Chrono Cross Second Journey

Fan Novelization

Book 3

4 The Native

It set in his heart a flame ablaze. And with zeal and zest like a young child Norris slipped into civilian attire and set his hair scruffy. The wheels in his mind had begun to turn when he realized beyond his dreams the Frozen Flame might exist, even following three years of search he found no secrets bared. The Astral Amulet had today touched him and suddenly he believed that there were more mysteries than this remote land was willing to unravel. Chains and gears he could easily fathom. Nothing more than the constructs of the human mind they were, molded and crafted into chisel and teeth that bit slowly out of the Earth all living force. But into the world of the unseen he yearned to tread. And he wondered what power the artifact of such queer a name contained and what drove its engines within, if there were any to speak of. More importantly, what chant or curse could drive men to such thirst that only this Flame could quench.

Nonetheless fate had dealt him an interesting opportunity his father was never fortunate enough to receive. Armed with this knowledge he could walk over and crush his foes. It gave him the pass to the higher ladders in the command chain, and a life that would have him living in great houses and owning grand ships. But at the expense of the world and the little village from which he came he would not. When put on the scale of his principles, the choice tipped to the right side. He remembered still how his father had taught him grow. "Don't do everything, son! Do the right thing!" he was wont to say. Though by that simple rule his father might have met his demise, Norris persisted till this day in that belief. Indeed set in his mind was a resolution that the flame be destroyed or be hoisted far from the stained hands of the Blue Army.

"Time will tell," he said to himself whilst he strapped on his holster.

And history would bear witness to the result of his choice.

The companions, now of four, slipped out of the manor in silence. The sun had just set and left behind a horizon smothering in dying amber. Clouds of wisp and purple stretch dragged across the twilit heavens above and beneath them a long eagle soared in flight. But a mass had gathered in the south from where a draft came relentlessly rushing.

Guided by the light of dusk, Norris led them on a path through woods towards the west. The ground was moist under a blanket of mist and often they found themselves wading through thick growth and dirty mud. A chill thus lingered in the woods and colder it seemed tonight now that the wind blew. Trees rustled and branches shook but fast and firm the trees all stood. But borne on the wind now and then was a foul stench, as of skunks known to roam and breed here. Then, when the last light of evening died, Norris set a flame to his lamp and the stench soon departed.

Whilst they forged through the solitary wood, Radius, Norris had observed, could help little but cast glances at the compound, now broken of structure and of spirit. So had gone golden days of the glory and the silver armor, and Sir Radius was the few left to remember. To all others who did not, the manor was in the gathering dark but another hill out of level ground; and litter on the northern land, as of an ancient creation forgotten by history and time. And the moonlight, pale and cold, made a mockery of the debris and a grave for the fallen. For the manor glowed faintly with a grim, ghostly white.

When half of an hour had passed, the companions passed through the forest and struck short a trail towards the north and the west until they came not a mile from the walled fence of Termina and a little bay of water. There at the right of the bay an overgrowth of hyacinths lay, and tall weeds also. Norris approached the flora and into the growth until before him a large canvas of weeds stood in his path. He tugged and threw aside the canvas camouflage and revealed from beneath a rubber boat. The boat was black of color, and from far away would seem to the untrained eye an unfamiliar patch. Powered by a fuel engine, the boat was a dear toy from the military, and taken into his own hands but by the blunder of poor accounting.

"Come up onboard!" he hissed as he pushed the boat towards them.

When all had seated he boarded, grabbed an oar and rowed them out to the sea. There, he started the engines and set it cruising swiftly over the northern waters.

"We have all that we can from you, Norris," said Radius. "But still I would ask of you one more thing."

"Yes, Sir," replied Norris, "you want my reason."

"Yes, Commander Norris. I still am interested, if not wary."

"Very well, Sir. Porre's dictatorship has everyone in the mainland suffering. They own the lands and houses and charted the waters, but they give their people nothing. Not a gold coin more, and still they raise their taxes. With already the world in their hands, they want more still: money, women and most of all, power. And they want also the legendary Frozen Flame. It is said that the Frozen Flame heals all and grants all. Their lust for power never can be quenched. I understand they, too, desire immortality that they believe the Frozen Flame will provide.

"Not all in the army, however, are rotten. By fortune or fate, I was drafted into the military and I followed in my father's footsteps. He had been a commander, well-regarded by his subordinates and the people of the precinct which he managed. But colleagues at his rank and higher despised and sought to remove him from his post. In their eyes, he was weak and sided with the peasants. He held fast to his post, until... finally...

