Mark of the Ranger

XXXIV. Four Days Pass

In the span of four days, the following events happen.

          "Now, this is an interesting little thing to know," I said to Ben. It was true. The geovores, who had been fed the ores, were growing crystals across their body. Crystals of fire danced in their strange dreadlock-like things. Crystals of ice filled their teeth with frosty glory. Crystals of air lined their tails, and crystals of darkness studded their claws. It was an amazing sight, really. Oscar walked up to us, nudging me so I wouldn't be surprised he was there. "Fascinating. Beyond that, really. This is the first time I've ever seen a geovore like this." The geovores were not only changed aesthetically, but in power, and aggressiveness, too. 

          They had been slashing repeatedly at us, gnashing their teeth, one even spat fire at the breakfast crew. The only people that could feed them now were Chris, Larry, Balthazar, Ben, Doc, and I. We were the ones who had fed them the ores, so in their eyes, we were the ones they could trust. I didn't mind that, of course, because that meant that the geovores and Toxiclaw could provide the death that we had entrusted them to dish out. I just hoped that they wouldn't deal out any death to the "servants."

*****

          Jeff looked at his new supply of earth crystals. He had been told, in two days' time now, to eat a bunch of these and wash them down with pure mana. Isabel had told him that he would explode if he ate too much mana, but that was a risk he was willing to take--his one death for the freedom of so many others, and the just ending for years of tax evasion. He hoped, of course, that he wouldn't explode, for he would really like to take part in the protecting of the Five Lands.

          Jeff found and sat next to Toxiclaw. Toxicalw was a beastly beast, with large green spikes for claws, on the end of his tail, and a horn. Jeff assumed that the green parts were poisonous, as the black rocky skin almost certainly wasn't. "Hey, big guy," Jeff said to Toxiclaw. Toxiclaw barely looked up--Karen had said he was to conserve his energy. "We've got to eat up these few days, before the shipment comes, don't we?" Jeff conversed, taking a bite of earth crystal. It almost tasted like crystal sugar. Toxiclaw nodded. "Then...stop...farmers." His voice was almost like the earth shaking. Toxiclaw was always sitting dow, but Jeff guessed he was probably twice his own size.
   
          "Two more days," Jeff said again, taking another bit of earth crystal. "Two more days."

*****

          It was now night. Karen was collecting pearls past her bedtime. The supervisors wouldn't have a problem with that, so no one paid any heed to her. She had collected even more large pearls, and plenty of normal ones. There was one clam, however, that she was unable to open. If I had my Mark of Strength, I'd be able to break it, Karen thought to herself. She tried once more at the miserable mussel, but her muscles couldn't breach it. Maybe she would ask Jeff, or even Toxiclaw, to break it open for her.

          Suddenly, Lion walked up to her. "What's up?" He asked. She said nothing, but instead handed him the clam. He took it, frowned at it for a moment, then tried to break it open. With a loud SNAP, a pearl and an oyster dropped out into the sand. Except there was something odd about this pearl. It was certainly different. "Pearls aren't normally like that, are they?" Lion asked. Karen shook her head.

          Pearls didn't often come in twos, especially not in that size.

          And they almost never were black.

*****

          Ko scurried up the tree. He had heard that the fruits in this particular tree were sweet, and who didn't love a little sweetness? This was especially true if you were about to take a voyage the next day back to the mainland, where no one can enslave you and make you grab fruit for them instead of you. No one could.

          As soon as he lopped the fruit off of the tree, Ko placed it in his sack and slid down. It had only been about five days, and already his hands were immune to the sharp, rough bark. As Ko handed the sack to those who were organizing the hoard, he passed by Reuben. "Only nineteen hours remaining!" Reuben reminded him. Nineteen hours already? Time was passing by like an especially fast snow elf.

          Ko looked once more at his hands. The delicacy of a normal snow elf's miniscule paws was gone, and replaced with some great tree-climbing mitts. While it was useful for being a Ranger, he would never be able to make toys again.

          Aside from that spot of misery, Ko couldn't wait for the next day. Only nineteen hours remained.

*****

          David herded the last of the slimes and looked at the canisters that the workers had collected. "We'll give all the pure mana to Jeff, and we'll take all the rest and put them in a safe place, just in case," A respected human said, commanding everyone to do what they were planning to do anyway. David snickered at such things, but it was also rather annoying. However, David didn't have time to be annoyed. There was only fifteen hours until the shipments arrived, and that was when chaos would break loose. If everything went according to plan, and the geovores were set free, then the magic farmers would be demolished, and the slaves would be set free.

          David picked up four pure mana canisters. That was what the human had told him to do. He planned to bring them over to Jeff, who would be waiting, and probably thirsty for some pure mana. Over the days, he had acquired a taste for it. The others, including David, had been a little worried, but Isabel said that, if he had survived this long, he would most likely be fine.

          David dusted off his hands and stared off at the noon sun. Only fifteen hours left.

*****

          Isabel passed Headmaster Clyde another cup of wine. It had been his eighth one, and on his own consent. It might not be hard to distract him, after all, she thought to herself as her slave driver greedily gulped down the drink. Isabel thought he would have gotten drunk after his sixth, but she was depressingly wrong. She quietly called Elena in. Elena had a tray full of chocolates, which she showed the the Headmaster. The Headmaster devoured the treats.

          "Looks like we have the easy job," Isabel muttered to Elena. She muttered instead of whispering because that was harder to hear, and the Headmaster didn't want them to speak. "Maids should be seen, not heard," he told them. Of course, the two were a little concerned about what he meant by "seen," but they tried not to think about it too much. "Just ten more hours, and I can stop wearing these heels for good," Elena muttered back. Isabel understood her pain. She could barely take more than a step without nearly dying. Of course, that wasn't the only pain that Isabel was going through. There were many at the time, most of them involving the Headmaster or his guards.

          But that would all be done in ten hours.