Foresna and Arsha went to the quarry to see the operation continuing. They both said \u201chi\u201d to Baldra, but something felt\u2026off, for lack of a better word. They didn\u2019t feel lucky. Yes, the day went on with no incident, but there was an odd feeling surrounding them. Falnii continued her research but noticed that Arsha and Foresna\u2019s expressions matched Lardeth\u2019s whenever the subject of Baldra came up. She approached Lardeth one day. \u201cSomething I can do for you, Fluffy?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2026might not be fully legal,\u201d replied Falnii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026What\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPrincess, I think I need to use your family\u2019s library, all of it, even the forbidden section. The usual libraries and databases are only turning up the legends surrounding Baldra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFalnii, I\u2019m not so sure I can condone that. That knowledge has been taken out of the public eye for a reason. If you really want to use the forbidden section, you need to take that up with Mama Pofomofo, Mama Jeefef, and Dad. They\u2019re the ones who have the keys to that section.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026All right, I\u2019ll see what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Falnii called up Pofomofo, Jeefef, and Endram later in the day. The two Queens and their King cheered when their future daughter-in-law popped up. \u201cFalnii, it\u2019s great to see you!\u201d greeted Pofomofo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI heard that Galnyar\u2019s got a big industrial project going,\u201d remarked Jeefef. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re making their first railways,\u201d explained Falnii. \u201cThe quarry in their Eastern District is producing a lot of stone for ballast. They intend to have the railways run on the ground AND through the forest canopy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell! That\u2019s certainly an ambitious aim!\u201d chuckled Endram. \u201cBut why are you calling us? Couldn\u2019t Galnyar have told us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was gonna tell you tomorrow,\u201d replied Falnii, \u201cbut something that Arsha, Lardeth, and Foresna found near the quarry have put them on edge and I felt I needed to do some research on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d asked Pofomofo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, there\u2019s a massive boulder sitting on one of the cliffs above the quarry that\u2019s, and I\u2019m quoting what Arsha once said, watching the whole operation. It\u2019s supposed to be good luck to say hello to it, but we\u2019re not so sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s watching you?\u201d asked Endram. \u201cHow can that be? Boulders stopped having eyes when the living rocks all faded into the After-realm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, Your Majesty, there\u2019s something strange about this boulder. The locals call it Baldra and-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBaldra?!\u201d yelped Jeefef as panic struck her, Pofomofo, and Endram. \u201cWhere did they get that name?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cY-Your Majesty?!\u201d gulped Falnii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmbassador Loftanaf, where did the Fae get that name?!\u201d demanded Jeefef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJeefef, easy!\u201d urged Endram. He then turned back to Falnii. \u201cFalnii, describe the boulder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEr, i-it\u2019s spherical, almost l-like it w-was carved!\u201d said Falnii. \u201cI-It\u2019s brown thanks to t-time, but y-you can s-still see s-some sort of red and black ore!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has to be!\u201d muttered Pofomofo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFalnii, get the workers to leave the quarry until we can get \u2018Baldra\u2019!\u201d ordered Endram. \u201cAll nine of us are heading to the forest!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStop quarry production?!\u201d Galnyar protested when Falnii told him and the Quarry Manager the news. \u201cWith all due respect, the Plan\u2019s at too critical a stage for that to happen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmperor Almaydia, please,\u201d urged Falnii, \u201cI know it\u2019s unorthodox, but the Felomphas think that Baldra\u2019s dangerous!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat quarry\u2019s the only place where we can get the best ballast! There are rail lines all across the canopy that need to be built! I can\u2019t halt production now!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMay I intrude?\u201d asked Lardeth as he peeked into the throne room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLardeth, your parents know about Baldra,\u201d explained Falnii as Galnyar waved him in. \u201cThey\u2019re all on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019ve asked me to halt quarry production!\u201d explained Galnyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat?!\u201d said Lardeth. \u201cOkay, that boulder gives me the willies, yes, but that shouldn\u2019t be any cause for halting production! I just saw that new machine you lot made!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNew machine?\u201d asked Falnii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rock collection machine that gets the really stubborn stones that managed to weather the explosives. The two drills on its front scoop the rocks out of the cliffside and onto the ground at its sides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith all due respect to your parents, Lardeth, I can\u2019t close the quarry so hastily,\u201d decided Galnyar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something DID halt quarry production, though it wasn\u2019t due to anyone\u2019s control. Rain arrived in the forest. To us, it would have been just a light drizzle. To people the size of the Fae, though, it was a deluge. The quarry had to close so no one could get caught in the eventual flooding. While the rain came down, Arsha and Falnii visited the quarry as the workers were covering the machinery so it wouldn\u2019t get damaged. Arsha was casting a shield so the large raindrops wouldn\u2019t hit them. Velmar was relocated to higher ground to avoid flood damage, since her own shed would be washed out. The floods hadn\u2019t come yet, so Arsha and Falnii stood on the tracks below Baldra. They stood away from the cliff, a good thing too, as a large slab of rock landed on the ground near them. The two women yelped in surprise. \u201cHoo boy,\u201d gulped Arsha, trying to make herself the more stoic of the two. \u201cWe better get out of here. The rain\u2019s loosening up a lot of rocks. Come on.\u201d She led Falnii up a path, continually casting the shield. Falnii dared a look back at Baldra. She gasped in horror. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a-!\u201d Falnii stopped as she pointed at Baldra. \u201c\u2026W-W-Well, there WAS a\u2026a face in it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA face?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cY-Yeah! A man\u2019s face s-staring at us! Arsha, I think that rock slab was Baldra wanting us to go away!\u201d Arsha tried to come up with reassurances that it couldn\u2019t have been, but her efforts were in vain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on, let\u2019s get out of here,\u201d she said, finally giving up. \u201cThis place is giving me the creeps too!\u201d The two women headed up the path and made their way to the Capital Tree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Foresna and Arsha went to the quarry to see the operation continuing. They both said \u201chi\u201d to Baldra, but something felt\u2026off, for lack of a better word. They didn\u2019t feel lucky. Yes, the day went on with no incident, but there was an odd feeling surrounding them. Falnii continued her research but noticed that Arsha […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,239],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-6-the-eternal-age-of-unity","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5432,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431\/revisions\/5432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}