Alfred headed back into the lobby that they had sat around talking in the night before. Aaron, Marcie, and Ardmon stood waiting for him. Flux approached him first, talking quietly as if he didn’t want the others to hear.
“Look Al- if you need some back-up and just don’t want the chick to come, wink now and I’ll follow you out of here.” he whispered not at all quietly.
“Aaron, you know I can hear you! I will beat your ass!” Marcie yelled.
“Will you two stop, it’s just me and Henry on this one- we’ve already decided that. I need you both here in case Sham-Bon makes a move.”
Ardmon spoke up, “Moreno, if you’ll follow me we have a vehicle ready for you at the gate.”
Al nodded at the strong man who began to walk out towards the main gate. Alfred made as if to follow right away but Marcie stepped in front of him.
“Look just...just be safe, okay?” she hesitated for a moment and then quickly kissed the side of his cheek.
Al felt his cheeks grow a shade redder and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey, more save the planet, less kissy-kissy. For real though Moreno, be careful out there.” Flux joked then spoke seriously to his fellow Rift Resolver.
Alfred nodded firmly to him and he looked once more to Marcie before walking out to the main gate. He soon came to the doors and the guard on standby opened it for him to walk through. Ardmon stood in front of a small narrow vehicle with one wheel in the front and another in the back.
“She’s not the flashiest, but she gets around good on the dirt roads out here. Trust me, this baby and I have been on some wild rides through these forests.” Ardmon explained to Al. He seemed to have an emotional attachment to the motorbike.
Alfred climbed onto the leather seat and turned the ignition. The engine fired into action slowly and then idled with a repeated low rumble. Al gripped the handlebars and prepared to turn the throttle in his right hand. He tucked the energy revolver Papari had loaned him into the back of his pants and took off down the dirt path calling behind him to Ardmon.
“I’ll try to bring her back in one piece!”
“What! YOU BETTER MORENO!” the large man boomed back, but Al was already halfway down the path and out of earshot.
He listened closely as Henry told him when to turn left and right down intersecting roads. They went on like this for hours until it seemed to Al that the path was growing narrower and the trees were growing thicker. Hemphion’s sun was now high in the sky, marking just past mid-day.
“Take a right up ahead!” Henry called gleefully from his jacket pocket.
“Right? Where!” Al replied, frantically applying the brakes.
They certainly weren’t the best brakes in the world, but Al managed to pull the motorbike to a stop before they wrecked into the dense trees before him. Alfred looked around him, it seemed as if they had reached a dead end.
“Henry what are you talking about, take a right? I don’t see a path anywhere.”
“Over there sir!” the A.I. flashed a golden beam of light onto the forest floor to Alfred’s right.
Sure enough there was a very narrow path between the trees and brush. It was far too tight of a gap to get the motorbike through. Alfred turned the key and tossed it into his pants pocket.
“Looks like we’re walking from here.”
“You’re walking, I just get to sit comfortably in my pocket!”
Alfred let out a small snort of laughter as he began to walk down the path. It curved from time to time when the trees became so dense that it was unavoidable, but for the most part it seemed to be leading them into the heart of the forest. The sun had gradually begun to lower in the sky and was now beginning to set. The small amount of light that was able to pass through the canopy of leaves was also steadily growing dimmer. Alfred pulled Henry out of his pocket and the A.I. illuminated the path ahead with a soft gold glow.
“Sir!” Henry shouted quite suddenly.
Alfred froze, “What Henry, what is it?”
“Up ahead there, in the bushes- look sir they’re trembling!” Henry sounded frightened and turned off his light.
“Henry! What the hell, now it’s dark! That made this ten times worse, turn the light back on!” Alfred lectured the scared A.I.
Al pointed Henry directly at the bushes that were now shaking furiously and Henry shined a bright light.
“Hey now, no need to make an old man more blind than he already is! Come on, enough with that light!” an old man had emerged from the shaking brush.
