Rain (The Quest Trilogy-Book Two) (10 page)

“What are you going to do with those?” asked Rain.

“I need the venom of the vipers and the skin of the Coral. Let’s go back now. It’s about time for lunch and you must be hungry.” said Subodh.

“You’re right. I am hungry. Let’s go.” agreed Rain, following Subodh.

Subodh muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘when are you not hungry?’, but since there was truth in those words, Rain ignored the jibe.

On the way back, Rain remembered the Bombat’s claw that Heart had most probably given to Subodh.

“What exactly do you do with a Bombat’s claw?” he asked.

“Powder it and mix it with snake venom. You can apply that paste over any broken bone and in half an hour, the bone will melt and rejoin.” answered Subodh.

“That sounds super painful!” remarked Rain.

“Either that, or you could wait months to heal naturally …”

Wizened old manipulator, thought Rain, directing a sidewise glance at the deceptively simple-looking old man.

They reached just in time for lunch. After the meal both Heart and Subodh retired for a nap. Rain moved near the rocks, where he perched himself over a large one and began conversing with his Geeya, while throwing small pebbles into the sea.

Before long, the beach had turned grey as dark clouds rolled in, signaling the arrival of a storm. Rain saw this as the perfect opportunity to practice reversing his powers. He could make it rain, so it was natural that he should be able stop it, too.

But here, he was wrong, for try as he might, he found himself unable to even control the intensity of the storm, let alone stop it entirely.

“Why can’t I control this thing?” he asked his Geeya, shouting to be heard over the pouring rain.

“Rain, you can make it rain, you can make it pour, and then you can stop what you have started. What cannot do, though, is control nature.”

“Nature?” repeated Rain, looking blank.

“Yes, nature. You cannot control the force of nature, you can only control that which
you
have started.”

“Oh …well, that’s a relief.” he said, heading back into the shelter of the makeshift hut where Heart was preparing some hot tea for them all. “For a minute there, I thought I was losing my touch.”

His Geeya eyed him wryly.

“What were you thinking? That all powers of making rain were now bestowed upon you? If that were the case, then farmers all over the world would be dependent upon you for their seasonal showers. And I doubt you would even know where to begin.” she teased.

Rain threw her a disdainful look, accepting a steaming cup of tea from Heart.

“Thanks mate.” he said, before he could stop himself. He threw a quick glance towards Subodh, saw him reaching for his walking stick and shoved his cup of tea back towards Heart, who was grinning widely; obviously aware of what was coming. Rain closed his eyes then, and waited for the blow.

*****

The storm stopped late that night. The clouds cleared slowly from the sky and the full moon shone down with all its brightness on the wet beach, making the sand shimmer in places.

Rain, who was basking in the silence of the night after the raging storm, was looking around for Heart when he saw the latter sitting some distance away, staring fixedly at some point on the beach as if in a trance.

He was puzzling over what might have caught his friend’s fancy when out of the corner of his eye, he saw his own Geeya serenely float outside into the moonlight and begin to glitter like a diamond. Alarm poured over Rain in waves.

Oh no! The Geeya dance!

Rain knew that the minute she began dancing, he could bid his sleep goodbye for the night and he quickly touched his Geeya mark to retire her. She paused where she was and turned to look at him with a strange, half smile.

Uh oh, would she be upset at him for stopping her? Or would she ignore the touch and continue to dance anyway?

To his relief, his Geeya did neither. She just smiled at him knowingly and then disappeared.

After that, Rain began to retire his Geeya regularly every full-moon night. Heart had stayed on with them and he was now fully healed. He and Rain became fast friends over the days, helping Subodh out jointly with the healing work.

Four months passed in this manner and Rain and Heart set out one day to hunt for some food in the forest. Rain was carrying his trusty bow and quiver, the one with designs carved by Star.

They left Subodh back at the beach where he was brewing an extremely smelly herbal concoction. The two of them hunted down several quails and were on their way back when they saw a well some distance away. The well was overgrown with moss and looked extremely old and worn. Its rim had crumbled in some places and its rope, which was piled into a large heap on the side, was dirty and frayed with age and overuse. Leaning against the well was a thin man, bent with extreme age. He looked like the saddest person they had ever set eyes upon.

