Stacy--Part Twenty-Six

Splog # 98

Twenty-Six

   She figured that, if she kept glancing over the lip of the cauldron as she walked around it, she would be able to use the depression she was heading towards as the needle of a compass. So she walked slowly and took a look inside every few steps. As she moved along, the circular depressions rotated around the interior. The one which had been on her right when she first saw them gradually disappeared and the one that had been on her left took its place opposite her. Another came into view on her left, the one she hadn't been able to see when it was directly below her.

   As she came around to the other side of the cauldron, she encountered something else breaking up the desolate landscape. It seemed to be situated directly on a line leading to where she was hoping to re-encounter the cages she had seen. But as it came into view, she was hard pressed to decide exactly what it was. It looked like a top, the kind that can be set spinning with a string. It was wide at the top and tapered to a point at the bottom, which was resting on the ground. It seemed to be of the same color and texture as the cauldron and, when she arrived at the point where she could see it in its entirety, she found that it was attached to the cauldron by two pieces of gold metal that curved downwards in a loop.

   Stacy guessed it must be a kind of lid for covering but wondered how it would be lifted into place and why it was in the shape of a large cone rather than just flat. As she walked up to it, she saw that, scattered around the edges, there were plates of different kinds of food. Seeing the food, she realized she hadn't eaten since the picnic on the Fe-San. But exactly when that was she couldn't remember. A bite to eat now would be quite pleasant and would refresh her for the walk to the cages, which might still be some way off. But before eating she wanted to check the depressions inside the cauldron to see if she was at the point she hoped she was at. So she got as close to where the lid was connected as she could and went up again on tiptoe to look inside.

   No surprises there. Three depressions, one across from her and one each to her left and right. A glance at the bottom showed her that some of the tiny bumps now had holes in the top as if something had been poked through, or possibly come through of its own volition. But she could see nothing moving  and there was no sound, nor had she heard anything  as she was walking around. She took another look at the strange bumps. Well, the whole thing was pretty odd and she wanted to get going so she headed back to the feast she'd found on the lid.

   Once there, she discovered it was indeed a feast. Plates of different meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables. Pitchers and bottles of liquid refreshment. And scattered here and there, piles of cookies, cupcakes, donuts and muffins. There didn't seem to be any empty plates so she just picked random pieces of fruit and cheese and ate them as she wandered by. When she came to a plate that had small bread rolls on it, she picked one up and tore it in half. The next platter of meat she encountered looked to be ham so she took two pieces that fit into the roll and then took a bite of her sandwich. Chewing pleasantly, she came upon a bowl with salad in it, so she took some lettuce to use as a garnish for her sandwich. She continued walking, looking for something to pour a drink into, when she came upon a small bottle of purplish liquid.