Remembered Paths: Book Three

By "Rod" "Mortin"

Alon, Shanra, and Oen find themselves in the darkest dungeon of the Preit stronghold. They share their cell with Darrik, friend and heir of a space pirate, and Jarred, a former member of The Order nursing a family grudge and a personal mission to end their evil reign.

Will any of them survive to reveal the secrets of the Zeta mission? Or will The Order once again bury any hope of a world built on shared strengths?

Even if they escape, they must convince the tribal leaders to reject their traditions and embrace the purpose envisioned by The Founders. Beyond that, they must join arms with the other tribes to defeat the minions of The Order, the moralizing monsters who will stop at nothing short of the total domination of every tribe.

Remembered Paths is Book Three of the exciting Paths Trilogy by Rod Mortin. From hunk, bad boys to multi-act plays and epic battles, this action-packed novel races down the path toward visions of a world built on collaboration rather than separation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scribl
• Release date: Oct 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780985393953

"Rod" "Mortin"

Rod Mortin hails from the Pacific Northwest. He holds an advanced degree in plant science and years of experience as a music instructor. Rod enjoys travel, gardening, and writing, though not necessarily in that order. He loves learning from the biographies of famous people, but he writes young adult fiction because he is a young teen at heart. Rod uses his science and musical training to weave tales of adventure aimed to support the daring and the visionary.

Book preview

Prologue

The darkness was bad enough, but the smell and the slime made it worse.  Alon, Shanra, and Oen had faced many challenges before, but this one brought them to the edge of total despair.  Their cell, which they shared with two other friends, was deep below the Priet temple and heavily guarded.  The Priets, remote descendants from a powerful organization called The Order, were moralistic monsters whose goal was the domination and enslavement of all the tribes on this world.

Alon, Shanra, and Oen had discovered details of a secret project, the Zeta project that The Order had tried to bury for over five hundred years.  The Order had sent covert operatives to capture and destroy them before they could reveal the details of the secret project.

That project, begun many cycles ago by the governments of multiple planets, was designed to establish a new colony on a planet called Zeta, where representatives from multiple worlds could live and work together in cooperation and respect, without the coercion and control of The Order.  Though The Order had succeeded in sabotaging the mission, the ship carrying the colonists had crashed in the Rift Valley, and most of the crew had survived.  Most of these left the crash site and, using paths long since eroded, dispersed across the lands above the Rift in search of the resources needed to survive on this obscure, new world. All who attempted a return to the crash site were killed by Wolfmares, large carnivores with no fear of people. Trapped inside their crashed ship by the Wolfmares, starvation eventually took the remaining crew, and the ship sat abandoned, waiting for the return of a crew who never came back.

Rather than remain together, the survivors above the Rift Valley had drifted into factions, eventually to become the tribes of this world:  Geneers, Mila Tanari, MeTechs, Artsers, and Priets.

These Priets now saw the occupants of this dungeon cell as a possible lever for prying power and riches from the leaders of The Order who were sparing no expense to keep this planet and the failed mission lost in the mist of time.

The path to this dungeon on sub-level three below the Priet temple started with a sojourn in the Rift Valley, a giant cut in the ground where those who entered did not return.  Oen had fled there seeking a new life with Kareel, a fellow member of the Geneer tribe and the love of his life.  Oen and Kareel had been apprenticed to the stern but fair-handed Darren, who had guided them to become skilled fabricators and inventors.

Shanra had chosen to jump from the ledge rather than be used by the brutish Runan to subvert her tribe.  Shanra's father, Markan, had been the leader of Mila Tanari. Stern but open-minded, he had trained Shanra in tribal skills despite the tribe's resistance to women leaders.  His sudden death had left Shanra vulnerable to Runan as he moved to snatch leadership of the tribe through violence and alignment with the Priets.  Shanra had preferred to die by her own choice rather than by his hand.  Beyond all expectations, Shanra survived the plunge into the Rift Valley.  It was Oen who found her and kept her safe from the beasts who roamed there.  Oen gave her a chance to survive, but it was the arrival of Alon that brought her back to physical and emotional health.

Alon was a member of the MeTech tribe, skilled in the healing arts.  His arrival in the Rift Valley was rather less purposeful:  he stumbled and fell.  Snagged by branches along the way and thus falling by bits and snatches, Alon found himself at the valley floor through sheer luck.  He, too, had been found by Oen and protected from the Wolfmares, the beasts who ensured that the unwary never returned to the tablelands above.  Through time and vast quantities of patience, Alon helped Shanra recover from her injuries and eventually become his lover rather than just his patient.  The two of them were now inseparable.  Vastly different in temperament and training, they had both changed, each allowing the other to be strong in their own way yet sharing life in joyful intimacy.

