by Tom Hoffman
“How does it work?”
“It is essentially the same technology as the personal floaters we used on Varmoran, but is a low level ground vehicle, using micro-grav displacers. It doesn’t fly, it hovers.” Proto hopped into the front seat. “Stand clear, everyone!” He pushed a small lever forward and the car lurched sideways, thumping into the wall. “Drat, wrong way.”
Sophia and Orville scuttled away from the hovering car, Sophia whispering loudly, “You might want to pop up a sphere of defense until he gets the controls sorted out.”
“I heard that! Rest assured I am in complete control of the craft at this time. I simply pushed the wrong lever, quite a simple mistake.”
With a low hum the car eased out of the room into the tunnel.
“All aboard!”
“Whoo hoo! No more walking!” Orville jumped into the car next to Proto and Sophia scrambled into the back, stretching out on the wide padded seat.
“Here we go!” Proto pulled back a silver lever and the car glided smoothly down the tunnel.
“How fast will it go?”
“We’re currently traveling at top speed, about fifteen miles an hour. It’s an indoor service car, not designed for speed.”
“Well, it beats walking. How far till the end of the tunnel?”
“Barring unforeseen circumstances, we should reach our destination in about four hours.”
Sophia flicked her wrist and a large puffy pillow appeared. “Just enough time for a nice nap.”
“You take too many naps. You’re going to miss something exciting if you’re asleep. If I find gold coins I’m not sharing them with you.”
“Keep your old coins, my amazing brain needs a rest. Wake me up if you spot a fancy restaurant where we can have lunch.”
Orville rolled his eyes. “I guess it’s just you and me, Proto. Keep your eyes open for treasure chests.”
“Just out of curiosity, are you aware that gold is an extremely dense element, one cubic foot weighing approximately twelve hundred pounds? If we assume a traditional treasure chest has an internal volume of approximately two cubic feet, the resultant weight would be two thousand four hundred pounds, more if you factor in the weight of the strongbox itself. If we found only one such treasure chest, we would be forced to trek across the countryside carrying well over a ton of gold coins, a rather daunting task under any circumstance.”
Orville had a hilarious reply on the tip of his tongue, but kept it to himself, saying instead, “Proto, you don’t understand the nature of daydreams. When I’m daydreaming about finding a chest of gold coins, I’m not thinking about the practical aspects of finding them, I’m just thinking about the part when I open the chest, see all the shiny gold coins and scream ‘Whoo hoooo!! I’m rich!!’.”
“If that is true, it demonstrates a rather short sighted and illogical perspective. If you can’t take them with you, what is the point of getting excited about finding them? Besides, why do you even want gold coins when you can shape anything you need?”
Orville heard Sophia snicker in the back seat. He frowned. “You’re right, Proto, you have shown me the error of my ways. From now on, instead of daydreaming about gold coins I will daydream about discovering a thriving colony of friendly little creatures made of solid gold who will happily run along behind us so I won’t have to carry them.”
“Oh dear, I don’t wish to be disparaging, but I’m afraid that is a highly unlikely prospect. I have read extensively on the nearly infinite variety of life forms inhabiting the known universe, but none have a physiology based in gold, or any other heavy metal for that matter. Most, of course, are carbon based creatures, although quite a number of small gaseous planets have been known to…”
Orville closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. He was asleep before Proto had finished his sentence.
“AGGGHHHH!!”
The car lurched across the tunnel, scraping against the wall. Orville’s scream had caused Proto to momentarily lose control of the vehicle. Sophia sat upright, her eyes blinking open. “What is it? Who screamed?”
Orville gave a sheepish look. “Sorry, I just had a bad dream about Mendacium. He was staring at me with those burning yellow eyes. So scary.”
Sophia flopped back down on her pillow. “How many times do I have to say it? He doesn’t have dark magical powers. There’s no such thing as that and he can’t hurt us, so stop having bad dreams about him.”
