “I told them not to do it!  I told them it was a foolish idea.  But they would not listen to a mere librarian. They would not listen to one who has been studying the stars all his life and has been dedicated to watching over one of the precious star pieces!”  Jay didn’t know what to think of this man.  He was crazy, yet had a point.  “I told them that the royal family would be here soon because they would need the necklace to claim the throne!  I told them it would only be a matter of months until they got here!”  He looked at Jay, his old gray eyes turned light, and then spoke softly, all the rage gone, “And here you are.  Ready to reclaim what was taken!” 42

“Sir?” 43

“Your family will start a new era!”44

“Sir?” 45

“Your family will rebuild Calder! And we shall have peace for all the years to come!” 46

“Sir!” 47

The man was snapped out of his daydream, “Oh, pardon me.  What is it, your highness?” 48

Jay sighed, “First of all, it would be a blessing if I actually was from the royal bloodline.  However, I am not, so please save your enthusiasm for the true king.  Secondly, my friends and I are desperate for the jewel.  What are the tests we must take to be allowed to carry it?  We will do just about anything!” 49

“Do you really have the fifth piece?” the librarian asked, not answering Jay’s question.50

“That’s doesn’t have anything to do with what I asked you!”  Jay was getting annoyed at this man. 51

“It is very important.  Do you or one of your friends really have the fifth piece?” the librarian persisted. 52

“We do, okay?  My friend has it.  Now can you tell me about these tests?”  53

“Certainly.  But I should like to meet this friend of yours.” 54

“Whatever it takes.”  Jay said.  55

Jay walked back over to where his friends were waiting for him.  They were sprawled on the floor playing a card game.  “Yes!  Once again I am victorious!” Danny gloated.  “Don’t get a thick head Danny; it’s just a card game.  You act like it’s over the world.”  Melissa bitterly spoke.  “Sore loser!”  Danny pestered.  “I am not!  I’m just informing you that you are being a pain!”  Melissa countered.  Canace’s eyes wandered from the argument and she saw Jay coming and asked, “Where’s the librarian?” 56

Jay brushed pass Canace and headed straight to Danny.  “We’ve got a problem,” he snapped.  The three of them immediately jerked to attention.  57

“What’s wrong?”  Danny asked.  58

“Three of the towns passed a law saying that no one can get the stone for any reason unless they pass a test only the royalties are supposed to be able to understand.”  Danny was stunned, Melissa had a mixed expression on her face, and Canace smiled not knowing what the problem was. 59

“Why can’t we try it?  Maybe one of us will be able to solve it,” she said. 60

Melissa glared at her, “What part of royal family only did you not get?”61

“You guys have been studying this thing your whole lives!  You don’t think you’ll be able to pass a test or two?”  Canace challenged them.  Jay and Danny still looked skeptical.  They thought about this, and then Danny gave a half-hearted smile, “I see no harm in trying at least.  What do you think Jay?” 62

“We all know Danny’s going to fail, but why not?”  Jay smirked.  Danny was about to say something when Canace said, “Then let’s go!” 63

Melissa stood up and looked at Jay, Danny, and Canace, “Don’t I get a say in the matter?”  64

They all looked back at her, then said in unison, “No?” 65

She rolled her eyes, “Fine.  Let’s go.” 66

Canace, Danny, and Melissa followed Jay to the librarian, who was overjoyed to meet Canace.  At first, he made a fuss all over her.  After awhile, he noticed she looked rather frightened, so he stopped.  She immediately moved herself to Jay’s protective side and stood there while the conversation took off.  67

“Sir, we’ve decided to try the test,” Jay stuttered to the librarian, wondering what he would reply.  The librarian looked at him and studied his face closely. 68

“Are you sure she’s of the royal bloodline?”  the librarian asked, “I’m only supposed to give the test to those of the royal bloodline.” 69

“Now he tells us!”  Danny whispered to Jay.  Danny looked at Canace, who was wearily eyeing the librarian, “Go ahead, and say yes.” 70

Jay shook his head, then answered, “Yes, we are very sure.”71

“Well, okay.  First, you need to know the background these tests came from,” he started, “The king, bless his soul, has felt anger slowly rousing in his country, and felt that he and his family might not be safe.  So he went around scouting certain areas to find a place he could retreat to and make sure no one followed.  Whatever test I give you will either describe the land, routes, and people that were involved somehow during this time.”  72

Glad I recently studied on this, Danny thought.73

Here we go, Jay thought, nodding his head.74

Get on with it, Melissa thought.75

Great, I’m the only one who won’t be at all helpful.  Why did I have to be the one to lose my memory?  Canace thought to herself.  She was feeling bad because she really wanted to help, but thought she could not be of any use.  76

