Furion's Trials (Book Two of the Items Trilogy)

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  Too long to fit inside the metal bowl he snapped the quill in half. Bringing the fresh water to a boil over the fire, it was taken off and sat in the cooler sand. Ava and Shade watched closely as Alex slid the broken quill into the liquid and were all surprised when as the green quill touched the water it turned ominously green almost instantly. The deathly looking water needed to be dumped for any who dared touch this would surely die. Already they could see why to not touch the quill. Seeing the danger Alex dropped the cloth that wrapped the quill and buried it under the ground for any residue could still be on its surface.

  It took over thirty rolling boils to turn the quill into two opaque sticks, with a mild tinge of dull green laying deep within. Seeing that the water boiled clear this time Alex glanced at his younger siblings who both were mildly alright with how it looked now. He dumped the water over the barren rocks and hesitantly sought the two quills.

  Steadying himself he reached forward and touched the two warm objects. Rolling them in the palm of his hand there was an immediate effect. Where the Quills touched, heat and pain erupted along the surface of the skin. Dropping the quills from his burning right hand Alex turned up his own heat and ran for the closest stream as quickly as possible. It was well into night, but his night-vision allowed him to run without fear of contacting anything blindly.

  Alex panted as he submerged the burning hand in the frigid stream. Both Shade and Ava were close behind, too worried to ask what they could do. The pain became even hotter as the poisons entered his bloodstream, carrying the poison throughout his body. It was only a mild comfort when Shade nudged Alex to lay completely submerged in the stream.

  He retched for the next hour, getting out of the stream to do so. His bowls evacuated three times. Ava became so worried at one point that she flew over and retrieved Krum to help. His saliva would only heal external and physical wounds, but he had brought supplies and had Alex eat several herbs that settled the stomach. No sleep was gained this night nor did any worry vanish. Krum was glad he heeded Ginger’s warning and diluted the intensity of her quill for if he ignorantly touched the full concentration Alex would have surely died. Nevertheless, this was Krum’s forth patient who survived a quill from a Pikro, diluted or not. He also had his patient drink much from the stream to replenish the evacuated fluid and to cool the core of his body. Shade and Ava sat close, wishing to do something, but unable to do so.

  First streaks of light announced the dawn. Alex still felt warmer than usual, but at least he was sitting up and breathing normally. His stomach still felt knotted, but the heaves and runs abated. The sweats weren’t as profuse so he walked over to the stream to wash off. The others remained worried until he explained that the effects were lessening. When Alex told Krum how grateful he was for the help and said he was better, he simply shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’re my patient now so I won’t leave until I’m satisfied that you won’t relapse. You’re strong, not immortal.” Alex couldn’t sway the adamant Orggian, nor did he try.

  An hour later Sheer called from above “There you are!” and swooped down by the stream’s edge. Moments later Elo walked into view, Gerieg sat behind his shoulders. Seeing the state of his grandson, Gerieg jumped off and ran to his side. “Alex, are you alright?” Dark rings under gray eyes showed he wasn’t in prime condition at the moment. “I thought Ginger was being humorous yesterday when I told her about you intentionally poisoning yourself. In this condition I believe you shouldn’t train.”

  “Master, I know you’re worried, but I’m already feeling better.”

  Krum moved forward and tugged on Gerieg’s light blue sleeves. “Gerieg, I believe if he is to train allow him to. What he needs is to eat and sweat more of the toxins out. Allow him to continue working, but do not force any strenuous exercises. Do you know of a method to do this?”

  “Aye,” He said to the surprising guest. He then turned to his grandson. “If you are needed to sweat then you are to stretch while alternating your strength.”

  The rest of the day was fairly relaxed for all Alex did was eat, stretch while manipulating his heat to achieve closer mimicking to Gerieg’s forms and eventually resting. Shade and Ava were also given a day of rest for their masters could see they were as distraught as their Furion looked. Sweating was Krum’s only orders and for some reason it helped for the more he sweat the better he felt.

