Ancient Hunter

The first thing I saw when I returned to the surface was Joyce standing just beyond the edge of the dais. Her expression didn’t bode well for me. I guessed I was the source of her anger.

“Now how did I know you’d be here,” she said to me, her tone conveying more than her words did.

“I went for a walk to clear my head,” I answered.

“And went to somewhere we can’t get to without a shuttle. Didn’t have the sense to tell us where you were going?”

“I needed to go somewhere I could contact the Keepers. Away from prying eyes and somewhere we would not be disturbed.” It was a partial truth I hadn’t decided to call Moon Shadow until I reached the pool. “I asked the Keepers about the place. The rod translated it correctly. It’s where they married if I could call it married but it was a serious ceremony. They call it The Joining”

That got Joyce’s attention. “They do?” That had her interested I guess curiosity won over her anger with me. Although anger wasn’t what she was really thinking she was being over protective.

I explained what I’d been told I even told Joyce that Running Deer was joined there and her mate had been killed. Saying that reminded me to ask about the other races mentioned. “Have you heard of the Azarac or the Builders?”

“This will be the first time,” Joyce said puzzled. “There was no mention of anything on Melanos.” She frowned. “I’m now wondering if that was deliberate. The T’Arni have nothing in there annals. It’s as if the information had just been wiped from history.”

I noted she was taking me at my word. I told her what I’d been told adding. “A plague wiped out the Azarac and the Builders vanished. I assume one of the two built the city beyond the Gateway. The one where I found you?”

“Gateway?” Joyce exclaimed and clicked her tongue. “Now you’ve got me doing that.”

I hid a grin and turned serious. “I was told the Gateways and the Stepping Stones were not built by any known race. Even the First Ones don’t know who made them They like other races just used them.”

Joyce looked thoughtful a least she wasn’t angry with me. “You said about cities?”

I was clueless as to what she was getting at. “Yes?”

“What if Grunnleggerby was built on top of one of these cities?”

That hadn’t occurred to me. “Oh I didn’t connect those dots?” I felt ashamed I was supposed to be an investigator and I had missed the obvious. I began thinking if that was the answer. We wouldn’t know until it was investigated.

Joyce was ahead of me she spoke into her comms. “I want an aerial survey of the town ASAP!” She looked at me and said. “Ever wonder why the land around here is so flat?”

I glanced around my eyes scanning the terrain. It was in unbelievably flat no contours to it. In the distance I could see forest and rolling grass covered hills. “Now that you mention it?”

“It would have made more sense to move the town to the east closer to the river. Instead of pumping water five kilometres.”

I hadn’t seen that then I hadn’t the expertise Joyce had. I remembered the abandoned town on Paranova the folk there had left because the water had run out and it was too costly to do anything else. The mayor had killed himself over it. Then looking at the river I remembered Copper’s village was next to a river, a river full of deadly predators. The reason why Grunnleggerby was here still eluded me. Then anyone that knew why were long dead. I wasn’t going to ask Mother Ronja or Miranda about this yet. “Could it be that they found the Stepping Stone on their land?”

“I think there’s more to it,” Joyce stated.

A shuttle roared overhead then made a slow circle above the ruined town. It did another turn and began a low sweep across the town. I considered Joyce’s words there was a logic to them. I could spend the whole day speculating and come up with squat.

“Come on Gwen we’ll head back to the Admin Building and await the result of the survey.” She added. “On the way you can apologise for not telling me where you were going?”

“Didn’t I tell you I was trying to contact the Keepers?”

“You could have done that anywhere.”

“But to see them in the flesh,” I stated.

“Hang on a minute do you know how far we are from Saros?” Joyce exclaimed.

“No but I expect you’re going to tell me.” I shouldn’t have taken that tone with Joyce. Insulting her was insulting the Imperial family. I admired the Empress’ and how she was trying to fix all that was broken within the Empire. No matter what I had become I was still an Imperial at heart.

“Gwen?”

“Sorry,” I apologised. “I just feel so frustrated there is so much going on here and I no nearer to any answers. To top it all I haven’t found the other Keepers.” My thoughts turned to what I knew which was exactly nothing. I blew out the breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. “The First One brought me here for a reason if only she had told me what is was. All she said was investigate?”

“You have been,” Joyce assured me. “We’ve learned a lot more than we knew before.

Take heart, had we been on Melanos we would have known one heck of a lot less. The Guardians hang on to information like a miser hangs onto his purse. I’ve learned more here than the two years I spent on Melanos.” She paused. “And it is a darn sight warmer here.”

We walked back to the Admin Building I was glad I hadn’t burnt my bridges with Joyce she understood what I was going through. A short brown haired man in grey pants and dusty yellow shirt hurried out of the building waving a datapad he had in his hand.

“Professor Neilson you’re not going to believe these readings I’ve got from the survey they’ve just sent me the data.” He thrust the datapad at Joyce.

“Right let’s see these readings.” Joyce took the datapad from the man. She stared at it for some time. “Incredible. Joe comm the city we want some heavy equipment. You know what we’ll need.”

“Right away Professor.” He hurried back into the building.

“What was that all about?” I wanted to know.

“The aerial survey has revealed something under Grunnleggerby.” Joyce looked directly at me. “The Landottir were your kin?”

It dawned on me what she was hinting at. She was asking for my permission to dig. I took a deep breath. “Well if we ever want solve what’s going on here. Yeah go ahead.”

“We’ll use the open area to the south west. We can dig there without disturbing the buildings around it.”

“The training ground,” I said. Every Valkyrie settlement had one. I knew the one by the chalets on Alfheimir intimately. Thirika took me to train every day no matter the weather and with no shred of clothing either. It did harden you to the cold. I guess that what saved me when I was dropped naked outside Miranda’s door.

“We’ll need to go down at least four metres?”

“I’ve no problem with that,” I told her.

“Good and while we are waiting for the equipment we can talk.”

I had hoped she’d forgotten about her earlier threat. “Ok if I can use your comms to call Alfheimir.”

Joyce had the comms set up in a side room in the Admin Building. It consisted of the comms terminal on a table that wobble and a screen. I centred myself on the chair that was in front of the comms. I powered it up and announced. “Person to person call to Alfheimir.” The screen lit up waiting for my next command. I continued. “Gwen Hunter calling Mother Ronja of the Martin Clan.”

I didn’t have to wait long. Mother Ronja’s face appeared on the screen. She was dressed in the red and silver of the Clan. Her long blonde hair hung down either side of her face and covered her breasts. She smiled at me.

“Gwen it good to hear and see you.” She glanced down. “I see you’re not on Saros any more.”

“I know, I want to send a message to Cinders.” I avoided mentioning Miranda by name and Cinders was Ronja’s daughter and technically Miranda’s carer.

“That could be extremely hard but we will try.”

“I need as much info as I can about the Landottir on what they planned to do here?” I went on to explain the attack and the remains of the Landottir I’d discovered. “The Orsini were looking for something.” I know I said I hadn’t wanted to disturb them but I couldn’t think of any other way through this.

Ronja looked grim. “That’s very odd even for the Orsini.” Her face turned hard. “I will be calling the Elders out we do not treat our dead that way. I will get an answer from them even if means I tear the Hall to pieces. And I won’t be the only one we do not leave our dead behind!” She ended the call abruptly.

I sat staring at the terminal wondering if I’d done the right thing. Finally I stirred there was work to do and things to be investigated.