by D N Meinster
Chapter Four
The Key Chamber
Aros held onto the curved walls, sure he was going to fall over. The very room they were in was soaring upwards, but only he seemed concerned by it. Keisler appeared bored by it, while both Rikki and Doren glanced at each other with amused looks. What was he missing? Did neither of them feel like they might throw up as the room kept going? Were they not concerned that if they fell down, they might be bounced around like a wild bonball?
Whereas Aros had taken an immediate disliking to Faunli, Belliore completely mystified him. He couldn't accurately describe half of what he'd been through since arriving, and he feared that the entire visit would abound in the strange and incomprehensible. Apparently, he was the only one. Maybe being around magic most of their lives had dulled Rikki and Doren's sense of astonishment, but he'd only been around it recently and even it hadn't stunned him like these Bellish innovations had.
The room came to a gentle stop, and the door slid back open. Keisler was the first to exit, and he beckoned the rest of them to follow him out. Rikki and Doren joined him, but Aros was afraid to let go of the walls.
"Aros!" Doren called out.
Aros, suddenly afraid that the doors may close on him and he'd lose track of his friends, retreated from the wall and bolted out of the moving room. He bent over, relieved to be on solid ground once more, and then felt a slight breeze tickle his ear. They were standing outside.
"I've never seen anyone react quite like you," Keisler stated. "I can't wait to see how you respond to our anti-gravity transports."
"Your what?" Aros asked, and as he looked up, he almost keeled over. Straight ahead of him were what he thought had been metallic insects when he saw them from a distance. But they most certainly were not.
Each was a different shape, some round, like pie plates, while others were more triangular. They came in a variety of colors, though they all had an unambiguous shine, and embedded in each were a series of windows, so he could make out the human occupants within. All of them flew by at unimaginable speeds, as Aros could barely grasp one by the time it was out of sight.
He stared at the parade of metal flying things for a while, trying to wrap his head around it. When he concluded that he couldn't, he instead decided to get a better look at the rest of their surroundings. They were all on a platform jutting out near the top of one of the massive buildings. From this vantage point, he could even see the assortment of spires that capped off most of the exotic structures.
It was all incredible, and too much. As he looked back to the flying procession, he noticed that there were glass cylinders mixed in with the metal objects, each containing only a single person.
"What are they?" Aros finally asked, and for once Doren and Rikki appeared just as flabbergasted as he was.
"I already told you," Keisler said, trying to disguise his irritation. "Anti-gravity transports."
"That doesn't explain anything," Rikki noted.
"Have any of you heard of our mechanized carriages?" Keisler asked. "They were around before the Parting."
The trio gave him blank stares.
"Are you not taught anything about us? About science?" Keisler looked away and shook his head. "I should make you read about it, rather than wasting my voice on such matters. Assuming you can read." He gazed directly at Aros. "Mechanized carriages were able to move on their own without horse or velizard, using electricity. Our anti-gravity transports, or AGTs, are based on a similar concept, though instead of moving along on wheels, they can fly through the air."
Aros could not grasp what he was talking about, and Keisler probably knew it.
He frowned before looking at Doren and Rikki. "Would either of you like to put it in terms your friend may understand?"
"They're wingless flying carriages," Doren said. "I think."
"Close enough." Keisler headed to the edge of the platform, and one of the AGTs deserted its brethren and landed adjacent to him. This particular AGT resembled a silver pie dish, though it was topped with more metal instead of pie crust. "Please approach."
As the three of them neared Keisler and the AGT, without even having to touch it, a camouflaged door slid open, revealing the innards of the vehicle. It was brightly lit within, with carpets and heavily cushioned seats. Keisler briefly stuck his head inside and mumbled something unintelligible before addressing the trio.
"I would advise you not to touch anything inside," Keisler said. "It would only cause further confusion. Now, step in."
Aros balked. "Can you shift us, Rikki?"
Both of his friends were as reluctant to step inside. "I do like that idea better," Doren stated.
