Arboria

by Anthony Stefano

  “If Sylum has fallen they will not hesitate to come here,” said Gravenstein. “They risk finding me here, I must return to my hiding place.”

  “And the dwarfs?”

  “Do not worry, we can defend ourselves and we can hide Golmuth,” said Eolmuth.

  They decided that Golmuth would not accompany them to the portal so as not to discover its location and thus become a target for the Queen.

  “Golmuth, I...”

  “It will be fine, Alexander. You are all going back home, back to your parents.”

  “Thank you for everything. You are the most courageous dwarf I know, I will never forget you.”

  “Neither will we. We will never forget you.”

  “I can assure you that all of Arboria will know your story. We will speak of this fabulous adventure for many years to come.”

  Golmuth took all of the children into his arms.

  “Geum and Gom, we have to thank you both as well.”

  “We did our duty,” they said in chorus. “Now we are going to go back home and tell Kratoa of what has come to pass.”

  “Dongo...”

  “It will be fine, children.”

  “What will you do now?”

  “I am going to stay with the dwarfs and take care of this town. It is lacking a bit of greenery, if you know what I mean.”

  The children smiled and each of them hugged Dongo.

  “You are crushing me, stop,” he said with a smile.

  “Werner, I...”

  “I know,” he replied.

  “My friends, we will never forget any of you,” said Alexander.

  The children set off in the direction of the forest and walked through the woods for several hours.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” asked Meredith.

  “According to the book we found in Avengard, we have to look for stones engraved with the symbol of the archway,” said Alexander. “Harlan Gori wrote that it was he who marked the stones.”

  They searched the forest for the carven stones, but with no luck.

  “Maybe the markings have been erased over time,” said Amy.

  “That’s possible,” said Alexander.

  “It’s a shame to have to leave, it’s really cool here,” said Hope.

  “Yes, except for the Sorceress and everyone who wants us dead,” said Alexander.

  “I want to see mum and dad again,” said Amy, “and I would really love to get my doll back.”

  “I had forgotten about that,” said Alexander.

  They spent several more hours searching for the stones when, finally, they stumbled across the first one hiding in a bush. The symbol had been almost completely erased by time.

  “Meredith, you wait here,” said Alexander.

  “I found the second one!” shouted Hope from afar.

  “Alright, Hope, stay there!”

  Alexander and Amy took several minutes to find the third stone. Amy sat down on it. Thanks to the position of the stones they had already found, Alexander had little trouble in finding the last one.

  “Alright, are you all ready?” he shouted.

  “Yes!” the girls responded in one voice.

  “Now, Meredith, you have to go south like it says in the book.”

  Meredith looked at the position of the sun and slowly advanced.

  “Hope, can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have to head west.”

  “Alright.”

  “Amy?”

  “I can hear you, Alexander.”

  “You have to go east.”

  “Which way is that?”

  “Do you see your sister?”

  “Yes, in the distance.”

  “Head towards her.”

  Alexander began to walk northwards.

  The children walked forwards and, at the place where their paths crossed, they found themselves before two trees with their uppermost branches intertwined.

  “Here it is, here is the portal, these are the trees which open the door to our world.”

  “It would be best to take the book with us so that the Queen can never get her hands on it.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” said Hope. “Let’s take it with us.”

  “At least we will have a souvenir from our adventure,” said Meredith.

  Hope turned to Alexander with a sad expression. “Will we remember everything that has happened, or will we forget everything when we cross through the portal?”

  “According to Harlan’s book, nothing special really happened when he returned to our world. He kept his memories, so I don’t think we will ever forget.”

  Hope looked at Alexander with happiness and once more he felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

  “Amy, you can do the honours. Wait for us on the other side.”

  “Alright, Alexander.”

  Amy stepped through the portal and immediately turned around, waiting for her friends. The others watched, astonished. The way through the portal was clearly visible, but Amy had vanished.

  “Meredith, it’s your turn. I will leave last,” said Alexander. Meredith stepped forwards and passed through the portal.

  “Your turn, Hope,” said Alexander.

  “I wanted to thank you, Alexander. Without you, we never would have gotten back alive.”

  “Oh, I didn’t do anything special,” he said, blushing.

  “You really are a cool person.”

  She kissed his cheek, turned around and stepped through the portal.

  Alexander felt his knees go weak. Never had he been so happy. Hope had just kissed him and he would see his parents again in just a few minutes. He stopped for a moment and looked one last time at Arboria, then stepped forward and through the portal.

  “Here we all are, let’s go back and find our parents,” said Hope.

  “It will be good to get home,” said Meredith.

  The children set off, when a familiar voice spoke to them from behind a tree.

  “Children, is that you? I have been waiting for you for more than fifty years,” said an old man.

  “Gravenstein?”

  “I don’t understand, that’s impossible!” said Alexander.

  The bearded old man stepped towards them. It certainly looked like Gravenstein, only much, much older. He was dressed in old clothes and seemed very weak.

  “It’s Golmuth. He was taken prisoner by the Queen in Avengard. Only you can save him. The dwarfs need your help.”

