by Jeremy Dwyer
~~~
Indigo and Drystan wandered further into the Javanda forest and caught sight of a log cabin. Indigo remembered her mission and went forward to enter it. Drystan held her hand as she moved to go into the cabin and he instantly stopped her, pulling her back.
“Wait! I heard something. A rattle!” Drystan said.
“What?” Indigo asked.
“Rattlesnakes hide in the woods. Wait here. Let me go first,” Drystan said.
Drystan drank anew of the waters of the Trerada Ocean from his vial and was energized. His handsome physique was amplified in some way – Indigo felt more urges toward him. Yet, his vitality was also multiplied. He entered the log cabin, finding no one there, except for a nest of rattlesnakes, noisily warning him away.
Drystan came out and asked: “What are you looking for in there? I can get it. You’ll get bitten.”
“So will you,” Indigo said.
“I’ll be fine. Rattlesnake teeth and venom are nothing – not against the Trerada waters,” Drystan said.
“You’re looking for something about this size – it’s dark, cold, and shaped like a candle, with a wick,” Indigo said, gesturing with her fingers to indicate the size. Getting killed for her mission was out of the question, and she didn’t tell Drystan anything special that would expose the secret.
“Why? What is it?” Drystan asked.
“Just don’t worry about that now. As long as we get it, and nobody else does, we’ll be fine,” Indigo said.
“Are we going to light this thing up?” Drystan asked.
“No! Never, ever light it up! Please just trust me!” Indigo said, clearly annoyed.
~~~
Amaltheia had been sobbing for hours behind a tree, deep in the Javanda forest, sick from the rejection and humiliation. She saw the log cabin earlier and heard the rattle when she approached, knowing that she wasn’t going in there: if she had any hope at all, a rattlesnake bite would have ended it quickly. Still, a little bit of hope was not much – unless her scars and burns were healed, she wasn’t going to find another lover, or even a friend.
When she heard the footsteps and the voices approach, she looked around the tree and spotted something heartbreaking: happiness she would likely never have again. The man was too handsome – she longed to have her fill of him. The woman with him was alright in appearance, but at least she didn’t have any obvious scars. Envy and self-pity burned alongside each other inside her.
Amaltheia heard the woman mention a candle and her thoughts of desire were replaced by fear. She knew what this meant: this girl was looking for those luminaries. It sounded as if the woman was afraid of lighting them, which was good: if the story Pandaros had recounted to her was correct, those luminaries were beyond dangerous.
~~~
Drystan entered the log cabin again and looked for the dark candle-like object, maneuvering carefully to avoid the rattlesnakes. One lunged and bit him on the shin, but he grabbed it and threw it across the room. The bite healed as he walked, and the venom had no potency on him, all due to the Trerada waters. A wooden shelf lined the back wall, and it was covered with rattlesnakes, jars and rattlesnakes in the jars. He looked among these for any sign of a candle until he found something that seemed to fit the description. He reached for it and another rattlesnake lunged and bit his hand, but he was able to take the object, which was dark, cold to the touch and had a wick at the top. The bite healed and the venom had no effect, just as before. He then left the cabin and held up the object to Indigo. “Is this it?” he asked.
She took it from Drystan, felt that it was cold to the touch and said: “Yes! That’s it! What would I do without you?” She placed the luminary on the long chain she wore around her neck, under her shirt. She now had ten (10) of these accursed onyx candles.
Drystan drank anew of the waters of the Trerada Ocean from his vial and was energized yet again, to be sure that his vitality was maintained, and that no lingering venom would affect him as the water power eventually faded. His handsome appearance was also enhanced, and Indigo felt a growing urge for him. The rattlesnakes prevented her cabin fantasy from being lived out, however.
~~~
Amaltheia burned with desire at the sight of the man, so much so that she came out from behind the tree, hoping to get a closer look.
“Who are you?” Indigo asked, scared.
Drystan immediately stood in front of Indigo, seeing this other woman whose face had been scarred and burned. “What happened to you?”
“I’m Amaltheia. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but notice you – and overhear you. I’m alone. I probably always will be, looking like this. I was burned in an alchemy experiment gone wrong. I came out here to get away from everyone, to get away from the humiliation. Men don’t look at me anymore, so it just hurts to look at them, and not be able to have them,” Amaltheia said.
“You’re injured, not unattractive,” Drystan said.
Indigo darted her eyes at Drystan, fearful that he was flirting.
“Thank you,” Amaltheia said.
“What did you overhear?” Indigo asked.
“You’re a smart girl. You know about the luminaries, and you know not to light them. How did you find it?” Amaltheia asked.
“I’d rather not say. Like you said, I’m smart,” Indigo said.
“Do you know what will happen if you light it?” Amaltheia asked.
“Let’s not discuss this. It’s bad for everybody. Let’s keep it unlit, and unmentioned,” Indigo said.
“She’s real smart. And lucky that she has you,” Amaltheia said, looking to Drystan.
“You agree with me then? Good. We need to be going,” Indigo said. She was fearful about this woman’s knowledge, and about her obvious lust.
