Firestone

by Ryan Carriere

  “Ai, although the Waterstone has only been theorized in Belshazzar’s volumes. The location, if it exists, is not known. As much as we think we know about the stones—from my lay o’ the land anyway, out here in the field—we know nothin’ of the stones, to be first rate with ya.”

  “Is that why we didn’t know my lute had a tertiary stone in it?” Sephonei pressed.

  Ku-aya nodded. “Ai. We were told there was a secondary stone in that cave, not a tertiary one, so we weren’t keen on lookin’ for it.”

  Sephonei nodded then thought of the Firestone. “So where is the Firestone?”

  Ku-aya squinted and said, “Sin is lookin’ for it now. He hired a bounty hunter named Fetch to find it. He was on the ship with us. He helped with the harpies.”

  Sephonei thought of the man with the wide-brimmed hat and the red cape. She felt a pang of sadness when she thought of Harper, and that stilled her questions for a long while.

  Sephonei needed to know more. She hungered for answers and eventually found her resolve to keep speaking. “Who was the Crystal Hunter who stole the Firestone?”

  Ku-aya leaned in. “You’ve never heard that one either?”

  Sephonei shook her head.

  “Ai, then. I’ll get ya onboard right quick.” Ku-aya sat back and kicked out her feet, stretching them toward the fire. She placed her hands behind her head and looked up to the stars. “Gemeti was her name. She was about my age when Sin recruited her. Actually, it is said he drafted her kind of like he did with you.” She gave Sephonei a sly smile and winked.

  Sephonei straightened and tucked her knees close to her body, wrapping her arms around them and listening intently.

  Ku-aya continued, “She rose through the ranks quickly, very quickly. She had an ability to—well, she could touch the stones without burnin’ to a crisp, yaa? So I guess Sin found it quite useful an’ promoted her to Captain of the Crystal Hunters. Back then, there was only one squadron of hunters. Now, I am one of five captains. As luck would have it, Sin found the location of a primary stone, the first one ever to be located. It was the Firestone.”

  “How are the mech containers designed to withstand the power of the eternal stones?” Sephonei asked.

  Ku-aya smirked. “The mech containers use the power of a secondary stone called the chronostone—the same eternal stone Sin used to design the timeless dungeons. Its properties manipulate space-time to a degree. Although only a secondary stone, it’s said to be almost as powerful as the primary stones.” She reached in her satchel and tossed the metallic orb to Sephonei.

  Sephonei caught the orb awkwardly. She turned it in her hands and studied it. It was a smooth, shiny metal with tiny, colorful stones inlaid into it; a seam in the center of the orb separated the two hemispheres of the unit. Sephonei tried to pull the hemispheres, apart but the orb didn’t budge.

  Sephonei looked to Ku-aya expectantly.

  “The chronostone uses photonic energy to power the small inlaid stones, which are tertiary stones, much like the one you have in your lute.” Ku-aya pointed to Sephonei’s lute. “The unit contains the power of the primary stones without damagin’ it or lettin’ it damage the holder. You should see it light up when we get close to the stones!” A wide grin broke across Ku-aya’s face.

  Sephonei tossed the mech container back to Ku-aya.

  SPLAT!

  A charred slab of steaming meat landed on the flat stone by Sephonei’s boot. Abil leaned back and tore a chunk off his slab. “It’s done. Time to eat, li’l fistler. Maybe with your mouth full, you’ll stop askin’ so many questions, an’ I’ll get some peace and quiet.”

  ROEG

  Dancing Lights

  R

  oeg crouched to fit into the carved stone tunnel. He looked behind him and saw that Ookum and Tsisa were able to fit without crouching. The light from the secret opening only stretched so far. Beyond the light, the tunnel darkened and smelled of damp mushrooms.

  Ookum sniffed loudly. “Mmmm, smells good in here.”

  “What did Firehair say?” Minnoa asked Roeg.

  “He said it smells good in here, like mushrooms. Ookum likes mushrooms.”

  Minnoa stopped and turned. She had a wide grin on her face. She brushed passed Roeg and slid awkwardly by Tsisa, who didn’t see fit to move. She came to Ookum, reached in her pocket, and took out a large, brown mushroom. She held it out to Ookum. He smiled and took it, then he brought it to his nose and sniffed.

