CHAPTER 48: Inspection

Ven sat at her workspace, still toiling on the conglomeration of shadow and water with nothing more than a bottle of glue and a set of tweezers. The eye on her face that wasn’t metallically inclined began to show some signs of exhaustion, the esteemed Chief of Shaydon’s R&D was now slouching and looking rather crooked after so much time spent working.

“Sister, we—” Eyve began to speak, unseen by her sister.

“Don’t you know not to interrupt me when I— '' Ven interjected as she spun around in her chair, her hand clenched around her set of tweezers expecting to meet the gaze of Eyve, fuming in anger. Unfortunately, she only managed to come face to face with Edrip, brandishing his staff, and Egred, arms folded. Ven quickly adjusted her demeanor in the presence of her colleagues, straightening her hood and standing upright.

“High Chief Edrip!… Chief Treasurer Egred, what brings you two to our humble laboratory?”

“I’m here to check on progress— see how things are put together, so to speak,” Edrip observed, inspecting his fingers.

“Not to mention, making sure this isn’t a complete waste of our finances,” Egred added, cold as ice. 

“Well, you’ve come at a… very opportune time.” Ven proclaimed, clearing her throat. She scooted aside to show the pair the core she had been slaving over. “This is the face of Shaydon’s future.” Edrip and Egred were confused at what they were looking at.

“It’s a clump of shards,” Edrip observed, side-eyeing Ven while Egred frivolously scribbled something on his clipboard.

“The compounded core,” Eyve stepped forwards to side with her sister, “is a revolutionary step forward for not only our military but also the very understanding of the core itself.” She grabbed the hunk of cobbled shards and held it up towards one of the laboratory’s lights as it glistened a beautiful blend of dark purple and cerulean blue.

“Poetic,” Edrip added. “But how does it work?”

Ven and Eyve nodded to each other. Eyve took the core to a nearby cage, this one thankfully vacant. On the way towards it, she grabbed a bucket filled with water and a large metal plate. As she stepped in, she placed the bucket in the cage’s center, plunked the core in, and covered it with the metal plate, sufficiently providing the core with an environment of sufficient darkness and water. Eyve hastily left the cage’s confines and slammed it shut, regaining her composure somewhat as she backed up next to Edrip.

“Now, the moment of scientific triumph.” Ven proclaimed, sticking her robotic arm into the socket of the cage. Bolts of electricity wreathed and arced themselves around the densely packed bars. Ven kept the voltage at a steady amount until the water inside the bucket eventually began to stir and bubble— A tendril popped out of its entrance, knocking the plate that covered it onto the floor, and a screeching of descending pitch and increasing volume soon filled the room. A new experiment crawled its way out of the bucket and slithered into the cage’s floor as Ven quit electrifying the cage.

“Inconceivable!” Edrip complimented. “You’ve conquered the very bounds between elementals themselves.”

“Thanks to their similar compositions, elemental cores respond heavily to electric currents,” Ven explained. The experiment began to slip through the bars, reconstituting itself. Seeing this, Ven upped the cage’s electric current one last time. It winced and screamed in pain, cowering near its bucket. “It’s also important to make sure the first thing they experience is pain and confusion.” She sneered. “While the shayd components of the core have their spirits sufficiently broken at this point…”

“The other elementals involved still have some fight in them.” Eyve interrupted. “But that’s why we have these.” She said, gleefully brandishing her robotic arm, crackling with energy a bit too close to Egred.

“Ye… Yes, I see…” Egred observed, cowering behind his clipboard. “Now, how exactly will these beings do… work for us?”

“What do you mean? Look at it! It’s marvelous!” Edrip said, raising his hands at the abomination, who was currently trying to eat the bucket it had spawned out of.

 “Yes, it’s marvelous, as you say,” Egred replied sarcastically. “But despite its admittedly impressive size and strength, it doesn’t seem to possess any capabilities of higher thought.”

“Well, yeah, we’re still working on—” Eyve responded, only to be met with Ven’s hand clasping over her face.

“It’s only a slight issue. Surely, this is enough of a marvel to continue receiving increased funding, yes?”

