When the two scouts returned to the rocky hill south of Port Town, they found only Miko and Neti snuggling between some rocks out of the evening breeze.
“Where is everybody?” Ilika asked.
“Well . . .” Neti began with a smirk, “Kibi is probably in the kitchen, Mati and Sata were in the sitting room when we left, Toli and Buna were in their chamber, and Rini was in the library. Oh, and Tera has her own stable, with running water.”
Ilika smiled and cocked his head. Boro had his hands on his hips.
Without further explanation, Miko led the way down through the rocks toward the open ocean. The sandy beach was currently about thirty yards wide with the tide quite low. The cliff on their left became higher and higher as they walked south, soon towering above them.
The cave entrance was completely invisible until Ilika and Boro followed Miko and Neti behind some huge boulders near the cliff face. The entrance tunnel was just high enough for a donkey with head lowered, and indeed they were welcomed by Tera’s two-toned call as they entered. A little stream slithered along the side of the passage toward the ocean.
The cavern inside was easily forty feet wide and fifteen high, but the back receded into darkness and its end could not be seen. A small fire welcomed them from its ring of rocks. Small boulders naturally divided the large sandy floor into a number of smaller spaces, and several of these already contained a
pair of bedrolls side by side. Tera had her own space near the entrance, with several big clumps of grass that someone had brought in from the top of the beach. She worked on one clump while Mati brushed her.
As Ilika and Boro surveyed their new campsite with delight, Rini entered with an armload of driftwood, and moments later Kibi came in with the cooking pot brimming with black mussels.
“As you can see,” Neti said, spreading her arms, “when you put Kibi in charge, things happen.”
Ilika nodded. “Very nice. We got fruits and vegetables, ointment, and a pie.”
“Pie? Did you say pie?” Toli asked from behind them, carrying a few pieces of driftwood.
Neti received the ointment from Ilika and sat down with Miko.
“It seems to be well above high-tide level,” Ilika said, seeing nothing but bone-dry sand except along the stream.
Kibi nodded. “We thought about that. Maybe we can’t get in or out at the highest tides, but it seemed worth it.”
“How far back does it go?”
She knelt down by the stream to rinse the mussels. “Farther than we can see. We thought about making a torch, but decided to wait and see if your bracelet was available.”
“Sure. We should do that tonight. I’m sure we’ll sleep better knowing if anything’s in here with us.”
They all gathered around as Ilika and Boro unloaded their packs. Kibi and Sata were delighted with all the stew vegetables that emerged.
As they all gathered around the fire, the rucksacks were presented to Kibi, Sata, Neti, and Buna. Boro described what they had seen and done in the town, including the evidence that thieves were afoot.
When a shaft of orange sunlight suddenly found its way directly into the cavern, Ilika jumped up. “Let’s go watch the sunset over the ocean!”
As everyone dashed outside, Tera squeaked and came out last.
Ilika sat down just a few feet above the wet sand, and the others spread out beside him to watch the orange ball of fire sink slowly into the water.
“Why is the sun a different color when it’s setting?” Rini asked.
NEBADOR BookTwo: Journey 102
“We’re looking at it through a greater thickness of air.” He drew circles in the sand and pointed out the difference between noon and sunset. “It’s the air, especially with dust or smoke or water vapor, that changes the color. The sun, out there in space, is always shining the same color, day and night.”
“How far away is it?” Sata asked.
Ilika took a moment to convert the distance. “About eighty million miles.”
“Real millions, not the kind that just mean a whole bunch?”
“Yes, real millions.”
“There it goes!” Toli said as the sun slipped out of sight for the night.
They sat for a few minutes in silence, just gazing at the sunset colors in the sky.
“We need to tend the stew,” Kibi said, getting up.
“And then eat it!” Toli added.
The first order of business, after a hearty mussel stew, was to see if anything of interest — or danger — lay hidden in the unlit depths of their cave.
With the possibility of thieves about, Ilika announced that he or Boro would be with any part of the group at all times. Mati, who already knew the back of the cave was too rough for her, sat down at the fire ring. Boro made sure the knife was within reach, then joined her. Mati suggested they practice reading to each other.
The rest of the group followed Ilika as soon as he activated the light. At the first jumble of large rocks, Miko discovered he was going to need two good hands. He grumbled, then made his way back to the reading circle.
