The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (35 page)

Gyan burst out laughing, ‘Lor, your intuition
skills are growing. Erin’s home will be finished before the
eclipse. She isn’t aware of this though. As for Drune, we will have
a structure started. As Erin said, and I am quoting here, “We could
throw up the rudiments of a shelter and have the sage move in, as
long as it was in the henge’s sphere of influence and where the
permanent home will be. That could do it in the crunch we are in.
We can only do what we can do.” And that is the plan we are working
under. When we arrived there was part of two stone walls and they
weren’t near where the henge should have been. The henge is up.
Lor, it is really beautiful sitting out here on the prairie. Young
Erin is a force to be reckoned with. You should have seen her
today. With the tools you found for her she located the site and
all of the far flung posts totally in one day. The men were kept
hopping. It has been a remarkable fifteen hours. I sent Mikl to
Terresville to take them up on an offer. Hopefully they will be
here tomorrow and help with Drune’s home. Oh, I should tell you
that the henge posts told Erin that the eclipse would be in less
than four days.’ and he laughed again. ‘I might not talk to you
until after the eclipse. We’ll be very busy in the time remaining.
Thank you for all of your effort.’ Gyan decided to turn in as Cear
was well up in the sky and the next few days would be busy!

At dawn Erin was just opening her eyes when
Tempo jumped up with a growl. She rolled to her knees and yelled to
the camp. “Quake!” She quickly turned her boots upside down hopping
that that would be sufficient to dislodge any vesi then pulled them
on. Seconds later she was out of her tent and running for the
henge. She knew there were others who would be hurrying for the
animals but the posts were so newly in the ground that she was
afraid that they would come down. The ground gave a quiver then
started to roll. She had been in worse but it did knock her off
balance and as the next wave hit she found herself on her hands and
knees. She crawled until the ground quieted then ran the rest of
the way to the henge.

The ground shook again and the posts moved
with it. Erin reached out to hold onto Sel, and felt a circle of
energy between the posts. They were supporting each other with
magnetic energy drawn from the planet! It was a little unnerving to
be in its field and she pulled away.

Gyan had come out of his tent and had seen
her reaction. “What is it Erin?”

She turned and walked toward him. “Clever of
them. They have learned and no herder will ever pull them down
again. They are now bound to each other with a circle of
geomagnetic energy and are going to stay where they are.” She gave
a grin. “How did Drune’s home fare?”

Gyan looked over at the bare shape of a house
at the end of the henge. “Not enough there to really fall down. We
are going to be pulling some more rocks to the site from the river
and the prairie. The team of workers from Terresville will
hopefully be here soon with men and lumber. Let’s eat breakfast.
We’re building a home today!”

Chai put together a hearty breakfast that
filled everybody with warmth. Erin was on the detail to scout out
stones in the prairie. Others went toward the river. There were
large wooden sleds to pile their finds on that could be pulled back
to camp by the horses. It was interesting, mused Erin, there was
evidence that there had once been more structures out here than
anybody remembered. She found a large pile of flat pavers and
together her team filled four of the large sleds with them. Toward
late morning they discovered two rounded mounds of Thulite boulders
about the size of a man’s torso. There had to be thirty or more
stones in each pile. Erin lifted what she could but most were
beyond her abilities. She rode back to camp to get more help. The
house was shaping up. The help from Terresville had arrived and had
brought lumber and sacks of dry mortar. It was a beehive of
activity. Not seeing Gyan right away, Erin approached Bast with the
information of the find. He quickly organized the strongest of the
men available to haul the rosy stones back. Drune had laid the
pavers in the hearth and kitchen area and had enough for the entry
of the home. The foundation of all of the walls had been laid and
some posts had been set to support the structure. Some men from the
town were masons and had been moving right along with mortar and
stone. They had made a special quick dry mix from the ancient’s own
formula so they could lay a layer of stone in one part of the home
then go to another. When they came back to the first area the
mortar would have set and another layer could be placed. There were
a lot of workmen!

Erin rode back out and continued to look.
Shortly before the break for lunch she stumbled upon a pile of
brown granite, and black marble building stones. They were roughly
the size of the pile they had just unearthed. She was in sight of
the other work crew and yelled and waved her arms. A rider came
over and as he got nearer she saw that it was Omin on Dash. “I have
to wonder what the plains looked like a really long time ago
because there are a lot of stones here that look as if there had
been structures. I have no other explanation for these piles. I am
sure that there are more beneath all of the sod and soil. These are
just what are poking out on the surface.” Omin nodded. “We have
just finished with that pile of thulite and have one empty sled.”
He gave a piercing whistle and motioned with his arm. Let’s take a
load back before lunch.”

It took them an extra half hour to load the
sled but they were all pulling it back to camp shortly after
that.

Some of the workers had finished their lunch
by the time they arrived. Erin and her team sat down to eat as
others unloaded the sled. The home was looking good. It was
remarkable how much had gotten done. The location of the wind mill
had been decided and it was three quarters finished. It was a
beehive of activity!

As soon as they had eaten they were back out
and loading stone. By mid-afternoon they had found, loaded and
transported easily about a ton of stone. They rode back in to see
if more was needed or if their labor was required in building. Erin
was surprised how much had been accomplished. The rock walls were
being completed. Apparently the structure was going to be stone to
window height then logs the rest of the way. The stone fireplace
and chimney were finished. The post and beams were there and
supporting the whole home. There appeared to be a loft growing on
one end. It was amazing. By the time the eclipse happened it should
be finished except for the windows, part of the roof, some of the
windmill mechanism and the contents.

