Episode 23 | Woven Song

A bunch of distortion sounds can be heard, before the windshell suddenly turns on.

Echo:     I must’ve broken the fragile mortals toy… A shame. It’s echo was… quite pleasing. Perhaps if I imbue it with my own Echo, it will… Ah, it seems to reverberate with me-

Lyn and Malaki are walking through the tunnels. Lyn is drinking from the waterskin.

Malaki:   Don’t drink so much, you’ll have to-

Malaki perks his ears and stops. Startled by the windshell turning on, Lyn starts coughing mid gulp, coughing water all over the floor.

Lyn: (coughing, croaking, startled) Oh shit- that scared me!

In the distance, the Echo-Væhar sings.

Echo/Lyn:   (singing, flat)
To bind a spirit one must know,
To see and write the aethers flow,
To lure and croon them, ere they show
and you can bind them to a vow!

Malaki:   It is near. Follow!

Malaki dashes off.

Lyn:      (startled) What? Shit- Mal, not again!

Lyn puts a lid on the waterskin, then starts running after Malaki, determined not to lose him again this time. The waterskin and her two backpacks rattle, clank and squish, as she runs.
Ahead, Malaki enters a larger cavern where the Echo-Væhar’s song reverberate.
Lyn catches up.

Lyn:      (croaking, huffing exhausted) Bro, always run only as fast as your slowest pack-mate can run, don’t you learn that in Skurki-school?… I already gave up enough to Spirits today…

In agitation, Malaki zigzags around, his ears perked and looking up to the ceiling. The echo of the Væhar reverberates so much that individual words can no longer be distinguished.

Echo/Lyn:   (singing, flat)
The cleft of worlds might cause thee grieve,
Yet overcome the aether’s cleave
and pull a spirit from the weave,
but sooth their fury, lest they leave!

Malaki:   Too much. Too much noise! It’s everywhere!

Lyn:      (croaking, still catching her breath) Yea man, that’s what echoes do. (shouting) ECHO!

Lyn’s voice reverberates through the cavern.

Lyn:      See?

Malaki barks, and his bark reverberates in the cavern.

Malaki:   Echo!

Lyn:      (croaking, still huffing) Have you never shouted into a cave?

Malaki:   Not alone. Never speak alone.

Lyn:      (croaking) Ah yea, that. Well. This seems like a great place for an echo. The heatsphere’s light can’t even reach the ceiling… Not that its very bright to begin with, but… you know…

Malaki:   We don’t need light to see Vær.

Lyn:      (croaking) Er… Oh, yes. Our superpowers, I almost forgot.

Malaki:   I don’t see it anywhere.

Lyn:      (croaking) Me neither. Do Vær have an off-switch for their light?

Malaki:   (uncertain the upward inflection sounds awkward) Not… shine?

Lyn:      (croaking) Yea, can they stop glowing? Maybe this one is a Ninja-Væhar.

Malaki:   I think they all glow. That is how I see them, at least.

Lyn:      (croaking) Right. So. What do we do?

Echo/Lyn:   (singing, flat)
Nurse them, tend them, do them just-
obey, revere them, if you must!
labor hard to gain their trust,
lest they shun or turn to dust!

Lyn:      (croaking, calling out) I’m not sure if you’re trying to give us lifehacks on how to catch you or are just trying to mess with us!

Echo/Lyn:    (laughs childishly)

Malaki:   We need a smaller space. One entrance, no exit. Small. No… No echo.

Lyn:      (croaking, sighs) Like, a hollow? I’m sure something like that’s gone be around here somewhere. Let’s look around.

Lyn tiredly trots off, the weight of the backpacks wearing her out.

Echo/Lyn:   (singing, flat)
Once the spirit’s mistrust died
it freely will come to thy side,
its favor full in thee confide,
will grant thy touch upon its hide,
then guide thy quill, but show no fright!
Fear they sense, when hand meets hide!
Thus take thy ink and will to write
Rune by rune thy spell must cite.

Lyn:      (croaking) It would be so much nicer if that thing would just stop singing. You have no idea how off-key that is. I want my voice back.
Malaki whimpers.

Lyn:      (croaking) Yea man, I feel you. Must be worse with doggy years, huh? Hey, does this look like what we’re looking for?

Malaki:   Dead end. Crevasses in the stones. Not perfect.

Lyn:      (croaking) Yea, big enough to squeeze through…

Malaki:   If air can get through, sound can.