"Now history repeats itself. I've been posted here to investigate the truth of the Frozen Flame, but in reality I've been stripped of much of my authority. They have around me planted their spies. Spies of those who would love to see me fall, and of those who execute to realize it. So at the manor I cannot speak, and not even in Termina. Ears grow on walls in the North of the continent, and on every step on the ground. Only at sea are we safe from them."

"But they put you here on a mission to seek the legendary treasure?" Radius asked as he stroked his beard.

"And that is why I'm the commander-in-name--one who gives a kind face to Porre. I may decide on little domestic issues, but I have no power over the wing that polices our grounds and holds our weapons."

Radius' brows furrowed in thought. "But your leaving would put them on guard and by dawn they will begin their search. Lester, your second-in-charge, already has overheard our intentions, has he not? Unless you know something they do not."

"I am out of office much of the time, scouting for clues, and they will not miss me very much. I wouldn't say I have knowledge that will give us a few hours' worth of advantage. Assuming the Frozen Flame is in the Dead Sea, what is left now is to find a way in. That's something I'm certain the demi-humans of Marbule would know of. They detest humans, but if Serge enquires as Lynx, we may yet discover more clues to the great puzzle."

Then said Radius with a look of disapproval, "But the demi-humans no longer live in Marbule. Everyone knows that. Don't you?"

"Yes, they have been enslaved by Captain Fargo on board his stolen vessel that he's conveniently converted to a trade of entertainment of all sorts. But not all of them demi-humans Fargo has under his whip. One roams free, though at night, in the limestone caverns of the isle. But few know this. And fewer may understand the importance this demi-human could have on Fargo, and to our journey."

"And you are saying this demi-human might be able help us to get on board the vessel," said Radius.

Norris nodded. All eyes fell on Serge, but he set his eyes on the darkness far away, and stayed silent. For a long while now his mind wandered aimlessly in the mists of yesteryears, and whilst he must have heard their conversation, he did not seem to listen. And Harle, who observed his apathy, frowned sadly.

Radius stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You have not been in El Nido as long as I have, yet you are better-learned, I see."

"Except in fighting, I'm afraid!" said modestly Norris who felt glad and ashamed also, at his praise.

"That's why they gave you guns," said Radius in response.

And they shared a hearty laugh.

"It is a stab in the dark," admitted Norris. "But there is hope that our attempt would bear fruit."

The boat cruised softly over the dark waters of the brooding night. Norris drove them eastwards until they came to the eastern edge of the central continent when he turned them to the south. Where the cold winds came from earlier now had died. Instead the air was still as the calm before a terrible storm. Norris turned off the engine and let hasty tides carry them on its waves between the low bluffs of the central continent and rocky edges of a nameless isle. A short moment passed and they hit smooth waters once more. And there and then the baleful moons shied behind the clouds.

"Serge you come from a world different from this, you say," said Norris. " I am an engineer by training and if you would pardon my frankness, I find that the most intriguing! My knowledge in this area is limited to what I read. But to know of someone who have experienced this is beyond my expectation!"

Serge regarded wearily Norris, and after a deep breath he spoke slowly, "I fell through from this world to the other, about a week ago. The experience of the fall to the other world was not entirely pleasant at first, but I gradually became used to it. Like you say, the history in the other world has divided some ten years before. In that world I drowned, and in this I survived that ordeal. I was, I believe, saved by a close friend of mine."

Norris perceived in his account a wistful tone, and for that he asked no further. Silence fell as the dark of night that lay upon the world, save for the hum of the engines and the sound of water clove apart by the bow of the boat. At last, Serge spoke.

"What of parallel worlds do you say you understand, Sir Norris?" he asked softly.

"Norris. I would say rather that I know and I may know less than what you understand. It is said that our world exists not as a singularity, but as many. And as many as sand on the beach, and perhaps many times more! Each world may be a slight variation of the other, but each may be as different as the ice Poles is to, say, Zenan. They start from one beginning; and for each the choice that is made, a different world with a different history comes into existence. Imagine the other possibility that would happen if you had chosen not to pay me a visit. Imagine then two other possibilities from those two. You will then understand how quickly the number of histories can multiply from a single beginning."

'Go on," Serge urged.

"In the space of a flash of lightning that consequence might make little difference in our world's history. But over millions of years since our world came into being, a choice made in the past could create entire new worlds that we could never now dream of! It would not be incredible to say that we live but for the choices made by ancient beings of long ago, or even choices made by Mother Planet.

