Hecataeus sums up, "Okay, you know you need to search Wyandot Lake, find the ivy covered church, and search the houses on Meadow Lark street. I'd suggest you break up into four teams, one for each sign. It has a certain cosmic rhythm to it. Bugge has already volunteered to search the houses. He'll need a partner. Now, you need to pick folks for the other three, and for the rust stanza you need to finish solving the puzzle." Hecataeus frowns, "Perhaps you should call some of your other companions for help?"
"Yes, I think its time for some team work. Once we get this dross, you guys can finish the compass," Tess says, aiming the last at Sebastian and Sylvana.
"Okay Bugge, you're in on the attic search. How bout you take Brighteyes with you? I think you two would make a good team," Tess adds, her eyes going to Sammy and Bugge. "You okay with that Sam?"
Brighteyes nods yes.
"Sounds Like a great adventure!" Bugge says "The dashing, brave hero, and his not so cool squire! On to victory!" Bugge, then pulls Brighteyes aside, and shows her the mask in his pouch. "I think we're looking for something like this." He says with a sly grin. "This should be easy, it lights up when we get close to chocolate."
"Mianderr, I think you and I are in charge of Wyandot Lake. Still know where your bathing suit is?" Tess asks. "I'm gonna give Keighvyn and Chris a call, see if they wouldn't mind checking into the churches. Maybe you two, could figure out the rust clue. I'll try to get ahold of Jubair. I think he was supposed to be hanging out with our new friend today. Maybe they can come down and help you," finishes Tess.
Bugge thinks for a second, and says "Out by my Grandpa's place in Grenada, there are all sorts of little gullies, that I used to play in. Where roads crossed over the streams, it looked like a large corrugated metal archway. Those thing rust, and usually have rocks on the sides, that people use as a pass."
Looking to Hecataeus, Tess says, "Do you mind if I use your phone?"
"Of course not, help yourself." he answers.
Tess steps behind the counter, and begins to dial, starting with Chris. Soon, she has contacted the rest of the group and explained about the dross hunt. Everyone agrees to come over to Hecataeus' to regroup.
When they've all arrived half an hour later, they are soon brought up to speed on the dross prophecy.
Keighvyn absently loosens his uniform tie and flips an errant forelock out of his eyes. "An ivy-covered church..." he murmurs, his eyes turning opaque as he turns things over in his mind.
"I'll drive if you'll navigate," Chris offers. "I have no idea how to get anywhere 'round here 'cept work, the mall and Starbucks. Well, and a few other places, but we don't need to go into that."
"You driving works," Keighvyn returns. Then he grins. "Besides, trying to Ken and drive at the same time could be bad -- that sort of thing wouldn't exactly inspire confidence in Columbus' finest." He indicates the dark blue uniform he's currently wearing with a wink.
"The third covered now in dust
lies amongst the heaps of rust
Along the banks of river shallow
resting in a man-made hollow."
Jubair recites the stanza to himself as he writes it down in his notebook. He reads it for a moment, then says "What are the nearest rivers to here? I'm thinking that a 'man-made hollow' could be a sewer pipe or a stormwater drain - or even a rubbish tip. The first two fit better with the 'shallow river' but the tip also fits with the 'heaps of rust' part."
"Heaps is plural." Rajabal hoots, "Implying multiple, so a drain seems unlikely, and isn't 'heaped' anyway. and a hollow along a river bank is most likely a large depression. Where would large amounts of metal be heaped together to rust, in a man-made depression, meaning a big hole?"
"What about cars?" asks Nutiket. "I don't know about around here, but back home in Philadelphia there were always lots of old rusting cars in or near the Delaware River. That would qualify for heaps of rust and river shallow. The inside of the cars would fit man-made hollow, and it is entirely plausible that the insides would be covered in a layer of dust." Nutiket nods thoughtfully. "Is there anything around here that fits that kind of description?"
Tess snaps her fingers, "A junk yard! An old auto crushing place or something?"
