Chapter Six: Relics
The sun rose over the forest the following morning. The autumn air blew between the trees chilling the expedition as it set out from the camp into the depths of the forest. Dyrasmon led the way with John and the map not far behind. The beginning of the journey was the easy part and everyone was in fine spirits, aside from Xander, who yawned and tried to rest every chance he got. Thompson noted that despite the onset of fall only a handful of trees were shedding their foliage but despite his best efforts he couldn't tell the species apart.
The troop was walking along a well known trail according to Leomon, one that he and his group of freedom fighters used often. The Tulismon didn't know of the path, the great lion assured them but still many in the group were on edge. Haomon in particular seemed continuously jumpy, in no small part thanks to the charge of electricity in the feline's fur. Haomon's keen cat eyes studied every shadow and his ears perked at the snap of every twig. Some saw this as on-edge paranoia, but this was how Haomon liked it, there was always an element of unpredictability to life in the Digital World and Haomon's senses were sharpened to perfection so that he could expect the unexpected. Something had him more calm than usual, he had company. Vera walked beside him every so often reaching her hand over to pet his fur, an action that often got her shocked by static electricity. Haomon didn't mind the physical affection though normally being petted was a sign of being subjugated or belittled with Vera there was no condescension, just a friendly ruffle of the fur.
The hike lagged on into early afternoon when Xander's constant moaning nearly got them attacked by a swarm of Flymon. Xander had shut up after that, the benefits of complaining were not at all worth a six inch bee stinger to the face. Giant bees made Thompson scratch his head. Back on Earth it was a matter of contention with scientists about how bees managed to fly, he wondered if they'd flat out faint at the sight of one of the five foot tall Flymon buzzing about the Digital World.
The group stopped by a clear stream in mid-afternoon enjoying a hearty meal by the babbling brook and conserving the water in their supplies by drinking from the stream. Leomon assured them it was safe.
"Water here tastes the same as on Earth," Xander noted, splashing about and doing a victory dance.
"I'm not sure I want to drink it now that he's been in there," Solara joked.
"This place, Earth, what is it like?" Dyrasmon asked.
"Well," John started to explain, "it's not like here in the Digital World. Most people live in cities; there aren't many forests left, least not ones this big."
"Oh, why not? Did some disaster destroy the trees? A disease of the root perhaps."
"No," John replied suddenly somber, "no we humans did it, we used the trees up."
"You mean you did not wait for them to grow old and fall or get struck by lightning?" Dyrasmon asked, astounded and appalled, "You actually… cut them down."
"I didn't," John tried to explain, "my kind did. There are billions of humans."
"Then I imagine they cut down a great many trees!" Dyrasmon shouted in outrage flying off into the woods. John started to walk after her but was stayed by Leomon's furry paw.
"Let her go. Dyrasmon has led a sheltered life in these woods. Her kind are in tune with the nature of the Digital World. We have had deforestation here in the Digital World before that is why we no longer cut down the trees. This forest is old. It was the only one on the island to survive without being touched."
"Dyrasmon doesn't know about that either," John reasoned, "poor girl."
"Humon nature sounds similar to Digimon nature," Leomon nodded, "and they call us the intelligent beings. Come now, everyone finish eating and get ready, we have more ground to cover today before nightfall."
John packed up his bag and moved down the trail ahead of the others, hoping to find Dyrasmon. There she was flittering between flowers humming a happy tune but John could tell just by her posture as she flew that her mind was on what he'd said. He'd never in a million years thought he'd upset a fairy. He approached her quietly but he could tell she knew he was there even before he'd started toward her.
"I'm sorry," John said.
"No need to be," Dyrasmon sighed, "I have not set foot or wing beyond this forest… I cannot imagine city life, crowded and trapped, and I cannot imagine a world without these beautiful trees."
"They are beautiful," John said, marveling up at them.
"Yes, you are-" Dyrasmon slipped, "THEY! Hehe, they are. Yes they are beautiful."
"You're blushing, I didn't know Digimon could blush," John smiled.
"Please, do not poke fun at me."
"I'm not," John chuckled, "I'm just saying. Come on, let's get back to the others before they get worried."
The troop packed up and continued their westward trek deep into the Dark Forest. The food in their stomachs helped alleviate the ache of their feet, though many times Leomon and the other Digimon were so far ahead of the six they had to stop and sit for a few minutes to let them catch up. Patamon was having trouble keeping up too. His wings weren't designed to long distances and he spent much of the hike on Anselm's shoulder or in Anselm's arms. Anselm didn't mind, the little guy only weighed maybe ten pounds, less than the pack of personal supplies on Anselm's back. Patamon had to resist the urge not to eat the food out of the pack when Anselm wasn't looking and Anselm made a game out of trying to catch him sneaking a snack.
