by Tom Hoffman
“Why do they keep pestering me? I told that salesmouse I don’t need an Excelsior Electro-Vacuumator, I have a perfectly good broom that suits me just fine.”
He padded across the room and yanked the door open.
In a single blinding moment Ebenezer’s world was turned upside down. Aislin was standing in the doorway. His duster fell to the floor. Before he knew what was happening her arms were around him, tears streaming down her face. “Ebbie, I’m home.”
When he finally looked up he saw Orville, Sophia, Proto, and a gray robed creature with long yellow claws standing on the front porch. He wiped his eyes, his arms still around Aislin, barely able to speak. “You found her, you found her.”
The adventurers stepped inside. Orville had a lump in his throat, Sophia’s eyes were welling up.
“She’ll need lots of rest, she’s been through a lot.”
“I’ll be fine, I’m home, that’s all that matters. Ebbie, I have so much to tell you.”
Ebenezer nodded, unable to take his eyes off his beloved Aislin.
Gnuj was staring at the last Metaphonium. He took a step forward, stopping when Sophia grabbed his arm.
“Tomorrow. You can see it tomorrow. Today is for Ebenezer and Aislin.”
Sophia looked through the open door to the glorious blossomed meadows of Elysian. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m glad to be back in a world where oceans and cities don’t appear out of nowhere.”
She closed the front door, then opened it, grinning when she saw the familiar tall trees of Muridaan Falls.
They were home.
Chapter 40
Papa’s Old Trunk
“What are you going to do with all the books you brought back from Okeanos?”
“They’re going to the Metaphysical Adventurers library. Master Marloh said a lot of them can be translated. Most are ancient technical volumes, lots of early Anarkkian tech. I’m going to give the history books to Amanda.”
Orville grinned. “I can’t wait to see her face when you give her a big box of books from Okeanos. That was a good idea to drop them through the silver book into my room.”
“Would anyone like more snapberry flapcakes?” Proto stood at the great iron stove sporting mum’s brightly flowered apron.
Gnuj raised his clawed hand. “Yes, please, they are extraordinarily delicious. Perhaps I could also have one more of those tasty little cakes?”
Eldon smiled. “Orville tells me Mirus Mouse has a shop where you can work on the Metaphonium?”
“He does. It will take me several days, but once I am able to open the lost Thuvian synthetic world, I will return to Mintari with the Metaphonium and open the door to all who wish to come home.”
“It has been a long time since the war. I don’t mean to dishearten you, but it’s possible there won’t be anyone to bring home. Many generations may have come and gone, and time may pass at a far different rate in that world.”
“Nevertheless I must try, I could not live with myself if I did not try.”
“I understand. I hope you don’t still blame yourself for what happened. Your intentions were good, you were doing the best you could to save as many lives as you could.”
“I have come to accept that even our best efforts are sometimes not enough, and that is part of life. Sophia put it quite nicely when she said even if we fail in our attempt to make the world a better place, we succeed in changing ourselves, and that is what truly matters. I no longer need to hide from my memories, hide behind the mask of Brother Solus.”
With the help of a steam powered duplonium cart borrowed from Mirus Mouse, Orville and Sophia moved the last Metaphonium from Ebenezer’s house to Gnuj’s new workshop.
Watching from the front porch as the Metaphonium was loaded onto the cart were Ebenezer and Aislin Mouse.
“I, for one, am happy to see it go.”
Aislin nodded. “As am I. My time in Elysian was both terrifying and astonishing. The Shadow King was sometimes frightening, but never cruel, he simply wanted to be reunited with Master Scientist Gnuj. There were many times when he was kind to me, teaching me skills like the Traveling Eye.”
“That’s how you appeared as a ghostly apparition?”
“He taught me how to leave my physical body, how to send my consciousness across worlds, how to create a ghostly form which could be seen by Orville. It was exhausting, but I had to do it. It was the only way to bring Orville and Sophia into the world of Elysian, the only way to help Gnuj regain his memory, and the only way for me to come home again to you. I didn’t appear to you because I didn’t want you to think I was a ghost, think that I had died.”
“You haven’t aged, you look the same as the day you left.”
“Time is different in Elysian. Gnuj was there for fourteen hundred years.”
“Can you still love an old gray mouse like me?”
Aislin gave a soft smile. She gently touched Ebenezer’s forehead, her paw glowing with a shimmering golden light, watching as his mottled gray fur turned a rich warm brown, watching as the years were washed away, watching as Ebenezer was transformed into the handsome young mouse she remembered.
Ebenezer stared at his soft brown fur. “How did you do that? My leg doesn’t hurt anymore, I feel strong again.”
“It’s not magic, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s just shaping, the Shadow King taught me. I can teach you, it will come in handy on our travels.”
“Our travels?”
“It’s time we saw the world, time we left Muridaan Falls for new horizons. There is so much to see and I want to see it with you.”
Ebenezer put his arms around Aislin, holding her close.
“I’m ready for a new adventure, especially one with you. I hear southern Grymmore is lovely this time of year. I also heard from Sophia there’s a marvelous new shaping school in Penrith.”
