X1.2.7 - The Hideout

  "That was brilliant, we were amazing! That'll teach those smug, ignorant bigots," Rosso said, shaking his fist in the air as Roa laughed, patting him on the back.

  "Yeah, we make a good team."

  They dropped off the three women into the arms of their people. As a reward for their heroic endeavors, they were given plenty of supplies by the grateful villagers. The two travelers did not linger, however, continuing towards their destination. They journeyed for around a month on their bird. During that time, they were attacked by bandits, chased by a giant, and worst of all, had to endure the Bubbling Sand Pools where the horrible, blood sucking sand lice covered their skins with their horrible, itchy bites.

  When evening came one day, they noticed lights in the distance. They were coming from a short, thick tower that had a large telescope sticking out of its conical roof, like a giant's crooked finger reaching towards the stars. Upon knocking on the door, a group of people with white robes came out, their eyes scanning them with suspicion, questioning them until they were satisfied with their responses. A short, middle-aged woman with curly, gray hair and half-moon-shaped reading glasses perched atop her head, beckoned them inside with a warm, welcoming smile.

  "I apologize for the paranoid welcome, but we can never be too careful,” she said. “We just needed to be sure that you are not enemies passing by as friendly travelers. My name is Professor Zula. I am the head of this small, but resistant stronghold of truth,” she stared at the heretic, her eyebrows furrowing as if she were studying every feature on his face. “Boy, you are a splitting image of a man who worked with us long ago. He was a good friend of ours. Anyway, how can I help you boys?"

  Rosso looked down and gathered his courage.

  "You must be thinking of Doctor Red. He was my father. I am here to find out about his last days.”

  Her eyebrows raised.

  "Little Rosso—his little boy? I remember when you were still sucking on your thumb. Look at you, you’ve become a man," her smiled disappearing as she noticed the heretic’s serious face. "Your father was a good man, but he was also stubborn. We told him not to go that day. He hoped to convince the more open minds in a village with an important discovery he had made, one that would help make their lives easier. We knew it was a losing battle—it was too dangerous. ‘There is no point in discovering the truth if we never share it with anyone’ he responded. Doctor Katu, our other dear friend and coworker, went after him that morning. Unfortunately—we only saw him return that night. He was in a panic and said that he was being followed. He did not say much, but when we asked him about your father, he shook his head and left the hideout, never to return."

  Rosso listened, his hands clasped together, nervously shifting as his leg bounced up and down.

  "Where did the doctor go?"

  She paused, as her eyes scanned both travelers.

  "He said that he was heading—” she hesitated, staring deep into their eyes, as if unsure of something “he said he was heading to the Palace."

  Roa suddenly stood up from his chair, causing it to fall backwards with a loud thud.

  "The labyrinth?" he said in an excited tone.

  "What palace? There are no palaces anywhere in the Southern Quadrant," said Rosso, confused.

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  The professor stared at the boy, shocked.

  "Yes, the Palace. The world that connects all worlds. You must have come from very far, if you know of such things."

  The young man explained his story in depth, and Zula continued.

  "Well, I have never heard of a Jumper called Nirvana, nor of a world called Earth, although that's a funny name to call a place. I'll be honest with you, my dear boy, as I don't want to give you any false hopes. Most Jumpers who get lost in the endless worlds of the Innerverse—never find their way back home. It's just too big—too complicated to find your way back."

  Roa's heart sank as his chest filled with fear. He was never going to see her or his home again, stuck wandering alone for the rest of his days. He gulped, gathering the courage to ask for more information.

  "Who are the Jumpers?" asked the Sunflower.

  "You are one of them, my dear. In a nutshell, anyone who can see the Exits. We are Free Folk, as was your father, Rosso. It's not a black and white thing, as there are always more things one can free themselves from, but there comes a point when a person realizes—that there is so much more outside the box of identity that they were placed in."

  The professor prepared some tea for them as night fell outside.

  "We call the collection of all Free People, Free Society. It used to be much more advanced and connected, but only clusters of us remain. Anyway, most Free Folk can do three things that 'normal' people cannot. They can use their aura, they can jump through Exits, and they can interact with Kami. These three things are dependent on three aspects of their personal growth. Are they in tune with their inner selves? Then, they can use their aura. Can they see beyond the limitations of their identity and environment? Then they can jump through Exits. Finally, are they in tune with Nature? If so, they can see Kami. I'm sure you already know about Exits, or you wouldn't be here talking to us. The best way to describe Kami is—natural spirits. They are aspects of Nature, like the spirit of a river, or a mountain, or even of a single tree. They can be helpful—or dangerous."

  Roa described the night he met the antelope with the glowing handprints, and the professor agreed that it was most likely a Kami, although it was the rarest of sights, considering there were not many left in their world anymore.

  "What about aura? What is it?"

  "I will let Looria tell you more about it, when she returns from her field work in a few days. She is much more adept than I am at the subject."

  "The pink-haired one that sent me on this dangerous journey said something about Default World too. Who are the Shadows?”

  The professor's face grew serious, as she sipped on her warm tea.

  "Default World? It's not an actual world, per se, like Earth, or Lalh-Ah Land, or the Palace, for example. It's more of a system that spreads through them, eating their resources, enslaving their people in the process. The Shadows are its managers, the ones who protect it, maintain it, and spread it. I bet they came to this world too, years, maybe centuries ago. I’ve read about them in some of the history books but never met one here. They seem to have left behind remnants of their system."

  "Why are they doing all this? What do they want?"

  "I don't know, but I imagine that they must gain some benefit from such a spectacle," she sighed. "The Shadows work in secret, always behind the scenes. They pull the strings in many worlds; follow them long enough, and you'll get to them, eventually. The Desert Fathers? Just one small apparatus of a vast inter-world system of control. I don’t know who leads Default World, but I have a feeling I know who runs this world’s cult, and it’s not the Author in the Sky—but a Shadow. The faceless ones are all incredibly strong, with superhuman abilities and brutal precision; they can jump through Exits and use their auras like we can, except manifesting much more powerful, and deadly abilities. If you see one, run—but if you cannot, fight with everything you have. They'll either kill you, or erase your mind, if you’re lucky."

  They retired for the night, as the professor informed them that an Exit could be found nearby.

  "I want to see this portal that leads to this—Palace. My dad's friend is there. I must find him. Where will you go?" asked the red-cloaked man as he laid on his bed.

  Roa thought about it.

  "I will go to the Palace as well. No sense in wandering the desert forever. There’s nothing here for me. If that's the world that leads to all other worlds, then my way back home is through it."

  Rosso sat up.

  "Then it’s settled. Our destinies pass through the Palace."

  The Sunflower paused, contemplating something for a moment.

  "Plus—I heard that there is a powerful being there—supposedly I once knew the way to it. The Dreamer, they call it. It can grant any wish. Maybe—we can just wish for what we want,” the Earthling said.

  Rosso laughed.

  "Sounds like a load of Tharn crap to me."

  X1.2.8 - The Compass