THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 13

THE SECOND KEY:

The next day painted the sky blue but I remained in bed till late, by my reckoning mid morning, I got up and drifted downstairs and went out the door....no rain last night by the looks of it, I could see a heat haze way over by the stone steps, today will be hot I thought. I ate breakfast and realised I had begun to weary of eating grapeapples, but they are keeping me alive and healthy so I should be thankful. As I eat I wonder what I am to do with myself today, yesterday's questionable revelations have no proof or evidence to their support, my head needs time to digest all the theories fermenting inside it, so I shall not be reading the book today unless out of absolute need, but that won't stop me from thinking about it....and think I did. The picture of the triangle, symbols and keys is foremost in my mind, especially the key. I got the key from from its place in the drawer, now I wonder what door or lock this gains an entrance to? I twisted it through my fingers back and forth staring at it, but I do not know, or remember seeing any other locked door in my travels, but there has to be! all events so far have been provided through logical progression, the discovery of the pedestal, the first book, the message of invite to the tower, the map in the tower. I could not access any of these things if I did not follow a preordained sequence! a sequence of events that has led me here, now, to this point. I am thinking hard...think...think, I am sure there is something missing but I am finding it difficult to lock on to it, my memory has not been at a premium lately, when three or four days have passed I find it increasingly exhausting to drag the memory out of myself to relive it, to remember. I can remember the pedestal better than anything else, it is as clear to me now as was the moment when the pit opened up and I looked down into it, then there was the lightning strike! How could I have known about that without by chance being there at the time, there certainly was no prompt, nothing I had found had given me the slightest clue that lightning was the answer to the power source required. The people who were here seem to have developed a kind of harmony with nature whereby, anything that required energy was realised using natural resources, I wonder if they had solar power? or steam powered devices? they understood electricity enough, but could they store it until needed I wonder?....I was drifting again, I pulled my attention back to the key. I began to think back as far as I was able to, my arrival here found me on a beach, a beach...with...it is hard to remember!...it may be easier if I begin from now, I thought, I went backward in my mind, yesterday is still fresh and the few days beyond that are relatively easy to recall. I found everything to be a blur, slowly coming into view and sharpening until I could focus on it, but even then they proved hard to hold onto long enough to remember. I focussed on the pedestal, that might be a better staring point as it is crystal clear in my memory, I revisited all my interactions with the pedestal, the experiments with the books, the three symbols....the thr..thre...three! I suddenly had a new clarity, why didn't I think of it before! I already decided the number three was special here, but that also must have become lost in my mental meanderings. I looked at the key again, three keys..three books..three symbols, and three...I could see the beach, deserted and barren, the jungle was ahead of me, I am looking around wondering where I am? a bird flew overhead, I looked up, watching as it flew past and into the jungle, I lowered my gaze and was staring at three buildings...that's it! three buildings! the memory came flooding in like a tidal wave, there were three buildings, two had no doors, I had slept in one of them, I also remembered that strange noise that had stirred me out of my slumber only to find nothing there, but there is one building with a locked door, I couldn't open it, I had remembered, "at last" I muttered, still deep in thought, this must be the key for it, it has to be. I stood in amazment as the entire memory of all the days I have spent here returned with a vengeance, I could picture the odd contraption I found outside the buildings, I had pulled the lever attached to the side of it only for nothing to happen, what was it for? the excitement of an explorer was inside me again, I had broken my mental stalemate, I had remembered.

"The adventure continues" I said under my breath, what a relief it is to have unlocked that one from the depths. With a child like excitement I raced upstairs and picked the calender out the drawer and studied it, the last entry was for the eleventh day so I updated it to thirteen, I looked up thinking...yes that is right, it is the thirteenth day. It is a good thing I remembered the calender, my plans now were for travel and nothing else, I would be away for the best part of the day and I did not want to lapse back into bad habits of forgetting to do the important things such as the calender. I enjoyed the views from the attic for a moment and then hatched my days itinerary, no need to take food, where I am headed there will be lots to eat, but what to take with me? well the key for a start! but should I take the book? no that is pointless, besides it may get damaged and wet if it rains, but a time will be coming when I will need to visit the pedestal with all three books of that I am undyingly positive. The glow bugs! yes, I will take one of those, I did not know how long I would be away for so this is a good idea. I looked around the attic and spotted the bed sheet, I had not used it yet in its clean state, I grinned....I had forgotten, but never mind it was not crucial, I went to the bedroom and put the sheet on the bed so I would not forget next time, back in the attic I put all my recently acquired possessions in the drawer and locked it with the dowel rod, whizzed off downstairs to check the ground floor, I had left nothing out except the fruit which still sat on the table waiting to be eaten. I can not think of anything else I need to take with me, so with composed thought I began to mentally mark out my route, I new the path from the plateau back to the pedestal alright and from there to the hut, but I never returned to the beach at all so I will have to rely on my own sense of direction as a guide, but if the worst comes to the worst, I can spend the night at the hut but I do not imagine it being necessary, I can be back here by nightfall if I leave now.

I ate a hasty breakfast and was off, with the keys and glowbug in my pockets I locked the stairway door and closed the main door (for whatever reason) and was soon climbing the steps. Once up, I followed the usual pathway, I could hear the sea slapping up against the base of the cliffs below and a short while later I had reached the rope, up I went to the top, I am definately getting better at this I thought as I ascended. Having made it to the top I pressed on away from the plateau's edge toward the boulders and beyond, I had made good time so far and was pleased with myself. Shortly, I came to the spot where the rains had forced me back when I was seeking the tower, I passed along the route and on toward the jungle, I started to think why I called it a jungle? it wasn't a jungle really, just a forest of sorts with huge trees dominating the skyline. I had reached the jungle's border and pressed on, I looked skyward in an attempt to locate the sun's position in the sky, but it is difficult when it is hidden from direct view, I would have to guess the time, time is unknown in this place it's like a mystical woodland where all time has been paused, a sound proof canopy enveloped in a biosphere of silence, it must be midday or slightly later I thought. Through the jungle I walked, on and on, I came to the big clearing that I had rested at a few days before when I was in search of the tower, in some ways it is nice to be back here again, this area was one of the first impressions of the island that had endured in my mind, it is stunning and possesses a rugged beauty I find very peaceful and relaxing. I paused for a moment, and now that the sun is visible I noted that it is past it's midday zenith, so mid afternoon it must be, I absorbed the terrain and then set off again through the next part of the jungle. The other smaller clearing would be just up ahead about half a mile away and on from that stands the pedestal, I am wondering if everything is still as I left it, namely, the open pit that lead me down that awful tunnel that I had to stoop to pass through, I did not ever wish to experience that again under any circumstances, the memory is bad and claustrophobic, but it proved important in showing me a part of the island that I would otherwise had not known existed. My feeling is, I have made good progress so far, everytime I tread this path the mileage seems less and less, so much so that the walk turns into a mild hike that you might partake in on a sunday afternoon! but this is a jungle and more foot work is required, I must admit, my legs are somewhat tired but my anticipation level is so high at the moment that nothing short of a broken bone would stop me in my mission. I have reached the second clearing and the pedestal is not so far now, my pace quickened at the realisation of this and a short time later I found myself standing once again over the open pit looking down into it. Nothing has changed, all is exactly how I had left it, which lead me to believe that the pedestal had to be physically closed, but as to how this is done I could only guess, maybe you had to do everything in reverse when lightning struck again, who knows? with an affectionate look round I moved on and was soon nearing the hut. I came to a spot where grapeapples are growing, picked one and ate it on route, I walked a bit further and there it was, the hut, I went inside and looked around, the stool is there, I bent down and there is the stick! and to the side were the grapeapples I had picked and brought back, they are still ok by the looks of them, I picked one up and examined it, it felt alright and smelt alright, I had to know, so I opened it up and looked at the inside...it is fine, these fruits then have a long shelf life as it were, rather then waste it I ate that one as well and sat on the stool while I did so. The time is now to put my thinking cap on and find the beach area where my first memory is of this place, the direction to go is directly opposed from the path to the pedestal, so if I walk in a relative straight line away from that, I will not stray too far if I do go wrong. With my best foot forward I marched on, taking a backward glance every now and then to make sure I am headed in the right direction, all seems new and unexplored as I walk and look round me, the ground is rising slowly and I begin to remember where I am, if I am not very much mistaken there should be a br....id....g...there it is, the bridge! Oh how I had forgot, the bridge, I remember it now, I was dubious about crossing it at the time for fear of it collapsing under my weight...the joy of memory! the beach is very near from here, very near indeed. I crossed over the bridge, it wobbled in my wake and I was soon across, I looked back and then continued on and began to walk faster and faster without realising it, trudging through bushes and high grass, but they started to thin out and I could hear the roar of the sea, the surf foaming to the beach, I ran towards the sound and tumbled onto the beach, there is nothing here! I looked around anxiously, but I could see the buildings way down the beach to my right. I approached eagerly, the buildings came into view, how strange they are, I never took any notice before, but the buildings are beyond perculiar and more in the realms of bizarre in their appearance being slightly raised above ground level, probably due to the fact that the tide may from time to time wash deeper in beachward and splash the buildings, this then would offer some protection against the onset of sea water and the rotting of wood through the course of time, for wood they are...three of them, all in close proximity of each other and all askew slightly, it is hard to describe them in the conventional sense because I have never seen anything like them before, they stand about twelve feet high and have a walkway around the base, they are round in shape and they have windows, lots of them but they are very small and arranged in two rows one on top of the other and remind me of port holes you could find on a large ship.

The doorways I noted all faced out to sea, but only one door remained, the locked one! The nearest one to the sea is different to the other two in the fact that it has a aerial like arrangement on top of the roof, how odd it looks, if I didn't know better I would say that they all looked like strange boats, the associations with maritime are obvious because they are on a beach, but come to think of it, this is a island and logically you would think that there must have been water going vessels of some kind to travel round in? maybe this was a port or a trading post if they did such things? I could only guess and wonder.

Back when I arrived here I could never have known the significance that these buildings now hold in my quest for answers, I remember thinking how odd they looked and that first impression has not changed, what the hell are they! I shook my head in ignorance. As I neared the locked door I spotted that strange looking victorian contraption with the guillotine handle on the side of it and thought, what a weird place this is, I walked over to it and studied it a while, the memory I now had of it was true, it is so much like a lectern in a church...it's uncanny! it's almost like these people had visited a church and taken it with them! it is old there is no doubts as to that, but at the same time it has retained a preserved look as if it were only a few years old, but on closer inspection the wood grain does look old and dry. I could not resist pulling the handle down again, and did so, a grinding noise came from somewhere underneath the lectern as if something were trying to engage a mechanism but had ran out of fuel! curious...the sound just died away and all is silent, it is the same as before, but I am now filled with intrigue as to the true function of this device.

I knelt down at the base and began to dig the sand away from it trying to establish how far into the ground it went, I soon gave up! it went deep, I stood up and held the top of it and tried to pull it over, it is absolutely solid and unmoving, these people, I thought, knew how to build things that last! gazing out to sea I wondered what is out there? more land perhaps, or is the island so big it is the only land mass on the planet?...I am drifting again, I turned round and went back to the locked door.

I had become totally distracted by the lectern that I had forgot what I have come here to do. There it is, right in front of me, I felt in my pocket for the key and pulled it out, I stepped up on the walkway and I tried the door, yes, it is still locked so I pushed the key through the hole praying "please be the key" , I gently turned the key and there was a click as the key engaged the levers followed by the sound of the barrels rotating, it is unlocked! the door pushed inwards and I stood there peering into the gloom, the smell of musty air hit my nose, who knows the last time this door had been opened and why? but I knew something was to be found in here that would prove advantageous to me. There is sufficient light coming in from the now open doorway, but I had the glowbug ready in reserve if needed, I stepped over the threshold and entered, I then pushed the door as far open as it would go in order to maximise the light coming into the cabin, or whatever it's true description is, and stared at two pieces of parchment pinned to the wall, one next to the other...I moved closer, my foot hit something hard, it hurt, I looked down and saw that I had in fact just kicked a metal...a metal what? it looked like a huge cog for a gearing device! interesting I thought, I knelt down for a closer look, it is half buried in sand and dust I picked it up and stood it on edge, it is quite heavy but not excessively so and Rust is spreading around the cog as well "what is this used for" I spoke, as I looked round for a clue but nothing obvious was to be seen. I placed the cog carefully back down on the floor and looked at the wall where those two drawings are, I walked up to them..."Oh my"...on the left there is a diagram, on the right a map, the map is showing where I am at present I can make out the beach, the jungle and the sea, I see a pathway leading off the beach to what I can only assume is the pedestal, there are three little blobs drawn on the beach, these then would be the buildings I guess and to the left of them there is a circled smaller blob...I wonder if that is the curious lectern? it also has writing above it, damn! I wish I could read it. This is either a roughly detailed instruction or a general area map, but I don't think it's nature is general somehow, it has that same look as the map in the book of brarg, it is faded, but readable and quite beautiful in appearance, it is not torn and tattered either, probably due to the fact it has spent most of it's existence hanging on a wall and not suffered from constant handling. Although the omission of the bridge is quite evident I do not consider that a mistake, but just not that important...coming here with the key would mean that I had already discovered the bridge. One odd thing though, well not odd but seemingly pointless is the pathway drawn from the pedestal to the beach, why? the pathway is inclusive of all the knowledge I have acquired so far, on the other hand it may be trying to tell me something that I do not know. I studied it a bit more, but nothing else could I find that is of interest, I moved on to the next picture, now this is definately a diagram it has to be, but what is it's instruction...damn that writing.

Looking at it from a left~right perspective does not work because it would be in conflict with two bold arrows, one pointing left and the other pointing upward, I can make out the three symbols in the picture on the left, at least that's what I think they are, the picture is degraded. The lectern is on the right, this is obvious, but in the middle is a picture of...of..the cog! I turned around and went to the cog and examined it once more, yes that is it, a picture of the cog! the shape is not uniform in the sense that each tooth is not regular in shape, the teeth get increasingly bigger or smaller depending how you look at it, I looked at the ring but found no sign of a missing tooth, so that leads me to think that it is totally serviceable in what ever function it performs? I stood there transfixed by the picture, trying to find something I have missed. It is now early evening and a cold breeze comes in from the sea, the light would go in a couple of hours or so and I have to decide what I am going to do, stay or go back, I certainly didn't wish to leave just yet. I continued to stare at the image on the wall, I noticed that there is the remainder of what is probably an arrow above the cog pointing to the bigger one above it! what does this mean? and looking at the lectern, there is something coming out of the underneath! this could be the mechanisms that make the strange noises when I pull the lever? another clue is the arrow pointing upward from the column with the symbols arranged inside it, exactly where does the arrow point to, is it pointing toward the pedestal, it would make sense. I even began to think of things in three again, but the only relation to that would be the fact that there are three images, so it didn't really help. logically, the sequence starts from the lectern and then the cog followed by the column with the symbols, this being what the diagram suggests to me, but what to do? the lever does nothing when it is pulled, so the cog must be the missing link, a link where? where does it go? I scratched my head, how perplexing this is, I looked around the room again, there is nothing else I can see here, I checked behind the open door, there is a pile of broken wood lying here, covered with an dirty old cloth of some kind, I picked it up and choked on the dust falling from it, I carried it outside to shake it, as I did this another piece of material fell out from the now open cloth and dropped to the ground...what's this? I picked it up and found to my surprise that it is a shoulder bag of sorts, this would come in handy, I shook both the cloth and the newly found bag until most of the dust had been blown away by the ocean breezes, they are still dirty but cleanable. I checked inside the bag, but as I thought it is empty. Staring around the beach, I became aware that evening is almost upon me, now is the time I had no choice but to decide what to do. I could stay and rely on moonlight and the glowbug to see, or go back to the tower which would mean a long four or five hour trek, or I could go to the hut and stay there again, I had not finished my research here, so staying I thought will be the best option, yes, I will stay on the beach tonight, it is something I had not done yet so it was an exciting prospect. It will get cold though, I thought, but that cloth will be of use if it does, dirty though it is I could be of use. I turned my attention back to the building and walked inside again, there must be something more, I thought, what the hell does this cog belong to? I am stumped! two more hours or so I studied the diagram and found I eventually had to employ the use of the glowbug, but I had to concede defeat for now. I wandered into the jungle to find some fruit and returned to the beach and sat on the sand to eat, the waves coming in were relaxing to see and listen to, I sat there wondering how far the tide would come in or out, I hadn't noticed any change since I arrived at the beach, but would have to watch out for it incase I slept and had an unpleasant awakening. With this thought I stretched out on the sand in front of the building and gazed at the stars, it had not rained all day, how unusual, a shooting star sped across the night sky and I was taken with it, into the night.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 12

A DAY IN THE CLASSROOM:

Morning approaches, and I am waking, I must have slept all the way through from yesterday afternoon until this morning, it is the first day I have awoken to find that I have a totally free day on my hands with no pains or problems to speak of. All is quiet outside, time for a spot of breakfast. I got up and bounced down the stairs and looked outside the open door, the first light beams are breaking through, the ground is still damp, but not wet. I examined the bed sheet and found it has cleaned up nicely, well, as good as can be expected anyway, I removed it from the door and carried it to the attic room and spread it on the window frame to dry. I ate breakfast outside again, the mornings here are so serene and wonderful that I can't think of a better place to start the day. I sat down on the ground, my mind drifted....I came around to think that I should attempt to keep a journal of my adventures here, but regretted the fact I have no means with which to do this, there are the spoilt books in the pedestal base, that might work but I am still reluctant to use them for anything else because I have not yet discovered what their true purpose is, besides, the only means that I have at my disposal to write with is a clumsy old crayon that writes heavily, it can not be sharpened in the conventional sense so this is impracticable. It is a dilemma I can not see a solution to at present, but I feel it is of the utmost importance that I try to find a way to do this, more exploration required perhaps.

