“What does ‘Project C.R.O.W.N.’ mean?” asked Marri, pointing to an inscription barely visible near the bottom of the least damaged chamber.
Anne shrugged. “I don’t know. I was never able to—”
“It’s an acronym,” said Jeffery. “It stands for Cryostasis Recovery Operation World Network.”
Anne blinked. “How do you know that?”
“I’m telling you, this upgrade has given me access to everything.”
“What’s cryostasis?” asked Marri.
“It’s kind of like freezing,” Hiro explained. “In the Old World, it was used to preserve things for a really long time. Chambers like these were designed to hold people in stasis.”
“There was an eighth cylinder, or cryochamber, or whatever,” said Anne.
Everyone spread out and searched up and down the rows.
“Here,” said Penelope a minute later.
She was standing next to a stack of crates, but another cylinder could be seen peeking over the top. Even with everyone working together, the crates proved too heavy to move. Anne brought over the iron knight. It easily pushed the crates out of the way until they had a clear path. Anne examined the chamber. Scorch marks on the surface showed it had clearly been damaged by fire as well. Anne could just barely make out the words engraved at the bottom: PROJECT A.N.V.I.L.
“This was the pillar I used to complete the quest,” said Anne.
“And what does that inscription stand for?” asked Marri.
Everyone looked to Jeffery, but he shook his head. “Beats me. For that one all I’m getting from the computer is ‘File not found.’”
“Where’s the silver medallion?”
“It should be inside,” said Anne.
She searched the interior of the chamber and found the slot where she had inserted her gauntlet. The medallion wasn’t in the slot, although there was a small button at the bottom. Anne reached down and pressed it. A small hatch opened, and the silver medallion was lying inside. Anne picked it up and jumped out of the chamber.
Holding the medallion brought back a lot of memories: jumping from the Matron’s office window, leaping off the drawbridge, climbing the Infinite Tower, fighting off a swarm of mechanical dragonflies.
“Did you find what you’re looking for?” asked a voice behind them.
Stampfoot had arrived along with her two iron knights.
Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice, and Anne bumped into one of the crates so hard that she knocked it over.
“Uh, sorry about that,” said Anne, rubbing a throbbing shoulder. She bent down and tried to shove some of the items back into the crate.
“Not to worry,” said Stampfoot. “Happens all the time. Let me help you with that. Hold this for a moment, would you?” she said to Penelope, and she handed her the glass cube with the dragon stone.
They quickly gathered up the contents of the crate and resealed it. Still crouched on the floor, Stampfoot tapped her finger on the label on the side of the crate.
“Ah, Saint Luffin’s! Now I remember it,” she said. “Didn’t some famous quest happen there recently? It was in all the news.”
“I’m not sure,” said Anne.
“We wouldn’t know anything about those events or have participated in any way, despite our likenesses to the individuals involved,” added Hiro.
Stampfoot rose to her feet. “Curious. And speaking of quests, that’s a very interesting gauntlet you have there.”
Anne could have kicked herself. She should have wrapped it again.
“It’s, uh, part of a school project,” said Anne. “We had to build a replica of our favorite gauntlet. I chose the gauntlet that won the award this year for Best Illegal Quest That Nearly Destroyed the Entire World.”
Stampfoot snapped her fingers. “But that’s the one. That’s the same quest I was just talking about. It’s where we got the idea to create these control cubes for the knights. Surely you must know of it, then, yes?”
Stampfoot bumped into the iron knight Anne had used to move the crates and looked up. “Say, who left this here?”
“It wasn’t us,” said the Construct, and it was only then that Anne realized the Construct was standing half inside one of the crates.
Stampfoot stared at the Construct for a moment, and then looked at Anne, and then at her gauntlet again. Her eyes widened as realization struck her.
“But if you’re… and that medallion is… then that would mean… but how did you—”
A metal hand clamped onto the wizard’s shoulder from behind and lifted her into the air. It wasn’t the iron knight Anne had been controlling. It was one of the wizard’s own knights. Her other iron knight turned and opened its back, and the first one stuffed the wizard into it. Her shouts were cut off as soon as the back of the second knight closed.
