Chapter 17: The Legend of the Serpents

The pain of his throbbing head hit him before he even opened his eyes.  It took him at least three tries before he could pull himself up and sit on the side of the bed.  Rolling his neck and stretching his arms he tried to un-kink his muscles that were not used to sleeping on cross sections of ropes that made up the cot.  As Roy slowly made his way down the stairs Rowley, the Inn's proprietor, greeted him with a boisterous belly laugh as he recognized the familiar sight of a man beaten by the Alie.

"You see.  You see." Rowley called out to bring the room's attention to Roy.  "Not even the man from the island of Merth can outwit the spirits of the alie."

The bar was already full of merchants having their morning meal before opening their shops.  They all cheered, whooped and stomped their feet, taking joy in exasperating Roy's hangover.

"What did he mean by the island of Merth?" Roy asked Zohn as he joined him and the boys at one of the tables.

"You were telling your fair share of tall tales last evening," Zohn explained.  "Many of them took place on your home island that you called Merth or Yerth.  I'm sorry my friend, but your accent is so heavy, it can be difficult to understand you, especially when you drink."

"Do not worry my friend," Roy said echoing the complement of companionship, "I won't be partaking of any strong drink anytime soon."

Rowley stopped by the table and slapped Roy on the shoulders.  "Do not fret.  We have all felt the wrath of the Wits Alie." He then gave Roy a chunk of orange amber from a Caldaria tree, which helped alleviate some of the pain in his head and then he provided them all a plentiful breakfast of bread, meat, and Alie.

The memory of the night before was a bit of a blur, but the dream was still fresh in his mind as if it had been real.  Roy was starting to understand that the dreams were in a sense real because he was sharing the experience with someone.  Despite his years of reading philosophy books and considering himself quite learned on the subject of cognition, he still had a difficult time fully understanding the experience.

Zohn wasn't a man to waste a day. As soon as they were done with the morning meal, they headed off to the royal library as promised. The library was adjacent to the castle and one of the oldest buildings in the kingdom, aside from the Castle and the Church. The walls were stone with a simple wood roof. Most of the light came in through stained-glass windows, each depicting historical events as well as Bible stories. Zohn left Roy and the boys in the main hall as he went to ask permission to view the maps in the King's private collection. Looking around, one of the things Roy noticed was some small books devoted to Christianity. Orie saw Roy's interest and decided to explain what they were. "Each book is a different story from the bible."

"But there's no bible?"  Roy asked more confused by the fact that he already knew the answer.

Orie explained "When our ancestors had been brought to the new world they had nothing, not even a copy of the bible. So people wrote down the stories they could remember. Some stories varied and there were some disputes on which stories were correct. Because they could not recreate a complete book, they felt it would be sacrilege to put them together and call them the Bible. The stories were printed separately and used to teach us the lessons of God".

Soon Zohn returned and took Roy to a private room. They went over some maps until Roy found one with a lake surrounded by mountains and a canyon near it with a river.

"That's it," Roy said pointing to the lake.

"Are you certain?" Zohn asked who was not finding it easy to read a map.

Roy, on the other hand, had a great deal of experience using maps and had seen the landscape from the air before he crashed. That wasn't something he wanted to explain so with a smile he just said "Pretty sure."

"Yes, it says that is Windrock Lake. I know it well.  It is about a day's ride by Kanis southwest."   Zohn nodded to himself as he came to a decision. He took out a small purse of coins and put them in Roy's hands. "Pay for the work you did," he said, and he gestured to Orie to stand with them.  "It should be enough to borrow a couple of Kanis-steeds and some supplies.  You will have Orie show you the way. I hope you find that which you have lost so you can make your way back to your home, but if you do not, you are welcome to return with Orie to the farm.   The Rumpel will be ready for harvest in a few weeks, and we could always use the help to bring it in on time." He then turned to Orie.  "This is not permission to go off on a long journey.  I will let you mother know that she can expect you home by the end of the day after tomorrow.  Do not be late."

"Yes, Father," Orie said.

Zohn patted his son on the back, shook Roy's hand, put on his hat and rolled up the maps to take them back to the clerk.  Roy and Orie, knowing they were burning daylight headed for the door. On the way out of the library, a stained-glass window caught Roy's eye. Stopping he asked, "Is that a serpent person?" A massive green monster that stood like a man, but had a head like a snake, but not like anything that Roy had heard of in Sunday school.

"Yes.  Ugly beast is it not?" Orie answered.

"Are there any more pictures of them in here?" Roy asked.  Orie took him over to the history section and found a book with some sketches of them.  There was no doubt after Roy saw them.  The Serpent People were the Serken.  He said nothing to Orie about knowing who the Serpent People really were.  He just said "Ugly looking things indeed.  Hope I never see one."

~~~

Roy and Orie were able to procure a couple of Kanis-steeds and enough supplies to last a week. As they headed out down the road, Roy abruptly stopped his Kanis and looked back towards the castle.

"What is it?" Orie asked.

"I don't know," Roy said just as confused by his actions. "I just had the feeling like I was leaving something behind."

"What could you have forgotten?"

"I don't know, nothing really.  Guess I must still be a little hung over."

"If you say so. Come on. We need to make McHides point by dusk." Orie said eager to start their adventure.

Orie chatted the whole way talking about stories he knew of warriors, hunters, and great explorers. Roy tried to listen, but his mind was elsewhere. There was a legend of the Serken.  Over millennia ago they were at war with the Sa'larie. The story goes that the Serken had been losing the war but had discovered a solar system that had a mystery energy that could be manipulated to be used as a colossal weapon. No one was sure what the weapon was. Some stories say that when just a few of the planets were lined up, they could trigger a discharge of plasma, direct it across the galaxy and destroy entire planets. Other versions say that there was a planet with a previously unknown element that could power a weapon large enough to crack open planets with just a few kilograms of ore. Each version referred to it as the Star Weapon, but something prevented them from perfecting it, and they lost the war. Under the rule of the Sa'larie, all the Serken technology was destroyed.  For over 500 years they were enslaved by the Sa'larie until their uprising.  The knowledge of the Star Weapon had mostly been lost and was little more than legend.  Which solar system it was or how the weapon worked was a great mystery.  Most in the Alliance believed it to be myth or propaganda to create fear; the discovery that it was all true made Roy feel a bit sick.  If the Serken should rediscover the system, they would undoubtedly slaughter the inhabitants and try to recreate the weapon. If the Alliance discovered it, they would have to either take possession of it or destroy the planet to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. Either way, the life that these people had known for hundreds of years would be over.

Roy considered the option of being rescued and never speaking of the place to anyone.  But how could he do that?  He would be gambling that the Serken would never find this system. That would be risking the lives of half the galaxy. Reporting his findings would at least give the Alliance a chance to protect the system and prevent the Serken from returning. On the other hand, if the Alliance established a base, the enemy would definitely learn about it, and it would become the frontline in the war. He could just give up on being rescued and go back to the farm, but that would still be gambling that the enemy wouldn't return. Roy wished there was another option, but he couldn't see any. He could not risk the trillions of lives in the Alliance to protect the innocence of one planet. His duty was clear.