Chapter 24

"We may be able to find a portal to that position but I would not like to arrive under a hundred metres of water or even on the surface. I doubt we could get to land."

We tried to remember the shape and size in relation to Saranam. When the 'Lady' was found, if she could be found, we would have to make a trip to this location to see if the island was still there. Perhaps it still had some of the descendants of the mages there that had built this base.

It was getting dark by the time we finished our inspection. Sonya's light was not as strong and looking down the long tunnel we saw that light had fallen.

"I recall that my lady wanted to make love to me. Is she still of this mind?"

"It is about time. My back is sore from studying the globe. You are probably going to only add to my suffering."

"Perhaps not if my lady wishes to ride instead."

"That may be acceptable."

We set up our camp though there was no need for the tent. With a small spell I expanded a small strip of material to become a large and quite comfortable air mattress. We left to perform our ablutions outside. On the way back in I tried to be first but Sonya saw this as a challenge and we raced the last few hundred metres to reach the bed. We both threw ourselves on it and it slid across the floor to hit the globe we had been studying.

I wrestled with her until I was able to get my head between her thighs. She was very strong and fought dirty but I was stronger and knew her well. It was only when I was able suck her clit into my mouth did she finally admit defeat and pull less vigorously at my hair until she was pushing instead.

I claimed victory three times before Sonya managed to turn around and see what she could do to peek my interest. Her forth time and my first were at the same time though I liked to be a minute or so later.

With nothing to immediately distract us, we made very aggressive love interspersed with a kinder and gentler variety. Almost as learned reflex we charged our crystals and tried to feed the energy that would be wasted to this base but for some reason it would not accept it. When this happened we didn't worry and just forgot about our energy grid completely as I continued to make love to the woman I loved so much.

Sonya climbed on top many of the times and rode me the way she needed to have her orgasm without regard to me. This was the way I wanted it and came with her most of the time. There was something different. Our lovemaking was even more passionate and more stimulating. This made the bond we had that much stronger.

A very sated woman said to me after our last orgasm, "We better quit or we won't get any sleep."

"You tired me out." After a slight pause I held her to me even tighter and whispered with verbal words, "I love you Sonya."

She replied the same way. "I know you do and I love you just as much."

We woke up later than usual but that was ok. On the way out of the base we held hands as if we were newlyweds but we had done this a lot of times and it meant that we were extra happy. For breakfast we went hunting antelope. Since we knew where the animals were, we used rocks as weapons and took a fine young buck. We cooked what we wanted to eat then dried the rest as I did the slabs of lumber. The hide was good but not that useful to us. I was not wasteful though and preserved it with magic after scraping it clean.

Returning to the base again I found the tingle just a bit different than last time and for some reason it seemed to be just a bit brighter. Sonya said, "Perhaps it did take in our energy last night. I wasn't controlling it at all."

"You were a woman determined to get exactly what you wanted."

"I can do that again tonight if you are up to it."

"I may be able to stand up to your demands my lady."

"That sounds remarkably like a challenge."

"We lost sleep last night and we may have to turn in a lot sooner."

"You're on mister or more correctly I will be on you."

We tried the large arches on the periphery but they were as strong and as impervious as the wall itself. We knew they were portals but they would just not work for us.

I said, "This room reminds me of one of the stations we were going to make. You come in one portal and leave by one of the other three. I'm not sure about the globe but it could be a map that you would see in a bus station. This bus station though should have more than three destinations."

"Maybe you press a jewel and then we can go there."

We pressed a nearby jewel but saw or felt no change. The portals remained closed though we were only going to use the hide I just preserved. Instead of mechanical means we tried to press with PK or just choose a jewel with our mind. It was a fruitless search. We could not get the globe to interface with the portal or for the portal to work independently.

We made love that night and it was just as stimulating as the night before. I had to wonder if something nearby was causing this to happen. We weren't complaining though. It didn't hurt and made our relationship even closer.

The next day we took everything out of the one box and tried our way to open the one that Moldonia could not open. We were just as fortunate and the box remained closed. The characters on the wall and floor were our last avenue and we tried to make some sense out of them. There were spaces but usually then came after fifty three characters and up to ninety seven. We had to assume that the words were very long like some German words or a sentence had the words run into each other.

We counted a hundred and forty seven different characters and none looked like punctuation, though we had no idea what punctuation would look like. The paper with our transcribed information from the coins and box were compared and with only a slight variation they fit in with what were on the floor. The still unopened box was the same way though it had much more writing on it.

With nothing left to try we attempt to use the need. It had not worked on finding the ship or our family since Moldonia's base was destroyed. Soon we found that it didn't work in this case either.

Sonya and I were tired from ten days of research here with little to show for it. She finally said to me, "I wonder why those arches for the portals are so large?"

"A mage sometimes shows megalomania but I think it may be a very large being."

