Anarchistbanjo's World

Chapter 14

After grabbing a bite to eat and changing into his robe Tobal wandered around chatting with friends till circle started. He found a place near the fire to sit with Melanie and Becca during the initiations. The two girls spent most of the time gaily chatting back and forth about where they were going to go and he felt left out. The past month had really brought Melanie and Becca closer together as friends. He wasn’t in the mood for such levity and moved off for a little solitude.

This time Misty was the High Priestess as Ellen stood in the back ground waiting to help out if needed. He was surprised to see Angel wearing the red robes of a Master. She had certainly come quite a way since he had first seen her laid up with a leg injury in sanctuary.

He finally caught up with Rafe after circle. This was Tobal’s last chance before winter to go back to the lake and check out the abandoned gathering spot. It was Rafe that provided him with the seed of an idea.

“I’ve been thinking about this,” Rafe said. “I’m not supposed to talk about Journeyman stuff with you but I don’t think it really matters. We meet in a large cave and have our fights. There are always several medics because people get hurt during the fights and the signals from the med-alert bracelets don’t go through the rock.”

“You can’t take the med-alert bracelet off because the monitors would show you as dead. Also if you are found without a med-alert bracelet you need to start training from the beginning. You don’t want to do that.”

Tobal nodded his agreement. “What should I do then?”

“Hide in small caves or under rock ledges during the day so no air sleds can find you. If you are under or within the rock they should not be able to pick you up on the monitor screen. Then travel quickly at night. When you travel at night it will be seen that your med-alert bracelet is working properly after all and they don’t need to worry about it. They might try to find you at night but it is getting colder and no one wants to be out on an air sled in the middle of a cold night.”

“Besides,” Rafe said with a grin. “You are not doing anything wrong. At least no one has told you that you can’t go there. They probably will once they catch you. Try to get there in the middle of the night. It’s a full moon so there will be enough light to see. Give yourself about three hours and then get the hell out of there as fast as you can. It will be interesting to see what happens when they do catch up with you.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Tobal told him. “I think I’ll do exactly as you said.”

They talked a little more about his upcoming journey and then the talk wandered around to Rafe and how he got his second chevron. It was late before Tobal got to sleep.

Tobal started out the next morning as if he were heading toward his base camp. There was nothing unusual about that and it shouldn’t draw attention. The area between his base camp and the abandoned gathering spot was very rocky and there were a few caves and outcroppings he remembered seeing. He used them now travelling at night and holing up during the day. It should make them think his med-alert was malfunctioning.

He made cold camps during the day and gradually worked his way closer to the waterfall moving quickly at night and hiding during the day. He was glad for the furs since they provided the protection from the elements that he needed.

He tried sleeping during the day without much success and when he did sleep it was troubled with nightmarish images that became more intense the closer he got to the waterfall.

It was midnight on the fourth day when he stood in front of the cairn in the haunted gathering spot and felt the ghosts around him. There was enough moonlight to see and he searched as much of the cairn as possible without lighting a torch. He examined some of the objects that had been laid there but they simply seemed to be offerings.

He was baffled and frustrated. The answer certainly did not seem to be here and the rest of the camp looked to have been thoroughly cleansed. There was nothing to see and his instinct kept telling him to leave as quickly as possible.

He hated the thought of going down the cliff face in the dark but an inner prompting kept screaming that is was not safe to be here and that he had to leave as soon as possible. Going down the rock chimney was much easier than going up and soon he was scrambling over the edge of the cliff trying to find the toe holds he knew were there.

It was with relief his searching toe finally found the first hole and from then on the descent went quickly. Soon he was standing in the small patio area near the pool at the base of the waterfall. He figured about an hour had passed which gave him two hours more.

He stripped off his clothes and put them in a small pile in a corner of the patio where they were hidden by some rocks. He kept the knife strapped around his leg and the magnesium fire starter on a small chain around his neck. He had carefully thought this out during the past month and knew he needed to at least try exploring the pool.

Bracing himself he stepped into the icy water with his foot reaching for the first step he knew was there. Three more steps and he was up to his waist in the freezing water and facing the waterfall itself. He knew what he had to do as if some unknown hand was guiding him.

He plunged into the deep pool and began swimming strongly toward the waterfall. Right before he reached it he dove deeply and explored the rock face with his fingers. As he suspected there was an opening about three feet below the surface of the pool going under the waterfall itself.

Bobbing to the surface he took a deep breath and dived again swimming as deeply into the opening as possible and rose feeling the rock surface above his head sloping upward until it opened into a silent pool. His head broke the surface as he gasped for breath. It had not been a bad swim but it had been a frightening one.

