Sally Always Found Trouble

…but not necessarily for her

The Doclopedia #3,015

366 Days, 366 Paragraphs: #254

Chapter Twenty Eight: Success and Succession

When Mertina opened the door to the private office of the Grand High Curator, she had her carefully rehearsed scream and faint all prepared. Once the others in the outer office had revived her and confirmed that he was dead, she would send for the other High Curators, crying all the while. When they got the word, some of them would give a quick hand sign to a person who worked with them, thus starting the rebellion and takeover. By nightfall, it would all be over.

Her scream died in her throat when she saw the Grand High Curator sitting at his desk, alive and smiling. She couldn’t speak and her head was spinning.

“Good morning, Mertina.” the Grand High Curator said jovially. “Are you alright? Gentlemen, help her to a chair.”

Before what he said could even register in her mind, strong arms gripped her own and she was guided to a chair in front of the desk. The door shut and she knew that she had been found out. There were four big Curators in the room, so escape was impossible.

“How?” she asked shakily. “The poison was undetectable.”

The Grand High Curator chuckled. “Why, yes, it was. Unfortunately for your plan, your small bottle of poison was discovered some weeks ago and replaced with plain water. All it really did was weaken the tea. After that, it took only my meager acting skills to make you think I was dead.”

They knew about it weeks ago? How was that possible? The only people who knew about the poison were her and Curator Coldell. Well, them and High Curator Porcero, of course.

Seeing her puzzled look, The Grand High Curator picked up his comslate and said, “I have read every message that has gone to Porcero’s com link for the last two years. The Ancient Humans called it “hacking”. We can thank Curator Yeon for figuring out how to do it. A pity that Porcero sent out most of his replies by messenger or written letter. Still, we learned who was who in the Rebellion.”

Mertina was dumbstruck by this news. Not only did they know enough to stop the Rebellion, but they might still be able to read her Master’s communications! But did they know any of the most secret things? She had never sent com messages about them.

The Grand High Curator knew what she was thinking.

“You’ll be sad to learn,” he began, “that your rebellion…including the attack from outside…will not be happening today. Oh, the call for the High Curators is going out as you planned, using your comslate…”

At that point, she noticed one of the Curators writing something on a comslate. Her comslate!

“…to send the message. Very thoughtful of you to have it all ready to go for us. Now, the traitorous High Curators will gather up their loyal Curators and Trainees, at which point we will quickly gather up all 257 of them. Pity that we can’t do that with the 14 Seekers that are on your side, but we can at least send them conflicting messages.”

At that point, Mertina tried to leap from her chair and attack him, but was quickly stopped by the brawny Curators.

The Grand High Curator sighed and shook his head. “You were a very good assistant, Mertina. It’s a shame to lose you, but you must be punished along with all of the other traitors.”

She gave him a hateful look and said, “How? Will we be killed?”

The Grand High Curator looked shocked by the suggestion.

“Killed? Of course not! That would be barbaric and wasteful. You will all be handled exactly as all of the other rebels throughout the centuries have been handled. You’ll be put to work. How do you think all of these tunnels and rooms have been carved out of this rock?”

The Curators stood her up out of her chair then and started to lead her towards a secret door that she had never known was there. She stopped just before entering it and looked back at the Grand High Curator.

“Can you tell me what the girl, Seyan, was supposed to do? Was she a thief or a spy?”

Again, the Grand High Curator smiled. “Neither and both, actually. She had no mission here. Her mission is out in the world and currently, she is on a path to get to the crystal relic before Porcero does. As an added bonus, I expect that if she meets him, she will kill him.”

Her screams of rage were not silenced until the secret door was firmly shut behind them.

Alone in the room, the Grand High Curator seemed to deflate a bit. He was so very tired and the end was near now. Picking up his comslate, he sent a message to High Curator Sontora. A minute later, her reply appeared, saying that she would be there in 15 minutes. The Grand High Curator leaned back in his chair to rest.

