Grikkl patted Cerberus, “Good dog,” as he inserted the same key around his neck into the left-hand door.
Grikkl told Jeep, “One of these doors is enchanted and leads to The Path of No Return. I’ve never figured out where it ends up, but there’s no way back to this world from there. But it’s not the same door every time. Even I don’t know which is safe. But I can always trust Cerberus to make the right choice.”
~~~
The heavily-carved wooden door swung open into a large rock chamber. Inside was so black that their lanterns couldn’t penetrate the darkness. After they entered and closed the door Grikkl mumbled a moment and gestured with his hands. The candles on the walls began to burn, making the room as bright as twilight.
They snuffed out their lanterns and set them by the door. Jeep asked, “Why do you bother with lanterns if you can just wag your fingers?”
“There are spells in the tunnel.”
Jeep rolled his eyes and said with exaggerated sweetness, “Oh yes, that explains it.” Just another answer that doesn’t explain anything.
Grikkl marched around and through the mystifying piles of strange objects stacked everywhere in the large cavern. Jeep could barely contain his curiosity as he gawked around. Most of the chamber was still in shadow, but Jeep could tell it was huge. The ceiling was probably 20 feet high. In the dimness Jeep couldn’t even see across to the other side.
As soon as Grikkl reached an area arranged for sitting, he again worked his lighting spell with quick hand motions so it felt like a cozy living room. Then he settled in and gestured for Jeep to do the same. Once Grikkl got his feet propped on a nearby crate, Jeep assumed they wouldn’t be leaving for a while.
“Where are we, Grikkl? I feel like I said ‘Open sesame!’”
“You’re righter than you know, Laddie. Some of this stuff was in that fabled cave as well.”
“But why?”
“We’ll get to that soon enough. I’ve brought you to a place with priceless and irreplaceable treasures—every one of them remarkable in its way. These objects are one of a kind and most of them influenced the course of history in a positive way. They’re not mine, just so you know. I’m merely their caretaker, sworn to protect them.” He sounded a bit in awe of the responsibility, as he gazed across the vast collection with respectful amazement.
“Wars. Battles. Quests. These things you see here were often present, sometimes as the prize. Or at least they were nearby as a witness to events that were changing the world of their day. Many of those stories have been faithfully retold in history texts and legends—no doubt with some exaggeration. Grand stuff...” His attention wandered off to the ancient past. Jeep waited in respectful silence—although not patiently. Later, with a shake of his head, Grikkl pulled himself back into their present place and time.
“Before we go on, there’s something I need from you. Grikkl assumed a solemn expression. “Promise me... Promise me, Jeep, you’ll never tell anyone that this place exists or what you see in here. Even to know about this chamber puts you in a very small group—most of them not human.”
“You can trust me not to tell.”
“Tskkk! What kind of vow is that? Make your words more resolute! More determined—it’s an oath I’m asking for. This chamber and all it represents is dead-serious. You might have to defend your pledge someday. People have died defending this secret.”
“I get it. My lips are sealed! I will not tell anyone about this place or what I see or hear in here.”
“Certain?”
“You can trust me, Grikkl. Honest.”
“I think you’re right. That’s why we’re down here, Laddie. I am trusting you.” Grikkl’s face brightened and twinkled as he dropped his stern manner.
“The official business is done. So go have a look around. Just be careful—many objects are very old and fragile. Put whatever you handle back exactly where it was.”
Jeep didn’t need to be told twice. Poking through piles stirred up a billow of dust. He sneezed and reached into his pocket for a tissue. Instead he found his compass and pulled it out without thinking. From long habit, he tried to get a fix on North. The compass needle kept spinning around, and never stopped. Jeep shook it several times but the needle wouldn’t slow down.
Grikkl had been watching and laughed out loud. “That won’t work down here, you know. There’s no way you’ll ever get an accurate reading.”
“Because we’re way underground?”