Orville and Sophia wheeled the hissing duplonium cart into a small red building in Mirus’ complex.
Gnuj hovered about, his gray cloak replaced with a starched white coat, the uniform of a Mintarian master scientist.
“Gently, please, we don’t want to damage it. Against that wall will do nicely. ” He rubbed his clawed hands together, his eyes on the Metaphonium.
“You’re all set then? You have the journal, everything you need?”
“What? Oh, yes, everything I need. Mirus has given me access to his extraordinary collection of old Mintarian technology, including all the tools I need to work on the Metaphonium. It should only take a few days to modify it with the Thuvian world data.”
“How will you get the Metaphonium back to Mintari?”
“Mirus has an old Anarkkian Spectral Field Actualizer we can use.”
Orville nodded, but had no idea what a Spectral Field Actualizer was.
Sophia nudged him. “It creates a spectral doorway to Mintari. Anarkkian Troopers used them on secret missions.”
The two adventurers said their good byes, leaving Gnuj to work on his Metaphonium.
“I’m not sure Gnuj is doing the right thing. Even if the Mintarians are still in that world, I don’t know that they’ll want to come back. Besides, where are they going to put eight million Mintarians? What will they do? They won’t be familiar with any of the new technology.”
“I don’t think I’d want to come back. After fourteen hundred years they might not even remember where they came from.”
“How is Proto doing? Is he still acting strange?”
“He is. I asked him if everything was okay but his answer was vague, I could tell he was hiding something. He said he might be moving back to the Cube for a while.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He wouldn’t say. It could be some weird experiment he’s working on, something to do with those scary creatures he likes so much.”
“If it was just that he’d probably tell us.”
“Here we are.”
Orville stepped up onto the porch and opened the front d
oor.
“We’re home!”
Orville’s mum popped her head around the corner. “Papa wants to see you, he’s in the kitchen.”
Orville and Sophia found Eldon seated at the kitchen table reading a letter. He glanced up, a grin on his face.
“I have the final documents from the Fortress of Elders. We’re all set for tomorrow.”
“What time?”
“About two in the afternoon.”
Orville suddenly remembered the gold watch Captain Tobias had given him. He pulled it out of his pocket and set it on the kitchen table. “Do you think this is valuable?”
Eldon smiled, a smile that vanished when he saw the watch.
“You found this in the trunk?”
“What trunk?”
“I had this locked away in the old trunk in the basement.”
“No, I got this in Elysian. Captain Tobias gave it to me, he said it was the greatest treasure a mouse could ever know. I thought it might be valuable.”
“Captain Tobias?”
“He’s a sea captain we met in Elysian. He taught us how to sail a two masted schooner on the way to the Isle of the Silver Ship.”
Orville’s papa picked up the watch, slowly turning it in his paw. “You’re certain this is the watch Captain Tobias gave you?”
Orville looked over to Sophia, then back to his papa.
“Yes, he gave it to me in Elysian. Is something wrong with it? Is it really valuable?”
“Come with me, both of you.”
Orville and Sophia followed Eldon down the rickety wooden stairs to the basement. Eldon blinked up an orb of light.
“It’s over there.”
He stepped across the dirt floor to an old weathered wooden trunk with tarnished brass fittings, pulling a large iron key off a nail on the wall. The trunk opened with a soft click.
“I keep it in here.”
Eldon reached under a heavy blue woolen coat and removed a small carved box. The light orb floated above them, casting wavering shadows on the hard packed basement floor.
“What is it?”
Eldon flipped the box open.
Orville blinked. “Creekers, it looks like this one.”
“It’s more than that. It doesn’t just look like that one, it is that one. These watches are absolutely identical in every way, every scratch, every ding, every wear mark. They are the same watch.”
Orville was baffled. “I don’t understand, how could Captain Tobias give me a watch you already had?”
Eldon studied Orville’s face.
“This old trunk and all its contents belonged to Captain Orville Tobias Mouse, your great great grandpapa. He was a sea captain for most of his life. My grandpapa used to tell me stories about him, and grandpapa left me this watch, Captain Tobias’ watch.”
“Are you saying I met my own great great grandpapa? I went sailing with him in Elysian?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Did he have a parrot? A parrot who called him Captain Orville?”
Sophia gave a yelp. “Yes! Orville, remember when you thought the parrot was talking to you? He was talking to Captain Tobias, not you.”
“I don’t understand. How could I meet my great great grandpapa? How could there be two of the same watch?”
“Did you look inside the watch?”
“No, it just looked like an old watch.”
“There’s an inscription inside. It will say With eternal love, S.A.M. to O.T.M.”
Eldon unscrewed the back of the watch, carefully removing the cover. He held it up to the light for Orville and Sophia to see.
“Creekers, you were right. What does it mean?”
“This was a gift to Captain Orville Tobias Mouse from his true love, Sophia Alexis Mouse.”
“That’s who he named his ship after! Remember he said Sophia was his truest love, lost to him years ago?”
“So my great great grandpapa and I are both named Orville and we both have… um…”
Sophia snickered. “Best friends named Sophia?”
“Right, best friends named Sophia, that’s what I meant.”
Eldon smiled, slipping the watch back into the box.
