Jal slowly told Eiske about the vision. “I think you’re leaving things out,” Eiske said heatedly. “You’re not telling me everything.”

“I’m not sure why you think that, Eiske. I have nothing to gain by keeping information from you.”

“You’re afraid that I’ll tell Jan that you shouldn’t go.”

“You can talk to it if you want,” Jal said unconcerned. “Because Jan says its going too.”

“You’re teasing me!”

“No. I was in the Luminary’s office when Jan said it was going along.”

“Jan’s told you that it doesn’t like to camp,” Eiske reminded Jal.

“Yes. It’s said that multiple times. Then I reminded it that it was unfair to say that it didn’t like doing something, if it had never tried it. Sort of like eating bokan burgers.”

At this Eiske chuckled. “Did Jan eat one? Does it like them?”

“Yes, it ate one, and no. It did not appreciate those, except for the tomatoes and lettuces.”

“Jal, there’s something you should do before you go. I think you should write down everything you remember about the vision. Then, each time that you think about it again, add the details. You’ll remember different things as you go along.”

Jal agreed. It spent the rest of the morning writing as fast as it could on its tablet as Eiske puttered around in the kitchen. Jal let Eiske read the account as they ate lunch, then went home.

***

Jal sat in the Protectorate lab, studying the latest scans of Shifos. “Dr. Gyasi, is there any way that we could take samples of the rocks around this waterfall?”

“Have you used the probe?”

“Yes.”

“What is the problem?”

“I’m only seeing rock. I thought there might be another substance, too.”

“What makes you think there’s another type of matter there?”

“I don’t think there is. I’m guessing.”

“Jal, you know that we don’t operate on guesses around here. Make a hypothesis and work it out.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Jal muttered. “Just once I would like to make a guess and go from there.”

“All right. You’ve been very good at using the scientific methods. I would be willing to follow up on a guess. You believe there’s something on the rocks that’s either liquid or in a gaseous state. How would you know if you found it?”

“I’m thinking it would look pink.”

“Let’s change the filter on the camera.” Dr. Gyasi showed Jal how to do it.

Jal spent the next hour manipulating the probe around the waterfall looking for the substance. “There’s nothing there,” it remarked as it changed the camera filters back to normal and returned the probe to the satellite.

“We need to start thinking about a route, equipment, and supplies for this expedition, Jal. The Luminary asked me to meet with him last week and he asked a lot of questions that I couldn’t answer. He thinks that we should provide a communication device to each participant. That way we can transport each of us out if something happens.”

“That’s reasonable. Before we think about all of those things, we need to determine who is going to participate.”

“Right now there are five of us.” Jal looked at him. “Rup Dev, Sage Elvan, Dr. Vallino, you, and I. Who else are you thinking of?”

“I think we need to take some Maz with us. They are great outdoorsman, have some unusual fighting abilities, and they love adventure.”

“Anyone specific?”

“No. I think my uncle knows a few that we can talk to.”

“Jal, you and I both know that Stafriez do not have uncles.”

“Well, I was raised to believe that this person is my uncle. He is the brother of my surrogate mother.”

“I see. I believe we should ask Jikke Kof to join us. She is a scientist who’s assigned to the Protectors’ Enclave in Zibran. There’s also a student at the university in Kop that I believe would be a valuable asset. Sibo Taal is very interested in zoology, particularly the classifications of various animals and how they’re related. She might be of assistance when it comes to getting past the large bipeds and the giants.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“How should we proceed? Do we need to interview these people, before we ask them to join our team?”

“I believe so. We need to set a departure date.” Dr. Gyasi flipped a calendar up on the computer screen. “Here’s when you said you thought we should leave. Is that enough time?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

The two of them began to discuss the various steps they needed to take to organize the expedition. When Jal left the enclave that day, it had a list of things that it needed to do. At the top of the list was a report to the Luminary outlining details, a date of departure, and supplies they would need.

***

“What in the world are you doing, Jal?” Jan stood at the side of an odd construction of straw bales that stood around the trampoline.

“I’m making a practice area.” Jal swung a bale into place, then carried another one over.

“What are you practicing? Weaponry or martial arts?”

“Both.”

“I see that you’ve purchased a practice dummy.”

Jal grinned. “Yes. I didn’t think I’d be able to talk you or Niki into being my opponent.”

“I suppose I should start practicing if I’m going to go on this expedition with you.”

Jal picked up another bale. “That’s up to you. I have no idea what kind of shape you’re in.” It turned, placed the bale, and stepped back. After several flips and turns, Jal stood at the top of the structure. “I’m building and working out,” Jal called down to Jan. “Join me?”

Jan awkwardly climbed to the top of the pile. “Now what?”

“Hm. We played ‘Follow the Leader’ this week at my lesson. We set the dummy to level two, defense. Any activity that’s three meters or closer will trip it into action.” Jal showed Jan the controls. “The leader sets the controls and determines how close it wants to get before the dummy is activated. The second person has to copy the initial moves to get to the point where the tripping point as well as the first magic attack. Want to go first?”

