The roar of the water hitting the surface
above Robert's head filled the ambient silence under the water. He opened his eyes to see the murky green of
the incandescent gloominess. Light from
above reflected off rock walls in the water, but only looked like a blurry gray
blob.
The water was cold against Robert's skin and
he was beginning to regret jumping in so suddenly. He looked around for an opening to go further into the mountain
through, but could see nothing without light. His lungs started to hurt and he pulled himself to the surface for
air. Tribbon stood at the edge of the
pond looking at Robert. "You look
cold," he said.
Robert looked at Tribbon with a look that
seemed to say, "You think?" but instead he said, "I can't see anything down
there. I need a light."
Tribbon looked dumbfounded. "A light?" he asked.
"Yes, a light so I can see where to go, let
alone where I'm going once I get there."
"Would a lantern help?" he asked.
"Yes, I suppose a lantern would help, but
only if it worked under water," said Robert angrily.
"Oh yes, I see what you mean," said Tribbon
as he continued to think.
After a few minutes of thinking, Tribbon
suddenly grew slightly excited. He
reached into his tunic and pulled out a little rock, "Would a glowrock be of
some use?"
Glowrocks, though highly rare to the land, were
rather handy items for people on the go. The rocks were known for their luminescent qualities in dark
places. There was a time when they were
spread across the land and it seemed like nearly everyone had to have one. Then, after time, they became scarce and
eventually nearly unheard of. Anyone
who found one was truly a lucky individual and could probably sell it for more
than an entire gold mine's worth.
Robert looked at the stone sitting in the
palm of Tribbon's hand. He had traveled
the land for ten years and had only seen a glowrock once, but he hadn't
realized it. "Is that really a
glowrock?" he asked in surprise.
Tribbon nodded as Robert carefully took the
rock from Tribbon's hand. He held it in
his palm carefully judging it's weight. The stone intrigued him as he rolled it from one hand to the other. It was a gray stone, perfectly smooth and
round. It had been polished at one time
or another and was as close to beauty as a rock could be.
Robert turned to the pond and plummeted back
into the depths. Tribbon stepped closer
to the edge of the pond to gaze into the hole and saw Robert down in the hole
holding the glowrock out to light the walls. Robert soon resurfaced for air exclaiming, "I don't believe it."
He remained bobbing in the water, staring at
the stone for a moment before turning to Tribbon. "Let's go," he said and dropped back into the water.
Tribbon looked around. He felt as though he was being watched, but
quickly shrugged it off. He stepped
forward and disappeared into the pond. At the top of the hill in the field near the pond, a grim looking face
looked curiously towards the pond where two people had just disappeared. Tribbon's instincts had been correct; he was
being watched by Morgan Fritz.
