The Stranger
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
Seeing as how there was no point in simply standing inside the cave, waiting for Linus to return, Ophene, Dyn'saime and I headed back onto the pier and climbed into a small rowboat. As we approached, I saw hundreds of golden lights glimmering through the solid orb atop the trunk...I soon realized it was lantern light, shining through small windows hewn into the surface.
"This is where the Moiety lives?" I asked in awe.
"Most of them, yes...there are several like myself who still live in Riven. I suppose you could call us spies, although that's a rather common term for the work we do," she said, a touch of pride in her voice.
"You do more than just watch Gehn?"
She sniffed. "Of course! Simply watching a madman accomplishes nothing...holes in his tight depraved mesh of schemes and protection must be found and used to our advantage. There are many secrets, many places to be explored. We're only aware of a tiny fraction of his doings...there's so much to learn, but we can't risk having the entire Moiety creeping through Riven. Trips are made on occasion, but there are about six or seven regular infiltrators who are there regularly."
Her tone had been hardening as she spoke...I could almost feel the anger radiating from her body. Dyn'saime smiled behind her and gently shook his head...he was plainly amused by her patriotic speech.
"It's really not that grand of a deal," he said. "We just...investigate. Of course," he said hurriedly, seeing Ophene's shoulders stiffen, "what we do is vital to the Moiety's cause."
I nodded and an awkward quiet moved in...the only sound was the oars dipping in and out of the clear gray water, and every now and then a wheeling bird let out a sharp cry. I watched them circling the tree, wondering if they perhaps lived at the top...
We saddled up next to a second pier, where the boat was soon tied and we walked towards the great wooden door embedded in the massive trunk. Ophene pushed it open with ease and we stepped inside.
The interior reminded me so strongly of the village that I nearly expected Riy to come barreling from one of the doors with mother hard on her heals. Small structures lined haphazardly placed wooden walkways and stairs, creating a thick maze of homes. Ophene and Dyn'saime obviously knew this place well, as they immediately set off up one of the staircases, leading me to a small house at a formidable height above the ground.
Inside here it was relatively cozy...woolen blankets of purples and reds were scattered over the rough furniture, and the remaining embers of a fire glowed warmly in the fireplace. Ophene promptly collapsed onto one of the wood chairs and sighed.
"This is sort of my home away from home," she explained. "It technically belongs to Dyn'saime, but it's good to have a base to retreat to."
Unsure of what I should say, I simply nodded and continued to gaze around the room, taking in the pieces of pottery and the strings of vegetables hanging from the ceiling. There was a dark doorway that I presumed to lead to the bedroom, and a window overlooking the lake. I peered outside, amazed that I could still see to the bottom of the lake through the crystal water, even from that height.
"Nice view," I finally said. Ophene waved her hand in a dismissive manner.
"It gets old after awhile...we can watch the pier from here though, so it comes in handy." I glanced out again and realized the dock was quite visible.
"How will Linus get across the lake? There's no boat."
"That's why we'll watch for her...Dyn'saime can row back across." She grinned at the exasperated look on his face.
"How about someone else play ferry for today?" he said. "I'm exhausted..."
"You can sit down if you'd like," Ophene said to me, gesturing towards an open chair. I shook my head and said,
"How do I join the Moiety? Is there anything I need to do?"
"We should probably take you to see Yonero," she said, rising to her feet again.
"Who's he?"
"I suppose you could call him the unofficial leader of the Moiety," said Dyn'saime.
"Yes...he has a natural talent for keeping things running smoothly," Ophene agreed.
We walked back out and wandered down to the lower level, passing several other people on the way. It seemed that everyone knew each other, as there were constant greetings regarding my sister and Dyn'saime as we went, and some friendly but questioning looks shot my way.
Ophene knocked on the door of a house comparable in size to her own...a muffled and weary voice called out for her to enter and we bid the command.
