Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi

by Randy Blackwell

  “Yes sir, I’ll do that. Where is the city hall?”

  Ischus was already setting off to make sure that there was order in the streets.

  He waved Omar away but called over his shoulder. “Sebastian will give you directions. Good day, sir. I hope your friend recovers fully.”

  Omar bowed toward him. “Thank you, sir, and good day to you.”

  Omar could hear people whispering to each other. “Who killed the Kalat?” and, “I hear the Akana shot fire from a stick!” as well as, “The council of six will not be happy about this.” Most intriguing of all was the comment, “There’s another Adam in Musterion…he fought the Kalat and survived.” What did they mean by “another Adam”?

  Several other Gabad brought Sebastian a makeshift stretcher to carry Myles away. As they lifted him onto the stretcher, Sebastian turned to Omar. “I know of a safe place nearby to take him.”

  Omar nodded agreement. Sebastian picked up one end of the stretcher and Omar picked up the other. “Lead the way!”

  Sebastian led them for three blocks down the brick-paved street. “Don’t get me wrong, sir," Omar ventured. "My focus is genuinely on my friend Myles here, but I need to know some things. I’ve heard two words today that I need you to define without asking me questions. Can you do that for me?”

  Sebastian turned right, taking them between some buildings and down an alley. “I don’t know what secret you and Myles are keeping, but I’m sure you’ll share when you’re ready. I’ll gladly define these words for you if I know their meanings.”

  Relieved to hear that, Omar cleared his throat. “What are Adam and Akana?”

  They came to a dead end at a brick wall and Sebastian stopped. “Your question is more revealing than you mean for it to be. You see, your friend here is an Adam and you are an Akana.” With that, Sebastian put his hand on a brick in the upper right corner and pushed it. The wall receded fifteen feet to reveal a sparkling blue pool of water. “From this point on, I’m going to assume that you know nothing of Musterion or Soterion.”

  Omar peered behind the wall. Several people swam within the deep pool of water. A closer look revealed that these people had gills on the backs of their necks and webbed digits. “Mer-folk,” Omar whispered to himself while shaking his head.

  Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what mer-folk are, but these people are the ’Am Mayim. They live both in water and on land, leading a pure and simple life. Most importantly, they can be trusted. You’re safe here.”

  Sebastian pointed to a glass-encased cage. “That lift will lower us to Takeleth, the secret city of the ’Am Mayim. There are little beings called the Nepsah and the Haspen. They are invisible to all except the ’Am Mayim. In Takeleth we won’t need to worry about these spies for either council. There we may speak freely and your friend will be safe. None dare challenge them underwater.”

  They stepped into the glass cage, closed the door, and something began to pull it downward. Omar looked down and could see a male ’Am Mayim pulling them down through the water by a rope tied to the bottom of the glass-encased cage. “You’ve proven to be a good friend. May I ask some more questions now?”

  “Yes, it is safe now.”

  Omar didn’t know where to start. “Does ’Am Mayim mean ‘people of the waters’? Are there others of this race called Adam in Musterion? What are these councils that you speak of that have spies? What are Nepsah and Haspen? What is Ischus’ race? You’ll have to excuse me. I’ve been waiting to ask you those questions and many more.” Omar finally paused for breath.

  “Yeah and why did that Kalat try to kill you?” Myles looked up and grinned at them both.

  “Myles, you dog! How long have you been awake?” Omar laughed in relief.

  “Since Sebastian opened the wall. I’ll admit that I’m not feeling so hot, Doc, but I’ve got questions too.”

  Sebastian looked down at Myles, who fought his pain to keep a cocky smile in place. “It’s good to see you’re with us now. Don’t worry, I’ll answer your questions. However, regarding your first question, if you want to know the origin of words you’d do better to ask one of the Akana.”

  Omar scribbled notes in his journal.

  Sebastian continued his explanation. “There is one other Adam that we know of in Musterion. His name is Nekar, but he went mad many years ago when the other twelve elders of the original council left him behind. They discovered a way out of Musterion and left without him. That was over one thousand years ago.”