I went through all the facts that I have gleaned so far, the island is slowly opening up to me every day, I have been accepted by it and the secrets it hides or protects I have presented no threat to, that was clear to me now. Wether or not the island wants me personally, or anyone who happens to come along either by design or chance I can not say, but I am needed by the island, I am here to accomplish something, something hugely important to whoever has taken the trouble to act as a guide, by leaving clues and artifacts about in strategic places I am being helped in more ways than I understand. Manipulation is the word that springs to mind, but manipulation tempered by benevolence, I am being trusted completely with the ancient texts that are being presented to me, but maybe the island has not got a choice in this matter but rather has been programmed to do so? this is an interesting thought......I finished my breakfast and grinned, this place certainly has a sense of humour, that's for sure, it's former inhabitants must have been blessed with it too. I stood up and went back inside to the bedroom and retrieved the book of brarg, that name was still bugging me, where had I heard that before? it is annoying to know, that you know something, but even more annoying when you are not able to unlock the memory, "patience is a virtue" I said out loud. When I finally settled down outside with the book I decided to spend a day reading, well not reading exactly but more learning by art or pictures, for I am sure to find several within this book. So with my back to the wall, sitting, I opened up the book and once more dived into the murky depths of my own ignorance.

There are more pages of writing one after the other, what else could I expect? I was half way through the book, but on the next page there was a stunning picture, not like the others in look or colour. The letters looked golden to me, but with an important difference in as much that it was a written by another hand. The writing was upright and very regal in its appearance, as if it was an official document of some kind, the deep crimson colour has deteriorated somewhat and the page is split and torn, but overall it is in pretty good condition for the age it carries. I brought the book closer to my eyes trying to focus on the picture, it was a confusing slate grey, but I can definately make out the outlines of three images inside the wash. It's those symbols again, on the top left hand I can see the circled symbol, on the right I can see the brarg symbol and at the bottom is the triangular symbol. This obviously then is instructional or educational in understanding the symbology. The writing below may be describing how to use them interactively with the pedestal, but there is no representation of it. The writing on the other hand maybe applying names to each of the symbols in turn, or is it a religious text? I have not found any example of religion here so far but probably wouldn't recognise any such sign if I saw it! the page though, does have an air of authority about it, being placed in the centre of the book may of helped to preserve it for longer, I do not know, the feel of the page as I gently stroke my finger across it reminds me of velvet, it is very smooth. Thinking about it, that is exactly what I thought it looked like when I first set eyes on it, a velvet curtain! it is unique to say the least. These symbols then, maybe, were revered by this culture, and therefore sacred perhaps, it could well be the first sign of a religion?....I looked up from the book, lost in thought, "it is very powerful....guard it well....use it as you see fit", I wish I knew what that meant!....the pedestal sprang to mind again, all that effort just to have the pit open up, it seemed ridiculous when I thought about it, the underground tunnels that brought me back here, are all pointing to several possible explainations, defence against pillage, or something so powerful that secrecy is of the absolute, is that what it is all about? everything is either hidden or buried, but then again I found it!....my mind was drifting, I regained focus and turned over the page. writing, loads of it, I turned a few more pages until I found another picture, what the...this picture is astonishing! I stood up as if to attention, it is a depiction of the three symbols, two are outside and one is inside what can only be a triangle, it would seem that my earlier assumption of the number three being of importance may not be far from the truth. There is writing underneath as well, am I looking at a mathmatical diagram or a technical instruction? Oh how I wish I could read this, it would really be of help right now, but it is not to be. I think I can make out arrows pointing to the corners of the triangle as well, the picture is faded and damaged like all the others but they are arrows. At the bottom of the page there are three....'three'....more small pictures, but I can't quite make out what they are but they look like keys to me, these could well be the two that I have! which thinkning through logically will lead me to the conclusion that there must be a third?....triangle, I must start thinking of everything from a base factor of three. I found myself walking in circles outside the tower contemplating the picture when my attention was drawn to the fact that rain has come. I went inside to continue my studies closing the door behind me.

I rushed up stairs remembering that I had left the sheet half hanging out the attic room window and removed it, it was ok, I draped it over the table there and roughly folded it up, I then popped back down the stairs and ate a couple of grapeapples, after that I went with the book back to the attic, this is a good place I thought to carry on with my learning. The rain splashed on the open slats sticking out from the window frame as I adjusted the stool nearer to the window so I could place the book on the shelf. I sat there, lost in that picture once more trying to imagine the time in which it was drawn and written, whoever drew it had a talent in art that was for sure, maybe this culture had people specifically assigned for certain tasks, writing, drawing, building, and a host of other aspects that go into developing a society, but I am drifting again, I shook my head and gestured bewilderment. The rain is falling harder and beginning to seep through the slats so much so that I had to close them for a while until the rain eases enough to re-open them. The light is not good now that the slats are shut so I had to get a glowbug from the bedroom to reinforce the existing one upstairs, I placed them either side of my position on the shelf, then turned back to the book. I could not look away from this picture, it held my gaze so firmly that I literally had to turn my head and turn the page! what an odd thing to have to do....more writing again, I raised the book so I could see the amount of pages that are left, I am now three quarters through the book.

It is afternoon I think, the rain is persistent, but lighter and I, the pupil, has still got his hand up. The next picture I came upon is that of a person, I wonder who it was, some eminent personage parhaps, maybe the books author or some other important member of society? the picture is of a male, a man, but it is very faded and discoloured and hard to identify but I can make out a beard, I automatically felt my own when I saw this, the man in the picture is wearing a hood or hat, could he be one of those monk like figures standing, making a circle of three in that other picture, I can only guess. I am really trying hard to make some sense of this book, yes, it is certainly fascinating and intriguing, but I am sure there is a hidden depth that I have only scratched the surface of, the more I look at it, the more I am becoming convinced of its relation to ritual and religion, it would make sense of the otherwise translative ambiguity. I paused for a moment thinking, what am I going on about! how the hell could I draw a conclusion like this on such little information and fact! was this the so called power of the book? thought transference through pages carrying the weight of the entire existence of this extinct culture, but why do I suppose they're extinct merely because their presence is absent from the island, I stood up with "it is very old and very powerful" ringing an alarm bell in my head. The rain seems to have stopped, so I opened the windows up and sunlight lit the room again, I wished it would do the same for my cognizant abilities.

It is now late afternoon and I need a break. I stared out the window blankly, the sky is slightly overcast, I turned away and went downstairs and out the front door. the afternoon light was struggling with cloud as I gazed upwards seeking answers from the heavens, but, only silence replied. The tunnels are starting to intrigue me more and more, what were they originally intended to be used for, and why were they built? the tunnel itself is so small I had to stoop in order to pass through it, does that mean the inhabitants were small people, no, that's nonsense, is there no other way to access that part of the island and so a underground tunnel was began but never finished, no, that is nonsense too, if they were indeed an ancient people then the tunnels requirement of construction would surely have been known long before they became extinct, no, it still didn't make sense, this is totally perplexing at the moment, my mind is turning to clay, I gestured disbelief with my hands and went back upstairs to my studies. I settled on the stool and delved into the book again, I came to a picture of another monk or whatever he was, it looked male and it got me thinking, isn't it perculiar that I have not seen any pictures, of females yet! surely there were some, there had to be. The monk appears to be holding up a hand, maybe in a welcoming gesture and come to think of it, I went back through the book until I found the picture of the three monks arranged in a circle, the two monks standing behind the one with the sword, are gesturing in the same manner, one arm held out in greeting, if in fact that is what this represents, I do not know for sure. Whoever the artist was, was certainly an accomplished one, he must of been trusted with many a commission in his lifetime, but there again I am being presumptuous, why am I thinking that the artist was male, it may well of been female, who knows? the picture also has a photographic quality, precise in dimension, the feel of the paper is no different to all the others except the one with that velvety feel to it. I stared down at the picture for ages, willing it to come alive and tell me the secrets it knows, every image I had seen was always leading me to one train of thought and that was religion! I could not escape from it, every tangent I went down would spiral back to a religion of some sort, the other matter with the number three being of importance was also reinforcing this notion, "the father the son and the holy ghost" I found myself saying, the holy trinity! I shook my head...that is nonsense, I was drifting again, one thing for sure with this book is, it provokes you mentally speaking into wild imaginings that had no real support or truth as to what the books real intentions are, it is like being lectured in a classroom without the teacher and it is strange.

What little memory I have of my past is telling me that never before have I read a book that inspired such imagery and thought, I think that I am beginning to understand an aspect of the books power, also, I can't escape the feeling that I have been put through an altering process since my arrival, why do I feel like that, why do I think I know so much?....telepathy! the word came thundering in my head as I stared at the picture, is that what it is? I had suspected manipulation of some sort for several days, but how can I be aware of it and not resist it!....I looked up from the page and enjoyed the views out of the window thinking....this is amazing! it is becoming clearer and clearer like rippling water circling out in a pond until it settles, still and calm, mirror like, these people had a mental agility beyond belief, I was in awe and felt very small. The afternoon was coming to a close and evening approaches, I stood up to have a stretch gazing at the sea...."what a beautiful world this is" I thought and said aloud. Oh' how I would love to of meet these people in their time! what a society it was, I began to think that maybe they never had need for language at all, but communicated with their minds and gestures, that's it! could it be the answer I wondered....the book that has all different languages written in lines of nine, the disjointed look it has, all written by different hands, at different times, might they have known of their own impending demise? could they see into the future? and thus, planned a time when they could transport someone here to celebrate their life and existence! what a theory....and were they aware of other worlds and civilizations outside of their own....did they understand English and therefore be able to write it as well as other languages, I clamped my head with my hands, my head felt like it was about to explode, I needed a break, I went downstairs and outside again to sample the air, I breathed in deep and sighed, a sudden melancholy is inside me for those people, what happened to them and why! a million and one questions I needed to have answered, but I knew they would not be forth coming all at once, it would be too much to take in and process. I could hear the sea battering the rocks beyond the towers protective cliff and I listened to it for a while lost in myself. I shuddered, turned to go back upstairs and finish the book. I was carefully advancing through more writing, nearing the end of the book there was one last picture, a picture of a face badly degraded, yet another unknown person from the past, a past which is becoming coalescent in my own consciousness. I can only imagine at present who this person is, but as the days go by it will become clearer as my mind merges with the island, I suddenly was very afraid, afraid of the unknown. I turned over the last page of the book and closed it, what am I to make all of all this, I felt emotionally drained and tired as if the book itself had been drawing on my life force, dissecting my mind and all its parts only to rebulid it in its own image. I went downstairs once more, but this time to eat, I went outside and sat, leaning up against the door frame, the time of thought was done, I was unable to keep anything more in my head long enough to process it so I just sat there eating the grapeapple. Silence everywhere, a beautiful evening was upon me and the mildest of breezes ran across my face, I retired to the bedroom and laid on the bed. The 'book of brarg' had been powerful indeed....a seed of thought had been planted in me and with nurturing, will eventually blossom into greater knowledge of a culture trying so desperately (for whatever reason) to help me in the understanding of it, I had used the book as I saw fit!....and with that thought I closed up the temple doors and dreamed of tomorrow.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 11

HOUSEHOLD DUTIES:

With a new found peace I watched as the sun slowly rose, a beautiful morning is materialising and I am eager to be on my way and collect food. Last night I had undergone a rite of passage and came through it a more understanding person regarding the island and my part on it. There are lots of things to achieve today, no time for slacking, I have a plan of action which involves home improvements, I am going to organise the towers interior to my needs. being the sole resident it is only fitting that I should use it as such. Housework is never done, but I have to start somewhere and make the effort, before I set out I will have to think of security, if the book is indeed precious and valuable, I should treat it in no other way than to guard it as requested. What if other parties unknown has an interest in the book, I can not know, or be sure about that, They could come here as I did, but with a knowledge and method of arrival, I could not take that chance, it sounded paranoid when I devised this notion, but I feel personally attached to the welfare of this island and the treasures it protects, for treasures they are! I will put the books in the drawer upstairs and replace the dowel rod that locks it, although it would be easy to break into, the books will be out of sight, so out of mind. I will then on my leaving, lock the door to the stairway, that at least is sturdy and would not be easy to force an entry, it would be the same as anyone leaving their home and locking the door behind them, come to think of it I will place all my possessions in the top room. When I get back I plan to go underground and revisit the room with the glowbugs sprouting from it, not that it matters if it is light or not, I just need the daylight to accomplish my goals. After that I need to find another means to record my days, but this is no problem, I now have a blank piece of parchment paper and a crayon, so all I have to do regarding that, is work out the missing entries since I abandoned the stick to the hut and after that my bed sheet (that I will take on my food hunt) will require either washing (if it rains) or a good airing for a few hours, the rest of the place needs a good spring clean as well. Tiredness is upon me, but I will wait until later to rest, everything has an order today and I must not veer from it.

I did all that I had to do before leaving, I then set out for the plateau. I was there in no time, and I found that I now had a new spring in my step which was down to the acceptance of my situation, something I had been at odds with, but am now in total harmony with. I managed to wrap up sixteen grapeapples in the bed sheet and tied up the four corners to secure them, I found a broken tree branch that I adapted into a handle and passed it through the knot in the bed sheet, this made it easy to transport by throwing it over my shoulder, it was quite heavy but it was food, I will have to endure the weight. I had a problem when I came to negotiating the descent with the rope, my bundle was ever trying to cause a slip on the rope with the weight I was carrying, I had to use one hand for the rope and one for the bundle, this proved hopeless so I had to swing the bundle round and clamp it to my chest with my forearms so that both my hands became free to hold the rope. I reached the ground, and breathed a sigh of relief, that was the worst part over with, the rest of the journey back would be easy by comparison. I made it back to the tower and dumped the fruit on the table, I hung the bed sheet over the front door to air. I unlocked the stairway door to get the glowbug I had put in the top room and locked the door again when I came back down, I grabbed a couple of grapapples and ate a late breakfast outside in the sun. The day is warm and clear, no sign of rain, but I can never tell when the weather will turn, it just seems to happen so abruptly that it always catches me out. After breakfast, I popped down the trapdoor taking the glowbug with me because I could not remember if the light was sufficient enough to see my way through the tunnel.