  “Aaaah, that smells good!” Ookum said at the same time Minnoa was chattering to him.

  “You can have it. I picked it outside. That’s what Og said I stole from him. I was just collecting mushrooms. We, gnomes, love mushrooms!”

  They both turned to Roeg and asked what the other had said.

  Roeg laughed then looked at Minnoa. “Ookum says it smells good.” Roeg looked at Ookum. “She says you can have it. She picked it out—”

  “She picked it for me?” Ookum interrupted, his face turning red. His grin stretched even further across his face.

  “No, she—” Roeg started but was interrupted as Minnoa passed by, followed closely by Ookum, who munched hungrily on the mushroom.

  As Ookum passed Roeg, he said, “I think I like the gnomes. They have good mushrooms here!” Bits of mushroom fell from his mouth.

  Tsisa turned up her nose. “I don’t like it here. I don’t like the gnomes. I don’t like that they are blue. They are different. I don’t like different.”

  Roeg stepped back. “I am different, Tsisa.” He pointed to his blue hair, then to his hand.

  Tsisa looked to his hair then huffed. “Not you, Roeg. I know you. I…” She paused. “I don’t like the way she looks at Ookum. We get what we need here, and we leave, okay?” She turned and stomped down the dark tunnel.

  Roeg nodded then followed behind.

  After a series of turns down the dark tunnel, a dim, green light peeked around the next corner. As they turned the corner, bright green gemstones were strung by twine along the top of the wall.

  Roeg, Ookum, and Tsisa all stopped and stared.

  Roeg called out to Minnoa, “What’s this?”

  Minnoa stopped and giggled. She came to them and said, “These are dancing lights. We use them to light the caverns.”

  “How do you make them glow like green fire?” Roeg asked.

  Minnoa giggled again. “We use gnomish charms to ask the stones to light up. We mine all sorts of gems in the mining caverns. Each has different—” She paused and looked to be in deep thought, then continued. “Powers or effects.”

  “What do you mean ‘charms’?” Roeg asked.

  “Well, we can talk to the stones—and to the ground,” Minnoa said.

  This interested Roeg. “What do they say?”

  Minnoa laughed “They don’ …” She giggled some more then said, “They don’t say words. We understand how they work and how to use their energy to help us. Do you understand?”

  Roeg had a blank look on his face. “Not really.”

  Minnoa said, “Well, for example, the dancing lights—when we mine them, they are plain green stones that don’t shine. You follow?”

  He nodded.

  “Okay, so we sort of ask them to glow when it’s dark, and they listen. Make sense?” Minnoa said.

  “I understand what you are saying, but I don’t understand how you do it.”

  Minnoa giggled. “It’s hard to explain to a non-gnome.”

  Roeg thought of what Tsisa said about Minnoa being different. He looked to her blue skin. “How is your skin blue?”

  Minnoa answered, “How is your hair blue? Why is their hair red?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  Minnoa giggled again. “My skin is blue because we live underground. Gnomes have lived underground for thousands of years. I guess the skin adapts, and well, that is why our skin is blue.”

  Minnoa’s eyes had the same green glow as the dancing
lights, and at first Roeg thought it was a reflection. He rubbed at his eyes. Nope, they were glowing. “Your eyes… they are glowing like the dancing lights!”

  Minnoa blinked and flashed her eyes at Roeg. “Yup, they do. It helps us see in the dark.” She turned. “I guess that’s another adaptation of living underground so long.”

  Adaptation. Roeg wasn’t sure what that meant.

  He was about to ask Minnoa, when Ookum tapped him on the shoulder. “What are those stones on the wall?”

  Tsisa leaned in, her arms still crossed.

  “They are gemstones that the gnomes collect. They ask them to light up and stick them on the walls to help them see in the dark.”

  Ookum leaned in and whispered, “Why do her eyes glow?”

  Roeg chuckled, “She said it’s because they live underground. Their skin is blue, and their eyes shine to light their way in the dark. It’s called ‘adaptation.’”

  Minnoa called back, “Let’s go meet my uncle in the kitchens.”

  As they turned the corner, the carved tunnel opened up into a large, brightly lit cavern that was full of wonderful smells and the clanks of pots. Roeg and the twins stood outside the kitchens, their mouths watering.

