Ch 42 The Guru of Ages

The tunnel was short and made a U-turn at the bottom. We came to an odd cylindrical room. I looked up. I could see light.

"An opening."

Sophie stood at the doorway while Riksa wandered over and looked at the lack of a ceiling, with me.

"How are we supposed to get up there?"

I looked around. I saw an unnatural circular shape on the wall. I brushed the dust off of it. It looked like a button. I pressed my thumb against it.

The floor began to move up. I quickly reached out to Sophie.

"Quick! Grab my hand!"

Our hands connected and I pulled her up to the rising floor.

"We are going up? I don't see any mechanical parts. Is this a Will of Memory object?"

Sophie asked.

"It must be. It seems like it will take a while before we get to the top, though."

I sat down in the center. Riksa seemed a bit antsy. She was pacing back and forth.

"Relax. Just sit down and rest a moment. Nothing we do will make it go faster. Why be restless when you can take a load off?"

She stopped in her tracks to look at me in a confused manner.

"Take a load? What?"

"Another Earth saying. It refers to getting your body weight off of your feet. If you stay off of your feet, you can't move around aimlessly and wear yourself down further."

Riksa sighed.

"Okay. It's just hard to sit still. Who knows what is up there."

She took a seat on the ground next to me.

"I keep worrying. How can you stay so calm and collected most of the time? Why?"

"Well, I don't know if you want to hear that. It's just a sob story of a fat kid."

Sophie scooched closer to me.

"Tell us. I want to know more about you, Lake."

"I want to hear it too. I heard a lot about your adventures in Eyse from Sophie. I haven't heard much about you before you came to Eyse."

I let out a sigh.

"Alright. I guess I can't avoid storytime since I was the one who said to rest up."

I cleared my throat and leaned more against Riksa's shoulder.

"I had a decent family while I was growing up. No tragedies or abuse. My parents were good to me and my brother. It was basically the beginning of technology in my early years. This meant more devices to occupy a kid at home instead of going outside and playing. I was never really interested in sports. I gained some weight and it never really came off."

"I can't imagine you being fat."

"Well, Riksa. You only met him after he lost some weight. When he first got here, he did have more of a stomach. And his face was a bit more full. And..."

"Okay, okay. I think she gets it, Sophie."

They giggled.

"I think I was seven or eight years old. I went on a family camping trip."

"Camping trip?"

Sophie asked.

"I lived in a city with lots of people. It was common to go out into a forest and spend time with nature and trees and wild animals. Just spend time away from the masses of people and spend more time with the family."

"I see."

"I remember. One morning, I wanted to go swimming in the nearby river. I was excited. I ran towards the water. I only had swim shorts on. Before I could get to the water. There was another little boy between me and the water. He saw me running. He began to laugh hysterically and pointed at me. I looked down before I stopped. I saw my body jiggling. At once I realized, I was fat. I was a prime target for ridicule. I turned around. I could still hear the boy laughing behind me. I walked back to our camping spot. I still wanted to swim, so I put a shirt on. I thought, If he can't see it, there won't be anything to laugh at. I started to run back to the water. I looked down after my first few steps. I could still see my body shake through my shirt. I began to walk. I walked all the way to the water. That time, the boy was nowhere to be seen. I swam in the water with my shirt on. From that day on, I stopped enjoying swimming as much as I used to. I also began to walk more and run less."

"Lake..."

Riksa let escape her mouth.

"That is the reason why I hardly rush. I would rather take a calm assessment before making a rash move."

"Why are you still like that now, though?"

Sophie tugged on my pant leg as she asked.

"I've just been doing it for so long that it became a habit."

"That's horrible. If I was there, I would have smacked that kid good."

Riksa punched the palm of her hand.

"You probably would have scared everyone in that camping area half to death too. Humans in my world would never expect to see a humanoid lizard, like yourself. Me included."

"Aw... Okay."

She seemed lost in thought for a bit.

"We are close to the top now."

Sophie informed us. We all stood as we watched the edge get closer and closer.

We began to see over the top of the circular ledge. There were pointed mountain tops around us. Just before my eyes reached level with the ground. I could see bones. At first, only a few. As my height went up further, I could see hundreds. By the time we finished our ascent, I could see thousands of bones stacked on top of each other around the edges of what looked like an arena.

The center area was cleared out and all that could be seen was dirt and a single individual in the center of the arena. We were at the far end of said arena.

Was it a mistake to come here? Did Rage lead me astray on purpose? Was I too trusting?

"A visitor!"

I heard from the short old lizard-man before us. His back was to us but, his mostly white coloring looked familiar.

"Come, I enjoy visits. Let us chat."

He slowly stood up. He stepped one foot after the other, to turn toward us. He was excruciatingly slow. He began to hobble in our direction.

"Come, come. Don't make an old lizard walk all the way over there."

I began to approach him. We met, face to face. I think I know this lizard.

"Were you the one who gave me the sword before the Hunt?"

"Oh my! You must have met my brother. He was never much of a talker. Me, on the other hand. I think I was made into the Guru of Ages so they could send me up here. Otherwise, they could not shut me up!"

