by Jake Halpern
For the most part, though, the house appeared to be in perfectly good order. The only room that appeared to be in disarray was Josephus's study. A giant pile of clothing was amassed in the center of the room; books lay scattered across several desks; wall maps hung precariously from a coat rack. It looked like Josephus was packing for a long journey.
Alfonso looked carefully at the enormous maps that covered the walls of the study. There were maps of Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, the Laptev Sea, the Great Rift Valley in Africa, and the island of Papua New Guinea. Most of the maps dated back to the 1700s and were marked with the names of countries that no longer existed.
In one corner of the room, Alfonso noticed a peculiar wooden map hanging on the wall. It was smaller than the others, no more than six inches in length, and Alfonso only noticed it because it was illuminated by a shaft of light that was pouring in from a nearby window. This particular map showed the original eleven cities of Dormia. Alfonso looked closer. He found Somnos and Jasber and the others, as expected, but something puzzled him about Jasber. The dot showing Jasber was smudgy and faint, as if the ink here had simply evaporated. This reminded him of the time he was in the Motte-Picquet subway station in Paris with his classmates. He remembered walking over to a map of the system and noticing that the dot showing the Motte-Picquet station was worn away from the thousands of people who had put their fingers there. The city of Jasber was worn in the same manner, as if it had been repeatedly touched.
Alfonso pressed his index finger to the city of Jasber. He heard a small click. Across the room, the bottom drawer of a massive bookcase swung open on a recessed hinge. Alfonso found a candle on Josephus's desk, quickly lit it, and then crawled in through the secret doorway. It led into a small, square room no bigger than a walk-in closet. The walls of the room were lined with books and maps, all of which concerned Jasber. Lying on a desk were several fountain pens, a tall candelabra, and a small book with French writing on it. Alfonso picked up the book and began flipping through its pages. Its title was written in both Dormian hieroglyphs and in French. It read:
~ Un Destin Solitaire: Les Dormeurs Géant de Jasber ~
Alfonso had always been good at French and he grasped its meaning immediately. Roughly translated, the title read, "A Lonely Fate: The Great Sleepers of Jasber." Alfonso placed the book in his coat pocket and continued looking around. Moments later, he let out a soft, barely audible cry. Lying on the floor, in the corner of the room, was the rosewood box from Alexandria. The top was gone, and had obviously been ripped from its delicate hinges. There was no sign of the vial of dagár-gala. "My box," said Alfonso aloud. "He took it!" Alfonso grabbed the remains of the rosewood box and stuffed it into a small backpack that he was carrying.
Alfonso's investigation was soon interrupted by the sounds of voices coming from Josephus's study. For a moment, Alfonso panicked, but then he relaxed when he recognized them. He crawled out of the secret room and saw Hill, Bilblox, and Resuza standing in the middle of Josephus's study.
"Alfonso!" exclaimed Resuza.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Hill inquired.
Alfonso explained what had happened after he had woken up in the Delirium Quarter. Bilblox shook his head in disgust.
"It looks like ol' Josephus is in cahoots with Kiril," said Bilblox.
"What do you mean?" asked Alfonso. Hill told him about Kiril's escape, and his belief that Kiril had received help.
"If they have joined together, I think I know where they're headed," Hill concluded with a weary shake of his head. "You see, Kiril left a torn-up list of items in his cell. On the list was a numeric code. We've just come from the library. It turns out that the code corresponds to a book from the library that's now missing. It was checked out to Josephus; we came here to ask him about it. It's called The Ancient Fault Roads of Dormia, written by Kemal Spratic, Kiril's father."
They stood there for a moment, stunned by their discoveries.
Hill sighed and stood up straight. They looked at him expectantly.
"The Grand Vizier must be informed at once," he said. "Josephus and Kiril are headed for the Fault Roads—and Jasber. There's not a moment to lose."
