Gosha moved quickly as the staff swung around again and was out of its way just in time. He stood up from where he had been resting amidst the corn stalks and grabbed his shovel from where it lay next to him.

“Weren’t you supposed to be over with the others helping to turn the soil for the next crop?”

A grizzled old man stood before him, barely able to hold himself upright anymore, but still strong enough to leave a bump when he swung his staff at you.

“Um, sorry Grandpa, yes I was. Won’t happen again. I promise.”

The old man rapped him in the ankle with his staff now. Boy he was fast, Gosha hadn’t even seen that one coming.

“That’s what you said last time, when I caught you napping while watching the sheep. And the time before that when you were supposed to be painting the new silo we built to hold the grain. And the time before that when you were supposed to be picking apples and we found you lounging around on the top branch. And…”

“Enough Grandpa, I get the picture.”

“You do, do you? You sure about that?”

“Yes Grandpa.”

“Then get back to work you lazy sod.”

The old man turned away and walked off as Gosha got his shovel again and moved over to where the others were turning the soil.

Something felt odd though. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out what it was. Something was not right, something was… missing. The world around him was deathly quiet except for the soft sound of earth being moved.

That was it. He opened his eyes and looked around in the sky. It was gone. The hum was gone. The hum of power that told you the Clock Line was close. It should have been nearly right above them, but where was it now? He looked at the Tower and could see the crystal descend from its usual high perch.

“Grandpa?” Gosha called out in a worried tone, hand raised towards the tower.

“What is it now?” Grandpa Ryoma turned around, ready to scold the young man again, but then looked at where he was pointing.

Gosha was the first to spot the falling transport ship. It was arcing off to one side, going to land in the forest not too far away.

“What is happening Grandpa?”

“I… I don’t really know…” Ryoma’s mouth hung open as he watched the scene unfold, seeing the transport crash into the trees. This snapped him out of it though. It wasn’t all that unusual to see a transport go down, and now that took precedence over the missing Clock Line.

“Gosha, find that yacht. Run into the forest and find it for us before the bandits get there. I’ll get the men together and we’ll be right behind you. We’ll follow your marks. Just make sure you find it first.”

“But Grandpa, the Clock Line?”

“There’s nothing we can do about it boy. The Sun Council will have to deal with it. But if you don’t hurry up and get to the crash there won’t be anything left to scavenge!”

The old man gave Gosha a push with his staff when he could see the boy hesitate and then watched as he sprinted for the forest, leaping over fences and dodging trees, pausing only briefly as he entered the forest.