by Tom Hoffman
Brother Solus watched with suspicion as Proto set the tin on the table and gingerly remove the lid.
“I brought a tin of the most delightful tasty little cakes if you would care to try one. They’re my own creation, and quite popular back in Muridaan Falls, some saying they’re the best little cakes they’ve ever had.”
Brother Solus took one look and pushed the tin away with a scowl. “Revolting. Are you trying to poison me?”
“Poison you? Oh my heavens, no, these are freshly baked, made from the finest ingredients.”
“Poison. Filled with sugar. I won’t allow it. I eat only grains, vegetables, nuts, and occasionally fresh fruit, all in extreme moderation.”
Proto regained his composure, smoothly returning the tin of cakes to his pack. “You’re quite right, of course. Yours is a carefully considered and well balanced diet. Very sound dietary advice indeed.”
“I don’t tolerate sweets in my home. Shows weakness, lack of fortitude, no self control, slovenly behavior.”
“Quite so. If I might ask, were the Mintarian Grays an order of monks?”
“Of course they were, everyone knows that. They’ve been around for millennia. I am the last one.”
“So you’ve lived here in Okeanos for quite some time?”
“For as long as I can remember. My life is based in solitude and deep reflection.”
“Do you happen to remember a very beautiful mouse passing through Okeanos?”
Brother Solus gave an irritated scowl. “You’ve asked me that question twice already.” He paused. “You said her husband misses her?”
“Dreadfully so, I’m afraid. He is quite distraught. She was the love of his life.”
Brother Solus' face could have been carved from stone. “I saw her. The Shadow King took her. Go home while you are still able.”
Chapter 15
Caterpillars
“Who’s the Shadow King?”
“Return to Muridaan Falls and count yourselves fortunate to still be drawing breath. Your friend is gone.”
Sophia’s face hardened. “We’re not going home. We’re going to find our friend with or without your help.”
Brother Solus snapped, “You have not an inkling of the path which lies before you. Whatever you may have experienced in past adventures shall have ill prepared you for such a confrontation. The Shadow King is an abomination, a dark insidious creature whose very being infects your deepest thoughts with nightmarish terrors. By its very nature, it is impossible to destroy.”
“Where does it live? How do we find it? You say you’re the last of the Mintarian Gray Monks. I thought monks were supposed to help those in need.”
“I am helping you by telling you to return to your home, saving your lives by my warning. Do such insidious monstrosities hold no fear for you?”
“Of course they do, but I’m not going to let fear stop me from doing what I know to be right, what I know to be good.”
Brother Solace leaned back in his chair, studying Sophia’s face.
“It is possible I have misjudged you to some slight degree. Clearly you will not be dissuaded from your ill conceived venture. The realm of the Shadow King lies far to the east. The Great River borders his land, a watery line between the known and the unknown, between the light and the dark. Within this shadowy realm great battles are fought and often lost.”
“What does that mean?”
“You shall discover the meaning of my words on your own. I will accede to your wishes, take you to the Great River, but I shall go not one step further.”
“Do you happen to know exactly what this Shadow King looks like? Is he a big burning charcoal stick creature?”
“I cannot say.”
“You said the Shadow King took Aislin, didn’t you see him then?”
“It was a dark and confusing time, I have cast aside such bleak memories, all but the memory of the beautiful mouse. I am Brother Solus, the last of the Mintarian Grays, I live a life of tranquility and reflection.”
Orville was getting a curious feeling, but couldn’t put his paw on it. Something was not right about Brother Solus.
“That would be great if you could take us there.”
“We shall leave at sunrise.”
“How far is it to the Great River?”
Brother Solus gave a thin smile.
“It all depends.”
He rose from his chair and stepped through a narrow doorway, closing and locking the door behind him with a loud click.
“Creekers. He’s not exactly friendly, not at all like the Thirteenth Monk. It all depends? What does that mean?”
Sophia shook her head. “He has a lot of secrets, but I have a strong feeling he will play a vital role in bringing Aislin safely home.”
“What do you think he meant by all that stuff about great battles being fought? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I have no idea. He said we’d discover it on our own.”
Proto rubbed his great silver hands together, making no attempt to hide his glee.
“This sounds dreadful, quite dreadful indeed. I wonder what manner of dark creatures we’ll encounter east of the Great River, deep in the realm of that dastardly smoking Shadow King?”
Orville slumped down in a chair. “I’m guessing they’ll be big burning glowing charcoal stick creatures who like to eat mouse sandwiches for lunch.”
Proto’s eyes were bright. “Oh dear, what a dreadful thought.”
Sophia clapped her paws together.
“Enough scary talk. Let’s have dinner, I’m starving. Orville, why don’t you shape some sleeping bags and pillows while I shape dinner.”
“Maybe I’ll have a couple of Proto’s tasty little poisonous sugar cakes.”
* * * *
The early morning light streamed through the narrow windows as Orville dressed himself, the fearsome Shadow King occupying his thoughts.
Sophia woke shortly after, quickly converting her sleeping bag back to a thought cloud.
