When I opened my eyes, I am no longer standing out in the cold. My hair is plastered to my face, wet with the melting snow that had fallen down from the sky. The sky no longer appears above me and I do not see my friends. Instead, I find myself standing out in the middle of the Consortium Chamber Room of the Council. I blinked and wonder if everything I had experienced was a dream, that the Portal had not yet transported me to the other side.

I look down and see humanoid hands in front of me. I am still trapped in the mechanical, which means that the past events were not just a dream, that everything was real. The human hands tightened into a fist and then straightened out once more in the air as my mind tells them to move. They wiggled and waved at every command. I commend them to move the mess of hair out of my eyes and they do so. I lick my lips and feel the smooth plastic surface of the lips that the people put on the skin.

I blink once more and hope that by doing so it will transport me back to the wilds of the world, where the fissure stands before me. But it does not as I was still standing in the center of the room.

“How did I get here?” I asked. I slowly turned around and examined all of the chairs. All but one seemed empty. “This cannot be real. I was outside and across the veil, but now I am here. What is the meaning of this.”

“You called and we heard you,” came a familiar voice from my left.

“Counselor Laiana?” I question as I turn to see her familiar form sitting in the seventh chair of the council. I force the body to kneel in front of her as is customary for the two leggeds to do when they are in front of the ruling class.

She motions for me to stand and I do so, “You seem surprised to see me,” Laiana says.

“I am. I thought that there was no way back and that I have failed in my mission.”

“No my dear, you have not failed. Actually you have succeeded,” she said her voice sounding more motherly than anything. “We have been keeping an eye on you Xep. We know what has happened and what is going to come. We are sorry that you have to do what you are about to do but we also know that it is unavoidable. Tristian will be trapped but I do not think he will be alone no longer. He seems quite enthralled with the human companion.”

I nod, “I do not know if I have it within me to do this. I am scared at what will become of me.”

“You can do this, I know you can. And only you can do this task. It is your destiny, what you have been created to do and what you must do. For all of us. I know it is not easy, giving yourself in to a world that does not seem to know or understand what you are and what you do but you will be saving the lives of your friends. You will also be opening the door up for a new future of communications between them and us. I guarantee it.”

I stay silent, unsure of what to say next.

Laiana moves silently over to me. She places her hand on my shoulder and looks lovingly into my eyes, “Xep, this is not the end. It may seem like that now but when one door closes, another one opens. And that is as such with you and this situation.”

“Will it hurt?” I hear myself asking. I wince as the words escape my lips, knowing that as a Consortium Soldier and a spy that I should be stronger than that, not weak like the body I am trapped inside.

“I am sure it will but as you are trapped in a body that is not yours, you can choose to not feel the pain. Our time is growing short here Xep but I wanted to let you know that everything will be fine. It will soon be over and that you have done exactly what you were supposed to do. I am, we… are very proud of you and this sacrifice that you have to make. Go now, and return to the other side of the veil and do this.”

**********
Her arms fell to the ground as her friends reappear at her sides. They argue amongst themselves. Sardonios shakes his head and folds his arms across his chest, “I am not going to force anyone into anything that they have already made their mind up on.”

Tristian walked up to Xep, his face mere inches from her body, “We can force you not to go,” he started, “We can use that rope over there and the rest of that roll of duct tape and bind you together so that you cannot move or go anywhere. We do have the power to stop this madness, despite what that old windbag says.”

“But you will not do it,” Xep said silently. “You will not do it because you know as well as I do that we need to do something to stop the coneol from escaping. This is what I came here to do. Putting myself down there to stop this world, and possibly our home world, from being destroyed is what I have been asked to do. You know it as well as I do. There is no other alternative. At least not for me. The fissure must be closed and it must be closed now before it is too late. I ask you to take everyone else and go away from here. Please, go back to the car. I do not know what is going to happen once I land inside the core and I would hate to see any explosion or fallout hurt any of you. Please, do it for me. That is all I ask.”

Paige opened her mouth to speak but closed it. Tears began to stream down her face and she turned to walk away. Tristian pulled back and just stared at Xep. He memorized her figure completely, allowing her silver hair, her defiant posture and her unnaturally blinking eyes to burn completely into his eyes. He pulled his jacket closed around him and muttered a final blessing in her honor, “Mater dolorosa, mater memento mori. Beati pacifici. Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper. May the maker bless you and keep you. Speed be with you Xep. You were a fine friend and I will miss you. I wish I could have talked you out of this one.”

Xep placed an arm on his shoulder and smiled, “I know. But you cannot. No one can. Now go and take care of Paige. Tell her that she is forgiven for what happened yesterday and that I hope she does get the fame and glory she seeks. I shall see you on the other side one day my brother.”

She then clasped his hand around her own and let the two stay connected together for awhile in a traditional elvish embrace. She then let go and watched Tristian move towards Paige. She stared into Sardonios’s deep blue eyes. The man appeared to have aged a little bit in the short time she knew him. He nodded at her and then handed her the remaining elixirs that he had kept on his person. They were tied in a light purple sachet. “Here, you take these. They are of no use to me now and they may help add a bit more metal and power to what you are about to do.”

All Xep could do was smile at the gesture. She smiled and placed them inside her jacket. Bowing one final time towards her friends she turned around and gazed at the tree-line.

Xep pushed off with her left foot and ran towards the trees. She ran just a few yards into the tree-line and surveyed the land. She inhaled deep, allowing the cold winter air to move deep within her. She held the breath inside her for as long as she could and the exhaled slowly. Tears of pure oil formed at the corner of her eyes. She used the back of her hand to remove the blur from blocking her view. Her body trembled in fear and every part of her alive self screamed in terror. But Xep stood her ground and inhaled again. She took in the entire vista of what she could see. Her friends huddled near the barricade between the world and the fissure. Paige had her head buried deep at Tristian’s chest, while Tristian and Sardonios stared towards where Xep was standing, their hands gripping into the wood of the barrier. She could hear their hearts beating rapidly, and the emotion swirling within each body. She saw that they were all just as afraid of what was about to happen as she was herself. Strangely, it gave Xep a bit of comfort knowing her friends were just as worried about this new and wild idea as she was.

“You can do this,” she said to herself, “This is what you came here to do. This is your destiny. By doing what you are doing, you are saving lives. On both sides. And you will have peace. Okay, it is now or never.”

“”Power reserves depleted. Power connection failure, no power can be accepted at this time. Shut down will commence in thirty seconds,” the voice cried out. Xep noted the time and hoped that she had enough power to get herself down and into the core before she blacked out. She paused and looked around at the evergreen trees and longed to explore them. She regretted that she had never got to visit many of the places that this world could have offered her. She also regretted that she would no longer be able to visit the world she grew up in and would not see the tree or the lands that she had called home. She hoped that the war on the other side of the veil would end soon and that no more souls would be lost on either side.

Her body shifted unsteadily, as if it were ready to get it over with. The voice spoke again with an monotone sound that did provide any comfort; just as if cued for the right purpose. It simply said, “Ten.”

And with that, Xep sprinted toward the fissure. She turned her head to face her companions and mouthed, “Thank you” as her body appeared close enough for them to make out the words. A large lump of emotion wedged itself in her throat and she swallowed hard to keep it from overwhelming her as she spread her arms out. She turned her attention back to the hole in the ground and pushed off the edge of the earth with her foot. Her wings opened up and spread themselves out wide, giving her the ability to pause as if she were an angel hovering over the hole to Hell in the earth. She then allowed gravity to pull her feet down past the snowy opening of the fissure. Once she cleared the edge of the world above her, Xep used the metal wings to orient herself horizontally so she could see upwards. She folded her wings and allowed the momentum of gravity to carry her.

“Nine,” the voice said continuing the count down.

Xep managed to spin her body around so that she could see the sky above. Her eyes took in the colors and lights of the aurora as they continued to dance their strange patterns across the sky. The aurora obscured the sky as if it were a blanket of gauze. She struggled to make out a few constellations that formed high in the heavens above. Stars twinkled and blinked as they bore witness to her descent into the core. Her eyes frantically searched out for the familiar forms of Aquarius, Pisces and Orion. Finally she saw a bit of the Major Bear, the Ursa Major, and focused her sight on that for a little while, reminding herself that this was just the end of the first stage in the long journey of her soul.

“Eight,” it ticked.

Just out of the corners of her eye, she could see the white steams of coneol as they made their way out past the lithosphere of the earth. The sides of the crust were made of mostly igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock. Her eyes reported that most of the rock was granite but there were hints of crystals sparkling as they were trapped inside the rock. Xep thought about how Sardonios would appreciate seeing the vast spectrum of rocks and minerals. She could also see fossils embedded in bits of the crust. “Core temperature rising. Heat is now at one hundred twenty degrees,” the voice alerted Xep as the heat of the planet rose and grew hotter as she fell deeper and deeper down into the crust.

“Seven,” the voice said, as it continued to note the final seconds of her life.

The rock grew lighter and more dense as her body continued to drop down the shaft. Soon she found herself in the first strata of the mantle of the earth, known as Asthenosphere. The rock composing the sides seemed smoother and very viscous. Her eyes immediately informed her that the rock was made of mostly magnesium but there were bits of iron in it as well. She also was able to identify silicon and aluminum as well. White hot veins of magma criss crossed through out the mantle and pour out into the sides of the fissure, freezing into new lines as it came into contact with the cooler air.

“Six.”

Her body continued descending deeper down into the womb of the earth. She could no longer see the aurora nor the night skies, as the warmth of the world consumed her sight and blurred it. She smelled burning and rotated her head so that it could see her arm. The leather jacket and all her clothing started to burn away, as it was unable to take the heat. “Core temperature rising to critical levels,” the voice notified Xep.

“Five.”

Xep watched the computer read out in her eyes show the temperature grow warmer and warmer. She was thankful that she could not feel the heat as it consumed the various parts of the non-metal portions on the body. She said a silent prayer to herself, and both worlds that her actions were saving.

“Four.”

Xep continued to descend deeper. She hoped that her friends had heeded her words and left the site. The smell of burnt fibers hit her nose and she figured that the fiber hairs on her head and face had been consumed by the mantle. “Core temperature critical. Shutdown imminent,” the voice said as it started breaking up.

“Three.”

Her body touched something wet. Xep could make out the splashing sounds. In her mind, she could see that she had reached the outer core of the world which was solid liquid. The liquid slowed down her movement somewhat and began eating away at the outer layers of metal that made her body.

“Two.”

Her body continued to descend past the liquid core and into the inner core. Things got very bright here and Xep saw that she was in a world of colors and movement. “The coneol core,” she gaped. “It is so beautiful.” The coneol core was the birthplace for all dreams, magic, and imagination of the world. She looked to her right and saw where the coneol had burst free in the form of a jagged crack. “If only they did not abandon the old ways,” she thought, “If only the remembered to combine their technology in with magic and never abandoned it. Then perhaps none of this would have had to happen.”

“One. Shutdown process commencing,” The voice said.

Xep closed her eyes and exhaled, “Please work,” Xep simply said to herself. Then the world around her went black.

The heat flared up all around the body of the mechanical as the core consumed the metal endo skeletal structure of the body. A hole formed near a weak spot in the metal skull. As the metal around this hole metaled deep into the center, past the cogs and the wires that held the central brain system together, coneol flooded in. The coneol carved a stream down to where it touched the space that the wisp was living. The second that the coneol touched the wisps body a chain reaction started.

The body blasted apart, freeing the corpse of a purely magical creature from the metals that held it captive. The chemical reaction sent a wave of magnetized vibrations all throughout the core of the earth. The vibrations hummed as it came into contact with every aspect of the coneol, forcing it to gel into a viscous stream of surging lava. The coneol reacted to the vibrations by changing colors from brilliant white to blue to silver to purple and then to red before returning back to a gunmetal metallic color once more. The blast of color waves surged out as a shock wave rumbled deep within the planet.

