Sheldon was standing in guard captain Samira’s tiny office. He was nearly too wide for the room, but he had a honed understanding of exactly where his body was and wasn’t concerned about knocking one of the many carvings of her feline children from the brick walls. The captain finished writing something, then looked up at him.

The captain knew that Sheldon was notoriously bad at reading people’s intentions, so she was helpfully blunt.

“The kid is a good fit for what we need.” She was saying. “The Priests have as much trouble as anyone else working with plants, even when they are trying to help. The Head Priest knows that, and asked me to write a recommendation for the kid if he does well. Apparently, his mixed birthright means that someone higher up in the church is dragging their feet about making him a Priest. That is fine with me, I am fine with paying for needed work with an honest recommendation. However, I am not the one going with the kid. You are. So, I expect a report on his performance and work ethic. I do not need details, I just need to know if he is worth a damn, is that understood?”

Sheldon nodded.

“Good. If it goes well, this will become a regular assignment. Dismissed!” She waved him away.

Sheldon left the office and went to the quartermaster, who had just been assigned to Lith and had no idea where most of the supplies were. Sheldon waited patiently as they took nearly half an hour to find the required equipment. Now outfitted properly to defend someone in the jungle, Sheldon headed toward the large temple grounds.

Stepping into the narthex was a breath of fresh air, as the temple grounds seemed to welcome him. He passed through the well lit sanctuary that was large enough to hold many of the thousand or so people in Lith, and knocked on the door of the Head Priest’s office.

The door swung open and an old man at eye level with Sheldon stood on the other side. The old man had completely white hair, but was remarkably healthy for his age.

“Hello,” the old man said a bit too loudly. “I don’t believe we’ve spoken before, though I’ve seen you in the sanctuary. I’m Joe, the Head Priest, and I’ve heard good things about you.”

“Sorry.” Sheldon said. “Met Levi, liked ‘em, look for ‘em here.”

Joe furrowed his eyebrows as he ushered Sheldon into the spacious office. Sheldon took the offered seat and looked around at the gray-green marble and wood paneling. The temple’s various buildings were the highest in quality and space in Lith, the Priests having volunteered for the posting rather than being assigned as a punishment like most.

“Yes, he mentioned you when he submitted the request.” The Head Priest said. “Ms. Samira agreed with the choice, and I trust them, so here you are. Thank you for agreeing, I think Seth will be more comfortable with someone he’s already met. What did you think of him?”

Sheldon considered. He didn’t like talking too much unless he had something to say, and he didn’t know the lad well.

“Good kid, listens n’ works hard.” Sheldon said. “Birthright’s a shame.”

“I’m glad you like him.” The Priest said with a smile. “And yes, his parents wanted him to inherit his mother’s preaching gift. I think a Priest with Plant essence has some ways to shine even so. He needs to take more initiative to find where he can stand out, and I think this idea to help with the Chaotic plants is a good start. Please try to encourage him to explore new avenues and try different things if you can.”

Sheldon nodded.

“Thank you,” the old man gestured to the door. “I’m sure the guard captain explained the rest. Here comes Seth now. Stay sharp, and bring him back safely.”

Sheldon stood and bowed slightly before leaving the office, carefully closing the door behind him. Turning, he saw Seth coming through the sanctuary wearing robes that were much more suited for corpse disposal than what the lad had actually worn a few days ago. They were not, however, necessary or helpful for what he was supposed to be doing today. Sheldon didn’t say anything, simply waiting for the lad to reach him. He noticed that in the curated sunlight that streamed through the sanctuary windows, Seth’s hair went from brown to a striking golden halo that was unusually well kept for a teenage boy. Sheldon wondered if Virtue essence had some kind of beautifying effect, like how Animal essence gave several of his coworkers unusual ears, noses, or claws.

“Uh, hello, Mr. Sheldon,” the lad said uncomfortably as Sheldon tried and failed to ruffle the golden hair once he was close enough. “Thanks for agreeing to guard me. Are you ready to head out?”

Sheldon decided this question was worth asking.

“Why’s yer hair gold and not movin?” He asked.

The lad reddened, and Sheldon wondered if he had been drinking.

“I…my…there’s a plant.” Seth stammered. “Mom grows it, and uses the liquid to make a hair treatment. It’s not just for ladies though! It makes your hair easier to wash.”

Sheldon nodded, “Kay. Yes.”

The lad blinked. “Yes what?”

Sheldon pointed south, then headed for the door. Seth quickly followed, and they made their way out of the temple grounds and through the wide packed-dirt streets. The guards at the gate opened it slightly to let them through, and they were back in the jungle. Once they were a short ways away from the south gate, Sheldon turned to Seth.

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“The jungle’s dangerous,” he started. “I’ll protect ya. You needa stay close to me when I say. If I’m hurt, try n heal me. In fightin stances, touch my lower back for healing. If I say run, go for Lith or the mountain. If I say go up, climb a tree. If I die, search party’ll go in five hours. Stay alive ‘til then, don’t scream ‘less you see someone. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” Seth said. “Can I ask why you don’t talk much, and then say a lot all at once, like just now or at the boars?”

Sheldon shrugged. “I speak when I’ve somethin’ to say.”