I had forgotten just how local the underground room is to the tower and before I knew it I was standing in the room removing the glowbugs from the walls. Two for the ground floor, one for the bedroom and one for the attic (my new name for the top room) this made four in total and should be ample for my needs. I resurfaced minutes later and entered the tower, I put the glowbugs down on the table and went back upstairs to find the blank piece of parchment paper and the crayon. I need to update the record of days I have spent here before the memory becomes jaded. Up in the attic room, I used the key and my shoe to remove the dowel rod, it came out easier than it did last time, I sat on the stool, put the parchment on the window shelf and found that it doubled quite nicely as a writing desk and began trying to recall the number of days that had elapsed since the departure from the hut. This was not as easy as I thought it would be, apart from the fact that the scenic view from the window was distracting to me, I really had to think hard and long before the memory began to return. As far as I could recollect this is the eleventh day of my stay here and began to mark the parchment paper accordingly, I wrote in a prison cell style making four lines and then running a diagonal line through them to represent five days, I recorded eleven while I rubbed my chin trying to confirm if this is in fact the correct number, it was then I found that I have grown quite a beard having not shaven for so long. I settled on eleven, the odd day is not critical in addition or omission, so that is that. Another item crossed off the list, I looked out the window the sky is turning mauve again? I went downstairs and out the front door looking up at the sky, is that what it means, is rain on the way? I would keep an eye on this development, it will be interesting to find out.

Early afternoon, I stopped what I was doing to eat some lunch, I ate outside again keeping an eye on the sky it is still mauve and a slight breeze has developed. No rain so far, I had finished lunch and I then prepared my afternoon activities, I also plan to sleep early, I am beginning to feel drained of energy and do not wish to repeat the sleep deprived rantings I suffered from a few days ago. I went back inside and cleared out the attic as best as I could, with limited or no cleaning tools this was not as easy as you might think, I resorted to using the stick I had utilised when carrying the fruit, with the bed sheet bunched up at the bottom of it I succeeded in designing a very crude broom. There is mainly dust and dirt on the floor so with my new broom I managed to oust most of it down the stairs to the second level. I then did the same to the bedroom and again swept it downstairs to the ground floor, the cleaning of this room is more tricky because of the size of it, but in the end all the dirt had been flung out the front door and I am now the proud tennant of a cleanish home. The bed sheet is absolutely filthy now and I certainly will not use it as a bed sheet in the present state it is in, I hope for rain, talking of which...I went out the door and looked upward the sky is no longer mauve! but is has now reverted back to it's bluish hue, A mystery still to unravel. I removed the bed sheet from the stick and roughly hung it over the front door, I placed a glowbug in every room, but put two in the main room downstairs, they willingly stuck to any surface I cared to put them on, what curious things they are. The spring clean used up about two hours of the afternoon and I am considering retiring to bed with the brarg book, minus the sheet. I went to the attic and got the book from the drawer and before I made it into the bedroom there was an enormous crack of thunder followed by my old friend....the rain. Talk about sneaking up on you, I had been duped yet again, I raced down stairs put the book on the bed as I passed and arranged the bed sheet as best I could over the door, a washing line would be nice, I will have to look into that one, maybe the spare bit of rope at the cliff by the plateau would work. The rain is not heavy, but it is constant enough to cleanse the sheet, I wrung it out a couple of times and muddy water drained from it, but it has a cleaner look to it now, I put it back over the door, glaced around one more time and went up stairs to bed. I laid down with the book in hand and realised that I had only seen three pages so far, that number three again! The rain was gently splashing on the slatted window as I turned my attention to the book. I opened the book on the next page and found more writings in that strange slanting scribe, page after page was the same, the book slowly fell towards my chest as I descended into sleep, content with all of my accomplishments of today I turned over, the book lay by my side and I smiled just after a voice whispered comptra...comptra...comptra.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 10

IMAGES FROM THE PAST:

I was falling, falling through a void of darkness, a bottom less pit, I held my arms out in an attempt to hold on to something and break my fall, but there was nothing, I cried out in panic "help me help me" but no help came, I saw a tiny light, it was getting brighter as I fell, looming bigger beneath me, ready to swallow me up whole. I flapped my arms about wildy in one last attempt to save myself, but I was engulfed in light, blinding light, the brightness became too much, I raised my hands to my face and covered my eyes. There was a flash and a voice was chanting...."Brarg....Brarg....Brarg", becoming ever louder and louder until it was deafening to me, I covered my ears with my hands, but then the light was blinding me again...I screamed... "nooo". I sat up and sprang to my feet ready to defend myself against an unknown assailant....there was a lightning strike and rain was teeming in through the open door, I looked around me and reality came flooding back in droves, I closed the door and leant against it, my head hurt, I rubbed my temple to try and ease the pain, but it did no good, it must of happened when I passed out, I suddenly remembered, my head glanced the table on my fall, but after that it had gone dark. I had not been unconscious for long, the sun was still setting. I went upstairs and got the glowbug so I could see my way about, I went back down and put it on the table. I was starting to feel dizzy and disoriented probably from the injury I had just sustained and my head was getting increasingly painful, I tried to regain my focus and presence of mind, but found that I was in no fit state to do so, I picked up the glowbug and went back to the bedroom. I was laying on the bed in the half gloom with my eyes closed for a while and it eased the pain a bit, enough to recover some clarity of thought. I was certainly not ready for the bombshell that had been dropped on me today, it is something I will have to come to terms with if I am to survive long enough to find a way off this island.

Night had fallen and everything was now quiet, the storm outside had stopped and I was wondering what to do with myself, I was not tired as such, just mentally tired, I thought it would be a good idea to venture outside and catch some air. My head had cleared somewhat and I felt able to stand up again, I reached for the glowbug and off I went downstairs, it was damp outside, but I had no objections. How odd this place is weather wise, stormy one moment and clear the next, the sky was absolutely clear and stars were visible everywhere. My depression period was over and I swore never to allow that to happen again, I had lost control through fear, fear the mind eater, the undoer of all things that man could ever be. I was perched against the wall thinking about all the highs and lows I had experienced here, the realisation that I had been put here for a purpose no longer daunted me, but challenged me. The moon was sneaking up behind a mountain producing a glow that made everything turn blue and I smiled at it, with my new inner peace I began to run through the contents of the drawer in my mind and was inspired to go inside and get them. I went back out and spread them on the ground where it wasn't damp, I picked up the parchment and studied it a second time, the combination of the glowbug and the moonlight was surprisingly reader friendly.

So what was brarg, what did it mean?... was it the name of this island, the person who wrote the book, or was it something other than a book? the parchment told me that it was 'very old and very powerful' how old was it, and what is the power the parchment declares it has? what is it to be used for, does it contain knowledge, lost through the ages, or does it possess a higher power through incantation or ritual? and what did "it is yours to use as you see fit" mean....as I see fit, I didn't even know what to use it for, or how? it also told me to "guard it well, it is precious to this island" guard against what? and who wrote that in English, and when? the one thing quite apparent was that the hand writing in the first book telling me to "go to the tower" looked the same as the writing on the parchment, the same style, the same colour. And then there was the 'book of brarg' itself, the catalysis which caused my blackout when I saw the writing on that page it had fell open to. Nine lines of writing.... nine lines, all with different hand writing, all in different languages I could not understand or read, save the third line down, yes, the third line down again, written by the same hand, in the same colour, but this time telling me to "find three books" and it was this that had tipped the mental balance I was desparately holding on to. The parchment spoke of very old regarding the book, did this mean ancient civilization? a people once abundant but now extinct? this notion was so deep in concept that I had to avert my mind elsewhere. That word, or was it a name, brarg, I was still absolutely positive that I had heard it before, but remained unable to say where, maybe it would come to me later. A pattern was also starting to develop in the sense that the number three seemed to pop up all over the place, or multiples thereof. There are three books of importance according to the brarg book, three symbols on the pedestal, the third line down in each of the books is in English and with the others it totalled nine, was this significant? I wished I knew. The level of intricacy involved suggested a high intelligence, which on the surface, would be over looked by the ignorant, maybe this was a defence that had failed long ago and the people fell to a common enemy. I shook my head, that was just theory, theory about a subject I had not enough information on to even begin such postulating. What about the second key I had found, what did that open or lock? I had to concede to ignorance for the time being until such a time when the knowledge could be acquired.

All these things ran through my mind as I stared into the parchment paper I was still looking at, wow, what a trip!....the night air was warm and friendly, I gazed skyward and found the moon had moved on a few more degrees, I had been staring at the parchment in a trance like state for about two hours and had not been aware of it. I stood up to stretch my limbs and walk about for a while, My leg was no longer feeling the pangs from the injury and I could walk freely again, I wandered round in circles outside the tower door still deep in thought, kicking the ground every now and then when I reached a full stop in my mental processing. I sat down again and picked up the 'book of brarg', the fear had gone and I now relished the thought of perusing its pages. The cover still fascinated me with that luminous symbol, was it really ancient, how did the ink or whatever it is remain so legible, damn, I opened the book.

The first page was blank as expected so I turned the next page and there was writing, writing I could have no hope of understanding, it was a slanting text very neatly applied to the parchment, the paper felt old and it was torn in several places so I was very careful not to tear or damage it any further. It must be a heading or description of the books contents, or maybe a preface I thought. The method in which the books are made in my world may not necessarily apply here, I paused when 'my world' popped in my head, I had come to accept that in all likely probability this was not earth at all but some alternative dimension perhaps, or the more sobering idea that this was in fact an alien world where all the intelligent life had been either made extinct by a catastrophic event, or had been vanquished by the passing of time. This realisation had been growing in me for several days now, it was responsible for my panic seizures and general lethargy in accepting what in my heart I had begun to suspect. It would also explain why I had not met, or seen anyone for well over a week now. What is this language, some of the lettering looked like elements of the alphabet, but only in part, it had a lot of looped epistles that were quite beautiful and easy on the eye. I was bewitched by this one page alone, and had to forcibly make myself turn to the next page. I turned over the page and beheld a picture of what looked to me like monks, and what's more there were three? well they were human, or humanoid at least. There was one facing outward and was holding a sword of some kind, the other two were in the background facing sideways at each other, they had nothing in their hands, but were holding an arm up for some reason. It had writing underneath the picture, but this was written by a different hand, it sloped to the right and on closer scrutiny was the same language. Inks were a fascination for me here, although the paper is old and torn, the ink is slightly faded but still, it's easy to make out the elements drawn thereon, and I wondered if the crayon I had found was also one of the implements used in the making of these books? what a thought that was. A more disturbing thing came to mind as I stared at the picture, was this a war like race of people, or where they defending themselves against a enemy? it would fall in line with earthly ancient civilization and as I was a student of architecture, I knew a thing or two about these things, my worlds history is written in blood, the blood of millions according to historians and scholars. I then had another realisation, I had just remembered where I come from, I was a student! a student on earth, in england, yes that was it, but I still could not remember my name however, or where I lived, but somehow this lack of memory was dwarfed by the history now in front of me, that it did not seem currently important enough to concern myself with, I was alive!....so what was the book representing, a life style, was it a document representative of a particular phase of their history, whatever it was I found it truly mesmerizing. The moon was now right over the tower raining light down in shards, it was really quiet, spookily so, I could see the steps that led to the plateau in the moonlight and I was half expecting one of those monks to walk down the steps and ask me who the hell I was and what was I doing here in his home, not that I would've understood what he said if he spoke in the language written in this book, I smiled, more wild imaginings, I looked down at the book and turned the page. This page was simply the most amazing sight I had yet seen, it looked like a map, but it was a map of exactly where I was now, I could make out the tower and the trapdoor would you believe! it even had the steps that went up to meet the plateau area, what an astounding thing, did this mean that the tower has existed all this time, is it really that old, but strong enough to resist the test of time, I now had a new respect for the architecture here, what a wonderous place this must of been and I wondered what it might of been built for, what was its purpose, it did remind me of a lighthouse, but a lighthouse that had no rotating light, but come to think of it the top room window does have a panoramic aspect to it, oh the questions, I was like a school boy in a class room constantly raising his hand to get the teachers attention in order to gain an answer to something, to learn, to grow. The map had the shore area and mountainous regions as well, and the very top on the right hand side was the beginnings of the jungle I had come to know so well. The scale was not acurate and probably didn't need to be for the purpose it was put to, but it had a beauty about it that I have never seen before in other maps. The colours were faded a bit and the page had damage like the others, but it was totally discernable and possessed an oil painting like quality to it, touching the paper endorsed this belief, it had a rugged feel to it, just like if you were running a finger down a painting in oil. This culture was now gripping me with an interest that could not be levelled, and even if I did not fully understand the power the parchment claims this book has, it certainly had a power over me now. Another interesting aspect of the map is, it has four arrows linked by lines pointing in four directions, could these be cardinal points? if they were then I had no idea where north was, all the arrows are the same and there is no highlight indicating any such direction. The moon was now level with my eyes, I have been sat here all night, lost in a unknown civilizations memories, precious memories, and I am beginning to understand why I have been brought here, but could never be sure unless I gather more information and knowledge. This was a culture that was rich in the arts, and had a mind blowing technology that would keep scientists busy for generations. It will shortly be morning and I will have to go and fetch food, I am totally famished, I have not eaten for a day and that will have to be rectified as soon as possible. I must take care of myself properly and settle down to a lifestyle that is conducive with my explorations and survival, but for now I await sunrise. Find three books, the words were echoing round my head, if they are anything like this one then I can not wait to find them, this night I have experienced something I never thought I would, I have been allowed to have an open window to a world of wonder, a world where if nothing else existed, love would.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 9

THE FINDING OF THE BOOK OF BRARG:

My eyelids fluttered and opened, I was staring up at a strange looking ceiling, I did not know where I was for a moment and after looking round the odd room I was lying on a bed in, the memory returned, the panic receded. I lay there in the half light reliving yesterday's adventure and with a feeling of content I drifted back into sleep. I woke a short time later and felt like a new man, my leg had a slight ache to it but nothing really to complain about, I got up from the bed and stretched while I yawned, I made my way downstairs went straight to the door and opened it to greet the day, the air smelt sweet and fresh, judging by the amount of puddles on the floor it must have rained again last night. It was late afternoon, the sun I noted had moved past it's mid-day phase and it dawned on me how long I had been asleep for, but I needed it. I went back inside to get the two grapeapples and went back outside, I sat down against the door frame and ate breakfast, I had solved the food shortage when I resided at the hut, but now I was faced with exactly the same problem again. Still the answer was easy, I would go back up to the plateau and take that bed sheet with me, it would serve as a carrying bag, it needed washing as well so I could put it out in the rain the next time the skies opened, no problems then, just the drawer to try and open up stairs. At some point I would have to go down the trap door and collect more of those glowbugs I had found in the rooms down there, they would be a must for night time activities and so on. I decided to take another look at the table and the reluctant drawer first before I did anything else.

