Passing it down: Keepers 3

A whole week had passed since Ethel and Mendras entered the Keeper’s territory. Seven days of non-stop researching and they weren’t any closer to finding more information on rifts. 

“I guess they just don’t have anything.” Mendras yawned and let the scroll in front of him roll up. He dragged a paw over his tired eyes. Neither of them had slept well over the last few days, wanting to spend their last few days exhausting every lead they had. 

Mendras continued. “I guess the Beneath has never had rifts.”

“That’s impossible! This is still Vitalus. There’s magic in every corner of this place. How could there be nothing of rifts?” Ethel let her head fall to the table, on top of the book she was reading. 

“We should probably pack up.” Mendras said after a few beats of silence. “We’re on good terms with the Keepers. We can always come back.”

Ethel groaned. Who knows when the next opportunity to visit will be? With how busy things have become, it could be years from now. 

They had finished the books and scrolls back when there came a pitter patter of tiny paws on carpet. Kanae shot around the corner, his satchel pulling him a little off balance. 

“Guys! I’m back!” He exclaimed. “So I was telling my mom—”

He stopped when he saw Mendras strapping their travel gear on, their workstation cleared. “Are you guys leaving?”

“Oh… yeah. We stayed longer than we expected.” Mendras explained. In their sleep-deprived state, they had completely forgotten about Kanae. The pup had been visiting as much as he possibly could during their stay, with the goal of learning everything of the world above.

“No… you can’t yet! I still have more questions. Look!” He rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. It was about as long as he was (which wasn’t saying much) and covered in his scribbling. “I wrote down all my questions this morning.”

Ethel couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. “You know, we’re far from the only topsiders down here. I’m sure others will come along to answer all of your questions.”

Kanae pouted. “Fine but can you do one more thing? Please! I promise it won’t take that long!”

Mendras looked at Ethel. She shrugged. “What do you need?”

“Stay here!” He said and shot back around the corner again, nearly tripping over his floor length fur. 

“Someone ought to clip that boy’s hair.” Mendras mumbled. He slumped back down into the pillow he was just using. “Wake me up when he gets back.”

Only a few minutes had passed before Kanae came back. The books in his satchel were gone and in their place were two slender gold cylinders. He carefully pulled them out and placed one in front of each of them.

“What’s this?” Ethel asked. 

“They’re Etching Stones.” Kanae explained as he unlatched the tops and slid out a something wrapped in paper. “They hold memories and others can view them whenever they want.”

Both vayrons perked up to this. It was the first time they had heard of such devices. 

“I know you said you don’t know much about it but you watched the Archanist make those butterflies right?” He pointed to the butterflies fluttering about in her prosthetic leg. “Can you put them in the Etching Stone for me? Please?”

“Of course I can!” Ethel said. 

“Great! Yes! Just unwrap the paper and put your paw on it and think about the memory. Only that memory! The stone will do the rest.”

“What do you want me to do?” Mendras asked. 

“Can you put the butterfly blueprint in here? I would copy it down but that would take way too long.”

“Sure thing.” Mendras did the same. He unwrapped the paper and placed his paw against the smooth surface. It didn’t take much for the stone to start working. He brought up an image of the blueprints and runes and lines began etching themselves into its glassy surface. Kanae watched along, bouncing in excitement. When both were done, he rewrapped the crystals and put them back into their containers.

“Thank you, thank you! I’m going to become one of those Archanists one day and make magic machines!”

“I look forward to the day, Kanae.” Ethel said. “Maybe I’ll come to you for repairs.”

Mendras helped Ethel with the last clip before turning to Kanae and tussling his silk-like mane. “And maybe one day we’ll see you above ground. Maybe next time you can come visit us.”

“Where do you live?” He asked. 

“The Tamed Seas.” Mendras responded. “A small island but not far from Vitalus’s mainland. If the gates are open, you can walk straight into the palace gardens. I’m sure you’ll love it. Promise no one will give you any trouble.”

Kanae nodded. “I’ll remember that. Thank you again!”

Kanae accompanied Ethel and Mendras to the storehouse’s front door before saying his goodbyes. He clutched the gold cylinders tight as he watched them trot down the cobbled streets. The memories they held would be life changing. This he was sure.