Henry lowered his brightness level and Al moved him down out of the man’s face. In one hand he carried a lantern while the other hung free by his side. He had on strange robe, much different from the members of the village. It was so long that the end looked like it had been dragged across the ground for some time. The robe was made of a satin material and was purple with stars patterned all across it in intricate ways.
“Who are you?” Alfred asked, no longer feeling as threatened now that he saw it was an old man.
“Me? Who are you?” he asked.
“My name’s Alfred Moreno, I’m a Rift Resolver. I’m looking for some people known as the Gazers?”
“HA! The Gazers, the Gazers, the Gaaaaaazers. The all-knowing Gazers- yes well they know it all, alright! They know we’re all going to blow up!” the old man raised and lowered his voice and spoke as if he were half-crazed.
“Um...alright. We’re going to go away now.” Alfred said as he slowly backed away from the old man, who was now lifting his lantern up as if to get a better look at his face.
“Why would you leave now? You say you’re in search of the Gazers, now don’t you? Well there’s one right here in front of you! HA HA!” the man shouted to Alfred, who temporarily paused his escape.
“So I guess Mother Via was right. You guys really are a waste of time. Alright, well I’ve gotta go back to the village and find a way to create a new sun.” Alfred turned as if to head back down the path but the old man yelled to him.
“What’s that you say? New sun?” the old man seemed confused.
“Yeah that’s right.” Al turned around. “The thing is, I need some help figuring out how to do it. I do have the Crystal of Gosia though.” Al flashed a grin at the old man, pulling out the glimmering gold crystal and extending his arm out to show it to him.
The Gazer’s eyes lit up in a newfound emotion when he saw the crystal.
“It can’t be! You’ve really got it, the Crystal of Gosia!”
“That’s right, now how’s about you show me to the rest of the Gazers so we can figure out how to save this planet before it gets any darker.”
“Ahhh yes, I will show you. But I must admit I’m no Gazer myself, simply their friendly messenger. I haven’t had much messaging to do lately, but now I can bring you I suppose.”
“Yeah, just uh, try to be a little less creepy if you could.” Al shot him a strange look.
The messenger ignored his comment and instead stated, “The Gazers though, they won’t be happy I’ve brought you here. They have been ordered to turn away everyone who comes here seeking knowledge for the past several months.”
“Ordered? But by who? I was under the impression Gazers listened only to their god.” Al questioned as he followed the slow old man deeper into the forest.
“That damned man! Sham-Bon HUCK!” he spat out the last name as if it disgusted him.
“What?!” Alfred stopped in bewilderment, “You mean Sham-Bon’s the one who’s forced the Gazers to abandon their people?”
“Yes, yes. That’s right. That corrupt, rotten-filthy man. It wasn’t too long ago, as I was saying. The previous head of the Huck Family passed away, and Sham-Bon being his only heir, took the throne. That’s when things got bad. His father, Maztef, had always been good to the common man across Hemphion. But his son...Sham-Bon has forever been obsessed with converting Hemphion back to a monarchy and getting rid of the Parliament altogether. It is on this agenda that he has forced
the Gazers to turn away any who come near them, otherwise he would have them killed. Many across our planet chose to die, but there are a few temples left where Gazers still abide. The one I’m taking you to now has only two members left, and I’m afraid you may not have much hope of convincing them of anything.”
“I can’t believe it. Sham-Bon’s been doing all this just to become king of the planet!”
“Precisely. But it is funny how things work out isn’t it? Because the only thing I see here is irony, pure irony in its finest form! Don’t you see? Sham-Bon wasted his life trying to take over control of a planet that is set to be utterly destroyed in just a little over a day! Years ago when Parliament ordered evacuation, he announced the Huck Family would be staying on Hemphion! Broadcasts full of propaganda all over the television, all over the radio, everywhere! Sham-Bon Huck Claims To Be Able To Save Hemphion From Exploding Sun! And he won over almost everyone left on the planet! Just for not abandoning them and claiming to be able to save the world. If you weren’t from Bratvia or an anarchist you probably bowed your head to the king.”