The other two in the cell each had unique paths that led to this dark place.  Darrik was the descendant of a powerful space pirate and the nephew of Captain Madron whose space freighter found and rescued Alon, Shanra, and Oen.  Darrik's family had substantial resources and resided on Capula, the planet that was headquarters for The Order.  It was with Darrik's assistance that the three friends had found evidence of the Zeta mission within the archives of the temple on Capula.  Enraged by the potential threat of this discovery, agents of The Order had sought to kill not only Alon, Shanra, and Oen, but Darrik and his family as well.  Darrik had managed to rescue his friends and whisk them off-planet and Darrik's mother, Saphora, had used her pirate skills to ensure the demise of the man who spearheaded the attack on her family.  Now Darrik was sharing a cell with his friends and would likely never see those he loved again.

Jarred was many things:  a descendant of the man forced into sabotaging the Zeta mission, a former Acolyte to the Monsignor who sought to destroy all trace of any who knew of Zeta, and the recent life partner of Oen.  Honed in physique and disciplined in mind, Jarred was a promising hitman moving up the ranks of The Order.  None had suspected that his life's mission was the destruction of The Order and even Jarred would never have guessed that he would fall in love with a handsome Geneer.  Though initially hated by Oen, they had formed a bond of trust and love that took both by surprise.  In this dungeon, the best he could hope for was a quick death.  But it was doubtful that the Priets and his captor, Acolyte Nimrud, would make his path that easy.

These friends now waited in darkness while the Priets partied and plotted far above them.  Perhaps they had hours, perhaps minutes.  There was no way to mark the passage of time. Some had the comfort of a loved one to hold while they waited, but each had only a short future and darkening hope.

chapter 1

In the Depths

Alon drew Shanra even closer to him. Stroking her hair, he whispered, I love you. Never forget that.  With her head on Alon’s chest, Shanra felt the beat of Alon’s heart.  It was the only good thing in her world right now.  Alon had been her mate for too few years.  He was handsome, tall, and gentle, with more patience than she would have believed possible.

Alon was from the MeTech tribe.  He's more like a lion tamer, thought Shanra.  She had been in dire need of his healing skills when they first met.  But it was Alon's gentle persistence in loving her that had finally broken through to the invisible broken parts inside of Shanra. Sure, she was still a bit untamed, but she had given herself to Alon, body, and soul, and had grown as a person in the process.  Together they had created a child, only to lose it before it could take its first breath. Together they had pursued clues about the purpose of the Zeta mission that brought such different people to this planet hundreds of years before.  Together they had discovered the treachery of The Order who sabotaged that mission and who still looked to sow discord and instability to every world that even hinted of no longer needing their brand of 'order.'

And now, it seemed, they were to die together at the hands of these same self-righteous power-mongers.  The very thought of them winning put a momentary flame in her eyes, but it was quickly quenched by the hopelessness of their situation. Let's at least not give them the satisfaction of breaking us, she whispered back.  I'd rather die than provide them with an ounce of leverage toward keeping our world fractured.

What makes you think those slimy bastards will spare anyone on this world, even their fellow religionists? said Oen from the darkness across the room.  Seems to me that the best way to keep the original mission here a secret is to wipe the planet clean.

Oen was right, of course.  It would not serve for anyone to know that planets in the Orlakon system and their governments had dared to think they could get along without the guiding hand of The Order.  Unbeknownst to those early colonists, The Order sent along two of their own, one to sabotage the navigation system and one to eliminate the saboteur, resulting in the crash landing onto this planet, the dispersal of the crew into different areas, and the eventual formation of the tribes found today.  The medical technicians and artisans stayed loosely associated. The tribes eventually became the MeTechs and the Artsers.  The military personnel settled a different area, forming the Mila Tanari tribe.  The engineers formed a separate tribe now known as the Geneers.  And the surviving representative of The Order managed to capture and enslave enough women from the other groups to build a separate tribe, the Priets.  Not that all Priets were evil.  Jarred was a notable exception.  A recent addition to this expedition, he was originally Acolyte Jarred, an aid to Monsignor Nasad, a notorious schemer and chief of security within The Order who had an eye on membership on the Supreme Council.  Jarred had risked his life for this disparate team. He had killed his own men to facilitate their escape from The Order.  Later he had rescued Oen from capture and torture by mercenaries seeking the monetary reward offered by The Order.  This act and others had transformed Oen's feelings for Jarred from contempt to gratitude and eventually to love.  Gradually Jarred’s heart toward Oen had also softened, and now he and Oen were life partners, ready to die together rather than be separated.

Of these five, Darrik had the least reason to be here.  He had risked his life, his family home, his future with a lovely girl from Orrek’s space station to protect and transport this team.  It was one thing for Alon, Shanra, and Oen to return to their home world with a mission to tell their tribes of their true history.  It was another for Jarred and Darrik to potentially pay the price that The Order most certainly intended to inflict on these threats to their unquestioned authority.