Rikki reached for her staff, but Keisler caught her hand. "I would advise against using magic. Now, please, I can guarantee the safety of our AGTs." He let go of her and motioned to the inside of the transport.
"Together," Rikki said, nudging both of her friends.
Each one of them lifted up their foot, and they all took a single step into the AGT. As they hesitated, Keisler pushed them all in at once so they tumbled onto the carpet. While they wiggled and squirmed, the door shut.
Keisler's rolled his eyes at them and walked away as the AGT rejoined the parade in the middle of the sky.
The three of them untangled themselves and climbed into the unoccupied seats. Aros' eyes immediately focused on the window, and he ogled at the parallel AGTs that flew next to them. He studied the occupants of each one, who seemed unconcerned with their neighbors. Some of the other vehicles sped up and streaked by so the people inside were more difficult to make out. Nevertheless, he thought he saw Keisler pass by in his own AGT.
Aros' eyes got tired as he continued to watch everyone fly past. "Can we shut the windows?"
Seconds later, the windows disappeared. It was like the AGT heard him and complied.
"Fascinating," Doren remarked.
"It's like magic," Rikki said. "But it's merely scientific advancement."
Aros was more freaked out than fascinated. "Nothing in this place makes sense to me," he whined. As he tried to figure out what to ask his friends first, he realized he had forgotten to ask Keisler a very important question. "I didn't even remember to ask why the buildings don't have doors!" He hopped out of his chair, but immediately sat back down when he recalled he shouldn't touch anything.
"We feel the same way, Aros," Rikki affirmed.
"But we have to just go with it," Doren added.
Aros found himself much less willing to put up with the strange aspects of their environment. "I want to understand."
Rikki eyed Aros like she suddenly noticed something. "Doren, look at Aros."
Both of his friends were now gawking at him. Aros looked down at his torso, trying to make out what they were seeing.
"Doesn't that armor look familiar?"
"Uterak," Doren said.
Though lacking the intrinsic cubes of the resurrected Thalian, Aros' armor was a similar tint and clung to his body in the same unusual manner. "You think it came from here?" Aros asked.
"It would make sense," Rikki replied.
"But it's not the exact same," Doren observed. "And we don't know what Terrastream or the Twilight Islands are like. We can't rule them out."
"Do you think they're anything like this place?"
Doren and Rikki proceeded to debate whether Uterak's armor was definitely from Belliore or not. Aros tuned out their discussion. His mind was still back in that hospital building, reliving everything they had put him through. The peacekeepers. The decontamination process. Rejoining his friends. Keisler Fantom. Versil Talap.
"They have moving pictures," Aros said out loud, interrupting his friends' continued dispute.
"We're in a flying machine," Doren said. "So is that really what surprises you most?"
"Yes," Aros succinctly replied.
Rikki couldn't help but snicker. "I bet you're missing Faunli by now."
Aros glared at her before he too started to chuckle.
Doren joined in, and they were all laughing together when the AGT came to a stop and the doorway slid open.
"Who wants to go first?" Rikki asked. Neither of her friends volunteered. "I shouldn't have bothered asking." She stepped out of the AGT, leaving Doren and Aros to themselves.
Aros wasn't ready to face what was on the other side. He didn't know what technology would confound him next, and he wasn't looking forward to finding out. By the time he was ready to ask Doren if he wanted to go together, the Prince had already followed Rikki outside.
"Am I gonna have to get used to this?" he asked no one in particular before following in the footsteps of his friends.
On the other side was another building, another platform, and another Bellish director.
A man dressed in a stiff layer of violet cloth, with hair sculpted like a purple flame, was awaiting them. He had a narrow face, with a chin strip making it appear even longer, and his eyes and lips matched the color he must have been fond of. His fingers remained interlocked as the three Kytherans approached, and he gave them a sly smile as they lined up in front of him.
