Sandoron awoke with a start, sighing in annoyance as he looked out the window. “Did that damned rooster crow at the moon again?” Shaking his head, “Nothing for it I guess, might as well start the morning. At least it’s cool out.”
As he crossed the room he tripped on something in the dark. “Damn, what was that?”. He staggered to the table and lit the lamp with a strike of a flint and steel before waving it around in the air. “Where… Aha! But what are you?” He exclaims as he reaches under the bed. “Damn it's way back there, where’s that scoop Grams wanted me to fix?”
“There we go.” He grinned holding the scoop up with the black orb nestled in it. “But what is it? And what are those symbols scratched into it?” He shrugged, dumping the scoop and strange orb onto his bed. “I’ll ask Gramps and Grams at lunch. I need to get started or those Cronkose will get grumpy.”
In the barn the Cronkose were only just beginning to stir. “You girls ready for breakfast?” he asked before banging on the slop bucket and filling if full of oatmeal like slop from the nearby barrel. “You eat this while I get my own favorite breakfast addition, and don’t you even think about kicking me this morning.”
He knelt next to the furry hump backed creature patting it on the hump as he settled in to begin milking it. “Pull, Pull, Pull, and get beautiful cream as your reward as Gramps always says. You know girl, Gramps has it easy being so short. I’m not as young as I used to be getting down here to do this isn’t so easy anymore.” He chuckles, before moving the slop bucket to the next and starting over.
“You girls aren’t producing as well as you used to Dolly, even having finished with two of you this is only part one in five of what you used to give yourself. You getting old too?” He admonished the creature who looked at him unamused while chewing oats. “If I didn’t know better I’d imagine you could understand me some mornings with the looks you give me.” He chuckles moving to finish the rest of the milking.
When he completed the milking he decided he’d best go check the chickens and give the rooster a kick for waking him so early. As he neared the coop though he heard someone singing, badly. “Eggs, EGGS … into mY tUmmY .. Oh so verry Yummmy”. He groaned “Grams why do you have to sing that every morning I don’t know if I’ve ever had a day without it stuck in my head till lunch.”
“Sando, Dear, what are you doing here so early, have you already done the milking?”
“You know me, I’d be in bed till the sun started to rise if it wasn’t for that damned cock up of a rooster crowing at the moon again.”
Grams stuck her head out the door looking at him oddly “Dear… Didn’t your grandfather talk to you before dinner last night?”
“No?” he paused, growing concerned.
She sighed before continuing “Benji… he was killed by a Splox before your Gramps could stop it… Thats why we had dumplings last night, we used what we could…” she finished weakly.
“I… WE… ate Benji last night?” he exclaims slumping against the fence, looking a little green. “I.. I didn’t know. Heh, that must have been why it tasted so good damned cock. B-but if he’s… if he’s gone then what woke me up before the sun this morning? Did you or Gramps come into my room? Did you lose something when you did? I found this weird black orb with runes or something scratched into it.”
Grams’ fingers turned white on the door frame, her whole body paling. “What?” she asked.
“Something woke me-“ he started.
“No, what was that about a black orb.” Grams interrupted.
“O-oh I found it this morning, tripped over it on the floor. It was lucky I already had my slippers on might have broken a toe otherwise it was heavy. It was a black ball about the size of my fist, real shiny and it had something scratched into the surface but it was too dark to tell what it was.”
“You touched it?” she asked quickly.
“No? I lit a lamp to look for it when I tripped, it had rolled under the bed so I picked it up with that scoop you wanted me to fix and tossed them both on my bed after looking at it so I could get down here to start milking. I figured I’d ask you and Gramps at lunch.”
“What’s wrong, do you know what it is? He asked, concern growing at his Grams’ continued distress.
She straightened, releasing the door which seemed to groan with relief. “Nothing dear, I’m sorry I must not be feeling well. I was just surprised your Gramps would be so stupid as to let one of his ‘Baubles’ out of his workshop. You know they can be dangerous, especially when he’s been trying something creative.”
“So you saw Gramps in my room this morning?” he asked scratching his head.
“No, but that’s what it must be, you don’t recognize it, and I don’t so it has to be his.” She said quickly, continuing. “I’ll go get him, he should be up by now but knowing that lout he’s still snoring away. And we’ll get it out of your room, on your bed you said?” and she took off at pace her skirts lifted out of the way before he could even reply.
“That, was weird.” He said, reaching for the coop door and poking his head in. “She didn’t even finish in here.” Sighing he stepped into the coop to finish checking the hens, and collect their eggs. “
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Wiggle jiggle, yellow middle… I love you like the sky above” he sang quietly as he worked. “Dammit Grams” he said between verses.
—
It was almost time for lunch before he finished in the coop. He’d had to re-check every hen because he didn’t know which ones Grams had already checked, and then clean the all of the bedding which he’d noticed was starting to look gross. In all that time Grams hadn’t come back and he was starting to get worried so as soon as he finished he headed for the house.
When he got to his room no one was there, the orb was gone, and strangely so was his sheet and the scoop. “What under the suns is going on?” he mumbled, going to the window. As he leaned on the frame looking out he exhaled “Wait, why is the mill running?” he shouted before running downstairs and out toward the mill.
It was a water powered gristmill, with a stone for grinding wheat after the harvest. But they were planting what was left, not milling anything else. Had the sluice gate broken?
