Chapter 74

 

* Leviton *

Henry and Sharanel stood in the large courtyard of the Wincraft Masters School, chatting amicably while they waited.

“But why quartz? That’s all I’m asking.”

Sharanel chuckled. “I don’t know, it’s just the way it’s always been. Quartz hinders adimus abilities, even mandamus to a certain extent.”

“But you’re telling me no one has ever studied why that is?” Henry asked in exasperation.

“Of course they have.” Sharanel shrugged. “It’s just not something I really got into. I learned the different types of quartz and their properties, but I have no clue why quartz is special.”

“You have no intellectual curiosity,” Henry teased. “Hey Professor, I have a question for you.”

Landerpool was striding towards them, carrying a long, thin, wooden staff, similar to a fighting staff, but shorter. He still wore his blue robe open over his normal clothes.

“What are you two arguing about now?” Landerpool asked with a wide grin.

“We’re not arguing,” Sharanel said indignantly.

“I just want to know why quartz hinders adimus abilities,” Henry asked. “Apparently Chief Quicksilver never thought to ask the real questions.”

“For Wayo’s sake, would you stop with that,” Sharanel punched his arm playfully.

“At least I don’t call you ‘Little Miss Blow-Up-My-Lab,’” Henry said.

“If I had my staff right now, I’d send you to the White Desert.”

“You couldn’t because of the quartz!” Henry said with an air of triumph in his voice.

“As much as I love watching you two bicker, we’ve got work to do.” He chuckled as he handed the wooden staff to Henry. “We’re going to test your ability to read and access markers. I’ve connected this practice staff to twelve markers around the city. I want you to access each one, read its location information, and quicken us to them.”

“No problem; I’ve got this,” Henry said with confidence, “but what about the quartz question? I’m actually curious about it.”

“I’ll explain as we go,” Landerpool said. “Now come on, no time to tarry.”

“Right, right,” Henry nodded. “First stop, Jansdon Marketplace.”

Henry tapped the staff on the ground and the trio disappeared only to reappear halfway across the city next to a large stall in the bustling Jansdon Marketplace.

“There’s actually a branch of mentus science dedicated to the study of quartz, but basically, what you need to know is that in most cases quartz oscillates in a frequency range that directly interferes with adimus and mentus energy,” Landerpool said as he looked around and gave an approving nod at Henry’s accuracy. “However, this isn’t always the case. For example: mentant-nons, like channelers and quickeners, can embed mentus into quartz due to the slight fluctuations in their adimus energy.”

“That makes sense,” Henry said. “Next stop, Western Residential Translift.”

The trio disappeared again, reappearing in a quiet section of the city with large manors. They were right next to an intracity translift cave.

“But that’s not the only reason…well at least not according to the writings of the epouranals,” Professor Landerpool said, continuing his explanation.

Henry faltered at the unfamiliar word. “The who?”

“The epouranal mages are the spiritual leaders of Mendala,” Sharanel explained. “They receive direct insight from the heavens.”

“Wait what?”

“Move it along, Henry,” Landerpool admonished.

“Sorry; next stop, City Hall,” Henry tapped the staff and the trio disappeared and reappeared at the steps to Leviton’s main administration building. “So, when you say they receive insight from the heavens, you mean like…from God?”

“Essentially, yes, though actually they are connected to the epourtherions,” Sharanel clarified, “the twelve beasts of the heavens.”

Henry was about to question this further but realized Landerpool would chide him again for taking too much time. “Next stop, the southside public pool and bath house.”

He tapped his staff and the trio left City Hall and appeared outside the gates of a large outdoor pool.

“The writings of the epouranals state that quartz was granted by the heavens as a tool to cultivate the use of adimus abilities. ‘For without boundaries there can be no growth,’” Landerpool continued.

“What?” Henry said.

“It’s a piece of epouranal wisdom. It means that mankind innovates best when they are faced with restrictions that they must work together to overcome. That’s why, even though in most cases raw quartz hinders adimus abilities, we’ve learned a myriad of ways to process it and use it to our benefit,” Landerpool explained, “like in quickener staffs for instance,” he added with a pointed look.

“Right, right,” Henry said. “Next stop, Remus Primary School.” He tapped the staff and they disappeared again.

 

***

 

Henry successfully used the practice staff to quicken to all twelve of the markers Landerpool put around the city, with the last stop being the gates outside Lawrence’s manor.