Rain and Heart exchanged curious glances.

“What’s that, over there?” asked Rain, speaking in a low voice so it wouldn’t carry.

“A very old well.” said Heart.

Rain threw Heart an irritated look.

“I can see that. But what’s that old man doing there, looking so sad?”

Heart consulted his Geeya, and then spoke to Rain.

“My Geeya says that is the well of immortality. And that old man there is Marine-The first sequestor to have discovered that well while on his Quest.”

“What’s he still doing here in Quniverse? And how do you have information about another sequestor’s Quest when his Quest is still active?” asked Rain.

When he didn’t receive a reply for several seconds, Rain turned to look at Heart. Heart’s brow was furrowed; he was obviously deep in conversation with his Geeya. Rain turned to his own.

“Will you answer my questions?” he asked her.

“Yes. Marine is still here in Quniverse because he decided to abandon his Quest mid-way. That is also the reason why we are able to give you information about his Quest. It is no longer active, though he is still here.”

“Is that really the well of immortality?” he asked his Geeya softly.

“Yes, it is.”

“Does that mean anyone who drinks from it will never die?”

“Yes and no. whoever drinks from the well will be rendered immortal for twenty years. In order to keep living, you will have to ensure that you drink from it once every twenty years. So in that way, it does make a person immortal.”

“The well of immortality …” repeated Rain, fascinated by the sound of it.

He took a step towards the well, not really looking where he kept his foot. The next instant, there was a loud crack and Rain jumped.

“I’ve squished another snail, haven’t I?” said Rain, without looking down.

“You have. And what a pity, too.” said his Geeya, looking down at the slimy mass. “It was
this
close to the well of immortality.”

She brought her thumb and forefinger close to show the small amount of distance supposedly left for the snail to cover.

Rain laughed and strode towards the well. That seemed to have caught Heart’s attention, as he stopped talking to his Geeya and came running behind Rain.

“Rain … brother!” he called, half jogging to catch up to Rain. “Wait a moment …”

Rain, who had reached the well, lifted the heavy pail and let it fall into the well. It hit the water with a loud splash and Rain began to pull at the old rope, bringing the pail of water closer and closer to the edge.

Heart leaned over the edge of the well, peering down.

Rain felt a soft touch on his calf and looked down to see the skeletal hand of the old sequestor holding him. The old man lifted his face slowly to look at Rain. His cheeks were hollow and his eyebrows hung low over eyes, which were sunken deep in their sockets.

“What do you think you are doing?” he wheezed in a soft, broken voice.

“What else? Exactly the same thing you probably did the first time you chanced upon this well.” said Rain.

“That is what I was afraid of. I warn you, do not drink from this well.”

“Funny you should stop me, when the benefits of drinking from this well are clearly still being enjoyed by you.” said Rain, not making any move to drop the pail.

Marine dissolved into a fit of coughs and hacks which Rain understood, a few seconds later, to be dry laughter.

“You mistake my intentions, sequestor.” said Marine, shaking his white head. “When I first found this well, I went quite mad with joy over my discovery. So mad, in fact, that I wanted to continue on my journey no more. I wanted to stay here in Quniverse, exploit the powers that I had to the fullest … and live forever. I was the first to find the well, and so it was rightfully mine to claim. I drank from it, again and again … and lived a glorious few years. Then, the fairytale came to an end. You see, the well does not come with any warning signs, and once a sequestor learns what this well can do, they never bother to ask their Geeya for the consequences of drinking from it. That is why I vowed to stay here, as a punishment to myself, in order to warn others from making the mistake that I made.

Yes, drinking from this well increases your life span by twenty years, but it does not increase your health or your immunity. Your body, your bones… continue to age and deteriorate with the passage of time until you become a useless bag of bones, like I am. And what’s worse, if you get mortally wounded … you will never get the relief of death until your twenty years are up. You will remain like that, in excruciating pain, screaming for release. The only ones who drink from this well now are wretched, woebegone creatures. Them, I don’t stop, for life and death are both a torture to such creatures.