  That night was the first in days that the masters stayed with their pupils for the entire night. Krum stayed close should anything happen. Needless to say Alex reframed from touching the quills that night.

  When morning broke again and all were awake Gerieg began the day saying “Alex, now that you look like your old self again we may begin the fifth and sixth level of your training. Pack your things, we are going to leave here soon.”

  Chapter 11

  Gerieg led the way back down another hill that soon opened up into a valley that the constantly moving water from the peaks cut into the land. He and the other masters were being cryptic as usual and the students had eventually quit pestering them with questions. Krum decided that Alex was fit to continue and left some time ago to help his father. The wind cutting through the narrow valley forced both Ava and Sheer to perch themselves or risk being blown into the cliffs. Sheer periodically looked back from standing behind Gerieg and made sure the young ones kept up. Thanks to Shade’s tiresome training paying off he kept his footing while keeping pace.

  They usually followed the bank of a stream deeper into the shielded mountains. By midday they could barely see the mountains they entered from for the valley walls hid much. The rock-face that lined either side of the quickly flowing water funneled them further in.

  When they came upon an opening in the valley that was lined with near vertical cliffs, the terrain was different. Bursts of wind churned up dust that lined either side of the lifeless and barren banks. A strange formation ahead caught Ava’s sharp eyes. She gestured up further ahead, where the path continued widening. “There’s something over there.”

  “I see it too.” Alex confirmed, but it took Shade another minute for Elo blocked most of his vision.

  Between the near vertical wall and the stream stood a small structure, built up higher than any watermarks, so flooding wasn’t going to be a worry. The ground was covered in smooth stones that were wet from the mist sprinkling off the rushing water. The building itself looked more like a turtle’s shell, but far larger and made from stone and sealed together with clay. One black hole showed an entrance someone of Elo’s height could fit through. As all saw it, Sheer was the first to say “Welcome to your new and temporary home.”

  Ava turned her head “Master, what is this place?”

  Her mother smiled. “As Alex has advanced, so to shall Shade and your trainings change. This will be our new home until it is time to learn the final step.”

  “We shall begin the training immediately.” Elo said, turning around before the shelter of stone.

  Gerieg and Sheer dropped down to the stones.

  Alex followed their lead and soon felt the slick and cool river stones. There was some clayish-mud, but not enough to be unpleasant. Ava remained secure on his left shoulder, scanning the surroundings. She was the first to speak. “Why are we here? All Fury’s are wary of this place because of the wind conditions. Many have been known to be blown into the rocks even attempting to enter this place.”

  “That is the very reason you are here, Ava, to fight an unseen and unpredictable battle.” Her mother said calmly. Then a strong gust blew fur and feather, taunting them to try and challenge the dangerous area. “Your training will be here from now on, until I say otherwise. You will learn more than lazily drifting upon updrafts or doing aerial acrobatics. Training here will teach you how to react at a moment’s notice, should an unforeseen wind surprise you and you’ll be able to predict which way a burst will come from and either use it to your advantage or avoid the danger altogether. When you master th
e valley from beginning to end and back again without much effort then my training with you will be complete. Do not worry for I will teach you how to see, feel and predict the unpredictable air currents.”

  Ava gulped thickly, not looking forward to any of this.

  Elo stepped forward. “Shade, you will do as Ava and run the length she does without slipping.” Then his large yellowish-grey head turned to look all the way to the top of the three hundred foot valley wall. “And you will scale this without the use of traveling through your shadow.”

  Shade’s massive jaw dropped.

  Gerieg then stood before both of his companions. “Alex, we will begin your fifth and sixth level of training here. Do you remember your old friend?” He said with a large smile, pointing towards the side of the shelter. Alex’s grey eyes widened as the boulder he used had been brought here. It was the exact same one, for the moss underneath was identical and the sensation of hugging it returned to the forethoughts. The boulder laid atop a solid rock so that it didn’t sink into the rocks and mud. The weathered grey stone was here and the reasoning wasn’t hard to understand. “Your fifth level is to pick up and hold the stone over your head for a full night and day without interruption.” Alex couldn’t hold back a groan. The master’s grin grew more pronounced. “It gets better.” He promised. “Like Shade and Ava you will run along the valley and also for the sixth step you’ll need to scale the rock-wall without the use of your arms.”

