“Zarala’s medallions. Copper, silver, gold. Return them to the Lady of Glass. She will know what to do.”
Before Anne could question her further, there was a sudden burst of light, and Jeffery appeared in the air above their heads.
“Finally,” said Jeffery. “Can you believe—”
“Demon!” screamed the Construct, and she pulled a dagger out of her waistband.
“Where did she get a weapon?” cried Hiro.
Anne tried to block the Construct, but she passed right through Anne’s body, dagger and all. She lunged at Jeffery. He swooped away, but only just in time. A thin slice from one of his feathers floated in the air for a split second and then dissipated into nothing. Apparently, even when holograms weren’t solid they could still interact with other holograms.
The pirates surrounded Marri and adopted defensive postures.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” said Jeffery, hovering well above everyone. “What’s the big idea?”
The Construct shook the dagger at him. “Return to the ground, you fiend, so that I might administer justice.”
Anne jumped in front of the Construct and waved her arms. “It’s okay! He’s not a demon! He’s with us!”
The Construct clenched her jaw. “He’s the one who sent me here. He’s the one who exiled me in this… this… desolate place. Come down and face me, wretch!”
“So, look, I’m just going to leave now and never return,” said Jeffery. “Best of luck with everything.”
“Jeffery, stay right there,” said Anne. Even though she couldn’t physically stop the Construct, Anne remained between them and held up her hands. “Please, whoever was responsible for sending you to this place, I promise it wasn’t Jeffery.”
The Construct eyed Jeffery with loathing. “And you are willing to vouch for this… this… vermin?”
“I am,” said Anne.
“Fine,” said the Construct, and she put away the dagger.
The pirates relaxed.
“Is everything all right?” asked Marri.
“I think it’s just a matter of mistaken identity,” said Anne.
Jeffery swooped down and landed on Anne’s shoulder. “Or someone needs a lot less caffeine in their diet.”
The Construct scowled. “Do not push me, bird.”
“Where have you been?” Anne asked Jeffery.
“Trying to get through the barrier,” he said. “When Octo-Horse Pirate sent you here, the BGFM blocked me, and I was forced to take a detour. The security program tried very hard to keep me out, and it took a while to break through the firewall—which uses real fire, by the way. I think I might have gotten a little singed.” He ruffled his feathers. “But eventually I found my way through.”
“Security program? Firewall?” asked Anne. “What are you talking about?”
“The computer. Ever since your pirate friends messed around with the gauntlet, my connection to the world computer has been growing. And there’s a massive amount of information in there, let me tell you. I’ve barely put a dent in it.”
Anne wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about Jeffery being connected to the computer.
A chorus of shouts sounded in the distance.
“Now who is it?” asked Hiro.
“Oh, right,” said Marri. “We might have run into a small group of doppelgangers. And by small group I mean massive army. I thought we gave them the slip, but it’s entirely possible they’ve picked up our trail again. We need a way back through the barrier now.”
Anne turned to Jeffery. “You broke in here. Is there a way out?”
Jeffery hesitated. “There is, but this is another of those things you’re not going to like.”
More shouts echoed in the distance. This time they sounded even closer and came from multiple directions.
“At this point, I don’t think liking it matters,” said Anne.
Jeffery pointed his wing in the direction of the chasm. “You have to jump.”
Hiro groaned.
“That sounds like a bad idea,” said Anne. “What’s at the bottom?”
“Nothing.”
“Then it really sounds like a bad idea,” said Hiro.
“Don’t worry, it’s just how the BGFM looks from this side,” explained Jeffery. “If we jump as a group, I can even control where we come out.”
Marri pointed to the Construct. “What about her?”
“We need to bring her with us,” said Anne. “Somewhere in her memory is the way to stop the barrier from coming down.”
“And if she can’t remember?”
“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we need a way to bring her with us.”
“She could travel inside the gauntlet,” said Jeffery.
“Really?”
“Sure. I’m a hologram; she’s a hologram. And there’s plenty of space in here. Hold out your arm.”
“Are you sure?”
“With my new connection to the computer? I can transfer her over no problem.”
Anne felt uneasy, but they didn’t have time for a lengthy debate. She raised her gauntlet-hand as instructed. Jeffery hopped onto it and closed his eyes. The gauntlet grew warm, but it was nothing like the heat from when she inserted a medallion. A moment later, a pulsing beam of pure white light shot out from the inset slot in the cuff and struck the Construct. She disappeared.
“Woo-hoo!” said Jeffery. “I have a houseguest!”
“Where did she go?” Anne said in a panic.
Jeffery inspected the gauntlet. “Don’t worry. It will take her program a few minutes to sort itself out, but she’s definitely in there.”
“Fine,” said Anne. “Let’s get going, then.”
Jeffery disappeared in a flash of light.
Everyone hurried back to the clearing with the Heartstone. They roused the rest of the pirate crew and positioned themselves along the chasm. The cold, dark void stretched away in front of them.
The shouts from the doppelgangers were close now. Very close.
Anne knew this was the right decision—the only decision, in fact. She just really wished at least one of their quests wouldn’t involve falling off a ledge.
They all joined hands, took a collective breath, and leapt into the void.