"You've already got two Keys, I see," he said, eyeing Aros' waist. "And a pet." He bared his perfect teeth at Rikki.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Lestrapel Humuratos, Director of Education and Miscellanea here in Cortex."
"Miscellanea?" Aros asked.
"Whatever the other directors don't want to deal with comes to me," Lestrapel said. "The incident here, and you three foreigners. I don't mind it, for it only means Director Talap trusts me to handle what no one else can."
"How many directors are there?" Doren asked.
"Questions later," Lestrapel said, and he turned around and headed for the nearest building.
Doren and Rikki looked at each other, and then they both looked at Aros. He shrugged at them and started after Lestrapel. For a society enmeshed in things Aros didn't know, these Bellish didn't have patience for questions. Aros hoped when they saw the dilemma inside, they'd have an easy solution so they could grab the Key and leave.
They stepped out of the sunlight and into an equally dazzling hallway. The corridors weren't lit by candles, and Aros expected if he asked what it was, the answer would be electricity, whatever that meant.
The path ended at a unique door that didn't automatically open as they gathered in front of it. It was as plain as the others, but it looked more stone than metal. Lestrapel placed his hand in the center it, and it sprung alive with colorful lights before it finally unlocked and let them pass.
"Stay close," Lestrapel urged. He led them into a shadowy corridor and nearly disappeared into the darkness.
Aros picked up his pace, and when he checked back on his friends, he only knew they were there thanks to the glimmer of their armor.
The pathway abruptly transformed into a steep declining slope, and Aros bumped into Lestrapel's back several times, leading to a number of irritated grumbles. They came to a halt before a pair of marble pillars that were reminiscent of the Imperial Palace in Faunli. They didn't appear to be supporting any structure, though, for they were only surrounded by blackness.
Lestrapel faced the trio and gave them a stern warning. "Remain behind me at all times."
Two chrome men stepped out from behind the pillars, but Lestrapel waved them off and they returned to their hiding place. He then pulled from his sleeve a sleek white card and held it between the two columns. A beam of green light that seemingly came from nowhere slid down the card. "Old technology," he complained.
Once the beam left the card, a metal egg the size of a house appeared out of the dark and into the foreground. A jagged crack formed in it as they stared, and then pieces started sliding away from the crack until only half the egg was left standing. There were additional pillars inside, which appeared more ornamental than useful, and at their center was an ivory pedestal of great import. Spinning in place on top of it was the third Key.
But feet away, there was a man with a trilby hat on his head and a black staff with a golden motif in his hand. Hatswick hadn't changed his attire since their last encounter, and the black and gold robes even had hints of sand embedded in them. Only his back faced them, as he didn't seem to notice the new arrivals as he reached for the Key.
Aros drew his clawblades when he realized who was feet in front of them. Rikki and Doren had taken their weapons out, too, and prepared for combat in the increasingly tense atmosphere.
"You can put those away," Lestrapel stated calmly, not at all bothered by the presence of the Thalian.
"Hatswick!" Aros shouted, as if Lestrapel couldn't see him.
"Have none of you realized something odd about him?"
Aros squinted his eyes and studied the former Grand Mage. He continued to reach for the Key but was getting no closer to it. Hatswick wasn't moving. He was frozen.
"Why isn't he moving?" Rikki asked, her staff still pointed at her old mentor.
"We are all taught the history of Ghumai at a young age," Lestrapel said, striding in front of Rikki. "So we know the significance of this key. Every generation of Bellish has added their best form of subterfuge to protect it. The security doors we went through to get here. The peacekeepers that remain here to guard it. And one of our latest devices, the time stasis lock." He extended a hand toward Hatswick. "If you were to get any closer to the Key, you would be frozen in time, just like this mage."
"How?" Aros asked, as if he would understand the answer.
"The science would be beyond you," Lestrapel replied. "But we have found ways to manipulate time. We can slow it down, or speed it up. And right over there, it's very, very slow."
Rikki straightened her staff. "Could you alter history?"
