[F21 - SP - E3] Questions <<Nature's Treasure>>

[Bahr 0]

Hesitantly, Oliver approached, grabbed the rod, and the pair sat yet again. Silence blanketed them, just as it had several times before during this little excursion of theirs. Bahr got a bite, reeled in his catch, and just as he was putting the fish into the bucket, Oliver could no longer contain himself.

"That was so cool!" he suddenly blurted out, scaring away any other fish that may have been ready to bite! "You just, like..." He seemed unsure what to do with his hands. "Shwoom! Then hyah! Then boom!" Bahr finished depositing the fish, then turned to be met with Oliver's ecstatic expression. "It was just... It was just... You need to teach me how to do that!"

Bahr looked at the boy for a moment, squinting slightly. He pondered, then responded. "No." Simple, straight to the point. It seemed to perplex the child, who probably assumed that Bahr was like the cool uncle who would teach him anything he wanted.

"But.. Why not?"

Spoiler

ID: 143166
CD: 7 | LD: 4
(2) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 33
Thread egg total: 83

 

[Bahr 0]

There was silence for a time. Oliver deserved an explanation, but it needed to be told to him in a way that he could actually understand. 

"I'm going to tell you a story," Bahr started.

"No! I want an answer!" Oliver replied.

"Then you'll listen." Oliver pouted in response to this, but otherwise relented. "Good."

"There was once a boy whose friend was stolen by a snake."

"A snake?"

"Yes, a snake. The biggest snake you could ever think of. The people of the village at the base of the mountain lived peacefully and without worry, so long as they didn't cross the road. If they did, the snake would slither down from its den atop the mountain and [censored] them away."

"And that's what the friend did?"

"Yes. She crossed the road. But so did he."

"Wait. Then why didn't the snake get him, too?"

"That's a question he also asked himself, and why he crossed the road again in search of her. He started up the winding switchbacks of the mountain, slowly inching his way toward the top. He looked around corners, and under rocks, but could not find the snake. He must have gone further up."

Spoiler

ID: 143169
CD: 10 | LD: 5
(3) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 36
Thread egg total: 85

 

[Bahr 0]

"It seems weird that he'd chase the snake like that," Oliver mused. "Wasn't he scared that it would get him, too?"

"Well, sure he was," Bahr admitted. "But he wanted to find his friend. And he was angry with the snake. Angry for stealing her away. So he steeled himself, practiced his bravery, and continued up the mountain."

"And eventually, he came upon a sword, its tip lodged in stone."

"That's the sword I'll kill the snake with," "The boy said as he approached the hunk of steel and wrapped his small fingers around its hilt. He huffed and heaved and, with a great effort, managed to wrench the weapon from the ground."

"He brandished it, and great plumes of fire and lightning leapt from the tip and set the ground alight. The boy brandished it again, and out shot swarms of locusts and wasps. And he bellowed a great centaurean laugh, and the laughter echoed out over the plain of the mountain. Everything was power. Everyone would listen to him now - the village elders, the oracles, the bullies and the brutes. Hell, even the snake, when the time came."

Spoiler

ID: 143170
CD: 3 | LD: 13
(6) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 36
Thread egg total: 91

 

[Bahr 0]

"He laughed again, and the mountain was only fire and lightning then. There was only power, and malignancy, and rage."

"Thou shalt always kill," "he thought. And he knew that nobody could do a damn thing to stop him ever again. And more than that, with a dastardly certainty he supposed that with this thing, he could end the very world if he wanted."

There was silence for a moment, and then, Oliver spoke. "And he... killed the snake with it?"

"That isn't quite the moral of the story, is it?" Bahr countered. Oliver gave it some thought, but still seemed confused. "Did you notice how the power changed the boy? He went from having a specific goal in mind - a noble one - to becoming intoxicated by the power and allowing thoughts of what he could use it for seep into his mind." Oliver was silent. "He was so excited by the control the weapon offered him that he lost sight of why he was there, and what he was meant to do."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143171
CD: 1 | LD: 20
Nothing obtained.
Thread material total: 36
Thread egg total: 91

 

[Bahr 0]

"And that's why you won't teach me how to fight?" Oliver inquired.

"That's a part of the reason, yes," Bahr replied.

"That's stupid. That wouldn't happen to me. I would only use the power to protect what I care about," came Oliver's indignant response. A part of Bahr was pained to hear it. Oliver obviously had the most noble of intentions in mind, but there was clearly also an element of attraction to the power itself. How "cool" it was, and how cool it would make him feel. How powerful it would make him feel. How in control it would make him feel. There were likely subconscious reasons that the boy desired that, especially in a time when everything probably felt completely out of his control. Why he derived so much enjoyment in the simple things, such as hunting for eggs. The things he could do, in a world filled with things he couldn't. "Like my mom," he finished quietly.

