Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Last Metaphonium

by Tom Hoffman

  “You’re putting beezle nuts in my oatmeal? Wait, they’re not from your garden, are they? From those weird old seed packets you found in the Cube?”

  “No need to worry about deadly poisonous beezle nuts. Mum bought them at the market yesterday and assured me they are quite fresh and crunchy. Very healthy, filled with protein.”

  “I guess that’s okay. I’m not too crazy about having beezle nuts in my oatmeal though. Hey, do you recognize this language?”

  Proto took the red book from Orville, flipping it open and scanning a few pages.

  “I am unfamiliar with these glyphs. They do have a faint resemblance to certain ancient Mintarian scripts, but I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. Wherever did you find it? It looks extremely old.”

  “Umm… I found it at a book fair. I thought Sophia might like it so I got it, I think it’s about science stuff.”

  “I don’t recall you mentioning anything about attending a book fair. I quite enjoy them, I wish you had mentioned it to me.”

  “Oh, I…it was just one I happened to be at.”

  Proto’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a rather vague answer. Exactly where and when did this book fair take place?”

  “Um… it was… um…”

  Proto let out a screechy laugh. “I knew it, you’re hiding something! We’re off on another terrifying adventure filled with all manner of horrifying beasts scuttling about in the darkness, waiting to pounce, snaring us with their razor sharp claws and venomous fangs.”

  “I’m not sure what’s happening, I haven’t shown the book to Sophia yet. It might be nothing, just an old science book.”

  “I’ll start packing tonight. Perhaps I should bring a heavy particle beam vaporization projector, just in case?”

  “That sounds kind of dangerous. I don’t think we’ll need whatever that is. Besides, we’re not going anywhere until I find someone who can translate this book. I’m meeting Sophia at lunch. I’ll let you know what I find out when I get home.”

  With breakfast over, Orville threw on his adventurers hat and headed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

  It was a lovely fall day, the green summer leaves having magically transformed over the last week to brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows, the air crisp and cool, the early morning sun filtering down through the gently swaying branches.

  “Another beautiful fall day. I can’t wait to show this book to Sophia. I hope she can read it. If she can’t, maybe Amanda Mouse will know what it is. She knows all about history stuff. I wonder why I’d dream about a beautiful tired mouse and some creepy burning charcoal stick monster?”

  Orville shivered at the thought of the hideous creature, trying to erase it from his mind.

  “Enough of that. The trees are lovely this time of year, but I think springtime is still my favorite–”

  Orville’s train of thought was abruptly derailed by a strange and overpowering feeling that someone was watching him. He whipped around to see if he was being followed, but found himself to be quite alone. He studied the woods on both sides of the road, searching the shadows for movement, rewarded only with the gentle fluttering of orange and yellow leaves.

  “This is weird. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

  He continued down the meandering country lane, unable to shake the feeling that he was not alone.

  “Maybe that dream scared me more than I thought it did. I hope I’m not going loopy. Sophia says I scare myself by imagining things that aren’t really there, that my imagination is sometimes my worst enemy.”

  He stopped again, the peculiar feeling stronger than ever. He turned slowly toward the deep woods, afraid of what he might see. There was a soft sparkling light glimmering in the dappled shadows. He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on the phantasmal floating lights. The sparkling grew brighter, becoming a swirling cloud of translucent light, then denser, transforming into a wavering blue apparition. Orville’s knees grew weak. He knew exactly what he was looking at.

  “It’s the beautiful mouse, but she’s a ghost!” Orville was terrified. He turned to run but was stopped by the soft whispery voice in his head.

  “Help me. Please, Orville, please help me.”

  “Help you? How do you know my name? Who are you?”

  Before the beautiful ghost mouse could answer she glowed brightly with an eerie purple light and vanished. Orville stood motionless, stunned by the unexpected appearance of the beautiful mouse.

  “Creekers, I just saw a ghost, a real ghost. She wants me to help her, but how am I supposed to help a ghost?”

  Chapter 3

  Okeanos

  Orville swung open the front door of the Book Emporium, stepping into the familiar musty smell of old books, the shop feeling almost like a second home to him now. Master Marloh was at the front counter peering through his small gold glasses, which meant he was sorting through the previous day’s sales receipts. He glanced up at Orville when he heard the little bell above the door jingle.

  “A fine good morning to you. A lovely fall day out, perfect for an exhilarating walk to work, good for the constitution.”

  Orville grinned. Master Marloh was a bit old fashioned, but he liked that, it was like having a wise old grandpapa. He remembered how surprised he had been when Master Marloh first told him he was a gifted shaper and invited him to join the Metaphysical Adventurers. He also remembered the first time Master Marloh unlocked the mysterious blue door in the back of the shop and took him down to the vast secret complex hidden beneath the building, the Symocan Metaphysical Adventurers headquarters, filled with a myriad of strange and marvelous technological devices brought back from other worlds by the members.

  “It is nice out. The leaves are beautiful but they’ll be gone in two or three weeks.”

  Master Marloh nodded. “Time and tide wait for no mouse, of that there is no doubt. We’d best enjoy these glorious days while we are able.”