“It worked!” said Penelope incredulously. She was still holding the glass cube in her hand. “I thought about stuffing her in there, and the knights actually did it.”
“Will she be okay?” asked Marri, pointing to the iron knight with the wizard trapped inside.
Penelope nodded. “I ordered the knight to place her in stasis.”
“She should be fine, then,” said Anne. “But we won’t be if we stay here any longer.”
They headed back out of the warehouse, resisting the urge to run as fast as possible. Anne decided it was best to bring all three iron knights with them, just in case. As they exited the warehouse, the guard on duty stopped them.
“Where’s Stampfoot?” asked the guard.
“She, uh, said she had some business to take care of,” said Anne. “But we finished the tour, and she ordered her iron knights to escort us back to the docks.”
“Very well,” said the guard. “You may proceed.”
He waved them on, and they passed through the other checkpoints just as easily.
Anne left the three iron knights at the end of the dock, assuming someone would check on them eventually. She was tempted to take one of them with her but couldn’t risk the wizards catching her doing it.
There was a commotion on the deck of the ship when they got there. Nana had finally arrived, out of breath, but that wasn’t it. The pirates were gathered in a circle around two people dressed all in black. One was a small woman with tan skin and shoulder-length, gray-black hair, and the other was a tall man with a very large stomach. Anne recognized them immediately. They were Hiro’s parents, and if they were aware of what she and the others had been up to, it could mean big trouble.
Hiro pushed past her. “Mother? Father? What are you doing here?”
Mrs. Darkflame walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve come to take you home.”
They crowded into the captain’s cabin once again. This time it was Anne, Penelope, Hiro, his parents, and the Construct. Marri and her crew had been kind enough to give them some privacy, but Hiro had insisted that Anne and Penelope be allowed to come with him. The Construct was only present because she was tied to Anne’s gauntlet.
“What are you doing here?” Hiro asked his parents as soon as the door was closed.
Mrs. Darkflame raised an eyebrow. “We work here, young man. The real question is, what are you doing here at a top-secret council facility? And why is the council issuing warrants for your arrest?”
“I—I—that is, we—we…”
Mrs. Darkflame tutted at him. “If you can’t lie faster than that, don’t bother.”
“But how did you even know I was here?” Hiro protested.
“We didn’t,” said Mr. Darkflame. “We placed a security alert on the materials taken from the laboratory beneath Saint Lupin’s. We didn’t agree with the council removing them from the premises and thought it best for someone to keep an extra eye on them. The guards were to notify us in the event anyone came to investigate the contents, which they did less than an hour ago. We had no idea it was you until we arrived here. And then, of course, we were informed that you were here for Tak
e Your Student to Work Day. Imagine our surprise, since we never received a response from you.”
“You didn’t tell them anything, did you?” asked Anne.
Mr. Darkflame’s eyes flared. “Tell them what? That our son is obviously involved in some ridiculous school prank? Honestly, I thought Jocelyn had a better handle on things than that. You’re just lucky the guards here haven’t received the news reports yet. We brought the reports with us but held them back once we heard you were on-site.”
Mrs. Darkflame noticed the bandage on Hiro’s arm and her demeanor changed. “Is everything okay?”
“If you’re asking whether we know your son is a doppelganger, the answer is yes,” spat Penelope.
Mrs. Darkflame’s expression became very grim. “Hiro, what have you done?”
“He saved us,” said Anne. “We were trapped on the other side of the barrier, and the doppelgangers, the bad ones, would have taken us prisoner and made copies of us. It was quick thinking on Hiro’s part, but to convince them, he had to reveal who he really was. Lucky for us, the barrier removed his tattoo.”
Hiro’s parents were momentarily thunderstruck.
“The tattoo is gone?” said Mrs. Darkflame.
Mr. Darkflame tapped his fingers on the table. “Hiro, we must insist that you come with us right now!”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” said Hiro. “At least, not until we’ve finished.”