"Yeah," Bahr replied. "You might think that now. But the things you care about might shift with time and perspective. That's the moral of the story, after all."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143172
CD: 8 | LD: 10
(2) Materials, (4) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 38
Thread egg total: 95

 

[Bahr 0]

It wasn't that the boy was thinking incorrectly, exactly. The possibility that he was correct certainly existed. But so too existed the prospect that he could be wrong, and that he could dive into the darkness. Just as Bahr had. Because, you see, Bahr was the boy. And Bahr, as he had originally set out on his journey, had lacked the self awareness and perspective to realize how power might affect him. He'd always considered himself of sound mind and body, capable of making the right calls - the moral calls - regardless of the situation. But the more sinister influences of the power had crept up on him and wrapped their tendrils around his throat, squeezing like a vice and directing him in accordance to their whims. He'd become a puppet for the power, and ironically, its control. There was a chance Oliver was right, and that he wouldn't be similarly corrupted. But he simply lacked the self awareness, just as Bahr once had, to make such a declaration with such conviction.
 

Spoiler

ID: 143173
CD: 2 | LD: 13
Nothing obtained.
Thread material total: 38
Thread egg total: 95

 

[Bahr 0]

Perhaps, with time, Bahr could show him the way. Properly explain to him why the story applied to him. And, with guidance, ensure that he did not go down the same path. Lead by example, and show him what the story meant, rather than just trying to explain it. But it was all too abstract for a boy his age, and Bahr had no illusions about making such a significant mark right now. He would need to wait, let the story settle, and then come back to it at another time. This was the way he would protect Oliver from himself.

"So... What happened next?"

"Hm?"

"In the story. Did the boy find the snake?"

"Ah." How strange was it that Bahr had nearly forgotten that he was actually still in the middle of telling the story? He'd meant for it to be an allegory for death, the pursuit of punishing it, and how that path could lead one astray. He hadn't really considered that he might need to actually finish the tale.
 

Spoiler

ID: 143174
CD: 10 | LD: 1
(3) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 41
Thread egg total: 97

 

[Bahr 0]

"No, not yet," Bahr began as he settled back, loosening his grip on the fishing pole his fingers were laced around. "Once he had the sword, he continued his search. He looked around corners, and under rocks, but could not find the snake. He must have gone further up. So, he began climbing again."

"And eventually, he came across a pair of glasses. They weren't easy to see at first, so far away. But the light that reflected from the spectacles caught his eye in a glint, and he felt compelled to investigate. He carefully traversed across the rocky crag until he came upon them, peering at them where they rested between the rocks."

"These are the glasses I'll see the snake with," "he decided, before sheathing his sword and squatting beside them. Slowly, carefully, he secured the rim of the glasses between his index finger and thumb, and extracted them from the rocks they were wedged between."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143175
CD: 9 | LD: 5
(3) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 44
Thread egg total: 99

 

[Bahr 0]

"Slowly, hesitantly, he raised the spectacles to his face, and furrowed his brow as he brought them to a rest on the bridge of his nose."

"Suddenly, the boy was pulled from his body and senses, and saw the world without her mask on. A tangle of fields and dimension. The height of time, the width of space. And he knew then that matter was both a point, and a wave, and a joke. And he saw the logic at the bottom of everything, and the madness at the top, and the shape of becoming, and the dance of decline. And finally then, he saw himself, in true perspective: a speck, on a blot, on a smudge, on a blemish, on a fleck, in a grain of galactic sand amid a billion other beaches. And those beaches themselves only made up more grains of sand, and more grains of sand, and more grains of sand."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143176
CD: 2 | LD: 3
Nothing obtained.
Thread material total: 44
Thread egg total: 99

 

[Bahr 0]

This was probably getting a bit deep for a boy Oliver's age, if the contortions of his face were any indication. Perhaps it was time to dial it back a bit, reel it in, to a point that he could understand a bit better.

"As he pulled the glasses from the bridge of his nose, the boy could tell that these would allow him to see the true nature of the snake. What it intended to do, how it slithered about, where it would be, and indeed what it truly was. He felt the power in knowledge, and understood it to be just as important as the power he held in his hand when he brandished the sword. All of the brute strength in the world could only carry him so far - he would need these to see the true nature of his reality."

"So... then he killed the snake?"

The boy was eager to hear more. Bahr felt the magic of his mother's storytelling surging through him. He had the kid hooked.

"No, not yet," Bahr replied.
 

Spoiler

ID: 143178
CD: 6 | LD: 5
(1) Material, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 45
Thread egg total: 101

 

[Bahr 0]

"He looked around corners, and under rocks, but could not find the snake. He must have gone further up."

Oliver sighed and leaned back dramatically, his arms hanging limp as though he'd been defeated. "He's never going to find the snake," the boy whined. If only he knew how correct he was. But still, there was a certain wonder that filled his voice. As dismayed as he was, as impatient as he was to hear the climax of the story, he still yearned to hear more. Bahr could tell. And so, he would give it to him.

