by Tom Hoffman
“Okay. But... just for now please don’t say anything to Lightning about it.”
A relaxing journey of three days found them at the Tree of Eyes. They arrived late at night, and soon were fast asleep in comfortable tents and cots shaped by Bartholomew. They had decided to stop and rest for several days before the arduous trek through the jungle. Bartholomew also thought Edmund might like to ask the Tree of Eyes a few more questions about Edmund the Explorer.
While everyone was sleeping, Edmund went for a long walk in the forest. Both moons were out and it was peaceful, the days when gigantic ants roamed the forest a distant memory.
Edmund took the Seventh Key out of his chest panel and studied it closely, then held it out as though showing it to someone. “We found the lost key, Edmund. We found the time throttle too. As soon as we take Thunder and Lightning home we’ll cross the desert to the World Doors and return the key to Bruno Rabbit’s house in Pterosaur Valley. That’s what they call it now. We’ll find a way to get the time throttle back to the Elders. You would like all my new friends, especially Thunder and Lighting. They’re a lot like you were.” Edmund was silent, then said, “Well, that’s about it. I hope you found Emma. My friend Clara says I’ll see you again sometime.” Edmund put the key and time throttle away and headed back to the Tree of Eyes.
Like Edmund, The Tree of Eyes never slept, and it greeted him when he returned. “We trust you had a pleasant stroll through the forest?”
“Yes, it was quite lovely. I imagined Edmund the Explorer was there and I told him we had found the Seventh Key. I hope he heard me, wherever he is.”
“I am certain he heard you. Our thoughts reach many destinations outside our current awareness. Some rabbits mistakenly think if they have not personally experienced a realm it must not exist.”
“Do you know if he has found Emma?”
“I can now tell you he will find her again within one year, but she will not immediately recognize him. It will take time for her memories to return.”
“That is a great relief to me. There are times when I feel... responsible for his death. If I had seen the ant before he had... I could have...”
“Edmund, what happened was part of the great and perfect Infinite Chain of events. Your actions cannot diminish the perfection of the universe because, although you may not realize it now, your actions are themselves perfection.”
“It didn’t seem very perfect to me when the ant killed him.” Edmund gave a deep sigh, then perked up. “Oh, I had a question. Do you get tired of standing in one spot? I wondered about that during my walk. Trees never get a chance to walk through the forest.”
“We are able to travel as Bartholomew does using the Traveling Eye. Our physical body remains here, but our awareness journeys incalculable distances through space and time.”
“I had no idea. It must be amazing to see the wonders of the universe and witness events that occurred long ago, and events which will occur in the distant future. Oliver said his fondest desire is to see the world when it was filled with prehistoric beasts like the pterosaurs.”
“We will show this sight to Oliver on his next visit if he wishes. We might add that we have come to know simple awareness as our greatest joy. To exist is to know bliss. Our happiness would be no less if we lost this ability to roam across space and time.”
Edmund and the Tree of Eyes chatted until dawn when Oliver emerged from his tent, the first adventurer to rise. Next came Bartholomew, followed several hours later by Thunder and Lightning.
Ever the culinary enthusiast, Oliver prepared a scrumptious breakfast for everyone using supplies shaped by Bartholomew.
Lighting called out, “These are the best flapcakes we’ve ever had, Oliver. You’re the greatest chef in all of Nirriim!”
“Here, here! I second that!” shouted out Thunder.
Oliver beamed. “Perhaps I have underestimated you two. For a couple of rough and tumble treasure hunters your highly refined culinary sensibilities are quite remarkable.” He gave a great laugh.
The following day they bid farewell to the Tree of Eyes and headed south towards the jungle. Thunder and Lightning were eager to get home.
“I can’t wait to show my mom and dad our treasure! We could buy them a hundred new houses with just my sack of gold and white crystals.”
