Book 9: Chapter 30
Karana didn’t make me wait for long. After just one day, she brought a tall stack of books before me. There were new and old books. The old ones were so old that I was afraid gently touching it would reduce it to dust.
“This is all of the information I found related to the North. After examining the information, I have found out that there are lots of species in the North, including trolls and anthropoids, all of which have their own societies, which come in different shapes and forms. Further, they continue to fight each other in the North. The North is mainly flat land and has rivers which can be clearly spotted. However, they should all be frozen by now.”
I nodded and asked, “Do you have a map, then?”
“I have found a total of three maps.”
Karana carefully picked up the three maps. Two of them were very old while one was very new. Well, not particularly new. I took the two maps. The pen marks made on them were virtually indiscernible now. I spread the three maps out, and then asked, “The entrances and exits on these three maps are huge. Is it due to the land changing or are they drawing mistakes?”
Karana smiled helplessly and replied, “Your Majesty, I truthfully have no way of being sure about that, as I have never been there. These maps were all drawn by adventurers. They were drawn centuries apart from each other. Nobody knows for certain if changes happened there or if the maps are inaccurate.”
“I can’t use these three maps to send my men to their deaths. I’m going to a place swarming with danger. Going there without a map is no different to marching to our deaths. I need to send scouts there to redraw the maps. I don’t need these three maps.”
Karana nodded then took the maps back. She responded, “Indeed, you are correct. You will have to slowly look through the rest afterwards. However, I cannot allow you to take them away, because they are things my husband left behind for me. Do you have any other plans for the next few days, Your Majesty?”
I looked at her and responded seriously, “No. Oh, right, I also want to personally make a trip to one of the routes that lead to the mountain paths in the North.”