Search the Forgotten - Chapter Eight      I approached Skylar, who was shaking out some packs that seemed to have more dust than a flour bin.  "Watch this!" I said to him.  He glanced up and I whistled a brief series of notes.      There was the sound of thundering hooves and Red came from behind the barn.  He charged straight for us and just before he might have trampled us, he stopped in his tracks and reared up on his hind legs.  His front legs kicked out at the air before us and he let out an angry snort.      "Wha!" Skylar exclaimed, backing up a step and tightly clutching the pack he was holding.      I gave another brief command whistle and he dropped back down and stood there, calm as anything.  I walked over to him and patted his neck.  "That's a good boy, Red."  He snorted in my face.  "Sorry.  That's a good horse, Red."      "Uhm, that's nice, Arif," Skylar said.  He went back to check over the empty packs he had.  "Give a person a heart attack, why don't you?" he muttered.      "Sorry," I said.  "So...what are you up to?"      "Just airing out these packs," he said.      "Why?" I asked, back.      "Oh, uhm," he hedged.  "Orin...said something about...uh...the packs needing to be freshened."      "Freshened?" I asked with eyebrows raised.  Either Skylar was in an odd mood or he was hiding something.  I thought the latter was more likely.      "Yeah, freshened.  Dusted out.  Cleaned," he went on.      "Made ready," I put in.      "Yeah...uhm, well, I really have to get on with this," he said.  He shook the pack he was holding more vigorously.      Obviously, he didn't want to discuss it so I guided Red back to his quarters in the barn.  Orin was tending to Pany.  Since he was here before me, I figured he'd get done before me too.  But by the time I had Red all nicely groomed and settled, Orin was still puttering around near Pany's stall.  I wandered over and peeked in at him.  He was checking over his gear.      "Hi, Orin," I said.  He jumped.  "Going somewhere?"  I was kidding when I asked.      "Yes...uhm, well, no, uh...," Orin stammered.      There was something about that stammer that I didn't find reassuring for some reason.  "Orin, what's going on?"      "Well, Jae said that he...!"  Orin covered his mouth with his hands.  "What I mean is...."      "That's all right, Orin," I said.  "Don't worry."      "But, it's...," Orin began.      "It's all right," I said.      I turned and left the barn and headed over to the cottage.  As expected, I found Jae in the kitchen puttering back and forth.  What I didn't expect was that he was showing Lynna things all over the kitchen.  I've never seen him move so fast.  Lynna had kept up with him as best she could, saying, "Got it," and "Right," and Okay," to all the things he was telling her.  He was obviously preparing Lynna to take over in the kitchen.  But why?      The packs being aired out.  Orin preparing his gear.  A journey was in the offing.  Thinking of that brought a feeling.  Like I had to go.  Never mind the fact that I wanted to go.      I cleared my throat.  "Uhm, Jae," I said.  "What's all the excitement?"      "Arif!"  He looked at me as if I were about to lop his head off or something.  "I...uh...."      "You're going a journey, aren't you?" I said.  He nodded.  "A trip to...where?"      "Well, uhm, you see, it's just that, well...," Jae stammered.  I think he did it better than Orin did.      Something was up.  Jae was preparing to leave and at least Orin, maybe even Skylar were going with him.  Well, if they were going on a trip, I wanted in.  I stepped further into the kitchen.  "Lynna," I said, "maybe you can shed some light on things.  Everybody else seems to be having some difficulty talking today."      "Lynna!  You can't!" Jae exclaimed.      "Oh, poo!" Lynna countered.  "Arif, Jae has to go and get some more egootsirt root because Arthester can't go himself because of that experiment he's got going somewhere in his cave.  Arthester evidently used the last of his supply on you the other day.  Other than Arthester himself, Jae is the only other person here that knows what the plant looks like and how to harvest it."      "Ah, I see," I replied.  I could understand why Jae had to go, but I didn't see any reason for all the secrecy about this.  Still, a little trip to wherever this plant was would make a nice change of pace.  "I could go with you," I said.  "How far away is this egoosomething plant anyway?  A couple of days?"      "More like a couple of weeks," Jae said.  "Besides, you can't go.  Master Jalivay...."      "Can't do anything until you get some of that root," I interrupted.      "I was going to say that Master Jalivay said it wouldn't be wise for you to travel distances right now," Jae said.      I thought that was nonsense and I said as much.  Jae said that I should talk to Arthester Jalivay myself about this subject.  There was something about Jae's eyes.  For a moment it was as if they went from his dark brown to an almost lighter dry soil brown.  I can't explain it better than that.  It was just for a moment.  Perhaps that was a trick of the light.      I made my way to the cavern where I'd seen him before.  I called out but there was no answer.  I glanced at the work table where he was sitting before.  The vial with the swirling rainbow in it was still in the rack with some other narrow glass vials.  Most of those were empty.  The rainbow vial drew my attention.  It was fascinating.  The multicolored swirls moved and flowed and each color remained separated from the others.  I was about to pick it up so that I could get a better look at it when Arthester called my name.  I turned and looked at him and it took me a moment to remember why I was here.      "Uhm, yes," I said as my thoughts reordered themselves.  "Jae is going to get some of that egoo...."      "Egootsirt root," Arthester said.      "Yeah, egootsirt root.  Apparently Orin and I guess Skylar are going with him.  I want to go too," I said.      "Come with me," was all Arthester said.  I followed him into another cavern.  "You remember that apparatus I used on you the other night, with the breathing mask."      "Yes," I replied.  He wasn't asking a question.      "I collected your breath as you exhaled," Arthester explained.  "I'm hoping it'll help as much as the regular formula did.  Maybe reveal something that hasn't been revealed yet."  He motioned toward a chair.  "Have a seat and put your lamp on the table."      It was really his lamp from the cavern entry, but that wasn't important.  I set the lamp down as he instructed and then I sat in the chair.  It was wooden, much like the kitchen chairs. He brought over a flask filled with what appeared to be smoke or vapor.  He had the breathing mask attached to it and held it out to me.  I took the mask while he held onto the flask.  I glanced at him and he nodded once.  I put the mask over my mouth and nose and took a deep breath.  As I took another breath, I noticed that the glass tubes sticking out of the flask had small balls inside them.  When I breathed in, the balls moved one way and when I exhaled, the balls moved the other way.  It seemed to allow the vapor to come into the mask, but not to be expelled out of the short tube that would let air in.      I became dizzy for a moment.  After some minutes of breathing the vapor, I thought I felt...something.  But it was gone.  A little while later, Arthester pulled the breathing mask out of my hand.      "Anything?" he asked.  I told him about the brief dizziness.  "Anything else?"      "I thought," I began, but couldn't figure out how to finish the statement.      "What?" he prompted.      I thought back.  I tried to bring back that momentary feeling.  I closed my eyes.  "Tugging," I said and opened my eyes.  "Like a pulling almost."      "Which way?" he asked.  I pointed.  "East," he said.  "About, anyway."  He sighed.  "Well, I had hoped for more.  Still, we must take what we can."  He looked at me, his intense earthy brown eyes piercing and holding my attention.  "You shouldn't go.  It could be dangerous.  But you'll go anyway, won't you?"      I was about to say that I would.  He continued.      "No need to answer," he said.  "You will no matter what I counsel.  Very well.  I'd rather you stayed here though.  Whatever happens, just let Jae handle the egootsirt root."      "I won't touch it," I said.  Hah!  I'm going, I joyously thought to myself.  I did try to hide my enthusiasm.      Arthester turned around and put his flask and breathing mask on the table behind him.  The flask wasn't cloudy anymore.  I stood up and picked up the lamp with it's floating flame.  "I should probably go ready my things," I said.      "Yes," Arthester said.  "You may as well."  He sounded disappointed.  Or maybe he was just resigned to my decision to go on this little trip.      It didn't take me long to make my way back to the barn where I immediately checked over Red's saddle and all the equipment that I had.  Then that night after supper, I sat near the hearth in the sitting room and I took my sword and inspected it.  I tilted it this way and that to check it for nicks and scratches in the light from the hearth.  I took out my sharpening stone and worked on the edge a bit.  There was just a tiny nick from the last time I'd practiced with it.  Orin came over and sat next to me.      "We just didn't want you in danger," Orin said after a couple of minutes.  "Arthester Jalivay said it would be dangerous for you.  So...."      "So you thought if you could leave before I found out, I'd be safe?" I asked.  I gave the sword a few last strokes with the stone, then I put the stone back in it's pouch and put it away.  I held the sword across my lap and looked at my friend.      "Yeah," he said simply.  "If you stayed here, whatever danger that's out there that has Arthester so concerned couldn't get you."      "What if it was something that would come here because I'm here?" I asked.  "With you, Jae and Skylar gone, we'd be short handed here."      "And if whatever this danger is, is something that's coming for you, by leaving you'd be leading it away from Arthester and Lynna?" Orin asked.      Sounded good to me, I thought.  "Exactly," I said to Orin.  I was smiling.  If he bought this reason then I could use it again if any of the others questioned my decision.      "That's a lot of bull, you know," he said a moment later.      I smiled again and shrugged.  Then I put my sword back in it's scabbard. - = - = -      The next morning, we all got up early.  Lynna had made us a big breakfast and afterward, we readied the horses and the packs.  Lynna had given us all hugs and Arthester had warned us to be careful.  We hugged Lynna back and said we'd certainly be careful and not to worry.  We were only going after some plant roots, after all.  What could happen?      We traveled generally north and slightly east, heading toward the snow capped mountains at an angle.  Due to a curve in the mountain range, we'll be heading away from mountains to reach the mountains.  The shortest distance between two points while walking, according to Jae, was a straight line.  Jae said that the egootsirt plant grew in only a few places and all of them were mountainous.  Arthester had taken him to the place we were heading to some years earlier.  They'd only harvested a couple plants at the time as there really wasn't much cause for it's properties in the most common of potions.      It was near dark when we made our first camp.  We'd made good time that day and everyone was pleased.  Skylar suggested that we should take turns at watch during the night.  No one argued.  I don't know about the others, but at Skylar's suggestion, I did think of Arthester's warning of danger.  I wasn't going to argue.  I was just glad that I got to come along.      The night was quiet.  Skylar woke me for third watch, Jae having taken the first.      "It's all quiet," Skylar whispered.      "Good," I whispered back.      He put a few sticks on our fire, more for some little light than heat, and then he laid on the ground and made himself comfortable.      I moved a few paces away and sat down.      The night was pleasant with a gentle breeze out of the west.  The sky was clear and the stars were bright.  I glanced to the east.  Somewhere out there, I have a brother.  Apparently an older brother.  Did he wonder where I was?  Did I have more family than one brother?  A father?  A mother?  A sister maybe?      A headache started and I looked up and counted stars.  The headache faded.  It was going to be a long night. - = - = - Return to top of page. Chapter Nine     I...uhm...don't think I'm ready for email yet.    ;-) But that doesn't mean you can't try and send me a note! Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004 B. J. Miller Jr. All Rights Reserved