HONEST EHD’S USED AIRSHIPS
“Gather close and feast your eyes on this one-of-a-kind airship. Forget those modern, ultrasleek vessels. This is a craft with real personality. Those holes in the hull? Ventilation to keep your crew nice and cool on those hot summer days. That crack in the mast? It adds character. The fire damage to the deck? As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Pardon me, ma’am? Er, yes, I’m afraid it did kill the previous owners. Which is why you won’t beat our low, low price!”
The Leaky Mermaid
Anne’s feet hit the ground hard. She stumbled but managed to remain upright. When she lifted her head, though, she nearly fell over in shock. It was still dark, but now there were stars and a full moon providing enough light for her to see the massive airship directly in front of her—or rather, providing enough light for her to see that she was directly in front of it.
She raised her arms, but the airship missed her completely. This wasn’t surprising considering it wasn’t actually moving. Nor were any of the dozens of airships around it. They were all resting on the ground, propped up on wooden beams. The airships were of various sizes and configurations, from tiny one-person rowboats to bulky trawlers and streamlined yachts, but they all had two things in common: One, all of them appeared to be empty, and two, all of them were in a serious state of disrepair.
While Anne tried to figure out exactly where she had landed, the gauntlet crackled with lines of blue energy. Seconds later the Construct appeared beside her in a flash of light. She looked somewhat transparent, and Anne could almost make out the shape of the airship behind her.
“Are you okay?” asked Anne.
“I think so,” the Construct said shakily. “But that was… dist
urbing. It felt like I was being ripped into pieces, and then the gauntlet kicked me out here.”
Jeffery appeared next to them in his own burst of light. “Yeah, it looks like space actually is going to be an issue. It’s not that the gauntlet is small, but her program is megahuge. The gauntlet simply can’t contain her.”
Intermittent streaks of energy continued to snake around the gauntlet.
“Will she be okay?” asked Anne.
Jeffery landed on Anne’s arm and examined the energy bursts. “Her program is already leaking out. The longer she’s in here, the more unstable she’ll become. Which means the sooner we can upload her into a proper computer terminal, the better.”
“Do not concern yourself with my well-being,” said the Construct. “Proceed with your mission.”
“Is there any chance this could affect you, too?” Anne asked Jeffery. She hadn’t even considered that possibility before agreeing to the transfer.
Jeffery saluted Anne with a tiny wing. “No worries, ma’am. I’m good to go.”
Penelope, Hiro, Marri, and the rest of her crew ran out from between two airships.
“There you are!” said Marri. “I thought we’d lost you.”
Neither Penelope nor Hiro said anything. Hiro’s cheeks looked paler than usual, and Penelope had her arms crossed and was making a point of not looking in his direction.
“What is this place?” Anne asked Jeffery.
“You said we needed transportation,” said Jeffery.
“I don’t recall saying that.”
“Isn’t your plan to prevent the barrier from going down?”
“Yes.”
“Well, in order to do that you need to return to the High Castle, right? With the Blue Daisy no longer available, how exactly were you planning to do that?”
“So why didn’t you just take us directly there?” asked Anne. “You said you could control where we came out.”
“I tried, but something blocked me from taking us there. It’s the one place we couldn’t go. It might have to do with the fact that the castle has already been activated. Maybe it’s a security feature, to prevent people from simply dropping in and turning it off again.”
They made their way among the airships until they came to a clearing with a small shack. Most of the windows were boarded up, and the one window that wasn’t had been smashed at some point and never replaced. The front door wasn’t in the doorframe but instead was being used to prop up one end of the porch roof.
“This looks promising,” said Marri.
Anne stepped onto the front porch and pulled a thin chain hanging by the door. Inside the shack a little bell rang. A series of grunts, thumps, and curses emanated from the interior. There was the sound of footsteps approaching, and a thin man with greasy black hair and wearing a ragged coat and carrying a rusty lantern came to the doorway.
“Can’t you read?” he said in a gruff voice. “The sign says ‘Keep Out.’ Not to mention it’s nearly midnight.”
Anne cleared her throat. “We’d like to purchase an airship.”
The man’s expression darkened. “If you’ve only come here to make fun of me, you can be on your way. I have better things to do with my time, thank you very much. Like watch the mold grow on my walls.”
He started back inside.
“Wait!” said Anne. “We’re not making fun of you. We really do need an airship.”
The man stopped. “I’m not in the used-airship business anymore. The council revoked my license.”
“You mean the Wizards’ Council?” asked Hiro.
“Is there another council? Accused me of selling substandard airships. The nerve of them, right?”
“Er, were they substandard?”
“Of course not!” the man roared, clearly offended by the mere suggestion. “Best used airships on the market. I mean, sure, some of them had probably seen better days. But that’s the whole beauty of buying used. You get something that’s stood the test of time.”
“So what happened after the council took away your license?” asked Anne.
He shrugged. “I turned the place into a junkyard.”
Marri pointed to the rows of airships visible in the moonlight. “Okay, so sell us a piece of junk, then. Is there anything here that can still fly?”
The man leaned against the doorframe and studied them. “Do you have any money?”