  Myles sat up. “Did you say one thousand years? People can live that long here?”

  Sebastian nodded. “Yes, Musterion tends to give long life to its inhabitants.”

  Omar rubbed his chin as he considered that idea. “Interesting…and what is this council you mentioned?”

  “After the original Council of Thirteen Elders left, a new Council of Thirteen formed. A disagreement arose among the members, and they split into two different factions. Now we have the Council of Six and the Council of Seven. Ischus is the chairman of the Council of Seven. Ischus is of the Miyka, meaning born rulers, who are cousins to the Gabad like me. He’d be most upset with me if I explained all about the councils before he had a chance to tell you about them, so you’ll have to wait for more on that.”

  Omar nodded. “Sure, that’s fine.”

  Sebastian smiled. “Nepsah are a friendly but mischievous people. A Nepsah could easily sit in the palm of your hand. They have to will themselves to be visible to others and have iridescent wings which enable them to fly. It’s also said that the Nepsah must eat ten times their body weight in an average day. The Haspen are Nepsah who have committed a crime so vile that the other Nepsah have stripped them of their wings. Haspen, though small, are a frightful race. They are generally dark, bitter, and have a morbid sense of humor. They can also become invisible, but they don’t have to eat as much as the Nepsah do.”

  Myles saw an opportunity to cut in with a question and asked, “Why was that Kalat attacking you?”

  “Most of the races here are from a planet called Soterion but have somehow gotten trapped in the Maze of Musterion. This entire world is made of tunnels. Kalat are just cursed Miyka, the people who are like Ischus. They are cursed for their wickedness and now they must wear the visage of their wicked hearts. On Soterion they war with all of the Malakadam, the ones who dwell on Soterion.” Sebastian smiled at the look of confusion on the two strangers' faces. “The Malakadam are made up of four groups: the Gabad, like me; the Miyka, like Ischus; the Yaarma, whom you haven’t seen yet; and the Akana, like you,” pointing at Omar. “There are no Yaarma in Musterion. The Yaarma are dark-skinned, wood-dwelling Malakadam who can speak to animals. So now to answer your question, the Kalat attacked me because that is what Kalat want to do most—kill Malakadam.”

  Myles rubbed his head as he tried to process all that. “Wow, that’s a lot of information to absorb in one sitting. I may have to ask you about some of that again some time.”

  Sebastian smiled, “Indeed. But a bit of advice to you, Omar—hide your tattoo. The original Council of Thirteen each came to Musterion with an 8-digit tattoo just like yours, but they were all Adam. If you don’t like answering too many questions, I wouldn’t let anyone see an Akana walking around with an Adam tattoo. That will start a whole new inquiry much worse than the one you face now.”

  The glass cage suddenly stopped as it touched a giant bubble encompassing an entire city at the bottom. Then the cage slowly pushed its way through the bubble without letting any water in and continued descending until it touched the bottom.

  Omar watched this happen. “That’s not physically possible.”

  Sebastian grinned. “Anything is possible in Musterion. You’ll soon learn that.”

  8

  Decision

  Omar and Sebastian stepped out of the cage carrying Myles. Omar stared in awe at the multitude of buildings in the city, glowing brightly despite being so deep beneath the surface of the water. Each one
was made of shells and precious stones. As Omar slowly rotated, taking in the wonder of this place, they were all silent. Sebastian looked pleased with himself. Clearly he had hoped to astonish them.

  One of the ’Am Mayim who saw them arrive ran over and greeted Sebastian. “Hello, my friend. It’s good to see you.”

  Sebastian warmly returned the greeting. “It’s good to see you too, Reuben. I know it’s unusual to bring visitors to Takeleth, but they saved my life from a violent and hungry Kalat.”

  Reuben was a tall ’Am Mayim with red hair, green eyes, and a regal air about him. He glanced over at Myles and Omar and exclaimed, “An Adam! Where did you come from? Did he say that you two killed a Kalat? Is that true, only the two of you? Why, back on Soterion, a Kalat has been known to take down three Raphad! How is it possible that an Adam and an Akana could overcome one all by themselves?”

