by Gin Hollan
Graham was going home. Maybe they all should, or at least pretend to. Truthfully, she wanted to go back to the first crystal field and compare those to the one in her pocket. She also wanted to find out what her country thought of the history lesson she was given by Sebastian, and how they viewed crystals.
"Sebastian, I appreciate your hospitality and the generosity of allowing me to participate in your project, but I think I should go as well." Would Sebastian believe she was homesick?
"Ah,” He continued to walk, his tone and step remaining even. “You're disappointed."
"A little, but really, seeing you hard at work on your own project has left me feeling neglectful of my own. I need to stay on track. And after last night, I don't feel... entirely like myself. I'm... slow."
"I had noticed something was off about you. Do you think rest will be enough?"
“It couldn't hurt,” She shrugged. "Also, I think I'd like to become one of your investors. My family is business-minded, and this venture has real potential.”
"I see."
He seemed to want her to say more, but she refused. The knot in her stomach grew and tightened. Why did her nerves always go to her gut?
Suddenly he laughed. "I want to give you some information in exchange for putting yourself at risk yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“Your search for Tanner Stein will lead you to the King. I am not sure you are prepared for that battle.”
Arabeth stopped and stared at him. She'd given up trying to figure out how he knew so much about her and her friends, but this was a surprise.
“Care to elaborate?” she spoke slowly, being careful to not show her temper.
“Oh, come now. Surely you want to avenge the attack on your city, or some other pseudo-noble goal. I'm saving you time and trouble. Find the King and you will find your answers.” He patted her on the head. “Your group is waiting, and the horse and wagon are ready," he resumed, abruptly. "I am curious if you'd be interested in being one of the participants in the next series? I'm going to plow these under and regrow with the modified soil."
"Thank you for your hospitality, but I'm going to pass on participating in the next round." She spoke the expectedly perfunctory words, getting more anxious to leave by the minute.
This man knew their names and background before sending Grace to met them on the road. He'd continue keeping an eye on them, no doubt. But how was he doing that?
In the entry courtyard, the wagon stood, horse and all. Her friends looked ready to go.
"We have a map this time," Melanie smiled, holding up a large folded paper. "The hard part will be getting into Owen without being stopped."
"Owen?" Arabeth frowned. "How far is it?"
"It's the first town on our side of the map," she shrugged. "There's one favour we need to do, in exchange for the map, but it's on our route," Melanie added. "There's a box in the back we need to drop off at a Friary we'll be passing."
"Simple enough," Graham slipped his backpack off and dropped it in the back of the wagon.
“And are we in Vensay? This country is called Vensay,” she asked. “Do we know who the king is?” She looked back over her shoulder as they walked out. This seemed too easy, after all the kindness shown. A man with a mercantile mind should have tried to turn a profit. She double-checked her satchel as they walked.
“It is Vensay, but I had no idea they were a monarchy,” Melanie said. “That's pretty old-fashioned, right?”
Arabeth stopped rummaging through her satchel. “Well, that figures,” she snipped. "I knew that was too easy."
"What?" Graham and Melanie both said.
"My listening device is gone."
“They stole it?" Sam asked, looking irritated. "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing. It wasn't calibrated. I threw it together, just in case."
"So, it won't work?" Graham asked.
She shook her head.
"I say we look in the box and see if there's something worth taking a closer look at," Melanie said. “Since they stole first.”
"If you want to, that's your choice," she answered. “But I'm not robbing Friars because of Sebastian's people.”
“Fine, but I'm still curious,” she said.
Arabeth stopped the wagon and Melanie went around and climbed up inside the back. A moment later they heard a loud gasp and a thud as she hit the ground. Running to the back, Arabeth saw Melanie staggering back to her feet behind the wagon. She lifted the back flap and looked in. Several hundred crystals sat there, each a dull white with a low red glow at the core.
Arabeth reached for the crystal in her pocket and rubbed it between thumb and forefinger again. Her vision, hearing, and sense of smell increased. She lifted the crystal out and moved it closer to the box. As she did, dread filled her. It was no wonder Melanie reacted to it – these crystals were toxic. This was the equivalent of a death threat. She quickly put her own crystal back in her pocket, trying to calm herself.
"This is...." Arabeth couldn't find the words.
"It's barbaric. That's what it is." Melanie spat the words.
"What? Why? It's just a box of those crystals," Graham said.
"No, there is something inside these ones - something deadly. I can see something odd about them a hidden property," Arabeth said.
"Can we bury them? We have to get rid of them somehow," Melanie insisted.
"Well, it's a weird thought, but water. Let's soak them in water and see what happens," Arabeth said. “Start with the simplest solution.”
"Water? Why?"
"That red colour makes me wonder if they are hot in the middle," Arabeth said. "They may steam and boil at first, but at least the wagon will be safe."
"You can see that, too?" Melanie asked. "Can either of you?" she asked, looking at Graham and Sam.
"Nothing looks out of the ordinary to me," Sam said. “They're plain white crystals.”
