It Is Said (Mathias Bootmaker and the Keepers of the Sandbox) (14 page)

“Elias wanted a tower that would reach up into the void. He wanted a crystal flame lit from within. He wanted to project our presence out into the void,” he said loudly as the drink emboldened him. “He used the finest sand from the village shores to create the intricate glass shapes. Each one then projected a different magnification of brilliance to the outer reaches of the Darke Sky.”

Mathias was listening intently but he was looking at the silver flask in his hand. The engraving provided validity to the man he was drinking with.

‘to my faithful friend and fellow traveler’
e.d
.

The innkeeper was the man he portrayed himself to be. He was a first hand witness to everything that had happened to this place. Here he was, sitting at the end of the broken road that once led to the amazing structure he and his fellow traveler had brought to life. He spoke lovingly of his friend as he stared into the open gash that now separated his world.

“At the celebration and dedication, Elias lit the crystal flame with a type of light we had never seen before,” Ulysses continued. “The mirrors he designed to reflect and further magnify the light began their circles turning within circles movement, and the signal of our existence began to pulse out and into the void.”

Mathias handed the flask back to the innkeeper. He took a long drink and passed it back.

“Have another drink stranger,” Ulysses said with a smile. “You’re going to need it.”

“How did Elias come to power?” Mathias asked before he took another smaller drink.

“We wanted only the best for our families so we selected one among us who would always steer us in the right direction. He was the most skilled inventor, scientist and thinker in the village, but Elias’s greatest talent was his ability to inspire people to accomplish the extraordinary. He believed that if we could reach beyond ourselves then great things were possible.”

Finished with the flask, Mathias handed it to Ulysses. The innkeeper took yet another long drink. He held onto it this time.

“We chose Elias, and Eleanor came with him. She was our jewel. She cared for all the people in the present while he shaped our future.
 
She was there when we grieved, and encouraged us to celebrate whenever we succeeded. She reminded us that we were all related by blood, marriage or guild, and together we became the People.

“They were partners in all things heart, mind and soul. They loved each other with everything they had. Their love inspired us. They represented everything we wanted to be. They were the best of us, and we entrusted them to lead us into the future.

“Together they decided our first undertaking would be to build a gathering place where we could exchange ideas and knowledge, trade and barter, create commerce, and join together to celebrate the joys and accomplishments of making things better for everyone in the village and for all the generations that would follow.”

Ulysses looked at the flask in his hand. He rocked his hand back and forth as he looked at his reflected image. Mathias knew he was looking for an image of his friend. Not finding one, the innkeeper ran his fingers across the inscription.

“As the castle rose, Elias quietly invented the illuminator. He applied that light to the crystal flame. He then contained it within a glass sphere and brought light to the People. He lit the castle and the village. Illuminators were used to light our homes and our surroundings. We applied his work to everything in our lives and it changed us.”

Ulysses took the last swallow of his creation, corked the empty flask and returned the gift to his pocket.

“When Elias died the illuminators went out. That’s how we all knew something had happened. Without the man, without the light, the village slipped into the void again. None of us have dreamt since that night. Not since the light left us.”

The slightly drunk innkeeper stood up and stretched. He looked down at Mathias.

“We need to make our way to the shore,” Ulysses said as he started walking. “We’ve been in the same place for far too long.”

Mathias jumped to his feet and tried to catch up.

“We’ll use the path down. It was built as a way to access the shore in order to move supplies and materials down to the boats,” he explained.

Just a few paces from where they sat, there was a wide dirt packed pathway. It was cut into the cliff wall at various angles. Mathias could see that the pathway zigzagged its way down to the shore. The downward angle was sharp, but the walk was comfortable. Carts with materials would move liberally but could be controlled.

Efficiently designed by Lord Darke, Mathias was sure.

“Once completed Elias would spend hours, even days working up in his tower,” Ulysses began again. “Always with a book in hand and always looking up at the void. Searching for what, no one ever knew because there was nothing in their void. But he believed there was something out there in his sky.”

“What type of experiments was he working on?”

“Elias had several projects going at once. In one, we took stones and minerals from all around us, ground and mixed them into powders to see what might happen. One batch of powder burned when lit. It would explode when compacted into shapes. Elias began firing those shapes into the void up above. Then the questioning began. What if there is something out there? What if he angers whatever it is?”

“Did no one support him?” Mathias questioned.

“At first, yes, then an experiment went wrong and there was an explosion. The top of the central tower and the crystal were destroyed. Elias handpicked a team and it was all rebuilt.”

Ulysses stopped and pointed at the tallest tower. There near the top was a jagged line between the original stone and the replacement stone.

“The People could see the almost imperceptible difference in the stone and it wore on them. That’s when the People began to doubt,” he said as he continued walking. “They said he had too many ideas. They said he was making too many changes. They said he made them too quickly. They said he was out of control.

