《The Echoes of Yore》 Chapter 1 Taryn was bored. The sunny morning had turned into a bleak and blustery afternoon. The foot traffic on the street outside had dried up as the pavement got wetter and wetter in the drizzle. He doubted anyone would be wandering around town perusing crystals and good luck charms, so he had made himself a cup of tea and settled in behind the counter. That was exactly twenty-one minutes ago. Taryn was very sure of this fact, having checked the clock himself. A few times. The family shop was on a side street which led away from a small park running along the canal (originally the small stream around which the village had sprouted) on the other side from the high street. Over the centuries the locals had built a mill around which the village flourished, evolving into a thriving community. The eventual conglomeration of three large towns into one small city had resulted in the high street, at one point the beating heart of the little town, mostly turning into a string of trendy high end clothing stores and a variety of restaurants. Throughout all of this, however, there had always been a fortune teller operating out of the very location in which Taryn now idly sat and watched the clock crawl towards his freedom. While the name on the door had changed a few times, there was in fact, only one family that had ever owned the business. It was passed from one generation to the next, and was now the sole proprietorship of one Edith Taylor, who not only owned the building and the business, but was in fact, also Taryn¡¯s mother. Being the only child, it was always expected that Taryn would take over the family business, and a rather successful one at that. It has provided him with a comfortable upbringing. He went to a good school where he met and mingled with social elites of the area. Or at least their children. While he was certainly not the wealthiest of students in attendance, Taryn was still one of the more popular kids, playing on the first team for both rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. Taryn knew he should be grateful to have an opportunity to make such a comfortable living so easily but he couldn''t help feeling guilty about just how his family¡¯s income was earned. it always felt just a little too predatory for his comfort. The retail side of the business, his current domain, sold a variety of arcane and spiritual tat. Tarot cards, potion vials (test tubes), grimoires of dubious origin, crystals, candles, mood enhancers, alternative health remedies, and sundry other trinkets and baubles all designed to catch the eye of teenage girls trying to find themselves as they began to face the turmoil of adult life. While he didn¡¯t have high turnover, the margins were almost criminal. Still there was no shortage of willing and eager patrons. The irony of buying the requisite materials for a wisdom ritual, learned from a book purchased from the same shop, which also happens to be the only one in at least five towns in any direction that has both elephant grass and willow bark for sale, both irreplaceable for the ritual, was not lost on him. If only they knew the bark came from the willows that lined the canal. The elephant grass was a little harder to come by. When stocks were getting low Taryn would go for an evening drive through the countryside until he spotted an estate which had used some as an ornamental part of their landscaping. Then he would wait till dark and help himself to a bag or two or leaves. He always felt kind of scummy doing that though. It just felt wrong to make a living selling junk to gullible idiots. Still, that wasn''t as bad as what his mother did. Edith was a seeress. To hear her explain it, she could perceive the shape of the world to come, and with that perception guide a questing soul towards that which it seeks. In truth she was a master. 97% of her ¡°guidance¡± was a mixture of counseling, psychology, and vague predictions of generic life that sounded just mystical enough to seem prescient. Especially to someone already desperate to believe. It was that last three percent of the time that kept Taryn from turning away from his life as a loveable charlatan. Somehow, when it really mattered, Edith always came through. Taryn had seen more than his fair share of the miraculous and mysterious. Even Edith would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the coincidental and the truly connected. Sometimes it was belief that filled the gaps in a clients mind helping them have the confidence to do what would have otherwise felt impossible. Taryn glanced up at the clock again. 