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Garrett lowers his phone. “I don’t see why not.”
After a short debate, we decide to keep things as orderly as possible and choose from one of the shelves at the front. First, we move some of the lights from the outer part of the cave, giving us better visibility. Then Garrett lifts down a wrapped object, about a foot long and six or so inches wide, and Ronan takes over recording as he carries it to the table and unwraps it.
Inside is a clay tablet with markings on it. It looks wrong, somehow, and then I realize that’s because all the pictures I’ve ever seen of clay tablets show a lot of wear and tear. This looks like it could have been made yesterday. None of us can read the markings.
“It’s from Earth, then,” Brandt says. He sounds calm, but he’s grinning widely. “I would recognize any dragon or elven markings from that time.”
“I’ll check it against known languages when we get back to Wi-Fi,” Garrett says as he and Ronan carefully document everything and rewrap the clay slab. “Shall we take a walk around?” He gestures toward the back of the hoard.
Ronan returns the tablet to where we found it, and then, as a group, we stroll down one aisle. Beside me, Cam takes a deep breath.
“What?” I murmur, and he shakes his head.
“Being in the middle of it all really brings home how much there is. Look at all this stuff. It’s going to change history as we know it.”
He’s right. And our village—us… we’re going to be part of that.
It sends a shiver down my spine, but a good one.
When we’ve walked both aisles, Garrett and Ronan recording and taking preliminary notes, we return to the door and better lighting. I’m surprised to see that Jesse and Brandt are both a little teary-eyed.
“This is incredible,” Jesse says. “And the magic is so… it’s so happy we’ve found this again.”
“Ecstatic,” Brandt adds. “Euphoric. If there was cell service here, I’m sure we’d be getting calls from the lucifer and the elf king to ask us what we found, it’s that thrilled.”
“Hmm,” Garrett murmurs. “We’re going to need to see about getting cell service up here. The sooner, the better. Ronan’s not going to be able to work effectively if he can’t look things up easily or call people for information.”
“He can fly,” Zac points out flatly, but the glares that are aimed at him make him subside.
“The conditions outside the cave aren’t good for that yet,” Garrett reminds him with narrowed eyes. “And even if they were, having to fly somewhere with cell service every time he has to check something isn’t efficient.”
“We’ll get cell service for the cave,” Grandmother insists, cutting any discussion short. “Isn’t that right, Jesse? We do whatever is needed to bring this treasure to the world.” Her expression is fierce, daring anyone to challenge her.
“Of course,” Jesse confirms quickly. “Garrett, Ronan, just let us know what you need.” He looks around. “The rest of us should probably go so you can make plans to get started.”
It hits me with a pang that Cam and I are part of “the rest of us” now. Sure, Cam needs to mess around with the door a little now that it’s open, see how it functions, but for the most part, our job here is done.
“If I could just interject,” Brandt says slowly. “You mentioned that the conditions outside aren’t ideal for flying, and I don’t doubt that, given our location and the season. But how will Ronan be traveling back and forth from the cave, now that Micah and Cam are done here? Should I call in a favor with the king and have an elf assigned to portal him?”
Ronan’s face relaxes in pure relief, the happiest I’ve ever seen him.
“That won’t be necessary.” Grandmother leaps in so quickly, it takes me a second to even realize she’s spoken. “Until the weather improves, Zac will be working with Ronan and Garrett.”
As if we’re all puppets on a string, Cam, Asher, Garrett, Gideon, and I turn to look at Zac. His expression is a study in bewilderment. “I will?”
“He will?” Garrett echoes. Ronan says nothing, but his face closes.
“Is that a problem?” Grandmother asks Zac in a tone that warns him to think carefully about his answer. “Do you not want to join your cousins in doing your part for our village and the Community of Species?”
“Doing my part?” Zac echoes. “What did Asher do? I don’t think he married Garrett for the good of the Community of Species, Grandmother.”
“Asher knows his duty,” Grandmother intones, and Asher shoots me an alarmed look, mouthing, “My duty?” I shrug.
Zac opens his mouth to argue, thinks better of it, and shrugs. “Sure. I can bring Garrett and Ronan back and forth and help out. But only until the weather changes. I can’t be stuck in this cave during the summer.”
Grandmother flips a hand dismissively. “When the snow starts to clear, we can make other arrangements. Perhaps some kind of vehicle to travel up from the village?”
“No.” Zac’s voice is firm. “A vehicle would cause environmental damage in the woods, and it’s a slippery slope from one, to many, to cutting down trees to accommodate a road. Besides, even in the summer the conditions above the tree line aren’t always good for vehicles. It would be too unreliable.”