When Sontora entered his office, he was once again struck by her dark haired beauty. Her dark hair and brown eyes, along with her light brown skin tone gave her an exotic look. Of course, he was even more impressed by her intelligence. She was easily the smartest person he had ever met, which was saying something, since he had been with the Museum all his life.

She was also carrying a large book that was identical to the one Seyan had done her copying into. The only difference was that Sontora’s book was somewhat thicker and had a very slightly lighter colored cover. The book she had copied had contained a dozen more pages than the one Seyan had copied. Some knowledge could only be known by one person at a time.

At age 24 she had become the youngest person ever to make High Curator. Now 35, she had been High Curator of Operations for seven years. Her knowledge of both Ancient Humans and the goings on of the Museum were vast. On top of all that, she was quite accomplished at interdepartmental diplomacy. Really, she had been the only choice to replace him as Grand High Curator.

“Good morning, Kala. I assume the rebellion is going poorly?” He sounded more weak and tired that either of them expected.

“Yes, Master, it goes quite poorly. I’m told that High Curator Damsky broke down and cried when he was apprehended. Curator Henko is reported to have escaped into the desert with a few of his loyal Trainees. We expect them to become hopelessly lost by noon, at which point they will be found and marched back here.”

She sat down in the same chair that Mertina had sat in just awhile ago. She tried not to look nervous and, in the opinion of the Grand High Curator, did a damned fine job of it.

“Master Ohlong is even now deciding what to do about the warriors from the Quiet Empire. They seem to be fanatics and possibly insane. Despite being securely trapped in Drainage Tunnel #4, they scream threats and throw themselves at the gratings. It may be necessary to flush the tunnel and send them out into the Great Canyon.”

The Grand High Curator nodded. “Well, it will be your decision to make, Kala. I suspect they may have to be dealt with as you say. Now, on to the important business. The Council has approved both you and Seyan as Grand High Curator, although her position is more ceremonial out of necessity. Congratulations. It is a difficult job, at times very trying of ones patience, but ultimately fulfilling. You won’t have to deal with traitors and plots, but you will have to deal with a great influx of relics. I suspect that Seyan will be very good at her new job.”

He breathed deeply for a few seconds. He would have to leave sooner than he thought. He stood up and leaned heavily on his desk. Kala got up and went to him, offering support. After a minute, he had gathered his strength.

“Put your book away, Kala, and come walk with me one last time.”

She hurriedly put the book into a secret compartment of the desk, then took his hand as he lead her down yet another secret passage.

“I will miss the Museum, Kala. I was born here and I have so many wonderful memories. Still, time passes and we age and then reach the end of this life.” He looked at her as he spoke and noticed tears. He handed her his handkerchief.

“Thank you, Master.” She said as she wiped her eyes. “I’ll miss you. Thank you for all you have done for me over my life. I…I…” She could not go on. He put an arm around her. He would have wept, too, but he was unable to do that now. He was, in fact, becoming unable to do many things. Every step he took, he felt his body changing. Soon, very soon.

After walking in silence for a few more minutes, they came to a simple door set in the stone face. Kala opened it and there before them was the Great Canyon. No balcony or steps, just a straight drop of over two thousand feet.

“It is time.” His voice was very weak now. The Grand High Curator held out his hand to her and she took it, watching as his skin faded to complete translucence. His very form was changing as she watched.

He spoke again, for the last time, barely above a whisper.

“I give you a piece of myself, Grand High Curator, so that you may carry out our mission, as so many before you have done. I wish you luck, and know that one day, we shall meet again.”

A bit of him separated from his hand, forming a pool of liquid on her palm. In seconds, it was gone, absorbed into her.

The Grand High Curator then released her hand, nodded to her and stepped through the door. Stepping forward, she saw his clothing fluttering to the distant ground as a very large hawk flew off into the east and the rising sun.

Then Grand High Curator Sontora shut the door and began walking back to her office. With every step, enlightenment came and her body felt more alive.