Lyn:      (croaking, shrugs) Sound reasoning. We can just keep looking.

Malaki sniffs one of the crevasses in the wall.

Lyn:      (croaking) What do you smell?

Malaki:   Stale. Unmoving.

Lyn:      (croaking) The air?

Malaki:   There is space behind the crevasse.

Lyn:      (croaking) You wana squeeze through?

Malaki wheezes, then ducks low and squeezes himself through the crevasse. The fur-roll bound to his back gets temporarily stuck.

Lyn:      (croaking) Hold on- your furcoat is stuck-

Malaki ducks lower for a bit and robs through the crevasse until he is gone.

Malaki:   Follow. This is good space.

Lyn:      (croaking) In there?! Is there even enough space for both of us?

Malaki:   Crawl three tail-long. It widens. You can sit here.

Lyn:      (croaking) Well if this wasn’t claustrophobic enough as it is…

Malaki:   Claustrophobic.

Lyn gets on her knees.

Lyn:      (croaking) Are you through yet?

Malaki:   Yes. Follow.

Lyn:      (croaking) Alright… What about the backpacks?

Malaki:   Take Raka’s backpack. Leave yours.

Lyn:      Why just hers?

Malaki:   Her items are useful. For Vær.

Lyn:      True.

Lyn takes off both backpacks, leans her own against the stone-wall.

Lyn:      (croaking) This better not be one of those times where a Vær just transports us places again… Alright, here comes the backpack. Try to pull it, if you can grab it.

She shoves the backpack into the crevasse. Inside, Malaki nips it and starts pulling it in with a soft growl.

Lyn:      Watch out, heatsphere coming in hot-

Lyn slips through the last bit of the tunnel and reaches the place where Malaki is already sitting and panting.

Lyn:      (croaking) Oh hey, nice and cozy in here. I can almost stand up.

Lyn starts squeezing her way through the crevasse and scrapes her head and shoulders against the stones multiple times.

Lyn:      (croaking) Ouch man, that hurt! Man who build this ceiling this low! Is this how Raka feels every time we enter a house?

Lyn squats down.

Lyn:      How are we going to convince the Væhar to get cozy in here with us?

Malaki:   You build a circle.

Lyn:      (croaking, sighs) Of course. Circles. Why can’t we make a triangle for a change?

Malaki:   Triangles.

Lyn:      (croaking) Are you… repeating that word because you don’t know what it means, or…

Malaki:   I don’t know the reason you would make a triangle.

Lyn:      (croaking, slightly out of breath from the crawl) It’s… a stable shape, right?

Malaki:   Too small. Not much space. Space is needed to deal with Vær.

Lyn:      Now what? Do we make a circle? Or an Oval? Pentagram? Maybe a rhombicuboctahedron?

Malaki:   (repeating for memory) Oval. Pentagram. Rombiku… Rombiku-oktahedrun.

Lyn:      Or… we could also try a square? Keep it simple and stuff.

Malaki:   Square. Four corners. Four elements. Four runes of each element, one for every corner.

Lyn:      (croaking) See, it would fit perfectly, wouldn’t it?

Malaki:   No. No space. No space for you, no space for Vær. Just space for runes. Never sit on runes.

Lyn:      (croaking) We can still sit in the middle, right?

Malaki:   (considering) Like Raka’s… “wall of protection”. Summoner becomes center of attention. Have one rune in front and one behind, one on each side. Or two on each side. Hmm… I have not tried. I don’t know.

Lyn:      (croaking) Fine, let’s not experiment. I kinda want my voice back uncompromised.

Outside and barely audible, the Echo-Væhars song continues.

Echo/Lyn:  (singing, flat)
Write thy charm upon each plume,
all skin and fur shall bear thy rune,
the spirit by thy bond be swoon-
Steady yet!
A slip, and it will dust to gloom!

Lyn:      (croaking) Oh stuff, the singing is getting worse.

Malaki:   Find Raka’s runes.

Lyn:      (croaking) Are we gona play dice with the Væhar? Dude I don’t want to gamble for my voice!

Malaki:   You have to carve them! I can’t show you what they look like.

Malaki scratches the ground with his paws to demonstrate.

Lyn:      (croaking) Woohoo, am I finally getting that long awaited reading and writing lesson?

Lyn sets the heatsphere aside, then rummages around in the backpack. She produces the small sack of runes.

Lyn:      (croaking) Alright, here we go.

Malaki:   Empty it.

Lyn turns the pouch over. The little stones scatter all over the floor. Malaki shoves the stones around with his nose.

