by P. G. Thomas
Gor, Grax, and Amber had watched the great legend Mirtza shuffle away silently, and each swore to themselves that no bard would ever hear the story of his last travels since he deserved better.
When they returned to the house, all were quiet. John called Steve into the kitchen, “I have to get out of here since there’s nothing more I can do. However, do me a favor and keep an eye on Lauren. She has a habit of not thinking ideas through at times. Fodu, Logan, let’s go.” Heading into the backyard, John went through the ritual of dropping the stone through the bracelet, watched the portal stabilize, and then all stepped through.
It took about an hour for everyone to regain their composure, and Eric finally walked out to the patio. “We’ve done everything we can for him, so if you want to feed the people here and make them believe in Mother, we need to start.”
Lauren slowly raised herself up, grabbed the gnarled staff, and headed into the house, where the rest had gathered around the dining room table. “There’s no way we can plant everything in one day, and we can’t let anybody see us, so we’ll have to do it during the night. The seeds that’ll blossom into trees we can plant anywhere, even in the open. Even though I can make the plants grow, we’ll need the help of the insects to pollinate the buds to complete the process, and I can only encourage them to do their business in the daylight. Therefore, we may need to be selective where we plant some items, ensuring I’ve enough time to create the new crops after they’ve done their business. I gathered light and night berries, so when we do our nocturnal planting, I can provide us with either, depending on the situation. However, we can’t just wander through the town randomly, so we’re going to need a game plan to make sure that we get the maximum coverage possible. At each location, we’ll only need to plant a small amount. I’m hoping the magic from the staff will do what Mother did for Danex’s garden, making more plants from our seeds.” Lauren paused, “But, I’m also afraid that my daughters may sense Mother’s magic. When I start to make the plants grow, I’ll need Amber to go down and watch the bridges, seeing if Zymse sends any of his troops across to investigate. You’re the only one who’ll be able to watch both at the same time, and we’ll figure out who’ll escort you later. For the next three or four days, we need to figure out where to plant the seeds. Are there any questions?”
When none asked, Steve pulled out the now beaten up map, which John had purchased, ripping it into three sections. Then they split up into groups; Lauren and Ryan would take the middle section. Eric, Grax, and Gor would look for spots on the left-hand side of the map, and Steve with Amber would search the remaining right section.
*******
As the portal opened, John and Logan, carrying several boxes of machine components, greeted the other dwarves present. Fodu followed, shouting to the other dwarves, “Their burden is heavy, so you will not help them.” Dwarves raced to grab the boxes that he directed to his workshop.
John then withdrew the gold amulet of the wagon from his pocket, making it materialize much to the amazement of the dwarves who had remained in the stable. “Fodu, I brought the gold chain that you made for me so long ago, but it’s a mess. Can you fix it and make me more kites?”
The dwarf looked at the tangled mess in the back of the wagon, called to the dwarves, “Get a cart get, and take this down also.” Then he turned to John, “Easier than sewing a cloak it will be, but I will fix it.”
“About that.” Then John reached into the wagon where he opened a bag that contained the mithril contents from his second cloak, which he had placed in the wagon before they had left in the hopes that Fodu would be able to salvage most. He needed a new cloak to capture the mithril magic, and he anticipated its creation might be faster if the dwarves could find a way to repurpose the mithril that once embraced the power. “My second cloak was destroyed, and I need a new one.”
Fodu looked down to his fingertips, remembering how long it took for the calluses to heal last time, “If not my clan brother, I would refuse you.”
“I’ll draw up the pattern when I get a chance.”
“I still remember it, as I still have nightmares from it.” Then Fodu led them to the upper levels where Fen greeted them, taking them to a private dining hall, and asked for an update.
John pushed away his troubled thoughts about Mirtza, explaining what they had witnessed in the Bright Coast; the despair, the plan to make the children believe in Mother again, and of how he hoped to kill the strange yellow root. Fen advised they had found two new veins of mithril, and he had sent the word out to other mines close by, but no updates had arrived yet.
“What now will happen?” asked Fen.
“I mean no disrespect,” began John, “but I’ve been working long days with Fodu to fix the machine. I know tradition states we should have a feast, but I’m just too tired. My request is simple; a keg of dwarf honey ale with a light meal and quiet.”
“Brother, your words I hear. Honor them I will, and to the guest chambers take you I shall, and alone left you will be,” and then the dwarves led them to the upper level.
John sat in silence on the terrace, drinking in the image of the massive snow-capped mountains, breathing in the crisp mountain air, but Logan was staring at the ground. Then a pair of young dwarven lasses brought out two pitchers with mugs and ran back inside, giggling.
“John, I’m freaking worried. The urges to kill my nieces were intense. Her message, she’ll know I had a chance to act on it and that I didn’t. I don’t think she’s going to be pleased to see me again, but they’re my nieces, and they’re not evil. Yeah, I know they’ve done evil, but it wasn’t them. It was Zymse, wasn’t it?”
