The moon was high overhead and the Moonglow flowers were in full bloom.
The only sound to be heard was the quiet voices of the four cats moving along the forest trail.
“How wonderful is this,” Chantel mused, walking hand in hand with Benji.
“It must be the moonlight and the flowers,” Benji said.
“Or it could be the company,” she grinned.
“Yes, it could be that,” Benji agreed with a smile.
“Come on, Nixie,” Gabby grinned, “let’s get these two to the cave before they forget why we’re out here tonight.”
“It’s best to let these things progress as they will,” Nixie replied. “I’m sure your mom and Benji know when to enjoy a moonlit walk in the woods and when to pay attention to more serious matters.”
“For that matter,” Nixie added with a sigh, “I hope I’ll get to enjoy moonlit walks someday.”
Gabby turned to her friend, “Come on, Nixie, we’re in the Magic Valley. I definitely see moonlit walks in your future.”
“And while you’re seeing the future, do you see who it is I’m walking with?” Nixie asked with a grin.
“Well, see, that’s the thing,” Gabby said, “while we’re in the Magic Valley, we actually live in the Mystic Village, which means that some things will remain a mystery until the time is right.”
“You know, I like the sound of that,” Nixie said.
It wasn’t too long before they were at the cliffs, with Benji holding bright shiners to light the way for the others to climb up to the ledge and over to the cave’s entrance.
Nixie brought out her own shiner and led the way into the cave.
Before following, Chantel called down to Benji, “Thanks for the company. Get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good time with your drawings,” Benji called back, “you can tell me all about it tomorrow.”
With that, he turned and walked back into the shadows of the forest.
Inside the cave, Chantel and Gabby set down their packs by the table they’d been writing at before.
Nixie started moving Nicole and Star’s stuff back away from the drawings.
“Hey guys,” Nixie said, getting their attention. “I’ve cleared everything away for you, but I’d rather leave the ‘rocking light thingy’ where it is. It’s already set up where they’ll want it tomorrow, and it’s a pain to get it set up so it works right.”
“No problem,” Chantel replied, “just yell at us if it looks like we’re going to bump into it.”
“Okay, Nixie, you’re up. Show us what these drawings have been telling you.”
They were using only a dim shiner to get the full effect of all the colors. Starting at the drawings closest to the chamber’s entrance, Nixie pointed out details that corresponded to the basic legend of the plague and the violet flowers.
“It’s the pretty standard version of the story,” Nixie said, “but there are some things that don’t agree with the legend as we’ve been told it.”
“Particularly in the later stages. For instance, in this section here, it shows the healers in many tribes working on the cure, each with their own fields of violet flowers. But then it shows the flowers disappearing, and the healers seem to have retreated to one well-defended valley. I suspect that valley might be here.”
“In this section, I think it shows as the plague spread and the flowers disappeared, the cats from some of the tribes attacked the valley, possibly thinking that the healers there were keeping the cure for themselves.”
“And that’s where I got lost,” Nixie frowned. “There are too many symbols and scenes that I just don’t understand.”
“You’ve done well, Nixie,” Chantel said, giving her an encouraging hug. “Without having been trained on the thousands of drawings that we have at the Teacher’s Village, I don’t see how you could have gotten any further.”
“What do you think, Gabby?” Chantel looked at her daughter. “Should we just accept Nixie’s interpretation for now and proceed from there?”
“I think she’s got it down pretty well,” Gabby replied, “but I’d like to go through it for myself. Like you’re always telling me, I can use the practice.”
“You’d almost think you’ve been training for this your whole life,” Chantel laughed. “Your Grandmother would be proud of you.”
“Just be sure to keep notes as you go along.”
“Nixie and I are going to start trying to figure out what some of these symbols mean.”
“And then there are the lines of text mixed in with the drawings on the other wall,” Nixie pointed out.
“Well, you know what they say, ‘We’ll never finish if we don’t start,'”
“Deep Mom, real deep,” Gabby said with a laugh.
Nixie and Chantel got to work studying the next section of drawings.
They’d point to a group of symbols and figures, deciding what they meant or represented. Then they’d propose different interpretations. Eventually settling on some of the best possibilities, they’d write those down. Then they’d move on and start again with the next group. Of course, many times, their interpretation of one group would send them back to have another look at one of the previous groups.