  The children looked at each other, torn between the desire to go home and the desire to help their friend.

  “We cannot abandon him,” said Alexander.

  “He is our friend,” said Amy.

  “We have to save him,” said Hope.

  “I’m in,” said Meredith.

  The whole group, Gravenstein included, turned around and rushed back through the portal.

  CHAPTER 11: RETURN TO ARBORIA

  A few moments later in Arboria.

  “I didn’t think we would be back so soon,” said Alexander.

  “Time is a matter of relativity, Alexander. For you, it has only been a couple of minutes since your departure. I left Arboria two years after you did. When I crossed through the portal I found myself back in 1940, the year I left that world. It was the only way for me to find you and bring you back to help Golmuth. I hid for nearly fifty years, awaiting your arrival.”

  Gravenstein grew visibly weaker as he spoke and sat down on a tree stump. The weight of the years had etched itself into the lines of his face.

  “I am sorry children, I am a weak old man now, much older than when last we met. I cannot stand.”

  “That’s alright,” said Hope. “Tell us, what happened while we were gone?”

  “The Sorceress won the war after your left. Synerum was annihilated.”

  “And Antarus?” asked Alexander apprehensively.

  “I never saw him again. I still hold out hope that he was able to save himself in time, but
he is probably dead.”

  “Oh my God, Antarus!” said Meredith, covering her mouth.

  The children’s eyes grew wet. It was difficult for them to think that their friend the ice giant was gone.

  “And Golmuth? What happened to him? You said he needed our help.”

  “He was taken by the Sorceress. I investigated his disappearance and went by Avengard. It seems he is being held prisoner; the Sorceress wants to know the location of the portal.”

  “But Golmuth doesn’t know it!” cried Amy.

  “I know that, little Amy, but the Sorceress doesn’t.”

  “We have to rescue him,” said Alexander.

  “And Dongo, Geum and Gom?”

  “Dongo left a year after you did in order to found a new colony of Elwings by the name of Numera. Geum and Gom returned to their kin in Kratoa.”

  “It’s really strange to know that all that happened during our absence. We were here at most ten minutes ago,” said Alexander.

  “I understand, Alexander. It is also strange to me. Those fifty years was a very long wait. Let’s go, we have to get you to Between-Two-Rocks.”

  Gravenstein and the children walked for many long hours in the direction of the dwarfen town. Nothing had changed in the scenery, but the path leading to the town seemed to have been abandoned; there were weeds here and there and it appeared not to have been used very regularly. Alexander came across a sorry sight when they arrived at the little town. Part of the two rocks had collapsed. The stone was a dark colour, blackened no doubt by a gigantic fire. Crazed-looking dwarfs were going about their business, but they began to run towards the children with open arms as soon as they saw them.

  “What happened here?” asked Alexander, pushing the crowd back.

  “Zgard, he attacked the village,” said a dwarf.

  “Children, you’re here. Praised be the great stone of Rocaille.” Eolmuth took each of the children into his arms. “Welcome, we abandoned all hope when Gravenstein did not return. Follow me, I have much to tell you.”

  Gravenstein and the children followed Eolmuth to his home in the rock.

  “First of all, I will tell you what happened several days after you left. We were attacked by some sort of wizards who cast spells from all sides.”

  “Wizards?”

  “Yes, they spoke magic words, they attacked us by surprise and burned a large part of the village. They were with Zgard. They took Golmuth and we never saw him again. We went in search of Silmaril in order to have him get in touch with Gravenstein and ask him for help. Gravenstein agreed to go and find you in your world; it was the only way to contact you. We know it was a great sacrifice on his part.”

  “All the evidence shows that the Sorceress is once more looking for a way to cross the portal,” said Gravenstein.

  “Luckily, the book which gives the location of the portal is hidden in your world,” said Eolmuth.

  All the children turned towards Alexander.

  “Yes, I hid the book in the woods around the portal in our world,” he said in a voice that was hardly convincing.

  Hope gave him a sharp look.

  “Very good,” said Eolmuth. “Now, we have to come up with a plan to save our friend.”

  At that moment, Gravenstein collapsed to the ground. Alexander ran to his side. The unconscious bearded old man was put into Eolmuth’s bed. Alexander decided not to try anything until Gravenstein woke up. He sat by his side day and night, awaiting his reawakening. He did not know what to do. He had lied, he still had the book in his possession and he did not know what to do with it now. Hide it? Use it as currency in exchange for Golmuth’s freedom?

  In the days that followed, the children helped the dwarfs rebuild some of the homes that had been destroyed by the fire. Hope, the more talented artist among them, came up with new designs to brighten the wooden windows and the decoration inside the homes. With the children’s help, the whole town seemed happier and a small party was even organised to celebrate their return.

  Several days later.

  “Alexander, wake up!” shouted Meredith.

  “Yes,” he said, yawning in the chair beside Gravenstein’s bed.

  “He’s awake!”

  Alexander opened his eyes wide and saw Gravenstein smiling at him.

  “How long was I asleep?”

  “A few days.”

