Companion's Destiny: Book II of the Explorer Chronicles PDF
by:
David B. Hood
Legacy's Fate opens with Vistamir and Emaris (the island of Valtar's leaders) discussing Randak, the unlikely protagonist who is considered an eccentric storyteller. Telling his tales at the Annual River Celebrations (held in honor of the Meander River - their only clean water supply), all but Vistamir dismissed them as fanatical musings of a senile old man. Vistamir sought out Randak the following day, and when the storyteller floated across the river in front of the leader, Vistamir's suspicions about the old man being special were real. Randak met with Vistamir and some trusted friends the next day, when the old man then revealed the surprising secret of his life as well as theirs. It turns out that Randak (a.k.a. Doug Parker) is a 400-year-old longevity experiment, and that all the people on Valtar were descendants of a spaceship crew from Earth that was forced to land there centuries ago. On this foreign planet the current population had forgotten their roots, so the storyteller's revelation was life changing. But the leaders and the others wanted more proof his stories were true, especially Doug's cryptic remark about something killing the island. Doug then takes Vistamir and Emaris as well as Mystel and Kaskin (the leader's twin female partners) and the twin's father Baldor to the spaceship's well-preserved remains hidden in the island's northwestern mountains. The old man's credibility was now confirmed, and afterward he took his guests to the Meander River's source, located in a cave high up in the mountains. Doug told them his suspicions were true after testing the water here: their only fresh water supply was becoming chemically polluted and will eventually be undrinkable. After the shock of this revelation, the companions head back to the ship where Doug instructs them on building some simple filtration units using lava rock. They spend the night there and plan another trip back to the source the next day - the extra lava rock they needed could be found in the cave. Upon arrival Doug suggested they swim in the source basin, an idea totally blasphemous to the rest of the companions. But the old man eventually convinced them to try it, recommending they go naked to keep their clothes dry. Yet during the lengthy swim, the warm, soothing waters cause Baldor to nod off and nearly drift out of the basin and over the falls to his death. This close encounter quelled the fun, so the companions climbed out and collected the rocks they needed. They arrived at the ship just before nightfall, exhausted and melancholy. Later that evening Miran (a parrot Doug had trained to talk and report movements of certain people to him) flew in and indicated the inhabitants were becoming concerned over the absence of the leaders. It was understandable: under Doug's direction, the leaders and the twins had told no one of their plans and had slipped out of River's End quietly, and that was three days ago. The old man said to also watch for Daxtir and Traskar (two somewhat shady merchants from Waterford who also knew of Doug's abilities) because Miran had indicated they were acting suspiciously. It was decided everyone head back to their homes in River's End the next day, but they had to pass through Waterford first, the only other settlement on the island. It would be difficult to avoid the questioning townspeople, and they'd decided it best to keep secret their recent escapades and hide their water filtering plans. Vistamir was the spokesperson - he'd handle the explanation, which they all had been briefed on. While the others headed back with supplies of lava rock, Doug remained home and contacted Elanor by transmitter about the worsening water situation on Valtar. Elanor (along with Iris) were colleagues of Doug's back on Earth, and they also participated in the successful longevity experiment.
