I’ll have to think of a good reason to return to the gateway and . . .

O’Heir and the others back home are worried, too. Justin even offered to pass through the gateway without a circleweb and attempt to hook up a replacement bridge. I admire his courage (especially now he’s no longer free and single), but we all know it’s impossible. He wouldn’t last two minutes in the Parawerthan without a wind sentry taking him. No. Either I return there and fix things, or we get Justin a cirlceweb. And only Sara can help us with that. Problem is, I don’t want her to know too much about how I actually communicate with my friends back home.

Uh oh. Connection’s jumping again. Time to go.

I guess the only one happy about Ana’s departure was Justin. He’s actually ecstatic and can’t wait to get her home. I’m happy for him. At least I won’t have to listen to him moaning about being without her any more. I hope O’Heir gets a bit of peace also. From what I gathered from him he’s got a red ear listening to Justin’s complaints.

It was lucky for Justin that Ana departed when she did because a spirit storm swept over Borkon a few days later. The threat level was so high that all non-essential travel was cancelled and some of the anti-storm deterrents close to Crater City were activated. It was chilling to watch the thick plumes of smoke from the fire trenches blacken the sky. I don’t know if the up draughts caused by the  fires would have deterred the storm from coming here. Hard to tell judging by the attitude of the Cadavat personnel. For those few days some looked nervous while others carried on like nothing was up. Chef announced that if the storm dared come near her kitchens she’d trap some of its cloud in a pot, bake it up in her biggest oven until it hardened, and feed it to everyone with some chocolate topping. Storm Brownies she said she’d call it.

Sara still hasn’t told us anything about our next assignment. I’ll admit I’m getting a bit worried about the delay. Okay, so I don’t mind lazing about enjoying time with my family. I still need to know what the future holds, though. A bit of structure. That’s what we all need instead of being left in limbo. Armbranch’s getting a bit stir crazy, too. I caught him crouched over a bunch of weeds along the perimeter wall yesterday. I’d swear he was talking to them. When I asked him about it he laughed it off, told me he was doing some kind of meditation.

I think he misses being in the forest. In fact I’m sure of it. I also think he may be encouraging those weeds to grow up top, just to amuse himself. Perhaps it’s time I talked to Sara about taking a day trip out of here into the countryside.

I finished a third edit on the book while we were on R & R. I gave him a copy of it this morning and I haven’t seen him since. I only hope he likes it. If he does, well, we’re going to try and get it published. First step is to find an agent. But only if ‘Sixteen’ agrees. If he doesn’t like the story I guess we’ll just keep it between ourselves. I won’t show anyone else the finished product without his approval.

I gave him the book five hours ago and I guess it’s a positive thing that he hasn’t come charging after me by now complaining it’s all a load of shit. It’s also a positive thing that I’ve recently got another Parawerthan short story published. It’s a story about a pawn who became a queen and If anyone wants to read it it’s available here:

http://spinetinglers.co.uk/ReadStory3827.aspx

I’m glad O’Heir’s with him. Honestly, that man’s like a rock in the stormiest of seas. I can’t wait until we can bring him into the Parawerthan for a long spell and show him some of the wonders here. He deserves it more than anyone. Mrs Daidogan, too. She’s really put aside her own interests to help us out and she still seems to be getting on particularly well with O’Heir. (Justin gives me gossip updates, too.)

And speaking of wonders, the sky turned a brilliant blue last night. It started in the west just after ten and grew until the sky was brighter than day. A different light, though. Luminous. The whole camp turned out to watch this display and when I quizzed Symone about it she told me it was a cloud of insects. They were called Moonglows, due to the way their wings caught the moonlight and turned it blue. After spending the last five years as underwater larvae in a lake, they’d recently completed  metamorphosis and were on their way west to the mating grounds deep within the Horonal Forest.

It took six hours for the swarm to pass and we enjoyed every bit of it, especially the way the cloud dipped and swirled at times to ride the air currents. Tired today, but it was worth it.

Maya stood by with Cian and Ana and laughed. When I staggered into the shower last night the iron water never felt so good.

So Maya and ‘sixteen’ thought it was funny. Well, I’ll just have to think up something to wipe the smile off their faces.

