Midnight Quest (12 page)

“Elahandra gave me a blessing of strength that night,” Sarvell answered, ignoring her protest. “Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have made it. You’ve climbed a few cliffs in your time?”

“A boy gets into scrapes, does he no?” Rialt returned in a tone rich with amusement.

Sarvell laughed outright. Jewel listened to this give and take with some bemusement. They acted as if this were some ongoing joke. What had she missed?

“Careful, now,” Rialt cautioned. “In here, tree roots do no stay properly in the ground as they should, but peek out now and again.”

“Oh, this is going to be
real
fun to haul a crystal through. Rialt, for the love of the gods,
why
would your clan shove the thing
this
far into the forest?”

“Mind, that belike was no their intent. Like as no, they simply shoved it down the hill and it came tumbling down, gaining speed as it did.”

And no doubt carving quite the path through the forest as it went. Of course, after two hundred plus years, the path had long since grown over. Jewel extended a hand outward. “More that way.”

“We’re going to need every axe Ella can lay hands on,” Sarvell noted to them. “We’ll need to clear the path again before we even think of hauling it out of here.”

Rialt gave a grunt of agreement.

For a time they walked in silence. The sound of foliage slapping against the men’s legs was counterpoint to the rustling of the tree leaves, the sounds of insects buzzing about, and the soft trills of birdsong. Here, deep within the covering of the trees, no sunlight warmed the air and it became very cool and damp. Jewel found herself pressing closer against Sarvell’s warm back, regretting not wearing a thick coat under her cloak.

Without the feel of the sun she had no way of marking time. She only knew that they approached the crystal with every step until the feel of it became so clear that she felt like she could reach out a hand and touch it. “Do you see anything? I feel like the crystal should be right in front of us.”

“No crystal,” Rialt answered on a sigh. “Belike it be a bit ahead still.”

Jewel’s mouth tugged downwards. No, that shouldn’t be. It should be
right there
. “Rialt, describe to me what you see.”

“Too many trees for a man’s peace of mind.”

If he’d been close enough, she would have thumped him for that response. “Let’s try this again…Sarvell, what do you see?”

“A lot of trees,” he answered dutifully, “thick underbrush, with some sort of vines forming a small rise ahead. No crystal, though.”

A small rise covered by vines? “Take me to the vines.”

Jewel could feel Rialt’s eyes and Sarvell’s keen attention on her. “You think it be covered by the vines?”

“Like I said back at Ella’s, the crystal emits clean, holy energy.  Or it did when it first crashed here, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if it attracts plants.”

“Good point.” Rialt’s heavy footsteps became more marked, as if he had sped up his pace.

She listened intently as he went ahead. A thick, chopping sound filled the air, followed by a high ringing as metal struck unyielding stone. “Well, now. Jewel, your crystal be certainly here.”

A bright smile lightened her face. “Good! How covered is it?”

“Completely,” Rialt confirmed for her darkly. “It will be the work of a full day to dig it free.”

“Well, now that we’ve found it, we can go back to get help.” Sarvell stopped in his tracks. “I’m just glad we didn’t have to walk into the very heart of this forest to find it.”

“Eh, that be one blessing.” Rialt’s tone clearly said,
And we need all of the blessings we can get.

“Well. Let’s go back up and see how much help Ella was able to recruit, shall we?” Although she hadn’t the vaguest idea of how to go about finding more volunteers if they needed them. “Rialt, do you know of who else we can ask to lend us a hand?”

“Oh, I think that will be the easiest part,” Rialt answered dryly. “They be so twisted about your little finger, droves will come when you ask.”

Considering the mammoth job ahead of them, she hoped he was right.

~*~*~*~

It turned out to be exactly that simple. They ascended the hill again to the city where Jewel told the inhabitants that the crystal had been found. She let Rialt explain what the situation was, as she couldn’t accurately describe it, and then she asked for any help that people would be willing to give. Under Ella’s practiced leadership, a practical army assembled, armed with axes and shears, vowing to help the next day.