I stood before the table willing it to tell me how to open the drawer, but there was just silence! I moved the table out a bit toward the centre of the room and examined it on all sides, but there was nothing I saw that was helping me, I had an idea, I tilted the table up on two legs it wasn't that heavy, something slid down the now tipped up drawer and made a 'thunk' when it came to rest against the side of the drawer wall, this was followed by a metallic noise similar to a coin sliding on wood? curious, I tilted the table up by the other two legs, same thing happened, there was definately something inside the drawer. I tipped the table forward so that whatever was inside would slide toward the small opening, maybe that way I would gain a clue as to what the contents were? I peered into the wide slot and could make out what I believed to be a piece of parchment paper, I lowered the table down so it stood on all four legs and knelt down looking at the underneath of the table, I examined the drawer housing and found that it was firmly built, and well built, I used my hand and felt around the housing, first the back and moving round to the sides, my fingers felt something odd on one of the sides at the back, I felt round the other side and that was the same. I was touching what felt like a knot in the wood, I stood up and carefully turned the table upside down, there was the 'thunk' and a rattle as the contents were disturbed and tumbled to a new position inside the drawer. On my hands and knees now, I looked along the side of the drawer housing and saw a tiny square, I checked the other side and that was exactly the same, on closer inspection I found that there were indeed two small squares cut out of the drawer housing measuring about half inch square, but these 'holes' had been plugged with something, I put both of my hands on the sides where the plugs were and tried to push them with my middle fingers, I had to apply a lot of pressure when suddenly there was a click, the plug moved slightly, I found that the plug was in fact one piece of wood that was passing straight through the drawer housing from one side to the other and therefore passed through the drawer as well acting as a locking device! this I realised when I discovered that the plug would not move by equal pressure with two fingers, but if pressure was applied on one side only the whole plug or peg moved as one leaving an indent on one side and a protrusion on the other. This was an interesting development, I had no tools to speak of to knock the rod through far enough so I could pull it out, and I did not want to damage the table, it wouldn't be right, besides I thought, the owner may come back at any moment! I found this thought highly amusing and rolled about with laughter for a couple of minutes at my own joke.

I composed myself and calmed down, but it was a sobering thought, I know I had not seen another living thing (other than birds or the odd insect) in eight or nine days, but there was no reason to assume that I would not in the future. I turned my attention back to the table, how was I going to get it open? I needed something strong enough to take a whack and something strong enough to whack it with, it would have to be the key, maybe I could use that if I was careful, but what do I hit it with....think...think...think, my shoe! yes, the heel of my shoe might work, I darted down the stairs nearly falling down them in excitement, found the key and darted back up stairs. I removed one of my shoes, it was in quite a state, but never mind, I grasped the key as firmly as I could and lined it up with the square peg, I struck the key with the heel of the shoe and the peg clicked and poked out the other side about a quarter of an inch, this was encouraging, I quickly examined the key again, it was ok and not bent, I lined it all up again and struck the key with the shoe, one side had gone through and the protruding piece was sticking out about an inch, I tried to pull the bit sticking out, but it was still tight, I checked the key, it was ok so I repeated the process, whack, the peg had gone completely through one side and was now sticking out about two inches, I grabbed it with both of my hands and pulled, it started to move but it was still very tight, it was creaking with the strain, I was applying as much pull as I could and then suddenly it gave way and I was now holding the peg in my hands, it was exactly what I thought it was a square cut piece of wood about two feet long, it reminded me of a dowel rod, but a square one, what a simple but ingenius device. I put the peg on the ledge running round the window and flipped the table upright, the contents stirred. The drawer was tight as well, but I soon got it open and pulled it all the way out and placed it on top of the table.

I was staring down at two sheets of yellow parchment paper, I picked them up and exposed a book underneath, my heart was thumping with anticipation at this new find. I picked up the book and turned it over and nearly dropped it with the shock of what I saw, on the front cover was a symbol, a symbol I recognised from my antics with the stone pedestal, it was definately the same but as to what it meant I remained clueless. The symbol had that luminescent quality to it that I have been noticing a lot lately on this island what with the glowbugs, the caves, they all possessed that same hue. I focussed on the symbol and began to think of all sorts of possible explainations as to what it might represent, on one hand it looked like a matchstick figure of a person subtly drawn and holding a stick! and on the other hand it could be a letter from a lanuage I did not know. I was back at the pedestal in my mind going through all those fruitless experiments with the books when by sheer flook or accident the lightning had struck the pedestal and revealed the guarded secret it was hiding.

The fact was, the symbol probably had nothing to do with the opening of the pit, neither did the other two symbols, so what was their real purpose? this very book had one of those designs on it's cover and logic would dictate that this book was linked with the pedestal somehow, what with the invisible outline appearing after the lightning strike and the pockets that hold up to four books, this mystery was deepening to a level I was not expecting. My head was spinning with questions so I sat on the stool and vacantly stared out the window, temporarily enjoying the view. I then remembered the sheets of parchment, I put the book down and held the paper in front of me. There are two sheets, I held one in each hand and both were blank. I studied them for a while and then I twisted my wrists so as to turn the paper over....and....and....and....wh....wh....wha..what! I was staring down at a sheet of paper that had been written on in English! the other one was totally blank both sides so I discarded it and returned to the written sheet....the word on the page header I knew somehow, but for the life of me could not recall where, when, or how? "brarg"...."brarg" where do I know that from?....it was too much, I shook my head in confusion and read on...this is the book of brarg...guard it well...it is precious to this island and to anyone who possesses it...it is very old and very powerful...it is yours to use as you see fit.. I sat there

in total shock, wide eyed staring at the paper. The implications that came with this letter were both astonishing and terrifying. The parchment looked as old as the map and the pages of all the books I had found, this could mean they had been written in the same time period, when ever that was? I stared out the window again, I was mentally numb with the overload of information I had just received. I suddenly felt so alone again, a feeling I was struggling to suppress every day, I had imagined that I would either of met someone by now or had found a way to get home...home...and with a shiver that travelled up my body I realised I no longer knew where that was.

I dared not open the book for now, I was frightened to, for what it might contain, I stood up and stared out the window and as I turned to look back into the room the metallic noise I had heard from within the drawer came to mind, I peered into the drawer, there was another key sitting at the back of the draw, the end had become trapped between a split in the wooden joint holding the drawer base to its side. I freed it and stared at it for ages, what on earth was this meant to unlock? I collapsed back on the stool and buried my head in my hands and remained that way a while, time was slipping past me, but I did not care, this day had become too much to bear, too much information at once, too quickly...but I could not have known what I was to discover inside a drawer in a old table, how could I? I was making this up as I went along, I didn't really understand anything on this island and the way I felt at the moment I wasn't likely to anytime soon. I arose and went down the stairs to the ground floor taking the book, the parchments and the key with me. Once down, I put everything on the table and went outside for a breath of fresh air, evening was approaching, the sky was clear and all was calm, except my mind...it was in turmoil. I looked to the sky again and before I knew what I was doing, I screamed at the top of my voice..."WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON"...."WHY AM I HERE"...."WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME"...."WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO"....I dropped to my knees and started to cry, I felt helpless and afraid, and in a state of total confusion and frustration, I had considered a trip to the plateau for food, but I was in no fit state of mind to attempt such a journey at the moment so I decided to try and sleep it off. I went back inside (left the door open) walked over to the table and looked for the new key I found, it was sticking out from under the book of brarg, I picked up the book to move it, it slipped from my hands and dropped onto the table, it landed on it's spine and opened....I stared at the now open page, collapsed on the floor and blacked out.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 8

A HOME FROM HOME:

My body was racked with pain, and I was forced from my slumber. I got up from the floor and my leg was throbbing, my back ached as well, in fact my whole body was suffering from the exertions of yesterday, I was not used to such prolonged physical effort. I went to the door and opened it, daylight greeted me, the sun was high in the sky, I must have slept for at least twelve hours but did not feel any better for it. I out stretched my hands and pointed them skyward and tried to loosen my aching muscles, it was too painful to endure. What ever I was to do today was not going to involve anything strenuous that was for sure, I was in no fit condition to entertain such activities, I looked around me and saw the trap door now exposed and shut a few feet away, it had been cleverly hidden and probably not used for ages, no wonder I never noticed it before. I sat down on the soft earth around the trapdoor and pondered the events of the last couple of days, it seemed a lifetime ago, so much had happened that only now it had become real in my mind. What was really going here? I felt manipulated, used, just like a guineapig in a experimental laboratory, was I being toyed with by a higher intelligence? or was it the paranoia from being stranded in a alien place? I decided it was the latter, I had not been led astray by anything I had been asked to do either by the book, map or parchments, they seemed benevolent in nature and so I had no reason to assume they intended me any harm, I had also found food which has kept me alive over the past week.

The thought of food sent me in a tangent and I knew that it should be my first priority, the tower room would have to wait until my return, it wasn't going anywhere. I popped back into the tower and made sure I left everything I did not need to carry on the table, I was building quite a collection, I went outside and climbed the steps and headed toward the area that would take me to the plateau, my mind was so heavily occupied with recent events that my aches and pains were temporarily over shadowed. I was thinking about the mountainous path that had led to a alternative method of reaching the tower, could the tower be the focal point of this island, where everything was controlled from? I was yet to find out. I thought about the hut and all the fruit I had hoarded there, it was probably going to rot unless I retrieved them in time, and I actually found that I missed it, my first home here, it also brought to mind the stick, the last notch I had made in it was representative of the sixth day and by my reckoning it was now the eighth, it was important for me not to lose track of this aspect of my time here, I had left it in the hut under the stool and this was now revealed as a mistake.

The memory of the pedestal returned, what a marvelous invention that is and I wondered who had conceived of such an idea and why? and what was its power source, how did the button mechanism work, how old was it? and who designed it to interact with lightning, how did that particular book matter, and why?...and come to think of it, what brought me here and why? I had to forcibly clear it from my thoughts, I found it far too confusing and the fact that I may never find an answer amplified the fact I should dismiss such thoughts, it was beyond my comprehension. The dream I found troubling as well, why was it so factual in essence, was it a seed of thought planted in my mind by something on this island, or was it sheer coincidence, I doubted that one and smiled as I did so, no, there was definately an energy or intelligence interacting with this island and anyone who happened to be here, of that I was so sure now. Who placed the key under the parchment below the igloo room? so many questions I wanted answered, it was so frustrating. With all the reminiscence, I had not realised how far I had come and had reached the rope that would take me up to the plateau, I stood before the rope, wondering if I had the strength to climb but endeavoured to do so. It was not so bad considering that my legs and back were the main culprits responsible for delivering pain, my arms however were relatively stronger at the moment and I was soon to reach the top. I was relieved to have made it up, I made for the fruit trees and it was not long until I was sitting down enjoying the freshly picked grapeapples. My stomach was gurgling as I wafted down fruit after fruit, I was so hungry that I didn't realise just how many I had eaten, I looked around the floor and counted seven rinds scattered about where I was sitting, I ate another and collapsed on my back for a while staring up at the sky vacantly. It felt good to have food inside me again and I felt stronger for it, the sun was directly over me and I had to cover my eyes from the glare, time soon to head back to the tower, but what about the hut, the stick, no, I had decided to move residence and would find another way to record the passing of time.

The tower by nature provided a more central base of operations, although it involved travelling further to gather food I did not consider this a problem, more so a benefit because it was a gateway to both sides of the island that I now had explored, the trap door and the steps to the plateau were both advantageous to me, Besides, the hut was not gone forever, if I had the need to I could easily get there, and back, in no time at all. Carrying fruit back was a good idea, if it were not for the fact that I had to slide down a rope, I judged a couple would be ok and plucked them from the tree and headed back. The descent via the rope was much easier than the climb, I tucked the fruit down my shirt and made my way down, I reached the ground and marched on and the tower was soon in my sights again. I was back, I put the fruit on the table, picked up the golden key and went toward the door, I pushed the key into the lock and turned it, to my surprise the lock mechanism moved smoothly as the key engaged the levers, there was a tiny click and the door was unlocked. I turned the handle and pushed, the door groaned and creaked in protest but opened without much effort, there was a spiral staircase leading up, it appeared to be made from stone with the odd wooden slat strung across it here and there, light was coming from above, calling me. I began walking up the steps, they were old, and the edges were well worn with time and dangerous too, I had to be careful with my footing, I looked back down and noted just how steep they were, I continued on until I was about half way up and came to a landing of sorts where the stairs ended and started again at the other side of the wall, this landing was also a small room which to my delight housed a make shift bed, I sat down on it, it seemed sturdy enough and comfortable too. The bed, after a closer inspection was made from a wooden board with four blocks attached to it for legs, it stood about two feet off the floor and the mattress if that what it was, was made from a straw like material that I had not encountered here and rapped in a cloth similar in appearance to the parchment but much softer, the top sheet was the same, but very dusty and had a stale smell coming from it. One side of the wall had a window, but rather than glassed it had wooden slats two inches square and about half inch apart fixed inside the frame which let a little bit of light in, but sufficient enough to see. I had not come across any glass yet, nor did I expect to and I imagined the reason behind the small gaps in the slats were a means of keeping the weather out, namely the rain! the climate here was somewhat tropical in behaviour, so who ever built the tower bore this in mind on its construction. The top was beckoning, so I carried on up the stairs until I came to the towers top room. The room was smaller than the lower one, mainly because the tower tapered, I could not see too clearly, there were those slats again, but instead of covering just one window they were arranged in a circular frame that completely covered them all, I felt around the frames and found a cord, I gave it a gentle tug and the slats lifted slightly in unison, I then pulled the cord further and all the slats lifted outward until they came to rest at a 45 degree angle, light flooded into the room, I found a hook attached to the framework and tied the cord around it and I noticed that it worked by a simple pulley system. The window frames had a lattice design as well, probably for safety reasons I thought and I looked out at the marvelous view I now had from up here. The sun was looking at me again, and I did not realise it was so late in the day, for I had slept long today and the trek out to the plateau and back had spent all but a few hours of daylight after my late start. I also considered just how long a day was here, I assumed it was 24 hours but how could I be sure? no matter, I looked out at the panoramic view and again was awed by the beauty of this place, I could clearly make out the jungle area where I had come from and part of the plateau way off in the distance, and on the other side I could see the rocky shores below, fading back to the trees of the jungle that seemed to be sprouting out everywhere. I stood there for a while transfixed by the view and almost forgot where I was, I shook my head and turned to face the room, I had not properly investigated it yet in all the excitement and found myself staring at a stool with a small table next to it, also, just below the window frame there was a wooden shelf running round it, I followed it round and saw a curious object resting on the shelf, I picked it up and studied it, it seemed to me like a crayon or similar writing implement, it certainly looked that way. I rubbed it on my hand and it left a brownish mark on my skin, I had found something to write with at last! I looked toward the stool and table and saw that the table had a crude drawer built underneath it and was slightly open, I went over to it and tried to slide the drawer open further but it was jammed, due to non use I thought and dampness maybe, the drawer had swelled in its frame. I could move it if I tried to close it but not the other way, there was no handle on the drawer which explained why it had been left open a bit, so I was careful not to close it right up, with the tips of my fingers inside the small gap on top of the drawer I tugged but could not get good enough leverage to open it, I needed something to prise it open, my mind was racing, trying to think of something to use, but the only decent thing I had that would be strong enough was the key but I felt it could be damaged if I used it for such a task. The only other way would be to break the housing of the drawer but I did not want to apply that option, what right had I to vandalise anything? no, I must find some other way, I was dying to discover if there was anything inside it. The sun was setting and the light was fading, so I went down the stairs to the ground floor and picked up the glowbug which was already glowing obediently and went back up to the top room, but after a while the situation was hopeless, I could see what I was doing but I felt I was wasting my time for the present. I felt very tired and the thought of actually sleeping on something soft was irresistible and so decided to continue tomorrow with a fresher mind. I went back down to the ground floor, closed the door (why I did not know) went to the newly found bedroom, put the glowbug on the floor by the bed and stretched out on the welcoming softness. A short time later I was floating on air with not a care in the world, falling, falling slowly through time and space until the stars all vanished and all the lights went out.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 7

EXPEDITION:

I felt like a prisoner having just been released into the open world again, but not knowing what to do with his new found freedom! I scratched my head and looked around me, the course of action I had decided on to do still remained the best option for now. I was in open country, by not knowing the size of this island I could end up anywhere if I was not careful. I remembered the tunnel and the pathway bending to the right for a while, but how was I to know when I neared that point on ground level? the fact is I wouldn't, so with a grimmace of determination I tucked the book down my shirt and set out to retrace my steps and began walking. The going was easy as the ground was essentially flat, and I noticed, now that I had walked a fair way, that the area was totally surrounded by trees in every direction as far as the eye could see, so you could say I was in a clearing of sorts away from what was probably jungle, the trees did look to be rather dense and quite tall. The path I was on would eventually lead me into those very trees, and from then it would be difficult to maintain a straight course. The trees were closing in on me from both sides like a bottle-necked road, I stopped and looked behind me, I had come far, the hillock where I had emerged from was no longer visible, and I found looking back that I had been steadily taking a course leftward which pleased me for this was the exact direction I wanted to be heading in. I was now amongst the trees, and looking on, I saw that the ground was slowly dipping in level and the trees were becoming denser. Every now and then the trees got a bit thinner on the ground and walking became easier again, this was to be the pattern for about a miles worth of walking.

