Manda pushed the leaves aside, and glanced upwards. It was nearly midday, but the whole forest around her had been plunged into a soft darkness since the morning. Above the treetops a second, much larger canopy of leaves covered them, miles above and miles across. They had been in the shadow of the Immortalisa Oak for several days, and while a few nights of rest had calmed her nerves after the incident with the Wolf, she had felt unsettled ever since; being unsure of herself was not something that had ever happened before.
"So, you finally believe it's a spaceship, then?"
Manda made an irritated noise, and glared at Junipa, behind her.
"I told you, I don't know what I think."
Junipa smirked. "Please. I know you're trying to fight it. I knew I'd make you a believer."
Manda rolled her eyes, continuing to climb the shallow, grassy hill, a makeshift path between the small, sallow trees surviving in the soft light under the Oak.
"You didn't make me believe anything. It's everything Enderi did that night that made me..." she paused, "makes me consider the possibility that the ore deposit might not be what I think it is."
"A spaceship."
"It's a lump of rock. It might be something mysterious, maybe even something magical, like Enderi," Manda said, pushing her way past several thin, white dappled branches, "but if you're trying to tell me that lump of rock is going to up and fly away when we get there, then..."
"Then what?"
Manda turned and glared at her again. "Then you're an idiot."
Junipa looked offended for a second, before laughing. "Whatever. You believe Enderi and me now. there's no point denying it."
Manda ignored her. There was a flurry of movement in the north, and a small flock of birds took flight, slowly making their way south and overhead. Manda crossed her arms, watching them glide into the distance, and land somewhere out of sight.
Something must have disturbed them.
The memory of the Fenrir Wolf flashed through her mind, and she pushed it aside.
"Enderi, can you remember anything? Does anything around here look familiar?"
Enderi, walking alongside Junipa and holding her hand, glanced around, before shaking his head.
Manda gave Junipa a flat look. "You must remember something."
She shrugged. "It was dark. All I remember was being under this big tree. And there were no roots sticking out of the ground, so it must be this one."
Manda sighed. "Fine."
She glanced to the east. the forest got darker and sparser to the east, and in the darkness Manda could make out the huge trunk, several times larger than the monoliths of the village, rising into a dark cloud of branches, miles above. To the north, the ground sloped down and there was a small break in the trees, and to the south, she could see little but lines of thin trunks, fading into the distance.
She pointed north. "There might be something over there, hidden in the trees. If it's nothing, we head towards the trunk and to higher ground, try and get our bearings. You okay with that?"
Junipa huffed. "Does it matter what I say? You've already made up your mind."
"Again, I wasn't talking to you."
Manda looked down at Enderi. "Enderi, is that okay?"
Enderi nodded, still staring at the ground.
Manda paused for a second, before crouching down in front of him. "Enderi, are you feeling alright? You haven't said much... well, even less than usual."
He didn't meet her gaze, but she saw him squeeze Junipa's hand.
"Enderi?"
He looked up at her, chewing his lip. "I kind of remember this place."
"You do? Are we getting close?"
Enderi looked around, before shaking his head.
Manda made a disappointed noise. "We're not?"
Enderi shrugged. "I don't know."
She sighed, climbing to her feet. "You were so much more talkative back at the rapids. We'll head north then."
As they moved north, the unsettled feeling got stronger and stronger, until Manda found her heart in her throat. She stopped as they passed a small hillock, and the trees began to split apart. There was a large area of open ground, rounded like a shallow crater, the thin grass as unearthed and muddied as tilled farmland. Amongst the clods of mud patches of rock stuck out, resembling roots with lines of a strange, silver tinge. At the centre of the area a rough spire of rock, barely a metre tall and several wide, forced its way out of the ground. The surface was dark and dense, but underneath spider webs of silver ran through it, creating stripes, specks and gashes of shining colour.
Manda swallowed. The air was quiet and tense, and close, far too close. The familiar sounds of the forest, rustling wind and distant birdsong were gone, as if something resonated from the rock that blocked out all that was... natural about the world.
She hesitantly approached it. "Well... this is it."
Junipa let go of Enderi's hand and stumbled down the slope into the mud.
Manda could feel her heartbeat in her throat as she tentatively reached out her hand. In the back of her mind, she waited to Enderi to cry out, and warn her not to touch the rock, but she didn't hear anything. The silvery ore in the rock didn't seem to stay still; as she followed the veins with her eyes her perspective seemed to shift and warp, as if the rock itself was pulsing.