“Very good Henry,” Landerpool said. “You still have much to learn, but for now, I’d say you’re more than ready to use your staff. You’ve done a years’ worth of study in two days, and I’m certain you can handle the basics without a problem.”

Henry beamed. “I never thought I’d be this confident with quickening so quickly.”

“I’ve got to admit, you really are a natural,” Sharanel said. “Even I didn’t pick up quickening this fast.”

“Grudging praise from Chief Quicksilver,” Henry teased. “And just two days ago I was a rube who didn’t know how to hold his staff upright,” he added, recalling Sharanel’s rebuke.

“I stand by that statement.” Sharanel folded her arms with a smirk. “Fortunately for you, I still managed to drag you this far. Feel free to offer up your undying thanks for my endless patience.”

“I believe I may have also had a hand in it as well,” Landerpool said with a covert eyeroll. “Anyway, if you ever decide to become fully qualified, come to me directly. There’s no point in sitting through a bunch of pointless masters classes when I can just train you myself…with the help of ‘Miss Endless-Patience’ I suppose.”

“Hey, aren’t I supposed to be your favorite pupil?” Sharanel said with faux indignation. “You’re not supposed to tease your favorite student, right?”

“I don’t believe I agreed to that,” Landerpool said jovially. “Henry if you would, let’s head back to the campus.”

Henry was about to comply when Lawrence emerged through the gates, holding two quickener staffs.

“I thought I heard your voices. Henry, you’re right on time; your staff is ready.”

Lawrence presented the fully restored quickener staff. The umber-colored rockwood didn’t show a trace of where it had broken. As Henry accepted the staff, he felt the familiar warm sensation and the pulse of energy that seemed to signify the bond he had with it.

“And here’s yours back as well, Sharanel,” Lawrence continued as Sharanel took her staff.

“Whoa… something’s different,” she said immediately.

“Very observant. I added a tiny sliver of translif quartz to your core,” Lawrence revealed. “Henry’s staff has some as well.”

“Why? Translif quartz is useless in quickener staffs,” Sharanel said.

Lawrence nodded in agreement. “In general, yes, but there are some rare applications, and that gave me an idea. I want to run a bit of an experiment with you two.”

“Uh, what kind of experiment?” Henry said, not liking the eagerness in the quaver’s eyes.

“Nothing dangerous, I promise, and it won’t be detrimental to any of your staff’s abilities. Basically, the theory is that you two should be able to quicken to each other, no matter where the other person is, regardless of quartz barriers, just like how translifts work.”

“What? That’s not possible,” Sharanel said immediately. “Maybe with traveler quartz but—”

“I think it is with the right variables. First, you both have rockwood staffs, which means they are more durable, secondly, your staffs are already bonded. The translif quartz should just make it so that the dimensional bond can be formed regardless of location, just like a translift. All I’m asking is that you try it out. You may also find that the translif can aid you in other experiments like the quickener gate.”

Sharanel beamed at this, all concern forgotten. “Okay, we’ll play with it at some point, but right now…” She gave Henry a knowing look and he immediately understood.

“Yeah, right now, it’s time to get my friends back,” Henry said excitedly.

 

***

 

Henry, Sharanel, Lawrence, and Landerpool went beyond the outer wall of Leviton where the masters school had erected a series of quickener caves for practice and experiments. Lawrence decided that it was best to use one of them since traveler quartz enhanced quickening and vision in the mentant realm, and they had no idea where Henry’s comrades were.

“Were the connections maintained?” Sharanel asked.

Henry was standing with his eyes closed. “Yes, the staff memory has all of them connected, and you, and Fantasma, and a bunch of people I don’t know and…whoa, our parents too.”

“The ones you don’t know could be from when Thomas transferred his staff memory or from the bond you share with Sharanel; you can see all of her connections as naturally as yours.” Lawrence said.

“The problem is, even though I can sense my friends, I can’t reach them. They must all be behind some form of quartz, but…it looks like a lot of them are together.”

“Together? What do you mean?” Sharanel asked.

“Jandor, Daniel, Stephanie, and Terri are very close to one another; they’re far northeast of here. A little bit further north of them are Tabatha, Ace, and Mrs. Guardman. I can sense Wayne, Ashley, Amber, and Derrick to the east somewhere, and then Becky, Ben, Melvin, Alyson, and Bernie all far off to the west, on a completely different landmass.”

“That would be Sunntondra,” Landerpool said. “I’m sure it’s hard to distinguish since you’re not from this world, but your friends in the north are probably on Lumaria and the ones east are on the same continent as us, Candovia; though the two continents are actually linked.”

