Out of The Shadows Part Two
(1) Bo stick in hand - as useful as a walking staff as a defensive tool - Kaori steps out of the pilgrims' hostel and closes the door. The ground is muddy but the sky is clearing; sunset is almost over, and a few stars are peeking through.
Kaori slips around the back of the library to wait for her companions. The Count's outwardly extravagant summer home is close to the path that leads upwards; there's a bit of evening cool in the air, coupled with extra chill left from the afternoon's storm, so she snuggles against the outer wall of the Count's fireplace - naturally they have a great bonfire going to compensate for the temperature drop caused by the storm.
Ester and Shana leave the hostel. Shana asks, "Healer where is the Priestess? We must stay together as we slip out."
Kaori has her mind open to her companions. She sharpens her will to a point and sends, hoping one or both will pick up her message. <<Foot of the pilgrims' path. Behind the count's summerhouse. Duck past the windows, someone is still awake.>>
"This way I believe, scribe," Ester says. Like Kaori, she slips behind the library, and like Kaori, she carries a solid staff. She also has a good sharp knife - Shana does as well, and has learned how to use it as part of her military training.
Kaori finds herself tapping a foot impatiently - very un-Myeong Gai-like, so she stops it. "Duck past the windows!" she hisses quietly as Ester and Shana approach.
"Priestess!" Shana hisses back. "You're e safe. I was concerned until I felt your thoughts. "
Ester slides into the blind spot of the fire-warmed wall and raises an eyebrow.
"We should have the path to ourselves for the first few kilometers," Kaori whispers. "There are farmhouses, but not many, and the people should be asleep. There are wayfarers' huts at intervals - as soon as we come to one that's unoccupied, we can sleep there. We should reach the temple by sunset tomorrow, or early the next day, if we aren't slowed too much by the mud and the steeper slopes."
Shana kneels in the shadows next to the healer and priestess, hoping that she wasn't seen by the locals.
Kaori smiles gently. "You weren't seen," she reassures the tech.
Shana smiles back.
They walk a little distance and are out of earshot of the summerhouse before anyone speaks again.
"And what makes you think there aren't watchers, Priestess? Ester asks. "This whole expedition has been one trap."
Kaori glances at the other two. "No living sentient minds are awake here. Even if they're shielded, I know if someone's in the area." She pauses. "Now if any watchers happen to be NARI, it's more difficult. I need to at least see them, or be within a stone's throw of them, in order to catch the electronic buzz."
Carefully skirting a field of unharvested wheat, she says, "Shana, it's good you're with us. You'll have to be the one to slip back down the mountain if we need to risk communicating with the battle group. And you may also have to take down NARI detection crystals for data dump and analysis."
"I will do my best Priestess," Shana gives a military-style breast salute to the Mission Commander..
Ester peers about in the dark and looks at the barely-visible trail ahead. "Is this the only way?"
"The only way we can trust ourselves on in the dark," Kaori says a bit grimly. "If Nolae were here, we'd have more choice."
The pilgrims' path slopes upwards, through brush and trees, until they reach a small intensely-farmed plateau. Its cottages are dark, except for occasional glows from fires within the handful that have glassed windows. It takes about an hour to get past the last of the cultivated patches of ground.
"The first hut is just a half hour or so up the trail," Kaori says. "That's as far as I've rambled up until now. Likely it's empty - most pilgrims leave Bocastraeon in the morning and don't need it for sleeping."
Ester walks softly on the ground as her father's people taught her, but curiously with irregular steps,
"Isn't that more tiring than a steady pace?" Kaori asks her, interested in the oddity; her own stride is almost as regular as Shana's.
"Hmm, oh better tired than dead."
"Some logic to that," Kaori admits. "Maybe the Shadows, or the NARI, are in the habit of listening for human footfalls."
"Or Nix the cleanser..."
A rounded shadow emerges at the side of the path. "There - the first hut. And no-one's in it. And we're about five kilometers from Bocastraeon - we're over the hump of the mountain right behind the town. We'll get up at dawn, and start the real climb."
(2) "Is this time for the pilgrimage?" Ester asks.
