The Map Maker's Quest

by Matthew J. Krengel

  “Jackie, be careful!” Jane shouted. She watched in horror as her sister dove headlong through the open door and vanished into the night. Jane lunged across the main room, her heart racing. Vaguely her mind registered a faint cry as Bella lost her grip on her jacket and fell away. When she reached the door, Jackie fell back through the entrance dragging one of the muskets and threw her body to the side as another ball of energy slammed into the back wall.

  As she stopped her head long rush the shard in her hand slipped free and went skittering out the door. To her horror it continued to bounce along wildly like it had a mind of its own until it came to a rest against the railings leading down to the lower area.

  “I lost the shard!” Jane shouted. “Give me that musket.” Jane grabbed the weapon from Jackie and flipped it around to check the charging lever. It was ready to fire. She pushed the muzzle out the shattered door. There was an Adherent near the steps hiding behind the concrete and metal railing. She trigged the musket towards his hiding place. The crackling ball of energy slammed off the concrete and drew a shout of surprise from the man but nothing else.

  Jane ducked back inside and looked down at Jacob, he was weakly trying to pull his body away from the opening. Each time a blast struck the back wall, the jolt was keeping him from getting out of the way. Suddenly there was a volley of blasts that splattered off the walls and door. Jane heard a shout of victory. When she dared to glance back out over the steps the shard of glass was gone. Across the lower grounds she saw a series of black robed characters running off into the woods. Jane threw caution away and sprinted to the top steps. She leveled the musket at the only figure she could still see and pulled the trigger.

  A second after she fired, Jackie grabbed her and pulled her back, “What are you doin!” Jackie shouted. There was a cry of surprise from the lawn below them, and Jane twisted her head around the corner to look. Her target was lying half in the underbrush and half on the lawn, he was weakly trying to pull himself fully into the forest.

  “Grab him,” Jane growled. She tossed the musket to Jackie and grabbed the other dropped weapon from the ground. “At least cover me.” This was her chance to find out how they there tracking them. She sprinted down the steps two at a time and ran to where the adherent had almost vanished into the thicket. She grabbed his leg and pulled him back onto the grass.

  “How did you find us?” Jane demanded.

  “Did he have the shard?” Jackie asked. She started to rustle around in the brush searching the ground for the piece of glass. She was about to give up when a gleam of light caught her eyes, and she smiled triumphantly. Into the thicket she pushed her body, ignoring the grabbing thorns and the tearing sounds as the branches ripped at her jacket. There on the ground at the base of a small bush was the glass shard half buried in the dirt from the force of the impact. “I found it,” Jackie crowed happily when she finally emerged from the undergrowth.

  “Good, hold onto it,” Jane said. Then she turned her attention back to the Adherent and her eyes went cold as anger washed over her.

  The Adherent smiled at her and clamped his mouth shut. Instead he turned his eyes to examine the rest of them. Tasker watched as Jane blustered and threatened horrible things he knew she would never carry through. That was the problems with threats, without actions to back them up they rarely worked.

  “Answer me or I will send you into the Divide forever,” Jane growled. She was tired of being hounded and even more tired of running into the agents of the Temple every time she turned around. She wanted all this to be done. She wanted her mom and Jacob’s mom back and to just disappeared back to the Twin Cities.

  “Why don’t you ask him,” the Adherent said finally. He grinned wickedly and flexed his fingers.

  “What is he talking about, Tasker?” Jane said. She whirled around and stared at the short dwarf as her mind rushed to conclusion after conclusion.

  “Jane,” Tasker said finally. “The effects of the blast are wearing off. We need to deal with him, and we need to get away from here. I’ll explain as best I can but we need to move.” He took a length of rope he had found in the lighthouse and bound the Adherents hands and feet. A quick search revealed the man’s anchor and Tasker took it as well, he set the anchor on the ground and looked around until he found a large enough stone to suit his purpose. With two hard blows he reduced the anchor to scrap. After rolling the Adherent into the underbrush and putting a gag around his mouth they hurried back down the trail towards the beach.

  “All right,” Jane demanded when they reached the stairs. The night was quiet except for their footsteps. “What was he talking about? Why did he say to ask you?” She glared at him for a moment. “Why do I get the feeling you’re more mixed up in this then you’ve told us?”

  “I was one of the first dwarves to come to the surface,” Tasker started out. He walked slowly down the steps and motioned for them to keep following him. “My race has always been isolated, and our leaders liked it that way.” They reached the first platform where the steps turned to the left, and he paused. The top board of the railing was too high for him to lean on so he picked one more comfortable and looked out between the boards. “I defied the elders and began traveling to the surface on both sides of the Divide two hundred years before anyone else even dreamed of crossing over.” Tasker paused for a moment to reflect and then continued. This was a part of his life that he was not proud of. “I loved the things I saw on this side. The humans who in this world were so full of ideas, and the things they made were amazing. I wanted to bring those things to the other side. I wanted to better the lives of my people and those on the other side. I founded the Temple . . .” There was a gasp and he paused again to let them all stop talking. “But I founded it as a place where those with ideas could come and share them, not an institution to stamp out everything that opposed it. The temples were supposed to be places of learning, of sharing ideas, and helping better those around us. For almost a century things went well despite the misgivings of the Seely Court.”

