by Rob Roth
“I don’t know, Elysia. What seems obvious to one person is not always so obvious to another. Sometimes one needs another viewpoint to help see the truth of a matter more clearly.”
“Jace, what is true always remains true. I do not understand how you can believe that the right way is not always clearly understood. For me it is. I wish to follow what is right and true and do not allow myself to be led into falsehood. Thus far you have shown great wisdom in your opinions, and I have greatly valued them. But in this I believe you are wrong.”
At that moment another petitioner came into the Hall of Rendering. It was the Chief Administrator for the Castle Lake Palace, and he brought with him a young man named Darian.
“Eldian, I have a concern I need to bring to your attention. I’m afraid this young man, Darian, was caught defacing one of the walls of the palace. It is my opinion he should not only scrub the paint off that particular wall, but scrub and clean every other wall in the room as well. And the floor.”
“I did not deface the wall!” Darian blurted out. “I thought that wall could use some artwork help improve the overall look of the room.”
“Eldian, as you can see we have a difference of opinion. Believe me, there is no value to the splotches he put on that wall!”
Elysia sighed. “In which room may the wall in question be found?” she asked.
“The room where the garment makers of women’s clothes perform their services.”
This ought to be interesting, thought Jace.
“Let us reconvene to that room for a rendering,” said Elysia.
After about a fifteen-minute walk through several hallways that led to one of the other towers, and then up a couple of staircases, they eventually made their way to the garment makers’ room.
“Here is the defacement on the wall, Eldian,” stated the Administrator pointing to what appeared to be a large blue inkblot.
“I’m afraid I agree with the Administrator,” said Elysia looking at the young man Darian. “Defacing the walls is a punishable offense and I believe the Administrator's rendering is quite appropriate.”
“Please wait a minute, Eldian,” said Jace as he stared at the blotch of paint.
After a few seconds, Jace turned to the young artist, smiling.
“Darian, that is brilliant! It took me a second or two to see the abstract girl in the painting, but there she is! I think it is a wonderful addition to the garment makers’ room. The flowing gown she is wearing is perfect!”
Darian was very pleased that someone had understood his artwork and was beaming.
Jace immediately realized he had overstepped his authority, and quickly apologized to the Administrator and Elysia.
“I’m sorry, I should not have spoken up out of turn. My apologies.”
Both Elysia and the Administrator turned back to the painting and stood there quite a while, until finally they were both able to see the abstraction of the woman in the blue gown.
“It seems I owe you an apology, Darian,” said Elysia. “Your work is quite impressive, and I must agree that it is a marvelous addition to the garment makers’ room. I nullify my previous rendering. The opinion rendered by Jace Larkin stands.
“Eldian Larkin, it seems I must apologize to you as well. Truth is not always as clearly perceived as I had thought it was. Your perception regarding this matter has been most instructive,” she said smiling at Jace.
During the evenings Jace and Elysia often dined together, and after Jace's handling of Darian's painting, their conversations became more and more intimate as Elysia discovered she benefitted from learning Jace's perspective on a number of subjects. Walking in the silvery moonlight, through the open walkways and terraces together one night, Alysia had slipped her hand into Jace’s and they both silently realized how much they enjoyed the touch of one another.
Jace felt conflicted at first, as if this was some sort of betrayal of Kaylin. But he knew in his heart that Kaylin would not have wanted him to shut his feelings away like he had the last four years. Having feelings for Elysia in no way diminished the love he had had for Kaylin.
From then on they were often seen walking hand in hand on their evening walks. Jace realized he was falling in love with Elysia. Actually, a part of him had loved her from the day he had seen her image in the fire, he realized, but he didn’t wish to admit it back then. Now that he did, those feelings were only intensified as he grew in his understanding and appreciation of the character of this woman.
That’s what made it so hard for Jace to think about leaving. But after several weeks of luxuriating in the intoxication of this world, he knew he had to set aside his own desires, and for the good of his own world, return. This made the conversation he needed to hold that evening with Elysia so difficult to face.