The sun was soon low in the sky but they'd managed to put a good four miles between them and the stream. They took up refuge amongst the trees setting up a makeshift camp in a matter of a few minutes. Leomon rolled out the Sheepmon wool bedrolls and Bogmon and Xander went out in search of loose branches, promising Dyrasmon not to break any off any living trees if they could help it. Thompson noticed the banter Bogmon and Xander often exchanged and noticed that Anselm and Patamon too seemed almost inseparable.
"Solara," he said to her gesturing toward Xander and Bogmon as they came back to camp carrying some more firewood, "have you noticed?"
"Yeah, he's found himself a little friend, one who smells about as bad as him," she chuckled, half hoping he'd hear her playful jab.
"Not just him. Anselm and Patamon… John and Dyrasmon."
"Vera and Haomon too," Solara nodded, "so what's your point?"
"Not sure really," Thompson admitted, "but if they become too friendly we might have some strange new friends coming home with us."
"If we ever go home," Solara reminded him, "I don't know about you but this place doesn't seem half bad."
"Yeah," Thompson said, his thoughts distant.
"Well, goodnight," Solara said lying on her wool bed with a yawn, "don't think yourself into insomnia."
Thompson sat up for an hour after everyone had gone to bed, listening to the wind in the trees and the sounds of hoops and hollers in the distance. Were all these sounds those of Digimon? All Digimon seemed sentient, what use would they have for those sorts of vocalizations? Questions swirled around in his mind as he rest his head, desperately racing to catch sleep. He knew they had more work to do. The Temple still lay ahead of them and part of him hoped it would hold the answers to this strange new world and everything that had transpired.
The next day they were off before the sun was even up. The two moons of the Digital World still hung in the sky even after an hour of heavy hiking. They were off the trail now, making their own way through the forest with Dyrasmon as a guide. She knew each tree by heart and though to most eyes they would have all looked alike she could tell them apart. The group made good time, crossing five miles before lunch and totaling ten by supper. Dyrasmon grew more excited, and more reverent of the forest, as they grew deeper. Even Xander kept his complaints quiet, a reverence overcoming all of them as they drew close. As evening came they entered a part of the forest so dense that the waning light of the sun could not pierce the canopy of the trees. Dyrasmon drew them all to a stop, pointing to a distant stone structure built into the solid rock face built into a natural rock cave.
"Here it is," Dyrasmon whispered, "I dare not get too close."
"Why is that dear?" a strange voice answered in the dark. All torches pointed toward the source of the voice to see a strange wrinkled woman with lavender skin. She looked almost human but something about her seemed very very off.
"Who are you?" Leomon asked, not looking to fight an old Digimon.
"Delphimon's the name my heroic friend," the old hag cackled, "You have come for the Temple. Your hearts… yes they all seem pure enough," she assessed with a wave of her palm in front of their group. The entire group started forward toward the cave, "Know this travelers, the Temple only opens for those Called by Destiny… no Digimon may enter."
"No Digimon, preposterous!" Leomon proclaimed, "What could that mean?"
"Duh dumb-dumbs," Patamon laughed, "she means the humans."
The six who could not call themselves Digimon exchanged glances as they approached the massive vault-like door of stone. With tentative steps they stepped forward. A wind swept over them, carrying with it a calm energy that brought bravery to their steps. They faced the door, each pressing a palm to it as if directed by some unseen force. A bright flash emanated from a crystalline sphere that was embedded in the center of the door but rather than backpedal the six stood firm as the door slid into an opening in the floor. The way was clear and Leomon bravely stepped forward, only to feel a painful smack as he walked directly into the door.
"How, it wasn't there a second ago," Leomon grumbled rubbing his nose, though his pride was more damaged than he was.
"Best to let those Called by Destiny handle this," Xander assured him.
Truth be told Xander wasn't quite sure about the whole thing but something in him told him it would be okay. He had to admit their arrival in the Digital World did seem a bit like destiny. The six of them stepped forward into the Temple and breathed a collective sigh of relief when they realized they were mentally and physically unharmed as they stood on the other side. They nearly fell forward as the door behind them slammed shut closing them into the darkness. There was light within the chamber though, emanating from a set of bright spheres, similar to the one on the door that lined the floor along the way. The lights flickered to life from a dull dim to a blinding blue-white.
Their eyes explored the rest of the chamber as spheres on the cavernous ceiling began to glow. It was a massive Temple. There were six pools of crystal water built into the cavern floor in front of them and etchings of intricate scenes were made into the stone beneath them. They reminded Thompson of those underground in the city, before they'd found the staircase. The six of them walked into the middle of the room soon realizing they were at the center of a massive shape.
