Sage Elvan and Jal walked into the Peace Foundation Building. Director Kuria Watene met them in the hallway. “Jan, I’d like to see you in my office. First, I need to speak with Victor for a few minutes.” She hurried away.
Sage Elvan stopped in its office for an electronic pad. It saw that the phone was blinking rapidly. “Jal, would you listen to the messages?” Jal diligently wrote down the details, then went to the director’s office. Sage Elvan was still waiting.
The Director entered the room and perched on the edge of her desk. “Sage Elvan, I would like to assign you to evaluate a situation that is occurring in Dagmon on the Iragos Peninsula. I know that your home is in that area, and I’m hoping that your knowledge of the people there will make this process easier.” She told it that Victor would go to Pejaru, Zibran, in its place. “Please brief it on the latest developments.”
She continued, “For some reason, Giant Pyricells have been attacking people in Dagmon. You know that everyone here in Nik is terrified of the creatures. They are everywhere. The population in Dagmon is a new development. Nearly twenty deaths have occurred in the past ten days."
“Those animals live in the caves in the center of Trazene. They are way out of their territory,” Sage Elvan responded. “I wonder why.”
“I want you to see if you can figure out what is going on. Perhaps you can come up with a way to get them back to their normal habitat. I’ll give you the names of the citizens who have called for help. Most of them are Dagmon city officials. When and if the situation can be resolved, I’d appreciate if you would share information with the Nik officials.” She looked at Jal. “Is this your apprentice, Jan?”
“Yes. This is Jal Jomari.”
She looked at Jal. “Are you the person who has been working in our garden?”
“Yes.”
“Many of the employees saw you going out there. Some visiting dignitaries have walked through it. Thank you for your hard work. Are you enjoying the process? Are you interested in becoming a botanist?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Very good.” She opened a document on her computer. “I’m going to send you a document. I’d appreciate it you would look it over. When you return from Iragos, we’ll talk about it. Thank you for taking on this assignment, Jan. Please be careful.”
Jal followed Sage Elvan out of the Director's office. In Sage Elvan’s office, Jal opened its computer. The sage demonstrated how to use the briefing format, and the resources it could access. Then it asked Jal to write a brief on the pyricells.
“What if I could tell you now that I believe I know why those creatures are in Dagmon?” Jal asked.
“Why would you know that?”
“I am studying the animals and plants of Trazene.”
“I'm sure that you covered this with your schoolwork.”
“I learned a little bit there. Since my eye surgery, I’ve read many books on the animals, plants, and geography of the Iragos Peninsula and that of Trazene.”
“Define several books.”
“I have a list of what I’ve read in my pad.”
“I’d like to see it please.” Jal presented the document on its pad. “This is very impressive. Tell me what you know about this creature.”
“It’s greyish green in color, stands a little over five meters tall, and has a wingspan of twelve meters. It's about thirteen meters from head to tail. The wings are not feathers. They are more like a membrane. The skull is short and wide. The front teeth are pointed and used to seize and tear dead prey. The back teeth are heavy and thick. When the creatures attack, sometimes they fly in at an odd angle, then pick up their prey, toss it in the air, and swallow it whole. They prefer live prey but will eat a dead bokan or deer. If one finds an animal that is too heavy to lift, it will land, and protect the food until it has eaten its fill. Others will fight over the carrion and take turns until it's gone. The pyricels use the caves as primary location to nest their young. Since a pyricell lays only one egg at a time, it is extremely protective of it. If something or someone invades their territory, it becomes prey.”
Jal took a breath and went on. “The pyricells are seen only during the day, and some people believe that they go into the caves at night. Others say that the animals only use the ledges above the caves. Various prides of lions have been spotted in the area, and there are rumors that the lions and pyricells share the caves. Most people avoid the area because of the lions and pyricells, but others attempt to go there. It is said that there are magic stones in the caves. Another rumor is that no one has been in the caves and returned.”
“I want you to write that all down and list your sources. I’d like to hear your theory on why these animals are in Dagmon.”
“It’s nearly time for the autumnal equinox. The air and wind patterns are changing. Because they fly at such high elevations, the winds in the upper atmosphere may have pushed them north and east. The next logical place for them to go is the cliffs over the caves near the Damark River. If they are confused, and moving because of the wind patterns, they would next go to the cliffs above the Duray Caves.”
“The Duray Caves. There should be plenty of prey in that area,” Sage Elvan mused.
“Maybe. My understanding is that there is a great number of condors at the Duray caves. There may not be enough food for both groups of animals.”
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“If they live on cliffs, why do we see them in Nik?”
“My guess is that they consider the tall buildings to be like the cliffs. Some scientists believe that the animals in Nik are from the mountains in the center of Nek. The birds have learned to watch for accidents, then swoop in to feast.”
“Please write the brief. This afternoon, we’ll go to the Pyricell, Daniel and the Duray caves.” Jal began to type. “Jal." Sage Elvan surprised Jal when it put its hand on Jal’s shoulder. “Thank you for sharing information with me. I’m sure it will help to resolve this situation.”
Jal smiled, and its hair and eyes turned blue. “You’re welcome, Master.”
Jal finished its report just before the noon meal. “I’ve sent you the brief. I need the Director’s electronic address.” In a moment, Jal sent the document on its way.
That afternoon, Sage Elvan and Jal stood nervously at the mouth of the Pyricell Caves. Jal searched the sky for the pyricells before they entered the first cave. Sage Elvan swung a device back and forth searching for life signs. “There’s nothing here.” Sage Elvan and Jal wound their way through the passageways. They didn’t see any animals. They did find a lot of human remains. Jal shuddered at the thought of being eaten.
It wasn’t long before they were standing at the opening of one of the Damark Caves. They went from one cave to another. Jal studied the walls. “These seem to be igneous rocks. Here are fresh droppings.” Jal slipped a few into a small bag.
