The Venners Circle:

I checked my soltab for directions to the House of Noah. The map’s navy-blue line pointed eastward, straight ahead. The long road bustled with pedestrians, and my soltab indicated that those going eastward walked on the left side of the yellowish line and the westward bound on its right. I easily matched the brisk gaits of the east-bound walkers, resisting the urge to stop and stare, thus betraying my identity as a stranger in their land. I continued walking for about a quarter of a mile until I arrived at a contraption spanning a wide stream. My soltab indicated that I was to cross it; however, not for the life of me could I fathom how to walk upon the large, square, bouncing pillows that reached the opposite side. What type of bridge is this? I wondered, much vexed that the Prin-Venn had forbidden the use of my televenning skills, out of an abundance of caution. “No need to be mistaken for an angel, be invited to a dayslong feast, which would pose an unnecessary delay at completing your research,” she’d warned. While hesitating, a fair-skinned girl with waist-length, curly hair like mine rushed past me. She reached toward the wooden post at the head of the contraption and pressed the upper one of two buttons. Instantly, the bouncing pillows smoothed into a flat, firm surface made of the road’s asphalt-like substance, in the appearance of a bridge spanning the stream. It looked safe for walking. She stepped onto it, and following her lead I proceeded and found it to be sturdy and secure. I quickened my pace to narrow the small gap between us, but she arrived at the other side a few seconds before I did. She paused and waited for me to step onto the land, then pressed the lower of the two buttons on a similar wooden post. The walkway returned to its former large, bouncing pillows. I succumbed to the urge to stop and marvel at such technology, and when I turned around, the girl had gained a few yards on me. At that moment, the wind whipped up her skirt, and I saw that her legs were a pair of cow hooves. A Yem! Some Yemi reportedly used magic to play delightful pranks on unsuspecting humans, and I wondered whether she had just pranked me, making me see a road that in reality never changed from being a road. As she glanced back at me, I was certain that she smiled and winked mischievously while melting into the crowds of people milling around the town square. I laughed, then sobered instantly. My hesitation to cross the bridge must have shown that I was a stranger. “Be careful, now, Trid. That’s the third sign that you’re being watched,” I warned myself–the first being the spider and the second, an angel–and looked around warily. Who or what else awaits? “Caution, girl.” Advancing toward the square’s center, I saw that it contained a pond filled with crystal clear water on which floated water lilies of pink, red, purple, yellow, and white. The pond was made of pure white marble with its water shimmering in the sun’s rays. The cleanliness and tidiness of the square, the pathways to and from it, the road along which I had just traveled all amazed me. No donkey, mule, or horse manure. No cow dung. No pig’s sty. Yet, I saw no one cleaning or sweeping and wondered who the city’s overseer might be. In fact, the lay of the city appeared to be that of a master designer whose precise measurements arranged precisely every building, pathway, and balustrade. The square with its rows of benches looked like an ancient Kreeg Amphitheatre–all in white marble. Never in my wildest imagination did I imagine this to be the city of Noahland. My soltab sent me northward to an unpaved road shaded by a thick canopy of trees. As soon as I stepped onto the road, my senses began to tinkle. Alert as I walked beneath the canopy, I stopped at the sudden hissing sound followed by the appearance of a viper just as it descended from a tree a few yards ahead and headed toward me. Fearlessly, I stooped to the ground, ready to use my earth-parting to crack open the ground between it and me. Seeing that I was a formidable foe, it darted its forked tongue at me before curving away and winding across the road. Once it disappeared into the bushes on the opposite side, I relaxed and stood up, then scanned the branches above for any further signs of danger. I scarcely thought I’d encounter any more similar vipers because that was not an ordinary one. I sensed that it presented itself to say that I was, indeed, being watched.