Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Last Metaphonium

by Tom Hoffman

  “You’re so tall we don’t even need the ladder. I’ll scrape the bottom half and you scrape the top half.”

  Orville’s arms were aching when he sat down on the old garden bench.

  “Whew, that’s hard work, and it’s hot out today.” He was about to shape a glass of cold water when Ebenezer Mouse stepped around the side of the house with a pitcher of lemonade and a tray of oatmeal cookies.

  “Thought you might like something cold. It’s warm for a fall day. Made the cookies myself. I used Aislin’s old recipe.” Ebenezer sat on the bench next to Orville, setting the tray between them.

  “Thanks. You’re right, it’s hot today, feels almost like summer. Who’s Aislin?”

  “My wife. I lost her twelve years ago. Nothing’s been the same since. She’s the one who kept the gardens so lovely, reminded me to paint the house.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I remember when I was a mouseling you found me wandering around town and brought me home.” Orville studied the glass tray holding the cookies. “I think I remember that tray. I think maybe Aislin gave me some cookies.”

  “Good memory. Your parents were out looking for you so I left you with Aislin while I went to get them. Aislin said she gave you a plate of oatmeal cookies. Said you really liked them.” Ebenezer stood up. “Come see me when you’re done painting. There’s something I want to show you.”

  Three hours later Orville was scraping the third side of the house. “This is going a lot faster than I thought it would. It would have taken me a week to do it by myself.”

  “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Ebenezer Mouse. What do you think he wants to show you?”

  “I don’t know, probably old stuff. You know, pictures of when he was young, maybe pictures of Aislin. She must have died soon after he found me. I don’t remember anything about it though, I barely even remember her. I guess Mama thought I was too young to hear about stuff like that. Maybe that’s why he’s so unhappy, because he misses her.”

  The sun was dipping toward the horizon when Orville and Proto finished scraping off the last of the old paint.

  Proto gave a start. “Oh dear, I have to dash home and prepare dinner before Mum and Papa get back. Visit as long as you want with Ebenezer. I’ll keep your dinner warm.”

  “Thanks for all your help, Proto.” Orville waited until Proto was gone, then walked around to the front door. He knocked gently, filled with the sudden and powerful realization that his meeting with Ebenezer would be far more significant than looking at dusty old photographs and taking a stroll down memory lane.

  The door swung open and Ebenezer motioned him in. “Have a seat on the couch.” Ebenezer peered outside, looking in both directions, then swung the door shut.

  Orville’s eyes scanned the interior of the house. The day after Ebenezer had hollered at him for screeching like a Gnorli bird, Orville had brought him a tin of tasty little cakes as an apology. His knock went unanswered, but the door was ajar and he had entered, afraid something was wrong. Resting against the far wall was a curious contraption, a device with some slight resemblance to a piano, but with far more keys, six brass dials, rows of glass tubing, and a row of small yellow lights. When he pressed a key, instead of a musical note he had heard the sound of distant drums, then the sound of wind whistling across a vast desert. The strange device was now carefully concealed beneath a large white sheet.

  “Aislin and I called it our Sound Piano.”

  “Oh, I was wondering what that thing was. I figured it was some kind of musical instrument. Pretty fancy piano.” Orville smiled politely, still uncertain why Ebenezer had invited him in.

  “I might be old, but I’m not blind.”

  “What?”

  “Saw your silver ring this morning. I know what you are.”

  Orville shifted nervously in his seat. This was not what he had been expecting. Ebenezer knew he was a Metaphysical Adventurer?

  “No need for games, shapers are okay with me. I spent a few years in Lapinor when I was young. Saw plenty of shapers, plenty of Shapers Guild rings. Heard a few stories about the Metaphysical Adventurers, only ever saw one ring though. I need your help.”

  Ebenezer now had Orville’s undivided attention.

  “What kind of help?”

  “I know you saw the snow I tracked into the house this summer when you brought me that tin of little cakes.”

  Orville nodded. It had been a scorching summer day and Ebenezer had tracked snow across his living room floor.