"Hexagram," Solara and Thompson said at seemingly the same time.
"I think each of us should stand at one corner," Thompson theorized.
"How do we know that won't activate a bobby-trap and kill us?" Xander asked, the sheer size of the chamber squashing any optimism he'd had.
"Look, we came in here to get relics right?" John argued, "Do you see any relics?"
"No," Xander admitted, "but how is standing at each point of this hexa-thingy supposed to make the relics appear."
"Damn it Xander," Solara complained, pointing out that all of them were in position but him, "it's just a hunch."
Xander admitted defeat standing at his corner on the edge of the reflecting pool. He stared into the dark water, wondering how long it'd been underground and what sort of strange rituals it might have been used for. He had a feeling he was about to find out as the floor began to rumble and a circular carving beneath his feet was pushed in. He noticed the others had been pushed in as well and the whole cavern shook with a strange resonance. A slot had opened in the center of the hexagram and a strange circular altar was lifted from the floor before them. It too had a hexagram carved into it and each point of the star seemed to have a strange metallic object in it. The six of them approached.
"It's like, an MP3 player or something," Xander said picking up one of the devices, "one from a really long time ago."
"What would an MP3 player be doing here?" John asked.
"Well," Xander said trying to sound smart, "it is the DIGITAL World."
"I don't think it's an MP3 player," Thompson said picking up one of the devices, "but it does have a screen."
"It's a piece of technology of some kind," Vera agreed, holding one of them.
"It's a relic," Anselm said examining one of them, feeling that strange energy return to the air.
"There are only five," Thompson realized, seeing that Solara's point of the star didn't have one.
"This one might be missing," Solara theorized, "grave robbers often raid temples."
The ground began to rumble and the lit spheres flickered on and off erratically. The table slid back into the floor as the quake continued to shake the cavern. None of them liked the look of the cavern ceiling above as several small rocks came tumbling down. It was only a matter of time before the whole place would end up on their heads and soon all six pairs of feet moved toward the exit. They all stepped back out into the night, only Solara looked back, though she scarcely knew why. Outside night had fully fallen and Leomon and the others had camp already set up and a fire roaring.
"You found them?" Leomon asked, unable to gage the emotion on their faces.
"We think so," Thompson answered, handing off his device hoping Leomon could provide some answers.
"What… what is this?" Leomon asked, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind. It seems, metallic."
"They are metallic," Thompson confirmed.
"They?" Leomon echoed. The five who had recovered the devices showed them now. Leomon handed the device back to Thompson, noting that the screen lit up brightly when he did, "strange, it seemed to react to you. You were the only ones who could enter and now the relics seem only to react to your touch."
"I'm not sure we have enough information to say for sure," Thompson cautioned, "we shouldn't jump to conclusions."
"Hand me one of the others," Leomon said. Anselm handed him the relic and nothing happened, "now I will hand it back."
Once again the device lit up as bright as could be, illuminating the forest all around far beyond the reach of the campfire.
"This means something," Leomon said, "this is important. These relics were meant to be in the hands of Humons, they have a strange power."
"They light up and are pretty and all," Xander admitted, "but what's the big deal."
"The legends, they mentioned things like this," Leomon rambled excitedly, "Strange travelers wielding ancient magic… Sorcerymon will know what this means."
"Sorcerymon? This doesn't mean more walking does it?" Xander moaned.
"He lives atop Fortes Mountain, if it were not for the trees we would see its peak from here."
"So that's a definite yes on the more walking then," Xander nodded, "tell you what, how about you guys go and I'll stay here."
"You wouldn't last ten minutes in these woods," Dyrasmon smirked.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Solara agreed.
"Ditto," John nodded to his fairy friend.
"Fine, we'll go see this Sorcerymon," Xander groaned conceding defeat.
Thompson sat and listened as they made their plans to travel up to the summit village of Fortes Mountain to seek the guidance of Sorcerymon. Thompson was amazed that despite Xander's copious complaints he hadn't once mentioned a desire to head home. This Digital World had grown on them in the short span they'd spent there. It'd been just under a week since their arrival and already they'd made new friends and come to terms with this bizarre new world. He was impressed that none of them seemed all that homesick. For Thompson it was easy, being a bit of an introvert by nature he had a powerful ability for escapism and this Digital World was a perfect escape from the rat race of teenage life. His hellish family life was even less inviting than the politics of public school. He turned his mind from home and back to their present situation. The finding of these relics truly did deepen the mystery of their arrival in this strange new place and the answers, he hoped, awaited them at the top of Fortes Mountain. As he drifted to sleep on a soft woolen bedroll he hoped that the Digital World would be his home for many nights to come.