Going Home?

As parties go this one was most likely memorable, but I can't recall. I plowed my way through cactus juice and venison, Walkers and Red Eye, like there was no tomorrow. But there is a tomorrow, that being today, and it is framed in one hell of a headache. Seedling was right about that one.

I open one eye and lift myself to an elbow. It is only the six of us that are layed out. The rest of the tribe has packed up and seem like they are seconds away from bugging out.
"Where are they off to?"

Lou gets to his feet and pulls a long stretch, one arm first... then both.
"Probably moving further up into the mountains. From what I heard the chief say last night, their ceremonial grounds are still a day's ride from here."

I look at the faces around camp, "Where is Seedling?"
Lou pans the crowd. "He couldn't have gone far."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because he was more fucked up than any of us."
He points to the clutch of stock animals the tribe is using.
"There's ole Bess tied to the back of that painted pony."
"Well... " I rub my eyes and try looking out of both at the same time, "let's not lose him."

We get the crew on their feet and by the time we are up in the saddle we have to trot to catch up to the pack ponies and Ole' Bess. It is only a mile or so later that one of the young braves, maybe twelve years old, comes on back and unties Bess and hitches her to an old iron loop pounded into a pinnicle of rock. He turns to us and gives a little smile and a wave and then runs back up to the rest of the tribe.

"What do you make of that?"
Ollie takes his horse up a small path that gets steep about a hundred yards away.
"El debe estar arriba ese rastro."
Chris nods, "He thinks he is up this trail."

"Well, we... " Lou starts to say something and is interrupted by a muffled explosion. Smoke, dirt, and debris take flight in a sharp plume that shows itself over the top of the mountain ahead of us.

"I guess we found him." Andy takes his hat off and wipes his face with his sleeve. It is already getting hot and it's still morning.

Lou dismounts and unties Ole' Bess and we start up the trail. After ten or fifteen minutes of up hill climbing there is another explosion. We must be getting closer because we feel the grit at the edge of the blast. Lou is behind us now, but he is thinking what we are thinking.

"Ollie, fire a round from that Spencer to let him know we are coming."

With that Ollie hoists the rifle and peels one off. The crack of that Spencer is undeniable.

"That'll let him know to stop with that blasting, eh?" Mike says, starting up the trail.
"Let's hope so."

We top the ridge and take a look. To the northwest is the valley we had fought in, the Salinas river beyond. To the northeast is Orlis' Keep. It is a crisp view this time of day. To the west on this mesa of sorts we see the dust settling from the most recent explosion. It is emanating from a cavern in the crags ahead.

Chris pulls his pistol and fires off a shot, making Andy jump... who is the only one ahead of the group.
"Goddamnit, how about a little warning."
Chris smiles and looks back at us, "You guys saw that I was going to fire off a shot to warn that little bastard so we don't get blown up... didn't you?"
We all nod. Andy tisks.
"Oh, that's funny, very funny."

With the pistol shot we see Seedling emerge from the cavern. He has a shotgun aimed in our direction without a the look of recognition we hoped to see.
"You are on sacred land, private sacred land. Now GIT." He plants the shotgun against his shoulder and draws the hammer back.

"Now HOLD ON Seedling." Lou dismounts and walks with Ole' Bess from the back of our little group.
"It's just us."

Seed keeps the gun at the ready until Lou closes the gap a little. As the recognition takes over the gun comes down and a smile returns to his face.
"Where'd ya find her?"
"We followed the tribe up to the cut-off and then we said our goodbyes. We told them we would bring her up to you."

"Oh." He shakes his head a little and a small dust cloud surrounds him for a moment before it settles to the ground.
"I think a rang my own bell on that last one. That dang rock is hard to get through."

Mike dismounts and picks up some of the small rock that Seedling shook out of his hair. He rolls it around in his fingers a bit.
"What ya got here is coarse-grain granite, some indurated conglomerates and breciated granites. That is, well, hard as a rock to get through."

We all look at Mike, who up until now was the only one of us who had a deviled egg recipe.
"What the hell, Theo, where did that come from?" Andy asks, a little amazed like the rest of us.

"Four years of college, I guess. I was a geology major. I kind of sucked at it. That's why I like to cook."

I look at Ollie who shakes his head a little.
"Yeah, don't worry Ollie, I don't get the connection either."

We all dismount and let the horses have the run of the mesa. Ollie heaves the Clarok down and a couple of us grab it. Heavy son of a bitch for one man, unless he is Ollie. Something occurs to me as we set it on the ground.
"Where are the robes?"