Lyn:      (croaking) Is this gona be like that time we summoned Ferryce, do we need to come up with reasons why we use each particular rune?

Malaki:   We don’t flatter or lure it. It already has what it wants. We… use your voice. To pull it here by force.

Lyn:      (croaking) By force? I don’t know, man, I don’t wana upset the Væhar while it keeps my voice hostage… Have you done this before?

Malaki:   Not often. Twice, I think.

Lyn:      (croaking) Did a spirit take something from you?

Malaki:   My eye.

Lyn:      (croaking) Oooh, right! Almost forgot about that.

Malaki:   It sees through my eye, and I use it’s runes. Wind runes. And see other Vær.

Lyn:      (croaking) Wait so you can use some of the powers of the Vær that took your eye? Does that mean I could use some of that Væhars power too?

Malaki:   I don’t know. You didn’t make a circle.

Lyn:      (croaking) Huh- But I only started hearing you after it took my voice. Could it be that I got that power from it?

Malaki:   I don’t know.

Lyn:      (croaking) I’ll ask it, when I get the chance. Alright, back on track. What do I do?

Malaki:   Try these.

Malaki bumps a few runestones with his nose and shoves them in Lyns direction.

Lyn:      (croaking) “TRY” these? Are you telling me you don’t actually know what you’re doing?

Malaki:   I’m not Raka. I try things. They don’t work – I try something else.

Lyn:      (croaking, shrugs) Alright, checks out for me. What do I do with these?

Malaki:   Carve them.

Lyn:      (croaking) On what? The walls?

Malaki:   This rune. On the wall behind you. It’s your anchor, your Root.

Malaki nudges a runestone into Lyn’s direction.

Lyn:      (croaking) This one?

Malaki:   Not- Not the fire rune… turn it to the earth rune.

Lyn:      (croaking) Um… the green glowing one, right? This?

Malaki:   Yes.

Lyn:      (croaking) How do I… carve this in the wall?

Malaki:   With your claws.

Malaki scratches the floor with his paw in demonstration.

Lyn:      (croaking) I don’t… have claws.

Malaki:   A stone, then. Or knife.

Lyn:      (croaking) Raka will kill me if I dull her knife, so…

Lyn looks around for some lose rubble. She finds a couple of small pebbles and tests to see if they will produce lines on stone.

Lyn:      (croaking) This will work, right?

Malaki:   Not ideal.

Lyn:      (croaking) Welp, it’s all we have. Right so… Like this, or like this? Which side’s up?

Malaki:   Turn it.

Lyn:      (croaking) Like this?

Malaki:   Yes.

Lyn:      (croaking) Righto, lets do this.

She starts etching the shape of the rune into the wall behind her. First slightly uncertain, then gaining confidence.

Lyn:      (croaking) Yay, I wrote my first rune! Mama Raka will be so proud. What does it say?

Malaki:   Ræwyn (RAY-win). Root.

Lyn:      (croaking) Oooh I remember that one. You had it when we were playing that game, right?

Malaki:   Yes.

Lyn:      (croaking) Okay, cool! I’m starting to memorize some of them. Which one next?

Malaki:   Vinelar. Surge. This.

Malaki taps a runestone with his paw. Lyn puts down the one she had used as reference before, then pick the new one up.

Lyn:      (croaking) The white one? Where do I write it?

Malaki:   The floor. In front of you. On the path out.

Lyn:      (croaking) Is it like an emergency exit sign?

Malaki:   It will pull the Vær in, and stop it from leaving.

Lyn:      (croaking) Oh, like a one-way street. Gotcha.

Lyn etches the rune into the floor in front of her.

Malaki:   Now you have the path and anchor. Next are your protections. You need six runes.

Malaki starts going through the pile of runestones, in search for he ones to pick.

Lyn:      (croaking) Six? I thought a circle uses four runes?

Malaki:   A circle that needs balance. But build a strong wall around. Three runes on each side. Fire-water-fire on one side, Water-Fire-Water on the other.

Lyn:      (croaking) Alright, show me which.

He shoves a few runestones toward her.

Malaki:   These. On that wall. The blue between the two reds.

Lyn:      (croaking) Okay… Like this?

Lyn etches the runes in the wall on her side.

Lyn:      (croaking) The glow when I’m done writing them means I did them right, right?

Malaki:   Yes. Then they are correct. Connect the stem at the bottom.

Lyn:      (croaking) What’s the stem?

