Hejira: Crystalline Hall

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 02: Stopover In A Quiet Village

After walking for several hours, they leave the field and enter a temperate forest. It is primary forest, with old growth trees and considerable space to move around in, underneath a canopy that shades them overhead. As they journey deeper into the forest, they hear the sound of rushing water. Moving towards the sound, they see a small stream cascading over a road of smooth stones. Gareth takes his Crusader canteen and begins filling it in the river.

“Aren’t you worried about pathogens?” Naomi asks.

“Normally, I would be, but if we find a town, we’ll first stash our weapons, and then find out if we can go home. By the time I get sick, I’ll hopefully have access to a hospital, and plenty of powerful antibiotics.” Gareth answers.

“And if we’re terribly unlucky?” Kelly asks.

“Well… We’ll boil our water, I guess.” Gareth adds.

“Okay… Can I have your stuff when you die of explosive diarrhea?” Kelly smiles.

“Hey! I get first dibs!” Faye jests.

Gareth laughs and puts away his canteen.

“I’m not hearing a no.” Kelly teases.

They follow the stream upriver and walk along it for several miles. The forest suddenly ends as they reach a moderate clearing containing what appears to be a primitive village. As they agreed, Kelly and Gareth take off their guns and stash them in their own packs before walking out of the forest and towards the village. As they approach, several villagers see them and point. They walk closer and can clearly make out a few of the villagers. Some of them look Asian, but a few look Caucasian, and one seems African.

“Where the hell are we?” Faye thinks aloud.

“You’re at my home.” A feeble sounding voice answers.

They all quickly turn around to see an old European looking man sitting beside a boulder that they were just passing.

“Have you been traveling long?” The frail old man asks them.

“A few hours.” Kelly replies.

“I see. It’s been quite a while since we had any visitors here.” The man replies.

“So who are you?” Kelly asks.

“I am called Casius.” The old man answers. “Come! This way!”

The villagers greet the four strangers with pleasant smiles as the old man leads them. Casius gives them food and water, and sets aside a place for them to sleep that night, in a small hut used for storage. They sit and eat a stew that seems to contain venison. While eating, Gareth notices Casius sitting in front of his own home, holding something small. He looks closer and sees Casius admiring a handful of ancient coins. Gareth sets down the bowl of stew and approaches Casius.

“Pardon me. What are those you have there?” Gareth ask politely.

“Just something that reminds me of my old home.” Casius replies.

He reaches out and hands Gareth a handful of Roman coinage. Gareth looks at the coins and notes that they are a mixture of Dupondius, Denarius, and Sestertius. The coins look badly weathered, but not as though they were buried in the ground for two-thousand years; they appear to have simply darkened from many years of changing hands. Ancient history is a hobby for Gareth.

“Where did you get these?” Gareth asks in amazement.

“I earned them. Back then, they were new.” Casius chuckles.

Gareth stops and looks up at the man. Is he senile, or just playing with him? He can’t be certain.

“I remember those days. Sometimes I miss them. The adventures I and my men had…” Casius seems to reminisce.

Casius leans back and places a hand on the side of his face and sighs. He scratches his chin slowly as he looks up at the sky. A cool breeze blows through the village. Casius seems to be in a trance.

“Go on…” Gareth encourages him, handing him back the coins.

“Hm? Oh!” Casius seems to snap out of it. “I was a Legionnaire. Emperor Claudius had sent us there to keep the peace, and to patrol the new lands of the empire. You know how well that goes, sending in soldiers to keep the peace. Oh, it was wonderful fun.” He says with a big grin.

“So if you were once a Legionnaire, shouldn’t you be speaking Latin?” Gareth asks.

“Latin? You are speaking Latin.” Casius laughs.

“Right! Silly me.” Gareth smiles.

“You’ll understand, in time.” Casius says, patting Gareth on the shoulder.

The others finally approach, curious about the conversation that Gareth and their ancient host are having.

“So, learn anything fun?” Faye asks.

“Yup. Casius is a retired roman Legionnaire and served under Emperor Claudius just about two-thousand years ago.” Gareth answers.

“Well… You look good!” Kelly quips. “I’d have said you weren’t a day over one-thousand.”