Freed from the center of the core the coneol surged forward as if it were a beast been held captive for centuries without being allowed a glimpse of air or allowed to run free under the sun and the stars. A wave of brilliant blue and silver surged at amazing speeds towards the open fissures around all the corners of the world. It spewed up and out from the earth as if it were a geyser of colored water. Once it touched the atmosphere, it merged with the coneol that had escaped. The magnetic draw was so strong that it pulled the coneol particles out from the air and yanked them back to the main geyser. When all of the coneol was drawn back together it gathered itself in upon itself and then dropped back down, retreating back down to the core, dragging the sides of the earth down along with it, as it sealed up the long and deep gashes in the earth.

The sky above was no longer obscured by the spread of aurora and coneol. Paige, Tristian, and Sardonios all looked up into a cloudless, clear winter sky and saw the stars hanging high into the sky sparking brightly. All that was left of the event, in Washington State, was a crack in the earth about five feet long and two meters deep.

Epilogue
The weather outside was warm for even Portland. People spilled out onto the streets, laughing as they carried on about their business. A couple held hands as they licked the tops of their ice cream cones. They wandered off towards a nearby park to enjoy the heat. A person wearing khaki shorts wanders around the edges of the city blocks with a blonde Labrador on a leash.

Three people gather their possessions and toss them into the back of a faded grey Nissan Sentra. They all looked sorrowful at one another as they climb into the car and make the journey north. The highway was relatively clear and they made good time getting to their location. Wildflowers grew along side the logging road as the car slowly rolled towards its destination. The scent of fresh air and pine fills the sky and there are only a few clouds in the air.

The car pulls to a stop and the passengers get out of the car. An old man looks out towards a barrier that had once been erected but has now rotted from the decay of the winter weather. A sign post stands tall but is tattered with shot gun holes from people who came out to see but left feeling gypped.

A young man steps out of the car and holds the back door open for a small, lithe young lady wearing a light colored linen skirt and t-shirt. She smiles and pats his cheek as she reaches in and grabs a bundle of flowers that rested at her side. The three meet up and walk side by side towards the barrier, unsure of what awaits them at the other side. They cross the dilapidated fence and walk out into the clearing. There is no sign that anyone has stood at this location for a long time.

The young woman walks up to meet a dark dusty scar in the earth. In her hands she has a bundle of yellow and white daffodils. She pauses at the scar in the earth and recalls a darker time, a time that still wears fresh memories in her mind.

She recalls the events that happened in the past winter months and the news reports on the aftermath and the confusion that occurred.

“Around the world the holes that had opened up were now all closed, leaving behind small rocky scars that would heal only in time. There was no traces of the mysterious minerals that caused so many aurora borealis to appear all over the world. It was like it had come as quickly as it left. The strange incidents have the scientific community all but confused. The new question floating around is that have we born witness to a new type of geological and natural incident? And more importantly, will this happen again? Stay tuned to the special broadcast of Science as we talk about what happened, what we found out and whether or not we can expect this to happen again.”

She recalls that the newscasts made no mention of anything, anyone, reappearing from one of the fissures. There was no information about a small, winged creature, nor of a tiny wispy creature, having been spotted near one of the scars. It is as if she had never existed at all.

“Good bye Xep. I hope you have found peace,” the young girl says as she lets the daffodils drop down to the dirt. She turns to meet the sad, solemn eyes of her companions, “and thank you.”

********************

Deep within the dark, black muddy swamp forests in a land far across the other side of the veil, down under the roots of a tall tree with long slim branches that swayed in a gentle breeze, a wisp with a soft silvery blue glow was born.

“Looks like we will not be getting to the site before the storm,” he said. “Thankfully we have hit the end of the highway systems and we now only have about a half hour left of driving. Hang on everyone, it may get bumpy from here on in.”

Sardonios slowed the Nissan Sentra down a bit and slowly started the final trek to the destination. Everyone looked out the windows and saw the darkness creep over the sky. They sucked in a gasp of air when they saw the beautiful colors begin to swirl and spread across the night sky. Even Sardonios had to pull over to the side of the road just so he could watch the colors spin and unravel high in the heavens.

“Would you look at that,” Paige said, “It is so beautiful. Look at that tendril of color. It almost looks like an ethereal arm of see through fire. It is hard to believe that that is what is causing all the eruptions, earthquakes, and other catastrophes going on around the world. When you see something like that in the night sky, all you can really do is think that God does exist and that all this is just part of his beauty. Do you not think.”

Tristian put his arm around Paige, “Nature does some pretty strange things, I must admit. I did not think that I would ever see something so awe striking in this lifetime. And I have seen quite a bit of things that would make your jaw drop as low to the ground as it could. But I have never seen magic come up and out of the world like that. I would wager that no one else thinks that something as magnificent would bring an end to anything. But it is.”

“We should get going again,” Xep said, her voice sounding a bit sad, “We still have to deal with the storm and I would like to get the car to our destination before we end up having to hike the last miles to the location in the cold. I am sure that Paige would agree.”

“Oh yes, I whole heartedly agree with you there Xep. Come on Sard, mush!”

The car moved steadily across the landscape. A steady stream of cars came from the opposite direction, people inside the metal boxes talking excitedly and gesturing wildly at the dancing smoke above them. Their actions intrigued Xep, who watched with curiosity and awe. She could not fathom what it would be like to not feel or see the magic that was coming up and out of their lands. She could not understand how anyone could not see how damaging it was to their world. She knew that some humans, who were in tune with the seasons and the natural energies could feel that something was coming but they always eluded to something more mystical, something that they always called the twenty twelve phenomena. No one seemed to be taking it as seriously as she and her companions were and that made her feel very sorry for the rest of the population on the planet.

Forty five minutes later, they finally reached the site. There were only a few cars parked out in a make shift parking lot. Signs had been posted around the grounds that said, “Recreation Pass required. Please display valid pass when parked at this site.” Next to the text of the sign there was an image of an orange and black rectangular picture of a pass. A long black strip with monthly abbreviations and the two digit year dates stripped the right side of the card, while the orange side contained various pieces of information.

They got out of the car and were immediately blasted with cold, arctic air. “Holy hell, it is freezing out,” Paige said in her all too colorful language. “Can we get moving? I will become a popsicle stick if we stay out here for too much longer.”

Xep did not feel the cold and instead wandered over to a larger sign and read the words written on it. “The Northwest Forest Pass is a vehicle pass honored at day use sites in Oregon and Washington where ‘Recreation Pass Required’ signs are posted. A current list of recreation sites participating in the program is available at Forest Service offices in Oregon and Washington. Revenues from pass sales go directly to maintaining and improving the trails and facilities you use and enjoy. The pass does not cover fees for opportunities such as: Sno Parks (winter season), Some concessionaire operated sites, developed campgrounds, and cabin rentals, wilderness, climbing and river permits. For more information call 1-555-342-6326.”

Xep cocked her head and smiled at the bureaucracy that seemed to run just as rampant on this side of the veil. “Ah, I guess that is one thing that we both share now,” she said out loud to the sign that had icicles flowing down the sides and a two inch cap of ice on the top.”

She kicked the sign with the toe of her boot and watched the snow fall off of the sign. Something solid hit her back and she whipped her wings open and closed. She turned around to see Tristian and Paige holding clumps of snow in their gloved hands. “What was that all about,” she asked curiously.

Paige looked at her, and then over at Tristian, and giggled as she threw the clump of snow in her hand at him, “It is called a Snow Ball fight!” The wad of white hit Tristian square in his chest. He then retaliated by tossing what he held in his hand back at her. Xep bend down at the knees and looked at the snow. She scooped up a handful in her right hand and let it sit there. The pile slowly began to melt in it. She stared at it and then wadded it up by wrapping her own fingers around the pile. Watching Paige and Tristian she waited for the perfect opportunity and then tossed the snowball at Paige. It hit her smack dab in the back.

She whipped around and faced Xep, “Hey what was that for?”

Xep smiled and stood up, “Tag. You are it. I just hit you with a snowball. Is that not what you wanted me to do?”

Paige got a look of revenge in her eyes as she scooped up more ice and snow, “Okay missy. That is it. You are so going down,” she said as another snowball thrown by Tristian whizzed past her head. The three of them ran around one another in the snow as they attempted to cover one another in as much of the fluffy, white stuff as possible. They paused as they heard a throaty sound behind them.

“Do we not have a mission to complete here, children,” came the voice of reason out of the frowning mouth of Sardonios. He dumped a backpack on the ground. “Come on, this storm and the coneal seem to be picking up. I would like to at least figure out what we have to do sooner than later.”

Dejected the three companions looked at one another and dropped the snowballs that were in their hands. “We are sorry,” Xep said, “I guess we just got carried away.”

Xep ran over and grabbed the backpack. They turned and followed the hard packed snow trail over to the fissure. A makeshift wooden fence had been set up to protect the curious from getting too close to the hole that had opened up and formed into a circle in the ground. No one was around so they all hopped the four foot fence. Tristian had to help Xep over it as the fence was almost as tall as she was.

They slowly approached the hole, half expecting the ground to open up and swallow themselves into it. Sardonios removed a small device of some sort from his pocket. “This measures the chemical composition of what is in the ground and atmosphere. I need to get an idea of what chemicals we are dealing with before I can propose a solution. Of course it will not be as accurate as I want because we cannot go into the hole and get to the bottom without killing us.”

Xep nodded and used her own enhanced vision from to do some research of her own. Meanwhile, Tristian and Paige stomped off to take a look at the stone portal to see if they could reactivate it and use it to help.

Twenty minutes later, after reviewing all the angles, they had a rough first plan formulated. The stone portal had not been recently activated and would not be useful. However, Tristian was able to free one of the activation crystals buried within one of the stones. “This might help,” he said holding it out, “who knows what energies it may contain. If anything it may help to draw the coneol back into the earth’s core. So I say we use it and see if it works.”

Sardonios nodded, “I think that if we combine that crystal, a device putting out the harmonic frequency of the core, and maybe a magnet together and then send that down into the core, it might help to draw the coneal back into the core, or make it inert. If we can calm that stuff down, perhaps it will just automatically heal itself.”

“I have no idea what you just said,” Paige said, “but it sounds all very smart and scientific. I say we go for it.”

“Give me a few minutes to rig up a recording device with some sound waves. Xep, can you help me do this?” Sardonios said.

“Sure thing Sard. This body can come in very handy for that as it records sounds and waves. We can get the exact pinpoint curve and then drop it down.”

It took them about fifteen minutes to rig out a recording device so that it could send out a steady

“I wish we had more of these things and of the crystals. I would have liked to test this in my laboratory first before doing a live test run. That way we could know for certain whether or not it would work,” Sardonios said as he duct taped the crystal to the outside of the metal case of the recording device. “I hate going in cold.”

Xep smiled and listened as the sound vibrated against the crystal, making a barely audible high pitched tuning hum. “Well, I can tell you that the two are vibrating. And if we hold it up into the sky it does seem to be affecting the colors and the shape that the coneol is flowing in.”

Sardonios looked up and indeed it was true. Xep waved the contraption over her head and where it came into contact with the coneol, the vibrations caused the stuff to dull the colors and force the particles in the air to come down and out of the sky.

”Yes I see that, this is most indeed hopeful,” he responded. “Come on, let us go drop it down.”

The four wandered over to the edge of the hole. Xep looked down at the rubbery item in her hand. The humming grew louder to her ears and she smiled. “I almost feel like something should be said, you know, to send all of our hopes down into the hole.”

Tristian smiled and said, “A cruce salus. Ad honorem. From the cross comes our salvation. In honor.”