  Alex looked up and down the mountainous task and said “That’s impossible. No one can climb that straight up without the use of their hands.”

  “Really? You think so?” Gerieg looked up the face. “I guess a demonstration is due.”

  Getting a sense of something impossible and inspiring was about to occur, Alex increased his heat just a moment before his master began running straight at the wall. Using his ability to increase his reactions, Alex saw that all of the others were watching what he was doing. Just as Gerieg was about to crash headlong into the unforgiving wall he jumped straight up and angled his back parallel with the wall, keeping both hands behind his back. With no more than a toe sized ledge, he ran and leapt straight up the mountain. Within a matter of thirty seconds he climbed the face cleanly, without using a single arm, not even for balance.

  From the ledge he yelled down to them all, but the wind picked up and they could all barely hear them. “This is but half of your sixth step! To complete it you must also do this!”

  Suddenly Gerieg vanished behind the lip and reappeared as he jumped.

  Alex gasped and knew a fall from that height surely meant death. “Don’t move, just watch.” Sheer said calmly as she saw Alex moving closer to use whatever he had to catch his grandfather. She was right, for Gerieg didn’t look distressed as he plummeted. Focused on the fall, Alex could see how he adjusted his body at the last moment.

  Landing feet first in the stones, Gerieg minimized the shock by bending his knees to absorb the impact and bring his open palms to the ground a moment later to also spread out the force that gravity pulled on him. In a single moment he came to a stop and Alex hoped he was alright.

  Gerieg jerked his long blond and grey hair back to look at his dumbfounded students. To break the awkwardness he explained without an ounce of fear in his voice nor the impact that didn’t cause harm. “To a normal human, they would have died. To us it doesn’t matter dropping from a mountain or a small step in a stairwell. What you do is use your strength to explode the moment your feet touch and slow the force of your entire body’s weight in your muscles. To cause even less strain on your leg muscles you also use your arms. In a looser, ground environment you need to use your hands or else you’d likely bury your body for the surface area of your feet isn’t all that much. Harder surfaces will be alright should you choose to not utilize your palms.”

  It made sense in a way. Never afraid of heights before, Alex now felt fear for his master wanted him to both climb and jump from a cliff.

  “Before we begin training we need to eat.” Sheer said.

  She ushered everyone inside the rock shelter to get out of the howling wind.

  Once inside the whipping wind died down and whistled at the mouth. It was bright enough outside to clearly see what lay inside. To either side of the large shelter were a large heap of fresh, dry hay. Needless to say it looked comforting to each one of them for the terrain was already taxing. In the back was chopped firewood and in the direct center, under an open hole in the ceiling, sat charred wood that was burned no more than two days ago. The floor was made of solid stone so they didn’t need to worry about sleeping on river stones nor mud. Beside the stacks of cut wood were baskets filled with a week’s worth of fruits and vegetables.

  Shade was the first to comment. “This is a nice den.”

  “Why thank you.” Gerieg chuckled. “After Elo said you passed his test we came here and built this for our stay, however long it takes.”

  “Enough talk for now.” Sheer mothered, hopping to where the central fire would be lit. “None of us have had a proper meal today. We need to eat so that we may begin our first day of training.”

  Alex, Shade and Ava went silent as they knew their strength needed to be saved. Gerieg started the small fire by striking stones and roasted only enough meat for Sheer and Ava who were primarily carnivores. Shade and Elo were mostly omnivores. Shade wanted the apples candied, but knew that wouldn’t happen. His sweet tooth was satiated with the juicy apple nonetheless.