A clearing was starting to develop as well as the appearance of small rocks on the ground, I clearly saw larger rock formations through the gaps in the trees way off in the distance, but I was coming up on them steadily. A short while later the trees were almost gone, and the huge rocks were now dominant, I looked back again, but the density of the trees prevented me from seeing where I had just come from, I felt weary, my legs were aching so I sat atop one of the boulders to rest. It was now I wished I could eat something, I was really hungry, so much so that my stomach was actually hurting with emptiness, but alas I had nothing, or had seen nothing I could eat on my travels so far. I judged that the time was approaching midday by the height of the sun, and today it grew hot and sticky, for there was no breeze. No I thought, I am not going to sleep, not yet....I stood up and trudged on, now that the trees were behind me I could see a good distance ahead and found that I was slowly climbing in an upward direction heading straight for the top of a rocky hill which was becoming alarmingly steep, I struggled to find my footing when loose stones gave way under my feet, I nearly slipped to the bottom a couple of times, but managed to keep my balance and reach the top. What a perculiar sight, I was now looking down on a kind of ravine, a huge cleft with another sheer wall beyond that, it looked like a castle surrounded by a moat, only the moat was the ground I was now looking down on about sixty feet below, it also looked highly dangerous having an acute angle, also the stones appeared to be loose like those I had nearly lost my footing on coming up from the other side. I paused and looked around as far as I was able to, on my right the mountain looked unpassable and deadly having what seemed to me to be razor sharp edges on it's surface, to my left the going looked more walker friendly and I found myself staring at a shadow in the rock face almost out of view. On closer inspection I saw a possible way down, about twenty feet or so to the left there were large boulders jutting out from the bank just like stepping stones on a river, but these were attached to the sheer wall I was standing over, I carefully made my way over to where the boulders began. Having reached the first boulder, I stood on it and tried to gauge how far I had to jump to reach the next one, the gap looked about seven feet, I was worried! but with a brave heart I lept for the next boulder and made it comfortably, the next few boulders were easy as they were pretty close together and not much effort was needed to reach them. I was now about a quarter of the way down, I looked around for the next boulder, but found it was some ten or more feet below me and slightly to the right, I braced myself and tried to calm my ever increasing heartbeat down a bit, but could not, I was scared to do this...but I must or go back. I leapt for the boulder but it was lower than I judged it would be, as I landed I lost my balance and slipped off the boulder and landed on the next one which unknown to me was directly beneath it, but again, slightly to the right, I landed and let out a yelp of pain, I had gashed my shin when I slipped off the boulder I was trying to reach.

I composed myself and inspected my very first wound I had sustained on this island, it hurt but was a surface wound much to my relief, I rubbed it for a bit to reduce the swelling that would inevitably result from the impact, and eyed my present position on the bank. with the fall, I was now halfway down the slope and the boulders now looked easy to traverse, I stood up, tested my leg for movement, it seemed ok so I jumped to the lower boulder on the left, then to the next, and the next one until I was at the bottom looking up at where I had come from, it looked really steep, I was amazed I had made it in one piece bar one slight injury. I was still nursing my wound as I gazed about me, the path to the right was as I thought precarious at best, full of jagged rocks and uneven surfaces, but the one to the left looked used? way off to the left was that curious shadow I had seen in the rock wall, I headed that way. Two minutes or so had passed when I came across a cave entrance, "so this was the shadow" I said aloud and peered into the gloom of the entrance. A small stone staircase was before me leading up to darkness (not again I thought) so I entered, and began climbing the steps, the steps were only six high and I was soon on a flat level moving forward. Yet another tunnel I found myself in, but this one was different in as much as the walls had a luminescent quality and made it easy to see ones way ahead. I continued on and on for a good while and noticed that there was an air current venting through the tunnel, this I thought could only mean one thing, there was definately a entrance and an exit! I was full of expectation as I carried on forward, this tunnel was better to walk through as well because the height of the ceiling was about ten feet high and therefore I did not have to stoop in order to pass through it.

The path kept altering direction, one time it would bend to the right, and another time would swerve to the left, and this persisted for some time until a Light was beginning to emanate ahead of me, the end was in sight, getting ever brighter, where would I come out to? I was about to find out, the floor was gently rising as I approached the tunnels exit and I heard rainfall coming from outside, I made it to the mouth of the cave and was met with torrential rain, so heavy was this downpour that I could barely see what was in front of me, so I stayed inside the cave mouth until the rain eased enough to venture out. I took this opportunity to rest but without realising it I feel to sleep. I woke up to light screaming into my eyes, the sun was directly infront of me almost like a alarm clock waking me when it had been set to do so, I turned my head and rubbed my eyes until the after image had cleared, it must be early evening judging by the suns current position and that meant I had only a few hours of daylight left to find whatever I was looking for? what was I looking for! I stood up bewildered and confused, what was I doing here? it was a minute or so later that I remembered, I put it down to over tiredness, I had not slept a great deal over the past two days and the effects were starting to show. With renewed focus I looked out from the cave mouth to the surrounding terrain, it was wild and rugged, a mixture of rock and grass scattered about randomly as only nature could do, and I noted that it was steadily rising to what looked to me like another cliff face. I set off in that direction, ever climbing slowly toward the horizon, the sky was clear and almost cloud free, and that perculiar mauve hue to the sky that had greeted me on my first day here had returned, I wondered what it meant. With no answer forth coming I was almost halfway up the incline, there didn't seem to be anywhere else to go other than in the direction I was going and it was not long before I was nearing what I now saw was the edge, I was right, I was on top of a high peak of land and I could hear the sea splashing against rocks some distance below me. I had reached the edge looking down at the rocks and the sea, the views on this island were no doubt an awesome sight to behold and I just stared around me for a while until something caught my eye, over to the right I could see a spire! was that the tower? it surely looked like it, but I was too far away to be positive. It must be a mile or so away I thought to appear so small, I headed right, trying to find a path or anything that enabled me to get closer but saw nothing obvious, I headed along the edge of the cliff looking all the time for any sign of a pathway, I could see where I had come from and noticed an odd looking dip in the ground that I had not seen on my ascent so I headed for it.

On arrival I now knew what it was, I could see a small outcrop of land leading to a wider area below and from my higher vantage point saw a stretch land developing from that. I had reached a natural stepdown in the rocks and I dropped to the lower level, the ground was lower here and the rocks and the sea could only be heard, for they were out of sight, hidden by the hill to my left that made a natural channel down which I was now walking. I had been walking for about fifteen minutes when I came out to a clearing, the hill to my left had now diminished to a small mound and this gave me a panoramic view ahead, there it was, the tower, I had totally circumnavigated the area and had come upon it from a different angle. With profound relief I dropped to my knees and thanked my lucky stars that had guided me this day, for luck it was perhaps, or was there some other force protecting me today, I did not know. I stood up and ran toward the top of the rocks and looked around, I could plainly see the base of the tower sunken and surrounded by the pit that the stone steps lead up to, I could see the door, closed as I had left it, but from where I was there was no way down, the sea was between me and the tower, daylight was fading to dusk, panic welled up in me when another strange vision was put in front of my eyes, I was staring at another cave entrance right underneath where I was standing, slightly to the right, it had a ledge wide enough to jump down to, without thinking I jumped down and landed safely, there was a rushing sound coming from the cave mouth and I instantly knew what it was...this cave goes under the water to the other side. I entered the cave mouth and descended as I knew I would, and in the gloom I saw another stone staircase leading downward, I headed for it and went down the steps....this was the longest set of steps I had come across so far, I lost count of how many steps I had taken when I suddenly realised I was on level ground, the noise was muted down here, and again there was a luminescent quality to the walls. If guardian angels really existed, then I had one on this day looking over me, I carried on along the path until I came to another stone set of steps, up I went two steps at a time, and before long I came out into a chamber, I stopped in my tracks, I certainly was not expecting this, the chamber was exactly as you would imagine it to look like, round and the size of an igloo! there were strange shapes hanging from the walls and they were glowing, I walked over to the brightest one and studied it, it reminded me of glowbugs I used to have as a child, you would put these in front of a light source for several minutes and when you removed them and turned out the light, they would glow for hours and hours until they were spent, and these reminded me of those very things...how strange, they were not organic? at least I didn't think they were, I touched one of them and it felt spongy and soft, but did not react to my fingers when they made contact. I peered around the rest of the chamber and found to my surprise a small mound of earth rising up the side of the wall, I investigated it, as I sifted through the earth my fingers felt something hard and metallic, I brushed the rest of the earth away and exposed a square box, it was solid not hollow, and firmly fixed to the floor...I could not pick it up. I cleaned away the remaining dust from the top and saw a circular indentation, it was a button! I knelt there for some time hesitant about pressing it, there was nothing else for it, I pressed the button...and just like the dream the middle of the floor was pouring away downward like an egg timer, a hole was appearing just large enough to drop through, after the earth had stopped I went to the edge and found that it was in fact a stone floor with a circular hole in it! I peered into the hole with my head poking through the gap and to my disbelief found I was staring down into a room some eight feet high, I carefully dropped down and landed safely on the floor.

The room was lit by those glowbugs and shed a eerie light about the place, I stood there taking in my new surroundings, the room was about ten feet square, there was a door to the right and behind me stood a small table, a simple table, no drawers or such, just a flat topped table, which had a piece of parchment on it. I was frozen where I stood, this was without doubt proof that an intelligence was behind all of this, I was afraid to pick up the parchment through fear of what I might read or discover? so with a shaking hand I reached for the parchment and picked it up, there was a key beneath it, golden in colour and very plain, but had an aged look about it, I picked the key up and instinctively knew what it was for. I glanced down at the parchment in my hand and moved over to one of those glowbugs. There it was again, nine lines of writing, all written with different hands and the third line down was in English and it read....go to the tower....I was numb with a mixture of anger and elation, I read it again, no change, my eyes were not deceiving me. I snapped out of my reverie and headed for the door, it was not locked and creaked slightly when I opened it, musty air greeted my nostrils and before me was another set of steps, I removed the brightest glowbug I could find from the wall, I had found a portable light source. Up the steps I went and soon reached what I could only describe as a trap door, I pushed against it and could feel it slowly giving way as if some weight was shifting above it, then the trap door opened and I was peering up at the night sky. I climbed out of the pit that was housing the trap door frame and was absolutely astonished to see the tower right in front of me. I could not have possibly known about the existence of the trap door on my previous visit, but there it was. I entered the tower front door and went inside, the glow now coming from the curious thing that I now held in my hand gave sufficient light to see that nothing had changed, the table was still there and that odd looking sticky out wall where the locked door was housed was looking sullen and defeated now I had the key. There was little point in unlocking the door now and going up to see the aerial view it would yield, that could wait until tomorrow, I was dead on my feet and there was nothing else to do now but sleep I had earned it, what a day it had been, I had made huge discoveries and had got the missing key that I somehow knew, existed? I laid down on the floor and felt the book under my shirt, I had totally forgotten about it in the madness of the day, I pulled it out and opened it up to the nine lined page, I held the glowbug close to it and compared the writing between the newly found parchment and that written in the book, every line looked exactly the same, each line written by the same hand. I closed the book and laid on my back, my leg was smarting a bit and I was ravenous, and as I slipped out of consciousness I heard a voice whispering in a strange tongue...brarg comptra thrutra...brarg comptra thrutra...

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 6

REVELATIONS:

The dream was now revealed in all it's glory, and I now understood what the images portrayed, the books in the pit! the sudden flashes, the ground opening up, everything fell into place, I was overwhelmed with a euphoric delight, tears were welling up in my eyes, I had done it! six days, and now a major breakthrough. My legs were trembling as I stood above the newly formed pit looking down at the dark depths, I then remembered the book, it was behind me, laying on the now sunken pedestal...I picked it up and examined it, there was no sign of damage or anything, it was just the same old book. It was now late afternoon, a chill was in the air when a cold breeze swept across the land, it would soon be evening and I had to decide what to do, go back to the hut, or go on with my investigations? having not yet discovered a way to create a portable light source there was a risk being out here in the dark, an accident might occur, I could get injured, then where would I be? the desire to go on was too much to resist, I blew caution to the wind and jumped into the pit. the ground on closer inspection was stone with the odd splattering of soil here and there which was probably caused by the movement I had just made it go through. I walked to the end and there was a wooden board laid on the floor, it was not affixed to the ground so I naturally tried to move it, I found it moved easily so I lifted one end up so it was standing on it's edge and underneath there was a damp stairway leading into darkness. I timidly went down the steps and felt it level out to a floor, walking six or so paces ahead confirmed this, my heart was pounding in my chest at this new revelation, this could be dangerous, I was now as unsure as I could be about what to do now, I did not know how long this path/tunnel would be? if it was long I would be thrown into total darkness, there may also be other pathways leading off from the main path, which meant I could get utterly lost and disorientated easily. Daylight or night, it did not matter down there, light was required that was for sure. The possibility of the pit closing was also a worry, I did not know if, or how long it would remain open? and I would have to wait for another lightning strike before I could open it again, not that this was a problem, I just wanted to carry on, I was too excited to go back to the hut and sleep. What to do.....what to do.....I braced myself for the decision I knew I was about to make, and that was to carry on. Evening was upon me as I made my way down into the gloom of the tunnel, I could see about twenty feet ahead until the tunnel faded into blackness. My progress was slow, I had to feel my way onward, a sense of claustrophobia was building inside me, not that I had ever suffered from it but this place could inspire such a dread of confined spaces. The tunnel was some five feet high I thought because I had to stoop. A good hour had elapsed, and I was still groping my way along the tunnel, no diverting paths were found so far but the path was definately bending to the right. The pathway straightened for a good while and then started to slowly ascend until it levelled out again, and on this new level I continued for what seemed hours, stopping every now and then to take a breather and then stumble on. My back was starting to ache with the strain of permanently bending, I had to stop and sit for a while, I lent against the wall of the tunnel...it felt good, I had the sense of mind to mentally note the direction I was going in, and by placing the book to my right side on the floor would help me remember this. I was now fighting sleep I had no more energy left, the day had been far too exciting and eventful, I lost consciousness and succumbed to sleep.