Edrip stepped towards the cage, scowling at the creature, who was still attempting to chew on the bucket some more. It finally managed to swallow it, only for the solid matter to pass halfway through its bodily composition of water and shadow. The clump of metal was promptly expelled from the side of the abomination’s torso and fell, clattering onto the cage’s floor. Before it could go after the bucket and repeat the cycle once more, it took notice of Edrip as he approached the cage. As Edrip stepped forward, fearlessly, eventually coming to the very edge of the cage, the creature growled louder and louder, until finally it lunged forward, only to meet the wrath of its prison’s electrified wall. Edrip, with his expression unchanged, looked down at it in contempt as it reconstituted itself.

“Egred has a point.” He announced, walking away from the cage. “This abomination shows no semblance of fear or respect towards anything but immediate discipline.” Edrip scowled as he turned his head towards the twins. “Fix it.” Eyve nudged her sister’s hand from her face to add another point.

“Well, we’re trying, but we’re in uncharted waters he— OW!” Again, she was interrupted by Ven, who had used a low voltage from her mechanical arm to try and silence her sister.

“It will be done. You will have your results soon.”

“How soon?” Egred prodded. “Time is star, after all.”

“Soon enough!” Ven scolded, stretching herself over the intimidated treasurer, hands balled into fists. “Our genius has yet to be rivaled. Surely you do not doubt our abilities this early in the process of a scientific breakthrough.”

“Hmmm… One week.” Edrip declared. “You’ve done fine work so far, but there are still improvements to be made with these projects of yours. Come along, Egred. Let’s leave our twin chiefs here to do their work.”

“Wait, bu— They’re nowhere nea—” Egred blubbered, only to receive a cold gaze from Egred as he stopped and turned back around to face him. “Oh, fine.” He conceded, leaving as he pointed his pen towards Eyve and Ven. “You two got lucky,” he sneered. “He won’t be throwing funds at your tricks forever, and when he stops… BAM! I’ll be there to—”

“EGRED!” Edrip shouted, waiting at the exit doorway. “Let’s go. We don’t have all day.”

“Er, coming sir.” Egred agreed, embarrassed as he caught up to the Chief of The Seven, and the two left the lab, presumably on their merry way to further business around Shaydon.

Once enough time had passed, and Ven was sure they had left, she snapped around and stormed towards the cage.

“An inspection? Ugh, the NERVE.”

“Right? Who does he think he is?” Eyve chimed in.

Ven leaned against the cage’s bars, staring at the creation who was lying down next to its beloved bucket.

“How’s progress really going on teaching them… anything?”

“Nonexistent. I was being truthful with Edrip, you know.”

“We’ve been around long enough to know that the last thing you want to do is be truthful with Edrip.” Ven tilted her head back in frustration. “We have a week to get these things to listen to us. Are you certain you—”

“Yes! I’ve tried everything!” Eyve rebutted. “No comprehension of language, numbers, object permanence, or pattern recognition. I can see it every time they get fed— they don’t know who I am or even anticipate the coming food. Let’s face it— they’re worse than animals.”

“Well, we can’t keep them in cages forever,” Ven muttered, returning to the containers of core shards scattered on one of the desks, but as she grabbed a particularly large shard of the core of an earth elemental, gazing upon how it looked grasped within her claw-like hand, an idea sparked within her half of a head.

“Or can we?”

