Pompods

8

Curiosity and patience were two of Baru's greatest qualities. His adventurous nature had also become a great boon to the Elders as it afforded them new knowledge as he sought out and discovered new places, creatures and often enough, events that would rarely be witnessed in the quiet comfort of their valley.

As he sat on the comfort of a felled tree that had washed up on the coastline, he contemplated in silence the beauty and significance of the event unfolding before them in the far reaches of the sea.

Plumes of smoke erupted near the horizon's edge as the water around it boiled. It was a sight not to be forgotten. There was so much of the world to explore and learn about, but as with all new discoveries, time was required to understand its complexities.

He wondered where the tree he rested upon had originally grown, how much time had passed since its roots had given way and it succumbed to nature's desire for renewal. The sea's salinity and the suns intensity had bleached away any clues that would have indicated the passage of time. How long had it voyaged until finally coming to rest with others of its kind along the flaxen hued sands of the rolling sea?

"I wonder how long the eruption will last?" he said as the plumes grew wider and darker with each passing moment.

The Memee resting on his shoulder looked out towards the plumes of smoke and gave an indecipherable blurp and gurgle as a response.

It had been on the third day of travel that it had climbed up and decided that travelling comfortably on his shoulder was a more rewarding experience than walking. Baru didn't mind the tiny being as it was a welcome distraction from the usual solitude of travel and exploration.

"I've seen plenty of erupting mountains over the cycles, my little friend. But I must admit that this is the first time I've witnessed it happening on the rolling seas. I'm curious if any other surprises might await us on our way to our star ancestors' valley. Should we find it, of course."

The Memee jumped onto the felled tree to face him. It cocked its head to one side for a brief moment before jumping off and began to walk away.

Baru watched inquisitively as it walked along the golden sand. After a brief time it turned around, cocked it head again and made a popping sound towards Baru before resuming its march.

"Am I to take that as a sign that it's time to leave?" he asked as the little sprite raised its tiny fin in response. "You may well be correct; I don't see any reason to linger here any further. We can always see the eruption's progress on our way back. Now can't we."

It answered with a single pop.

Baru's heart sank as he looked out over the landscape. A thriving ecosystem and vibrant forest once lined every corner of this valley, but now the trees were barren of any foliage. Nothing but dried husks dotted the landscape as once lush branches were mere stubs covering the darkened husks that were once beautiful and strong trunks.

As he walked along a barely visible path, he wondered how long ago the fire that had swept through this area, leaving behind devastation and blackened trees.

The only consolation was that now that the forest was gone, he was able to see where the settlement of their star ancestors resided. With its thick underbrush and identical peaks and trees, it would have been easy to walk in and exit the forest from the same direction without knowing how one had gotten turned around. It was an ideal place to hide away from the rest of the world.

With the majority of the forest gone, the settlement was visible from the forest's edge. A zigzag path could be made out along the landscape's natural formations. He wondered if it had been a natural occurrence that had been the deciding factor for their decision to populate this valley or if they had had a hand in developing the labyrinthine nature that they hid in.

He descended into the valley and stood before a large rock outcropping. When he had explored this valley many cycles ago, the stones had been overgrown and he had not given them much notice. Now that the vegetation had shriveled away, he took notice of a strange marking that rested on one side of the stone's face. It was a single vertical line. The marking would be easily missed if one wasn't looking for it and time had hidden it away under a deep layer of foliage. The marking had been made to blend in, but the deep groove was clearly unnatural in origin.

As he took a step back from the stone, he almost tripped over three stones. Each one was slightly smaller in size than its neighbour and each one descended in size away from the marked stone. He looked along the direction of the stones and noticed another small group of stones arranged in a similar fashion some distance way. The new grouping of stones pointed in a new direction, away from the rock outcrop.

"It appears we may have found how the ancients marked their way home," he said as he looked down the new grouping of stones and the direction of travel they marked.

It now made sense why he had never been able to find the right path to the ancients. Without the stones' guidance, one simply followed the naturally occurring paths the forest provided and none led in the proper direction.

The Memee jumped off Baru's shoulder and rolled to a standing position. It gurgled enthusiastically before making two loud pops as it stood on the stone marking the path.

"Let us make our way to the ancients' home as they once did long ago. Although I believe we have a slight advantage, now that the forest is gone."

The Memee gurgled and popped as it climbed back up Baru and resumed its position on his shoulder.

"You may well be right, my little companion, you may well be right."

"Pop."