Roeg stood beside the old man and mimicked his movements. “What are we looking at?”
Unn grunted, “I can’t see the Gnomish Hills in the distance. Somehow during the night, I lost sight of them.” Unn spun slowly as he took in the vastness of the Great Plains then huffed, “We’re lost.”
The last bit of smoked meat stuck in Roeg’s throat. “Lost?”
Unn eyed Roeg’s damaged arm then met his eye. “How do you feel?”
Roeg looked down at his hand. He slowly tightened his fingers into a fist then quickly released it. “The ache I felt in my hand… Well, it’s now in my arm too, where it’s discolored.”
Unn sighed. “That stone is more curse than savior. I don’t understand why you need to bear that burden. Sometimes, I don’t understand the Great Mother.”
What did the Great Mother have to do with the Firestone, and why was the stone protecting and damaging him? Maybe he could throw it away, and maybe his hand would heal? Roeg looked to the stone—the constant inner glow of it radiated heat and knotted Roeg’s stomach. He should toss it and run.
Tsisa caught up and looked to the horizon; she stood beside Roeg. Ookum took out his sling’r and scanned the horizon as well, turning as he gazed with one eye, aiming at nothing in particular.
Tsisa slapped at the sling’r. “Don’t point that at me!”
“Nothing’s in it, see?” Ookum showed her the empty rock pouch.
Tsisa leaned in and nodded when she was convinced he told the truth. Absently, he released the pouch, and the taught sinew snapped and struck Tsisa in the nose.
She yelped.
Ookum’s eyes grew so large that his eyebrow formed with the top of his hair. He turned and ran as Tsisa lunged at him, rubbing her nose.
Unn eyed the Great Above, raised his thumb, and measured the position of the Great Fire to the horizon.
“What are you doing now?” Roeg asked.
Unn closed one eye and squinted as he stretched his arm and thumb to the sky. “I’m trying to understand where we are. The Great Fire above will guide us. It rises in the east, where we came from.” Unn pointed to the direction of the Great Fire in the sky. It was just visible over the horizon. “We came from that way. The Gnomish Hills are the other way.” He spun and pointed in the opposite direction then added, “But I don’t see the Gnomish Hills that way, so we lost the path somewhere in the night.”
“What are we going to do? How will we find our way?” Roeg asked.
Unn sighed and clicked, “We walk west. In the night, we look to the stars. They will guide us to the hills, then to the Bentwoods.”
“Why didn’t we use the stars last night?” Roeg asked.
“You ask many questions, my boy. Last night, the Great Mother did not allow it. There were no stars in the sky that I could see,” Unn said.
His staff in hand, he hobbled west.
Tsisa stood by Roeg. She rubbed at her nose and click-grunted, “We’re lost, aren’t we?”
Roeg nodded then followed Unn.
The heat of the day blazed down on Roeg as they trekked west. The Great Fire above was relentless as it passed through the sky and landed on the western horizon. The stifling heat finally let up as the light faded to darkness. The first stars emerged and twinkled. Unn and the younglings had roamed through the night, then through the day, and now it was night again. Unn pushed forward as though some unseen force moved him. The three friends lagged and were drained from the journey.
Unn paused and looked to the Great Above. “Huh,” he grunted.
Roeg stood beside Unn and looked up. Ookum and Tsisa followed.
“What are we looking at?” Ookum said.
Tsisa elbowed Ookum and snorted, “The Great Above, obviously.”
He elbowed her back, and they tussled for space. He moved beside Unn then made a face at her.
“The stars above will guide us,” Unn pointed to the sky. “See those three stars? They line up to form the Great Hunter’s Belt.”
Roeg looked to where Unn pointed. Three bright stars flickered above the horizon. He used his mind to create an invisible line connecting them.
“There are five other bright stars that are part of that star picture; they form the body of the Great Hunter. He will guide us to the Gnomish Hills. The belt points to where we need to go.” Unn turned and followed the three stars into the night.
Roeg followed and thought of all that had happened. How did Unn talk to the Great Mother? Did he really see her? Why did she speak only to him? Then Roeg thought of their destination. He called out, “How do you know of the gnomes?”
