Wright nodded. "It is the same," he said. "Plato wrote that such was the name of a similar metal, of which the Atlanteans had the secret. They delved it from the ground. It was far more precious to them than gold. In their temples stood columns of it, on which their laws were carved."
"O'Connell told me that there were still traditions in the world of the continent that was; but he never told me this," Oleric said. "You are right. In the Temple of Shamar, here in Adlaz, such a column stands, and on it the laws are writ. On it, too, is the prophecy of Maeronica, against which I now match the prophecy of Ruthar, whose son I am."
He looked at Polaris. "Say, brother, how is it with you? Are you minded to come with me to Ruthar and try a tilt at the Kimbrian Wall—a tilt for a kingdom?"
Polaris had heard the tale of Oleric with grave and earnest attention, studying the face of the captain as he talked. Now the son of the snows laughed dryly.
"Mad talk, Oleric the Red," he said. "I am not the hero of your prophecy; and if I were, how are we to come from Adlaz to this Ruthar of which you tell us so glibly; and when we are come there, if that be possible, how are we to break down the wall which has stood against your armies for years—"
"So it must seem to you," interrupted Oleric, with clouding brow. "Mad talk, indeed; and perhaps it is. But here in Adlaz is death—death and slavery. I know a way to Ruthar. For the matter of the wall, I have one question to put. Well answered, all will be well.
"Here in Maeronica there are some few things in which the folk have progressed as far ahead of the rest of the world as the world has outstripped them in most others. Of these are the fademes and their power of destruction—the mighty force of which even I know can only be used beneath the sea. On land, that force is powerless except to use as a light. In battle the Maeronicans fight as did their forefathers, bearing the arms that you have seen. I know that out in the world men have mastered the secret of engines which slay from afar, casting globes of metal which fly apart with a loud noise, rending all that is near. Such I saw on the ship yonder.
"We have, as you reckon time, nearly six months before the Feast of Years, when doom will be meted out to those who are marked for death. I know that is not time enough, nor do I think we have the means to construct such engines. But, say—has no one among you the knowledge to make the stuff which you feed into them? If there is such a one, why, I know in Ruthar a laboratory where he might work, with many willing hands to do his bidding. I have tried it myself, but have discovered nothing. Surely one of you, who are instructed, shall do better. So might we destroy even the great wall."
He paused, and gazed hard at Zenas Wright and then at Lieutenant Everson.