Malaki:   The line in the middle of each rune. Connect them. Then draw a line from there to where you sit.

Lyn:      (croaking) On the floor?

Malaki:   Yes. Then three more on the other wall.

Lyn:      (croaking) Alright…

Malaki goes to work turning over runestones with his nose until the runes he is looking for show at the top. Lyn connects the lines of the runes.

Lyn:      (croaking, exhausted) This is quite exhausting. I think the air is going stale already…

Malaki:   Speaking or carving runes, both use energy. It is not easy, or everyone would do it.

Lyn:      (croaking) True.

Malaki:   Now carve these.

Malaki pushes three more runestones out from the pile.

Lyn:      (croaking) Let me guess- They go on the opposite wall, and I do blue-red-blue this time, right?

Malaki:   Yes. You learn.

Lyn:      (croaking) Well look at me! Soon I’ll be a Runemaster, just like Mama Raka and Papa Malaki.

Lyn starts etching the runes on the walls.

Lyn:      (croaking) Do you think it can sense what we’re up? Raka said they usually come running to circles before they are done.

Malaki:   This is a circle for Vær that are connected to you. Raka made circles for luring, for trapping. The Væhar will not know what this is until it is inside.

Lyn:      (croaking) I connect these the same way, right?

Malaki:   Yes.

Lyn etches the last lines on the wall and floor.

Lyn:      (croaking) Right… here… to here… And… Done. Now what?

Malaki:   Now use what it took from you. It connects you to it. Use it to pull it to you.

Lyn:      (croaking, slight confusion) My voice?

Malaki:   Yes.

Lyn:      (croaking) I don’t think Væhar will come to me like this.

Malaki:   Don’t wait for it. Pull it. Like… a rope.

Lyn:      (croaking) Pull? You want me to do physical workout?!

Malaki:   No- Yes!… Well… Not… Not this time. It’s not a real rope. I don’t know how to describe it. You have to try out what works.

Lyn:      (croaking, sighs) Fine. But don’t blame me if I pop your eardrum on accident. Is there anything in particular I should sing?

Malaki:   Don’t focus on words. Focus on sound. Focus on… echoes. Throw sound. It comes back. Imagine the sound is the Væhar. Make it come back.

Lyn:      (croaking) That makes a surprising amount of sense.

Lyn starts singing a single note.
The earth around her begins to rumble.

Lyn:      (croaking) What are you doing?

Malaki:   Not me. Your sound. Make more!

Lyn starts singing again, and the earth around her rumbles again.

Malaki:   Ah… I understand. Don’t stop singing.

Lyn:      (singing) What do you understand?

Malaki:   Your voice is the sound. The tunnel is your throat.

Around them, the ambience shifts. They are surrounded by a thick fog and steam. In the distance, fire crackles and a stream burbles.

Lyn:      (singing) What is happening? Where is all this fog coming from?

Malaki:   It’s the runes you carved around you.

The Echo-Væhar’s voice is echoy, as it enters, but then shifts to the usual way Vær sound. The Vær and Lyn’s voices sync up into a harmony.

Echo/Lyn: (singing) Burn and Frost, Steam and Fog, Flame and Flood (stops, as it notices what has happened. A bit disappointed) Ah- little mortal. Did you figure out how to call me, hm? You picked good runes. I am pleased.

Lyn:      (huffing for air, croaking) Gimme my voice back!

Malaki growls at the Væhar.

Echo/Lyn: (laughs) Patience, little mortal. You will get it back. I couldn’t… I wasn’t able to use it anyway. Not the way you did. It is a powerful thing, that voice.

Lyn:      (croaking) Powerful? Hohoho, I DID tell you it has been described as booming and thunderous! You underestimated the power of my voice!

Echo/Lyn: (laughs) So I did, little mortal. However, that is not the kind of power I speak of. The sound of your voice causes ripples on the very weft and warp of both your world and mine. That is something not even a Væhar of Resonance can achieve. Such power is far beyond me. So I will return. In exchange for… but one little thing.

Malaki:   You took enough!

Malaki growls.

Lyn:      (croaking) Damn right, Mal! I’m done trading with you!

Echo/Lyn: (disapointed) Spoilsport. But please, hear me out. It is simple request.

Lyn:      (croaking) Fine, I can at least listen.

Echo/Lyn: All I want is to know one little thing. I wonder how you came by such a gift, however as it is a power far beyond me, I can not ask this. So I want to ask a different question.

Malaki makes a bark-like sound.