  Myles shook his head, bewildered. Omar couldn’t resist the urge to ask a question. “Reuben, please share your knowledge about the Raphad. We hear so little about them where we come from.”

  “I only know as much as most people. They’re generally at least twenty feet tall, look somewhat like an Adam, and have an odd reverence for water.”

  Omar nodded respectfully. Reuben seemed to sense that he was missing something about these strangers.

  Before he could probe any further, Sebastian put his hand on Reuben’s shoulder. “We came in the hope that you could give us some help. The Kalat badly damaged Myles’ leg. It’s not just a scratch; it’s far more serious. Please accept for now that they are both weary travelers who have reached the Core of the Maze of Musterion but do not wish to answer any questions at this time.”

  Reuben shrugged. “Well, for now, perhaps. But it’s definitely a story I would like to hear someday. Now, Sebastian, you know my father. I might be able to smooth over one surprise visitor by telling him that he killed a Kalat. But two visitors to the secret city would be totally unacceptable to him. Normally these things have to be discussed ahead of time. What I suggest is that you leave Myles here and you and Omar return to the city above. After all, my father will want to meet the first Adam to come here in a thousand years. And while he’s here, we will see what can be done about that leg of his.”

  Sebastian looked at Omar and Myles and asked, “Is this acceptable? Remember, Omar, you do have an appointment with Ischus. You need to return anyway.”

  Omar nodded. “Sure, it’s fine with me as long as Myles is okay with it.”

  Myles laughed as he said, “Are you kidding me? Come on, look at this place! I’ve never seen a casino half as nice as this.”

  Reuben smiled. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Before Omar left he handed Myles a book. “It’s a journal. Please write in it.”

  Myles immediately wrote in the information about the Raphad. “Sure, Doc. No problem. It might help me to remember all the info that I’m being bombarded with.”

  “Please be careful, Myles. I’ll hurry back as soon as I can.” Omar climbed into the glass cage. Reuben threw the rope attached to the cage up to the exterior of the bubble and an ’Am Mayim female caught the rope and began swimming upward with it.

  It wasn’t long before Omar reached the surface and one of the ’Am Mayim gave him directions to city hall. He walked back down the alley they’d entered through and turned left, heading down the street toward the fountain. As he passed by the fountain and the café on his left, he thought about how their grand introduction to this world had taken place. It wasn’t how Omar had envisioned it, but Myles had definitely won them an initial acceptance. He smiled for a moment as he thought about how Myles had told him he knew how to work a crowd and that they might even get a hero’s welcome. But attacking the Kalat wasn’t how either of them had pictured it.

  The city hall was the second building on the right after the fountain, so it was easy to find. As he approached, Omar looked up at the three-story building and saw steps leading up to the entrance and several columns that stood about 23 feet tall on either side in front of the entrance . Omar entered between the columns and through the arched doorway. In a grand lobby, twenty statues stood around the hall; seven to his left and thirteen to his right. One of the seven statues to his left was Ischus. All were from different species. But all the thirteen statues on his right were human, and each one had an eight-digit tattoo on the left arm.

  Ischus approached Omar. “Ah yes, the elders. We do miss them. They helped us to gain vision and direction. Then one day they found a way out of the maze and left the rest of us behind. I see that you got your friend to a safe place. I think that Sebastian chose well with the ’Am Mayim. He’ll be well taken care of by them and he’ll be safe.”

  Omar inquired, “Was it a Nepsah or a Haspen that followed us there?”

  Ischus’ face turned sour. “The Council of Seven would never employ the services of a Haspen. After all, we wouldn’t want anyone to be poisoned or pickpocketed. We just needed to know that you were not going too far. However, you did and now not even I could reach your friend Myles. We weren’t aware that there was a passage to Takeleth within our own city. I’m hoping that you will provide me with enough information about what happened to the Kalat, so I won’t need to challenge King Kludon Thalassa. Takeleth is his Barony, you see. Come, sit with me and have some tea. We’ll talk.”