"This formidable thought has challenged the thinkers of our day and had them still grappling with its incredible concept! From it new ideas also have since borne fruit. But they all give credence to Dr. Lucca Ashtear, the first who conceptualized this school of thought. It's all about probabilities, she says. And the world we are now in is a probability realized only by our own experience. One could go as far as to say, our world will not exist if we were not here to feel it."

"You mentioned Dr. Lucca."

"Yes. Dr. Lucca. Her name you've heard too."

"From a very close friend."

"The one whom you said you think saved you from drowning ten years ago?"

Serge exhaled. "Yes. Seems to me that she knows her. But many things have happened. I know well enough or hope at least that they will connect at some point in time, sooner or later."

Norris smiled and lay a firm pat on Serge's shoulder. "Do not brood over it, then! It will end well, I'm sure."

"I'm sure it will," said Serge as he sat up straight and pointed. "There it is. I see it now. I see Marbule."

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Marbule had once been an isle with living soul of its own, an isle quiet and untouched. The white of limestone and shale shaped its land and low shrubs of green and gray flourished. Within its quarry water gathered from the earth below and trickled out from stones to the streams. Across the isle wind and water gradually had cloven so that a stream joined the sea and in the middle of on a moonlit night would appear blue and white. Its caves were in abundance and the walls of them were lined with veins throbbing with soft light of green from the power of the Elements. It had been rumored that the Black Dragon of the six once dwelt in the cave whose walls lit the brightest at night.

History took from Nature the isle of many wonders away a century ago when the first of mainland humans set foot upon the shores El Nido.

"Such ugly beasts they are!" hollered a man at his first sight of the natives, beings of mystic fashion to their eyes. And they looked him blankly, for they understood none of his words. "Behold! These are the vile creatures of the west, offspring from hell!"

"Nay. There are some of great beauty," said another referring to a mermaid whose skin was blue as a clear day.

"And of little clothes I see! Unless you wish of your children to take after their looks, may I suggest you tame your manly urge. You'd find nowhere of use of your manhood on this fish-woman besides. Now, drive them off our soil, or burn them if you so please! This is our land henceforth, and so rejoice!"

And thereafter the humans called the natives demi-humans. For they seemed to the eyes of humans part of themselves but of a varied, lowly creation: some of mermen and maids; some of the head of a bear; some of large ears and eyes; and others small in stature and gray of flesh. All of them had much love of the land than the betterment of their own livelihoods; and lack intelligence, or so humans felt.

The colonists thus settled in the north and annexed the central continent for their own. Whilst they lived on one land, the humans poorly treated the natives as a cruel shepherd did his sheep. The worst of men subjected them to beatings and torture. And they felled wood and burned bushes for their own designs and in so doing drove eventually the natives off the land. The natives settled in their new homes in Marbule and there they hoped to find peace in their new lives. They did not, however. For its richness of resource in Marbule became a target of Element hunters. Their homes were once more ravaged and pilfered and loot were sold back on the central continent for food and shelter. The natives banded together and refused entry to humans but being sedentary beings they could outfight not the strength and arms of humans. And so the natives suffered wreck and ruin until the land was dry of Elements and satiated no longer the greed of humans.

The natives put up little resistance against the colonials but in their hearts the seed of grudge was sown. And for a hundred years they were silent but resentful. Yet there still were some who found hate against the mainlanders irksome lived in Guldove apart from kin. But none were re-admitted to their ancestral home in the central continent, into where the high of society of humans now sat, behind the white walls of Termina.

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Ever the skies remained clouded and here and there a twinkling star bejeweled the sky. The moons now hung high, but above the cold and moist air bleached the sickly moons and left them a sallow green.

Their boat came at last to the rocky shore and the companions alighted. He strode inland and expected greetings from the natives. But it felt to his keen senses that the isle was quiet. Not a soul it seemed stirred from beyond the dark entrances to the caves, and no being roamed carefree about the land. And Serge in his disappointment nearly tripped over a white stone. His gasp echoed about the tall walls of chalk and drifted north with the wind. There remained but the sound of flowing streams and of trickling water.

As he walked further into the isle, it seemed to his eyes that wisps of mist moved over hill and mount, twisted over streams and lake. Faint they were but against the twilight they looked conspicuous and none obeyed the drag of the southern wind. Then, when a mass of mist thrust into Serge and through him, a bitter cold ran through his veins. For a moment, the world in his eyes spun and his muscles twitched, and he scarcely knew what went on.