The water was icy and he pulled himself out of it onto a rocky ledge. He was shivering in the dark as his fingers searched and found what felt a pack of some type and a torch. Tearing the pack open by touch his fingers closed on the heavy wool like material of a robe. Gratefully he slipped it on and pounded his body until the circulation started coming back.

His fingers searched and found a pouch of tinder. He soon had the torch going and was warming himself as he was looking around. The pool looked only six feet across and was his only way back. His heart was racing wildly. He knew this was the secret the lake hid and he also knew he only had two hours to explore before he had to leave. The good news was he felt certain the med-alert bracelet would not give him away within the cavern. He was safe as long as he stayed inside.

The torch flickered as he walked barefoot deeper into the cave. The thundering of the waterfall made the entire cave seem to vibrate even though the sound was muted and it was hard to tell where it was coming from. The floor of the cave sloped sharply downward for twenty feet and then leveled out into an open area.

There was an opening that turned sharply to the right but Tobal ignored it, his entire attention was focussed on the chamber ahead of him. There was a rough stone altar with unlit torches set into the wall on each side and the emblem painted on the rock behind the altar took his breath away. It was the same symbol of a man and woman holding hands within a circle that had been on the gold medallion his parents had left him.

He lit the two altar torches and stepped back to examine the chamber he found himself in. There was a rough circle in front of the altar for circle members to sit and many of the places seemed to have personal belongings placed carefully around them.

On sudden impulse he moved to one of the cushions near the altar and picked up a clay bowl that held some dust covered items. In the torchlight he carefully emptied the contents of the bowl on the ground and picked two plastic bracelets up. He recognized them as hospital bracelets.

Wiping the dust off them he held the larger one closer to the light of the torch. He saw the words “Rachel Kane” written plainly on it. With his heart thundering in his chest he picked the smaller one up and examined it. Under a coating of grime and dust he saw “Tobal Kane” written and then the date of his birth.

It was his baby bracelet from when he had been born. These things must have belonged to his mother. Blinking away tears, he moved the other items with his finger to examine them more closely. A jade and amber necklace caught his eye. Static electrical energy seemed to crackle from it as he ran it through his fingers wiping the dust off. Thinking quickly he put the necklace over his head and thrilled at the intense feeling of love and peace that swept over him.

He didn’t have much time. One of these piles belonged to his father and he hastily searched the area nearest his mother. Somehow that didn’t seem right. On impulse he moved over to the other side of the altar and the cushion nearest it on that side.

There were items that belonged to the High Priest and he remembered similar items that had been placed around his mother’s seat. His eye was drawn to a ceremonial dagger and sheath that lay in front of the cushion. Picking it up he saw that R.K. had been burned into the sheath and he knew it belonged to his father. He slipped his own knife out of its sheath and strapped the dagger hurriedly into it. He didn’t have time to find a belt for the dagger and sheath.

Taking his own torch he walked around the chamber trying to get an idea of its true size. There was an opening off to the left of the altar that led deeper into the cave through some type of corridor. He stooped and walked down the corridor gasping in surprise as he turned a quick corner and gazed upon an unbelievable sight.

It was another large cavern but filled with artifacts like those at the antique shop in Old Seattle. His torch reflected off burnished armor and weapons of steel and bronze.

Even stranger was one area that was set aside from the others. The items collected here were not of the world he knew. They did not belong to either the present or the past. He didn’t even know if human hands made these items.

There was a slender silver rod that glinted in the torchlight and he picked it up. It had some small buttons on the side near the grip and a cord that went around the wrist to keep from loosing it. Pushing the first button made the tip of the rod glow with a comfortable light that lit up the room.

He pushed the second button and a beam shot out from the wand touching the wall of the cave. Within seconds the cave wall began glowing red with heat. He hastily released the button and prayed nothing else would happen.

He slipped the cord around his wrist for carrying the wand and retraced his steps back to the other cavern. He snuffed out the two torches on the wall above the altar and made his way back to the pool.

At the edge of the pool he set the tinder and another torch ready for the next time he came and then carefully set the torch where it would burn out on its own without hurting anything.

Then he slipped off the woolen robe, put the two hospital bracelets in his mouth and taking a deep breath dove into the black pool of freezing water. Moments later he was outside climbing the stone stairs out of the pool.

He wasted no time sliding into his tunic and furs. He was still wet as he hastily donned his boots and grabbed his pack and equipment. He put the wand into his pack and the hospital bracelets in a leather pouch on his waist for safe keeping. He guessed it was about 3:00 a.m. and the air sleds would be looking for him anytime.

He headed at a dog trot through the maze of rock toward the edge of the lake. He hurried toward his burned out campsite planning to stop there and rest. He was halfway around the lake in the predawn light and walking normally when the first air sled appeared. He was not surprised to see the air sled drop to the ground on the beach in front of him and a medic step toward him.