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Gnomon- Chapter 5 (Gnomon)

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Chapter 5

 After assuring Torque that Gnomon, and his companions had no intention of causing any harm to his men or his daughter, Gnomon still offered the wine so as to keep peace between him and Torque. Torque accepted since he was a man of opportunity, he couldn’t possibly turn down such an expensive wine. Torque explained to Gnomon that here would not be such a great place to have discourse, because the regent had a tendency to tax anyone within their lands as they see fit. If you have no gold you were thrown in jail, plus his men were outlaws as it was. Gnomon saw the wisdom in this. So he agreed to follow Torque to his hideout. As they were trekking through the forest, Gnomon couldn't help wondering why he didn’t sense Sarah when they had approached them on the trail. He usually sensed those with the gift. Even if it was a small indication, he often felt something of their power. He did entertain a thought to just pull it from her mind, but he really didn't want to hurt her. He felt a deep sadness in her, and she seemed less aggressive than her father. She felt gentle and motherly; he didn't want to ruin that part of her. Though it bugged him, he would bide his time. He hoped to win their trust, at least Sarah’s, anyway. So that he could learn of her power and why it was different from his own.

It had been a long walk for Gnomon, Mac, and Ran. Even though Torque had them blind folded, and threw a hood over their heads just to make sure they could not find their way to his place again. This did not deter Gnomon. He knew exactly where they were and possibly where they were going. He learned a little trick from the Lionese. They taught him that animals were similar to humans in that you could tap into their senses. He could use their eyes or ears to see or hear the things around him. You could not do this for very long. It has a tendency to disorient the animal and at times endanger the host and animal’s life.  

He found a small bird nearby that he could tap into, briefly. He could see himself, Mac, and Ran being guided by Torque. Sarah stayed in the rear, stopping periodically to check for followers. Gnomon could see Mac stumbling at times along the way, but Ran seemed to float. He flew the bird a little closer and, could see she was floating. “ Clever girl… but not wise.” he thought. He started tell Ran to reserve her energy when he could see and feel his body slowing down. Gnomon untapped himself because he could feel the bird becoming weak, and he anticipated they were getting close to their destination anyway. Quite a few minutes later Torque had finally brought them to a halt.

Torque ordered Sarah to remove their hoods and blindfolds. Gnomon took a deep breath to clear his senses and help dissipate the stench of the sack that assaulted his sense of smell. He looked around himself, seeing that they were in a small clearing at the end of a worn path. They were in front of a tree. A very large tree that had to be at least twenty to thirty feet in diameter, although he thought it could be much larger. He began to realize he was only seeing what was visible through the foliage. In fact, he wasn’t sure sure how he had missed all this foliage, and he couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t seen the tree before now. The tree was so massive it must take up the whole skyline, yet he hadn’t seen it when he was tapped into the bird.

The giant tree blocked the sky with its dense and large branches. It was very dark where they stood and what Gnomon thought to be small shrubbery around them was actually branches hanging down from the tree. They seemed to be growing like thick curtains all around the clearing. He felt he was in a room made of tree branches and leaves. Even though the room was dark, it was not completely dark. There seemed to be a faint iridescent glow from the leaves.

Gnomon watched Torque motion Sarah to approach the tree. She looked at Ran, Mac, and Gnomon before walking toward the tree. She especially kept looking at Gnomon as if he would see her secrets. She stepped up to the tree and gently put her palm against the smooth bark of the arbor giant. Her hand gave off a faint glow of red light, and the tree began to glow red as if to respond to her. The faint greenish glow that was omitted from the leaves also turned to a red hue, bathing everyone in its crimson light. The leaves and branches around them began to shudder. Slowly at first and then more frequently, in a rhythm, they began to pulse like that of a slow heartbeat. Next, they started to swirl around them like a whirl pool. Starting from where the leaves met the floor, the whirlpool began to cover the ground, working itself to the center in a spiral motion. Torque barked orders to everyone to step on the leaves and branches.

“Put your backsides to the walls. Now! Everyone! ” he barked some more.

No one protested, and quickly did as they were ordered. They watched the leaves and branches grow dense and felt them become solid beneath their feet. The pulse stopped and Sarah stepped from the tree to the center of the room. The red glow had returned to the greenish hue and the shuddering subsided. The walls became solid and complete around them. Gnomon felt like he was in a cage now. Sarah stepped to the center of the floor where the spiral enclosed. Her posture seemed submissive and quiet.

