“It’s a junk!” Carl exclaimed when he first saw it.
“It is not junk,” Helf turned on him rather angrily. “This boat safely carried many humans across the tempestuous sea, and it was sturdily built. After we rebuilt it, it is even better than before!”
“I didn’t say that is was junk,” Carl tried to explain. “I said it is a junk. That’s the Chinese word for many of their fishing vessels.”
Helf blinked several times, feeling kind of embarrassed that he did not know this fact. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I misunderstood.” And he turned away to talk to three scientists and engineers who were standing at the base of the platform. These individuals were present to help explain the workings of the flying boat, and they were rather impatient to begin. They thought they were wasting their valuable time and wanted to get back to their more important projects.
“Way to make friends and influence enemies,” Karen whispered in her brother’s ear.
“I thought he knew!” Carl defended himself. But the twins wasted no more time in talking about this, because Uniqua wanted to get started on their journey as soon as possible.
“This is Captain Lump,” Helf introduced another Dwarf who was just arriving. His appearance was immediately strange, as his back had been deformed since birth. Over his left shoulder, a huge bulge protruded. Helf whispered, “He is called Lump the Hump, but I wouldn’t say anything to his face, if I were you. He is rather sensitive about that hump. But at the same time, I believe he is rather proud of it, because it makes him different from the others.”
Lump was also a rather grumpy Dwarf, and underneath all the hair on his face (of which he seemed to have a lot more than most other Dwarfs) he wore a perpetual scowl, meaning that he never smiled. Even when he laughed, it sounded more like a bear growling when it is particularly angry or unhappy. Because of his deformity, he was also shorter than his kind and thicker, especially around the chest. His arms and legs were like those of a body builder, and indeed he was quite strong.
“So, these are the castaways,” Lump greeted the Group. His tone sounded rather disapproving, but then again, he rarely had a nice word to say to anyone.
“Captain Lump will be flying the boat,” Helf explained.
“Flyin’, sailin’,” Lump growled. “Makes no difference to me. We’ll be sailin’ through a sea of air, and mind you, it’s gonna be a dangerous adventure. So, you landlubbers had better learn fast and listen quick, ‘cause I don’t like sayin’ things twice. If you don’t learn fast and listen quick, then you might as well stay here and die. Death on the ground will be more pleasant, if you catch my meanin’.”
“We understand you quite clearly, Captain,” Uniqua tried to assure Lump. “However, we do not believe that we are going to die soon, either here on the ground or up there in the air. Especially if we have you to be our guide and ship’s captain.”
“Flattery!” Lump exploded. “There’ll be no more flattery! I hate flattery, and I hate wasted words. Now, get aboard all of you. Your education has just begun.”
*
Captain Lump taught his new crew for the next two days. Maybe you have had some teachers you liked very much and also some teachers that you did not like because they were too mean and did not like you. I am afraid most of you would not have liked Captain Lump because he not only sounded mean, but he also was very hard on his students and demanded a lot from them. But at the end of the training, he only grunted his satisfaction and had no word of praise whatsoever. As for our friends, they were tired and worn out, and not one of them were sure they really wanted to fly with Lump as their captain.
The big day to leave finally arrived as well, and it seemed as if all of the citizens of the FOB had come out to see the boat fly. The preparations for the departure also included a lot of festivities, so that for several miles around the stone platform, wherever there was space, it looked like a fairground. People sold all kinds of food. Booths offering all kinds of games had been set up. Performers entertained the crowds, especially the children and those who were still children at heart. In fact, it was one giant party affair that started very early in the morning and lasted through the launching (and probably for days after the departure).
After lunching with the three kings and Queen Irene in the palace, the Group accompanied the monarchs to the stone platform amidst a great number of cheers and well wishes. The guards tried to make a path through the throngs of people, but so many wanted to see the Group to shake their hands or just touch them that moving through so many people took a lot longer than it should have. At length, the Group, the monarchs, and the two Captains stood on the stone platform in front of the boat to address the crowd.
“Fellow citizens of the FOB,” King Crane spoke, his voice amplified through a megaphone that one of the guards held up for him to use. “This is a momentous occasion that everyone will remember and be talking about for generations to come. As everyone knows, it has been impossible to cross the great mountains of the west and north ever since the portals broke down many, many years ago. This will be a dangerous quest, but we all pray that it will be a successful quest. This joint venture by people from all over the Island—and, of course, by our two visitors from outside the Island—will hopefully begin to reunite all the peoples of the Island, as it once was long, long ago. So, without taking up more time, let us now begin the journey.” He turned to the Group and to the two Captains. “Safe journey. May the Lord of Power keep you safe.”
Uniqua bowed to the cheering crowds; the Rabbits bobbed up and down in unison; the twins grinned and waved lustily; Cassandra turned her back on the crowd and climbed up the gangplank into the ship; Helf saluted the crowd in a very military way; and Lump merely scowled all the more, shook his head, and muttered several phrases regarding the waste of time and how late they already were in getting started. Soon everyone who was leaving was aboard.