“Um,” said Anne.
“That’s what I thought. I might not be in the business anymore, but I can smell a bunch of deadbeats a mile away”
“Hey, we’re not deadbeats,” said Jeffery. “We just happen to be financially challenged at the moment.”
“Look, I wish we had time to explain,” said Anne, “but we have something very important that needs doing and we need a ship. Please, won’t you help us?”
He crossed his arms. “Why should I?”
“Because we’re on the run from the Wizards’ Council, and helping us would really annoy them,” said Marri.
The man brightened considerably at this. “You don’t say? Well, in that case, my junkyard is your junkyard. What do you need?”
“An airship that flies,” Anne said hopefully.
He scratched his chin. “Most of them have been sitting here for years. I sell the parts whenever I can. I doubt there’s a working ship on the lot.” He clapped his hands together. “But for a chance to stick it to those wizards, I’m willing to put in a little overtime.” He stuck out his hand for Anne to shake. “I’m Honest Ehd, by the way.”
“I’m Anne,” she said, and shook his hand.
Anne introduced the rest of the group.
Honest Ehd smiled. “Pirates, eh? Even better.”
He led them along the rows of airships to a ship near the back of the lot. It was a three-masted galleon with fore- and aftercastles, metal plates along the sides of the hull, and two great propellers jutting from the stern. At some point in its history it might have been a formidable warship, but those days were long past. The sails needed mending, there was only one working cannon, and many of the deck planks were either rotten or missing altogether.
“The Leaky Mermaid?” said Hiro, reading the name painted on the side of the ship.
“It’s the best ship on the lot.”
“It looks like the sort of death trap even Death itself might be afraid of,” said Penelope.
“Don’t worry,” said Honest Ehd. “It’ll fly, or my name isn’t Honest Ehd.”
“Is that your real name?” asked Hiro.
“No, it’s actually Morally Ambiguous Patrick. But the ship will still fly, guaranteed.”
Honest Ehd’s enthusiasm couldn’t be rivaled. For the next several hours they stripped any parts they needed from the surrounding ships. When they couldn’t find a necessary part, Ehd fashioned a workable substitute from other pieces of junk lying about. While the crew worked with Honest Ehd to get the ship ready, Anne, Penelope, Hiro, Marri, Jeffery, and the Construct met in Ehd’s shack to devise a plan. They lit several warped candles and gathered around a small table. Penelope made a point of not standing next to Hiro.
“So which medallion do we go after first?” asked Marri.
“The gold medallion is still with Octo-Horse Pirate at the High Castle,” said Jeffery.
“How do you know that?” asked Anne.
“I can locate my current quest medallion anywhere in the Hierarchy.”
“Even though it’s in the other gauntlet?”
“Yep,” said Jeffery. “And if he takes it somewhere else, I’ll still be able to find it.”
“Okay, that’s good to know,” said Anne. “In that case, I guess it makes sense to concentrate on the other two first.”
“They should still be in the cargo hold of the Blue Daisy along with the rest of your medallions,” said Marri. “I had Mr. Locke put them there after he confiscated them from Pirate Fifty-Three.”
“No, the silver medallion is at Saint Lupin’s,” said Anne. “The gauntlet releas
ed it after I finished the first quest. It’s in a laboratory at the bottom of the tier. I ended our first quest inside a chamber labeled PROJECT A.N.V.I.L., and it took the medallion. Your crew wouldn’t have found it.”
“But someone else might have,” said Hiro. “I did a full inventory while we were completing the renovations, including the laboratory. The Wizards’ Council conducted a thorough investigation after the quest and all the equipment was removed.”
Anne was shocked by this news. “What?! But that’s my stuff!”
“I don’t suppose anyone knows where the council might keep such objects?” asked Marri.
Hiro nodded. “I do. There’s a secret warehouse tier where they store all major quest-related items.”
Penelope sneered. “And you just happen to know that?”
“It’s also where the council day care is located. My parents used to drop me off there all the time.”
Anne pressed her fingers against the sides of her head. Stopping the barrier was becoming more and more complicated by the minute, and time was running out. If they didn’t gather the medallions and find the Lady of Glass by early morning, it would be too late.
“Since the other two medallions are already at the High Castle, I suggest we focus our efforts on acquiring the silver medallion first,” said Marri. She turned to Hiro. “I assume you can lead us to the secret facility you mentioned?”
“I can,” said Hiro. “But they have heavy security. There are checkpoints at each warehouse and guards patrolling everywhere. The perimeter is guarded by hidden traps. There are lots of wizards, too. It would be pretty much impossible to sneak in, and attacking it would be inadvisable, to say the least.”
“I could easily sneak past the guards and locate the medallion for you,” offered the Construct.
“And pick it up how?” said Penelope.
“Ah, yes, there is that.”
“Well, we can’t just walk in the front door and ask for the medallion,” said Marri. “How would we explain a bunch of students popping in for a visit?”
“Hiro’s letter!” shouted Anne.
“What?” said Hiro.
“Don’t you remember? Your mother invited you to Take Your Student to Work Day. We can go to the facility under the guise of being visiting students, and then search for the medallion.”
The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It) Page 14