"Not the most popular time. It's getting late in the season. Winters aren't bad at sea level, but I understand that the monastery is fairly high - past the treeline, almost past the point of comfortable breathing."
Ester nods as they approaches the hut.
Kaori adds, "You might have noticed some winter crops being planted where the rye's already been harvested. We're close enough to the equator that freezing temperatures don't happen below three or four km altitude."
Ester pauses and blinks, confused. then falls back into the line of march until Kaori opens the hut's door. There's wood and kindling, inside the hut so it's dry; Kaori feels her way to the hearth, gets out her flint and a scrap of linen for tinder, and starts just enough of a fire to light their preparations for sleep.
Shana sets her knapsack onto the hut's dirt floor and begins untying the straw mat and blanket that comprise her bedroll.
Ester sits down on the ground and characteristically pulls out fruit and gnaws on it.
Shana lays down on her mat and covers herself with the blanket. She realizes she will have to sleep with one eye open this night. So much has happened. Fox station destroyed. Invaders arriving as if they knew our every move...
Ester gazes out of the hut's entrance as she finshes the fruit and relaxes on her mat.
Kaori pokes around the corners of the hut before rolling out her own mat. Restless, she steps outside and casts her mind back down the trail. Is that a buzz on the edge of consciousness? She does a quick scan with the detection crystals, just in case. There's a quick bit of glow, but without decoding equipment, there's no telling whether it's significant or just a reflection from a bit of Shadow Fox's debris streaking across the sky.
"The hunter has already made their plans, priestess," Ester says from the dark of the hut.
Shana opens her eyes and looks in the direction of the Healer.
Jo Kaori ducks back inside. "No doubt," she says. "For the moment, though, wild dogs may be what we most need to worry about. At least that's what I hope."
As if in response, distant howls break out.
"Sit down and rest" Ester says, shifting her tone. "Save your energy for the emergency when it happens."
Kaori smiles in the darkness. "That's wise," she agrees. She goes back in, lays down on her mat, and falls asleep more quickly than expected.
Shana Barr sits up. "After all this talk of wild dogs I can't sleep. I shall take the first watch. You two please rest."
"I will watch. Get your rest, scribe," Ester says, gazing out of the hut entrance.
"Very well Healer..." Shana reluctantly lays down and tries to clear her mind.
Ester sits in the darkness until it lifts enough to let her make out the trees on the other side of the path. She wakes the others. Kaori fans up the fire just enough to make flat oatcakes and heat some slices cut from the well-preserved sausage. They wash in the spring, and begin the long climb.
At the tenth hut, it's again time to sleep - earlier than the night before, but there are drops over the edge of the pilgrim's path at this altitude, rocks to trip on, and despite the help of their staffs in the dark, it's just not safe to keep walking. And although the air is adequate, it's noticeably thinner than at sea level. Rest is needed, so when they round a bend and see the outline of the hut against the gathering dusk in the sky, they're all relieved.
Another bit of Shadow Fox falls out of orbit, streaking in the direction of the sea.
In the early morning, Ester is first to step out and stretch. She notices her crystal vibrating, and smiles ironically.
Kaori finishes rolling up her mat and blanket and straps them onto her pack.Stepping outside, she offers cheese and apples to her companions - there's not enough firewood in the hut for oatcakes - before looking around.
They're above the treeline now. Looking back down the steep slope they climbed the evening before, Kaori can see dark pine forest below some distance below. It's not surprising that firewood hasn't been carried up here; no doubt most pilgrims have the sense to cut their own before leaving it behind.
Kaori glances at Ester. "Dreams last night?" she asks, feeling warmth from her own Naeyan crystal where it rests against the skin of her chest. It reminds her to do another NARI scan.
"Hmm, nothing special. But it will be soon."
(3) Kaori stretches out her mind, sending it upwards on the path. The monastery isn't in line of sight, but she can feel - "Five sleeping humans..." she says, then frowns. "Something else - "
"Let me speculate," says Ester. "Something not quite human..."