Malaki:   Don’t believe it!

Lyn:      (croaking) Shhh, down, boy!

Malaki wheezes at her, then lays down.

Lyn:      (croaking) Good boy. No, stay down. So all you really want is for me to answer one question and then I get my voice back?

Echo/Lyn: Precisely.

Malaki growls.

Malaki:   Deceptive…

Lyn:      (croaking) Okay, deal.

Malaki:   You fell for it’s lie before!

Lyn:      (croaking) Oh come on, all it wants is to ask me one question, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

Malaki yelps in defeat and lays down.

Lyn:      (croaking) Good boy. Remind me to give you some kibble later. So, what do you want to know?

Echo/Lyn: How is it, that you gave away such a marvelous gift without a second thought?

Lyn:      (croaking) Um… To be honest, I didn’t really know my voice had that kind of power…

From here on out, Lyn’s voice gradually reverts back to the way she sounds normally.

Echo:     (gradually going hoarse) Ah… You were oblivious to your own power! (smug) Quaint little mortals… So unaware of the impacts you have on the world around you. Yet I do not understand how you just agreed to give your voice away like that, power or not. Are speech and song not… functions you mortals regard highly?

Lyn:      (slowly going back to normal) Um… Well, see… I’ve lost half my sight and hearing before… I didn’t think losing my voice on top of all that would really matter.

Malaki:   No! Hold on to all else you have! Don’t let anyone take anything else from you!

Lyn:      Hey, weren’t you the one that said “blah blah things can’t be gained without a sacrifice”?

Malaki: “Though high the stakes the gains entice, ungained without a sacrifice”, but you didn’t know you would gain anything from it!

Lyn:      (shrugs) Well I DID hope to get back together with you. One more loss didn’t make much of a difference to me, I just didn’t want us to get separated.

Echo:     (hoarse) Will you tell me of your losses?

Lyn:      (curious) Why do you want to know?

Echo:     (hoarse, whistful) Ah… The life of a Væhar of Resonance can be rather… uneventful. Sometimes people come near these tunnels. Most can’t hear nor see me, though I try to talk to them in the voices of their companions. Yet they never speak to me. I enjoy conversation. Any little bit of distraction is welcome.

Lyn:      Geez. First Ferryce admits to being bored, now you do. Those fourteen seem to have made a mistake by giving you Spirits the capacity for boredom.

Echo:     (hoarse) It comes with longevity and being assigned to a rarely changing environment, little mortal.

Lyn:      You should try doing it like I do, just forget anything that happened more than a day ago and life never gets boring.

Echo:     (hoarse, laughs) Sadly, that is not something I can do.

Lyn:      How often do you get visitors here?

Echo:     (hoarse) Rarely. Most, like you and your companions, seek shelter from rain and snow.

Lyn:      Did hear us when we were at the cave entrance?

Echo:     (hoarse) Of course. I’ve been listening to you and your companions since Garïyarla brought you here two days ago.

Lyn:      TWO days ago?! We’ve been sleeping for two days?

Echo:     (hoarse) Apparently so.

Lyn:      Dang! How the hell was I not starving when I woke up?

Echo:     (hoarse) Garïyarla sustained you. She is a Væron (Veyron) of nourishment, after all.

Lyn:      Daayng. Raka won’t like to hear that.

Echo:     (hoarse) So, will you tell me about your losses?

Lyn:      Oh, right. Well… it all happened in an explosion… when Snoopy died. Snoopy was my-

Echo:     (hoarse) Your companion. I remember you mentioned him before.

Lyn:      Ah, right. Well, I got separated from Snoopy and couldn’t… I couldn’t find him. Then a shockwave hit me right in the face and I couldn’t see or hear anything anymore. I groped around for a bit, didn’t know where I was going… I just hoped Snoopy would come to me and guide me out or something. But then someone grabbed me and dragged me out of the building. Brought me right to intensive care. I told them that Snoopy was still in the building, but they said that the floor collapsed a few minutes after I got out. There was nothing they could’ve done for him…

Malaki whimpers.

Echo:     (hoarse) Sometimes the loss of one thing can lead to the acquisition of another.

Lyn:      I don’t know if that’s a mantra I can live by… I lost my best friend that day. In addition to most of my vision and hearing. It took ages for some of it to come back. And I got nothing out of that beside a hearing-aid and a pair of glasses that didn’t really do their job.

Echo:     (hoarse) Yet when you lost your voice, you gained the sense to understand, hear the tongue of the soul itself.

