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Message: <blockquote data-quote="simmo" data-source="post: 1433468" data-attributes="member: 9744">Part 20 What Lies Beneathchapter 1 May Tomeri Keep You Safe in Her ArmsThat night Serena lay awake thinking about what Zakar had mentioned about the Garden. It was bothering her that she could not figure out what the crystals signified and she turned looked over to see if the hound archon was awake. Zakar sat quietly nearby watching over his mistress. She asked him to describe again the happenings in her Garden."There was a rain of crystals, some time after Roxanne entered the Garden. It seemed as if something was being asked of the Garden and it was responding." The hound archon had described once again what happened in the garden and the feeling that he experienced during the strange event."Wait a minute, Roxanne is in the Garden?" Serena was shocked to hear the news and she felt her chest tighten with emotion."Yes,” Zakar replied gently. “I had presumed that you had invited her.""Not specifically but she is more than welcome of course." Serena thought back to the half-elven woman who had helped to evacuate the orphanage in the port city of Haven before the modrons had marched through. After the mechanical creatures had passed through nothing remained of the orphanage or Roxanne."It felt as though the Garden was being probed or studied by something." This was not something that the hound archon understood or had the language to describe and he tried to convey his feelings as best as he could."Probed, by what?" Serena asked sounding concerned."By another crystal,” Zakar responded. “It was communicating with the Garden.""I'm seriously contemplating that this might be Nyon." Serena did not sound happy and hoped that the interfering god of Fate and Prophecy was not messing with her Garden."I do not believe that it was him my Lady." Zakar had met Nyon briefly and could sense his presence if he was nearby."Ah, interesting.” The seer let her intuition guide her and thought of another possibility. “Eliel?""My lady, I am confused," the hound archon could not follow Serena's train of thought."I wonder if it was Eliel," the seer explained."For a brief moment I had a mental image of a small creature with green skin, pointed ears and it carried many strange devices." Zakar's eyes were almost closed as he concentrated hard at trying to figure out what he experienced in the Garden."That would be Pic," Littleby pointed out."Pic?" Serena asked, not recognising the name or meaning of the word."The gobber from the Iron Kingdoms,” the dwarven scholar reminded his friend."Oh, when we were on the Princess Profiteer and he scanned the garden. That explains it." It finally made sense to Serena what had happened in the Garden. The gobber had probed the Garden with his three crystal apparatus before the jump to the Outlands, that had manifest as a rain of crystals in the Garden."It must have been a mental scan of some kind," Littleby mused."Yes," Serena agreed. "Zakar, I'd like to see Roxanne." She took hold of the hound archons golden furred hand and clutched her silver locket in the other hand."Of course my Lady, I will take you to her," Zakar replied. The locket grew warm in Serena's hand and they disappeared from sight.Serena and Zakar entered the Garden in the usual place, inside the orchard next to her cottage. In the distance she could see the crystal garden across the lake and the fields of barley nearby. In the other direction was a large hill with a dark forest on the other side. The seer felt something stir in the lake, but could not tell what it was.The hound archon led the heart seer over the hill, away from the lake and in the direction of the forest. Between the hill and the tree line were several buildings, some of which lay in ruins. They looked exactly the same as the remains of the orphanage in the port city of Haven. Serena could make out the form of a plump half-elven woman sweeping between the ruined buildings and she felt a lump in her throat at seeing Roxanne again."It's growing. The Garden is changing." Serena said to her companion."Yes, my Lady," the hound archon replied, unsure of how much his mistress truly understood what the Garden actually was."Roxanne," the seer placed her arms around the half-elven woman and embraced her in greeting."Lady Serena,” Roxanne spoke softly, afraid that she might be an unwelcome visitor. “I hope that I am not imposing.""I want to thank you," Serena spoke from the heart, genuinely grateful for what the carer had done."For?" Roxanne looked around at the ruins and sighed at the thought of all the work that she still had to do. She could not see anything obvious that the Chosen of Tomeri might be grateful for."For all your help,” Serena said softly. “For your bravery.""Oh, it's the least that I could do." Roxanne understood what the seer was referring to and felt quite self-conscious."No Roxanne, it's the most that you could do." The heart seer was almost overcome with emotion at seeing the half-elven woman and recalling her sacrifice."I did what Tomeri asked of me," Roxanne said."Yes you did," Serena agreed."Thank you for allowing me to stay here," the half-elven woman choked back her tears. The emotions of their reunion almost too much to bear."Of course," Serena said and she gave her a big hug."How go things outside?" Roxanne asked after a brief pause."'Interesting' is the best word for it," the seer smiled wryly."And the little ones, are they OK?" Roxanne tried to make the question sound casual, but she could not hide her concern."They are fine,” Serena reassured her. “Haven is being rebuilt. The children are being rehoused.""You haven't by any chance come across two halflings recently? Silvermoon and Kriskrafts?" The half-elven woman had sensed their presence from within the Garden and hoped that Serena had come across them. She knew that the halfling couple were a great source of strength and comfort to many in the faithful of Tomeri."Yes I met them in the infirmary in Ecstasy," the seer confirmed."They are good people, I hope that you meet them again." Roxanne smiled at hearing the good news."They are very good people," Serena agreed."When I met them they seemed to me to exemplify the wisdom of Tomeri. There is much that can be learned from them." The halfling couple had come to Haven some months before the march passed through. Silvermoon had recently finished an important piece of work and the trip had been in celebration. The halfling couple and their family were very popular when they visited the orphanage and Roxanne had been very grateful for their help."I only spoke with them for a short time," Serena said."I'm not sure if the others in the Garden have said anything, but now that there are four of us.” The half-elven woman looked over at Zakar who nodded his head in agreement, indicating that she should continue. “You have the choice whether to allow more people to enter it or not.""I think that I need to wait before I make that choice," the seer replied. She had not been prepared for Roxanne to be in the Garden and although she was very welcome, Serena wanted some time to think about what other souls entering might result in."We are also aware of a man who drowned.” Zakar shook his head, but Roxanne pretended not to notice. “You have his memory as well.""I do," Serena stated as she took out the black amulet shaped like a frog caught inside a piece of rock. It was the memory stone that she'd brought from A'kin, proprietor of the Friendly Fiend shop in the Lower Ward of the City of Doors. When Serena had explored the memory already stored inside, she'd found that it contained the last moments of a guard from Curst, gate-town to Carceri, who had been killed by his colleagues.</blockquote>

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