Mr. Darkflame snorted. “Now see here—”
“Please,” said Hiro. “We don’t have a lot of time. This is important, and I won’t abandon my group. Can’t you just restore the tattoo?”
“Certainly we can, but the spell takes days to perform, so you’ll have to return home.”
Hiro shook his head stubbornly. “We don’t have days. I’ll make do without it.”
Mrs. Darkflame placed her hands on her hips. “What is so important that you would risk real prison time, and possibly even worse, if anyone else finds out about your condition?”
“What can you tell us about Hieronymus Darkflame and the gold medallion?” Anne interjected, hoping to steer the conversation in a more useful direction.
Mr. Darkflame fell into a coughing fit, and Mrs. Darkflame turned pale.
“We found his grave on the other side of the barrier. We’re trying to figure out how he ended up there.”
Mr. Darkflame recovered and nodded. “Very well, then. But understand that what we are about to tell you involves a secret held by our family for many years. Long ago, the Darkflames were entrusted with a gold medallion bearing the image of a dragon.”
“The Sign of Zarala,” said Anne, Penelope, and Hiro in unison.
“Er, yes, that’s correct. Well, roughly a hundred and fifty years ago, Hieronymus was approached by a strange woman in need of help.”
“The Lady of Glass,” the three of them said in unison again.
“Look, who’s telling this story, me or the three of you?”
“Sorry,” said Anne. “Please continue.”
Mr. Darkflame adjusted his collar. “Hieronymus went with her immediately. For some unknown reason, a rift had opened in the Big Glowing Field of Magick, and the only solution was to activate the gold medallion.”
“Why would they want to activate it?” asked Anne. “I thought the quest was designed to bring down the barrier.”
“Not exactly. The quest was designed to control the barrier. It could raise or lower it, depending on the wishes of the person in charge of the quest. And it could be activated as many times as needed. Hieronymus and the lady thought they might be able to use it to seal the rift.”
“What went wrong?” asked Hiro.
“No one is certain. They successfully activated the quest, that much is known, but something happened, and there was an explosion. Neither Hieronymus nor the lady was seen again after that. They were presumed dead.”
“Was it pirates?” asked Penelope, clearly not mad enough to ignore a good story.
“A pirate ship did show up eventually, but they didn’t cause the explosion. They simply watched everything unfold from a distance and sifted through the debris afterward for anything of value.”
“So why is it called the Battle of the Great Rift?”
“Marketing, mostly. It sounds more impressive than the Unknown Incident at the Small Rift Where No One Really Knows What Happened.”
“Did it work?” asked Anne. “Did they seal the rift?”
“They did. And it remained sealed until a little over thirteen years and six months ago.”
Anne did the math. That would have been right around the time of her birth—and that of Penelope’s and Hiro’s as well, for that matter. The three of them were close in age, with Penelope being the oldest by a couple of months and Anne being the youngest.
Mrs. Darkflame continued the story. “From that point onward, the Darkflames have always kept tabs on the BGFM. A month before the rift opened the second time, some unusual activity was recorded around the site of the original incident. I was nine months pregnant with Hiro at the time, but we went to investigate anyway. While we were there, a small rupture appeared, releasing a burst of black magick. I got caught in the cloud and fell immediately ill. Although I eventually recovered, the damage had been done. Whatever substance had invaded my body had transformed Hiro into a doppelganger.”
Hiro hung his head. Anne couldn’t begin to imagine what he must be feeling, and she felt bad for ever doubting his loyalty to the group. Penelope remained silent.
“Unable to close it this time, two years later the council formed an expedition into the rift,” said Mr. Darkflame. “Unfortunately, it ended in disaster, and only one member of the group made it back.”
“Was that the quest led by my parents?” asked Penelope.
Mrs. Darkflame gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid so. It was a terrible proposal that should never have been authorized. Your parents were made the scapegoats, but it wasn’t their fault. We’ve spoken out on their behalf at every opportunity, but the powers that be would rather sweep the whole thing under the rug and forget it ever happened.”