“There’s no hurrying up this process, is there,” Nixie commented when they were taking a break.
“You’ve got to love the process,” Chantel replied, taking a drink of water before passing the water skin to Nixie, “it’s not fast, but it’s the best way to sort out the meaning of something like this.”
“I understand what you mean by ‘loving the process,’” Nixie said after taking a drink. “I’m enjoying the mental challenge.”
“How’s it going with you, Gabby?” Chantel called to her daughter, who was intently studying a group of figures that Nixie had explained before.
“I’ve got something that might be important,” she replied. “Let me work on it some more. I’ll put it in my notes so we can all look at it later.”
“Sounds good,” Chantel said. “Are you about ready for a break?”
“Yeah, I could use a break. Just let me finish writing this down.”
Hours later, after another break for something to eat, they were discussing their next moves.
“I don’t know about you two,” Chantel said, “but I’m seen enough stuff for one night.”
“I suggest we go through our notes and mark the things we thought were important or just totally confusing.”
“I already know what has me puzzled,” Gabby said, “I’ll just wait for you two to check your notes.”
When they were done, Chantel put her quill down next to her notes.
“Okay, Gabby, show us what you’ve got.”
Gabby stood up and walked over to one of the early sections of drawings.
“Let’s start with this point in the story,” she said.
“It shows here that the fields of flowers were disappearing. But look at this symbol here.” She pointed toward a small symbol. “Doesn’t that indicate that the flowers were actually destroyed?”
Taking a careful look at the symbol, Chantel frowned. “I think you’re right. That’s certainly not part of the legend we’ve been told.”
“Then there’s this,” Gabby said, pointing farther along. “This shows cats attacking the valley, but it shows an army of defenders. Where did this army come from? Who were they?”
“I might have an idea about that,” Nixie said. “At least I know someone who might know. I’ll make a note to check into that.”
“Well, Gabby’s given us a lot to think about,” Chantel said. “What have you got for us, Nixie?”
“Since you and I were working together, I’m sure my list is pretty much the same as yours.”
“I’ll give you some of what we came across.”
“What we’ve seen so far represents the big picture of what was happening in the whole territory during the plague,” Nixie explained. “The next drawings depict what was happening in the valley itself.”
“It shows cats collecting and storing flower seeds, and other cats putting papers in boxes that they carried into a cave.”
“This part shows a group of cats, adults and children, leaving the valley.”
“That leaves us with two questions. Where is the cave that they put the seeds and the boxes in, and where did that group of cats go to?”
Nixie handed the shiner to Chantel. “Why don’t you take over next?”
“Okay, this next group of drawings shows the plague ending. There’s no sign of the attackers, and the defending army is missing, too.”
“The valley seems to be at peace, and the cats living there are all wearing flower symbols, as if they all belong to a single group.”
“So the plague is over, but these next scenes don’t make much sense to me. It shows cats planting a tree, then there’s a symbol that’s a circle with seven dots around the edge and one dot in the center.”
“I’ve never seen that symbol before. I have no idea what it means,” Chantel frowned with an exasperated sigh.
“Then the next symbol is a circle with concentric circles inside it. That’s another new one.”
“Well, you know what they say,” Chantel quipped, “if you know what you don’t know, you’re halfway there.”
“Who is this ‘they’ who keeps saying these things?” Nixie said with a laugh.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m about done for the night.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve done enough for one night,” Chantel said.
“Yeah, let’s call it quits.” Gabby agreed.
“I’ll have to go outside and check, but I think it’s about sunrise,” Nixie said.
“You go check, and we’ll start getting our stuff together,” Chantel replied.
“I was right, it’s getting light outside,” Nixie said, coming back into the chamber. “That night really went by fast.”
“I’ll stick around to get things set up for Star and Nicole. I’ll want to be here to show Jen how to move and set up the ‘swinging light thingy.’ I’ll check in with you at dinner back at the village, if not before.”
“Just make sure you get enough sleep when you get back to the village,” Chantel told her, “we need to be sharp for this kind of work.”
“Absolutely,” Nixie replied, “you two be careful climbing down. Concentrate on that. You can think about all these symbols on the walk back to the village.”
With a wave, Chantel and Gabby took their shiners and left the cave.