“Generous of you, boy.” Casius chuckles as he shifts the coins in his hand.

“So how old are you, really?” Faye asks Casius.

He stops shifting the coins and sighs. He looks to the others with a solemn expression on his face.

“In this world, time seems to drag on forever.” Casius begins.

“This world?” Faye raises an eyebrow.

“We age incredibly slowly here. I have been living here, in this village, for just over three-hundred years. Of course, I was already forty years old when I first arrived. As young as you are, you could easily make it to four-hundred or more. I came through the skull, but some people who were born here can make it to nearly five-hundred years old.” Casius explains.

They are immediately skeptical, save for Gareth who seems more curious than offended by the old man’s ramblings.

“The ones born here are the unluckiest of them all. I can’t fathom being alive so long.” Casius thinks aloud.

“We came through the skull too. It was in a cave near a jungle temple.” Gareth explains.

“I’m sure. That’s just one of many skulls. I never saw further than the empire I served. The skull I used was within the empire. It brought me here, but not to this area. Different skulls seem to exit at different places in this plane of existence. I walked here over many months. I liked this village enough to settle here. It reminded me of the village that I grew up in, before I joined the Legion.” Casius continues.

“So if we aren’t on earth…” Kelly begins.

“This is the realm of Sahvath. Sahvath created this planet, and brought all who reside here. He created this world to be his home. He also created the Sahvorai, and many others beings that live here. But now you must sleep!” Casius says with a smile.

“Woah. You’re going to dump information like that on us and tell us to go to bed?” Kelly asks.

“Yes… Yes I am.” Casius replies, standing up.

“Okay.” Kelly shrugs. “I don’t suppose I could trouble you for more stew, could I?” Kelly rubs his stomach.

“Of course you can!” Casius replies.

“Thanks!” Kelly says happily.

Casius simply nods. He points to a large bronze cauldron; Kelly takes a second helping before he joins the others at the storage hut where they have placed their packs and set up for the night. Kelly quickly eats the second helping of stew as the other three unroll their sleeping bags, getting comfortable. After their adventure, they are all very tired, but they still don’t sleep very well.

Gareth bundles up his spare clothes and uses them as a pillow. He reaches into the back flap of his musette bag and takes out the thin binder from within. He shifts so that more of the daylight can illuminate the pages and admires the artwork in the book. Kelly looks over to Gareth and watches him for a moment.

“Looking at your cat girls?” Kelly asks.

“Actually, this one is a rabbit.” Gareth quips.

Gareth turns the book around to show it to Kelly. Faye turns her head and looks as well. On the page is the form of a human women, covered in white fur, with digitigrade feet, a fluffy bunny tail, short snout, tall and pointy ears, and flowing pink hair. She wears blue daisy duke shorts and a white tube top. She is drawn posing like a centerfold. Gareth turns the book back around and flips another page. Faye chuckles and turns back over.

“Too bad you couldn’t bring your stash.” Gareth comments.

“If my stash was on paper, it’d fill up this hut.” Kelly retorts.

“This is just my ‘favorites’ binder. My complete collection is just as impressive.” Gareth adds.

“I doubt that.” Kelly laughs.

“Guys, this isn’t a ‘who has the most porn’ contest. Get some rest!” Faye grumbles.

Once they finally succumb to their exhaustion, the group sleeps through the rest of the day, and throughout the night. Early the next morning, Faye wakes up from her sleep and rubs her eyes. She sits up, her back and shoulders sore from the hard floor of the hut. She takes her spare clothes that she had rolled into a ball and used as a pillow, and places them carefully back into her pack. She looks around, but sees no one else inside. Looking to the door, she sees Naomi brushing her long hair. It shifts gently in the breeze, the ends waving like a flag.

“Where are the boys?” Faye asks Naomi, her voice deeper and cracking from the grogginess.

Naomi doesn’t answer, but reaches out the hand that holds her hairbrush. She points over to her right.

“Please, not in so many words.” Faye says facetiously as she stands up.

