4. Discovery

What what this now? What did that storm do to me? This isn't right. This can't be right. It was dark and quiet. Very quiet. So quiet I could hear my heartbeat between my breaths. No wait.... there was something else breathing between my breaths. Or was it an echo? Wait a minute.... did I fall into the hole while I slept. Can't be. I'm frantically looking around as I reach around in the pitch. No walls! No anything... except that breathing besides my own. I crouch and start shuffling my feet forward. I blink forcefully a few times to clear the sweat from my eyelids. What? Sweat? Its hot... so hot! The air is thin. Steamy, in fact. Then I hear something moving. But I can't determine the direction from which it is coming. I'm terrified and frantic now. My hands reach into the darkness and only feel heat. My palms are sweating. I think my eye balls are sweating. other WHERE WAS I!!!??? Then I felt something very hot very near. Like an invisible flame. Nothing to see. I keep moving around but I have no idea which way I'm going. The heat.... it was behind me. I close my eyes and try to focus my senses toward the source of the heat. Then the other breathing seemed to be nearer. I was moving as well. Toward me. Oh dear! I opened my eyes... nothing. I turn my head around. Still nothing. I turn back toward my front and then.... a low rumble.... like a deep guttural growl. Gulp! I turn to move away from it as as I turn a set of glowing crimson orbs appear right in front of me. I was fixated. And suddenly the orbs move toward me. Slowly at first then in a mad rush the orbs headed right toward me and then something else..... A toothy maw opened right in front of my face with so much heat emanating from its breath and my head was enveloped.... ...I sat up with a start and a scream! A dream. A very bad dream. Thank the gods! It was just a dream. My heart was battering the inside of my ribs. It took some time but I stopped sweating and was able to breath normally again. I exited my tent to find myself still in the dead of night . The stars gave just enough light for me to see that everything around me was just as it was when I went to sleep. Remember when I said that I suspected my nights of peaceful sleep were coming to an end? There was no way I was going back to sleep now. I pulled my boots and breechers on and started a fire. I sprinkled some fire dust on some torches and decided to climb down the hole. I haven't been able to go down in a while. I was curious. All the rocks had stopped glowing. The ground was cool now. I figured the hole was dry so I wasn't worried about losing my footing. I dropped a torch into the hole and waited for it to hit bottom. Then I climbed in and made my way down without securing a rope to the surface. The familiar warmth of the hole was a comfort to me now. This provided a small sense of security. I needed that. Especially after that dream. Not to mention the freak storm and all that happened here in the last few days. I reached the bottom and looked around. There were scars on the walls and the floor from the lightening strikes. Some of the scars were very long. Rocks and dirt were scattered everywhere. The footing was precarious. Rocks were twisting under my feet. I jarred some more rocks loose from the wall. All these rocks were loosened by the bolts. Some were still warm. Some of the debris from the sky's assault landed down here. I found one of my pick axes. It was in tact too. As I was feeling around the walls I noticed one section was warmer than the rest. I started pulling out rocks from there. Rocks and dirt tumbled out readily. Then I hit a rather large stone. I tried prying it out but it was too large. I dug around it until I could wiggle it. I moved the torch so I could get a better look and noticed a large crack running along the center. I tried wedging the point of my pick but it was too blunt. As I was clearing more of the obstructing rocks I found it more difficult to hold a secure stance. It was getting too cluttered down here. I climbed back up and began the operose task of hauling stones up and out of the hole. By my third trip up the hole the sun was rising again. After the 6th or 7th trip I had most of the hole cleared. Cleared enough anyway. So I continued working on that large stone. I kept digging around it until I tug a trench around the rock deep enough to reach the entire length of my arm into it. Only now was the stone beginning to wobble. I kept prying it against the wall and after numerous attempts it finally slid out a little. So I continued digging out from under it and eventually it plunked to ground. This stone was massive! There was no way I would be able to haul this out. So I retrieved my mallet and started working on the crack. With each strike sparks flew. I was convinced this was something unique. No other stones around here sparked when I struck them. Upon closer inspection I noticed a spot where the crack was wide enough my small axe blade to be inserted as a wedge. As I was hammering on the wedge the crack started to give way. Slowly at first, then a little more. But I was growing tired. After some indeterminate time the crack was about half way around the stone. I wiped some of the grime from my brow and succeeded in smearing it along my forearm. I figured this was as good a time as any for a respite. I climbed