It had been two cinteps since Darju had left the pod when she found the golden artefact. She had sometimes felt guilt since she left, but her determination to see what else was in the world drew her more. She had her father's genes. The second sun was still high in the sky and always warmer than the day's first sun. She had been following a trail into the ridgeway across the valley's edge. The valley was where the pod and two other clans lived. It was huge, and her father had told her it had been created by a giant spaceship that had crash-landed centuries ago.
She had always been intrigued by space, but the Lyzords lived reclusive lives. Very few ventured into the wider world, and she knew of none that had ever been off-world. They occasionally got ships that would fly over the valley, but it was infrequent. Mainly as the valley was the last area of greenery that existed before reaching the desert region. Nobody went there as there was nothing of value. She knew Lyzords had ventured into regions in the past but never found anything worth returning with. It was just sand.
The other side of the valley led into the mountains, where she had been heading. She knew from conversations with Jiwey that an Apelore settlement and a small spaceport were situated on the far side of the mountains. The mountains held secrets as her father had told her the stories as a hatchling of the battles he had fought with Giant Hujugs and the slippery Defthu. She was not looking to run into any problems, although she was handy with her staff if she needed to defend herself. As the sun set at the end of the second cintep, she ventured into the innocuous cave.
Even though the temperature never really dropped low due to the planet having two suns, it still felt cooler in the evenings, so finding a cave to stay in was preferable to sleeping in the open. The main reason for finding shelter inside was due to the desert. The winds they got occasionally could force sandstorms over the ridge, and she did not want to be caught out in one as they played hell with her scales.
The entrance to the cave had been a little small but seemed to go back far, so she had broken a light stick and ventured deeper inside. As she went further, she found the vast cavern. The stalactites and stalagmites the cavern contained had drawn her deeper with their intricate patterns and brightly glistening colours covering their surfaces. The richness of the mountain's minerals slowly dripped from the cavern roof. As she went through the chamber in awe of the cavern's beauty, she found the tunnel leading to the artefact.
She had not wanted to venture into it initially, feeling a little worried about how dark it had been, but something had pulled at the pit of her stomach, forcing her forward. When she reached the small chamber, she had witnessed the beautiful colour and glow of the artefact. She had stared at it longingly before she had plucked up the courage to approach it, having a sense of feeling unworthy in its presence. Reaching out her hand, she had placed it on its beautiful surface, and a rush of exhilaration had flooded her whole body. A blinding white light had followed it, and she had fallen unconscious.
When she eventually awoke feeling groggy and disorientated, the light stick had almost faded, and the artefact vanished. She did not know where and spent a while searching the chamber but could not find it. She had given up on her task and eventually moved back to the entrance cave before removing her blanket and settling down for the night.
The following day, she got up and continued her journey towards the spaceport, and after crossing the mountain's peak, she could see the spaceport clearly in the distance with the coming and going of both space and surface craft. It had taken a further cintep for her to arrive at its outskirts and approach the outer wall. She had been allowed inside by the guarding Apelore, paying her small form no attention and ushering her through the gates. The Apelores were massive creatures compared to her small framed Lyzord form. However, from the few she had met who had visited the clans, they were usually friendly and accommodating as long as you did not annoy them.
She had been mesmerised by the spaceport with its myriad of market stalls and several races of creatures she had never seen before, and that is when she had fallen prey to the Shriven. The Shriven were a flying race; they stood as tall as a Lyzord, and she had been attracted to one of their stalls selling trinkets when she had fallen under its gaze. She was unaware, but Shriven were renowned for stealing virtually everything they found of value. She had not realised that while under its gaze, she had had her memories drawn only when she had been found by a couple of the Apelore guards lying in an alley. They had explained to her that you never look Shriven in their eyes.
Shriven could read a person's memories, download them to memory discs, and discover where they kept their valuables, which they could then procure as they saw fit. The use of their gaze was banned in the spaceport, and the Apelore, on discovering Darju, had made her take them to the stall where she had been. The Shriven had tried to flee and argue its case that she should have known and been more careful and that it could not control its natural ability. Still, it had fallen on deaf ears, and the Apelore had dragged him off and confiscated the batch of memory discs he had created.
One of the Apelores had shown Darju to a small cantina where she now sat, sipping on a glass of hocju. She sat with her head down and shoulders slumped, feeling sorry for herself. “Why did I leave the pod?” she muttered to herself.
“What was that, my dear?” an old Apelore asked, sitting beside her.
“Oh. Nothing. Sorry, I was talking to myself.” she replied.
“You look upset. Are you sure there is nothing the matter?”
“I left my pod three cinteps ago, hoping to find an adventure, and I ended up being found unconscious for the second time inside a cintep by the local guard, and I had my memories read.”
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“Oh dear. Those Shriven can be troublesome at times. I hope the guard dealt with them and your memories were returned to you.”
“They took all his items from the stall when they left.”
“Do you know if there was anything in your recent memories that could be used to find your valuables?”
“No, nothing recent unless he had wanted to take the eight sheks I have left.”
“Eight sheks? That is all you have? Where are you staying tonight, then?”
