He brought the lanterns over and held one above the crate. “So it has come before?”
“Yes, but it looks as if they caught it in time.” I lifted the lid. “They contained it with this substance.”
The King frowned at the lid. “What is that?”
“I'm not sure, but I think it's a type of plant sap.”
“Sap?”
“Yes, there are types of sap that, when boiled, become a viscous, sticky substance. When applied to an item, they form a film similar to this. It can cushion items or waterproof things.”
“And it stopped the rot from spreading?”
“Yes.” I put the lid back. “I saw it spread. We need to be careful and inspect the crates quickly.”
“All right.” He distributed the lanterns around the room and then headed for the lighter crates.
“I've looked in one of those already,” I said. “They contain diagrams of old enchantments. The crate was unlined, so I assume they're free of contamination.”
“You looked in one? What about the others?”
“I divided them by weight. Those are lighter. I assume the rest of that group will hold more paperwork. Let's look in the heavier crates first.”
We opened crate after crate, revealing more enchanted items, all showing the beginning signs of Silver Rot. There were weapons, household items, and old equipment. After hours of searching, we stood back and stared at the resealed crates.
“So, all we've learned is that it has attacked us before.” The King crossed his arms and scowled at the crates.
I looked from the crates of items to those full of books and papers. “Why leave the records here?”
“I don't know.” He frowned deeper. “The only reason I can think of would be to prevent people from making those items.”
“Yes!” I rushed back to the books. “There was something in the notes!” I pulled out a book and flipped through until I came to the page I was looking for. “Here.” I tapped it. “Instructions on layering enchantments! This is it. All of those items have layered enchantments. They were stacking magic.”
“We've been doing that for years.” He shrugged.
“How many years?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was there, perhaps, a time, say during the first king's reign, that enchantments weren't layered?”
The King frowned. “I'd have to check the archives, but perhaps.”
“I think compounding enchantments has led to this rot. They'd probably been doing it for years before the rot came. Then they sealed it off and stopped stacking.”
“But after years passed, we forgot why we weren't stacking enchantments and resumed the practice.”
“Yes, and the rot returned.” I glanced at the crates. “It didn't come from here. The crates contain the rot, and it is not spreading. I didn't want him to get defensive, so I tried to make it sound as if he wasn't specifically to blame. “We did this to ourselves. Our advancements are the source of our destruction.”
But the King didn't need or want coddling.
“Not we, Master Sevarin. Me. I missed this warning. I ignored the archives until it was too late.”
My eyes widened at his willingness to shoulder the blame. “It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. Your predecessor was wrong to hide this. He should have issued a formal decree and ensured its explanation in the records, thereby passing it down to the next king. Not only that, he should have warned the other kingdoms.”
“I don't care whose fault it is. I only care about fixing it.” He waved me out of the room. “If we can fix it, I will warn the other kingdoms.”
I helped him gather the lanterns and take them into the corridor, and then he shut the steel door. Clicks came, and then a rumbling boom. I raised my eyebrows at him.
