by Jeremy Dwyer
“You’re tough to please, Sophie,” Sean said.
“Try the green algae, Sophie. They might be more to your taste. These are chlorella, and these are sea grapes,” Odhran said, handing over a plant of each type to Sophie.
Sophie then tried the chlorella and said: “I can swallow this, I guess.”
“That’s an improvement. Think positive,” Ruth said.
Sophie tried the sea grapes and said: “I can swallow this. Maybe even twice. Not too bad.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Keep an open mind,” Ruth said.
“Now, give the brown algae a try. Here’s ecklonia cava and kombu. Start with these,” Odhran said, handing plants of both kinds over to Sophie.
Sophie ate the ecklonia cava and said: “Decent. I could get used to this.” She then ate the kombu and said: “Now, that’s actually pretty good.”
“Now, give the sea palm and sargassum a try,” Odhran said, giving plants of those kinds to Sophie.
Sophie ate the sea palm and said: “That’s decent. Not as good as the last couple, but better than the red or green.” She then ate the sargassum and said: “I want to kiss you! That is fantastic!”
“Finally, some enthusiasm,” Ruth said.
“He’s married. You can save the kiss for me, Sophie,” Sean said.
“You’re not the farmer, Sean. Don’t get your hopes up,” Sophie said.
“It seems we share the same tastes,” Patrick said.
“In seaweed, Patrick. Just in seaweed,” Sophie said.
The other fifty-six (56) farmers each ate their fill of the various kinds of algae according to their personal tastes until everyone was satisfied.
“This stream is filled with the algae, so we can just follow it westward across the desert,” Odhran said.
“How far do we have to go?” Ruth asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but we can cover about fifteen (15) to twenty (20) miles a day, now that we’re eating better,” Patrick said.
“Elise can hear about ten (10) miles ahead, so we’ll know when we’re close,” Ruth said.
“We’re going to have to do things a little differently now. The Pirovalen waters gave me the long distance hearing, but I’ve used up my last drop of them. The powers are fading already. I can still hear whispers nearby, but not miles away, and I won’t be able to sing,” Elise said.
“How can that be? What did you say before about God providing things in abundance?” Sophie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I had the water when we needed it. God supplied it, and brought us through the danger,” Elise said.
“We’re still in a desert, so I have an idea,” Patrick said. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power of calm, rational thought. He began making mental calculations and then used his finger to draw a diagram in the desert sands.
“What is that?” Sophie asked.
“It’s the geometry for a telescopic lens. Ruth, take a clump of sand and mold it into a projective crystal with these angles,” Patrick said.
Ruth drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from her vial and was energized with the power to manipulate crystal and stone. She picked up a clump of sand and began to mold its low-level structure into a crystal according to Patrick’s design. She held the projective crystal up to her eye and let the light of the many suns shine through it. She looked into it and said: “I can see for miles ahead.”
“How many miles?” Sophie asked.
“It will let you see twenty-two (22) miles,” Patrick said.
“And what do you see?” Sophie asked.
“I see more desert,” Ruth said.
“That is not encouraging,” Sophie said.
“The stream keeps going through it. And there are mesas, which will give us shade,” Ruth said.
“That is encouraging,” Ciaran said.
“Shade is not the same as shelter,” Sophie said.
“The stream has food you enjoy, Sophie. We need to make the most of our environment,” Patrick said.
“It is good food, Sophie. Even you said that you enjoyed it,” Molly said.
“After a few days of walking between fifteen (15) and twenty (20) miles a day, will you still care about the food, Molly?” Sophie asked.
“With all this food, I definitely feel better than before. And we made it this far,” Molly said.
“Molly’s right. We need to appreciate the food and water we have, and our situation is improving,” Ruth said.
“It’s still a desert, and these farmers can’t grow anything here,” Sophie said.
“And we can’t really do any mining work, or sell what we extract, out here by ourselves,” Sean said.
“That’s why we have to keep going westward to find fertile lands to settle and work,” Patrick said.
“That’s my whole point, Patrick. I’m getting tired of this,” Sophie said.
“We are well fed from the plants growing in the stream, and there is water in the stream that all of us can drink, no matter our waterbindings, so we won’t be hungry or thirsty while we travel,” Odhran said.
“God will continue to provide for us like He already has. We just have to be willing to journey the distance,” Elise said.
“Is God willing to send us a ship to get us there faster?” Sophie asked.
“Complaining isn’t helping. Let’s get going,” Ruth said. She continued walking westward along with her traveling companions. Odhran and the other farmers encircled them, to protect against encounters with animals.
~~~
Inside the wheelhouse of the Cypress Advantage, Captain Ibriy pulled levers to drop the anchor and lower the boarding ramp to connect to a pier extending from the western coast of the Crypt Trail land bridge.
Kastor revealed the power of his violet eyes once again. He looked Captain Ibriy directly in the eyes and said: “Remain here, Captain. Do not move from this place until we return and give you orders, no matter how many days we take. Write this order into your captain’s log book, as a binding contract.”