Proto set two plates on the great round table. “Tasty snapberry flapcakes hot off the griddle, and fresh brimbleberry juice.”
“Where did you get a griddle?”
“I had one in my pack. There was plenty of room since I didn’t bring the heavy particle beam vaporization projector.”
“I’m starting to wish you had brought that thing. This whole adventure is taking a scary turn, all that stuff Brother Solus said about battles and the Shadow King. What do you think we’ll find on the other side of the river?”
Before Proto could answer, Brother Solus stepped into the room, a long walking stick in one hand.
“You are still determined to enter the realm of the Shadow King?”
“We are. I promised Ebenezer Mouse we would do everything we could to find Aislin.”
“As you wish, so it shall be. I will guide you to the Great River. From that point on you shall be on your own.”
“How big is the river?”
“I have never seen it.”
An hour later the party of adventurers was strolling through a grand forest, the morning sun sparkling off the dew covered ferns.
“These trees are amazing. They’d be really fun to climb. We have trees just like these back in Muridaan Falls, but they’re a lot smaller, about half this size.”
“Brother Solus, have you done much exploring around Elysian? Are there any other villages?”
“I have done a certain amount of exploration, encountering only one other village. It was deserted, just as Okeanos is. These days, I spend my time in quiet reflection.”
“It sounds relaxing. Do you ever get lonely?”
“I do not. I am the last of the Mintarian Grays.”
“It is nice and peaceful here, and the wildflowers are beautiful. Where did you live before you came to Elysian?”
“I have lived in Elysian for as long as I can remember.”
“Oh, right, I forgot. Sorry.” A blue thought cloud flashed out of O
rville’s ear over to Sophia. She drew it to her, hearing Orville’s voice in her mind.
“It’s kind of weird he doesn’t remember how he got here. He had to come from somewhere, unless he was abandoned when he was a mouseling.”
“If he was abandoned, how would he know he was the last of the Mintarian Grays?”
“There’s something odd going on, but I can’t figure it out.”
Proto strolled along behind Orville and Sophia, his eyes scanning the spectacular forest.
“The ferns here are quite lovely. They remind me of my youth, when I lived with the family of Elders. The fields behind their home were filled with ferns just like these. Such fond memories I have of those carefree days.”
A glint of white beneath a cluster of ferns caught Proto’s eye. He reached down and pushed the leaves aside, picking up a crumpled ball of paper. He glanced ahead at Sophia and Orville, smoothing out the note, reading the scrawled words.
I’m tired of him.
Proto frowned. Was this the note Mum had given to Orville? The note he had stuffed into his pocket? If it was, who was she tired of? Perhaps it was someone at her work, certainly not Papa. He tossed the note back into the ferns. This was Mum’s business, not his.
Orville’s initial anxiety was diminishing. The forest was mesmerizing in its beauty, and he had spotted some lovely blue butterflies fluttering about in the sunlight, their shadows darting to and fro across the forest floor. He held Sophia’s paw as they walked along the grassy path.
“Did you see those blue butterflies? They’re really pretty.”
“I saw them. I’m not too crazy about butterflies, I like birds a lot more. They can soar and swoop through the sky, high above the trees, up into the clouds. When I formshift into a glowbird it’s amazing, flying is so much fun. Don’t forget Master Marloh said he would teach you how to formshift.”
“I didn’t forget, it seems a little scary though. Suppose I get stuck being a bird and can’t change back? I’d have to spend the rest of my life eating squooshy bugs.”
Sophia laughed, squeezing his paw. “Don’t worry, I’ll put tasty little cakes out on the window sill for you to snack on. Maybe a plate of yummy earthworms.”
Brother Solus stopped, raising one hand, glaring at Sophia and Orville. “Something is happening up ahead.”
“What is it?”
“Butterflies.”
Orville peered through the trees. “Creekers, you’re right. There’s thousands of them. Where did they come from?”
“I can only speculate as to their origin.”
Sophia felt an inexplicable fear roll through her, but said nothing, doing her best to shake it off. She had not slept well the previous night. She was tired.
They pushed on beneath the spreading branches of the magnificent trees, more and more of the blue butterflies appearing, fluttering and swooping about in the warm sunlight. One of them landed on Sophia’s shoulder. She gave a small shriek and brushed it off.
“I’m really not very fond of butterflies.”
“At least they don’t have big claws and razor sharp gnashing teeth.” Orville grinned at Proto.
Fifteen minutes later Brother Solus stopped again. “This would explain the butterflies. The trees ahead are infested with millions of caterpillars.”
Orville stepped forward but Sophia did not. She gripped his paw tightly, holding him back.
“Let’s go, I don’t want to lose sight of Brother Solus.”
Panic filled Orville when he looked at Sophia, her face twisted with fear, her breathing fast and shallow.
“What’s wrong?” His eyes darted around the forest, searching for some horrific creature.
“What is it? What did you see?”
“Caterpillars.”
“What about them?”
“I’m afraid of them.”
Orville gave a quick laugh. “No, really, what’s wrong? What did you see?”
“I’m afraid of them.”
