Misbegotten Memories

Chapter 278

“Yes, the dark continent,” Isabel said.  “People with dark skin and also everyone in the shadow of the Ancestor.”

Hector hesitated, not sure if he was going to seem racist if he asked a question.  This wasn’t Earth, though, and the prejudices were arranged more in terms of class than along lines of ethnicity.  “Do the people of Bentley consider themselves to be descendants of the Ancestor?”

“The title is not literal, Hector.  They call him Ancestor to show respect and appease him – not that he speaks any modern language.  His lineage and that of humanity are related, but the two branches diverged long ago.”

Dorian added onto Isabel’s lecture with an off-hand comment.  “Also the Ancestor is said to have pale skin beneath the fur.  Like a chimpanzee.”

Isabel’s jaw dropped.  “That… do not say such things, Dorian.  Some in Bentley worship the Ancestor and would not welcome your comparison to a simple beast.”

“What?  We’re not in Bentley yet.”  Dorian wilted under the collective glares of the group.  “Fine, I will watch my words.  Can we find a guide now?”

Hector and Darius were instructed to guard the cargo while Dorian, Mei, and Isabel went in search of someone to serve as translator.  Darius sat down as soon as the others were out of sight.  “They left us behind because we aren’t from Tian, you know.”

“You say that like it’s unreasonable.”

Darius grunted an acceptance of the point.  “Do you think vegetables are worth the trouble?”

“Zara seems to think they are.”

“Vegetables cannot cultivate,” Darius said.

Hector wasn’t so sure about that claim.  If a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast could cultivate, then why not a plant?  Back during his brief period of owning a layer of the Mother, Hector had studied the phenomenon.  The Mother did not have a soul, which he would have assumed precluded cultivation entirely.  Its method of doing so was a physical process that cycled cosmic energy between the internal and external environment of the organism.  The system was complex and confusing, somehow mimicking what a human did.

That mimicry could not be described as efficient, however.  It wasted a lot of cores to absorb only a small amount of the contained cosmic energy.  The benefit as Hector understood it was that the Mother invested the entirety of the energy into physical matter.  Not having a soul, mind, or any other aperture, the only place to enhance was the substance of the Mother and by extension the waste products that became the elixir.  The limitations of the organism were such that they made up for its inefficiency.  And, of course, the Mother never stopped its pseudo-cultivation process.  It continued twenty-four hours a day.

“I understand the secret is in the soil.  They are specifically about root vegetables, after all.  Things that grow underneath the ground.  Maybe they just pack cores into the soil so that when starches are formed they absorb the ambient cosmic energy into their chemical bonds.”

Darius snorted.  “You are talking like Wayne now.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“You copy a weak man to appeal to a daughter of the Lord General.”

Hector stared out over the crowds on the street, wrestling with the stab of guilt he felt.  His best friend hated Thrakkar Shaocheth more than any other person in existence, and Hector was flirting with the idea of becoming a member of the family.  Cast in that light, the aborted relationship felt dirty.  How could he betray Darius like that?  Worse… did his pursuit of Zara have any part in the depression that had gripped his friend?

“I won’t pursue her any longer.  I just wish I knew what she saw in Wayne.”

Unfortunately, the returning Dorian and Mei were within earshot of that statement.  “My aunt has specific preferences in men.  I never met her first husband, but the father of her younger children was not what anyone would consider ambitious.  He was passionate for his hobbies and devoted to his family.  Otherwise, he existed in the background.  Much like Wayne.”

Hector’s cheeks grew warm.  “Did you find a translator?”

“Yes….”

“That didn’t sound at all reassuring,” Hector said.

Dorian winced.  “He speaks Zing.  Mei and Isabel speak Zing.  It will be fine.”

Darius chuckled darkly but didn’t give voice to his thoughts.  Hector filled the awkward silence.  “So what is our next move?”

“Carrying the cargo to the pier.  Isabel is securing passage on a ship.”

The four of them hauled the boxes of fertilizer through the crowded streets, drawing curious looks from the locals.  In only ten minutes, they were on a pier stretching into a vast lake.  Isabel met them before they traveled too far along the wooden planks and guided them to a rickety train of barges lashed together.

She spoke to a dark man in her own language, then he passed along the message to a bored woman sitting on the barge.  The response passed through the interpreter to Isabel.  She then gestured for them to start bringing aboard the cargo.  “We can load now.”