  Minnoa entered the kitchens and was greeted by a larger, roundish gnome. He wore an orange cap shaped like a squished mushroom that covered his eyes and rested on his large bulbous nose. Hanging around his waist was a dirty white cloth. In one hand, he held a large, glowing, blue mushroom, and in the other was a wooden bowl with a long handle.

  Covering most of his chest was a large, braided blue beard. “Minnoa! How is my favorite niece?”

  “Uncle Bulbus! How’s my favorite uncle?” Minnoa said.

  “Here, taste this. It’s my latest creation.” Bulbus handed the long-handled, wooden bowl to her.

  Sipping at it, her lips made a smacking sound, then she said, “Mmm, tasty.”

  She stole a look back out of the kitchens to where Roeg and the twins were standing then bit her lip. She raised her hand in a gesture that told them to stay put.

  “Hey Uncle, do you remember that biggun’ who came from the Great Spirit Coast when my dad was young? You know, the one he tells the stories about all the time? I think his name was—”

  “Unn Truthsay’r,” Bulbus said as he stirred a pot on a large stone table that had a cookfire in it. Roeg had never seen one like it before. It was a large stone with a hollowed center where the fire sat. Roeg focused on Bulbus. He said he remembered Unn. Roeg looked to Ookum and Tsisa and smiled; they would be able to get help from the gnomes and find the Land of Darkness.

  “Well, you see, there are more of them,” Minnoa’s voice sounded squeakier than usual.

  “Well, go tell Jexif. He’ll send the guards to the clearing. I assume that is where you saw them?” Bulbus said as he sipped whatever was in the pot, his back still to Minnoa.

  “Uh, yes. That’s where they found me. I mean, I saw them,” Minnoa squeaked.

  “Good, good. We don’t want an incident like the last time bigguns’ came here. You were too little to remember, but I’m sure you know the stories. Those Atlanteans, ugh.” Bulbus started to chop the large blue mushroom with a sharp, metallic stick.

  “Uh, yes. I remember old Yefnot telling stories to me when she used to tuck me in,” Minnoa said.

  “Waltzing in here, marching into the Fire Caverns uninvited. Where did they get the audacity to take the Firestone? And don’t even get me started on Ifrit! Because of those Atlanteans, we can’t see the nymphs anymore!” Bulbus said.

  Firestone? Roeg looked down and tucked the Firestone under his hide covering. Was his mother here before? Was she Atlantean? Was he?

  Bulbus turned and slammed his sharp stick into a block of wood. The thud made Roeg jump. The skitter and crumble of loose pebbles echoed in the tunnels.

  “What’s that? Who’s there?” Bulbus turned toward the darkly lit tunnel. He grabbed his sharp stick and pried it from the wood block, storming toward the tunnels.

  “You better watch it! I’ve got my cleaver!” Bulbus said.

  Minnoa reached for Bulbus. “Uncle, stop!”

  Roeg stepped into the kitchens, “Um, hi. I’m Roeg.”

  Bulbus yelled, dropping his cleaver to the ground. “Who are you? Are you an Atlantean? Not again!”

  Minnoa jumped in front of Roeg and said, “They’re my friends! They know Unn, and they are from the coast.”

  Ookum and Tsisa entered the kitchens. Bulbus eyed Roeg, then Ookum and Tsisa.

  “Hmmm. The tall biggun’… he looks different than the other two. They look like Unn, but this one looks a lot like an Atlantean.” Bulbus moved closer to Roeg and eyed him from head to toe.

  “Unn sent us. He said to ask for Jexif. We are looking for the Land of Darkness,” Roeg said.

  Bulbus stepped back. “Wait, did you…?” Bulbus looked to Minnoa. “Did he just speak Gnomish, or am I hearing things? And did he say the Land of Darkness?”

  Minnoa nodded. “Neat, hey? I’ve never met a biggun’ who spoke Gnomish before.”

  Minnoa looked up to Roeg and smiled.

  Bulbus looked at Roeg through narrowed eyes.

  He pointed his cleaver at Roeg. “How do we know they are not going to steal from us like the Atlanteans did?”

  “They… well, Firehair over there,” Minnoa pointed to Ookum, “shot Og with a poison mushroom and put him to sleep. They saved my life. Og was chasing me for picking mushrooms.”

  Bulbus sucked his teeth then squinted at the three friends. “Land of Darkness, eh?”