"I think you've got it." Sebastian says, "If memory serves, there is at least one junkyard in southeast Columbus by the river. Now that I consider it, it's in an old quarry, you can look down into when driving west on I-70."
A quick glance at a street map and phonebook confirms a junkyard there along the Sciota river.
"Well then," Tess says, smiling over at Jubair and Nutiket, "Would you two mind checking that out. I'll drop Brighteyes and Bugge off on Meadowlark, and me and Andy can check out the waterpark. With Chris and Kevin spotting the churches, we ought to have this done pretty quick."
"Sure thing." replies Nutiket. As he and Jubair head out to the car, Nutiket asks "Can I drive this time?"
Tess grins at Sebastian and Sylvana. "You guys need help loading the stuff into the car?"
"Sure thing!" Sylvana's grin splits her face as she starts lifting some of the lighter equipment.
Tess walks over to the phone, and after dialing, talks to someone on the other line. After a moment, she hangs up and walks back over. "Okay, I called the school, and let them know you were coming. They'll have someone to meet you and help you to the labs."
Gathering up her pool things, she looks to the kids, "Ready? Lets cruise."
Everyone departs on their separate missions....
Time: 10:30 am Friday, 28 August 1998
Current Weather: Sunny Expected Weather: Sunny
----------------
(Halloween)
Tess drives through the town at a cautious speed, never more than 2 over the limit. After a while, she pulls the Civic over at the end of a residential street.
"This is Meadowlark guys," Tess says, as she unlatches her door and steps out. As the kids get out, she takes her wallet out of her purse, and pulls out a couple of bills.
"Okay, here is 20 bucks for both of you. When you find it, I want you to get home. That money is for cab fair," says Tess as she hands Brighteyes and Bugge a bill. "20 dollars should cover a ride, but I'm giving you each one in case you get separated and can't get back together. I'd like the rest back if possible." Tess grins slightly. "If you get caught, have them call me at the school, I'll check in every half hour or hour to make sure there are no messages. Okay?"
"Thank you very much." says Bugge with a gleam in his eye. He pockets the money and runs to the nearest tree, so survey the land.
"Good luck guys," says Tess, as she climbs back into the car.
Brighteyes and Bugge take a long look at Meadowlark Street. It's small, but pretty with old trees and a stream along one side. It has about ten old Victorian houses on it, all pretty well upkept. The street itself is about 100 yards long or so, and it's a cul-de-sac.
The noon summer sun is beating down pretty hard, and almost at once the two start to get hot.
"So, what's yer favourite number?" asks Bugge "Mine's Eleventy-three, but let's try the seventh house okay?"
Bugge skulks about in a scooby-doo-ish mock sneaking way, and then runs up to the tree by the house he chose. He turns to Brighteyes, and says "How close do you think we have to be to sense it?"
Brighteyes shrugs, and then ducks as a car pulls into the cul de sac and parks across the street. An old couple get out and walk into their house as Bugge and Brighteyes hide in the bushes.
The house Bugge chose is, like the others, from the turn of the century but like most of the others in the neighborhood of the Gremarye Institute (Meadowlark street is only about a five minute drive from the school) it has been renovated. All of the houses are pretty close together, with no more then five feet between them.
No lights are on in Bugge's chosen house, and no sound can be heard from it. Someone could easily be inside still , though. The tree Bugge picked does brush against the house. It doesn't come upon any windows, but the peaked roof does have a window on it. It looks possible to climb the tree to the roof, or they could try a back door or ground floor window.
------------------
(Christmas)
Chris grins and jingles her keychain. "Let's head 'em up, move 'em out, pardner." She leads Kevin out to her Pathfinder, beeping the doors unlocked with her remote. In the drink holder is the ubiquitous travel mug of coffee, hot and fresh based on the aroma filling the car. Chris turns down the CD player and buckles her seat belt. "Okay, Handsome, where we off to first?" she asks, pulling out of the driveway.
