Chapter 13 Scene 1

"Yes, I shall give you a tour," replies Phato mechanically.

He starts by going along the edge of his island counterclockwise. The northeast edge rises into a rock face. While going northwest along the rock face, he stops where there is the end of some railroad tracks. The tracks go into the rocks, and it appears that a large rockslide has fallen down the small mountain and blocked the entrance with many large boulders.

"This is where I heard the beast," Phato points to the blocked entrance.

Tom and Machk go to the end of the tracks. "It would take months for us to break through this with the tools we have," announces Tom.

"Do we really need to go in there?" asks Machk.

"I am not leaving until the beast is defeated," states Phato.

"I wonder what the other end of the tunnel is like," muses Tom. "The railroad tracks to this island from the Excavations are broken. We would need to rebuild a bridge."

"Why don't you show us the rest of your island?" asks Machk. "We may find out something important."

"Yes," Phato answers still in his mechanical way. He leads the way to the northwest until the group reaches the swampy part. A waterfall about ten meters high is visible at the center of the northeast edge. "Up ahead is the area with the mud pits; I got the Datura Bowl from that one there," he points out a mud pit with the two poles he used to help reach the magical herb and then help get himself out. He then turns to the south. "Over there is the swamp, a large circle with a small mound in the middle. That is where the swamp snakes live." Without thinking about it, he pats his belt, made from one of the swamp snake skins.

"That is my hut," Phato points out next. There is a well-constructed hut made of bamboo poles and palm leaves nearby. "Careful, avoid the mud pits."

"Why did you build it here?" asks Sophia.

"Animals avoid this area so they don't bother me while I'm sleeping."

Continuing with the tour, Phato leads the group south and around the swamp until it narrows into a little stream that empties into the ocean. He leads the way across the stream five meters wide and half a meter deep, to the other side. "There are a lot of fruit trees on this side, and some animals." He then goes north along the other side of the stream, and then circles the west side of the swamp. At the north end they can see the waterfall again from the west side this time. Moving on, they proceed to the northernmost point of the island where they can see the next island.

"Have you been to that island?" asks Sophia.

"No. There are reefs all around that island as far as we can see, with a lot of jagged rocks. Maybe some day we can take a boat around the north end of that island; maybe there is a way in up there."

They all proceed southwest along the northwest coast of the island. There isn't anything new to see, just more trees of many types and the occasional animals that keep their distance from the large group. They reach the westernmost point, and then go back southeast to the stream that empties out into the ocean.

Kuruka points out, "There are large sharp rocks all around this island and the sea is rough. How did you get on it with the canoe you had?"

Phato is silent for several moments, then speaks in the mechanical voice he has used before. "Once I saw this island I paddled up and down looking for a safe way to land, but there wasn't any. I got a little closer, and then the current pulled me toward those big rocks in the center over there. There was a big wave and my canoe crashed into those rocks. All I could do was jump out over the rocks to where the water is calmer and swim to shore. My canoe was destroyed but I made to the beach. I was alone and had nothing, and I'm sure it was the will of the Spirits."

"I'm sure you're right," agreed Kuruka.

"That sounds lot like a book I read in school," notes Sophia. "This boy takes a canoe and goes to somewhere to test his manhood. There's a storm and the canoe crashes and he loses all his supplies and his loincloth and winds up on this island with only his dog. Was it like that?"

"It was very much like that but I never had a dog."

"And then in that story the boy finds what he needs to survive, just like you."

"That sounds right. Lots of things washed up on the beach, like those poles and wire which I used to make my hut. At first there was just fruit to eat but I found a skeleton of a large fish and used a rib to make my bow. I also used wire to string my bow and make a fishing pole."

"You've done very well," commented Machk.

"We have to decide what to do next," announces Tom.

"Will we have to get more herbs for Amy?" asks Nicole.

"We have enough for today," answers John, "but will need more in the coming days until Amy stops showing any symptoms."

"We should also think about rebuilding the bridge from the Excavations to this island," adds Tom, and see what the railroad tunnel looks like from the other side."

Quest 12: Rebuild the bridge connecting the Excavations and Phatoland.

"I expect it is also blocked," declares Machk. "Otherwise we most likely would have seen or heard the creature while we were at the Excavations."

"You're probably right," agrees Tom. "If we decide to clear the tunnel, maybe Braden has some explosives."

"Even so, we will need a lot of lumber to make the bridge. Let's go back to our island and cut down some more dead trees."

Quest 13: Cut down ten trees to collect 50 lumber.

"There are dead trees on this island and I made an axe," announces Phato. "I shall cut down some trees here."

"I'd like to stay here a while," chimes in Sophia. "I can gather fruit, we're bound to need it soon for when we eat next."

"I think we should ask your mother," responds Nicole.

"We should see how Amelia is doing," adds John.

"I will wait here," says Kuruka. "I will help gather the timber and I would like to talk more with Phato."

With that, everybody except Phato and Kuruka return to the first island, now known as Sophialand.

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