She walks up as Naomi glares at her. Faye looks back down to her little sister, who holds out her hairbrush to her. Faye’s eyes look up towards her brow and sighs, taking out her braid. She takes the hairbrush from Naomi’s hand and throws her hair over her shoulder, quickly brushing it smooth. She gives back Naomi’s hairbrush and walks away from the hut as she braids her hair all over again. She looks around and sees Kelly sitting in front of Casius’ home, holding a bowl and eating more stew. He sees her and waves as she approaches him.

“Hey.” Kelly says as he brings the bowl to his lips, drinking the broth.

“Hi. Been awake long?” Faye asks him.

Kelly holds out a hand and rotates it back and forth.

“I’m not really used to sleeping on dirt.” Kelly laughs.

“Well, we still slept a whole day away.” Faye retorts.

“Yeah, well… It takes a lot of energy to keep this body going.” Kelly chuckles.

Faye notices that Kelly is wearing his pistol openly. The leather flap of his holster completely covers the back of the pistol, but she can see how it shifts as he leans back, and spots a faint gleam of light as it bounces off the nickel plating.

“You’re wearing your gun.” Faye says.

“Very observant!” Kelly smiles. “After last night, Gareth thought it would be a good idea, and I agreed with him.”

Faye shrugs and looks around the village center. She spots a flash of bright orange and dark green moving behind a hut. She turns to follow the flash of color and walks around the back. There she sees Gareth in his brown hiking boots, dark green cargo pants, and bright orange t-shirt, looking a bit like a budding flower. He sits with Casius, who is cleaning some clothes on what appears to be a small bronze washboard, sitting inside of a wooden bucket filled with soapy water. Faye sits parallel to Gareth and Casius. Gareth nods to her as she waves to the two; Casius speaks to Gareth, continuing their conversation.

“The crystal skulls seem to react to touch, not to the position of the skull, or its placement on the pedestal. The delay you described must have been the result of weak crystals.” Casius begins.

“Did you test that theory?” Gareth asks.

“I did! When I first opened the portal, I was curious, but afraid. I opened it dozens of times, trying all manner of positions and scenarios, but it only ever turned on when touched by skin. It didn’t even need to be on the pedestal to open. After opening it so many times, it began taking longer and longer to open each time. Realizing that I may never get another chance to step through, I gathered my weapons and equipment, collected a considerable amount of food, and entered the portal.” Casius explains.

“So do other people come through a lot?” Faye asks.

“They did before, but no one has come from the direction you had, in over 30 years. I assumed that skull had finally run out of power. It seems that I was mistaken.” Casius replies.

“Well, it did take a good minute to power up.” Gareth comments.

“That is about how long it took my skull to open, when I finally had the nerve to use it.” Casius adds.

“Is there a way to get home?” Kelly asks as he steps around the corner.

“There is a rumor about a way back; The ‘Crystalline Hall’ is said to be able to return a person to their home, but it is only a rumor. No one I’ve met in nearly three-hundred years has ever seen it, but everyone who has ever spoken of it claims that it is in the mountains to the north.” Casius answers.

Kelly sits down beside Faye, quickly joined by Naomi, who sits beside Kelly.

“How far north?” Faye asks.

Casius chuckles as he stops washing the clothes. He looks up from the washboard at the young woman and shakes his head as he sighs.

“You people ask quite a few questions.” Casius says to them.

“I just have a lot of hentai that I want to watch, and I don’t think Naomi has that in her collection.” Kelly replies.

“Perhaps… Perhaps not…” Naomi quips.

Casius seems confused as he looks to Kelly. Perhaps he didn’t understand any of it, or perhaps he did and was appalled?

“I’m sorry. This is all new to us.” Gareth says.

“That’s alright. Consult the stone. It’ll tell you all that you need.” Casius says as he stands up.

The four rise in unison, following the elderly Casius as he walks around the back of the village. He heads away from the village and up a small hill, towards a black stone, carved atop the hill. The four had arrived from the opposite end of the village, and on level ground. They were unable to see this stone when they arrived. The stone is carved into the shape of an obelisk and stands nearly three meters tall.

Casius stops and points, presenting the obelisk as though it were a gift. He stands there as the others walk by him and stop in front of the obelisk. Carved onto the surface, on all four sides, is a flat depiction of the planet, as though it was an atlas. There is strange writing on the bottom of the world map that none of them can read. As Faye tries to focus on the writing, it suddenly begins to transform before their very eyes.

