55,213

The trip out to the Lookout the next day was fine, Idrias was able to stay off to the side there but easy to forget. That couldn’t last, for she was eager to know what Dr. Buggarss thought so had to make sure she was close to him, which but her next to the king, for all she hadn’t planned it. She looked out of the ruins and frowned a bit seeing how the mist was thinning there was another house visible now, and it had just been a month. Something needed to be said, but how?

Dr. Buggars said. “What is up with the fog over there? It isn’t most enough nor cold enough for that. I do think you might be on to something. There are clear similarities. If only we could get closer, but even from here I can see the lay outs are indeed lining up. That Spire there would be right to be the Temple to the Knowledge pair, and fits the shape and would be the highest of the temples here. If you are right, and the name is true. The one to the left should have a sword on it, if we were closer and be the house of War.” He was taking out a sketch book as he spoke. “If the directions are right there will be points to the other two cities in the way the temples are. They point to each other, for one each town was centered on one pair. If we can work out how this one directs to the Rift, and the Rift to here we should then locate the other two. Let me get this down.”

Idrias nodded. “That is what started me thinking it might be real. When I first visited the spire was just starting to show, but I am able to see a bit more and can see that the male has a staff and there is a bird on the females shoulder, further supporting that it is dedicated to Wisdom, as I thought from the shape even before the toxins cleared enough to let me see the flutes on edge of the roof there. This is the best point to see the town as a whole but we can get closer to the temples. Given the wind we might even get to where you can see a bit of the painting, but we will have to move with care and be ready to run. The poison has cleared a good deal, but still shifts with the wind.”

The ranger said. “The mist is the visible evidence of the poison in the lands. It lifts as that levels go down. It has been clearing faster this last year, which we think means the chemicals are breaking down faster as they age. Shifters have a higher resistance so they can now make it to the row of houses just past the temple on the ground, and to the second one where they can go over the roofs. We have two that come out quarterly and make services for us. It is limited to twenty minutes at a time, but we do have a good map of the ruins from their efforts. I will see you get a copy of it. We have been able to make it to the first house on two occasions, but the red fence there is the limit that we feel safe letting visitors go to, and only when the wind is right. The green one marks the end of the fully safe zone, the yellow one is safe for all but the worst days and is where I would ask you to stay if you wish to go closer, Your Majesty. The weather is just to likely to change, for me to feel comfortable letting you go closer.”

Idrias looked at the ranger a bit surprised. “I didn’t think it was safe to go that close, with the clouds. I was just going to go to the green fence, but if you think we can, get to yellow he might be able to see carvings clear enough to see how they compare. I didn’t think anything could be taken into the zone so are they making maps from memory? Then they would have to be, for they would have shifted, cloth not being safe. Have they been able to enter any of the buildings?” She was looking at the ruins, thoughtfully, then looked at her father. Wondering if he would let her, even if the wind changed she would be safe at the second row where they could go past the temples now. That would let her read a bit of the writings on the walls. She had never tried to go into these, but now it was a bit temping. She realized the ranger was looking at her, a bit troubled. “Sorry, I don’t mean to alarm you. I am not going to take any risks. Nothing goes any closer than Harrold says is safe, I was just wondering if the zone for paper goods had been extended.”

The ranger shook his head but Harrold laughed. “Paper is good for an hour at the first row clothes to the second, but only outside the buildings and not with a storm. In this weather the red line, but watch the flow. Given the clouds it is going to change fast.  We are considering moving the lines in a foot more. We will see how it does after the storm. They have been in a few of the buildings, but are not to interesting in them, just keeping the maps up. It is harder to get a reading of the levels inside in the buildings, so we can’t say what is safe.”

Idrias nodded a bit. “When the weather is favorable I will have to come back with a notebook. I have been trying to get the writings on the Temple columns translated, but it has proved to difficult. If I can get that close with a notebook I will be able to copy this side of it down. That will give me a better way to go at it.” She looked back at the ruins, but felt it would be the wrong time to say anything about entering them. However she was going to do, and see just what was in those close houses. There might just be a few books that could be copied down.  “I am guessing that I said something troubling? Given the way you are looking at me.”

Dr. Burggus said. “Just how far can you see? I know that there should be carvings on the columns but couldn’t be sure it was there. From here I can just barely see the shapes on the roof enough to make a guess at them.”

His Majesty said. “I should like to move closer, just as far you feel is safe. But I would like to get look at the statues if it is possible. So why do you want to know what is on the columns?”

