The Hotsprings of Kerith

After paddling upstream for a few minutes, I rounded a bend in the river and saw a small boat dock along the bank. I glanced at my map and determined that this was trailhead to Kerith Village, high up the slopes of the volcano.

I tied up my boat and a few minutes later I ascended the trail into the tangle of jungle brush. The sounds of the jungle grew louder, and I saw flashes of color fluttering in the canopy above me. I had heard that this was the home the Lemurian Quetzal, a brightly-plumed parrot, and under better circumstances I would have liked to have taken my time and perhaps catch a glimpse of this rare bird.

The thought of Albion, held captive by the Spectres, fell heavily on my mind. It frightened me to think what they might be doing to him. As worried as I was for him, though, I was also angry. This is exactly the reason I had not wanted him to come. Myself, I can look after. Looking after another was a complication I had wanted to avoid. All the same, they had better not hurt him…………

I glanced at my watch. Two hours had passed since I left the Mudjimba– precious time. I picked up the pace a bit and soon I entered the mists of volcano’s cloud cover. A silence fell over the jungle, and I could no longer hear the sound of insects and birds.

Then, a flash of color erupted in front of me. I startled a quetzal and she flew across the trail, squawking and shreaking her indignation. She paused on tree branch and stared at me. She was glorious! Her flight feathers was shades of pink and her long tail feathers sparkled in brilliant gold.

As I approached, she took off and flew up the trail. She came to rest on a hanging vine. When I approached again, she fluttered off a little further up the trail and came to rest again on a branch. She was leading me.

I continued following the quetzal for some distance, the trail starting to descend down the other side of the volcano’s flank. Suddenly, the mists cleared and I stepped into a clearing.

Below me was a series of pools, terracing down the course of a narrow ravine. One pool was blue, another aqua, and another appeared streaked in shades of copper and red. These must be the algae-laden Hotsprings of Kerith. In the distance, at the bottom of the ravine, I could see the peaked roofs of an enclave of buildings.

I heard a rustle behind me and I turned. Before me was a young woman. She was dressed in a pink sarong trimmed in gold and silver embroidery. Her eyes sparkled and she said in a light, sing-song voice.

“Hello. My name is Sarika. Welcome to Kerith Village.”

Text and Image: L. Gloyd (c) 2008