The Ring of Light

"We spent all day following the horse. Once we caught sight of him, he fled again."

"And that is all you did out there? I would have expected Fred to take better advantage of the opportunity," Belboz signalled to Astra, silently.

"You dirty old man! Fred was a perfect gentleman."

"Sounds boring. I think that you will find life here as my servant much more lively."

Belboz spoke out loud to Fred, who was shivering. "I think that we need to get you all inside."

"Wo- wou - wouldn't -t -t th-the c-caves b-be (gasp) damp and c-c-cold- d?" chattered Fred.

"Oh, you would think so, but there is a pocket of lava and a hot springs. It is a wonderful little place, actually. I should not only be able to warm you, but cleanse the grime from your bodies as well as press and clean your clothes, if you do not mind a slight reek from the fumes."

Fred nodded to signify that, "Yes, this sounded like a good idea." Astra was not in a position to contradict Belboz.

"Grand. To the hot springs we go! Pity about that horse. We will have to wait on Fred's squire, if he can find us. The rains might have washed out all of the landmarks."

"Maybe not." replied Astra, silently.

"What do you mean?" responded Belboz, with a silent sharpness.

Astra was gazing near the direction of the parabolic mirror. Checkers had been ignored by the others, but she had not been idle. Initially exhausted, she sat stupified, looking at the rocks. While she was cold and muddy, she was also perplexed. The glow from the mirror was a bluish- white that she could see, but not very well. She fiddled with them, trying to find the glow in the mirror that seemed to attract Fred and Astra. She stood in a dirty little puddle in the middle of the mirror, and moved the rocks up and down. She did not know exactly what she was doing, but she had a sense that she was looking for a spot in front of the mirror where the glow would be projected the fartherst. She was actually looking for the focal point of the mirror, and she had found it. A beam of light shot from the mirror, and a circle of light shone in the sky. The circle was brightest at its edges, for the puddle of water and Checkers' body scattered the light, but the uncovered parts of the mirror shot the light in a parallel beam. The rain dimmed the beam and broke it into colours on its fringes. It was definitely an unnatural phenomenon, and who knew how far it could be seen? Checkers stood there, knowing that she needed to move and warm herself, but also was entranced by the ring of light that she had created.

Belboz shuffled towards the puddle and held out his hands. "Hand me the rocks, Checkers. Do you want to attact the dragon?"

1. Checkers hands the rocks to Belboz.
2. Checkers remains in her trance, apparently not noticing Belboz.
3. Observers in another place comment on the strange light.

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