  Ebenezer stepped over to the Sound Piano and pulled the sheet off, revealing the curious contraption. Orville was filled with a sudden feeling of dread.

  Ebenezer pulled up a chair in front of Orville. He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out.

  “I have a story to tell you. It’s the story of how I lost my dear Aislin.”

  Orville’s insides tightened. This was not good, this was too personal, too painful. He didn’t want to hear how Aislin had died, but he had no idea what to say.

  “Um… I’m sorry she died. She seemed really nice, you know, when she gave me the oatmeal cookies.”

  “I didn’t say she died, I said I’d lost her. I’m telling you the story of how I lost her.”

  Orville was desperately wishing he was somewhere else.

  “When we moved into this house it was already old. They said it had been here before the founding of Muridaan Falls. It had long been abandoned and was in a state of decay and disrepair when we found it, so we got it for a song. Needed a lot of work. We moved in and spent over a year fixing it up, making it new again, making it our home. It was hard work, but those were the happiest days of my life.” Ebenezer stopped, clearing his throat. Orville looked away, realizing Ebenezer was trying not to cry.

  “It was Aislin who found the Sound Piano. She was repairing an old wall. Had a hole in it and she looked inside, saw a little yellow light. We tore out a panel and found the Sound Piano in a hidden alcove. Had no idea why someone would hide such a treasure. Thought it was our lucky day. Aislin loved music but we didn’t have much money, couldn’t afford a piano. She was like a mouseling on her birthday.”

  “How long do you think it had been there?”

  “At least two hundred years, probably much longer.”

  “The little yellow lights were still on after all that time?”

  “They were. Never seen anything like it. Aislin was the first to try it. Took only one note to realize it wasn’t any ordinary piano. She pressed the key and we heard the sound of a thousand birds flying overhead, saw a quick flash of a dark forest.”

  “When I touched the key I heard distant drums and saw a desert. What is it? What does it do?”

  “Aislin loved it. We called it our Sound Piano. We tried to figure out what it was for, thought maybe they used it to make sounds for stage plays, make them seem more real. She used to play it when she got up in the morning. She loved the sounds, especially the birds flying. She would close her eyes and just listen to them, said she could see them in her mind. There was one of a roaring river that she played all the time. Nature sounds were her favorite. I was half asleep the morning she disappeared. Heard her playing the Sound Piano, different sounds, ones I hadn’t heard before. Hard to describe, I didn’t recognize a lot of them. She called out, said she was making breakfast, called me a sleepy bones, said we were out of flour, she was going to run to the general store. She’d be right back. I heard the door open, heard her say, ‘Good heavens’. Heard the door shut. Never saw her again.”

  Waves of overwhelming grief rolled through Orville. It was almost too much to bear. Ebenezer was hunched over, his paws covering his eyes. He rose up from his chair.

  “I’m tired. Come back in a couple of days, I’ll tell you the rest.” He turned and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

  Orville sat in the echoing silence, his eyes on the Sound Piano, his thoughts a jumble. What had happened to Aislin, and why did Ebenezer nee
d his help?

  Chapter 5

  A Knock on the Door

  “Orville, could you get that? It might be Madam Beasley with my violets.”

  Orville jumped up from the sofa, thoughts of Ebenezer Mouse and the Sound Piano swirling through his mind. When he swung the front door open, rather than a smiling Madam Beasley with a tray of lovely purple flowers, he stood facing a clearly distraught Amanda Mouse, the red book clutched tightly in her paws. She glanced anxiously behind her, then turned back to Orville.

  “May I come in?”

  “Sure, sorry, I was just surprised to see you, I was expecting Madam Beasley and–”

  “I think someone is following me. I think they’re watching me.”

  Orville closed the door. “Have a seat. Who’s following you?” He did not ask her if it was a beautiful ghost mouse.

  “I don’t know, I haven’t actually seen them, but ever since you gave me this book I’ve had the strangest feeling I’m being watched.”

  “Maybe you should give me the book.”

