Submitted: 30 June 1998

A Quest Fulfilled, And Unfulfilled

by Lasadelle Dennagwemit

My quest!

It had been a while since I'd qualified for one, but she felt I was worthy, and bade me to learn the Blessing of Kertigen at His direction.

The journey was not without peril, and the directions were not exactly clear, but armed with my faith, I started out to do the research to complete it. Without going into further details, it was clear that my way led to Stone Clan, so at dawn one morning, I set off.

I offerred a prayer to the Lady Hodierna, Kertigen's wife, as I stepped into the mountain pass. "I believe you will keep me safe."

My eyes adjusted slowly, it seemed so dark inside. And everywhere were more tunnels and caves. I didn't know how I was going to find my way in, let alone find my way out.

Time seemed irrelevant, but my stomach was growing hungry as one turn and then the next proved to me that all caves looked alike. Once I stumbled across a couple who were not dwarves, but were working busily on things. Discards lay around their feet.

"Excuse me, Sir?" I asked Blacklark.

He continued to cast spells without regard to me. I turned to his companion, Fandella, and asked again, "Excuse me, Miss?"

She was so engrossed in her instrument and some crushed stuff in a mortar she could not hear me, I guess. It was pretty loud. So I headed off after what Mother had taught me was a polite time to wait for the response of my elders, still looking for what I had come for, and having found no help.

I found this beautiful stalagtite, and thought perhaps Kertigen might have had a hand in making it. Searching around, I didn't find anything that indicated it was particularly holy. Just gorgeous. In retrospect, I think He did have a hand in its creation, you know.

So I continued on with my search, my Quest. My stomach was really complaining now, and I was pretty sure I was passing by places I had seen before. But no sign I had been able to see, no whisper had I been able to hear, of Kertigen, and what I must do.

With a quick prayer and renewed faith, I began to look closer in the dimness of the caves and tunnels, searching for a hint of what I sought. It wasn't long before I came across the same people I had before, they were the only others in the entire area besides me. And they were still busily discarding things, crushing, teaching, playing, and casting spells as I tried to engage them in conversation once again.

But once again, they were either too busy or too noisy to notice me. As I peered through the trash on the floor and tried to concentrate, I thought I saw something.

"Could you please be quiet a moment while I look and listen for something important?" I asked them.

There wasn't an answer, they continued on as before.

But there, I saw the image of Kertigen in the very stone of the cave! And the full weight of my Quest came down upon my shoulders with a crushing weight.

"How dare these two people desecrate a holy spot in this manner?" was all I could wonder.

I steeled myself for what lay ahead, for there was no way to peer past the opening of the oeblichar to see what awaited me. I knew whether I failed or succeeded, I was on my own, and that the people out here defiling this holy spot would not, could not, be any sort of help to me in their current trance.

Inspired by the confidence of sure steps, I passed within, and after several attempts, I finally secured the ultimate objective and learned what I had come to learn. The Quest was fulfilled.

As I stepped back out of the oeblichar, filled with the warmth of the holiest of visions, I was met with the busy movements and noise of the couple who sat there, oblivious to me and to the holy spot which they sat at, blocking the entrance. I was angry and decided that I needed to try to do something about it other than get their attention.

I thought that Fandella looked like she would be the easiest to move, but even in my heightened state of awareness, I could not budge her from where she sat.

And so my Quest that day had been fulfilled, by the letter of the law. But I felt that a part of my task was left undone because I couldn't get the two people who sat in unholy trances to move to a less sacred spot.