Paige leaned against Tristian as Xep lowered her hand near the opening of the hole. The duct taped device rolled off her hand and began its deep descent into the core. They stood by the side of the fissure, waiting. A few minutes after they released it Xep lost track of the vibrations. “I lost track. I think it either got burned up or it made it.”

The looked down deep into the hole. “Did that work,” Paige said. “I do not see anything happening nor does it seem like the stuff in the air is getting any less bright. In fact, it looks like the stuff is coming up and out of the hole faster. Xep, what does your eyes show you?”

Xep walked closely to the fissure and bent down. She turned her vision abilities from normal to spectral to night and assessed all angles of the hole. The data depressed her. There seemed to be no change in the atmosphere or the conditions down in the hole. The attempt failed.

“Power reserves almost depleted. Please seek recharge destination. Connection failure. No power can be accepted at this time. Return to the depot for re-infusion.”

“It did not work. I am afraid that our time has run out,” Xep called. “Sardonios, the elixirs you made me, while wonderful have just stopped working. The voice inside this body refuses to shut up. It is telling me that shut down is immanent. We have failed.”

Sardonios blinked in shock and fear, “But you told me they were working. That you had enough to help you complete your mission. I do not understand what is going on or what went wrong. I spent hours working on that recipe and it should have done the trick.”

“Sard,” she said pushing against the wind to stand next to his side, “You did everything right. I lied to you. I did not want you, or the others, for that matter to worry about me. They did work great, in the beginning, but as I drank more and more, I found that they did not last as long. I do not think this body was meant to have something like me trapped inside of it for so long. I think it is corroding the systems. I am sorry that I lied to you. I just did not want anyone to worry about me.”

“Well my dear,” Sardonios retorted, “it is a little too late for that. I think that the past few weeks have proven that quite effectively, have they not? I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a family and you three have certainly become that.”

Xep closed her eyes and tried to block the noise out of her head. She felt crestfallen at having failed in her attempt to close the fissure. More over, she felt bonded to these people and felt disgruntled at herself for having failed to speak the truth when she first noticed that the mineral infused, magical potion’s effect started slipping off on her.

Her eyes went wide, “Wait a minute.” Xep said, placing her hand on the right shoulder of Sardonios, “I think I have it. We tried sending some metal component down there just now, right?”

Sardonios nodded but waited to see where this was going before responding. The scholarly side of him started spinning up ideas and hypotheses but he tried hard to push them aside so they did not color what his friend was about to say.

“But that did absolutely nothing. In fact, the atmosphere seems to be kicking up more and more coneol and things are getting worse. Whether or not that was already planned or as a result of our doing is something we cannot determine without going down there. But in any case, I think we were going about this all wrong. The way to heal the fissure is not to send just crystals or sound waves down there to contain it. Nor is it to cast just magical things at it. What we need is an infusion, a large infusion of both metal and magic. Then we send that into the hole and when the thing hits the core, it should send a powerful explosion or a shock wave through the whole core and fissures that will be powerful enough to close it.”

Sardonios pushed some of the ice and snow out of his eyes. He stared at Xep and thought long and hard about what she was saying. “I understand the premise, and think it has merit. Unfortunately, where are we going to find an elixir of the right metals and magical energies to dump down there. I am sure that the small potions I have made for you will not cut it.”

“They will not,” Xep said. She frowned and turned away from her companion before continuing on. “There is only one thing left that we can do here. I am the solution. I must dive down into the core and use myself, and this body to heal it. I have no idea how I got into this body but somehow I have bonded and fused myself. There is no guarantee that even if we had something else to use that it would work. However, the fact that I was born of magic and now in this metal body, it should do the trick.”

By now, Tristian and Paige arrived by their side. They held on to one another as the winds continued to gain in speed.

“What is going on?” Paige yelled out, “You guys look like you are arguing. What do we do now?”

Sardonios turned away from Xep and stared at his companions, “She is crazy. Really crazy. Xep thinks that if she tosses herself down that hole that the combined fusion of what she once was in her earlier form, and the form she is now…. will somehow make everything right again. It is almost as if she wants to play the part of a martyr and die.”

Tristian looked from the agitated Sardonios and back over to Xep, who by now had wandered close to the edge of the fissure. He quickly tromped over to where she was standing, her eyes trained almost hypnotically at the edge of the fissure. “Are you crazy? Do you not know what you are saying?”

“I know perfectly well what I am saying,” Xep said but continued to keep her eyesight trained on the glowing world below. “It is crazy and I wish to the makers above that there was something else we could do but this is it. This is the only other thing that could possibly bring an end to it all. I know I promised you passage home but I think I will not be able to keep my word.”

“Screw that,” Tristian said, “I am more concerned about your welfare. You will die if you go down there and we have no proof that this will work.

Xep stared at the hole as the sound in her head started drowning out their pleas. She closed her eyes and thought about her friends and the Council on the other side. She raised her arms and let the wind wash over her. “Help me,” she whispered to the sky.

A bald eagle circled over head. The wings of the bird stretched long and it dipped down as the tail feathers twisted and shaped themselves. Through her enhanced hearing, Xep heard the bird call out and skreech to the sky. Xep smiled and strained her head against the window as to get a better view of the magnificent bird. She had read about the omens that many of the ancient cultures of the local area placed on the bird and smiled. “Only good things,” she repeated in her head hoping that the appearance of the bird meant that her journey would prove successful. “So many interesting new things,” she thought to herself, “it will be a shame that I cannot hang out here more often to explore and see what else is around. I never knew that this side of the veil had so many wonderful things.”

She leaned her head against the cold, shatter proof car window. They had been on the road for almost two hours now. She felt like the task before her was becoming more and more impossible to do. From what she could gage from the reactions of her companions, no one had found anything worth while as a solution to close the fissure. Not that anyone was talking anyways.

She adjusted her posture in the front seat as her wings fluttered uncomfortably behind the weight of her back. She gazed down at her pouch and spotted three vials of the life giving elixir. She was running low, and she did not want to think about what would happen if they ran out before she did what she came here to do. Frowning at her dilemma she turned her head to watch the green trees as they sped down the highway.

“It is getting late,” Sardonios said yawning, “I feel as if I have been driving all day. Something that I normally ever do. I am old and get tired fast. I really need to rest for a bit and we need to stop anyways and figure out what we are going to do once we get to where we are going. I get the feeling that we will need to go to an outdoors store and get some winter items. I know that I am not prepared for tromping around in the snow in this outfit.”

Paige yawned, “I second that. Can we please find a hotel. I have some money in my bank card that we can use to cover the costs. It is the least I can do after what I have done.”

A few miles later, Sardonios turned off the highway and pulled into a quaint and quiet local motel called The Cascade Inn. The sun had begun to set, painting the sky in bright shades of red, pink, orange and purple. When they walked into the main lobby the smell of pine scented cleaning solution and dust hit them. A short, elderly lady greeted them at the reference counter, “Hi there weary travelers. Can I offer you a room or two for twenty-three dollars?”

Paige looked over her shoulder at her tired companions, everyone nodded in agreement that they had found the right place. At twenty-three dollars per room, they found the rate quite reasonable and Paige slid her plastic debt card across the counter, to pay for the cost for two rooms. The innskeeper smiled back as she slid across the transaction slip and two keys across the counter. She muttered under her breath about the key unlocking one room belonging to the Gentlemen and the other for the ladies. Tristian snicker and winked to Paige suggesting something else.

They all thanked the lady and wandered off to their rooms. Everyone was so tired that they ended up saving any intense planning or discussions for the next morning. Everyone, except Xep, slept soundly that evening. Instead, Xep kept to herself, sitting in a soft comfortable chair that faced the television set. She had the machine turned on and watched the moving pictures dance across the screen in a soft glow. Occasionally, she turned her head and watched the strange lights that had started lighting up the sky almost immediately after the sun had set for its nightly nap. She frowned again, her mind churning ideas for what could be done.

The next day they found a nearby Village Inn and headed in for breakfast and discussions. The restaurant was empty, save for the waitress and cook, and they propped themselves down in a comfortable booth. The waitress came by, told them her name in an almost too perky sounding voice, and handed out menus to everyone. She cocked her head oddly at Xep and then shrugged as she spun away on her heal to go grab a olive green pot full of coffee and three Earthern mugs.

Everyone watched her wander off, waiting to speak their minds when they could not be overheard. Sardonios spoke up first as he situated his white cotton napkin in his lap. He bent forward and spoke softly. “Okay, what are we going to do once we get there?” Sardonios proposed. “I heard lots of gossip at the market yesterday but nothing seemed to help. Some people did think that a magical invocation or other ritual might help. Apparently, many groups have already tried to heal the incident by spewing many incantations. A vendor even hinted that the Papyri Graecae Magicase had even been repeated with much flair with no visible results.”

“How long ago did that group speak the cant,” Tristian inquired.

“Two weeks ago, and from what the vendor told me, there have been no effects. Nothing visible or detected in the energy levels around the area. Nothing seemed to change at the beginning and nothing seemed to change later, when some of the members went back to check in on the location again.”

“I see,” Tristian said looking down at the menu. “In that case, let us eat something. I am completely starved.”

The perky waitress came back and took their orders. She skipped over Xep who just smiled and nodded at the young girl. She skipped back, hollered at the cook staff and then stood back at her post waiting for them to holler that the order was up.

Paige spoke up next, “So then, what are our options. I know that I am not ready to head into the ice and cold. I think there is an outdoor stoor nearby. We will need to get some warm jackets and gloves and maybe some snowshoes. Oh, can we get those snowshoes? I have never gotten to wear a pair and I think it would be really cool to get them.”

Tristian snickered and nodded, “If it pleases you pet, we will get you a pair of snowshoes. However, I have heard that they are quite hard to walk in. I myself would rather walk in boots. Now back to the topic at hand. What are we going to do once we get there? If magical incantations do not work then there must be a physical component that we may need to do.”

Sardonios sipped from his mug and looked up, “That gives me an idea. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps magic is not the only thing that needs to be done. Perhaps there is a physical component that needs to be done as well. Like an offering. As much as I wish we could go into this prepared, I think that we may want to just get some gear, drive up to the location first and investigate the area. I have the feeling that once I am there, and able to visually see what is going on around the area with my own two eyes, I may be able to understand what is going on a bit better.”

“Agreed,” Xep said. “I wish I had more to contribute but at the moment I do not have anything to say. Why do we just pay the bill, head out of here and get you all dressed for the fissure. I presume that we are getting close?”

Sardonios checked his watch, “Actually, yes. I think we have maybe another hour or two of driving. We need to keep heading north and then turn off the highway when we see the signs to Mount Rainier. Then we drive another hour, on the backroads, and maybe logging roads to the location. I am hoping that the roads will not be too horrible seeing that so many people have been driving to that location.”

“Once we get there, we may want to wait until everyone has left for the evening. So we can be left to investigate the area on our own without arousing suspicion,” Xep said.

“Good point,” Tristian nodded in agreement, “I can place some runes on the car that will make us sort of hidden until people are not there. We will need to wait in the car but it will give us some time.”

“Sounds like we have our plan then,” Paige said. “I say we blow this joint and get moving. I really hope Serena is not going to be too pissed off that we have her car. I should call her and leave a message. I will probably be paying her off until I am old and grey.” She gave her companions a worried look and went off to go find a pay phone.

A few hours later, after having found a local sporting goods store, they were back in the car and more prepared. Paige was looking down at her new coat and mittens and admiring her jacket in the rear view mirror. Sardonios turned the radio on and started hunting for music that did not sound like noise to his ears. Tristian and Xep sat in complete silence in the back seat. Xep turned her head and watched the world whizz by outside. Dark clouds swam and swirled overhead, a storm was brewing and Xep hoped that they could outrun it.