Captain Ibriy wrote a note into his captain’s logbook, indicating that he was bound under contract to wait.
Kastor then made eye contact with Judith and said: “You should remain here with him, Chronicler.”
“Under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, I don’t take orders from you, and your powers of hypnosis have no effect on me,” Judith said.
“You tried. She resisted. Did you expect anything else? We can’t worry about her. Chroniclers can’t interfere with what we do, and you can’t stop them from watching. Let’s forget about her and get going,” Erikkos said.
“It seems we have no other choice, so I must agree with you, my friend,” Kastor said.
~~~
Erikkos exited the wheelhouse, followed by Kastor and Judith. They walked down the boarding ramp and onto the pier. From there, they entered small port town, walked to its eastern edge and entered the swampland beyond.
“The nerium oleander is not the rarest plant, but it’s not very common, either. We’re going to have to hike through the swamp for a while to find it,” Erikkos said.
“Dangerous creatures inhabit the swamp. Snakes strike all too quickly. We must be on our guard,” Kastor said. He drank anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power to slow the passage of time, both within and around him. “However, time is on my side, my friend, so no creature can move so quickly that it attacks me by surprise. Yet, you must rely on your hearing,” he said.
Erikkos drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power of music and sound. “I will hear the sounds of any creature moving in the swamp. Even a spider spinning a web makes a noise I can hear. A slithering snake is loud by comparison,” he said.
Judith drank anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from her vial to be energized with the power to slow the passage of time, both within a
nd around her. As a Chronicler, she wasn’t worried about the snakes attacking her personally, but she did want to continue to maintain her awareness of fast-moving events, along with preserving her youth.
After two (2) days of trekking through the swamps, they caught sight of a yellow-and-blue cylindrical structure, along with thirty-nine (39) pillars tipped with crystals and four hundred five (405) combatants and their commanding officer lying still on the ground.
“These look like the pillars of a constructor. The cylindrical structure was probably assembled by it. There’s a break in its wall,” Erikkos said. He walked toward the blue-and-yellow cylinder and then all the way around it.
Judith counted the bodies and checked them for pulses, finding all of the soldiers and archers, along with the commanding officer, to still be alive. She recorded these details into her book, counting each of them: three hundred thirty (330) soldiers, seventy-five (75) archers and a single man who had bars on his uniform that signified the rank of lieutenant.
Kastor also examined the bodies, detecting signs of life. “These soldiers and archers are alive, including their commanding officer. They may have been poisoned or frightened into paralysis,” he said.
Judith used a scope she carried to measure the heights of the pillars, finding them all to be forty-two (42) feet. She approached the blue-and-yellow cylindrical structure and turned her scope to its walls as she walked around it. She measured its height as sixty-three (63) feet and its diameter as six hundred fifty-seven (657) feet. She walked through the breach in the wall and measured the wall to be fifteen (15) feet in thickness. Judith recorded all of these measurements into her book.
Erikkos stepped through the breach in the wall to examine the interior of the cylindrical structure. He watched Judith take exact measurements.
“You are precise in your measurements, Chronicler. If nothing else, you must be a storehouse of valuable knowledge. We could use your help. Join us and share what you have learned over the centuries,” Erikkos said.
“I took the Oath to record events and to tell the truth. The knowledge I collect goes to Emeth,” Judith said.
“Yes, I know. And there, the precious information waits in the ancient halls to be noticed by an astute researcher. With us, knowledge is put to use soon after we gain it, and for profit,” Erikkos said.
“You are here to gather the ingredients for a poison. That is your definition of profit. According to the Oath, I am not allowed to judge your words or actions. Nor am I allowed to help or hinder you,” Judith said.
“Your choice of words and even your tone of voice are revealing. You are judging me,” Erikkos said.
“I will record the truth in my book. Then, the world can read the account and judge you,” Judith said.
“If you could stop me, would you?” Erikkos asked.
“I have work to do,” Judith said. She walked around the interior of the cylindrical structure to finish her examination and record additional measurements into her book. She then stepped through the breach to return to the area outside. Judith walked back to where the fallen warriors were scattered. Erikkos followed her.
Kastor remained in the area where the incapacitated military personnel were lying on the ground and found a sapphire in the hands of the lieutenant. He picked up the gem and examined it from different angles. A beam of blue light emanated from the sapphire toward the sapphires atop each of the thirty-nine (39) constructor pillars. Those sapphires each became bright blue and emitted beams of light toward the others, forming all seven hundred two (702) geometric diagonals between them. The beams began to rotate and to draw up mist from the waters in the swamp around them, as well as from the Dead Waters Ocean on the eastern coast of the land bridge, from the Nabavodel Ocean on the southwestern coast and from the Medathero Ocean on the northwestern coast. The mists swirled and then congealed, forming a glimmering blue-and-yellow cylindrical crystal structure, one hundred twenty-six (126) feet high, thirty (30) feet thick and one thousand three hundred fourteen (1314) feet in diameter, concentric with the original.
“We’re surrounded! The newer, larger crystal structure has trapped us inside,” Kastor said.