“I had not even considered where to stay yet. I was thinking of heading back to the hills to find a cave.”
“Oh, my dear. No, we cannot have that. I live just around the corner from here, and since my Pifgu passed away, I have always been lonely, and my Apel’s live over the other side of the planet now in Werthij. So it would be nice to have some company if you want to stay the night?”
“I would not want to impose on you.”
“Do not be silly, dear. It will benefit me more than you having company and not being alone.”
“That would be very kind of you. My name is Darju,” she replied, holding out her hand.
“And I am Flurew. Nice to meet you, Darju,” she replied, holding her hand. Flurew’s hand dwarfed Darju’s.
It was the first time since leaving the pod that Darju smiled. The old Apelore was pleasant and reminded her of her grandmother. After finishing their glasses of hocju, which Flurew paid for, she escorted Darju to her home. It was just around the corner from the cantina, separated by a small alley where the reclaimer carts would collect waste. It was a small home built from the same coloured stone as the mountain but comfortable.
Darju had already been amazed at seeing some of the gadgets in the spaceport, but seeing some inside Flurew’s home and being able to touch them filled her with wonder. A holoprojector was running one of the latest Battle Royales between some type of Insectoid and a Mammalian species she did not know. The pod owned a projector, but it was in the clan headquarters, and she had only ever gotten to watch it occasionally. She was transfixed by how real and close the battle seemed. It did not matter where you viewed it; you could walk around it and watch the fighting from any direction.
Flurew had walked into a kitchen area as Darju had stood agog, staring at the projection.
“Are you hungry?” Flurew’s voice carried from the kitchen.
Darju’s stomach rumbled, and she did not realise how hungry she was. “Yes. If there is anything to eat, that would be great. I can pay you for it.”
“Don’t be silly. You do not need to pay me for food. I make enough from the cantina not to worry about sheks these days.”
“Do you own the cantina?” Darju asked with surprise.
“Yes. Owned it for 125PT now.”
“Wow. You are that old?” Darju realised what she had just said, and her scales turned yellow with embarrassment as Flurew walked in from the kitchen.
“Ha. Do not be embarrassed. I do not suppose you know much about Apelore. We do not get many Lyzords which come out of the valley, and when they do, they are usually just here to trade and leave again. Your race is not known for being very sociable.”
“I am sorry. I did not mean to be rude. I did not think you would be that old. The oldest Lyzord I know is Mr Zaspey, and he is only 103PT.”
“Oh, we Apelore’s can live for 200PT or more. I am currently 174PT.”
“Wow. You are nearly ten times older than I am.”
Flurew laughed and smiled, “Well, I am one of the older ones in the spaceport and my youngest Apel, Kiju, is 135PT now, and then there are the great, great, great Apel’s as well. I think the youngest is 4PT.”
Darju could not comprehend the number of generations she had in her immediate family. She had only ever known her grandparents when she was a young hatchling. “Do you ever see them?” she asked.
“Not often. They are all busy with their own lives these days. Puju is a spaceport official in Werthij, always coming and going to various planets from the holo messages I receive. Jilusi is a bioengineer and runs a large pharmaceutical site outside of Werthij, and then we have Kiju. As I said, he is my youngest and started working on Playverse as a director. He oversees something to do with the construction of the holo-feeds for the Battle Royales or something similar. Way too technical for me to understand.”
“Their jobs sound amazing. I wish I could end up with a job like that one day.”
“So what do you do now, then?”
“I worked in the hatchery until three cinteps ago, but I left and decided I wanted to wander.”
“So you have no job, eight sheks and no plans apart from wandering?” Flurew asked, frowning.
“Well, I had to start somewhere. I could not stay in the pod any longer. I felt trapped and as though my life was being sucked from me.”
“You need sheks to survive though.”
“Eight sheks is quite a sum, though I can survive on them for at least a while.”
Flurew guffawed at Darju’s comment, “Eight sheks will not even get you a room for one night in the spaceport.”
“Sorry?” Darju said in amazement.
“A normal room at the local hotel is fifteen sheks a night. I know because when my Apels visit, they always complain about the price.”
Darju had no idea that the sheks she had thought were so valuable had no worth compared to what she had hoped. She had thought she would have been able to get a craft from the spaceport at least to take her to another area of the planet to wander. She did feel down in the dumps now and sat down hard on one of the many cushions covering the floor.
Flurew looked at her, smiling, “Don’t worry, dear. You could always help out at the cantina if you wish. I need a new staff member as Grifto leaves for his regulatory Apelore Service tomorrow and will be away for six cycles.”
Darju stared at Flurew, blinking in shock, “Are you sure? You would do that for me?”
“Of course. I can not afford the best wages in the spaceport, but Thirty-five sheks a cintep is fair,” she replied.
“Thirty-five sheks a cintep?” Darju replied, her eyes so wide they felt like they would fall off her face.
“Yes. Thirty-five, as I say it, is not as good as others can afford to pay, but I believe sheks make sheks.”
“I accept your offer then,” Darju replied quickly, holding her hand out.
“Excellent. Eat up, and we can get you started in the morning.” Flurew replied warmly, handing her a plate of fruit.