Journey to Yesod
Drawn by: Hamalbinbin
Written by: Hunter Ake
Edited by: Lilliana Steele
Chapter 1 (Part 1)
Trinect 34th, 1258
“Wake up lizard-breath!” Sook’s eyes blinked awake as the late afternoon sun pierced through the shutters. “You’ve been out for almost a full day, started to wonder if you would wake up at all.” Sook brushed her long dark hair out of her face and slowly sat up, instantly feeling the toll of the earlier battle. “Owww, I’m regretting that I did. My abs are killing me.” Her eyes blinked and focused as her mind pushed the pain out. “What about Zenebe?!” “He’s fine! Ugh, how did I know that would be the first thing you’d ask? He was the first to wake up, I guess that’s what happens when you’re the first to go down.” Dulani slowly looked away as her voice got quieter, she didn’t really want to have an argument, but she couldn’t help herself from saying something. “Zenebe’s not a close combat guy, it’s our job to keep threats off of him.” “That’s just an excuse for his inability to cover his own ass, he needs to work on his weaknesses.” Sook smiled softly, “The same could be said for us, we barely got out of there alive; we failed as a group.” Dulani rolled her eyes and left it at that. “Regardless, he’s starting us on a new job right now.” “Oh?” “Yeah, it turns out these settlers weren’t helping us out of the kindness of their hearts; they want us to investigate some kind of disease. Low and behold, the hydrosophist thinks the problem might be in the water.” Sook stood up out of bed, stretching and immediately stopping as she felt another tinge of pain, “Hmm well, if he turns out to be right, then it’d be pretty lucky for us that we can pay these people back for their help.” “Ugh, your optimistic counters are so annoying. Oh, also, I nabbed you this.” Dulani produced a slab of salted meat from her cloak and handed it to Sook. “By nabbed do you me-“ “Yes, I stole it.” “You stole from the people who helped us?!” “Oh, shut up, do you want it or not?” Sook paused and looked Dulani in the eyes, seeing the apathetic look on her face, then Sook looked down at the meat, instantly making her feel hungry. She took the meat gingerly and dug in, laughing to herself over the slight guilt. “Come on, let’s go see if Zenebe’s cracked the case already.”
Sook and Dulani exited the shack and began walking down the path along the river. They admired the peaceful beauty of the rolling hills and the cliff faces behind them as they moved. The settlement was about as bare bones as a community could get. A half dozen wooden structures to house around 50 people haphazardly placed along the riverbank. Turned out Sook was sleeping in the tool shed, not the most luxurious accommodations but she would never complain. An outhouse a fair walk away from the settlement and what looks like an attempt at constructing a pier at the bank for fishing. The pair arrived at the fishing spot where a crowd had formed around Zenebe. The young man was sitting on the ground, legs crossed in his tan, yellow garb and head wrap. Water, formed into an almost perfect sphere, rippled and floated just inches above his palm. His eyes were closed in concentration as the crowd’s murmurs seemed to drift right past him unheard. Dulani crossed her arms in frustration, “He’s seriously still not done yet? He was like this when I left to check on you.” “Just give him time, you know how much of a perfectionist he is”, Sook replied. After an agonizingly boring chunk of time, the water coiled and snaked back into the river. Zenebe opened his eyes and stood up in place; he then spoke with a smirk on his face. “My apologies for the wait, to you especially, Dulani.” “So, you do listen, you just ignore people, imagine my shock.” One of the settlers chimed in, “So were you able to find out what’s wrong?!” Zenebe looked around at the concerned faces of the settlers as he took a deep breath. “You said the sickness began almost immediately after you settled here, correct?” “Yes! We’ve only been here a month and already half of us have caught sickness!” replied the settler. Another man in the crowd interjected, “I’m telling you the spirits of this area are angry at us for being here! We should keep looking around for somewhere else.” The crowd’s murmurs began to swell until it was too much for Zenebe to bear. “Please, I’ve determined the cause!” The crowd suddenly quieted down. “My apologies, but it looks like something up-river is contaminating the water. My companions and I will promptly determine what it is and report back what we find.” The young man ignored the ensuing questions and ushered the two women to break off with him. Once the trio were far enough way, Dulani inquired, “What’s wrong, why were you so curt with them?” Zenebe paused and looked over in the direction of the settlement to ensure they were a safe distance away before responding in a serious but quiet tone. “Because the contamination of the water is almost certainly coming from people living up-river.”