Chris follows Kevin's directions toward the first church, sipping on her coffee while stopped at lights. When not stopped, Chris again demonstrates a cavalier disregard for such minor inconveniences as speed limits.
For two hours Kelia and Keighvyn drive through Columbus, looking for ivy covered churches. Kelia sees a side of the city she hadn't before, older residential sections without the energy or shops of the Short North or Campus. The discrepancy in neighborhoods is shocking. Literally a block apart are barely liveable shacks and multi-million dollar homes, separated only by a north-south rail line.
"The riddle said the faithful nod amongst the ivy or something like that," Chris speculates. "I think we might be looking for a church with either lotsa plants inside or perhaps one that does services outdoors? Or maybe that's too literal and just the building's covered in ivy."
"That's what I figured," Kevin returns. "But maybe you're right about the ivy plants inside, or the outdoor services." His face takes on a thoughtful look as he considers things.
At the first ivy-covered church, Chris grabs Kevin's hand. "See, honey?" she whispers just a tad loudly, "this is a beautiful place. I'm sure Momma would approve if we got married here. Let's go up to the alter and see what it'll be like." She pulls Kevin toward the alter, giggling insipidly.
Kevin makes a startled noise as Chris pulls him toward the altar, then realizes what's she's about and tries to fall into the role.
The wedding ruse works perfectly; combined with Keighvyn's uniform they pretty much get instant respectability. Four ivy covered churches in a row produce nothing but lots of 'What a nice couple' and 'When do you plan to get hitched' from the various church pastors and secretaries encountered.
The fifth church is nestled on a back street near downtown Columbus. A hundred years ago it was likely a major street, but it got closed off by the construction of the Interstate. Now, it's a picturesque dead-end street.
St. Mary's is a Roman Catholic Church, built around the turn of the last century. The stone work is old, and gargoyles stare down from the corners of the roof. There's only a small parking lot, walking in Kelia and Keighvyn pass a small shrine to the Virgin Mary.
The Church door is unlocked, the first such so far. Inside an altar sits at the front of the a large room of pews, though smaller then the previous churches. Kelia and Keighvyn both feel a noticeable change here, the weight of banality which rests so strongly elsewhere in the world is noticeably lighter here.
An old white-haired priest comes from a side door. "Oh, hello. Are you looking for someone, or have you come to pray?"
"Hello, Father," Chris says, all bubbly charm. "Neither, really, I guess. We're trying to decide where to get married, you see. His mom, well, she's made it known she'd prefer a Catholic ceremony. My mom wants a Methodist ceremony, so you can see our quandry. 'Course, my mom also wants us to be married back in Dallas, so it's all very confusing. Anyway," she continues on, barely pausing for breath, "would it be okay if we, you know, looked around a little? This is just such a lovely old church. Could we, you know," she says, pointing toward the alter, "see what it'd be like, during the ceremony?" She beams at the old man and hugs Kevin's arm a bit.
"Of course." The old priest smiles, "Look as much as you want. I'll be in the rectory if you need me." He turns and walk through another side door, pausing only to make the Sign of the Cross towards the Altar before he leaves.
"Thank you," Chris says with a giddy smile. "Honey, let's go stand up there, like we're in the ceremony!" Once up at the alter, Chris whispers, "The riddle said 'behind an alter.' I hope it's this one and not one in some storeroom somewhere." She circles the alter then drops her sunglasses. "Oops," she says with a silly smile, dropping to her knees to retrieve them and get a closer look, running her hand quickly around the base of the altar.
The church is very old, with beautiful stain-glass windows and lovely carved stone bas-reliefs showing the Stations of the Cross. There is a great sense of peace, of Holiness in the Nave as Kelia and Keighvyn approach. They feel ancient mysteries about them, but the feeling is not dusty but rather fresh and clear, almost like stepping into a cold mountain stream.
As Kelia looks about the altar she at first notices nothing unusual. After a few moments, however, she spots just behind the Sacristry a small door, only about two feet high and a foot wide, almost entirely hidden by shadow. It looks as if it has been years since the door were opened.