“I think you should show me how it works.”

Jal flipped the control on and laid it on a corner bale. It ran several steps, bounced off the trampoline and landed on a step a level above the dummy, then retreated. The dummy sat up, then stood. Jal raised its wand as the dummy stepped toward it. “Pilger!”

The mannequin stepped to the left and avoided the flaming arrow, which landed on the ground. “Verbluss!” Jal snuffed the flame of the arrow, then jumped up a level. “Pilger!” This time the arrow caught the dummy in the stomach. It walked backward. Jal advanced, “Rak!”

The force of the ‘hit’ spell knocked the dummy onto its back. “I concede. I concede. I concede,” the machine said, then blinked off.

“Ready?” Jan nodded, took a running start and flew from the trampoline to the spot where Jal had landed. It triggered the dummy, which stood. “Pilger!”

The dummy retreated a step. Jan threw two more fire arrows at the dummy which hit it on each shoulder. It fell. “I concede. I concede. I concede.”

“I remember doing this as an metamorph,” Jan said as Jal reset the mannequin. “I hated it. My instructor always raised the fight level by a whole number, then would dial it back and forth depending on how I did.”

“Should we dial it up?” Jal asked.

“What did your instructor suggest?”

“Starting with the basic offensive spells, use as few as possible to disarm it.”

“Let's leave it for now. I used three fire arrows,” Jan remarked. “I’ll try to knock it out with two.”

Jal reset the mannequin, stepped back, and flipped the switch on the remote. When the mannequin was on its feet, Jan ran, jumped on the trampoline and landed on the top level. It fired two fire arrows in close succession, easily disarming the dummy. As Jan re-armed it, Jan said to Jal, “Do you think it’s possible to disarm it with only one fire arrow?” Jal shrugged. “Let me try again?”

This time, when the dummy was standing, Jan shot it from a two-meter distance. A single arrow didn’t stop it. Jan disarmed it, then armed it again after a short discussion with Jal. This time, Jan placed the practice sword in the dummy’s hand.

Jal advanced at the dummy, and when it stood, Jal somersaulted through the air and landed in front of it. The two swords clanged and scratched. Jal stepped and turned, and when Jal hit the dummy, Jal spun and kicked it. The dummy hit the ground and Jal jumped down next to it and hit the disable button.

Jan and Jal tested the various modes that the practice tool had for nearly two hours before stopping. “That was great fun!” Jal grinned. “Thanks for playing with me, Jan.”

***

Jan stretched out in a big chair in the sitting room and turned on an electronic pad. Jal’s thank you for playing echoed in his mind. “Why is that bothering me so much?” it wondered. Jan got up and prowled along the shelves, then went back and forth in the rooms of the first level of the tower. It pushed the door open into the playroom and looked around for a moment. Unsettled, but unsure why, Jan drifted from one room to another. Eventually, it stopped before a portrait. “Grandfather,” it whispered. “What did you play with me? What was that game?”

Jan went to where his grandfather’s chair had been placed and stood looking at the bookshelves. “Here!” Jan opened a cupboard below the shelves. Dusty boxes slid out onto the floor. “Now I remember! Wisdom and Weapons.” Jan set it aside and replaced the rest.

Jan looked around the room. Furniture was moved frequently during the cleaning process and was never returned to the same places. It had never cared.

Jan began to shift chairs and tables haphazardly. Soon, there was a low table between two chairs that faced one another. Chairs and couches sat in small groupings, like his father had done for the gatherings he had hosted. Jan put the game on the table, then stood in the doorway looking at the room.

Memories of its father with visiting dignitaries came to mind and faded. Jan couldn’t remember any of their names. “What will Jal remember when it’s old? A big dark room full of books and only a small portion of the space being used? Will it remember that no one ever came to visit? That I was always active in Nik and an isolated hermit at home?”

“Do we really need all these books?” it said aloud. “They’ve always been a part of Ridali Tower. Maybe they should be put where someone else can use them. Jal’s the only one who looks at them.” It sighed. “I don’t even really know what’s in here. I’ve never really cared.”

Jan thought about the solarium. Jal and Niki had worked hard on it. Jan had wanted it restored, but Jal had taken it to a different level. It was no longer simply a place to grow food during the winter months. Jal didn’t spend huge chunks of time there, but instead had turned it into a laboratory filled with experiments, a collection of herbs and greenery that Jal was collecting from around the world. It was a good place to retreat to on sunny winter afternoons. Just last night with warm mid-spring temperatures, they had sat with the top open, watching the comets streak across the clear sky.

“I know why I’m feeling gloomy. Jal is changing and getting ready for this expedition and then university. What if it doesn’t want to come home? If I want it to stay around, then I need to figure out what it will want to come home to. What do we want the farm to be like? I guess it’s a topic for the dinner table.”