Friday: 06-21-2030: I wake up from my brief sleep. Looking around me, I can’t find the Stars. “Betelgeuse? Fomalhaut? The Sun? Good morning, I guess?” “They had to return to their celestial bodies, dear Ælura. They had Other matters to attend to.” “Good morning, Your Majesty. It’s good to hear from you. I’ve learned quite a bit from them. It looks like I’m almost to where my parents and the Queen are.” “You are right where you need to be if I should say so myself.” A singing, beautiful and ancient, far older than the song of the apple trees, such as I have never heard before, emanates from the crystalline trees, and only A Elbereth Gilthoniel may even begin to approach its clarity. I am then surrounded by a cloud, or should I say, swarm, of tiny lights floating on the wind. As they get closer to me, I see that they are tiny quartz crystals held aloft by big fluffy ‘balloons’ of a diaphanous material. I hold out my hand and one of them floats into the palm of my hand and rests there for a moment. “This must be a newborn quartz tree spirit.” “One among thousands. You are here at a moment none of your kind, mortal or immortal, have ever witnessed before.” “Ænahïta? Your Majesty? Mom? Dad?” “Come this way, heir of Tximista-Gudari.” I follow the voice deeper into the Forest, and after a minute, I see the outlines of my mother and father silhouetted against the glow of the tree spirits. “Mom! Dad!” I run into their arms, and we embrace for the first time in almost a week. “I’m here!” “She has been expecting you for some time now.” “Ænahïta, right?” A bright light shines from atop a hill, and a great tree with pink flowers like fire beckons to me. I approach Ænahïta, kneeling before her mighty roots. “Your Majesty.” Looking up, I see the little seeds budding off from the flowers and floating away in the breeze. “These are your children?” “They are, my child. Only for one day every 25 million of your years does this happen, so you and your parents are very lucky.” “How will they know where they are, Your Majesty? When they float back to the ground?” “My other children and I know every inch of this world and they’ll have been told where land is. There is something, other than this, that I want you to see, but for the day that I spawn, I must remain bound to my throne. I see you have the sacred diamond, the Star of Elysium, with you. I have seen its light from afar, but I have never touched it, for I must never leave the ground or even this world lest chaos invade.” The Queen extends a hand from her trunk to touch the stone and some of the older spirits bring me food and I sit down with my parents and watch the once-in-25,000,000-year wonder as the seeds float away into the sunrise on the wind. I show Mom and Dad the Star of Elysium. “Bless us!” I let them hold the stone and the Empress speaks once again. “Greetings on this auspicious day.” “It’s a pleasure to hear from you, Your Majesty. Lindsay has just joined us.” “I know. I just can’t believe we’re witnessing this event, something that has not happened since at least 12-13 million years before our kind evolved on Earth.” “It is amazing, truly once-in-a-lifetime, even for us Deathless.” I take a couple apples out of my bag and give them to my parents. “What’d you do, raid the fridge before you left home?” “Nope. I brought back a quartz crystal flower from the caves at the beach, and it had a song in it. Leaves of gold and silver blooms grace the apple trees. The Sun shines through their boughs like flames, fanned as the wind breathes. The flowers shine like the full Moon, guardian of the night. The fruit so sweet none can refuse, gift of the Divine. Then, just before I left the house, I found an apple tree in my forest room just as described in the song, picked the apples, and took the petals that fell from it and made this paste with them and the star water from the temple you mentioned during your first communication with me since you were taken from your bedroom at home.” I bring out the crystal phial containing the silver apple bloom paste and show it to them. “What’s it for?” “The Empress didn’t say much about it when I asked her, but she says its purpose would be revealed in due time.”
Silo wakes up and starts tickling Kyle’s ear with a piece of hay. “No, let me sleep.” With a mischievous grin, Silo then blows a raspberry into said ear, prompting a brief brotherly wrestling match on the floor which wakes the adults. “I’ll get you, Silo!” “Oh, I’m so scared!” “Hey, watch yourselves before you knock something over. Oh, and good morning, btw.” The boys finish wrestling. “Silo blew a raspberry in my ear!” Ida cracks up at that and she and Amy and Al go upstairs to get started on breakfast, Ida moving faster from her new feeling of youth. Buck then motions like he is also about to blow in Binky’s ear, only to be stopped in his tracks by her “nope!” and her giving him a look of ‘don’t you dare!’. They go upstairs where Ida, Amy, and Al are making scrambled eggs with shredded cheese and herbs along with bacon and toast. “So, how’d y’all sleep?” “Fine enough after seeing an urban legend in person.” “Guess we’ll work on cleaning up the cut-glass mess in the dining room.” “And we’ll finish up that new wall.” “And hopefully we don’t see any more BEKs.” Silo knocks his hand on the wooden cabinet, accidentally knocking the door off its hinges. “Oops.” “Oh, boy.” “Sorry, guys.”