The trio traveled up the river in peace and relative quiet, taking in the beautiful landscape as they went. The cliffs rose before them, seeming to grow taller with each step. The bubbling river sped past them, waves splashing over rocks and mixing together in a gorgeous chaotic mess. Sook led the way, with Zenebe close behind her and Dulani following a bit back. Dulani still didn’t quite understand why the contamination being man-made was worth worrying over, but she didn’t want another know-it-all explanation from Zenebe. Certainly, they could resolve the issue fairly simply. Sook was the first to spot signs of civilization and shortly after, the group stood still, taking in the beauty of what they were looking at. Nestled in an extremely narrow part of the canyon, just feet above the racing river, an entire community was suspended on beams and panels. People were walking back and forth on walkways, only a couple had stopped to wave at the newcomers and welcome them into the town. The trio approached and continued to notice more details about the community before them. Homes, a marketplace, a mill with a large water wheel powered by the strong current of the river. Large nets suspended down into the river from the frontmost beams; catching fish as they travel underneath the town. The group took their first steps onto the beams, the wood creaking slightly under their added weight. Sook worried for a second that she might need to stay on land but quickly remembered that these beams are supporting entire structures. Zenebe was the first to ask a bystander what this place was called. “This is our paradise, Abbayona.”
Zenebe was led off to speak with members of the community about the issue. Sook quickly ran off to the marketplace and began sampling the local fish options. Dulani moved quietly, observing the town, and keeping a critical eye out for anything fishy. “You gotta try this fish!” Dulani’s concentration was suddenly broken as Sook shoved a fresh filet in her face. “Ugh, must you be so abrasive? I’m trying to get a lay of this place.” Sook munched on her filet with an almost inquisitive look on her face. “You don’t want to leave this up to the hydrosophist?” Dulani’s face scrunched with frustration. “I am contributing to this job so we can get out of here quicker and get on with our journey. You could stand to be a bit more helpful too.” Sook finished swallowing her fish and smirked. “If anything happens, I want to be fueled up and ready for action. We all have our roles to play and I’m not exactly a people person.” “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”, Dulani turned and walked away, her hair flipping as she did. Sook took the casual rudeness, smiled to herself, and walked back to the market. As she walked back, she noticed Zenebe speaking with four men who all had strange looks on their faces. She figured he’d have it either handled, or he would know exactly how she could help. So, she decided to try the crustaceans next. Dulani had asked about every building in the town. Homes, markets and storage yet no bathrooms. She thought to herself, that explains the sickness of those settlers. Pretty unlucky of them that they settled down river from Abbayona. Zenebe was somewhat relieved. These men weren’t aware that the settlement down-river had been established and didn’t seem too concerned with the new information. One of them even offered to send supplies to them to help them relocate.
The trio met up just outside of the town to discuss what had happened. “Well, it seems cut and dry to me, the settlers can relocate with help from Abbayona and that’ll be that.”, Sook said optimistically. Zenebe couldn’t shake his worry though. “That’s the best-case scenario, of course. But it’s not that simple.” Dulani had already caught on, “If that were my settlement, I’d be delighted to discover an already established location with free infrastructure just up the river.” Sook’s expression quickly changed, “Wait, you think those settlers would try to occupy this town if we told them about it? I didn’t get the feeling that they were capable of that.” Zenebe shook his head, “They’re settlers, they have a job to do for whomever their patron may be; they’re sick and they’re desperate. Desperate people are capable of anything.” “I scoped out this town, no sign of a military force at all, if they have weapons, it wouldn’t be enough.”, Dulani added. Sook’s expression soured even more, “We’re assuming the worst here, we have no way of knowing how the settlers will react. You said yourself, they’re sick, there are less able-bodied people there than here in Abbayona. I don’t think they’d be able to pick a fight.” Zenebe quieted his tone in an attempt to bring the conversation down, “We have to choose our next option very carefully, this is a bell that can’t be un-rung. Personally, I think we should lie to the settlers about the contamination. Tell them it’s a problem that can’t be fixed, a natural phenomenon, and then encourage them to leave.” Dulani spoke quieter and more coldly, “We were tasked with a job, I say we complete it and be on our way, I don’t want to risk picking a fight with whoever their patron is.” Sook maintained her more exacerbated tone, “I think we should be honest with both groups and do our best to ensure peaceful cooperation.” Zenebe scoffed and shook his head, “Wonderful, a triple deadlock, this is going to be one massive headache.”
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