Gathering of the Titans: The Tol Chronicles Book 2 by Robert G. Ferrell

after the death of its host organism. The energy requirements and intelligence source necessary simply do not add up. It is possible that ghosts exist as something completely outside our realm of experience or scholarship, but the odds against that are rather steep.”
    “Agreed, Doctor, although I saw something I could not personally explain that was identified to me as representing ‘spirits’ in the Kopyrewt Forest. Be that as it may, we’re mostly just being entertained here. Taking some time off from reality, as it were.”
    “Very good. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the occasional flight of fancy.”
    “Thank you for your time and expertise, Doctor. We’re going to explore on our own now. We promise not to disturb any artifacts.”
    “I very much appreciate that, Your Majesty.” She added, after a moment,“They are, of course, yours to disturb.”
    Aspet and Boogla strolled away, leaving Reoksa cataloguing what looked like miniature eating utensils. Boogla wanted to take another look at the layout of the buildings; Aspet was contemplating the possible explanations for the disturbances. They stopped in the center of the unknown structure and sat on work stools brought in by the RSCA crew.
    Suddenly the small stone chest Aspet was holding in his hand began to glow and vibrate. He stared at it for a moment and then decided, as the RPC looked on in alarm, it would be prudent to set it down on a table. As he did a series of differently-colored smoke trails launched from the interior of the chest, filling the immediate area with chromatic smog. Boogla came over and stood by Aspet, as did two of the RPC detachment, who all at once drew their weapons.
    “There are things moving around in there, Your Majesty. Get away from them.”
    Aspet was too fascinated to respond. Indeterminate bipedal figures had materialized from the smoke. They weren’t hidden or obscured by so much as composed of it. They gestured toward Aspet and pointed to a spot on the ground, but otherwise made no threatening moves. After a few moments a breeze came through the ruins and the smoke began to dissipate, taking the apparitions with it.
    After the RPC had declared the area safe again, Aspet went over to the spot the phantoms had pointed at and began to dig carefully. About twenty centimeters down he ran into the lid of a much larger stone chest. Enlisting the assistance of some of the site workers, Aspet finally got the chest excavated. He and Reoksa lifted the lid slowly and gently, setting it with great care off to one side. There were three separate hermetic seals around the contents, which almost unbelievably contained intact parchment from, apparently, forty centums ago.
    Aspet let the more experienced Reoksa handle the documents wearing gloves and a mask to cut down on moisture contamination from her exhalations. The parchments contained both text and areas of symbols, but neither was in any known language. Reoksa took detailed photographs of each page and then packed them away for shipment back to the RSCA lab in Goblinopolis.
    “I’d like a copy of those documents as soon as practical,” Aspet said.
    “Certainly, Your Majesty. May I ask why?”
    “I know someone who would find them interesting.”
    “That person is welcome to look at them at the RSCA archives.”
    “I’m aware of that, but I’d rather show them to him personally, here on site.”
    “I’ll send them off by special courier and have the facsimiles back in no later than 44 hours, Your Majesty.”
    “Splendid. Thank you, Doctor Reoksa.”
    After she walked off with the crate of manuscripts, Boogla wandered up. “Why did you want copies?” she asked.
    “I think one of Tol’s transcendent archmage buddies may know something about this place.”
    “What makes you think that?”
    “I got a good look at those drawings. Some of them resemble magical glyphs. If that is what they are, this site may have something to do with the earliest magic users on