The Techo Mountain Excavation: Part Eight

At the very moment Angel slipped over the side of the cliff-like gorge, Gelrelt kicked his way out of RW's arms. RW cried out, partially because of the hoof in her side and partially because she somehow knew what her Moehog was about to do. "Gelrelt! Stop!"

     But it was too late. The Darigan Moehog disappeared over the edge in a free-fall towards the bottom. RW turned frantically to Sheblie the Faerie Jubjub, "Help him!" Shelbie nodded and dove other the side without uttering another word.

     Gelrelt mentally kicked himself as he dove through the gorge. He barely had enough experience with his wings to fly normally, let alone recover from a free-fall like this. Nevertheless, he knew he had to try to save both Angel and himself, though he had no idea how.

     Down below Gelrelt could see Angel let go of the backpack. It was smaller and more compacts than Angel, so it was falling at a much faster rate due to less wind resistance. Gelrelt observed this and folded his legs and wings close to his body, enabling himself to cut through the air on his way to Angel.

     Within a second, Gelrelt ran into Angel, who instinctively clung to Gelrelt's body. Gelrelt cringed from pain in his leg and opened up his wings, bracing himself for more pain as Angel's weight began to weigh on him more.

     Gelrelt was unprepared for the wind that blasted into his wings. For a moment he thought he had control, but then something terrible happened. His wings buckled. "Oops . . ." Was all Gelrelt was able to say ad he scrunched his eyes closed. There was no doubt in his mind they would both be smashed on the rocks below.

     But it was not to be. The next thing they hit wasn't rocks, but something soft and furry. "Grab hold," Shelbie shouted. She had dove beneath them and twisted around so she caught them on her stomach. As soon as Angel took hold and she wrapped her arms around Gelrelt, she twisted around again and glided over the rapids. Gradually their altitude grew and the rapids became smaller and smaller below. Eventually, Shelbie set the Nimmo and Moehog on the soft grass above Pango's Gorge.

     RW was the first one to react, snatching Gelrelt up into her arms, "What in Neopia possessed you to do that?"

     Gelrelt rolled his eyes at RW, "I just felt like it, okay?" He struggled to get out of her arms, "Besides the way you were holding me made me feel like a baby or something."

     RW understood Gelrelt's hint and frowned. She opened her arms abruptly, letting Gelrelt to the ground. Her frown turned into a grin, "Better?"

     Gelrelt merely grumbled under his breath, "Stupid human . . ."

     Brier put a claw over his mouth, "Oh my . . .Angel, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize . . ." his voice trailed off.

     Angel shook his head and stepped towards Holmes, away from Brier, "You didn't realize what? That you'd be willing to turn on people who actually care about you just to keep your stupid secret?" Angel scolded, "You didn't realize you'd be willing to lose people forever? You had to know someday it would go this far!"

     Brier's shoulder slumped as he stared at the ground. "Well . . . I suppose it's all over then, anyway. You'll undoubtedly leave me and these people you're with will send for the Defenders of Neopia to take me away . . ." His shoulders slumped, "I've lost all proof I was right about this whole matter." He stared wistfully at the gorge, "Smashed upon the rocks . . . I'm ruined."

     Shelbie rolled her eyes at Brier's dramatics and glanced around at the others. "I wouldn't say all is lost." She lifted Angel's backpack with a wide smile on her face.

     Brier let out a gasp. "No! I would rather they were gone forever than in your clutches!"

     Shelbie ignored him. He was old and a drama queen. "I managed to catch it just before I caught Angel and Gelrelt." She looked at Brier harshly, "Now we'll be able to study these things with accuracy."

     Brier spun around, looking at Hamperdank with pleading eyes, "Please don't publish those inscriptions! You must realize how important this is!"

     Hamperdank didn't answer. She walked past Brier, taking the sack from Sheblie. "Let's head back to camp."

***

     Ryshu the red Nimmo folded his arms, staring at the two prisoners he was assigned. They sat on either side of the tent, both with arms across their chests and looking in the opposite direction.

     Ryshu frowned as he observed the two. The younger of the two, Angel the green Nimmo, appeared frustrated and angry while the ancient looking red Techo looked completely downtrodden. Interestingly, neither one was willing to look at the other, though they obviously knew each other.

     Without warning the flaps of the tent flew open. Zaera entered and looked at Ryshu. "Hamperdank wants you to bring Doctor Brier and Angel to the Dig House," she said. "We have something we want to show them."