He finally reached the mill, out of breath and panting, but was happy to realize it sounded like the mill was running like it should and wasn’t seriously damaged. And he heard his Grams and Gramps arguing about something inside. He paused, listening.
“It will work, the power is in the construct not the material…” that was his Gramps’ shrill voice.
“I don’t know, I don’t like it. I still say we should go find …. “ There was crash as some debris made it past the sluice and onto the wheel. “And shove it up where even the suns won’t shed light on it.” That was his Grams, he chuckled she was always so aggressive.
He shrugged, calling out and heading for the door. “Grams Gramps what’s wrong with the sluice? Why’s the mill running? That last log nearly ripped a scoop off the wheel”
Grams shot Gramps a look as Sandoron came through the door. “You didn’t put the grates back in before you opened the gate?” she asked sharply.
Gramps looked down. “No, I was in a rush to… uh.. Get this done”
Sandoron looked at them both, “What, exactly is ‘this’”
Grams looking annoyed “It’s nothing dear we were just checking the mill was in good order, which it was before we started.” She shot a look at Gramps “Sando Dear, would you please go lower the filter grates in place, you can slow the flow through the sluice but please don’t stop it. We’ll send the fool gnome out to check the wheel when we’re done in here and can shut everything down again.
He shook his head, turning to head back out when he noticed his sheet laying crumpled in the corner. Something to ask about once the mill wheel was safe.
As he struggled with the sluice grate he didn’t hear any more arguing, but with the way the wheel shuddered he wondered what his grandparents were doing if they were just testing wouldn’t they only spin the stones a little and save them the wear?
Getting the grate down was hard work but it took less than a quarter Cycle and he was back at the entrance to the mill looking at his grandparents as they were shutting down the stones and locking them in place. He glanced to the corner and noticed his sheet was missing.
It was Grams who spoke up first, “I think things here are working as they should. We need to start checking like this once a year after the harvest is complete and we’ve let things rest. Alaphon over to the west had a gear break when they started things up this year. Turns out it had been stressed the year before and when it settled the stress of starting back up was enough to break it. Cost him nearly a quarter of his harvest to have it processed by the millers in town. Taxes have been getting worse.” She shook her head. “Anyway, we’re about done here. Gramps why don’t you finish closing things down and check out that wheel while Sandoron and I get lunch together.” The last, was not a question.
—
It was nearly a cycle later when they finished lunch, Gramps still looking soggy from his trip into wheel pit. “Well that was just fine, you are both great cooks. Two peas in a pod” he snickered.
Sandoron rolled his eyes “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He leaned in, “I have a question for you.” He said pinning his Gramps to his chair with his gaze. “What, was going on in the mill and why did you have my sheet?”
Gramps turned white, and looked to Grams for help.
“Sando…” she started.
“No, Grams, I want Gramps to tell me. I noticed my sheet disappeared while I was putting the grates back in. We both know you can talk circles around anyone. I want to hear what Gramps has to say.” He leaned in.
Grams sighed, shooting a fierce look at the old gnome.
“I… I mean we… well, by we I mean your Grams heard about the Alaphon mill incident and, she or well… we… I mean we decided it would be best to check our own this morning.”
Sandoron raised an eyebrow, “And my sheet, and your ‘bauble’ as Grams called it this morning? They were both missing from my room and my sheet was in the mill.”
Grams coughed, Gramps wiped sweat from his brow. “Give him a break he may be catching a chill from being in that cold mill pit water. I took the bauble down to him after I woke him and he put it in his workshop where it belonged. I brought your sheet with us to the mill because I planned on washing it and hanging it to dry. I noticed it could use a good cleaning… when I got your grandfather’s toy.”
Sandoron blushed, and cleared his throat before replying. “Well, uh, that explains everything then. Thanks. I’ll just go plow the back field, maybe I’ll have a heat stroke when I’m out there, yeah that would be good.” He got up heading for the door.
“Oh, dear, if you need your sheet while you are out there I hung it out the back door of the mill”
He almost ate dirt as he stumbled out the door, that parting shot from his grandmother nearly killing him on the spot. At least the day had heated up, he had a real chance of dying to the heat in the field today.
—
Grams leaned forward at the table, glaring at Gramps. “I don’t think he was convinced. And your… performance… did not help.”
“You know I can’t lie, and it’s even worse when I’m put on the spot like that.
She laughed harshly, “That was hardly on the spot, you had a full Cycle to come up with something. And you know he knows you’re the one to push when he thinks we’re hiding something.”
He sighed, “Yes, I should have had something prepared I know. Your timely intervention helped though, you don’t think he was fooled?”
Grams shook her head, “No, he didn’t even ask about the scoop. Even with your influence he’s grown to be fairly cunning.” She smiled.
Gramps Sighed… “Maybe we should just tell him about -“
She cut him off, “No. He would not see it the way we do, you know that.”
—
That night after dinner, more dumplings, Sandoron lay back on his bed with a new sheet and stared at the rafters. “What am I going to do, they’re both lying and this is really weird. What was that orb, was it really one of Gramps’ inventions?” He sighed placing his arm over his head.
There was a thud, the sound of something rolling across the floor. And suddenly, the room was lit by a brilliant light and he heard “Answer The Call and find out.” Then, just as suddenly as the light appeared it was gone. On the floor, by the table was an orb, just like the one from this morning.
“Well Dammit…”