After we shook hands, he sat down on the ground, right where he was standing.

"Sit. Tell me your name. Surely you are not here to stand all day! Have your friends come over, too. They don't have to be shy. My claws are dull and my teeth..."

He put a couple of fingers in his mouth and pried it open. There were no teeth left in his mouth that I could see. I waved for the girls to come over.

"My name is Lake."

"Heehee. A pleasure to meet you, Lake. I'm just an old coot. My name is pointless now, but you can call me Guru. What brings you here? The trials are rough. I'm surprised that you made it all the way with you four. I hope you did not lose any other friends down there."

"Uh, four?"

"My body may be old, but my eyes still work. I see that tail sticking out, little one!"

I looked back just in time to see Goby's tail get pulled into Sophie's bag.

"Yes. Well, we managed to get through that maze okay."

"Just the maze? What about the lava? The pits and the spider caves?!"

"We never encountered those, as far as I am aware."

"We were attacked."

Riksa interjected.

"We were at the entrance to the trials. The Elder was about to let us use the shortcut. A boulder was dropped from above and we fell into some caves. I suppose we skipped the other trials if the maze was the last part."

"Really, now? Quite interesting. I heard the commotion before. I had no idea what had happened. You said that you were going to use the shortcut? Why would he allow that?"

"I originally came to talk to you about Rage. I have the powers of his potion."

"Originally? Your objective changed?"

"I met Rage in the maze. He was able to transfer his consciousness into mine."

The Guru's eyes when wide.

"You met him?! He was here the entire time?!"

I saw his jaw begin to tremble.

"My old friend... Can he hear me now?"

'Tell that old bastard that, his mom was a horny toad.'

"Eh... yes. He can hear you. He says that your mom was a... horny... toad..."

Riksa slapped my shoulder. She looked appalled.

"Hee hee hee!"

He began to cough from his own laughter.

"That's him. That's the humor of my moronic friend."

He took a moment to catch his breath after coughing.

"Well, If you were seeking his wisdom, the source is better than me. I suppose you don't have anything else to ask me then."

"Actually I do have two other questions."

"One is, How do I get out? Right?"

I nodded my head.

"The other question was from the village Elder. He wanted to know if the rainbow bird has come home yet."

The Guru raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed she has. Astonishing timing, I might add. I heard from the other little birds that she came back just ten days ago."

"You talk to birds?"

"No. Birds are too stupid to talk. I talk to the baby dragons that come to play here."

"Are the dragons what brought all the bones here?"

Sophie asked.

"Oh no. These bones were left from an old arena. The leader of the lizard-people was often decided here. That was a long time ago. This spot was chosen for the Guru because it was close to the spirits of the past chieftains. Their voices are silent now. Magic played a large part in communicating with the dead. As you know, the age of magic is over."

He had a sad look. I'm sure he would have been happy to have spirits to talk to, on this lonely mountain top.

"If you would like to meet the rainbow bird, I can call some of the young dragons to take you over to her. It would be dangerous though. You are immortal, right? You should be fine. I don't think it would be best for these two ladies to go."

"What is so special about this, rainbow bird? Is there a reason I should meet her?"

"Oh. If you can win her over, she could be an invaluable ally for you. Her father served under Rage, long ago."

"An ally? For what?"

"For you! All kidding aside, an immortal lives for a long time. You will find that things happen more often than not. Some good, some bad. Having a dragon by your side could be a saving grace, in an emergency. Making this ally as soon as possible would be a wise course of action."

"You said you could call some dragons? Not just one?"

"Yes..."

"Could one dragon take me to this rainbow bird, while another takes them back to Onala? Or even out of lizard territory?"

"I suppose I might be able to try and convince one of them to do that."

"No, Lake! I want to stay with you!"

Riksa stood up and walked over to Sophie before placing her hands on Sophie's shoulders.

"Sophie. If he is going over to Dragon territory then, even I know to stay away."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, Sophie. I don't want you to be in the middle of a dangerous area. You know I can't die. At the most, it may take some time to get back. No matter where I go, I will come back to you."

I could see she was still upset at the thought of me leaving her behind. I kissed her and hugged her. With my head next to her ear, I whispered,

"This isn't goodbye. It's just a, see ya later."

Her eyes were still sour as I pulled away from her.

"Tell ya what. I'll give you some special treatments when I get back."

I raised my eyebrows a few times. She became curious.

"What kind?"

"You will just have to find out when I get back."

Riksa grabbed my left shoulder and turned my entire body toward her with one hand. She had an almost evil-looking glare.

"Don't leave me out of this, special treatment..."

"OKAY!"

I had never felt that kind of aura coming off of her before. It was almost pure terror to endure.

I looked back to discover the Guru was missing from his previous spot. I found him slowly wandering over to an edge of the old arena. I began to follow him. He was still painfully slow. I just kept pace behind him

When he got close to the bones that littered the edges, he began moving several smaller bones. He revealed an unusual object. It was obviously not a bone. He lifted one end up to his mouth. If he was blowing on it, I could not hear anything.

He removed it and licked his lips. He then tried to blow on it again. This time I heard something. It was like the sound of an older tube television. I used to be able to hear them when they were on, even if the sound was off. A tiny high-pitched constant ring. The old man blew on the object one more time.