Inside it was incredibly cluttered...large sheets of parchment etched with detailed maps of the islands were posted on the walls, and smaller pieces sporting assorted writing covered nearly every surface. Several of the Moiety knives were stuck randomly into the large table that dominated the space, their tips apparently pinning down important bits of paper. Sitting behind this table was a middle-aged man, bearing the look of a greatly stressed being.
"Ophene," he said, smiling weakly. "And Dyn'saime...what brings you here? I see you've brought a guest?"
"Yes, this is my brother, Ythaime. On normal circumstances I wouldn't have brought a strange amidst us, but we stumbled across Linus today, and..."
Yonero laughed and bowed to me. "Of course, I trust your judgement, Ophene." His eyes traveled to mine. "And your father spoke very highly of this boy. Welcome to the Black Moiety."
I returned the bow and smiled warmly...he had known my father! I longed to ask him for the details of his work in the Moiety, but Ophene was already quickly filling him in on Linus's progress.
Yonero took off his slender glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily. "She thinks she can end this all tonight then?"
"Yes."
"Well let's hope she's right...what she's doing is very dangerous, confronting Gehn in this manner." He replaced his glasses.
"It had to happen eventually...that was Atrus's whole plan, after all," Dyn'saime said. "Gehn can't afford to harm her; he's under the impression that she holds a Linking Book back to D'ni."
Yonero sighed and nodded. "She's a clever girl, but I worry so...I don't believe Atrus's allies are exactly numerous. They're not expendable."
Ophene inclined her head in agreement. "Very true."
"Your mother is going to start worrying soon, Ophene," said Yonero. "You should probably leave."
"I'll take you back to the Book," Dyn'saime offered.
"Of course...good night."
"Good night...you too Ythaime." I nodded and gave him a small smile, then stumbled out the door behind my sister.
* * *
Author's Note: eh...not my best chapter...there wasn't a hell of a lot of point in this, but I wanted to show the Rebel Age as I assumed it would be...next chapter is much better, I promise. Please review!
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
Seeing as how there was no point in simply standing inside the cave, waiting for Linus to return, Ophene, Dyn'saime and I headed back onto the pier and climbed into a small rowboat. As we approached, I saw hundreds of golden lights glimmering through the solid orb atop the trunk...I soon realized it was lantern light, shining through small windows hewn into the surface.
"This is where the Moiety lives?" I asked in awe.
"Most of them, yes...there are several like myself who still live in Riven. I suppose you could call us spies, although that's a rather common term for the work we do," she said, a touch of pride in her voice.
"You do more than just watch Gehn?"
She sniffed. "Of course! Simply watching a madman accomplishes nothing...holes in his tight depraved mesh of schemes and protection must be found and used to our advantage. There are many secrets, many places to be explored. We're only aware of a tiny fraction of his doings...there's so much to learn, but we can't risk having the entire Moiety creeping through Riven. Trips are made on occasion, but there are about six or seven regular infiltrators who are there regularly."
Her tone had been hardening as she spoke...I could almost feel the anger radiating from her body. Dyn'saime smiled behind her and gently shook his head...he was plainly amused by her patriotic speech.
"It's really not that grand of a deal," he said. "We just...investigate. Of course," he said hurriedly, seeing Ophene's shoulders stiffen, "what we do is vital to the Moiety's cause."
I nodded and an awkward quiet moved in...the only sound was the oars dipping in and out of the clear gray water, and every now and then a wheeling bird let out a sharp cry. I watched them circling the tree, wondering if they perhaps lived at the top...
We saddled up next to a second pier, where the boat was soon tied and we walked towards the great wooden door embedded in the massive trunk. Ophene pushed it open with ease and we stepped inside.
The interior reminded me so strongly of the village that I nearly expected Riy to come barreling from one of the doors with mother hard on her heals. Small structures lined haphazardly placed wooden walkways and stairs, creating a thick maze of homes. Ophene and Dyn'saime obviously knew this place well, as they immediately set off up one of the staircases, leading me to a small house at a formidable height above the ground.
