Here it is! Showdown in Narayan! *dun Dun DUN!*
Thanks to Winona for the reviews. I appreciate me more then I could ever express.
Grey. That was the first thing that came to her mind.
She had arrived in a small chamber. The walls were a greyish green. Grey roots and dead vines wound around machinery. Narayan was a blend of nature and mechanics. The only color she could see was the brilliant red of the tapestries that hung from the wall. Gold symbols were stitched on them, translations of Narayan symbols into D'ni text. From the archways, she could see that the dead tree she was in was sealed off from the rest of the Age by a large, thick, icy shield. The shield that Saveedro had spoken of.
It was so quiet. A pin drop would sound like a gun shot. Where was Saveedro?
A metal stairway led up and out to the top of the tree. Through a gate of tangled hardened roots, she could see a gondola like the ones in Saveedro's paintings, evidently the means of transportation in Narayan. There was another opening to get to the gondola, but it seemed there was an inner shield that blocked the gondola area as well as a larger outer shield that blocked the rest of the Age. Several consoles were locked, not receiving any power.
The top of the tree consisted of a metal platform built over greenish grey spores. A small metal shack was built off to one side. She had standing in the middle of the platform, trying to get her bearings when the door of the shack opened.
Melody jumped and braced herself.
Saveedro himself stepped out holding Releeshan in one hand, a rock hammer in the other and had an expectant smile on his face.
Until he saw her.
Then his smile faded to shock.
"You… What are you doing here? You're not the one. Where is he?"
"Saveedro," Melody said, holding up her hands to protect herself if necessary. "You don't have to…"
"I know he's here!" Saveedro insisted. "I have his book!"
"Saveedro, listen," she said calmly. "There are a lot of things you have to know…"
"He's not here," he said, not acknowledging that she had spoken. "I take Releeshan from him and he sends you instead."
"He didn't send me at all," she informed him. "I followed you."
"Idiot," he muttered and turned away from her.
"Hey who are you calling names nut case?"
"You actually believed this would work?"
"I had to act on the spur of the moment," she said defensively. "Don't judge me! It's all your fault anyway!"
"You thought you could force him into coming here? Fixing things? Why?" It was then that Melody realized Saveedro was not talking to her. He was talking to himself. "Why would he re-write Narayan?! Because of your messages, because of your paintings?! Look at your world! Look at what's left of it!"
"Okay," she said out loud, backing away. "Obviously you are still having issues. Let's just calm down and talk things over."
"When are you going to get it through your head that you do not matter it him?!"
"Okay," she backed away even more. "No talking."
He suddenly seemed to remember she was there. He stopped and looked up at her.
Oh crap, she thought as he came toward her. She braced herself to run, but he stopped few feet away and leaned over her. "You're stuck here you know. The linking book back to J'nanin is gone. Left behind when I linked out of Atrus' study. And as for getting into Narayan, look around you. The chamber below us is the only way in. Atrus installed some kind of shield and I have never been able to get passed it. Not once in all these years. So you're just as stuck here as I am. At least until I open this book."
Melody's eyes went to Releeshan, then back to him. "Saveedro, you don't have to do this. Give me Releeshan. Please."
"No," he said, backing away. "I'm going to open this book. And then I'll show Atrus what it's like to watch your friends and relatives die."
"Saveedro no," Melody said firmly, stepping forward. "I won't let you."
He raised the hammer and she stopped in her tracks. "Don't push me girl. I literally have nothing to lose." He turned and headed back for the shack, then stopped and looked back at her. "If you do find a way out of here, I suggest you think very carefully about using it. Because one thing I know about linking books : the doors they open… don't close behind you…"
He entered the shack and shut the door.
Melody raced toward it and jerked on the handle, but it was locked. "Saveedro! Saveedro unlock this door!" She banged on the metal, hurting her hand. "Did it ever occur to you that Atrus didn't come because you set his home on fire?!"
There was no answer. She indulged in a healthy bit of name-calling and making faces, then turned away in frustration. What was she supposed to do now? She had limited time before Saveedro broke the lock on Releeshan and took his revenge on the people she had come to love just as much as Atrus. All she could do was explore and try to find some way to convince Saveedro to listen to her.
She found a switch, but it didn't really do anything. She followed the pipe down the stairs and back to the room she linked into. The consoles still weren't getting any power, but now she noticed a router switch between them. When she opened one of the consoles, she saw there was a place to enter four symbols. She only had three from the lessons Ages, so maybe she needed to find the fourth for Narayan.
The other console really confused her. It had three places to enter four symbols for a total of twelve symbols for one console. Was this where she entered the symbols of the three lesson Ages? According to the tapestries, the symbols she had drawn on the papers were a combination of two Narayan symbols for each Age. She needed more than that. It was like she only had half of a message.
On a podium next to the tapestries she found a small book in D'ni writing. Evidently Saveedro couldn't read D'ni. Fortunately Atrus had taught her enough for her to make out what the few papers said:
Energy Powers Future Motion was followed by a drawing of the symbol that had been on the window of the tusk that held the linking book to Voltaic.
Nature Encourages Mutual Dependence was followed by a drawing of the symbol on the Edanna book.
Dynamic Forces Spur Change had the symbol for Amateria next to it.
Using the tapestries to convert the words into Narayan symbols, she was able to come up with the four symbols for each lesson Age. Once she entered them into the console, it shut and went down into the floor. The inner shield that had been blocking the way to the gondola disappeared. She went out to the dock by the gondola. The outer shield was still up, so there was no way to use the gondola to go anywhere.
