Tomb of the Lonely King

By Joseph Sullivan

The Tomb of the Lonely King was a sight to behold. Absent from maps and stricken from stories of the land that surrounded it, it was as forgotten as the name of the man who was buried there, but its majesty and grandeur had withstood the test of time. The light of a torch was small, but strong enough to illuminate the ancient carvings and runes along the walls, the statue of a long-lost monarch at the very end of the hall, standing above a golden chest of treasure.

“Master! We made it!”

Two thieves entered the tomb. Knafur, the one holding the torch, was a young man, but he had counted himself as having suffered misfortune well beyond what his years would have justified. Long had he sought a treasure that would earn him the respect of his fellow thieves and enshrine his name into history for all time. When he heard about the Tomb of the Lonely King, he saw his opportunity and raced to it with gleeful abandon, before any competition could get in his way.

He glanced up at Praemon, his mentor, an old man once known as the King of Thieves, but whose advanced age was beginning to catch up with his abilities. But instead of seeing the same awe and excitement he felt himself, he saw caution and weariness line his face.

“Is something wrong?” Knafur asked.

“I am not sure,” Praemon grumbled. “Something about this seems wrong. We should check the scroll again.”

“Ugh, fine…”

Knafur took out the scroll that they had bought in the last town they had visited, and they read over it again, just to make sure that they were not missing anything.

The Lonely King was a man rich in wealth and power, but poor in the treasures that truly mattered in life. Long had he sought to have others by his side, but he found too often that they only stayed for fear of his power, or greed for his wealth. When he died alone, his last act was to cast a spell on his tomb, creating the greatest treasure of all, so that others would come, and relieve him of his solitude in death.

Upon reading the scroll again, Knafur felt a sense of giddiness come over him. 

“The greatest treasure of all?” He asked his mentor. “What do you think could be in there? Gold? Magical artefacts? Perhaps even the means to forge a kingdom of our own!”

“You are eager to conjure up possibilities, Knafur,” Praemon chided him. “But this seems far too easy for the tomb of a monarch who tired of all his wealth and power. Why would he consider that worth keeping?”

“Bah, you are too cautious, Master,” Knafur rolled his eyes, irritated at the old man’s hesitance, even at the very end of their journey. “Here. I will prove it to you.”

“Wait!”

Not listening to Praemon, Knafur ran towards the chest, and with quick and careful work using his tools, pried open the dusty box. But when he peeked his head over to take a look inside, he saw…

…nothing.

“What?” Knafur cried aloud in confusion.

But when he tried to pull his head back, he felt it draw further in, and his entire body went with it. The emptiness inside the chest overwhelmed his vision and became his whole world, before the lid closed behind him.

***

It happened so suddenly before Praemon’s eyes. One moment, Knafur was looking inside the chest, shocked at what he saw inside, and the next moment, the young man was pulled inside and the lid slammed shut with a sickening crunch. In seconds, Knafur was gone.

Young fool, Praemon thought. He was angry at what had happened and at his apprentice for his recklessness, but also suddenly sad, and scared of what else lurked in the tomb. With his newfound emotions came a realisation. The greatest treasure existed only in your mind, Knafur, and it brought you here, so that the Lonely King would never be alone again.

As he took another look around at a quest that was beyond him and prepared to depart, he thought again about the Lonely King no longer being alone, and he wished that he could say the same about himself.

About the Author

Joseph Sullivan is a writer and support worker living in Melbourne, Australia.

He is an avid writer of speculative fiction, having been an ongoing contributor to AntipodeanSF since 2022. In addition, he is a regular reviewer for Aurealis, and has written nonfiction for them as well.

You can find his work at <https://josephsullivanwriter.blogspot.comhttps://josephsullivanwriter.blogspot.com>.