Chapter 14
Diana stood at the edge of the cave looking out at a breathtaking view of the mountain and valley, with the tip of the mountain in sparkling white snow, turning into a colorful bouquet of blooms at the lower levels where spring was coloring everything. A river snaked around the foot of the mountain, through the valley and flowed just below their cave.
Henison stood next to her, ending a wide yawn as if he was facing nothing more than a leisurely morning hike.
A glance back in the cave showed her the others were beginning to stir. Everyone but Princess Amiee was accounted for. If she thought about it, she would have questioned how Lt. Numba, and the other eleven Carrion that were accompanying the princess, ended up in the same cave as Rutherford the IV, Henison and her.
Oh, yeah. They fell in a hole.
"How much time has passed since we landed on this planet?" she asked Henison.
Rutherford the IV cleared his voice behind them. "I don't think time is an equation here. Once the challenge has been met, with the teams assembled, however long it takes to get the intended task done, we're here for."
"Indefinite is not going to happen," Diana said. "I don't plan on spending the rest of my life on a hunt. And just what teams are you referring to?"
"We're not the only ones here. Hunters have a nose for artifacts."
"With Hunters, you never know what strange anomaly they've been involved with and what affect it left with them."
"Are you saying they aren't the average adventurer? Just tell me what needs to happen here to get us moving." She turned to Lt. Numba. "Your species has been Treasure Hunting for eons now. What do you know of this artifact?"
"It came from a culture that was far advanced than any that I've seen today. It was intentionally left behind by a Traveler, which is what they referred to themselves as. It was found by another group that loosely called themselves Relic Hunters. They didn't realize the species it was left with would react so violently to their removal of it from their place of worship. The levels of disturbance that the Relic Hunters were causing among the natives drew the attention of other Relic Hunters and since then, it's been changing hands as each group steals it from another. You are probably asking, what can it do?"
She looked at her group that stood nearby listening, "On the grand scale, it will create a world and all the life forms needed to balance it. On a smaller scale, almost everyone that handled the wand was healed of whatever ailment they had and gave them youthful vigor. Like all relics of power, it has its quirks. It doesn't stay with one person for long and once it leaves the person, unless they've changed their life endangering tendencies, their bad health returns and their age catches up with them. The story goes that the wand is made for a specific planet and for a specific person to wield it. I don't understand why it has to have a specific person since it seems to be doing alright with getting itself transported to the right planet."
"Do you believe that?" Diana asked.
"It brought the freighter here, and I don't think it was Captain O'Rourke's intention to transport it here."
"The artifact wasn't on the
Wesley," Henison said.
Rutherford the IV snorted at that. "It certainly was. It was hidden in the captain's shuttle. I'm not a Hunter, but I know a wand of power when I feel it."
"How did it get there?" Henison asked.
"Who cares at the moment," Diana said. "So you and your group are hunting this thing like everyone else?"
"We were hunting it because her father, King Ahir thought it was something safe to train Princess Amiee and her group on," Lt. Namba said.
"I'm assuming a lot of energy will be needed to create a world as you described; therefore, anyone holding the wand or near it would be blasted with energy that would annihilate them."
"I believe the same," Lt. Namba said.
"Why did the Princess take off on her own?" Henison asked.
"She believes she is the one chosen to wield the wand to create a planet," Lt. Namba said. "She's been having dreams, visions, and she believes powers that pertain to finding it and possessing it over all the other Hunters." Lt. Namba looked conflicted.
"Do you believe that?"
"Amiee doesn't lie," hissed Klinga.
"It's not something she would do to get her way," Lt. Namba said.
"Is this their first hunt?" Henison asked.
"No. They've been going on hunts since they were children with other adults. This is their first as a team."
"So what are you intending on doing?" Diana asked.
"Make sure other Hunters don't harm her."
"Not take the wand for your own?"
"My primary job is to protect the Princess and teach her and her team about hunting down artifacts."
"We should be going now," Rutherford the IV broke in.
Below them they could see a large group of people swarming across the river.
"The princess is among them," Lt. Namba said.
Diana found it strange that the Carrion didn't take the shape of a creature that could swarm down the side of the hill they were on. Henison led the way down what could be called a path in that it was a way down with the least resistance. By the time they were at the rivers edge, the others were long gone as well as their noise. The ground was trampled, making it slippery to cross.
"Let me go across first and I'll anchor a rope around me so we won't lose anyone." He quickly pulled out a coil of rope from his pack and tied it around his waist and handed an end to Diana.
"We can cross water without assistance," Risa said.
"Speak for yourself," Rutherford the IV said.
"We can't safely cross this river," Lt. Namba said. "Haven't you noticed that for all those people that crossed the river it's not muddy? That means it has a strong current below the surface."
"With the slippery river bed and the strong current, you'll be swept away and there's no telling where you'll end up," Diana said crisply. "Let's get a move on."
Henison made it over but not without losing his feet several times and having to be dragged back with the rope tied around his waist. The girls were impressed with the strength of the current when they all had to hang onto the rope and pull him back.
Lt. Namba was the last to come over. She had the rope tied to her waist and after watching the others to see where it was the least slippery; she made her way over without any mishap. It impressed the ten girls which Diana was sure it was leverage Namba would use wisely in the future.
Diana led the way, following the beaten path the others left for them to follow until they came to the forest.
"We'll go this way, and stay out of the forest for now," Diana told Lt. Namba who was walking alongside of her.
"Why?"
"Don't Hunters leave traps to prevent others from following?"
"Yes."
"With all the chatter going on they'll hear us anyway," Rutherford the IV said irritably.
"Silence from now on," Lt. Namba told the girls.
Diana hadn't heard any conversation but she and Lt. Namba were yards ahead of them making sure there weren't any surprises. Henison took the flank to make sure no one lingered behind and that they had no surprises catching up with them.
"Shh," Diana said softly.
Lt. Namba held up her fist.
Everyone came to a halt. On the other side of the thick brush they could hear a conversation.
One of the voices was Captain O'Rourkes and the other Princesses Amiee's.
Continued...