Crossing of the Paths

Book 1: Desert Wind - Chunk 11

The Crossing of the Paths
Second Edition
By MMM/AJ
Part I: Desert Wind

A/N: Hey all! Sorry I missed my posting last weekend, that one was entirely on me. I've been spending A LOT of time working on SFW story projects for other sites and it's been totally dominating my brain.

This chunk has some new Indiru content for you to enjoy that wasn't included in the original edition, as well as Mewtwo and Kalana's encounters in the Spirit Temple. It's a bit longer than previous chunks, hitting a whopping 33K words according to MS Word, so get your beverages of choice and kick back!

Interlude 1

It was abundantly clear to everyone in attendance that the Vha'an Arbiter's Grounds were far too small to accommodate the massive swarms of Gerudos that were trying to cram their way in for this historic meeting. But the topic at hand was simply too important and sensational for the people to resist; the assembled Chiefs and Arbiters were going to discuss what to do about the missing Traveler. It was early morning after the Traveler had disappeared with Chief Hadara's daughter Kalana in one of the Rakeshan Helmasaurs and word of his theft and the note he had left had already traveled all throughout the settlement. Even the late night dancing that many Gerudos had stayed awake for hadn't been enough to keep them from waking up early and crowding around the meeting en masse. Fortunately the way the Arbiter's Grounds here were built meant that there was plenty of space for the overflow. There was no single standardized design for how Gerudos built their Arbiter's Grounds, which meant that the Vha'an one was entirely different from the Rakeshan one. Here instead of carving an existing mesa in half the Vha'an people had picked out a nearby stretch of solid sandstone flats, leveled them smoothly, then erected a circular series of columns to mark the boundary of the selected area. There were sandstone benches carved and set up outside of the circle of columns and a set of smaller seats in the center for debaters to sit at, which was where the assembly of Chiefs and Arbiters had gathered. A tunnel leading to the underground prison portion had been dug down into the sandstone outside of the circle and sealed with a single horizontal black steel hatch with a simple lock.

Hundreds of Gerudos from all three tribes were pressed tightly together to watch the proceedings, but the clearing inside the pillars was kept reserved for just the Arbiters and Chiefs. Hadara, Kamilia, Lamira, Nereti, and Kurala were sitting in a circle at the center and discussing what to do while everyone listened.

"It is my firm belief as Arbiter of Ven'suul that the three tribes should assemble a task force of our finest warriors to send into the East and follow the Traveler regardless of where he goes." Kurala declared loudly.

"And why exactly do you believe that, Arbiter Tusuní?" Kamilia asked sternly.

"Simple, Chief Lasheera. Assurance. I may not be a devoted Doomseer anymore after everything that's transpired here in Ven'vha over the last few days, but you don't need to be one to support this plan. Such a quest would be to the benefit of everyone. If it turns out that the Hopeseers were correct then our people can assist the Traveler in his final battle against the Sulaaq. But if the Doomseers were correct then we can capture or kill the Traveler when he tries to betray us to the Sulaaq. Either way we take destiny into our own hands and ensure the safety of the world and our people regardless of the outcome of the Traveler's decision." Kurala proclaimed.

Immediately Chiefs Kamilia and Lamira looked quite incensed at Kurala's shamelessness. It was a bold move for her to even validate the possibility of the Doomseers being correct after she had been so thoroughly shamed by the defeat of her little uprising earlier, and the whole crowd knew it. Lamira almost began to verbally lash out at her but Nereti jumped in with a more level-headed interruption to prevent escalation.