  “Yes, please, thank you so much.” Amanda breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s better. I don’t know how you Metaphysical Adventurers live with all these peculiar feelings and spooky happenings. I enjoy reading about them, but I don’t want to actually… you know…” Her voice trailed off into silence.

  “I understand. I was really scared when I first joined the Metaphysical Adventurers. I guess I’m kind of getting used to the spooky stuff though. It’s fun figuring out what’s making it happen. Sophia says it’s all just science, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “I know who can translate the book. Captain Patcher told me about her last year, but I had to check with him, to make sure she was still there.”

  “She lives in Muridaan Falls?”

  “Muridaan Falls? No, of course not, that’s why I had to talk to Captain Patcher. She lives in Cathne, in western Opar, a thousand miles west of Symoca. I’d better go, it’s getting late. I don’t want to walk home in the dark.”

  “Wait, what’s the translator’s name? How do we find her?”

  “Oh, sorry, her name is Puella the Wise One. Captain Patcher said she lives in the last standing cloudscraper in Cathne. Up near the top, I think. She lives with a gang of bloodthirsty bandits. Captain Patcher said be sure to tell them he sent you, otherwise they’ll probably kill you. You will tell me what the book is about, won’t you? I do wish I could read it. It’s quite thrilling, a book from Okeanos.”

  “Amanda, thanks so much for finding a translator, and I promise to tell you everything we find out about the book.”

  Amanda stopped, tilting her head as if she was listening for something. “That strange feeling is gone. They’re not watching me anymore.” She stepped through the door with a quick wave and a smile.

  * * * *

  Orville leaned back against the old barn, relaxing in the warmth of the noonday sun. “Nice and toasty. Feels good.”

  “Ebenezer didn’t say how Aislin disappeared? Just that she walked out the front door and never came back?”

  “That’s all he told me. He said there was more, but he was too tired to talk about it. He wasn’t tired, he didn’t want me to see him cry. I feel really bad for calling him a crabby old mouse. He really misses Aislin.”

  “You couldn’t have known. Mice like Ebenezer keep those things private. They don’t like to talk about them because it’s so painful and they don’t want to be a burden on other mice.”

  “I sort of understand that. I never talked much about it when I thought Papa’s fishing boat had gone down in the Vesarak. I was afraid I might start crying.”

  “And I didn’t tell you my papa had been murdered by Draken Mouse.”

  “I’m glad we’re best friends and we can talk about those things now.”

  “Me too. Tell me what Amanda said about Puella the Wise One. She lives in a cloudscraper?”

  “Yes, she said Puella the Wise One could translate the book and that she lives in western Opar, in the city of Cathne, near the top of the last standing cloudscraper. She also happened to mention that Puella lives with a bunch of bloodthirsty bandits who will try to kill us if we don’t tell them Captain Patcher sent us.”

  “Good to know.”

  “We have a couple of days till I see Ebenezer again. I guess we should pay a visit to Puella the Wise One. I’ll talk to Master Marloh about requisitioning a Dragonfly from Mirus Mouse. It’s going to be a long flight, at least ten hours to Cathne.”

  “It will be fun, think of all the beautiful fall scenery we’ll get to see. We can take Proto with us.”

  “Good thinking, he always brings lots of tasty little cakes, and he can protect us from the bloodthirsty bandits when they try to kill us.”

  Chapter 6

  Mirus’ Surprise

  With Master Marloh’s blessing, Orville, Sophia, and Proto set off for Mirus Mouse’s sprawling complex. Mirus was the most brilliant and innovative inventor in all of Symoca, fondly referred to by the Metaphysical Adventurers as the Mad Mouse of Muridaan. He was also widely considered to be the most eccentric mouse in Symoca.

  At the request of Sophia, Mirus had built The Glowbird, the flying machine they used to reach Pavorak Gorge and the Cube where Proto had lived with the clockwork glowbirds for over fourteen hundred years. Their current vehicle of choice was the Dragonfly, a thirty foot long gleaming iridescent green flying machine with four sparkling transparent wings. The ship was powered by duplonium motors and capable of vertical take off and landing, with a top speed of one hundred and ninety miles per hour.