“I will give you two riddles.  Pass one, and you will proceed to the next.  If you get both right, I will rejoice because we have found our queen,” he smiled at a nervous Canace, and then his brows darkened, “But if you fail, I will kick you out of the library and never tell anyone.  Fair?”77

The four nodded, not keen on the idea of being kicked out of a library. 78

“Here’s the riddle: Life’s pass was fear’s prediction.”79

“What does that mean?”  Melissa blurted out.80

“I’m not sure,” the librarian shrugged, “If I could tell you, I would.  Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer.”81

Melissa stared blankly at the man, shocked.  Jay was appalled, “You mean you don’t know the answer?”  How could one give the question, yet not know the answer? 82

The librarian beckoned them to follow him.  First, he led them silently down a corridor that seemed to lead to nowhere.  There were no windows to let in light, only candlesticks that lined the hallway.  The walls were a burgundy color, and had golden stars painted on them.  The librarian motioned for them to stop.  The corridor led to a dead end. 83

“Why are we going down a hall that is empty?”  Melissa rudely asked, “What is the point of it?” 84

The librarian did not reply, but simply pulled down on the final candlestick.  Jay noticed that it was not lit.  A rumbling noise appeared, and then the wall next to them opened up, showing a staircase that led up.  Melissa was quiet for the rest of the trip. 85

After walking up a few stairs, they came to a turn where two guards nodded as they passed by. After continuing farther, they had to stop and the librarian gave the password so they could continue.  Canace was spending more time looking at the stories fabricated on the walls then where they were going.  She was fascinated by the golden markings and how they seemed to light up as she passed by.  The stories told of the history of the Libraries of the Ancient Stars and the history of Calder.  Canace would often stop to read a certain part as the stairs led them upward, downward, and split into two different paths.  The librarian knew the right way, so they never got lost.  Canace saw a map glow on the wall and turned to read it.  There were many markings, some represented towns and cities.  There was a crown were she guessed the castle was. One river on the map seemed to stick out though, but she could not tell why.  Finally, after about an hour of walking in silence, they reached a door.  The librarian knocked three times, and then slowly opened the door. There were four guards behind it, sitting on chairs playing a card game.  None of them looked up as they passed by.  86

The librarian led them through the only door, and then shut it behind them.  They looked around, and found themselves facing an ancient vault.  He then started fiddling with the large lock on the front of it. 87

Jay leaned over to whisper Canace, “What was so interesting about the walls that you had to study everything on the way here?” 88

“I was looking at the writings on the wall.  There were so many, it was hard to read them all!”  Canace whispered back.89

“Are you crazy?  There were not any writings on the walls!  It was dirt the whole way!”90

Before Canace could answer, the librarian finished unlocking the vault, “This was given to the library by the king of old.  It is very old and valuable.  We had it put up here in fear it might be stolen.”  He opened up the vault and pulled out an old looking, rolled up paper.  He fiddled with it for a moment, then spoke again.  “ This map is supposed to go with the riddle.  I don’t know how it helps; I’ve tried many times to solve it, but failed at all attempts.”  He handed the map to Danny, “Good luck lad, you’re going to need it.”91

Jay peered over Danny to look at the map, but Danny moved it away, “I think we should go into a secluded room and make of it what we can.  Is there a way out of this place?  Or must we go back the way we came?”  Danny asked the librarian.  The librarian smiled and nodded his head.92

“Follow me once more please.”  After locking the vault once more, he led them out of the room, and turned right.  They were facing another wall, except this one had a suit of armor in front of it.  The librarian pulled softly on the sword the knight was holding, and the wall opened up to reveal another set of stairs.  Although no one said anything, not one of them was happy about climbing more stairs.  Despite their aching legs, up they climbed, Canace lagging behind looking once more at the walls.  This staircase was only a few feet long and almost immediately opened up into a small-secluded room on the first floor of the library.  93

“Why couldn’t we have just taken those stairs instead of going the long way?”  Melissa complained as she sank down onto one of the seat surrounding the star shaped table in the middle of the room. 94

“Security reasons.”  The librarian spoke cheerfully.  “I will leave you to solve the riddle now.  Come find me immediately if you have success.”  With that, he left the room just to suddenly come back in, “I’m sorry.  I just remembered, the answer is supposed to appear somewhere when you say it.  So just show me where it appears when you find it.”  He left again, leaving them all to ponder this while look at the map.95

Danny rolled open the map and set it on the table.  Melissa immediately pulled it over to herself, “Why, it’s just a map of Calder!  There’s nothing special about it!” 96

“Then we must assume the riddle refers to a part of this map.”  Danny logically replied.97

“Life’s pass was fear’s prediction,” Jay mumbled to himself, blue eyes lost in deep thought.  The three of them thought about the riddle for a couple of minutes, occasionally glancing at the map.  After a while, one by one, they each gave up.  Jay sighed sorrowfully, and gazed at Canace.  She was silently watching them while keeping to herself in a corner of the star-shaped table.  “So ‘your royal highness’ what do make of this pointless map and puzzle?” 98

