Runes and Relics

by Kay L. Ling

  Kaff gave a skeptical laugh. “That might happen with dark powers, but not with good gems.”

  “You’re sure about that?” Jules asked.

  “Well, if I lose my head, Elias can probably grow me a new one.”

  “One with more sense, I hope,” Jules muttered, which got a laugh from Parcune.

  When they reached camp, Jules and Parcune rolled all the bedrolls into tidy bundles and stuffed them in the storage boxes. Elias headed straight for the pot of raaka, and Kaff started to make breakfast, since none of them had eaten.

  As he worked, Kaff continued to talk about the breghlin camp. It stank. Their home looked like a barn. Their food smelled disgusting, and they ate with their hands. Lucky for Parcune he’d been rescued right away.

  Elias tried to hush the lad, but Kaff wasn’t one to take a hint.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Kaff announced while Jules was shaving. “We don’t have to wait for Ben and Tina Ann, do we? I bet Parcune is starving.”

  Parcune was sitting glumly on one of the bedroll boxes.

  “Did they offer you any of the stuff they eat? Like bugs and raw meat?”

  Parcune didn’t answer.

  Jules was tempted to use his straight razor on Kaff’s tongue.

  “I’m sure some raaka would hit the spot,” Elias said cheerfully.

  Parcune slid off the box and went to get some. Jules toweled his face dry and followed.

  “Get Parcune a plate,” Elias ordered Kaff.

  “He may be old and slow, but he’s not helpless. Why do I have to wait on him?”

  “I’m not hungry,” Parcune said. His hands were trembling so much he almost dropped his mug. “The breghlin are on their way here. I’ll wait by the carts and make sure they bring all our supplies.”

  “Ben and Tina Ann said they’d take care of that,” Kaff said, but Parcune was already walking away.

  Jules gave Elias a speaking glance. Elias rounded on Kaff.

  “What?” Kaff said, feigning innocence.

  Jules glared at him reproachfully, and then went to make up two platefuls of the potato-meat mixture.

  He found Parcune sitting on the back of the supply cart. “I brought you some breakfast.”

  Parcune didn’t look up.

  “Come on. Have some. I don’t like to eat alone.”

  Parcune finally took the offered plate, and Jules sat down beside him. “Look, I can imagine how you feel right now, but don’t let Kaff upset you. You were half-asleep when you left the tent, and you stumbled into a trap. It could have happened to anyone.”

  Parcune poked listlessly at his food. “One minute I was on my way back to the tent, the next thing I know, I’m in a breghlin camp, staked to the ground, being taunted by six breghlin.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Still have a bump right here where they clubbed me.” He began to eat.

  “Six against one,” Jules said, “even if you had seen them, what good would it have done?”

  “None, I guess,” Parcune said, stabbing a piece of potato. “I’m old and slow, like the lad said.”

  “Nonsense. Knowing gnomes can escape inside trees, I’m sure they surrounded you. Fast or not, you couldn’t outrun all of them.”

  “I suppose,” he conceded. “And a scared gnome can’t access a tree’s multi-dimensional space. You have to focus your mind to go inside.”

  “It’s like attuning yourself to the Fair Lands portal, right?”

  Parcune nodded. “Sort of like that.”

  “Tree Homes are amazing. I envy you.”

  “And unlike gem powers, all gnomes have the gift,” Parcune said. “But it did me no good last night.”

  Jules described his first visit to a Tree Home. He had marveled at the veins of light in the walls, the furniture made of living roots, and the way the air smelled fresh, like after a thunderstorm. His hosts had given him fialazza, the most wonderful drink he’d ever tasted. He laughed fondly at the memory. Parcune finally relaxed and even smiled. Jules went on, “You’ve probably heard Lana’s story. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a hand come out of a tree. How could a hand come out of solid wood? Then it pulled her inside and she understood.”

  Parcune’s eyes took on a faraway look, and he mumbled something Jules couldn’t make out.

  “Parcune?”

  The gnome had a strange look on his face, and he didn’t answer.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Parcune shook his head and said in a mysterious tone, “Come with me.”