Athena is in the forest, doing an inspection of the trees. Her wounds from the previous day’s altercation with the cassowary-demon were healed by Lyral’s medicine and as far as she knows, the spell she placed over the man’s property continues performing its purpose. She is joined by her two barn owls, flying over the forest canopy when she spots an object similar to the dark tree that stung Billy and it starts taunting her:
“̷̙̤̌O̵̱̣̜͌̓ḻ̶̑ď̴̮͒͠ ̸̮̈́Ȏ̸̟w̴̼̣̖̿l̶̡̺̭̽-̸̠̄̅͑W̴͇͐̓͠i̵̜̥͌͆̽t̶̠̟̏ć̶̙̐͊ͅh̷̐ͅ!̶͔͇̼̇
̶͖̋ͅF̴̓ͅí̷̫͉͋̇l̷͈͎͒ẗ̷̩̬̖́̅ḧ̴͉́y̸͉̓͑ ̶̦͙͗̅͝B̸͓̼̓́͂ì̶̞͂ŕ̶͙͇̥d̶̨͉͙͛͘-̷̲̞̫̅̆H̴̡̚a̷̛̘͠g̶̙͙͛̾̾!̴̰́̈́
̶̳͎̙̎A̷͈͛̄̀l̶͕͂̽̀l̶̤̮̎͝ ̶̟͚̩͑̏̔i̵͎̯̔͝ŝ̷̨̰̩̃̂ ̵̢̂̉ĭ̶̙̠̙͂ņ̸̩̇ ̸̳̏͛̈́S̵̹̈h̵̩͔̠̒a̶͈͆d̵͆͜ȏ̸̳ͅw̶͖̍̉!̵̘̘͎͊̉
̶̧͉̓̎̀Y̶̳̏́ȯ̶̢͓ṷ̷̘̻̎̕’̵͕̓̚l̸̯͋̍͝l̴͙̀͐ ̶̘͑̐n̷̤̲̘̚e̸̠͈͆v̴̡͇̬̆ḛ̷̝̓r̶̰̺͒̾̉ͅ ̶̛̻̩̽̈g̶̜̅̆ḛ̷̮̆͂t̸͇̻́̈́̆ ̸̻̍͌̾t̷͉̞̓h̴̩͊͝è̸̡̳̝̏̏m̴̯̄̔̐ ̶͚̇̔b̸̥̘̲̂̐͘ả̵͈̣̂c̴̥̘̩͛̐k̵̪͉̕!̸̹̋̉”̴͚͎͌ ̷̫͇̂
This sends her stumbling backwards, as though the sun was blocked out by sudden clouds. Regaining her footing, Athena replies:
“You dare invade this land?!
Spawn of Shadow Blight!
Speak no more this day!
Return to the void of night!”
This causes the thing to crack, and the wind picks up, making the tree branches sway wildly and the trees creak and groan.