 
“The whispers were that he was full of himself. He was insane and Eleanor was the true power behind the throne. They quietly wondered why they had to care so much for those who couldn’t fend for themselves.

“We were becoming divided. Poets, scientists, inventors, historians and politicians struggled with Elias, and they pulled at the boy. They questioned him about his father’s work as he traveled around the village in his mechanical carriage. The boy tried to warn his father, but Elias was too busy to notice or listen to him, and then it was too late.”

The innkeeper stopped at one of the last turns in the downward pathway. He was out of breath, and the wine was taking a deeper hold on him.

“Their deaths reunited us and made us appreciate what we had lost,” he said as he breathed in deeply. “Then we became lost again, and even more than just question, doubt and whisper, we became suspicious. And rather than trying to solve our problems by helping the child, we began to fight amongst ourselves for control.

“We hunted each other like the early days, before fire, only instead of clubs and sharp tools we used words and thoughts. We singled individuals out. We suspected whole groups.

 
“Fear is a dangerous thing, stranger. It blinds you. We had taken away our ability to see clearly. Some were aware, their eyes were open. They tried to fight back. Other’s watched and did nothing. Some tried to take advantage of the situation for their own gain. A board of advisors put itself in place to help the boy. They tormented him. They pushed and pulled him to their own desires.”

Ulysses motioned to Mathias that it was time to start moving again.

“Everyone began deciding for the child. Then the child decided for us. Then he released the Fetcher. The children of his advisors were among the first taken. Then he came for the children of those who openly spoke of being better than others. Then he came for all the rest.

“In the end, many parents just prepared their children to go and waited for the Fetcher to come. They were convinced that the situation was only temporary. The Fetcher took those children quickly. Some were hidden by parents who realized the danger. The Fetcher came and tore those children from their hiding places.”

 
The two men stepped off of the pathway and onto the beach. The surf rolled in with a steady rhythm. The ruins in the water would have to be used in combination to make it across to the rock tower.

“Why didn’t the bridge hold?” Mathias wondered aloud.

“After the last child was collected, the first thing Oracle did was to destroy the land bridge so that none could enter and none could escape.”

“How does Oracle get across?”

“Conveniently, for him the bridge still exists.”

“How is that possible?”

The innkeeper just shrugged and belched.

“Is there a boat?” Mathias asked hopefully.

“Long gone,” Ulysses said with another much louder belch. “You’ll make it across, Stranger. You walk. You jump. You swim. You’ve a strong back. The climb is risky, but relatively easy.”

“What should we expect in there?” Mathias asked as he looked up at his constant yet elusive destination.

“Can’t help you with that.” the innkeeper said with a slight slur in his voice. “I haven’t been in there since it happened.”

 
   
Ulysses squatted down, then dropped on his rump with a thump on the black sand.

“This, Stranger, is where my services as a guide come to an end.”

“Are you alright?” Mathias asked, trying not to laugh.

“Never felt better, Stranger,” he said with a wink and a smile.

Mathias walked over to his fallen comrade and plopped down next to him.

“I haven’t indulged in my creation in a very long time,” Ulysses whispered to Mathias. “Alma would not be happy.”

“I’m sure she would forgive this vintage indiscretion,” Mathias whispered back. “We used it for a purpose. It was a bonding agent.”

Ulysses barked out a laugh.

“I like the way you think, Stranger,” he said in a drunken whisper. “I love her very much, you know?” he added after a moment.

“I can see that,” Mathias reassured him.

“She’s a good woman. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her,” he said wistfully. “She loved those two children. I did too, very much.”

Ulysses put two fingers up to the bridge of his nose and squeezed hard. He was forcing back his tears with a vice like grip.

“I was the one who found the bodies,” he said, letting go. “I raced up the tower and found the boy in the playroom. He was shaking. He was so scared. I tried talking to him, but he stayed silent.

 
“Oracle went to the window and looked down. He turned back around and looked at me. ‘And I live.’ was all he said. The child then fainted. I tried to aid the boy by bending to pick him up, but there was something else in the room that stopped me. It was the Fetcher, but in his first form. He looked just like Oracle.

“The Oracle Fetcher knelt by Oracle the boy and touched him on the forehead. The boy blinked and opened his eyes. The Oracle Fetcher helped him up and the two walked out of the room hand in hand. As they went, the two turned and stared back at me. Their stares were equally chilling.

“The night Oracle was born there was a strange happening in the Darke Sky. Some saw flashes in the void up above. Others heard deep rumblings in the void all around them. No such thing happened when Rebecca was born. The event occurred again when the family died.

“We created the child of all lies, and he took possession of the symbol of our future,” he said, and then yawned loudly. “We shaped our destiny in the twisted form of the thing we most loved once. A child.”