“Thanks for the geography lesson, Professor,” Henry said sarcastically as he opened his eyes, “but how does that help me get them?”

“Well, if you can sense them, then that means that on some level they can sense you,” Landerpool offered. “People will feel the restored quickener link, it’s the same as when you first connected to them. It feels like a little pin prick in the back of the mind.”

"If they recognize that the quickener link has been restored, then they’ll probably reach out to you,” Lawrence added.

Henry had already learned that quickening, while versatile, also had its limits. He couldn’t just quicken anyone he was connected to. Links would become dormant after a short period of time. After that, the person needed to activate the link themselves by using a quickener call. Once called, a quickener could then quicken or communicate with the person as long as they weren’t behind a quartz barrier. This essentially meant the quickener was powerless to act on a person that was far away from them until that person explicitly called for them.

“But none of my friends understand quickening. I don’t think they’ll know to do that,” Henry said, disheartened.

“Don’t despair,” Lawrence said. “All we need to do is keep checking periodically. At some point they’ll move beyond the quartz barriers, and you’ll be able to contact them through your staff.”

Though Henry couldn’t force dormant quickener links to be active, he did have one other option. His staff had the ability to do a “reverse call.” This meant that as long as his friends weren’t surrounded by quartz, he could reach out to them through the staff. It was little more than a prod as he could only call their name, but it could be enough to get them to respond and activate the connection.

“I guess; hopefully, it’ll work.” Henry shrugged. The whole thing seemed anticlimactic after everything they’d done, but he didn’t want to give up hope when they were so close to the end.

Sharanel had a pensive look on her face. “It’s just weird. Why is Mrs. Guardman all the way in Lumaria?”

Henry shrugged. “Fantasma’s there too, so maybe that’s why.”

“Hmm, that’s odd.” Sharanel closed her eyes briefly. “I can’t reach Isabelle, but she seems to be in the same place too. It may be nothing, but I think I should head back to the mountain and see what’s going on. I’ll be right back.” Sharanel tapped her staff to quicken, but nothing happened. “What?”

“What’s wrong?” Henry asked.

“Every marker that I have a connection to in the mountain is gone—well not gone. They just aren’t in quickener caves like they normally are. I’m completely cut off.”

“Something serious must be going on,” Lawrence said. “Why don’t you go to the outpost in the city. Leviton’s connection is a translift cave, so you should be able to use that.”

“Good idea,” Sharanel agreed. “Henry, just keep trying. I’ll be back in a bit.” She left the small cave.

“I hope everything’s okay,’ he said. “We’re so close to getting everyone together.”

“It’ll be fine,” Lawrence assured. “We’ll just keep trying. I’m sure you’ll get your friends back very soon.”

Henry nodded as he closed his eyes again. “I’m glad it seems like they’re safe, or at least together somewhere. I wonder what they’re doing,”

 

 

* Weaver’s Road *

Ashley examined the day stone with a giddy sort of awe after Wayne fastened the chain around her neck. “Thanks Wayne; it’s really beautiful. Wait, isn’t this the same necklace I saw the first night we were here?”

“Yeah, I found out that it’s called a bonding stone. I have the one its paired with.” Wayne pulled the night stone from underneath his shirt.

“Oh, I like that one too. So, what does a bonding stone mean? This isn’t some weird Mendalian wedding thing, is it?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“You wish.” Wayne rolled his eyes. “I got them because they’ll help us.”

“Help us how?”

“As long as you wear this, I’ll always be able to come to you, no matter where you are,” Wayne explained. “We can also use it to send brief messages back and forth. I’ll teach you how to do it.”

Ashley’s eyes went wide. “Really? That’s so cool.”

“I know you were scared yesterday when we had to separate,” Wayne said seriously. “Just know, I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me.”

Ashley wrapped her arms around Wayne’s neck and gave him a long hug. “Thanks for always taking care of me,” she whispered in his ear before letting him go.

Deep down, she knew it was bad that she depended on Wayne as much as she did, but it was hard to let go of the strong bond they had, especially now that they were stuck on this new world.

“Well, it doesn’t look like you needed taking care of today.” Wayne gestured around the large room they were standing in.

It was the common area of the Sunnin orphanage, and a half-dozen people were bustling about, cleaning, rearranging furniture, and putting away supplies. “You had a busy day without me.”