  Jules followed him to the back of the cart. Parcune threw open the lid of the relic box and took out the largest one. “Hold this,” Parcune said, handing Jules the relic. “Yes. Hold it up just like that.”

  Jules felt completely bewildered.

  Parcune placed his fingertips against the relic, his brow creasing in concentration.

  To Jules’s astonishment, the gnome’s fingers disappeared inside the wood—then his entire hand. A moment later, Parcune pulled out a huge, silvery-white crystalline gem and laughed in delight.

  Jules was speechless.

  “It worked! I have to check the rest of them!”

  Parcune proceeded to extract a gem from each one.

  “How did you guess there was something inside them?” Jules asked, completely stunned by the discovery.

  “It just came to me when you told about Lana seeing the hand coming out of the tree. Trees have inter-dimensional space, so why not wood? I’ve never heard of wood being used to hide things. Never knew it was possible to reach inside a piece of wood, but it made sense.”

  “You’re brilliant! I can hardly wait to show Elias.”

  It was ironic that breghlin had discovered the warded crevice with the relics, and then Parcune, with no special abilities, had figured out what they were for, solving the mystery that had stumped two humans and a gnome with gem powers.

  “Someone went to great lengths to hide these gems, so they must be special,” Parcune said.

  “Let’s take one of the relics back to camp so you can demonstrate how you found them.”

  Parcune wrapped the gems in a cloth, and Jules took the largest relic. Grinning with anticipation, they jogged back to camp, slowing to a walk as they neared the tent.

  Elias and Kaff were sitting by the corrustone, drinking raaka. Kaff was chattering as always, and Elias was staring into space with a bored expression.

  “Elias!” Jules called breathlessly. “Parcune has something to show you. The gnome relics . . . we know what they’re for!”

  Elias and Kaff looked equally stunned. They jumped to their feet.

  Jules dragged over the bedroll box and set the relic on it, and Parcune placed the bundle of gems beside it. “They’re for hiding valuables,” Parcune said as he unfolded the cloth, “like these gems.”

  Elias and Kaff gasped. For the first time in ages, Kaff had nothing to say.

  “We saw no way to open them!” Elias exclaimed. “How did you do it?”

  Parcune demonstrated. His hand disappeared inside.

  “Well I never!” Elias breathed, shaking his head. “That’s the third disappearing act today, and by far the most impressive!”

  Kaff wilted as Parcune said modestly, “Any slow old gnome could do it.”

  Chapter 12

  It promised to be a glorious day. The sun shone brightly in a blue sky with stray wisps of clouds. No more rain or fog, Jules thought with relief, and hopefully no more fallen trees. Things were looking up. The team had new allies, and Parcune had solved the riddle of the gnome relics. After examining the gems, Elias had concluded that only two were rare, but they all had extraordinary energy levels. Kaff was itching to get his hands on them, but Elias wanted to study them first.

  Parcune drove the cart out of camp and onto the road where their breghlin escort waited—NE3 and five scouts on mule-like beasts called erum. They rode bareback, swords or daggers at their waists. Each had a canteen of water and a small sack of food. According to NE3,
the barrier zone was only half a day’s ride.

  Today, Elias sat behind the driver’s box, and Jules and Kaff sat further back, across from each other.

  Feet propped on a crate of cookware, arms folded across his chest, Kaff watched the passing scenery in sullen silence. It was always a blessing when he wasn’t talkative since he rarely talked about anything but himself and his ambitions. Jules had tried repeatedly to steer conversations to other topics so he could learn more about life in the Anen clan, but so far everything he had learned revolved around Kaff.

  Kaff wore his green robe today, and he’d spent a ridiculous amount of time grooming his hair and beard since this was to be a momentous day.

  Although it was difficult to read in a moving cart, Jules took out his journal and looked through the entries. With all the excitement lately, he’d been too distracted to write much, but he had jotted down the highlights. When he got home, he planned to share his adventures with Lana. What was she doing right now?