Lyn:      What do you mean?

Echo:     (hoarse) You… were not able to hear your companion before, weren’t you?

Lyn:      Oh, you mean Malaki? I was meaning to ask you, did you give me that skill? Because its pretty cool.

Echo:     (hoarse) Such power is far beyond me. I am just a Væhar, not a Væron or god.

Lyn:      Huh. I could’ve sworn you had something to do with it.

Echo:     (hoarse) It’s… A remarkable acquisition, but not something in my power.

Malaki:   Your voice is back to normal.

Lyn:      Oh, it is. And I can still hear you.

Echo:     (hoarse) Truly remarkable. I do wonder about your abilities.

Lyn:      Yo u and me both, pal. So… are we done here?

Echo:     Will you allow me one more question?

Lyn:      Uh… Sure.

Echo:     What is that toy you carry?

Lyn:      A toy?

Echo:     It ripples. Like me, like an Echo. Yet it’s neither sentient nor a Vær.

Lyn:      I’m not sure what you mean…

Echo:     Around your neck.

Lyn:      Oh! Oooh. The windshell! Um, I’m not sure exactly how to describe it. Its kinda like a microphone with a built in livestream that I don’t have control over?

Echo:     I… do not understand that…

Lyn:      Me neither. Sorry.

Echo:     Ah… It stopped rippling a while ago, when I examined the stream that comes from it. Then I sensed other ripples from far away, heard another voice.

Lyn:      Did you hear Raka?

Echo:     No, not Raka. Much farther away.

Lyn:      Auril maybe?

Echo:     I don’t know that name. What I heard was faint and distant, and the ripples were very weak, but the source must’ve been strong. (switching to Yosha’s voice)

Echo/Yosha: It sounded like this.

Echo:     And then that toy… that windshell started rippling again.

Lyn:      Interesting. Not sure if Raka can do anything with that information, though.

Echo:     (hoarse) I apologize for inconveniencing you temporarily, little mortal. Singing was fun while I could do it.

Lyn:      Nah, thank YOU for just giving me my voice back without taking something else from me. You’re a generous god.

Echo:     (hoarse, laughs) Far from that. Be on your way now. Your companion waits.

With a reverberating echo, the Echo-Væhar vanishes. Lyn and Malaki find themselves back in the cave.

Lyn:      Huh. That was a surprisingly nice Væhar.

Malaki:   It stole your voice. Only gave it back because it couldn’t use it. Not nice.

Lyn:      Well, true, but it made good smalltalk. Anyway, let’s get out of here- it’s starting to feel claustrophobic.

Malaki:   Yes. And we need to find a way out of the tunnel, still.

Malaki ducks down low to squeeze through the crevasse. Lyn gathers up the runestones Malaki has scattered all over the floor and puts them into the pouch, then packs the pouch back into Raka’s backpack and secures the latch.

Lyn:      Urg, we’re no closer to finding a way out than we were before… Hey, can you pull at the backpack when you’re through?

On the other end of the crevasse, Malaki barks.

Lyn:      Mal?

Malaki:   Yes. Push it.

Lyn:      Alright.

Lyn pushes the backpack through the hole. On the other end, Malaki grabs it with his teeth and pulls it through with a low growl.
Lyn picks up the heatsphere, then gets on all fours and crawls through after him.

Lyn:      (strained) This is definitely easier the second time around.

Lyn comes out at the other end of the crevasse and stands up.

Lyn:      Aaaah stretching my legs feels so good! It was really getting crammed in here. Can’t believe I’m saying that but after sitting in there for a while it feels good being able to move my legs again.

Lyn picks up both backpacks. They start moving.
Malaki whimpers.

Malaki:   We have to find a way out. I feel hunger.

Lyn:      So glad you said it first. Can’t believe we didn’t eat anything for two whole days.

Malaki:   The last time we ate anything was in… the super market.

Lyn:      Oh dang, you’re right! And that was barely a meal to speak of… Hey, do you have any idea what that Væhar meant with my voice rippling the weft and warp of stuff?

Malaki:   I think it meant the Aetherweb. I don’t know.

Lyn halts. Malaki notices she stopped, then trotts back to her side.

Lyn:      Hm… Let’s see.(starts singing a scale) Huh. Interesting, I never noticed that before.

Malaki sits down on his haunches.

Malaki:   Tell me what you see.

Lyn:      You don’t see this? (she starts singing another scale)

Malaki:   Only runes and Vær.