“Watch your step everyone, you’re going to feel a little….” Torque started to say before the jerk of being  motioned up. “ ...jerk! “ his voice faded in surprise. Everyone stumbled a bit, including Torque. His daughter held steady, though, and he wondered if she was showing off or trying to intimidate Gnomon.

Everyone could feel themselves being slowly raised up. Gnomon wondered how high they were. Then the motion of being lifted stopped, and they felt themselves being swung sideways. The swinging motion was quick but smooth, and then all motion was finally over. Sarah leaned down and touched her palm to the floor of the cage. She whispered a soft, “Thank you, Mother.” Again her hand glowed with a red light that seemed to transfer to the floor. The leaves, just as before, shuddered and glowed red. Torque motioned everyone to the center of the floor, and they joined him there, waiting for the leaves to return to the edges of the arbored cage. The leaves started to thin out into their individual branches, raising into the air in a fanning motion. This revealed a smooth, round, wooden floor below their feet.

As the branch finished lifting itself, Gnomon could once again see the sky. They all stood on a vast platform, which stretched out around them. In the distance, about forty feet away, Gnomon see could boughs, leading up to new levels of the tree. He couldn’t quite make out what they led to, but he assumed they were living quarters, or perhaps more platforms like the one they now stood on. Looking around himself he could see that the platform was at least eighty feet in diameter. The boughs that stretched from the edges of the platform climbed up and away from the tree. They were very large and spiraled in the higher parts of the canopy. There were smaller branches growing over themselves forming tunnels along the larger branches. Gnomon realized that they were pathways, and it seemed to him the tree was customized to its host. The boughs weren't very steep. They had a gradual ascension making it easier to climb to the upper canopy.
“Welcome! To my home.” Announced Torque. This broke Gnomon’s attention to his surroundings.

“This is Maria and she is our protector and home.” He emphasised with a sweeping gesture toward the platform and the tree.

“You’re my guest now, but Maria won’t let you get away with anything without me or Sarah knowing.” Again he gestured toward the tree.

Then Sarah came up to her father and whispered something into his ear.
“I’m sorry. “  he said outloud. “Yes, go.” and shooed her away. Gnomon, Mac, and Ran watched her disappear up one of the tunnel ways.

“Please sit down.”  Torque pointed toward the chairs which seemed to grow from the platform.

Gnomon could see that the chairs, just like the cage, consist of condensed and viny branches and leaves. Gnomon, and Ran hesitated looking over the chair for a second before sitting. Mac on the other hand plopped down with a big sigh of relief, extending his feet out as if he were at home. Ran shrugged her shoulders and just like Mac sat in the chair next to him. Gnomon could see there were about twelve chairs arranged in a large circle. Torque was already seated and he motioned for Gnomon to sit next to him on his right. While Mac and Ran sat on his left. Gnomon took off his pack and set it next to his chair. Then he cautiously sat down, thinking it would be uncomfortable, but it was infact just the opposite. The viny branches seemed to shape to his form for his comfort. He had a look of surprise on his face and Torque gave him a mischievous smile.

“Maria, aims to please her guests. You’ll get used to it.”  he gave Gnomon a wide grin.

“I brought you here to ask for your help. I haven’t met too many of you with your gifts and to run into three of you in the same day seems extraordinary. I count myself lucky. “ he kind of laughed. Pointing at Gnomon, he continued,  “...you, my friend, are very extraordinary indeed!” Gnomon just smiled and waited.

“I’ve seen some of your kind in the city, but their gifts seem like simple tricks. They mostly are healers and perhaps some can change their appearance in small ways. As you can see my daughter is powerful on her own, but you… you in a matter seconds took out ten of my men without seeing them. Not to mention my daughter at the same time.” Torque was interrupted by Gnomon at this point.

“No offense Torque, but you attacked us first. And I know you brought us here to be an ally, but we can’t help you.”  Torque started to interrupt. Gnomon held his hand up to to indicate that he wasn’t finished explaining.
“You see Mac, he’s sick. We need to get him to a healer in Tyrenyth. Her name is Lia.”

Torque reacted instantly. In one motion, he had jumped up from his chair and covered his mouth. Doubtfully, he started backing away from them, his eyes wide. It could be that Gnomon was lying, but the death of his wife flashed before him. Gnomon could see the fear, doubt and then anger surging through his mind on Torque’s face.  Instantly Maria acted out, binding Gnomon, Mac, and Ran to their chairs.

