Chapter Six
Mysteries Unveiled
Roric stepped into his study and approaching the desk he turned the statue of the rearing stallion a quarter turn and the study became secure, as the doors were blocked by bars of steal that rose up from the floor.
Roric fingered the ornateness of the carved stallion, as he thought back to his grandfather, the crafty old rascal that he had been.
It had been twelve years now since Thaddeus had gone to be home with his Creator. But before he had left he had dumped one more secret on the shoulders of his capable grandson. Roric remembered back to that fateful day.
Thaddeus pushed himself off the bed slightly, “Are we alone my boy?”
“No one else is hear grandfather.”
Thaddeus had then gathered his dwindling strength and said almost desperately, “Remember the Attorgron forest, cannibal village, the technology you destroyed?”
“Yes I do?”
“That was the junk. It was just a diversion from the real stuff. It worked too!”
“Grandfather are you saying you lied to me?”
Thaddeus had paused then looking pained, “I’m sorry Roric! I should have told you sooner than now, but I wanted you to stay unburdened, as long as possible from everything I know.”
Thaddeus had seemed to fade then, “Grandfather stay with me! What did you not tell me?”
Thaddeus’s eyes flew open and he reached up to grasp a hold of Roric’s arm, “In the study there is another entrance. It’s under the desk. You turn the dial the opposite way to unlock it! When you reach the end of the hall recite our family creed or you will be killed!”
Thaddeus sank back to the bed exhausted and Roric let him rest for a moment.
“Thaddeus are you saying there’s still more technology to be destroyed and it’s here at Thunder Ridge?”
Thaddeus shook his head yes, “Lots of it, Roric! The whole mountain is full of it, but you can’t destroy it. There are ships!”
“In the mountain?” Roric asked incredulously.
“No, the ones at the shrine. You’ll be able to access them now though.”
“What else is there in the mountain? Is that all grandfather?”
Thaddeus was fading fast, he looked up at Roric and Roric leaned down to hear what he had to say, “No, in the mountain there’s something bigger, much bigger. I leave everything to you now son. I know you’ll do what’s right. You can trust the keeper. She’ll lead you straight Roric. Stay true to your faith boy it’s the only thing that counts! I love you…..”
Thaddeus’s eyes closed. He had died two days later never regaining consciousness. His funeral was the most mourned and attended gathering of Valley Landers that had been seen for generations.
The old man had left quite a legacy for his grandson to fill. Roric had gone down the tunnel beneath the desk and had entered the inner part of the mountain.
After seeing for himself the truth of his grandfather’s last words he had never returned until the past week, when he had spent the bulk of every day within the vault inside the mountain.
Roric counterturned the stallion figure on the desk and then pushed on the corner of one end of the massive desk. The entire desk pivoted away on one leg to reveal a staircase leading downward steeply.
He had always thought that he had felt a draft on his feet while seated at the desk. Turns out there was a reason for the draft.
He started down the stairs. There was no light except for the candle that he carried with him. The first time he had come down the tunnel it had been strung full of cobwebs.
That would have put a stop to Krista’s exploration right then. She did not care for spiders one bit. He had cleaned out all the cobwebs earlier this week with a torch.
The tunnel evened out into an evenly graded downhill slope that was easy to manage. He had no idea how such a passage had been made through solid rock. The walls were as flat as paper, as was the roof. The floor was slightly rougher to prevent slipping.
It took roughly fifteen minutes to reach the wall that blocked the tunnel. At the ceiling there was a single red light that glowed. It would start to flash and he always took that as a warning to recite the family creed as quickly as possible.
Once the creed was said the light would turn green and the wall of stone would disappear into a shimmering veil. All that was left to do was to step through the portal.
He stepped into a world that was completely foreign to him. The darkness was lit up by the ambient glow of thousands of little glowing lights.
Within seconds of entering the room the magical lights would come on illuminating the space entirely, as if it was exposed to daylight. Displays that seemed to be presented on liquid crystal lit up in gleaming color with signs that were foreign to him.
The architecture was hard to get used to. There was no stone or wood, but only gleaming metal and glass and painted surfaces of wondrous color selection. Everything within this vault was hard to get used to, he may never get used to it. But he had to learn what he could of it in order to provide a way to save his people.
As had happened every time previously a figure appeared, the keeper. It was a young woman, dressed in clothing unfamiliar to Roric.
The first time she had appeared out of nowhere he had drawn his sword ready to strike at the phantom, but she had called out to him, “Please sir I mean you no harm! I am not a real person, but rather an image projected by technology, whose sole purpose is to assist you as the guardian of this place.”
He had lowered his sword and she had come closer smiling warmly, “Now who might the new guardian of Thunder Ridge be, if I may be so bold as to ask?”
“Roric Ta’lont.”
“You would be Thaddeus’s grandson?”
He had nodded yes.
“It is glad that I am to see that he found you. It was one of his greatest ambitions in life.”
Her face grew very sad then, “I will miss our long talks, may his soul rest for truly he was a great man.”
“Did he come here often?”
“Not at first, but after the death of his wife he needed someone to talk to. I tried to help him as best as I could by being an outlet for his grief.”