Lyn:      Oh, right. Well… the web inside the tunnel walls are… I guess the best way to describe it really is “rippling”. (starts singing another scale, but slower. Then goes back down to find a single note that causes the most reaction on the aetherweb.) I wonder if it’s always done that when I sing, I never paid attention. But it seems different notes have different effects.

Malaki:   You can… control it.

Lyn:      I don’t know. Maybe I can use this to get us out?

Malaki:   Try.

Lyn:      Only one way to find out, right? (she starts singing with a lot of power)
The cave walls around her rumble in response.

Lyn:      Did you see that?

Malaki:   Yes. The wall caved in a little. Like a stone falling into water. But only while you sing.

Lyn:      Kinda looked like a black hole to me. Think if I continue singing and we just walk through while the hollow is open we can get through?

Malaki:   Can’t stop singing when we’re in the wall.

Lyn:      Erg shit… I don’t know if I can sing without breathing. Should we try anyway?

Malaki:   (smug) Only one way to see what happens.

Lyn:      Learning by doing – I like that. Stay close and watch me dig a tunnel through this mountain using only my voice! It shall henceforth be called “Diglyn Tunnel”. (starts singing again)

The tunnel walls rumble again, and this time a gap opens up before them. Lyn and Malaki step through it. To her own surprise, Lyn doesn’t need to take a breath. Whenever it seems she is about to run out of air, her voice overlaps the echoes of her previous note and sound as if she just started to sing again. After just a few seconds, the rumble opens up to the outside of the cave. The echo subsides.
Outside, the rain has stopped and it is almost sunny. The vegetation is still wet and damp, occasional drops falling from plants and stones of the cliff.

Lyn:      (panting) It worked! We did it!

Malaki:   You didn’t breathe!

Lyn:      I made magic, my bro! I’m a wizard!

Malaki prances on ahead and yelps.
Far off, Raka stands up from a makeshift campsite and approaches the two.

Raka: Malaki! Lyn!

Lyn:      No, no, no, call me Mer-Lyn!
Raka:     Finally!

Lyn:      (surprised) Wait, Mama Raka?
Raka:     What took you so long?!

Lyn:      How’d you know we would come out here?

Raka:     I’m holding Malaki’s äthwar, remember? I used it to sense where you are.

Malaki growls.

Malaki:   You used my äthwar!

Raka:     Stop growling, Malaki. I know you don’t like it, but this was the only way I knew roughly where you were… And well… Ferryce… “helped” me a bit as well.

Ferryce:  (chuckles) I told her to follow the sound of your voice.

Raka:     Which wasn’t that much of a help… I couldn’t hear you, but I did sense that you made a lot of noise.

Lyn:      You did?

Raka:     Yes… Especially just before you came out.

Ferryce:  Your voice thoroughly shook that hill from the inside.

Raka:     We’ve been waiting here for almost a day.

Lyn:      A whole DAY?!

Raka:     I said ALMOST a day! It was morning when I went out to hunt, it’s almost sunset now.

Lyn:      Dang! No wonder you’re dried up already. Did you get very wet?

Raka:     Not… too much, actually. I don’t know why, but the rain didn’t really affect me.

Lyn:      Maybe that was my awesome UMBRELLA-RUNE!

Raka:     (sighs) I don’t think so.

Lyn:      But seriously, I don’t think we were in there longer than two hours.

Raka:     (sighs) The lack of daylight seems to have dulled your sense of time.

Lyn:      Oh- Speaking of which, I met a Væhar in there.

Raka:     A Væhar?

Lyn:      Yea, and it told me that it’s been watching us sleep since Garïyarla put us in that cave two days.

Raka:     T- two days?! Fiyar’ta…

Malaki sneezes.

Raka:     How did we sleep through two days?

Lyn:      (shrugs) Been there, done that.

Raka:     Ferryce… can you confirm this?

Ferryce:  She is exaggerating. The longest sleep she’s had was a day and a half at best.

Lyn:      (gasps) Ferryce- You know my darkest secret… now I’ll have to kill you.

Ferryce:  (amused) You can certainly try that, little mortal.

Raka:     (exasperated) Not that- can you confirm that we slept two days after Garïyarla brought us here?

Ferryce:  (laughs) Indeed. It was quite boring to watch all three of you lay around being completely useless for such a long time.

Raka:     (sighs) Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Come, sit down. I made… food. At least I tried to.

Lyn:      Aww yea, food! I’m starving! What’s for dinner, mom?