The natural rock tunnel was smaller than the cavern, but high enough for their heads. Occasional patches of sand between the boulders held old broken crates, smashed barrels, frayed ropes, and broken jugs.
“This is starting to look familiar,” Toli observed.
“Could this be . . . part of the smuggling route?” Kibi wondered aloud.
“I’ve heard of smugglers’ caves,” Rini said. “They sometimes go all the way to some building in the town.”
“It’s going in the right direction,” Ilika pointed out.
They worked their way among the rocks for about half an hour, each person calling out when they noticed anything new. Nothing useful was found. Dozens of dark cracks could admit an animal or child, and Rini slithered into a few, but none would provide passage for crates or large men.
“I just remembered,” Ilika said when they stopped for a rest, “the first building you come to from this direction is the magistrate’s house, with the guard station right beside it. The house is stone, and certainly old enough to have been here during the smuggling period. Let’s make sure we don’t pop up in the magistrate’s kitchen.”
“Yeah!” Kibi said with big round eyes.
“Here’s a canvas bag,” Buna announced, picking it up by a strap. “Never mind — all rotten.”
A few minutes later, a huge pile of rocks completely blocked the cave.
They poked around, and Rini tried one crawl-hole while Ilika aimed the light, but it went nowhere and contained only a broken cup.
“Everyone find a place to sit,” Ilika said. Once they did, he turned off his light.
“Wow.
That’s dark,” Neti said with a shaking voice.
“There is absolutely no light deep in a cave. You could sit here for hours, even days, and your eyes would never adjust. If you bring your hand near your face, you will sense it’s infrared heat and it’s slight electrical charge, but you will never be able to see it.”
“What’s an . . . electrical . . . charge?” Sata asked.
“Remember the ions we’ve studied? When lots of them, of the same positive or negative charge, collect in one place, a measurable charge is built up. Charges can sometimes flow along a pathway, and that’s how our nerves work. You’ve all seen lightning?”
They all nodded in the dark, then chuckled and said, “Yes.”
“That’s the biggest electrical flow there is on a planet. And it’s way too much for our bodies, so it’s very dangerous.”
“Will you teach us more about it when we have light and paper?” Toli asked. “This stuff is neat!”
“Oh, yes, it’s on my list. I just need to teach you how to multiply and divide first.”
“Oh,
goodie!”
“As far as I’ve seen, everything in here is from the smuggling period, at least fifty years old. Has anyone seen anything newer?”
“Fresh animal droppings,” Buna reported.
“What
kind?”
“Something small. Maybe . . . rabbit.”
“Anything
else?”
No one spoke.
“Shall we return to our cozy fire?”
“Yeah!”
The six who went exploring repeated what they had learned about eyesight and electrical charges to the three who stayed behind. Ilika made a few corrections before he smiled.
They ate pie, and agreed the only dangers lurking in the depths of their cave were small and furry.
“That danger is always there, every night, no matter where we are,” Boro said with confidence.
Miko took a deep breath, then suggested he no longer needed to be watched over at night. Ilika looked at his hand, and was happy to see his blisters hardening and shrinking.
As several students were starting to yawn, Ilika led them down to the cave entrance. They were shocked to see that the ocean was completely full, and threatening to overflow right into their cave. Ilika assured them it would come no farther.
Before crawling into their beds, most of them put their belongings into their bags so they could move to higher ground quickly, just in case Ilika was wrong.
Deep Learning Notes
Tides are caused by the gravity of the moon and sun, and since there are two causes, they interact in complex ways. There are usually two high and two low tides each day, but the timing of them is constantly changing. The height of each tide also varies, with the highest and lowest occurring when the sun and moon are aligned.
If there are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 360 degrees in a circle, and the sun spans 1/2 degree of arc from our position in space, how long does it take the sun to set?
If you are wondering why Ilika said the sun was 80 million miles away, instead of 93 million miles, keep in mind that the unit “mile” has more than one meaning. Ilika’s statement, along with the fact that the kingdom has a sea port, tells us that the nautical mile was in use, which is about one minute (1/60 degree) of latitude, or about 6080 feet.
When the excursion deep into the cave began, what difference could we see between Boro and Miko?