“Everyone not going or wanting to be injured, clear the ship!” Lump bellowed. He was naturally speaking directly to the monarchs, but he did not want to be too rude. After all, they were the sovereigns of the land, and they should be given due respect.
“Clear the moorin’ lines,” Lump shouted to the technicians who had stationed themselves around the stone platform to release the locking devices that connected the boat to the platform. Each of these men released the locks, and the ship was now free to fly.
“Prepare for launch!”
At these words, the Group and Helf moved to their assigned stations on the boat and grabbed a part of the ship just in case the upward launch of the ship was not smoothly executed. Also, up in the ceiling, the circular opening began to move, and the larger the opening became, more sunlight filtered down into the great building. Finally, it looked like a huge spotlight was focused on the boat, a good omen many of the Dwarfs watching this thought happily.
“Launch!” came the order, and this was probably the most beautiful sight that anyone had ever seen. If you have ever had the chance to fly in a hot air balloon, then you would know what the feeling was for the travelers in the boat. With a gentleness, not like the rocking of a boat on water, the ship rose effortlessly from its stone moorings and up into the air. The crowd was thrilled and yelled many things like “Goodbye!” and “Bon Voyage!” and other like words of encouragement and excitement.
“Get ready for the slipstream,” Lump told his crew. What he meant by this was that while they were still inside the building, there was little air moving about. The stillness of the air inside barely moved the boat if at all. But once they cleared the ceiling of the building, there would be a lot of air moving, and they all should be prepared for a lot of jostling and bucking and rocking that this outside air would be causing.
Then the top of the boat cleared the circular opening. Already the crew could feel the warm sunshine and a slight breeze coming off the ocean. They were fortunate that the breeze was light and not very strong, for it could have slammed them against the edge of the opening and perha
ps caused damage to the sides of the boat. Then the ship was clear of the opening, and they were flying high above the building and climbing still. Even as the opening was closing, the twins looked over the side of the ship and were just simply amazed at how big the building structure that covered the land of the FOB was. No words could describe their emotions. The building was so huge—so vast—that they could not see all of it even from their vantage high up in the air.
“Steer nor’ by nor’west,” Lump commanded. And the ship was now heading toward the formidable mountains, that Island barrier that had defeated so many attempts to cross.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE FLIGHT
I think everyone likes to take a trip. Sometimes the longer the trip the more excitement there is. Then again, depending on the kind of transportation, the time getting to and fro between destinations can be a boring nightmare.
For example, when you travel by bus, there are only two seats on each side of the aisle. These seats are not very comfortable. You cannot stretch out or lie down. If you carry anything on board, you have to put the packages down under the seat in front of you—where your feet are supposed to go. You should carry something to eat and drink because the drive is long and there are no or few “pit stops.” If you have to use a restroom, you have to wait a long time before the bus makes a “pit stop,” so people can get out, stretch their legs, buy something to eat or drink, or use the facilities. At least the windows are large so everyone can look out at the countryside passing by. But by and large you are confined to your seat for the duration of the trip and cannot get up and walk around. And, you will have to sit for hours and hours just to arrive at your destination.
A plane is definitely faster, except each row has three seats, and the middle seat is probably the worst place to sit. I think they are smaller than bus seats, too, unless you want to spend a great deal of money for business or first-class seats. The windows are tiny, and only the people sitting next to them can see out. But then, there usually is nothing to see except clouds anyway. Flight attendants discourage anyone from walking around because they are always pushing food carts up and down the narrow aisles, which tend to completely block them. This is especially annoying because if you have to use the restroom, first you have to climb over (literally) other passengers to reach the aisle and then squeeze past the food carts only to find a lot of people waiting to use the facilities. Because of air turbulence, you feel like you are a circus performer trying to keep your balance while the plane rocks and twists back and forth as well as up and down. The longest flight I ever took was fifteen hours long. I found the only thing you can do on such a long flight is to try to sleep: it makes the long flight seem a little bit shorter.
The train can be a pleasant experience. The seats are not necessarily an improvement over the bus or plane, but you can move around freely. Some trains even have tables to make reading or playing cards easier. Then, too, a train will have separate cars where you can buy food and drinks. And, if you are taking an extra long trip, they even have sleeper cars where you can sleep in bunk beds. The train may not be as fast as a train, but you can see much more of the countryside passing by. Yet, it still is very confining, meaning you are stuck on the train until you come to your destination.
A motor home sounds kind of fun. It is, after all, a home on wheels. It has a restroom built in that you can use while traveling, and you can sit on real couches and watch television. Or, you can sit on a couch in the back and wave to cars as they pass you on the highways. You could even cook something to eat, although it is highly dangerous to do so while the vehicle is moving down the road. And, when you get tired, you can just pull over into a trailer park and spend the night. The disadvantages include being slow, because motor homes are pretty heavy vehicles, and they eat up a lot of gasoline very fast.
