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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 6287036" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>38x02</strong></p><p></p><p>After a few wrong turns and the dodging of a Sovereign patrol, they arrived at the northern pass and, not long afterward, saw a lonely figure toiling up the hill. When he saw them, he started running. Closer, he dumped his pack on the ground and ran faster.</p><p> </p><p>Grinning, he raced straight up to Mena and threw his arms around her. “I’m starting to think you’re really real!” he declared.</p><p> </p><p>Mena disentangled him gently. “Clayton?” she asked. “Or Aeton?”</p><p> </p><p>“Aeton, yes. I was giving the Sovereigns a false name for a while, just for kicks—anyway I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. I am so happy. Sixteen years, and I—is that beef jerky?” He was looking at Kormick, who’d been munching when he arrived.</p><p> </p><p>Wordless, Kormick held out the jerky. Aeton seized it, bit deep, and sighed, eyes closed. “Oh my. I haven’t had anything like that in—oh my.”</p><p> </p><p>“How did you get caught in the loop? What were you doing out here?” Twiggy asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Mmmmm.”</p><p> </p><p>“When you’re ready,” Kormick added.</p><p> </p><p>“Mmmm. Right. I was with a mining consortium. Scouting the mountains. Went ahead of my group, got captured by the Sovereigns, and—started looping.” </p><p> </p><p>Savina narrowed her eyes at him. “We mean you no harm. You can tell us the truth,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>Aeton fell still and stared at the ground. After a moment, he said, “I’m sorry. It’s—you have me at a disadvantage. It’s been a long time since I interacted with anyone without second chances. Can we say that my business was not my own, and leave it at that?”</p><p> </p><p>Mena knew she wasn’t the only member of their group who found <em>that</em> suspicious.</p><p> </p><p>“It is unfortunate to have secrets among allies,” she said. “We’re trapped in this loop, too. We would appreciate a mark of trust.”</p><p> </p><p>Aeton looked unhappy, but said only, “We were looking for something. We may as well call it a mine. I volunteered to scout ahead, and got caught. I think I was the only one in my group who ended up in the loop.”</p><p> </p><p>“All right,” said Kormick, “let’s change the subject—for now. Tell us, in all this time, have you discovered what’s causing the time loop? Any ideas about how to escape?”</p><p> </p><p>“I have a theory it was caused by the Sovereign head priest, Father Ozishi,” Aeton said quickly, obviously relieved to be talking about something else. “I could adjust the time of the attack a little bit by telling the Sovereigns to send out patrols, but the loop always resets a few minutes after they order the priest to fire up the defenses. I got loose once and shanked him—” Aeton cut a nervous look at Nyoko, seeming to remember that she was Sovereign “—but it still happened. I guess he has assistants.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who attacks the camp?” asked Tavi.</p><p> </p><p>“The Sheh. And just a heads-up, they don’t like outsiders. I escaped and made my way to them once. At least that was a <em>quick</em> death.”</p><p> </p><p>He paused, remembering. Then he shook it off. “Your turn,” he said. “What brings you out here?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve been following the trail of the lost Expedition,” said Savina.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re looking for remnants of the Sheh, too,” added Twiggy.</p><p> </p><p>“Research purposes,” Mena said firmly, hoping to cut off further explanations. Twiggy and Savina were being sensible by not saying <em>everything</em>, but if Aeton could be cagey, so could she. “Is there any idea you had for escaping the time loop that you gave up on because you were alone?”</p><p> </p><p>Aeton nodded slowly, his attention caught by the question. “Maybe… if we could stop the priest from setting up the defenses… Not in a sacrilegious way, you understand.” He directed this last comment to Nyoko.</p><p> </p><p>“I, too, support the goal of ending the time loop,” Nyoko said. “You need not fear me. Though I might propose that we first try options other than killing priests.” </p><p> </p><p>It was too late in the day to reach the Sovereign encampment before the loop reset, so they consulted their maps and settled on a better spot to meet the following morning. Aeton needed a great deal of reassurance that they would wake him up again. “As many times as it takes,” Savina told him. “We will not leave you here to suffer.”</p><p> </p><p>She was obviously warming to the man. Mena felt herself warming to him, as well. Aeton was surprisingly open, curious, and even friendly for a man who had endured the same torture-filled day over and over for sixteen years. The world was fresh to him—he greeted every sight and voice and taste with childlike delight. And yet he was also shot through with a deep, haunted understanding of cruelty and hopelessness. It was difficult not to want to believe in him, to help him. </p><p> </p><p>But <em>sixteen years</em>, he’d said… meaning he’d become trapped around the time of Rose’s birth. Mena wanted to believe that was a coincidence, a little joking twist of fate from the goddess of fortune… but Aeton wouldn’t tell them why he’d come here. </p><p> </p><p>For the rest of the afternoon, they meandered in the general direction of the Sovereign encampment, giving Twiggy a chance to search for more of <a href="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com/2014/04/welcome-to-art-of-sheh-symbolic-language.html" target="_blank">the mysterious trail markings</a> she had begun to notice here and there. </p><p> </p><p>Indeed, as the sun neared the horizon, she discovered first one rock, then another, carved with <a href="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com/2014/04/2-trail-markers.html" target="_blank">particular markings—especially squares</a>—that seemed to indicate a trail. If it was a trail, it led in the direction of the encampment. </p><p> </p><p>Mena noticed, then, that Arden and Aeton had dropped to the back of the group, well out of earshot, and were speaking intensely. </p><p> </p><p>Mena wondered what that was about. At the same time, she was curious about the rock markers. The number of lines forming the squares grew fewer with each successive marker, as if they were counting down. Were they indications of distance? </p><p> </p><p>“Getting closer,” said Twiggy.