So the next morning, Jewel and her army of volunteers marched back down the hillside and into the forest. They set willingly to work hacking at the vines, all the time marveling at how large the crystal was, and wondering aloud how they’d get it back up to the crystal shrine.

As they worked, Jewel pondered the situation. Elahandra had not given her any hints about how the crystal could be moved. Her memory hadn’t brought up any helpful facts about the first priestess who’d moved a crystal either. The Thornock crystal had been easy to manipulate, but she had never tried to move it. Actually, moving it had never occurred to her.

With so many people, it took only half the day to get the crystal free. Sarvell carried her to the crystal, as the ground was so buried in bits of vine that she couldn’t hope to navigate it. Still resting in his arms, she reached out a hand and placed her palm flat against the cool, hard surface. It felt perfectly smooth against her skin, with no pits or scratches. Considering how many axes had been hammering against it that by itself was impressive.

With a surface this slick, hauling it out with a harness would be nearly impossible. She needed it to move, but how… Jewel froze when she heard the shifting of leaves and debris against the ground. Had the crystal just shifted? Sliding her hand down the surface as far as she could reach, she pressed her palm more firmly against the surface and moved her arm forward.

The debris rustled as it shifted forcefully aside. Some people yelped in surprise. This time, she felt the crystal move a good two feet forward.

“Jewel,” Sarvell’s voice shook slightly, “how are you doing that?”

“I—” she had to swallow, twice, before she could continue “—I told the crystal I needed it to move, so it…moved.”

From the long second of silence, Sarvell needed a moment for his mind to process this. Even then, when he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse with incredulity. “Are you telling me that it will move to your will?”

She nodded dumbly, amazed. “It seems that way.”

Rialt had to have been standing close enough to overhear the conversation as he bellowed, “Jewel can move the crystal on her own! I need men to clear a path! Fast and snell, now, do no carve a winding path!”

A heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder. “Well, lass, now I understand why Elahandra said no to worry.” Rialt let out a joyful laugh that rumbled deep from his chest. “Phew, it eases a man’s mind, it does. It might take the rest of the day to clear some trees, but it will no be
half
the work I dreaded.”

“Or near the fashrie,” she added with a smile.

He chuckled at her use of the word. “Or that, eh, or that.”

“Do you think we can have it in place by tonight?” she inquired hopefully.

“Eh, as to that, maybe yes and maybe no. There be some mighty thick trees to fell first. Still and all, we should have it in place again afore tomorrow night, leastways.”

That would still be a solid week ahead of the dreaded schedule they’d worked out yesterday. Good enough. She gave the crystal a happy pat, feeling like a heavy weight had suddenly dropped from her shoulders. Judging from this situation, the task of finding the crystals wouldn’t be
nearly
as difficult as she feared!

Chapter Eight

He saw it, but he couldn’t quite believe it.

Sarvell matched his stride to Jewel’s pace, one of her arms linked through his for guidance and balance, with a gigantic crystal trailing happily along on her other side. It towered above both of their heads even while laying on its side, casting a shadow over them. The Thornock crystal had a red tint to it, but this one had the clear opacity that most crystals would. Jewel assured them that it would change back to red when powered. Sarvell just blessed the heavens that this crystal didn’t have an odd shape to it but was instead a single column with a slightly pointed top and a curved edge to the base. Anything wider than this would be a nightmare to maneuver through city streets. The fact that this woman-child could haul what a hundred strong men would be hard-pressed to budge set his head to spinning. The fact that she did it without strain threatened to push his incredulity past the limit.

The crystal made scraping noises as it slid over the ground and up the hillside, leaving deep furrows in its wake. No one had any doubt as to how
heavy
the thing must be. Still, no sign of exertion could be detected on Jewel’s face. She had a faint smile curving her mouth, cheeks a little rosy from the cool breeze, but no sweat dewed her skin.

All around them, the people of the city walked up and down exclaiming to each other about the sight. Sarvell saw quite a few people crying, from either relief or some other emotion, he couldn’t always tell.

“There are a lot of people about,” Jewel observed, her words lilting up as if in a question.

“Yes, they’re quite excited,” he responded. “Some of them are even crying, they’re so happy.”