Canace glanced at the map, and then sat up, staring intensely at it.  “What the?”99

* * * * * * * * *100

Canace was sitting on a bench next to Luke and they were looking at a map.  “This is Calder, the country we live in.”  He showed her.  She peered at the map and saw many cities and towns.  There were three forests, a lake, a sea, a rapids, a river, snow covered mountains, and a desert.101

“Wow, it has just a bit of everything, doesn’t it Luke?”  Something shiny caught her eye.  There was a glow on the paper!  “Do you see hat Luke?  What is it?”  She asked eager to learn about this faint sparkle. 102

“Did you just notice that?”  He asked, smiling down at her.  She nodded, amazed as he continued, “We have some, er, special talents.” 103

Canace nodded, “I know that already.” 104

“Well, this is another one of them.  We are able to see special, magical writings on paper, walls, just about anything! Others could try for years and never find a thing. Sometimes, the writing will appear as soon as you get near it, and disappear after you leave.” That’s what happened in the stairway! Canace realized, that’s why Jay couldn’t see the writings when I could!  Other times, the writing appears after the key word is said.”   105

“How do you know what the keyword is?” She unwillingly asked.106

Luke had a secret gleam, “Check the back corner of the paper, it should be there.  If not, it’s Moonlight’s Key.”  Canace looked at the map again and studied it. 107

* * * * * * * * *108

“Canace?”  Melissa asked.109

She was back in the library hovering over the map.  Canace continued to study it for a minute. 110

“Canace, are you okay?  Did you have another flash?”  Danny asked while Canace stared at the map.  She did not answer.111

“Canace?”  Jay asked, scooting closer to her. 112

“Hold on!”  She forcefully said, surprising her friends with the sudden outburst.  Quieting down, she whispered thoughtfully, “There’s something wrong with this map.” 113

“What?”  Three voices shouted in unison. 114

“What’s wrong with it?” Danny asked, looking at it carefully, “I don’t see anything, well; except for the fact it’s ancient.” 115

“It’s…missing something.  I know it!”  She examined it carefully. 116

“How can you tell?”  Melissa asked curiously.117

“I saw it in my flash back.  Luke was showing me a map of Calder.  It didn’t look like this one though, it was bigger and covered more area.  The map is missing information here, and here.”  Canace slowly pointed at the top of the map and progressed across the edge of the top.  Remembering what Luke had said, she turned over the map.  There was nothing on the back.118

“What are you doing?”  Melissa was getting impatient, “There’s nothing special about it, so let’s just leave and forget about this whole riddle.”119

Canace looked at the front of the map.  It was worth a shot, she thought, what can go wrong? 120

“Moonlight’s Key.”  She slowly whispered to it.  121

Suddenly, a small glow surrounded the map.  Caught off guard, they all stared at it, slowly making their way to the back of the room. As Canace watched, the top of the map seemed to silently expand and reveal the rest of map.  The glow ran across the new expansion, unraveling new mountains, a river, and a sea.  As sudden as it appeared, the glow disappeared. 122

Danny was the first to dare approach the map.  His eyes opened wide.  Although the glow had gone away, the part it had revealed remained! Danny beckoned Canace to come over, and then pointed at the map, “Is this the missing part?”123

Canace nodded absentmindedly, not believing what she saw.  “Yes,” she barely made out, “Yes it is.” 124

Jay and Melissa walked over cautiously to look at the map.  125

“Wow,” Jay said, stunned, “How did it do that?”126

“I guess the map is special,” Melissa realized as she looked at the part of Calder she had never seen before.127

“Canace, how did you do that?”  Jay asked, “I’ve never seen that done before.  You made the map grow from out of nowhere!” 128

“You didn’t see the glow?”  Canace asked him, suddenly confused. 129

“What glow?”  Luke’s words about the glow returned to her, others could try for years and never find anything.130

Jay, are you crazy?  There’s no writing on the walls!131

“I guess it’s true,” she whispered to herself, “Others can’t see it.  But why only me?” 132

“Canace, what glow are we talking about?”  Jay asked again, watching his friend mumble to herself. 133

“Never mind,” she said, looking up, “Let’s get to work on the riddle, shall we?”134

Jay looked at her suspiciously.  “Sure, if you think we can.”  Jay looked at Danny; they both shrugged at each other, and then sat down at the table. 135

“What can we assume by looking at the map?”  Canace asked.  She was very serious; in fact, more serious the Jay or Danny had ever seen her.  It scared them both a bit, but they got used to it after a minute and tried to help. 136

“That the riddle refers to a point on the map, a landmark, or river because there is a map to use.”  Danny replied.137

“Correct.  Now what was the riddle?”  Canace asked, she turned a bit red, “I wasn’t exactly listening at the time it was said…”138