  Sometimes he pictured her waiting on customers in the jewelry store. Other times he imagined her relaxing at home surrounded by gem trays and reference books. Did she think of him now and then? He certainly hoped so. He’d give anything to be with her now.

  Jules looked at Kaff and smiled faintly. Lana would shame Kaff into better behavior—or at least try to. She was good at understanding why folks behaved the way they did and helping them change. Jules had no patience for such things. If it were up to him, he’d leave Kaff on the side of the road the next time he acted up.

  Jules was doing more daydreaming than reading when Elias sat down beside him.

  “I’ve discovered this one’s powers,” Elias said, taking a large, rose-colored, faceted gem from his pouch.

  Kaff leaned forward, his face lighting with interest. “That’s one of the rare gems, isn’t it? What does it do?”

  “Unlike most gems, which impart energy and abilities, this one draws energy. The closest comparison I can think of is khadish.”

  “Khadish. That’s the gem that forms a protective shield around the user, isn’t it?” Jules asked.

  Elias smiled. “Good. You remember your lessons. Unlike khadish, this gem can do a number of things with the user’s energy. For example, produce light.”

  A beam of pink light shone from the top of the gem.

  “Or heat.”

  A wave of heat radiated from the gem.

  “I suspect it can convert energy to any number of forms, but I’ll experiment later. I don’t want to frighten the maraku.”

  “Any ideas about the silvery-white gem?” Jules asked.

  Elias frowned. “Not yet. It’s quite perplexing.”

  “Since these gems were hidden near Last Hope, maybe gnomes used them in the battle.”

  Elias nodded. “It’s possible.”

  “Maybe they used them to destroy the portal,” Kaff suggested. “In any case, I bet they had something to do with the battle.” His eyes shone with excitement. “That makes them an important part of gnome history.”

  “Yes, a sad history of sacrifice and loss. The militias were stranded here, never to return home to their loved ones,” Elias said.

  “Couldn’t be helped,” Kaff said, with a troubling lack of concern for the families that had been ripped apart. “Destroying the portal stopped the Mydorian incursion so S couldn’t take over the whole world.”

  “It’s unfortunate there wasn’t another way,” Jules said.

  Elias looked thoughtfully at the rose-colored gem. “We know from historical records that your people used a beam of energy to destroy the portal, so it’s conceivable they used this gem.”

  Jules said, “Could a single gem destroy the portal? Wouldn’t you need dozens, maybe hundreds?”

  “You would think so, wouldn’t you?”

  For a moment, no one spoke. Then Kaff said, “What if you only need one because it can draw power from a lot of gnomes at once?”

  “That’s an interesting idea,” Elias said, “but with the exception of alamaria, users must hold the gem, and how could a group of gnomes all hold the gem at once?”

  Kaff looked disappointed that Elias had found a flaw in his theory.

  Jules said, “Alamaria amplifies gem powers. Maybe using alamaria would accomplish the same thing and you wouldn’t need a lot of users.”

  “To the best of our knowledge, alamaria is a recent discovery. And even if gnomes had it back then, it’s hard to believe the power from a single gem could be amplified enough.”

  “What did the clan leaders say about how the portal was destroyed?” Jules asked.

  “Gnomes focused a beam of energy on the portal’s energy field, which caused an explosive blast.”

  Kaff said, “Maybe if you’re close enough, this gem can draw your energy even if you’re not touching it. We could—”

  “The solution might be a spell,” Elias said to Jules.

  “I think we—”

  “Since spells utilize gem powers in complex manners,” Elias finished, speaking over Kaff.

  “That might explain it,” Jules agreed, nodding.

  “No one’s listening to me!” Kaff grumbled.

  Elias gave an impatient sigh. “What?”

  “Set the gem between us. Let’s try to make it give off light without touching it.”

  Jules gave Elias a “humor him” look. “It can’t hurt to try.”

  Elias reached into a crate and took out a bowl. He put the gem inside and set the bowl on the floor. “Go ahead. Concentrate on producing light.”

  Kaff stared at the bowl, and if the intensity of his gaze counted for anything, the gem should have created enough light to blind them. A minute passed. Nothing happened.