3:52 P.M. Only 3 minutes since the last time he checked. With another twentyish minutes to kill between now and the only remaining appointment for the day, Taryn decided to have a little fun. He pulled out his phone and started reading up on this weekend''s round of the United Rugby Championship. As an avid player in high school, Taryn had fantasized about going pro himself. A separated shoulder in his final year had killed his chances, although he doubted he would have made it anyway. His passion for the sport had remained however. Although he didn¡¯t gamble himself, at his mother¡¯s instance what with their position in the community, Taryn enjoyed seeing which of his guesses were on the money. Taryn was pondering his last selection when the phone rang. The call was from one of his mothers regulars, Mrs Wilson. She had started seeking guidance after her late husband''s estate and netted a lot less than expected and she found herself worried about money for the first time in her adult life. When Taryn took over the front of the shop, one of his first duties was to all but memorise his mothers records. He quickly learned that while nothing of substance was ever noted, Edith would instead write down as much as she could from the small talk. Who was going where on vacation, when the seedlings were repotted, and seemingly any other inane detail you could think of. When he asked about it, Taryn learned it was for two main reasons. Firstly, it was key to building a proper personality profile which in turn was used to create the personal touches Edith would use to help someone feel as if they had been heard and that Edith truly cared. Secondly, by browsing through each file before the person arrived, Edith, and to a lesser extent Taryn could occasionally pick out a detail or two that helped make them seem just that extra bit ¡°in tune¡± with the universe. For example, Mrs. Wilson liked to find meaning in the smallest things. Whether it was there or not.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Taryn reached for the phone. He was still unsure about his choice for the last game. ¡°Hello Mrs Wilson. What a pleasure to hear from you¡± he said ¡°Oh Hello Taryn¡± said Mrs. Wilson, ¡°can you tell your mum that something came up and i will have to miss my session today.¡± From her tone, Taryn guessed that whatever the reason was, it wasn''t anything troubling. Time for a little showmanship. ¡°Sorry Mrs. Wilson¡± Taryn said ¡°but what session today?¡± ¡°I have an appointment for this afternoon,¡± she said. ¡°I was supposed to be there a quarter past four, but I just got some good news and am heading out to celebrate.¡± ¡°Well I am certainly glad to hear you have something to celebrate, especially considering I don''t see you on the schedule¡± he lied. ¡°Are you sure you booked it for today¡± ¡°Yes, definitely. I rang a couple days ago and got your mum on the phone. I was very worried about¡­ well, your mum knows all about it.¡± Taryn rolled his eyes. Mrs Wilson just wanted to believe. Time to end the little gambit. ¡°Well it seems that she forgot to put you in the schedule for today. I do apologize for the mix up. I''m just glad you weren''t put out of..¡± ¡°Oh don''t be silly¡± laughed Mrs Wilson. ¡°There are no mix ups with your mum. She obviously knew I wouldn''t be able to make it and didn¡¯t book me in. You know how she is.¡± ¡°That must be it¡± Taryn said through a grin. ¡°you''re completely right. Her gift never ceases to amaze. Anyway Mrs Wilson, enjoy the rest of your evening.¡± ¡°Actually while I''m on the line anyway, do you think you can fit me in next week?¡± ¡°Did you have a day and time in mind?¡± Taryn asked. ¡°Is Friday morning open? Anything before Eleven o¡¯clock would do nicely. I have a luncheon at the university¡± Taryn checked the calendar. Friday next was wide open. That was lucky. Time for a double play. ¡°I see here you already have an appointment that day. You¡¯re booked in for half past 10 but..¡± Taryn trailed off for a second, pretending to read a note ¡°I see a note here saying to speak with you first.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± exclaimed Mrs Wilson ¡° She knew. She must have.¡± Taryn smiled as he wrote the appointment down, turning his little fiction in fact. The ones who want to believe were always the easiest to please. As soon as he hung up the call Taryn went into the back room to tell his mom they could pack it in for the night. ¡°Mrs Wilson rescheduled to next friday.¡± ¡°Did she say why?¡± Edith asked, flipping open Mrs Wilson''s file. ¡°Good news to celebrate today apparently. I told her we didn¡¯t have her on the books for today. She jumped right to you having known she wouldn¡¯t make it. So much so in fact I even got her when I said you had already booked her in for next Friday. She makes it so easy¡± Taryn said through a smile. ¡°Be careful Taryn, it''s better to seem mundane than mistaken.