Tranquil Fury

by P. G. Thomas

  Aaro then looked at Bor, “Years thirty back, Silvervein clan. Remember?”

  “Strange it was, all but forgotten I have. Words odd they did say,” replied Bor.

  “What are you two talking about,” asked Lauren?

  “East clan march,” Aaro replied, “One be Silvervein. Small, northern clan, little known of them we do. Quiet, mysterious. Odd for dwarf, more like elf. With them, huge rock they do bring, and leave it they did. Said know we would, when time be right. Years of thirty, first time remembered. Odd this be”

  “Know what would be right,” asked John?

  Aaro replied, “Know I do not. Said I did, odd it was.”

  Bor spoke up, “Something else, add they did. Words proper spoke? Aaro, last part, how say did they?”

  “Lock be none, key be simple. Words, proper spoke only will reveal. Long forgotten, sure I cannot be.”

  “What are we talking about?” Lauren’s patience was running thin, “I thought we were discussing Eric, and his need for armor and training?”

  “Earth Daughter, day does be young, thine concerns we shalt answer, but mystery new does intrigue,” replied the Earth Mother, “Silvervein rock, Aaro please does describe?”

  “Big.”

  “Specific, more does be,” she replied.

  “Eric big.”

  The answer may have been small, but the images it created were not. Lauren was the first to speak, “John, go and get Eric. Aaro please show us this rock.”

  Bor and John went in search of Eric, as Aaro led the rest down into the mine, to one of the storage rooms beside the armories, where the strange rock now sat. Aaro opened the slightly warped door, its hinges creaking from years of neglect. Inside were several large boxes of ores and coals, as well as an assortment of armor and weapons, unfinished by the junior metal smiths. Aaro wedged his torch into a crate of ores, and pointed to a large plain stone, six feet tall, about three feet square, against the far wall.

  “This?” Lauren was unimpressed, “This is what we are talking about?”

  “Yes Earth Daughter,” replied Aaro.

  “Okay, it’s big—big as Eric, but what am I missing?”

  The Earth Mother went over to the rock and ran her hands along the rough surfaces, examining all three sides, “Prank?”

  Aaro shook his head, “Silvervein odd, but Ironhouse know not. Uncalled for joke would be.”

  They were staring at the plain rock when Bor, John, and Eric came through the door, and as Eric entered, he asked, “What is everybody looking at?”

  Lauren pointed to the large rock.

  Eric said, “Well, it looks like it hasn’t gathered any moss, is it a rolling stone?”

  Aaro, not understanding, advised that its shape was wrong, and that it could not roll.

  Lauren groaned as she turned to look at Eric. “Can’t always get what you want?”

  “We can always paint it black, give it to Zack,” Eric added with a smile.

  As Lauren was walking up to inspect the stone, she replied, “Stick to sports. Punts are more your style—not puns.”

  “Something wrong with Mother’s little helper?”

  Lauren glanced back at Eric, who could not hide his smile, “We were talking about the champion of Tranquil Fury, when Aaro and Bor, for some reason, started to talk about this rock as if it had some sort of significance.”

  Eric replied, “Weighed heavy on their thoughts, did it?”

  “Aaro, is that sword sharper than Eric’s wit?”

  Aaro looked at Lauren, then to Bor, “Yes Earth Daughter.” But he shrugged his shoulders as he said it. To Bor he whispered, “Understand this, do you?” But Bor shook his head from side to side.

  Lauren called to John, “First, do not crack one pun. Can you please examine this fine rectangular rock, and determine if it has any significance.”

  “No sympathy …”

  Lauren stopped John with her icy stare, “Neither sympathy nor shelter will I give you.”

  The expression on Lauren’s face suggested that John should not push his luck, so he examined the ordinary sides of the rock. It had been rough-cut from a vein of granite, the sides smoothed, but chisel marks still present. There were no decorative marks, or inscriptions, “If there is something here, I don’t know what it is.”

  And then Aaro announced that there was an inscription on top of the plain stone block.

  The Earth Mother, not understanding what was happening between the three outlanders, stamped her foot, “Serious be. Eric, inscription can thou see?”

  Eric picked up the torch, approached the stone block, blew off a thick layer of dust, “There is something here, but I don’t know what it says.”

  The expression on Lauren’s face was growing weary, “John, can you please have a look?”

  John walked over to Eric, who handed him the torch, and then lifted him up. John blew off more dust, “Spin the block around, the inscription is backwards.”

  “What?” Lauren and Eric asked in unison.

  As Eric lowered John, he replied, “Just spin the block around, so that the side that now faces the wall faces Eric.”

  “John, that won’t help, I can’t read it.”

  “Just spin the block around.”

  Aaro and Bor approached the stone block, and helped Eric spin it, and then John handed the torch back to Eric, and began to back up towards the hall.

  Eric exclaimed, “Hey, this is English!” Then read aloud the inscription:

  “Blood filled rivers,

  Scream filled nights,

  Blood lust driven,

  Aide for Champions fights.”