The hooded figure turned away from the disgusting figures and peeled the bag off his new treasure, “Ah yes. The mechanical. A one of a kind surely… seeing that there is something trapped inside. Do not worry my little friend, ” he said as he patted the cold body of Xep, “I promise to take very, very good care of you. You have nothing to be afraid of and who knows, I just may figure out how to free you from that gilded cage you sit in.”

The cog shaped irises in Xep’s face did not make any movements. She was still frozen in place.

Paige ran through the streets of the goblin market. She called out for Tristian and Sardonios as she ran, her breath coming out in short misty bursts, “Sard. Tristian where are you. Sard! Tristian!” She continued to run around but could not spot her two friends.

“Shit, where are you guys hiding?” She panicked and ran her hand through her tousled hair. “Damn, damn, damn, this day went from lots of fun to worse. And I cannot get the image of that guy out of my head. Where are you guys.”

She spun around in a single spot and then the tears started flowing down her puffy red cheeks. She collapsed in the middle of the street; her body curling up in on itself. She heaved as the tears continued to stream down her face. Her right hand tightly gripped the soft black leather pouch that contained the broken promise of fame and fortune in it. She wanted to throw it away from her as far as she could but she felt like it was a part of her and that she would be betraying herself if she had done so. So all she could do was keep it in her hand and cling onto it.

The sound of feet running up behind her got closer and closer. She froze her body, afraid of what was coming to her. She thought that it could be the hooded man, ready to take away the pouch from her because she had decided to get Tristian and Sard to help her protect Xep. “Paige, is that you? Paige?”

It was Sard, he had founder her first. “What is wrong child? Why are you all curled up in the dirt and wet like this? Talk to me.”

Paige sat up and brushed the mud off her knees. She did not stare into the concerned eyes of her friend, waves of embarrassment ran over her. She pushed her a stray strand of hair down over her ear and allowed Sardonios to help her up.

“Sard,” she said hugging him close, “I think I have done something horribly terrible and I feel really bad about it.”

“What did you do Paige?” he said staring at her with confusion.

Paige held up the pouch as if it was supposed to explain everything she wanted to tell him and that he was supposed to understand it from the very beginning. “This pouch is filled with everything I have ever wanted for myself. I am so tired of being out by myself on the streets. Do not get me wrong, I love dancing, love performing for others and watching the crowds cheer and ooh and ahh all over the tricks I can get the fire to do. But honestly, it does not pay well at all. I do not have a permanent address, nor do I have any health care or a bank account with lots of savings inside. I am tired of that. I am young, yes. But when I get older, what will become of me. No one will be there to take care of me. I am alone. So, there was this guy and I made a deal.”

Fear washed over Sardonios, “What did you do?”

Paige dropped her head downwards to the ground again, “I made a deal. I traded something that was not mine for this. I told him that he could take Xep and he gave me exactly what I wanted. I feel horrible. We have got to get her back.”

Sardonios looked away from her and out into the crowds. He saw no sign of Xep anywhere. “I can not believe you did that. She trusted you. She trusted the rest of us. There still may be some time left. Let us go find Tristian, maybe he is still with Xep. While we walk I want you to tell me about this man, what he looked like, what he said exactly, and where you met him.”

Paige nodded and got to her feet. She slipped the pouch inside the pocket of her jeans and told Sard everything, including all the little details.

Tristian caught up to them a few minutes later, “Where is Xep? Is she with you? We got separated twenty two minutes ago and I cannot find her anywhere. There are real goblins here. Which makes this place a very dangerous place indeed.”

“The he has her. Oh my gods, what have I done,” Paige howled as the sinking feeling in the depths of her stomach rose and attempted to claim her.

“What are you babbling on about,” Tristian said as he attempted to keep the young girl from doubling over again, “Sardonios, what is she talking about?”

“She made a deal,” he said in an even toned voice.

“What? She made a deal… here? That is not good. You never deal with goblins. Never. Damnit. This is all going wrong. Please tell me that someone found a solution to our other problem?” His two companions shook their head in regret. “Dam damn damn. This was our only chance and now… even that is gone. Things are going to get very messy this afternoon.”

Tristian moved the three of them over to a covered tent that had food and drink. He ordered three pints of mead for them all and a few sandwiches made from sunflower bread. “Paige, you need to tell me what happened and show me what you were given in return. All is not lost just yet but I need to know exactly what went on.”

Paige took a deep breath, cleared her throat, nodded and recounted the story that she told Sardonios once more.

When she was done, Tristian was staring down at his cup and plate. They were both empty. “At this point there is only one thing left to do. We need to figure out where this hooded man is and get her back. You will need to give him back that pouch. I am sorry but he lied to you. That pouch does not show any taint of magic on it at all. I can see that. I have the feeling that our hooded figure is probably a great con artist in disguise. What he wants with Xep I do not know but if he is willing to offer magical cons in return it can not be good. Paige, take us to where you last saw this man.”

Paige stood up and they walked over to where she had been spinning. Her kit was still on the ground, it was untouched. Paige pointed to the nearby tree and gestured. “He was leaning up against that tree when he waved me over. How is knowing that going to help us track down where Xep is.”

“Faerie magic my dear,” Tristian said. “Just stand back and watch.”

He pulled off the pool cue case that had been sitting on his back and muttered something in a strange musical language to the lid. Somewhere deep down inside the case a lock triggered and the lid popped open. He reached down inside and pulled out a silver sword from the case. The sword glinted and glimmered as the light of the world hit it.

He held the sword in his left hand and muttered more words to it. The sword glowed and soon there were footprints lighting up all around them. 

Tristian smiled, “Like I said, faerie magic. These are the footsteps of our mystery man. They will lead us back to where ever he is standing. The brighter the path, the newer the steps. Come on, let us get going. We do not want to lose the trail.”

They nodded and Tristin hid the sword under his jacket. He did not want to be caught with the weapon and was thankful that no one saw him remove it from its case.

They wandered off in the direction the footprints led them and soon they came upon the farthest outskirts of the Marketplace grounds. The single set of footprints lead up to a single tall standing purple colored canvass tent. “That is it,” Tristian said. “I wager that she is somewhere inside that tent. And I am sure our mystery man will not give her up without a fight. Sardonios, Paige, no matter what happens inside, I want you two to get Xep safely back to the car. Do not worry about me. I will follow. There will be some fighting going on and that is forbidden in the markets.”

Paige removed the pouch from her pocket, “here you are. I do not want this anymore. I will do whatever you say, let us just get Xep and get out of this cursed place.”

Sardonios said, “I have no doubt that you have a plan. So we get in, barter or fight for Xep, get her and leave?”

“That is basically it in a nutshell,” Tristian said nodding. “Just let me do all the talking and keep close to each other and to Xep once the fighting starts. I do not want to see anyone get hurt.”

His companions looked nervous at one another but stayed silent. Tristian smiled and moved the tent’s door aside so he could get a better glimpse of what was inside. The smell of decay hit his nose and he fought the urge to retch.

“Ah, guests,” a low voice said from deep within the tent, “I should have guessed that the bargain, while withholding on it’s own, would not agree with everyone. Come in and do not worry, the mechanical has not been harmed. You can take a look for yourself.”

The three stepped into the room. The light inside the tent was dim, light only by a handful of free standing candelabras. Seated in the middle of the room on a refurbished sofa, was a man, dressed in black pants and a shirt. He wore a full bodied cloak over his clothes. His head was bowed so that no one could see his face. Low gutter growls sounded off to their right. There along the perimeter of the tent stood a small group of goblins. Their faces were messy as if they had just eaten something and their eyes were all focused and following the three humans as they made their way into the room. Xep was propped up against a box that sat just a few feet from the growling mass of green goblins.

“I bid you welcome to my humble home. Do not worry, my assistants will not hurt you, unless I give them the command to do so,” he pulled down his hood to expose his face and head. He was mostly bald and wore thin rimmed metal glasses over his eyes, “My name is Edward Blackhand and I am a collector of unique items. And your metal friend over there is quite possible the most unique of them all.”

“She is not for sale,” Tristian said stepping forward. He removed the black pouch from his pocket and tossed it unceremoniously onto the sofa next to Edward. “I believe this is yours. Take it back and release Xep. She is not for sale, she is not what you think she is.”

Edward tossed his head back and laughed a deep throaty cackle, “Oh my, you are priceless. Of course I know what she is. I would not have taken her if I did not. She is a real find and perhaps one day, given the right implements and time, I will be able to release what was trapped within. Now that would be an exciting prospect no? The bartering was done, she is still mine. I suggest that you and your friends leave before I send the hordes to rip you to shreds.”

“I dare you to try it,” Tristian said nodding to the others. They left his sides and made their way slowly around the tent to Xep. ” Actually, I would relish the opportunity to go a few rounds with your boys over there. It has been a long time since I have gotten to play.”

And with that, Tristian pulled out his short sword from his coat and brandished it at Edward.

Edward rolled his eyes and pointed to the goblins, “Enough of this banter. Tear them all up.”

The goblins howled with glee and moved in toward Tristian. Their mouths foamed and their eyes turned red. Tristian stood his ground and waited for the goblins to come right at him. Once the were upon him he swung his sword and started slashing at the foul critters.

One tried to hit him over the head with a club but Tristian felt the wind move and deftly side stepped it. He then hopped over the goblins in front of him, swinging the sword high over his head, as he leapt. One of the goblins fell under the crushing blow of the sword. Tristian kicked a few other goblins from him and moved towards Edward.

While Tristian provided a distraction, the other two ran to Xep’s side. Sardonios looked her over and realized that she needed one of his elixirs. He pulled one from her belt pocket and dumped the powdered concoction into her lips. A minute later, Xep’s eyes refocused and caught sight of her friends.

“Thank the maker you are here. Where is here?” she said sounding tired and confused.

“Do not worry,” Sardonios said, “we have got to get you out of here. Tristian will be following very shortly.”

Xep nodded and looked over his shoulder. There stood Tristian, sword in hand, next to a crumpled form in a cloak. His sword glimmered a bright red and Tristian had a look in his eyes that disturbed her. A pool of blood started flowing outwards around him. Five smaller forms sat crumpled nearby where more puddles of blood pooled outwards. Xep frowned but said nothing as they quickly ran out from the tent and back into the light.

They ran as fast as they could to where the car had been parked. No one said anything as they ran. The moment they got to the car a loud buzzer started sounding deep within the Market. Tristian caught up to them, his sword having been packed back in its case and slung over his shoulder. He yelled, “They know about Edward. I got spotted with my weapon coming out of the tent. Get in the car. I think it is time for us to leave.”

The Nissan Sentra pulled out of the parking lot and away from the Goblin Market, kicking up dirt as the tires sped away from the location. Tristian looked over his shoulder and spoke, “Hot damn. We did it. We pulled it off. That went as well as I expected it to be. No one is following us. But I suggest that we do not head back to Portland anytime soon. Someone may be following us just yet.”

“They will not follow us where we are going,” Xep said under her breath. “Sard, take me to the location of the nearest fissure. You know where it is, I believe. It is time. We do what we came to do now, or we watch the world get destroyed.”

Sardonios looked at the mechanical companion, he opened his mouth to say something but the words did not come out. Instead he pulled the car onto the highway heading northbound, towards the strange dancing lights that could be seen off in the distance.

They sniffed the air again and allowed their noses to guide them through the people and the tables filled with items. One of the small smelly creatures scratched his head in confusion. He could tell that the item was moving, which made him nervous. He hated it when the items that his master wanted because it meant that they would have to tell the master that another barter or trade would need to be made. He barked a few commands of warning to his companions. They nodded in recognition and scrunched their mouths up into a line.