After dinner Jace and Elysia were walking hand in hand in the warm evening, this time through the gardens. At night it came alive with luminescence, as many plants and animals gave off the light gathered during the day with a green-yellow glow that lit the gardens well enough for a romantic stroll. The soft sounds of the night critters added to the idyllic setting, which made it even more difficult for Jace to contemplate returning to his world, even though he knew he must.
"Jace, what's wrong? You are being unusually quiet tonight."
"Elysia, I don't know how to say this gently, but I am afraid I must leave. Tomorrow would be best. Otherwise the longer I delay the harder it becomes for me. I have put this off as long as I could, but it isn't right for me to put my own desires ahead of my world. You can't imagine how much I will miss this place."
Elysia let out a long sigh and hung her head. "I know, Jace. Having you here has been wonderful. I'm so glad you got to spend time here with me. But I knew this day would come where we must say goodbye for now."
“Thank you for understanding, Elysia. You must know I think this place is amazing. That you are amazing. I hope when this is over I can come back here again.
“I know what you mean, Jace. I feel exactly the same way. I can't wait for that day to come.”
Jace turned toward her, and gently took both her hands in his. Then, he looked down at her with a sad, longing, loving look.
“Jace, please don't look so sad,” Elysia said. “I know it's hard to leave, but I am hoping we won't be gone all that long.”
“I just want you to know... wait… what?... we?”
“Of course. You didn't think I'd let you go off alone by yourself, did you? You helped save my world, now I want to help you save yours.”
After a good night's rest, Dooley woke up feeling pretty much back to normal, and decided to get up before the others arose. The only problem was, he smelled fresh brewed coffee. Rolling over on the sleeper sofa and facing the kitchen, he saw Allison scrambling eggs in a pan.
“G’day, sleepyhead. Want some toast with your eggs?” asked Allison.
Dooley smiled and said, "Lady, you are too good to me. How'd a bum like me deserve such special treatment from a woman like you?”
“Well, the truth is, you don't. Actually, I took pity on you. I've tasted your eggs and didn't think anyone should suffer through those things ever again,” Allison joked back.
“Hey, covering 'em with pepper and tabasco frees up the natural flavors!”
“What's all the noise about?” said Severs as he wandered into the room, washed and fully dressed. “Oh good, you two are finally up. Davis should be back from the store soon with the fresh donuts.”
Dooley looked at Allison and rolled his eyes. “Give me ten minutes to shower and dress and I'll rejoin you all.”
Dooley came back to the living room after a few minutes, noting that Davis had returned, and the others were drinking coffee and eating breakfast. Pouring himself a coffee and grabbing a donut, he said, “Now that we are all up, we should go over the plans one more time.”
All eyes turned toward Dooley as he stood in the center of the room, and the others were comfortably seated on the sofa and chairs. As Do
oley began to speak, he noticed their eyes were no longer focused directly on him, but behind him, and seemed to have gotten much wider all at once. “What the…,” he said to himself as he turned around. A shimmering spot in the air seemed to widen and broaden until it was roughly five feet high and two feet wide, and glowed and flickered like fire. Then in a flash, it was gone and in its place appeared two people in shimmering tunics, heads bowed, and fists closed as if holding something in their hands.
“Jace!” shouted Dooley, who immediately recognized Jace's form and was familiar with the look of the portal. “I knew you'd figure out a way to make it back! And what's this? It looks like you brought Alice back with you through the looking glass.”
“My name is actually pronounced Elysia, but how did you know that? Are you a Professor as well?”
“No,” said Jace. “He's what's known here as a 'comedian'.”
“I am honored to meet you, Comedian Dooley,” Elysia said in a very respectful tone. She was somewhat confused when the others burst out laughing, realizing she must have made some sort of error applying that honorific.