"Do you see the mists moving about?" Serge asked his companions after he regained composure.

"Mist? I don't see any except those between sky and sea behind which the horizon is lost." Said Norris.

"What do you see?" said Radius.

"Mists!" said Serge as he pointed to them. "Twisting and turning about the land. There's one mass of it there, and another just over the lake."

Radius laid a hand on Serge's pointing arm and forced it down to his side.

"Point to nothing," said Radius and the chill of comprehension hit Serge as of a fist to the abdomen. "There's no living here and by your account it seems that some other beings have revealed themselves to you. Are they of any harm, you think, Serge?" scan

Serge inspected all about him and said, "No. It doesn't seem like it."

"They choose who they wish to reveal themselves to. I know not of the reason, but perhaps your paths will one day cross. Until then, our mission requires our focus: Captain Fargo has taken our natives and through you we might just find the help we need here. I say we rest here for the night then; it would be less safe to venture into dark waters in any case."

"We have little choice," said Norris.

"I'm fine with that," said Serge as his shoulders sagged.

"Ooh-la-la! So am I!" Harle said.

And so the four companions found rest within a cavern, a dwelling that before belonged to a native. Dried leaves lay the top of hewn rocks so that it made a bed. And more lay scattered over the floor. A crevice in the center of the cavern held dried wood and there the companions set their fire. Norris rationed dinner and after their meal they retreated into their own dark corners. Light from the fire danced and when night at last laid its cloak over the world, only the last amber glows of the wood remained, and the companions had drifted into slumber.

For Serge, sleep did not come easy and when it did it would be disturbed by dark dreams of Kid's misfortune, of the last of the world. He would wake and then fell asleep to those dreams again and again, until frustration beset him and he hauled himself out of the cavern.

The waning moon barely lit the cavern entrance but had turned a dull blue the water in the lakes. Along the walls of stone were lined in brilliant abundance before with the veins of Elements but now only the glitter of few remained. Not a breeze blew and so fern and shrub stood quiet in the dead of night. Yet, the air was chill as ice, as if from the world of the mists it came. The mists hovered still about the land and here and there they drifted. Then, suddenly came a voice of a lady and Serge started. It sang with a voice of melancholy and with a dialect of the natives, and the tune of it grievous. Tears welled in his eyes and before long his throat felt wet with them.

Then, from the lake a lady emerged. When she came into full view she had not the legs of a human but that the tail of a great fish. Her hair was silver and long and glistened as moon reflected in water. Her skin was blue as the heavens, and no cloth or jewel adorned her naked body. And on air the mermaid floated and came up to Serge.

"How do you like my song?" she spoke and with a voice, low and enchanting. Then, she stroked his face with her warm, blue hand as if to assure him that she was living. Her eyes twinkled in the moonlight and in one he saw a tear of grief. Yet her smile was sweet as honey and it, in ways he could not put into words, moved him. "Irenes is my name. I saw you this evening with your friends. Pardon my poor manners, for I would have at least greeted you but amongst you are faces that I fear. Are you of our kind? Yet before I have not seen you."

"I am Serge," he said, and gently he put her hand away from his face, for he felt uneasy. "My friends are humans indeed, and I used to be. You need not fear us. We did not come here to-- we came to look for help."

She regarded with a look of surprise and then with sadness, she said, "A long story behind that I sense. And not for me, perhaps, to comprehend?"

"I have switched places with a man who belongs to another world. In this other world some things have changed, others remain the same. But there are details and to me it still seems like a great puzzle."

"I see," said Irenes. "So it explains why the air about you is different. Where does then the answer to your puzzle lie?"

"In the Dead Sea, we think. And that's where we are headed. Chief says your kind might know of that place; that's why we came."

"The Dead--?" Irenes gasped. "Of that evil place our kind forbids talk! Who knows what lies beyond it? Sacred ground before it used to be, when as the Sea of Eden it was still known. For generations on the third day of the third month our prayers we offer at the Pearly Gates. For it is said on that day before the beginning of all time through that gate the first of all beings passed and in our world they settled. But..."

Irenes grew increasingly hesitant, and for her reluctance Serge knew she kept in her a wealth of knowledge. But Serge saw little meaning in unearthing against her wishes all that she knew. And so he spoke of something else.

"That song you sang," said Serge. "It is sad. What does it sing?"