out and washed as well as I could with rain water that I collected in some buckets. I went to the small woods agian and found a foul caught in a snare. Now this would be a good meal! After twisting the head off I reset the snare and headed back to my camp. By the time I arrived most of the blood had drained from the bird. I was going to cook this one slowly. I set up the fire and spit, plucked the foul and cleaned it. Skewered the bird and set it about a half leg over the fire. I relaxed a little while longer. I laid on my back with my head resting the palms of my interlaced hands. I was watching the cottony clouds drift lazily to the west. Eventually I made my way back down the hole and continued working on that crack. I crawled out after 30 minutes or so just to turn the spit. The aroma was growing strong and my hunger was growing. This would be the most significant meal I've had in alomst 2 weeks. The last hearty meal was at Maefis, a small down about 12 leagues from here. That is where I bought my gear and ass and came out here. I didn't have enough feed for the ass so I set it free after I arrived. I felt bad, though. I really liked my ass. He had an even temper and walked on a lead very nicely. Anyway... There I was... chipping away at this boulder. Progress was slow, but measurable. I started to get a little more excited when a larger crevice formed. I kept chipping and prying. As the cracked opened a bit more some of the torch light reached the bottom of the crack and something in there glinted. Like a gem. Good grief! What if this was some giant gem stone! Even my ass would have a hard time carrying this! But I wasn't about to let me get ahead of myself. A few more blows to the crack and I would retreat up the hole for some dinner. I left the tools in the hole and made my way back up eagerly looking forward to that foul! As I climbed out and dusted my self off I made my way toward the fire and I looked up I was dismayed! I have been discovered.

3. Rude Awakening

KRA-POW!!! The tremendous crash illuminated the whole area and jolted me up so fast I nearly got tangled in the roof of my tent! My heart leaped into my throat and breathing was suddenly laborious. Then again... KRA-POW!!! Another burst of light heated the air and flashed the silhouettes of my rock pile and tools against the tent wall. Just as I regained control of my breathing a third and even more forceful bolt slammed into the ground nearby. It was so close I felt the earth shake. It was as though the gods were hurling their bolts at me. I dared not move, as though any movement on my part would instigate another strike. My pulse slowed a bit and I slowly peered out the fly of my tent. There was a distinct scent. Rain started falling too. I looked around and noticed some of the rocks were glowing and cracked. I started to crawl out of the tent when a fourth lightening bolt gave me no warning of its intention and crashed right next to the hole sending rubble tumbling into the hole. The rain grew heavier. The wind picked up considerably. Despite the wind and rain I could smell something different. Like burnt earth, maybe. The tent started shaking in the wind. One of the corners began flapping in the wind and threatened to loosen all the ties. I laid myself as close to that corner as I could and tried to hold it down with a foot when the opposite corner loosened its tie as well and started fluttering. Now this was a time when I wished I was a bit longer so I could have stretched across to hold that end down. Then another KRA-POW! But this one sounded different. It sounded like a scream. As if a dragon was screeching. Eerie! Immediately following the screeching crash was the sound of rocks and tools falling back to the earth. Some shards were raining on my tent. I dared not move. The hair on the back of my neck rose, stretched out as if trying to break free of its hold. The storm intensified as it moved over. After a short wait there seemed to be no more bolts. I took the chance to look outside again. I was certain that just as I poked my head out another bolt would take my head off. It didn't. The rain was at a steady beat now. The wind departed, for the most part. I looked over to the rock pile and it was scattered. The center of where the pile was rocks were glowing and red cracks were visible in stark contrast to the black night. I stepped out of the tent and cautiously made my way to the hole. As I neared the hole I felt more heat emanating from its opening than I felt all week. So hot that I couldn't approach. There was enough glow from the rocks that I could just see how the heat wasn't allowing the rain to enter the hole. There was something of a dome around the mouth of the hole as the rain was vaporizing before my very eyes! Remarkable!! I had to watch my step. The ground was littered with smoldering rocks and debris. In fact, the ground was warm. Very warm. It was drying almost as quickly as the rain soaked it. My father never told me anything about this! I looked over to the east and saw the break of day just beyond the horizon. I looked skyward and saw only black. Thick clouds were dumping their rain. I imagined large floating giants dumping buckets of water. Slowly the clouds were moving westward, as if fleeing from the day. Funny thing.... there was no more lightening... not even west of me. It couldn't have