Between The Crystals

Ch 59 A Long Trip and the Deciding Factor

I peered at Grant to check if he was making a bad joke. "You want me to walk to the new crystal? Why not someone else?"

His suggestion left me baffled. When planting a shard, I was the best choice since I'd remember it years later. But to be guided to a crystal that was big enough to port from? That was usually done by someone with a lesser porting ability while the stronger porters took larger groups out to find food.

"It took Tib quite some time to travel that far, and he's not exactly slow when he's on a mission. You're the only monkey who usually has enough energy to run around after a day of porting and build up any kind of stamina. When it comes to the longer practice runs, you've always done the best. The other porters have agreed to take a few from your group with them. Tib, Brielle, and Cruz will go with you."

"How far out is this thing again?"

Tib replied, "It took me almost four hours, but I was jogging. Maybe five or six at a walk? Some of the terrain is pretty rough."

I was beginning to understand why Grant had picked me.

~

It was one thing to know in theory that hunters were in excellent shape. It was an entirely different story to be dragged through a boggy forest by three hunters who weren't even breathing hard despite me needing another break.

I sat on a log and drank some water from my water skin before asking, "How close are we?"

Tib considered it for a minute. "Probably two hours at this pace. More if we slow down."

With a sigh, I stood up and matched their brisk walk. It was a good thing Tib had declined my earlier offer to jog for a while. I was going to be hard-pressed to maintain this speed for another hour.

I stumbled as my foot sank knee-deep into a section of moss that looked like every other spot in the forest. Brielle gave me a hand up, and we kept going, frequently sinking into hidden holes and dips. I was never again going to take the flat, packed dirt in our village for granted.

The only good thing was that the restlessness kept prodding me on and refused to let me sit for a decent break. Grant had asked me to check six spots this morning, which had taken the edge off it, but physical activity—even four hours over rough terrain—clearly wasn't a substitute for porting.

~

Tib veered away from the tiny trickle of a stagnant creek as he followed his charcoal markings. "It's just over here."

I staggered on, muddy to the knees and more physically exhausted than I'd ever been in my life. At least the hunters were somewhat winded. Tib easily jumped over a log, clearly the hunter version of what I was among the porters.

There was no reasonable excuse for him to be skipping across sections of moss like we hadn't just power-walked six hours across unreliable mossy ground and ensnaring tree roots.

A glint of light being reflected ahead was enough to make me speed up. There it was! Tib had dragged tree branches and other underbrush away from the crystal yesterday to make it easier to find.

I knelt in the spongy moss—too tired to stand—as I rested my hand on a spire. There was something about looking into a crystal's depths that calmed the mind and heart. I scanned our surroundings to find something unique to name this location. Grant wouldn't appreciate some of the terms currently rolling through my mind.

This part of the forest was drier than around the previous crystal, and the trees weren't as scrawny. I could see a few edible plants, but this sort of terrain wasn't exactly favorable for them. It was still better than many places I'd seen lately.