  Tasker started down the steps again, the lights were coming back on up near the lighthouse and there were startled shouts echoing through the night sky. The men and women who worked at the lighthouse knew something had happened, and they were raising the alarm.

  “I had a young apprentice, not really talented with the making of maps but well liked,” Tasker explained. Step after step he felt like each wooden plank was taking further and further into his past. “I gave him what knowledge I could, but I knew he would never be as talented a map maker as most of the others. Still he rose quickly in the Temple, and soon his opinion was valued as much as my own . . .” Tasker paused as if thinking hard. “Now that I look back on the circumstances around his rise to power I suppose I should have seen it coming. He tried to take over by force and failed. We were saddened with the events but no harm was done. Cain was placed in a cell, and that was it. Several years passed, and he emerged from isolation with a book he had written. He said it was a recording of the struggles he went through. He even called it My Struggles for You. He emerged even more charismatic, and he began once again to gain followers. Five more years went by, and he was elected to the board of regents who watched over the Temple. This time he was elected head regent. I was cast aside,for Cain’s first act was to banish me from the Temple buildings. I went away angry and tried to avoid all my old contacts. Even so I heard rumors of what was happening. Those he brought to power were like him, others of my friends began to vanish without any trace.”

  They reached the bottom of the steps and walked out on the great rocks that marked the edge of the lake water and began walking south. Jane and Jackie flanked Tasker on each side as they listened to him tell the story.

  “We met with the Seely Council and they refused to do anything about what was happening. Only some of them went a step further, they signed treaties with Cain and the others ruling the temple. The Tem
ple agreed to halt its outward expansion to the places where they already held power in exchange for sovereign rule in the areas where Temple members made up the majority of the people.” Tasker shook his head sadly. “Six months after the treaty was signed, the Temple started the purges . . .” Tasker stopped talking as they walked along the beach. The surf was building again, and the waves were starting to throw heavy sprays of water across the stones, making them slippery. “So many were killed. Even more were driven from their homes. Many have taken to calling it the Night of the Bloody Knives.”

  “So all this happened because of you?” Jane asked slowly. “All the deaths and the missing people.”

  Tasker just nodded.

  “Is that why you’re so desperate for this rebellion to succeed?” Jackie asked. She looked down at the dwarf with suspicion in her eyes. Literally Tasker was responsible for the missing year of her life, responsible for the kidnappings. “No, I’m sorry,” Jackie said. She stopped her train of thought immediately. “You’re not responsible. Cain is. He’s the one who took control of the Temple. He’s the one who ordered the kidnappings. I can’t blame you for what’s happened.”

  “You should,” Jacob muttered. He stared at Tasker with open hostility. “Without him this never would have happened.”

  “Jacob,” Jackie replied. “That’s like telling Hitler’s mom that she’s completely responsible for everything he did. Where does the line of personal responsibility get drawn?”

  Jane was silent during this exchange. Their entire party had stopped on the beach, and they were standing around Tasker staring at him. Suddenly she felt Bella shift on her shoulder, and a voice whispered in her ear.

  “It gets worse,” Bella said so lightly that no one else heard her.

  “I am responsible,” Tasker said. Tears were streaming down his face. “Cain is my son.”

  There were gasps from the trio of humans, but Tasker continued.

  “You think I don’t know about the pain and the loss Cain has brought onto the world, brought to both sides?” Tasker straightened as he spoke. His back stiffened and his face grew grim. “Cain ordered the death of my wife, his own mother. All of his brothers and sisters are passed on to the creator by his hand. I’m all that remains of his family and he’s done his best to kill me also.” Tasker stopped and looked at each one of them directly in the face. “So, yes, I am responsible for what’s happened. Indirectly, perhaps, but I’m to blame.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, and then his face hardened, “But don’t ever say I don’t know about the loss and pain I’ve brought onto the world. I buried each and every one of my children and my wife. Their faces will haunt me forever.”

  Chapter Seven

  Puck Returns

  Wait a minute!” Jacob burst out. He jumped as his voice broke the silence and made everyone present jump. He looked around, hoping no Adherents were close enough to hear his outburst.

  “What!” Jane hissed. She turned to look at him.

  “That still doesn’t explain how the Adherents seem to know where we’re going every time we turn around,” Jacob said. He held his voice in check but he folded his arms across his chest and stared at Tasker.

  “There is a link shared among dwarf clans,” Tasker said. “I thought I had broken it and my movements would be hidden from him. It seems I was wrong.”

  “So he can track us because you’re with us,” Jacob growled. “The answer then is pretty simple. You have to go.”

  “Jacob, we can’t just send him away,” Jane piped up. What a quandary they were in, if Cain was keeping tabs on them through Tasker.

  “I have a better idea,” Tasker said after a moment of silence. “It appears I’m a danger to you and to the forces we’ve gathered. No matter what I do, Cain will be able to track us through me. I’ll part ways with you here and lay a false trail back towards Madeline Isle. Maybe I can get him to send his spies after me and leave you alone as you search for the book.”