Her hand slowly pressed against the surface. Despite the damp warmth under the canopy of the Oak the rock was cold to the touch. Manda held her breath. If something was going to happen...
A few seconds passed.
Manda blinked. "Nothing's happening."
"Manda," Enderi said, walking up to her, "Why are you rubbing this rock?"
Manda glanced at him. "This is your spaceship? This is what you were looking for? It's not doing anything. Isn't it, I don't know... supposed to open or something?"
Enderi looked confused. "This isn't the spaceship. This is a lump of rock."
Junipa crossed her arms, matter-of-factly. "It looks like an ore deposit to me. Must've been pushed to the surface somehow, that's what caused all this broken earth."
Manda let her hand slide of the rock, a slew of emotions crashing upwards as her heart fell back into place. She let out a small laugh, her voice breaking slightly. Enderi rounded the rock, and climbed past a single line of young saplings.
"You mean to tell me," she said through clenched teeth, "That all this time... you were leading us towards the ore deposit?"
Junipa shrugged, "I told you, it was dark. I thought it was a spaceship, you thought it was an ore deposit. I guess you were right."
Manda clutched her head in her hands, taking deep breaths. "I believed you... I can't... I... believed you..."
"Hey, you were right and I was wrong. You should be happy."
Manda let her hands fall to her sides. "I'm going to kill you. I'm actually going to kill you."
Enderi froze at the top of the hill, a huge smile spreading across his face.
Junipa furrowed her brow as she saw him. "Enderi, what is it?"
Enderi spun round, beaming. "Come here! Come here!"
Junipa moved past Manda, still frozen in place. "Manda, come on!"
"I'll throw you from a tree. Or kick you into the rapids. Make it look like an accident."
"Manda!"
Manda took a deep breath, composing herself, and climbed after them both. The ridge was small, created only by the upturned earth around the ore deposit, but on the other side the trees were gone as well, but this time, there was no upturned earth. A small, monotone green lawn, perfectly flat, was spread in front of them. Waist high metal bars, attached like a fence separated the cultivated greenery from the wild forestry beyond, and a curt, organised light stone gravel pathways moved in straight lines and strict corners, providing walkways through the strange foliage.
On the far side of this flat, almost fake greenery was a large dome, made entirely of sleek, shining silver. More than before, Manda felt her breath taken away as her eyes followed the stainless, unbroken swell and curves of the strange structure. It was only broken by a wide doorway, smaller and neater than the entrances into the monoliths, but another unbroken stretch of silver was between the doorway, preventing anyone from entering.
"It's the spaceship!" Enderi cried.
Junipa made a noise of understanding, clapping her hands. "Oh, this is the spaceship! Yeah, I remember seeing this! I know what must've happened; I was on this rise, and I saw the spaceship, but you were in the middle of hunting or something, below. You only saw the ore deposit, and thought that's what I was talking about."
She laughed. "What a weird misunderstanding! It's kind of funny, when you think about it."
Manda gave her a flat, emotionless stare. "If you value your life at all... stop talking."
Enderi ran excitedly towards the metal bars, and climbed underneath it. He almost stepped on the thin, flat grass, but hesitated, sidling along the bars until he reached the path. Junipa and Manda hesitantly followed.
"What is this strange grass?" Junipa said.
"I don't know. but don't tread on it. It could be dangerous."
They carefully skirted around the strange grass, making sure to stay on the pathway, and approached the spaceship. Enderi stopped in front of the doors, and glanced around.
"What are you looking for?" Manda said.
"There should be an access panel somewhere here." he mumbled, his eyes scanning the featureless metal.
"What's an access panel?" Junipa whispered.
"Why do you think I would know?" Manda whispered back.
Enderi raised his hand, and slowly ran his fingers across the metal.
Suddenly, the doors parted, vanishing behind the metal. A strong light emanated from the opening, like a torch but bright, painful white, blinding them. Manda blinked, covering her eyes.
A silhouette appeared. Manda squinted through her fingers as it loomed overt them. It was a figure, taller by a head than even Jannis, and as her eyes adjusted she saw his skin was ghostly pale, as light as Enderi. He had short, dark hair and a thin beard, so succint and organised it looked painted onto his skull, and he was garbed in pristine white and cyan robes. Manda felt a rush of fear as his cold eyes swept across them.