“Jace, we are bloody glad to see you again,” Allison said as she came up and hugged him. “I didn't want to worry Dooley, but I was getting a bit concerned. And Elysia,” she said as she took her hand warmly, “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I'm Allie. Was Jace able to help you out?”
“Yes, he did,” she said as she smiled. “I didn't realize others were aware of our plight. It is no exaggeration to say Jace helped save our world from complete desolation.”
“Of course he did,” Dooley murmured, with not a small amount of disbelief.
“I see Captain Severs and Davis have now joined us," said Jace. "Good. We can use all the help we can get. Team, I would like to introduce you to the Eldian Elysia, leader of the Eldane warriors of the five realms, and a Guardian of the Eldoni. Elysia, this is Dooley, Allie, Captain Severs, and Davis.”
“Please, after all this can we dispense with the formalities?" replied Severs. “Call me Daniel. Even though Davis never goes by his first name, I am happy to. Besides, after this Davis and I will likely lose our ranks and probably end up in prison.”
“So…” Dooley asked Jace, “Is she like a princess?”
“Of course not,” said Jace, “She's just a servant of Eld, and the leader of her people. She lives in a large palace in Castle Lake Realm and… hmm… well... ok… I guess she's a princess,” he finished, giving up. Elysia gave him a questioning look and then wondered why they all were laughing again. This is a strange world, she thought to herself.
For the next ninety minutes Jace and Elysia brought them all up to speed on what happened in the Pristine Lands. He covered just about everything, except a few minor details about his feelings toward Elysia. They were especially intrigued about Jace's dream and the stanzas each of them had quoted in the vision he saw.
“So Jace, are you saying you guys can like 'poof' us from one place or another, or grow some wings and fly us? Those blue stones seem like they would be mighty useful in the next few weeks given what we want to get done.”
“Unfortunately, no” said Jace. “It can take us between the two worlds, but our world is not pristine. The stones don't work here like they do over there. They draw their power from the pristine… from Eld. Even Elysia's wings can't materialize here.”
"Aw… I wanted to see that… well, I guess we better just stick to the plans we’ve already made. Daniel and Davis should go pay a visit to Steinmacher to see what he is feeling guilty about. Jace, I’m now thinking you and Elysia should go see Van Dyne. He was expecting an update from our recent travels. I think you would be best to tell him how our search in Greenland went. Also, you can assess their portal progress better than I can. And take Allie with you. She knows Van Dyne better than anyone. I have some other lead I want to follow up on, alone.”
“Bugger that, Dooley! Not on your life mister,” said Allison vehemently, “No way are you going off by yourself, mate! I am coming with you!”
Dooley tried to dissuade Allison, saying it wasn't safe, which naturally only made her angrier with him. In the end he relented, seeing he couldn't talk her out of it, and that ‘safe’ apparently was not in her vocabulary. But they all persisted in asking where Dooley planned to go.
“I thought it would be good to go to the site Allie visited last year — where the other meteorite fell near Wolfe Creek Crater. I want to check for some more blue dust and see if maybe an 'egg' landed there. At the time Allie was on site she didn't know about the egg, and maybe overlooked it. It doesn't look all that unusual with its rocky shell. Besides, I held the egg, so I know what I’m looking for.”
They agreed to let Dooley go follow up on that lead, although Allison shot him a puzzled look and Dooley glanced away, raising her suspicion that he wasn't being totally straight forward. So, at the conclusion of their discussion, Daniel and Davis were going to drive a rental car to Arizona in order to stay off the radar. The other four would fly to Melbourne, in spite of Elysia's confusion as to how they would do that without materializing wings. When she was told what an ‘air plain’ was, it took quite a bit more convincing before she agreed to go.
From Melbourne, Dooley and Allison would split off and catch a local airline to Halls Creek, which even then was still a two or three-hour drive to Sturt Creek, near Wolfe Creek Crater and the site where the other meteorite impacted. Thanks to Van Dyne they all still had plenty of money remaining to draw upon, and Allison was able to acquire encrypted sat phones so they could stay in contact with one another. They made all the travel arrangements, although it took a full week to get everything lined up properly. After everything was finally in place, they departed toward their respective destinations.
