World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  Eesa knew there was no text of the last magical stone in the book and only a picture. They wondered what it was and continued to study the painting but found nothing. There were not many books in the house but there was a couple. One of the books they saw was about the tower. It showed the way up and that the tower was, indeed, a place of worship. They blocked all the windows out with curtains and set up a plan to search for the magic stones. They all agreed the magic stones most likely were in the tower and they must make it there to confirm it.

  At this point, they must act fast and search the city for information. They must have a way out and knew where the soldiers were if there were any. At this point, they decided to split up and cover more grounds. In the man’s house, there were clothes that fit both pupils and Aido. They would walk the streets in the dark while the others took to the roofs and used the shadows as means of cover. They left and searched the city. The city had a lot of big structures and buildings so it was easy for Master Tiger who was the fastest of them to jump between houses. Gon was taking the way down the sewer to search the ways around the city from underneath together with Eesa.

  Sophia used the wall to circle around the city. The city was big and it would take a couple of hours to circle it but when she came to the east side of the city where they hadn’t been before, she truly saw the size of the city. There was another section of the city that was lower than where they were. There was almost five times the bigger city in front of her and she could see that the city was the same size as the great city where the arena was. There were mostly houses but some other structures were there as well. The east part looked newer as the houses looked more modern than the first part where they were in.

  She decided to skip the east side part of the city and instead continue on to circle the city. Gon and Eesa had also made a discovery and found a section of the sewer that led to what looked like buildings that had been built a long time ago and new ones built on top of them. There was no point to enter since the old buildings look cracked and dangerous to walk amongst. Both Luma and Fon walked together with Aido and they fit in perfectly. Anyone walking past never saw them for something other than a person that lived there. They walked close to some of the shrines and tried to read the inscriptions. The language was a little different and only parts of the language could be read. They did find some interesting notes on the meteor that crashed. It showed the comet split in two as it hit and they found the Alumrylite stones in both the meteor halves.

  Aido said it looked like there were two of each Alumrylite stone. Each pair had the same abilities and had the same power. There was also a part of the inscription that told about when the magic stones were stolen by outsiders and taken away. A section that was almost completely unreadable said something about the full set of Alumrylite stones being used by those who knew the powers of the magic stones. Since they couldn’t read more, they were only left with questions about the other full set of Alumrylite stones.

  There was a whole part of the shrine that said that any outsider needed to be brought to the high priests and questioned about the magic stones. They left with more understanding about the magical stones but still didn’t know what the last magical stone was. They walked towards the tower to see if they could get close to it. When they got close, they saw a statue of a woman holding seven Alumrylite stones in her hand and when they looked at the only word there, they could read Sabor which they didn’t know what it would be.

  One of them suggested perhaps it was a name of a woman that used to be of importance since she had a statue as well as holding the Alumrylite stones. During the meantime, Gon was keeping to the shadows underneath the city and he was running fast through the sewer together with Eesa. They split up and covered more ground. It was very clean and well-maintained so Gon had no obstacles in the way. There was light from the streets above and he could easily find his way. He came very close to the tower and could see it almost on top of him. The way in the sewer stopped by a gate but he could see the sewer went right under the tower. He could hear some people talking on top and he listened. What he could make out was that, in three days, a festival would be held and the tower would open to the people in the city. He listened more and also heard that everyone was expected to be there from the whole city.

  The people left and Gon tried to climb up close to the tower but there was no opening anywhere he tried. He walked back and found a lid he could lift and found himself behind a house 200 meters away from the tower. He backtracked down again and headed to the east and soon came to the way down to the east part of the city. He saw the great size of it from another grid that he could use as an exit. Eesa came from behind and they continued back to where they started and headed back to the house. Tiger was already in the house and told them he found a way in the house. He said he would tell everything as soon as the others were back.

  Sophia came back soon after and the others returned after another hour with more information. Luma told them how they had to walk back after finding the tower closed off and that some festival was in three days. Gon confirmed what he heard and wondered what Tiger found. Tiger said he was going straight for the tower and was able to reach a temple just twenty meters from the tower. He said the temple had a passage going straight to the tower. He said they might be able to check out the possibility to the passage actually going through during the days going up to the festival. They decided to stay in the house for now and every night, search the city. They closed off the door properly and made sure no one could look inside.

  During the first part of the day, they rested. When the afternoon came, a plan was organised and they drew up a map of what they knew about the city. They planned to find out if there was a way into the tower trough the temple. The pupils from the school would walk around the city again while both the monks continued to stay in the house and build an emergency surprise that they might have to use if there was some problem and they had to escape. When the night came, Sophia and Tiger would use the roof to get to the temple while Gon was investigating the grid in the sewer under the tower. He arrived with some tools he had taken from the house. He had found a hammer and a heavy axe inside the stable. He searched the grid again and could see the bars were put there permanently. He placed the axe on the hard floor and banged a little with the hammer. The sewer made it sound too loud and he had to stop. He, instead, placed the axe blade on a crack in the wall and kicked it hard. It worked as the crack opened up more.