Two skeletons lay on the floor further back. “We should get out of here,” Sage Elvan said nervously. Something reflected at it turned with the light. “Look! There’s a streak of blue and light yellow. It’s Lapis Lazuli! Over here, there’s a node of Tiger’s Eye. We can take some with us.” It picked up some small pieces.
“I’m not taking anything. This is not our property. I don’t take things that don’t belong to me, unless they're offered as gifts, or I've earned them. We might want to carry out those backpacks. We could identify who died and notify their families. They must be worried sick.” Jan gave Jal a strange look. “What?”
“That’s a good boundary.” The sage was pleased about Jal’s honesty and empathy.
“It's dishonorable to steal things.”
“Let’s take these packs and go home.”
“Just a minute, Master. There’s a locket caught on the rock. Can you hold the light so I can see it better?” Jal opened it. It held a dark blue stone with orange flecks. That’s Lapis Lazuli. I don’t think we should take it. It might belong to the cave.”
“To the cave?”
“The cave has much to give, but we don’t have permission to simply take what we want.”
Jan was astounded at Jal’s remarks. “Where in the world did it learn that?” it thought. “Have you been to Ebenbell to the Sanctuary of Revelations?” it asked.
“No.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Let’s take these home to check through the contents. Then we can go to Dagmon.” A minute later they were in the sitting room. “Taryn, we’re home for a few minutes,” it said into its communicator.
“Thanks for telling me. I’m in the garden.”
Jan took the backpacks to the middle of the room. “You open that one, and I’ll open this one.” They lifted out clothes, boots, and knives. Jal emptied a pocket of dried berries and sweets. “Here’s a group of small bags.” Jan opened one and sniffed it. “Herbs?” It handed the bag to Jal.
“Yes. Lemon balm. I found identity papers.” Jal studied them. “Coen Isak from Dagmon. A male, age 10. According to this, he was loosed four months ago. Here’s a marriage certificate. He married Femke Strieker. The dates are ten days apart.”
“This belongs to Femke Strieker,” Jan read the one it held. “She’s from Dagmon. This pocket is full of lapis lazuli rocks.” It reached inside to check another pocket. “This one is full of Tiger’s Eye.” Jal found two pockets full of the same kinds of rocks.
“We have to put the stones back,” Jal said firmly.
“Jal, we should give them to their families.”
“No! Those weren’t theirs to take!”
“This couple already took them. It's not like we're the ones who took them from the caves.”
The two argued back and forth. “Let’s put them all in one bigger bag. You get us there, and I’ll run inside and empty it. It will only take a few minutes.”
Jan hesitated. “What if something happens?”
“It won’t. Please, Jan. I won’t stop to look at anything.”
Jan conceded. A minute later, they were back at the cave entrance. “I’m going inside with you.”
“I think you should keep watch. I’ll be right back.” Jal dashed into the cave and dumped the contents of the bag on the floor. In less than a minute Jal was back at Jan’s side. “Let’s get out of here.”
Before Jal was finished speaking, they stood on the street in Dagmon. “Let’s go to the pub. That’s where most people gather.”
“Jan, there’s one of the pyricells!” Jal was pointing at an animal that stood on the roof of the tallest building.”
“Yes. Let’s get inside.” They went into a clothing store.
“How can I help you?” the owner asked.
“Can you tell us how to get to the pub?”
“Sure. Go out to the left. The pub is about eight stores down on the other side of the street.”
Sage Elvan and Jal went to the door. The creature turned its head and watched them. “There’s got to be a better way to do this,” Jan said nervously. They went the ten steps to the next store and went in.
“Can I help you?” the proprietor asked.
“Have you seen any pyricells today?”
“Two. One is on top of the bank. The second is on top of the house behind me.”
“Do you have a back entry?” Sage Elvan asked.
“Yes.”
“Were you attacked on the way here?”
“No. They don’t seem to bother anyone who’s in a vehicle with a roof. My vehicle is right in front of the back door.”
The sage looked around. “Is there a way to get from store to store along this side of the street?”
“Yes. There are doors in the middle of the shop areas.”
“How are people crossing the street?” Jal interrupted.
“They aren’t. That’s where most of the attacks happen.”
Sage Elvan was busy thinking about how to avoid the creatures, and Jal was considering how to get from where they were to the bar. It looked around and went back to the proprietor. “Can you tell me what kind of stores there are between here and the pub?” She listed them off.
“We could go from store to store, but how will we cross the street?” Jal thought for a moment. “You said that they don’t attack if there’s a roof on a vehicle. Could we borrow your vehicle?”
“I’d need it to get home, but until then you’re welcome to it. Who exactly are you?”
“I’m sorry,” Jal apologized. It introduced itself, and then Sage Elvan.
“Oh my! You’re Sage Elvan! You’ve come to help us! Of course you can use my vehicle!” The store owner led them to the back door and handed Sage Elvan the keys. After a discussion about what time to return them, she waved it off. “Whenever you’re ready. I can live here temporarily if I need to. Is there anything else I can do to help?”
“Would you communicate with the bar owner on the next block and tell him we’re coming?”
They drove a bit around the center of the city looking for the pyricells. They appeared to be at the highest points of elevation. Sage Elvan parked the car at the curb in front of the bar. Jal was ready to slide to the driver’s side after Sage Elvan got out.
“Ready, Jal?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Come back, Marit, come back!” Jal turned to see a little girl run into the street, then turn around and start back. The shadow of a pyricell suddenly cast a big shadow. It dove and turned, then snatched the child up and threw her into the air. Her mother shrieked, a wild keening sound.
“She’s not yours to take!” Jal screamed at the beast and yanked out its wand.