¡± Edith cautioned, her words somewhat undercut by the smile in her eyes. Taryn headed back to lock up the shop. He saw his rugby picks lying next to the phone. The last game still bothered him. He knew the Bulls would take the win but he couldn''t shake the feeling that this would be a much closer game than most were expecting. It wasn¡¯t like it really mattered. Taryn put the Bulls down for a win with the bonus point but instead of a sound win, Taryn put Connacht to be within seven points earning them a bonus point with the loss. That felt almost right. Still that little nagging feeling in his gut just wouldn¡¯t settle. He added a second bonus point for Connacht deciding they would run in enough tries for that in their attempted upset. It had been an off year for Connacht but Taryn knew the boys were keen for a win and more than willing to step to the South Africans. With a (finally) satisfied smile Taryn left the shop and started walking towards the canal. His rugby team were meeting at a hall on the university campus for a quiz night. The journey was thankfully quite short as the weather was getting down right nasty. It was cold for the time of year and the clouds felt oppressive, somehow extra heavy. It was obviously about to pour so Taryn was trying to make good time. He debated whether he would do better to wait for a bus to take him to the campus or risk the walk. Time wise, the bus trip was actually the longer of the two but he would be out of the rain if it started. Assuming he was already on the bus when it started. Pulling out his phone, Taryn checked the bus schedule. He would be waiting about ten minutes for the bus. He decided that if it was going to rain in the next ten, he would rather be wet and walking than wet and waiting, so he turned his collar up against the wind and set off. Chapter 2 Walking turned out to be a good choice. After only a few minutes, Taryn saw the familiar hulking form of his best friend and fellow forward, Mason Thorne. Standing just shy of six foot two and weighing about 220lbs, most people would call Taryn big. When standing next to Mason however, Taryn looked downright petite. Not only was Mason, who usually went by Thorney, almost six inches taller, he was also nearly that much wider. With shaggy long hair, a full beard, and a generally affable-verging-on-gormless demeanor Thorney had a rather ursine air about him. He always reminded Taryn of a fat grizzly right before harvest. Yes he was kind of pudgy. Yes he was all soft edges. Yes he gracelessly bumbled around. But also, yes he could effortlessly eviscerate you. It took a lot to make him angry, but when he got properly fired up, Mason could move mountains. ¡°Oi, Thorney¡± Taryn called as he jogged to catch. ¡°Alright mate, How¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°Doing well, big fella, although I''m not loving the looks of these clouds.¡± ¡°Ya, it''s a bit shit out¡± agreed Thorney. ¡°Forecast was decent this morning. Left my umbrella at home. I¡¯m surprised your mum didn¡¯t tell you to bring one¡± Taryn glanced up at the big man¡¯s face. His beard was quivering as he tried to hold back a grin. ¡°You need new jokes,¡± he said. ¡°Not only is that not how it works, which you know, it was already like this when I left.¡± ¡°And people call you the smart one¡± tutted Thorney. ¡°No¡­ people don¡¯t call me the smart one, they just call you a dumbarse and I look smart by default¡± ¡°Yeah a smartarse is more like it¡± grumbled Thorney. Taryn smiled and looked up at his friend again. It was fair to say that Mason wasn''t the quickest wit, but he wasn¡¯t stupid by any means. He was kind hearted and fearlessly passionate. He also exemplified the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Poor as his grades may be, Thorney''s actions always showed careful consideration. The two men were wending their way through the town centre. Their destination, only about a mile North East as the crow flies, was a hall on the university campus. A local charity regularly rented a hall for sport themed quiz nights. The proceeds from the night would be used to help the kids from low income families play sports. As they rounded a corner, intending to take the cross street north for a bit before cutting back east, they were met by the frigid blast of an arctic gale. Perhaps that was a bit much. Taryn thought to himself. Not an arctic gale but certainly frigid. And from the north. A glance at Thorney let him know the man was unfazed. Taryn however had no desire to squint into the wind at that particular moment. ¡°Let''s head this way and hope the wind is better.¡± Taryn pointed east with his chin, his hands having buried themselves in his pockets. ¡°If not we can cut through the library.¡± Thorney paused. He liked to take his time when thinking. Moving before thinking led to poor choices. Sometimes those choices needed smart people to fix and Thorney knew he wasn¡¯t smart. Not smart enough to make poor decisions at any rate. ¡°Library¡¯s out of the way¡± he said eventually. ¡°Only a block¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Still out of the way¡± ¡°But it¡¯s warm¡± Taryn eyed the big man as he said it, knowing he had already lost. The wind that had made him catch his step had no effect on Thorney beyond making his hair and beard dance on the breeze. ¡°The cold is nice. Refreshing. It¡¯ll wake us up for the quiz.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need quite that much waking up.