A Watching Clock

A mystic wind filled the valley, the air that blew by us was full of blinking and winking light like fireflies in a storm. The flow of air blew over the mound and removed tiny bits and bunches of sand and dirt. The fireflies landed in groups and clusters forming in the creases of the now visible foot prints. The light twisted around the little sparks and what was hidden was revealed. When the expression's work was done the blindfold replaced itself and left two glowing sockets below its folds, keeping the effect in place. Two footprints shimmered in the dirt of the underbrush, they were long, slender, and slight. The prints weren't deep meaning the being that made them was light or had wings. The energy they emitted was strange and old, it wasn't Fey or Elf, it was Dwarf or Gnome, not even Pixie. The energy wasn't a mix of any blood lines human and fey or otherwise. Steven took a small sample of the soil and with it the energy as well, it could be analyzed under the right conditions. None of those conditions existed here nor at home, the energy was too potent and concentrated, the risk of the unforeseen happening was too great. Steven tucked the bottle of soil into his satchel and it disappeared into the void space of magic along and next to the bag of holding and other supplies. "We found something! It's an energy source!" My brothers, Steven, Larry, and myself heard and felt across the family link. We all stopped what we were doing, turning to face each other. We all looked within and held a council in our minds. "What do you think we should do now brother?" I heard Karen ask as if she were across a table from me. In the inner space of thoughts we were gathered around a table, sitting in simple chairs. "We need to know more about the cave itself, we can test the sample later but there are still answers to find there." I replied, my brothers and sister nodding their heads in agreement. "Use an Imply oil, rub it on anything you suspect to have been written on directly." Robbie said directly to Karen and Steven. She looked back a bit shyly. "I don't have any, because it's super rare I didn't take any from the stores at home." David and Matt interrupted her before she finished saying anything else. "We have some!" Matthew said, holding up a small jar of something that looked like a mix between green sap and chunks of blue cheese and wax. "Where did you get that from? It looks older than you two are!" It was sealed with a cork made out of coral and lard. "Also, why is it sealed with coral and fat?" Steven added at the end. Blank stairs and blinking eyes went around the group of faces at the table. The mindscape translated our confused looks and blinks into a boinking sound with each blink. "Boink, boink,boink,boink," all around the mystic room. Finally David spoke, "It's been in our satchel for years, we nicked it from your cabinet when you weren't looking." Matt chimed in with a better explanation. "If it is stored in a jar with a coral lid it becomes Laughing Imply Oil Vapor, if you add Toad Stoll Dandruff the vapor will make you sneeze and fart every time you laugh." "The best part is, while everyone is fart, sneezing, and laughing they have no choice but to tell the truth, and if you add a three centimeter bit of dried ginger root and let it steep the last effect of the vapor makes them forget!" Mathews' eyes grew bigger as he spoke. Of course they of all beings would find a way to make interrogation funny as possible and also know a way to erase any memory of it. " The question now is, if it's this vapor you're talking about, is there a way to make it a revelation oil again?" Larry asked, after being silent for so long his question was valid. David, it turned out, had a small box in his satchel, an expression capable of restoring anything to its original state. With an application of essence the lid on the box clicked open. Matt put the jar into the box and before David closed the lid he swiftly pulled the stopper out. With the lid closed David and Matt dumped essence after essence into the box. All the ruins on the box split the world in half with light. "Do what you need to do, we need to keep going on to the rest of our part of the journey." I said to my younger siblings and Steven. The connection faded and the council room we shared blinked out of sight and we three were left to only wonder at what the four were going to do next. "How long does it take for the box to work its magic?" Steven asked. David held up the expression, the box had ruins that gave off a small amount of light and the lines of ruins flashed in a racing order. A starburst on the lid blinked, the croissant moon on the side had several smaller symbols that raced as did the circle on the opposite wall, and the same for the triquetra around the corner to the back of the box, finally a spiral at the front of the