     Ryshu grunted and stood, then followed Brier and Angel closely as they entered the Dig House. He watched them intently as they passed shelves and tables full of artifacts, making sure they didn't try to take anything.

     Hamperdank called from the other side of the House, "Hurry up! This is exciting!" Ryshu could see four other creatures gathered around Doctor Hamperdank; a human girl, that snotty Darigan Moehog, Holmes, and Shelbie. Zaera bounded ahead with enthusiasm to join the others.

     As soon as Ryshu, Brier, and Angel reached their destination, Hamperdank began to speak, "Doctor Brier, how much do you know about the Nimmoan Saemis?"

     Brier shook his head, staring down at the table. Holmes had fitted the three stelae together perfectly for all to see. Together they formed a thin, slanting base for a small statue of some kind. His piece formed about half of the middle of the base, while Gelrelt's piece formed the top half. The smallest piece only had a corner to its credit, though it really wasn't any less important than the other two. It still had a bit of writing on it, and Brier was curious to find out what that was. "All I know is the Simple Nimmos were slaves."

     Hamperdank nodded, motioning to the reconstructed base before her, "With all these pieces together, we have the completed inscription." Hamperdank frowned at Brier, "And, just so you know, I am qualified to translate this; languages and cultures are what I specialize in." She turned back to the inscription and began reading before Brier could say anything,

From the Slaves of Evil, We, the Nimmoan Saemis,

Do Hereby Present This; a Techo Mountain

To our Glorious New Techo King, Our Master; Our Friend.'"

     Hamperdank looked up from the inscription, "Now, why do you think slaves would call their chief tormentor their friend?"

     Brier shrugged at Hamperdank's inquiry, "Slaves often did not have control over their words. They could easily have been forced to write that."

     Hamperdank nodded, "This could be true, but I think I have a more plausible explanation." She picked up an old archaeology journal, resisting the urge to brag she had found it under her bed without too much trouble. (She had to pick up her cot and move it to the other side of the tent for a bit, then conducted her own excavation of her clutter.) She opened the journal about mid-way and showed Brier the title, 'Saemis: Reconsidered'. "I'm not going to read you this entire article, Doctor Brier," Hamperdank began, "But here's a brief summary; The author of this piece indicates the Saemi Nimmos were slaves at one time early in their history. After a huge war, they were freed. However, since they had lived in a slave-like fashion for so long, they decided to keep their simplistic and separated way of life. They only used the bare minimum. No frivolities whatsoever." Hamperdank glanced at Ryshu, "The Simple Nimmos eventually developed fighting skills to protect themselves if anyone ever tried to force them into slavery again. It was this sect of Nimmos that eventually formed the Mystery Island Training School" She looked at Brier, nodding toward the newly reassembled base, "These artifacts support the article. There was a war. I think we can assume one side was led by a Techo King who freed the Saemis.

     "If the Saemi Nimmos kept their way of life, that would explain why we've found such a contrast in pottery from different sides of the old village. The simple, undecorated pottery came from the Nimmos and the decorated ceramics came from whoever was with them." Hamperdank folded her arms and sat back in her chair, "At this point, it's safe to speculate our little village was a worker's village for the construction of Techo Mountain, seeing how close it is to the mountain and the fact we found this inscription in the village. We can also conclude Techo Mountain itself was carved by Nimmos, not because they were forced to, but because they wanted to honor those who had given them liberty."

     For a few moments, Brier couldn't speak. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind. Who wrote that article? Was he credible? Why hadn't he read it before? Where did the author get his information? But . . . what if it was true? What if he really had been desperately wrong about the Saemis? What if the Nimmoan Saemis really were freed by the Techos, rather than enslaved by them? Had he really spent his life protecting a lie? Brier stared at the ground, refusing to give into despair. "That's . . . interesting."

     Hamperdank had hoped for a more enthusiastic response. Sometimes the world of professional archaeology annoyed her, especially at times like this. There was so much pride in the business . . . no one seemed to be able to admit they were wrong, even when faced with evidence that blew their theories apart. Hamperdank shook her head and closed the journal sitting before her. "I assume you'll want a copy of that article?"

     Brier nodded, "That would be . . ." he searched for the right word, "helpful."

***

     Gelrelt stared up at the oddly shaped boulder at the excavation site. He could hardly believe his little adventure had started right here when he had heard Angel digging on the other side of the rock. It all seemed so long ago . . .

