Khnum and the Lotus Blossom
Granville Gorge
Southwick, MA (Hampden County)

Placed: Nov. 12, 2003 by TehutiKa, AsetKa and kids!
Distance: less than 1/2 mile
Time: 30 minutes or so...if you can resist simply
sitting and staring...
Difficulty: Narrative Clue. Two boxes.

Directions: The Granville Gorge is just off Rt. 57 in
Southwick, on the way to Granville. The sign sneaks up
on you, on the right side of the road, and is easy to
miss. Granville Gorge is a great little park, just
barely on the Southwick side of the line. It is owned
by the town, and administered by the Conservation
Commission. The parking lot is very rocky, as is the
entire site, so please be careful driving in. As
always, please rehide carefully.

Clue:

This is the story as it was told to me.

Khnum, the Celestial Potter, sat in His workshop at
the source of the Nile. Every day, for years upon
years, He sat in His workshop, creating the bodies of
all of the children being born. Each one different,
each one special, never a duplicate.

Until today.

Khnum found himself holding an exact duplicate. He
knew it was. He never forgot any of His creations.
Surprised, He remolded it, and began anew. And created
the same duplicate again! And again, and again, and
again!!

Amazed, Khnum pushed away from His pottery wheel.
Never before had this happened. The very idea was
unthinkable. Khnum had lost His inspiration! He could
no longer create, and if He could not create new
bodies, how would any babies be born?

"Trouble?", said a voice behind him. Khnum turned, and
saw Bes, the dwarven God of Laughter, standing in the
window. The ram-headed god nodded. "I know what you
need.", replied the little man. "Follow me!"

The little god led Khnum to a strange land, far from
the lush valley of the Nile. He led the Father of
Fathers to another river, a smaller one, in a much
colder place. But this one felt strangely familiar.
Though small, it was much like one of the numerous
cataracts that span the length of the river, where the
mighty river turns to rapids. Khnum found Himself
smiling as he stood beside this small rushing river.
He turned to Bes, asking, "Is this what you meant,
Little One?"

In the clearing behind him, Bes crouched in the
branches of a mighty tree. "No, Lord of the Silt, this
is not what you need. What you need is to be put out
to pasture with the ewes!"

How could this little creature say such things to Him?
Enraged, Khnum lowered His horns and charged the tree.
With a mighty crash, He broke it in two! Part of the
trunk remained standing, the rest fell to the forest
floor. Khnum had smashed it so hard that He left an
imprint of himself in the bark!

Khnum heard laughter coming from behind Him, farther
up the trail. The vile little man stood, laughing
still, between the trunks of a double tree, upon a
rock. Determined to catch the dwarf, Khnum charged
across the clearing and leapt at the gap in the tree.
But the little man scampered out of the way as Khnum
came crashing to the ground next to the rock. But He
saw something there that shocked and surprised the old
god. In this cold, strange land, so far from home, He
saw a perfect lotus blossom, growing in the shelter of
the stone.

Bes came and knelt beside the prone body of Khnum.
"This is what you need, Potter of Gods. You need to
find inspiration where you least expect it."

Khnum understood. Gathering Himself, He nodded His
thanks to Bes. With a renewed sense of purpose, Khnum
returned to His workshop, leaving the lotus behind, as
inspiration for others. As for Bes, He stayed behind,
watching the river for a short time, before wandering
off to find more mischief....but that is another story....

=====
Stupid Orcs. Stupid Ring. Stupid Quest.....

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