| "The Adventures of Kat and Clara" Part XXIV: The Return to Trillius Darkness, then the light.... Kat slowly opened her eyes, allowing the daylight to flood in and sting them a bit. She blinked fast at first, then slower. She found herself laying on her left side, her mouth a bit dry and her joints slightly sore. A few feet away lay Clara, and to either side of her Hermione and Salem. What happened? Kat thought. Did I die and transcend? Did we all see salvation at last? Kat probed the ground with her fingers, her gloves still on. She looked carefully at the terrain, then her eyes widened. Her reflection was visible in it; it was blurred heavily, but was replicated several times. The ground was made of white crystal, in some spaces draped in carpets of moss. The young brown pantheress sat up and looked around. Clara, Salem, and Hermione still lay on the ground near her, seemingly unconscious and lifeless. "Clara, are you all right?" Kat asked, crawling over to her and shaking her arm about. Clara slowly woke up and opened her eyes very slowly. "What?" Clara whispered, looking up at Kat. "Where are we?" "We are still at the Crystal Shores," Kat said. "I thought we were all going to be killed in that blinding flash. I thank S'Allumer that you are safe." Clara slowly sat up. "Salem and Hermione," she whispered. "Where are--" "Next to you," Kat interrupted. "Let us rouse them. We need to discover what happened to us." Kat stood and stretched a little bit while Clara woke Salem and Hermione and helped them to their feet; surprisingly, they were each in good health and unharmed. Then Kat noticed exactly that; she looked at her arms and sides, then at her legs and feet. She even noticed that the fabric of her leotard and her cape, as well as her gloves, were clean and free of scrapes and cuts. How am I not injured? she thought, feeling herself up and down. I was near death before I blacked out; my arms and legs lacerated and bleeding, my belly slashed and clothing torn. Why am I not dead? Kat then turned around and embraced Salem and Hermione; they, too, were unharmed and their clothing not bloodstained or torn, as it had been in the fight with Lord Faolin. "What happened to all of us?" Hermione asked, straightening her sashes. "I thought I had died!" "I am unsure," Clara said. "How long were we lying here?" "That is a mystery," Kat said. "Hermione, as a captain, can you tell by the sun what time of day it is?" Hermione put her hat on and looked up at the sun, shielding her eyes slightly with her right hand. "By my count," she began, "it would appear that it is shortly after noon. We could have been unconscious for at least a day. I have no reckoning of what day it is." Salem sighed. "What should we do now?" he asked, looking about himself. "And where is the sword?" Kat's eyes widened. "The sword!" she exclaimed, looking around on the ground. "Where is it? Where is S'Allumer's sword?" The four adventurers soon fell to their knees, searching around on the ground for the Sword of Many Parts. Nothing could be found except for more crystal; they even resorted to peeling up the vast sheets of moss to look for portions of the sword, but nothing could be found. Dejected, Kat dropped to her knees. "The sword," she whispered, beginning to cry. "Where did it go? We traveled so far and overcame so much, and it's gone." Clara comforted her. "I don't know where it went," she said, watching as Kat wept. "What will Trillan say to us when we come up empty-handed? I worry a great deal about not only them, but also about the state of our world. We witnessed the sword's completion, but now we know not where it could be." Kat wiped her eyes. "We must report this terrible news to our king and queen," she whispered. "I dread the thought of what they will say or do when they hear of this unfortunate turn of events." Hermione knelt down next to Kat and Clara. "Come with me," she said. "We will return to Trillan together. Let me retrieve my fighting chain and we will be off." As Hermione walked a few feet away to lift her spiked chain from the ground, she noticed the remains of Faolin's armor directly beside it, dusted gently with grey ash. His staff was smashed and broken in dozens of places. His mantle was reduced to pebbles and scattered about on the ground. And his great topaz shield was split and cracked and damaged all over. Hermione lifted her crystal chain in her hands. I can't believe it came to this, she thought, walking away. I killed a family friend for a worldly purpose we couldn't even achieve. How will I live with this guilt? Kat, Clara, Salem, and Hermione walked together over the hills of crystal and moss, their hearts heavy with frustration and failure. Hermione led them back to the ship for the return to Trillan, but as the crossed over the final hill, they suddenly heard voices, those of commoners and other folk. "Who is there?" Clara asked, reaching over her shoulder for her sword, anticipating an ambush. Hermione stepped forward and looked down the hill. Her eyes widened in surprise, noticing the shoreline of the Crystal Shores. Below, walking near the Covenant, were many people, most dressed in robes and carrying staves and maces. They seemed to be happy and interacting with each other in passing. There were other ships anchored there around the Covenant, and people seemed to be trading commercial goods. "What in the world happened?" Kat asked. "Who are all these people?" "I don't know," Hermione said. "This place was so desolate when we arrived here." Hermione walked down the hill, with her companions following close behind. Two lines of people walked up and down the shore; the adventurers had to cut through them to reach the ship. Some of the people even recognized Hermione and greeted her warmly, only adding to her confusion. This is very strange, Kat thought, walking up the plank to the deck of Hermione's ship. Where did all these wonderful citizens come from? Next page >> |