John laughed but then sobered quickly.
"It is not easy what your family has done since our people have come to these lands. They have protected us from secrets that have the capacity to destroy us all. It was one of the reasons your father gave for leaving. Do not be too hard on your grandfather. He has only been doing what he has thought was best for us all. Now I must be off. I have a wedding to perform in a small community not far from here. Good day to you Roric."
As he left me I watched him go somewhat resentfully. All the peace and tranquility I usually felt when I came to visit the chapel was gone. It was obvious to me that the priest had wanted to arouse my curiosity about what secrets my grandfather held on to, but why?
What was his angle in all this? And what had my grandfather been doing in the Attorgron Forest lands during a time of war, when no Valley Lander went farther than the gates of Kingdom Pass? It was time for my grandfather to answer some questions. I strode abruptly back towards the castle.
My grandfather's eyebrows arched up slightly when I slammed his study doors closed behind me. I came over to lean on the front of the massive mahogany desk that Thaddeus sat behind. The desk's surface was a jumble of parchment papers, sketches, books and eclectic artifacts.
"The secrets about this place and my families' role in them won't wait any longer!"
Thaddeus's eyebrows rose up further, "What brought about this outburst of needing to know? I thought I had at least a month or so to prepare for your orientation."
"Orientation?" I asked leadingly.
Thaddeus waved his hand gesturing my question away and brought the focus back to his question.
"This morning at the chapel the head priest made mention of yet another disturbing occurrence on your part. You were in the Attorgron Forest on some mission during the last war. Why were you there?"
"I might have known that troublesome priest John was involved!" Thaddeus said testily closing the book of papers he had been looking through with a huff.
"He said you raised him as a son alongside my father?"
The old man grunted his assent and then added, "The secrets the Ta'lont family protects were tasked to us alone to safeguard and not to outsiders, which has made him increasingly jealous over the years!"
"Well I'm a Ta'lont and I want to know what is going on around here."
My grandfather met my stare for a moment and then looked down at the desk in front of him and grumbled something unintelligible.