Red Leaves and the Living Token (18 page)

-

Moslin climbed out of the Botann carriage and stepped down onto the uncut wooden boughs of the river port boardwalk. Emret stayed in his seat and watched as the driver lifted his wheel chair off the storage racks and handed it down to her.

He turned his attention back to the inside of the carriage. He’d have to admit, it was rather impressive, entirely unlike anything he’d seen in Pipfe. Rather than cutting and bending the dead wood to fit a design, it looked as though they had trained the tree to grow into the shape they wanted. But what was truly impressive was how well they were able to do that. The branches all flowed in the same direction, circling around the rims of the windows and doors, curving up and fitting in with others to form the ceiling. It fit right in with everything else Botan that he’d seen so far. He liked how they made things.

Moslin stepped up to the carriage door and held a hand out for him to take. "We really need to get back." She explained.

He turned his head away and let out an angry grunt.

"Going up into the mountains, a woman by herself with a sick child, is a terribly dangerous idea." She said, then waited for a response. Emret didn’t give in.

"It's simply out of the question!" She finished.

The driver hopped down from the upper rack. "I'm sorry, my boy" He said as he reached up and lifted Emret out of his seat and handed him to Moslin. "I have to be going."

Moslin set him down in his wheel chair."

"So that's it then?" He pounded his fist on the chair armrest. "We're giving up? So I should just be quiet and not make a fuss while you take me home to die?" He glared at her. "You sound like my father?"

"Maybe your father was right to begin with." She said.

He couldn't believe her. This was completely ridiculous. She brought him this far, she was so resolved to help him. And now? He turned his chair around and pushed into the crowd rushing back and forth along boardwalk.

"Emret! Wait." She followed. "You're not being fair. I mean, I brought you half way across the continent looking for help. If I had any idea where else to take you I would. But... I was wrong, and it wasn’t there. There’s nothing here to take you too," she finished, her voice trembling with emotion. "I don't know what else to do."

He clenched his fist. She doesn't know what else to do? He told her what else they could do. She's not listening. "Fine. You don't have to go. I'll take myself."

She grabbed the handle on the back of the chair. "Emret! Would you please tell me what's up in the mountains that's so important? How could you possibly know anything about the mountains here to begin with? You haven't talked to anybody but me?"

He wheeled his chair around.

"When I touched the lowest branch of the tree it took me there." He pointed behind them, "to that mountain side and showed me a little white stone sitting in the forest."

Several people in the crowd slowed down and looked at the boy as they passed. Another stopped completely.

"It was glowing like the sun. I could hardly look at it."

Moslin gave the gawking pedestrians a dirty look then grabbed Emret's chair from behind and wheeled him away.

He turned in his seat to face her. "I can't go home yet."

"OK." She half shouted as she tightened her grip on the back of the chair. "If I take you up there we're going straight home after wards. No complaining."

He nodded, "If it leads to nothing, I'll go home."

She lets out a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

H
anders hurried down the stone path through the forest underbrush. His mind wandered, filling with images of the white building he’d just seen. This path lead to that place, he was confident. But what he still didn’t know, even after all he’d seen, was the purpose of that place, or what it had to do with him, or even more importantly, what it had to do with his son?

He wanted to know who built it. It was obviously enough of an undertaking to be considered significant. That meant it was most likely not going to be left abandoned. And that meant the likely hood of running into to someone there was rather high. That made him terribly uneasy. How would these people feel about strangers showing up uninvited?

He held the little glowing Token, wrapped in its protective felt cloth, up where he could see it. He was putting so much trust in this strange little object. He hoped he wouldn't regret it.

A voice came through the forest behind him. "Sir! Mr. Handers, sir!" He spun around to the voice.

Rinacht hobbled over a few stones cropping up in the middle of the path as he hurried towards Raj as fast as his short legs would carry him. "I thought I'd never catch up." He stopped and curled over, breathing in gasps.

"Rinacht, what're you doing here?" Raj asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize you were that uneasy about the situation. You have a tendency to... dwell on the negative." Rinacht said.

"Yeah? Then its a good thing you came back to cheer me up. I feel better already." Raj joked.

Rinacht straighten up as his breathing eased. "If I'd known you were about to run off into the woods on your own I would've..."

"Made some jokes?" Raj interrupted.

"Well, does seem liked a missed opportunity." He smiled, wiping his brown. "I didn't come all this way to see you walk off into the woods by yourself."

Handers grabbed Rinacht's hand and pulled him into a half embrace. "Thank you." He turned back in the direction he was headed and continued down the path. "Not a lot seems to be going my way. It’s good to have at least one person on my side."

"There you go again. Dwelling on the negative." Rinacht jabbed.

-

Handers stopped suddenly. "Did you hear anything?" He glanced back at Rinach who was panting heavily behind him.

"Hear what?" Rinacht asked, happy to have the chance to catch his breath. He let out an over exaggerated exhale. "Woowh! And pointed his stubby legs, "these little guys weren't made for long distances."

"Shhhh!" Alarmed, Handers held up his hand to quiet his noisy friend, his attention focused on a spot of trees in front of them just off the path. He motioned for Rinacht to come up beside him then pointed towards the spot of trees.

"Look!" He whispered.

Rinachted waddled over to him and leaned forward into the trees with his eyes squinted. Something beyond the trees shimmered like a piece of metal catching sunlight. "Someone's back there!"