Jace, Elysia, Dooley and Allison walked into the Melbourne airport after they had gathered their carryon bags and disembarked from the military plane arranged by Allison. Jace and Elysia were dressed in ‘normal’ travel clothes hoping not to attract too much attention, but it was hard for Elysia not to be noticed. Even in the jeans and loose-fitting tops they both wore, Elysia drew the eyes of many who assumed she must be a movie star travelling incognito.
Dooley and Allison were similarly dressed in casual wear but favored lighter colored pants, shirts, and hats that would be appropriate for where they were headed in the outback. Allison drew her share of attention as well, Dooley noted with a touch of irritation.
“Well guys, this is where we part ways,” said Dooley. “Allie and I have a connecting flight to Halls Creek to catch in a couple hours. Hey, how about we go and find a tavern where we can get a bite to eat?” he said, turning toward Allison.
Sure, mate. But no picking up the tab unless you are in the mood for a fight.”
“Safe journeys you two,” said Jace. “Allie, thanks for recommending a place for us to stay. The Victoria hotel sounds perfect given its convenient location in downtown Melbourne.”
“No Worries, Jace. You and Allie stay safe.”
“Thanks. We’ll catch a taxi and head over there now. That area has everything we’ll need as far as shopping and dining all within easy walking distance. Elysia and I will take a day or two and plan when and how we are going to catch up with Van Dyne. We may even find some spare time to catch a tram and go over to the Royal Botanical Gardens. I think Elysia would enjoy seeing them.”
“Thank you Jace. That is most considerate of you. I’m sure I will be delighted seeing them with you.”
Dooley nudged Allie and nodded approvingly at Elysia’s response. Allie in turn gave him a light shove, frowning back at him, which made him smile all the more.
After a nice brunch at the tavern, along with a couple of Australian beers to ‘help get their stomachs adjusted to the locale’ as Dooley said, they located the gate where the plane to Halls Creek was waiting. Once they boarded the flight and settling into their seats, Allison thought it was time to get to the truth.
“Dooley, now that we are alone, d
on’t you think I deserve to know the truth about what you are planning to do? You know I was with the Panterra group that explored the small meteor impact site near Wolfe Creek Crater. We were the first ones on site, and I can bloody well assure you we did a very thorough search. We collected all the blue dust. Nothing was left. I don’t believe for one instant you’ll find anything of interest remaining there. But you already know that, don’t you?”
“I’m sure you are right. Really, I just wanted to find some nice impact crater out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, so that we could visit it,” Dooley said with a humorous look.”
“Ok mate. Enough of that. Fess up. Why the sudden interest in Wolfe Creek Crater? I can’t believe it is just out of scientific curiosity, although personally I found that impact crater rather fascinating…”
“Actually, I’m telling you the truth, Allie. I wanted to visit some faraway impact crater. Do you remember us talking about how strange it was that the aliens showed up right at the last minute, just when we had discovered the blue dust? How did they find the exact spot where we were? And if you recall, Severs… I mean Daniel… reported seeing them right above his location just before they showed up at our location. So, I wanted to run a little test, keeping it as similar as I could to Hiawatha Crater. Well, other than sweltering heat instead of freezing cold,” he chuckled.
“The thing is, in both cases, we will be near a major impact crater. I have a feeling they are somehow tracking one or more of us. It could be Jace, or you or me. But since I’m the one they targeted in Greenland it’s making me wonder if I’m the one on their list, or something. And we can’t forget Daniel’s role either. They showed up first where he was, then they found us. So, we are going to make a call to the Captain when we get to the crater, to see if he notices anything on his end. This is why I tried to talk you out of coming, Allie. Last time I almost got fried, and I don’t want to put you in danger. I’d prefer if you let me go to the crater and you stay somewhere safe so you can report back if anything happens to me.”