Tri-ethereal Ch. 08

It took me a couple of hours to get over the shock. I don't think Johanna is still over it and it's been a little more than three years since we found out that we have been banished to Corporeal.

She's not the same person she was when we were living in Tri-ethereal. Gone is the lively, free spirited, young female Trimorph I used to enjoy bantering with, frolicking with and going through union with. Now the only times she goes through union is when I make her. She says it's because of the headaches and the seven days in transition after union. There's probably some truth in that. But the bottom line is that she doesn't want to come out of transition. She doesn't want to face life in Corporeal.

She feels safe inside, in transition where the discomfort doesn't affect her all that much. After taking possession of our body she has to deal with fatigue, soreness, hunger pains and other body aches, none of which we had to put up with in Tri-ethereal. We even get sick here in Corporeal. I caught a cold last winter. It stayed with me for three weeks. Johanna stayed in transition the whole time. But so far that's the only illness we seem to be subject to.

She is frequently sad and moody. Let a dark cloud appear on the horizon and she gets depressed. Then when things get really tough, she immediately goes into deep transition.

She cries a lot. Well, not a lot but more than I think she should. Before, I seldom heard her cry. Now hardly a week goes by when I don't hear her cry or complain about something at least once.

She used to laugh at my jokes, even the corny ones. She'd tell me that my sense of humor was a joke. It's been weeks since I've heard her laugh. Nor does she give me advice on how to do things. Before, no matter what I did she would always have some constructive criticism for it. Now, there is nary a word, or if she does say something it's usually along the line of 'that's nice John' or 'that's fine John."

She doesn't write love poems any more. She says that there is no point in doing it. She says her prince charming was just a fantasy. Someone she invented to idle away the time. Now she says that she has to concentrate on more important things. But she never says what those important things are.

She claims that she is the same Trimorph she used to be only now she is facing up to reality. But I know that she's changed.

I've changed too since we have been here in Corporeal. I've become more conservative. Johanna says that I'm just growing up, maturing. But I don't think so. Now, I'm a whole lot more serious than what I used to be. Gone too are my carefree days. The old me has been replaced by a more cautious, watchful individual. I trust no one . . . except Johanna of course.

I got a job making and repairing fishnets. I got it our second day here in Tera. I met this guy who was complaining that his fishnets were all torn. I told him that I could fix them -- I made a butterfly net for Johanna when we were younger. He immediately put me to work repairing his nets. Before I was finished, a friend of his asked me to repair his nets. Then a friend of his asked me to repair his nets too. Soon I developed a reputation. Now I have so many orders to repair fishnets that I have to put them on a waiting list.

But the work isn't too hard and it pays well. It's also gives Johanna an excuse to stay in transition. She says that my customers and everyone would only get confused if they saw me one day and then her for the next seven days.

Besides, it might be dangerous for us to frequently change sexes. We don't know whether or not Corporealians would accept our body habitually going from male to female and back again.

Thankfully, it is not against the law to be a Trimorph. Indeed, they don't even know that such a being exists. Nor do they know of Tri-ethereal's existence. But Johanna and I came to a conclusion that it would be better if no one knew that we are a Trimorph.

So I make and repair fishnets and Johanna stays in transition watching me. I do the repairs sitting outside of a little room I rent from this couple who have a small bakery. The room -- that's also where I sleep at night -- is in the back of their bakery; it has its own entrance. In the evening when there is little danger of someone catching me "talking to myself," Johanna and I do most of our talking and comparing information of what we've learned during the day about this place. After, she goes into deep transition and I go to sleep.

I bathe about three or four times a week in a communal bath a couple of blocks from the little room I rent. I don't like it but it is either that or stay dirty.

Baak, he's the owner of the bakery, lets me use his oven to cook my meals. I eat a lot of fish but I guess that's understandable with me making and repairing fishnets. I also give Baak and his family fish to supplement their white bean soup. He gives me day old bread and white bean soup.

