Introduction
Hello everyone and welcome back to Story Day!! I apologize for the length of this post, but the cliffhanger is worth it.
*evil grin*
Read on!!
Recap
Lasha and Calah head to the Worlden, where they’ll assess the worlds they’ll have to travel to to catch their prey.
The Caretaker – Part 1.8
With a grin, Calah dove into the maze of floating solar systems. Broad lines void of any stars separated the Realms, joined in the middle by a great floating rock – Base. Calah lightly swiped her finger through it as the pair passed, then ducked beneath a star to the right and pointed at a dark green planet covered in swirling clouds. “This is it, right?”
“Right.” Lasha felt for energy in the air and allowed a soft blue light to emanate from her fingers – not enough to create a portal, but enough to allow her to access the holograms. She rested her splayed fingers on the slowly turning planet, rotating it faster and tipping it up until she was able to identify a dark green mass on the bottom half of it. “This is the continent of Hulmen,” she said, tracing a finger around its edge and scattering the foggy clouds floating around the hologram’s surface. “We’re looking for a pair of twins living on their own somewhere in the middle of the thickest jungle on Velia’s surface.”
“Oh,” Calah said, rolling her eyes. “That’ll be easy.”
Lasha shot her a glare. “Apparently the two have had run-ins with Caretaker Anduin’s people in the past, so they’re in the database and we should be able to track their life forms. The problem will be convincing them to come into a portal willingly.”
“Is Velia… friendly towards Leapers?” Calah asked, caution lacing her tone.
Lasha paused. “They are, for the most part. Occasionally you’ll run into those who think it’d be best if we just left them alone.” She snorted, a memory of a jungle fight with a stubborn young man and his pet panther flashing through her mind. “You’ll need to be able to come up with a cover story and stick with it.”
A frown passed over Calah’s darkened face. “You mean a lie?”
“No, I mean a cover story.” A bubble of guilt surfaced in Lasha’s gut, but she shoved it away. “And watch your tone, young lady.”
“Sorry, Commander,” Calah muttered, ducking her head and toying with the end of her braid. And just like that, she was back to the shy girl Lasha had first laid eyes on.
With a sigh, Lasha turned back to Velia. “The twins are the only Children of the Forbidden on Velia, as far as the library records can tell us. We should stop there and pay a visit to Caretaker Anduin before going off to find them.”
Calah flashed a thumbs-up as Lasha moved on from Velia’s galaxy and found one sporting a blue star, around which orbited six planets. A large blue planet, so covered in clouds that it looked like it was nestled in a fleecy blanket, floated fourth from the blue star. “Which is this one, Calah?”
Calah cocked her head, her lips moving as she surveyed the Spring Realm and the many planets floating therein. “Well,” she eventually murmured, “I know it’s in the Whirlpool Galaxy somewhere, and those three planets aren’t livable, so they have numbers for names.” She gestured to three planets – a big purpley one and two small reddish-brown ones – then pointed at the remaining two. “But I can’t remember which one of those is Kantara and which is Bihoter.”
Lasha tapped her planet. “Close enough. This is Kantara, and sounds like it’s got quite the mess going on right now.” She frowned. “I might have to have a chat with Commander Enexor about this – he’s supposed to be keeping an eye on Caretaker Galeed.”
A grin lit up Calah’s face. “Isn’t that the guy who–”
“Isn’t a Leaper but somehow still got the position of Caretaker?” Lasha finished. “Yep, one in the same. I had only been Commander for two years before they let him in.”
Calah let out a low whistle. “How’d he do that, anyway?”
Lasha waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll tell you some other time. Right now, we need to focus on the Child of the Forbidden somewhere in here and an illegal Portal Stone or two at large.”
“Who’s the Child?”
Lasha glanced at her list. “Hm… looks like someone named Akara Jules Hadad – Jules for short. A pirate.”
The smile on Calah’s face somehow grew wider. “Pirates?”
Lasha nodded, her gaze fixed on Kantara’s murky surface. “Pirates.”
Wrap Up
*cackles* Aye, mateys, I’m bringing in pirates!! Not your typical Earthish pirates, either–but I’m getting ahead of myself. 😛 What say you? Are pirates a good idea? Was the random explosion of names and places in this snippet too much? Are you looking forward to the next one, or getting sick of the series? SHARE ALL ON PAIN OF DEATH.
Ok, maybe not death, but at least a deprivation of milkshakes.
Which, come to think of it, leads to death.
Huh.
Anyway, until the next post!
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth! 😉
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