been more than a moment long, but the storm seemed to linger. As if making sure that I knew it had passed. I knew. As day began to pour over the landscape the rain continued. I could see well enough now and the phenomenal dome over the mouth of the hole persisted. I couldn't get very close for the heat was searing. I have never seen anything like it before! I was stunned. My mouth must have been agape as I circled around the hole. Every so often I would reach toward the hole with an outstretched hand to see if I could find a cooler spot, but the heat was uniform. I looked at it from all angles. It was as though as invisible force was shielding the hole from the rain. It was like an upside down bowl with steamy hair curling back toward the sky. Amazing! I just sat and watched in bewilderment. I couldn't sit in any one place for too long. The ground was hot enough it became uncomfortable after a short while. I don't know if it was a minute or an hour, but for the moment time stood still. It had no relevance. The sun was well into the sky before the rain slowed. The clouds gradually cleared and eventually the heat from the ground abated. But the warmth lingered all day. I still couldn't get to the edge of the hole. I was able to get close enough to reach my hand over the lip, but the heat was intense enough to force me to withdraw after only a brief moment. I started to look around for my tools. I found the handle of my pick. I found half of a bucket. I found another half of a bowl. Most of my tools were intact. Some fragments sailed well over my tent another 50 legs away. One of my ropes was incinerated. Two of my buckets remained in tact. At least the largest one was one of them. My shovel blade was warped, but not to the point that I couldn't use it. After I collected everything (that I could find) I secured my tent again. I was grateful that my tent was unscathed. By mid-day the ground cooled enough that I could sit comfortably without having to shift my weight from one cheek to the other all the time. I felt like one of those lizards in the desert that only stands on two legs at a time when on the hot sand. I was so curious to go into the hole to see how it was. But it was still too hot. I couldn't believe how long it was taking to cool. Most of the debris was cool now, but some of the larger pieces were still glowing. Even at dusk, the largest ones still had a feint red glow. Before all the light was lost I check the traps again. The whole area of the nearby woods was completely dry. It was as if no rain or wind struck here at all. Odd. 2 traps were still untouched. Well, I had a rabbit the previoius night so I would make it though this night without dinner. But greater question loomed..... would I be able to sleep through it?

2. Deeper

I don't know how far down I am. I don't even know how long I have been digging. I just know that it keeps getting hotter the deeper I go. When they told me that some eggs are close to the liquid fire I didn't expect it to be this close. I'm actually starting to get thirsty. Soon thereafter, relief was coming. I was already far enough down into the hole that I couldn't see the daylight. But I could see shadows of clouds as the wind carried them in front of the sun. Now the clouds were thicker and the smell of rain slowly drifted to the bottom of my hole. I tipped my head back and tried to taste the air but I just got a mouthful of heat. That is when the first drops of rain trickled down into my hole. I thought this might cool things off a little for me. Feint little wisps of steam curled upwards after hitting the floor. Its as if they were trying to escape the heat themselves. A few more trickles made their way down. Then some more. I could hear the echoes of thunder clapping above. The trickles were gathering into small streams. Soon small puddles were forming around my feet. This is just what I needed. After 6 days of digging this hole it is filling with water and I have no egg to show for it! How deflating. I had to think fast. So I scampered back up the hole as quickly as I could. The way up becoming more treacherous as the walls became more slick. But I managed to crawl out the top in time to see the last of the sun duck behind a set of heavy clouds, darkening the mid-day sky to something resembling twilight. Small streams were now coursing into my hole. So I dismantled my tent as quickly as I could and covered the hole. I placed the heavy stones from the fire pit around the tent to keep that water out. Now I just had to wait for the rain to stop. I sat in the dry spot where the tend was and wrapped a blanket around myself as well as I could. The rain was cold. Very cold compared to the heat in the hole. As I was sitting there my thoughts took me back to my sister, wherever she may be. I peered skyward and hoped that she was sitting under the same clouds somewhere getting just as wet as I was. Maybe she was even thinking of me. I tried to curl up and lie down. I must have drifted off for a while because when I woke it was night. The rain was still falling and more wind arrived. My tent was fluttering in the breeze and some more water was seeping into the hole. As I was sitting there an idea struck me. But it was hard to see in this dark. I had no fire. There was no moon or star light. Only the occasional flicker of distant lightening. I figured