Bartholomew was shooting orange beams of light from his paw, cutting a path through the dense foliage. “What are you going to do with all that treasure? What will you buy? I doubt your parents will need a hundred new houses.”
Thunder frowned. “I keep changing my mind, and now I don’t really know. A lot of the things I was going to buy I realized I didn’t really want. I guess I’ll give most of it to my parents. Really, the best part was finding the treasure.”
Edmund joined in the conversation. “Edmund the Explorer said those very same words to me when he talked of the treasures he brought back from his expeditions. He said Emma was the only treasure he truly needed. He gave most of what he found to museums and charities. He always said it was better to lead a simple life, and it didn’t hurt that it kept him out of trouble. Then he’d laugh.”
Bartholomew nodded. “He was a wise rabbit, Edmund. I wish I could have met him.”
The days rolled on and the Island of Blue Monks drew closer. Finally they broke through the dense trees and vines and saw the lake in front of them. “There it is! There’s the lake! We’re home, Thunder!”
Edmund blew the gold whistle the Red Monk had given to him and soon they were riding the long graceful boats back to the island. When the mice began to sing, each of the adventurers wished the crossing would never end.
“Bartholomew, Thunder and I would like to stop at the monastery on our way home. Would you and Oliver and Edmund go in with us? We have something we would like to tell the Thirteenth Monk.”
Bartholomew looked at Lighting curiously. “We would be happy to go. Edmund has an open invitation to visit whenever he wishes, so we will be welcomed there.”
They made their way to the outer gates of the monastery, where Edmund raised the great iron knocker and let it fall three times. The two massive doors groaned open.
Edmund greeted the two red-robed monks who stood before them. “I am Edmund the Rabbiton, and I am here to visit my old friend the Thirteenth Monk.”
One of the monks gave a smile. “Thank you, Edmund, your presence is quite unmistakable. Please follow us. He has been expecting you.”
The party of adventurers followed the two monks into the garden where they found the Thirteenth Monk sitting on a wooden bench with five empty chairs in front of him. “Edmund, friend of Edmund the Explorer, it is always a great pleasure to see you. I hope you are well.” The Thirteenth Monk motioned for the adventurers to sit, then said, “I trust your search for the Seventh Key was successful? I sense a certain satisfaction not previously present.”
Edmund smiled. “Yes, we found it in a long forgotten underground city once inhabited by the Mintarians. It was in a secret room below the Queen’s Treasure Chamber. I would like to introduce you to our two new friends, Thunder and Lightning. They are highly skilled treasure hunters and their assistance was invaluable during our search for the key. Without them we would not have found it. Also, please give our thanks to Ennzarr for his suggestion that we visit the Paw and Dagger Inn. That is where we met Thunder and Lightning.”
The Thirteenth Monk smiled. “Ah, Klanndirr and Binndirr, it is lovely to finally meet you. I have been quite looking forward to it and I welcome you both to the monastery.” He looked directly at Thunder, who glanced nervously down at his feet. “But perhaps Thunder already knew I was looking forward to meeting you both?” He laughed quietly and put his paw on Thunder’s shoulder. “I will not turn you to stone. You are far too gifted a seer to meet such a ghastly fate as that.”
“I’m a gifted what?”
“We shall continue this conversation on another day, Thunder. Edmund, is there another reason why you have chosen to
visit at this time?”
To the surprise of the other adventurers, Lightning answered the Thirteenth Monk’s question. “Sir, Thunder and I would like to give half of all the treasure we find to the Blue Monks. We would like you to use it to help the island mice. I know there are many houses in need of repair, and food can be scarce during the long winters.”
It was the first time Edmund had seen the Thirteenth Monk show surprise. The blue-robed monk looked first at Lightning, then at Thunder. He appeared deep in thought. For almost a full minute he said nothing.
Lightning finally stammered, “Uh... if that’s okay with you, of course.”