The length of time I had been asleep for could not be known down here in this pit of blackness and solitude, but I was refreshed and ready to go on. I felt around for the book to my right, found it, picked it up and surged onwards. Hunger was making itself known, I had not eaten now since midday yestarday, and I had no way of knowing what time of day or night it was at the moment, I shrugged it from my mind and tried to think of more unimportant things. The path was still level as I made my way forward and found no other pathway leading off from the one I now travelled on, on I went for what seemed like another couple of hours and my back was starting to ache again, but I chose to ignore it. Up ahead I could make out a greyish blur becoming whiter the closer I got to it, there was light! a sudden spring came back into my legs as I began to walk faster and faster, it must be daybreak I thought as my eyes started to hurt with this new light source, I had to look downward for a while until my eyes adjusted to the light. I could now look straight into the light ahead, and to my astonishment saw a stone staircase before me, as I reached the edge of the first step and peered upward, the light was blinding at first but I soon adjusted to it and saw an old wooden door at the top of the staircase with splits in the boards that made up the door, these splits enabled the light I could now see to seep through. I climbed up the staircase and was in front of the door, my hand trembled as I reached for the rusty latch, it squeaked as I lifted it up, the door did not budge until I applied some force by using my shoulder to barge against it, the door swung outward and I was bathed in early morning sunlight. I covered my eyes with my hands, it hurt like hell, being so used to total darkness for who knows how long it was hard to keep my eyes open, I had to close them and use my hands as a shield, but eventually they adjusted and I was able to see properly again. As I blinked and focussed at the doorway I had arrived at a part of this island that I had not seen before, It was like waking up in a new world, greenery was all around me, trees were in the distance but not too far away and there was lush green grass under my feet. I looked at the hole I had just emerged from and saw that the doorway had been built in a bricked wall that had been erected inside a mound or hillock, and it was the only raised part of ground in an otherwise totally flat area. I wondered who had built it? and what was truly going on here and why? overall this whole place was quite remarkable and for want of a better word, magical. The sun was about two hours old and was very low in the sky, I moved away from the mound in order to get a better view of my new surroundings, apart from birds flying around making their usual chirps, and a mild breeze, everything was still and quiet. Where do I go now? I was spoilt for choice, I spent some time just staring as far as I could from my vantage point, I had no clues yet as to where I was in relation to the pedestal area but, oh my, what beautiful countryside! as I stood motionless, thinking, the best option I decided was to follow as best I could the tunnel way I had just emerged from, but overground instead of underground, yes.....that seemed like a good idea. I must be careful though, I can not afford to get lost, so planning was a necessity. My hunger pangs were reminding me of how hungry I now was, but at this moment it did not concern me I had reached a crucial stage in my adventures and I now felt a sense of happiness and joy, something I had not felt since my arrival here...

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 5

THE SECRET OF THE PEDESTAL:

I was awake before sunrise, the ground was still damp through heavy rainfall the night before. I made my way outside to sample the morning air, it smelt clean and slightly scented, the excitement was welling up inside me for the day ahead for I had realised there was still much to try regarding the pedestal and the secrets it protected. I was however, determined to succeed today and make a concerted effort to resolve the situation I was in. As I stood just outside the doorway, I ran through all the information I had learned in the past few days, and tried to put a logical progression to them. Firstly, after the discovery of the books I had been directed by persons unknown to find a tower, secondly, having found the tower, all that was to be found inside it apart from the locked door was a piece of parchment with a map drawn on it, this map must be of prime importance, I had (I was now sure) been drawn there to find it! Thirdly, the fact that two pedestals were drawn relating to one was hugely significant, also the strange markings on top are there to be deciphered, and last but not least, the pathway dotted on the map must be close to my position and tie in with the rest of it. Geographically speaking I had not recognised the path drawn therein, but was sure to at some point along the way. Sun is up, time to get organised, I ate a hasty breakfast, decided to carry a couple of grapeapples with me, made another notch in the stick and placed it under the stool for safe keeping. I folded the map carefully and put it in my pocket and picked up the book, then I set out for the pedestal. I was there in no time ( I knew this terrain really well by now) and before I knew it I found myself staring down at the strange symbols engraved on the pedestal top, what do they mean?

At this point I wished I had the slightest clue as to what those symbols meant but I did not, the only one that made any sense was the one depicting a circle with a oblong shape atop of it with another slightly squashed circle above, but connected to the circle and oblong, could this depict the rotation of the pedestal and the book? the time was now to find out. I knelt down pushed the button and the pedestal obeyed and exposed the other books, I removed all the books and placed them on the pedestal's table top. I then had a flashback moment in my mind from the dream, the book my hand was trapped from trying to remove was the scribed version I was sure of it, I had another moment of inspiration whereby I placed the other three books on top of the symbols in no particular order, after doing this I thought of holding the other book back just to see what was going to happen. I pressed the button expectantly and stood back, the pedestal reacted as I expected, rotated, and dropped to it's resting position but nothing else happened! I pulled the map from my pocket and studied it, the books I had placed on the stone top were not depicted on the map, but neither was the first book or a multitude of other things? I chose to ignore this and continue. I placed in turn, all the other books on symbols they had not been on before and repeated the pedestal operation, but the results were the same, nothing. If nothing else, those experiments eliminated the fact that nothing was going to happen without the master book (as I now called it) being in the mix, so I then considered what options were available to try next, I could repeat the whole process again but this time incorporate the master book in the pocket I had found it in. The map, I now decided was displaying only one book, and that was to be found within the picture of the circles and what I now believed the oblong shape represented...the book. The two circles could, I thought, be the two positions the pedestal started and finished in when the button was pressed, this seemed like a good idea so I placed the other three books back in their start position and put the scribed book in it's original pocket and pushed the button, nothing happened, I then swapped the three books around and placed them on different symbols, then pressed the button, nothing happened, I repeated it until the three other books all had a turn on another symbols, still nothing happened! I glanced at the map again, then at the stone table, could the oblong be the scribed book? I had not tried this yet, so I put the master book on the circled engraving, randomly placed the other books, and held one back to put into the pocket, once this was set up....I pushed the button, nothing happened. I then went through all the permutations with that formula I could think of, nothing happened, I stood there numb with effort when a crack of thunder sounded above me and the rains came again.

With all my attention held by the pedestal, I had not noticed the storm clouds gathering overhead until it was too late, but no matter, I put the other three books back in their pockets, pushed the button, the pedestal did it's thing and I tucked the master book down my trousers to keep it dry. I headed back to the trees for some shelter and used the down time to eat some lunch, it was past midday. The rain was pleasant enough, cleansing and stimulating, I was not dismayed at my failures of today, but more determined to beat this thing once and for all. I had finished eating my lunch and was about to get up when a lightning bolt shot down from the sky and impacted right on top of the pedestal table, as the lightning went to ground and dispersed, I saw something glowing on the stone table, I cautiously made my way back, and as the table came into view I could not believe my eyes. In the centre of the table there was now a square outline, book size, and it was glowing, pulsating with a yellowish hue. I stood right over the table, frozen in shock at this new development, I instinctively looked to the sky, the rain was easing back to a mild shower and stopped shortly after. I gazed back down to the table, Is this what happens everytime a lightning storm occurs? it was the first time I had been present at the pedestal in such weather conditions. I cautiously moved my hand to touch the glowing square, it was not warm like I thought it would be but as cold as stone usually is, I moved my hand away and reached for the master book, I hesitated as I placed the book on the outline but there was nothing for it, I had to try it. The book was in place, the other books were in their respective slots so I knelt down and pressed the button but stood back. The pedestal went through the usual motions, rotated and descended......but then it did something it had not done before, once it reached the end of the cycle it continued to descend and a mechanised noise was now coming from beneath it, the ground around me was vibrating and I backed off further out of fear and uncertainty. The pedestal stopped when the table was flush to the ground and to my surprise rotated again by about 45 degrees, there was a clunk, followed by total silence. I approached the now ground level table, the book was still there but the glowing had stopped, suddenly there was a grinding noise, I jumped back and watched from a safe distance as the ground in front, and beyond the table started to sink, three of the huge slabs that made up the stone dias were lowering to form an oblong pit about eight feet deep, four feet wide and about ten feet long. I stood there agape, dumstruck with disbelief, it took a while to snap myself out of it and come back to reality! this was indeed real...yes, it really happened, I was now standing at the edge of the pit looking down.......

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 4

THE INTRIGUE OF THE PEDESTAL:

I awoke and found myself on the floor, my body ached with fatigue, and the fact I had slept awkwardly wasn't helping. I must find something soft to sleep on in future, I can't carry on like this. It must be mid morning, the sun was quite high judging from the way the light was now penetrating the canopy, I rose and stretched my aching limbs and staggered to the doorway, the air was cool and fresh but I think another storm is brewing (what a surprise) I went outside and took in the familiar vista, I began to consider what I was to do today? firstly, and most importantly was to gather some fruits and bring them back here for storage for I couldn't keep trekking out to find food every time I got hungry and only take what I needed there and then, no, I had to find a means of storage somehow, too much of my time had been spent on those pursuits. I now had a clear plan of action so there was no need for further exploration for the presrent. I must return to the pedestal and investigate it thoroughly, the map has two depictions of the pedestals and there must be a reason for this? also the map had shown a pathway and I was not clear as to what this represented so I should look into that as well. The tower room with the locked door was a worry! if I could not find a way to get in then I was stumped as to what I should do, I needed to gain entrance, being it is the highest point I have found and still believe something of importance is to be discovered there. Then there is the water problem? are the fruits liquids enough to sustain my needs? I did not know, but as yet I had not felt any adverse affects after living on the grapeapples for six days, talking of days, I felt my pockets for the stick it was not there, I looked in the hut and found it on the floor and picked it up and made yet another notch, yes it is the sixth day. I suddenly felt very alone again, solitude my only companion was not much of a conversationalist he thought everything I did! I shook my head and decided to head out for some breakfast. I detoured via the stone pedestal, it seemed a good idea to check it out, yes, it was still there poised in the same position as I had left it. I did not dwell there but continued on to gather some food. I found the place again easily enough and picked as much as I was able to carry comfortably. Once I reached the hut I placed the fruit under the stool and kept two back for breakfast, this would satisfy my hunger for the time being. I had managed to carry eleven grapeapples back with me and the nine remaining would, I thought keep me going for a day or two? storage was still the problem though.

My mind was now fixed on the pedestal and it's mysterious nature, I made my way back there, I also brought the other book with me merely because it made up the set and probably would prove significant in it's operations? I reached the pedestal, knelt down and pressed the button, the other three books were revealed as before. I removed all the books from their resting place and laid them out on the floor, I had no plan as to what I was going to try. I studied the books for several minutes but there was nothing obvious about them I could latch on to, so as a first experiment I placed all the books back where they had come from including the scribed book, I then pressed the button and the pedestal responded as I thought it would and returned to its original position it was in when I discovered it. I pressed the button again and after a short rumbling beneath me the pedestal rose, turned through 180 degrees and the pockets where the books were stored opened up again to reveal them. It then dawned on me that the pedestal was being powered by something unknown? everytime I pressed the button it had started a sequence! what was the button connected to? it was a case of more questions than answers. There was definately a power source of sorts directly hooked in to the pedestal base, but where it went to was anybodies guess, I wondered if it was electicity? or was it water driven? I loathed my ignorance in all this, I continued to experiment. Another idea occured to me, why not try the books in different pockets and see what that would do, so I set about it by rotating the books forward by one....the first book was now in the next adjacent pocket to the left and so on, I pressed the button and the pedestal closed up, turned and lowered itself, no change! I went through all the possible permutations including removing some books so there was less than four in total, but no markable change was evident, I leant back on the ground with my arms stretched out behind me staring at the pedestal, there must be something else to try, but what is it? it was then that I remembered a part of the dream where I was stood before the pedestal, and after taking a book from a pocket the hatch suddenly closed on my hand, what was all that about? I did not understand. The books in the well came flooding back as well, but as to what that was telling me I did not know, in fact, strange as it was the whole dream was now replaying itself back to me as if I were watching a film. It was all too much to comprehend, my head was spinning with intrigue. Was it all just a nightmarish dream, or was it significant somehow to my predicament? It was now noon, I had been here for the best part of the morning with nothing to show for it and I was struggling to think of what to do next.

I stood above the pedestal gazing at the curious symbols that were etched upon the top, I ran my hand across them and the edges of the markings had become smooth with age, three symbols, what did they represent? they were like nothing I recognised or had seen on this island. The pictures were strange, no definate likeness to anything other than a mathmatical shape perhaps, parts of the designs reminded me of a spirograph stencil I had used as a child. Three symbols, four books, one book with writing in it, the other three blank and spoilt. I then looked at the alignment of the symbols opposed to the book pockets, but all this proved was three does not fit into four equally! two of the symbols were always aligned with two pockets and the third was midway between the other two. The pedestal did not alter in the rotational sense, everytime it was reset and reactivated it would always settle to the same attitude as before, I even tried to turn the stone platter with my bare hands but found it was an immovable object that must be quite rigidly connected to something beneath me. I could not help but think what the purpose of those other books were if not for writing, "there are four books here for a reason" I said out loud, a bird broke cover in a tree and flew off with the shock of my outburst, I watched as it flew away. The height that the bird was achieving reminded me of the tower, and the stairs hidden behind a door I could not open, I threw my hands in the air, I was perplexed. For the time being, I accepted I was beaten, I retained the main book and withdrew from the pedestal. With defeat in my heart I made my way back to the hut and en route I stopped off to collect more fruit. So much turmoil was dominating my thoughts, conflicting ideas and options but nothing concrete. I made it back to the hut, dusk was upon the land so I settled down for a spot of food and thought, darkness would soon fall and I would again become a prisoner of this island.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the map, two pedestals, why two? and again I noted that 'pedestal' was written singular not plural. I was into my second grapeapple when a crack of thunder sounded overhead followed by another downfall of torrential rain, I shrugged and dismissed it. Light was failing as I peered into the map trying to fathom the secrets within. Two pedestals, but only one?......two pedestals, but only one.....I tried to keep positive in my thinking and not fall into despair, the latter would get me nowhere, a idea crept into my head and popped! two pedestals might be a combination? although I had tried all the possible combinations of books I had not thought of seperate sequences and how they might affect the outcome of the pedestal position, my spirit was raised again with this latest theory, but it was now dark, rain was pouring down and I did not possess any portable light source, come to think of it I had not even tried to make fire since I got here! I knew how, but there had been no need as yet to do so, but that may have to change. The rain was easing and the air was filled with a slight scent of wet trees, and with that I lay back against the wall and called it a day.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 3

THE IMPLANTED THOUGHT:

As I awoke, my laughing stopped. I was trying hard to recall everything I had just dreamt before it melted from my consciousness but it was difficult, I was hanging in between two realities trying to grasp them both. All was quiet around me, I sat up in the darkness forcing myself to concentrate on the visions I had seen in my dream, but no matter how much I tried the imagery was steadily slipping away leaving the usual trace elements that all dreams leave behind. The things I did remember though, made me wonder if it really mattered at all! It was not reality, but something I considered important I could not help but think had been lost, I shrugged my shoulders and stood up. I stood in the blackness of the tower room and there was not a sound to be heard, I moved toward the door clumsily in the dark and reached for the handle. Outside it was still dark, I had no idea how long my sleep/dream lasted for but the early light beams of dawn were approaching. I gazed up at the sky and watched the stars for a while, the early morning air was cool on my face and by now I was pleasantly awake. I would head back to the hut when it was light enough to travel. The time was now to gather my thoughts and prepare for my journey home as it were, it wouldn't be too difficult owing to the fact that most of the paths I had used were obvious once you knew them, birds were beginning their dawn chorus, I sat against the wall of the tower and listened to them for a while. It was strange that I could no longer hear the sea over the cliff walls, it must be a particulary calm day I thought. It was now light enough to begin the trek back to the hut, I went back inside the tower room to collect my stick, picked up the map parchment and made a mental note to return it later. I made my way to the stone staircase and at the same time looked for anything I may have missed on my arrival here, but there was nothing to speak of. So on I went tracing my steps back the way I had come, I estimated it would take the best part of the day being I knew where to go now, so there would be no time wasting looking for hidden paths. As I walked along I made another notch in the stick I had become dependant on to record my days here. I went down the steps and marched on, I followed the cliffed walkway back to where the rope was, storm clouds were again gathering overhead and it started to rain. If there was one thing I was certain of here it would be the frequency of rainfall, you could notch your stick by it. It was not long until I had reached the base of the cliff where the rope was, I grabbed it thinking it would be slippery from the rain but no, it now had a sponge like quality and thus easier to grip! I began to climb up the rope foot by foot and reached the top. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had started as I wandered into the main area where those grapeapples were growing, so I picked a couple and sat down to eat them. Midday was upon me, and I was pleased with my progress back, the longest part was still to come through the jungle area and then the path to the hut. The next step would be to traverse the plateau which was just beyond the boulders that were scattered around this area, I estimated my return was to take at least another four hours give or take a break or two, but overall it would take me less time to travel the same distance, the terrain was becoming familiar. I had eaten three of the grapeapples and so I was ready to continue, I got up and headed for the plateau. I could feel the land beginning to descend under my feet so the walking got easier and before long I had reached the open expanse of the plateau. I went to the edge and once again took in the splendid views that were afforded up here, the sea was calm and waves were gently slapping up against the rocks below, I again wondered where I was? on that thought I turned around and followed my steps back down the way I had come. I made good progress through the early part of the afternoon and was nearing that open area where the two jungles were temporarily split, and where I had slept on my journey out, but I was not going to stop this time, I was nearly home. I could clearly make out exactly where I was now and where to go, so as I walked my mind began to wander back to the fragmented memory of the dream the night before. I was still struggling to make out what it all meant? pits, books, surreal time shifts and strange images, I was certainly no 'Freud' but would of loved such an analyst to break this one down. I shook it from my mind and realised I was now approaching the last leg of my journey. The jungle was thinning out, I had made it, a couple of hundred yards to go and I would see the hut. My pace quickened as I followed the path round and sure enough there it was in all it's glory, empty, deserted but not for long. It was early evening as entered through the doorway, the book was where I had left it, I sat down on the stool and gasped a sigh of relief. I sat there for quite a while motionless, fatigue was evident with all the physical effort of the day, so as I watched the skies as they slowly darkenend sleep crept up on me. I remember thinking at the time 'what a day' the book I had picked up slipped from my hands and fell to the floor and I slumped back against the wall of the hut and gave in to tiredness, but then two things popped in my head as I fell into sleep, what strange rock formations the sea had made around the shores here, how long did it take for them to get like that, and the other rather alarming thing I suddenly thought was....I have not drank any water since I got here! I wonder where a natural spring was to be found.....I fell into a deep sleep.

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 2

THE DREAM:

I found myself staring down a well, and not knowing its depths held back to a safe distance. As I stood there looking it suddenly lit up and revealed itself to be no more than eight feet deep or so, lo and behold those books I found inside the pedestal were lying at the bottom. I tried to reach them but they were too far down, untouchable. There was nothing to lower myself down with so I stood at the edge and jumped!...lightning flashed, and I was sitting on the stool in the hut watching the rain pour down all around me and I was holding the book I retained after solving the pedestal puzzle in my hands. As I sat there the book grew warm to the touch and dropped out of my hands to the floor, when it landed the book opened up at the last page with writing on it. The words were glowing red, shimmering, pulsating in their intensity as if producing heat, and the words "go to the tower" were sounding inside my mind like echoes approaching from a distance and reaching a crescendo only to start all over again. I clasped my head in my hands and screamed "STOP" but it just continued to torment me, I stood up from the stool and ran out the door into the storm, the ground was slippery with mud and I stumbled and fell, I instinctively put my arms out to break my fall........there was a flash. I was now standing over the stone pedestal staring at the button that had revealed the books to me. The symbols I had seen at the top of the pedestal were also pulsating and started to rotate, I stared in amazement, I was in a trance not being able to look away. I watched as the pedestal rose up from the ground, turned, and then revealed the books.....I reached for them yet again and the flap that had just opened closed as my hand approached to take the books, in surprise my hand snapped back in reflex. As if to taunt me the flap opened again and remained so, I knelt down in front of the flap and stared at the book closest to me......I made a sudden lunge for the book and as I did so the flap came down like a guillotine and trapped my fingers in closing, the pressure on my fingers was increasing as I tried to retract them, I could not get free of this trap!. Pain was now introducing itself to my hand, I tried and tried to set myself free but every time I pulled, the flap increased its pressure I began to despair for the pain was becoming unbearable, I started to panic and lost my composure, I was flapping wildly now screaming out in pain and without realising it pushed the button above the flap.....there was a flash.....I was in the tower room reading the book I had left in the hut, flicking through the pages at random not really focussing on anything but staring straight through the book. I came out of my reverie and looked around me....I stared at the door that I knew led to a stairwell!, it had denied me entrance. I walked over to it and stretched my arms and hands all over the door like a person trying to hug a large tree, I stood there with my eyes closed trying to attain a psychic link with the door but it was hopeless. Banging against the door I again tried to force an entry....denied. The room was now growing dark as if the door was closing, I looked round but the door was still ajar! still the room was darkening and in the ever decreasing gloom I found it hard too see. The floor began to vibrate beneath me as if something had been turned on or powered up. In the middle of the floor I now saw a hole starting to form, collapsing from the centre like a egg timer and getting faster as is grew. The light came back as if a light switch was suddenly turned on and flooded the room again, the rumbling from the floor had stopped and now a clunking noise was emanating from the hole that had appeared, I slowly walked toward the hole, nervous for what I might find....I was right next to the hole now looking down into the depths......it reminded me of the books lying at the bottom of that well before I was whisked off. A light was developing from the hole, and a mist was starting to form swirling upwards toward me!, I staggered back, feeling threatened by this new event but as the mist rose it just dissipated to nothingness and I was standing in the room again where everything appeared the same except for the hole which was still present. I walked back toward the hole and stopped at the edge......the books were back!, all four of them. I wanted to jump down the hole again but hesitated....the last time I was transported off somewhere else just as I was coming to what I considered a revelation. I could not stand there just looking into the well, I jumped! but this time nothing happened!.....I landed with a start, expecting the worst but nothing changed I was ok. I gingerly reached for the book I knew contained the English script and picked it up....still nothing happened, I opened the book at the place where I had read the mysterious instruction to "go to the tower" it was there...the third line down, faded but discernable. I touched the paper and felt a tingling sensation through my fingers, I moved my hand away from the page but it did'nt stop instead my hand was pulled down to the book again, I tried to resist but the force proved too strong...the page began to glow just like before as if a power was being supplied from an external source. As my hand made contact with the book it sank into the page as if I was pushing my hand through sand!, panic set in again, I did not know what to do and before I knew it I was sucked down through the book and spinning through some vortex darkness all about me, falling....falling....falling...as I looked about I noticed light racing from below to meet me with a impact!. Light was all about me now, blindingly brilliant...I shielded my eyes from the unbearable brightness and suddenly there was a splash, I had landed in water, I started to rise from the plunge and surfaced, I took in a gulp of air and awoke from my sleep, I was laughing......

THOUGHTS FROM A ISLAND PT 1

THE ARRIVAL:

I Arrived here yesterday, there is a strange mauve sky above. I walked about a bit to get my bearings, but do not know where I am? how did I get here? all I can remember is sitting in the arm chair in my study reading a book I had just bought from a local antiques shop, the book was of interest to me because it dealt with archaeology, a subject I was currently studying at university, but now I'm here, a stranger in a strange land. There are three buildings here of the like I have never seen, and in front of one of them is a odd looking device, it stands about three feet high and the top is sloped with a lip at the bottom, similar to a lectern in a church, on the side it has a lever, it reminds me of a guillotine handle, I pulled it but nothing happened other than the odd squeak or groan from an old mechanism that had not seen usage for a good while, I looked around me, what am I to do, I need to find food, yes that should be my first priority. The plant life is rather curious, and what I can only make out to be strange looking fruit grows in abundance here, the trees off the shore are filled with them, I have not plucked up the courage yet to sample them, maybe later. Of the three buildings, two are door less, but the third has a locked door, I sheltered in one of the open buildings for a while to gather my thoughts, but I fell to sleep. I Woke hearing a strange noise outside? I went to the door and peered out, nothing, nothing was there! was it my imagination, I stood there waiting for the noise to return....nothing....just the roar from the sea. It sounded like a gear mechanism engaging after being powered up....I don't know. I Went back inside and slept again for what seemed hours. As I woke a breeze had developed and cool wind currents were coming in from the sea, I went outside and breathed in the fresh air, my mind cleared and I ventured out. I decided to head inland rather than stick close to the shore, there was nothing else there to explore, so off I went with hopes high that I might find someone to ask where I was, or find an answer to how I got here, there must be someone about. The trees are gigantic, I have never seen anything like them before! and magestic too. there is life here, insects maybe, but life all the same. Several hours I was walking for until I reached what I can only describe as a bridge spanning two sides of a deep ravine, how did this get here? it must be man made? without thinking I crossed the bridge carefully making sure each rung of the laced planks that made up the bridge was secure before I put my weight on them, lord knows the last time this was put to use, but it was safe, I was on the other side looking back from whence I came, I ventured on. The jungle was clearing, I could make out more sky coming through the canopy and birds were singing here, they sounded normal! I think, a clearing was up ahead and as I came out of the bushes I walked on to a huge stone circular floor with a pedestal at its centre. The circle was huge at least a hundred feet in diameter, or as good as I could guess, weeds were growing from cracks in the stone which had been laid in great four foot square slabs ever decreasing towards the centre. Having taken in the vision before me, I made my way to its centre. The pedestal was about three feet high, consisting of a base that was tapering to the top where a stone plate sat, atop of this were three strange looking symbols carved in the stone, I couldn't imagine what they were, or what they were doing here, it looked old and ancient, but showed no sign of deterioration. I marvelled at this and wondered what it was for, I noticed a indent about two feet up the pedestal and bent down to investigate, I saw a small square, two inches I think that had been carved out and then replaced within the stone it was taken from. I touched the stone and it felt loose and springy, and my natural instinct was to push it, so I did. There was a rumble from beneath me, I jumped back in panic and watched as the pedestal rose up another two feet and then stopped, it turned through 180 degrees and four compartments opened up from the newly exposed pedestal. I inched forward expecting all the time for another movement from the pedestal but nothing happened. There were four books in the now open pockets of stone and I went to take one of the books....what is this.

Three days have now passed since my arrival here, I have overcome the fear of sampling the local fruit more out of desperation than anything else. I am now in a hut I discovered not to far away from the mysterious pedestal I chanced upon while leaving the shores heading inland. The hut is small but comfortable, made up of the local stray twigs and leaves and odd shaped pieces of wood. At least it is water proof I discovered yesterday when it rained rather heavily. There is a stool in here, at least it looks like a stool? it has three legs on which a base sits and though it is rather rickety it seems servicable despite its primitive construction. I wondered of its origin! how old was it? I could'nt begin to fathom. There is nothing else in this hut, just me and the stool, at least the weather is clement despite the rainfalls that are not too regular, but there is a window of sorts that is facing back the the way I came! a look out post in times gone by perhaps? I sit here now mulling over the events of three days ago when the books were revealed to me by old mechanisms constucted here for reasons I am yet to learn. I walked round the pedestal a few times looking at the four books in their compartments, there is intelligence! I reached out and picked one of the books up it was old but not decrepit, the cover was dusty but overall in good condition until I opened it! the pages were unreadable, but whole. I flicked through the book and every page had been corrupted either by time or other external forces. There was ink on them, there were faded pictures and text of a language I did not know or could never hope to know given the books deteriorated state. I placed the book back in its slot and reached for one of the others. It was the same! totally spoilt, unreadable. I hastily placed the book back and grabbed another, this one was different from the other two in the fact that the cover looked well fondled by hands unknown, the bindings were well worn, and the cover was scratched and damaged at the corners. Keeping the book I reached for the last book, it was the same as the first two, useless! I placed the book back in its slot and focused on the book I kept back, there were markings on the cover old but discernable, there was a scrolling text which I could'nt read or understand but it was definately writing!. I grew with excitement as I opening the cover and peered at the first page, it was blank, I flicked the page over to the next which was also blank, my heart sank with an anticlimax until I turned the next page, writing! yes it was definately writing of some sort I could read it but not understand it? There are nine lines of writing that were all written by different hands, and different colours too, old as they were I could definately make out brownish colours, black, and a bold blue, faded but still recognizable. I turned another page, the same! different colours, different scribe!. I continued turning the pages until I was half way through the book, then the writing stopped. I flicked through the rest of the book but the remaining pages were all blank, I went back to the last page that had writing on it and noticed something that I had not before. I could not believe my eyes, I could read it! the third line down was written in english! I squinted as I tried to make out the words the inks were fading into the page with time but with concentration I would be able to read them. I sat and looked down at the page, the first word of the line was definately GO! the second was a bit more harder to make out but it said TO, the third word was smudged and impossible to read but the forth and last word said TOWER!. Tower what tower? go to tower, I pondered for a while trying to fill the missing word in then said aloud "go to the tower" is this what it said?, I stood up and looked around but from my vantage point could'nt see any tall structure for as far as I could see. I made my way from the pedestal further on in to the jungle, I was walking for a good two hours until I chanced upon a hut, yes I would stay here awhile and find some food, rest, and consider my next move. The words 'go to the tower' were spinning around my mind as I fell into a troubled sleep.

I must have slept for several hours, I remembered daylight, but now darkness enveloped me. I was aching all over due to lying awkwardly on the hut floor and I was thirsty, very thirsty!. Hunger pains were beginning to kick in, I groped around the floor and found one of those strange fruits I gathered earlier and bit into it....I can not place the taste of this fruit it seems to possess many flavours I know, combined into one. It has the look of a grapefruit, the feel of a apple and a peachy outer skin that is very easy to peel off! I ate it greedily and it satisfied my hunger and thirst for the time being. As I licked my fingers clean and reached into my trouser pocket for a tissue I knew I had in there, the book I had found bounced back into my consciousness it was still where I had left it on the stool, I could make out the cover of the book by way of the faint moonlight in this place, moonlight? I jumped up and went out the doorway knocking my shoulder on the frame as I did so. It had only just occured to me? I took it for granted I knew where I was or thought I knew, that all things being equal I was on earth! time and place unknown but earth all the same. I peered up at the night sky, it was rather misty but there was definately a light source emanating from above. It looked like the moon I know? bluish in hue (polarised light) but I could not see it properly the mists were thickening and I could see dark clouds gathering, I went back inside picked up the book and sat on the stool. I idly flicked through the pages, no chance of reading in this light, and my mind wandered back to the words that I had read on the last written page "go to the tower", I was perplexed by this! what tower? I certainly had not noticed any tall structure resembling a tower since my arrival here, I would have to explore in the daylight tomorrow whenever that was. I was wide awake now, eager to be on my way so to speak in exploration of the books invitation or clue when there was a crack of thunder overhead followed by lightning, well regardless of where I am the weather seems to be similar I thought!. Rain was falling now hard and heavy, I moved the stool further back into the hut and sat watching the water splashing into the doorway, there were slight drips coming from the roof of the hut but nothing too severe, so sitting on the stool I leant back on the wall and waited for the storm to pass.A good half an hour must have passed and yet the rain showed no sign of abatement, in fact it seemed to be falling heavier but the air smelt fresh and invigorating. In my temporary imprisoned state I decided I should try and keep a record somehow of the passing days, but how to do this? I certainly did not have any writing implements, I had a book, but until I learnt more about it I was not going to attempt any writing on it. What to do, I thought for a while. Thats what I would do, yes, I could use a sprig of a tree branch and use something to make notches in it, at least it would be portable for my travels! not knowing how long or far I would walk from day to day or even if I would make it back to the hut? this seemed like a good idea. I would start by making four notches in what ever I find to use as a beginning, it must be at least four days? I'm sure of it. I was resolved to do this when the rains clear, until then it was a waiting game. I would have to gather more fruit for my journey and find something to put it in, I had nothing here to transport anything. Daytime tasks were indeed building, I would have a busy day on the morrow but for now the rainfall is still heavy, and I am enjoying watching it being safe in this hut, this hut I have come to call my home I will be sorry to leave it-but leave it I must if I am to solve any of the riddles that lay before me. Rain falls, mists swirl, darkness reigns, tower, tower, go to the tower, "I will....I will"....but first I must find it? The rain is easing as I sit here, dawn is approaching I think, it will soon be time.