  “What do we do when we find it?” Jane asked.

  “We trade it for our parents,” Jacob stated categorically. Once again his voice grew in volume, and this time he ignored the startled looks from Jackie and Jane. This was something he would not back down on. He had to see his mom was safe again.

  “Do you really think he’ll honor his end of the bargain?” Jane asked harshly. She liked Jacob, but he was being really naive.

  “What else can we do?” Jacob muttered.

  “I know what to do,” Jane muttered. The idea struck her only a moment before and she clamped her mouth shut. This thought she was going to keep to herself until the last possible moment.

  “What?” Jacob asked.

  “You’re going to have to trust me on this one,” Jane replied. She refused to give an inch and her face showed it.

  “I trust you,” Tasker replied.

  “Wait a minute,” Jacob cried out. “This affects all of us. We should be making this decision together.”

  “No, I think this one is better left to Jane,” Tasker replied. “I’ll take my leave then.” He turned and started walking up the beach to the north. “Jane,” Tasker said. He turned back and looked at her sadly. “Be careful who you trust. Cain is a master at turning people to his ends. It could be he’s managed to place someone into the rebellion already.”

  With those words he vanished into the darkness and left a very confused trio of humans and one hidden fairy.

  “So what now?” Jacob muttered. He felt like things were spiraling out of control and he disliked that feeling.

  “We follow the clue and see where it leads us,” Jane replied. “What does it say again?”

  Jackie removed the glass shard and turned it over so she could read the words.

  The grandest of homes, built from iron,

  Fire and stone, call it home,

  Ghosts rise up and sadly watch,

  Down the tunnel, a rod of iron

  Take this shard, to light your path.

  Four markers wait, to find the treasure.

  “So what do you think it means?” Jane asked. She repeated the words in her mind over and over, trying to decipher where they could lead.

  “Well, there are plenty of mansions around Lake Superior,” Jacob pointed out.

  “Yes, but Uncle Ernie lived in Duluth,” Jackie replied. “He would have only had access to things close to Duluth.”

  “Well, it has to be Glensheen then,” Jane replied. The big mansion by the lake was the only place she could think of that fit the bill perfectly. “We need to get back to Duluth. Where did you guys park the car?”

  “Are you sure it’s Glensheen?” Jackie asked. “There are a lot of big old places along the lake, and Glensheen isn’t made out of iron. It is a grand home but . . .”

  “Yes, but how many of them were built not out of iron but from iron wealth,” Jane replied. “It doesn’t say it was built out of iron but from iron. I think that means from the money the owner and builder made selling and shipping iron.”

  There was silence for a moment.

  “Besides,” Jane said. The clincher came to her suddenly, “Remember the murders that happened at the mansion. Ghosts rise up and sadly watch.”

  “Ah,” Jacob said at the same time Jackie did. That brought it more into focus for them.

  “I see it,” Jackie agreed. “It does seem to fit.”

  “Anyway,” Jane said. “Where did you park the car?”

  “We didn’t,” Jacob said unhappily.

  “How did you get here?” Jane asked.

  “Your grandpa’s motorcycle,” Jacob replied.

  Jane immediately felt a surge of jealousy as she thought about Jacob and Jackie riding for an hour on the bike. She wanted to be the one with her arms wrapped around Jacob and leaning against his back. Suddenly that so
unded very relaxing, and if there was one thing she wanted, it was to relax.

  “The sidecar was still hooked up to it, so we brought it,” Jacob explained. He looked at Jane curiously as her face suddenly turned beet red and she looked away sheepishly.

  “Why didn’t you bring your Mustang?” Jane finally managed to squeak out. She felt foolish, and she kicked at the smaller rocks on the ground around her feet. There was a sniffle from where Jacob was standing, and Jane looked at him in surprise, there was moisture in his eyes and a tear slipped down his cheek.

  “Those jerks blew it up,” Jackie said after a moment. She’d noticed Jacob was having a hard time saying anything so she filled in the blanks.

  “I’m sorry, Jacob,” Jane said. She stepped over to where he was standing and gave him a big hug. Jacob held her tightly, and Jane almost melted in his arms, he smelled of smoke from somewhere and it mixed with his cologne to form a unique smell. She felt the tension slowly leave him, and when she laughed and pulled back they both chuckled again.

  “Think the motorcycle can carry us all back to Duluth?” Jane asked. There was a thin trail that led from the lake shore back up towards the highway. She followed Jacob up the trail until it reached an opening in the trees. The sounds of the highway were coming from up ahead, and she could see lights through the trees as cars traveled by their small turn off.

  “I’ll get the bike out,” Jacob said. He walked to where the old motorcycle had been stashed between two trees and started pulling the branches off it. Before he and Jackie walked down to Split Rock, he had stacked branches and leaves around the bike to obscure it from anyone who might happen by. It really was not well hidden but he had thought it might work if people were not paying attention.

  Once the bike was uncovered and back out in the clearing, he started it up and looked over at Jane and Jackie, “Jackie can ride in the sidecar again. Jane you’ll have to ride with me?” His voice was more of a question then anything else as he looked at her. He really hoped she would say yes.