  “Say, I found this book yesterday, but it’s written in a strange language. Do you recognize it?” Orville passed the red book to Master Marloh.

  “Curious, I’m afraid the glyphs on the front cover are unfamiliar to me, a rather inauspicious start.” He flipped the book open, studying it through his small round glasses.

  “You’ve stumped me again, Orville. Something about it makes me think it’s Mintarian, but it’s written in an obscure form I’ve never seen before. Where did you find it? It looks extremely old.”

  Orville was remembering his breakfast conversation with Proto, and decided to be completely forthright with Master Marloh, a highly esteemed Metaphysical Adventurer and head of the Muridaan Falls Shapers Guild.

  “I think I shaped it in my sleep. I was having a really weird dream about a book fair in an old abandoned village. In my dream I picked up this book because I thought Sophia would like it. When I woke up the book was in my bed.”

  “Much like when you shaped the orange and the coiled snake figurine. It must hold some deeper significance. What else happened in the dream? Remember, even the smallest details in dreams are very important.”

  “Um… there was a beautiful mouse in a white robe and a weird scary smoldering black stick creature who was trying to take the book away from me. It all took place in a dusky deserted village. I think the name of the village was Okeanos.”

  Master Marloh peered over his glasses at Orville, a curious light in his eyes.

  “Okeanos? You’re certain that was the name?”

  “There was a sign on an easel saying it was the Okeanos Book Fair. What’s Okeanos?”

  “I believe it to be a name taken from the ancient mythologies. Unfortunately my memory isn’t what it used to be, so I’ll need to do a little research, perhaps have a chat with Amanda Mouse. She’s a fount of knowledge when it comes to historical and mythological matters. It is possible you read about Okeanos a long time ago and it just now popped into a dream. That happens more often than you might think.”

  “You could be rig
ht, maybe I read about it in a history class or something. It was really a weird dream though, and I didn’t recognize the beautiful mouse or the crazy burning stick creature.”

  “Time will tell. I suspect we will soon discover where this particular chain of events is taking you.”

  “I’m going to ask Sophia about it at lunch, she’s pretty good with old languages.” Orville was hoping this chain of events would not include a face to face confrontation with a certain smoldering black charcoal stick creature. He managed a small grin when he realized that would never happen because the stick creature did not have a face to confront.

  “I’ll start unpacking the crates of books that arrived yesterday.”

  The morning passed quickly. Orville was busily marking prices on the new books when he heard a soft rustling sound behind him. He gave a shriek and whipped around, banging his knee on the cart of books. Instead of the vaporous blue ghost mouse he was expecting, he saw Sophia, a rustling lunch sack in her paw.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You look like you just saw a ghost. Are you all right?”

  “What? Why did you say ghost? You shouldn’t blink up behind someone like that, it’s kind of surprising. I wasn’t scared, just surprised.”

  “Sorry, Orville the Brave, I didn’t mean to surprise you so badly. Let’s have lunch behind the old barn. The leaves are spectacular and it’s warm and sunny. It will be lovely there.”

  “You may have scared me just a little bit, but after I tell you about the dream I had last night you’ll know why.”

  Master Marloh waved to the pair of best friends as they strolled past the front desk.

  “Have a lovely lunch, watch out for ghosts!”

  Sophia raised her eyebrows. “I think you’d better tell me about this mysterious dream. This is starting to get interesting.”

  As they basked in the toasty noonday sun behind the weathered old barn, Orville recounted in great detail his dream of the previous night. He also told Sophia about the mysterious ghostly mouse he’d seen on the way to work.

  “She asked you to help her? And she knew your name?”

  “Yes, it was really scary, she called me Orville. She was definitely a ghost, a real ghost.”

  “You said she was beautiful? Really beautiful?”

  “Yes, extremely beautiful.”

  Sophia had a curious expression on her face, one Orville did not immediately recognize.

  “Why would an extremely beautiful mouse know your name and be asking you for help?”

  “I don’t know, that’s the weird part.”

  “You’re sure you’ve never seen her before, never met her?” Sophia’s eyes had a sharp and piercing look about them.

  A light of realization blinked on in Orville’s mind.

  “Are you jealous? Jealous of a ghost?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not jealous in the least, I’m simply curious why a beautiful mouse would be asking you for help, and why this particular extremely beautiful mouse would know your name if you have never met her?”

  Orville gave a cackling laugh. “You’re jealous. You’re jealous of a beautiful ghost mouse!”

  “I’m not jealous, Orville. But just to be clear, to avoid any possible future misunderstandings, if I ever see you strolling through Muridaan Falls holding paws with a beautiful ghost mouse I will pound you into the ground like a big wooden stake.”

  Orville burst out laughing. He took Sophia’s paw in his.

  “I can promise you that is something you will never see. You’re the only mouse I will ever hold paws with.”

  Sophia kissed him on the cheek. “Good. Now show me this book you shaped in your sleep.”

  Orville pulled the book from his coat pocket, giving it to Sophia.