Roric had starred at her not knowing what was to come next at the time.
“Shall I give you a tour of the place?” She asked.
That first meeting with the keeper had been twelve years ago now. Earlier this week, when he had come back she had simply greeted him with, “The years have been kind to you Roric. How may I help you?”
He gotten right down to it, “Is there a way for me to learn how to work this technology?” He had asked gesturing to the room in general.
“Absolutely. I’ve written several tutorials for just such a request. I will show you them. At first it will be hard to grasp the complexity of the past, but with dedication and a little work there is no reason that you cannot become as well versed as your forefathers before you, who created all that you see.”
Her openness had been surprising.
“You don’t mind me learning about how all this works?”
A look of deep understanding came into her face, “The decision to limit the knowledge of the ancestors to the people was made because of mistakes made in the past that the ancestors hoped to not repeat. My personal opinion derived after much analytically based logic is that whether man has advanced technology or does not, the likely hood of mistakes being made is the same. You as the guardian of this place have the power to do as you wish with the knowledge contained here.”
“You must have a doubtful view as to the integrity of your masters to do the right thing given the course of human history. We as humans are imperfect at best and monsters at our worst. Do you find it hard to except the possibility that one bad ruler could ruin it for all?”
She smiled, “Does the clay have the right to say to the potter why have you made me thus? As the clay has no voice in the manner of its depiction, neither do I. My purpose is to serve and not govern.”
Roric smiled, “It would appear then at least on the surface that you as a machine are perfect in your ways.”
“In the ability to perform a task perhaps, but tasks often require decisions to be made that defy the logic of my reasoning and yet they are often correct and I am thus, but an imperfect tool subject to the curse that all creation is afflicted by. Now I will show you to the room in which I have prepared your tutorial.”
“Do you have a name.”
“I do, but it is a cumbersome one by today’s standards. One of your ancestor guardians got in to the habit of calling me Abby. The name has seemed to stick over the years with my other masters.”
“Abby it is then.” Roric had intoned following her from the central room.
As Roric entered the vault room today Abby was there waiting to greet him as usual. It seemed though today that she had a question.
“Is there something you wish to ask me?” Roric asked.
She smiled, “You are indeed very perceptive. I wanted to ask if I could be of some further assistance to you than mere tutorials. You seem greatly concerned about something and you have thrown yourself into learning your ancestor’s technology like none other before you. It appears as if you are in search of something. Forgive me if I presume too much in the asking of your business.”
Roric sat down on a seat that had wheels and unburdened to Abby the struggle he was faced with, as the leader of a people going wayward, as evil grew more established in their hearts. When he had finished he waited to see what she would have to say.
“Roric there exists in these halls the power to destroy all your enemies, but I fear it would not accomplish much. It seems that evil finds a way to work its dark charm no matter the chastisement against it in the hearts of man.”
“I know which is why I need to find something that will fight the evil at the very heart of the struggle we face. There is only one thing that can, but it is no longer here, which is why I will most definitely need your help to find it again.”
Abby stared at him in shock, “The Holy Scriptures?”
Roric nodded.
“That would mean going back to the first settled world, Earth!”
Roric nodded again.
Cautiously Abby spoke, “A daring plan, but there is no guarantee that a complete version of the Holy Scriptures still exists there. Before your ancestors came here they visited the first world again, but they did not like what they saw taking place there and so they came here to stay.”
“If there is even the slightest chance that I can by this one act save my world from the spiritual decay that it is spiraling into I have to take it! There are too few righteous people left in this world to fight the darkness that is seeping into all corners of our world. If my people could train up their children in the ways of the Creator and be able to show them the proof of why they should believe then maybe there would be a chance of turning this world around yet from its path of destruction.”
Abby bowed slightly, “You are a great and wise ruler over your people. The Creator has been kind to give the people such a man as you for such a time as this. Your plan could work. Even better perhaps is it could work not only for your people, but for those where the darkness has taken root for so long as well too. There are several concerning issues with this plan that you should be aware of though. I have scanned the underground chamber at the Shrine of Remembrance and have discovered that only one of the two ships left capable of making the journey is still functional. The other ship has irreparable damage given the limitations of our resources at present. Another problem you should be aware of is that I and any technology like me cannot accompany you on such an off world mission. It would be too dangerous and may well compromise both the mission and all the people of this world to attack.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you come? We are going to need your help to guide us and help us use the technology!”
Abby took a moment to respond and then started by gesturing to herself, “What you see Roric is just the visual impression of a much broader and complex network that is invisible to you. For my network to function, communication between the various systems that make up the network is essential. The signals for that communication are invisible to you as well, but they are detectable by other networks like me. The other networks if they still exist are not like me, but rather they are ancient enemies of your ancestors. They and their masters would destroy this world and Earth, if they had the chance. As long as my network communications remain shielded, as they are by the mountain, there is no threat of them being detected and this world remains hidden. I cannot leave the underground facilities of this world. I am sorry.”
Roric wasn’t quite sure he understood everything she was alluding to but it was quite obvious that this was a point she would not go past.