“Life’s pass was fear’s prediction.”  Melissa happily supplied, “What ever that means.” 139

“Well, I’m guessing that because this part of the map appeared when I uh, did something, that we can say the point we’re trying to find is on that part.  Do you agree boys?”  Canace asked.  Both Danny and Jay nodded their heads.  “Tell me what you know about riddles.”140

Jay and Danny racked their heads.  “I know that they twist words around.”  Jay said. 141

“I have recently figured out that they are a pain.”  Melissa commented, twisting her red hair around her fingers. 142

“Not now Melissa,” Danny hushed her, “I know that sometimes they hide a key word obviously; trying to have people figure it out what it means when it actually is the correct word.” 143

“Good job!”  Canace smiled, “I know that sometimes, riddles refer to history, stories, or things like that.”144

“Where are you going with this?  We’ve figured out it refers somehow to the royal family.” Danny told her, scratching his head in deep thought. 145

“Um, it was given to the library by the king, right?”  Jay asked, “Is this the same king whose family we’re trying to find?” 146

Danny’s face lit up, “No it wasn’t!”147

Jay, Melissa, and Canace looked at him in surprise.  “What do you mean?”  Canace asked.148

“It was given by a king, yes.  But can we assume that it wasn’t the king who had peace in his land for years, but his son?  You see, the king may not have know that there would be a rebellion; he may have sensed it and found a safe location for his family, but do you think he knew he would die and left clues for others?”  Danny had puzzled his friends, “I think that his son left the clues because he knew he wouldn’t be there long.  Life’s pass. The part of the riddle must refer to a pass they took to flee for their lives, right?”149

They thought about this for a minute, and then Canace smiled, “I think you’ve got it Danny.”150

“You’re brilliant!”  Jay remarked, looking at the map.  Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, “Wait, how do we find out what it’s talking about?  There are no names on the map!” 151

“That’s easy,” Canace replied. 152

“It’s is?”  said Melissa, lazily listening to the conversation, “Please then, explain it to us.” 153

“Okay, looking at the map, what can you tell now that you didn’t know before?” Canace asked them.  They looked at the map. 154

“I don’t see anything,” Danny replied downheartedly, “What about you, Jay?” 155

Jay looked it over twice, then found out what Canace was talking about, “The Manokies Rapids are connected to the Sea of New Beginnings!”156

Danny looked, and followed the rapids to the sea.  He was right!  “Look, the Sea of New Beginnings is right next to the castle!”  Canace is on to something, Danny thought.  “But that still doesn’t explain the last part of the riddle.  Fear’s prediction.  What is it?  What does it mean?” 157

“Can you twist the words around Danny?”  Canace asked him, a personal challenge. 158

“Give me a second.  Fear’s prediction…something bad, obviously.  Hm, what does fear predict?”  Danny pondered this for a moment, “I don’t know.  I give up.”159

Jay looked thoughtfully at Canace, “You wouldn’t happen to know what Manokies meant, would you?” 160

Canace gave him a winning smile that told him all he needed to know.  She already knew the answer, and was playing with them! Danny had figured this out too and was impressed, “Well Canace, why don’t you answer Jay’s question.  Maybe we can clear some things up.” 161

“Okay Danny,” Canace reluctantly grinned, “Manokies means ‘the unseen terror.’  It refers to the rapids that make up the entire river.”162

“Canace, I think you know the answer to the riddle.  Don’t say it yet, but please, share with us the knowledge of how to get there.”  Danny politely asked. 163

“Well Danny, let me ask you a few questions.  Do you think the riddle refers to a pass they were forced to flee for their life on?”  Nod from Danny.  “And do you think it is safe to say that fear predicts an unseen terror?” 164

A light of recognition appeared in Danny’s eyes, “I get it now!” 165

“I don’t,” Jay said, jealousy tearing through his voice.  “What does fear have to do with the unseen?” 166

“Okay, how to explain this?”  Canace thought to herself, “What do you feel when you’re afraid?” 167

Jay was confused with this, “How does this help?”168

“Jay, when you’re afraid, are you  afraid of some terror you can’t see?” Danny asked him.169

“Yeah, isn’t every one?”  Jay replied looking at him, not putting the facts together.170

“There you go!”  Danny replied, “Canace, why don’t you tell us what the answer to the riddle is?” 171

Canace looked at the map and slowly stated, “Pass of the Unseen Terror.” 172

Once again, the glow appeared and shone brilliantly throughout the room.  Canace had to shield her eyes and turning away from the blinding light, she noticed she was the only one who was seeing it.  Jay saw her turn away, and was about to ask what was wrong when symbols started appearing slowly, one by one, onto the map.  No one moved or made a sound.173

Letters dissolved from the symbols, reading:174

PASS OF THE UNSEEN TERROR175