Graham pulled down his goggles and took a closer look, flipping each of the five sets of lenses down one at a time, then trying combinations. "They do seem a little different, but I can't tell how."
Arabeth had already pulled out an oil skin she'd filled with water and started pouring it over the crystals. The steam built slowly, but soon the entire canopy was filled with it and the shards sparked up out of the water, causing her to flinch away more than once. When her flask was empty, she went to pull her pocket crystal out, but it seemed to resist.
"More," she said. "We need more water. Melanie, does that map show a stream or other water source anywhere?"
"Oh, right." Melanie pulled it out and unfolded it, checking as she did. "I think if we go that way, we'll find something." She pointed along the road, then away into the trees. "Didn't you teach Marble to find water?"
"It's on my list of things to do."
"Well, the wagon can't go in there and the box was heavy when the loaded it. I say we follow the road and take every turn that goes that way."
"Someone close it until we get there," Melanie said, her posture making it clear it wouldn't be her.
Arabeth looked at Sam, hoping he'd volunteer. He gave a half smile and went to close the lid. He paused before closing it completely. "Maybe we should leave it open. This thing is pretty hot. I'd hate for it to burn down the wagon," he said.
"Open or shut, we need to move fast," Melanie said, map out in front of her as she marched past.
// Chapter 14 //
The road wove too slowly for Arabeth. A foul smelled wafted by now when the wind shifted. She knew it was from the box. Handing the lead rope to Sam, she went to make sure nothing needed immediate attention. Hauling a box of corrupted, angry crystals made them all anxious, including the horse.
As she walked, she stayed to the one side of the thin, liquid line that now fell from the back of the wagon. Graham joined her, walking on the outside, further from the wagon.
"Let's talk it out," Graham suggested. "If you were in your lab, how would you dispose of a toxic and pote
ntially damaging substance, like something radioactive?"
"Put it in a lined metal box and mark the half-life on the outside."
"And then?"
"Take it to the warehouse, for long-term storage."
"Right. If you didn't know how long that half-life was, and had none of those resources..."
Arabeth sighed. "Well, I wouldn't deliver it to a group of unsuspecting monks."
“This may be an expected delivery,” Graham chuckled. "And they may have methods we don't know about."
"I am feeling a little stupid about adding water, right now. If they are radioactive, the water dripping out is going to poison the ground."
Graham patted her shoulder. "It happens. Try not to breath any of the vapours." He walked up to Melanie with more questions. Now that he'd grown accustomed to her augmented abilities, he had started studying her. It would only be a matter of time before Melanie caught on and punched him.
A motion from the back of the wagon caught Arabeth's eye. The leak had slowed to a few drops a minute, but now the wood seemed to be corroding.
"Graham!" she yelled. "We have a problem." She looked around for Marble, hoping the fox hadn't been travelling under the wagon for shade. "Marble," she called out. A moment later the fox came bounding out of the woods with a small animal in it's mouth. She paused to finish off then went over to let Arabeth pick her up.
Sam stopped the wagon and turned as everyone else went to look.
"The ground is smoking slightly, and look...." She pointed to where the wood was crumbling away.
"You lucky girl. It's not radioactive - it's caustic. Corrosive."
"It's not lucky if we lose the back half of the wagon," Melanie said, bending to look underneath. "It's dripping through the floor, right over the second wheel bar."
"The rear axle? We can fix that, but if those crystal shards fall and scatter on the road, we're going to be here for hours waiting for them to dry so we can handle them," Arabeth said, thinking. "If we dump the box out on the wagon floor and spread them out we'll get a few scorch marks but they'll dry faster." She looked to Graham for confirmation.
"That may work, but how will we handle them?" he wondered.
"We're surrounded by trees. I'll snap off a Y branch and use that."
"Okay, how do you plan to tip the box over, safely? More trees?"
"Yes, and plan B will be to push them out of the back, onto..." she headed for the trees. "Something. I'll think of it if we need it."
If they had a long, wide stretch of canvas, they could each stand on a side and roll the shards around, drying them much faster. With the day's heat increasing the way it was, it wouldn't take long. For now, this would have to do.
The roof of the wagon could be used as a last resort, but she hated that idea. There was a quality of workmanship in the images they'd wove into the canopy that made it feel like a sacrifice. And this was her fault. She'd find another way, if she had to. Something glass.
"Hold Marble, please," she said to Melanie as she held her out. Melanie hesitated.
"I need to keep her out from under foot, and if she walks under that wagon...." She let the thought linger until Melanie agreed.
The few trees here were thin, but they'd have to do. She went to snap a long, dry branch off a tall tree, wondering . What kind of outdoor crystal would turn caustic when wet? That didn't make sense, she thought. What had Sebastian done to them?
"Make sure it's old and dry," Graham called over.
"Oh, like you?" Arabeth retorted, not liking the condescending tone he'd adopted since the water mistake.
"Amused, are we?" he said back.
She stared at the box a moment. She needed a way to tip it over, but with some level of control. There was no way to do that without touching it and she didn't have gloves. If she stuck the branch under one side and use that to tip it over, there was a chance everything would fly.