“No—it’s the unusual concentration of high-vibration energy here. That’s what’s making your compass go catawampus. A lot of other things can’t work here either, like clocks and radios. Nothing that used electricity”
“Because it’s magic¼?” Jeep ventured. Anything strong enough to mess with magnetic forces has got to be pretty powerful—or magical.
“Something like that.”
Jeep’s attention was attracted to a pile of swords, shields, and helmets stacked as though ready for a tournament. He fingered a badly scratched shield, feeling the coldness of the coarse texture and the deep gouges along its surface. Wow! These scrapes probably happened in battles where ordinary people fought—maybe even died.
He imagined himself as a daring knight in early England as he strutted about holding a round shield and swinging a short sword. When he put on a helmet he could see hardly anything through the narrow slit before his eyes. He could barely hold his head up because of the weight, and the helmet’s sharp bottom edge gouged into his shoulders. So heavy! How could anyone move around in this and still fight? I’m sure I could’ve done it, though. I’d have liked being a knight.
Jeep yelled, “Hey, Grikkl, is this stuff from Camelot?”
“How could you tell?”
“Any chance you knew King Arthur?”
“No, a bit before my time. That was about the Sixth Century A.D, and I’m only 800. A really long time ago, that was.”
“Hard to think of you as too young. Only 800. Good one!” Some historians argue that King Arthur and Camelot never happened, that they were just a myth. But I never believed it. This stuff proves it! This is the solid, touchable history.
Nearby, Jeep saw heaped-up trunks and crates that overflowed with pirate treasure—gold coins, jewels, elaborate carvings, and gold bars. And over there, stacks of framed pictures that showed knights and warriors engaged in deeds of valor. And there, Indian relics... And over there, rugs and tents... And there, stack after stack of thick, aged books... And here, and there, and there..., wherever his eye landed. Jeep saw one incredible wonder after another. A person could spend years and not see it all—let alone getting into all the crated-up stuff.
I can only guess what’s in all those boxes and piles. Like I’m in a king’s treasure house. No doubt, there’s an amazing tale that goes with everything that’s here.
Grikkl busied himself gathering some heavy books and rolled parchments. Too soon, he called, “No more exploring today, Laddie. Get settled—we’re going to be talking for a while.”
“Grikkl, how’d all this stuff get here? It’s way too much to carry. Besides, the tunnel’s way too narrow for it to get through.”
“Exactly so, I thought you’d spot that. This much treasure couldn’t have gotten here even with a lot of helpers.”
“Then, how’d you do it?”
“Not all done by me—not by a long shot. It happened over a long stretch. Think of this place as being where two realms touch. On the other side of where we’re sitting is fairy country—a whole different reality. Most of this stuff was brought here by way of fairyland. Right through these rock walls. Not much toting or grunting that way.”
“Huh?”
“It’s just a different dimension. Both are real, in their way—and not that far apart. And once you figure out how to move easily between them, it’s no big trick. And there are other dimensions besides. You humans only live in one of them and don’t have any idea what you’re missing.”
“If you say so...
So what is this place? Why?...”
“You’re in the Chamber of Ancient Wisdom, a protective home for irreplaceable treasures from long ago. They bear witness to important conflicts between good and evil that changed the course of the world.
“But what’s all this stuff for?”
“What you see here isn’t just tons of precious old stuff, not by a long shot. This place is sort of like a museum, some items are thousands of years old. Everything brought down here played a role in the never-ending war between the forces of light and the forces of dark. Sometimes good prevails, and sometimes it fails for a time. But the noble efforts of innumerable brave people have managed to keep the power of good from being snuffed out.
“What you see here are reminders of things that matter—like honor and courage. Keeping these treasures in a safe place prevents vital links to ancient times from being forgotten. As long as these objects are here, memories about what the people involved contributed to the world will not be lost.