“Who made it back?” asked Anne, although she already knew the answer.
“That was Evelyn Daisywheel, the former headmistress of Saint Lupin’s. Poor thing, she was never quite the same after that. I’m sorry to say we fell out of touch.”
“She was a doppelganger.”
“Oh. Well, that would explain it, then.”
“Who was Siri?” asked Hiro.
Mrs. Darkflame raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
“We came across their graves. Hieronymus, Penelope’s parents, Evelyn, and someone named Siri.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that name doesn’t ring any bells. The only other member of the group we’re aware of was a young man named Oswald.”
“Oswald Grey?!” exclaimed Anne. “He was a part of the expedition to the other side of the barrier?”
“Yes. I take it you’ve heard of him?”
Anne turned to Hiro. “I think it’s time we told your parents the truth. The whole truth.”
Hiro sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
As succinctly as possible, Hiro recounted for his parents the events of the past day, starting with the pirate attack on Saint Lupin’s and culminating with their escape from the other side of the barrier and the Construct’s instruction to recover the three medallions. Where necessary, he also included any pertinent details from their previous quests, such as the true nature of Mr. Shard and the Matron. When he finished, his parents looked completely dumbfounded.
“You had the gold medallion in your possession?” asked Mr. Darkflame.
“Yes,” said Anne. “But now Octo-Horse Pirate has it.”
“And it’s active once again?”
“I’m afraid so. And we only have a few hours left before the castle reaches its destination.”
Hiro’s parents conferred with each other in hushed tones. Finally, after a he
ated discussion, they turned back to the group.
“What can we do to help?” asked Mrs. Darkflame.
Anne nodded. “We can’t hope to beat Octo-Horse Pirate by ourselves. He’s too strong, and he has that squid and who knows what else protecting him. We need you to convince the council to send every airship and dragon they have at their disposal to the High Castle and have him arrested.”
Mr. Darkflame tapped his chin. “That won’t be easy. The council has been up in arms over your escape, and Lord Greystone has locked himself away in a long series of secret meetings. It’s been impossible to reach him, and the council won’t lift a finger on any quest-related matters without his express authorization.”
“Just tell him I’ll be at the castle and he can arrest me again,” said Anne. “That should do the trick.”
“We’ll try our best. Anything else?”
“We need to find the other two medallions. They’re both at the High Castle. The copper one is aboard the Blue Daisy, and Octo-Horse Pirate has the gold one.”
“Actually, that might not be entirely correct,” said Mrs. Darkflame. She reached into her satchel, pulled out a stack of papers, and flipped through them until she found the sheet she was looking for. “This is an alert about the sale of possible stolen property.” She handed the paper to Anne.
Anne read the paper. “Listen to this. It says Pirate Fifty-Three was flagged by some council agents for trying to sell them a known quest medallion, namely a copper medallion bearing the image of a dragon.” Anne looked up. “It’s not on the ship at all. Pirate Fifty-Three has it!”
“The agents set up a meeting with the pirate in question,” said Mrs. Darkflame. “The plan was to arrest him, but if we pull a few strings, we can arrange it so you and your group go to that meeting instead. There’s only one problem.”
“What’s that?” asked Hiro.
“The location. The meeting is in a place no adventurer in their right mind would ever willingly set foot.”
THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO TAVERNS SAYS THE FOLLOWING:
While any recounting of a heroic journey inevitably mentions a stop at some warm and inviting village tavern, the experienced traveler knows to be wary, as not all taverns are the safe havens the stories claim them to be. Consider the Polka Dot Dragon Tavern, for example, where any nondragon patrons could easily find themselves turned into an appetizer if they’re not careful. Or consider the Inn of Pancakes and Death, where they do indeed serve the best pancakes in the Hierarchy, but the cost is steep. Very steep. And don’t forget the Small Yappy Dogs Pub. Patrons who stay inside longer than three minutes lose their minds.
The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It) Page 16