CHAPTER 49: Water, Water, Somewhere

The Genesis Canyon was certainly a change of pace from the usual cracked badlands of Tunnelis, however, its welcomeness was debatable. Vast cliffs, steep terrain, and treacherous rock formations surrounded the trio at every turn. Jake, despite his size, was able to navigate without much trouble, slithering along the rubble the same way tank treads would, unshakeable and steady. He had kept a strange sense of calm throughout the journey, almost like that of a machine. It baffled Orsel and most of all Vino how he never seemed tired at seemingly any point. Sure he was an elemental, and a big one at that, but even elementals had limits. When he was moving forward, it almost seemed as though he was hypnotized. Orsel took the cavern’s formations as a welcome opportunity to train himself for the coming job, snaking across the cliffs and swinging from cracks with his crookshank, using the best of his abilities to keep up with the group while taking “scenic routes” above and below. He even made a game of trying to sneak around his friends, popping up when they least expected it, a tradition quickly put to an end when he almost accidentally spooked Vino into a ravine. Vino, however, had it the worst. His roots, usually tough enough to traverse most terrain, were practically rubbed raw from having to step around the uneven rocks and cliffs. He desperately kept his eyes peeled for water, as his third canteen’s contents slowly dwindled to half. The others offered to carry his supplies to ease his traveling, but despite their insistence, he refused. Even though he was tired, frustrated, and burdened, he kept on moving, fueled by determination, desperation, or some strange blend of the two. Whatever the case, he knew that forwards was the only way left for him to go.

After hours of continuing their long, arduous journey, the group had heard something odd coming from deeper within the canyon’s recesses, gurgling and steady. As they trodded towards the noise, they came upon an area that was much colder than the surrounding sun-baked stones. Not only was it a welcome change of temperature, but it meant one surefire thing… 

“Water!” Blurted out Vino. He scrambled and slid down the ravine, desperately trying to get closer and closer to the mercurial sound of the rushing stream he had heard. Jake and Orsel followed suit, making sure that Vino wouldn’t hurt himself. Eventually, the water entered Vino’s sight, with the only thing separating them being a sheer 40-foot drop between two solid rock walls. Vino tried grinding to a halt against the ground, but the loose gravel on the canyon floor negated any friction that would have helped him. 

“Oh, seed— help! HELP!” He screamed. He slid closer to the edge of the wall as he tripped over, flailing about and trying to grip something that would save him. Just before he went over the edge, he heard a loud CRACK!, and felt his equipment bag snag on something, keeping him still and hovering above the treacherous waters. Orsel had snagged the bag’s strap with his crookshank and began to hoist Vino upwards.

“Hang on, Vino! I got you!” As Vino finally reached solid ground, he ran up to Orsel.

“Thank you so much. I can’t believe that even happened.” 

Orsel dusted some gravel off Vino’s shirt.

“Are you alright?” he asked. 

Vino grabbed his sack, carefully stepped far away from the edge of the river wall, and bumped into Jake.

“I’m fine, but I do NOT want to repeat that.” 

Jake shambled down to the river wall, only to look down and whistle.

“That is DEEP.” He proclaimed. 

“No kidding,” Vino replied, pacing around. “But I need to find some way to get it. We should set up camp here.” 

“Might as well. We’re gonna need a lot of energy for the path we’re taking tomorrow. I’ll start digging.”Jake replied as he sat down. 

While Jake and Orsel bulldozed the ground and gathered firewood respectively, Vino stood frozen above the wall of the ravine, staring at the tantalizing water rushing beneath. His brain was working a mile a minute, trying to think of some way to collect his prize from below. He considered the facts— the stream was around 40 feet down, with a sheer rock wall on each side, made smooth most likely from years of erosion. There was an overhang above the stream, also made from hard stone. The water came from a hole on the left side of the wall, quite possibly from an underground deposit, and flowed into another hole in the upper-right side of the wall after traveling about 50 feet downstream, possibly into a different underground well. Vino looked into his equipment sack for materials and inspiration. 

Amongst his personal effects like clothes and some rope, Vino also found a troubling sight within his pack— one of the canteens in his pack had been broken. He wondered how this could have happened, but then remembered the cracking sound he heard while Orsel saved him. A day’s worth of water down the drain! He supposed it was a fair tradeoff for having his life saved, but he still debated on whether or not to confront Orsel about the situation.

“Hey, Vino!” bellowed Jake, sitting next to a tunnel and piling up firewood. “Camp’s all set up! Come on and take a break. I know you’ve had it kind of rough lately.” Vino carefully repacked his equipment and sat beside Jake. He slumped over and began drawing diagrams in the dirt. Jake began to make a circle out of some of the rocks surrounding the camp. “Trying to figure out how to get that water, eh?” Vino scribbled out his plan and began to make a new one. 