  “Proto, what in the world do you have in that giant backpack? You didn’t bring one of those particle beam vaporizing things did you?”

  “If I remember correctly, you were quite insistent that I not bring one, although the logic behind your decision seemed a little spurious and untenable.”

  Orville had no idea what spurious or untenable meant, but he wasn’t going to let Proto know that. He made a note to himself to look the words up in the dictionary when he got home.

  “You mean the very logical part about me not wanting the Dragonfly to explode a mile up in the sky, turning us into glowing specks of space dust?”

  “As I previously mentioned, your fear is driven by emotion, not logic, not facts. Such a cataclysmic event is highly improbable, I assure you. Although I am programmed with the L7 Sincere Friendship Simulation Package, I also possess several advanced particle engineering programs, and I have spent many years studying the–”

  Sophia groaned. “Good heavens, will you two please stop? I’m trying to enjoy the lovely fall foliage.”

  “Sorry, it just seemed like a very logical conclusion that bringing one of those particle beam things was completely dangerous, especially since we have no idea–”

  “Enough, we’re here. Mirus said to meet him in the yellow building at the far end of the complex.”

  “We usually meet him at the red building, did he say why we’re meeting him in the yellow one?”

  “He said he had a surprise for us.”

  Orville frowned. “I’m not sure I like the idea of Mirus Mouse having a surprise for us. He’s a little unpredictable.”

  “I like Mirus. He’s funny.”

  “I like him too, but suppose he forgets to tell us something really important?”

  “We’re Metaphysical Adventurers. We’ll sort it out.”

  “I guess. Did I tell you I wasn’t scared at all in the dream about Okeanos? Except for the part when the smoking charcoal stick creature came through the wall, and even then I didn’t faint, I jumped into the silver book when the beautiful mouse told me to.”

  “Yes, you’ve mentioned that three times.”

  Proto snickered. “Fourth time for me.”

  Orville gave Proto a dark look. “I was simply making the point that we are brave and resourceful Metaphysical Adventurers.”

  “There’s the yellow hangar. Mirus said to use the side door.”<
br />
  The trio of adventurers stepped over to the entrance and pushed the door open. Orville stepped into the hangar.

  “There’s nothing here, no Dragonfly.”

  “That’s odd, I’m certain Mirus said to meet him here. He was quite specific about it. He said he’d have the ship ready for us.”

  “I guess we should wait for him. I hope he didn’t forget about us.”

  Ten minutes later Mirus had still not appeared.

  “He must have forgotten. Maybe we should go look for him.”

  Proto scanned the interior of the building, his eyes glowing with a pale green light.

  “Most curious, I’m seeing an oddly shaped energy field in the center of the hangar.”

  A raucous voice rang out. “Took you long enough! You call yourselves Metaphysical Adventurers and you can’t even find your own Dragonfly?”

  Orville and Sophia jumped. “Mirus? Is that you?”

  “Of course it’s me, I told you I’d meet you here, didn’t I? What’s wrong with you? Let’s get this bug in the air!”

  “We’d really love to, but we’re having a bit of a problem finding the ship. Where are you?”

  Mirus gave a great screechy bird laugh, the thirty foot iridescent Dragonfly blinking into view in front of the startled adventurers. He scrambled down from the ship, his raucous jungle bird laugh echoing through the hangar.

  “That’s my surprise, mouse! I scavenged a cloaking device off the old Mintarian scout ship you found on Varmoran and reverse engineered it. Bingo! All the new Dragonflies have cloaks, you can fly anywhere you want and no one can see you! What do you think of that, mouse?”

  Orville gaped at Mirus. “We’ll be invisible?”

  “What did I just say? Push the red button and the ship vanishes, push it again and the cloak is off. It’s as easy as that.”

  “Wait, if the ship is invisible, how do we find the red button to shut it off?”

  Mirus’ eyes bulged out. “Are you trying to be funny? More wing flapping and less jaw flapping! Time to hit the clouds!”