The dark tree speaks once more:
“̸̨͓͚̓T̵̨̢̠̈̕ẖ̴͚͊e̶̺̩͒̕͝ ̴͕͘I̸͉̜̅̆͠m̸̦̣̰̅̾m̸̗̊́o̴͚̹̾̓ŕ̶̟̍ṱ̵̦͂̂͠à̸̠͌l̸͚̱̦̏͊s̶̫͊̓̀ ̶̳͍̽a̵̞͕͋̃ṛ̴̉͒͋e̸͂̋́ͅ ̴̩͕̫̏̅ȧ̵̦̝͌ ̶̞͇͒̑̈J̴̝̜̯̏̏ö̷̦͖̏͝k̴͓̅ḙ̷͠͝!̵̡̥͎̀
T̸̩̩́ȟ̷̻͉̜̈́̆e̸̺͖͒̉̈́͜ ̵̟̬̏̊̅S̵̨̥̚i̵̙͔͆l̷̡̗̣̇̇̌v̷͚͙̜̈́é̷̜͝͝r̴͉̹̒͝ ̴̼̂Ǵ̸̹̥̈́̇u̴̧̲̗̽a̸̯̩̥͋̉͊r̷̰̫͕̄d̶̗̲̖͊͌̏i̸̤̊͊̍ā̸ͅn̶̜̗̓̔̾ ̸͈͇̔͝w̸̩͖̾̈ȉ̵̧̉́l̴̤̯̈͜͝l̶̙̰͋̏̚ ̶̦͌͛̚f̴̡̞̍̑͝a̵̠̫͈̅l̷̞̿ͅl̵̞̟̔̐͑!̷̖̫͋͜
̶̦͚͒G̵̼̀̈̀i̷͈̬̔͝v̸̦̻͌̔̽ẻ̴̹̏͝ ̸̭͈̀̃ǐ̵̩̏͌n̷̰̠͍̾͠͝ ̶̗̪̀͠ͅt̸̼͈̦͛̍ö̶̡̞̲́͝ ̶͕̥̃̐̇t̶̙̐̒͝h̷̡̥̎ę̵͛͆̈ ̶̣̱̬͂̍D̸̹̰̱̊ä̴͔́̈́r̸̨͑k̷̪̝͐͝n̶̡̮͚̏e̴͉͒̒ͅs̸̜͍̀s̴̜̗̽̊̉!̴̻̗̈͘
̵̥̫̄͆̀S̵̩͝h̶͇̩͒ē̸͙͕͌̅͜ ̵̝̟͇͂̒w̶̢̳͊̔̔i̵̪̥̒͊͂l̴̦̼̩͋̾l̷̳̔̉͆ ̴͇̺̈́r̶̭̳͐̏̄ư̶͖̹̌l̷̯̻͔̀e̴͙̗͑ ̷̼͑͋ö̸͈̩̰́v̴̬̤͑̒͝e̷̛̜̙̔r̶̲͓̒̋ ̴͓̭͎̍̑̆A̸̖͐l̸̦̳͂̑l̸͎̳̯͑!̸̱̊̅”̶͍͙͛͑ ̴͔̦̺̇
Angered at the insult to her granddaughter, Athena answers:
“Cursed is the Darkness!
She will face the Doom as well!
Ælura will destroy her reek!
And bring them home herself!”
Athena’s final word shatters the dark tree and dispels its foul aura with a screech. She establishes a zone of protection for about half a mile in all directions. She calls her owls back down to her and flies with them towards the Beaverdam area.
Patience is also in the Forest with his tortoises, looking for anomalies near a creek. He releases them into the water where they look for any pollution. He then spots a dark tree. It then speaks a foul verse:
“̵̤̑Ō̷͍̊̏l̸̘̗̱̾́͠ḑ̷̇ ̴͇̜̻̇̾͂s̷̼̼͊͠t̸̺̋͒o̶̤͜͝ņ̷͚̜̿͑̚e̶̗̪͉̔̏ ̸̞̭̞̔̓̀g̶̹̐̓ę̴̟̭̇ȇ̴̬̈́z̵̳̔ͅe̸͍̅̏r̴̛̬̘̹̎͂!̵̩͚͌ ̶̘̔̈́
̶̠̜̼́Ċ̸͓͚̂̅ȑ̸͍a̸͇̽̈v̸̦͗̾̕ĕ̵̩̱͑ͅn̸͙͕̋ ̷̦͌̐͂s̷͈̀̚h̷͕͔̍ë̸̙̜̜́́͠l̴͓͆͆̉ĺ̸̤̭̓̔ ̷̡͖̩̀̍l̷̠̏ȗ̵̫m̸̜͕͙͑͋p̸͍̆!̶̻̜̼̀̉ ̴̗̣͛͠
̴͚̞̭͐̕A̵̬͉̜͝l̴̢͖͑l̵̗̠̈́̿͆͜ ̵̛̺w̶͎͑̊i̴͉̩̹̅̇͑l̸͕̻̄̍͘l̵͈͒̑ ̸̦̤͙͒͋c̸͕͍̅̅̋o̴͖̾̐̇m̸̪̆e̶̼͍͇͑̓ ̶̳̏̏t̴̙͈͔͗o̵̱͗̈̕ ̵̧͈̞͝n̴̢̹̠͊o̴̧̜͗ù̶͓̏̋g̴̘͐̀h̵͖̊̈́t̷̡̳̔̐!̸̦́̈́ ̷̦͍͗̐
I̶͇͆̏n̶͓̳͘ͅ ̷̠̏t̴̮̂̅ḧ̴̘́è̸̡͗ ̶̢̠̺́̈́n̶̩͘͝ị̷͋͊ḡ̷̞͋h̷̩̰̣̓̔t̴̻̞̋̌ ̸̘̤̼̏̆͝ẁ̷͍̼̑̌ę̸̨̐͋ ̶̳͆̉͜b̴̛̙̩͌̕ů̸̹̳̼̉ḿ̶̹p̷̫͎͆!̵̤̳̃̓”̵͕̟̑̉͝ ̵̝͠͝
Feeling the malice within, he buckles but then responds:
“You’re a fool to set foot here!