“Wait! Hear me out!” Gnomon shouted, but Maria wasn’t listening. She was already slowly digging her tendrils into Gnomon’s skin. He could hear Ran and Mac screaming out in a mixture of pain and surprise. Gnomon reacted by forming a large energy bubble-like shield around them. It severed Maria's connection, and the pricking stopped. The tiny vines started to dry out and crackle away. Gnomon rushed to Mac and Ran, and quickly brushed off the tendrils. After freeing them from the chairs, he went back to concentrating on the shield. His skin was becoming bluer because Maria was weakening his shield. She was growing limbs around his shield, engulfing and trying to suffocate them. The light was starting to disappear; Gnomon was starting to feel worried now. Finally, he had to make one last effort, or they were all dead. He wasn't really liking the idea, but he didn’t have a choice.

Gnomon, not wanting to lose his energy, spoke to Ran.
“Ran! As soon as I give the signal, I want you to throw a shield over you and your brother. Do it quickly and don’t stop till you see the daylight. Don’t worry about me. What I’m about to do can hurt you and your brother. If I don’t do this, I think Maria will kill us.” Gnomon took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

 Ran was preparing herself, anticipating the moment Gnomon gave the signal. She noticed that the shield was wavering. She could see it flicker. She looked at looked at Gnomon, seeing that he had closed his eyes.

“ NOW! Ran! NOW! “ He spat out.

Ran and Mac had huddled close together so that her shield would be small and easy to hold. Ran could see Gnomon becoming a bright blue, emitting light in an intense glow. As he was growing brighter, Ran and Mac could both feel heat penetrating through the shield. The platform below them trembled and vibrated in a pulse. Ran could hear crackling, and smell the burning air around them. The atmosphere around them was becoming stifling. Ran had to stop looking at Gnomon at this point. He became so bright that her eyes were hurting. The crackling noise was becoming a fierce roar. It was then Mac turned to face her and, putting his back toward Gnomon, he shielded Ran’s eyes. They both felt like they had cotton in their ears, and Ran could hardly hear Mac as he screamed for her to close her eyes. They could both feel the scorching heat surrounding them, pressing them into a claustrophobic tunnel.

Mac threw his cloak over the both of them in the hopes of shielding them more. He could see his sister starting to tremble while trying to maintain her shield. He knew what Gnomon was trying to do: he was trying to burn themselves free of Maria. He was hoping Ran was keeping her eyes closed because the light that was emitting through and around the cracks of the cloak was so bright that his own eyes were stinging. All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and then everything was dark and still…

       *        *        *        *        *

Torque stepped back. His first thought was Gnomon had brought a disease to his home like what had killed his wife, and what had almost killed his daughter. Then, all of a sudden Maria started to attack Gnomon, Mac, and Ran. Gnomon yelled at Torque to wait. Torque was confused as to what was happening, but when he realized, he started yelling at Maria to stop. She wouldn’t listen and kept attacking. She had never done this before, even to those he thought were very dangerous.  Maria was engulfing them with vines and tendrils. She was trying to crush them. He started to pull his sword, but then he stopped, yelling for Sarah instead. Then it dawned on him: Sarah!

“ Sarah!.... Sarah! “  He called feverishly.

It was at that moment there was a bright flash of light, and a loud bang that came from the ball of branches and vines. The ball had became a charred blackened mass. Then it simply collapsed and there was nothing. Gnomon and his companions were gone……

       *        *        *        *        *    

Sarah, as she often does, went to her room to talk with Maria. She followed the bough tunnel to the upper platforms where her room lay. Much like the platform she just came from, it had a large round floor, though her floor didn’t look as solid as the main platform. Instead, it was like a cross between the cage that lifted them to the main platform, and the main platform itself. Sarah went to the far edge of her room. There was a large oval frame. It was as tall as Sarah, and it had dense sheeted gossamer weaved within it. Sarah raised her palms toward the frame. Then a form came from the gossamer. The beautiful female face of her mother formed first, then gossamer hands reached out toward Sarah.  Sarah met the hands with hers. Then she closed her eyes and began talking to her mother.

It was then that Sarah told Maria how she had been attacked by Gnomon.  Maria grew very angry at Gnomon, and she did what a mother often does. She protected her child.
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