A conversation from long ago popped into Orville’s head. He had asked Sophia if anything ever scared her, and she had said furry caterpillars did. He thought she had been joking.
“You’re really afraid of caterpillars? What are they going to do, tickle you with their little feet?” He grinned, rubbing her shoulder.
“We have to go back. I can’t go through those trees. I can’t.”
“I don’t understand, those horrible creatures in the Senyph Ocean didn’t scare you, and you weren’t afraid of the giant centipedes on Periculum. How can you be afraid of a tiny caterpillar?”
Sophia’s voice was low. “I am not going through those trees.”
“She shall face her greatest fear in Elysian. You must help her remember.”
Orville’s mind was racing. Puella the Wise One had known this would happen. What was he supposed to help Sophia remember?
“It’s okay, we don’t have to go through them. I’m kind of tired anyway. Let’s sit down on that log and rest for a bit.”
Sophia sat down and leaned forward, paws covering her face. “I’m sorry, I know it’s silly to be so afraid of caterpillars.”
“Being afraid isn’t silly. I’m afraid of lots of weird stuff, hundreds of things. You’re only afraid of one thing. You’ve always been afraid of them?”
“Since I was little.”
“Do you remember the first time one scared you?”
“I feel kind of sick, I might throw up.”
Orville put one arm around Sophia and held her paw. “You’re safe. We’ll be fine. You don’t have to look at them, you don’t have to walk past them. We’ll figure something out.”
“Thanks. I don’t really know when it started, I’ve just always been scared of them. It’s not that I’m afraid they’ll bite me or anything, it’s just the sight of them, it does something awful to me.”
“What does it feel like when you see one?”
Sophia shivered, closing her eyes. “It’s the most terrible feeling of dread you can imagine, deep inside me. Like they’ll do something. Something really, really bad.”
“What would they do?”
Sophia was crying.
“I’m sorry, we can talk about something else.”
A sudden movement caught Orville’s eye. He looked up, expecting to see butterflies, seeing instead a dark roiling cloud from the shadows drifting toward them. This was bad. Sophia was already terrified, he didn’t want to scare her even more. He put both arms around her and held her close, saying, “It’s okay, I’m right here with you.”
“Orville… the caterpillars…”
The black cloud shot forward, enveloping the two best friends, their minds merging, a forgotten memory flooding through them.
Sophia was small, a little mouseling. She was sitting on her bed, Papa next to her.
“Mum is gone. The doctors did everything they could but they couldn’t save her. They tried everything. She was so sick that–”
Papa was sobbing, his arms around Sophia. One of his tears fell on her paw. She watched it soak into her fur. She’d never seen Papa cry before.
She stared out the window, her mind numb, her paws cold. The trees outside were covered with caterpillars.
Papa was wrong, Mum would never leave her, she would never do that. Her mum would never do that. It was the caterpillars. They had taken her mum away. Maybe they were going to come back and take Papa away. Maybe they would come back and take her away.
The two best friends held each other for a long time. Finally Sophia wiped her eyes and said, “The caterpillars didn’t take her. My mum was really sick and the doctors couldn’t save her.”
“I saw everything, I saw what happened.”
“I know, I’m glad you were with me when I remembered.”
“It must have been awful, I can’t imagine. You were so young.”
“I hid the memory away, it was so painful, but some deeper part of me remembered seeing the caterpillars, that’s why I was terrified of them.”
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“How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be okay, I can do this. We have to find Aislin.”
Sophia got to her feet, turning toward the trees, ready to face her greatest fear.
“Orville, they’re gone! The butterflies are gone, the caterpillars are gone. They’re all gone!”
Chapter 16
The Note
When Brother Solus and Proto realized Orville and Sophia were not behind them, they turned around, heading back down the forest trail. Proto spotted the two best friends holding paws, deep in conversation.
Brother Solus eyed the trees. “The caterpillars are gone, as are the blue butterflies.”
Proto was intrigued. “Most curious, the butterflies could have flown away, but I can think of no logical reason for the sudden disappearance of the caterpillars.”
“Elysian is full of curious happenings. Do not trouble your thoughts with such matters.”
“Quite so, but there must be a logical scientific explanation for it. Certainly millions of caterpillars don’t just vanish in the blink of an eye.”
“What’s done is done, there is no need to dwell on the past.”
Proto nodded agreeably, realizing when it came to understanding mysterious events he had a far different attitude than Brother Solus. He waved to Orville and Sophia.
“What happened? Where were you?”
“Sophia tripped on a root and twisted her ankle. She’s okay now though.”
Brother Solus was certain Sophia had not tripped over a root. He knew exactly where the caterpillars had come from, but had no idea where they had gone.
Proto hurried over to the two best friends. “We should camp here for the night so you can rest your ankle. The sun will be going down in a few hours. We’ll set up camp and have a nice relaxing dinner.” He leaned over to Sophia and whispered, “I’ll leave a tin of tasty little cakes in your tent.”
Orville shaped a roaring campfire before he remembered Brother Solus was watching. The look he gave Orville was one of profound disapproval.