Look at me. My bones are so brittle with age that if I move too quickly, they will break. Is this the immortality you wish for? Is this what you want to become?” asked the old man, his voice shaking with anger and passion.

Rain knelt down so as to be at eye level with the old sequestor.

“Marine … I didn’t realize. When you put it that way, no, I don’t really want that kind of immortality. You were right, once I found out it was the well of immortality I didn’t bother to ask my Geeya about anything else. If not for you, I would have committed a grave mistake…”

“He’s right.” piped in Heart. “You saved both of us today, Marine. And we can never thank you enough for the sacrifice that have made. How many more years do you have until you must drink again?”

“I must drink again tomorrow, in order to extend my life by another twenty years.” wheezed the old man weakly.

His motive achieved, all the energy and passion he had just displayed seemed to have deserted him.

“Instead of punishing yourself further like this, have you thought of putting up a sign next to well warning people of the consequences of drinking from this well?” asked Heart.

Marine shook his head slowly.

“No … since I wanted to do penance, that thought never occurred to me.”

“Marine,” said Heart earnestly, “you don’t have to punish yourself anymore. I am sure you have long since atoned for your sins by saving the lives of who knows how many sequestors? Please, let me put up a warning sign for you. Do not drink from this well anymore. Release yourself from this eternal agony.”

Marine said nothing. He was staring fixedly at a spot on Rain’s neck.

“You have the pearls of cloysters?” he asked Rain.

“The what?” asked Rain, looking down at his chain, the claws on which were glowing brightly. It was time to go. Thankfully, this time there was no debilitating fear in anticipation of his next mini-Quest. Rain returned his attention to Marine. “What is a cloyster pearl?”

“Well, your necklace is made of cloister pearls. Cloysters are just like oysters, only blue in color. And the pearls they produce are claw-shaped. Cloysters are extremely rare. Only one in a thousand oysters is a blue cloyster. And one in a thousand cloysters produces a pearl. Their pearls are used as indicators.” explained Marine.

“Neat. Mine tells me when my next Quest is due and also lets me know when I have collected the correct wisdom.”

Rain held Marine’s hand in his.

“Marine, listen to what Heart says. Please don’t torture yourself anymore. We promise we’ll put up the warning sign for you.”

Marine looked from one to the other. “You promise?”

“We do.” said Heart solemnly. “It will serve your purpose. Sequestors will be warned.”

“All right, then. I won’t drink from it anymore.” Marine wheezed, and then his face slowly broke into a wide, toothless smile. He was already anticipating his freedom and the feeling was beyond anything he could describe.

Rain picked up the quails he had kept near the well and handed them over to Heart.

“Take these back for me, okay? I have a Quest coming up any time now.”

Rain bid Marine goodbye and then ran off in the direction opposite the well. When he had reached a secluded spot, he sat down and waited. Soon, the wind picked up and the forest was whizzing past him.

*****

CHAPTER 8

Rain landed with a soft thud at the mouth of a rocky tunnel at the base of a small mountain. Not far below, he could hear the constant sound of waves crashing against rocks. He touched his back; his bow and quiver full of arrows were still on him. He stayed where he was for a few moments, carefully taking in his surroundings. He scanned his immediate vicinity for any webs. Once he was certain none existed, he rose slowly, wondering if he should enter the tunnel. He was standing on a cliff. Behind him was a short, steep drop and before him, the open mouth of the tunnel, which was surrounded on either side by large boulders.

Rain was surveying the rocks when his eyes met two pairs of dull, dead, grey colored eyes with slits for pupils staring back at him blankly. Rain gave a startled jerk as he realized that someone had been watching him all this while. Or some
thing
.

What was it anyway? Man or woman? Human or animal? It had an ashen face with disheveled hair, and a thin line for a mouth. It was camouflaged so well with the rocks, that it was no wonder Rain hadn’t noticed it there before.