“It’s the best use of my time right now, that’s for sure. I was thinking of doing something with the rope I have packed.” Jake started picking out some appropriately sized logs from the nearby wood pile.

“Well, normally I’d offer to dig my way down, but we’re at the bottom of the canyon. Everything’s solid rock from here on out.” Jake replied, knocking on the ground to prove his point, “my claws don’t make the cut, unfortunately.” Vino pulled the coil of rope out of his pack and stared at it intently.

“I think it would be best if I went about this one alone. I’m the only one who needs the water, so I should be responsible for gathering it. It’s only fair.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Replied Jake, cutting a larger log in half, “But just know that if you need any help, you can always come to me or Orsel.”

Vino stood up and went back to the stream.

“I’m well aware.”

The plan was simple— tie a canteen to the end of the rope and dangle it down so it could fill up with water. It seemed easy enough, but the prospects darkened once Vino dangled the rope at its full length down the edge of the rock wall. As he guessed, it wasn’t long enough, only making it about halfway down. He tied some of his spare clothing to the rope, only to find that it didn’t add much to the length, barely making it about two-thirds of the way with everything considered. He then added the shirt he was currently wearing. Again— not much difference. Vino then added his blanket to the length, which was substantial, but still not enough to make it to the water. Even if he added his pants, the reach still wouldn’t be enough. It was time to face facts— he needed something else. He looked back at the camp to see Jake trying to light the campfire, with Orsel unloading an armful of firewood into the pile. Vino plodded back towards the campsite and went up to Orsel.

“Hey, do you have any long sticks in there?” Vino quizzed, leaning to look around him. Orsel scratched under his hood.

“I’m not sure any of the ones here are super long, but I did see a big branch over where I’ve been getting this stuff. You wanna come with?” His eyes darted down and back up again. “What happened to your shirt?”

“It’s a long story.” Retorted Vino. “Well, not really. Let’s find that branch and I’ll tell you on the way.”

CHAPTER 50: Rooted in Honesty

It was a short journey to Orsel’s wood-finding area, just up the valley around the overhang of the stream. A short, steep climb and a five-minute walk were all that separated the camp from an enormous grove of dead kracktrees.

“So that’s the plan, huh?” Orsel said, climbing over a rock on the trail.

Vino tried to hoist himself over the boulder as well, but then conceded to just going around.

“Yup, all I need is a bit more length to dip the rope down.”

The two were now face-to-face with the grove, with Orsel’s crookshank stuck out of the dirt in the entrance, greeting the two.

“I forgot I left this here. Hey, what if I just climbed down there myself? I bet I could fill those bottles in no time!” Orsel said, swinging his newly obtained crookshank around the air in excitement.

Vino walked up to a tree and started breaking off a branch.

“The walls are too sheer, and they get wetter at the bottom. Too slick even for you, I’d think.”

Orsel whacked the sharp end of his crookshank into the branch of a different tree. “Maybe I could make some divots in there to keep my footing. Or maybe you could add me and Jake’s clothes to your rope, or hoist me down so I could—”

“Look,” Interrupted Vino. “I appreciate the suggestions, but I just want to go about things my own way.”

Orsel’s massive branch finally fell to the ground after a few good whacks, before being surrounded by silence. Orsel then decided to break it.

“Vino, you know you can ask us for help with anything.”

Vino barked back at him.

“I KNOW, ALRIGHT! I just want to prove that I’m-” Vino paused and collected himself. “You said there was a long branch around here. Where is it?”

Orsel yanked his crookshank out of the branch.

“Vino, I’m sensing some tension. Talk to me.” Vino plodded away in silence, determined to find the solution himself. “Vino!” Orsel repeated. “Come on, what’s eating you?” Vino began to race-walk, his three roots trodding on the scorched earth, leading himself into a much denser patch of dried kracktrees. Orsel’s voice shouted once more through the thicket. “Vino, I wouldn’t go that way!” 