He turned to his confused friend, “Right now, just drink. Let me talk to her tomorrow, and I’ll see if I can straighten this out. There seems to be a family-based organization between these divine entities, so I can’t see how they would want you to kill your family members, especially when they’re trying so hard to save their own.”
“The last time, I knew when Lauren was in danger, could feel it. Right now, there’s an anger boiling in my blood, and an image in my head that I can’t push away: my nieces lying lifeless at my feet. It’s taking my complete concentration to ignore the commands that I’m receiving. John, you’ve no idea on how it’s taxing me.”
“I do. Your thoughts are clear and concise. You’re using words that you’ve never used before and correctly. You’re so confused that you’re actually thinking straight. I do understand, but for tonight, let’s just drink and forget.”
When their dinner arrived, neither feasted, only picked at the meals like elves eating in the woods. Logan, his mind filled with un-embraceable visions, used the endless supply of beer to drown the images in his mind. John’s thoughts were also on Sister, wondering how to tell a divine entity about molecular reconstruction, when that being only knew of weather and birds. It would be like trying to explain the atomic bomb to a toddler, who was fascinated by stacking blocks. Should he fail, he hoped that Lauren would be able to comprehend the complex procedure to create fire rain, rain that burnt. If both plans failed, then his only hope would be Ironhouse, having them to make him a new cloak, kites, and a chain, so that once again, he could capture the magic from the night sky.
John’s mug was empty, and the food on his plate had gone cold. As he sat alone on the terrace, the night’s show of magic caressing the outer atmosphere made the sky a blazing painting of shifting reds, greens, oranges, and more. Pushing himself up from the chair, he headed to his room, filled with dread about meeting Sister the next day.
*******
Back in the Bright Coast, the small group woke early for the next three days, hoping to explore the town while those who sought to inflict pain and discomfort still slept. As Lauren and Ryan rode through the streets, she kept looking at their small piece of the map, wondering how they would find all of the spots to grow the gardens. Then she thought back to the first time she had seen the map Pintar had made, which filled a room so
large it took twenty minutes to walk around it. Now in her hands, she held a piece of paper that seemed just as menacing.
Each day as the first suns were rising, the seven would head out and mark more places for gardens. Before the day was spent, they would return to the house to discuss what they had seen, continuing to strip the seeds from the various plants.
On the fourth day, they slept late because it would be a long night. While their words were few this day, their thoughts were many. However, none shared the images that dwelled in their minds, waiting for the suns to set, and for the darkness to consume the streets so that they could leave their sanctuary on a mission of hope. After the last meal of the day, when the few lit street lights welcomed the dark night, Ryan went to the stable at the side of the house and brought forth the magic wagon with steeds. Before the enchanted creations had appeared in front of him, the others lined up behind him. The small group stood in silence; one hand resting on a sword or ax, the other holding bags of roots, seeds, or clippings. Hope for the starving in one hand, but the other was prepared for the present, knowing the streets waited with ill-intent to welcome those foolish enough to travel in the dark.
The following nights, the seven in the wagon met many who would rather spend their few precious illegally obtained coins on food rather than disguises, allowing the night to obscure their appearance. Steve, a fire of justice burning in his eyes, or Eric, standing tall, would greet the brave robbers who ventured forth into the night. In addition, a few gazed upon the rage-filled machine that some called Ryan. From the wagon seat, Lauren would watch the shadows give birth to those with ill-intent, but just as quick, she would watch them climb back into their womb of darkness, waiting for easier victims to arrive. In the days to come, she hoped that the desperation that stalked the innocents would diminish when they found the gifts from Mother, which they would harvest instead of sowing more fear into the nights.
*******
John had tried for a week to continue the journey to Sister’s cave, but during the breakfast on the first day, Fodu asked him to stay and help, which turned into more. In some ways, he was annoyed but was unable to blame Fodu or the dwarves who were helping him. It was one thing to craft jewelry, but he had tasked them with crafting technology; something they had never seen or would ever be able to understand. After a week, John knew he had to go see Sister. Logan’s forearms were so red from his scratching that the blue feather tattoo could no longer be seen. As well, some of the dwarves were concerned about Logan’s new talent to consume beer.
On the evening of the seventh day, John forced Logan to take a shower, and when done, both headed out to the terrace. Once there, John took off the bracelet, removed the white stone feather from his necklace, and dropped it through. The ring formed, floated off, and when it stabilized, Logan saw the image of the cave, and they both stepped through. When inside the cavern, it was as described: the front over forty feet high, sixty feet square, and all of the stone black with veins of silver running through it. Behind them, the gaping mouth of the cave had a stiff, cold breeze of mountain air blowing in, sending chills through their body. To the left was the thick glass-like wall that distorted their reflections. To the right, numerous passages leading into the maze of the porous rocks with thousands of holes of every size.