"That song was for my sister that before she died I made for her. Zelbess was her name. Fair and beautiful she was, and more than I can ever wish: both in mind and in body. For a human she perished, and for the same will my people."

"You don't mean Fargo, do you? He and your sister?"

"Doubt it do not. No boundaries love knows and between them like a rose and violet in gentle spring it blossomed. And so two lovely children the Sea gave unto them. But scorned them and hunted them did your kind. So from tradition and narrow minds they fled. But the shackles had them and in the fire your kind had set my sister perished. Their children since I have not seen or heard."

At this, Irenes stopped and looked away from Serge. Her eyes at last spoke of pain. Serge let pass a moment before he spoke again.

"And so Fargo took your kind captive."

"Many years have passed since our kind he enslaved, and some by him were driven to death. Those who could not leave in peace here they remained, forever in torment, if them you can see. Only me he left unhurt for my relation with my sister. The loss of Zelbess has changed him and to a thousand words of mine he would listen not. But to fate my heart has yet to give in."

"The Fargo I knew in the other world was a man of honor, even for a pirate."

"The world where all but a few remains the same as this?"

Serge nodded.

Irenes turned a little so that against the pale light the curves of her side stood out as a dark silhouette. Her shoulders, breasts, hip and tail were to his eyes perfect, as of a statue fashioned by chisel and imagination and set in the halls of craft or royalty. When he began to feel that he was staring, mist gathered and fell around her as if to clothe her, and now a faint aura embraced her. Then in a low voice she chanted a hymn of a tongue that seemed to his ears ancient and cryptic. But its words were smooth and flowed as a stream over straight banks, and with a rhythm soothing as the sound of water. And before long the mist left. His gaze shifted from her body and he held it fast upon a terrace of marble.

"Fate has brought us together and for a purpose perhaps, " said Irenes. "A word of advice I thus offer to you: look for the Sage of Marbule aboard Fargo's ship. The key to the gates he alone holds but to easily yield it he will not. For no danger unto the living he would deal. But some strength you might have against what evil beyond Death's Door. And so to convince him otherwise I shall endeavor; for a favor from you in return."

"What favor?" asked Serge.

"That to free my people you shall convince Fargo."

"But how can I do that?"

"To say yes I will not force you, Serge, for if you do to your word I will hold you. Your promise you need not fulfill now; but you must do so someday, before the end of it all. Should my offer you accept not, I believe even a glimpse of where you wish to go you may never get."

Serge folded his arms and contemplated. He cautioned himself against her words that though was heavily accented, was wrought of the elegance of silver. For from within a trap of deceit might spring, even if the natives have been known not to trick and lie. He was wary of the circumstance of their encounter and the manner of her appearance. He doubted the necessity of her offer when he had yet to meet this Sage in person. And the favor required of him seemed too great to pledge, when herself even could not move such a man as Fargo. At last Serge looked to the silver and red crescents for an answer, whilst Irenes waited patiently. But finally he made up his mind.

"Thank you, Irenes," said Serge. "I will do my best to help your people, if I enter the Dead Sea and leave alive."

"'Zelbess' Fargo has named his ship and tomorrow you should find, in the northeastern shore of the central continent, it docked there. For the Sage you must look; but with him I shall speak first. And about her you need not worry."

Serge raised an eyebrow, and to that Irenes said with a smile, "Love I see in your eyes. Good night and sleep well. Bless you will the spirits of Marbule."

And so she left Serge and dove gracefully into the water. Under the sheen of the moon's reflection she slipped silently away. The night turned cool and no longer to his skin it felt chilly. He then returned to the cavern and weariness set him drifting quickly him into slumber. In his dreams he saw her once more as a fair, blue maiden and leader of her people. Great ships docked behind them and in the air were music and songs.

Henceforth, Serge slept soundly for the night, and never woke till dawn.

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Wind blew under the stars as the light of morning crept slowly up from the eastern sky. The waves grew strong along the shores where woken gulls roamed. Some squeaked and crowed and took off for higher ground. Others remained for the food that the sea had brought to their feet. Soon, the first rays of the sun spilled from the horizon and poured into their dwelling the light of fire. The sky was clear and the color of day had begun to wash away the blue of night. Morning had come, but Serge woke instead to the voice of Harle.

"Good morning, old geezer!" she said bluntly to Radius. Then she greeted the rest, "Good morning, Lynx! Good morning, Norris!"

And Serge and Norris greeted her in return.

"I slept through the night oddly if I may say," said Radius. "Did any one of you speak with her? Serge, especially."