  Just as they all felt the warmth from the fire Alex asked “Master Gerieg, did that fall hurt? I mean, should you be doing thing like that…”

  “At my age?” He ended as Alex felt uncomfortable finishing the sentence. Gerieg chuckled again, tucking his long hair behind an ear. “I am unharmed, but once you learn to do it, no height will be frightening enough to jump off of.” Icy blue eyes began a playful dance in his expression. “Would you believe my grandfather jumped from a greater height than I did, three days before he died of old age at ninety eight?”

  “Truly?” Alex asked dubiously.

  “Aye, he did. The jump was a testament to how he lived, fast, fearless and with strength. The whole city came to watch his last great act. He passed with a smile on his lips.”

  After all had satisfied their hunger, Elo rose from the hay bedding. “Come now, we must begin training.”

  Outside again, each student stood by their primary master. Gerieg said “We will run a single mile this day so that you will get a feel for this area. When we return, each will begin their individual tasks.”

  Willing his heat hot enough to run as a Furion, Alex perused his Master. Elo and Shade ran in the opposite direction while Ava had a difficult time achieving lift. Wind battered in every direction, without any warning. Sheer’s wings jerked in sudden motions, but was unaffected by the wind for she barely moved from where she hovered over her daughter.

  Even while watching his footing, Alex had a difficult time keeping balance and had already fallen a dozen times on the slippery stones. Gerieg’s pace never wavered and remained perpetually surefooted.

  By the time they returned Ava was still having a difficult time gaining altitude to fly, but at least she was ten feet above the ground, doing her best to keep it that way. Worry shot through Alex as a burst of wind shot her towards jagged rocks and rushing water, but Sheer was quicker and caught her daughter’s midsection in a single, large talon. Sheer saw them and flew herself and Ava over. As they landed, Alex’s new younger sister panted heavily and her yellow eyelids shut to steady herself, but it seemed it wasn’t the first time she was saved from certain harm by the wind.

  Shade and Elo appeared not long after and Shade was nearly covered completely in slick mud. Obviously he slipped just as many times as his elder brother did. The masters could only laugh at just how lacking their students were. “Now we may begin our other tasks.” Elo said and gestured for Shade to follow. He did, after diving into the stream to wash the mud from his coat.

/>   Alex moved over to the boulder while Ava remained trying to fly in the unpredictable wind currents.

  Once again Alex used the bare minimum amount of burning to raise the massive stone overhead. After an hour the strain burned muscles more than the strength and he cradled it between his shoulder blades. Gerieg watched this in complete silence, ready to intercede at a moment notice should Alex’s strength fail and be crushed beneath the boulder.

  All the while he kept the stone up, Alex watched his partners struggle as much as he did. Like Gerieg demonstrated earlier, Elo climbed up the grey stone wall. Only he didn’t jump off the ledge, instead he literally slid swiftly down, rolling loose rocks and scree accompanied his descent. Shade tried mimicking his master’s ascent, but failed after reaching no more than thirty feet. Even from over a hundred feet away Alex could see his brother’s powerful and growing muscles trying to power his way all the way up. Several times he slipped and needed to use his shadow or else risk landing in dangerous positions.

  Ava did her best, but Sheer came to the rescue hundreds of times.

  Not even two hours into lifting the boulder, its accumulated weight sapped Alex’s strength and forced him to set it down. Even with the new sense to adjust his strength, it didn’t help when it needed to be held for a long period of time. A full day was required to fulfill this task and only minimal and very precise adjustments could hone his strength to maintaining such weight. Holding it like this also forced natural muscles to build and it even strengthened ones endurance. Gerieg gave him and the others a half hour respite inside the cave, but once it was over they each went back to work.

  Nearing dusk Gerieg had Alex attempt rock climbing only to find out just how difficult it was. Not even able to run up twenty feet, the toeholds were not only unfamiliar, but also jagged and loose. The narrow valley wasn’t cut from solid stone so the loose rocks made it near impossible to use the same ledges and holes again. He was always grateful for Gerieg’s constantly being there, for without his help Alex would be repeatedly injured from falling backwards in nearly every try.