CHAPTER 20
MISTY
LATE THAT AFTERNOON, Alfonso found himself riding on Bataar, along with Hill, Bilblox, and Resuza. Directly behind them were two of Hill's diplomats on a smaller anteater. They were all headed down an old jungle road that led to the northern corner of the valley, where the old platinum mines were located. Birds called out from the shadowy depths of the jungle and, occasionally, oversized monkeys scampered across the road in front of them. A thin mist hovered just above the treetops. Bataar seemed unusually skittish, looking this way and that, as if expecting trouble at any moment. Resuza sat perched at the front of the riding cabin, aiming an Enfield rifle at the treetops. This was the rifle that once belonged to Bilblox's pilot, Snej. Bilblox had decided to give it to Resuza and she was now putting it to good use—making sure that nothing dropped down from the branches overhead.
The one thing that was conspicuously absent from the surrounding landscape was people. No one was in sight, no travelers on the road, no farmers in the field, no fishermen on any of the valley's rivers or streams. This was because the Grand Vizier had put all of Somnos on lockdown. No one was allowed to leave their homes until further notice. No one, that is, except Hill and his traveling party. They had been given explicit orders, from the Grand Vizier herself, to find an old passageway that led down into the Fault Roads, and look for a trace of Kiril and Josephus.
Under other circumstances, such a task would normally fall to Colonel Treeknot and her Expeditionary Corps, but they were nowhere to be found. Apparently, Treeknot had taken matters into her own hands and set off before dawn to find Kiril. This wasn't surprising. Colonel Treeknot liked to operate on her own. And perhaps she'd already found Kiril. But just to be doubly safe, the Grand Vizier turned to Hill and Alfonso to search for the entrance to the old Fault Roads.
Finding a way into the Fault Roads was much easier said than done. When the roads were shut down, hundreds of years ago, the leaders of Somnos went to great lengths to seal off all entrances. The official reason for this was that they posed a security risk. The year before the Fault Roads were closed, the city of Noctos was sacked by the Dragoonya. People feared that the Dragoonya would somehow find a way down into the Fault Roads and take Somnos by surprise. This was a valid concern. But there was another reason for keeping the Fault Roads sealed off. There were rumors that creatures known as zwodszay had come to inhabit the darkest nooks and crannies of these ancient tunnels. The miners spoke of these mysterious creatures with a mixture of awe and repulsion. There had been strange incidents where miners disappeared beneath the earth, and the zwodszay were blamed.
Of course, given the length of time since the Fault Roads had closed, no one knew a way back down. Josephus had claimed to know a way in, but that was of no help now. It was Resuza who provided the most promising lead. She recalled the strange encounter she and Alfonso had with Misty on the night of their gondola ride. At the mention of the Fault Roads and Josephus, the normally genial miner became enraged. Why did Misty care so much about the Fault Roads or about Josephus for that matter? Something apparently had happened between the two.
Hill knew Mistepha "Misty" Blazenska only vaguely, but he agreed she might be of some assistance.
Hill was sitting next to Alfonso, who was rearranging the scraps of paper taken from Kiril's cell to try to find something recognizable.
"Do you think Misty will help us?" Hill asked Resuza.
"Hard to say," she replied. "She's the most stubborn person I've ever met, but there was something about Josephus she really didn't like."
"Hey, I'm pretty stubborn," said Bilblox.
Kõrgu, who was sitting on Bilblox's lap, growled in agreement.
"Yeah," said Resuza, "But wait till you meet Misty—"
"Hey!" cried out Alfonso. "I think I put these pieces of paper to
gether—have a look." Hill and Resuza drew closer.
"What are these things?" asked Alfonso. "I know what a slingshot and hooded robe are, but what's the rest of this stuff?"
"A kaval is a shepherd's flute," said Hill. "The nightshade, arrowroot, goldenseal, and Dormian milk thistle are all herbs."
"What's a khopesh?" asked Alfonso.
"I don't know," said Hill as he scribbled some notes on a piece of paper. "But I intend to find out." Hill tugged on Bataar's reigns and brought the giant anteater to a halt. He then called for his two aides. One of them, a young woman not much older than Resuza, dismounted the anteater and hastily climbed up Bataar.
"What do you need, Mr. Foreign Minister?" asked the aide.
"I want you to get me everything that's on this list, from the nightshade to the slingshot," said Hill. "And I want an update on what Colonel Treeknot is up to. Find out if she has returned or if there is any more information on where, exactly, she has gone."
"Right away, sir," said the aide. She scurried down and immediately ran toward her anteater.
