The other Vault

As much as James would have loved to ride over and see Marna, the feel of the cool leather of Grandpa's last journal was even more tempting.

"Julien? Can you ride over to Marna's and tell her Grandma has invited her over for dinner?" Julien nodded happily, for the past few days he had cooped up wrestling with one of Grandpa's devilish puzzles after another. The five kilometer ride would do him good. Still it felt a little odd to be riding over to see Marna now that he knew that she was very likely going to be his sister-in-law before much longer.

"Shouldn't you be the one to invite her?" He asked, but James just smiled and pointed at the volume in his hands.

"I should, but she'll understand." He paused as he started to walk back to his work shop. "Oh and warn her that I let our secret out of the bag when I was talking to Grandma. Tell her to come early, I'll meet her outside and go over what I know before we face Grandma Gemma."

"Relax lil' brother, Grandma has always loved Marna and the Joxines too. I think she started match making with both of us when we were still wearing diapers."

"Yes, but I imagine she thought we'd have a beautiful wedding before she'd have her first great grandchild." Julien just grunted and then turned smartly on his heal and headed for the stables.

James on the other hand headed to his desk and for the next hour read through Grandpa's research and conclusions. He skipped over most of the detailed data that accompanied the narrative, he'd need much more time for that, but by the time he had read through the entire journal he was as convinced as his Grandfather had been.

"By the Seventh Lander - He's found the Gate-of-Heaven!" His hushed voice filled his workshop and he looked around fearfully that somehow someone might be spying on him. How long had Grandpa Wilhelm known?

Certainly his grandfather had been intrigued by stories of Vaults like Avalon, Warren's Folly, and the Misty Island but how many years had it taken to connect those well known legends and the other tales from all around Pandora to the Gate-of-Heaven.

James looked again at the Oceographic maps of the great currents and rivers that flowed in the vast salty oceans of Pandora. The explanation made sense, but the magnitude of the hypothesis was resisting his attempts to accept the findings.

James looked at the clock that hung from the wall to see how much time he had before dinner. He felt a small measure of pride as he saw it still hanging were he placed it three years ago. The clock had been his first outstanding achievement of independent research and construction. It had taken him weeks to find a design he understood in Grandpa?s library and then several frustrating months to fabricate and assemble the parts, but in the end he had built a working clock entirely by himself. Shaping and assembling the dozens of pieces was as complicated as anything he could imagine, but the effort that went into Grandpa Wilhelm's research made that effort seem trivial.

James reread the parts of the transcript from Earnest Warren that his grandfather had copied into into the journal. Somewhere in the house there was a complete bound set of Warren's biography detailing both the highs and the lows of his life. Years ago he had read the fantastic account of the young adventurer and his attempts to retrace the path of the ill fated frigate Far-Flight. Warren had been serving on the frigate as a ship's boy when it foundered on an isolated mist covered isle far from any of the known island chains that had been mapped by the amazing satellite images of the Landers. The young seaman had been one of only six survivors of the crew, it took these six sailors nearly a full year to build a ship sea worthy enough to escape from the island that had broken the Far-Flight and killed its captain and almost all its crew.

He read over the descriptions of the marvelous artifacts that the survivors had found during the year they lived on the strange island. If he could make a find like that, he and Marna would be set for the rest of their lives. As he reread the exerpts he marveled again at the courage of the six who set out to cross the great Equatorial Ocean to get home. By the time their makeshift boat had been spotted only Warren was still alive, and his crazed rantings would have certainly been dismissed were it not for the few items of Vault tech that the survivors brought with them in the leaky boat. Just these handful of salvaged wonders had made Warren a rich man, but he was never content to accept what fate had given him.

Every last bit of this wealth as well as the wealth of speculators that backed him was wasted on one expedition after another until Warren died a pauper, shunned by everyone who once was attracted by his good luck and determination. Warren's Folly was a common morality tale told by parents to keep their adventurous children at home.

Had his Grandfather really found this mythical island of mists? James felt confident that he had, but could he convince his brother and Grandmother Gemma, most of all could he explain to Marna why he had to leave her just when she needed him the most. With a start James realized that he had to get ready for dinner.

Even in the best of times attending one of Grandma Gemma's dinners dressed inapropriately was a major breach of ettiquet, but tonight especially he and Marna would be under extra scrutiny. It took the better part of an hour to bathe, shave, fix his hair and dress but he was able to wait by the steps before Marna arrived.

Would she understand his and Julien's desire to follow in his father's and grandfather's path? It still seemed a wonder to him that she prefered his company to that of her many other suitors - even Julien.