  As Eric spoke the final words, the blood drained from his face, and something inside the stone block moved, causing him to jump back. Seams formed on the front of the huge exterior, and now released from its magical bonds, the stone block rejected the front face, which slowly crept forward, fraction by fraction, separating from it. Everybody in the room moved back, and John headed to the hall. When the slab extended about two inches past the stone block, a sound exploded from it, like an eruption of thunder. A huge crack traversed the center of the slab from top to bottom, two smaller cracks also formed—one about two feet from the bottom, the other two feet from the top. Six large pieces of granite fell to the floor, causing a huge dust cloud to erupt from the base of the stone block, and filling the small room with a choking fog. John was already in the hall when the others fled the room, and as Aaro closed the door, the emergency ventilation system tripped, and they could hear the fans pulling the potentially harmful dust from the room. When they all heard the fans disengage, Aaro carefully reopened the door, unsure of what to expect.

  Their vision no longer obscured, all that entered saw the hollowed out section of the strange rock. Inside was a set of plate mail, dwarf-forged and black as night, and the torchlight dancing across its surface made it look alive. It measured at least six feet tall to the base of the collar, the helmet tucked under one arm. All expected it to step out of its confined space, but thankfully, it did not move.

  Lauren stepped through the small crowd and approached the magnificent armor, “I don’t see anybody in there to train Eric. Aaro did any other clans leave you any more secrets?”

  Both Aaro and Bor shook their heads, still deep in disbelief.

  Lauren shrugged her shoulders, “Well, it looks a little tall. Can you adjust it to fit Eric? We will worry about his sword training when we come back from the midlander villages.”

  The Earth Mother spoke up, “His training naught canst it wait.” She was looking at Alron, “Tomorrow when thou does leave, only Panry, and thine self does escort Earth Daughter and John. Aaro, Bor, shalt ride with thou. Remaining brothers shalt fit armor new to Eric, and elves remaining shalt train him. Does questions anybody hath?”

  *******

  John was still scratching his head, trying to figure out this crazy world. Armor built 30 years ago? English prophecies? Logic, where art thou? He found Mirtza, Z
ack, Ryan, and Logan on the terrace outside of their meeting room. Zack had managed to convince Fodu to dye his clothes black, and although it did not make Zack smile, his mood was better. All four were sharing a pitcher of the dwarven ale that Zack enjoyed so much.

  As John sat down, Ryan spoke, “So how did the meeting go?”

  “It was wild,” John replied.

  “What happened,” asked Logan?

  John spent the better part of thirty minutes explaining everything with the weird stone block, and there were even parts that John himself did not believe, even after hearing the words from his own mouth.

  “So tomorrow, who’s going on your little field trip,” asked Logan?

  “Besides Lauren and myself, Panry, Alron, Aaro and Bor.”

  “I thought more of the elves or dwarves would be going,” asked Ryan?

  “I did too. The rest of Ironhouse is going to stay here to fit the armor to Eric, and apparently the elves are going to stay to train Eric to use that sword.”

  Ryan gave John an odd look, “Eric is two feet taller than the elves. How are they going to teach him to fight with a sword? Hell, even that sword is taller than the elves.”

  John said, “I am so tired of questions. I only have one left, what are you guys drinking tonight?”

  “That amber stuff with the honey,” replied Zack.

  John smiled, as it was not as harsh as the other dwarf brews, “Sweet.”

  “Dude, you know it is.”

  “What were you talking about,” asked John?

  “We were talking about who was going to be next,” Logan said.

  John took a drink, “What do you mean?”

  Logan replied, “Well, first my sister is taken over by this crazy world. Did you hear what she was saying to the dwarves? I was half expecting her head to start spinning. Now Eric has a new toy, or friend, or both, whatever it is. Does this one have a personality as well?”

  “No idea,” said John, but the thought of it sent a shiver down his back.

  Zack looked at John, “Logan wants to place a bet to see who gets taken over by this crazy world next. I think it will be the eldest.”

  “Why me,” asked Ryan?

  “Well, we can eliminate John. No offense, but he never gets picked for anything.”

  “None taken,” John nodded in agreement.

  “They already got Lauren so they don’t need Logan, the unpleasant twin. Lauren got all of the good traits, and Logan got the leftovers. Look at him, he is always a mess.”

  Logan protested, “What about Mirtza?”

  “Dude is from here, he may already have been beamed up to the Mother ship.”

  Ryan looked at Zack, “What about you?”

  “Well, my first parents didn’t want me, my second parents didn’t want me, and my uncle didn’t want me. Why would this crazy world be any different? If they were suffering from a deficiency in rejection, I could see them warming up to me, but seriously, Ryan, you would be their number one draft pick. It was nice knowing you. Let us know what it’s like on the other side.”

  Ryan shook his head, “You can really be an ass at times you know?”

  “Why would you say that,” asked Zack?

  “Well lately, the only thing that seems to come out of you is crap.”

  “Life is crap, get used to it.” Zack filled his mug and headed off to a different chair.

  Mirtza looked at John, “Your young friend is troubled.”

  “Actually, I think he is in a good mood. Zack has had a hard life, and he most likely needs help, but will never seek it out. I think he is here for a good time, not a long time.”