"Kevin? Lookie here," Chris whispers, touching the door. "What say we do a little breaking and entering. Or at least engage in a bit of naughtiness." She grins and tries to open the door.
The door opens with a little bit of work (it looks like the last paint job sealed it shut). The original purpose of the cubby hole is anyone's guess, but currently it holds several boxes. Kelia and Keighvyn pull them out and open them, inside they find old, dusty Christmas tree decorations.
One item stands out -- it's an old star, made of tin foil and old Christmas lights. To mortal eyes it is tawdry and dingy. To fae eyes it is lit brilliantly from within, shining with the accumulated glamour of hundreds of children's Christmas wishes.
"'Behind an altar now it lies/That was glory for children's eyes,'" Kevin says softly. "This is it!" He grins.
"Oboy," Chris says with a delighted grin, "we're gonna steal from a church. Goin' t'hell fer sure!" She quickly slips the star into her bag. "Let's scram, Handsome."
Kevin looks around to make sure no one's about, then nods. "We /could/ return it later," he says quietly.
"Uh-huh," Chris whispers indulgently. "Let's worry 'bout that later, though."
As they head towards the door the old priest comes out of the rectory, reading from a large Bible. He looks up, waves, and smiles. "Hope you found what you needed, have a good day."
-------------------
(Easter)
Jubair and Nutiket find themselves in an extremely banal section of town, the houses are rundown and identical, the main streets are flooded with typical American Strip Mall architecture. Adult Bookstores and strip clubs are prominent. The scenery imposes a drudging monotony on their thought processes which they have to fight hard to overcome.
Finally, after a half-hour ride that felt like two, they find the junkyard. It's quite large, easily a half mile long and a quarter mile deep they judge from I-70 as they exit the freeway and look down at it.
The gates are open and a large shop and parking lot are just inside. A sign reads, "Find Your Own Parts! Half-off!" Another reads "Hubcaps available, all makes and models" The store's open sign is out.
Nutiket looks around the area with a mixture of nostalgia and disgust. "Reminds me of home..." Nutiket pulls the car slowly through the gate and stops in the parking lot. He gets out, makes sure all the doors are locked, and tosses the keys to Jubair. "All right, Jake." He puts emphasis on the use of that name instead of Jubair. "I'll start looking out here and you check in the store over there." Jim walks down the nearest row, looking about alertly.
"Not a problem Jim," Jake replies. He hops out of the car and heads over to the store, scanning the area intently.
Nutiket quickly disappears from view among the wrecked cars. Rajabal sits tight on Jubair's shoulder. "This place is deeply in Winter's Grip." he clucks.
"I can tell," Jubair replies, shivering. "Hopefully we'll find what we seek quickly."
Inside the store Jubair finds an old man behind a counter surrounded by greasy auto parts. "Whata ya need?" he grunts.
"Just a few odds and ends. I'll know them when I see them," Jake answers politely.
"Well, find what ya need, then pay here. I lock the gates at 5 pm and release the dogs, if you're stuck inside, tough." He thrusts his thumb towards the door and returns to reading a dirty magazine.
Jubair starts to look through the parts and things that are there, searching intently for the item they were sent to find.
Jubair quickly realizes nothing even remotely glamourous is inside the shop.
Jubair quickly exits the shop section, looking concerned. "Well, it's not in there, and there's quite a bit of stuff to look through. At least we know it's in here - pity we don't know what it looks like or anything."
He lifts Rajabal down from his shoulder. "Rajabal, you've got good eyesight - do you think you could do a fly around the area and see if you can spot it?"
Rajabal hoots, "Yes, certainly. I'll find Nutiket first."
"Thanks mate. By the way, if you spot Nutiket, tell him that it wasn't in the shop. I'll be around here." Jubair watches as Rajabal takes off and then starts to look through the scrap piles for the object.
Nutiket continues to walk down the row, looking intently under hoods, beneath cars, inside cars and among accessable piles of scrap. When he finishes with a row, he loops around and walks down the next.