Orville knew he would never convince Sophia that dark magic might really exist. “Fine, no more bad dreams. Proto, how much longer to the end of the tunnel?”
“We’re almost there. We’ve been going uphill for the last ten miles. We should reach the surface in about fifteen minutes.”
“Aelric said once we’re on the surface we should head east for three days, following a big river until we reach Castle Caligari.”
Sophia studied Orville’s face, sensing his growing unease. She reached forward and squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll be fine, we have Proto the Brave to protect us.”
Proto grinned. “Here we are!” The tunnel had leveled off, the car gliding into a vast circular chamber with fifty foot tall ceilings.
“It looks like the Thaumatarians left in a hurry, everything is scattered all over. The engineers said they were going to use some kind of weird vapor to get everyone to leave, that they’d be forced to evacuate.”
“What do you think this place was?”
“It appears to have been a maintenance center. There’s an airlock in the corner, just like the one you found in the cave. That should take us up to the surface.”
“Too bad the car won’t fit. I guess we’re back to walking again.”
Proto switched off the motor and the car sank gently to the floor. “Even if we could get it up to the surface it wouldn’t be of any use in the outdoors, it only floats six inches above the ground.”
Orville wove his way through the cluttered chaos of the room. “I wonder what all these weird tools were for? Maybe they fixed vehicles here. There might be blinker ships like the one we found on Varmoran. We should look.”
Sophia stood impatiently next to the airlock. “We don’t have time to look around, we have to go.”
Orville gave a groan. Every step he took was one step closer to his inevitable encounter with Mendacium the Dark Wizard.
Chapter 29
Village 113
The first thing Orville noticed when he emerged from the airlock was the gloriously radiant sunshine. “This is nice, so warm out, no snow. The tunnel took us a couple of miles past the mountains. That must be why it’s so toasty.”
“That must be the river Aelric mentioned. It’s wide and slow, probably fed by melting snow from the Obex Range.”
Orville clambered up onto a large boulder for a better view. “The river is meandering and really long. Aelric said we follow it for three days. We should keep an eye on the trees. I don’t see any big thorns, so that’s good news.”
Sophia strode over to the closest tree, placing her paw on its trunk and sending a thought cloud into it.
“Hello, my name is Sophia.” The tree did not respond. “We’re okay. These trees are like our trees back home, they stay in one spot and they don’t read thought clouds.”
“More good news. I don’t like the idea of trees strolling around in the moonlight, especially the ones with big stabby thorns.”
“Let’s head down to the river, we can walk along the bank.”
The trio wove their way through several heavily wooded groves, Sophia spotting small patches of brightly colored wildflowers. “Hey, Orville, purple wildflowers, your favorite.” She snickered, remembering the mutant purple flowers on Varmoran who had tried to eat Orville.
“So funny, ha ha, let’s all tease Orville about the purple flowers again.” Orville stepped through the trees, the great winding river before him, sparkling in the noonday sun. “The river is beautiful. It’s really peaceful, kind of makes me wish we were just–”
; “Get down!” Sophia dropped into the tall grass, motioning toward a wooden raft drifting downriver.
Orville hit the ground, his eyes on the slow moving craft. He could see three dark green rabbits, two of them steering the vessel with long poles. The craft was carrying dozens of baskets filled with fruits and vegetables.
“They look like farmers taking their produce to market. They don’t look dangerous. Maybe Aelric was confused. The rabbits here look just like the rabbits on the other side of the range. Hey, I just thought of something. Aelric and Gemma must be descendants of the Thaumatarians who arrived here in Tectar. Isn’t that weird?”
“Keep down, you can’t tell if they’re dangerous just by looking at them.”
“I can’t believe we met real live Thaumatarians. I wonder if they know who their ancestors were, and all the things they did? You know, like building Tectar and the World Doors?”
“Even if they don’t know, they seem happy enough. Aelric and Gemma have a good life on their farm. Maybe the Chief Master Engineer was right, maybe too much technology was the downfall of the Thaumatarians.”
