The Stranger
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
As promised, Ophene took me to the headquarters of the Black Moiety on this eve...the trip there was not nearly as interesting as traveling by MagLev or the underwater cart. We mostly used the lake submarine, which I have operated on countless occasions in order to reach the school. She, however, took a different path to a ladder, which led high into a little room set into the cliff. While I opted not to follow her up, in order to avoid attention, she's told me that the room contains switched to extend or retract the piers above the sub. Sure enough, we were soon climbing a short ladder onto the Whark gallows.
Ophene was rather disgruntled to remember that she hadn't closed the floor of the gallows, forcing us to balance on the very rim of the structure. She didn't wish to waste time though, so she simply had to stretch a bit further than she said is normally necessary. Having carefully made her way to the far side of the gallows, she tugged at a small pull dangling from the framework and a bar that reminded me of a trapeze lowered down to the center. She instructed me to ride up first, so I lunged halfway across the pool of water, my feet splashing somewhat as I grasped the bar. My weight seemed to release some catch and it began to spiral upwards, giving me a beautiful view of the lake. Ophene followed quickly and we carefully walked across a narrow board onto a catwalk set against the face of the cliff. Embedded in the rough rock was a small chamber, obviously used as a prison to hold future Whark sacrifices...I shuddered as I gazed in through the round door, cut out to display the D'ni star.
While I was peering into the last residence of captured Moiety members, Ophene pushed in a toggle on the right side of the door...the star split apart, leaving a circular hole that we slid into.
It was dim inside and rather chilly, and I could not understand why my sister had taken me here. I looked around wildly, but there appeared to be no way out other than the door we had just used as an entrance.
Ophene crouched down next to a small grate in the floor and tugged it up...inside I could see dark water rippling from the vibrations. Her hand plunged in and groped for something, then I saw her slide a handle up through the surface. For a moment nothing happened, then the wall next to her began to rumble and a doorway slid back, revealing a sort of tunnel lit by a single bulb. We stepped in.
The passage grew dark quickly, and Ophene asked me to stop while she walked ahead to find the lights. I obeyed and stood in the darkness for several moments before a wisp of silver appeared in the distance...Ophene soon reappeared, flicking on lights as she went.
"Ah...here it is," she said, gesturing towards a small square door that lay flush with the rest of the wall...an old iron handle stuck out, which she tugged at until the tunnel was sealed behind us and a new one led into further darkness.
We both walked through this time, as lights appeared quickly upon our entrance. At the end was a spectacular room, circular in shape and filled with a ring of rounded stones sporting different animals of Riven...I could see Linus already standing there, pushing down one that depicted a Sunner.
"Sorry, we had a little trouble with the gallows," said Ophene, greeting her happily. "I forgot to seal the floor ahead of time."
"That's odd," said Linus with a frown. "I closed it before coming this way...someone must've reopened it."
Ophene turned and gazed out into the tunnel. "I hope we weren't being watched...we'd best be quick in getting out of here."
Linus nodded and gently leaned against a stone centered opposite the door, this one showing a shining Whark. It creaked into the floor, just as the Sunner, and (as I now realized), several other stones had...I counted five in all, including a scarab, a ytram, and a fish.
I squinted and waited for something to happen...I didn't see it at first, but there was water suspended in the wall across from the doorway. It was rippling now, pushing itself outwards into channels that led towards the other side of the room. The stones were left slick and shimmering in the heavy gold light, and a shelf bearing a book slowly slid out of the wall. When we walked over to it, I could see a fantastic gray world rotating before my eyes...I let out a soft gasp.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Ophene. "It's a linking book to the rebel age...just press your hand against the picture and it will transport you." She touched the image with her own fingers and seemed to dissolve into midair.
"Impossible," I breathed.
"You next," said Linus with a smile. "Ophene will inform the guards we're coming; just turn around at the pier and walk into the cavern at the end." I nodded and gently laid my hand onto the picture.
The Moiety Gate melted into pitch black, then faded into the scene I had been watching only a moment ago...a giant tree reminding me of one of mother's topiaries climbed from a lake, surrounded on all sides by step gray cliffs and a slate blue sky...it appeared to be evening.
Remembering Linus's words, I rotated automatically and walked the short length to the cave. Inside was a bizarre statue, stuck full of the symbolic Moiety knives and holding out another Linking book...I assumed this to be a return to Riven.
"Dyn'saime," I heard Ophene say from behind me, and I turned with a start. She stood there, her hand draped across a young man's shoulder and grinning. "This is my brother Ythaime...he's here to assist the Moiety."
"Rather young..."