Of all the unfortunates in their party, she felt worst about Dolana.  The woman had endured years of abuse only to be captured with the rest of them.  She had dared to hope for a better tomorrow, only to be flung to the ground, her hopes once again crushed.  The Priets had returned her to a life of slavery, this time in their brothels.  Shanra could only hope that Dolana would forgive them for interfering in her life.

Their situation looked impossible, yet perhaps they could find a way out.  The trouble with an escape from this dungeon was that it still left them deep inside the Priet encampment.  What hope did five people have against so many guards and the fearful slaves who did their bidding?

Shanra had just given up thinking more about their dilemma when she heard a very gentle tap from the wall on which she and Alon leaned.  Startled, Alon began to speak, but Shanra quickly signaled with a finger to her lips for them all to be quiet.  Softly, so that the guards outside their cell would not be alerted, she tapped back on the wall.  A pause, and then the sound came again, this time in a pattern.  Despite the darkness of the cell, their eyes had adjusted enough for the others to see Shanra's hand gestures.

She signaled for Oen to come over and motioned for him to place his ear to the wall.  Again she made a tap.  Again, the tapping pattern repeated.  Oen's eyebrows shot up and, moving Shanra aside, he quickly tapped on the cell wall.

At Oen's signal, Jarred and Darrik joined Oen, Alon, and Shanra for a quick huddle. There is someone behind that wall who may be our friend, he said.  They are using a Geneer code, one that I recognize from school.  I think it was often used by miners.  We need a distraction.  Someone is on the other side of this wall who wants to make an opening without the guards knowing.

Alright, then, Shanra instructed, Jarred and Oen, I want you two to pretend to be fighting.  Just think about how you used to feel about each other, and that shouldn't be too difficult.  Once you start, Alon and I will stand in front of this section of the wall.  Oen, you tap the all is ready.  If the guards come in, we will all try to jump them.  The rest of us will stand over here along the wall to cover any noise or activity.  Ready?

All of them signaled their understanding and as soon as Oen signaled the tapper, Oen and Jarred began an exchange of insults that soon lead to grappling and blows.

Shanra had expected Oen to have an impressive repertoire of blue insults from his interactions with the crew of the space freighter that had rescued them from this planet not that long ago.  But what really surprised her were the truly original and particularly dirty slurs that Jarred hurled back.  How did this former acolyte learn these phrases? she thought, cringing at Jarred's comments about Oen's gonads.

Soon the two men were shoving, then fighting, and making plenty of noise.  Two guards appeared near the cell door, peering at the spectacle.  The damn fools can't even get along when they're facing death, muttered one guard.  Should we stop them?  What if one of them gets killed? said the other guard nervously.  Nah, Just keep an eye on them.  If it looks like trouble, we'll break it up.  No need to open this door. I'm not in the mood for taking risks with this lot.  I hear the Council has plans for them.  Who cares if they're a bit bruised or bloody?  They'll see worse before long is my guess.

With that, the one guard returned to the meal he was eating, and the other just watched the men fighting.  Oen and Jarred continued their scrabbling, moving toward the opposite wall from where Alon, Shanra, and Darrik stood shielding the place where they'd heard the tapping.  Oen decided to become even more graphic, now hurling in slurs about Priets. This got the guard so involved that he began to cheer for Jarred and encouraging him to smash that cocky bastard!

Behind the wall of watchers, a small hole had appeared where one of the stones in the cell wall had been removed.  Soon it was large enough for the next phase of the rescue.  Oen signaled with a brief jerk of his head toward the wall.  Jarred's eyes quickly glanced over and could see a dark space in the wall, barely discernible behind the onlookers.

Looks like it's time to end your flapping mouth, he said menacingly to Oen.  Jarred sprang forward and slugged Oen in the stomach.  With Oen bent in half, he quickly whispered, Go down, and then delivered a seemingly deadly blow to Oen's head.  Oen crashed to the floor and Jarred bellowed in triumph.  He then came right over to the door and talked loudly to the guard through the door grate.

That's what us Priets can do, isn’t it?  Damn pretty boys think they are something special.  Probably a frakin' man lover to boot! Don’t worry, he's not dead.  They'll have their fun with him tomorrow.  I got scooped up with this lot by mistake, but you can tell 'em I did my part for Priets.  You can tell 'em, right?

The guard laughed and gave a snort.  He didn't have plans to tell anyone anything, but he enjoyed the show.  Just then he heard the other soldier shout his name, asking if everything was alright.  Yeah!  No worry!  You missed a good show, and he headed back to the guard station to tell the other man about the fight and the great new insults he'd learned.