¡± Taryn retorted. He knew it was a lost cause though, so he switched tack. He simply looked his friend in the eye and said ¡°Please?¡± ¡°Alright. But I''m shoving ice down your neck later if you nod off.¡± Taryn glared at the barn door of a back as it set off across the street. He may as well have been glaring at an actual barn door for all the good it did him. While it might take his mate a moment to think, he charged ahead immediately on whatever needed doing. Hurrying to catch up, Taryn recalled the countless times Thorney had thundered into contact on the pitch. Never afraid to throw his immense weight around when clearing a ruck, he was also the first one to jump to a teammates defence when tempers started flaring. Looking up let Taryn know that he hadn¡¯t gained any ground. Was it just his long stride or had the big fella sped up to mess with him? It was often hard to tell as Thorney had mastered the space between happy accident and deliberate shenanigan. The oaf was about as delicate a troll on a bouncy castle physically, yet he was by no means bereft of subtlety. Especially when it came to his sense of humour. Taryn blamed this on the third member of their primary social circle, Logan Frost. He was physically Thorney¡¯s opposite. Small and wiry, devilishly quick, and devious as the day is long, Logan played scrum half on their team. His inability to keep his mouth shut was as likely to charm a ref into seeing things our way as it was to pour petrol on any spark when everyone was already fired up during a particularly close game. In fact it was more often than not Logan that started whatever tussle Thorney would inevitably break up. Taryn could usually keep his head but once things kicked off he always relished being in the thick of fight. To be completely honest, it was when he felt the most alive. Every bruise felt like a badge of honour. Hobbling around the shop the following Tuesday wasn¡¯t the price of playing, rather it was the prize. A sacrifice of pain on the altar of his body, paying for the party in the temple of his mind. As luck would have it, Logan was approaching the library from the south as they walked up to it from the east. Logan would arrive a good thirty seconds before them so Taryn broke into a jog. It seemed Thorney had also spotted him as he yelled a greeting across the street. Taryn missed the words but not the message that passed between his two mates. He somehow was only just now catching up to Thorney, and even then only because he was waiting on the traffic lights to change. Good old ¡®lumbering lightning¡¯. Smirking, he filed that little moniker away for the next time Thorney got lippy after a few pints. Perhaps it was because he didn¡¯t talk much that people paid attention when he did. Whatever the case, the boys went quiet when Thorney started speaking. That meant if you were on the other end of the chat, all eyes would be on you the moment Thorney was done. It helped to have a few arrows already in the quiver. Very few burns sting as much as the big dumb guy rendering you speechless. Even a stutter was enough to lose whatever potency your response might have had. The next words of the exchange were lost to Taryn as well. They were drowned out by the arrival of all of the rain. Taryn imagined this is what it must feel like to people on the street below one of those infinity pools that break in action movies. A whole pools worth of water suddenly cascading into the ground. And further words between he friends would have to wait until they were inside. Taryn caught a glimpse of Logan scurrying up the stairs and through the grand entrance of the library. Only after crossing the street and beginning his own ascent did he catch sight of him again. Logan awaited them in the large vestibule. Taryn had been expecting to see Logan that night but only at the quiz. The library was properly out of his way, not just the long way around a triangle Thorney had moaned on about. As he ascended the stairs, more of the vestibule came into view. Logan was standing beside a display of some kind. There was a table on either end of some kind of diorama. The whole display was behind ropes. Whatever it was, it was clear the public were not allowed to touch it. As another step brought his eyeline above the table top, Taryn¡¯s eyes locked onto¡­ something and then he went blind. A sudden white flash seemed to freeze the world. A voice made of light spoke to his soul through his skin as his ears were deafened by a torrent of words, only some of which he could make sense of. Just as he knew the spirit of what had passed between his friends without having heard the words, he knew what lay at the heart of these words, now roiling around his mind in a language he didn''t really speak but caught the occasional word. Another flash of light, this one seeming to erupt from behind his eyes, banished the words. With the sudden silence came total and utter darkness. The next thing he knew, Thorney was gently leaning him against a wall. Logan