Chapter 4 Scene 8

Keruka's mind clears up. She quickly realizes she can't move. She is lying on her back on the stone altar in the center of the sanctuary, her wrists and ankles tied by strong ropes to four iron rings forming a square two meters on a side set in the stone. The ropes cut into her skin, making any attempt to struggle painful.

Quest 58: Release Keruka.

Remaining calm like a shaman should, she collects her thoughts and recalls what happened this day. The night before she had a dream where the Spirits told her to go to the sanctuary. Rising before dawn, she pushed on a certain stone in the sanctuary wall, opening a secret gate between the Village and the Sanctuary. When she entered, she went into a trance.

There were three figures there: Agnelo, Corc, and Scotty the Monkey. Agnelo pointed a gun at Keruka, and ordered her to the altar. Keruka was powerless to defy Agnelo, and she obeyed.

"Tie her up good! She looks tough." ordered Agnelo to Corc. Corc moved as he if was in a trance, but it turned out he had a strong grip. He pushed Keruka down and tied her tightly to the iron rings.

Agnelo explained, "I am going to get all the gold on this island. You may be useful alive, but if not maybe a sacrifice will do the trick."

Agnelo and Corc conferred, and Agnelo said, "We may be able to speed this up a bit. Don't go anywhere!" Agnelo cackled at his crude joke, and then he and Corc left Keruka's sight, which broke the trance.

Keruka can take some deep breaths, but otherwise has to lie still. The children must be on their way to rescue the castaways, but then what? It sounded like Agnelo might steal the golden statues, possibly harming the children but dooming the island in any event.

Hour after hour she lies there, trying to put meaning to this situation. It feels like she is forgetting something. Perhaps the Spirits are testing her, immobilizing her like the children had been because she didn't impress upon them the Spirits' importance.

More hours passed, and Keruka thinks about her shaman training. There are many things a shaman must master.

Now she remembers there is an animal around: Scotty!

"LIttle Monkey, are you here? Come to me." Keruka focuses her mind and sends a mental message. A minute later Scotty is at he her head, making his customary screeching sound.

"Quiet. Can you chew through these ropes or untie the knots?"

Scotty stares at Keruka, then nods as if he understands. He chews at the knot by the iron ring connected to her left hand, then loosens it wtih his fingers, chews on it some more, and in about ten minutes the knot comes undone. Scotty then does the same with the knot by the ring over Keruka's right hand. She breathes a huge sigh of relief, and then works at untying the knots around her wrists while Scotty works on the knots on the rings connected by ropes to Keruka's feet. In another twenty minutes all the knots are undone, and Keruka is free.

Quset 58 complete!

"Thank you, little monkey." Keruka looks into Scotty's eyes, and says, "Can you be my extra pairs of eyes? Find out what you can and let me know what is going on?"

Scotty makes his screeching sounds and runs off, easily climbing the wall of the Sanctuary. Keruka can't tell if Scotty understood her. She gets up to leave, and on her way to the secret gate a butterfly lands on her hand.

You found a Purple Nighter!

"I hope they all remember to collect rarities," she thinks as she returns to the Village an hour before sunset. She hears an ominous rumble, similar to that of the cave-in but farther away. As she can't do anything about that now, she tends to the sick adults. Their condition is mainly unchanged, but they are hungry. In addition, thanks to the deep rope marks on her, she herself needs a healing dish.

Quest 59: Make a healing dish, fruit salad, and vegetable stew.

Keruka has a lot of work to do, but she is efficient. She digs five holes for the two potatoes, two tomatoes, and one fuki required, and goes to the Southwestern Forest in search of the other ingredients. Within fifteen minutes she has found five rosemary, six sesame, one garlic, one kiwi, two grapes, six apples, and five bananas. When she returns to the Village the vegetables have grown. She collects them and makes the dishes.

Quest 59 complete!

Night falls as she feeds and takes care of the ailing adults. She then retires for the night in her hut.

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