The Quarry

[Rage Menelas]

[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]The next morning, he walked into the village with Aerose once more at his side. En route they passed several other farms. In addition to the goat-creatures, Ryan noticed another animal that they kept penned up that looked for all the world like an overgrown armadillo. Conspicuously missing were any beasts of burden... no horses, donkeys or oxen... nor anything being used as such.

The village itself was a gaggle of huts circumnavigating a Stonehenge-style construction, which itself enclosed the perimeter of some kind of natural geyser. The steam, coming from the forty some odd foot teardrop shaped pool of water, said that it was a hot spring of some sort. Its waters spilled over the low end of the pool and cascaded down a gentle slope, disappearing off into the distance. Ryan imagined that it would combine with other similar streams and eventually find one of the gorge lakes to empty into.

All of the people they passed looked like Aerose's brothers and sisters, mother and father, children; all uniformly tall with fair hair and light colored eyes. Their stares portrayed no animosity just open and honest curiosity. Ryan could appreciate that; his features and apparel must look as strange to them as theirs did to him.

Now he noticed a larger structure that had been previously hidden by the Stonehenge. It seemed to be where they were headed. It was not circular at all but rather a long rectangular building built entirely of stone. It utilized a pair of the standing stones in the Stonehenge as pillars to its entrance, so that it was open to the pool at the center of the village complex.

Aerose never hesitated but strode purposefully up to the long hall. Ryan could now see a group of five older men standing there in line abreast at the entrance. His host came to a central point before them, threw his arms wide, palms facing forward and spoke.

Fathers of the Segatchwe, I bring you Ryan Maa-nix, Father of the Sky, he announced in a grandiose voice.

Ryan was taken aback, very much unprepared for this formal introduction. He recovered his composure, nodded to the sage cadre of village elders with a smile. He had no idea what they expected of him but he decided that normal manners were his best bet. I thank you all for your generous hospitality. This must have been the right thing to say for they each in turn put on a smile of their own and motioned for him to enter the hall.

The inside of the hall was quite rustic but very inviting. There was a raised dais at the far end with a long stone table spanning the building's length. Burning braziers spaced at equal intervals lined the walls. The areas closest to the longer walls of this building were completely opened to the sky. Bare wooden beams sprang across to a central roof under which the table and dais was positioned. Ryan absently wondered how often it rained on Pella'agre, if it did at all.

He was taken to the raised dais and suddenly noticed there was an even older gentleman there, seated on what could only be described as a throne. He guessed this to be the chieftain of the tribe. His long silver-streaked hair was braided and regally decorated with ornate colored stones of some type unknown to Ryan. Across the crown of his head worn laterally down to the tip of his nose, he sported an engraved bone device of some sort, polished to a brilliant white sheen and studded with more of the ornate stones.

Lord Sadresse Aellere, this is Ryan Maa-nix, Father of the Sky, announced one of the elders, at which the man on the throne nodded his head ever so slightly. Before Ryan could speak though, the chieftain rose and deliberately walked toward him. He tread haltingly down the three steps leading from the dais and continued until he was an arm's length from Ryan.

I have sat in regency of your power, O Sky Father. It has been my honor to do so. ...as it is now my honor to vacate your seat, he said, motioning to the throne. Ryan had no idea what to do. How could he explain to these people that he was no sky father? What effect would it have on his relations with them if he told them so?

He looked at the expectant faces around him. Any one of these guys could probably make short work of him in a fight, except for possibly the old man himself, and that was arguable. He sighed and walked to the throne, spun around and sat down...