They had begun walking again and Alfred was starting to feel a little overwhelmed, but he knew he had to focus on the new sun first and then he could deal with Sham-Bon and his plans afterward.
“And do you want to know what’s even more ironic?” the man looked over at Alfred with his droopy bloodshot eyes.
“What’s that?” Alfred asked, beginning to feel disturbed.
“If you do manage to save the planet and create a new sun, even if you do all of that- Sham-Bon will have gotten exactly what he wanted! The Parliament would never be able to return and earn the respect of the people. He would rule them all, and because of you, people would consider him their savior- thinking he had saved the planet himself!”
“That’s where you’ve got it wrong old man. I’m going to get this planet a new sun and then I’ll expose the Huck Family and Sham-Bon to the whole world.” the determination in Al’s voice rang out through the forest.
“Well...we shall see what happens I suppose, soon enough too! Come now, we’re almost there.” the old man spoke to Alfred with a new tone of respect and continued to lead the way through the forest.
At last they broke through a patch of particularly sharp bramble and crawled out into a large clearing. In the center was a smallish structure. It was as if the center was the shape of a sphere and then it had several different little rooms sprouting off of it in random places. Alfred counted nine of the strange rooms sticking off as they walked through a raggedy garden toward the front door.
The messenger opened the heavy stone door through the use of a handle carved into the rock. They entered into a large open space with a towering-high ceiling that curved into a circular opening in the roof. One of Hemphion’s moons could be seen in the sky above. Al could now see where the different rooms that stuck out on the outside were. Although they went all the way up near the top of the building, Alfred saw no way in which to get to the rooms on the upper levels.
“Wait here a moment while I try and get one of these old coots to come out here.” the old man said as he led Alfred to the center of the circular stone floor.
“I’ve had about enough of old coots lately.” he muttered as he watched the old man slowly walk across the building toward a wooden door on the far side. The crazy messenger was obviously quite worn out from the walk in the forest.
While he waited, Alfred took a minute to look at the ground he stood on. There were grooves carved into the floor in circles around the room. They were thicker and deeper around the outside and grew smaller as they moved in to the center, like the stump of a fallen tree. Alfred was standing in the smallest circle, which was still about four feet in diameter. This circle was different, there was a painting of some sort on its surface. Alfred bent down to get a better look and a glint of light caught his eye. It was a painting of two moons, presumably Lats and Lux. In the center of each moon there was a blue gemstone embedded into the rock. The smaller moon, Lux, was beginning to reflect its light on the gem in its painting. Alfred tried to study it some more but a loud banging interrupted his thoughts and he stood and turned to see the old man had finally reached the door.
“Barnin! Barnin, come on out! Your faithful messenger has brought you some company! Barnin come out here already!” the man continued to knock his wrinkled fist repeatedly against the wooden door.
“Gummly you old fool I told you to leave here and not come back! You know we are to turn away all that come!” an angry voice sounded from within the room.
“But your Wiseness! It is a Rift Resolver that has come. He has the Blade and all! He demands to speak with the Gazers!”
“I don’t give a damn if it’s the emperor of the galaxy! Send him away and you begone as well!” the voice called back rudely.
The old man turned and shrugged at Alfred as if he didn’t know what more he could do.
“You said there were two of them here didn’t you? Well, where’s the other?” Alfred asked in frustration.
“Ah yes...Wardriff. He tends to wander in the night.”
“This is a mess, I’ve wasted so much time.” Alfred said to himself.
“Shall we go now sir?” Henry asked as if he really wanted his friend to say yes.
Alfred thought for a moment. This was the best lead he had, if he returned now he wouldn’t have a clue how to create a new sun and there’d be no time to figure it out. Lats was beginning to come into view beside Lux in the circle above him.
“No. I’ll force it out of this bastard if I have to.” he finally replied, rage flaring up in his eyes.