As soon as he was away, the others began to disappear through the hole in the wall.  No one had spoken a word to question their rescuers.  The situation was desperate enough that any rescue was a good rescue.  As Shanra and Alon disappeared Darrik glanced over at Jarred with a look of question that said, Do you need help with Oen?  Jarred motioned for Darrik to keep going then quickly moved to help Oen off the floor and into the tunnel.  Oen managed only a few crawls before collapsing but was quickly grabbed by waiting hands and pulled further into the tunnel.  Jarred followed quickly, making it with some difficulty through the narrow passage.  Thankfully, the space soon opened into a larger chamber where Jarred could almost stand upright.

They took several twists and turns, sometimes crawling again on all fours and sometimes running.  At one point one of the men grabbed Jarred by the arm.  They had just come through a particularly narrow passage whose doorway was held in place with large beams.

You and I are the largest, and I need your help to dislodge this header, said the man.  There is a chance that more of the tunnel will collapse than we want, but at least it will block the tunnel.

I understand, said Jarred. Show me what to do.  He knew the need to slow down any pursuit.  He would do whatever he could to protect Oen.  Whatever it took.  If I die, he'll be pissed, he thought to himself.

The other man, perhaps a miner or at least someone with experience in building things, quickly explained how they needed to shift one of the supports far enough to trigger the collapse of the tunnel arch.  The two men tugged with all their might, but the beam would not budge.  Too many tons of pressure were holding it in place.  Glancing around as they took a quick moment to catch their breath, Jarred noticed what looked like a stout shaft lying in the dust.  Help me with this, he grunted to the other man.  Together the two men were barely able to lift it.  There is a small depression here, said the man pointing to a spot near the top of the left-hand beam.  If we can get it wedged, we may be able to shift the upright enough to trigger a collapse.

In the distance, the two men heard shouts raised in alarm.  Their absence had been discovered.  They had to work quickly.  Grunting and sweating, the men worked to jamb the shaft into the opening and dislodge the header.  Nothing.  Grinding his teeth in frustration, Jarred asked the other man to hold the shaft in place while he maneuvered himself up the opposite tunnel wall.  With his feet on that wall and his shoulders under the shaft, he pushed horizontally with all his might, the other man making sure the shaft stayed parallel to the ground.  With a roar of effort Jarred shoved the shaft, which suddenly gave way, tumbling both men to the ground.  But best of all, the ceiling of the doorway also came crashing down, sending up a cloud of dust and detritus that left Jarred and his helper coughing.  One of the miner's feet had been partly buried by the collapse.  Go, said the man, I'll catch up.  Jarred ignored the command, quickly moving the stones and pulling the man to his feet.  I can't put weight on it, said the miner.  Jarred wrapped the man's arm over his shoulder and moved quickly in the direction the others had taken.

Soon they found the others anxiously waiting for them.  Jarred handed the wounded man over to his companions and was nearly knocked off his feet as Oen flung himself around Jarred's neck, holding him close and trembling.  I'm alright, he whispered into Oen's ear.  Time for us to move.  You can show me how much you care later, he said with a slightly wicked grin.

They quickly joined the others and soon found themselves by the shores of what looked like an underground river.  There were crude boats on the shore and paddles.  Without question, they loaded into the boats, each with one of the miners at the helm since they were the only ones who knew where they were headed.

As they pushed off from the shore, Oen thought he heard voices approaching through a different tunnel.  Some of the others must have heard it as well.  Paddle hard! came the barked command.  We're not to safety yet!

chapter 2

Darker than Death

Onward they paddled, never looking back, just grunting and sweating, hands blistering, back aching. Soon the current began to move more quickly, the ceiling began to descend, and a roar could be heard in the distance.  The miners were barely visible in the darkness, but it was clear from their frantic hand motions that it was time to paddle as hard as they could toward some point to their starboard side.  Having no choice but to trust their rescuers, the former prisoners pulled toward that direction.  Jarred’s strokes were long and powerful, moving his boat quickly against the current.  Oen lay in the hold, his hands grasping Jarred’s leg as if holding on for dear life.  Jarred had done a pretty good job of making their fight look realistic.  Perhaps too good a job, but recovery would have to wait until they were out of danger.

The man Jarred rescued was putting his all into paddling, despite the obvious pain in his foot.  He, too, would have to set aside any care about his injury until they were safe from the grasp of the Priet overlords.

Just then, a small jetty appeared out of the darkness and the first boat swung into the small bay just beyond the swirling waters.  The men in that boat quickly jumped from the craft and prepared to help the others do the same.

The next boat, which contained Alon and Shanra, was less graceful.  As it cleared the tip of the jetty, the frantic movement of the rowers was just unbalanced enough to capsize the craft, spilling the occupants into the icy blackness.  The shock of the cold water and the darkness, coupled with the roar of the river, made it easy to become disoriented.

Several of the miners were stroking madly