“And then it jus’ broke like…” Elliot swung his mace in a great arc with one hand while he gesticulated powerfully with the other. “PSSSCH!!” He made a poor attempt at the sound of shattering glass.
It was quite inaccurate, but Riggs knew just what sound he was trying to recreate. It was the sound the spirit’s projections had made when they fractured into a million pieces. As it turned out, the spirit was not nearly as dangerous as anticipated. Even so, Riggs was unanimously outvoted when he suggested Calvin’s orb be reopened for investigation. It irritated Riggs how incurious his comrades were. He gazed impotently at the exterior of the spirit’s prison while Sutha set to work untying the poor boy whose mind the spirit had laid claim to. What would happen if he undid the orb’s delicate silver clasp? Would the spirit burst forth? He assumed it would not, for it would still be within the prison. If it were able to move its core, then it certainly would have done so to prevent him from capturing it. So what was the harm? He fiddled with the mechanism.
“Miners!” Elliot called with the intensity of an underlander who has just seen the moon for the first time.
“Quiet!” Mr. Cross spoke at only a slightly lower volume.
All eyes followed Elliot’s finger uphill to the Chandie Road. Struggling against the weight of their overladen cart were three miners. Their skin was soot stained and their clothes were smothered in a fine dust which clung to every one of their sweat drenched pieces of clothing.
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“Yep.” Mr. Cross confirmed. “Do ya know em?”
“Nope.” Elliot replied.
Riggs felt a hint more peevish than before. Why had Elliot mentioned the miners? The rest of the team was bound to notice them sooner or later, and they weren’t doing any harm. Why didn’t anyone care about the piece of unique arcanum in his very palm? Why had there been no discussion whatsoever of whether or not it should be returned to Calvin? Riggs had never been a dishonest man, but in his years in company with Mr. Cross, he had become used to making off with things far less valuable than the treasure he held now.
Sutha waded across the river that was the spirit’s home with the poor unconscious boy slung over her shoulder.
“Go back?” She wanted to know.
“Yes milady!” Elliot fired back. It surprised Riggs that of the assembled five, Elliot was the least capable of managing his adrenaline high. Riggs tried to imagine Elliot in a lawman’s garb. The resultant image was that of a high strung, bigotous enforcer who only wore the colors by virtue of his skill with the blade. Or in this case a mace. Riggs felt immediately guilty for the judgment he had passed. He followed his team as they set off to rejoin the Caravan on Chandie Road.