Next best thing would be to put a rope around it somehow and use that took control the speed it rolled at.
"Would you quit stalling and get to it,” Graham snapped.
"Or you could do it. I think the box has stopped dripping out," she snapped back.
Arabeth walked over and, leaning forward, she took the box by the sides and tilted it, spilling the contents out across the floor. The water had mostly drained out, so the risk was negligible.
Taking her branch, she spread them out and left the canopy flap open for airflow.
"Let's get moving," she said. The sooner they were done with this, the better. "Melanie, how far would you say we are from the next large centre?"
"Not that far. Owen is next up. It seems pretty big, if this little circle means what I think. We shouldn't have a problem blending in. Are we not going to head over to the friary?"
“Yes, the friary is our next stop," Sam said.
“Fine, fine,” Graham grumbled.
“How big is Owen? Does the map say?” Arabeth asked. She hoped it had a connection to the underground shuttle system. It would be good to get home again. Why couldn't her mind stay made up, though? It was getting annoying.
“The friary is in the middle,” Melanie said.
"Alright then. Let's get rid of these," she said. Then find a shuttle bay, she added mentally.
Sam started whistling a tune, perked up by this new plan.
His energy was infectious, and soon everyone was walking quickly.
"The Friary," Melanie said, pointing at a large, square, stone building on right side of the road. Graham hurried ahead and rapped using the brass knocker in the centre of the wide, wooden door.
They waited a few minutes and still there was no response.
"Do you think they're here?"
"Where else would they be?"
"Maybe they had to leave, or move somewhere else."
"It could be that they're all busy with something. I can't imagine the expect many visitors."
"Should we just sit down and take a break until they're back from whatever it is they're doing?"
"Fine. My feet hurt again, anyway." Arabeth went to the back of the wagon and started gathering the now-dry crystals together.
Placing the box underneath the tail end of the wagon, Arabeth slowly started guiding them down. A few moments later the door opened and a man a long, grey Friar's robe walked out.
"What can I do for you?"
That was then he spotted the case. "We're not taking any more of those. You can go back to Sebastian and tell him that he and his people..." he paused looking at the group. "Well, I'm guessing you're not going back that way, but we don't want anything more to do with his or his organization."
Arabeth felt herself begin to panic. "You have to take them."
"We're going to leave them on your doorstep, or in your back yard, or anywhere that means we gave them to you. Sebastian has a way of seeing or at least finding out what we do," Melanie said.
He searched their faces, looking for something. Arabeth couldn't tell what. He dropped his shoulders with a sigh. "I will help you in a better way. I will teach you how to cleanse the crystals yourself. Then you can do whatever you want with them. Sell them, use them as batteries, whatever."
"Batteries?" Arabeth asked.
"That's all cleansed ones are good for. "
"Could they be used to start a field?" Sam asked.
"Doubtful. They'd fracture before they let themselves be used like that again."
"What do you mean, fracture themselves? Are they sentient, somehow?" Melanie asked.
"And what did he do to them?" Arabeth asked.
"First, no, they're no more sentient that any plant, but you'll notice that a plant that gets trimmed scissors doesn't grow back as well as one that's had parts pinched off. It is like that," the friar said.
"But what turned them caustic?" Arabeth wondered.
"He's running them through various heat tests this year. Hardening and using them in steam engines would make coal obsolete."
"He's running
a few different experiments, then," Sam said.
"You said you'd show us how to fix them - how's that different than doing it yourself?" Graham asked.
"It will take time and attention to fix them, and we are in harvest right now. Wait here." He turned and went back inside.
"He expects us to babysit these?" Melanie asked, disgusted.
"It might be worth learning," Sam said. He turned to Arabeth. "You've gone suddenly quiet. What are you thinking?"
Arabeth shrugged. "I'm wondering if, once there pH level has been returned to normal, we let them sit and rest if they would over time become plantable again"
"What is your interest in it?" The friar said from behind her, causing her to jump.
Her face flushed red as she turned. "I understand you're the expert, and I don't mean to dispute, but I would love to repair the damage. It seems wasteful to me."
He frowned a moment then held out a bag for her. "Create a solution with this - five parts water to one part tri-sodium phosphate. That's all the advice I can give you on them. Water is over there." He pointed to a long-handled water pump to one side of the Friary. "Good day, then." He turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him.
Arabeth looked at the bag. It was a simple burlap sack filled with salt. Rather, salt of a strong base and weak acid. At least the part about changing the water pH made sense.
"This week just gets weirder and weirder," Melanie huffed.
Arabeth picked the box up and put it back in the wagon. She'd add water to the container the monk gave her, shake it while they walked then pour it over. The water pump was highly responsive and moments later she had the solution started.
"So, which direction, Melanie?" Sam asked, in his role as a horse leader.
"Owen is that way, but will they let us in with these?"
"I've got the solution started,” she shook the container to stir the contents. “Maybe by the time we're there, they'll be safe enough.”
“Or we can leave them hidden somewhere,” Graham said.