"The only thing that I think that is that large is a colcha."

"You may be right. Prostana would make it through but wouldn't have lots of room to spare."

"I thought Prostana was at least as intelligent as we are and he can read minds after he was taught. Do you think it was his people that used this place?"

I said, "They might but the globe and the writing are all so small. I can't see them building this place."

"A mage or a group of mages could have built this for the colcha. The globe and the writing look the right size for us."

"That is why I keep you around. You are a very smart woman. We just have to find Prostana now and see if he will cooperate."

"I think you want me around more for my body."

"That's nice too."

We took a long time to accurately lay out the coordinates of the centre of this newer room. They were only slightly different from the vestibule but if we were able to get a full grown colcha into the main room we would need to be exact.

The artifacts were left in the room we found and then we started the labourious task of putting some of the rock back into the tunnel to keep out intruders. Much of the rock had to be thrown out of the temple but for good measure we used some of the stones to block this entrance too.

Sonya and I made good time without the benefit of any modda. We had not found our own animals or the mabomas but didn't expect too after this much time had passed.

We avoided humanity for the most part except to stop a group from robbing an animal train. This happened off our path but the ambush was seen by our eye.

We hunted on the run and ate well. The strength built into our bodies was a match for what we were demanding of them and besides it felt good to just run. It was even better to be running with a full partner that I loved very much.

When we arrived at the torn up valley we found it deserted. We saw four large piles of shit and figured that Prostana had stayed just long enough to fully heal. During the trip here we had gone over everything that Prostana had said to us. He was not going back to his family because that would cause some problems.

The colcha lived in the mountains in some deep valleys with equally deep caves running into the heart of the mountain. The globe we had been studying so much was contoured so that we knew where the mountains were. None of them gave more detail than that.

At an area where Prostana had shed so much blood, we picked up some of the soil still containing some of his essence. We used the need this time and felt a pull much more to the east and south.

We plotted our course from the information we had. There was a river to the east and it went south and west but it was easy travelling until it reached a plain. Nearly eight hundred kilometres from there was another range of mountains and this we hoped would be where we would find Prostana.

Some of the valleys we ran through had sheer vertical walls. We could see one valley ahead most of the time and we could avoid the worst of the climbs. With the modda, we would have had a much more difficult time since they could not climb as well as we could.

The larger human settlements were far enough apart that we could rest for a partial day at each. Usually we did some good turns to some of the residents and plotted a location so we could drop in one day if we needed to.

When we hit the river we found that it was a rushing torrent. It had worn deeply into the rock. It would not only be difficult to get to the water and make a boat but if there was no place to beach the boat we would have troubles getting out. Travelling beside this river would be even more difficult and extremely slow.

We had to climb the ridges to follow the river for nearly two days before we found a place where we could get down but we were sure nobody else could.

A light but strong rope was made then a boat suitable for this type of water. We decided on a two man kayak. We lowered th boat down then Sonya climbed to the water's edge to steady the craft and wait for me. I came down quicker than I wanted to but was not hurt much. Since I was much larger, I got in first and used my PK to stay in place as Sonya settled into position.

The rope gave way far over head and fell into the water. I gathered this up for we may need it again to get out. It was a very wild ride. We tried to avoid magic for this was challenging without. In six hours we had shot two small rapids and covered a hundred and thirty kilometres. This was a fast river and we pushed the craft in the slower sections.

It was getting dark, especially how deep in the crust of the planet the water had worn. A small area no larger than we would need to pitch a tent came up and we aimed for it. We avoided three large rocks and an eddy before beaching the craft.

Sonya said, "That was fun."

"It was more fun being with you. Now catch me a fish and I'll cook it."

"Yes, Master."

There was some waterlogged wood caught in the rocks and a little on the section where we wanted to place our tent. There was no room for a fire, a tent, our boat and packs too. We had used little magic up to now and I sheared the rock of the wall in front of me. Sonya played out the rope and we climbed the rock wall. I moved our fuel and pushed the rock away so it would make a larger and higher place to camp.

Sonya and I climbed down on the freshly cut rock and didn't like the angle it was at. She got some rocks from the water and I had to pick the rock back up and she tucked them underneath one side. She then looked at the shiny rock wall. She told me what she wanted and we worked together to cut our own cave into the side. She did some tinkering and now we were out of the wind and had six square metres of room.

The rock we removed went to further adjust our stepping stone and then she wanted it grooved so it would not be slippery. After that she wanted a fire pit in it and a hole to drain rainwater if it collected. Since we were making a home I knew when to do what I was told and not to ask foolish questions.

Sonya caught the fish and I was able to cook it. My eye even found some large branches rushing by in the river. This came over too and when dried would make a nice to sit and hold each other.