“I’ve seen many strange things during my adventures, but nothing like this. I have no explanation for what happened, or how it happened, but here we are with two identical watches, both from Captain Orville Tobias Mouse, your great great grandpapa.”
Orville shook his head. “This is one puzzle I won’t ever solve, and I don’t want to. I love mysteries, and this is the best one ever.”
Chapter 41
The Secret
Proto gave a shriek, pulling the smoking snapberry muffins from the oven. Squeaky was barking loudly.
“Drat! I’ve burned them!” He flung open the kitchen window, fanning wildly with his apron in an attempt to clear the room of smoke.
“Oh dear, this is dreadful. This will be the last straw, they’ll surely send me back to the Cube. I saw Orville whispering with Mum and Papa this morning. This is very bad.”
“Hey, Proto, what’s all the smoke?”
Proto jumped in front of the tray of burned muffins, hiding them from Orville. Squeaky jumped in front of Proto, barking at Orville.
“A malfunctioning stove, I’m afraid, a great deal of smoke but no harm done.”
“It smells like snapberry muffins, did you make some?”
“No muffins today, I think we should try a healthier diet, perhaps some nice fresh veggies from the garden.”
“I guess. Say, could you do me a big favor? Sophia said Mirus Mouse needs this book right away. I think it has something to do with the Metaphonium, but I can’t take it to him because I have some other stuff to do. Could you run it over to him?”
“What kind of other stuff? Another adventure?”
“No, not an adventure, just, um, some stuff. Oh, Papa wants me to clean the basement, that was it.”
“I see, clean the basement. Of course, Squeaky and I would be more than happy to deliver it to Mirus. Just set it on the table and we’ll take it right over.”
Orville’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. Proto was behaving very strangely.
“Okay, thanks, you’re the best.”
Orville set the book down and disappeared into the next room.
Proto’s ears perked up. He could hear whispering coming from the living room. He gave a sigh. It was clear Orville’s story about cleaning the basement was a ruse to get him out of the house because they didn’t want him here. He dumped the scorched muffins into the trash bin, wiped the counters clean and picked up the book for Mirus. When he walked into the living room there was no one there. The house was silent.
“Let’s go, Squeaky, I don’t think we’re wanted here.”
The screen door banged shut behind Proto. He pushed open the front gate and didn’t look back, quite certain he would see Orville or Sophia peering out the window. He strode briskly down the winding country lane, Squeaky running beside him, barking at a pair of squawking glowbirds.
Proto was lost in a cloud of dark thoughts. He knew he was going back to the Cube, back to the glowbirds. He’d seen the crumpled notes Orville and Sophia had dropped on Elysian. Maybe they didn’t like him because he was a Rabbiton, because he was different from them. Serus had talked about a colony of Rabbitons living on Tectar, south of the mountain range. He’d be happier living with other Rabbitons. He sighed. They might look like him, but he knew they wouldn’t be like him. They wouldn’t be friendly, they wouldn’t have feelings the way he did. The more he thought about it, the less appealing it sounded. He might not be a mouse, but he had real feelings, and Orville and Mum and Papa and Sophia were his family.
He looked at the book Orville had given him. It was written in ancient Quintarian script and it wasn’t even a science book, it was a romantic novel about lost love. Orville was clearly not a master of deception. Proto’s jaw tightened. He would deliver the book to Mirus, then go straight to the Cube, avoid the emba
rrassment of being asked to move out.
The words of the Thirteenth Monk popped into his head. “You must face your greatest fear head on, regardless of the outcome.”
Proto sighed. He would talk to Mum and find out exactly why they wanted him to leave. Maybe it was just a small thing he could change, something he could do differently.
Two hours later Proto was back on the front porch, the book still in his hands. Mirus had known nothing about it, emphatically stating he had no interest in reading a novel about lost love. Proto tried to calm himself before he went inside.
“I shall face my greatest fear head on, just as the Thirteenth Monk said I should. Whatever happens will happen. Squeaky and I will be fine. We can have our own adventures if we need to.”
He swung the front door open, stepping into a dark and silent house. Maybe they were in the kitchen.
It took him only a moment to notice the piece of folded white paper on the kitchen table.
“They don’t even want to talk to me, they just left me a note.” He picked up the paper, carefully smoothing it out, preparing himself for the worst.
The Greatest Treasure
4/7
Proto stared blankly at the cryptic message printed on the stark white paper. It was the same note he had found in the crystal box on Elysian, but he had no idea what it meant. That was when he heard the whispering and giggling.
Orville popped through the doorway, a handful of papers in his paw, followed by Sophia, Mum, and Papa.
“You read the note? Get it?”
Proto shook his head. He had not gotten anything.
“4/7? The Greatest Treasure? Get it? Clever.”
“Orville, he has no idea what you’re talking about. Proto, we have something for you, something important.”
Papa took the papers from Orville.
“I did some research, contacted Edmund the Rabbiton at the Fortress of Elders in Grymmore. He’s the Master of Rabbitons, appointed by King Fendaron. I asked him to find something for me, and he did.”
Proto was confused. They didn’t sound angry, they hadn’t even mentioned the burned muffins.
