Free Birth of the Alliance by Alex Albrinck Page B

they?”
    “That’s what I was thinking as well.” She looked at the ground and toed the dirt. “Do you think they were poisoned?”
    “That seems likely,” Will agreed. “If there was poison in the food they were eating, and it acted quickly… well, you’d find a scene like what we have here.”
    She glanced up at him. “But who did that to these people? And why?” Her features tightened. “And… where did the killer or killers go, after?”
    The chill Will had experienced returned. “Perhaps the killer is one of the dead.” He shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll ever truly know. These people have been dead for a very long time, since long before I ever arrived. The only thing we know for sure is that others found this island at some point. Whether the people here are the last of those who found it, or whether there are others who left and kept knowledge of it alive… we just don’t know.”
    Hope nodded. “I don't think we’re in any imminent danger of attack. But I feel awkward standing here, like I'm disturbing the dead. We should leave.”
    Will nodded. “I agree, but there are some things we need to do first.” He pointed at the blue stone. “I think that stone is what caused the telepathy issues earlier. We should test that theory, and if it’s correct, we should mine some of the stone and take it back to the Cavern with us.”
    Can you hear me? Hope asked.
    Will acknowledged her. “So we can communicate when we’re both in the cave. Count to one hundred and try again.” He turned and jogged from the cave, teleported back to the river, and counted to one hundred himself, slowly, then walked back to the cave. He projected to Hope as soon as he left the cave, but heard nothing from her.
    When he walked into the cave, though, he could hear her thought immediately.
    “I take it you couldn’t hear me at all?” Hope asked.
    Will nodded. “And I was projecting back to you the entire time. It’s not exactly a thorough test, but I think it’s safe to say that this blue rock is a natural Shield for Energy. I’d like to take enough back with us on this trip to line a room where people can practice their Energy skills. It could also be a place where people who are able to do so could teleport in without fear of detection by Sebastian or other Aliomenti.”
    Hope sized up the cave and the volume of rock. “Think there’s enough to line the entire inside of the Cavern? As much as I'd hate to damage this cave, it would be wonderful to know we could train safely anywhere in the Cavern, not just in a single room.”
    “I like that idea,” Will replied. “I don’t think there’s enough, though, and I’d hate to just take all of it. When we get this rock back to the Cavern, we can figure out how it works, and ideally make materials with the same effect. If we can manufacture it, we can line the Cavern without any difficulty.”
    “And we can plate the inside of the subs as well,” Hope added. “And depending on the form the manufactured rock takes, we could even send people with enough of the… substance… to line the inside of their homes out in the world.” She paused, and then smiled. “I supposed we should name the blue rock something other than ‘blue rock’ though.”
    Will thought about that. “Latin seems to be the language used to name all manner of substances. This rock acts as a shield, and the Latin word for shield is scutum , or scuta if it's plural. Why don’t we call it scutarium ?”
    Hope considered the name briefly, and then nodded. “That makes perfect sense. Here's hoping that scutarium provides ample protection from the evils of the Aliomenti now and in the future.”
    Will thought for a moment, remembering his own distant past, events that would unfold centuries into the future. He thought of the invisible Energy shield he learned had surrounded the Alliance camp. He remembered, vaguely, being told in a letter sent to him from that future that he'd need to