“Did you see that?!” Faye says in amazement.

“I said that you would understand soon...” Casius chuckles.

They read the writing, which is a very matter-of-fact description of the world that they are in. The planet has a Pangea, with a vast ocean surrounding it. The world is incredibly small by comparison to earth; it’s diameter is listed as exactly 941 miles, making it just smaller than the earth’s moon. The circumference is 2,956 miles, and the Pangea is exactly 333,490 square miles, making it somewhat larger than the entire state of Texas. The planet’s moon has a diameter of exactly 316 miles. According to the writing, all of the water on the planet is freshwater. The continent has a strange shape.

“That’s odd. The land looks somewhat like an anorexic diamond.” Gareth says.

“Or a husky red cross logo.” Kelly adds.

        Casius steps between the two men and reaches out to the obelisk. He takes his boney finger and gently taps the bottom end of the Pangea.

        “We are about here.” Casius says. “The Crystalline Hall is supposedly around here…”

        Casius sweeps his finger along the atlas, resting it over the top end of the Pangea, clear across the entire continent. The others stare in shock. Kelly’s mouth drops open and Faye steps closer, blinking hard in disbelief.

“Oh my God…” She mutters.

“That’s nearly eight-hundred miles away!” Gareth says as he reads the world’s description below.

“I don’t suppose you have invented the car yet.” Kelly turns to Casius.

Casius raises a bushy grey eyebrow in confusion.

“There is a large human settlement here.” Casius continues.

He moves his finger back down to the bottom of the continent, placing it along the east shoreline, a few millimeters north of their current location.

“It’s one of the first human settlements. Stone buildings and everything! It’s called Ravenswood.” Casius says, stepping away from the obelisk.

“Why did you say ‘human settlement’?” Gareth asks as he follows Casius.

“Oh, right. I nearly forgot! The pitfalls of old age… There are many strange creatures and races here. The only other race that can communicate are called the Sahvorai. They are the animal-folk, followers of Sahvath, and his creation.” Casius answers.

“Animal-folk? You don’t say…” Gareth seems intrigued.

Kelly, Faye and Naomi all turn back, looking to Gareth.

“I guess Gary won’t be going home with us.” Faye chuckles.

The three leave the obelisk and catch up to Gareth and Casius who return to Casius’ home. Casius hands Gareth a satchel of dried food and hands Kelly strange pieces of metal. It appears to be coinage, but the coins are various shapes and sized, with only numbers placed on them. Kelly looks at the ovals, pentagons, hexagons, triangles, and squares of metal.

“How come I get the money and the thin guy gets the food?” Kelly asks.

“Perhaps I thought he could use it more.” Casius quips.

Naomi and Faye giggle. Gareth turns to Kelly and passes him the food, taking the strange coins in return. Gareth pockets the coins inside of a small pouch on his pants, protecting them with a button sealed flap. Casius waits for them while they collect their packs and gear from the storage hut. The group follows Casius as he takes them back to the black obelisk, walking past the hill and towards a worn, thin trail that sits behind it.

“This will lead you north-east, towards Ravenswood.” Casius says.

“But… The sun rose from over there.” Gareth points to the opposite direction.

“Yes. On this planet, it rises in the west and sets in the east.” Casius replies.

“Oh…” Gareth mutters.

“This planet always keeps us guessing!” Kelly chirps.

“Well, it’s not yellow brick, or a road, but it’ll do.” Gareth comments.

“Okay, O’Neill…” Faye chuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”

The group takes a few steps down the path when suddenly Casius grabs Faye’s arm. She turns and looks back to the old man. He glares at her and leans closer.

“Beware the Sahvorai. They do not get along well with humans, and should not ever be trusted.” Casius warns.

Faye pulls her arm away from the old man. After a short pause, she turns back and quickly walks to catch up with the others. She looks back to Casius, who stares at the group as they move further away from the village. He waves to them for a moment before turning and walking back, soon disappearing behind the hill. Kelly looks to Faye, who seems disturbed.

“Are you alright?” He asks her.

“Huh?” She turns to Kelly. “It’s nothing… Just…”

“Just what?” Kelly presses.

“I just have a bad feeling about this place.” Faye answers.