“These things aren’t merely priceless or beautiful. Each of them has a special energy. If you bother to notice, you probably can feel the powerful binkle energy in this chamber. Everything here is saturated with it. And one way or another, all this involves protecting binkle power.
“Only a few of those long-ago confrontations between light and dark energies show up in the myths or fairy tales. Much more has been lost to memory—but their existence here keeps a tangible link to what could so easily be forgotten.”
“You mean, those mythical battles I’ve read about really happened?”
“Aye, Laddie. They were real enough at the time, and stay alive in the re-telling. Myth doesn’t mean made up. You know. There’s a nugget of truth in them.”
“Wow! How old is this place?”
“Enough questions, Laddie. Any of us who are still alive and know what’s at stake must continue to fight that worthy fight.” His eyes misted up with sad memories. Grikkl fell silent as a lone tear followed the lattice of wrinkles until it was lost in his bushy white beard.
“Even today?”
“Especially today, Laddie. The stakes are higher than ever. There’s much truth to be learned from the old myths and folk tales. They speak directly to the emotions. The language of love and the heart. The bravery of those mostly nameless heroes in costly defeats and victories is beyond imagining. These marvelous treasures you see here are just the reminders of their noble sacrifices.”
“I’ll bet you could tell me a story about everything that’s in here,” Jeep suggested hopefully.
“That I could, Jeep, that I could¼ But there won’t be time for that today. Not all the tales are as grand as King Arthur and his knights. And not all these treasures come from mighty battles. Like this here.”
Grikkl grabbed a coil of rope. It seemed ordinary except for its strange shiny color. “This rope was made by Hildegarde the Worthy—although she was just plain Hildegarde when she made this. She lived in the mountains of Bavaria, she did—not yet twenty years old. About thirty women were held for ransom in a tower overlooking steep and dangerous high mountain cliffs. Their captors were slowly starving them to death, and they couldn’t last much longer.
“Hildegard persuaded all the women to cut off their hair and they worked for days to braid it into this strong rope. The captives used it to get away through the only window in the tower. Their courageous escape inspired the rest of the villagers to stand up to the tyrants and drive them off.”
“I’ll bet that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?”
“Aye, Jeep. Tyrants have been around a long time—but they’re still around today, too. Enough history, I brought you here for a special reason.
“Is it magic?”
Grikkl smiled his wise and mysterious smile, “That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it? But you could say so. Magic, at least the good kind, certainly can’t happen without it. But it’s more like energy, a special kind of energy.”
“I’m not following you.”
“That’s because you can’t understand what I’m talking about—not with the head, anyway. It’s something you have to feel here.” He patted his heart. “When you’re able to feel this energy yourself the rest of what I’m saying will make more sense to you. Still, today you start to understand something big—and small at the same time.”
Grikkl absent-mindedly stroked his beard before asking, “What do you know about atoms, Jeep?”
“My class spent a week studying atoms. They’re extremely tiny, but everything you can touch is made out of them.”
“That’s right Laddie. But the energy that comes from atoms has immense power—more power than you’d suspect from their teeny size. What I’m talking about, the binkle power accumulated in this chamber, is a lot like atomic energy—small but powerful. Once you know what you’re looking for, you are able to recognize signs of that power everywhere.
“Notice all the pictures and statues down here? They played a part in bringing more binkle energy into the world, too. Binkles and beauty go together. Since binkles can happen whenever a person is touched by something beautiful, it’s often found in the natural beauty of the outdoors. Or you can find them in any of the arts—like in music, and paintings, and dance, and poetry.
“Great art touches a person deeply because some artists are skilled enough to capture binkles energy in what they make. Through their art other people can actually feel the energy that inspired their creation.”
Jeep was used to Grikkl saying little, but that day Grikkl spoke for a long time without a break. Jeep didn’t follow all of what Grikkl told him. But he could tell the gnome was revealing secrets known only to a few. Grikkl finally stopped talking, and the silence grew as long as the shadows around the chamber.