"So," the man said, his deep, dulcet voice cutting through her, leaving ice in her veins, "Enderi, you have finally deigned to rejoin us. And look, you brought along some pets."
Junipa smirked. "Please. I know you're trying to fight it. I knew I'd make you a believer."
Manda rolled her eyes, continuing to climb the shallow, grassy hill, a makeshift path between the small, sallow trees surviving in the soft light under the Oak.
"You didn't make me believe anything. It's everything Enderi did that night that made me..." she paused, "makes me consider the possibility that the ore deposit might not be what I think it is."
"A spaceship."
"It's a lump of rock. It might be something mysterious, maybe even something magical, like Enderi," Manda said, pushing her way past several thin, white dappled branches, "but if you're trying to tell me that lump of rock is going to up and fly away when we get there, then..."
"Then what?"
Manda turned and glared at her again. "Then you're an idiot."
Junipa looked offended for a second, before laughing. "Whatever. You believe Enderi and me now. there's no point denying it."
Manda ignored her. There was a flurry of movement in the north, and a small flock of birds took flight, slowly making their way south and overhead. Manda crossed her arms, watching them glide into the distance, and land somewhere out of sight.
Something must have disturbed them.
The memory of the Fenrir Wolf flashed through her mind, and she pushed it aside.
"Enderi, can you remember anything? Does anything around here look familiar?"
Enderi, walking alongside Junipa and holding her hand, glanced around, before shaking his head.
Manda gave Junipa a flat look. "You must remember something."
She shrugged. "It was dark. All I remember was being under this big tree. And there were no roots sticking out of the ground, so it must be this one."
Manda sighed. "Fine."
She glanced to the east. the forest got darker and sparser to the east, and in the darkness Manda could make out the huge trunk, several times larger than the monoliths of the village, rising into a dark cloud of branches, miles above. To the north, the ground sloped down and there was a small break in the trees, and to the south, she could see little but lines of thin trunks, fading into the distance.
She pointed north. "There might be something over there, hidden in the trees. If it's nothing, we head towards the trunk and to higher ground, try and get our bearings. You okay with that?"
Junipa huffed. "Does it matter what I say? You've already made up your mind."
"Again, I wasn't talking to you."
Manda looked down at Enderi. "Enderi, is that okay?"
Enderi nodded, still staring at the ground.
Manda paused for a second, before crouching down in front of him. "Enderi, are you feeling alright? You haven't said much... well, even less than usual."
He didn't meet her gaze, but she saw him squeeze Junipa's hand.
"Enderi?"
He looked up at her, chewing his lip. "I kind of remember this place."
"You do? Are we getting close?"
Enderi looked around, before shaking his head.
Manda made a disappointed noise. "We're not?"
Enderi shrugged. "I don't know."
She sighed, climbing to her feet. "You were so much more talkative back at the rapids. We'll head north then."
***
As they moved north, the unsettled feeling got stronger and stronger, until Manda found her heart in her throat. She stopped as they passed a small hillock, and the trees began to split apart. There was a large area of open ground, rounded like a shallow crater, the thin grass as unearthed and muddied as tilled farmland. Amongst the clods of mud patches of rock stuck out, resembling roots with lines of a strange, silver tinge. At the centre of the area a rough spire of rock, barely a metre tall and several wide, forced its way out of the ground. The surface was dark and dense, but underneath spider webs of silver ran through it, creating stripes, specks and gashes of shining colour.
Manda swallowed. The air was quiet and tense, and close, far too close. The familiar sounds of the forest, rustling wind and distant birdsong were gone, as if something resonated from the rock that blocked out all that was... natural about the world.
She hesitantly approached it. "Well... this is it."
Junipa let go of Enderi's hand and stumbled down the slope into the mud.
Manda could feel her heartbeat in her throat as she tentatively reached out her hand. In the back of her mind, she waited to Enderi to cry out, and warn her not to touch the rock, but she didn't hear anything. The silvery ore in the rock didn't seem to stay still; as she followed the veins with her eyes her perspective seemed to shift and warp, as if the rock itself was pulsing.
Her hand slowly pressed against the surface. Despite the damp warmth under the canopy of the Oak the rock was cold to the touch. Manda held her breath. If something was going to happen...
