The Rivening

Colonel Mustard

"Peter!"

"It's okay. I'm okay," Peter waved his hands back and forth like a base umpire calling safe. "Don't worry. I feel stronger every minute. Vossey is taking good care of me." He smiled up at her.

"You can't walk?"

"I can. But not too far – yet. Don't worry, they say all of my strength will come back, but it may take another week or two."

Connie looked anxiously at her friend, trying to read him. Was he really all right? She indicated to Vossey that she could go and pushed Peter to an empty table at the far end of the dining room. When she came back from the buffet with their plates, Harnell and Fanik were also seated at the table. Connie desperately wanted time alone with Peter, but worried about alienating the two Dahrians, so held off saying anything. There would be other opportunities.

Peter's eyes lit up when Connie showed him the Go game and promised him they would play after supper. Though Harnell and Fanik largely ignored Connie and Peter, their presence put a damper on what the two could share with each other. They stuck to the highlights of what had happened to them since they last saw each other.

Peter spoke about his new rooms in Square One and how he was keenly awaiting the next downpour to watch the funnel emerge. He explained that Vossey was taking good care of him, bringing his other meals, and regularly leading him on short walks inside the Square.

Connie described her accommodations at Octo, the indoor/outdoor thermal shower, the array of vehicles in the bike shed, Harnell's beautiful clothes, and Joyund Farm. She didn't mention being locked in last night and said nothing about the few dialect words she learned from Tessa and Quill. She was unsure how keen Rennish and those around her might be about Connie putting an effort into understanding their dialect. Tessa seemed like a willing teacher. If Peter was unable to move for a while, she'd try to learn as much as possible from her.

After they finished eating, Connie set up the Go game. Frustratingly, Harnell stuck around. At first, she seemed to take an interest in how the game was played, but soon called over one of the other Dahrians and they conversed until the game was over. Fanik came back with Vossey and insisted she take Peter to his rooms so he wouldn't overexert himself. Connie had to admit, he did look drawn and pale.

Over the next number of days, the pattern stayed much the same, with Connie spending her days at Joyund Farm, meeting Peter for dinner, and a game or two of Go afterwards. Connie insisted that she and Peter be allowed to stay together for at least a tick. She had learned that a tick was a little under two and a half Earthside hours as the Dahrians divided their days into ten ticks.

What also stayed the same was that Connie and Peter were never left alone. And Connie saw only marginal improvement in Peter's mobility.

Within this daily rhythm, Connie and Peter began a few stealthy activities they hoped would help them find a way to get to Arden.

Connie threw herself into the work at the greenhouse. She arrived early, worked diligently, and convinced Tessa to use a half tick of the workday to teach her the local dialect and its corresponding universal sign language. Tessa was an enthusiastic teacher and hopefully wouldn't be talking to Harnell or others about the lessons, or at least the extent of them.

The other furtive project started with Peter. He began mentioning oddly named Go strategies that he wanted to teach Connie and would start tapping one or two fingers as he named the strategy. He also began placing his stones in odd formations, subtly shooing her away from that area of the board until he was done.

The coded messaging began the second night they played. He winked at Connie, hoping she'd understand that he was up to something. "I think you're ready to learn a few new strategies. Let's take advantage of these days while I regain my strength. Whadda ya say?"

"Sure, since my whole purpose in life is to be able to beat you without you being handicapped."

"Don't worry. That day will never come. But I can still help you improve a little. Anyway, the first one is the Mustard Strategy. Think of Colonel Mustard, huh?" Peter laughed. "Must-ard."

Peter began tapping with one finger and repeated, "Must-ard," dividing the syllables in a slightly odd way. He played a stone in an unexpected place and slowly moved his index finger back and forth, giving the impression he was thinking about his next move.

When she moved to play near his last stone, he directed her to another corner of the board. "It's a better move for you to build up your defenses over here."

Turn by turn, she watched Peter create an 'E'. When he was done, he said, "Now it makes sense to start building your forest around me."

She placed her stones around the 'E' as Peter used the same back and forth index finger movement to hold her off until he finished creating an 'S'.

"I think you're starting to grasp the Must-ard strategy." He tapped again with one finger on the first syllable. "We'll do one more tonight before they trundle me off. This one's called the Cape strategy. It's important for you to put together all of the pieces we've gone over tonight in the proper order. I will quiz you tomorrow."

Fanik was their chaperone this evening and he sat drawing and didn't pay much attention to their game but Connie worried that as Fanik had training as an Earthside traveler, he might recognize the 'E' and 'S' letters. She jostled the board, and the stones went flying.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Peter. I've ruined your lesson. But I remember it. Honestly." She looked at him and saw the recognition in his eyes that he understood what she did and why. Connie scrambled around on the floor picking up the scattered pieces.

Fanik glared at her. "Time to go back to Octo. Harnell is waiting for you. I'm going to town."

As Connie walked down the path to Octo, she tried to put together Peter's Colonel Mustard Strategy, Cape Strategy, and 'E' and 'S,' but nothing gelled. She'd think about it later, lying in bed, when she could give it her full attention. Right now, she needed to figure out how to get through the last tick of the day with Harnell in Octo. It seemed she and Fanik had been told not to leave her locked in by herself, though they were hardly fun company.