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News » For the Sake of a Soul: XXII
The Path to Secrets
'I left the basement to move to the upper portion of the house. One would think with access to so much gold that she would have lived in more comfort. Of course, I recognized the problems. One, she was on an island where options for commerce were limited. She did have plenty of food, and what items I saw looked new. I assumed that she had used gold to barter for what I saw and the items probably represented the best that the natives had to offer. The second problem would be that if she started showing off too much gold, the natives would consider it worthwhile to challenge this edifice and do to her what I had done. She certainly acted friendly with me just to get me down in the cellar where she could have overcome me. I cannot say how many others that came close to this place were killed, and it is possible that a younger version of the woman might have thrown the ingots with better aim and strength managing to stop me.'
And so starts the chapter that introduces the personality of the Lady of Gold and develops her past.
The Path to Secrets
'I left the basement to move to the upper portion of the house. One would think with access to so much gold that she would have lived in more comfort. Of course, I recognized the problems. One, she was on an island where options for commerce were limited. She did have plenty of food, and what items I saw looked new. I assumed that she had used gold to barter for what I saw and the items probably represented the best that the natives had to offer. The second problem would be that if she started showing off too much gold, the natives would consider it worthwhile to challenge this edifice and do to her what I had done. She certainly acted friendly with me just to get me down in the cellar where she could have overcome me. I cannot say how many others that came close to this place were killed, and it is possible that a younger version of the woman might have thrown the ingots with better aim and strength managing to stop me.'
Terish paused in his reading to state, "There is a break in the narrative here. I assume that Gerlitt wrote the entry as he prepared some food and ate. He possibly took a nap as well."
'I felt a strong wind start to blow through the windows in the upper portion of the house. Wanting some water, I went back down to the cellar where a hole in the floor had been made to access a stream that I hoped would not be too concentrated with minerals. I did wonder about the success of my men that had gone to challenge the natives, although felt assured that my success had the better profit.
'Going back into the cellar I had to again look over the lovely golden lady that now laid on the floor.' Terish waited for comments about how the statue of precious metal became located on floor, but finding his comrades staying quiet he picked back up his reading. 'As I moved to again study the wonderfully formed face of the female construct, I heard a soft movement of air from the mouth. I do not believe that I actually heard any request for food, but I was eating on some bread that I found and I cannot describe just how perfect the shape of this thing appeared. Just to examine the mouth further, I reached beneath the lips and managed to separate the teeth. Realizing that there was an opening down to a possible stomach, I put a piece of bread in the mouth and followed it with some wine.'
'I cursed as I scrambled to a far wall. The head of the golden lady moved. The working of the jaws was not strong, but there were slight convulsions as the throat worked to send what was in the mouth down it. The construct did not move further, so I eventually crept back to reset the conditions that had caused the earlier performance. I did not move away this time, but watched the actions of the head and attempted to follow the progress of the food down to her belly. I should note that there was no regular rise and fall of her chest. I could only suspect that the actions I was witnessing were a simple operation of gears.'
Terish again interrupted his readings to comment, "I should note that the golden lady I encountered was a mechanical construct that had been animated by necromantic forces. If you were close to her then you could hear a tinkling and grinding sound of a multitude of mechanical parts operating. She also did not eat. Gerlitt seems to be saying that this golden lady was of a completely different design."
Ferrigote responded, "Keep reading, Terish. I remember a number of details of the story I heard as a boy, so am waiting to hear if anything matches."
The others agreed that the youthful appearing hero should continue, so he did. 'Looking at the wonderfully crafted breasts of the lady, I somehow had the thought that she might be a real lady somehow gilded by the deceased hag. I thus put my head to her right breast and listened for any sounds from inside the body. I suspected that I would need to put my ear to her belly to listen for sounds from her stomach. Surely, anyone that had designed this statue to simulate eating had to consider processing the material that entered her. As I moved my head down her torso however, I saw the breasts lift and heard air sucked into her mouth. It was as the air was expelled that I did hear a request for food.
'I have now spent some time feeding the statue. It has been enjoyable watching the lady perform the actions. The body was wonderfully constructed. I have seen its motions become more noticeable and lifelike. I sit here and watch it waiting for it do something more.'
Terish lifted his eyes to tell his listeners that again a break occurred, but quickly returned to the reading. 'The golden lady says that her name is Dirchein. I was most startled as I woke to the sound of her crawling towards me. She was very timid however, and whimpered at any rough movement or statement from me. She did not attempt to redress herself as any normal woman would, but crawled on the floor and begged for more food. I went upstairs to gain some more bread. She was attempting to navigate the stairs upon my return, and I threw a piece of bread to her as if to a dog. As an animal she grabbed the food and moved back to consume it in peace. When I chanced moving down into the cellar, I saw that she had moved into the hole where access to the stream had been made. My eyes fell upon the form of the dead hag, and I noticed that she had not been eaten upon. It was then that I attempted to speak to the golden lady, and with water dripping from the front of her mouth she told me her name.
'I do not understand how this lady exists. She does not know how she was made. I see the tools for working the gold, but not forms for the metal to be poured into that it might harden into her shape. She seemed to be as interested in her body as I was, and some knowledge of my presence with her, so accepted my inspection. As I physically looked over the lady, I quizzed her about what facts she knew. Strangely, she remembered a man touching her body, and the hag as only someone who dressed her and worked with her hair. The name, Dirchein, is a shortened form of the words, 'suphur worker,' in the language of the natives. I told her about the landscape outside the house, and we both agreed that she was probably made to do chores near the deadly pond in the volcanic depression.