Johanna and I go through union about once every six or seven weeks. I have her do it so that we can keep the wheels from rusting, so to speak. I don't believe that we even have to go through union. Neither of us has any pain if we don't go through union -- we no longer have that drawback. She could probably perpetually stay in transition and I in possession of our body, if that's what we chose to do. But whenever I suspect that she is getting too depressed I have her go through union.

Union always cheers her up. It's not as ecstatic or rewarding as it used to be and it doesn't last as long. But we both still take pleasure in it. I guess you could compare union now with a night of partying and then waking up the next morning with a hangover.

Also, we both have headaches after we finish -- one of us immediately after taking possession of our body and the other immediately upon coming out of seven days of deep transition. That's another reason we only go through union every six or seven weeks and not more often. Neither of us likes to be without our counterpart for seven days after union.

It's weird. We can go into deep transition and come right out again after a couple of hours. But if we go through union then we don't come out of deep transition for seven days. I guess it's just another curse of the vinegar and hemlock poison.

We go through union in the evening when there is little danger of someone discovering us. She spends the seven days in the room I rent painting scenes from her memory of Tri-ethereal, leaving only to bathe in one of the communal baths and to buy food for herself. Painting, that's something that she never did before. I don't know from where she got the talent. She's pretty good at it. Whenever I ask her she says that she just picked it up.

No one suspects that I'm an escaped slave. I'm pretty sure that's because I keep myself clean shaven, my hair cut and I bathe frequently. Whereas most slaves are just the opposite; they have no way of keeping themselves clean. In fact, the only slaves who are clean are those who have been recently thrown into slavery. Neither the kingdom of Japek nor the city of Tera has prisons. Those who break the law are just thrown into slavery.

Johanna and I are slowly learning their hieroglyphics. It's an easy language to understand. Their alphabet only has about 10 different letters; the rest are pictographs. But we don't want to let anyone know that we can read and write their hieroglyphics, especially Johanna. It's against the law to teach females and slaves how to read and write.

That's what our life has been like for the past three years. I work on fishnets during the day and Johanna watches me. Then she and I study hieroglyphics in the evening. We talk about our future. When we get tired she goes into deep transition and I go to sleep.

All in all, it's not a bad life. I miss debating with Lord Kennington and playing chess with William. I don't like the fatigue, the soreness and the body aches after a long, hot day. I've learned to accept it. I'm also horny now. That's an emotion that I never had while living in Tri-ethereal. I relieve myself by masturbating in the evening after Johanna goes into deep transition. I've never told this to her; I don't want her to know that I'm horny.

I use my idle time trying to find out if anyone has ever heard of the writings of Gabriel or Gabrielle, of Trimorphs or of Tri-ethereal. Of course, I'm very subtle in my search. I usually go to a local tavern, to one of the public baths or to some such place and ask if anyone has heard of Trimorph monsters that come from the dark and forbidden land of Tri-ethereal. But as I said, so far no one has ever heard of such things or places.

A seafarer told me last month that there is a kingdom to the north of here, across the Syrean Sea. Greck, he called it. He said that the Grecks may know where Tri-ethereal is located; they are known for the explorations of the seas and oceans of Corporeal.

He also warned me to be careful of who I talk to and what I say when discussing any plans to go to Greck. Right now Japek and Greck are at peace with each other. But the rumor is that the king of Greck is envious of the beauty of Tera. King Ta is constantly building up the city's fortifications in case King Anday attacks.

Anyway, according to the mariner, if I let it be known that I wanted to go to Greck, someone may view me as a spy and I could be crucified. So, I'm extremely careful when I discuss the kingdom of Greck with anyone.

Johanna and I talked about it. I am starting to save up our money to buy passage on a ship headed for Greck. Once I have enough money I'm going to buy passage on a ship sailing for one of Greck's seaports. I'm not deceiving myself. Johanna and I figure it will take at least a year for us to save up enough money. In the meantime, I'll just continue to make and repair fishnets.

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"John wake up!" No answer.

"John wake up!" Still no answer.

"John wake up the boat is sinking!"

"What are you talking about, Johanna?" I groggily answered her.