was sneering down at him over a giant shoulder. He clearly had something to say but was squeezing his lips together so hard it was almost as if he had sewn his mouth shut to keep his words at bay. Thorney turned and headed off towards the display. Taryn tried to gather his thoughts and before he knew it the huge man was kneeling beside him. Focusing through the fog in his head, Taryn watched as an enormous hand pressed an ice pack to his forehead. After a moment the hand moved the ice pack out of view. Forgetting that he could move his eyes, Taryn instead focussed on the face that was now before him. A giant self satisfied smile spread across it as Taryn felt the ice pack arrive on the back of his neck. Chapter Three Taryn was woken up by the sunlight streaming through a crack in the curtains. Rude! He thought as he glared at the offending aperture. Pulling himself up to lean against his headboard, he reached for his phone on the nightstand. It wasn¡¯t there. Trying to recall where he might have left it, he suddenly realized he had no memory of coming home. In fact the last thing he could recall was Thorney smiling at him. Why was Thorney smiling again? The image of his giant paw holding an ice pack popped into his head. Ok but why was he holding an ice pack? The image of the ice pack in his mind¡¯s eye was replaced by an inky black void. How much did I drink last night? Still nothing. Did I drink last night? The void deepened. Casting back further in his memory, he could recall leaving the shop the previous evening. Was that last night? Slowly, his recollection of events began to come together. His brain felt sluggish, thoughts flowing about as well as treacle. Very eventually, he was replaying his ascent of the library stairs. The grand old building was the oldest structure on the university Campus. Only a few churches and manor houses in the area were older. Taryn remembered the rain and his eagerness to reach the top. He remembered Logan smirking at him from beside a table. A table which¡­ The void returned. Taryn got out, discovering that he was still wearing his wet clothes, everything except his windbreaker. Definitely last night then. His phone was still in his pocket so he pulled it out to check the time. Rather than illuminating however, the display remained black. A large crack ran horizontally across the screen with smaller fractals branching off in many places. What the fuck happened? Taryn changed and left his room. The house had been in the family for as long as anyone could remember. Every few generations the family would renovate or occasionally completely rebuild. The current iteration - quaint, three storey, Victorian era, red brick - was conservative and comfortable. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom on the top floor. The second storey was the most modern, having only two large rooms. One served as a living room, kitchen, and dining area. The other was mostly given over to storage but a small office area had been partitioned off from the rest of a room by a trio of judiciously placed bookshelves. The shop occupied about two thirds of the ground floor with the remaining space being split between a small kitchenette and the large well appointed drawing room and conservatory that opened onto the back patio and garden area. The top two floors were quiet but as he descended to the ground floor, Taryn heard his two friends chatting in the kitchenette. He entered the room to find Logan sitting at the table while Thorney stood hunched over the sink doing some washing up. ¡°Morning sunshine¡± greeted Logan, ¡°What happened last night?¡± ¡°Rude.¡± ¡°Ugh.. fine. Good morning. What happened last night?¡± ¡°I can see you forgetting last night after your little tumble, but really you have no excuse for forgetting your manners.¡± Taryn just glared at Logan who weathered the look with an air of affronted dignity. ¡°Just fucking tell me you little prick.¡± With a chuckle, Logan began to talk. ¡°Basically it happened like this. You seemed to miss a step at the library. Apparently you''re afraid of a little bit of lightning. One teeney flash and you''re out cold on the floor. We woke you up and figured we''d take you to see coach at the quiz night for an H.I.A.¡± This made sense as concussion protocol calls for a head injury assessment any time a player is knocked out. The club staff did a great job with it. ¡°You failed that miserably so we went to A&E but the line there was ridiculous and we were missing quiz night. So instead we went over to Georgie''s and had him check you out.¡± Georgie was an orthopedic surgeon and one of the old boys. He hadn¡¯t played in years but still spent all his free time with the club. ¡°He gave us the green light to bring you home and send you to bed. Said you''d be all right but might not remember too much. Oh, and you''re done for the rest of the season too. Sorry. So we brought you here and headed back to catch the end of the quiz and try and enjoy the evening you almost ruined.