And to that Serge replied, "I could not sleep in the earlier hours, and I saw her last night. She advised to look for the Sage on board Fargo's ship, but she'll speak with him in advance."

"Irenes," said Norris. "She remains the only one whom their people love. And it is by your fortune and effort, Serge, that she has agreed to help."

"Not with a favor in return," said Serge. "She has asked for help find a way to free her people from Fargo. I have agreed."

"Oh!" said Harle with arms spread and brows raised as if in disbelief. "But time is always against us! You should have considered duly or consulted us before agreeing to it, or at least haggled for a better deal than for her to just speak with the Sage. How difficult can that be? Did she put a spell on you?" She chuckled and as she tapped a finger on her slips, she said, "Or she offered something secret that we cannot know? She wears nothing I hear!"

That moment, Serge thanked his stars that he was now a cat, and the fur on his face hid the flush of his embarrassment. Guilt poured from her pout of her lips into the glass of his soul and overflowed over its shallow brim. In the back of his mind the silhouette of Irenes against the pale moonlight dazzled with brilliance. And for this Harle had him suddenly convinced that he had made a mistake, and he as she had put had been utterly mesmerized by her elegance and her beauty in the bare.

"We need not help her now, only after our journey is over. And I'm sure we can help!" Serge said and swallowed with little confidence.

"Oh, all can help, my dear Lynx!" said Harle. "Can all succeed?"

"A promise is a priceless and a man should keep to his," said Radius, who cast a furtive glance from the corner of his eye. "Since we are now bound to companionship we shall help him when the occasion demands."

"But who says you and I are bound?" said Harle with a hand raised defiantly. "I am bound only to Serge, and least of all to you! And not till I have passed and many eons later!"

"Have you no honor and respect in a team!" Radius roared. "Or are you finally and merely using Serge to you own ends? You seek the Frozen Flame for yourself: and correct me if I so am wrong."

"I seek the flame not for myself," said Harle as she walked up to Radius and glared up at him. "And I answer not to you!"

And she strode towards the exit of the cavern with the bells at her headdress tinkling in the ironic silence that she left behind. Guilt had wriggled and shrunk into the depth of his heart. Now instead fear troubled him: fear of a confrontation between the two rivals in his team, and found little solution to their bitter differences. They tugged at his sides to their ways and they seemed to him great weights that hindered his journey forward. Pressure built up in his heart and he felt compelled to clear his mind with a roar. But neither of them he felt must leave and great assets they were to the team; and he would bear not to send them away even if need arose.

"What of her past do you know, Norris?" said Radius.

"Little, except that the she once worked for Lynx, Sir Radius," said Norris.

"Is that not reason enough to have her cast out of our team? Lynx is our enemy and he is cunning! I will not have a spy of the enemy among us!"

"She saved me from death," said Serge as calmly as he could. "And that is reason enough for her to stay."

"Serge," protested Radius, "I, too, understand what it means pay a gratitude, but that in many other ways can be done. And the last of them all is to trust her completely."

"But I trust that she will do no harm to us, and I trust her also because I believe she can lead us to the truth of our worlds."

This moment, Harle came walking in with a pot of water, and she set it over burning firewood. On her face Serge could glean no sense of disappointment, and she hummed a joyful tune. No one spoke while she fanned the flames. When the water began to boil she said to them all, "Ooh-la-la! We're ready for breakfast!"

They had breakfast in the same, little cavern, but up and between them tall walls have sprung. When Harle doused the flames, the air turned cold and unfriendly, and so did the looks Radius cast at Harle. Cracks were beginning to find its way into the companionship, and slowly it crept and them it divided. When the sun rose above the entrance and cast soon the interior in shadow: then, the divide seemed now as great spans across chasms and deeper than the dark of night.

A long quarter of an hour passed. At last, Harle stood from where she sat, and danced out of their dwelling.

"I'll find myself at the Zodiac!" she said, back towards all.

This while, Radius, planted on firm ground his walking stick and stood up. "Serge," he said, "she keeps too much that she knows from us. Her eyes are deeper than the child she tries to play. She's waiting. Waiting for something. For what I cannot tell, though I know it must be evil against us. But if this is your decision still I accept it... for now. But I can make no promises, and I cannot stay my sword, if she proves to put our task and lives in danger, or if fury should consume me."

Radius fell sullen and creases of deep thought appeared on his forehead.

"I fear we may not live even to regret this, if ever she shows to us all her true colors."

He left the cavern. And Serge and Norris trailed.