“I liked the floaters on Varmoran. They were really fun. Even if you did fly like my old grandmum.”
“Oh, please, you could barely keep up with me. Okay, the raft is gone, let’s get moving. We need to find Castle Caligari and find out what is causing the Void to disappear. We can’t forget why we’re here.”
The adventurers stepped out of the tall grass and headed down to the river’s edge.
“Do you think Aelric was right about the rabbits on this side of the mountains being so scary? They looked like peaceful farmers to me, no different than Aelric.”
“He must have had some reason for saying it. He did say he’d heard a lot of grisly tales about Castle Caligari.”
“Who do you think built the castle? It seems too primitive for the Thaumatarians.”
“Don’t forget when they moved to the surface of Tectar they didn’t have any technology, and Copo said they arrived here almost twenty thousand years ago. A lot of things can happen in twenty thousand years.”
Orville was about to reply when a green thought cloud enveloped his head. “Excellent day for a brisk walk along the river.”
Orville and Sophia whipped around to face an elderly Thaumatarian rabbit strolling behind them, a gnarled walking stick in one paw.
Another thought cloud flashed out toward them. “I walk every day, rain or shine. Good for the constitution. You’re not bandits, are you? You might scare some rabbits, but you don’t scare me. Don’t try anything funny, I know how to handle a walking stick.”
Sophia sent a cloud back to the rabbit. “We’re not bandits, but we are lost. We’re looking for Castle Caligari. Have you heard of it?”
“You must be taking offerings to Mendacium. I should have guessed, it’s the only way to prevent plague and pestilence. You’re odd looking rabbits. Does everyone in your village have round ears?”
“We’re mice, not rabbits. We’re from a distant land and we’re searching for Castle Caligari. We’re trying to locate a friend of ours who was last seen near the castle.”
“He didn’t go inside the castle, did he?”
“What did you mean about taking offerings to Mendacium?”
“We bring him offerings in exchange for his services. We give him books, food, and gold, and in return he prevents plague and pestilence, a fair enough trade in my eyes. Our village has been doing it for as long as anyone can remember, and for hundreds of years we’ve never had a plague or an infestation.”
“You’ve been making offerings for hundreds of years? How old is Mendacium? Do you know what he looks like? Does he practice dark magic?”
“Of course he does, only the darkest magic will stop plague and pestilence, everyone knows that. I’ve never seen him, but one of the elders in our village saw him when he was a bunny. He wandered off into the castle during an offering. Had dreadful nightmares for years after. Still claims Mendacium was twelve feet tall, wore a great purple robe with a long yellow sash, had burning yellow eyes and a flaming scepter. His voice shook the walls of the castle and he was surrounded by an eerie purple glow. Poor Rabidus was never the same after that. We leave our offerings in the gatehouse, no one ever goes inside the castle.” The elderly rabbit looked around to see if anyone was watching. “You’ve probably heard some of the stories they tell about Mendacium? All those gruesome and grisly things he does to rabbits in the castle?”
“We’ve heard a few stories, but the rabbits we met didn’t want to talk about it.”
The old rabbit gave Sophia a sly wink. “There’s a bit of truth stretching to be found in those tales, mostly to keep the bandits away from our village. They’re terrified of Mendacium and what he might do to them if they harm anyone in our village. The bandits never bother us.”
Orville realized he was clenching his paws. The old rabbit’s description of Mendacium was identical in every way to what he’d seen in his dream. This was irrefutable proof that Mendacium was a real living being, not just a character in a three hundred year old book.
“It takes three days to reach the castle?”
“Only if you follow the river all the way around the big loop. I have a boat hidden up ahead I use to cross the river. Cuts the journey down to a few hours. The castle is two miles east of our village.”
“Have you ever heard of the Thaumatarians?”
The old rabbit furrowed his brows. “No rabbits in the village by that name. Is that the name of your missing friend?”
“No, someone mentioned they might live around here, but I think they were confused.” Sophia smiled politely.