Her smile widened a bit at that news. “Well, after centuries of facing the Daath, I don’t blame them.” The smile faltered a bit. “I’m not dragging the crystal over any of the planted ledges, am I?”

“No, you’re fine.”

“Oh good. I was afraid that in their mood they wouldn’t correct me if I did.”

She had a point. In this exultant air, people would have likely thought that the price of the crystal being back in its proper place was cheap if they only had to replant a few rows.

From the city gate, Rialt came jogging down, a slightly downward tilt to his mouth. “Lass, we will no be able to put the crystal properly in place today.”

Jewel stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open in dismay. “What?”

“The crystal shrine has been left to itself these past two hundred years,” he explained unhappily. “It be nigh caved in on itself. We will have to tear it down and clear it away afore you can put that in place.”

Well. That certainly would delay things. Sarvell eyed the crystal’s size and couldn’t imagine where to put it in the crowded city. “So do you know where we can park this in the meantime?”

“Eh, I asked the city council and they swore by the time Jewel reached the top, they would have a place.” He reached out and patted Jewel on the shoulder with what he no doubt thought was a gentle tap, but made her knees buckle a little. “Do no worry. When I left, there were people snatchin’ up all sorts of tools and cheerfully hacking away at the shrine. Ella swore she would no rest until it was ready. I would lay odds it will be clear afore sunrise.”

She straightened her shoulders and gave a determined nod. “It can wait a day more. I’ll move it again when the area is clear. But they’ll have to build something around it, which might be difficult.”

“Not as difficult as hauling that thing would have been,” Sarvell pointed out. He felt like laughing for some reason at her concern. These people didn’t know how to quit—that determination had been engrained in them for centuries. It was why the Daath had never managed to conquer them. Building something around a crystal would no doubt be a lark to them.

Jewel started walking once more, her hand flat against the crystal’s surface. It followed her up like some sort of well-trained dog, coming to heel at its master’s side. Sarvell stayed focused on guiding Jewel up the mismatched steps, keeping her clear of the planted rows.

By the time they reached the top of the hill and the city gate, a tall, rather burly man from the city council stood waiting for them. Sarvell suspected him to be a relative of Rialt’s somehow—the prominent nose and pitch-black eyes were something of a giveaway.

He walked directly to her, clasping a work-worn hand on her shoulder in greeting. “Priestess, I be Broeske Axheimer, City Manager.”

Jewel released the crystal, letting it come to a grinding halt, and reached out to return the greeting. Being so short, she couldn’t grip his shoulder but instead settled for his upper chest. “I am Jewel Jomadd. I am pleased to meet you, Broeske Axheimer.”

“And I you, Priestess. We have found a good place to put the crystal tonight. I have come to guide you to it.” He leaned in closer to add in a confidential tone, “It can be moved to its proper place tomorrow morning. My word on it.”

A sparkling smile lit up her expression. “I have no doubt of that, sir.”

He gave her a reassuring pat before stepping back. “This way.”

The only clear space in the city turned out to be in the center courtyard not a stone’s throw from the shrine. She stopped near the fountain, head tilted as if intently listening to her surroundings. “Sarvell, how much room is left?”

Sarvell turned his head all around, estimating. From what he could see, the crystal cleared hitting any of the shops or businesses, but only just enough for people to squeak past. “Not much. People can move about and get around it, but it’s a bit tight.”

She nodded, unsurprised. “I thought as much.” Without a word, she turned to face the crystal directly and put both hands against it. Then, to the astonishment of everyone that watched her, she levered the crystal upright, walking and pushing forward until the crystal sat up on its base.

It settled with a deep thud and slight scraping sound, but did not wobble or show any signs of instability. Jewel stepped back and brushed her hands together, satisfied. “There, that should help. Do I need to move it closer to the fountain?”

Sarvell swallowed, forcing himself not to either gibber or gape unintelligently. “Ah, no, that gives everyone enough room.”

“Good.” She turned, seeking. “Master Axheimer?”

Broeske Axheimer had to tear his eyes away from the crystal and shake himself back into the present before responding. “Yes, Priestess?”