  Minnoa nodded.

  Bulbus lowered his cleaver. “I don’t trust the tall one. It’s not natural that he can speak Gnomish. I don’t like it.”

  Minnoa coughed. “Uh, Uncle, Roeg can hear you.”

  Bulbus scowled at Roeg. “Humph.” He turned to Minnoa. “Take ’em to Jexif. He’ll know what to do. But before they go to the Great Hall, take ’em to the Bath Caverns. They stink!”

  ROEG

  Bath Caverns

  A

  s the group walked through another set of twisting tunnels, the rough, black stone gave way to a multi-colored, luminescent glow that dominated the cavern walls. As they ventured farther into the Gnomish Caverns, the heat increased, and steam swirled off every surface. The cavern floor was slick with a fine, glowing blue hair that crawled up the cavern walls.

  Roeg stopped and touched the glowing hair. “What is this?”

  Minnoa ran her hand down the surface of the cavern wall beside Roeg. The glowing hair reacted to her touch, shooting waves of light. “We call them lumiworms. They live and grow here, like grass does on the surface; they like the heat and steam—it feeds them. They use it to create the air we need to breathe down here.”

  Ookum stopped and poked at the lumiworms. “Hehehe. They wave back!” He grinned.

  Tsisa stood with her arms crossed as she chewed her lip. She kept looking at the lumiworms but didn’t stroke them. “Can we go now?”

  Roeg pulled his hand from the cavern wall and turned to Minnoa. “What are the Bath Caverns?”

  Minnoa pointed to Roeg then Ookum and Tsisa. “They are a neat place, I think you’ll like them.” She paused then said, “Our culture doesn’t allow… well, you guys must have had a long journey because you are dirty. Before they allow you to see—” She paused again. “You need to wash. You stink.”

  Roeg looked at himself. Dirt and bits of grass covered him. The thorn-leaf slime had crusted and started peeling from his body. He nodded, realizing she was right. “Okay.”

  At the end of the tunnel, steam poured in from a larger cavern, rolling along the ground. Through the mist, the lumiworms sparkled and flashed, sending their light in all directions. The glow intensified.

  They entered the fog; hazy, blue streaks of light blurred their vision.

  “I can’t see anything,” Ookum clicked.

  THUD.
<
br />   Tsisa grunted, “Keep moving, Ookum, you’re in my way.”

  “I’m trying, but all I see is fog,” Ookum growled.

  Minnoa must have heard their struggle and called back, “Almost there.”

  The thought of Bulbus entered Roeg’s mind; he had seemed guarded and defensive.

  Hearing Minnoa’s footpads on the ground had lead Roeg forward, but now, the tunnels were silent.

  “Minnoa? Are you there?”

  No answer.

  Stepping more cautiously now, he extended his hands, moving them from side-to-side. Being blind did not suit Roeg.

  Roeg turned his head, hoping to give Ookum and Tsisa direction. “I’m moving ahead.”

  Tsisa grunted, “We’re right behind.”

  The fog suddenly cleared, revealing a large cavern where a rainbow of vibrant colors sparkled off every surface. Central to the cavern was a pool of water that glowed and gleamed. Rainbow steam clouds danced on the surface. Large rainbow stones that were covered in lumiworms and big enough to climb towered in the center of the pool.

  Roeg closed his eyes and filled his belly with a long, slow breath. The air calmed him. His eyes became tired, and he struggled to keep them open. “Why do I feel exhausted?”

  Minnoa giggled then waved her arms and spun around. “Welcome to the Bath Caverns. This is a special place. Technically, there is a pool for outsiders to bathe in before they see Jexif, but I thought you guys would appreciate this more! Plus, the minerals here relax you.”

  Roeg paced his way to Minnoa. His legs felt heavy. “Is that why my legs feel like this? What is minerals?”

  Minnoa giggled. “Minerals are things your body needs. They’re in the water, and they make you feel good. It’s natural. Go with it.”

  Ookum stood behind Roeg, stretching and yawning. “I could sleep.” His eyes drooped as he scanned for a place to lie down.

  Minnoa hurried to an area with smaller pools that were only big enough for one person to sit in. “Okay, we don’t have much time. Pick one of these pools, and throw your clothes in. Then head over there to the main bath. Wash yourselves, then come and collect your clothes.”