  “Well, it was worth a try,” Elias said, “but apparently its powers can only be activated by touching it.”

  Kaff gave a disappointed sigh.

  “Perhaps gem masters infused its powers,” Elias said.

  “But this gem takes power; it doesn’t give it,” Jules said. “So you can’t infuse it.”

  “Ah, yes. I’m not thinking clearly.” Elias took the gem from the bowl and slipped it into his gem pouch.

  “Did the clan leaders mention anything about spells?” asked Kaff.

  “No. That was my own theory.” Elias ran his fingers through his beard. “Even if these are the gems they used at Last Hope, how would we use them to break through the Amulet barrier?”

  “The idea of focusing a powerful energy beam on the barrier seems promising,” Jules said.

  “I suppose we’ll have a better idea once we arrive and see what we’re dealing with. As I said when we left, this is a fact-finding mission. I don’t expect to break through on our first try.”

  “But if we did, we’d be heroes. Legends!” Kaff’s smile faded when Elias and Jules didn’t say anything. “I suppose you’re legends already, so you don’t care.”

  “Doing the right thing is more important than being famous,” Jules said.

  Elias added grimly, “And many people whose deeds aren’t heroic have become legends.” The unspoken word infamous came to mind, and Jules supposed Elias had been referring to himself.

  “Well, it’s a new era, and I want to be famous for something.”

  “Folks don’t usually plan to be famous. It just happens.” Jules said. “They do great things when they see a need.” At first, Jules thought Kaff was mulling that over, but he realized that wasn’t the case when Kaff said blithely, “Can we look at the other rare gem? Between the three of us, we should be able to figure out what it does.”

  Elias said, “All right. Perhaps three heads are better than one.” He took out the white gem.

  Jules said, “Let Kaff have the first try.”

  Kaff took the gem eagerly. After a moment he frowned and said, “I don’t feel anything. No warmth, no mental impressions. Nothing.”

  “It was the same for me,” Elias admitted. “I can’t coax a tingle of energy from it.”

&nb
sp; “There must be something wrong with it,” Kaff said.

  “Perhaps its energy is depleted.”

  Kaff looked at Elias in surprise. “That happens?”

  “Certainly. Most notably in the case of corrustone, which gives off heat until its energy is expended, and then you must get more stones.”

  “But corrustone isn’t a gemstone,” Kaff protested. “It’s a mineral.”

  “All gems are minerals,” Elias said, “but you’re right that it isn’t considered a gemstone.”

  “Still, to your point, gem powers can be depleted,” said Jules.

  “Yes. Some more quickly than others. That’s why S needed mining operations. To replenish her gems.”

  “I assumed she liked hoarding gems, and she hoped to find rare ones.”

  “No doubt that was part of it. She took great pride in her rare gems.”

  “Why would anyone hide a lifeless gem?” Kaff asked. “Or did it get that way from sitting around so long?”

  “The others aren’t lifeless. And we’re not sure this one is. But it’s strange we can’t feel anything.”

  Jules held out his hand. “Let’s see if I have any better luck.” A couple minutes passed. It didn’t grow warm, and he received no mental impressions about its abilities. “It’s beautiful, but it seems to be spent.”

  “Now try this one.” Elias took out the rose-colored gem, which immediately gave off pink light.

  Jules switched the white gem to his other hand and reached for the rose gem on Elias’s palm. The moment he touched it, the pink light flared.

  “Whoa!” Kaff cried.

  Jules still had his fingertips on the gem, and he realized that the white gem had started to feel warm. “That’s strange,” he said. As soon as he took his hand from the pink gem, the white gem went cold. “Stranger and stranger,” he muttered.

  “What?” Elias asked.

  “I—This is very strange. Let me touch the pink gem again.” The pink light flared and the white gem grew warm. He looked at Elias. “The white gem feels warm when I touch the pink one and goes cold as soon as I let go.”

  “The pink gem must be a catalyst,” Elias said, looking intrigued.

  “So it’s not lifeless after all!” Kaff said.