Inside here it was relatively cozy...woolen blankets of purples and reds were scattered over the rough furniture, and the remaining embers of a fire glowed warmly in the fireplace. Ophene promptly collapsed onto one of the wood chairs and sighed.
"This is sort of my home away from home," she explained. "It technically belongs to Dyn'saime, but it's good to have a base to retreat to."
Unsure of what I should say, I simply nodded and continued to gaze around the room, taking in the pieces of pottery and the strings of vegetables hanging from the ceiling. There was a dark doorway that I presumed to lead to the bedroom, and a window overlooking the lake. I peered outside, amazed that I could still see to the bottom of the lake through the crystal water, even from that height.
"Nice view," I finally said. Ophene waved her hand in a dismissive manner.
"It gets old after awhile...we can watch the pier from here though, so it comes in handy." I glanced out again and realized the dock was quite visible.
"How will Linus get across the lake? There's no boat."
"That's why we'll watch for her...Dyn'saime can row back across." She grinned at the exasperated look on his face.
"How about someone else play ferry for today?" he said. "I'm exhausted..."
"You can sit down if you'd like," Ophene said to me, gesturing towards an open chair. I shook my head and said,
"How do I join the Moiety? Is there anything I need to do?"
"We should probably take you to see Yonero," she said, rising to her feet again.
"Who's he?"
"I suppose you could call him the unofficial leader of the Moiety," said Dyn'saime.
"Yes...he has a natural talent for keeping things running smoothly," Ophene agreed.
We walked back out and wandered down to the lower level, passing several other people on the way. It seemed that everyone knew each other, as there were constant greetings regarding my sister and Dyn'saime as we went, and some friendly but questioning looks shot my way.
Ophene knocked on the door of a house comparable in size to her own...a muffled and weary voice called out for her to enter and we bid the command.
Inside it was incredibly cluttered...large sheets of parchment etched with detailed maps of the islands were posted on the walls, and smaller pieces sporting assorted writing covered nearly every surface. Several of the Moiety knives were stuck randomly into the large table that dominated the space, their tips apparently pinning down important bits of paper. Sitting behind this table was a middle-aged man, bearing the look of a greatly stressed being.
"Ophene," he said, smiling weakly. "And Dyn'saime...what brings you here? I see you've brought a guest?"
"Yes, this is my brother, Ythaime. On normal circumstances I wouldn't have brought a strange amidst us, but we stumbled across Linus today, and..."
Yonero laughed and bowed to me. "Of course, I trust your judgement, Ophene." His eyes traveled to mine. "And your father spoke very highly of this boy. Welcome to the Black Moiety."
I returned the bow and smiled warmly...he had known my father! I longed to ask him for the details of his work in the Moiety, but Ophene was already quickly filling him in on Linus's progress.
Yonero took off his slender glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily. "She thinks she can end this all tonight then?"
"Yes."
"Well let's hope she's right...what she's doing is very dangerous, confronting Gehn in this manner." He replaced his glasses.
"It had to happen eventually...that was Atrus's whole plan, after all," Dyn'saime said. "Gehn can't afford to harm her; he's under the impression that she holds a Linking Book back to D'ni."
Yonero sighed and nodded. "She's a clever girl, but I worry so...I don't believe Atrus's allies are exactly numerous. They're not expendable."
Ophene inclined her head in agreement. "Very true."
"Your mother is going to start worrying soon, Ophene," said Yonero. "You should probably leave."
"I'll take you back to the Book," Dyn'saime offered.
"Of course...good night."
"Good night...you too Ythaime." I nodded and gave him a small smile, then stumbled out the door behind my sister.
* * *
Author's Note: eh...not my best chapter...there wasn't a hell of a lot of point in this, but I wanted to show the Rebel Age as I assumed it would be...next chapter is much better, I promise. Please review!
