Dak And Stell/The Travelers Trilogies

2.1 Jelly and Vibrations

The sounds of a river and the smell of a fire greet me as I wake up. Partial memories are reminding me of the night in the chasm as I rub my eyes. The image of the golden light streaking down just in time to save them and then the retreat out made me queasy thinking about it. When I finally opened my eyes, Stell sat across from me, holding a stick. He had some types of brown geometric shapes speared onto it and was roasting them. My stomach growled, and Stell noticed me.

"Finally awake, thought you might sleep till lunch," Stell sent to me.

"I still feel tired, that thing was terrifying. Speaking about that thing, where are our savior and Xalmia?" I sent, as I began to look around our campsite.

"I'm back in the pass a bit collecting more Pristems. They taste well roasted on the fire, and the insides are juicy. As for Diagon, I think he is off thinking near the river. Giving up his spot as a god isn't easy," Xalmia sent from somewhere I couldn't see.

That was understandable. Choosing to fall from grace to save us mortals would leave anyone with a questionable feeling. I will have to thank him, but I think I'll leave him be for now.

Turning to the sounds of rushing water, I look out at the river. The river is flowing fast, but that wasn't the peculiar thing. There was a bridge. This said bridge ran so low to the water that exceptionally high waves washed over. This crossing could be a huge problem. I sent my thoughts out to Xalmia.

"What's with the bridge? It hardly looks safe to cross," I transmitted with a feeling of uncertainty.

"We will have to wait two days for the river to lower when Lypis gets farther away," she sent back to me after a moment.

"Lypis? Like a moon?" I sent questioningly.

"Yes, It is very far from us and effects any large water source and some small ones. Some places will stay dry for a week and then fill with twenty feet of water. Our world has many dangers," Xalmia sent.

"So, in two days, the water will go down?" I asked through our link.

"Yes, This spot will fall about fifty feet. This is the main reason it is built flat. The people that built it only had limited resources and limited time to work between the rise and fall. The water must have just rose, so maybe less then two days until it falls back down," she sent to me.

I didn't plan on waiting for another day. Everything we had seen, and the things we had been told about the city. Minus the fall in the cave, that was all my fault. We can't wait to get to Medora. I began to get a feeling that things were about to start happening faster.

With resolution, I turned back to The Shellmakadoor River. My first thought was to use walls to direct the water while we crossed. That idea was too risky since now I knew no way to see the bottom to make a wall. If I made the wall on the bridge, the rushing water might put extra stress on this "Limited Resource" bridge. Maybe a bridge over the bridge?

Just then, the smell of the mushrooms and something sweet reached me. The lingering smell made my mouth salivate, and I turned back to the camp. As I got back to our fire, I could see the mushrooms on a flat thin prismatic board. The smell was intoxicating, and I could barely control myself as I began to mindlessly walk toward them.

As I got closer, something looked different, and they gave off almost a greenish glow. At this point, unless the sprouted legs and ran away, I was going to devour them. I picked one up, and it put it to my mouth, and the smell as it neared was of the sweetest honey. As my teeth closed around the first gem-like mushroom, I was greeted with a warm gush of earthy juices. This was followed by the sweet glowing sauce the left a slightly bitter after taste. I let out a rapturous moan and then heard laughing from behind me.