The lad stared at him for a minute and then started walking again. It took about twenty minutes to find a vine that had the texture of snakeskin along part of it. Seth put a hand a little above the skin, and the patch shrank away until it was gone. The vine still looked wet there, but when Sheldon touched it he didn’t feel any moisture. The two continued like this, and Sheldon was starting to get a headache from trying to scan the jungle for threats and observe Seth’s actions at the same time. In the distance they heard a garbled screech, and over the treeline in the distance an enormous razor clawed bird could be seen. It vanished a moment later as something that may once have been a tiger tore it out of the sky.

About an hour later, they were somewhat near where the boar-eaten corpse had been. Sheldon recognized a few of the rocks. He also noticed that Seth’s breathing pattern had changed, when the lad turned to him and put a hand on his arm. Sheldon felt the familiar sensation of being in a temple or around a Priest.

“I know that I said I just wanted to help the plants,” Seth said. “But there’s something else. Can you promise not to tell anyone in town about it, if it isn’t dangerous?”

Sheldon shook his head.

Seth tensed. “What?! Why not? If it isn’t going to hurt anyone what’s the problem?”

“Not ‘nough information.” Sheldon said. “Lotta not dangerous things have to be reported.”

“It’s not dangerous, it’s not some valuable resource, I don’t think it's from the cult.” Seth said, tightening his grip on Sheldon’s arm. “Is that enough? I just don’t want anyone to know yet.”

Sheldon was still trying to figure out why the boy was holding his arm.

“Y’re holding my arm. Why?” He asked. “You feel like a Priest.”

Seth made an odd noise and let go. His posture got worse.

“If I tell you, will you consider my request?” He asked.

“No.” Sheldon said.

“But what about…oh never mind.” Seth grumbled. “Virtue Priests like Dad can tell when people are lying or misbehaving sometimes. I’m trying to figure that out with touch. That way if you were lying about not telling people, I’d know.”

“I don’t have a reason to lie to ya.” Sheldon said. “If I don’t needa report it, I won’t.”

“Ok, fine!” Seth said emphatically. “I found a ghost. It wasn’t yelling and raving, or crying and screaming like they’re supposed to, and it said something I didn’t understand. I don’t think it’s from Daiteka or Ava, and I don’t think it’s a threat. Now, do you have to report that?”

“Dunno.” Sheldon scratched his beard. “Maybe not.”

Seth sighed. “I just want to try to talk to it and find out where it came from. Can I at least do that today?”

Sheldon nodded. Talking to a ghost from another island could be a learning experience, and ghosts were a responsibility of Virtue Priests. This could be what the Head Priest wanted. Seth led him to a clearing, where they saw a light blue man standing there making incomprehensible noises.

“Hello!” Seth said brightly. “I came back, like I promised.”

“—! — — — — ——.” The ghost replied. “— — ——— — —? — — —— —...— — —...”

As Seth cautiously got a bit closer, Sheldon looked the ghost man up and down. He was taller than Seth, with a light blue shirt that folded around the neck and had a lot of buttons. The pants were dark blue, and the shoes a shiny dark blue. Sheldon remembered scraps of black and white cloth on the body, and figured the colors might have changed when the man died. He also had on the nicest rucksack that Sheldon had ever seen, with a purple plus sign on the back and green straps.

Seth was now trying to communicate with the ghost by pointing to things in the clearing and saying their names. The ghost would copy him, and seemed to get the idea, but when he would point to the same thing again, it couldn’t seem to figure out the answer. Sheldon thought back on what he had heard about ghosts. He was pretty sure they were like living memories that could still touch things. He looked again at its blue color scheme and had a thought. The ghost could remember and understand what was happening, but maybe its memory was covered in blue like the clothes? Sure a memory could remember things. That was their whole thing. But maybe they couldn’t learn new things?

Seth was now just pointing to rocks around the clearing and saying “stone” over and over. Every time, the ghost couldn’t get the word out. Sheldon was getting a worse headache from splitting his focus between three different things, so he decided his thought was worth sharing. That way he could go back to just watching Seth and scanning for danger.

“Seth.” Sheldon said, as the lad looked at him in surprise. “It remembers, but maybe don’t learn. Learn from it.”

Seth stopped talking for a minute, and Sheldon refocused on his two jobs. After much pointing and hand waving, the ghost seemed to get the idea that it should point to things and say them instead. The idea immediately bore fruit, as the ghost pointed to itself and said “Landon Clarke.”

A few hours later, the sun was getting low, so Sheldon and Seth prepared to leave. This mostly involved Seth attempting to mime the concept of coming back the next day, until the ghost eventually taught him the word “tomorrow.” On the way out of the clearing, Sheldon pointed out a part of a branch that was turning into rock that he had noticed while standing guard. Seth fixed it with minimal strange wetness, and the two headed back toward Lith.

____________________________________________

As the odd young man and his concerningly ripped guardian left the clearing, the man pointed out something on a branch to the teen, who touched it. The branch became healthy again. Landon sat down hard. He already knew this wasn’t Tennessee, but he was starting to realize he might not be in another country either.

As he sat on the ground, back against a tree, horrible scenes began to play through his head. People in orange robes chanting. Running through a strange jungle. Surrounded by enormous boars. Desperately calling 911…where was his phone. He patted his pockets and hurriedly looked through his backpack. Not there. Oh right, he had dropped it…when…he…died.

A boy was shaking him. No, a young man was talking to him. No, his student, right, one of his students. He was taking care of the class while Mrs. Tibbons was having a meeting, then it would be his prep period. He could finally work on his genetics homework for Thursday. Now what was he teaching again? Oh yes, English.