“Oh, what do you know?” Vino muttered. Not one second later, he lost his footing over the edge of a cliff, his foot lodged into a root being the only factor keeping him from a grisly demise. Vino sighed in relief and leaned fully back, offering himself some time to think of a plan. Unfortunately, fate demonstrated it had a plan of its own when Vino suddenly heard a cracking noise from around his root. ”No, no, no, no!” he cried, but just after the dried root gave out, almost as if on cue, Orsel’s crookshank swiped down, latching Vino by the seat of his pants. 

“I was gonna tell you, there’s a cliff over—” Before Orsel could finish, Vino let out an anguished scream, so loud it echoed across the expanse beneath him and caused a decently sized rock some distance away to tumble down the cliffside. Orsel kept Vino dangling. “So… Do you want to talk?” Vino tried keeping his eyes away from Orsel’s face.

“I suppose now’s as good a time as any. After all, you’ve provided quite an incentive not to do otherwise.” 

“I’ll admit, it is a pretty good motivator.” Orsel joked. His tone then shifted to genuine concern. “Now, come on. I know there’s something up. Ever since we left Lum you’ve been distant and moody, and you’ve completely rejected any of me and Jake’s help.” Vino now began to spin the other way and sighed. 

“What do you want me to say? That I’m no good, and you’re regretting taking me with you?” Orsel adjusted the crookshank so it was in a more comfortable position for him. 

“I want to hear the truth. I want to hear what my teammate and my friend Vino Seedowski has troubling him, so hopefully, I can help fix it.”

  There was a long pause before anyone spoke, the slowly setting sun and Vino slowly being swayed by the breeze. Finally, Vino sighed 

“That’s the problem. You guys have to come in and fix everything.” Orsel winced. 

“Vino, you know that’s not true.” 

“Yes, it is! Heck, this is the third time today you’ve saved my life.” Vino snapped. 

“Back at Lum, you two were the ones out there fighting off the raiding party, and where was I? Cowering in Hope’s throne room…” He slumped down. “Let’s face it— I can’t do what you guys can. You can climb up walls and swing from ledges. Jake makes us HOUSES underground like it’s nothing. You guys can actually do things. All I can do is think about what’s happening while it blows up in my face.” Orsel started to pull Vino up. 

“Aw, Vino, don’t think like that. You’re the most important person here. Without you, we wouldn’t even be out here. Think about it, who made the plan to bust out of Shaydon to get us all the way out here? You.” Vino grumbled. 

“Yeah, and not a day later, you two had to pick up after me after I went dehydrated. I’m not built for this job. I’m not tough, or strong, or a fighter, or anything. I’m a pansy.” Vino buried his face in his hands. Orsel continued to slowly hoist Vino up but stopped for a moment to puzzle. 

“Is that what kind of flower you are?” 

“Well technically I’m an aster—Oh, you know what I mean!” Vino snapped, lifting his head. “That’s what all this has been about. I just want to prove that I can make it out here, out in the real world, and that there’s nothing I can’t accomplish, no obstacle that cannot be conquered with enough intellect and perseverance.” he drooped his head back down, still hanging. “It’s just hard when those accomplishments have to stand up next to you two. You don’t have any of the hangups I do.” Orsel plopped Vino back onto solid ground, on the cliff's edge. 

“Vino, just because you need to do stuff like eat and drink doesn’t mean you’re worse than us. And don’t forget, we have our limits, too. This sun is like daggers on my body. The only reason I’m not collapsing from pain is because I’ve been building up resistance to it, and you will too, it just takes time. I know you’re sick of hearing this, but Hope told us for a reason. We're a team, we shouldn’t be afraid to lean on one another or ask each other for help.” Vino stood up and dusted himself off. 

“I know that, but what if I can’t live up to these expectations, or hold up my end? What if we fail, and I’m the sole one to blame?” Orsel scoffed. 

“What if the clouds let the sunshine through? Or stones could float? There’s no point in worrying about this stuff, especially not now.” Just then, the two heard tree branches cracking behind them. Orsel whipped around to brandish his crookshank, while Vino grabbed a rock and prepared to throw it. Jake breached through the path they were facing, nearly out of breath. 