“So, any ideas on how we call Sister?” asked John.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Last time, that old Seer was here. I heard what sounded like a lost child calling from the right, so I went to help her. When I came out of the maze, I was behind the glass wall with the old, blind lady. I guess we just call to her.”
“Well, then call,” instructed John.
“You, I’m starting to think that coming here was a bad idea.”
“We couldn’t leave you in the Bright Coast. There’s no guessing what you might have done.”
“I could’ve stayed at Ironhouse, and then everybody would’ve been safe.”
As they talked, the breeze from the cave entrance picked up, blowing by them to the far end of the cavern. There it began to twist, picking up small pieces of debris and grit from the ground. It grew in size until it was twenty feet high, six feet in diameter, and began to work its way around the cave, but it always stayed twenty feet away from both.
John held up his hand to block the blowing grit, “Sister?”
Logan, shielding his eyes with his hands, was looking at the ground, “I guess so, but I liked meeting Tranquil a whole lot better.”
The whirlwind headed to the right side of the cave, entering one of the many passages. Then they heard Sister, “Why?” The sound echoed in the cave, seeming to be without origin, “Why do you come here?”
“We found out what’s destroying Mother’s forests,” began John, “and we know how to kill it.”
The words were hollow, as they resonated through the various holes in the rock, which gave Sister her voice, “Why do they still live?”
Logan was shaking, looking at John with his eyes pleading for help.
“The three Earth Mothers who did this. They’re his family, and he can’t kill them. He cares for them the same way you care about Mother. However, you can change this, Sister, with rain, special rain.”
“Monsters live,” and the rocks echoed her words, “More lies.”
John knelt down, opened the chest he had brought with him, pulling out the pan with the root, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. “Sister, listen to me. Zymse is the monster. He corrupted those three young girls, turning them against Mother. A long time ago, when Tranquil Fury found girls being hurt at the fort, you helped him to free them. They aren’t evil, but Zymse is, and they need your help just like Mother does.”
“You have failed,” came from the rocks.
John exposed what was left of the yellow root, “It was you Sister that hurt Mother. It was you that weakened her so that Zymse could turn the magic against her. Do you remember when the forests began to wither? It was because Zymse had planted this yellow fungus in the forests, and when it rained, it excreted salt that attacked the forest. The more it rained, the more it grew, the more it polluted the forests with salt. When you saw the forests dying, you made it rain more, made it rain for years. That’s what weakened Mother! Zymse used you to injure her, just as he used those three girls, but you can fix this!”
“Lies!”
“Would an Earth Mother lie? Don’t all Earth Mothers care about Mother and her children? Because I was proclaimed one!” John’s voice became more intense, never thinking he would wrap himself in the despised title. “I fought for her children, but now I’m fighting for her, and to win, I need your help. If you don’t, then Mother will die.”
“How can I help?”
Pouring some of the hydrogen peroxide into the pan, he watched as the liquid made the root hiss. “This is special water, so let’s call it fire rain since it burns. You need to make the sky rain the cure for Mother.” Picking up the pan with the yellow fungus, with the container of hydrogen peroxide, he walked both to one of the larger openings in the right-hand side of the cave. Returning to the center, standing in front of Logan, John said a silent prayer to Mother, hoping that Sister would understand the science. “Regular water is composed of two types of atoms; hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen is what the children breathe, which is part of your domain. Because oxygen is also in water, you can influence it.” He saw a small swirling cloud of debris appear around the pan and bottle. “When you make it rain, if you added one additional molecule of oxygen, you would change it into fire water. When that soaks into the ground, it’ll kill the yellow fungus that attacks the forests. Then make it rain normal to wash away the salt. Make it rain on all of the forests, and you’ll heal them. We already have the children talking about Mother in the Bright Coast, so make it rain fire water there also, and we’ll tell the children it’s the tears of Mother. More will believe that she’s back, and they’ll call to her for help. So many will talk to her, she’ll know everything that is happening
. Then she can help fix everything, including Zymse, and save the three Earth Mothers who he corrupted.”
Sister’s voice was calm, quiet, “Firewater? It can cure Mother?”
He nodded, “Yes, but don’t add too much oxygen to the rain, or it’ll do more damage than good. It just needs a small amount.” At the cave entrance, John and Logan heard the patter of rain drops falling. Seeing the small wet marks form, John walked over, sticking his hand into the light shower, he quickly pulled it back, rubbing the painful red marks. He announced through clenched teeth, “That would be fire rain, but Sister, only let the special rain fall on Mother’s forests. Let it rain for an hour or so, and then let the regular rain fall. When Mother’s forests are green again, the yellow fungus will be dead.”
“Bastard, can you kill Zymse?”
Before John could answer, Logan spoke, “We’re going to make him pay for all of his crimes.”