"That should do it."

He replaced the object where he found it and began to pile the small bones back on top. A simple hiding place.

"They should get here a few moments from now. Let me do the talking. You should join your friends over there. If they see you near me, they may try to protect me."

I took his advice and left him alone for the company of my wives. It was still a strange thought. Wife with the letter s, at the end. Back on Earth, I could only hope for a girlfriend. Here on Eyse, I've already become a widower and then married two women at the same time. I guess a lot can happen in a single year's time.

I took them both into my arms.

"Maybe instead of Onala, you two should go back to the house in the mountain?"

"I think I should go back to Omera. I want to know why my brother did what he did. I can't just let it be."

I sighed.

"I understand. I won't stop you. All I can do is ask that you be careful."

I put on an evil grin that could rival the one she showed me earlier.

"If you get hurt, I might have to revoke those, special treatments, when I get back"

I instantly regretted joking about it.

"DONT... YOU... DARE!"

She was scarier than the first time.

"Sorry! I was just kidding! Don't hurt me!"

I pretended to hide under the cover of my arms. Sophie laughed at us. It was good to see her smile and hear her laugh.

"What do you think about going back to the house, Sophie?"

"I think I would like that. I could freshen up the house before you get back and pick some fresh fruit. I'll have Goby to keep me company too."

He hipped twice without leaving the bag.

"He says, Yip yip!"

"That means I understood it this time!"

She giggled. I took her by surprise while her eyes were closed to give her a more passionate kiss. It felt like she was melting in my arms. I wanted to melt with her, but there would be time for that later. I released her. I could see her eyes wanted more.

"Something to look forward to, when I get back. I love you."

"I love you too, Lake."

Sophie replied.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here."

I handed Gleamour over to her.

"Can't get into the house without the key."

"Yeah, that would be important."

I saw Riksa shifting back and forth in my peripherals. I could see she was probably feeling left out.

"I wouldn't forget about you. I have something for you as well."

I reached out a hand. She took it and I pulled her to me. She closed her eyes and pursed for the imminent kiss.

I took a different route and began to randomly kiss and blow raspberries in different spots around her exposed neck and shoulders. I got her laughing.

"Hey! Haha! What are you... Sto... Hmmm"

I made contact with her lips before she could finish her word. She began to caress the side of my face with her hand. As we parted, her face was nearly crimson with blush.

"I love you. I can't get enough of the both of you. Seriously though, Riksa. Please be safe."

"I will. And I love you too."

I heard flapping in the distance.

"I guess that's our cue to stop fooling around. Our rides are here."

Three smaller dragons flew over the top of the pointed tips of the arena. They were easily double the size of a shire horse. They were all different colors. One was tan like the dragon that hauled the Hunt kill. The other two were a mossy green and a deep-sea blue.

They all landed in a half-circle around the Guru. I could hear him saying things, but it was nothing I could understand. The Guru began to wave me over.

"Come, Lake. I will call the girls over in a few moments, one at a time."

I walked over to him and moved between the blue and green dragons.

"The Dragon on your right is called, Verdurous. He will take you over to the Dragon lands."

The Dragon on my right was the moss-colored one.

"Hello. Thank you for your assistance. I really appreciate it."

He snorted at me. His eyes did not look angry, but he did not seem amused.

"Don't worry, he can't understand Eysian. I told him everything he needs to know."

"Uh, Guru? The girls would like to go to separate destinations if possible. Riksa, the lizard-woman, would like to be taken back to Omera. And Sophie, the elf, would like to be taken to a small mountain just outside of the lizard-people territory. The other side of the main path."

"I see. I will make sure they get to where they are going. As for you. Verdurous will take you to a spot where many dragons congregate. The one you are looking for is there. If you aren't sure who you are looking for, then she has not shown herself just yet. Some of the older dragons can speak Eysian. Take advantage of this and chat with them. My best advice, don't call them names and try to be polite. You won't change an angry dragon's attitude, but you also won't make more dragons angry."

"I understand. Thank you for all your help. I will try to stop by again someday, to keep you company for a while."

"I won't expect you, but I would appreciate that."

Verdurous lowered his neck, giving me an easy up. I hopped on at the base of his shoulders. He rose up and began to lose his wingspan. They were massive up close. It only took a few flaps to get his large mass off of the ground.

I looked down to see Sophie waving at me. Riksa was already called over to the Guru. She was mid-walk as I left. I wanted her to wave at me, but I didn't want to interrupt them nor upset my ride.

After we got over the top of the mountain, Verdurous started to dive. The wind felt amazing. I held tight to some of his more grip-able scales. We pierced a hole through the center of a lone cloud.

This was so much better than a dumb airplane. I was beginning to have fun.

I looked back. The mountain peak where we came from seemed distant already. A reality hit me.

I was safe from the lesser elementals in those lands. I don't know what will await me in this new area. I felt I should steel myself to protect my ride. I don't want him winding up with holes mid-flight.

Those fun times were behind me. I had to move on and try to abstain from taking delights in the world around me. For the sake, of those around me