That night I held Sonya close. It was quite cool for a change and the wind was strong outside our cosy home. I built a shield to protect us from most of the wind but not all of it. When it was time to turn in we made very tender love and thought of our own children and those others that I had fathered. They were all very important to me even when I had so many.

When we set out in the morning the back of our love nest had the outline of a heart and the words, 'Adam loves Sonya' engraved deeply into the rock. Sonya liked it too and used my mind to cut a similar heart that was interlocked with her own declaration of love.

We kept watch far ahead and occasionally to the heights above the river. I was steering and Sonya said, "A river is going to join ours. It is coming from the right and the water is turbulent." Sonya took over steering and I took a look and together we plotted the best course to take. This part was dangerous but I saw where the rocks were and we made it through on the strength of our little kayak and our arms.

We ate dried fish. We had soota or what looked like deer preserved since it lasted longer. Four hours later the river started to widen and come out of the mountains. The banks were now lower and more often than not they were covered with soil instead of bare rock.

Again when it was getting dark we looked for a place to camp for the night but when we got to it we found a much better place just a half hour further. It also had a lot of animals drinking from the river including some wild modda.

I said, "Do you want to ride or run? We can also do both if you want."

"I liked my modda. Let's get a few."

The animals were easy to capture for we used our PK to bring the boat close and we put a great many of them to sleep. We had to hurry to shore or some of the animals would drown. All the animals were compelled to not be frightened. Sonya picked through the group trying to find non-lactating females or young males. We were greedy and took six but if we travelled fast we would need all of them. They were all taken from the river so the rest would not see us.

There were a lot of tricks we had learned in domesticating these animals and we used all of them. We heard a loud thrashing from the river and used our eye to see what was happening. I was angry at myself. All the animals felt safe but a voso took the opportunity to have lunch.

The voso was similar to the Komodo dragon of Indonesia. This lizard could run faster than a man and was not a mere three metres but grew up to twelve or more in some areas. This one had taken one of the modda in its large jaws. The rest of the animals had fled by us and we had trouble with our own animals.

Looking into the water I saw that this must be a favourite hunting spot for them. The one to take the modda was only four metres long. I hurried to the shore and killed the animal with my mind then dragged the carcass to the land. It stunk too.

I butchered the carcass quickly and with my crystals converted the scaled hide into a type of leather that could be used for saddles. Sonya had to help me. We didn't want the flesh to linger here.

Sonya was artistic and made a saddle for her that reflected where the leather came from. I had to do another that fit me better and complimented hers. This was a good type of competition. We made three riding saddles this way but didn't need the other. Three more saddles were made but these would be used to carry cargo.

The remains of our pseudo Komodo dragon was thrown out into the river and in moments there was a lot of thrashing in that location as the rest of its kind finished off the tidbits. We had been careful and none of the saddlery had the scent of the lizard.

Our own animals were led down to drink and this time we were the ones that watched out for them. We left the kayak on a large stone that stood a few metres above the bank. It was nestled in but could be removed by anybody that wanted it. The moddas carried the saddles while we carried the packs much further from the river.

We set wards far out from out camp as we had learned long ago. The moddas were inspected already for diseases and parasites and taken care of. We now worked on conditioning them but we did it the most gentle way possible. In a few hours it was full dark and the animals thought we were part of the herd now.

We set up camp and hobbled the animals for the night. As usual predators came our way but the moddas were not bothered because the carnivores were shooed away before they got too close.

The next morning we continued with the saddles and put the buckles on from our limited supply of metal that we had. Tar could be used but metal felt right when working with this old medium of transportation.

Grass was changed into a pad for the animals because we wanted them as comfortable as possible. Sonya was the one that rode each of the horses first. She was not only kind but firm and the animals settled down much better with her weight. It was noon by the time the packs were placed on the animals and we rode them back to the river.

Mine was skittish. I was heavy but not beyond what the large animal could carry. The prairie reminded me of the wagon and the children but I tried to hide it. The animals were watered and the bags we made were filled with clean water. The spare moddas carried this commodity.

We took the sample of soil with Prostana's blood and expressed our need. This is the direction we were going to go. We started out slow but picked up speed as the animals learned how to react. In an hour we stopped and switched animals. This took time but it was better to have them all trained.

By the end of the day even the pack animals had been ridden but not as hard as the others. We passed some grasses that had partial seed heads. Our PK came into play and we harvested a lot of grain. The animals would need it when you considered how much work they were doing.

We ran into a very deep river and there was no way we could get down so we rode south for four days until it was passable. The moddas had to be sedated and put in a boat made of energy to get across the river. On the other side we had to pick them up and place them atop a ten metre cliff.

The prairie had some large predators besides the bomas. They kept us on our toes. Some would wait in hiding for us to pass and then attack. Sookra was a hostile place and the average earth human would usually die before they learned enough to survive.