As Chantel and Gabby were sleeping after their night of work at the cave, three cats entered the village carrying full packs.
“Well, I’m sure glad I insisted on bringing home that ten pound bag of gold,” Piper said, dropping her pack in the dust.
“That and the twenty pounds of other stuff you were carrying at least slowed you down enough that Cisco and I could keep up with you,” Jax joked.
“And I believe everything that you tell me,” she replied. “All I want to do is deliver these supplies, grab something cool to drink, and put my feet up.”
“You go find us that cool drink and Cisco and I will take the supplies to the storehouse,” Jax said, stooping to pick up her pack.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Isis said, stepping out of her cabin and giving Cisco a big hug.
“I’m right where I should be,” Cisco said, giving her a deep kiss.
“Oh, well if you feel that way about it,” a smiling Isis returned his kiss.
“It is good to be home,” Jax chuckled as he headed for the storehouse.
Piper and Jax were enjoying cool drinks, and Cisco and Isis were enjoying each other’s company.
Taniki heard them talking. “It’s good to see you’re back. It’s going to be a while before lunch is ready. I’ll get you something to tide you over.”
As she went back into the cookhouse, two fluffy kittens came bounding out.
“Unka Jax, Unka Jax!” they chanted as they clambered onto his lap.
“I missed you two,” Jax said, giving them a hug. “Have you been good for your mom?”
The kittens just purred and snuggled against him, while he settled back with a contented sigh.
“I might be wrong,” Piper laughed, “but I think it might be nap time for you guys.”
“I’ve still got one hand free,” Jax replied. “I’m going to hold out for whatever Taniki’s bringing out.”
After the snack, it was indeed nap time for Jax and the kittens.
Piper visited with Taniki for a while then went to find Kikki and Tam.
She found them at the storehouse, itemizing everything that the three of them had brought back with them.
Tam greeted her. “I see you came back with a supply of Lustralite and Stellarite, and a small amount of copper nuggets, but why would you carry back this heavy pouch of gold dust?”
“We can make jewelry out of gold nuggets, but what can you use this fine gold for?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Piper said, picking up the heavy pouch. “You could say that it struck my fancy, or maybe I had a feeling we’d find a use for it someday. For now, I’ll just hang onto it.”
“Well, feelings carry a lot of weight around here,” Kikki said. “I look forward to seeing how your ‘feeling’ turns out.”
“It had better be something good,” Piper said. “This gold added a heck of a lot of weight to my pack.”
“Anyway,” Piper added, “I just wanted to tell you that we left twenty pounds of each of the minerals at Cassy’s house for when we make another trip to the Teacher’s village.”
“We also left about fifty pounds of copper nuggets there for trade with Olaf. We made an extra trip just to collect those.”
“Thanks for telling us,” Kikki said. “We’ll add all that to our inventory list.”
“Did you bring back enough minerals to keep Suki and Shaun happy?”
“I think so,” Piper replied. “If not, Olaf said he could keep us supplied.”
“I suspect we’ll be building up a supply of the minerals at Cassy’s house or at the Ranger’s lodge at Golden Oaks. We’re still talking about that.”
“Things are getting a little complicated, aren’t they,” Tam said. “We’ll do our best to keep up with it all.”
“You two have really stepped up to take this on,” Piper assured them. “We wouldn’t get half as much done without you.”
“By the way, did you two put your name in the drawing to have your cabin built?”
“We did,” Kikki said. “But we’d feel kind of guilty if they picked us next. We’re so busy, we wouldn’t be able to help much.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Piper replied. “You’ve got a job doing this, and the build crew has a job doing what they’re doing.”
“Besides, it’s kind of cool, everybody getting their own cabins.”
“I think they’re about done with Vitto and Del’s cabin,” Tam said, “maybe there will be another drawing tonight.”
“I’ve still got a lot of stuff to take care of,” Piper said, turning to leave. “I’ll see you two at dinner tonight.”
Mid-afternoon at Isis’s cabin. The main room was feeling a little crowded with all the cats that were there.
“You know, we could have met at the cookhouse and had a lot more room,” Piper said.
“We’ve got some new information that we may not want to be public knowledge,” Isis explained.
“Our new research team, Chantel, Gabby, and Nixie, spent last night beginning their study of the drawings.”