“So did you,” Ashley countered. “You and Amber taking down slavers.”

Wayne yawned and stretched. “Yeah, it was a long day for all of us. I can’t wait to go back to the manor, eat dinner, and collapse in bed. It’s just been one thing after another. At least my headache is pretty much gone. That healer really helped. I wish I knew why it keeps happening though. I’m beginning to think it has something to do with me using mandamus.”

“Could you be doing it wrong?” Ashley offered.

Wayne shrugged. “Probably, it’s not like I had any lessons.”

Just then, Tarak entered the orphanage with two tired little girls, Nina and Rachel, plodding along behind hm. He had a huge smile on his face as he came up to Ashley. “Well, it’s done. Several of the people you recruited from the guild are taking the kids to their new homes. After what happened with Banion, they offered to protect them and make sure they all arrived safely. They’re going by sand ferry in small groups to the different towns. So now that they’re all gone, I’m going to take the girls back home.”

Ashley hugged him. “Thanks for sticking with this Tarak; I really appreciate it.”

“No, thank you,” Tarak said sincerely. “Even if just a little, you got people to care about us desert dwellers. It really made a difference.”

Wayne and Tarak shook hands as Ashley hugged both girls.

“Good work, Daughter of the Sun,” Nina whispered in Ashley’s ear so that no one could hear her. The young girl’s voice had an ethereal quality to it, making her sound far different than normal. “Continue to embrace your calling, and don’t hide from destiny. I have faith in you.”

Ashley stared in shock as Nina left with her older brother and Rachel. This was the second time Nina spoke to her as if she knew far more than she was letting on. The girl was truly unique.

Before Ashley could fully process what happened, Patrice and Jasmin approached. “It looks like everything’s been taken care of here,” Patrice said.

“Huh? Oh!” Ashley nodded with a smile. “Yes, thanks for heading up the supply purchase, Patrice.”

Patrice nodded. “Everything’s put away, and the warrior guild members have gotten all of the rooms setup. They’re just doing the finishing touches now.”

Panson was right behind them. “Plus, we already got volunteers scheduled for tonight and tomorrow. Thanks to whatever you and Salov did to restore the district, the main guild building is back up an’ running, so everyone’s real excited to help as a way of sayin’ thanks.”

“The twelve children who will be staying here for the foreseeable future have already made themselves comfortable in their new rooms,” Patrice added with a chuckle at Panson’s exuberance, “and there are volunteers making dinner as we speak, along with Lizzy I might add.”

“So with that, we should take our leave and return to Sunnin Mountain,” Jazmine said.

Ashley hugged them. “Thank you both. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Wayne shook both their hands. “It was nice meeting you,” he said before turning to Ashley. “I’m going to grab Amber so we can get ready to go.”

As Wayne left, Panson also shook the Sunnin sisters’ hands. “You girls did a right good job with the lil’ missy here.”

Patrice chuckled again. “That is truly high praise coming from you.”

Panson gave a roguish wink before strolling off to help move furniture.

“It has been a pleasure working with you Ashley. We sincerely thank you for spearheading this monumental project and getting the people of Weaver’s Road to actively participate. We know the children will be in good hands.” Jasmine gave a small bow.

Patrice looked around furtively to make sure they could not be overheard before speaking in a hushed voice. “Before we go, I have to ask…is it you?”

Ashley’s smile faltered, “What do you mean?”

“I know without a doubt that if I looked on the back of your neck, I would see it, the birthmark that distinguishes you as a member of Ester’s bloodline,” Patrice said.

“Well I…”

“But you’re so much more than that. The way you spoke to those kids, the way you’re able to rally people together, the way this entire district was restored to new…Fantasma told us that she returned to this world and then we meet you. Could you really be,” her voice dropped to barely a whisper, “the Daughter of the Sun.”

Ashley couldn’t bring herself to lie to the hopeful looking Patrice, and Nina’s words were still fresh on her mind. She nodded almost imperceptibly. “Please, don’t tell anyone.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened. “But if it’s true…”

“Please,” Ashley pleaded. “Right now, no one can know. It’s just not safe.”

Jasmine and Patrice exchanged looks, then they both bowed.

“It is an honor to serve, Your Grace,” Jasmine whispered before the two Sunnin sisters took their leave.

At that moment Wayne returned with Amber in tow. “Everything all right?” he asked when he noticed the troubled look on Ashley’s face.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I just…” she shook her head, “never mind.”