Finally, after a fifteen minutes of searching, they had picked up the close scent of the item. It was a strange smell, combining the oils from lamp fuel in with something sweeter and muskier. It was a strange combination to their nose, but one that was not too unpleasurable. They pointed in the same direction, as they confirmed with one another as to the direction that they were headed in was the right way.

Ahead they spotted a small, lithe girl with blue hair that shimmered in the light when the sun peeked through the clouds. She was about a foot shorter than they were, and she wore a black leather jacket to protect herself against the elements. They noticed that she had a pair of wings that seemed to be hooked to her back with cogs. They twittered in the light breeze. The girl paused at a table and turned towards them slightly, to the point that they could see her eyes. They were not normal. They seemed to be silver and more mechanical looking than a normal iris. They also spotted a few shiny leather pouches connected to a belt at her waist, which they thought might come in handy given the chance.

The small horde of goblins barked at one another. They confirmed that this girl was the item emitting the strange scent of oil and musk and therefore must be the item that their master wanted them to capture for their collection. They figured that the scent was the ichor that ran through the body of the girl that allowed her to stay alive. It grew stronger and harder the closer they got. They stood a few booths from her and it was so strong that it was almost all they could smell at this point.

One of the goblins sneezed, shooting a strange and disgusting green snot onto the black cotton hoodie that another was wearing. That goblin frowned and slapped the back of the head of the companion who then rubbed his head and angrily barked back something in disgust. Their leader turned around and swiped at both of them with his hands. The girl, put something down on the table, and moved onto the next booth. Thankfully, their antics left them being unspotted.

The horde slowly moved at the same rate as the girl with the silver hair. When she moved down the line of merchants, they moved up a few feet and continued to peer out and observe the girl and her strange habits. They also noticed a second person who trailed her, a male who seemed to walk on the opposite side of the market but slowing matching her pace as well.

The leader barked, “A problem he will be. We must do something to take care of him first.” The others nodded and soon two of the hooded figures crept off to deal with the tall, long blonde haired interloper. Soon after they left, the blonde one was no longer to be seen. The remaining goblins continued to trail their quarry. When she paused for quite a long time, they paused as well and took the opportunity to formulate their plan to trap and corner the creature.

Two broke apart from the pack and slipped past the girl. They were to give chase only after the third goblin stole a pouch off from the girl’s waist. The third hunched critter slowly sauntered over to the girl and acted like it was only interested in what the vendor had laid out on the table. Immediately the goblin could see that it was nothing but junk and was thankful that there nothing shiny had been set upon the table to disturb him so.

Deftly, he sided up to Xep and looked down at her waist. She had two small pouches that seemed loosely fashioned to the belt. He smiled at how easy this was going to be. In one swift movement, he swiped one of the pouches off of the girl and grunted as he turned to run off and join his companions.

“Hey wait a second,” the girl said loudly as she spun around to confront the thief. But no one was there. She scanned the audience around the table and spied movement off to her left. A small group of hooded figures ran off towards the center of the market. They were jumping up and down and one held the pouch high over his head.

Xep sighed and took off after them. The pouch contained a few containers of her elixirs, which she knew she needed. She gave the hooded figures a good chase through the make shift streets. Suddenly, from her right, she spotted two more coming in towards her. Somehow, it all made more sense. They were not after her pouch, they were after her herself. Her eyes darted around, looking for Tristian. He was no where to be found.

The goblins ran in a zig zag pattern. The one who held her pouch seemed to be in the lead. He attempted to keep just a few paces ahead of the girl but just far enough out of reach to lead her on to where his brothers were waiting to intercept. He smiled as he saw how intently she acted on catching him. He knew that their plan had worked and that there would be no rescue for her anytime soon. They were well trained in the arts of subterfuge and collection and the tall one would not find them until it was too late. The goblin giggled gleefully at his own plans.

She darted down another alley way and suddenly found herself blocked in with no where to go. “Crap, this is not good,” she said to herself as she tried to corner herself into a position where she was not going to be taken.

“Tristian, help me. Paige, Sardonios. Anyone hear me? Help? Do not come near me you foul things,” Xep cried out as the small gang of hooded creatures swarmed and surrounded her. Now that they faced her, Xep saw that they were not even human at all. They looked like goblins. Which meant that they were working for someone; and they had her cornered. She felt helpless. Xep spun her head to the left and right hoping to catch a glimpse of her friends. But she saw no one familiar. “So much for his protection,” she thought. “I should have never agreed to this crazy plan of splitting up.”

She continued to cry out for help but no one heard her. Over a tall wall there was a stage, and a group of musicians had just started playing a loud and rowdy set of music. The quick pace of drums, along with a trumpet was all that could be heard. As she tried to call out once more a voice sounded over the loud speakers, drowning her small voice out completely. A round of cheers cascaded as Xep backed herself up against the stage wall and wished that she had some weapon on her person.

The creatures continued to grow closer to her. She had no idea what they wanted or why they wanted her, but she knew that they overpowered her and outsized her by a good two feet. They towered over Xep and she stood by herself and tried to look as menacing as she could, which was hard considering she was tiny and did not have any weapons or the ability to tap into the magical energies that were present.

She looked around and could not spot anything that could be used as a make shift weapon. Instead she just covered her arms over her head and uttered a pathetic meep sound as they creatures came closer to her and withdrew a long, rough brown colored sack. They growled menacing at her as they flung the sack over her head.

The voice inside her head uttered a warning again, “Power reserves almost depleted. Please seek recharge destination. Connection failure. No power can be accepted at this time. Return to the depot for re-infusion.”

“Crap, not this again,” Xep muttered to herself. “I do not have time for this.” She bent down to grab one of the vials from her pocket but one of the goblins had crept up behind her and grabbed her arm.

“You no reach for weapon. We have you now. Master will be very pleased. We go back to him with you nao.” It said in a strange broken language that seemed almost guttural to the mechanical ears she had. Xep briefly struggled to get out of the iron clad grip that the beast had on her.

The world suddenly went dark as her body went limp and the world seemed to drop out beneath her feet.

Immediately off to their left they saw two long banners streaming down from the limbs of the trees that they were attached to. Giant pink plastic ribbons held the banners tightly so they would not blow away. Words were written in red ink on the banners. Xep pointed at them, “I am presuming that those are the rules. I am amazed at the variety of languages they are written in. From what I can tell, some of them are written in languages not from here. I spot a few words in old archaic dialects from our homelands even.”

Sitting next to the banners was a large mess tent. Smoke blew out from a make shift metal smoke stack that had been taped together with duct tape. It looked like it was ready to fall apart. A sign had been hooked to the top of the tent, and it dangled down unevenly. It read, “Information.” Several people milled around the tent, while people standing behind a folded table pointed off in various directions.

Beyond that there were more tents and make shift locations to shop from. A man wearing an orange hazard vest and long tangly dreadlocks stood in front of them, waving an orange cone. Sardonios nodded as the man proceeded to direct where they should park Serena’s car for the day.

Paige widened her eyes and smiled as her eyes darted around the campgrounds, “Oh man. This is totally like burning man, except that it is up here and in the forest. Look over there, near the pink and purple tall tent looking thing. I think I see where I am going to set up. It has a nice wide strip of land that is perfect for fire spinning. There are so many people. I hope that I do well and get a lot of tips.”

“Hmm,” Tristian said, as he stroked his hair, “This is much bigger than I ever recalled it being. It may pose a problem. I think we will need to break up and hit this area by ourselves. That way we will be able to cover the most ground in one day. I had no idea how big this market was going to be. My gut tells me that there is definitely something amiss. Who knows, maybe the market knows it too and that is why they are hitting this area so hard?”

Xep nodded, “I do not like the idea of going alone. But I fear that you are right. This place is way to big for us to tackle on without going our own separate ways. Hmm, I guess we will just wander around and meet up around noon for food? We can discuss what we have found at that time, if we have found anything.”

Sardonios and Tristian nodded, “I will take the booths on the left, and see what I can find. Tristian, hit the right. Paige, have a lot of fun and do not get too sucked into the circus-like atmosphere. Xep, I hope you can find something and that no one bugs you.”

“I will try and keep a close eye on you, Xep,” Tristian said as he pulled out his pool cue bag. “I will trail you by a couple of booths, hopefully that is enough space to not alert anyone that something is going on.”

Xep nodded and flashed a small smile. She could not help but feel like something bad was going to happen. Something that could end her time here on this world and put her mission in great jeopardy. She pulled on her long black leather jacket and checked the inside lining pocket for her potions. She had brought four of them with her. She mentally did the math and knew that it would be enough to last her a day and a half. The potions were working but she did not want to tell Sardonios that they were not working as potently as the had in the earlier weeks when she took them. She felt that her time was running down and there was nothing she could do. Her only wish at this point was to save the world and then to hopefully use the stone portal to get home where she assumed would find help to free her before being trapped inside a dead robot body.

Everyone broke up and started hitting the booths. Xep slowly sauntered around the campsite, peeking at various items sprawled out on the tables. She awed at the various ways that the vendors displayed their wares. Many had show-style voices going on, that attracted the people over to their tables. Their wares had glamours put upon them to make the items seem highly desirable. They were laid out in attractive patterns, surrounded by stones that boosted their qualities. While other vendors just seemed to dump out their items in large chaotic piles on the tables and allowed their patrons to shift through the junk, hoping that one item would catch the eye and find a new home.

Xep would pause at every table and scan over everything first. If something caught her eye or seemed useful she would hold the item carefully in her hand, figure out the use for it, and then tag it for retrieval later or set it back down to attract the eye of another passer by. Every now and then she would look over her shoulder, and catch one of Tristian’s eyes. He would wink and nod as he spoke to the vendors at the tables, to gather information on what was going on.

Paige, on the other hand, had found herself in the middle of it all. She spun her poi in amazing shapes and patterns, drawing a large crowd around her. After an hour of spinning she found herself surrounded by not only patrons of the market itself, but many vendors who were on break. One man, in particular, wearing a hooded cloak, stood to her left, leaning against a tree. He nodded at her as he clapped his hands. She smiled and ended her set and took a bow before staring back at the mystery suitor.

“Very nicely done, my dear,” the man in the cloak said, “You spin the fire as if you have lived with fire all your life. I am impressed.”

Paige felt her cheeks flush, “Thank you. I have been doing this for a few years now. It is the only thing I love doing most.”

“It shows,” the man said again. Paige stepped close to him and saw that his eyes were silver and he wore heavy tribal style spiral hoops in his ear. A long tattoo had been painted down his face, and went over his right eye as if they were shadowy flames. “There is something I would like to talk to you about. Something that might benefit you and your dancing.”

Paige was intrigued, “Oh? Um, sure. Why do we go sit down near my gear and speak. If you have any new tricks to offer, I would definitely be interested.”

The man nodded and smiled a toothy grin, “I think you will be pleased with what I am about to offer you. It would make you quite famous indeed. Perhaps the most well known of all fire spinners on this continent, nay, perhaps the world.”

“Now you are just teasing me,” Paige frowned and then spun around, “Nothing but hard work and determination could ever do that for me and I am not a fool. Thank you for the compliments but I should really get ready for another dance or two.”

The man gave a snirk and pulled a small satchel from inside his cloak, “I am not one to lie, my little friend. Inside this pouch is magic so strong that you can use it to charm the fire to do anything you bid it to do. Have you ever wished to dance with flames that do not have to sit on the end of a kevlar wick? Imagine that the fire spins around your body mimicking your every step and move. Imagine having more than two orbs of fire hovering around your body or colored flames created from fuel that is not full of taint? This powder can do all that for you and more. Only your imagination limits it.”

Paige’s eyes widened as she stared at the pouch. It was like being offered an impossible wish, combined with her birthday and Christmas all in one. She licked her lips, “Great pitch. You do know how to sell. But what is the catch? I know that you would not just give that thing over to me for nothing. So what is it that you want in return?”