She and Bast walked over to where Gyan and
Drune were talking. Gyan was telling Drune what was coming. “Osily
is sending the rest of the windmill parts. They may be here
tomorrow. Terresville has some roofing timber and milled planks
arriving tonight or tomorrow morning. We left the window openings a
little large. They can be firred in when the windows get here.
Windows are about four days out from Cana. You’ll have eight of
them. Lor packed up your belongings from Aerie and has sent them.
They may be here tonight. The rest is just work.” and he slapped
Drune on the back, who looked a little dazed.

“I can’t believe all of this! This home is
just... I figured I’d have a little hut and expand on it slowly. It
would still be a home.”

Bast gave a bark of a laugh. “There still is
a lot you will have to do on your own. Good thing you have
skills!”

Erin planted her fists on her hips. “Pull
your head out of the clouds, Cos.” she said with a smile, “We need
to know if you want any more rock.”

Drune gave her a bemused look then grabbed
her hat off of her head and ruffled her short hair. “Let’s all go
see what’s here.”

The four of them went over to where all of
the stone had been unloaded and looked back at the house. “No, I
think that will do for now. I want to have a small stable for a
horse or two. It can be next to the windmill and made of wood also.
There is enough rock for what still needs to be done on the house.
It is remarkable that you found so many stones of similar
size.”

Erin turned to Gyan. “About that. I wouldn’t
want to excavate this whole part of the prairie, but was this once
a community? There seemed to be many piles, all of the same general
size. I’ll bet there are more covered by dirt and turf. What can
you tell me about that?”

Gyan shook his head. “If it was, it was well
before my time. Let’s help the workers until dinner.” They all
pitched in and worked on the construction until the sun began to
sink.

Chai was working on a hearty dinner to feed
the hard working crew as Drune, Erin and Tempo walked through the
structure. The floor was totally laid. There was only one interior
wall, separating the bathroom and laundry area from the rest of the
home and a large pantry area that needed shelves and a door. The
rest had an open flow. The loft was for sleeping. The fireplace
wall was finished as was part of the adjacent front wall. The
windmill was just awaiting the mechanism, wiring and battery then
it could be sealed up. It was really remarkable how much had been
accomplished. “Erin said softly, “Congratulations on your new home.
I think you’ll be happy here. You’ve already found peace.”

He gave her a hug. “Let’s go get dinner.
Pretty soon I will be eating my own cooking again. I’m going to
enjoy this while I have it!” They walked companionably back to the
campfire. “At least I know where I will put my bed roll tonight.
The henge should be happy. There is a content sage living here,
now.”

The day dawned, like many fall days, clear
and brisk. Erin, the very first up, left her tent and rubbed her
arms briskly. She paused and looked at Drune’s home. It seemed
strange that she was moving back into a regular, normal life. It
had been the most unreal two months. She looked down at Tempo, who
looked up at her. ‘Go make your vesi rounds, my friend. I’m going
to see what Chai is beginning to put together and get my breakfast.
We’ll talk after we eat.

She went over to help Chai and thank him for
all of his help and comradeship. He gave her a big smile. “I’m
happy to work with you anytime, Erin! Breakfast is soon. I
understand that you will be leaving us today.” He pointed to a
dutch oven he had set up. “I’m fixing you enough travel meals to
get you back to Morraton. I understand that you have a fondness of
cheese blintzes. They're on the menu.” and Chai gave her a wink.
Erin gave him a big smile and a hug. “Thank you, that is so
wonderful!”

Gyan was standing just outside of his tent.
Erin could see that Drune was emerging from his home as she
approached Gyan and said, “I’ll be leaving after breakfast. I don’t
want to gallop the whole way back and even though the henge posts
said that the eclipse would be in less than four days, which
confirmed our count, I feel that I have to leave now. It should
give me plenty of time to get there and drop my packs inside the
door.” Drune had joined them in time to hear Erin’s words.

Gyan nodded, “It is always good to pay
attention to those gut instincts. Would you like one of the men to
go with you?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Bure and his
group are contained and it should be safe enough. If I have any
problems, Keir or Nuit could fly back. You wouldn’t understand them
but their presence in your camp would make a statement.” She gave
him a cheeky smile. “If you wish not to worry you can always
contact me in the evening.” Gyan laughed and ruffled her short hair
affectionately. “I just might do that.”

He put his arm on her shoulder and the three
walked over to the campfire for breakfast. Drune had been quiet.
“I’m going to miss you Cos.”

Erin grinned at Drune. He was like the cousin
he called her. “You can come and visit. We won’t live that far
apart. Ree has invited me to her home for winter solstice. I can
pass through here and say hello. Are you going to raise
horses?”

Drune looked thoughtful, “I haven’t decided.
I will have time to figure that out, meanwhile I’ll need to stock
up on things until I can get my home self-sufficient. I might
travel to Morraton for some of the supplies. You’re right. We won’t
live that far apart.” The three sat down to breakfast. They ate in
silence just quietly enjoying each other’s company.

Erin was taking her cleaned plate to Chai as
the wagon carrying the windmill parts came over the rise from
Osily. At the same time the rider sent by Lor dismounted in front
of the house, unloading his pack animals. She smiled. They were
going to be busy here, today. There were a couple of wagons of
lumber also due from Terresville. Tempo came up to her and said
very seriously, ‘What do you want to talk about? Can’t we do it
while we’re traveling? I would like to get moving to your
home.’