Jeep timidly asked, “Why are you telling all this to me?”
“Because you already used this energy. So you need to understand it better.”
“How could I? I just found out about it.”
“Jeep, don’t you realize you used it when you called out to me that night I brought you home.”
“When you found me? You must be mistaken. I was helpless. I did nothing.”
Grikkl erupted. “Nothing?! Nothing?! Don’t be silly! You summoned magic to your aid. It was weak. But I felt it and the animals felt it, too.”
“No way! I couldn’t have! I don’t know how. I’ll admit, I tried. I made a wish but it didn’t change anything.”
“Not change anything?!” Grikkl bellowed. “Not change anything¼!”
“Nothing happened, I tell you.”
“And I’m telling you it did! You foolish, foolish boy. You called me to you. I was obligated to respond to your summons. And there was no doubt magic was at work.”
“You felt that...? I guess I have to believe you, but how?” But I couldn’t have, I couldn’t have¼ That makes no sense at all.
“Yes Laddie, I felt the urgency of your summons. What I didn’t yet know was whether it was dark power or light power you were using.”
“Really? Then you must have decided I’m OK, or you wouldn’t have taken me home.”
“Exactly so, Laddie. Once I checked you over good and proper I could tell you were a good ’un. Rough around the edges, but you’ll learn with time.”
Grikkl shifted to a more serious manner. “There’s much more to tell later. But today I have to warn you. You’re returning home soon, so you have to be ready.”
“Ready? For what?” Jeep asked in alarm.
“There are risks¼ You must become more careful—more watchful for dangers. Once someone knows about what you know, you could become a threat to them.”
“Not me. I’m not a risk to anybody. I’m just a kid. Besides, who¼?”
“Believe me, there are evil people who want this knowledge to stay lost—forever. To destroy these precious objects and what they stand for. As you learn how to use more binkle power, they’ll notice you. You could be in peril. But until you’re smarter about how to
control the full force of binkle energy, you won’t know how to use it for your protection.”
Jeep thought a moment. “Can’t you protect me? Maybe I should stay here with you and Adah...”
“That’s not your answer. Your own power can protect you—once you’ve learned how to listen to it.”
“Then teach me.”
Grikkl sat back and smiled; his wise eyes twinkled, “That has begun, Laddie. Adah and I are already doing all we can to keep you safe, You’re OK for now.”
Grikkl opened a very old wooden chest. He squatted down and rummaged through the lowest drawer. A grunt of satisfaction announced he’d found what he was looking for.
“Catch, Laddie!” He tossed the object at the startled boy.
Jeep snagged it out of the air, then studied it carefully. He held a gold medallion—about 1¼ inches across and worn smooth in places. There was a round hole near the edge, so it could hang. One side showed a hopping rabbit that reminded him of Lulu. On the other was a symbol Jeep didn’t recognize.
“There’s great power in this talisman— made even stronger because of Lulu’s affectionate bond with you. Before you go home, I’ll show you how it works.”
Jeep grinned as he held the ancient charm against his chest. It seemed to pulse with energy. “I can almost feel its magic.”
“Aye, Laddie, that you can, that you can. Now it’s time for us to go.”
Grikkl needed Jeep’s help to carry his manuscripts back through the tunnel. Jeep’s mind was discombobulated by all the strange things he’d seen and heard. So he followed along behind Grikkl and Cerberus like a person in a trance.
Chapter 6—
JEEP DISCOVERS YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
Grikkl said, “Jeep, you need to know that what you’ve been eating, the faduki, isn’t ordinary food.”
“I’ve figured that out—and I like the way it tastes a lot better.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. It doesn’t just taste different. It changes the way your body works. Adah and I have eaten it for centuries, but you’re not used to it. You’ll start to feel its side effects before long. A steady diet of it probably wouldn’t do you any harm—but it will affect your ears.”
The Binkle and the Catawampus Compass (Binkles and Magic) Page 5