The man leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I know why you are here and who you travel with. What I offer you is more than enough compensation for a life of fame and fortune. Imagine never having to worry where your next meal came from, or where to stay. Imagine never having to be afraid for your safety. This bag will offer all that and more. All I ask in return is that you give me the mechanical. I can tell by looking at her that she is something special. Something unique and I want to study her, to find out what makes her so unique. I am sure that with this bag you could find yourself another robot to help you carry out your life’s work, would you not?”

Paige blinked and gaped at the man. She wanted to run away, to tell Xep and Tristian about him but at the same time she was enchanted and did not want to move away. She had longed for the day when she and her fire dancing talent was recognized and elevated to a new level. And that is what this person was offering her. She struggled internally with the desire to be famous and the desire to do right by her friends.

In the end, she reached out and touched the magical bag of promises. She sighed, “I have wanted to be famous and recognized for so long and it seems like there are more and more dancers out there every day that are stronger and faster than me, and they can do more tricks. I can not believe I am going to do this but I have no other choice. Okay, I accept your offer. You can take Xep and in exchange I get the pouch and free passage out of here. Do we have a deal?”

The man in the cloak smiled evilly as he handed over the pouch to Paige, “You have my word that I will not harm you or your other companions. You have safe passage to leave here when ever you want. Do not worry about the mechanical for she will be in good hands.”

The man then signaled to a group of small, hunched children who were punching each other and giggling. Their skin was pale and seemed to have a sickly green hue to it. The moment they so the signal they stood up a bit taller and grunted. One barked a series of sounds to the other, which sent his companions off and running through the crowds. Then he gave a mock salute to the man in the cloak before running off himself. Paige stared down at the pouch in her hands and when she looked up the cloaked man was gone.

“What have I done,” Pagie said as her eyes danced around the market, searching for the familiar shapes of her friends.

In the meantime, Trillian spent his time tracking down his contacts in the hopes he could figure the time and location of where the next goblin market was going to be held it had been a long time since he had gotten to go to one. After his beloved passed away, he stopped trying to go to the things that reminded him of his old ways and the old world, located across the veil. However, now that he had Paige and Xep, he was excited once more and could almost practically taste the upcoming reunion. He wanted to hear the strange, otherworldly music that the traveling bards played in the center of the playa. He wanted to eat the sun-kissed foods the vendors proffered to everyone, tempting them with their warm, buttery sunflower breads, or their soup, or the freshly killed and cooked meats spiced with concoctions that could not be found in most grocery stores or restaurants.

One contact lead him to another. His first contact, a homeless man who went by the name of Speck, and sat at the corner of Burnside and second street, told him that he had no idea of what he was talking about. Twenty two dollars refreshed his memory and Speck told him that he knew a guy that juggled near the Saturday Market at the fountain who had heard the latest and greatest date. Trillian grumbled and patiently waited two days until the market was in full swing. Around two thirty in the afternoon, he met up with the juggler who agreed to tell him that the market was indeed on its way through the Pacific Northwest but wanted to keep attendees on the low count this term. Trillian sighed and flashed his medallion at the juggler, who recognized the symbols carved on it, and caved in on the exact location. Feeling a bit bad about what he threatened the juggler with, Trillian dumped another twenty dollars into the small, black top hat that the guy had set up in front of him. The juggler flashed a untrusting grin at Trillian before turning away to continue amazing and dazzling the hordes of people who started swarming around him.

Trillian smiled, he was pleased that his tracking skills still had their mojo and paid off. Finally, after a week of searching dates and locations, he had what he wanted. He knew the location of the next goblin market. And true to their predictions, it was going to be held close to Portland. Actually, as long as they could find a car or scrape together some means of proper transportation, they could be at the market within an hour or two. Apparently the market was set up for awhile in the woods near a town called Kelso, that was directly off of the highway called Interstate five.

“Looks like we are all set,” Trillian smiled at Paige when they met up at the Roxy. “Only problem is that we will need a car to get there. It is close, and apparently, the market will be there for awhile. Seems like the traders want to take as much time as they can up here this time around. I wonder if it has anything to do with the coneol being pumped into the air. This could be a very good trip, if we can get there. First things first, however, and we do need transportation.”

Paige leaned into him and hooked her arm around his arm and leaned her head on his bicep, “Leave the transportation details to me. I have a few friends who I can hit up for cars. I am sure that as long as we promise not to damage the car and keep it on a full tank for when we return it, one of them will let me borrow it for a few days.”

Trillian smiled back, “Tell your friends that we are even willing to toss in a good car wash. Hopefully that will cinch the deal.”

“Oh, totally,” Paige said sneaking a french fry off his plate. She dipped it in a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and mayo before slowly pushing it between her lips and eating it. “I think, Trill, that we have a deal. You go ahead and tell the others what we are planning and I will see if I can get the car.”

They kissed lightly on the lips. Paige grabbed her bag and sauntered off to find her friends. As it were a Saturday, she knew that many of them would be down by the waterfront, hanging around or drumming or practicing their fire spinning for all the people flooding the area around the Saturday Marketplace. She hummed as she made her way down the busy sidewalks and even took a slight detour to see what goods were being sold at the Saturday Market. There were many people at the Saturday Market, there was even a cacophony of sounds and sights that flooded her mind. She inhaled deeply and reveled in the insanity that was the market place. People were hawking all sorts of interesting hand made goods. She perused a booth that was selling delicate and hand made jewelry that incorporated beads and stones in intricate patterns and designs. She saw two people making music from custom band saws. Paige even saw many of her friends wandering around, as they also looked at all the goodies being offered. She waved and smiled as she rejoined her community of friends.

After an hour of playing around with poi and laughing and drumming, Paige finally got down to business. “Hey Serena,” she called out to a buxum blonde that was spinning a set of blue and red practice poi with fuzzy balls at their ends, “Come here. I need to ask you a favor.”

“What up sweetie,” Serena said as she moved over to Paige, while she still flung her poi in circles.

“Can I borrow your car tomorrow? I know it is short notice and all but I got this gig that I need to do and I want to take my new friends to see me dance. Trill’s never seen me dance and I would love to dazzle him with the flames. I promise not to wreak it or go faster than sixty, and I promise to keep the tank full of gas and I will even personally give it a bath once we are back in town. I will wash it by hand and not use one of those automated thingies.”

Serena stopped spinning and frowned, “I dunno Paige. My car is a total junker but I do need it for work and everything. Where do you plan on going anyways?”

“Kelso. And come on, you know I am totally good for this. Look, I am even promising to keep it clean and we both know that that is something I hate to do. And it is just for a single day so come on? I will have it back to you before monday morning,” Paige pleaded and batted her eyelashes. “Please, please, please say yes,” she repeated over and over like a mantra in her head.

Serena fiddled with her poi as she contemplated the request, “Okay. Fine. Cuteness for the win. Go ahead and take the car.” She pulled a set of car keys out from her pocket. There was a plastic molded doll hanging off the chain, and a few small plastic plaques that read “You suck and that is sad” and “I am spoiled, just look at my car”. “Just promise me that you will get it back to me tomorrow night. I do not want to lose my job at the salon, it sucks but it does pay the rent.”

“Yay,” Paige said, hopping up off the grass and giving Serena a huge hug that almost bowled the two girls over. “I promise to treat it better than myself. Nothing is going to go wrong with the car, I promise. Thank you thank you thank you.” She grabbed the keys and took off in the direction of where Serena parked her car in a tall parking garage that was nearby.

The others were gathered around a map when she got back. She triumphantly held the keys up in the air and coughed, “Ahem, did someone call for personal transportation?”

They looked up and Trillian smiled. “Oh goodie, I always wanted my own personal chauffeur. I see your friends could not resist that charm you have.”

“Of course not, they love me,” she teased. “Okay, deal is that we have it for tomorrow only. And we need to keep it gassed up and clean. When we get it back in town I will have to wash it, of course the rest of you are welcome to help me do that too. But yes, our little road trip is on. I take it that you three have been gathered around the map to figure out the logistics of getting there?”

“Yes,” Xep said, “it is somewhere nearby the city but out in the wilderness. I am sure that they have magic barriers up to protect the sound from escaping, otherwise the city police system would get called in to investigate. I figure we go in, look around, barter for anything that looks useful and then leave. Hopefully we can find some thing good for relatively little cost. Sardonios has offered to make a few random concoctions with his alchemy skills that we could use to barter in exchange so that we do not get swindled completely out of our money.”

“Awesome,” Paige said. “It is getting late and I need to get my gear ready for my show. I will leave you guys to figure out the rest of the details. It is time for me to make some money doing what I do best. Toodles.”

**************

It was early morning and it was dark outside. Sardonios watched as Xep and Trillian loaded up the car with various bags and boxes. Their plan was to go in with some potions and books and attempt to use that as bartering trade for anything that looked like a suitable way to block the coneol from escaping further into the atmosphere. Trillian and Sardonios would peddle the items, while Xep would go off on her own to see if she could gather information and intelligence from the traveling market on the fissures. She was almost sure that the tribe of people had to have some information on the disturbances and that they were willing to sell it or trade it for some of the things she could tell them in return. Paige decided that it would be in her best interests to stick close to Trillian but she also figured that she could spin some fire or locate other spinners at the market as well. Trillian was not sure that there would be anyone for her to share tricks with but Paige reminded him that oddball festivals such as traveling markets always offered something for the local fire spinner. “Look at the phenomena called Burning Man,” she winked at Trillian,” “That attracts almost one hundred thousand people a year into that small space and I know, from having attended it a few years back, that a good chunk of those attendees are fire spinners or people seeking mentors to become one. There is never just one fire spinner in any location. There is always at least two or more.”

Trillian packed one more item in the trunk of the car, it was a long slender, cylinder tube. “What is in the tube,” Xep asked, pointing to the case.

“A little insurance policy. Most goblin markets have a rule that no weapons can be carried on site. It is rather standard procedure and it keeps a lot of the riff-raff from coming in and causing trouble. However, I am not that trusting so I am bringing my sword with us. Do not worry, I do not plan on using it unless we really need to. No one will notice this either. I have had a lot of good charms put over this baby so what most people will see is just a long slim pool cue case. They will think the sword is a pool cue itself and will wave it off. I have taken this baby around to many situations and have never had to use it once.”

Xep was wary about bringing a weapon with them but allowed the gesture to slide, “As you say so. I hope that we will not need it there at all.”

Trillian nodded as he closed the truck. It clanged down with a bang and soon after, they were off and on the road, heading to the location that Trillian’s contacts. Paige napped almost the entire way there. She had been up and out almost all night long. The rest of the group kept talking light and to a minimum. Not much was said about the fissures or what was about to come.

Sardonios turned off the highway and found himself on a small two lane highway. They almost missed their turn off onto the four eight oh nine logging road because it was just a dusty dirt trail. Paige winced as the car went over a few potholes. She hoped that they were not damaging anything underneath the car. “That is all I need, to spend the next few of my hard earned monies from dancing fixing Serena’s car. ”

“I am sure everything will be fine. Now keep your eyes on the road,” Sardonios said, “I would like to avoid hitting any more of those huge holes.”

After another hour of driving, as the sun was finally peaking out from behind the clouds, they heard a noise coming from off in the distance. Smoke could also be seen rising up over the tall evergreen trees. The energy in the car was electric as everyone held their breath and hoped that they could pass through the gates of the goblin market without any issues.

Two huge black painted old fashioned school busses parked in a v-shape at the front entrance to the market. Two men stood in front of the busses, holding what appeared to be gun like weapons of some sort. One of them gestured for Sardonios to stop the car and roll down their window.