Raka:     A plain roasted Yag. It’s all I could find.

Lyn:      Plain?!

Raka:     You had my backpack with all the spices!

Lyn:      Oh… yea.

Raka:     (sighs) Well it might not be as delicious as what Malaki cooks, though.

Lyn:      At this point I don’t even care about taste, I’m just hungry…

Raka:     I put out the fire almost an hour ago because I didn’t know when you’d get out of there… The food might be cold already.

Lyn:      Doesn’t matter, I’ll eat it. Itadakimaaaaasu~

Malaki wheezes.

Raka:     (to Malaki) What? Raw scraps for you are over there.

Malaki wags his tail and yelps in excitement, then prances over to his heap of meat.
Lyn tears herself some pieces and eagerly bites into them.

Lyn:      (chewing) Mhhh. Oh yea~ Not as good as Malaki’s cooking but I’m too hungry to care. You want some?

Raka:     I already ate.

Lyn:      (eating) More for me then! (chewing) So, did you figure out where we are?

Raka:     Well- Sort of. It seems Garïyarla took us east. Almost to the other side of the Skundr, from what I could tell. At least we’re nowhere near the Tripeaks anymore. I recognized a few landmarks, a waterfall and that cliff you came out of, but to be fair, those things are quite common out here. There are a few notable differences in the vegetation though. I found some small green cacti that… seem to be strangely out of place.

Malaki:   Cacti.

Lyn:      Small green cacti?! (singing) Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus~ Steht draussen am Balkon~

Raka:     (ignoring her) We will need to find a village and ask if they can tell us more precisely where we are.

Lyn:      (eating) What about that thing? That looks like a landmark. Was it on your map?

Raka:     That- No, it’s not on the map. I’m not sure what that is or why its here, Looks like some kind of monolith. I found it looking for the spot where you would come out.

Lyn:      Is that writing on it?

Raka:     Apparently. I think its Sebaltaea, but it’s too overgrown and withered to tell for certain- Oh thank the Fiyar’ta, you brought my backpack.

Lyn:      No man, thank me! Always thank the one that did the heavy lifting!

Raka:     Fine, thank YOU then. I’ve been studying this thing while I was waiting, and I wanted to sketch it, preserve what’s distinguishable from the writing. I’ve never seen anything like this.

Malaki starts making a mixture of howls and barks.

Malaki:   There are… many like this. Further up.

Raka:     More like it? Where?

Malaki makes conversational barking noises.

Malaki:    I know a few. I can show you.

Lyn:      Hey Raka- mind turning off the windshell? It’s been on for a while and I’m not sure I can take much more echoes today.

Raka:     Ah- Sure, of course.

Credits
INT. AURILS STUDY – EVENING

Yosha:    (humming the tune Lyn sung, then realizes the transmission is over, slightly flustered) Oh- Er… That… was quite interesting… Fiyar’ta- am I supposed to talk to myself? (sighs) Akasar Auril is still not here… I wonder if he had a day off…? But I’m sure Parek said he had classes with Akasar Auril on Aisanuka… Well, perhaps he had to do extra classes today or something, I’m sure he’s just busy.
Hmm… seems that even Væhar can be quite endearing… creatures? This one… even gave Lyn her voice back, even though nothing bound it to do so. I mean, Þorianþaris turned out to be quite a nice Vaehar as well… but… (sighs) Oh, poor Þorianþaris… I’m sure he was a very good Væhar… Speaking of Þorianþaris, that recording with Garïyarla came in just last night, but the Vaehar in this recording said that it’s been two days since then. How could this… be? I thought the recordings were coming in as they happen… I… one more thing to add to Akasar’s to-do list. Perhaps he would know more about this…

Yosha makes a note in Auril’s To-Do list.

Yosha:    Er… As Akasar sometimes says, if you listen to these from the archives and have any… thoughts or theories on this and would like to get in touch or discuss them with Akasar, send a message to auril at-Rune trilunis dot com (maybe spelled out) or birdchirps using the At-Rune Trilunis. Or find that book with the face on it in the library and look for the page titled Trilunis and press your thumb on it.
Anyway, date of recording was the same as the last one. Vocal enchantments were by Kessir Riliniki, Eyþór Viðarsson, Carollyn Monterola, Ester Ellis, Peter J Lewis and Hem Brewster.
Music-Shells were provided by Fuimadane, Audio-Enhancements were by Matthew Boudreaux.
Written and Produced by Kessir Riliniki.