  The crack finally got big enough for the next part of his plan. He pulled up a bag given to him by Aido that had knowledge of burning material as he made a lot for the monastery. He suddenly picked up a sound that hummed from under him but it stopped again. He wondered what it was but then figured there must be a lot of things that made various sounds in a city like this. Gon placed the solution in the crack that had opened quite wide and lit it with the help of the hammer and axe that created a spark.

  The solution created an intense light and heat. It sizzled and Gon had to move away from the intense heat. When the light disappeared, Gon could see the crack in the wall had now spread throughout the whole side. He knocked a little on the wall and big chunks of the wall fell off. Just some more work on the wall and he could pass through the side of the bars. He wasted no time and continued in towards the parts lying under the tower. He was straight under the tower and he was looking for an exit. The sewer under the tower was not as well-lit as in other places and at times, he would find a fully dark section where he had to try and navigate through. He eventually found what he had been looking for and noticed something that looked like a lid. He listened for movements but heard nothing. He tried to lift the lid but it didn’t move much. He started working on the lid to loosen it.

  Sophia was keeping an eye out for people as Tiger was back at the temple. He opened a window that was unlocked and snuck in. He walked down the stairs and listened for noises. When he didn’t find any people, he looked for the pathway to the tower and found a door. With
some push, he could open it. The pathway was full of pictures of people probably associated to the tower and their religion. He opened the other door leading into the tower and noticed a shadow further away. He closed the door and hid behind a pillar in the corner of the tower. The man walked off and went in to a room one floor up.

  When Tiger left the pillar, he heard a sound of banging coming from a room next to him. He opened the door and walked in to a room with an altar. It looked like a lesson room and he heard the sound coming from the side of the wall. He saw the lid on the floor moving and realised who it was. He knocked on the lid and the noise stopped. The lid then opened as Gon could use his whole power to lift it. Tiger helped and they closed it after Gon had come up. They entered the hall and looked around for anyone else in the tower. When they didn’t see anyone, they walked out and found a small stairwell that led to the second floor and avoided the large stairs. They used the walls that had drapes that they could use to stay out of sight. When they were about to climb the stairs to third floor, a sound made them stop and listen. They looked at each other as the sound was a couple of floor above them. It sounded like a grunting noise and something being dragged.

  The top of the tower could be seen from the bottom and the stairs went around in a circle with every floor having several rooms. They backed down as the noise seemed to get closer. The situation became more intense when the door that Tiger came out of was opened and from it came four people. They walked towards the stairs and stopped and talked on the bottom of it. Gon looked at the direction of the grunting noise and he wondered what it was. The four people ascended the stairs finally and one of them brought out a whip and whipped it. Tiger noticed the sound above stopped and then disappeared higher up. They looked at each other and wondered what was above them.

  A big silver door was also located but Gon believed it would be of no interest for them for now. They decided to leave and come back next day and headed towards the room where Gon came from. The lid was then loose and opened up easier. They were quick down and ran through the sewer below and Gon showed Tiger the grid where the closest opening was. Tiger jumped on top of the closest house and got to the house where Sophia was. She had a small knife ready when he jumped close to her as she didn’t realise it was him. She was told that they were heading back so she tried to race Tiger. He got to the house faster and she had no chance against his speed.

  Both Fon and Luma were still outside so Tiger asked about the surprise Aido said he would make. Aido said he would tell everyone together as it was very important and dangerous. Gon came back and then they only waited for his pupils. Aido asked about the solution and Gon said it made a great deal of damage. Aido added that someone might notice the damage and sound the alarm and said that since the sewer was in such a good condition, there might be people keeping them clean. Gon thought they might be able to cover it up with some paint and material they could find in the house. They looked around for material and soon, they had what they needed. Neither Luma nor Fon was anywhere to be seen and Gon was getting worried but since they didn’t know where they were, they could only continue as normal.

  Gon brought Eesa, who didn’t need to help with the surprise anymore, and Sophia. Tiger decided to search for the two men and got going again over the roofs. Gon and the others arrived at the tower sewer entrance and they got to work right away. Tiger was covering the city fast and got to the east side where the entrance to the rest of the city was. He saw some soldiers for the first time and followed them with his eyes. They looked to be not much of a threat but the last time he underestimated someone, he got beaten and thought about the snow mountain where he met Gon the first time. He suddenly saw the soldiers run and got curious about what was going on. A strong feeling told him he should check it out and he started to follow. He could catch up quick and soon, he saw the men stop. They seemed to talk to someone but he couldn’t see who it was. There was another soldier coming in view and he pointed to something. He tried to come closer but the light was strong from the fires and he was at risk of being discovered.

