To Find a God

by Mary Hamilton

  “Yes. If we do anything else, we go around and end up in the same places again. If there’s a way out, it has to be down here.”

  Kharla, bringing up the rear, objected, but with noticeably more humility than had been her style before. “It doesn’t make any sense. How do we get out by going deeper?”

  Tovi laughed over his shoulder. “Easy. We were close to the mines. These probably connect. If we can reach them, the ogres who work there can help us.”

  Neither of his companions disputed him. What really gave him confidence, though, was that River kept pace with him and seemed somehow to agree. Tovi still struggled with this sort of unspoken communication between himself and the dog. But at the moment, it felt good.”

  After what seemed like an entire day of walking, the party emerged into a large cavern. Three tunnels led away from it, two headed level and then up while the third continued downward. Unfortunately, the lower one was obstructed by a rockslide. Tovi moaned and dropped to the floor. As he sat, though, a pain shot through his butt and up his back. “Ouch.” He reached down and retrieved a shard of rock about twice the size of his hand. He held it up in front of him, trying to see the details in the faint glowing light of the crystals. It was nothing special. It looked like a fat stick, only made of rock.

  “What is that?” Klunk eased down beside the Azyrean.

  “I don’t know, but it hurt when I sat on it.”

  His ogre friend took the piece of stone from him and examined it more closely. Shrugging, he handed it back. “Just rock.”

  But it felt special to Tovi, although he couldn’t say why. “Yeah, I guess.” But rather than dropping it back onto the floor, he tucked it into his pack.

  The three, plus the animals, shifted around to find comfortable positions. A bite or two of meat followed drinks. The last of the food was gone and Tovi figured that, based on how heavy his skin felt, they had maybe another day of water. He resisted the urge to ask Klunk how they were going to get out of this mess. The ogre would not know any more than the rest of them.

  “Maybe we should backtrack and try some of the other tunnels.” The hope in Kharla’s eyes shone even in the dim light.

  Klunk remained in a half-reclined position. “We need rest. We should sleep and decide when we wake up, when we are fresh.”

  It sounded to Tovi almost like his friend had given up. But waiting did feel right. The weariness gnawed at his bones.

  The only sound breaking the silence was the breathing of the party. As they settled in, though, each retreating into their own thoughts, Tovi heard it. “Listen. What’s that?”

  A faint sound reached his ears. It sounded like a knocking or banging, like nothing he’d heard before. And it had a rhythm. Then it stopped… and started again. A sharp but faint sound.

  Klunk sat up. “That is like a hammer on stone.”

  Kharla’s eyes lit up. “Or like a mining pick on stone. Yes, the mine. That’s it.”

  Tovi stood and went over to the rockslide. The sound grew louder. “It’s behind here. I can hear it better now.”

  Klunk joined him. “Yes. I hear it.”

  Kharla move to the side of the tunnel and began looking around the edge of the rock slide. “These stones are too large. Like the others. We can’t move them.” She shook her head.

  Tovi stared up at the top of the slide, up near the ceiling of the passage. “Maybe….” He stood on one of the boulders to get a better view. “Could there be an opening at the top?”

  Unfortunately, none of the three stood tall enough to see.

  “Klunk, what if you bend down and let me get on your shoulders, you know, like when you carried me. Then I’d be able to stand up and see higher.”

  As the ogre stood, Azyrean on his back, the hole revealed itself. The sound grew even louder. “Yes, I can see through. It’s little but….” He tentatively placed his right foot on the highest of the stones and shifted his weight. Predictably, the pile of rocks did not budge but Tovi managed to get his face right up next to the opening. “I don’t know if I can get through or not.”

  He tried to put his legs in first but wedged up tight at his hips. Turning around, he stuck his arms in and then his head. Still no luck. Finally, he put his arms to his side and put his head in. His shoulders rubbed the side and he felt stuck. But he wiggled and pushed himself forward at the same time. Unfortunately, this leather jerkin bunched up and prevented him from moving farther.

  Pulling back out, he removed his top and tried again. As his shoulders ground against the side of the opening, the pain was excruciating. He tamped down the cry and pushed harder. He felt the blood on his shoulders and arms. Clenching his jaw, he shut his eyes tight and pushed even harder. Just when he thought he could stand no more pain, the pressure released and he plummeted through the remainder of the opening, toppling onto the ground in a well-lit passageway.

  As he sat up to take account of his surroundings, he found himself face-to-face with a large ogre holding a mining pick, staring back at him.

  Chapter 74: Jarek

  Jarek found himself happy to see Ratio again. Sitting with him and Burns getting back into the technical discussions of crystals and beams felt reassuring. “It seems to me that the first thing we need to try and figure out is the connection between colors and destinations. We need to know where the blue beams or portals take us.”

  Burns, for her part, had cheered up since arriving back at the enclave of the brotherhood. She sipped nectar and nibbled on sweet cakes as she seemed to consider the problem. “Maybe we’re going about this wrong. We could start by looking at all of the possibilities—all of the places it could lead.”