Now your time is short!
Be gone from this sunlit realm!
Your power here is nought!”
The foul thing is cracked and the ground rumbles.
It then speaks again:
“̸̼̐D̴͗̈́͜e̷̯̓a̵̱̤̅́t̶̘̯̰͘ḥ̸͘ ̵͔̬̞̃ŝ̸̨̠̞h̶͔̋a̴̠͂l̵̛̠͓̄͜l̵͔̰̏̚ ̶̲̀̃c̵̻̀o̸̝̎̓͐m̷̲̜͕̎e̸͍͍̓̄̈́ ̷̠́ͅt̶̙̗̔̚ͅo̷̥̱̅ ̴̻̊͒ą̸̌͝ļ̶̗͉́̈l̷͔̻̱̅̉̌!̸̮̽ͅ ̷͍͇̄̓
̵̧̊̽A̸͙͗l̶̢̝͌̉l̸̥̞͖͋̉ ̷͎͊̊̑e̸̛̓͊ͅx̵̖̤̺̄̍c̸͍͉̈̃̕e̷̗̫̫͑̐p̸̢̛̜͍̚t̶̝͇͋͠ ̶̤͇̿̀o̵̠̱̗͐u̷̙̽̒r̴̗̣͆̐ ̴͎͖̈͜Q̵̖̳͐̍u̸̙͌̏͂e̸͇͖͔͑͒e̷̛̖̮͖̊̕n̵̲̍͠!̶̩̰́̈́̓ ̶̩̞̆
̷͇̘̀͌T̶̘̱̏̓͘͜h̸͙͍̟́͘ė̸̮ ̵̐͝ͅŜ̷̲͛͝i̴̪̅͂͌l̷̢̥̉̒v̸͙͐̾ͅė̵̻ͅŗ̷̖̏-̵͇̣̱̅̋h̴̠͙̖͘ą̴̳͔͆̊́i̸̢̤̖͋͂r̴͖͚̲͝ę̵̑̌͝d̷̛̼͓̚͝ ̷͓̥̙̂g̷̢͓͑ì̸̧͝r̸̻͖͑l̶̺̳̟̀̍̃ ̷̰̇i̴̹̽͗s̷̹̈́ ̵̮̓͝n̵̖̞̈́ó̶̥̭̈́͠ ̴̢̬̃m̵͖̹̓a̵̭̮̬̓͝͝t̷͓̳̾c̷̿͐͜ĥ̴͙̙ ̶͖̰̠̀̃͝ḟ̸̡͇͍o̷͎͔̾r̴̢̺̠̓ ̶͇̪̋̐̈ͅh̸̢̏e̷̘̞̊͠ȓ̶̟̫͠!̵̩̈́ ̷̟̓
̷̣̯̀͌E̵̗̣̗͑́̕a̷̬͋͆̋ͅr̷̤̊̕ṭ̸̨͖͊h̵̭͐ ̴̰̱̀́͊ẉ̶͒̄̀ḭ̴̜̂ḻ̴̪́͜l̶̡̥̮̾͐ ̵̙̅̏͠b̸͉̈́͘e̸̹̦̖̾̽̐ ̷̮̤̜͆͘w̷͓̣̏͂̎i̸̘̠̼͝p̸̻̽̏̔e̵̡͚̩͗́d̵͎̘̙̏̿̈́ ̴̟̒͌͜c̴̩͠l̵͓̯̙̐̀̚e̸̯͂̕̕a̷̩̽́̋ň̶͍̰̿̈́!̵̤̘̉̏͛”̸̯̹͗̀ ̷͗̉͂͜
Angered this time, the tortoise god responds:
“My granddaughter is more than her equal!
She comes from heroes of old!
She will face your Queen and win!
Now succumb to your rightful woe!”
The dark tree is destroyed by his words and a screech goes up from the crumbled stone which is absorbed by the earth. Calling back his tortoises, Patience rams the ground with his shield, sending out a wave of protection for half a mile in all directions. He continues on toward Ashland.