“You’re welcome to come with me to the village. Plautilla runs a fine inn where you can stay, maybe ask around about your missing friend.” The old rabbit eyed Proto with curiosity. “Never seen a silver rabbit before. Heard stories though. They say there’s a big group of them living south of the range. Does it read clouds, or just talk? I heard they eat nails for dinner.”
“No nails for dinner. Rabbitons don’t eat or sleep. His name is Proto, and he talks but doesn’t read clouds.”
“Guess I’ve seen everything now. Boat’s right here in this grove. You two can ride, but it’s not big enough for your silver friend. He’ll have to wade across. River’s not too deep and the current’s slow. I’m Serus, by the way.”
Sophia and Orville dragged Serus’ boat down to the water while he fetched the long pole to guide the boat.
Proto pushed the boat into the river, strolling along behind it as Serus poled the craft across the lazy current. Midway across the meandering waterway, only the tips of Proto’s ears were visible above the water. Orville nudged Sophia. “A pair of scary silver ears is chasing us!”
Sophia snickered. “What’s the name of your town, Serus?”
“Village 113.”
“The name of your town is a number?”
“That’s how we’ve done it for as long as anyone can remember. It’s just our way. Maybe had something to do with ancient calendars, no one really knows.”
“It sounds like a very practical idea.” Orville was remembering something the engineers had said, the first passengers they would force up to the surface of the planet would be from Sector 113.
When they arrived on the other side, Orville and Sophia hopped out of the boat and dragged it into the woods.
Proto had a wide grin when he emerged from the river. “Fascinating, I was able to observe a wide variety of colorful fish in the river, some of them quite frightening. Do you happen to know if they’re poisonous?”
“Serus only reads thought clouds. How scary were they?”
“I would not recommend taking a leisurely dip in the river. Some of the fish had peculiar looking long teeth, and the creatures squirming around in the mud would not stop snapping at my feet and legs.”
“And I forgot my swimming suit. Maybe next time.” Orville gave a cackling laugh.
The adventure
rs followed Serus along a lovely forest trail, beams of warm sunlight flickering down through emerald green foliage, patterns of light and shadow rippling across the forest floor.
“What a beautiful forest. The rustling of the leaves is almost a melody.”
“That’s the song of the trees. Everything in the world has its own song, that’s where music comes from.”
Sophia looked at Serus with new eyes. Her papa always said most creatures have greater depth than is first apparent.
Orville pointed though the trees to a bright yellow farmhouse. “That looks like Aelric and Gemma’s house, but without the big wall.”
The adventurers emerged into lush farmland, the vast fields filled with innumerable rows of healthy vibrant crops. Sophia breathed in the rich earthy air of the countryside. “Mmm, that smells so good.”
After a relaxing stroll past several farms they arrived on the outskirts of Village 113. Even Proto was taken aback by the beauty of the setting. “A lovely rustic village, almost like stepping into a fairy tale. Of course, fairy tales often have dark castles with evil wizards, not to mention dank musty dungeons filled with piles of old bones.” Proto gave Orville a significant look.
Serus gestured for them to follow him. “Welcome to our humble village. As they say, ‘See the village and know the heart of the villagers’. I’ll take you to the inn, it’s in the town square.”
Two laughing young bunnies darted out from behind a low wooden building, its weathered sign swinging in the warm breeze. They stopped short when they saw Proto, thought clouds flashing between them, then ran over to Serus, their eyes on Proto.
“Whoa, a silver rabbit! Where’d you find him, Master Serus? Is he real? Is he going to help us with the crops? I bet he’s really strong. He could fix our roof! Is he going to live here?”
Serus ran his paw across the young bunny’s head. “You leave him be, he’s a guest, not here to do your chores. They come from far away looking for a lost friend. He might be in Castle Caligari.”
The bunny’s eyes opened wide. “The castle? They’re going into the castle? Can we go, too? I want to see Mendacium. Is he really twelve feet tall? I bet the silver rabbit wouldn’t be afraid of him. Can we go?”