  Omar followed Ischus to a magnificent library with several tables and chairs in the middle of the room. Once Omar was seated, Ischus strategically sat down across from him. They exchanged light conversation as a Gabad servant came over to the table, set down two cups and saucers, and poured their tea. Once the servant had left the room, however, Ischus began to talk again while Omar sipped the tea.

  Noticing how marvelous it tasted, his thoughts drifted to where all of their supplies came from. Where would one get tea or real food in a world made of brick tunnels? Or was there more to this world that he had yet to see? He was counting on that being the case.

  Ischus broke through Omar’s abstraction. “Omar, I need to ask you a few prying questions.”

  “Please, ask away.” Omar braced himself to reveal as little as possible.

  Ischus smiled. “I’ve noticed several things which have brought me to a startling conclusion. You’re not from Musterion or Soterion, are you? First, one can always tell the look of a person who doesn’t know where they are, and you both looked pretty lost and confused. Second, I’ve never seen an Akana with that tattoo before. You see, the original thirteen who came to Musterion carrying that tattoo didn’t come from Soterion. So please tell me where you’re really from.”

  This patrician didn’t miss anything. He made no effort to charm me first. He is going straight for the facts and he wants answers. But Omar tensed. After a moment of silence to gather his thoughts, he finally responded. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that. I don’t see how that information has any relevance to your investigation. Just know that Myles and I mean you no harm. If you prefer, we’ll leave.”

  Ischus slammed his fist down on the wooden table. The boom echoed throughout the library and the impact left a dent. A servant walking by in the hallway almost jumped out of his skin. Ischus took a deep breath. “You’ll have to excuse me, sir. I don’t often lose my composure. But then again, it isn’t often that someone tells me no. I understand that you don’t know how things work here. That’s why I struck the table and not you.”

  His look took a threatening turn. “I rule this city, and I am the chairman of the Council of Seven. For all intents and purposes, I’m the king here and the penalty for not obeying my orders is usually death. Now I’m in no way threatening you at this moment, but I’m trying to make you understand your place here. The damage is already done. The Council of Six is waiting for me to appear before them and tell them why one of their people died in my city. I must and I will know who you are. There is no other option for you. I swear on my honor that I will protect your secret as long as your secret does no harm to my
people. But I ask for the last time, where are you from?”

  Omar breathed deeply and thought back quickly to all the history lessons he’d ever taken. He’d just flirted with death. To tell a king no was treason, and he was lucky to be alive right now. “Uh…ah…sir…I mean, Your Majesty, thank you for sparing my life and I apologize for my ignorance. I should’ve recognized your status. To answer your question, I’m actually a human, or what you’d call an Adam, from Earth, as is my friend, Myles. Somehow during our journey I was changed into what I am now and at that moment I acquired the 8-digit tattoo as well.”

  Ischus dropped his tea and the cup shattered on the floor. A servant came to clean the mess, but Ischus stopped her, calling out. “You may clean it up later. I need everyone out, now! Put my ’Am Mayim guards at every corner of this building and make sure that there are no spies wandering about. Clear the hall completely; not even servants are allowed in until I give the word.”

  The servant reacted with a look of fear but nodded, kept her head down, and quickly scampered off.

  “Is everything all right?” Omar ventured, bewildered.

  “Yes, I believe so, but you must come with me. I need to know every single thing that’s happened on your journey, and then I want you to tell me all about where you’re from.” Ischus went over to the books on the wall and pulled out a black, leather-bound book that caused the entire bookcase to open up, exposing a passageway behind it. Ischus pocketed the book and motioned for Omar to follow him through the opening. They went down a staircase to a large conference room containing a long table with seven chairs in the middle of the room. Ischus pulled a chair out for Omar took a seat at the head of the table. Ischus took out the book that he’d pocketed earlier and handed it to Omar with a smile.

  The book was in German, one of the nine languages that Omar knew, so he read the cover out loud. Die Ganze Heilige Schrift, "The Bible". “Where in the world did you get this?”