Unn’s gait didn’t slow. “When I was a youngling, not much older than you are now, the Great Mother came to me in a dream. Our clan lived across the Great Spirit Sea to the north. We were chased from our lands, and I led my clan south, across the Great Spirit Sea to where our village stands now. Not long after, I had another dream and came west to the Bentwoods. There, I found Jexif—we needed one another. Our destinies were, and always will be, woven together.”
“What happened? What did you need from him?” Roeg asked.
Unn laughed. “That is a long story; one that is not important right now. You have other questions you’ve been wanting to ask. You need to ask them now—we are running out of time.”
Running out of time? What did he mean? Roeg thought about all the questions he wanted to ask. Where to start?
“Uh… what is the Great Mother? Do you see her? Is she here now?” Roeg asked, looking around.
Unn took a deep breath, held it, pursed his lips, and let the breath squeak out. “The Great Mother is everywhere. She is in the breaths we take and the water we drink. She is the trees, the stones… she is everything. I only see her in her great form in my dreams. I mostly hear her voice. What I do see are images that flash and tell the rest of the story. Sometimes they are of what is to come, and other times, they are of what has happened.”
“So, the Great Mother is grass?” Ookum lifted his feet, scared to step on the grass and hurt the Great Mother.
“She is all around us.” Unn smirked at Ookum.
Roeg thought of the Great Sadness—the reason they had left the village—then asked, “What is the Great Sadness again and how do we stop it?”
Unn sighed then groaned. “It is a great power that is coming. There are forces that woke up when—” Unn paused. “The Great Mother showed me only what I need to know and no more. It is not my place to interfere. It is up to you, Roeg, to make decisions that will affect all of us. What I can say is that everything is connected.”
“What do you mean ‘connected’?” Roeg asked.
“You should not have the Firestone, and yet here you are. When they stole the Firestone, they awoke a great demon whose power over fire and stone is what shapes this world from the inside. There is a great fire burning under us,” Unn said.
Ookum’s eyes widened. He started to hop and step tentatively, like he would somehow fall into the fire below. Tsisa elbowed him, rolled her eyes, and stamped her foot on the solid ground.
Unn chuckled. “When I was a youngling, my clan lived by a great mountain that spilled firewater—that was the power of this demon we called Ifrit. He controls all the great fire of the world.”
“So this is Ifrit’s Firestone?” Roeg said.
“Yes.” Unn nodded.
“Why don’t we just give it back to him?” Roeg asked.
“When the demon awoke, events were set in motion that cannot be changed by giving the stone back. Its powers must be used now to defeat a greater power.” Unn shook his head like he remembered something important. “The balance of our world is corrupted now. There is a disturbance in the lifeblood of the world, and it needs to be corrected. There is another stone of greater power than the Firestone.”
Roeg thumbed the Firestone absently.
“That power will awaken soon. The people who chased your mother—they chase that stone
now. If they get it, they will summon a demon so powerful, so vile, it will consume all blood and bone of this world. It feeds on pain and suffering…” Unn stopped and turned to Roeg. “That is enough of that for now.”
Roeg needed answers. “Then what? Please don’t stop.”
“What happens next?” Ookum said.
Tsisa chimed in, “I need to know.”
Unn grunted, “With that much pain and suffering in the world, it will call to the Great Father.” He pointed to the stars. “Beyond the Great Mother, where the stars live, is the realm of the Great Father—the blackness above the great blue. He brings life and death to all. He will be drawn here if the demon of the Bloodstone is awoken. He will bring a great fire with him.”
“How do we stop it?” Roeg looked to the Firestone. “How do we fight fire with fire?”
“We don’t.” Unn stole a long breath. “There is a third stone, the Waterstone, the stone of the Great Mother.” Unn stopped and looked at Roeg then said, “One day you will meet her. She will give you a choice. The fate of the world rests on the decision you will make, but there is much to do before that.”
Unn turned and said, “We camp here tonight. Tomorrow we will see the Bentwoods.”