  “Master Marloh and Proto were right, it does have a resemblance to ancient Mintarian script, but that’s all I can tell you. It must be a lesser known form I’m not familiar with. There are quite a number of mathematical symbols and equations in it, but taken out of context I have no idea what they mean. We need to find someone who can translate this. That weird burning stick figure sounds frightening. I’ve never heard of anything even remotely like that, but it feels more like a dream creature than a real one. What’s even more interesting is how you could shape a book in a language you don’t know.”

  “I never thought about that. That’s kind of spooky. Master Marloh said he was going to talk to Amanda Mouse about the book. He said even if she can’t translate it she might know someone who can.”

  “I’m getting a strange feeling about this. I think your dream is important, and I think it’s going to take us on an extraordinary adventure, a really scary one.”

  Orville attempted a brave smile.

  After lunch Sophia blinked back to the Symocan Institute of Mechanistic Studies and Orville walked back to the Book Emporium, where he found Master Marloh and Amanda Mouse in deep conversation.

  Amanda looked up, waving to him.

  “Hello, Orville. Master Marloh said you have an old book you need translated? Why did you buy a book you can’t read? That seems like a very odd thing to do.”

  “Um… I didn’t exactly get it for myself, I got it for Sophia. I thought she might understand it because it had some mathematical stuff in it.”

  “May I see it?”

  “Sure.”

  Amanda took the book, studying the dark red cover, her eyes fixed on the gold symbols. She pulled a large magnifying glass from her coat pocket, slowly turning the book as she examined it.

  “Interesting. Quite authentic.” She set the book gingerly on the counter and opened it.

  “Why did you think Sophia would be able to read this?”

  “She’s really smart.”

  “I see, she’s really smart so she should be able to read a book like this.” Amanda closed the book, slipping the magnifying glass back into her pocket. “Where did you find it?”

  Orville hesitated, then said, “I had a dream I was at a book fair, found this book, and when I woke up the book was in my bed. I think I shaped it.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

  “The book fair was in a town called Okeanos.”

  Amanda’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

  “It was in a town called Okeanos?”

  “You’re certain that was the name of the town?”

  “It was on a sign in front of the book fair.”

  Amanda rubbed her chin, her eyes on Orville.

  “What is it? What’s Okeanos?”

  “Have you ever shaped a book before? Shaped a book in a language you’re unfamiliar with?”

  “This is the first time I’ve ever shaped a book. I’m not really sure how I did it.”

  “Okeanos is a name found in the ancient mythologies. It exists in the Borderlands.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The Borderlands, the reality that lies between the waking world and the world of dreams. If you truly were in Okeanos, there’s a very good chance you did not shape this book in your sleep. There’s a very good chance you may have brought it back with you from Okeanos. From Okeanos. You brought a book back from Okeanos.”

  “I don’t really know what that means.”

  Orville had the strangest feeling Amanda wanted to examine his brain with her big magnifying glass.

  “It means you traveled to a reality that exists between wakefulness and sleep, which is why you were able to return with a physical object.”

  “Um… can you translate it?”

  “I just said the book is from Okeanos. Why would you think I could translate it?”

  Orville stared blankly at Amanda, uncertain how to respond.

  Amanda continued, “Of course I can’t translate it, but I may know someone who can. I need to talk to Captain Patcher about this. This is a far, far more complex issue than you might imagine.” She raised one eyebrow. “Than anyone might imagine. Anyone. Far more complex.”

  Orville
gave his best impression of a mouse who clearly understood what Amanda was trying to tell him, his best impression of a mouse who clearly knew the deeper significance of her raised eyebrow.

  “That would be wonderful, thanks so much.”

  “This is beyond exciting, a book from Okeanos. I never thought I would live to see this day. You’re an amazing mouse, Orville. I should have more information for you in a few days. I hope you’re not afraid of bloodthirsty bandits.”

  Chapter 4

  The Sound Piano

  “Have you ever painted a house before?”

  “I helped Papa paint our house when I was a mouseling, but I got more paint on me than on the house. I remember Mum laughing about it.”

  Proto nodded. “We’ll need a canvas drop cloth, two large brushes, two narrow brushes for the trim, plus two wire brushes and scrapers to remove the old paint. And two painter hats.”

  “What are painter hats?”

  “White hats with wide brims on the front, kind of square. Painters always wear them, although I’m not precisely certain why.”

  “This is sounding like a lot of work. Can’t I just use a low power vaporizing beam to take off the old paint?”

  “I look forward to seeing the expression on Ebenezer Mouse’s face when the orange vaporizing light shoots out from your paw.”

  “Good point, he doesn’t know about shapers. I’ll shape all the stuff we need and we can head over. I told him we’d start first thing in the morning. He has the paint and a ladder. He actually seemed kind of friendly, not crabby at all.”

  “Perhaps he doesn’t have many friends. I will confess that my days in the Cube with only the glowbirds for company were often lonely ones. Your friendship and the friendship of Sophia changed my life.”

  “You’re right, it can’t be much fun for him, living all alone in that house. I’ll go over more often, take him some tasty little cakes.” Orville flicked his paw and a box of painting supplies blinked into existence.

  Fifteen minutes later Orville and Proto were industriously scraping the cracked and peeling paint from Ebenezer Mouse’s house.