The Thirteenth Monk smiled, “Forgive me, there is more to this than is readily apparent. I am overwhelmed by your sincere generosity. That such young mice would put others before themselves is quite remarkable and says much about your nature.” From his pocket he withdrew two golden whistles, giving one to Thunder and one to Lightning. “The doors of the monastery are always open to both of you. You have helped to forge an unbreakable link on the Infinite Chain, and for this I am sincerely grateful.”
“The infinite what?”
Bartholomew took pity on Lightning. “We should take our leave now. It has been a long adventure and Thunder and Lightning are anxious to see their parents.”
The Thirteenth Monk rose, warmly shaking the paws of the adventurers, again thanking Thunder and Lightning for their generosity. He walked them to the main gate, and as they were leaving he put his paw on Edmund’s arm, saying, “Have patience, my old friend, your long journey is almost over.”
Edmund nodded, but the meaning of the monk’s words was unclear to him. “Thank you, the quest for the Seventh Key was a lengthy one, and I look forward to seeing the Fortress of Elders again. We should arrive within a week.”
The Thirteenth Monk’s eyes were twinkling. “Until the next time we meet, then.”
Bartholomew, Edmund, and Oliver walked Thunder and Lightning home and were greeted warmly by their parents. They watched as Thunder and Lightning emptied their bag of gold and Nirriimian white crystals onto the living room floor. The look on their parents’ faces was a sight Bartholomew would never forget.
The following day as they bid their farewells, Bartholomew said, “We will be back again to visit you. Quite soon, as a matter of fact. I will be returning with Clara, to show her the Timere Forest. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I know she will love it. Now that we have the Seventh Key, blinking here will take almost no time at all.”
Thunder and Lightning hugged everyone, thanking Bartholomew for hiring them, and thanking Edmund and Oliver for teaching them how to operate The Explorer.
After a three day trek through the jungle, Bartholomew, Oliver, and Edmund were again gazing out across the vast desert.
“Edmund, perhaps you might walk in front of us, just on the off chance we run into one of those dreadful Wyrme of Deth creatures. Especially since we know they have a taste for fresh Rabbiton.” Oliver roared with laughter at his own joke.
Edmund rolled his eyes, just as Edmund the Explorer had taught him to do so very long ago.
The desert crossing was relatively uneventful, and to no one’s disappointment they did not see a single Mintarian Wyrme of Deth. They were held up for almost four hours by a flock of wild creekers, but Bartholomew flicked up a large defense sphere as soon as Edmund spotted the beasts flying towards them. After two more days of walking and many long discussions on all manner of topics, Edmund led them to the area where the World Doors should be located.
Bartholomew reached into his pack and withdrew a pair of World Glasses, handing them to Oliver. “Look through these and see if you can spot the door. It will appear as a dark rectangle. I’m going to test an idea of mine. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling the Eleventh Ring will allow me to see the World Doors without World Glasses.
Less than an hour later Oliver and Bartholomew simultaneously shouted, “I see it!” Bartholomew’s hunch had been correct. When he wore the Eleventh Ring he had no need for World Glasses.
Soon they stood in front of the floating door, which was quite invisible to Edmund. “You’re certain it’s really there? I see nothing at all.”
Bartholomew pulled the door open, revealing the hallway with the six doors on each side and the door to the Isle of Mandora at the opposite end.
Edmund stepped up into the hallway. “It has been over fifteen hundred years since I walked through this doorway with Edmund the Explorer.” He flipped open his chest panel and withdrew the gold Seventh Key.
“Ah, excellent, you didn’t lose it.” Oliver chuckled loudly.
Edmund stepped down the hallway to the seventh door. As the key drew closer, the keyhole appeared. He inserted the key, then gently twisted it. There was a click and the door opened. The noxious odors from the Swamp of Lost Things flooded into the hallway. They were dreadful and wonderful at the same time. Oliver grinned like a bunny as he pointed up at the sky. “One moon! Hurrah!”