Henry flashed his lights in distress a few times as Alfred stalked up to the door.
Reaching it, he turned to Gummly saying sharply, “Get out of the way old man.”
The man grumbled a bit and shifted over from in front of the door. Alfred banged his fist hard against the wood, causing the sound to echo around the temple.
“Listen up Barnin! My name’s Al Moreno, Rift Resolver. I need to ask you something urgent, it could mean the salvation of your planet!”
“Ha! Salvation, what a joke.” came the answer from behind the door. “Don’t come bothering me on my last night alive on this world with such senseless blibber-blabber!”
Alfred paused his pounding on the door for a moment and took a deep breath. He stood back a few steps and then charged at the door- ramming it hard with his right shoulder. The wood cracked and splintered a bit but still held firm in its frame. Al quickly picked himself up off the floor.
“Quit that! Can’t you let an old man die in peace?” the voice wailed from inside.
Alfred reached behind him and gripped the energy revolver in his hand. He raised it so it pointed at the center of the door.
“What are you doing with that?” Gummly gulped nervously beside him.
“I hope you’re not standing behind that door you bastard!” he yelled and not two moments later squeezed the trigger- blasting an energy round into the door.
The wood splintered and broke into pieces, making it so that only a few wooden planks remained hanging in the upper section of the frame. From inside something sounded as if it had thudded onto the floor, causing several items to clang and bounce onto the stone ground. An abrupt holler sounded shortly after.
“You coming out here Barnin, buddy? Or you want me to come in there and drag you out?” Al shouted.
“Yes, enough- put that thing away for Saturn’s sake!” the man whined as he crawled underneath the remaining fragments of the door. He stood up and began to pat the dust and dirt off of the robe he was wearing, which was very similar to the one Gummly had on.
Alfred lowered his revolver and tucked it back into his pants, studying the man as he did so. He was quite tall, an inch or two above Alfred even and had a surprisingly reddish beard for a man of his age. His face drooped and wrinkled around his nose and cheeks, but he appeared to be in good health. On his head sat a purple bucket hat fr
om which fine wisps of gray hair dangled out of. He took a moment to straighten it on his head before looking at Alfred.
“Well you’ve got me out here boy! Tell me what it is you want so badly so I can get back to spending the rest of my last night in peace!”
“That’s just it, this doesn’t have to be your last night. I’ve brought the Crystal of Gosia, I just need to figure out how I can use it to create a new sun for Hemphion. What do you know of these things, can you be of any help?” Alfred interrogated the man quickly.
Barnin’s eyes seemed to spark with interest for a moment at the mention of the crystal, but this quickly passed and his face furrowed back into a scowl.
“What of the crystal you fool? To create a new sun, it is only the work for a god! And little use they are, we’ve come to learn. Completely abandoned.” he shook his head and his words carried with them a spiteful resonance.
Alfred was growing steadily more annoyed as the man spoke, but he decided to take a different approach.
“Who is this god of yours? Everyone here says he has abandoned the people of this planet- well what is he called; you Gazers receive omens from him do you not?”
“Omens! Haven’t glimpsed one in years, not once since those good-for-nothing men of Sham-Bon came in here telling us to turn away all those who seek our god’s wisdom! Well our god is a fool and I reject him- reject him entirely! He deserves no name!” the man ranted with a passionate wrath Alfred hadn’t seen before.
The men turned at the sound of yet another ancient-looking man’s voice. He was hunched over a short wooden cane and was dressed in the same clothes as Barnin, only he wore no hat and left his bald head exposed.
“Barnin! To speak of our Almighty, our Infinite Spirit- in such a manner! Do you wish to go to the underworld in a day’s time? Our god is Hashish, the all-knowing!” the man pushed his dry raspy voice to the point where it cracked several times while scowling at his associate.
“What do you know of it, you lunatic? Your mind has gone to mush!” Barnin insulted back quickly.
Al Moreno And the Crystal of Gosia Page 9