“What be your business here,” he said with a strange accent. Xep looked the person over and saw that he wore tightly woven leather pants and a jacket. A faded black t-shirt with a print that was so badly worn off showed just barely underneath the jacket. He wore a leather thong around his neck that had large canine teeth hanging from it. Xep got the impression that the people they were dealing with were like herself and Trillian, members of a past troupe of traveling gypsies that were trapped on this side of the veil. She hoped that none of them could detect her presence inside the body.

“We are here to trade, barter and maybe tell some stories or dance. We have come far to visit the market and would like to be given permission to pass through.”

The men snorted words at one another that were strangely familiar and yet foreign to Xep. She leaned over to the front seat and whispered at Trillian, “If this does not work, what do we do next?”

“It will work, just give it time. Relax,” he said turning his head around in the seat. “It will work.”

The two continued to speak and click at one another. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two stepped aside and waved them on through.

“Welcome to the Market. Rules are on the board to your right. Obey them and there will not be any problems. Break them and be judged harshly.”

“Yes, I have noticed that they never seem to leave the side of each other. But this is important, and if I am right, it is what you call a life or death situation. This is on the level of apocalyptic and could very well destroy not only your world but mine as well. This is simply too big to ignore. Besides, if what you say about your governments is true then we cannot solicit their help in any of this. I doubt they will believe us when we tell them that magic is what controls this world and that it is leaking out into the atmosphere and that at this rate, the planet has a slim-to-none chance at surviving. Oh and this is all coming from a faerie trapped inside the body of one of your robots. They would probably laugh in our faces or attempt to destroy us all, am I right?”

Sardonios smirked, “Well when you put it that way, of course they will not help. But I get your point and understand that it is probably just going to be up to us. Okay, well, let me go call the cell phone number that Paige gave me and call the other two back. In the meantime, I think you should put that super computer chip processing power you have up there and start thinking of solutions to fix this global epidemic.”

Xep nodded and sat very still, thinking about what could be done to solve a problem that was greater than herself. Off in the distance she heard the gruff voice of her friend speaking into the receiver of the phone. “What have I gotten myself into,” she thought, “I do not know the first thing about solving issues. I just present the facts and let everyone else figure out how to win the war. This is totally over my head. Okay Xep get a grip on yourself. You are here, they are not, and you are the only one who can figure this out. And you are the only one who actually knows what true magic is and what it is capable of. So, how do the magi control the back flow of magic that sometimes builds up in the portal systems. What do they do? You know, I do not think I have ever seen what the magi do to burn off excess energy. Damn, now I really wish that I had paid a bit more attention to what they were doing and how they did it, I am almost sure that it would be the most applicable solution, as long as we had all the parts and the ability to do it, for solving this problem.”

The bells on the door chimed in and Xep whirled her head around, Paige and Tristian came bounding in, holding hands, “So what is the news? Sard said that you had it all figured out. Oh and while you guys were here we got word that another thingy opened up somewhere in New Mexico. It seems that a new hole opens up almost every day.”

Xep nodded and gestured for the other two to sit down. She stared at each of them and wondered what she was going to say, and how they were going to react to the news. She also wondered if she could count on them to help or if she was going to end up doing this all alone. A small, sad smile crept across her face and she opened her mouth.

When she finished telling them what she told Sardonios, Paige blinked and stood up. “Shit. I think I am going to be freaking sick,” she said before darting off into the bathroom.

Tristian nodded solemnly, “Just my luck. To be stuck here for so many years only to be thwarted before being able to return home. So, what is our plan. Do we even have a plan yet?”

Xep shook her head, “Not yet. I was hoping that perhaps you had some knowledge into how the Portals worked and how the magi controlled the energy that builds up in the back when they are not in use. I have the feeling that if I knew how that system worked, that it might provide is with the perfect solution to solve this energy issue that this world is having. Of course, that is presuming that the portal network on this side is intact and responds to any inputs we send to them.”

“Actually, I never saw the Portals often,” Tristian responded. “I was never interested it them from a technical standpoint. After all I was just a soldier, someone good with a sword in a fight. I never really questioned how the magi used the stones and their magical energies to teleport us all over creation. And the last time I used a portal, of course, was to get over here and that was the last time I ever really wanted to see one of those things. Sorry, but that is all I really have to offer.”

“Damn,” Xep said, hunching her shoulders down, “I was really hoping the solution was going to be an easy one. It sounds as if the energies are building up faster now and it could be any day that things get really really bad. Okay, at this point I am open to ideas on what we can do to solve this. Anyone want to start?”

Paige pulled her finger from her mouth, as she was chewing on one of her finger nails, and giggled, “I do not know how helpful this will be but what if we somehow got a whole lot of lemurs and just tossed them down the hole to block them all. Of course, it does not have to be lemurs, it could be almost anything big enough to block the holes.”

“Good suggestion but there are not that many of us and we do not have the capacity to blip around and block all the holes opening up in the world. Besides, at this point we need to somehow harness the energies falling out of the world and trap them back inside. Anyone else.”

Sardonios came back into the room, holding a book, “I have a suggestion. Of course, this one caters more to what I know and love but that is besides the point. What if I were to make an elixir that somehow infused the earth’s core with metals that the magical energy could attach to it and bond and be heavy enough to stay down where it truly belongs. As you can see, I got the inspiration for this idea partially from the healing potion thing I made for you.”

Xep noded, “That is an interesting approach. I say that you start working on formulating ideas. I presume that we will need to make a trip up to the closest fissure soon so you can get some samples of coneol to use in your tests.”

“Yes, that would be ideal. Although the closest place would not be my first choice of location because it is so cold up there. Cold does not do my bones any good. But I know we do not have a whole lot of cash laying around to just hop on a plane down to Mexico and finish our research there.”

Paige giggled again, “Yeah. No kidding. Although it WOULD be nice to visit the heat this time of year. Seems like winter here in Portland gets colder and colder ever year. Okay, so, we go up there, grab some of this coneol from the hole and toss this elixir. Then what? Everything magically gets better?”

“I do not know,” Xep said, “it sounds a bit too easy and farfetched. Hmm, I am also wondering if there is some sort of ritual or spell working that exists for the purpose of events such as these. If I know the magi, they would have not just left the portals on this side without some sort of book that helped you all control them or use them. If there is a such a guide for use out there I am almost certain that it would contain some sort of ritual that would tell us how to undo or control the energy in this situation. Sardonios, I would like to spend some time in your library and perhaps at some of the more obscure book stores to see if this idea has any merit. If I cannot find anything within a day or two I say we go with the back up idea of the mineral and metal potion. Of course, who knows how much of that liquid we will need in order to fix what is going on. The other big question is whether or not we will need to hit multiple locations at the same time or if fixing this at the original destination spot will heal all the other spots in a cascade-like effect.”

Sardonios scratched his chin, “Now those are two very good suppositions. Xep, my dear, you do not need to ask me to use or peruse my books, you have permission to look at any tome you would like. Just beware of the bindings and do not open any book all the way. I hate to see the books get damaged, what stop looking at me like that?”

Xep stood up and moved towards the doorway. She then paused and turned around, “Oh and I hope you all know that I do not expect you all to help me with this. I appreciate your willingness to put up with me and offer suggestions and condolences for being trapped here and all the things that you all have done for me up until this point. But when the time for me to head up North, I do not expect you all to follow me or to help me attempt to fix this issue. Heck I do not know if I can even fix this but I will do everything in my power to do so. You all have become a part of my world and I would hate to see your world destroyed.”

Paige was the first to respond by standing up. She walked over to Xep and stared at the robot directly in the eye. “You know what, you scared me when we first met. Part of me wishes that I had run off on you that day, but the bigger part of me is very glad that I stayed. This is like out of a movie, a dream world, and I doubt that anything this cool with ever happen to me again. So, I guess what I am saying is that you are stuck with me for the time being. This is exciting as hell and I am game to see where it all leads. [Sides, where Tristian goes, I go.”

Tristian looked up at Xep and said, “I have an idea. Now that you mention it, I know of the perfect place that we can go to to maybe get some help or find a solution to this end of the world stuff. There is a goblin market on this world. It does tend to move around a lot but it does have lots of things to offer and who knows, we may find something that can either quickly solve our issue or help create the perfect thing that can fix the fissure.”

“Do you know where this goblin market is and do you trust the people running it?”

Tristian snickered, “It is a goblin market, the people who run it are as shady as all get out but yeah, I guess you can say that I can trust it. I trust it as far as I can trust anyone else who dabbles around in magical arts of all shades. If we are going to do this, I need to go hit up my contacts and see if the market will be heading our way soonish. If so, we can visit it and see what goodies it has to offer us.”

Xep nodded, “Okay. Sounds like a plan. I am off to go hit the books. Wish me luck that I find some information that can help us.”

What people did not see in that second but they began to see, later on, was the strange waves of smoke crawling out from the deep cracks in the ground. This smoke would later be seen hovering high in the clouds dancing that strange dance of colors. Mirroring what was going on in the northern skies over Washington State.

On the other side of the world, a tornado sweeps across the dry, barren, sandy wastelands of India. The funnel shaped cloud is as wide as it is tall and kicks up half the desert. Plants with shallow roots get torn up and out of their patches of land only to be whipped around in the blowing wind and then tossed and discarded. Tin roofs located in the path of the monstrous funnel cloud are pulled apart like a can of sardines, their insides exposed. People who were unable to find under ground shelter scream as the whirlwind sweeps them up in a powerful grasp and carry them to far off locations that they did not want to be swept to. In total, the natural disaster destroys over two thousand acres and kills over five thousand people in the sandy lands. The Red Cross calls in for aid, of money, water and food and medial supplies; and soon the news is plastered all over the television and the internet.

Again, what they fail to see is that the skies above the area is swirling with strange colored dancing lights. The lights also appear only at night and they seem eerily similar to the ones that first appeared over the northern hemisphere in the United States atmosphere. Soon, chat rooms and forums and calls are made that begin to question what all these lights and natural disasters are about. Many people begin speculating that this is a coincidence, that they mean nothing. Others spew religious doctrine and cite ancient prophesies that date all the way back to the Mayan Civilization or to Nostradamus. Street preachers are running up and down the streets in the world prophet-sizing the end of days which has been foretold since the ancient times and that it will come about in a way that will smother us all. Many people are selling books that discuss the end times and how this is just an extension of the myths surrounding twenty twelve. These books are becoming more and more prolific that two have somehow made their way onto the New York Times bestseller lists for the year.

No one knows what the lights in the sky have to do with the earthquakes, tremors, or other disturbing natural weather events going on all over the world means. Scientist around the world now run around trying to figure out the strange chemical component linked to all the areas with colored atmospheric conditions. Summits are being held almost every other day and the news stories all flock to the sites of all the activity.

They start referring to this strange chemical component as coneol and they cannot figure out where it comes from or what it exactly does, other than make pretty aurora borealis lights up in the atmosphere everywhere on the planet. Their spectrometers do not know how to deal with it, none of their computer simulations can create the exact composition of what it is made of, nor can they actually determine what its purpose is in the grand nature of things. They know that they cannot go down into the sweltering heat of the core of the earth, the only place that they have seen this chemical exist, nor has technology provided them with a way to get far enough down to the core of the earth, past the dangerous heat

Xep and her companions watch all sources of news outlets for new information. From the television they learned the exact location of site zero, the fancy pants name that the news has given for the area around Mount Rainier where the first unnatural occurrence of the auroras appeared up in Washington State. They also learned that it was heavily visited almost constantly and that between the stead stream of cars and trucks making the pilgrimage up to see the site, and the heavy record snow falls that the area was receiving that it was going to be almost impossible to get to the site unnoticed. Xep sighed and longed for the day when she could be back in her old body. If she had her old, small and soft forms, then she would of have no issues blipping her way up to the location, figuring out what was going on and them reactivating the stone Portals that sat only a few meters away from the fissure that continued to slowly widen as the days went on.