A few seconds passed.
Manda blinked. "Nothing's happening."
"Manda," Enderi said, walking up to her, "Why are you rubbing this rock?"
Manda glanced at him. "This is your spaceship? This is what you were looking for? It's not doing anything. Isn't it, I don't know... supposed to open or something?"
Enderi looked confused. "This isn't the spaceship. This is a lump of rock."
Junipa crossed her arms, matter-of-factly. "It looks like an ore deposit to me. Must've been pushed to the surface somehow, that's what caused all this broken earth."
Manda let her hand slide of the rock, a slew of emotions crashing upwards as her heart fell back into place. She let out a small laugh, her voice breaking slightly. Enderi rounded the rock, and climbed past a single line of young saplings.
"You mean to tell me," she said through clenched teeth, "That all this time... you were leading us towards the ore deposit?"
Junipa shrugged, "I told you, it was dark. I thought it was a spaceship, you thought it was an ore deposit. I guess you were right."
Manda clutched her head in her hands, taking deep breaths. "I believed you... I can't... I... believed you..."
"Hey, you were right and I was wrong. You should be happy."
Manda let her hands fall to her sides. "I'm going to kill you. I'm actually going to kill you."
Enderi froze at the top of the hill, a huge smile spreading across his face.
Junipa furrowed her brow as she saw him. "Enderi, what is it?"
Enderi spun round, beaming. "Come here! Come here!"
Junipa moved past Manda, still frozen in place. "Manda, come on!"
"I'll throw you from a tree. Or kick you into the rapids. Make it look like an accident."
"Manda!"
Manda took a deep breath, composing herself, and climbed after them both. The ridge was small, created only by the upturned earth around the ore deposit, but on the other side the trees were gone as well, but this time, there was no upturned earth. A small, monotone green lawn, perfectly flat, was spread in front of them. Waist high metal bars, attached like a fence separated the cultivated greenery from the wild forestry beyond, and a curt, organised light stone gravel pathways moved in straight lines and strict corners, providing walkways through the strange foliage.
On the far side of this flat, almost fake greenery was a large dome, made entirely of sleek, shining silver. More than before, Manda felt her breath taken away as her eyes followed the stainless, unbroken swell and curves of the strange structure. It was only broken by a wide doorway, smaller and neater than the entrances into the monoliths, but another unbroken stretch of silver was between the doorway, preventing anyone from entering.
"It's the spaceship!" Enderi cried.
Junipa made a noise of understanding, clapping her hands. "Oh, this is the spaceship! Yeah, I remember seeing this! I know what must've happened; I was on this rise, and I saw the spaceship, but you were in the middle of hunting or something, below. You only saw the ore deposit, and thought that's what I was talking about."
She laughed. "What a weird misunderstanding! It's kind of funny, when you think about it."
Manda gave her a flat, emotionless stare. "If you value your life at all... stop talking."
Enderi ran excitedly towards the metal bars, and climbed underneath it. He almost stepped on the thin, flat grass, but hesitated, sidling along the bars until he reached the path. Junipa and Manda hesitantly followed.
"What is this strange grass?" Junipa said.
"I don't know. but don't tread on it. It could be dangerous."
They carefully skirted around the strange grass, making sure to stay on the pathway, and approached the spaceship. Enderi stopped in front of the doors, and glanced around.
"What are you looking for?" Manda said.
"There should be an access panel somewhere here." he mumbled, his eyes scanning the featureless metal.
"What's an access panel?" Junipa whispered.
"Why do you think I would know?" Manda whispered back.
Enderi raised his hand, and slowly ran his fingers across the metal.
Suddenly, the doors parted, vanishing behind the metal. A strong light emanated from the opening, like a torch but bright, painful white, blinding them. Manda blinked, covering her eyes.
A silhouette appeared. Manda squinted through her fingers as it loomed overt them. It was a figure, taller by a head than even Jannis, and as her eyes adjusted she saw his skin was ghostly pale, as light as Enderi. He had short, dark hair and a thin beard, so succint and organised it looked painted onto his skull, and he was garbed in pristine white and cyan robes. Manda felt a rush of fear as his cold eyes swept across them.
"So," the man said, his deep, dulcet voice cutting through her, leaving ice in her veins, "Enderi, you have finally deigned to rejoin us. And look, you brought along some pets."
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