A boat, then, just might be the best way to travel—unless, of course, you have to travel overland. A large boat, like a cruise ship, offers so many things for people to do while they are traveling: eating, dancing, gaming, socializing, shopping, watching movies, just like a floating mall. Since traveling by boat is fairly slow, people can amuse themselves or enjoy themselves in on-board activities to make the time pass quickly.
Last, riding in a car was the least enjoyable of all for me. While Dad drove at high speeds for several hours, trying to cover as much distance as possible in one day, we children were virtual prisoners in the back seat with nothing to do but fight with each other. Trying to read a book usually made me carsick. Playing a game requires a flat surface, and car seats are not made to be flat. And if I had to use the restroom, I was repeatedly told to “hold it” or “wait until we get to the next rest stop,” which ended up being hours away.
In our friends’ situation, they were very lucky to have a boat. Not just any boat: a grand boat that flew! There used to be flying boats a hundred years ago. There were called dirigibles. They could easily fly across both water and land. But after too many of these dirigibles crashed and burned, especially the most famous Hindenburg disaster, people did not want to ride them anymore. The highly volatile hydrogen gas that gave these ships-of-the-air fuel needed only a tiny spark to ignite and turn the vessels into high-altitude fireballs. The FOB boat, then, had the advantage of being a dirigible without the danger of carrying any exploding gasses. The disadvantage? Well, it was not a cruise ship; it was small; and there was not a whole lot to do aboard ship outside of working.
“Whatcha reading?” Karen asked her brother. They had been flying for only a couple of hours, and she was already bored. She found Carl lying on his bunk in their stateroom looking over some handwritten notes.
“While we were waiting for the Dwarfs to ready this ship for launch, I was shown this huge library,” Carl began. “You wouldn’t believe how many books there are!”
“You could read them?” his sister asked incredulously.
“Yeah.” Carl looked up at her questioningly. “They were in English.”
“Carl, have you ever wondered why everyone speaks English?”
Carl shrugged. “No. Why? Do you think it means something?”
“I’m not sure. We are in a foreign country. I mean, where have you ever read that people from one country travel to a different country, one that no one has visited before, and then find people speaking the same language?”
Carl thought for a moment. “Arabian Nights. Huh. I never thought about that before. Supposedly, people traveled all over the world, met the oddest people—different from them—and, yet, had no difficulty talking to them. I guess it was just easier to tell the story without having to bother about details of translation or learning a new language.”
“But we don’t need translators, and we haven’t had to learn a different language. And, there are so many different kinds of people living on this Island.”
“Maybe it’s just part of the magic of this Island,” Carl surmised.
“Anyway, what did you find in the library?”
“Like I said, you wouldn’t believe the kinds of books. I mean, there are histories of the Island that go back thousands of years!”
“Thousands? But these peoples haven’t progressed very much. They are barely out of the stone age!”
“Maybe it’s part of that time thing,” Carl suggested. “Maybe they don’t want to progress. They’re happy the way they are. Besides, where have you ever read a fairy tale that happened in modern times? Everything is always so—” he searched for the word—“medieval.”
“Then why are we on this mission, trying to fix a problem that they created but are unwilling to fix themselves?” Karen pointed out. “And portals are not medieval.”
Carl shrugged. “Magical, then. Why are we here at all?”
This was too much philosophy for Karen, and she changed the subject. “Anyway, what did you find out?”
“We’re heading for Big City, right? Well, we shouldn’t be. Instead, we should be heading for this volcano in the northeast.” He show
ed her a crude map he had drawn from memory from the map in Who’s building. “You see, the Lord of Power controls most of the mountains near his Islet. He will not allow us to approach by air.”
“What would happen if we tried?”
“Remember when King Crane said that no one has ever come back after trying to cross the mountains?”
Karen involuntarily shuddered. “So, what do you suggest? Or rather, what does your research suggest?”
“We need to go to the Land of the Missing Dinosaurs while at the same time avoiding Lava World. There the beings are made completely out of fire. That way, we put some distance between us and the Lord of Power, which might limit his influence. From there, we can make a left turn and cross the lower—but not less formidable—mountain barrier between Big Head and Lava World. Or, maybe we can move out over the ocean and bypass the mountains altogether.”
“Have you told Lump?”
“He won’t listen to me,” Carl complained. “He tells me that I’m just a kid, and he’s the captain of the boat. I’m crew, and I have to follow orders.”
“Then, we better prepare for the worst. I get a feeling that ‘interesting times’ are ahead. Again.”
*
If Karen had a gift for prophecy, she could not have been more right. As the flying boat got closer to the mountain range that barred passage to the Mountain of Power’s Islet and tried to fly a direct line to Big City, clouds began to gather around the central mountain’s summit in earnest. At first, they appeared like little cotton balls, no threat at all. But as the moisture in the air continued to build, the clouds grew thicker and darker. Thunderheads appeared like great fists of anger and began to approach them. Then, with almost no warning, they started to move northeasterly in mass, seemingly right towards the flying boat!
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