“Hmmm, I just felt something weird,” Amber blurted suddenly, clearly not listening to their conversation.

“Something weird?” Wayne repeated.

“Yeah, it’s like a little switch flipped in the back of my head. It’s something familiar, I just can’t place it.”

“You know, now that you mention it, I kind of felt something too just now, like a bug bite on the back of my neck, except nothing’s there,” Wayne agreed. “It could be something happened in the mentant realm. Hopefully, it’s nothing major. Come on, let’s go find Salov and Derrick.”

The two girls nodded, and they left the common area to go find their friends.

 

 

* Cirinian Valley *

“Looks like the valley’s been cleared of them monsters,” Lori reported.

Jandor was standing just outside the recently repaired doors of the council hall, staring into the distance at nothing in particular. Many thoughts were going through his head, and he barely heard Lori’s comment.

“I can’t believe they’re both dead,” he said after a few seconds. “What was the point?”

Lori put a hand on his shoulder. “That Calendon was just an angry, bitter man who wanted revenge at all costs,” she told him, her voice devoid of her characteristic dialect. “Windborn was a brave man for trying to redeem ‘im, but in the end, he was just too far gone.”

Jandor sighed. “I should’ve stopped him. I should’ve known. I should’ve—”

“Oi, mate, you gotta stop doin’ that; it’s a bad habit.”

Jandor looked up at this. “What?”

“You keep actin’ like you’re the only one that can do anything, like you gotta solve all the problems, that it’s all on your head. Right bit of ego you got there.”

“What? I’m not…I don’t…”

“You weren’t the only one in the fight today,” Lori reminded him. “We were all in it: me, your mates, the animals, even the nature types. It ain’t all on you. Nobody ever said it was.”

“But I’m responsible for—”

“You ain’t some hero out on a grand adventure to save the day,” Lori jabbed him in the shoulder. “This is war; people gonna die: good people, bad people, ones who deserve it, ones who don’t, even people you love, and there ain’t nothin’ you can do ‘bout it.”

“Then what’s the point!” Jandor shouted angrily.

“The point is to live life!” Lori barked back at him. “When the battle’s over, whether you win or lose, or somethin’ in between, you gotta pick up the pieces and keep livin’ life, ‘cause if you’re always dwellin’ in the past, on things ya lost, things ya couldn’t fix, or things ya wish were better…well then ya gonna end up just like that there captain. You’ll die miserable with nothin’ to show for it.”

Jandor thought about the last words Windborn said to him, asking him not to go down the same path that Calendon did. It seemed Lori was warning him of the same thing in her own way.

He let out a long sigh. “You’re right…I think I’m just afraid. I don’t want one of my friends to get killed.”

“I get it mate. It’s all right to be scared, just don’t let it control ya. That’s the easiest way to lose everything.”

Just then, the door to the council hall opened and Stephanie stepped out with Daniel and Terri close behind.

“They’re about to start,” Stephanie said by way of greeting. “They’ve asked all of us to join them.”

 

***

 

Jandor, Lori, Stephanie, Daniel, and Terri walked into the meeting hall which was already filled with the chiefs and other leaders of the order, as well as the soldiers that remained from Calendon’s raid force. They were all crammed in a corner and looking nervous, and two members of the order’s security force stood on either side of the group.

“Thank you all for coming,” Wheaton said. He was seated at the head of the table. “The chiefs have already met, and though three of our number are absent, we’ve come to a consensus of what to do for the time being. First, I have been elected head-chief of the Order of Nature.”

There were murmurs among the assembled leaders. Kynobi seemed to guess what they were thinking.

“Normally, we would not hold a vote so quickly after the loss of one of our own, or without all of the chiefs present, but all of us here unanimously agreed, so there is no concern that the vote would have been swayed by our missing members, and we cannot be without decisive leadership in these perilous times.”

“Right now, we must determine our next course of action,” Wheaton continued. “With the loss of the translift network, we are effectively cut off from the outside world. However, our records indicate that there are older translift caves somewhere in the southern mountains. They haven’t been used in centuries, but they may help us restore a connection with the other preserves at least. Our first order of business will be to locate them. We must also send word of our current situation to the other leaders. We will be seeking the aid of our animal companions to accomplish both.”

Wheaton turned to the captured soldiers, all of whom were bound with quartz rope. A few of them winced at his stare. “Now, as to the fate of those who remain from Calendon’s forces, we have decided the following: you will be allowed to live in the unused camp on the southeastern edge of the valley until such time as you can leave.”