Shanaholds her own crystal in hand. How beautiful it is she thinks to herself. Something seems different about it this morning, but the change hasn't affected its beauty. But how will it serve me? she wonders. Hmm... Suddenly she looks up as Kaori speaks her revelations.
"There is a buzz," Kaori says slowly. "Yes - and it's familiar... but there's also something else."
"Well, then, let us meet our host then."
Shana puts her crystal back into her knapsack and prepares to follow the Priestess and Healer up the steep, steep mountain to who knows where.
Kaori looks upslope. "Last stage," she says. "Goodness, is that a big tree? Well, we'll know soon." She slings her bo and activates the NARI detector, holding it steady as they proceed upwards, slowly. This time there's clearly a faint glow. It and the buzz slowly increase as they walk the last steeply-sloped kilometer at an easy pace that lets them breathe. They reach the final ridge before the sanctuary, and pause both to rest their lungs and study the cluster of buildings and surprising tall deciduous trees above.
Between Naeyan-looking rough lodging - a sort of three-story tree house? - and a temple that seems to be made of marble, they can see something - very out of place. It's a baleful green that Kaori finds disturbingly familiar.
Ester sees something that to her seems equally odd. "I see someone on what, are those things, cows?"
Kaori grins despite the worrisome green oddity above. "Horse." She raises a hand as the horse and its hooded rider approach. "Peace be with you!" she calls.
The hooded man rides up to the strangers. He seems old by Naeyan standards, and has a tidy grey beard. He's also frowning. "Why are you not accompanied?" he asks, in a strong and critical voice.
Ester A'Dab raises her hand following Jo Kaori's example and keenly examines the man's face.
Kaori can't resist; as she frames her answer, she stretches out a hand to stroke the beautiful bay horse's nose. "We are pilgrims, here to learn about the Unity path," she says. "Who else were you expecting, brother?" She stretches out a tendril of thought. The rider is human - and sensitive to her tendril. There's a clear overtone of critique about the lack of males in their group, and a deep watchfulness that becomes stronger as he sweeps his mind among them.
He says, "I sense your thought images... strange. ordered but of things I have not seen before. You are strangers."
Kaori bows respectfully. "We have not been here before. Our island is remote, and our people don't visit the mainland often. But we've heard of the Unity message, and want to know more."
Shana begins writing notes about what she sees and hears; after all she is 'The Scribe.'
Ester asks, "Were we all not strangers once? Or so it written."
The buzz at the edge of Kaori's mind is pronounced now. Carefully, she sets it to one side, before the familiar headache has a chance to start building. Despite herself, she glances up at the green hive-like structures beyond the trees that have so strangely grown tall so far above the end of the pine forest.
The Monk's face is strangely grim. "You are from a remote place indeed. Your thoughts are well ordered and logical, with words not known to me. You will show me proof that you are pilgrims."
"Proof?" Kaori asks. "We are strangers - what sort of proof do you seek? We've travelled here on foot from Bocastraeon - spent days in its library first - and before that, by sail from our island."
"A pilgrim will carry a crystal. You should know that" the Monk says calmly yet in a most commanding manner.
Kaori pulls hers out from beneath her chemise. Like Shana's, its colour has shifted in the three days since she started wearing it though not in the same way. All three were a variegated black and blue when Kaori fished them out of the streambed; the blue in Kaori's has turned a rich purple.
Shana pulls out her own crystal out of a pocket and holds it gingerly in a cloth. Its blue is still blue, but it's lost some of its translucence, taking on a milky sheen.
Ester raises her hand with her crystal in it and smiles. "Are these the crystals you are looking for?" she says, waving her left hand casually. Hers has also altered its colour, with the blue becoming emerald. A'Dab waggles her eyebrows at Jo's glance but keeps her smile fixed on the monk.
Quickly, Kaori sends her a stab of thought.. >>NO VOICE HERE.<< She hopes the Sinisterhood sister both hears and chooses to listen.
(4) "I have understood from my studies that all of Naeya carries these," Kaori says aloud. "Not just pilgrims. Is there some community you know of that does not?"
