Kate Novak - Finder's bane

Joel started off down the path, eager now to reach hi” destination. Behind him, Jas muttered a dark curse. Joel turned around. Jas's wings had transformed. In place of the pink-feathered, eaglelike appendages were four planes of clear membranes like a dragonfly's wings. They glowed softly.

"Jas, your wings… they've-"

"— changed. Yeah, big deal," Jas muttered. She glared at Jedidiah. "We aren't underground at all, are we? You didn't tell me this would take us into another plane,' she complained.

"We're in another plane?" Holly asked, awestruck.

"The borderland of the ethereal plane," Jedidiah explained. "One of the saurials, a wizard named Grypht, created the gates and the path. Do your wings transform every time you travel to a different plane?" the old priest asked Jas curiously.

"Yeah. Now can we get on with it?" Jas insisted.

The way was smooth, but the lack of scenery made the walk tiresome. After a while, Joel and Jedidiah began singing to break the monotony. Holly joined in occasionally. Jas remained silent, occupied with her own thoughts.

Joel asked Jedidiah if Alias knew the song to open the ethereal path.

"Oh, yes," the old priest said. "She has quite a remarkable voice."

"Is she a priestess of Finder?" Joel asked.

Jedidiah laughed and shook his head. "She's more like Jas. Avoids the gods if she can help it."

They lost all track of time during their trek in the murky grayness. They walked until they were exhausted, then rested. When they awoke, they ate another meal created by Jedidiah, then walked some more. Some time after their third rest, the path ended at another gate-a glittering yellow monolith of amber, engraved with Finder's symbol beneath the carving of an archway.

Joel repeated the marching song. This time he was the first to step through the gate.

He stood on another mountainside, just above the timberline, his back to another cliff engraved with Finder's symbol. The world below was already in twilight, the wooded slopes shadowed by the mountains to the west. Just down the path was a small open-sided shelter built of wood, shingled with slate to match the hillside.

When Jas popped out of the mountainside, her wings were once again pink feathers. Holly and Jedidiah came out a moment later.

"It's not far from here now," Jedidiah said, "but the trail is narrow and steep. We should wait until light to continue."

They walked down to the shelter. It was engraved with symbols of Finder, Tyr, Tymora, Chauntea, and others that Joel did not recognize. An assortment of wind chimes hung under the shelter's eaves-deep-toned tubes of copper, tinkling tinny silver bells, clacking reeds. Herbs and dried flowers hung from the ceiling. Benches surrounded a small round table. The high mountain air was chill, but the shelter was comfortably warmed by some enchantment. The party sat and ate one final meal of Jedidiah's magically created bread.

"Nothing personal, but I'll be glad to eat real food again," Jas said.

"So will I," Jedidiah agreed.

Assured by Jedidiah that there was no need to keep a watch as long as they slept in the safety of the shelter, they were all soon asleep on the wooden floor. The wind chimes in the eaves played a lullaby for the weary adventurers.

Joel woke before sunrise, when the birds were just beginning to stir. He lay awake, unable to fall back to sleep. Soon he would be in the Lost Vale, in the Singing Cave, the only temple to Finder. He would meet the temple's priestess, Copperbloom. Jedidiah had told Joel that if he made the pilgrimage to the Lost Vale he would understand more about Finder and his church. He wanted to believe Jedidiah with all his heart, yet Walinda's threat had poisoned that belief. What if he got there and still didn't understand his purpose, still felt useless? The uncertainty was unbearable.

The Rebel Bard sat up. Holly and Jas lay sleeping in a corner, but Jedidiah stood outside the shelter, motionless. Joel rose and joined him. Jedidiah smiled and whispered good morning.

"Trouble sleeping?" Joel asked.

"Just troubled period," Jedidiah replied. "Are you anxious to get there?" he asked.

Joel nodded with a sheepish grin. "It's kind of like the morning before Highharvestide. I'm too excited to sleep.”

Jedidiah nodded with an understanding smile. "lie sky's lightening," he noted. "Why don't you start down the path? I'll wait here until the ladies wake, then well follow you."

Joel looked down the trail eagerly, but then he turned back to Jedidiah and asked uncertainly, "Do you want me to go alone?"

"I only came north to be sure you escaped the priests of Xvim," Jedidiah explained.

"I wouldn't have made it here without you," Joel said, realizing that without Jedidiah's help, he would never have completed his pilgrimage.

Jedidiah shook his head. He put his hands on the young man's shoulders. "Joel, journeying to the Lost Vale isn't some silly test of your survival skills. It's a measure of your desire to be part of Finder's church. It's a demonstration that you want to understand more about your god."

"And will I?" Joel asked in a whisper.

Jedidiah lowered his head, then raised it again. He wore a wry grin. "Maybe more than you were meant to,' he replied. "This is going to be a trying time for our church and for our god."

"Because we lost the finder's stone?" Joel asked.

"No. Because I lost the finder's stone," Jedidiah corrected. He pointed down the path with one hand and slapped Joel on the back with the other hand. "Go," he ordered jovially. "Tell Copperbloom I'll be along later."

"I will," Joel said.

"Remember what I told you," Jedidiah said. "She can understand you just fine even if she can't speak our language."

Joel nodded as he began striding down the path. It curved around the mountain, leading downward.

The peaks of the surrounding mountains were still snow-covered, but the air grew warmer as he descended the peak. The boulders and low-growing junipers gave way to pine and spruce trees. Still farther down, stands of birch and aspen broke the solid line of evergreens. Below him, the path left the mountain slope and traveled along a saddle to the next slope. Rhododendrons bloomed in such profusion along the saddle that the land seemed to be covered by a purple haze.

Once he'd reached the saddle, Joel discovered side trails that branched off from the main path. He was nearing inhabited land. Far above him, something cried out, causing him to jump. Among the pine trees, Joel had seen and heard innumerable blue jays, but this cry was like none he'd ever heard. He looked up. Something circled high overhead, like a hawk, but its silhouette looked more like a giant bat than any bird.

When he had crossed the saddle, the path began winding around the next mountain, but now it began to climb the slope. On the southeastern face of the mountain, Joel got his first glimpse of the Lost Vale.

On the northern face of a mountain, across the vale, stood a stone tower. Innumerable small cottages, surrounded by gardens and fields, dotted the floor of the vale. Tiny figures moved about among the buildings; others headed into the mountains and hills.

A magnificent staircase climbed from the vale straight up the southern slope of the mountain on which the bard stood. Joel's path led through a rose garden to a landing midway up the staircase. The bard hurried forward until he stepped onto the landing. There he paused to take in the view.

The staircase was wide enough for eight men to wall abreast. On either side, amazing gardens clung to the slopes. The flowers and shrubbery and trees and vines sometimes grew over the stairs. Many of the plants were so exotic Joel could not even put a name to them. A stream trickled through the gardens, cascading over rocks. In one place, it flowed over the staircase, forcing the climber to use little stepping stones. Pieces of statuary, great and small, decorated the gardens. Some pieces represented wild creatures-frogs, birds, turtles, cats. Other carvings were more abstract in nature. Lanterns of stone, wood, metal, even glass, hung from trees or rested on boulders. After every sixteen steps, there was a landing. Each landing was decorated with huge banners hanging from tall posts. The banners were woven, embroidered, or painted with a design, some intricate, others simple and bold. A hundred chimes sounded with every breeze.