The Zodiac Stone

Chapter Seventeen: Working Together is Too Much

He left Saziel as fast as his legs would carry him. He hadn't made a plan other than to get out and that's what he did. For the second time that day he found himself on the path from Saziel. He skidded and slipped on the parts of the trail that were sandy or had many small stones that made the ground move beneath his feet.

He fell only twice and managed to stay upright the other few times he slipped. He came to the part of the path that wound inside the mountain and stopped at the fork thinking about having to travel through the jungle. He would need protection and as of that moment he had none. He had no powers to help fight any beast. And who better to get a weapon from than the Capricorns themselves. They made all the metal objects and stone structures in the kingdom because they were a land element and could mold stone and metals with a single thought. Swords and long spears were the main type of weapon created by the Capricorns.

The city was very large for the size of the mountain it was built from. There were subterrain levels that Aine knew went four floors deeper. But hopefully all he needed would be on the floor the passage would take him to.

It brought him to the main floor of Odonarr and the floor was littered with structures that went from floor to ceiling and the dome of the city was very high up. Only some he could see given the dark in the mountain and only lit torches to light the areas. And of the lights he could see, they reminded him of light bugs, that weren't moving. But even without being able to see the other side of the city, Aine felt the size of an insect.

At first he stood just looking across the great expanse of inside the mountain. He didn't know where he could find a weapon and didn't want to get caught either, mostly seeing darkness. He slunk down the slope that brought him ground level with the rest of the structures. He saw many of the Capricorns, most moving quickly as their job made them very busy through all hours, including night. He wondered, with barely any sunlight touching the inner parts of the mountain how anyone knew what time it was, whether it was night or day.

Aine kept his head down and tried sidling by them without anyone noticing a kid from Saziel was down there.

Luckily they were all determined to get to where they were going and didn't bother themselves to wonder why a kid was walking around when he didn't belong there. Aine watched the men and women in their leather aprons and heavy gloves as they moved around all going somewhere. Some carried things, others rushed to another building. A few he saw were runners for other workers.

He saw someone carrying two finished spears and decided to follow the man. He almost lost him a couple times as he wove through the people like a fish traveling upstream, but Aine managed not to lose sight of him and watched when he stopped at a closed door and push it open with ease. No knob to twist or pull. It swung back out with the momentum, eventually slowing back to a stop in its spot.

Aine waited behind a corner of another building waiting for the man to exit the building.

He crouched down to allow less of him to be seen.

"No!" a voice said.

"What are you doing?" a second voice exclaimed. He heard footsteps cross a stone floor. Aine was below an open window and could hear others inside. The same voice continued. "You know that doesn't work!"

"I was trying something else," the first voice said. "I felt like I was close this time almost as if I could feel the energy in my hands."

Aine's curiosity began eating at him and he dared to stand up and look. It was a simple open hole without a glass pane, like the windows at Saziel, and made viewing in the room easy. The Capricorns didn't have to worry about weather inside a mountain, but most windows in the Heilakaa kingdom had no glass panes. The only ones who had that privilege were the Aries in their tall castle.