"There it goes again. Oh John, I'm scared."

"Johanna we went over this last night. That's just the ship rolling and tossing with the waves. It's not sinking."

"But the tossing is worse now than it was last night and it didn't do it at all this afternoon or yesterday afternoon."

"Yes it did only not as much. That's because the wind is stronger tonight than earlier."

"Why does the wind have to blow harder at night?"

"I don't know my darling. But don't worry. The ship is sound and Captain Evan knows what he's doing. I made sure of that before coming onboard."

"OK I trust you John. I'm going back into deep transition."

"And I'm going back to sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning."

I met Captain Evan last week while among the docks looking for anyone who might need their fishnets repaired. Captain Evan approached me and asked me if I also made fishnets. I told him yes. We talked. Upon finding out that it takes me four days to make a fishnet, he offered to give me free passage to Pot, a major seaport of Greck, if I make him a fishnet -- it is a four day journey by sea.

The whole time I'm talking to him Johanna is whispering into my inner ear to be careful of him. She kept saying that there was something suspicious about him.

Indeed, there was something mighty fishy about him. Out of the clear blue sky, he offers me passage aboard his ship to Pot. Yet, I hadn't mentioned that I was trying to get to Greck. Nor is his ship a fishing boat; it's a small freighter.

I told him that I'd let him know. He answered that he was in no hurry. He said that he had been in Tera several days and was probably going to stay here several more days. He also told me that if I was serious about going to Greck then I better get something else to wear other than a sarong. Unlike Japekians, only slaves wear sarongs in Greck; the citizens there wear togas.

I checked him out, asking other ship captains about him. They all said that he is the most honest ship captain they know and that his ship is sound. So after talking it over with Johanna that night, I sealed the deal the next morning. It would save us a lot of money. I used some of it to buy a toga. That was two days ago.

Next we found ourselves somewhere in the middle of the Syrean Sea and Johanna afraid that we're going to sink.

I couldn't get back to sleep so I went up on deck to look at the stars. I still haven't gotten used to the strange nighttime sky.

"Good evening, John," Captain Evan said to me in Japekian. He speaks both Japekian and Greckian. But the languages are very similar. That's because they were part of the same kingdom for about 500 years, only splitting apart about 250 years ago.

"Good evening, Captain Evan."

"Couldn't sleep," He asked more than stated. "I wouldn't let that bother me if I were you. That's the way it is with everyone their first time at sea."

"How did you know this was my first time at sea?" I asked suspiciously.

"I heard about you and what you're searching for."

His answer stunned me. I was sure that I was very circumspect when I inquired about Tri-ethereal, Trimorphs and the writings of Gabriel and Gabrielle.

He continued, "A couple of months ago I was in a tavern and overheard you asking about the writings of someone by the name of Gabe or Gabel or something like that."

I didn't answer him. I just kind of nodded my head.

"Then I saw you the other day on the docks. I thought I'd help you out and give you a ride to Pot. It's just a few days journey by land from Gratis, the capital of Greck."

"What's in Gratis," I questioned him.

"There is a library there. It has over ten thousand scrolls from all over Corporeal or so I'm told. I've never seen the place. But that's where you ought to be going if you're looking for ancient writings."

We continued to talk for another hour or so. He told me that I wouldn't have any trouble finding my way to Gratis. All I had to do was to get on the main road leading out of Pot. It led straight to Gratis. He also said that I would have no trouble getting work making and repairing fishnets in Pot. It's a bigger seaport than Tera.

We talked about other things, mostly chit chat. He has a wife and two children in Pot and a mistress without any children in Tera. He asked me where I was from. I told him I was from Tera and that my parents died when I was young. I don't think he believed me. I asked him if he had ever heard of mythical sea monsters called Trimorphs. He gave me an odd look and said no.

Before I went below to try and get back to sleep I asked him what the fishnet was for. He answered me that it was for a friend of his who owns a fishing boat.