doing something was better than sitting here doing nothing. I gathered some of the boards I had scattered about and quickly fashioned a makeshift bench across the top of the hole and then set up the tent over that. Granted, it was quite ugly. The top of the tent frequently drooped just enough to annoy me. But the tent was true. It didn't leak. And only a little water was trickling in under the edges. My little platform was sturdy enough to accommodate my length. Its times like this when I'm glad to be of small stature. My father used to joke that my mother must have been drinking ale while pregnant with me, that's why I remained short. Kea never failed to remind that I was not only her younger brother, but her little brother too. I chuckle about that now, but I wasn't always so good humored about it. So, here I sit, damp and nameless, short but strong. Holding on the memories of my family helps keep me warm. Oh, and yes: Have I mentioned that its dark? More than once I thought I heard something outside. Nothing too worrisome, but noticeable, nonetheless. I didn't bother to go investigate. I wouldn't be able to see much anyway. So I sat quietly and waited. It was still dark when I woke for the second time. But the rain had slowed to a sprinkle. I was a bit stiff from sleeping on the boards but at least I was relatively dry now. The heat from the hole had been drying me off. How convenient! I lifted one corner of the tent and felt a feint draft of rain-cooled air. It didn't feel bad now. It was a nice change from the summer heat. I crawled out to stretch and look around. As I turned toward the east I noticed the crimson glow of dawn creeping over the hills on the horizon. That was a good sign. That meant the clouds had passed. As daylight broke I rummaged through my chest and took inventory. There wasn't much left in the way of food. But I collected my flint and straw and some fire dust. I put them in my purse, strapped my purse to my belt and slung it over my shoulder. I made my way toward the small patch of woods a short way north of here and checked my traps. The traps were empty. None had been tripped. No meat for breakfast today. I plucked a few berries wild grapes and headed back to the hole. From the distance I could see some vapor escaping the hole. After eating a little I made my way down the hole to continue digging. I looked around for my gear when I realized that I left everything at the bottom in my haste to get out. Oh well. As I reached the bottom I was hot again. The water was up to my hips. But it was quite nice now. It was like taking a hot bath. I looked over my arms and torso and thought a bath would do me some good. So I removed my breechers and boots and soaked in this bath for a while. The heat from the water felt so good. It seemed to penetrate my bones and warmed my core. I felt myself becoming relaxed and rejuvenated. Sometimes good things can come from an otherwise unfortunate event. With renewed vigor I climbed out of the hole again and laid my clothes out to dry in the sun. I dropped back into the hole and collected the tools. I hauled those out too. Now that I had everything I began emptying the hole using my buckets. It took some time, but the water came out readily. Once my boots and breechers were dry I resumed to the digging. The last little bit of water was seeping through the rock at the bottom of my hole. The water softened the earth a bit. The digging went faster than it ever had before. I was making good progress and I became more hopeful that I would find an egg after all. But when? I must be deep enough. It was hot enough to simmer a sausage down here. I thought I might start cutting into the walls and stop digging down. So I started carving out chunks of rock and dirt for the walls of the hole. Its easy to lose time down here. With the softened ground the digging was almost easy. Large chunks of rock tumbled out of the walls with only a little prying. One by one I hauled the small boulders out of the hole. The pile was getting larger. I almost had enough rocks excavated to build a small shelter. But still no egg. As the sun was nearing the western edge of the world I stopped digging. I hauled my gear back up and made my way to the traps again. Two had been sprung this time. One of them had a strangled hare in it. Finally, dinner! I returned to the hole and prepared the fire. I sprinkled fire dust into the fire pit and ignited it with my flint and knife blade. It wasn't too long before the scent of roasting hare wafted toward my nose. My hunger grew as the smell thickened. As I was eating I checked the sky once more. No sign of clouds. Tonight would be dry. I set up the tent where I had it before the rain. I left the fly open so I could feel the night air. It didn't take long for me to drift into a peaceful sleep. My first dream was of my parents and Kea. I was a child again living in the new home I last told you about. Kea and my mother were collecting vegetables from the garden and my father was smoking his pipe by the fireplace. I practicing my reading at my fathers insistence. A stew was brewing in the cookery and the smell was very familiar. It was a pleasant dream. I don't remember much else. Soon I was in a deep comfortable slumber. But it wouldn't last. It seems my nights of peaceful sleep were coming to a rapid end. That's when it happened...