Lailia wrote last night asking if we’d thought any more about bringing Cian to the Golden Eyes so they could ‘introduce’ him to the Parawerthan in their special way. Maya and I have discussed this and agreed that, though it might be hugely beneficial to him, we needed to go, too. Lailia said it would take a week. No matter how I trust the Golden Eyes, we could never let him go off with anyone for that length of time. I told Lailia this so we’ll see what happens.

To be honest, I’d love to spend a week back in the underground city.

I clambered up maybe twenty feet in as many seconds and barely felt any strain on my muscles. Of course Maya had to climb higher just to tease me. And, though ‘Sixteen’ said he’d tried these before a few times, when Armbranch’s turn came he just laughed and scuttled maybe thirty feet up the cliff without needing anything. That little demonstration drew a round of applause from the rest of the Cadavat team who were observing us from higher up. Armbranch even gave them a bow.

We’re relaxing today. I’m not sure what Symone has planned for us tomorrow, but Armbranch announced earlier he’d be returning to the Caves of Silence. He didn’t say why. I just guess there are a lot of demons lurking inside his head than any of us think. ‘Sixteen’ told Maya and I later that he saw inside a Nescan Guild slave holding stockade once and it wasn’t a pleasant sight. I was glad he didn’t elaborate. The thoughts of our friend suffering at the hands of those people (or whatever they are) was enough to sicken me and make me angry.

I hope the Caves of Silence goes some way to helping him.

Flurries of images rippled through my mind. I saw the estate, Breven, Maddet, and the orchards. I heard the screams of the sacrificed, smelled the rottenness of the basements, and vividly remembered what I saw in the root’s pool. It was hard to gauge how long these images lasted.  Not long, I suspect. When they sank away and the pinging sounds began I sank into a trance and stayed there until Symone woke me this morning.

I’ve barely thought about Breven and his plans since. And when I do, it’s like recalling something that happened in a dream. Wow. That result beats any medication or technology back home for dealing with trauma. And I was traumatised. I’ve no doubt about that. I can’t help thinking how much good I could do if I could somehow replicate that treatment back home.

The only regret I had about the sensory deprivation was that Maya and I couldn’t have shared this together. She’s chilled, too, and that calmness affected Cian. He was unusually quiet today. He also seemed to coo and smile a lot, and that only added to our mood. I haven’t seen Armbranch and ‘Sixteen’ yet. I guess they’re off chilling on their own somewhere. Good luck to them. We’re off on a mountain hike tomorrow as part of our physical relaxation and, judging by our last hike here, we’ll need our strength for it. Though it means leaving Cian behind, I’m looking forward to the trek. I’ll never forget the last hike and how the hataten energy tuned up my muscles and made me feel like I could climb the highest cliff.

Maya’s going to love it.

The diaper mess didn’t bother Armbranch. I wonder how he’ll feel when Cian starts on solids, though.

When the girls arrived back Symone announced we’d be spending tomorrow in the sensory deprivation caverns. When I heard Cian wouldn’t be going I was a bit uneasy about the idea of leaving him with Symone. Maya had no reservations, said he’d be fine. And when Symone heard of my worries she quickly said that the SD caverns had been modified since my last visit and I’d enjoy the experience much more. Clever girl. Though the SD is part of our recreation, I think she wants everyone there at once so she can have Cian all to herself.

That made me jealous, too. And I’m not the only jealous one. Justin is in a bit of a sulk because he’s not here. O’Heir told me earlier that he’s been pacing around the house a lot and moaning about being ignored. O’Heir plans to remedy the situation by bringing him to O’Reilly’s tonight. They’re having a traditional Irish music night there and those kinds of things usually run on into well into the early morning. That should distract him for a while.

The maymen were delighted the goyfliers had settled on their ship. They sang (croaked might be a better word) to the creatures, and told us they brought great luck to any ship they settled on. I didn’t doubt it. The very sight was enough to charge up the weariest of minds. They fluttered off just before sunset, disappearing westwards in a great train of colour, leaving a happy, rejuvenated group of people and maymen behind. Even Cian seemed to sleep better than usual.

Symone was waiting to greet us when we landed early this morning. She was dressed in her grey jumpsuit and seemed genuinely happy to see us. Cian took centre stage, of course. She fussed over him like he was her new nephew come to visit. We’re in our quarters now. The log walls are glowing, Maya’s lying asleep with Cian in her arms, and the air is pleasantly cool and tinged with the scent of the red and blue flowers our hosts laid around the room.

Everything feels right with the world.