“It’s not that simple. You need to hide it, somewhere else, because the luminaries are worse than you think, and someone will be looking for this one,” Amaltheia said.
“I’m taking it somewhere that I can’t talk about. There’s no argument here that they’re bad and no one should light them, ever,” Indigo said.
“Why not? This is strange,” Drystan asked.
“Their flames are false. They make the suns go darker with each new one lit. That’s not even the worst of it,” Amaltheia said.
“Enough! You’ve said too much already! Drop it!” Indigo said.
“That’s what this is all about, then? Was that the cause of the darkness?” Drystan asked.
“Yes! Yes it was! Alright, now you know! I need to keep these things from getting lit…ever again. I’m going to hide it somewhere. I don’t know where yet, and I’m not planning on telling anyone, so we don’t have any more problems,” Indigo said.
“You’re not the only person looking for them. I knew several men – mad men, who would do anything to collect dangerous relics and knowledge. They collected the luminaries and lit them to see what would happen, for the sake of knowledge. If any of them find you, they’ll take it, and kill you for it,” Amaltheia said. She knew that Pandaros was dead, but she suspected that Erikkos was very much alive.
“This is a big deal! You need to tell me more. Don’t you think that you can trust me?” Drystan asked.
“Some things are just better left secret, in case anything happens,” Indigo said.
“Trust me, Indigo. My health is better than yours – I can help take care of you. Look in there. That’s no problem for me. You were in danger from the snakes, I wasn’t. I’m here for you, I can help you. If anything happens, I can hide the luminaries for you. Just tell me what I need to know,” Drystan said.
“I know you can help me with things like that. But you don’t know your way around. I do. Together, we make a great team, each doing our part. Some secrets are too dangerous to share,” Indigo said.
“I’ve trusted you to go wherever you wanted – I never took anything from you, or cheated you, or hurt you. I love you, and you need to tell me what we’re doing. We’re in this together,” Drystan said.<
br />
“I’ve seen things you wouldn’t understand. I hear the sounds of the stars, so I know how to find my way. The less said, the better. If we both know the secret, and a telepath ever gets too close to either one of us, they have that much better of a chance to learn what they shouldn’t and cause problems. Don’t you get it?” Indigo asked.
“What if that rattlesnake had bitten you? You wouldn’t survive. You know that. What would happen to the luminary then? You’ve been collecting a lot of them, haven’t you? How many do you have now?” Drystan asked.
“If anything happens to me, he’ll tell you what to do with the luminaries,” Indigo said.
“Who are you talking about? Who will tell me?” Drystan asked.
“Don’t worry until you have to worry. Just trust me,” Indigo said.
“She doesn’t trust anybody. She thinks she’s better than you. You’re just her…umm…close friend,” Amaltheia said.
“Enough! What are you trying to do? If you know so much – if you know these things are that dangerous, then why are you instigating this argument? Dangerous secrets need to be kept secret,” Indigo said.
“If I had a man in my life, escorting me on an important mission like this, I would trust him. I’d trust him completely, so that he could help me as much as possible. The questions were going to be asked. This argument is because you don’t trust him,” Amaltheia said.
“You can trust me. Please, tell me more,” Drystan said.
“When the time is right, I will. Now is not that time,” Indigo said.
“Yes it is right. That’s why I had to tell him. Now tell him the rest, so he can trust you,” Amaltheia said.
“Don’t play us against each other. This is dangerous. You need to stop,” Indigo said.
“You’re the one playing him. He fills your nights with passion, I can see it. You just lie to him and lead him on. How far will you go to keep the secret? Will you disappear one day?” Amaltheia asked.
“How many luminaries do you have? Who is telling you where they are? Where are we going?” Drystan asked.
Suddenly, a bright blue light beam crossed overhead, illuminating the treetops and the forest floor.
“What was that?” Drystan asked, looking up.
“I have no idea,” Indigo asked, suddenly frightened.
“And what is that?” Amaltheia asked, pointing to an enormous structure, suddenly visible in a clearing in the forest.
“It’s a walled city, in the middle of the forest!” Indigo said, startled even more.
“It was hidden in the darkness. That beam of light uncovered it,” Amaltheia said.
“Does this have something to do with those luminaries? Don’t think I forgot,” Drystan asked.
“I don’t know. I have no idea what this walled city is about,” Indigo said.
“It’s a secret. Maybe we can all find out together, and have a shared secret. Then, we can learn to trust each other,” Amaltheia said, holding out her hands to Drystan and Indigo, gesturing for them to follow.
“Yes, let’s do that. I want to know more,” Drystan said.
“Wait! This place may not be safe. I think we should go away from it, not into it. It had to be hidden for a good reason,” Indigo said, fearful of having the ten (10) luminaries taken from her and misused horribly.
“And it had to be revealed for a good reason. If it’s dangerous, we need to be aware of the danger, not run away from it, pretending that nothing’s there, keeping secrets from everyone,” Amaltheia said.
“This is insane! A walled city is some kind of citadel, and it’s probably protected by an army. You don’t know what they’ll do to us. They could take the luminaries and light them. Then what? We’ve walked into a disaster,” Indigo said.