"Would you like for me to continue?" Bahr inquired coyly, a smirk spreading across his cheeks as he peered at Oliver out of the corner of his eye.

"... Yes," Oliver confirmed.

"That's what I thought," Bahr replied, somewhat smugly. He reeled in another fish that had caught on his hook, and deposited it into the bucket before he cast his line out into the pool once more. "Now, then..."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143179
CD: 10 | LD: 16
(3) Materials, (8) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 48
Thread egg total: 109

 

[Bahr 0]

"So he continued along the mountainous landscape, struggling for footholds has he crept, slowly, trying to get from here to there, and then from there to there, and so forth. And as he made his way, he began to hear music. Upbeat, calling to him. He came on the remains of a great party. Empty bottles, discarded trinkets. In the ruins of an old and ostentatious house, burnt partly to the ground, was a tankard that glowed. And inside the tankard was what looked and smelled like mead."

"This is the indulgence I'll kill the snake with," "the boys said as he picked the tankard up and brought it to his lips. He took only a sip, but felt its effects immediately. When the cup came away, his body felt bizarre. As though it was moving of its own accord. Sure enough, it was moving. He was dancing to the rhythm of the music he heard, but knew not the origin. The mountain began to spin about him, the colors blurring. And he danced across the mountain, over the debauchery and under the moon. And suddenly, he was nothing thinking about his friend, or the snake, or the village."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143180
CD: 6 | LD: 10
(1) Materials, (4) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 49
Thread egg total: 113

 

[Bahr 0]

"What if there's no point to anything?" "the boy yelled out." "Who cares? Tragedies happen, people die. It's all a game! It's all a facade! There's no salvation, no meaning!" "He saw into the heart of things now, and knew there was no heart. That everything was suffering, and even that didn't matter. A joke God was playing on the world, for nothing more than his own sick amusement."

"He moved toward the cliff, feet stepping in perfect time, the stars spinning about at a dizzying pace, and the mountain echoed with the music of reckless abandon, and nothing mattered now. And he danced the nihilist waltz long into the night, until the sun began to rise."

"Doesn't seem very smart," Oliver finally said. This piqued Bahr's interest.

"Oh?" Bahr mused. "How so?"

"He shouldn't have drank from the cup. It made him silly and weird. He wouldn't have been thinking like that id he hadn't."

"Good observation," Bahr replied proudly. Perhaps the boy would glean more insight from the tale than he'd originally thought. 
 

Spoiler

ID: 143181
CD: 6 | LD: 19
(1) Materials, (8) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 50
Thread egg total: 121

 

[Bahr 0]

"So... Then did he find the-"

"No, not yet," Bahr interjected. "The boy looked around corners, and under rocks, but could not find the snake. He must have gone further up. Eventually, he turned a corner and came upon a picture of a king. And then a queen, then more. The portraits regal and proud, with faces that spoke of legacy and divine right. He pushed on, and now the portraits were of scenes he didn't recognize. Of battles, and rulers, and machines, and great structures that kissed the skyline. Episodes from his ancestors' history that he'd never even heard of, let alone considered. Millions dead and gone, while nation-states turned to dust. Humans holding out against a hostile world, and yet worse threats that lurked within themselves. And somehow, for a long time, against all odds and sense, they did hold out. Bettering themselves slowly, as a toddler attempts to climb a set of steps. Then, for some reason, devolving again. Sent to bed with no supper. Then decline, then savagery, then dust."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143182
CD: 3 | LD: 10
(4) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 50
Thread egg total: 125

 

[Bahr 0]

"And ahead, the boy spied a pair of armored boots. Grieves, pretty much. And he could feel that for as long as he wore them, he would never die. He could live into his thousands, if he liked."

"This is the armor I'll defend myself with from the snake," "the boy said, before slipping his feet into them. They fit perfectly. He then took from within the confines of his shirt a necklace, and on the necklace was a locket. And within the locket was a picture of his friend. He had kept it, to remember he by. In case something like this were to happen."

"This is the story I'll kill the snake with," "he finally concluded, before shoving the necklace and its locked back under his shirt. Finally, for the first time since he set out up the mountain, he truly felt ready to do battle. He knew it would only be a short walk now."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143184
CD: 12 | LD: 20
Treasure chest fished up!
(8) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 50
Thread egg total: 133

 

[Bahr 0]

"So..." The kid almost seemed hesitant to ask now. "Then... he found... the snake?"

"Yes," Bahr replied. "Then he found the snake."

"Yessss," came Oliver's enthusiastic reply.

"The peak was just a few yards away. It was only a small plateau, and the wind was high there, and it was raining. And there sat the snake, its back turned to the boy, staring off into the dead wilderness below."

