6 – View
Rachel, Jordan and Maddy stood before the sunflower with the magnifying lens in it and looked out over the seemingly endless, deep blue ocean of Edanna. It was a beautiful sight, and in each one of them it prompted a different memory.
As Jordan looked out over the ocean, he thought of the desert. The desert was home to him, and it was beautiful. The ubiquitous towering dunes, the flawlessly silent sky, but most of all the omnipresent sun. It was untouched, and to him, its beauty could never be equalled by even the most stunning of Atrus' worlds.
As Rachel looked out over the ocean, she thought of Riven. Their journey to the Fifth Age ten years ago had taught her so much about suffering. The Rivenese had suffered deeply under Gehn's misguided rule, and yet they had held on and survived. Their story was inspirational to her, and the endless ocean could not help but make her think back to the similarly beautiful oceans of Riven.
As Maddy looked out over the ocean, she thought of Myst. The island had always intrigued her, and she didn't think they'd even managed to scratch the surface of its secrets. One day, she wanted to spend more time there, getting to know every stone, every brick, every plant, every book. Then, maybe, she thought, I might get to know all the island's secrets.
When Maddy looked down and saw how far the ocean was away from them, it stopped reminding her of Myst and started reminding her of Channelwood, which made her feel sick.
Soon, old friend. Soon you'll know my pain.
You claim to know my pain now. "I know how you feel," you'll say. But you're a fool! You can't possibly know how I feel. Nobody can possibly know how I feel unless they've experienced what I have – having to watch, helpless, whilst everything you care about is taken from you.
You think you can see, but you can't. You can't see. You're blind to the pain and suffering that your sons caused. But don't worry... I'll make you see.
I can see. That icy foe, your cursed shield, stops me from seeing directly, but my mind can see. It sees death. Destruction. But I want to see something else. I want to see life and prosperity. I want to see what you see in your beloved book that sits here at my feet.
I want to see what you see. And I will. One way or another. If you won't make Narayan look like Releeshahn... I'll make Releeshahn look like Narayan. Then you'll understand.
Brittany looked up from her reading, distracted again by Atrus, who was pacing laps of the kitchen again. Catherine was sitting at the table outside, also trying to read but being constantly distracted by Atrus.
"For heaven's sake, Atrus, stop pacing and sit down!" Catherine finally interjected after this had gone on for another ten minutes or so. "Do some reading. Do some writing. Just stop pacing!"
"I'm sorry, my love..." Atrus sighed as he sank down on the couch. "I can't help being worried. About Releeshahn, about the D'ni survivors, and about our friends. I've no idea where they went, since the linking book was destroyed."
"At least they have some idea what they're doing," Brittany said, putting her book down. "When Jordan and Rachel first came to Myst, they hadn't a clue what was happening, and they managed to survive."
"Yes, I suppose so..."
Catherine sighed and snapped her book shut. "You have to do something to take your mind off this, Atrus, or you'll go mad with worry. Read a book. Go for a walk."
"I don't know -"
"You have to do something," Brittany said forcefully. She had had an idea. "Tell you what. I'll give you a couple of games of chess. How does that sound?"
Atrus paused to think on this. "Yes, all right. I'll go get a board." He disappeared off towards the master bedroom. Catherine smiled appreciatively.
"Thanks, Brittany. And good thinking. He finds it hard to turn down a little chess. I wish I could play. That'd keep him entertained."
"You're welcome. I'll teach you one day, if you like."
Atrus returned, carrying a finely-crafted wooden board and a small box containing the pieces, which were also of master craftsmanship. He and Brittany set the pieces up quickly, and sat down. Catherine went to start making dinner.
After descending from the heights of the topmost branches on a corkscrew-like elevator plant, Jordan, Rachel and Maddy were worming their way through the tangled plants of the Edannese jungle. The path they were walking seemed fairly well-beaten, but that didn't make them feel any more comfortable – in stark contrast to the bright upper levels, the light down here was quite dim, and the constant muttering of insects did nothing to ease their tensions. After walking for what seemed like hours to Rachel, but in reality was only a minute or two, the three of them came upon a log bridging a painful-looking drop down into an array of plants – some harmless-looking, some not so. The log looked fairly sturdy, but it was covered in the same expanding moss that they had already seen on J'nanin whilst crossing to the tusk. Maddy had doubts.
"Is it safe to walk on that thing?"
Jordan put a foot out on it and pushed down. The log groaned slightly, but did not give.
"Feels okay. We haven't much choice, anyway."