</p><p> </p><p>Arden and Aeton’s conversation broke up around the time that Twiggy found the next trail marker. Mena helped her copy it into their <a href="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com" target="_blank">growing collection of odd Sheh symbols</a>.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later Arden drifted casually over to Mena, offered her a fresh skin of water, and murmured, “<em>He knows about Rose.</em>”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 6287036, member: 82687"] [b]38x02[/b] After a few wrong turns and the dodging of a Sovereign patrol, they arrived at the northern pass and, not long afterward, saw a lonely figure toiling up the hill. When he saw them, he started running. Closer, he dumped his pack on the ground and ran faster. Grinning, he raced straight up to Mena and threw his arms around her. “I’m starting to think you’re really real!” he declared. Mena disentangled him gently. “Clayton?” she asked. “Or Aeton?” “Aeton, yes. I was giving the Sovereigns a false name for a while, just for kicks—anyway I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. I am so happy. Sixteen years, and I—is that beef jerky?” He was looking at Kormick, who’d been munching when he arrived. Wordless, Kormick held out the jerky. Aeton seized it, bit deep, and sighed, eyes closed. “Oh my. I haven’t had anything like that in—oh my.” “How did you get caught in the loop? What were you doing out here?” Twiggy asked. “Mmmmm.” “When you’re ready,” Kormick added. “Mmmm. Right. I was with a mining consortium. Scouting the mountains. Went ahead of my group, got captured by the Sovereigns, and—started looping.” Savina narrowed her eyes at him. “We mean you no harm. You can tell us the truth,” she said. Aeton fell still and stared at the ground. After a moment, he said, “I’m sorry. It’s—you have me at a disadvantage. It’s been a long time since I interacted with anyone without second chances. Can we say that my business was not my own, and leave it at that?” Mena knew she wasn’t the only member of their group who found [I]that[/I] suspicious. “It is unfortunate to have secrets among allies,” she said. “We’re trapped in this loop, too. We would appreciate a mark of trust.” Aeton looked unhappy, but said only, “We were looking for something. We may as well call it a mine. I volunteered to scout ahead, and got caught. I think I was the only one in my group who ended up in the loop.” “All right,” said Kormick, “let’s change the subject—for now. Tell us, in all this time, have you discovered what’s causing the time loop? Any ideas about how to escape?” “I have a theory it was caused by the Sovereign head priest, Father Ozishi,” Aeton said quickly, obviously relieved to be talking about something else. “I could adjust the time of the attack a little bit by telling the Sovereigns to send out patrols, but the loop always resets a few minutes after they order the priest to fire up the defenses. I got loose once and shanked him—” Aeton cut a nervous look at Nyoko, seeming to remember that she was Sovereign “—but it still happened. I guess he has assistants.” “Who attacks the camp?” asked Tavi. “The Sheh. And just a heads-up, they don’t like outsiders. I escaped and made my way to them once. At least that was a [I]quick[/I] death.” He paused, remembering. Then he shook it off. “Your turn,” he said. “What brings you out here?” “We’ve been following the trail of the lost Expedition,” said Savina. “We’re looking for remnants of the Sheh, too,” added Twiggy. “Research purposes,” Mena said firmly, hoping to cut off further explanations. Twiggy and Savina were being sensible by not saying [I]everything[/I], but if Aeton could be cagey, so could she. “Is there any idea you had for escaping the time loop that you gave up on because you were alone?” Aeton nodded slowly, his attention caught by the question. “Maybe… if we could stop the priest from setting up the defenses… Not in a sacrilegious way, you understand.” He directed this last comment to Nyoko. “I, too, support the goal of ending the time loop,” Nyoko said. “You need not fear me. Though I might propose that we first try options other than killing priests.” It was too late in the day to reach the Sovereign encampment before the loop reset, so they consulted their maps and settled on a better spot to meet the following morning. Aeton needed a great deal of reassurance that they would wake him up again. “As many times as it takes,” Savina told him. “We will not leave you here to suffer.” She was obviously warming to the man. Mena felt herself warming to him, as well. Aeton was surprisingly open, curious, and even friendly for a man who had endured the same torture-filled day over and over for sixteen years. The world was fresh to him—he greeted every sight and voice and taste with childlike delight. And yet he was also shot through with a deep, haunted understanding of cruelty and hopelessness. It was difficult not to want to believe in him, to help him. But [I]sixteen years[/I], he’d said… meaning he’d become trapped around the time of Rose’s birth. Mena wanted to believe that was a coincidence, a little joking twist of fate from the goddess of fortune… but Aeton wouldn’t tell them why he’d come here. For the rest of the afternoon, they meandered in the general direction of the Sovereign encampment, giving Twiggy a chance to search for more of [URL="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com/2014/04/welcome-to-art-of-sheh-symbolic-language.html"]the mysterious trail markings[/URL] she had begun to notice here and there. Indeed, as the sun neared the horizon, she discovered first one rock, then another, carved with [URL="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com/2014/04/2-trail-markers.html"]particular markings—especially squares[/URL]—that seemed to indicate a trail. If it was a trail, it led in the direction of the encampment. Mena noticed, then, that Arden and Aeton had dropped to the back of the group, well out of earshot, and were speaking intensely. Mena wondered what that was about. At the same time, she was curious about the rock markers. The number of lines forming the squares grew fewer with each successive marker, as if they were counting down. Were they indications of distance? “Getting closer,” said Twiggy. Arden and Aeton’s conversation broke up around the time that Twiggy found the next trail marker. Mena helped her copy it into their [URL="http://shehlanguage.blogspot.com"]growing collection of odd Sheh symbols[/URL]. A few minutes later Arden drifted casually over to Mena, offered her a fresh skin of water, and murmured, “[I]He knows about Rose.[/I]” [/QUOTE]
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