'Considering that she was simply a machine, I gave her commands. She was not unwilling, but responded in a manner that stated she was doing things because she wanted to and could possibly refuse an order. Again I must state that I do not know how this lady was made. Her voice is that of a woman. The soft tones have a lovely high pitch that crisply sounds out each word. Her manners are that of a woman. I have not seen her cry, but she has stated displeasure along with comments about how to adjust for her behalf. She is of gold. I have yet to discover a part of her that showed any other color. Those thoughts made me approach the place where she expelled her waste. The fecal matter was black and dull as if every molecule were stripped of anything precious.'
Again Terish lifted his eyes to inform his listeners that a break had occurred in the reading, but he did not return to the book until he had drank some wine. 'I searched the house with Dirchein. Her presence with me seemed to be the natural curiosity of a woman and not any insatiable desire to learn of her past. Attention had been given to the slabs that formed the walls to assure a tight seal. I guess that the fear of possibly allowing a fissure where the poisonous gases could seep through was the reason there were no secret compartments or alternate portals for escape. I did not find any texts on magic or schematics diagrams explaining how Dirchein was created. One set of large parchments was found underneath the tablecloth on the small table in the upper room. On those papers were decently detailed drawings of the volcanic depression outside.
'The golden lady with me shuddered before touching a spot on one of the parchments and saying, "That is where the gold comes from the ground."
'I did not argue with her, but moved to a window and looked at the depression from the safe height. In seeking to match what I was seeing to the graphic, I noticed golden strips fluttering on the ground. The small flags seemed to indicate a path away from the managed route to the house, and their fluttering also stated that whatever deadly gases normally ruled the land around the small pond were presently being sent away. Anxious to see the source of wealth, I went down and opened the doors.
'The air was indeed presently fresh within the depression. I pointed out the strips of gold to Dirchein and told her of their significance. I informed her that I needed to be told should they stop fluttering, because the land would at that time start again to build up its toxins.
'"I will not let you die, Gerlitt. You have fed me while those that made me and should have known of my needs allowed me to starve. You have treated me properly while those that are responsible for my beginning treated me as a toy. You are allowing me to share your life, while those that brought me into existence left me in the basement."
'I really did not know how to respond to those words, but I saw no reason to be cruel. "You seem to be a marvelous woman. I do not look upon you as something to sell, but I know that others will see great value in you. I thus have a need to protect and secure you. Let us find the source of the material from which you were made, and possibly we can manage a way to ward off the greed of others enabling us to remain together."
'She kissed me, then ran ahead to the pond. Dirchein was clothed now. During a period that I was defecating, she had put on the dress that she was wearing when I first found her. My golden lady had brought me the undergarments with a complaint about my cutting the fabric. She did not complain further when I stated my desire to again reach certain parts of her anatomy, but accepted the dress as enough covering. I enjoyed watching the soft fabric of the skirt flutter as her legs propelled her down to the acidic pond.
'I increased my pace as Dirchein pointed to a spot and stated that she had found the source of the gold. It was not what I expected. Seeing a woman of gold, numerous ingots of gold, a multitude of sheets of gold, and a house covered with gold, I expected a gusher of wealth from the ground. Without the visual clues from the drawings and the gold strips indicating the path, I might have never found the source of the wealth. The gold issued from a small pore underneath the level of the acidic liquid of the pond. I could tell that the rock around the fissure had been scraped to remove any gold that had once been present. I looked into the acidic water to only discern a bowl made from the surrounding rock beneath the pore, and only a small glob of the precious metal rested in the container.
'I looked at my golden lady, then back to the house, and wondered how much time had it taken to build all of this. Surely a mass of the precious metal was present when this place was first found, but it could also be said that this place had been found numerous times over the centuries with the previous discoverers taking what they could making the initial discovery of those that created my lady not so grand. The house had been built only upon a dream more substantial than most hopes for wealth, but with the reality once again being that time and risk were necessary to achieve any lasting financial superiority.
'I saw Dirchein put her hand in the liquid of the pond as she asked me if I wanted what gold was present. Seeing her hand unharmed, I touched my fingers to the liquid. The burning sensation was not strong, but I again got the impression that my lady was built to work in this deadly place.
'I was perplexed. I wanted this lady, I wanted the gold, but I also wanted to show off my wealth. I could easily imagine gaining two of the three. I started walking around the pond looking for other sources of the precious metal as I considered possible futures.
'I have now found the book stating the construction of my lady. The altar was not built up, but dug into the rock surrounding the lake. There really was not any blood, but odd minerals covered the bottom that I suspect were once bodily fluids that had reacted to the sulphuric gases. I am certain that many people were killed in this place. The altar was of the size to fit a body with a deeper depression in the middle. In the depression was a golden satchel, and in the satchel was a book. I took it and my lady back to the house to discover secrets.'
Well, those secrets will need to wait until the next chapter, titled "Unwanted Connections."
Posted by TerishD on Monday, May 19, 2003 (05:51:43) (969 reads)
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