Another metal staircase led downward into another room. The only thing in that room was a podium with a linking book. Melody rushed forward and grabbed it, her hands shaking. This was it! The linking book back to Tomahna. She opened the book and felt a wave of longing as she watched the fly-by of the orange red canyons and the blue sky of her home. She could go home…
She paused, her hand hovering over the panel. Saveedro's threat replayed in her mind: the doors they open don't close behind you. If she used the linking book to go home, Saveedro would follow her and kill everyone. She couldn't put them in danger.
It was difficult, but she closed the book and put it back on the podium. She couldn't go home. Not yet. Not until she had saved Releeshan and dealt with Saveedro.
Another thing of interest was another tapestry, but this one was a phrase in D'ni:
Balanced Systems Stimulate Civilizations
That had to be the code for Narayan! She ran back upstairs and headed for the tapestries. After translating the words into symbols, she entered them into the console for Narayan.
She was rewarded by the inner shield closing so the outer shield could open. Melody gasped. The reddish-pink glow of the sky over the white fluffy clouds was breathtaking. But the more shocking thing was the large tree in the distance. It didn't look dead. It looked… alive! There were people still alive out there!
She heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to face Saveedro with a smile. "Look!" she exclaimed, pointing toward the tree.
He looked shell-shocked. "They're… alive!" He smiled brightly as he came toward her. "How did you…?" he looked beyond her at the console. "The symbols… of course…"
"I am so happy for you Saveedro," she said sincerely, "I truly am. There is no reason for you to harm Releeshan or anyone on it now. Please, give me the book and go to your family. I'm sure they are waiting for you."
He looked at her oddly, like he couldn't understand how she knew so much about him. He looked down at the book and narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. He didn't trust her. That was understandable. Look where he had gotten after the last people he had trusted. Melody just smiled encouragingly and waited.
Keeping a firm grip on the book, he flipped the router switch so the inner shield would go down in order for him to reach the gondola. The inner shield went down, but with the power redirected to deactivate the inner shield the outer shield reactivated.
"He gives me hope only to destroy me with it," Saveedro said to himself, then looked up at her. "I still have something you want. Something that he sent you to bring back for him."
He didn't send me, she wanted to say but kept her mouth shut. Back talking wasn't going to get her anywhere. Well, anywhere good.
"When I go out by the gondola," he continued. "Switch the router so the outer shield is down. And in return, I'll give up Releeshan."
Like I'm going to believe you, she thought. "Give me Releeshan and I'll drop the barrier," she countered.
"You are in no position to make demands," he snarled, once again lifting the hammer. "Do as I say or I swear I'll destroy Releeshan and then I'll come after you before returning to Tomahna and finishing what I started. Drop the shield. Do it!"
He stomped through the doorway and stood by the gondola.
Melody blew out her breath in frustration. He was right. She couldn't make demands while he had the upper hand. While he still had Releeshan. She had to get it away from him somehow. There was no way she could trust him to keep up his end of the bargain. He hated Atrus so much that even if he could return to his people he would destroy Releeshan in the name of revenge.
She looked toward the stairs that led to the roof. Maybe it was time for her to have the upper hand…
She climbed the stairs and found the power lever she had turned earlier. Now that the shields were operational, then the power lever should control the power levels of both now. She felt a twinge of guilt for what she was about to do, but then she remembered all of the threats and she felt better.
She could see Saveedro pacing by the gondola below. Taking a firm grip on the lever, she turned it.
Both shields powered up, trapping Saveedro in between. Saveedro stood shocked, looked around, then up at her. She stared back with no expression on her face.
He covered his face with his hand. "Oh no…" she heard him mutter. "Idiot… No… No! No! No, no, no, no!" He fell to his knees and placed his forehead on the ground, rocking back and forth.
It pained her to put a man in such a position. She wished there had been another way. Now it was time to see if he was ready to talk.
Saveedro couldn't believe he had been so stupid. He had been so close… so close to returning to his family. Then one mistake had cost him his hope again. He should have known not to turn his back on the girl. She was a friend of Atrus. She was a friend of his family. She was no different than they had been. And now she had betrayed him as well.
He heard footsteps and looked up. It was her. The girl. She stood at the gate, her green eyes watching him warily.
"Oh no…," he told her, getting to his feet. "Please, don't do this to me. Not when my family could still be alive out there."
"I'm sorry it had to come to this Saveedro," she said. "But you really gave me no choice. Now you really have to listen…"
"You want the book?" he asked. "I'll give you the book," he slipped it between the hardened roots. "Only please…" he begged, getting on his knees. "Please… don't do this." Holding the book, she looked at him uncertainly. He got up and backed away. "Please… I can't do this again" He had to make her understand. He couldn't lose his family again. "Don't leave me trapped here like this! I can't!"
It was useless. She just stared at him. She wouldn't help him. How could he expect her to do anything for him? Especially now that she had what she wanted… "NO! No! No, no, no, no!"
He crumpled to the ground again. It was over… his life… his future… it was all over… all of his plans… twenty years wasted...
He was still going to die alone.
Only this time, there was no fog to swallow his mind. Nothing to make him forget his agony.
Poor Saveedro. Feeling sorry for him yet? If you don't you have no heart.
What will Melody do?