  One of the soldiers suddenly walked in and dragged the person they were talking to. It was Fon and Tiger knew he needed to work fast. No time to worry about being discovered. He jumped down and ran towards a house close to them. He could see the students were saying nothing and the soldiers were getting more agitated. A soldier pulled his sword and pointed at Fon and made a sign for them to get down on the ground. Tiger saw something that might help and took the opportunity. He pushed a pole with a big flag on it towards one of the urns that they were standing next to. The flag fell right over the fire and it became darker. The soldiers lost focus and both Fon and Luma knew what to do.

  Within seconds while the soldiers were confused, they made their getaway by running behind the house. They came out where Tiger was waiting and he pointed towards a path going next to some small trees. Tiger pushed some loose crates towards the soldiers that followed not far behind. He then jumped back on the top of the houses and hoped no one saw him. He got to the house and soon was joined with the others that had reached there as well. Luma said he heard something that sounded like the soldiers calling for more guards. They made sure the house was dark and waited for the others.

  Gon was happy with the work they did on the sewer wall and with the sewer being darker there. It was hard to spot the fake wall. They headed back but Sophia heard something that drew her attention. There were a couple of soldiers on top and they said that the holy stones would be coming down from the tower as usual and the soldiers had to hold back the townspeople that were always very eager to be blessed by the full set of Alumrylite stones. When the soldiers left, the others walked back and when they came in the house, they got told of what happened. They needed to be extra careful then and with only one day left, they had to be invisible.

  Now that everyone was assembled, Aido told them about his surprise. He illustrated, in a jar, what a small dose of his making could do. When he let down a small stick with fire on, the jar started to burn very strong. It was so bright and hot so they had to move back to not get blinded or burned. He confessed he might have added too much power in it but it would do what it was meant to do. They rested the last day before the festival and they prepared the new burning material in different jars and bottles.

  In the middle of the day, something happened that made them be very careful. There was a knock on the door and someone was asking for the man in the house. They stayed quiet and waited until the person went away. From the window, they could see that the soldiers had showed up more and then there seemed to be quite a few on the street. They hoped it was because of the festival and not for the incident with the pupils. Either way, they needed to be prepared for tomorrow when they needed to climb the tower in hope to find the magic stones.

  Climbing the Tower

  The morning came and they were awakened by the sounds of people walking around outside and fire crackers going off. From the window, they could see there were a lot of people and they could see some soldiers had placed themselves close by. Time was now important and they would have to make sure they made the check points. Both monks with the pupils would draw attention to themselves while Tiger, Gon and Sophia would climb the tower. The magic stones would come down briefly to be worshipped by the people and when they were brought up again was when they would strike. They ran through the plan one last time.

  Gon, Tiger and Sophia would get the magic stones as they ascended the stairs. Any encounter would be easy enough for all of them to handle. Eesa would go back to the beach and get the boat ready and set up traps for anyone following them in case of someone seeing them. Fon and Luma would set off the jars to create attention and ease the escape. Aido would wait in the sewer ready to blow the path behind them as they came out and also set off several other blasts to make sure no one could follow them. They must create as much head start as possible as the whole island would attack them if they found them.

  Aido said that there was
a problem that they would have to fix, and it was that they didn’t have the time to put the jars in place and had to find a way for them to place them quickly during the evening but they might rise suspicion if they were to take chances. Luma suddenly saw something that could help them. He told them to come to the other part of the house and pointed to a wagon parked close to the house at the back. It had several barrels on it and a big cloth over it. They saw the barrels come off and being carried away. Some barrels came back and looked empty. The people that were unloading the wagon were standing next to it and seemed to lock it up. The men walked away after putting a cloth over the wagon.

  A chance had presented itself and the pupils got dressed in the man of the house’s clothes, then climbed out the window. They looked around and saw the men that brought the wagon walk away towards the tower. They took the wagon and brought it behind the house away from prying eyes from the street. They quickly placed the jars inside the barrels and also covered them up with the cloth. They wasted no time and took the wagon out and moved towards the designated areas. The jars were taken out of the barrels and placed next to a wall on the east side where Aido also jumped off. They picked up the explosives for the tower sewer and also took a saw and made a hole in the wagon floor.

  When they came past a sewer lid, they could open it up without anyone noticing and let Sophia down and passed her the explosives. She put them on the side and would wait for her father to help her as he knew the sewer path to the tower. The wagon moved back again and it would pick up Gon to drop him over a sewer lid close to the house so he could run towards Sophia. The road back to the house took a while as there were many people walking past and they must slow down the pace to not hit people.