They were home at last. A great wave of relief washed through Bartholomew. The Seventh Key would soon be back in Pterosaur Valley.
Chapter 43
Augustus C. Rabbit’s New Job
Augustus C. Rabbit, former president of the Excelsior Electro-Vacuumator Corporation, was standing in a rather stark office, watching patiently as his new boss perused the most recent round of technical drawings. Augustus cleared his throat, then asked, “What do you think? The third prototype functions flawlessly, and we’re set to begin production as soon as you give the go ahead.”
“I like it. You’ve outdone yourself to have gotten so far in such a short time. This is excellent, Augustus. May I say again, I am ever so happy you decided to join me in this remarkable new venture.”
“Thank you, Oliver. I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world. This miracle of technology you have created will change the way rabbits work and live. This is truly a first for the world of rabbits and muroids.”
“Truthfully, it’s been done before, but a long time ago. Why don’t we take a stroll down to sub level three and you can give me a tour of the production floor. How many Rabbitons do we have working for us?”
“Right now there are close to three hundred, but we can expand that as the company grows.”
Oliver T. Rabbit and his new chief of operations, Augustus C. Rabbit, walked down the long hallways of the Fortress of Elders until they reached the set of stairs leading down to sub level three.
Augustus pressed a violet disk on the wall and two wide doors slid open.
“Great heavens, this is enormous! I didn’t realize sub level three contained a room this large.”
“We are finding more and more hidden areas in the Fortress. We believe this was a storage area, but it makes a perfect factory floor.”
Oliver could barely hear himself talk as they stepped into the new production area. Hundreds of Rabbitons were scurrying about in a vast maze of gleaming machinery, much of which Oliver did not recognize.
“What is this technology? Where did it come from?”
“The Rabbitons brought it up from sub level four. No one even knew there was a sub level four until they showed up with these machines. Apparently this is what they used to produce their own vehicles back when the Elders lived here. I have no idea what sort of vehicles they had then, and the Rabbitons have been less than chatty when it comes to sharing that information with us.”
“Hmmm... quite amazing.” Oliver knew very well what vehicles the Elders had produced but said nothing. The world was not ready for blinkers and scouting ships and interworld transports. Those things would come later. Most rabbits didn’t even have electricity in their homes.
“How do you like the sign?” Augustus pointed to a huge painted banner on the far wall that read:
The Pterosaur
Flying Carriage
Company
Above the company’s name was the silhouette of a flying pterosaur.
“Magnificent, Augustus. You’ve thought of everything. And you know, with these new updated vacuumator engines the flying carriages will be even quieter and faster than the Adventurer II. Perhaps one day there will be a Ptersosaur in front of every home in Lapinor and Grymmore.”
“Better than that, Oliver. We already have orders for well over a thousand Pterosaurs, from six different countries. It appears we are a success even before we have begun production.”
“Good heavens. You have my blessing to begin production immediately. I’ll get out of your way now, Augustus. I have a few errands I must attend to.”
After fifteen minutes of walking up and down stairs and through the massive hallways of the Fortress, Oliver found himself in a small office facing an A9 Engineering Rabbiton.
“During my recent travels I came upon a damaged blinker ship in the Timere Forest of Nirriim. Would it be possible for a group of Engineering Rabbitons to bring it back to the Fortress so I might examine it?”
“This task is one which could easily be accomplished. Is there something in particular about this blinker ship you wish to examine? Perhaps you are seeking to determine the cause of its malfunction?”
“No, I am simply trying to understand the technology behind its power source and the anti-microgravitator motors which drive the craft. These systems could be utilized in future generations of Pterosaurs.”
“Would it not be more practical simply to examine one of the many blinker ships on sub level four?”
“There are blinker ships on sub level four?? Great heavens, lead the way, my good Rabbiton!”
“As you wish. Just have this MAH092075 form signed and we will proceed.” The Rabbiton pulled a long sheet of paper out from a slot on its arm and handed it to Oliver.