Lestrapel stepped away from her and toward Aros, who was the only one who still looked ready to strike. "That would be impossible. Our past is fixed. It is only the present and the future where time has shown it can be swayed.
"Not impossible for a mage," Doren murmured.
"What was that?" Lestrapel asked, his attention turned back to Rikki. "Have you done something?"
Rikki shot Doren an annoyed look before answering. "I accidently shifted back in time."
"Accidently?" He was clearly exasperated. "That is precisely why we do not deal with magic here in Belliore. Such carelessness could break reality itself."
"It all turned out fine though," Aros said, and he finally returned his clawblades to his back.
"What do you do with magic then?" Rikki asked with a note of concern.
"We quarantine it." Lestrapel's head turned to Hatswick.
"So how do we get the Key?" Aros asked. He could feel the tension between them escalating and he was anxious to leave. All they had to do was grab the third Key and they could abandon Belliore for good.
"You don't," Lestrapel stated, deflating Aros' hopes. "You believe you need this key to keep it safe, but it's evident it is safer in our hands than your own. We've been able to prevent Hatswick from gaining possession of it. And we were quite easily able to take the two you carry. No, our Key stays where it is."
Aros would've argued if Lestrapel hadn't made such good points. Maybe the Key was safer here.
Doren, however, was not so ready to concede. "There are others who will come for it. Just because Hatswick fell for your trap doesn't mean they will."
"I'm not so concerned," Lestrapel said, dismissing his claims.
"The Goddess demands – " Rikki started before being interrupted.
"You will not find devotees to Magenine here, young mage," Lestrapel countered.
"The King of Kytheras and the Empress of Faunli both ask for your compliance," Doren added, trying to retrieve the parchment he had tucked within his armor.
"Their words were taken into consideration," Lestrapel replied. "Given our lack of diplomatic relations with the Kingdoms of Kytheras and Faunli, we find little reason to accede to their requests."
Aros found himself disagreeing with
his friends, but he wasn't about to contradict them in front of Lestrapel. He was the one that was tasked with holding onto the Keys. Maybe if he told them he thought it was best they left it alone, they'd listen. But he'd do so later, in private.
"I could use magic right now and take it from you," Rikki continued to fight Lestrapel's obstruction.
"Yet there could be consequences to such a course." His violet eyes saw right through her. "You do not know what might happen if you try to break our stasis lock. We don't either. The effects of magic are never taken into account in our research. But you could free Hatswick, and I don't think you want that."
Rikki's face turned a harsh shade of red as her lips formed the most terrifying scowl Aros had ever seen on her.
"Are you the one making the decisions on this?" Doren asked.
"All essential issues are decided by the Directorate," Lestrapel informed them. "I am one of five."
"So we can appeal to the others," Doren said.
"That would be your only option, though I sincerely doubt you will find one of us that will agree with you. None of us will acquiesce to your use of magic, and no one will agree to turn off the stasis lock for you. We don't want Hatswick free any more than you do. Our histories are filled with the details of Neanthal's reign. We will not be complicit in letting him loose into our world once more."
"We're on the same side," Aros said, finally speaking up.
"Then you should leave the Key here and move on," Lestrapel told him.
"How many do we need to convince?" Doren said, ignoring the advice.
Lestrapel sighed. "Our decision to keep the Key in Belliore was unanimous. You will have to convince three directors to see it your way, which I am sure none will. We use logic here in Belliore, not religious or emotional motivation. And since there is no way I would agree to your request, that means you have only to fail twice more before the futility of your demand is made apparent."
"Magenine will point us true," Rikki assured him.
"And I will point you to the exit," Lestrapel remarked, pointing back to where they came.
Aros' eyes returned to Hatswick as his friends made to leave. Hatswick's hand was on his staff, his arm reaching for the Key. If the Bellish hadn't taken magic into consideration when they made their trap, how did they know Hatswick was truly stuck? He could figure his way out at any moment and grab the Key. What would they do then?