     Shortly after Hamperdank had told Brier about what the inscription actually meant, Brier snuck out of his tent and disappeared off into the jungle. He was gone for days before finally coming back to their Dig Site half mad and on a rampage. He was carted off by the Defenders of Neopia before he could do too much damage to the site. Angel stayed on for a bit, trying to right some of his wrongs, but eventually left. Rumor had it an excavation in Tyrannia needed a little extra help, and Angel fit the bill.

     Apparently, Gelrelt's inability to fly had partially annoyed Shelbie, and partially endeared him to her. She was under the firm conviction no pet with wings should be unable to fly. When she wasn't digging, she could be seen tutoring Gelrelt high in the sky. By the end of the season, Gelrelt finally held a decent level of control on his wings.

     RW had more than enough material to write her article. They had found a few more stelae - copies of the first inscription. Zaera had found a sealed jar with something still inside. Though no one was willing to say it, Gelrelt thought there was a scroll of some sort inside. When he asked Holmes if he could be right, the old Skieth smiled softly, a spark of excitement in his black eyes, "Maybe . . . maybe . . ."

     Gelrelt scrunched his face, barely noticing Hamperdank and RW entering the dig site. He had never been able to figure out what exactly the boulder's shape reminded him of. It was on the tip of his mind, but he just couldn't grasp it.

     "Hey, Gelrelt," RW greeted.

      Gelrelt spun around, startled, "Don't come up behind me like that!"

     Hamperdank laughed and walked past him to lean on the boulder, "Have you had a good time, Gel?"

     Gelrelt nodded, "Yep.." He glanced from Hamperdank to the boulder and back to Hamperdank. Finally it hit him like a lighting bolt from the Wheel of Mediocrity. He jumped and pointed with his good hoof. "Look! It's a Techo!" he exclaimed.

     Hamperdank raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I am a Techo . . ."

     "Not you! That!" Gelrelt rolled his eyes. "The boulder looks like a Techo!"

     Hamperdank made a face and stepped away from the boulder, staring up at it, "Wow . . . it does look like a Techo, doesn't it?"

     "That's interesting," RW remarked. "Maybe it was a prototype for the mountain."

     "Or maybe it's just a weird looking rock," Hamperdank replied. "Of course, it is eroded quite badly, seeing that the rock itself is made of sandstone." She smiled at Gelrelt, "We may be standing in the middle of the Saemis' planning room."

     Gelrelt sighed, "Too bad that'll have to wait 'til next season."

     Hamperdank and RW nodded. All of the units had been prepared for next year, and most of the camp had been torn down and packed in wooden crates. Now all that was left to do to complete the Year Six dig season was to load everything on a boat and head for home.

     "Come on, Gelrelt," RW said. She turned and began walking out of the clearing, followed by Gelrelt and Doctor Hamperdank.

     Several hours later at the docks, RW and Gelrelt were busy saying their goodbyes to their friends from the dig team; Zaera, Shelbie, Holmes, and Hamperdank. Many expressions of gratitude and friendly hugs passed between them. "It's pretty interesting . . . everything we found out," RW said to Hamperdank. "Kinda sad what happened to Brier, though."

     Hamperdank nodded in response, "True, but at the time he found the stela, Brier had the most recent data on the Nimmoan Saemis. Who knows - maybe someday we'll find something that will lead us to question this whole excavation and conclude a single, vain Techo really did carve the mountain like the locals believe." Hamperdank shrugged, "All discoveries have to pass the test of time, and that test is never over."

***

     Gelrelt winced at the sing-song of the saw on his cast. The yellow Chia doctor seemed to have a good hold on the saw, but regardless Gelrelt feared a slip - or worse, the doctor cutting past the cast into his leg.

     "Don't worry, I've done this hundreds of times," the doctor said. If Gelrelt hadn't known better, he would have sworn the Chia could read minds.

     Gelrelt forced a smile, "Well, I've only done this once . . . right now!"

     The doctor chuckled, sawing through the last of the cast. "There we go." He pulled the protective shell off Gelrelt's leg.

     Gelrelt cringed at the site of his thin-looking limb, "That'll take awhile to get back to normal."

     The doctor shrugged and nodded. "Go on walks frequently. That'll help build up muscle."

     Gelrelt sighed and looked at RW, "You know, if you hadn't dragged me along on that trip, I wouldn't have to deal with this."

     RW grinned and shot back, "You know, if I hadn't brought you along on that trip and you hadn't had such a lousy, stinking, rotten attitude, you never would have broken your leg and the truth about Techo Mountain would never have been discovered!"

     Gelrelt snorted and rolled his eyes, "Oh, hush!"

The End