XXI - The Centre of It All

  Vider huffed as the last collapsible pole went in and the tent remained in place.   "That's all of them," he announced with relief.   Naja ran to him stretching to give him a wineskin.   "A bit early for that, isn't it?" he frowned.   "It's full o' water, silly. You've been 'elpin' everyone else, but forgettin' you need stuff, too."   With a mumbled apology, he thanked her and drained the pouch, realising only then how parched his mouth had become. He handed it back to her with a grateful nod, then glanced around at the group.   "I need to go retrieve some firewood from the first ring of trees," he explained so everyone could hear, "I would like to think we do not need to cut branches, but…"   Veman grimaced, "Unless there have been storms or high winds recently, we may find usable wood in shorter supply than we would like. And with conditions being somewhat damp, some of that which has fallen may be dead, diseased or simply too sodden to be of use."   "I won' say no to any mushrooms you find, though," Naja piped up, "well, I'm sure Veman could find ones that I should say no to."   "If – and I mean if – we have the opportunity, and can carry extras with the wood, I will try to bring back herbs or safe mushrooms," Veman sighed, "but please don't presume that is a promise."   "I promise I won't presume that's a promise!" Naja giggled, before returning to prepare her cooking equipment and ingredients.   Despite the tightly-woven canopy of Shanvér Woods, rain filtered almost unhindered to the forest floor, albeit with a reduction in the intensity it fell compared to outside its bounds. So, although it was dark within, Nature nourished both the forest and the fauna and flora that relied on it. Even if high winds passed over Shanvér, usually only the outer trees in the wind's path were affected and even downed trees were rumoured to have righted themselves. It was as though the wood itself were saying "don't come in or make fire here."   "I agree," Vider conceded, "while Shenzàn has, by far, the best axe, it is almost certainly overkill. That and, personally, I would prefer her guarding the rest of you."   "Doesn't bother me," the woman replied, "the group has other defenders and eyes. But if you don't mind counting me out on a manual job this once, that's fine. But I do quite like taking it out on something that can't hit back," she smirked.   "You're assuming that all the trees cannot hit back, of course," Findat lazily added, "but at least you showed the bear that you hit back. Very effectively by all accounts."   "And Shen, I know you werrre 'just getting warrrmed up' back there," Azachet said, casting a sideways glance at the warrior, as she finished erecting her own domed tent, "but rrresting is prrrobably wise for both of us."   Shenzàn shook her head and rolled her eyes.   "Ah, you Shevezzi and your wisdom. If it wasn't you, Azi-Cat, I'd tell you where to shove your wisdom."   Azachet grinned and bared her fangs, leaving Shenzàn mentally torn between annoyance that the Kyadd was correct, yet pleased that she had a sense of humour.   "Anyway," Veman interjected, "as Mair-Khryt will use her axe in your defence, you'll be pleased to know that I sometimes have to take wild samples, so I am equipped for the task."   He reached into his satchel and retrieved a small botanist's hatchet. While the tool had clearly seen better days, Veman had preserved the handle well over the years, and ensured the blade was periodically sharpened by blacksmiths in the city. Looking at it, he regretted not researching whether bees made hives in Shanvér, as he was running low on the wax he relied on to maintain his tools.   Shenzàn snorted.   "An Elelup – a short-axe," she smirked.   Veman shrugged, "Crude humour aside, I realise that my hatchet only makes a decent-sized nail pick for a Kyadd, but it works fine for me. I may need, uhm, lifting, though."   "If you do not mind, then neither do I," Vider assured him, "and two of our team should be sufficient. I will just retrieve my lantern and we will be on our way. Now, where is it?" he wondered.   He searched the area around his tent, and poked his head inside, wondering why he could not see a pole that was almost his own height, with a geode-shaped case hung on the end.   "Does anyone know where I put my lantern just before I started helping set up the tents?" he asked, bemused.   From his chair, Findat raised his hand, and pointed towards Naja's tent. The girl pursed her lips, followed the direction his finger pointed in, and her eyes widened.   "Oooh, that's what the lump is under me tent! I jus' thought it was a rock. Glad it didn't tear me bottom sheet. Let's get i' out quickly, then!"   She jumped up and was about to run to her tent, when Vider held up two hands to her, shaking his head, with a worried expression on his face.   "Wha'?" the Elelup asked, utterly confused, "you wan' it back, no?"   Vider calmed his breathing, so as not to pass on his rush of anxiety.   "I need it back, yes. I do not need it back quickly. The lantern has a sort of…cover on it that must remain in place. Dragging it too quickly will damage that cover."   "Oh, thanks fer the lesson, I didn't know," she admitted, ashamed.   "You can't know something you have yet to learn," Findat replied from his chair, "our challenges are not forgetting lessons learned and trying not to repeat mistakes. I'm sure we've all failed on both at some point in our lives."   "It's always been 'eyes forward' for me, Findat," Shenzàn replied, having settled herself on the grass by the window of her tent, "forget what's gone, you know?"   "That has its advantages," Findat agreed, "but it can send you proverbially blind into situations where that past knowledge may have aided you."   "If you say so."

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  Kanda was confident his heat veins were, theoretically at least, correctly placed. He had accounted for an error in one research paper, with the current knowledge that a heat vein did not pass under the southern wall of Shevezz. The worker at the Charging Field had confirmed as much. While he did not know the direction the perpetual heated air flowed in, he had a rough cycle plotted on a hastily-drawn map.   "If that flows South to East, with the two probable flows running East to North and East to West, that places the centre point roughly…"   He scrawled a star in the location on his map and shook his head.   "The Skarrka-ruddy-Bykla. Of course it had to be that," he tutted, "at least I shouldn't have to climb it."   The Skarrka Bykla was the tallest mountain in Shevezzi territory and almost revered for the way it reached towards the clouds, as though stretching further and further for answers to questions yet unposed. Kanda-Nor only needed to be near the heat vein's source, or centre, so he knew he could remain at ground level.   Though there is the issue of travel, he thought, but I'll address that tomorrow.   He broke off some more bread with cheese and looked out of the window. While the city of Shevezz created a late-afternoon quasi "midday heat", the high walls and the mountains the city was built into made nightfall feel earlier than it would outside of them. Washing his mouth with a small amount of water and swallowing it gratefully, he looked down at his lamp crystal.   It was definitely glowing now. Dimly, at least, but this time Kanda could not prevent it.   Time to figure out answers without the wisdom of the Alchemists' Guild, or their 'magic', he resolved.   He opened his notebook and began to draw.

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