"Why do you want those items?" Alfonso asked.
"Kiril obviously has everything planned out," replied Hill. "And if we are going to follow him, then we need everything that he has."
"How far do ya intend to follow him?" asked Bilblox.
Hill made no reply.
***
Just shy of sundown, Bataar entered a large clearing in the jungle and Misty's house came into full view. The old miner lived in a ramshackle cottage built on stilts about thirty feet high. One solitary skinny ladder provided access to the cottage. As Bataar walked closer, they all saw Misty open the door to the cottage and walk onto the wide front deck that was covered with all manner of potted plants.
"State your names and business!" yelled Misty.
Hill stood up and leaned out of the riding cabin. "It's me, Hill Persplexy! The foreign minister!"
Misty watched impassively as they climbed down from Bataar. They paused at the bottom rung of the ladder that ascended to Misty's house and looked up.
"I've got nothin' t'say t'the high 'n' mighty," Misty yelled. "But I'll let ya inside 'cause-a Resuza, who's got the only sense in this city. But I ain't toleratin' that wolf inside my house."
"She's not a wolf!" yelled Bilblox. "She's my seein' eye dog."
"No matter, she ain't a-comin' in my house!"
"Leave her here," said Hill. "She'll be fine. Bataar is here, in case anything happens."
Bilblox nodded.
They all climbed up the rickety, wooden ladder. When they arrived on the porch, they saw that not only was it covered with plants, it also had all types of mining equipment scattered about—ropes, winches, cranks, pulleys, torches, pickaxes, grappling hooks, and sledgehammers. There were also quite a few vats of a pungent-smelling liquid that could have been either kerosene or moonshine, it was impossible to say which.
"Come 'ere and git inside," said Misty. "I feel a chill a-comin' and I got a fire started in the furnace."
They all followed Misty into the cramped confines of her cottage. The walls were lined with potions and poultice wraps, all of them identified with scrawled Dormian hieroglyphs. Misty gestured for them to sit down.
"So tell me," said Misty in a sullen tone. "To what do I owe this honor?"
Hill leaned forward in his chair. "Let me be blunt. I understand you and Josephus may have some history, especially with regard to the Fault Roads," he said. "All that is in the past. My question is this: how can we enter the Fault Roads?"
Misty's face clouded over at the mention of Josephus. "I got nothin' t'say. I ain't been in the Fault Roads."
"You've never been in the Fault Roads?" Hill pressed.
Misty shook her head and glared at Hill.
Resuza tried a different tack. She relayed the news about Kiril's escape and what they had found in Josephus's house. This evoked an immediate reaction from Misty. She slammed her meaty fist on a nearby table.
"I tol' him," she exclaimed. "I tol' him to forget that foolishness. He never listened. Thought he was the smartest sleeper around. Look where it got 'im. Treason!"
"What happened, Misty?" Resuza asked in a soft voice. "What's this all about?"
"Musta been near fifty years now," said Misty with a shake of her head. "Me 'n' a coupla miners found a veina pure platinum. 'Twas a gorgeous whitish silver color and it just stretched real thin and deep like—way down into the bowels of the earth. Well they got regulations says ya can't mine beneath a certain depth fer fear a-hittin' one of the roots of the Foundin' Tree. And we was pretty close to that depth when we hit this vein. But we're miners, and we found a veina platinum, so we just keep diggin'. One day, we bust through this wall and find ourselves in a cave—only the ground is perfectly flat like we was on the floor of a man-made tunnel. We agreed: nobody says a word 'bout this."
"It was the Fault Roads?" asked Resuza.
Misty nodded and continued with the story. Before digging any deeper, she paid a visit to her great-uncle Dlugosz, who was 106 years old and, according to family legend, had been born in the mines. Dlugosz had experience mining deep, well beyond the legal limit, and it was said that he had a few encounters with the creatures known as zwodszay.