Instead, she kept an almost silent and steady vigil on the soft, but sturdy sofa that sat against the wall in Sardonios’s home. She glued her eyes to the moving images on the screen, hoping to detect something with her enhanced vision and hearing while watching, at a distance, the events unfolding around them. No one said much about the events going on now all around the world, but they were all thinking the same thing. It was bad news and it was only going to get worse. Even Portland saw its own fair share of issues the past few weeks as tremors seemed to almost be a daily occurrence. No one had been hurt yet but all eyes were trained to the two local volcanoes, Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood, both of which were epicenters of activity in the earth’s growing core unrest.

Finally, after what it seems like weeks of watching the new casts almost repetitively she spots a strange pattern. Xep was watching a repeat cast about the fissure located at Mount Rainier and how they were comparing it to the one that opened up just recently in the Himalayan Mountains. The pretty girl with long curly red hair, wearing a fur line parka, stood outside the barricade that the United States Forest Department had to erect to keep people from going into the dangerous territory around the slowly widening hole in the ground. Already they had one fatality and the government was trying to prevent more from happening. She was talking about the chemistry of the fissures and how they appeared almost identical once the exploded from deep within the core. The screen swiftly went from focusing on her face to a side by side areal view of the lands around the two openings.

Xep was sure that she had spotted it; the clue, the one thing that could give her side some advantage over the other. It was the one that no one seems to have managed to report on yet. The one thing no one seems to notice are the large strange stone circles appearing almost unanimously across all locations that have had occurrences of the strange auroras. She recognized the pattern of the seven stone circles seated nearby both openings. It sparked an idea in her head.

“I think I have something,” she said out loud to Sardonios, who, up until that point had his nose buried deep in a book on archaic minerals. A tall pile of more books on minerals, and properties sat next to him, awaiting to be cross referenced. Ever since the scientists gave the smokey substance a name of coneol, he had been obsessed with being the one to crack the code. He had a hunch that it was related to alchemy and that it had been discovered and written about long before it had been rediscovered a few weeks ago. Paige and Tristian had long been gone, they were out shopping or making mischief as they were wont to do, having found themselves bored with the constant studies. Occasionally they would check in on Xep and Sardonios and be updated with the process.

“Oh, really. What is it?” Sardonios replied, as he kept reading on in his book. He focused his eyes on a passage that discussed how metals could be crushed up and then converted into tin or gold only by sending a small precise shock of electricity through the center of the stone. Apparently, this process was a popular way that alchemists of old would attempt to make fool’s gold by harnessing the power of a lightening bolt, and focusing it deep down into the core of a stone. Early attempts to produce new minerals and substances only ended up with the stone exploding into dust and the metal melting down into a pile of goop that rendered both materials useless to further attempts. It also fused the two chemical compounds together to the point where the process could not be reversed.

“Each fissure has opened up around a series of stone circles. They are like what you would call Stonehenge, except these circles are what me and my kind use to visit. They are our portal destinations and require certain amounts of stone and mineral energy patterns to work. I am beginning to wonder if there is a connection between what is going on and the veil, the energy that connects us. Which would mean that your hunch was right. That this does relate back to alchemy and to the arts of magic. I think, after seeing this, and having spent some time in your world, that I have a hypothesis as to what is going on.”

From having heard this, Sardonios removed his glasses and set the old worn book aside, “You have my full attention my dear. Please continue, as I would love to hear what you think you have.”

“Well,” Xep continued as she turned down the volume of the television set and shifted her position so that she could face the old man. She scrunched her face together as she attempted to find just the right words to describe her theory. What you call magic and I call normal, is the use and manipulation of energies and other items to help you achieve goals in your life, right? For example, you can use the power of a tiger’s eye stone to focus and distill your will down to the point that your mind has a razor sharp intellect and it boosts creativity. Well, the Portals consume energy to activate. A very specific type of energy. One that requires a deep draw from the core of the earth. I think that the stone portals require the use of this coneol element that your scientists are constantly babbling on about. The reason that they have not found a way to crack the secrets contained inside is simple, it is the element of magic that is required to make things like my existence possible.

From what I have seen on this television, they are seeing more and more of this coneol escaping from the core. Which means that the core is not made exclusively of molten lava, but of high concentrations of this coneol. Which is now being let out into the atmosphere. We call the magical energies that run amok, without focus, wild and it has the power to do powerful and destructive things to the world. I have seem more technology in this world than I have seen a connection to the deep and natural magics that exist in my world. You never use the stone portals. You have even said that no one knows what they are or how they are used. Magic is a forgotten language here in this world.”

“I am not sure I follow your logic,” Sardonios interrupted.

“Hm, let me try and put this into simple terms. Okay, so what if coneol, this magical element, is the cause of all these problems? We have seen, on our side, that when you do not allow the magic to go and do what is willed and asked of it, it gets twisted and grows wild, to do what ever destructive force it wants. What if the fact that your people have ignored this power for so long that it has built up so much that it is in fact destroying the world. That it finally figured out how to escape and is now emptying out into the world uncontrolled, into the atmosphere and is making the beautiful patterns in the atmosphere.

I believe your desire to be so technological oriented is now turning into your downfall. And that if coneol is not controlled soon, it may destroy your world and then seep back into my own world.”

Sardonios leaned back in his chair and paused. He looked down at the pile of books at his side and then let the one in his hand drop. His face flushed and he turned his head towards his laboratory, “I grok what you are saying now. What do you suggest we do about it?”


“There is only one thing we can do,” Xep said, smiling, “we try and save the worlds ourselves.”

She stared into the deep blue eyes of the elf. Had she not recognized him for who he really was, he looked almost quite human. He had long blonde, but almost white hair, and his ears were just barely pointed, in the trademark tell-tale sign of being a high elf. His skin was soft and almost a cream color. It almost seemed like he did not get very much sunlight. He wore a white linen button down shirt, which almost hid the entire design of the medallion from sight. He wore tight fitting black jeans. There was a chain connected to a loop on the front of the pocket; it extended all the way around his hips and moved to the back pocket where it trapped a small rectangular item inside. He wore canvass style shoes, the laces were worn ragged and one of the shoes had been untied. His heat signature seemed steady and Xep had a hard time reading his emotions. She knew that she was dealing with a master, he was very good at what he could do.

“Fine. You want information. I will go ahead and give it freely. I have been tasked by the Council of High Regents, the order of law and rule that replaced the Queen almost shortly after you abandoned your station, to come here and figure out what is disturbing the veil and the balance of energy in this world. Apparently our magi have been tracking some disturbances and they are coming from here. My job was simple, so very simple. Travel to this side through the Portal, through the veil and onto this plane. The landing site was apparently near by the disturbance and I was to spend time observing and assessing the threat to our side. It was so simple that I am almost questioning why they chose a high ranking individual to do this task.”

“And they sent you, a mechanical, with wings? Wow… I am so not impressed by this council so far.” Tristian flashed a smile at Xep and then winked over at Paige who puckered her lips tightly over one another, as if she was either trying to stifle a laugh or trying to avoid being stuck in the middle of this word war between two unfamiliar people. Sardonios also kept silent but he did send Xep a look of sympathy, as if he had gone through this strange dance of words time after time again with Tristian.

Xep growled, “You would be wise to hold your tongue. I am NOT a machine.” Xep wished she could flare out and zap the insolent elf with a blast of lightening, even though it would do nothing if he could really help her attain her goals, “I am a wisp, by birth, a spy employed by the Council to infiltrate high risk situations and report back without being caught. Something went wrong, and somehow I got trapped inside this thing. After the magi activated the Portal, all I recall was that there was a loud crack, then I felt the wind pass through me as I descended down from the air, and then waking up, trapped, inside this metal container. Do you not think that if I could have escaped, I would have done it by now? I have tried and tried and I cannot break free from this metal and grease enclosure. It is very confining to someone who grew up being a free floating individual. But I have been trained by birth to do what I do. I have crossed over enemy lines countless times and have returned successful.

I have walked, yes, walked, where I would have chosen to blip around and have come here seeking help. Walking is no easy thing. I do not know how you two leggeds get around as quickly as you can by not blipping. But somehow my legs lead me here and to first Paige and then she took me to Sardonios, who claims to be a friend of yours. With the help of this so called friend of yours, he has given me the means to continue surviving this world until I am able to figure out what is going on. I have saved lives and I could probably save even more if I had landed at my original destination and not have fallen and been trapped here, now catering to head games with the likes of you. But this is all I have at the moment.

Somehow, Sardonios thinks that you might know something that could help me. I am not sure what you could possibly help me with, except in reminding me of the failures of the past and how important it really is that I actually survive and report back as soon as I can about what is going on over here. If this is how you treat your friends then I question why I would want to pursue your help in my matters of state?”

“Because,” Tristian said. “Because I know things that obviously you do not know.”

“I am growing very tired of these games. What is it that you know?”

Tristian grabbed another fry off his plate with two fingers and placed it at the edge of his mouth. He then folded the whole fry over on top of itself and gently pushed it inside his mouth. He slowly closed his lips around the fry and started chewing, carefully, and deliberately. He kept his lips closed while he chewed. He noticed that this infuriated the so called wisp and this pleased him. While he ate, he started formulating ideas and plans inside his head. He needed to choose his words carefully and not end this before he wanted it to end. He was amused, for the first time in a long time. It had indeed been a long time since he laid eyes upon anyone from the other side and he wanted this to last a bit. She did seem authentic, even if her appearance was not.

He reached out his hand and grabbed the glass cup in front of him. It was filled with water. He brought the glass up to his lips and took a slow, deliberate sip of the cold, wet liquid. Ice cubes shifted uncomfortably making the only sound that the four heard around them inside the ever so quiet restaurant.

“I can not tell you that now. But yes, I can help you. I will help you,” he said smirking. “But you have to do something to help me out in return first.”

”Oh and what exactly do you need. You know there is not a whole lot I can do for you being on this side of the veil,” Xep growled, tired of the small head games the elf was playing with her. “Speak and be quick for I tire of your games and silences. Every tick of the clock means that time grows thin and if you wait too long then there may not be a realm for either of us to go back to if this world is destroyed and we are still sitting upon it, carelessly tossing words back and forth.”

“There is one thing you can do for me. I love being here, but I am getting older and older as every passing day goes by. Do not worry, I can wield a sword better than anyone on this side. And after three hundred years of being over here, I have seen all sorts of transformations that most mortals have yet to even uncover. I know places, seen things that many have yet to seen. But traveling and seeing is not enough anymore. I want to go back. I want to be able to see my family and friends, or what is left of them. I know that things have got to be different over there, otherwise they would not have sent you here. So yes, in exchange for helping you get to where ever you need to go and figuring out what is going on, you figure out how to get me home. I will protect you and make sure that nothing harms you while you figure out what to do on behalf of this Council of yours.”

Xep opened and closed her mouth a few times, she had no idea how to respond to this request. She knew that it was already dangerous as it was to be making this sort of deal. She had no idea whether or not he could be trusted, nor if he was considered an outlaw of the state on the other side. If she brought him back with her, she could be branded a traitor as well and her career, everything she worked hard to become in the ranks, would disappear forever. Xep was not sure she was ready to risk all that for the help of the might of one of the legendary warriors of the old kingdoms. But she also knew that if she blew this one chance at gaining some real tangible proof that her quest was still alive then she would never be able to return back home and report back to the Council. She knew only of the hunt, the quest and she knew that she would do anything to make sure she achieved success at her assigned task. She sighed and watched the emotions cycle through Tristian. He was obviously enjoying this way too much.

“I do not care how you do it, just get me home. Now do we have an oath or not?” Tristian said as he dropped a few dollars on the table top.

Xep sighed once more, “Just do not make me regret going into oath with you.” She sat down opposite Tristian, “Now let us really talk.”