  Ratio shook his head as he munched on a piece of hard white cheese. “I fear I may not be of much use to you there. I barely know my way around Ebon Lake. I have little idea what lies beyond.”

  Jarek thought about the dilemma and how to narrow the search. “Is it possible that there are other destinations in this area? What I mean is, the red beam took me to a certain location in this realm. Might the blue beam take me to a different place in this realm? Then again, Doc mentioned other races—ogres and elves, I believe it was. Perhaps the blue beam goes to one of their lands.”

  Silence.

  The Azyrean glanced from one face to the other. “Well, if we don’t know, who might?”

  Burns responded with a smile, “Doc might know something. I think he knows more about these other lands than he lets on.” She glanced over at Ratio. “Doc’s our resident historian and lore master.”

  “Sounds a lot like Brother Andrew.” Ratio had that look in his eye—recognition.

  Jarek clapped his hands together once and rubbed them vigorously. “Ah, then, we know what we must do. We have to get those two together.”

  ◆◆◆

  After refreshments, the larger group—all of the parties on both sides—reconvened in the dimly lit main room of the brotherhood enclave. Virgil, leaning forward in his chair, initiated the conversation, “Brother Magnus, I extend my gratitude for this opportunity to meet with you. As we discussed earlier, there are many questions on both sides. And given our lack of knowledge about each other, trust is naturally an issue. I, however, believe we’ve gained much ground in resolving that issue.”

  The head of the brotherhood stood and nodded respectfully to the captain. “I am also appreciative of the effort. Nonetheless, we have not really answered any questions nor solved any problems. Part of the conundrum, of course, is that, while we appear to share a common foe, our mandates are different. We in the Brotherhood of Aristan are dedicated to preserving his word and honoring his values. We live in the hope of his return and the redemption of our people. Your group is bound to the purpose of ridding the kingdom of Wyndred. These are not mutually exclusive, but they are different and suggest different strategies.”

  “Please understand that we are not asking you to help us fight. We are not seeking anything that we believe would put your order in any greater danger
than it already is. As for your goals, I don’t believe there is anything in our purpose that conflicts with what you stand for. I am merely asking that we share information.”

  Brother Magnus smiled warmly. “And yet, here we are, still talking in circles. If we are to share information, then it must flow in both directions. As of yet, I have not heard much from you in response to our questions regarding your interest in crystals and travel beyond this realm.”

  Captain Virgil paused and looked around the table at the members of the rebel contingent. “Indeed. My response to that is this. If you are ready to share information—in both directions—then I propose that we move to the next step. As you are aware, I am not the commander of our humble band. I am but a soldier who, like your brothers, must work within constraints. You, being the head of your order, should have this conversation directly with our leader.”

  “I cannot debate that. Why is your leader not here, then?”

  “Small steps, Brother Magnus, small steps. We have taken the first, which is to establish good faith and willingness to speak. In any event, our practice is that the commander and I will never leave our compound at the same time, for obvious reasons. What I suggest is that you travel to meet her. We might do this at our base or, if you would prefer otherwise, we can choose another site. I suggest our location because I can guarantee its security.”

  The old man smiled, and his eyes lit up. “When do we travel?”

  Chapter 75: Jarek

  Jarek and Burns sat outside the cave taking in a bit of sun and fresh air. They had been allowed to sit in on the initial discussions between West and Magnus, but after a few preliminaries, the leaders had adjourned for a private conversation.

  Despite Burns’ improved disposition at the brotherhood enclave, Jarek still worried about her relationship with Mathias. They had not spoken since the conflict over their prior mission. Of the two, at least in Jarek’s opinion, Mathias was suffering the worst of it. He seemed to take pains not to be near Burns and averted his gaze when around her.

  The Azyrean had never seen the explosives expert like this. She could be cheery, quipping and joking one moment and then descend into a sulk the next. “Burns, you need to find a way to resolve this thing with Mathias.”

  “What’s to resolve?”

  “You know what. He’s our friend. You don’t turn your back on people just like that.”

  “It wasn’t just like that. We almost got killed. We would have if it wasn’t for the brothers. And they even lost one of their members rescuing us. The least we could have done is talk to them. As it is, all that we did was for nothing.”

  Jarek leapt to his feet and stood facing her. “No! It wasn’t all for nothing. Magnus and West are in there right now hammering this out. We’re going to be getting Doc and Brother Andrew together and we’re going to figure this out. All of it started with what we went through. We might disagree with how Mathias handled it, but I think he did his best. I’m just glad it didn’t fall to me to make the decisions.”

  He watched Burns’ eyes. Her gaze shifted from him to something off to the side. She clenched her jaw and stared.

  Jarek turned to see Mathias standing, some flowers in his hand. “I’ve been trying to figure this out. Not much luck. So I guess these are just a way of saying I’m sorry. I don’t want things to be bad between us.” He handed the bouquet of yellow and orange blossoms to Burns.

  She reached out and took them, holding them up in front of her and tilting her head to each side as she inspected them. “Hmmm, roseweeds.” She arched her eyebrows.

  Mathias shrugged. “Sorry, all the flower shops in the swamp were closed. I had to improvise.”