  Mirtza tilted his head, “I don’t understand?”

  “I don’t think anybody understands Zack.” Logan replied, “John, what do you think happened with Lauren, Eric, and that sword?”

  “I saw what she did, and heard what she said. What it means, I have no idea. One minute she is Lauren, the next she is not.”

  “Should I be worried about her,” asked Logan?

  John turned to Mirtza, “What do you think? As Zack said, you are from here.”

  “I know of the Earth Daughters, Earth Mothers, and Mother. I have never heard of them doing anything bad. I spoke with the Earth Mother the other morning, and she said that Mother was guiding Lauren. I have no idea on how Lauren receives any messages from Mother, or how she knows to act on them. When it happens, I am as surprised as the next person. It is as you say John, one minute she is Lauren, and then words, and actions that do not belong spring forward. Few, if any, would know the Master Weapons Smiths birth given name, yet when she needed it, she knew it. I cannot explain that either.”

  Ryan set down his empty mug, “So Mirtza, you got us to the healers like you promised, sort of. Why are you still hanging around?”

  “The Newlands are deserted, and the Northlands as well. From the sounds of it, everybody left and headed south. I could head south as well, but I find comfort in numbers, as I spent enough time wandering alone, and after a while the silence begins to hurt.”

  John looked at Mirtza, “You were gone a long time, how did you get lost?”

  “Mountains, I hate mountains. Fall down a few steep hills, follow trails that are not trails, and then chased by a few hungry animals. Some valleys were so deep you could only see the sun if it was right overhead. Some forests were so thick you could not see the suns at all. It was really quite easy. And then the desert.”

  “I think dinner will be ready soon, I have to go wash up,” said John as he stood to leave, Ryan and Logan following.

  As they walked to their rooms, all they heard was “Sand, as far as the eye can see. And the heat, I was boiled every day. Then would freeze that night…”

  *******

  It was after the last meal when the Earth Mother approached Logan, and asked him up to her room to talk about his sister. But that was not her motive, as the cold water from the previous day was still unanswered, and she was getting tired of questions. If the Trickster did not make the cold water, then it was Logan who handed the buckets to Lauren, but that made even less sense. She had asked the elves about the water, and been advised that the buckets they handled were not as cold as the water they walked in that day. Somehow, from when the last elf touched the bucket, to when Eric received the contents, the temperature changed. Only four possible answers existed: John, Logan, Zack, or Ryan. John, so small, she doubted he would be able to manifest any power. Smart he might be, but still small. Zack and Ryan, she was not sure about, but Logan, brother of Lauren, he piqued her interest. While it may have been possible for Lauren to make the water cold, water was not of Mothers domain, as that domain belonged to Sister. There was something strange here, and she needed to figure it out. As she opened the door to her room, she said, “I does prefer mine forest to this room, always so cold inside mountain it does be. Look mine fire does be out again.”

  Logan without thinking said, “Would you like me to start it?”

  “Please.” As she sat down in her chair, she saw Logan add some kindling and fresh wood. Just when he should have asked if there were any matches, the Earth Mother saw the kindling start to smoke. By the time Logan sat down in the chair opposite to her, a large fire was blazing, which astonished her, but she quickly regained her composure, and asked, “Friends and thou does hath an usual experience. How does all enjoy it?”

  “In some ways it is really cool, in other ways, really weird. No offense Earth Mother, but elves, dwarves, magic swords and all, it feels like I am watching a movie. I know it's real, but at the same time, it doesn't seem real.”

  “What be movie? Worry naught, thou can answer mine question later. Should I be in thine world, many questions would I hath. Treated well does thou be?”

  “We are being treated great, the food, the drinks, the stories, everything is incredible. It’s hard to believe, but incredible.”

  “Of thine sister, what does thou think, now that Lauren does be Earth Daughter?”

/>   “I think it’s good. A few times before we got here, I was becoming really worried about her. She would be quiet for days, and that’s not my sister. And a few times, she did and said things that, well I thought somebody had taken her over. We had a talk a while ago, after you made her an Earth Daughter. She told me she was receiving directions, and information from mother. But when I asked her how she still heard our mother, she told me it was a different mother. I am really not sure of how it works, or why, but she seems to be doing better now, acting more like her old self, well for the most part.”

  “This does be good. I does naught know why Mother does focus on thine sister, but trust Mother I does.”

  “Can you please explain this Mother to me? I would like to better understand what everybody is talking about.”

  “Young Logan, I would enjoy that very much, but naught today. Riddle I does hath, that I does hope thou would be able to help solve.”

  “Okay.”

  The Earth Mother poured a large mug of water, and gave it to Logan, “Does thou remember sword, Tranquil Fury. To Eric, what it does?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does thou remember how Lauren does say to dwarf, hold him in chair, water she does throw?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does thou be scared for Eric?”

  “Yes, I was scared for everybody, nobody knew what was happening.”

  “Does thou remember how Lauren kept telling thou, she does need colder water?”

  “Not really, everything was a blur to me.”

  “She kept saying colder water.”

  “I know.”

  “Colder, colder, colder.”

  “I know. I know. I know.”