They walked in silence through the winding corridors of the mountain city and Aurora marveled once again at the beautiful formations that rose around her, illuminated by the strange, glowing plant-life that crept along most of the walls. Where the moss failed to provide light, fires had been built up from the dried out stalks of lakewheat. The flames reflected off the smooth surface of the stone where moss and scale had been pulled away.
Casper's obsession with the stone amused her. He was stubborn, the type of man that always needed to solve the problem instead of find a way around it. She had asked him for tools and he had tried to fashion the tools as they had been made on Horus. He had created a smithy of Jericho stone to create Horesian tools. When he had come to her unable to produce a suitable ore, she had asked him if he could simply find stone pieces that fit the colony's needs. He had assembled a team and found what was needed, but could not let the matter drop. Any time he was not on duty, Aurora knew she would find Casper in his smithy.
He was a hard worker - one of the council - and so she let him work his riddle as long as it did not interfere with his duties, and it never yet had.
As they passed through chambers, colonists rose in greeting. She returned each salutation with a polite nod or a friendly wave. She hated the formality but knew that they depended on it. She had met every one of these men and women after their Falls and led them to the safety of the hidden city with the mountain. She knew each face and every name. She understood their fears, for she had experienced them too. But she would not make them suffer those fears alone, as she had suffered. She would protect them and Jericho would help her.
She could feel the mountain willing her on, pushing her to keep going. It had drawn her to its hidden entrance in her delirium and soothed her aching body. It had provided her with the essentials to survive. And when others Fell, she was able to find a place for them in the mountain. New pathways and chambers were discovered every day and with them, new, mysteries uncovered.
She didn't know how the mountain knew what she needed. She only knew she could feel the mountain, and it wanted to help.
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