“I heard screaming— what’s going on?” Orsel and Vino looked at each other, and Vino nodded bashfully. 

“Vino has some… concerns to voice,” Orsel stated.

The time passed, and the sun was beginning to set, painting the ground before the trio a bold, earthy orange, spattered with their long, twisted shadows. Orsel, Vino, and Jake made their way back to the campsite, each carrying a bundle of kracktree branches. Vino bundled his pile before it fell out of his arms. 

“Sorry, you guys had to listen to me bellyache about this stuff,” he claimed.

Jake spoke up.

“Aw, it’s fine, Vino. You just gotta remember, at the end of the day, it’s not about who’s the biggest or the strongest, the fastest or the smartest, it’s about who went out there and gave it their all, and I can say for certain that you’ve done that tenfold, for every day that I’ve known you so far.” Vino smiled. 

“Thank you, that means a lot to me, Jacob. I’ve just had to deal with the back end of a lot of things throughout my life. It’s nice that I can talk to you guys about stuff.” 

“Anytime,” added Orsel. As the campsite entered the group’s view, Vino heard the rushing water and remembered how parched he was. He rushed back to his supply pack and guzzled down an entire canteen of water. He then looked over at the project he was working on, and then back over at his friends behind him. 

“How would you guys like to help me out with something?” He smirked.

Vino’s new and improved plan was now in motion. Orsel, now cloakless, tied a rope around his waist, now further extended with Orsel and Jake’s garments. Canteens clattered around his body. Jake grabbed the other end of the rope, giving Vino a thumbs up. 

“Now!” Vino exclaimed. Orsel rappelled down the stream’s wall, reaching the cold water with rope room to spare. He made quick work of filling each of the canteens to the fullest with the clear spring water. Orsel tugged twice on the rope, and Jake hoisted him back up to the surface to celebrate with Vino. He took a victory swig while the others dressed themselves back up. The three, now triumphant, went over to the campfire, which they found was unlit. Jake scratched his head. 

“Huh. I guess I never got around to lighting the thing.” 

“Do we even want to stay up late enough to use it?” Vino punctuated. “Besides, you did say we should conserve our energy for tomorrow.” Orsel grabbed a plank of wood from the pile. “Are you saying we gathered all this for nothing?” 

Jake ducked into the burrow.

“Seems like the ca—” His train of thought was interrupted as his eyes met Orsel’s plank as he swiveled his head. Jake then slithered over to grab it from Orsel’s hand. He examined it, the plank was nothing like any of the other branches in the pile. It was a shard of something hand-made, with squared-off edges and a rusted nail stuck part way through its center. “Where’d you get this?” Jake asked Orsel. 

“Out with the rest of those trees,” Orsel explained. “It was just laying out in the middle of a clearing.”

Vino signaled Jake to hand him the plank, then began to study it intensively. “This must mean there are some structures nearby— possibly trail guides or path markers.” Vino tried dusting off the plank’s surface. “Looks like it hasn’t been taken care of for a while, though.”

Jake spoke his thoughts.“Tourist trap, most likely. Back in the Genesis’ heyday, there wasn’t a Terrian alive who wasn’t looking to make some star off this place. Tours, weird-looking rocks, tours that took you to weird-looking rocks— the place had it all. There’s probably a few shanties still standing since the crash.” 

Vino turned around to Orsel.“Did you see anything like that around where you found this?”

Orsel scratched the back of his head with his crookshank.“All I saw around were trees, but I can take you to where I found it.” 

Vino leaned the plank against the burrow’s entrance and saw that the peeking sun was half-sunk into the ground. “We’ll investigate tomorrow. It’s definitely worth checking out if it means catching a glimpse of a place that has experience with this canyon.” 

The trio made their way back into the burrow as the sun drifted below the horizon. The beds were a bit rougher than before, being more gravel than dirt, but they were still a decent place to doze off for the night. Just to be safe, Vino sprinkled a little extra compost onto his bunk to make sure he’d get the nutrients he needed. After everything that happened today, he earned it.