Pot was everything Captain Evan said it would be and more. It's a large seaport. It's much larger than Tera. First, not knowing how long we would be in Pot, Johanna and I decided to rent a room. I found one not far from the docks; I paid for three days in advance. It was above a little eatery that specialized in fried fish and other sea foods.

Next I went looking for work. I was able to find work repairing fishnets my first afternoon there. Some guy had three nets that needed to be sewed. It took me two days to do the repairs.

Meanwhile, I inquired about the library in Gratis. It's a three day journey on foot to get there. I found out that just as Captain Evan had said, the library has over ten thousand scrolls -- Corporealians are centuries behind Tri-ethereal; they haven't invented books yet. I was also told that some of the scrolls are hundreds of years old and written in strange languages that no one can read. Both Johanna and I prayed that one of those languages would be Tri-etherealian.

Johanna and I talked about going to Gratis our second evening in Pot. We decided that the best thing was to leave as soon as possible. We figured that if I worked another two or three days repairing nets, then with the money I got from that plus the money we already had, there would be enough to last several days. We would have enough to pay for food and lodging along the way.

After three days I had enough money. I set out for Gratis the next morning.

As soon as I arrived in Gratis I immediately asked for directions to the library. It was a huge two story marble and granite building with ornate columns lining the porch. Inside it was cool. There were young slave girls wearing sarongs around their waists fanning patrons with ostrich feathered fans. For the first hour I just walked around looking at all the scrolls. Johanna kept whispering in my ear to ask someone where the strange language scrolls could be found.

I spotted someone who looked like he worked in the library. He didn't but he pointed out one of the librarians for me. The man he pointed out to me happened to be the chief librarian, who luckily for me spoke both Japekian and Greckian and, I found out later, several other languages.

I introduced myself and asked him if I could look at any scrolls he may have had that were written in strange languages that he didn't understand. He called himself Shool and asked me why. I told him that I was interested in possibly deciphering them. On an impulse, I added that I could read and write Tri-etherealian, a language he probably had never heard of.

He asked me if I could read and write any other languages. I told him that I could read and write Japekian. He merely nodded and brought me to a room filled with old, torn and dirty scrolls. There was a table in the center of the room. It was dusty. The room was dusty.

The Librarian asked me to be careful when unrolling the scrolls. I told him that I would be very careful, that I knew the importance of ancient scrolls.

I immediately began looking through the scrolls, careful not to tear any of them more than they were already torn. After two days I hadn't found anything that even closely resembled Tri-etherealian. Both Johanna and I were disappointed.

But Shool gave us something to be cheerful about. On the afternoon of our second day in Gratis he approached me and asked me if I were any good at repairing the scrolls I was looking at. I told him yes, that I used to work in a library several years ago. He then asked me if I would like a job repairing them as well as some Japekian scrolls that had deteriorated. I, of course, accepted.

The pay is much better than I could get making and repairing fishnets and it is much easier. I also get to work inside while a slave girl fans me with an ostrich feather fan -- she wears a sarong around her waist.

After we had been in Gratis about ten days, the librarian allowed me to rent a room that is attached to the library. He told me it used to be his room when he was younger; now it is just used to store stuff. I cleaned it up one evening and moved into it the next day. It has its own bathing room, just like we had in Norlen. Prior to moving into it, I had been staying in a room above a tavern. It doubled as a brothel.

Our first night in the room Johanna asked to go through union so she could take a private bathe. I wrote a note to Shool telling him that I would be gone for a few days and that my sister would copy the scrolls while I was gone. It's not against the law for females to read and write in Greck.

I filled the small tub with cool water from the well behind the library. Then we went through union. After I came out of deep transition seven days later she told me she was delighted beyond herself. Since then I have watched her bathe several times. I hadn't seen her that joyful since before we were banished from Tri-ethereal.

Another good that came out of working in the library was that Johanna is now closer to her old self again. She frequently teases me, especially about the half naked slave girl who fans me. She jokes with me, laughs and offers me constructive criticism on how I can do a better job. She has even written a few love poems. I'm delighted beyond myself. Now even looking at a strange sky at night doesn't bother me any more.