The destination was close! He could feel that every step on the road was getting him closer to the end of the adventure! The sadness was still fresh in his soul, after founding the deserted camp, and his hopes to find other people were now low.
He had several near death experiences, and he become wiser and stronger. It was still a miracle he escaped the golems, the descent from the mountains, the colony of metal-eating insects, and his fear for the unexpected was gone!
He conquered his fears, and not even the sorrow he felt when he seen the creepy scarecrow made him think about stopping. The scars are ever-lasting memories of the battles he won!
Meeting the kitten was a blessing, as he was helped twice by it... and he now had an attitude of gratitude towards all the creatures that dwell in world. He had to finish his quest and tell the story!
Swift as every cat, even as big as it was, the fluffy kitten moved away from the road and only then PV seen a mysterious box. It looked like a compass... a navigator! He picked it up and noticed the strange notes, as this one had some extra writing along North, South, East and West. On the edges of the navigator was written "lies" and "truth".
Imagine a compass crafted from a weird metal and its edges etched with worst representing honesty... and lies! Was the traditional needle able to detects truth and dims in the presence of deceit?
PV's mind was running at an accelerate speed as he was looking at the artifact! How will the navigator will work when faced with a decision? Will the compass subtly vibrates to guide him to consider the implications of his choices and the intentions behind them? He was looking at the gizmo and didn't noticed his feline friend vanishing!
He placed the device in his backpack and wondered how such a big creature vanished without a trace. So much happened in the last weeks that he didn't even bother to overthink, and was already used with the weirdness!
Night came, and PV camped under one massive palm tree. He wasn't sure if he slept for five minutes or the whole night, but he jumped wide awake when he heard some violin notes!
The music was loud, as if someone was singing on a stage and he was sitting in the front row! He wasn't sure if he was dreaming and he rubbed his eyes and pinched his arm to be sure! In front of him was a violin... a living violin!
The musical instrument didn't talk, but continued to play a soothing song! It turned around and started walking down a path, so PV followed and let the music cure his sadness.
He walked for hours and noticed how the landscape shifted into a wasteland. The path diverged into two, and the violin continued it's march by choosing the left one. The guide's music was somehow hypnotic, and PV felt that something was wrong.
The Navigator? he thought about the device... and with a swift movement took it out of the bag. It was glowing bright yellow and the needle was pointing the path on the right! He was lured on a wrong path but his quick reaction saved him.
He stopped and took the path that the compass was showing, and watched the violin turning into dust. The last notes were somber and sinister...
PV had a chill and panic took over... and he woke up! He was back home, in his room at the 13th floor in the Holozing Tower. PV was living in the Bio Dome's landmark, one of the last bastions of civilization, and was one of the young scholars.
He had such a weird dream, with jumbo cats and rock golems! All the amazing adventures he had were only dreams, probably generated by his brain due to the excitement created by his birthday celebration. PV was looking forward to the ceremony planned later on, a coming of age celebration for all the citizens that turned ten!
His dystopian home had clear rules, and one of them was the initiation ceremony! Every child will receive the code to open the "Chest Of Memories" left by their parents, and will be able to venture outside the bio-dome.
We froze when he turned his eyes at the desk! The chest was wide open, and most of the content was visible. Between scrolls and artifacts... he noticed a familiar device! He recognized the compass from his dream, the one that could detects truth and deceit!
Chapter V - The Destination
Zingtober Day 29 - Navigator (Of Truth)