box with an equal amount of smaller symbols and sigils inside its lines, on the bottom of the box there was the thorn ruin also filled with symbols. All of the ruins flashed the moon, the triquetra next, and the circle, the spiral and the thorn under the box. It was all in process flashing in an unknown timer. The starburst on top changed into a steady purple light that formed what looked like a portal but it was solid to the touch. "It's done when it's done." Matt answered, when all the flashing ends it was finished returning it to the original form. With nothing else to do but wait the group of four gathered some firewood and some stones to make a fire pit. Steven summoned a chair out of the ground, it was made of roots that were hidden in the ground. He sat down and summoned out the bag of holding and rummaged through. He was looking for something to make for dinner and drinks. Clanging and banging could be heard coming from deep in the bag, Steven's arm disappeared up to the shoulder as he reached into the small bag. "Finally, there it is!" Steven said with satisfaction as he pulled a link of sausages from the bag, followed by a couple handfuls of vegetables and fruits. He reached in two more times, once for a chunk of swiss cheese and a pony keg of a liquid that was capable of pouring different liquids until the keg was empty. Karen pulled a cast iron roasting pan out of her satchel, it was mundane, only made smaller with magics. With a tap it grew to full size. David and Matt whistled four stones into position for the pan to lay atop. While the box was glowing, small nocks and pounding came from under the closed lid. David set it down next to a log he chose to sit on and it shook periodically.

As Steven cut the sausages free from one another Matt grabbed the vegetables and started to cut them into small pieces and Karen set some oil, herb, and spices in the pan to heat and flavor. The garlic and onions started to brown and softened the herbs infused the oil with their fresh earthy flavors. Steven floated the herbs out of the oil and put the now individual links into the oil and let them brown, as they darkened and chard David summoned water out of the air's moisture and filled the pan halfway, just enough to cover the sausages then the herbs were gently placed back in and the lid covered the pan to cook and stew. As they sat around waiting, they passed cheese and fruit around with honey and bread. Talking about the beauty of the woods and the strangeness as well. They watched while small boulders and bushes scampered and scurried around and tree roots broke the soil and scooted inches in confusing directions. When each had chosen new placements the grass and flowers settled in between them all hiding any movement that they had made. While the food cooked the day spent its last rays and the moon and stars painted the sky. Mugs and wine glasses were produced and each went to the keg, Steven pulled the tap and perfectly clear golden mead filled his mug, David and Mathew followed, one mug filled with deep brown ale, it smelled like nuts and chocolate, coffee and alcohol, Matt's mug, next, filled with red amber IPA, its froth made an impressive head at the top of his mug, Karen put her wine glass to the tap and pulled, sweet nectar filled the air as a berry wine splashed into the bottom of the glass and filled it. "SalmonBerry wine." Karen said while she smiled and brought the glass to her lips and took in a deep breath before she sipped. "Foods ready!" Steven announced, and at the same time the lid of the box popped open. "So is the Imply oil." Matt added, then everyone took up plates and ate. After dinner everyone would get some rest, nothing could be done till morning. The Imply oil needed to be placed on anything suspected of writing and the heat of the sun was needed to warm the oil before it would reveal any hidden words, symbols, or ruins. As David and Matt cleaned up after the meal Steven and Karen pulled matts, pillows and blankets from the bag and made beds for each of the four. Karen summoned a clock from her satchel, an expression that not only woke you up with an alarm but also kept watch and warned you with an alarm that could only be heard by those who touched it before the alarm was set. Steven,David,Matt, and Karen each placed a finger on the glass protecting the white lacquer face, the hands slowly danced from number to number and didn't keep any sense of time with its hands. Karen tapped the bell three times then turned the hands to seven, setting it for seven in the morning, when the sun rose. They took their fingers away and placed it on the stump David had sat on. Everyone got into bed and someone raised an open hand, the flames of the fire spun and the fist closed around the flames putting them out. Not even the embers gave off heat, light or smoke. Soon all four were fast asleep.