Gneiss Mountain

George fled into a patch of lemonweed and kneeled. He wanted to get out of Eden, and wished that he had never been sent here. He had not only failed, but the backbreaking work had gone to benefit his new masters. Here he had learned about betrayal, disappointment, and heartbreak. He would go home at the first opportunity, but for now, he just wanted to hide from the world in a patch of lemonweed.

Someone stood over George and whispered in his ear, "There is no way that Ethylwhyte built those ramps and smoothed the road over the dam. Someone took great care to get that right. It was you, was it not?"

"Who are you?" replied George.

"A servant of the powers. I am a guard whose time guarding the banquet is over. You would think that I could get some of that food, but they will not let the servants eat until after the banquet is over. You wouldn't happen to have a bit of food that you can share?"

"Sure. Here is an orange." He thrust an orange out at the servant. "You can have whatever I have, although it is mostly herbs, I am afraid."

The guard took the orange gratefully. George sighed. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing that you can help with. My troubles are my own making."

"Perhaps. This orange is delicious. It is not good to be alone on a night like this, and I would like some company on my way home. Would you like to come along?"

Having nothing better to do, George accompanied the guard. George told the guard about all his adventures over the last three days. When he had finished, he need to stop and rest, feeling that he could not go further. He turned back to look at the trail, and Eden was a little more than dots of orange and white light far below.

"Where are we?"

"Near my home on Gneiss Mountain," replied the guard. "It is beautiful up there. Please come, and I can repay you for your company."

"I am spent."

"I shall carry you. One gains a good endurance from serving the Powers." He cradled his arms and carried George up the mountain.

George started to shiver. He heard the soft flapping sound of the wind whistling through the dwarf trees and the scrub bush. He could see a large house - too large for that of a simple guard.

George thought. He could see a purple glow in the east. Soon he would be little more than an dumb animal. "Please have mercy on me," he said.

"Why do you cry for mercy? I am not going to hurt you."

"I failed in my task, and will lose the gift of speech. I will be vulnerable to you all."

"You should not fear us. I promise that I will not hurt you. I just want someone to talk to as I watch the sun rise."

"Thank you. You know, when I first came to Eden, I wanted to visit Gneiss Mountain. I did not think that I could do it because my task would take too much time, and that the mountains were too far away. But we were able to make it in one night."

The guard set George down. It was cold on the mountain, but he felt as if he could see forever. Purplish-red streaks appeared on the clouds to the east.

"So George, you have learned about many of the pleasures of reason. Misunderstanding, frustration, disappointment, betrayal, and hypocrisy. I was hoping that you would not experience it all in three days. Are you sure that you would still want it?"

George thought about it. "Yes. I also felt pride, and for a time, friendship with the other creatures. And my people could help make their part of the world beautiful with it. I would risk the pain that I feel now for another try at it."

"One of the things I always liked about it was that you could imagine things that were not true, and use logic to, sometimes, make them true. Have you ever imagined what gifts that you would get if one of the Powers offered them to you?"

George thought for a moment. "Something that will keep me away from large bodies of water."

The guard laughed.

George turned to him, and added, "Something that will keep me out of casks. I would like to be able to live here. It is a beautiful place."

"It is indeed. You would need powerful legs to be able to climb these trails."

"I would like that. But I would also like to go to the wild places where there are no trails."

The servent nodded his head. "Maybe that can be arranged. Observe the sunrise, George. What do you think of it?"

"It is even more beautiful than the waterfall, or the pavilions, or the gardens of Eden. I could stay here forever."

"Well, no you can't. But you can speak, eh?"

It took a minute for George to figure it out.

"But I thought that I was going to lose my gifts..."

"I need a student, and I saw the job that you did turning the dam into a bridge, George. And don't be too hard on your companions. I can tell you that one of them - and I will not name which one - told me that you had helped him out, and asked that you be invited to the banquet. All of them are trying to come to terms with their new power, and will sometimes behave badly. I am afraid that they are going to ignore Tragami's advice."

"So you are one of the Powers!"

"Larami, the sentinel. I live apart from the other Powers, but still work with them. Like them, I will be leaving this world for another place, but need someone to take over responsibility for the high places. The future of your people lies there," he said, pointing toward the sunrise. "Climb up that scree to get a better look."

George was no longer tired. His legs easily scampered up the loose rock, and he felt a power that he never felt in his old body. He started to lose his balance, but extended his arms further than he had ever been able to do, and wind from the mountain caused a thin membrane of skin on his arms to billow out into the Glider's wings. George tried to fly like a bird, but could not move."

Larami laughed, and said, "All in good time George. You will have to learn to glide, first. Flying is an art."

After George had gotten his fill of the scenery, Larami spoke again. "You will need to go back to your village soon. Before I tell you about your future, I need to you to make two promises to me."

"Anything you request, Larami. I am grateful to you."

"First, you will not take any revenge on your companions or their children, as a consequence of what you heard at the banquet, and will work with them to preserve the fauna, flora, and beauty of this world."

"I swear to that, with all my heart."

"Second, swear to me that you will not steal from the orchards, fields, or mines of the anglideri."

"Larami, one of the servants in Eden gave me some sump grass, and I picked up some tinflower in the Herb Garden. Could you explain to me what they can be used for, so that we can better help preserve the fauna and flora?"

Larami, distracted, explained the workings of these two herbs, and never brought the second oath back up.

Benjamin replied, "Well, I hope that you will promise me that you will stay out of my orchards and cattlepens."

At this point, you choose to

1. listen to more tales from Checkers, Benjamin, and Mary.
2. follow Checkers' journey westward, before she visits the Caves of the Shreken.
3. return to the present [22929], where Checkers has just given Astra two silver coins, and a storm rolls through Blueberry Patch.

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