Andy opens a saddle bag and pulls out a ball of white silk and tosses them into the Clarok.
"Good thing you remembered."
"Who could forget those things. Like a damn hospital gown." He says, following it up with a tisk.

We step up to the cavern entrance and Seedling turns and stops us.
"I'm afeared I can't let you boys come in here."
Lou puts a heavy hand on his shoulder, "Don't start with us, Seedling, you know we need your help to get out of here."

Seedling get's that suspicious look in his eye, the same one he displayed the day we met him. Lou gives him a little shake and the look goes away.
"You know we need a little of that gold. Just enough to pour into the form on that Clarok and then we are out of here."

"Not that story... not again. Do I have a root growing out of my head? You boys are after my gold, plain and simple."
He goes to hoist the shotgun but Lou tears it out of his hands and throws it.
"Now you gone and done it, that was my pappy's."
"Look you jackass, we need that gold."

Lou takes him over to the Clarok.
"That there is a nice bowl." Seedling drops down on a knee and runs his hand over the gold inlay." Lou sees the look in his eye.
"You help us and you can have it when we leave."
Seed looks up at him, measuring the level of trust. When he stands he is a different man.
"I kin help ya."

We are still not allowed into the cavern, but are told to wait while he gets a few things. When he returns there is an old bellows mounted in an iron stand, a sack of hard wood for the fire, and a small cauldron and a stand for it.
"This is what you boys'll need to melt your gold. That is oak, burns hot with the bellows. That and some of this rock as a bed you can melt about five bar before you need more."

Lou looks at him in expectation. "And the gold?"
Seedling grimaces slightly, as though he hoped we wouldn't ask him for it. He pulls a small bag from his trouser pocket. Before he can think about it, Lou takes it from his hand. He passes it over his arm and then tosses it to me. I to pass it over the chip and the tingling is pronounced.

"You think it's enough?" I toss it back to Lou, who looks in the bag.
"Seedling, it has to be enough to fill two of those inlays."
Seed looks at the Clarok, running his hands along the empty pattern. He looks at the identical one on the other side.

"It's enough with some left over." He stands, hands on his hips. "Now you say I get to keep this salad bowl thingy when yer done?" He gestures down to it, "Are those sparkly stones diamonds? I heard of them, but never seen one before."

"Oh... shit." It's Andy who remembers a crucial part of the puzzle.
"What is it?"
"Concentrated sunlight. We need concentrated sunlight to set this thing off." Andy shakes his head, remembering the blinding light on the ship that was focused into the Clarok.

"What is he yammering 'bout?" Seedling asks.
"The gold is only part of the picture. The pedestal we can make, that won't be a problem. But concentrating that sunlight into the center... "

"I might have ya covered." Seedling reaches for a heavy pouch tied to his belt. From inside it he pulls a doughnut sized piece of quartz... clear as can be with the exception of a crack inside of it. He holds it up and aims it so the sunlight throws a dot of light on the ground.
"Don't tell no one, but I can light fires with this. I use it to look for gold flake when I pan. Handy dandy."

"No shit. A magnifying glass... the man has a magnifying glass." Chris reaches out for it and Seedling draws back.
"It's mine."
"I'm not taking it. I just want to look at it."
"Mine."

Lou looks at the palm-sized quartz piece and then at the Clarok.
"I don't think it will be enough... not enough light."

Seedling looks at him a little sideways, sizing him up for the tenth time since we met him.
"Not enough light?"
Lou looks at him and gives him a friendly pat on the back.
"It is really neat there, Seedling, but we need a larger light source, bright and focused."

He takes Lou aside, but we can all hear what he is saying.
"If'n I show you somethin', you can't tell no one."
"Who would we tell? If whatever you are going to show us helps us get home, then we wouldn't be telling anyone anything."

Seedling thinks on that for a moment and then shrugs. He starts toward the cavern and Lou follows him. They are back within the minute.

"Oh... you guys gotta see this." Lou tells us, waving us in from the cavern entrance.

We all file in, one by one. It is dark at first and then there is a blaze of light.
When we stop we are in a chamber with quartz crystals hanging from the ceiling like stalactites.

Seedling points to the crystals, "When it is high noon there is such a scorching light from these crystals that I can't work in here. You can boil a kettle the light is so bright."

I look at Lou. "You think it will work?"
He sizes up the crystals and then floor of the cavern. He looks back at me and the rest of the boys.
"It's going to have to."