“How did you even activate the constructor?” Erikkos asked.
“I merely picked up the crystal to examine it. I didn’t alter its structure to release the energy beam. I have no power to do that. Can you break through the wall with a song?” Kastor asked.
A swarm of thousands of spirits appeared before them and encircled Judith, Kastor and Erikkos.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Erikkos yelled as the spirit swarm approached.
“Do something now, my friend! These spirits must be what attacked those soldiers and archers, paralyzing them!” Kastor said.
~~~
After sixteen (16) days of trekking westward across the desert with her traveling companions, Ruth caught sight of something while looking through the projective lens.
“There’s a town up ahead. I don’t see anybody there, but there are hundreds of trees and dozens of stone buildings behind a low wall. They look like they’re made of granite,” Ruth said.
“The trees can be used to make shelters,” Odhran said.
“We have another day and a half of travel to get there, based on the crystal’s viewing distance and our walking speed,” Patrick said.
“We’ve been walking this desert for sixteen (16) days already,” Sophie said.
“I’m sick and tired of this myself,” Molly said.
“Don’t focus on the negative. We’re almost out of the desert,” Ciaran said.
“This doesn’t bother you, Ciaran?” Sophie asked.
“Following the stream keeps us well fed, with plenty to drink. There is shade from the mesas. And we can see the end of the desert. Things are not so bad,” Ciaran said.
“We’re making progress, Sophie. Complaining doesn’t help. It just wastes energy we could save for walking,” Ruth said.
“You’re tough, Ruth. I wish I had your strength,” Molly said.
“I’m just determined to succeed. We’ll do whatever we have to do,” Ruth said.
“We’ve put up with a lot of misery and pain. We’ve survived things I didn’t think we would,” Sophie said.
“God protected us all along the way,” Elise said.
“Then why am I tired and aching all over?” Sophie asked.
“Life isn’t easy, Sophie. Just keep walking and stop letting it bother you,” Ruth said.
“Nothing bothers Ruth,” Sean said.
“That’s not true, Sean. You annoy me…a lot. I just don’t complain about it all the time,” Ruth said.
Sophie started laughing. After several minutes, she calmed down and said: “She thinks you’re as bad as this desert, Sean.”
“No. He’s worse,” Ruth said.
Sophie started laughing again, more hysterically than before.
“I’ve got my good points. I’m here for you, and I can cut and shape the stones as fast as anybody here,” Sean said.
“That’s why we keep you,” Ruth said.
“Ruth, take a closer look. Does the stream end at the edge of the town?” Patrick asked.
“No. It keeps going west, into the forest and between the buildings,” Ruth said.
“Keep watching for signs of anyone there. We don’t want to get attacked,” Patrick said.
“Let’s all take a closer look. Sean, Ciaran, Sophie, Molly: I want each of you to make projective crystals like this one,” Ruth said.
Sean, Ciaran, Sophie and Molly each drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from their respective vials to be energized with the power to manipulate crystal and stone. They each took clumps of desert sand and molded them into crystals matching the gem that Ruth held, touching it to sense its low-level structure and replicate the angles.
“With all of us watching, we’re less likely to miss something,” Ruth said.
“Look in every direction. Take your time. We can’t
afford to be wrong,” Patrick said. He continued walking westward, along with his traveling companions. Odhran and the other fifty-six (56) farmers surrounded them the whole distance.
~~~
Judith recorded the observable facts of the constructor’s activation, the larger cylindrical structure that it assembled and the appearance of the spirit swarm into her book. She wrote the notes in shorthand as the spirits circled her, Erikkos and Kastor.
The swarm of spirits moved toward Judith, but they could not touch her. Instead, they were pushed back.
~~~
From the spirit world, the Guardian Angel Ondothel continued watching over Judith. He prevented the swarm of spirits from attacking her.
~~~
“Why did you summon us? Why did you disturb our graves?” the swarm of spirits screeched in chorus.
“I didn’t touch your graves,” Judith said.
“The waters were stirred up from below and gathered together. These crystal walls now imprison our kindred spirits who were at rest underneath this swamp. Release them or we will attack! The fear will nearly kill you, so that you live close to death, motionless, in paralyzing terror, like these men scattered around you,” the swarm of spirits screeched.
“Under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, I don’t take orders from you. You tried to attack me, but you were unable. You know this, so don’t threaten me,” Judith said.
“And you are unable to leave this place. You are trapped by the same crystals in which our kindred spirits are trapped. You know that, so don’t refuse to help them. Their escape route will also set you free,” the swarm of spirits screeched.
“You’re not trapped. Why do you care about these other spirits?” Erikkos asked.
“How is this important, Erikkos? I suggest you find a way for all of us to escape, using one of your songs to break through the walls. We do not want this battle,” Kastor said.
“Yes, hurry. Release our fellow spirits before we attack again. The Chronicler may be protected, but you are not,” the swarm of spirits screeched.
“There will be no battle. However, I do want to know why any of you spirits care. How are these other spirits related to you? And who are you?” Judith asked.