Handers crept forward into the trees. Rinacht grabbed his arm to stop him. "What're you doing?"

"If they were going to attack they would've done it by now." He shook off Rinacht’s hand and pushed through the underbrush. Carefully, he pushed his body up against the trunk of a large tree and peered around the side. It wasn't a someone behind the trees. It was many! An entire column of what looked like some kind of decorated royal guard in fully polished metal armor extended into the forest as far as he could see, and ,unfortunately, in the same direction as the path.

The closest guard was only a few yards way. It was easily twice his size and covered in shiny plates of metal from head to foot. The color of the plates alternated between gold and silver making an intricate pattern down the center of their chests. It was obvious they were there as much for display as for any kind of deterrent or protection.

A suit of armor didn’t stay that shiny clean with any kind of use. Matching full helmets covered their heads entirely, leaving only a few small slits for their mouth and eyes. That made it impossible to identify their race. They stood upright like a Botann, but their hand were shaped like the Zo's.

The strange guards held an almost perfect line formation. And for the entire time he’d been watching them, he hadn’t seen a single movement. It made him wonder if there was anything there under the armor. They looked like the kind of motionless decorated guards that would stand outside the entrance to a palace. They made you question where or not they were statues or capable of actually causing harm.

If they were willing and able to cause harm, that caused a bit of a problem given their size and number. It wouldn’t take much for the closest guard to put an end to he and Rinacht. Yet, for some reason he wasn’t afraid. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. A calm warm had settled over him.

Back on the path Rinacht waited nervously. At the first sight of Handers, he stammered over. "Did you see anything? Anyone there?"

"A column of soldiers," he answered without emotion, then continued across the path and into the forest. "I suspect they're on both sides."

"W..What?" Rinacht hobbled after him. "A column of what?"

Handers crept through the underbrush on the other side of the path. He motioned for Rinacht to follow.

Rinacht shook his head, "I'm fine thanks."

Handers returned a moment later. "Solid flanks on both sides."

Rinacht turned around and waddled back down the path the way they came.

"Hey, where you going?" Handers called after him.

Rinacht turned. "You aren't seriously thinking of going through there." He waved his stony arm in an impatient gesture.

"Actually," he hurried back to his escaping friend, "I think they're here to protect the path not attack it."

"Why would you think that?"

Handers put an arm around him. "Come on. We'll be fine. I have a good feeling about this."

Rinacht gave in and moved forward with him. "You and your feelings!"

-

As they kept their brisk pace down the path, the shimmering light reflecting off the metal armor of the guards seemed to close in on them. The further they went, it seemed, the closer the guards stood to the path.

The trees hid less and less of their still and silent company until finally the forest ended entirely, leaving nothing but tall tufts of grass that extended up the mountainside above them. Their pathway cut directly through the center of the grassy meadow, the column of guards flanking it on both sides.

Rinacht stopped, taking in the full size and scope of the giant metal guards for the first time. "This is insane! We're insane! I'm going back." He muttered, then turned around.

Handers caught his arm. "Look!" He pointed up the mountain beyond the meadow. They could see the summit in the distance. Just below the summit rose the stone buttresses, peaks, and spires of what appeared to be a white marble church or temple.

The double rows of guards ran right up to the arched wooden doors of the building. Another ring of guards circled around its entire circumference.
 

"I think we're here." He glanced back at the nervous Rinacht. "Where ever here is."

Rinacht nodded his head, "Yeah."

They continued cautiously until the structure was towering above them, blocking the sun. The massive doors were already opened inward.

Handers took a moment to appreciate the impressive view surrounding them. The mountain meadow fell away below, revealing a wide expanse of land that stretched out to the horizon. Beyond the forests to the west the Zo lands filled the flat lands down to the coast. To the north the Botann lands cut into a larger dark green expanse of forest that vanished into the blue horizon. To the east the grey rocks of the Petra dropped down into a sea of green forest.
 

Handers turned back to the white marble building and walked up the large stone steps leading to the doorway. Noticing Rinacht wasn't beside him, he turned back.

"You wouldn't make me go in there alone would you?" He asked.

Rinacht stood gazing up at the spires above him in a strange stupor. "I know this place," he muttered.

Handers stared at him curiously. "You've been here before?"

"No." Rinacht whispered as he passed Handers on the steps and disappeared into the darkness beyond the door.

Handers stared at him in bewilderment.

-

Handers followed Rinacht into the shallow anteroom of the temple. A few feet further, they passed through another set of large doors that opened into an enormous central chapel. White stone walls at the back reflected a rainbow of colored light that filtered down from stained glass windows a hundred feet above them. Full color murals, detailed illustrations, and inscriptions covered the base of walls from the floor to ten feet up.
 

Thick pillars, inset four feet from the walls, encircled the entire room. Robed statues carved out of the base of each pillar seemed to hover over them, making Handers feel uneasy, as though they were being watched. They reminded him of the rows of sentries who were standing outside along the path. Only these in here had no armor.
 

He stopped below the closest stone figure, not sure what it represented. It didn't seem to have a pelt of fur as he did, nor did it have the knots and bulges of the Botann, or the Petra’s sharp blocks of mass. Its skin was bare and smooth, like nothing he'd ever seen before. It was incredible and strikingly beautiful.