A young boy who looked to be the son of the captain guided them with gestures and foreign words to stack their boxes in a way that didn’t unbalance the vessel.  Then he held out his hand towards Mei.  The woman, uncertain, returned the gesture.  The boy smooched her loudly on the hand and chattered at their translator, who laughed as he related the words.

Dorian’s eyes narrowed.  “What did he say?”

“I choose not to say,” Isabel said, laughter bubbling in her voice.

Mei pulled her hand free.  “You not fight children for my honor.”

The two women stood together and giggled at Dorian’s sour mood.  Meanwhile, Darius pulled Hector aside.  “The Zing women will cheat us.”

With an effort of will, Hector didn’t show any of his frustration.  Darius suspected everyone he met of malfeasance.  “We will make sure our gains are evenly split.”

“I don’t trust the translator, either,” Darius said.

The universal distrust brought a measure of comfort with it.  While Hector had some concerns that Darius might cause problems with their allies, that was still less worrying than the apathy that consumed him lately.  “We’ll keep an eye on all of them,” Hector said.

Darius agreed with a grunt and a nod.

Then Dorian joined them.  “I don’t like how that level three kid thought he could disrespect me the way he did.”

Hector looked between the men sharing his company.  The two of them were almost mirror images with their sour expressions.  It was like seeing an older, more feminine Volithur with his former bully.  The sight caused Hector a moment of vertigo.  Though the dreams had ended long since, he still recalled them with incredible clarity.  He remembered having features similar to those of his friend.  He also remembered a younger version of Dorian beating him half to death.

“You cannot strike out at a child,” Darius said.  For a moment, it sounded like the eunuch would be the voice of reason here.  “You must frame him for some transgression so that his mother doles out the punishment.”

Rather than listening to the brainstorming of an elaborate plot for revenge on a twelve-year-old, Hector moved aside and began to work the reverse priming technique.  Before he could settle into the rhythm of the exercise, someone approached his position.  Hector opened his mouth to complain and then paused as he saw a cute redhead woman who was quite brazenly checking him out.

“You’re a meaty fellow,” she said.

“Uh… I guess so.”  Hector wanted to kick himself for his inelegant response.

“It’s always pleasant to see a fellow countryman so far from home.”  She twirled a lock of her coppery hair and pursed her lips as her eyes traced the contours of Hector’s arms.

Darius and Dorian appeared as if by magic.  The eunuch spoke first.  “Who are you?”

“Fiona.  Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

They each provided their name and then Darius interposed himself between Hector and Fiona.  “Why are you going to Bentley?”

“For adventure.  I’m a descendant of the Lord Annihilator, but it’s not a great time to be a member of the Huron family in Amarat at the moment.  There’s a sense that our ancestor taking the throne of a foreign nation might be a tad treasonous.  The family rarely leaves the safety of the estate out of concern that we will be targeted.  So I left the country and here I am!  Traveling the world.  Why are you three here?  Don’t tell me it’s a pilgrimage to see the Ancestor of Bentley.”

“Pilgrimage?  People do that?”

Fiona shifted to look past Darius and make eye contact with Hector.  “Stupid people do.  A lot of them die for their efforts.  The relation between Ancestor and human isn’t one of god to worshiper.  It’s hunter to prey.  Weaklings like us are safe because our energy density is too low for us to make a good meal.  That doesn’t mean the Ancestor won’t slaughter us if we annoy him.”

Shouts from the front of the boat caught their attention.  Quickly the owner and her son untied the mooring and used cables of force to push the boat away from the pier.  Then the woman manifested a massive paddle externality and began to row with long, smooth, powerful movements.  The young boy manned the tiller, keeping the bow pointed more or less straight.

Most of the passengers settled in to relax, but an old man retrieved a fishing pole and stood along the side of the boat to cast a line.  Meanwhile, the boat’s owner paddled with superhuman strength, imparting so much momentum that the rudder almost couldn’t correct for the uneven force.

The two Azure Spear Maidens joined their group, the interpreter following along.  Mei linked her arm with that of Dorian and made hostile eyes at Fiona.  In an obvious move to mollify the jealous girlfriend, Fiona moved closer to Hector.  Seeing this, Darius stepped shoulder-to-shoulder with the petite redhead.

Hector barely held back a sigh.  This was promising to be a long boat ride.