The soldiers gave each other confused looks. “Wait, so you’re not going to put us in jail or…execute us?” one of them asked.

“We have no jails here, and we’re not in the habit of murdering people in cold blood,” Wheaton said, his tone icy. “However, you are not welcome guests. You’ll have to figure out how to survive on your own. Also, you’ll have to obey our rules about what can and cannot be hunted, what plants and trees are available for use, and you will be restricted on where you can travel within the valley.”

“And keep in mind, we have ways of monitoring you,” Lenora added. “If you try to take advantage of the generosity we’ve bestowed, you will be stripped of everything, carried deep into the Lumarian mountain range by one of our animals, and left to fend for yourself. I doubt any of you would last more than a day.”

A young, olive-skinned woman stood from among the captured soldiers; she had a burning determination in her brown eyes. Jandor recognized her as Calendon’s lieutenant, Addilyn Foy.

“Chief Wheaton, I promise that we will not cause any more problems for your people or this valley. I will personally take responsibility for the men and women here and deal with anyone who disobeys your rules.” She glared down at her comrades. “Do you hear me, you lot? Cause any trouble, and I’ll cut you down myself.”

She sat, the stern look still in her eyes as she glanced at Lori.

“Very well,” Wheaton said with a nod. “Jandor, as for your group, you are all welcome to stay with us for as long as you like.”

“Thank you, sir, but we really need to go. We have to find the rest of our friends, and then somehow get to Fantasma.” Jandor said.

Wheaton pondered this. “Leaving the valley would be very difficult on foot. It’s an eight-to-ten-day journey to any other town, and you’re highly likely to get lost due to all of the quartz interference and other measures in place to obscure the valley. One of the chiefs would need to guide you.”

“What about the birds we used to get here?” Jandor asked.

“Ah, the phara. Well, their home is on Estern. It would be impossible to summon them from here, though there is a chance that one may be somewhere nearby. I would need to reach the top of a mountain to even have a chance though.” Wheaton thought about this. “Let’s make an attempt tomorrow. Will that do? If we can summon a phara it may help us with contacting the other preserves.”

“Thank you; anything you can do would be helpful,” Jandor said.

Wheaton addressed a few more issues concerning the aftermath of the raid and then dismissed the meeting of leaders.

The security team started to usher the captured soldiers out of the room, but Addilyn paused when she reached Lori. “Wait, can you give me one moment?” she asked before turning to Lori. “You saved my life; I won’t forget that.”

Lori shrugged. “Can’t let a talented swordswoman like you die, can I? Well, not without beatin’ ya in a proper fight at least.”

When it became clear that the pog intended to kill Addilyn, Lori quickly intervened, blocking the strike while Daniel and Silvet dispatched the creature.

“I realize now, that pog was going to kill me because I knew the truth and wanted to tell others about it. I became a liability to Davron’s army because I didn’t want to fight anymore.” Addilyn sighed. “The truth is, I lost the will to fight a long time ago. I thought Davron had a way to stop the endless wars, but I was just grasping at moonlight. The cycle will always continue in one way or another.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Lori said flippantly. “I think you’re worryin’ about the wrong thing. You don’t need to make peace for everyone, just for yourself. That’s what these nature types did, and it seems to be workin’ out for them…well for the most part anyway. Stop tryin’ to fix the world, and just fix yourself.”

Addilyn nodded slowly at this. It was clear it would take some time for Lori’s words to sink in, but she seemed to take them to heart. She allowed herself to be led off with the rest of her comrades.

“Oi girly, don’t let your skills get rusty, cause one day you and I are gonna have a rematch,” Lori called to her.

Addilyn gave a small smile before disappearing through the threshold. Lori followed soon after with Sarah in tow. The meeting room quickly emptied leaving Daniel, Terri, and Jandor alone.

“Well, looks like we’re stuck here for a little while longer,” Jandor said.

Daniel had a pensive look on his face. “What the….”

“What?” Jandor asked.

“I don’t know. It suddenly feels like I just got a new quickener connection—well not new. It’s an old one that’s been restored.”

“What does that mean?” Jandor asked intrigued.

“It could mean anything, but it may have something to do with whoever quickened us from Earth. Right now, there’s nothing we can do about it. There’s no way a quickener can reach us this deep in the Lumarian Mountains.”

 “Yeah, there’s not much we can do until tomorrow,” Terri added. “Let’s just get some food and rest for now.”