Lyral is in the Forest temple with all her books on magic and she decides to attempt to recreate the silver paste, so she goes back into Lindsay’s Forest room and picks the petals from all the flowers on Lindsay’s tree. Returning to the temple, she takes some of them and tries to mix them together with the Star Water in the diamond bowl. She starts with one handful and massages it into mush with her hands.
TJ is being prodded towards the bottom of a vast cavern by a faceless creature. In response to being pushed, he swats them swiftly with his long tail, at which the creature swats back at him with its whip and TJ runs forward and down the slope to the bottom of the cavern. The walls of this cave are lit by the same sickly green light as the deformed trees in the dark forest, emitted by oddly shaped crystals protruding from the walls, stalactites, and stalagmites. “Fifty tons today! Her Majesty’s ships must have power!”, a dark voice booms from the top of the cavern. TJ sees a crowd of humanoids working the cave facade. “What does he mean by ‘fifty tons today’? Fifty tons of what?” “Shadow quartz it is, boy. My, you’re a strange one. Where’d they take you from?” “Earth. I am Green Cheetah, an immortal of the plant kingdom and of the winds. Are you and the others from around here?” “Nah. Humans don’t live in this place, at least, not by choice. Each time she and her spawn awaken from their long sleep, she sends her servants to kidnap people from all over this galaxy to work to death in the mines. And the reptilian natives of this world hide themselves on the sunlit side of this planet to ward her off. They must stay in the light, for it is the light of the stars that the Dark Queen fears.” The woman is interrupted by the shout of a shadow wielding something like a cat-o-nine-tails. “Quit your shrew mouth and get back to work! All o’ you!” The woman, a tall form with faded red hair, green eyes, white linen clothing, and large arms and legs, hands TJ a pickaxe and they, along with the other enslaved prisoners, begin to mine this Shadow quartz, a pitch-black mineral growing in the caverns within these mountains. The tall woman splits the crystals from the cave facade with the strength almost of a bear. “Where are you from?” “I am from the planet Vädi, thousands of light-years away from either this land or yours, presumably.” TJ tries his best to split the crystals from the cave wall, but while he is swift, his blows are less pounding and free less mineral from the facade. Nonetheless, he frees many crystals. He and the other captives pick away at the cavern wall, exposing yet more Shadow quartz. “How long have you been here?” “A few weeks, I suppose. Can’t really tell since I haven’t seen daylight since those Shadow gremlins took me from my bed after I was attacked by a darkened bramble bush.” “Was there a tornado when you were taken?” “Actually, yes, Cheetah. A very bad one, but it only hit my farm despite being very big. I always thought that never made any sense. That, and a Root of the Empty.” “That’s what they’re called?” “Yes. When you touch one of them, you’re then marked for abduction by the Queen and her demons. And this mineral is what the Roots of the Empty are made of.” “The tornado that took me only hit my house, too. I wonder where my sister Feline Current is. She is also immortal, the immortal of electrical power and strength, far more powerful of a warrior than me.” “Well. If I ever meet your sister in battle, I hope it is as an ally.”
Billy wakes up again in the fur-lined bed, surrounded by enough food for a banquet. An eerie female voice announces herself. “Good morning, little Crawford. Hope you will feel well fed.” “Who are you?! Why do you have me here?! I want to go home! I want to be back with my family!” “All in good time, but first, eat.” “What’s in this food? Are you drugging me?! Let me go!” A more calm and maternal tone takes over. “We have many children. More than can be tallied by all the wise of this Galaxy. But, not one of them is of the world where the Deathless once ruled from Seven Palaces and where people and Stars once communed in bliss.” “You brought me all the way here to heaven knows where to talk about some ancient history?” Rather than being frightened, at this point, Billy was starting to become annoyed. In response, a much less friendly tone takes over the Queen. “Insolent mortal!” The torch fires turn completely black with her demeanor. “We put you in our safest tower, in our warmest bed, with our best foodstuffs, and this is how you thank us?! How dare you, you ungrateful child. Your mother must not have done well if she raised such a rude little creature! You will tell Us where Our champion is!” “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I didn’t understand. I know nothing of the Deathless other than my neighbors back home. I don’t know where your champion is. TJ will come for me, and his sister, too.” The torch fires start turning white again as the Queen’s mood softens, but then the largest torch with the hottest flame starts acting strangely. The flame’s gray color starts rapidly “glitching” between black and white. Billy’s expression turns to horror as the dark, cloud-like form of the Queen seems to glitch with it. Before Billy can ask her what’s happening, she abruptly hurls herself out of the tower through the open window and crashes into the side of another mountain, the sound booming throughout the region. The torch continues glitching back and forth between light and darkness. He then tentatively looks out the window, but he sees no trace of where the Queen went during this sudden episode. “Oh, where are you, TJ?” Billy, bowl of rice in hand, climbs back under the covers, and now very scared and confused, tries to process what he just witnessed.