"I am the MONK! You dare to question me and..." he pauses when he sees the healer's crystal, and then raises an eyebrow at the sight of Kaori's.... "You are welcome here Pilgrims. It is the WAY." He doesn't actually smile but his stern manner has visibly softened.
Ester glances at Kaori at the pronouncement "The MONK" and then back to the rider. "Thank for your welcome."
Kaori tucks her crystal back under her chemise. "And would you share your crystal as well, Brother?" she asks. She strokes the horse's nose again. It nickers gently and nuzzles her hand.
The Monk pulls back his cloak to reveal a crystal carried on a rope placed around his neck. It matches the color of the Priestess's. He watches the Priestess's face to see her reaction, if any.
Ester slides her crystal back into her cloak glances between Jo's crystal and the Monk's.
Kaori smiles. "Brother indeed." She reaches out with her mind, this time intending to be heard. >>Well met.<< Aloud, she says, "I knew we'd learn by coming here. But I'm doubly glad now that we decided to make the effort."
Shana replaces her crystal.
The Monk is slightly taken aback at detecting the Priestess's intentional sending of thought. "YOU and You! " He nods his head toward the Priestess and the Healer. "I sense that you have both been trained in the mental arts. Who are you?"
"I am Kaori, a priestess. My companion Ester is a healer - and Shana is a scribe, who will document what we learn for our people to study."
Ester adds, "The requirements for being a healer in our homeland are quite stringent, so yes, I have had training."
Kaori unslings her bo and leans on it. "But it's a tiring walk from Bocastraeon. Perhaps we can rest a bit, and then share more deeply."
The Monk raises an eyebrow but decided to accept Kaori's introductions and Ester's explanation. For now. "I accept your explanation. You will of course be welcome. But the scribe will have to return to Bocastraeon. Only the Goddess may authorize the recording of what takes place here."
Kaori looks at Shana, then back at the Monk. "We can ask her not to write without permission. But if she must go, let it be after she's rested, and after we've given her a letter to tell our island that we found the place we were promised. And - the path has its dangers, as I'm sure you know, especially for a traveller alone."
"So shall it be. Follow me to the tents. Your party may rest there. When the scribe goes down, my apprentice can go with her." He turns the horse, not towards the temple complex, but towards a ravine on its further side.
Ester follows the cow called horse and its rider. Her long legs let her keep up easily; she moves to its side as they go. "So, you have the advantage of us Monk, do you have a name or it is just Monk?"
The Monk rides ahead of the 3 females - or intends to, not having taken Ester's long stride into account, and leads them to three richly designed tents. "For the moment...you may call me Monk. In time you will come to know more about me. But you are unusual. I must learn how much, and why."
"Oh? People tell me I am quite ordinary were I come from." Ester smiles, showing all her un-medievally perfect teeth.
The Monk turns to the Healer. "Then your land is one which I must make it a point to visit." He smiles at her in a knowing manner.
Kaori smiles when she sees the tents pitched in the shelter of the ravine - solid, felted, floored with elk hides, and tall enough to stand in. "We'll be comfortable here," she says. "And the view - how amazing." Turning away from the dramatic landscape, she climbs the rise above them to survey their goal. "And this is the monastery? But brother - what are those?" She gestures towards the row of serpent green circles.
There are three of the structures, clearly not products of Naeyan building skills. The buzz coming from them hits Kaori like a hammer as she tops the protective rise. Her back to the Monk, she manages a quick unobserved scan. Hastily, she steps back down, fighting to keep nothing but interest on her face and in the forefront of her mind.. She's going to have to build a careful protective mental structure before she goes up again.
Ester blinks at Jo's recoil from the complex..
Kaori looks at the monk, the gentle smile back in place. "Brother - I'm looking forward to sharing whatever we can share," she says. "But what are those?"
"Stop where you are One called Kaori." he says in a deep commanding voice. "Those are the chariots of the goddess and none may approach them."
Kaori nods. "I'm very willing to stay away," she says. "And I'm looking forward to learning about this Goddess."
"Oh chariots....." Ester pauses, blinks and gives an ironic smile. "Of course, they would be."