¡± ¡°Love you too you gobby little shit¡± Taryn had been watching Thorney throughout Logan¡¯s tale. Although he hadn¡¯t turned around, his massive back quivered every time he chuckled quietly to himself. He also tilted his head to the side at some of the more colourful explanations. Where Logan was all sarcasm, satire, and sardonicism, Mason was all kindness and compassion. At least he was until he got angry. ¡°Oh and then Thorney fell in love with a giantess.¡± Logan added, looking to get a rise from the big guy.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Thorney froze. He had been halfway through setting a bowl on the drying rack. After a beat, he turned to face them, the bowl now dripping slowly onto the floor. Logan always knew exactly what to say to get under Thorney¡¯s skin.The two had a unique relationship. On game days, Logan would start riling him up immediately. Like an engineer shoveling coal into a steam engine, Logan would keep fanning the flames. Unable to keep up with the banter, Thorney would internalize it all. By the time they hit pitch, Thorney would almost vibrate from pent up pressure percolating inside him. When he got properly angry, even Taryn was nervous around the normally gentle giant. Logan however seemed to revel in it, delighted by the reservoir of rage he was about to unleash on the other team. To his great surprise, Taryn saw that Thorney was blushing. Thoughts and emotions flashed across his friend''s face, warring with each other until an expression of embarrassed indignation won out. Logan tried to look nonchalant, meeting Mason¡¯s mean mug with a smirk, however Taryn noticed him shying away, struggling to stay out of reach in the small room. Instead of cuffing him across the ear, Thorney spoke. ¡°You¡¯re the one in love, Logey. That¡¯s why you were at the library. That''s why you wanted to get back to the quiz so badly.¡± Silence reigned. Having mentally prepared for a good natured tussle, Logan was uncharacteristically tongue tied. Taryn was also taken aback. He had been curious about why Logan was at the library. He was also intrigued by the blossoming love lives of his two mates. Furthermore his brain was still a little foggy. Logan on the other hand had no excuse. Any other day he would have shot right back, always ready with the next quip. This time however, his brain appeared to have stalled. His mouth was moving, opening and closing like a salmon caught in a net. The silence held long enough for Thorney to get his second thought out. ¡°And she isn¡¯t a giant. She barely comes up to my chin. Your girl towers over you. Either she¡¯s the giant or you''re the dwarf¡± ¡°Yeah well¡­. Shut up¡± ¡°Smooth¡± said Taryn. ¡°Your silver tongue looks a little tarnished¡±, turning to ignore the icy glare directed his way. ¡°How about you tell me what really happened while Mr. Frost here takes a minute to let his brain thaw.¡± ¡°Well..¡± began Thorney, then paused, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you fell, but there was lightning. You had your hands in your pockets so you couldn¡¯t catch yourself. You landed badly. You landed on your leg first on one of the stairs then your face smacked forward onto the landing. You were out for about a minute. Logey knew the chick manning the display. T¡¯was actually his new love. Got some ice from her cooler and woke you up. You were fried mate. Logey said you needed a propper going over so we went to see which of the trainers had showed up already. Obviously you failed the H.I.A. Never went to A&E though. Coach called Georgie right away and he said he¡¯d meet us at your place. You kept going on about trying to translate something. Kept trying to borrow our phones cause you landed on yours. You never actually did anything with them. Just kept saying random words. Georgie said that physically you weren¡¯t that bad. No signs of swelling. Said your confusion might last a bit but otherwise you¡¯d be alright. We were gonna put you to bed but you seemed better and said you''d manage. Your mum was home so we left. Logey was pretty keen to get back to the quiz cause he had plans with his girl. She had a friend¡± the big guy grinned as he finished, just a hint of colour returning to his cheeks as he mentioned the women. ¡°I told it better.¡± Logan said, having found his voice. ¡°Who are these ladies you gents keep mentioning? And why were you at the library Logey?