"We were the same age when we joined; he just recently turned heegahbree."
Dyn'saime reflected Ophene's smile and bowed curtly to me. "Welcome then...I trust your sister has found another satisfactory member to join our force. Although hopefully there will soon be no need for recruitment, if Linus can free Catherine quickly..." He reached up and took Ophene's hand into his own...I found myself wondering if mother knew about this as well. I couldn't help but join in the smiling.
Linus stepped in shortly thereafter and nodded in acknowledgement to Dyn'saime. "Any news?" He shrugged.
"We believe Gehn has linked into his 223rd Age again...the last place he was seen was near the dome on Temple Island. Losetle explored the other tunnel leading from the Crater Island cave today and found the fourth dome...why he doesn't use one so close to his office is beyond our comprehension, but it makes it easier for us."
Linus paused for a moment before saying, "I should go back to there then...the domes are probably still operational at this point; it would save a lot of work. You said you believed the energy source for the fire domes is located in the great golden dome, correct?"
"Yes," said Ophene. "We still are unsure of how it works though..."
"I'll be back shortly then I hope...perhaps I'll bring Gehn along." She patted a rectangular bulge in her jacket and grinned, then stepped forward and placed her hand against the Linking book. Within an instant she was gone.
"Why did she even bother coming if she was going to leave so quickly?" Dyn'saime said, obviously bewildered. Ophene laughed and tilted her head to the side, apparently unconcerned.
"Linus is like that...very energetic, doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. Best that she finishes this as quickly as possible anyway. She's told me that Atrus's journal claims Riven is becoming even more unstable with each day, despite his efforts to shore it up...it seems that altering worlds is a very delicate task."
"Of course," I said, suddenly remembering something Eloso had said. "If the changes made are too great, the kormahn may shift to a different world and Atrus will lose touch with Riven altogether...we will certainly be trapped then."
Ophene gaped at me and gave a short laugh. "How do you know all this, yet get such poor grades in school?" I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and shrugged.
"I only pay attention to the interesting things..."
* * *
Author's Note: sorry to leave off like that again, but I have evil homework to do...Ythaime kept his word though; the style fell back into place. *grin* I know this is getting rather long; I promise I'll wrap it up soon...I think you can see that I'm already taking some shortcuts. Do you think this is a good idea? Please review and let me know!
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
As promised, Ophene took me to the headquarters of the Black Moiety on this eve...the trip there was not nearly as interesting as traveling by MagLev or the underwater cart. We mostly used the lake submarine, which I have operated on countless occasions in order to reach the school. She, however, took a different path to a ladder, which led high into a little room set into the cliff. While I opted not to follow her up, in order to avoid attention, she's told me that the room contains switched to extend or retract the piers above the sub. Sure enough, we were soon climbing a short ladder onto the Whark gallows.
Ophene was rather disgruntled to remember that she hadn't closed the floor of the gallows, forcing us to balance on the very rim of the structure. She didn't wish to waste time though, so she simply had to stretch a bit further than she said is normally necessary. Having carefully made her way to the far side of the gallows, she tugged at a small pull dangling from the framework and a bar that reminded me of a trapeze lowered down to the center. She instructed me to ride up first, so I lunged halfway across the pool of water, my feet splashing somewhat as I grasped the bar. My weight seemed to release some catch and it began to spiral upwards, giving me a beautiful view of the lake. Ophene followed quickly and we carefully walked across a narrow board onto a catwalk set against the face of the cliff. Embedded in the rough rock was a small chamber, obviously used as a prison to hold future Whark sacrifices...I shuddered as I gazed in through the round door, cut out to display the D'ni star.
While I was peering into the last residence of captured Moiety members, Ophene pushed in a toggle on the right side of the door...the star split apart, leaving a circular hole that we slid into.
It was dim inside and rather chilly, and I could not understand why my sister had taken me here. I looked around wildly, but there appeared to be no way out other than the door we had just used as an entrance.
Ophene crouched down next to a small grate in the floor and tugged it up...inside I could see dark water rippling from the vibrations. Her hand plunged in and groped for something, then I saw her slide a handle up through the surface. For a moment nothing happened, then the wall next to her began to rumble and a doorway slid back, revealing a sort of tunnel lit by a single bulb. We stepped in.
The passage grew dark quickly, and Ophene asked me to stop while she walked ahead to find the lights. I obeyed and stood in the darkness for several moments before a wisp of silver appeared in the distance...Ophene soon reappeared, flicking on lights as she went.
"Ah...here it is," she said, gesturing towards a small square door that lay flush with the rest of the wall...an old iron handle stuck out, which she tugged at until the tunnel was sealed behind us and a new one led into further darkness.