“A disaster is always waiting to happen. We need to confront it now, before things get worse,” Amaltheia said.
“Let’s agree not to mention the luminaries – however many there are – not a word of them, until it’s safe. Don’t even think about them, in case a telepath is there,” Drystan said.
“You’re smart, too. Are you too smart to tell me your name?” Amaltheia asked.
“My name is Drystan,” he said.
“And I’m Indigo, and this is foolish,” she said.
“Let’s trust each other a bit, shall we? Whatever we learn here, a little bit of this, a little bit of that – we share,” Amaltheia said.
“You’re not afraid?” Drystan asked.
“No more than usual,” Amaltheia said.
Indigo looked at Amaltheia’s neck and saw the vial hanging there on a small chain. The diamond symbol on the vial answered her next question. “Drinking the Kazofen waters is no reason to be brave,” Indigo said.
Amaltheia looked at Indigo’s vial hanging around her neck, recognizing the sun symbols on it and said: “The Atrejan waters are no reason to think you’re smarter than anyone else. We’re all in this together. There’s no reason not to be friendly.” She wanted to be very friendly, indeed.
~~~
Erlend walked off the boarding ramp of the Diversifier and stepped onto the shore of eastern Javanda. He then walked along the edge of the forest and observed the crystal canal that had been constructed. It was simple in design, but the scale was enormous at fifty-two (52) feet wide, twenty-six (26) feet deep and extending far to the west. While the Kazofen waters he drank did not grant him vision over extraordinary distances, he could see that several trees had been destroyed during the construction process. That was not unexpected, but it was to be minimized, as big timber was valuable to the central bank. The purpose of the canal was truly to transport the felled timber, aside from testing the replica constructor.
He was satisfied that his preparatory work was a partial success, so it was time to report back to Governor Lux about the needed improvements to the replica constructor before proceeding with the full scale construction project. He returned to the Diversifier and said to Captain Koloman: “Captain, help me gather all the constructor pillars back onto the ship, then return to the central bank. I need to give a report and make some improvements to the constructor before we start the full-scale project.”
Captain Koloman drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars to learn their positions and movements. He thereby charted and sailed the Diversifier along a course around Javanda, where they reclaimed the five (5) constructor pillars they had previously placed, loading them into the cargo hold. Then, he plotted a course to return to the central bank on Haza’Kedro’Maral Island in the Pirovalen Ocean, sailing back the way they had come.
CHAPTER 25: Boldness of Words and Actions
Romana walked through the gardens of Emeth with Judith, who seemed eager to talk now that she had turned in her book to the Verifiers and received a new one.
“You said you wanted to talk, that there were some things you wanted to understand,” Romana said.
“I’ve seen a lot lately. It’s all in my books of course, recorded in the various halls by the Verifiers,” Judith said.
“You’ve got something particular in mind?” Romana asked.
“A few things, actually. I’m still a bit afraid, but not of the same things,” Judith said.
“Afraid of what? You’re not in any danger, as you’re still under the Oath,” Romana asked.
“I’m not afraid for myself. I mean, for children,” Judith said.
Romana’s face lit up and she became excited. “You’re pregnant? Who is the father?” Romana asked.
“No, I’m not pregnant,” Judith said, smiling.
“Oh, then what do you mean?” Romana asked, disappointed that it wasn’t true.
“What if I was? Would the child be safe? Healthy?” Judith asked.
“I don’t know. You should pray to God about that. That’s the right answer. That’s always the right answer, with any question,” Romana said.
“I know, but sometimes things happen. I
don’t want to see a child suffer,” Judith said.
“That’s why God gave us the Trerada waters. Even the sickest child will fully recover after the waterbinding,” Romana said.
“That’s just it. Then the child wouldn’t have a choice in life. He or she would be stuck with a waterbinding that would limit their options. There are other good choices,” Judith said.
“Trerada is not a bad choice, not at all. The most handsome men are the Trerada drinkers: don’t forget that. And they age much better, holding onto their good health their whole life,” Romana said.
“A man doesn’t have to be all that great looking to be interesting. Some of them are a little too good looking, full of themselves. Like a cake with way too much extra frosting – it’s sickeningly sweet,” Judith said.
“I think I know what you mean,” Romana said, laughing, never having heard the metaphor but appreciating it.
“How a man thinks is much more important. What he believes, understands and knows is what I care about,” Judith said.
“Right. That does come first. Good looks don’t hurt, either. But I agree that they’re not totally necessary,” Romana said.
“I want a man that believes in learning, and traveling, and staying with me,” Judith said.
“You want to love another Chronicler, then? Is there a rule against that?” Romana asked.
“No, there’s no rule against it. In fact, confidentiality would never be a problem, even if he inadvertently saw or heard something, since he’s covered under the Oath,” Judith said.
“So, you have someone in mind, he wants children and you don’t, right? Is that where this is going?” Romana asked.
“You’re close, but…” Judith said.
“Not having children because you’re afraid of sickness is going to limit you. If you just don’t want to have children, tell him,” Romana said.