Dawn was now breaking, the rain had stopped. I ventured from the hut out into the early morning air, I found it mind clearing and stimulating. The ground was sodden and squishy and as I looked to the sky I saw the sun peering through the trees its rays were beginning to stab through the dense bush and I could feel its warmth on my face. I walked back in the hut, sat on the stool and began planning for the day ahead. Taking the book with me would, I considered be impracticable for fear of damage or loss!, so I placed it under the stool after taking one more look at the many written pages it contained trying to understand its existence but to no avail. Next I decided to gather some fruit for breakfast and eat before I set out, So off I went to visit the place I new where fruit would be. It was half an hour before I reached the spot, I picked several of the grapeapples (as I came to call them) and headed back the way I came. On returning I Heard a noise from above and saw those odd looking birds flying overhead to do whatever they did in the early morning hours, I could not help thinking what they would taste like cooked! not that I had any cooking facilities at hand but I pondered it anyway. Inside the hut I ate all the fruit save one, I decided to take it with me on my travels for I new I would get hungry again in the hours to come and when that happens I was sure to discover more across the ways I would be going to, Besides I thought, I still have not got anything to carry them in! Some two hours had now passed, the air was warm and light, so with a happy heart I set out beyond the way I had come when I discovered the hut. The going was heavy at first, trying to wade through the undergrowth of the jungle I had to lift my feet higher than normal in order to walk, it was rather tiring. There were plenty of twigs and brances lying around so I choose one I thought would be easy to carry and mark (for day reference) and trudged on. I came to a clearing where the ground became easier to negotiate and the trees and bushes thinned, At least an hour had passed. I stopped and sat down for a breather and examined the twiglet, it was easy to put a notch in it with my finger nail so I marked it four times, four being the number of days, I believed I had spent here. After a few minutes I stood up and carried on in the same direction. I knew that higher ground needed to be found in order to get my bearings here and possibly locate the mysterious tower. I reached the end of the clearing and trudged on through the brush again, my legs were starting to ache with the demand that was being made on them, Still no higher ground was forth coming and I began to despair, hunger was setting in again but I resisted it for the time being until dire need was at hand. Another two or so hours had passed and I came upon another clearing I stopped in my tracks and fell to my knees with exhaustion, I could go no further for a while. I ate the last fruit and laid down for while until my strength returned, without realising it I fell asleep.I came round and felt heat on my face, I had no idea how long I had slept for but reasoned that it could not of been for long, the sun had reached its midday zenith and was beaming down directly overhead. I picked myself up, looked around and remembered the way I was going and continued on. I was starting to worry about food again but forced it to the back of my mind, and instead focused on the tower, the tower of mystery! where all would be revealed or so I thought. The afternoon brought some light showers but nothing like the torrential downpour of last night, they were refreshing and cleaning, I found myself invigourated again. At last, I could feel the ground starting to slowly rise as I continued my trek and to my surprise the jungle was definately clearing!. Another hour it was when I emerged from the last of the jungle and saw before me a not to dense forest of sorts where I had a good all round panoramic view for the first time!. I stopped and looked around, or though the ground was uneven I could see where the highest points were and headed in their direction. The ground was rising sharply now and my legs began to complain again with the effort of climbing, but my excitement was growing with the upward progress I was now making. At least another hour had elapsed when I finally reached a plateau. Great boulders of aged rock and weeds were abundant here and the air was cooling, almost cold, there was a wind current up here possibly coming from the coast, I carried on and on. The rocks were thinning out and plain grassland was before me with the odd scattering of trees here and there, and my old friend the grapeapple was growing here, relief flooded me as I grabbed a bunch and began eating them. I dropped to the floor and was proud of my progress this day, but I still had a few more hours of travel left in me before fatigue would win out. Once I had eaten, I rested a short while and then set off again. I could see that the ground was gently rising again and the grass was turning back in to rock, a huge stone plateau was before me and I could see a edge? ahead of me about a quarter of a mile I could see it!. With great anticipation I almost started to run toward the edge but was too tired to do so. Strong currents of air were now dominant as I neared the edge, some hundred yards now to go before I reached the edge!. I was there!, looking out at the vista that was now before me. I could see the sea off to my right, great waves smashing to the rocks below and to my left I could make out a mountainous region, and what was that? Oh my! there it was, yes, there it was. I had arrived.

I stood above the waters looking down at the splashing waves below, and to my left between two crags of rock I could clearly see a spire piercing up through the sky! it was obviously the tower. From my vantage point high that it was, it was the tallest object I could see. A surge of excitement welled up inside me at the sight of this-I could only wonder of its origins!. As I gazed about taking the views that were afforded me I began to realize that there was no visible way to cross the plateau I was standing on to get to the tower, the rock face in front although not high seemed to me to be significantly deep by how much I could not guess. Bewilderment ensued, another problem to be surmounted in this odd place, and it suddenly dawned on me that through all my time spent here wandering aimlessly about that I was totally and utterly alone!. Apart from the wildlife that was abundant here, there was little else that suggested civilisation? I regained focus and snapped out of my reverie, I began to look down to the rocks in order to try and discover a pathway, or some method that I might employ to gain entrance between the rocks to reach the tower, but saw nothing. What was I to do?..frustration was manifesting itself and I kicked the ground as if it was its fault that I found myself in this predicament!. Rest was needed, I dropped to the ground and tried to clear my head of all negative thoughts....if the instruction was "go to the tower" than it was logical to assume a way was possible, but where was it! I again looked around at the plateau I was standing on, It was big enough to explore in more detail being about 300 ft in diameter, I had not realised in all the excitement of the tower discovery. I walked over to the left hand side were the tower was poking out between the rocks, it seemed the obvious place to start. But looking down and around there was nothing I could see that suggested a pathway, so I continued walking to the right side away from the tower, looking down at all times for a clue as to how I might find a access point below. There was nothing!, nothing at all. I had completely walked the whole of the plateau but could see nothing. I again looked at the spire gleaming in the sky and estimated that the tower must be at least a mile from my position, I wished I had wings, it would make things a lot easier, but that was just fantasy, it did little to help. Sleep was catching up, it overtook me.

I woke with a start, thunder struck overhead, and lightning made an appearance, it was pouring with rain and I had no means of shelter. I felt betrayed and retched. My clothes were sodden and my vision was greatly impaired, and I decided to head back to the area where I found the grapeapples, at least I would find shelter amongst the boulders that were there. I was stumbling now with little grip underfoot trying to make my way back, Oh how I wished I was back in the hut, I would of gave anything at all to escape this torrent but I was trapped! blindly moving in a direction I could not tell. Suddenly, as if a tap was turned off, the storm ceased. I found myself on my hands and knees without the will to go on, I collapsed and wept with exhaustion and fell into a disturbed sleep. When I awoke, the memory of the day returned with a vengence and I looked around frantically trying to get my bearings but realised darkness had fallen. I was stranded!, there was no moon on this night, it was utterly pitch, and I had no choice but to wait for day break before I continued. Another day was passing, I felt about myself for the sprig I carried for my calender, it was gone! I must have lost it during the storm and I resolved myself to find it on the morrow. I lay on my back gazing up at the night sky, the clouds began to clear and soon there was moonlight once more and things didn't seem so bad again. There must be a way! I could'nt help but think, there must be a way around this? I just needed to apply my mind to it. I knew I was not the most intelligent person alive but fancied my chances when it came to problem solving....bring on the day. Several hours passed and daybreak beckoned, my clothes were now dry but I felt hungry, no time for hunger! I got up off the ground and watched the sun rise. By my reckoning I had not travelled far from the plateau due to the storm and I could see it to my right a few hundred yards away! I instinctively traced my way back knowing I had to find the piece of branch I needed for daily recording and found it several yards on....I must have dropped it when I sank to the ground, I picked it up and notched it with my fingernail. I considered for a while my next plan of action, there was no point in returning to the sheer drop at the plateau I had explored the area thoroughly last night, all it done I now decided was to establish the fact that a tower did indeed exist. Food was now on my mind, so I headed back to where I knew I could find sustenance. I reached a area where those odd rock formations began and where the grapeapples were growing, and I noticed something that I had not earlier, there was a trodden path leading off to my left, faint though it was the morning light made it quite apparent so I followed it. Strange it is that when you explore new terrain how little you notice until you grow accustomed to it, I had reached a hidden pathway, hidden that is from the main route I had followed! as I continued along for about five minutes a edge was before me! a drop of considerable depth, I paused and looked around, and way off to my right I could see the plateau in the distance. Not again' I thought, another sheer drop-but what was that? right under my feet was what looked like a rope? a rope! I moved and examined this latest find and began to pull it, the earth gave way to the cord, and as it emerged from the soil which had become its resting place for who knows how long I discovered that it was anchored to one of the boulders that were nestling here, and I hurried to the spot were the rope was tethered and pulled on it to make sure it was secure! it was fine. It even looked like normal rope! I wondered who tied it here when I wandered off to have breakfast courtesy of the grapeapple. I ate hungrily until I was satisfied I was now impatient to find where the rope descended to, I grabbed a couple of grapeapples for later and hurried to the edge of the mystery! With one furtive glance around I tugged on the rope again, one last test of its security and I started to descend.It was only about two hundred feet before I found ground again, not being visible because the sheer drop below went inwards to a blind spot below!, I landed safely, my heart was pounding with exertion but excitement won over me. I found myself in a narrow gorge, the cliffs were high about me, but the way was obvious! so I followed. The path was slowly descending as expected (what else to reach the base of a tower?). I previously estimated a miles length to the tower, ten minutes roughly had passed when I began to hear the sound of breakwater. The shore was close, so close infact that I could feel spray on my face. The path was still narrow, only one way to go just keep following! rocks still high about me I came to a bend in the path, a huge bend leading off to the left, I surged onward. Time had no meaning now, I had a one track mind! on, the bending path went for another ten minutes until a stone stairway was before my feet, I stopped in awe of this, and looked upward in its direction. A stone staircase it was, carved out of the rocks by hands unknown? I could see clear blue sky, the stairway was no more than fifty feet upward, but the gradient was steep. I carefully began to climb the stairway until my confidence grew, and I found myself running like a child after a icecream wagon until I reached the top! I was now above the tower looking down from about sixty feet, and there was a sloping pathway leading down to a door to my right!. I furtively inched forward! I knew not what was behind the door, but had to know all the same. Ambivalence I felt now as I approached the door, my hand was shaking as I turned the door knob and entered!, the hinge creaked through non use as it gave way, at last I had made it!

I opened the door and entered it was dark save for the light now penetrating in from the doorway, I went further inside not knowing what to expect but eager to explore. From my view point I could see a table across the room I now realised was circular-well the tower was cylindrical what else could I expect! My eyes pierced the gloom focussing on anything I could detect but apart from the table I saw little else. I now took in the whole vista and estimated that the lower part of the tower I was now in must be something in the region of 20-25 feet in diameter and reminded me of a lighthouse without the light beacon on its top, I certaintly did not remember seeing any such thing when I was approaching earlier. I approached the table and to its left there was a door that was now visible, I instantly made for it and tried turning the handle....it worked but the door did not open, it was locked or broken, I could not tell. This put me in a quandary, not knowing what else to do I looked round again in the vain hope if finding a key hanging up somewhere....nothing! I checked the handle again and knelt down to look through the key hole, I could barely see through but light was present the other side of the door, albeit dim but there. I then noticed something I had'nt before, and that was the fact that the door frame was inside the room rather than flush to the wall and was obviously a path to stairs! Of course It was, what else could it be? The wall was solid housing the door frame, no way in from there. In desperation I barged the door in an attempt to break entry, but all that resulted was a bruised shoulder and a lot of pain. I leant back against the door rubbing my hurt shoulder and my eyes rested on the table, I could see something on the table, now that my eyes had adjusted to the ambient light level. It looked like a piece of paper or parchment! I walked over to it picked it up and examined it. The feel of it was like nothing I have come across before, being as thin as paper and as soft as cloth and seemed as strong, and or though it looked aged and tatty I saw a picture coming out of its dirty yellow hue. Yes it was a picture, I rushed outside the door into daylight in order to obtain a better look.

I knew these images! I could clearly make out the tower on the righthand side of the picture, and on the left were two pictures of the pedestal! someone had even written it on the paper. Under these pictures I could see a path dotted out between rocks or something, and I wondered if this was the very path I just came down. I absorbed this revalation for a while and marvelled at it, who drew the picture? what did they use? the picture was weathered, but I could not tell what the implement was they had drew with. Ink was the obvious choice but it did not look like ink or pencil come to think of it!. And why was it drawn in the first place? could it have been impeccable good fortune that I came the way I did and chanced upon the pedestal that lead me here? there were more questions than answers, my head was spinning with too much mystery, I went to the doorway and sat down on the floor thinking. What had happened to the person here before? my predecessor! did he or she draw this picture in order to leave a clue for any that find it? I could not know the answers to any of the questions that now occupied my mind. Evidence it was that was now before me that this island has had visitors prior to my arrival. The tower I now rested against held a solution somewhere within its walls, why else was I directed here? I have come to discover something that will help me (at least thats what I thought) so what to do now. Logic dictated that there must be a key or another way in through the door inside, so the key must be kept somewhere, or by someone!, I knew that I had to get higher up and the only way to achieve this was to get access inside the tower to its lofty top. I had no idea what to do next and began to stare at the picture I was holding again.....why were there two pictures of the pedestal? there is only one!, or was there?......I looked again, the writing above the depiction of the pedestal was singular not plural! that in itself was helpful for what I needed to know for now, for it occured to me that the reason there are two pictures and not one must be because it is referring to the books held there within. I would have to go back there, retrace my steps to the hut, my temporary home. My plan as I saw it then was this, I would look around here for a while and check that I did not miss anything in my haste to reach the tower, then having searched thoroughly the area around me make my way back to the hut and investigate the books once more now that I was armed with a bit more knowledge about them. and thirdly, why is there just three pictures on this piece of paper of places I know (well I know at least two now, but the path is another matter) that would need further exploration. I got up and went back inside the ground floor tower room once more looked round again.....no, there was nothing else here I could see, back outside I went and soaked in the surroundings. I looked back the way I had come, and swung slowly round taking in the terrain with curious eyes, the tower I now noticed was sitting virtually at the bottom of a stone pit surrounded by the mountains, almost acting as a dam against the waters I could here rushing over yonder. There was no obvious way up these rocks without danger to myself and concluded that it was not the way forward. I resolved to get back to the hut and go from there. I summed up the situation and I know that there is a tower, I now knew someone had been here before I was, and knew they were trying to guide me to what, I did not know!. It would'nt be too bad getting back the path was easy enough to follow, but not now...for in all the events of today the time has passed quickly for me and darkness is approaching, I have a shelter against the night right in front of me. Yes I would sleep here tonight and set out in the morning with a fresh mind, and with that thought I went inside, closed the door and began what was to become one of the deepest rewarding slumbers that I have had since my arrival here....