1. First There Was Then

The heat doesn't bother me so much. Where I'm from, it gets this hot all the time. So maybe I thought that was why I was going to try this. I'm not even sure if I'm doing this right, but they told me that sometimes an egg can be found down here. I really have no reason to believe them. After all, the Delkin are known to lie just make an easy coin. But after trying the swamps and climbing through the branches of Murl Forrest, I figured this has just a good a chance as any. Besides, it isn't like I have anything else to do anyway.
My home was razed in search of my father. Idiots. Don't they know he's dead! Damn Currs!
I was just a kid. Funny how quickly one grows up. That was less than 2 years ago and I feel twice my age. First my father was killed while trying to save me and my sister, then my mother took ill. My sister is missing. And on top of all that, I still have to find my name. Yeah... my name.
My real name, that is. Hardly anyone knows their real name. Most folks don't care to know it. Even most parents don't know the real names of their offspring. Some don't want to know even if it is learned by their child. I guess that is why there are so few. But I'm determined to become one. Even if it kills me!
As for this heat... I must admit that its more than I expected. But I can still tolerate it. I remember one year when the winds didn't come. That was the first time I remember my father moving us. He said without the winds nothing new would grow and we couldn't stay. So we gathered our belongings and headed north. It was so hot without the winds. My sister got mad at me because I didn't seem bothered by the heat as much the others. I guess it was a good thing because I didn't have to drink as much water as everyone else.
I also remember after countless days of traveling, seemingly toward nowhere, feeling the first breeze. It make the hair on the back of neck stand up. My sister stood up and stretched out her arms as if trying to hug the wind. I looked up at her from my seat and saw her smile with her eyes closed. I still remember that image. It was a moment of happiness after a long time of sadness. Leaving home is always sad. Believing that you'll never see it again, is even sadder.
So there I was. Nine years old and leaving the only home I ever knew. I didn't even know there was more to the world. I thought that was it. The home, the village, the rivers, the lake, the waterfall, the hills, and the trees. Those beautiful trees.
I think the gods forgot about Lehay. I went back a few months ago and there was just sand. No village, no lake, no rivers, no waterfall, not even the trees. And no wind. Still no wind. Even magic couldn't help. The sand drank everything. Everything.
It wasn't long after we felt that breeze that my father found another village and the folk were happy. There was water. There were trees and flowers. It was a lot like Lehay, only bigger. There were more folk and even some I never saw before. I remember seeing a Kile for the first time. My father told me not to stare. It was impolite. So I tried to look away but I couldn't help myself. I think he noticed, though. He stopped walking and looked at us as we went by. I tried to keep my head down but I just had to look. My father, mother, and sister were looking straight ahead and my sister squeezed my hand hard when she noticed I was still trying to look.
That was the first time I was scared of being someplace new. I didn't like it there.
After my father spoke with the Village Patriarch we continued for a short way through the town before turning off the road through some trees. After another half hour or so we finally arrived at the place where my father said our new home would be. I didn't see anything but a small field with some deer grazing. As if reading my mind my father lifted me off the cart and smile and held my face between his hands. He told me that I need to learn to see what will be there, and not just at what is there. I was only nine years old. I tried to understand. But I do now.
The next day folk arrived with many carts drawn by oxen. Too many to count. The carts were full of things for building. Lumber, stones, tools, sand, coal, everything needed to build a home. Over the next several days I started to understand what my father meant. Our new home began to emerge out of piles of rubble. My mother took Kea and me into the village every day to learn where things were. When we returned, the house was a little more complete. There were many folk, including my father, working from sunrise to sunset to build the home.
I asked my father if I could stay one day and watch. Or maybe help. He simply said that I was still a boy and a boy should spend his time learning. The time for working will come soon enough. I'm just now out of boyhood, and I already miss being a boy. I also miss my father, my mother, and Kea. I have to find her.
But first, I have to find an egg.