¡± ¡°So I met this girl at the gym the other day-¡± began Logan. He went on to explain that this girl, Sigourney, was on the varsity lacrosse team. Her room mate was a graduate student working on her masters in archeology. Workers had unearthed some interesting artifacts while excavating for a planned expansion of a power substation. The university had been asked to investigate and Sigourney¡¯s room mate was part of the team administering the dig site. The university was offering credit to any students who helped out. To this end, Sigourney was manning the display that had been set up in the library. Logan had planned to meet her there before heading over to the quiz together as her lacrosse team had also signed up. Taryn¡¯s mind was racing as he tried to fit all the pieces together. It seemed that every answer only begged more questions. What dig site? What had been on that table? And what was I trying to translate? He felt the answers floating around inside. He saw glimpses of them through the fog but whenever he tried to zero in on a thought it turned back into mist and vanished. At least he knew how he¡¯d broken his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket again and looked at the shattered screen. ¡°We came round this morning to get you a new phone but you slept in so late we¡¯re out of time.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± taryn queried. ¡°We have a lunch date¡± said Logan ¡°I always knew you two had a special sort of bond¡± ¡°Oi. Not like that," Logan said, pointing at Taryn. ¡°It''s a double date. Sig and I already had plans but we felt sorry for this lug and his new beaux. Thorney would never have the balls to ask a girl out so I suggested he and Steph join us.¡± Mason flushed again and looked at his feet. Apparently he noticed the mess the bowl he was still holding had made because he finally set it on the drying rack and grabbed a cloth to wipe the floor. ¡°I would invite you but you need a shower. And you¡¯d be a fifth wheel anyway. You''re not a ladie¡¯s like us two fine gents.¡± teased Logan. ¡°Whoa whoa whoa, that''s a bit much¡± Taryn chortled ¡°I¡¯m not a lady-man¡± Mason said a moment later. Taryn and Logan looked at Mason and then each other, unsure if their big friend was taking the piss. ¡°Right you are, big boy. Let''s get going before you feel the need to demonstrate that fact, hey?¡± Logan was already moving to leave but looked back to Taryn ¡°meet us at the library in a few yea? Say 2ish?¡± Taryn nodded and with that his two mates made their exit. Chapter 4 Taryn has a long conversation with his mother. Taryn tells her what he remembers. She explains a few things to him about how magic works and the different ways it can manifest. She reminds him about the ritual room beneath the house. It was only used by his father who had been away for months researching his next book. As a druid and an arcane historian he was often off to remote villages in search of secret knowledge. Edith suggests a ritual of clarity to help unblock his mind. Taryn gathers what he needs from the shop and heads down into the cellar he had forgotten about having not been down there since early childhood.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The ritual fails. Edith does not know enough about rituals to be of much help. She does know that more information about whatever had been on that table would help get them closer to a solution so she suggests he head back to the library and try to find out more. Logan had mentioned a connection to someone on the team so Taryn hopes his friend can help him find answers he needs. Chapter 5 Taryn leaves the house after the ritual. He knows it didn¡¯t work properly but he doesn¡¯t know why. He hopes that learning more about the artifacts will clear things up for him. He meets the boys at the library. Mason and Logan are both there with their ladies. Sigi¡¯s roommate Izi is there too and she tells them all about the dig. She explains what has been found already and what else they hope to find. Unfortunately nothing she mentions seems to help him understand what happened to him. He needs to get closer to the action and so he convinces Mason and Logan to join him as he sings up to work as general labour on the dig.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Chapter 6 Taryn is in his store the next day working on a job posting as he will need to hire someone to cover for him while he is busy moving wheelbarrows full of dirt around. While he is doing that a young woman walks into the shop asking for permission to film some content for her vlog. While she is filming Taryn hears her mention something that makes him think she might be able to help. He asks her a few questions and she teaches him about where the power in rituals comes from. She explains why his ritual failed and tells him what he needs to do to solve his issues. Taryn either needs the object that triggered his power or he needs to conduct his ritual at the location it was found. It is unlikely he will be allowed to handle any artifacts so he will have to find a way to do the ritual on location.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Chapter 7 Taryn, Mason and Logan go to the dig site. There they meet up with Izi, Sig, and Steph. Izi is showing them around the site and explaining what will be expected of them. While they are there, Taryn makes not of where he needs to perform his ritual so that it will actually work. He gathers what he needs and sneaks back onto the site later that night. He sets up the ritual and explains what is going on to Mason and Logan. They are both skeptical but go along with the plan because they support their friend. The ritual begins. A massive arc of electricity forms and draws massive amounts of power from the grid. While inside the plasma Taryn meets the dead guy. He begins talking to him but doesn¡¯t understand the language. Suddenly his phone starts vibrating in his pocket. Even though he hasn¡¯t replaced it yet, the phone appears to be working. It acts as a real time translator between Taryn and Godmund. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Godmund tells him one hell of a tale. He explains that the nine realms pulse and flow with the breath of the cosmos. As energy ebbs and flows, and the tides of time rise and fall, there are interactions between the realms. The energy flowing between them hits a resonant frequency and travel between the realms becomes possible. It was Godmunds sworn and sacred duty to keep the keystone (an object of great power able to open a portal between the realms) hidden away. If the keystone is found and activated during a resonance event, a great and all consuming power will be unleashed on the earth as ragnarok begins. Taryn tells Godmund to bury his saex twenty one paces away from the large rock he has placed above the buried keystone as a marker hidden in plain sight. In Taryn¡¯s time, the rock had not yet been discovered but Godmunds saex was. The ritual ends and Taryn discovers that very little time has passed for Mason and Logan. They are amazed that he is unharmed having believed him electrocuted. They quickly sneak away from the site as they are sure someone must have reported the flash. Chapter 8 The following morning the boys meet the girls at the dig site. They pretend to be surprised to see all the electrical crews working at the sub station. They learn that whatever happened caused all the digital clocks in the country to run slow. As this has a major impact on the stock markets, there is widespread panic. Some try to explain it away, while others see it as a omen or even an attack. Conspiracy theories abound. As the week goes by, they continue to excavate the site. The boys are responsible for the heavy lifting and are tasked with filling in the holes after the research crews have moved on. While they are working, an executive from the power company arrives. He is very eager to shut the site down. It becomes apparent that he was expecting the portal to be revealed and wants to try and harness its power for himself. He wants to become the most powerful man in the world however this will inevitably fail and result in the reset of human society all across the globe. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Chapter 9 Due to the pressure from the power company, The university program is given until the end of the week to finish their investigation at which point they will lose access to the site unless they have found anything of significance. The race is on. The boys are behind the 8 ball however, as the researchers will find anything of note before they manage to hide the portal. Izi is also feeling the pressure as she is working on her dissertation and is in search of evidence to support her theories about the communities that originally settled in the area. She had expected a few months to work so losing the site would be a big blow. Taryn has a pretty good idea where the portal might be, as he had asked Godmund to bury the saex exactly twenty-one steps away from the keystone. As the week wore on, and it looked like keystone might go undiscovered, Taryn knew he had to do something. If the site reverted to the power company it would be a matter of hours before an excavator unearthed the keystone. Unfortunately, turning it over to the university wouldn¡¯t help. The keystone was an item of immense power and it was just as likely to be accidentally activated during excavation or subsequent examintaoin. Godmund had explained that when the nine realms were in resonance, the keystone became extremely volatile. Taryn just needed to keep the stone hidden for until the realms where no longer in resonance. Three weeks would do it but a month would be better. Without knowing what might trigger it, Taryn was desperate to find a way to keep the stone hidden. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. As time starts running out Taryn forms a desperate plan. He persuades Izi to open up a few new holes knowing late on Friday afternoon. He wishes he could let her find the keystone but cannot risk the world to impress a girl. He hopes to find the stone and try to smuggle it away in the confusion as everyone on the crew rushes to save their access to the site. The boys manage to locate the large rock Godmund had used to mark the resting place of the keystone. They dig it up and now only two feet of earth lie between then and the possible end of the world. It becomes obvious that they are going to run out of time so in a final act of desperation, Taryn gets Mason to ¡°gently¡± crush his hand beneath the rock.