"Yes sir, indeedy," said Dlugosz to Misty. "Sounds like the cave ya hit is a Fault Road. Mighty dangerous down 'dare—mighty dangerous. If ya gonna go, ya best take percautions. I'd take lotsa light wit' me and I'd cover meself up good with the sap-a the skelter tree—it's a greasy-lookin' tree in the jungle. Makes ya hard to track. Careful though—skelter sap wears off in 'bout quarter-day's time. Also, take just a few fellas wit'cha. No more 'an a dozen. The zwodszay don't like big groups none. Tell ya the truth, it's safest goin' alone. Don't talk either. Best to keep quiet or whisper. And keep yer eyes out for them mile markers, that's whatchya want. Ferget the platinum vein. Them mile markers is the real treasure!"
The following day, Misty returned to the mine with a crew of eleven. They took all of the precautions that Dlugosz had recommended. Just as Misty had initially suspected, the cave turned into a tunnel. Every few hundred yards or so, it had markers on its walls, which were made of solid gold. The markers had numbers on them—512.5, 512.4, 512.3, etcetera—which indicated how far it was to some destination, presumably farther down the tunnel. They couldn't believe their good fortune, and began prying the gold markers off the wall and stuffing them into their bags. Once or twice, Misty could have sworn that she sensed someone watching her.
"My goodness!" gushed Karny, the youngest of the miners. "We do this fer a week or so and we'll be richer 'n thieves."
"No!" said Misty. "We're 'ere today and then we ain't never comin' back. We'll melt down these mile markers so that no one knows where they came from, sell 'em at the exchange, pay what we owe to the Miners Guild, divvy up the profits, and that'll be the end of it!"
Misty's plan was a sound one, but it was foiled by Karny, who pocketed one of the mile markers and attempted to sell it on his own to make a bit of extra cash for himself. A week or so later, Karny showed up for work with a thin, bespectacled, scholarly looking young man at his side. The man introduced himself as Josephus, royal historian of Somnos, and asked to speak with Misty alone.
"I know what you're up to and what you've found," said Josephus in a measured voice. He then held out the solid gold mile marker as his proof. "You could be arrested on a number of counts, including for digging so deep and for entering the old Fault Roads."
"But ya ain't turned us in," said Misty. "So ya must be wan-tin' somethin'. You lookin' fer a cut?"
"No," said Josephus. "My interests are more scholarly. I want you to take me back down to the Fault Roads for an hour or two so I can look around."
"That's it?"
Josephus nodded.
Misty gave a sigh of relief. She didn't like the idea of going back into the Fault Roads, but what choice did she have? Her crew escorted Josephus down the old mining shaft that led into the Fault
Roads. As soon as they entered the road itself, Josephus let out a hoot of joy and broke off at a near run down the ancient passageway. Misty and her men hurried after him. They continued downward for several hours until Misty finally lost her patience.
"We've gone far enough!" declared Misty. "It's more 'an time we turn 'round. We've bin gone almost six hours and our coverin'a skelter sap is worn away. We're headed fer trouble from the zwodszay."
"That's an old wives' tale," said Josephus. "There's nothing like—"
He was interrupted by what sounded like the approach of heavy raindrops, but clearly this was impossible. Steadily the noise grew louder until it finally became evident that this was the sound of hundreds of feet and hands.
It was the zwodszay.
"They was upon us 'fore we ever saw 'em," recalled Misty with a shudder. "They went fer our torches first and 'fore we knew it, we was standin' in total blackness. Couldn't see a blasted thing. I smelled 'em though. They smelled like rottin' flesh. Then there was the screamin' of my miners. Sometimes I swear I can still hear 'em whimperin' like pups bein' eaten alive. They slaughtered us. Killed all twelve of us except fer me'n' Josephus, who were in the back and managed t'run away. We emerged from the tunnel drippin' in blood. Miners' blood. Aft'ward, we sealed up the way in wit' a boulder."
She stared at them angrily, and it was clear that the horror of that day had weighed upon her ever since.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Resuza.
"What for?" asked Misty. "No sir. I put a knife t'Josephus's throat and said if he ever tried to go back down them roads, I'd kill 'im meself. He said he'd never go back. He learned his lesson, 'n' tol' me it'd stay a secret. We agreed we'd tell folks that there was a cave-in and that's how them other miners died. There was a lot of lyin' that we done, but we didn't 'ave a choice. If we tol' the truth, some numbskull woulda tried t'get back into the Fault Roads."
"So you've never been down to the Fault Roads since then?" Alfonso asked.