Idrias said. “From here I can see the hints of paint on the houses in second row and the suggestion of the statue in front of the temple, so what you will be able to see at the yellow fence.  At the green I can tell there are carvings, at the yellow I can make out some of the shapes of them. From the red, if the langue wasn’t so old I could read it. However it is older than the first emperor, at least in from, so I need time and paper to puzzle it out. It is the apparent age that makes it important Your Majesty. I think all here know that there are problems with the account of the first Waith war. I believe that if we can find the towns that were abandon in the wars we might be able to find some of those answers.”

Harrold said. “If you will follow me, I will take you on in. Now it is a bit rough, but the path is safe, just try not to go too far off it. We will try for the second fence, but if the wind shifts we will have to go back to the green as tolerances very and I don’t want to risk any getting ill. Now there is nothing fatale, but there can be enough to cause flu like symptoms in the yellow zone.  Idrias do let us know at the station before you go into the houses hunting books. I n fact why don’t you start coming by next week and learn how to use the readers? Might be a few can be brought out to the study hut in the red zone. That would let you copy them easier. The archeologists would be delighted if you will check other items. The pairs just don’t want to take the time.” Idrias flushed a bit as they started down the trail. She didn’t think she was being so obvious, and was sure her father was upset.

Lord Wlton said. “Just what problems would that be? The accounts are very clear on what happened. I do not see why there an isues. Any that have read history knows what happened.”

Idrias shook her head, but one of the other Lords answered first. “Those accounts are the problem. One they are identical. No to reports of any battle are going to match. Yet every account of that one dose completely. That just screams scripted and cover up. There is no prior encounter with the Waiths in any know records, yet they are named in the first account but not described until the third or fourth battle. How did they know who the attackers were? How did they know what the red ships were? We know nothing of the Waith expect that they are on the other side of the dead lands and they were an enemy in the past. We have made more of an effort to communicate with the trolls that we know want us dead or enslaved than we have with beings that might not even be hostile! We need to know more about them. Ignoring them is a mistake, but so is blindly assuming they want to kill everything. We need information. The old records are indeed the best chance we have. Child can you safely enter the ruins?”

Idrias bit her lip and looked at her father. He nodded a bit, but was frowning. “I can enter the zone, without harm. I can tell easily when the poison is to thick for my bodily to shed, so in that way yes. I have not been in the zone here, so I do not know what shape the buildings are in. Most look reasonably intact. However the toxin weakens some materials, so just because they look sound they might not be.  I have never felt safe to move anything from buildings that are in even the edges of the zones, but have made copies of a few I found at other places, just in zones that would be the same as the red one. I didn’t think it safer to take paper in further. I can see the poison, but cannot tell where it is coming from, if it is the ground or the items so wasn’t sure I would be able to tell if it was contaminated. That is not something to fool around with.”

The Lord and Harrold nodded, the lord was looking thoughtful. Harrold said. “Like I said come around and let us teach you how the scanners work. Once you know how to read them and take one with you it might help you sort out what you are seeing. If not you can always take one to the other ruins to test the items. All stations on the borders have artifact huts and I imagine they would welcome more things to study. Now then just stay on this side of fence and try not to go to far but feel free to look around. You will be able to see a bit more from here. So where are the other ruins, I didn’t know there were any without a station.”

Idrias flushed a bit. “I um, well I’m not fully sure. Some I got to through the temples, those would be the ones I have made copies at, others. Well I have slowly been getting the patterns for the standing gates. One is actually in the zone, and that was alarming, but the area it is sitting is equally to the yellow zone but the area is fully surrounded. I have never taken anything with me when I go there, and do so only shifted. I am careful, but I have been slowly exploring the area. It is troubling because there is no record of a gate opening in the zone. Not even in the ones listed as destroyed. Therefore I have no idea where it is. I keep hoping there will be a town name that I can find on a map.”

The Lord frowned a bit. “No there not supposed to be any in the zone. That was why that strip was chosen. There are tactile reports of it, I mean it was a deliberate action. As sickening as the labs really, in some ways worse. There were gate on the other side, that were lost as the territory was. I am not so sure that they were destroyed. One was close to the edge, but not in it, supposedly. If you find a maker I would like to know.”

Idrias said. “The only sign have been able  to make out says Leeds, but that makes no sense. The only Leeds on the map is far to the south of the zone.” She looked at the king and realized this was likely the only time she would have to make a suggestion. When her Mother heard she would yell, but it should be said. “I know this is not something I should be worrying about yet, the politics is best left in those who know more of how the world works. Yet I wonder why envoys have been sent to talk to the trolls, that have just killed those sent before, yet none have been sent to the Waiths?” There was some coughing. “It just seems we should try and talk to them if we are trying to talk with the trolls. Then I am hardly in a place to need to know what is done behind the doors.”