  “I’ve had enough of all these time changes in the last few days,” he said. “Children, would you leave us? I have to speak to Alexander.”

  The children and the dwarfs that were in the room left the abode.

  “I’m curious,” said Amy, “what is it they have to talk about?”

  “I think I know, but it’s better if Alexander tells you himself,” said Hope, and she moved away from the group.

  “She’s just making it up,” said Amy, “I’m sure she doesn’t know anything.”

  “We’ll see,” said Meredith, watching Hope go.

  “Alexander, you have to get rid of the book.”

  “How did you know I still had it?”

  “You have seemed troubled ever since you came back. Something is worrying you and your eyes betrayed you when Eolmuth spoke of the book. There is a heavy weight on you; you will have to face danger with your friends once again. I will not be able to go with you this time. My time has come. I will be happy to die in Arboria.”

  “What are you saying? You’re not going to die!”

  “I am old, Alexander, my strength is leaving me.”

  “But I need your help. What should I do? And the book? Should I destroy it? Hide it?”

  “Maybe one day somebody will be able to make proper use of it to link the two worlds.”

  “Alright, in that case, I will hide it and not destroy it. And Golmuth?”

  “You must go to Avengard, into the lair of the Sorceress, and bring him home. You have many friends in Arboria, they will help you fight her.”

  “That damned Sorceress.”

  “It is time that I explain who she is and why she so desires to invade your world. Her real name is Amareda. Dementia is a name she gave herself.”

  “The wife of the Count, the one who jumped from the top of the tower at the castle because he couldn’t bear living without her.”

  “I see you already know the tale. I’m impressed.”

  “Only a part of it. The tour guide who showed us around the castle told us.”

  “She was hunted and persecuted in your world for practising witchcraft. Her trial took place in Durbuy where the kiosk is currently located. The trial was a sham and she was quickly condemned to death without a single shred of evidence. That lit the spark of revenge inside her. When the executioners lit the pyre beneath her, she managed to break her bonds and cried that her vengeance on the town and its residents would be without mercy. She fled along an old, winding path through the woods behind the kiosk. Legend says that when she reached the top of the hill, the spot where a little balcony had been constructed to overlook the whole town, she cast a curse on all the residents. She swore to return one day and take her revenge. She disappeared into the woods forever and was never seen again. Several years later, her husband Count Tiberian, plagued by the circulating rumours, committed suicide by leaping from the highest tower in his castle. I do not know if she knew of the existence of the portal, but she found Arboria just like you did, and we know what happened to her after that. Now, her most sacred vow is to get her revenge on your world. If she finds the portal, she will return to her own time in your world, but with the powers she acquired here. Imagine the consequences for your world. At the head of an army, she would be able to conquer it in little time and reign over it forever.”

  “Did she have any powers at the time she left my world?”

  “No, she had no powers, she had been sentenced wrongly. So many innocent women were accused of witchcraft by the Inquisition at that time. Her thirst for vengeance must be unquenchable. Under no circumstances is she to cross the portal.”
r />   “My world has a great army and technology that is much more advanced than here in Arboria.”

  “No technology can withstand magic, Alexander.”

  “Very well, I swear to you that I will never reveal the location of the portal to her.”

  “Alexander, you are a brave boy, and I trust you, otherwise I would not have spent fifty years of my life waiting for you.”

  “I’m really scared.”

  “Alexander, d... I...”

  “No, hold on, please. Don’t leave me.”

  The old man’s eyes closed and his sigh cut Alexander off. He looked as if he had just fallen asleep, but life had left the body of Werner Gravenstein.

  “I will save Golmuth and I will save Arboria, you have my word.”

  Alexander left the room and told his friends of Gravenstein’s death. A mournful atmosphere hung over the little town in the days that followed. The dwarfs made a wooden coffin to hold the body of the deceased. A modest ceremony was organised in the little cemetery. It was very windy that day and the dwarfs carried the coffin and put it in the ground. They filled in the hole and carved a cross out of stone, a stark contrast in a cemetery that was otherwise filled with wooden ones. That was their way of honouring the great man who had given them so much.

  “Here is the final resting place of Werner Gravenstein, an exceptional man, a great explorer who did not hesitate to sacrifice a great part of his life to save us. We shall treasure his memory forever,” said Eolmuth, welling up with emotion.

  Everyone returned to the village to continue the ceremony except for Alexander, who decided to remain a while by the tomb of his friend.

  Having thought long and hard in the days which followed the burial, Alexander decided to hide the book in a hollow tree. It was an excellent idea because it was like the game of capture the flag that he had once played with the scouts. Each team had a flag and had to hide it somewhere in the forest. Next, they had to meet up and try to find the other team’s flag. The first team to find its opponent’s flag won the game. Alexander’s team had lost the game because the other side had hidden their flag in a hollow tree. What better place could there be to hide a book? Who would think of running their hands along a tree trunk in search of a book? It took several hours of searching in the forest before he found the perfect one: a dead tree of short stature, discreet. He put the book inside the tree and returned to Between-Two-Rocks. The following day, Alexander decided to travel to the Synerum alone.