The three of them crossed tentatively, one at a time. At the other side, they sank down onto the cool rock outcrop to rest for a while. They were slowly getting used to the atmosphere down here – it was humid, but not uncomfortably so, and the lack of much sunlight at all stopped it from getting too hot. Nothing had jumped out at them from the bushes looking to make a meal of them, and so far the biggest creature they'd seen down here was a glowing purple stingray, munching on some roots.
Without warning, the air was pierced by a sudden loud crashing noise and a series of loud cries, startling the three of them to their feet. Once the echoes of the cries, which had sounded like a bird, had died down, there was silence again, apart from the conti nued buzz of insects.
"What the hell was that?" whispered Rachel. She had gone rather pale.
"I don't know," muttered Jordan, "but whatever it was, it seems to have gone now. Come on, let's keep moving."
The three of them pressed forward, cautiously. It wasn't long until they found themselves walking through a sort of rock tunnel, curving around to the right and lit by small luminous insects on the walls. It opened out, after a short while, onto a small outcrop dominated by what looked like a large, rolled-up leaf, blocking their passage.
"What is this thing?"
"It's a leaf."
"Yes, I know it's a – oh, for heaven's sake..."
Rachel was looking at something hanging next to the leaf. "What's this, do you think?" She pointed. It appeared to be a pupa-like plant, with a long spiralled tail dangling off it.
"Plant with a tail." Maddy was in one of her moods. She reached over and, despite protest from Jordan and Rachel, pulled the tail. It sprang back upwards into the plant, and the outer layers opened out, throwing a bright light over everything.
"Well, what do you know." Jordan was stunned. "A lamp plant. What next?"
As the light fell on it, the curled-up leaf next to them shuddered violently and unfurled itself, extending three yards or so out over the chasm. The three of them cautiously walked out onto the leaf, which was surprisingly sturdy. It had opened out over the same chasm that was bridged by the log – they could see it across in front of them, away from the leaf. The leaf ended not more than a third of the way across the chasm, where a large beehive-like plant dangled a strong blue rope down in front of them. Off to the right was a small outcrop containing an intricate-looking device that appeared to be some sort of animal trap.
"All right..." said Maddy after a minute. "I think we must have to use this vine thing to swing over there..." she pointed at a dimly lit landing across the chasm, "but the log is in the way. Ideas?"
"Not really..." This one had Rachel stumped. "One of us should use this vine thing to swing over to that outcrop and see if there's anything useful over there."
"Rook to f7... checkmate."
Atrus scratched his beard. Brittany was good. They'd played four games so far, and Brittany was leading him two and a half to one and a half.
"Time for a break, Atrus," said Brittany, leaning back and stretching. "I need something to eat. You're a good player."
"So are you, my friend," replied Atrus, resetting the board before getting up for a drink of water. "We should play more often."
"We should... although, Rachel is better than I am. You should play her as well."
"I'd get beaten to no end," chuckled Atrus.
"I always do," smiled Brittany.
Rachel stumbled onto the outcrop with the animal trap, clutching the blue vine tightly. She let it go and it swung back to where Jordan and Maddy stood on the unfurled leaf.
"Remind me again why I had to do this?" she called back over the chasm.
"Because rock breaks scissors," called back Jordan. "And it was your idea. Now what's over there?"
Rachel turned and scouted around the small area. Apart from the trap, the outcrop was bare except for a plant bearing a strange sort of pinkish-purple fruit.
"Nothing but the trap and some sort of fruit plant," she called back. She pulled one of the plum-sized fruit from the plant and held it up.
"Is it edible?"
"You and your stomach, Maddy," sighed Rachel. "I wouldn't risk it." She put the fruit down and climbed down through a small opening, landing back in the small rocky tunnel that they had come through earlier. Getting up and dusting herself off, she walked back over to the leaf, where Jordan and Maddy were waiting for her.
"Well... what now?"
There was silence between them. This gave them the opportunity to hear a sudden scuffling noise and turn to look over at the outcrop. One of the rabbit-like creatures they had seen on J'nanin had scurried out of the jungle and was nibbling at the pink fruit, apparently oblivious to the presence of the three humans.
Without speaking, Rachel leant over to the trigger attached to the trap, which was within their reach from here, and pulled it. The trap dropped down, striking the ground with a snap, barely a foot away from the rabbit, which leapt away, startled, still clasping the fruit. It darted away down the same opening that Rachel had slid down, running out onto the log. It paused, turning to look at the three of them looking at it, and chirped loudly. Perfectly on cue, the moss covering the log inflated with a groan and a creak. The log splintered, startling the rabbit to dart off into the forest right before the log snapped in half and dropped down into the chasm.
"So..." said Jordan after a minute, "one at a time on this vine, or all together?"