  She sniffed them. “Not a bad fragrance, I guess.”

  “Anyway, I’m sorry things went the way they did. I honestly felt that I did what I had to. I never meant for us to be on the outs.”

  Burns stood, flowers in hand, and put her arms around Mathias. “Okay. But just this one time. Next time, we have to do it my way.” A smile crept onto her face as she pulled away from him.

  ◆◆◆

  West stood beside Magnus and addressed the mixed group—brothers and rebels. “First, thank you all for your patience. It has been a long morning. I want to say, first, that these are sensitive issues. Both sides have legitimate concerns. We do share some common interests, but we diverge in some areas. That is, I fear, unavoidable. Brother Magnus and I have agreed on a framework for sharing information. We ask that, as you form relationships and begin working on issues with each other, you honor the spirit of what we have decided.” She turned and nodded to Magnus.

  “Eh, thank you, Commander West.” He adjusted his spectacles before continuing. “The crux of it is this. We believe that the value in collaboration is not necessarily what either party knows or has access to, but rather the intellectual skills that can be brought to bear by the various members. More simply put, we think that the possibilities lie in what we can learn together.”

  West resumed the presentation, “We agree that both sides, indeed the entire human race, will be better off without Wyndred in power. But we also agree that trying to fight a war in this realm is futile. The king’s forces are concentrated here, and his power is too great for a direct assault. We know that he actively seeks a way to move his armies into another area, although we have no idea where that is. So the focus of our cooperation will be trying to determine his target and developing a way to move our forces into that area as well. He will most certainly not move all of his troops, and so we should find the odds better. Once he is defeated there, we can turn our attention to his remaining forces here.”

  Magnus stepped forward and picked up the discussion. “The brotherhood’s involvement will be limited to investigation and discovery of travel mechanics. We will not participate in any armed conflict.”

  “Thank you, Brother Magnus. I want to add one other thing for the benefit of my troops. The brotherhood is taking an exceptional risk in trusting us. Betrayal or simple negligence of security could easily spell death for every one of them, along with their families. This is on our shoulders. I have given him my word that we are trustworthy.”

  She surveyed the group, who sat in silence watching the two leaders. “If there are no questions about these constraints, we move on to specifics. Tonight, Jarek, Burns, Doc and Mathias will accompany the brothers back to their sanctuary. Brother Magnus has assured me that his historian and technical expert will be available to begin research. Based on what they find, we will decide later how to proceed.”

  Jarek stole a glance at Burns, whose face had broken into a wide grin. This was it—what they had wanted.

  Chapter 76: Jarek

  “Right now, we just want to figure out how colors are related to destinations. We thought that you might have something in your old records that could help us.” Jarek spoke for the other three—Doc, Burns, and Ratio.

  Brother Andrew, the brotherhood historian, pondered the request as he thumbed through an old tome sitting on the table in front of him. “I must confess, colors are not the kind of thing I study. I am responsible for maintaining the word of Aristan. That includes, of course, providing information of historical significance that helps put things in context.”

  Burns sighed with what sounded like resignation. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that facts and accounts of events are often misleading if we don’t know the situation that surrounds them—the context, we call it. For example, we understand that the gods sundered this world, leaving realms divided by what we now call the fading. But to truly understand this, one must go back and examine the history of the great war. If we look at things in this way, we can see that the act was not one of hatred or anger by the gods, but rather benevolence—trying to keep us all from destroying ourselves.” He tapped his finger on the cover of the book. “I’m just saying that we must look at the entire picture.”

  Doc, who was the closest thing the rebels had to an historian,
was quick to add his piece. “Yes, I agree. And, even more important, the matter of crystals and colors cannot be examined out of context. We must keep in mind that the sundering occurred for a reason.” He paused and rubbed his chin. “What we don’t know is whether, given the changes that have occurred in the world since the war, the gods would approve of our actions, even if we do mean them only for good.”

  Andrew’s face lit up as though he had found a long-lost brother. “Exactly! Exactly my good friend. We are clearly taking a leap of faith. That means that we must be ever vigilant for any signs that might signal the gods’ disapproval.”

  Jarek grew impatient with the bantering and tried to move the conversation along. He sensed urgency and felt the need to move beyond the philosophical. “Yes, we understand that.” He glanced over at Burns, furrowing his brow. He hoped that she would just accept the explanation and move on. “The alternative, though, is to simply allow the king to continue along his way. I cannot accept that your gods would like that.” He found it curious that he had so quickly moved from complete doubt to a more measured skepticism in such a short time. “But we were hoping that some of your older records, perhaps from before the war, might provide some insight into the other races. It’s possible that this might include some kind of reference to crystal colors. We’re especially looking for anything that deals with the colors green and blue.”

  The archives turned out to be on the scale of the Pangrove Library. Following a labyrinth of twisting passages and circular staircases, the party descended deeper and deeper, until the corridor opened into a huge room with bookcases lining the walls. The small hand-torch Andrew carried provided only partial illumination. Several doors appeared to offer passage into other areas, although they were not lit well enough for Jarek to tell anything about them.