“So, what’s been going on in the woods today?” “Amy and Al told me about the dark pillars they found and then destroyed. Apparently, the objects spoke in wicked, couplet-like taunts about them and about Lindsay, but they responded with taunts of their own, the second of which destroyed the objects, shattered them. I wonder why you licked the bowl, Ida?” “I don’t know. I suppose I wanted to know what it tastes like.” “Did it taste like apples?” “Yes, actually, but sweeter.” “I was at the temple trying to replicate what Lindsay made and I couldn’t get it to the same consistency as what was in the bowl. I left the petals in the water, crushed them in the water, tore them up in the water, etc. So many secrets have been lost to this world.” “Did you lick what you made?” “A bit. I must say that I don’t feel that hungry. Did you feel full, Ida?” “No, just fifty years younger.” The other Crawfords come inside and covered with sweat and possible sunburns, they sit at the table. “Show me the lunch.” “Don’t be rude, Silo.” “Hey, Grandma. Still feeling young?” “Yep. Still feeling sweaty?” “It’s so hot out there.” Kyle’s tongue hangs from his mouth. “You look like a wet dog.” “Speaking of doggos, where’s Red Baron?” Then, a woof announces the approach of one particular St. Bernard. “Did he follow us?” “Guess he was starting to miss us. Weren’t you, boy.” Buck plays with the dog and the cats enter the kitchen. Red makes play gestures at Xena and Spock and the cats stand up on their hind legs as they sometimes do, and they play-wrestle on the floor. Red flops on his back and the cats knead his belly. Silo’s baseball cap falls to the floor and Red picks it up in his mouth and shakes it around. Lyral gets started on the eggs and Silo yawns with fatigue. “Tired already, brother?” “Yeah. That took a lot outta me.” “Should probably lie down for a while. Heatstroke is no joke.” “Like seeing BEKs, Kyle?” “Pbtpbtpbtpbt!” Lyral finishes scrambling the eggs. After eating a few bites, Silo goes to the couch in the sunroom, puts a blanket over himself and lies down for a nap with a cold pack on the back of his neck. Kyle and the others finish the eggs and go back to work and keep going until a panicked scream erupts from the sunroom which is followed by a cry of reverence. The others run over into the house and to the sunroom where a skeletal female figure with a deer skull for her head and a moss-covered ribcage surrounding a heart of green fire, her bones covered in mycelium and white mushrooms, and missing part of one rib hovers before a mesmerized Silo. “It is She of the White Mushroom!” Ida kneels before the manifestation. “Rise, Mother Wander.” “Patroness of Earth, help us! My youngest grandson was taken by the enemy. Tell me truly. Is he alive?” “He is alive, indeed though he is in the clutches of the Herald of the Horror. She wants to know the location of my un-father, the Uncreator.” “Don’t you have the power to fight her and rescue him?” Her eyes are aflame with the green light and more pairs of bony arms emerge from her form. “There are rules even a goddess must follow! Besides, the Heir of Tximista-Gudari is on her way to them. She must first find the remaining eight of the Nine.” “What can we do, Lady of the Mycelium?” “Listen, Mother Wander. In two days, I shall send my servant to the place where your grandson was stung and they will give their bones to your cause, for more Roots of the Empty shall appear in this county. Offer them the fruit of an Imperial Apple Tree and you will be able to make the Cure for the sickness borne by the Roots of the Empty.” “Thank you, Goddess of the White Mushroom.” The manifestation dissipates, leaving the group silent. “On Sunday, we’ll pick our apple so it’ll be fresh.” “She didn’t say when the servant would appear, though.” “It might be at midnight.” “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
8:00 pm. “Well. That was some good spaghetti.” “I agree. Very good, honey.” “Thank you, deer.” Binky makes antlers with her hands to her husband. “Oh, stop it.” They finish up with the dishes and Kyle goes up to the third floor to get ready for bed. As he finishes up brushing his teeth, he hears Lindsay’s phone dinging with text messages. He walks over to Lindsay’s bed and picks up her phone. Opening it, he finds a squillion text messages from Lindsay’s friends freaking out, asking where she and her family are.
The conversation follows: Kyle as Me.
Previous Episode: Written in the Stars.
Next Episode: Voices in my Head.
