Robot Ridge

Chapter 5: Continuing the Journey

     "Where are we?" Amber asked. 

     "In the middle of nowhere," I replied.

     "Why did they send us here? Surely they would just lock us back up right?" Cassie asked.

     "Maybe they thought that if we actually did manage to escape, we'd see where their base was. So they let us go," Phillip stated.

     "That is a pretty good idea," Gotru said.

     "Well what should we do?" I asked. 

     "I guess we should first try to find some Deprenium or some other type of metal," Phillip stated. 

     "So we should head to a nearby cave," said Amber.

     We all started along on our way to a cave some one hundred paces from where we were standing. As we were walking, Gotru began to say something.

     "There's a little known legend, passed around through Xovrills for millions of years. One Gotruko, the namesake of a lot of Xovrills including me found a crystal. A shiny light blue crystal known as aquamariam. He thought nothing of it but kept it anyway. He then found the red chiathill and continued upon his journey. He ended up finding all 5 crystals. He thought to himself, 'I could make a really nice weapon with all of these.' He melted all of the crystals and combined them to make a beautiful sword. It is known as Gotrika, named after the legendary warrior. Gotrika was powerful enough to slay the toughest of kings, the hardest of demons. Gotrika was destroyed however when Gotruko plunged it into his own heart, for all of his people hated him. No one has been able to make it since, for isolanium can only be found on the Gliiko galaxy," Gotru said.

     "Wait, if isolanium is only found in the Gliiko galaxy, how do you know about it?" Cassie asked Phillip.

     "When we first came here, we met another Xovrill and he told us about all of it. He sadly died while protecting me and Amber from a pack of wild Kreluks," Phillip said solemnly.

     "I'm so sorry," Cassie said.

     We all stopped and stood there for a few seconds of awkward silence before continuing towards the cave right before us. 

      After we reached the cave, Amber began to speak.

     "Anyway, what are you saying Gotru?" She said.

     "If we find all of the crystals, we can make Gotrika," he said.

     "But if the isolanium can only be found in another galaxy, how on Earth are we supposed to get it?" I asked. "Also, how are you speaking such good English?"

     "To answer your second question, Xovrills are fast learners and to answer your first question, we fly," he said.

     "Like, through space?" Phillip asked.

     "Yeah, we can get a ship and make it to the galaxy. It's only a few thousand light years away," he said.

     "Only a few thousand light years away? It takes less than one light year from Earth to here and that trip took two years with our current technology. How will we traverse thousands of light years within a decent amount of time, let alone a human lifespan?" Cassie asked.

     "I don't know. I'll think of something," Gotru said.

     "Maybe we can find one of the crystals that can make new swords," I said.

     "Yeah, we need new ones anyway," Amber said.

     "Or we could make Djekkuloss, a projectile weapon sort of like your gun," Gotru said, making air quotes on the last word.

     "A what?" Cassie asked.

      "Djekkuloss, a projectile weapon," Gotru replied.

     "What's it made out of?" Phillip asked.

     "It's originated from any of the five crystals but after it's made, it becomes sort of holographic. It can turn into nothing when you want it to but back into a solid as well. This makes it very good for hiding it," Gotru said.

      "If it turns into nothing, does that mean that it's invisible? If so, how can you find it," Amber asked.

      "Anybody who touches the handle can always see it. The first person to touch it can control its density. You can see the outline of it even if it's nothing," Gotru said.

      Phillip was at a loss for words. And honestly, so was I. There were so many things that didn't make sense about these weapons but I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. We kept walking through the cave until we found some crystals. These were a chilling blue.

     "Chiathill," Gotru exclaimed, taking a few crystals and stowing them in his cloak.

     "Grab some extra because even if we manage to get Gotrika, we'll need to make Djekkuloss or some swords until then," stated Phillip, walking deeper into the crystal cave.

     We collected crystals for half an hour, before emerging to the surface to melt them. The sun, though light years away, glinted in space like a sparkling ball of light, as it slowly melted into the ground leaving one of Planet 9's moons in it's place. We sat near the entrance to the cave, but the cold started to affect us. Phillip started rummaging through his pockets for a long time before finally pulling out a small lighter. We found some sticks on the ground and made a small fire. It warmed us instantly. Gotru took a Chiathill crystal out of his pocket. He threw it at the ground with such force, that it shattered into many tiny pieces.

     "Why'd you do that?" Amber exclaimed.

     "Chiathill in it's natural form cannot be melted. Once it is broken, it can be melted," Gotru replied pulling another one out of his bag.

     One by one, we slowly broke the crystals on the ground, until they all were broken. We then put all of the shards into a stone basin, resting above the fire. 

     "Chiathill takes a while to melt. We should get some sleep," Gotru stated, resting his head on his bag.

     Everyone drifted off slowly. Everyone except for me. I lied there for what seemed like a century. This was my first peaceful moment for a while, between fighting the Kreluks and trying to get back home. That's when I realized just how hard this was going to be. The odds were near impossible. And if we did manage to pull it off, what then? These questions lingered on my mind as I too, slowly fell asleep.

     As the sun slowly started appearing in the early hours of the dawn, we were all at work. Gotru woke us up very early because the Chiathill would've melted by then. We all started working on our own Djekkuloss. Gotru showed us exactly how to make it. After a few hours, while the Chiathill was cooling, we ate breakfast. Just a few items left over in Phillip's bag. After the Chiathill had melted, we just had to add the power core and it was done. Gotru had a couple spares, as they were very common within the Xovrill community.