Roric thought about it for a moment, “Then can you at least teach my men what they will need to know to run such a ship?”
“That I can do.”
“Then I will leave you to make the preparations for their orientation. Can the orientation take place at the ship bay instead of here?”
“Yes it can.”
“Good. I do not want this place becoming common knowledge just yet. I will leave you now. Thank you for your help.”
“My pleasure is to serve the guardian at all times. You have but to ask.”
Roric turned to go, but Abby stopped him, “Roric?”
He turned back to her to see her expression concerned, “There is one more thing I will leave you with to consider. I believe it would be extremely unwise of you to personally accompany this mission. There are several reasons why I believe this. As you have explained to me the condition of your people’s fragile position of control in this world I have to ask, ‘what do you believe would occur if you were not in the position to continue stilling the waters, as you currently are should there be a catastrophe of some kind and you fail to return?’ My initial calculations at best show a success rate for the mission at just over seventeen percent. If the mission does fail and the location of this world is compromised this world will need you to defend it. The weapons that are available to you within this facility can only be activated by those carrying the blood of the house of Ta’lont.”
Roric met her steady gaze as he pondered on what she had said. He couldn’t deny her logic. He shouldn’t go on the mission himself. He didn’t like the thought of that.
“Thank you Abby. I will take everything you’ve said under advisement.”
“I am sorry that there is not more that I can do to be more positive about this mission. The situation you face is both hard and complex. It is honestly hard to see a path by which success may be achieved.”
“I would agree with you, if we had but your intelligence and my strength to go on, but with the Creator all things are possible.”
Abby smiled wistfully, “Against all of my probability analysis alerts saying otherwise I believe you. Often I have thought it would be a great joy to be human and experience for myself the love your Creator has for you, but as a created system I must content myself with serving those who serve the Creator the best that I can.”
Roric left and Abby starred after him for a moment before deresoluting back into the invisible framework of her network to make preparations for the training of a crew of the last ship of the ancestors.
Roric found Krista in the hot houses tending her flowers.
She saw him coming and a frown appeared across her brow, “Does this grave look of burden I see have anything to do with where you’ve buried yourself all this week my love?”
“Yes.” Was all Roric said, as he came to stand beside her and lean his forehead down against hers.
“Can you tell me anything about it? Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“How did I come to be the bearer of the burden of an entire world’s fate?” Roric asked instead sounding weary.
“I guess because God thought you were a big enough man for the job. I certainly think so anyway!”
“You’re sure of that?”
“Absolutely!”
“Well then I need to talk to you about some things that are going to blow your mind. They have mine anyway.”
Roric told her everything.
There was little to be gained in the desperate times that they lived in by maintaining the abject secrecy of the ancestor’s still existent technology.
In fact if the word leaked out a little it may make their enemies hold back some out of concern for what secrets that could be brought to bear that they did not know of.
They walked as he told her all he knew. She seemed to take it all well enough.
Looking up at him she spoke for the first time, “I agree with this Abby. It would be unwise of you to go on the mission, even though I know your heart is set on it. Your people need you to much here and I need you! I honestly don’t know how many more times I can bear to see you go off on missions and not know if you will return with any certainty or not.”
“I know honey. I grow weary of it too. If I don’t go, who do I send in my place?”
“You could send Rolf. He would do everything you asked of him faithfully to the letter.”
Roric sighed, “I know, but I can’t send him. His unyielding personality and appearance would draw to much attention to a mission that will rely on stealth and not being noticed more than anything else. I was thinking about Larc. He’s a fast talker, as well as a charmer. He always manages to get himself out of a tight spot one way or the other and I trust him to do what’s right.”
Krista nodded her agreement with his selection.
They walked for a while in silence, “It would probably be best to send Talaric as well. There is the added benefit of him getting along with Larc better than about anyone else. The mission would give him the chance to redeem himself in your eyes and hopefully grow up a little.”
Roric bit his lip not wanting to respond, but he had to, “Honey I can’t trust Talaric on a mission as sensitive as this. He could compromise everything with the way he’s been acting lately.”
Krista responded in a steady tone, “I know and that is why you will have to send Zevin too. So that if or when Talaric makes a mistake, Zevin will be there to do what needs done.”
Roric looked on down the path. Two of his sons sent on a mission that according to Abby had virtually no chance of success.
Would he be able to live with himself if even one of his sons was lost?
What if they were both lost?
Who would carry on after him?
Gavin would be a fine enough leader during times of peace, but what about a time of war? Sansa wanted nothing more than to be a healer and herbalist. That left his youngest, Ella’nara.
She of the three was most suited for command, being well rounded across a number of dimensions needed for leadership. She was also brilliant intellectually and she better than all her siblings might be able to grasp the complexities of the ancestor’s technology that was likely going to be a part of their lives from here on out.
Worst case scenario she would give the people the best chance for success, but she was yet so young, at but twelve years of age.
He really had no choice though.
“It’s settled then.” Roric intoned softly. They continued on their walk, but their tightly gripped together hands held between them gave testament to the tension and unrest of spirit that they both felt at the thought of sending two of their sons away on a mission that they likely wouldn’t return from.