Unn yelled as he startled awake. He sat up, sweat dripping from his face, his breath racing.
Roeg stumbled to his feet and grabbed for his staff. Darkness clung to the night, stifling the light of day. The night’s sleep had been short, and Roeg was shaky. He fumbled and heard Ookum charge behind him. “The man-beasts are here!” He crashed into Roeg, and they fell to the ground, tumbling and struggling, as much against each other as they did against the darkness.
“I can’t see anything! What’s happening?” Tsisa called out.
Unn let out a long sigh, then stood. “It’s me! Stop yelling.” He collected his things and stuffed them into his satchel. “There are no man-beasts.”
Ookum and Roeg stood and dusted their hide coverings off. Roeg cut Ookum a cold stare then half smiled. Ookum shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and collected his hide nest, stuffing it into his satchel.
Unn came to Roeg and put his hand on his shoulder. “The Great Mother came to me in my sleep.”
In unison, the three friends said, “What did she say?” They looked at each other and laughed. Tsisa gave Ookum a shot in the arm and grunted, “Jinx.” Ookum winced and rubbed his arm.
Unn looked at Ookum and Tsisa. “Enough. You two need to stop fooling around all the time. You need to look after each other. I…”
Ookum and Tsisa stopped elbowing at each other and lowered their heads.
“I need to leave—” Unn started.
Roeg stepped towards him. “Where?” His heart skipped; they wouldn’t be able to survive out here alone. Where was Unn going?
“I must go back to the village. There is a great danger. A great hunter comes for you, Roeg.”
“A great hunter? Who?” Roeg asked. He looked to the Firestone, and his stomach knotted.
“I don’t know. I don’t see clear pictures. I just know that he will come to the village in search of you. I must go and lead the clan away from him,” Unn said.
Roeg thought about the words “great hunter.” “What about Krukk? Krukk is the strongest hunter. He can protect the clan!”
Unn cleared his throat then sighed. “That is my fear. In my dreams, I saw Krukk and the great hunter fighting. I can’t let Krukk fight. I must go back.”
The day’s first light peaked over the horizon, casting the darkness to the shadows. Roeg’s eyes adjusted to the light. He thought of Krukk and how strong and brave he was. Who could defeat Krukk? Why didn’t Unn want to let Krukk protect the clan?
Roeg didn’t want Unn to leave. “How do we find the Gnomish Hills?”
Unn smiled and pointed with his chin past Roeg. “See for yourself.”
Roeg looked over his shoulder. Steadfast blue mountains towered in the sky, and a green forest sat in place at the base. The trees in the woods were taller than any he had ever seen before; their black limbs were gnarled and buckled and knotted. A vast meadow stretched from the outskirts of the forest to their camp high on the ridge. A great, clear waterhole lay flat at the basin of the meadow, and a sea of yellow flowers stretched into the distance.
Ookum and Tsisa stood speechless as they gazed at the mountains.
“If you walk with haste, you will be at the Bentwoods by nightfall.” Unn led Roeg to the ridge of the hill and pointed to the forest below. “Go to the forest. You’ll see a worn path between the trees. Stay on the path, and you’ll come to a clearing. You can make camp there. Then—”
“How do we find the gnomes?” Roeg asked.
“You don’t. They find you,” Unn chuckled.
“What do we tell them when they find us? What do we say?” Roeg asked.
“Tell them you are from the Great Spirit Clan. Ask to see Jexif. Tell them Unn Truthsay’r sent you, and you need to find the Land of Darkness.”
Unn turned to Ookum and Tsisa and pointed to the clear waterhole down the hill in the valley. He walked over to them and whispered something Roeg couldn’t hear. The twins hugged the old man then raced down to the lake with their water pouches in hand. Unn walked over to Roeg, his face stern but his eyes sad. “They will not always be there to help you.” He motioned to the twins and continued, “Before you can go to the Land of Darkness and retrieve the Bloodstone…”
Roeg looked at the Firestone. Its dim glow was a reminder of the pain in his hand, now also in his arm.