The Monk sneers slightly at the Healer, feeling that her thoughts are strange. Then he turns to Kaori. "In time, sister. In time."
Kaori gives her formal little Genjese bow. "I hope to speak with you soon, then, brother. First a rest, and the letter for Shana to carry down - and then, I hope, we can share a meal, and become familiar with the shape of each other's thoughts."
(5) Ester smiles pleasantly back to the Monk "It is written: Time is what we want most but what we use worst."
The Monk bows from his mounted horse.
"Ala...ah, that is Unity be yours" Ester says, bowing as Jo has to the Monk.
He rides away in the direction of the structure that really is a three-story tree house.
Kaori lets her facade collapse. Of the three tents, she stumbles down to the one positioned to get the most protective benefit from the rock that blocks the
buzz from the Night Serpent flight pods. The tent's not her preferred colour - doesn't have the best view - but the rock is close, and solid, and silences the buzz..
"Hmm is there food here?" Ester asks, looking about the tents.
"We still have a day's supply," Kaori says wearily. "And I understand that the Monk's kitchen will feed us. All the villages in the region donate."
"Excellent," Ester says, putting down her sack. She pulls out some dried fish, eagerly tearing into it.
Kaori drops her bo, then her pack. Walking just far enough up the ridge to lose its protection, she raises the NARI crystal and activator, takes a more thorough reading, then half-slides back down.
Ester turns at the sound of hooves, as the Monk approaches again. "Ah, care to join us for our meal then?" she asks, holding up some dried fish.
He nods politely and rides off, this time going downwards.
Ester watches the monk ride off as she chews. "When law and religious duty are one, your selfdom encloses the universe" she mutters as he rides out of earshot.
"Was strange," Shana says. "I could...almost hear his thoughts in my head."
Kaori nods. "He's a strong telepath," she says. "Sending as well as receiving. And...your crystal hasn't made you a telepath, but it's almost certainly strengthened some natural level of receptivity."
"I see. This is fascinating and I must make the full logs of all of this. The Admiral will want to know."
"I don't think they can give you anything you don't already have. But watch yourself, Shana, and your reactions and perceptions. For Aldan it's strengthened some innate ability to read the deeps, finding fish more easily than others. For the tavernkeeper, it seems to be talent for brewing. For you - watch your talents. See if they evolve unexpectedly in the coming weeks."
Shana nods with a worried expression, then continues writing all that she saw and heard in her logs.
Ester gives an ironic smile at the warning.
Kaori hands the detection crystal to Shana. "The message you must send is that NARI are here, quite a few NARI, along with three flight pods from Night Serpent ships," she says. "And send the data from this data crystal. Don't let anyone see this crystal. See the glow? Whatever it's detected, it's loaded it to capacity."
Ester asks, "By the Maker, they are tracking and listening to us with these crystals then?"
Kaori pulls out her black and purple personal crystal. "I don't think so," she says slowly. "It's the NARI detector that's reacting. But I'm sure the NARI have more knowledge of the local crystals' potentials than we - or the large majority of Naeyans - have."
"So, those chariots are some type of space ship, correct?"
"Yes, those pods come from Night Serpent ships," Kaori replies. "So we've fulfilled part of our mission. NARI and Night Serpents. They're both on this mountain."
"So the good Monk is the flesh puppet of the Night Serpants then."
"Maybe. Too soon to be sure." Kaori rubs her temples. "Willow bark," she says. "I wish it were stronger."
"Sit and steady your breathing, that will help too." Ester glances back up the hill. "Small wonder they weren't stalking us, they didn't need to."
Kaori rallies herself for one more moment. "Shana, you should start down as soon as you've eaten. Don't wait for the Monk's apprentice unless he turns up before you go. Travel as quickly as you can, but be careful, especially as you approach the village. I hope it's safe to enter the bunker, but don't count on it. If there's anything that seems off, you may need to pay Aldan - someone who views himself as owing us - to sail you to the island, or rent or even steal a skiff and do the sailing yourself if you know how."
She half-stumbles into the olive-coloured tent, downs some willow bark with plain cold water from her travel flask, and collapses on the elk hide.