"With the glasses on his face, the boy saw the snake in its essence. Its black heart, its cunning mind, its contempt for all humanity. The boy approached, silently, his heart in his ears, his eyes wide, his hand clutching the locket of his friend. And he thought of his friend then. Thought of her dead, and the futility of death. He closed his eyes and screamed, and brought the sword down with such power that it struck a grating chord out into the rain, and rang all the way back to the mountain's base."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143193
CD: 10 | LD: 14
(3) Materials, (6) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 53
Thread egg total: 139

 

[Bahr 0]

"... And then!?" Bahr had the boy on the edge of his seat. Everything had led to this moment - the boy's triumph, the defeat of the snake, the battle that decided it all. It had been building and building, and despite Oliver's impatience (and perhaps even boredom), it was what had made the tale so tantalizing to him. It was the very patience Bahr had tried to explain to him earlier, when they were discussing quieting the audience in their minds. Right now, Oliver's brain was all band and no spectators, the music reaching to a piercing crescendo as every neuron fired rapidly in anticipation of what was to come next.

Bahr grinned as he looked upon the boy. "You really want to know?" he asked.

"Of course!" Oliver replied enthusiastically. "I need to know what happens?" The excitement was contagious, and Bahr had to remind his own audience not to lose their cool. 

"Get your audience to settle down first," Bahr instructed. "Then I'll tell you."

At first Oliver huffed, but then he relented. He took a deep breath, and then another. His chest rose and fell with measured intention. Finally, he seemed calm. 

"Okay," he then said. "I'm okay."

"Alright, then. The boy opened his eyes."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143194
CD: 11 | LD: 2
(4) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 57
Thread egg total: 141

 

[Bahr 0]

"And the snake... was gone."

Oliver blinked. "Wait, what?"

"The snake was gone," Bahr repeated.

"But... But... How!?" 

"Do you want me to tell you?"

"Yes!"

"Then you need to let me finish."

Oliver grumbled impatiently, but relented. Bahr cleared his throat, before continuing. 

"Where did he go?" "the boy asked, confused. It was then that the boy had to consider the prospect that perhaps the snake had never existed in the first place. The rain become heavier, and the boy stood silently in his armor. Did he really think that there was some evil snake on a mountain bringing death and misery to his village? Had he really thought that the world was so simple that only one thing could be responsible for all the bad days? If only it were so easy. One thing to point his finger at and proclaim," "It was all your fault!" "Nothing is that simple."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143195
CD: 6 | LD: 5
(1) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 58
Thread egg total: 143

 

[Bahr 0]

"I... I don't really get it..."

"His ancestors had gotten everything they'd ever wanted," Bahr explained. "And they still weren't happy. The snake was still there; misery, chaos, and death. They tried killing it with ultimate power. They tried sending it away with ultimate knowledge. They tried forgetting it with abandon. They tried living longer. They tried clinging to each other. The sword, glasses, tankard, armor, and locket. They looked around corners, then, and under rocks, but the snake wasn't there. He must have gone further up. And so they climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and found nothing. It was just them in the universe, and they were still miserable. The boy realized that he would never see his friend again, but that there was a whole village at the base of the mountain of people who loved him. And there he had been, screaming at the wind on top of a mountain."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143203
CD: 9 | LD: 17
(3) Materials, (2) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 61
Thread egg total: 151

 

[Bahr 0]

"Bad things happen, Oli, and the reasons for them are complicated. There is no snake, no witch, no evil genius. And there will never come a time where everything lasts forever, and nothing hurts ever again. But the strength is in taking a good look into the abyss, into the eyes of the snake, and then choosing to still be a good person. Even in the face of great uncertainty, and malice, and that day when everything will be gone forever."

"It's not gone yet. It won't be for ages. Don't waste your time on snakes. Say goodbye."

And when he looked upon Oliver again, he saw the tear streaking down his cheeks, and the sadness in his eyes. "But... I don't want to..." he replied meekly.

"I know," Bahr said as he wrapped an arm around Oliver and folded his fingers over the boy's small shoulder, pulling him closer. He rubbed the youth's tiny bicep reassuringly, knowing that it wouldn't fix anything, but hoping that it still brought him some sort of comfort. "Don't try to be a hero, or a sage, or a warrior. You don't need to hide your emotions. Just exist for awhile, and be decent. Don't get wrapped up in the pursuit of power. Do cool things because you want to. Live happily, because that's what your mother would have wanted. That's heroism enough. It's how it's always been done. Existence itself might not care about you or your suffering. But your village, your family, Alyssa, me - we do. Remember your mom. Love her always. God knows, she loved you. And come to me any time you like, and we can hang out and remember her together."
 

Spoiler

ID: 143205
CD: 4 | LD: 18
(4) Eggs obtained.
Thread material total: 61
Thread egg total: 155