Unn motioned to the Firestone around Roeg’s neck. “The fire demon knows you’re coming, and he wants the Firestone back. You can’t give it to him. I don’t know how, but you must convince him to let you keep it. My dreams… I see you meeting him, but I don’t know anything past that.”
Roeg wanted to throw the stone away. It had already caused him so much pain. Sure, it had helped protect him, but how much longer could he keep using it to protect himself? How long could he last? How far would the stone skin climb?
“I will go back to the village, then I will return to the Gnomish Hills with the clan. This will be our new home. We will be safe here, away from the great hunter.”
He grabbed Roeg’s shoulders with both hands and gripped tightly. “Keep safe, my boy. Get the Bloodstone and return to the Gnomish Hills. When you get back with the stone, I will bring you back to the Great Spirit Sea. There, we will give the stone to the Great Mother, and she will summon a great power to protect us from the coming sadness. In the darkness, remember your purpose. You are Roeg Stonehold’r—the hold’r of stones, and our last hope.” Unn hugged Roeg, then he turned and wobbled east, toward the Great Spirit Village.
With a pang of heartache, Roeg wondered if this was the last time he would ever see Unn.
SEPHONEI
Approaching Bentwood Forest
T
he mist burned away from the heat of the early morning sun, clearing the forest from the blanket of fog that had collected the night before. Sephonei led the peryton out of the forest and away from the outpost—he followed her without a tether. Ku-aya, Abil, Semessa, and Shantae followed behind.
“So, you three ride the peryton, and follow our lead to Bentwood Forest,” Semessa instructed. “Once there, we can point you to the pass, but that is as far as we go. You’re on your own after that.”
Ku-aya nodded. “Ai. Thanks for helping us. We appreciate it, yaa.”
Semessa kept her gaze forward. “It’s part of the package. With more Crusaders coming to the mainland, we have to keep the Quartermaster happy.”
Abil waltzed over to the peryton and looked it up and down, “Ai. Getting three perytons would’ve been a lot more convenient. Can we all fit on this thing? You are in the back. I’m driving.”
Ku-aya glowered at Abil. “No. If anyone drives, it’ll be me, ya ladgeful spite. Look at the size of him. I’m sure we can all fit. Now, quit your complai
nin’, yaa?”
Shantae leaned in. “Have any of you ever ridden a peryton? You know they fly, right?”
Abil scoffed. “Ha, of course I know they fly. I have eyes—I can see the thing’s wings.”
“‘Eye,’ I think you mean,” Shantae said.
Abil looked hurt. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it and huffed.
Sephonei looked back with a wide grin and winked at Shantae. Shantae smiled back, then she ran up to walk next to Sephonei.
Abil called out, “It’s the finest Atlantean mech, you know. All the best archers have them. I can pierce the eye of a rabbit from over three hundred cubits because of it.”
Sephonei looked back and chimed, “Ai. I’d like to see ya do it at night—when the moon’s light reflects off that thing… you couldn’t hide from nothin’”
Shantae whinnied then covered her mouth.
Abil mumbled something under his breath.
“Eish, you’ve made quite the bond with Pery. He seems to trust you,” Shantae said.
Sephonei looked to Pery and stroked his snout. Pery snorted and pushed his head close to Sephonei, nuzzling her.
They came to the edge of the forest, and the vastness of the savannah opened up before them. Sephonei blocked the sun from her eyes and took in the horizon. She could see so much, but it all seemed so far away. Images morphed and blurred, the closer her eye lifted to the horizon. Large, open spaces like the savannah did not exist on Atlantea. Sephonei felt small—the sky seemed to stretch to forever.
“Ai.” Ku-aya ordered as she marched to Sephonei. “I’ll get on first, Abil second. Sephonei, you can ride in the back, yaa.”
Ku-aya stood at the side of Pery, gripped his bridle, and flung her leg over the peryton. Sephonei stood beside Pery.
She saw his aura change and called out, “Ku-aya—”
Pery bucked his hind legs in the air and flung Ku-aya to the ground. She landed awkwardly, her long coat disheveled and draped over her head, as she lay flat on her face.
Firestone Page 14
