When Chloe awoke she found herself in a patch of tilled
soil. She lay next to the wooden box, which was nestled in plants similar to
the one she had found outside Mezzo. She tried to stand up but was instantly
dizzy, it was obvious that whatever had just happened it's effects were felt
long after. She tried to fix her gaze upon the sky, or at least something above
her so that the world would stop spinning. Between her and the clouds was
glass, from what she could tell and probably over two feet thick. The glass was
dome shaped, with each segment being a very slightly arching triangle fixed
between sturdy metal supports. As she lowered her sight, in hopes to find where
the glass met the ground she now stood on, she saw woodland at all sides. She
looked around the garden and the clearing she stood in. The crystal screen
displayed the destination was reached. Two thoughts now ran through her mind. Could
she be followed, and the plants that grew here were a probable threat to her.
This lead to a rather
rash set of actions; she destroyed the farm, ripped the plants from their
roots. She noticed during the destruction, that the roots were bound around an glowing
white orb, with its centre a spherical void which the roots disappeared into. She then proceeded to try to find the
irrigation. She decided her best course of action was to start walk towards the
base of the dome. It was close to where the clearing was, and the curvature of
the glass seemed to capture the arch of the sun above. The dome was affixed to
a wall which grounded the metal framework. Along this wall ran a pipe about ten
foot across and rusted. Its segments bolted together end to end with rivets. She could hear the water flow underneath but
she couldn't gauge how much water was flowing. She blasted a shard of amethyst
at the top of the pipe, slicing off a small portion. Water gushed out, the
pressure screaming to escape. The flow, eventually started to subside, with the
ground now soaked and its puddles rising. She grabbed a broad leaf from one the
shrubs that grew beneath the trees, held it over the gap and plated it. The
hole had been sufficiently patched, or so she hoped. If she was to flood this
place, she could do it but needed a way out first.
She retraced her steps back to the garden, and then followed
the cables that ran like a network under the now dead plants, back to their
source. A broken and moss covered cabin came into view between the trees. The
cables, twisted and knotted, ran upwards and into the smoking metal chimney. The
plants around the house were tended for, there was even a few sprouts of the
plants she had destroyed. If someone was home, to Chloe at least, they must be
able to let her out. Without much care, she waltzed over to the cabin and
slowly opened the door. Inside looked more like a plant nursery than a home.
All varieties of vegetation grew from varying receptacles from ceramic pots, to wading boots, to even a pieces of
Numenera. A grey bearded man stood over a stove with his back to her. Chloe
noticed that the cables were running out of the furnace grate. She realised
that he was cooking something, but she couldn't understand how there was a fire
in the furnace, or if there was one, why the cables hadn't melted. She coughed
and the old man almost fell onto the stove. He turned and carefully put on his
glasses. Chloe joked to herself that they were as thick as the glass above
their heads. His first words sounded like he was almost accusing her of not
being one of Silus'. She didn't understand what he was saying, she looked back
in response blankly. His eyes then showed that he was processing thoughts, with
his nods giving the impression there was some positive logical thought. After a
few moments of silence, he turned back to the stove, poured the contents of the
pan into two bowls and invited her to sit and eat. Confused even further, she sat.
He was happily tucking into whatever had been served to her,
but Chloe was definitely not eating it. She
cautiously brought out the box and put it on the table. His demeanour instantly
changed. He aggressively called her out as one of Silus' and asked her to
leave. She protested, partly because she didn't know anything, and partly
because that he presumed to talk to her
in that tone. To that aggression he was instantly tame, timid almost. She asked
him who Silus was. His reply was quite simple. Silus had a dark heart. He was known
to all officially Uncle Silus and for his years of loyal service, the old man
had locked at the top of the spire. He carefully chose his words, trying not to
tell her anything important, including his name, Professor Mellevile. She asked
why he was here, and he showed her the plants around him, some similar to the
ones she had seen on the plant from the rock garden.
She mentioned to him that she had no understanding of how
she came to be here, and what exactly this place was. It was an arboretum, a
green house, his life's work and his tomb. That last description haunted Chloe,
she now wanted nothing to do with him or this place and tried to change the conversation
to her leaving. Time slowly passed and the Professor's light conversation
stayed clearly on his plants. Eventually the meal in front of him grew cold and
the Professor now reacted with disgust with his next spoonful. That taste
seemed to jog him forward. He grabbed hold of a few books, most soiled, a few
rolls of parchment and a rose. He shoved the books and the parchment into a
canvas bag and handed them to Chloe. The rose's stem was growing tendrils that wrapped around
a marble sized white light. He grabbed hold of the box and quickly ran his
thumbs over the interface. The ceramic needles darted out into the stem. As he removed
his hands he examined the blood stained prints and with regret and instant fear
he gave the box straight back to Chloe. He told her to take his research to
someone important, someone with a future. She told her to stay away from Uncle
Silus, otherwise both he and her would end up dead. His words faded like the world
around her as the twine wrapped around her wrists. When Chloe's vision returned
she found herself trapped. She was on her side curled around the bag, still
clutching the rose and the box. Any movement hurt her, bashing into what seemed
like solid metal. There was a pinprick of light coming from one of the apparent
sides. It seemed mechanical and complicated. She knew she could not get out.
She grew angry and the old man's betrayal and panicked by the restrictions. The
fear she now felt grew in her chest and then nearly burst when she heard a
woman scream.
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