“Nixie’s on the research team?” Jax asked. “I thought she was working with Star and Nicole.”
“It turns out she has a knack for reading the drawings,” Chantel said. “There are some fine details that she missed because she didn’t have the training that Gabby and I have, but the fact that she hasn’t had any training lets her see things in a whole new way. It’s hard to explain, but it seems to be working.”
“Let’s get into what we found last night.”
“You’re all familiar by now with the legend of the violet flowers and the cure for the plague,” Chantel stated. “The first thing we noted was that there doesn’t seem to be a description of the cure, other than it required the flowers. We’re still looking for clues that might lead us to that information.”
“The legend states that the violet flowers were all used up making the cure, and that’s why they disappeared,” She said.
“On close examination of the drawings, the flowers weren’t used up, they were actually destroyed intentionally.”
That statement brought a stunned silence to the group. Giving them a minute to absorb that fact, Chantel continued.
“The drawings show that healers from across the territory retreated to the valley, which we believe is this valley. The valley was subsequently attacked by some of the tribes, though there’s no indication that the attackers were responsible for the destruction of the flowers. Details suggest they were after the cure.”
“The attackers were met and repelled by an army defending the valley. We’ve yet to find anything that tells us who this army was and where they came from, nor, for that matter, where they went after the plague had run its course.”
“Some time later, the drawings show a large group of cats, made up of families, leaving the valley. We have yet to learn where they went. Mind you, there’s still a large amount of drawings that we haven’t studied yet.”
“After that, the drawings show the remaining cats in the valley performing certain actions, which included a few symbols that I’ve never seen before,” Chantel finished.
“Okay,” Isis said. “That’s the basics. Any thoughts?”
“The flowers were destroyed?” Jax said incredulously. “Why would anybody do that?”
“The question is, what does that mean to us,” Cisco stated.
“Well, for one thing, that pretty well decides whether to set up a trading post outside the valley,” Jax said. “We don’t want strangers wandering around in the valley. We can’t isolate ourselves, but we need to have an idea of who we can trust.”
“At least we know to look for any unusual behavior from anyone we don’t know well,” Piper said.
“That may be the best we can do for now,” Isis said. “What about the other things Chantel brought up?”
“About that army that defended the valley,” Nixie said. “I think Vitto and Del would be the ones to ask about that. Their village has a tradition of martial arts. The two might be related.”
“Good thought,” Jax said. “I can see why you’re on the research team.”
“When we talked earlier today,” Isis said to Chantel, “you mention something about cats gathering flower seeds and moving them and boxes of papers into a cave. Perhaps another hidden cave?”
“Anything else, Chantel?”
“Just that I’m anxious to have my mother look at a copy of the cave drawings. There are quite a few symbols that I’ve never seen before. It wouldn’t hurt to remind her of the need for discretion, especially with the new information we discovered.”
“That gives us plenty to think about and some questions to try to sort out,” Jax said.
“If anyone comes up with anything, let Isis or myself know. We’ll be sure to spread it to the rest of the cats.”
For the next few hours, the cats from the meeting circulated with the rest of the village cats, suggesting that there might be cats outside of the valley, who don’t have their best interests at heart and that they should pay extra attention to any strangers who show up in the valley.
That night at dinner, it seemed that all the cats were aware of a strong sense of camaraderie. Strong bonds had been formed.
After another delicious Taniki dinner, Kikki stood up and called for everyone’s attention.
“As you all know, Vitto and Del have a nice new cabin ready to move into. That means it’s time for another drawing.”
“Does everyone have their names in the bucket?”
“Yes?” Kikki confirmed. “Okay, we’ve asked young Kali to pick the winner tonight.”
Kali marched up with a serious expression and waited for Kikki to hold out the bucket containing all the names.
Kikki said, “Okay, Kali, close your eyes, reach in the bucket, and pull out the name of the next cat to get their cabin built.”
Reaching in the bucket, Kali fished around and finally came out with a slip of paper. Handing it to Kikki, she stepped back.
Kikki read the slip and turned to the crowd. “Are you ready for this? The next cabin will be built for Cassy and Baxter!”
A good natured cheer went up from the crowd, with a few comments about new kittens in the village.
Baxter and Cassy just laughed and hugged each other.