Free Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) by L. M. Roth

all sides. It was said that it was the only remaining structure of a city
that had stood here long ago. But a mighty volcanic eruption had destroyed the
city and much of the surrounding terrain, leaving only rocky promontories of
hardened lava formed from the destruction, and a small inland sea far below
where the crater had once spewed out smoke and ash.
    The sound of
the sea not far away boomed as heavy waves crashed with a monotonous regularity
on the shore. Gulls overhead screeched as they flew in their search for food.
Only the sound of the waves and the gulls gave any indication of life in this
place of bleak isolation. To a casual traveler it would appear that the place
was uninhabited, left to nature to take it back following the volcano’s fury.
    But they would
be wrong in their assumption. For in the house was an inhabitant, and that
inhabitant was at that very moment, conducting a school.
     
    “Bless those
that curse you,” said a clear young voice.
    “Do to others
what you would have them do to you,” said another.
    “Honor your
father and mother.”
    “Forgive
others, just as you have been forgiven.”
    “Very good!”
the teacher exclaimed. “What a good class you are! You have studied hard, and
it shows.”
    She suddenly clapped
her hands in dismissal.
    “That is all
for today. We shall meet again after you break your fast in the morning.”
    Her pupils
bestowed joyous smiles upon her as they left. She returned them, delighting in
the young girls who came for instruction each day from the village below. Soon
they had all departed and she was left alone.
    Kyrene sighed
and stretched her arms overhead. How stiff remaining in the same position made
one! Or perhaps it was merely a symptom of approaching age, she thought wryly.
    She decided to
step outdoors and enjoy what remained of the day before preparing the evening
meal. She ambled leisurely around the hilltop and selected a spot under the
shade of the acacia tree. The sound of the sea slapping the shore soothed her
as she sat down and sighed again. She reached into the pocket of her robe for
the letter that had arrived by post that morning.
    “My dear
Kyrene,
    “It is with
great sadness that I write to tell you of events that have lately transpired in
Valerium. With the coming of the spring, a stranger arrived in our midst who
was quickly welcomed by both the Alexandrians and the leading men of Potentus.
His name is Iacomus Cornelius. There is a great mystery clinging to him, as I
know from my girlhood in Lycenium that his family cast him out of it when he
was very young. It is said in Lycenium that he died many years ago, yet here he
has turned up in Valerium! Marcus and I felt some apprehension regarding him
from the first, yet we bade him welcome as did everyone. How sadly misplaced
our trust was we soon discovered.
    “Iacomus rose
rapidly in favor with nearly all who knew him. He started speaking in prophecy
among the Alexandrians, yet they did not feel valid in their words. But how
eagerly our fellow believers hung on his words that reeked of flattery! His
opinion was sought in the city, and daily he was the center of attention among
the men of importance. Only our old friend Justus Lucius shared our doubts.
Emperor Urbanus, I am sorry to relate, took him in as though he were a friend
he had not seen for many years.
    “Alas, Emperor
Urbanus seems to have exchanged one friend for another, as he cast Marcus and me
out of Valerium, and seized our home. Yes, you may well be shocked, knowing as
you do what a good and faithful friend Urbanus was to my Marcus when he needed
one sorely. The Emperor, my dear Kyrene, has been told that the Alexandrians
pledge allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven and that must not be, as we place it
higher than our allegiance to Valerium. And our commitment to Dominio is also a
source of contention, as he does not like our pledging ourselves to the service
of anyone other than the Emperor.
    “As a result,
the