It feels like Jubair, Rajabal, and Nutiket move through the large junkyard for hours. The cold touch of banality seems to burn their souls, and both of the changelings force themselves to cling to pleasant memories of fae life as the search the grey iron wasteland. Rajabal actually begins to loose feathers, and finally excuses himself, winging away back to the Institute.
Finally, while walking along a row of heaps near the riverside hollow's edge, Jubair feels something, like a warm breeze in late autumn. Just a warmth but still a definite albeit slight lessening of the banality that surrounded him. Glancing about, he determines that it is coming from a red four door that wasn't completely crushed.
Meanwhile, Nutiket, walking a few rows away (he and Jubair having decided to stay within earshot when Rajabal departed), can't shake the feeling that something is watching him. Something... metallic judging from the occasional rattling sound he hears.
--------------------
(Summer)
As Tess begins to drive off after dropping off Brighteyes and Bugge, she looks back one more time, a look of worry crossing her face. She quickly turns to Mianderr, "Ready for our part?"
Tess drives through town, making her way to the waterpark. It's about thirty minutes from Hecataeus' Short North magic shop.
Wyandot Lake is a small waterpark, with a decent sized wave pool, and about a dozen slides and other water attractions. A boardwalk and a group of carnival rides complete the park. It sits right next to the Columbus Zoo, and is on the north west side of the city outside the circle interstate.
On this hot August day the park is very crowded, with hundreds of sun worshipers lying out or frolicking in the pools.
Tess puts a sunshade up in her car, and leaves the windows cracked slightly, before getting her sports bag with her towel and other summery things. "Well, let's go see what we can see," she says to Mianderr. She leads the way up to the line into the park.
Tess gasps slightly when the cashier tells her the cost for the two of them, but hands the woman her money. "First lets find a spot to settle in, then you can wander. I'll hit a few spots, but stay within' sight of our things. I'll let you handle the places that we're not supposed to be." Tess smiles down on Mianderr.
After walking around for a bit, Tess sighs, and points over toward a small patch of grass, that is only partly shaded by a nearby fence. "Best we're gonna get I suppose." Settling her bag down, she unfurls her towel, and lays it out.
Shading her eyes, Tess looks around, taking in the scenery for a moment. "Well kiddo," she says "Shall we get started? How 'bout you check out all the fun hidey spots you can find? Places where kids can get out from the watchful eyes of everyone else. I'll start hitting the public places, like the snack area, changing areas, stuff like that."
As Mianderr moves off, Tess strips of her shirt, leaving her shorts on. After a few moments of putting on some lotion, she sets down the bottle, and grabs her wallet. With a lazy step, Tess heads off toward the concession's stand, her eyes glazed slightly, as if her mind were not wholly on where she is.
The park is extremely crowded. Pop music blares from speakers scattered throughout, and kids run laughing and shrieking to and fro while there parents or babysitters (mothers, mostly, on a week day like this) sit and soak while gossiping with each other.
"It hangs there now long forgotten, Amongst the rags now all rotten," mutters Tess under her breath. "Well, maybe..." Tess walks through the throngs of screaming children and young adults. Passing the folks standing in line for their soda's and other junk food, Tess ducks her head down to the level of the window. "Excuse me," she says, catching the attention of an annoyed looking teen. "Could you tell me where the lost and found is?"
The young man explains where the lost and found is, his voice showing his obvious irritation. Tess thanks the kid, and sets off. A few minutes of twisting and turning to duck rushing kids, Tess makes her way into the office and finds the closest employee. "Excuse me, I need to look through the lost and found, one of my kids left his towel here."
The young girl asks, "Can you describe it? We're not allowed to let guests just rummage through the box." She points to a box on the ground; Tess can see at once that no dross is within the box.
Time: Afternoon Friday, 28 August 1998
Current Weather: Sunny Expected Weather: Sunny
Original summary by Paul Westermeyer; converted to HTML by Midori Hirtzel-Church