We both walked through this time, as lights appeared quickly upon our entrance. At the end was a spectacular room, circular in shape and filled with a ring of rounded stones sporting different animals of Riven...I could see Linus already standing there, pushing down one that depicted a Sunner.
"Sorry, we had a little trouble with the gallows," said Ophene, greeting her happily. "I forgot to seal the floor ahead of time."
"That's odd," said Linus with a frown. "I closed it before coming this way...someone must've reopened it."
Ophene turned and gazed out into the tunnel. "I hope we weren't being watched...we'd best be quick in getting out of here."
Linus nodded and gently leaned against a stone centered opposite the door, this one showing a shining Whark. It creaked into the floor, just as the Sunner, and (as I now realized), several other stones had...I counted five in all, including a scarab, a ytram, and a fish.
I squinted and waited for something to happen...I didn't see it at first, but there was water suspended in the wall across from the doorway. It was rippling now, pushing itself outwards into channels that led towards the other side of the room. The stones were left slick and shimmering in the heavy gold light, and a shelf bearing a book slowly slid out of the wall. When we walked over to it, I could see a fantastic gray world rotating before my eyes...I let out a soft gasp.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Ophene. "It's a linking book to the rebel age...just press your hand against the picture and it will transport you." She touched the image with her own fingers and seemed to dissolve into midair.
"Impossible," I breathed.
"You next," said Linus with a smile. "Ophene will inform the guards we're coming; just turn around at the pier and walk into the cavern at the end." I nodded and gently laid my hand onto the picture.
The Moiety Gate melted into pitch black, then faded into the scene I had been watching only a moment ago...a giant tree reminding me of one of mother's topiaries climbed from a lake, surrounded on all sides by step gray cliffs and a slate blue sky...it appeared to be evening.
Remembering Linus's words, I rotated automatically and walked the short length to the cave. Inside was a bizarre statue, stuck full of the symbolic Moiety knives and holding out another Linking book...I assumed this to be a return to Riven.
"Dyn'saime," I heard Ophene say from behind me, and I turned with a start. She stood there, her hand draped across a young man's shoulder and grinning. "This is my brother Ythaime...he's here to assist the Moiety."
"Rather young..."
"We were the same age when we joined; he just recently turned heegahbree."
Dyn'saime reflected Ophene's smile and bowed curtly to me. "Welcome then...I trust your sister has found another satisfactory member to join our force. Although hopefully there will soon be no need for recruitment, if Linus can free Catherine quickly..." He reached up and took Ophene's hand into his own...I found myself wondering if mother knew about this as well. I couldn't help but join in the smiling.
Linus stepped in shortly thereafter and nodded in acknowledgement to Dyn'saime. "Any news?" He shrugged.
"We believe Gehn has linked into his 223rd Age again...the last place he was seen was near the dome on Temple Island. Losetle explored the other tunnel leading from the Crater Island cave today and found the fourth dome...why he doesn't use one so close to his office is beyond our comprehension, but it makes it easier for us."
Linus paused for a moment before saying, "I should go back to there then...the domes are probably still operational at this point; it would save a lot of work. You said you believed the energy source for the fire domes is located in the great golden dome, correct?"
"Yes," said Ophene. "We still are unsure of how it works though..."
"I'll be back shortly then I hope...perhaps I'll bring Gehn along." She patted a rectangular bulge in her jacket and grinned, then stepped forward and placed her hand against the Linking book. Within an instant she was gone.
"Why did she even bother coming if she was going to leave so quickly?" Dyn'saime said, obviously bewildered. Ophene laughed and tilted her head to the side, apparently unconcerned.
"Linus is like that...very energetic, doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. Best that she finishes this as quickly as possible anyway. She's told me that Atrus's journal claims Riven is becoming even more unstable with each day, despite his efforts to shore it up...it seems that altering worlds is a very delicate task."
"Of course," I said, suddenly remembering something Eloso had said. "If the changes made are too great, the kormahn may shift to a different world and Atrus will lose touch with Riven altogether...we will certainly be trapped then."
Ophene gaped at me and gave a short laugh. "How do you know all this, yet get such poor grades in school?" I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and shrugged.
"I only pay attention to the interesting things..."
* * *
Author's Note: sorry to leave off like that again, but I have evil homework to do...Ythaime kept his word though; the style fell back into place. *grin* I know this is getting rather long; I promise I'll wrap it up soon...I think you can see that I'm already taking some shortcuts. Do you think this is a good idea? Please review and let me know!
