by Tom Hoffman
“They were still in the boat when I fell out. I don’t know where they are now. My mum will be really upset, maybe even crying.” Orville gave a sad little sniff.
Yellow made the curious clicking sound.
“We have to tell Mum. She can do a time whip. I don’t know how to do one yet.”
“She’ll clobber us for bringing him back to the ship.”
Orville said, “I’ll tell her I sneaked here in your pack without you knowing it.”
“Clever. That will work. Here, hop into my pack and we’ll go up to the bridge. I’ll set the pack down on the floor and when you jump out we’ll act really surprised. Mum will send you back.”
Orville climbed into Yellow’s enormous pack. “All set, I’ll crawl out and act confused. Then I’ll tell her I climbed into the pack because it looked like a good place to sleep. I’ll look really scared so she’ll feel sorry for me.”
“Perfect, let’s go.”
Yellow grabbed his pack and a split second later they appeared on the bridge of the ship.
“We were thinking of exploring that ocean with all the really weird fish. Is it okay if we go?” Yellow casually placed his pack on the floor, giving it a kick with one leg.
Orville wriggled out of the pack, trying to look as though he had just woken up. The next part of his plan was to look scared and lost, but when he saw the bright blue twenty foot tall praying mantis looking down at him with glowing orange eyes he gave a small moan and sank to the floor.
“What did I tell you about pets?”
“It must have climbed into my pack to take a nap. I didn’t know it was there.”
Yellow’s mum buzzed, her upper torso shaking. “Really, he climbed into your pack without you noticing?”
Orange was looking down at the ground, shuffling his legs back and forth.
“No. More. Pets. You can’t take a living creature out of its natural environment, away from its own kind. Every living creature, no matter the level of awareness, should be treated with kindness and respect. Look at this poor little fellow, he fainted away at the very sight of me. I don’t want to see another pet in this ship ever again, do you both understand me?”
“Yes, we’re sorry. I was really nice to him, he liked the Light Worms, he said they were really tasty.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know he was in your pack?”
Orange began buzzing and shaking. “Busted.”
Yellow’s mum picked Orville up, holding him gently in her arms. “He is kind of cute, all furry and soft. Look at his cute little clothes. He’s so sweet.”
“He said he was going down the aqueduct in a boat and fell out. His friends are looking for him.”
Yellow’s mum scanned Orville’s thoughts and memories. His eyes popped open, a shriek bursting from his lips.
“Shhhh… no need to fear, little one. I will send you back before you fell out of your boat. You won’t remember anything about your visit to our ship, but you will remember not to stand up in the boat. Never stand up in small boats, very dangerous. You’ll be fine, I promise.”
Chapter 22
Sailing, Sailing
“This isn’t so bad. It’s a lot better than walking along that ledge.” Orville slid down into the boat, leaning back against the smooth curved surface. “I kind of the like the way the boat bobbles and sways. It’s a little like riding in the back of a hay wagon. I bet I could stand up. It’s not as rough as I thought it would be.”
“That sounds like a very bad idea.”
A long forgotten memory came flooding back to Orville. Someone had told him never to stand up in a small boat, it was very dangerous. Was it his mum? “You’re right, it’s a bad idea. We should strap ourselves in.” Orville shaped canvas harnesses for everyone. “Buckle in, it could get rough.”
Orville gave a screech when the boat shot around a sharp turn in the aqueduct. “Whoa! Good thing I wasn’t standing up!”
Sophia sat up, her ears turning. “Do you hear that crashing sound?”
“What is it?”
“I think we might be heading for a waterfall.”
Orville gave a yelp, tightening his harness. A brilliant light shot out from his paw, illuminating the tunnel ahead of them. The crashing had become a dull thundering roar.
Sophia cried out, “Hold on tight!”
Before Orville had time to react, they shot off the end of the aqueduct, sailing through the air above an enormous lake. Orville covered his eyes, the deafening roar of tons of water crashing down from the aqueduct reverberating in his ears.
With a bone jarring smack their little craft hit the surface of the lake, the sudden jolt almost knocking Orville unconscious. “Unnghh…” The metal bowl rocked wildly at first, finally settling down to a gentle swaying motion as it drifted away from the falls.
Sophia groaned. “Oww! Is everyone all right? Orville?”
“I’m okay, I’m pretty sure all my bones are broken though. Hey, it’s not dark down here. Where’s the light coming from?”
Proto looked up. “Great heavens, it’s coming from tree roots! We must be directly beneath the Forest of Thorns.”
Orville and Sophia looked up at a broad sky of brightly glowing roots stretching out as far as they could see. “There’s millions of roots dangling down into the lake. This is where the Forest of Thorns gets water, not from the aqueduct.”
“Why are their roots glowing?”
Proto shook his head. “I have read about undersea creatures who use bioluminescence as a means of communication, but I’ve never heard of bioluminescent roots. I suppose the trees could store sunlight in their roots, using it to create food on dark and cloudy days.”
“Wait, if the sunlight travels down through the tree during the day, when it’s nighttime up above it will get dark down here.”
“Perhaps the Forest of Thorns was engineered for that very purpose, a means of bringing sunlight to a dark subsurface world.”
Sophia frowned. “I wish we knew who built this underground world, and why they built it.”
“How are we going to cross the lake? It’s still a long way to the Obex Mountains.”
“We could shape some paddles.”
“It’s way too far to paddle. Besides, it’s nearly impossible to paddle a round boat.”
“If there was wind we could shape a sail.”
“That gives me an idea, remember how we linked minds to create the whirlwind on Varmoran? We could do the same thing here, but this time shape a small windstorm that trails along behind the boat.”
“Brilliant! I’ll shape a mast, you shape the sail.”
“We’ll need a rudder, too.”
An hour later Orville and Sophia had converted the metal bowl into a reasonably functional single masted sailboat. Orville hoisted up a bright yellow square sail and tied it off. “That should do it. We don’t need to turn the sail since we’ll be traveling in a straight line across the lake, and the wind direction won’t change.”
“I attached the rudder. All we need now is wind.”
“Hey, Proto, maybe you could swim behind us and blow on the sail.” Orville let out a cackling laugh.
Sophia snorted. “Okay, Master Funny Bones, we need to link our minds and create a windstorm. We don’t need a big cyclone like the one on Varmoran, just a nice steady wind blowing directly east that will carry us across the lake to the Obex Mountains. Once we reach the other side we’ll make our way to the surface, probably through one of those stone huts.”
“What about all the roots hanging down into the lake? How do we get past them?”
“I have a feeling that won’t be a problem. Ready?”
“Ready.” Orville took Sophia’s paw and closed his eyes, letting go of his thoughts, concentrating deeply, merging with his inner self, leaving his physical form behind. It felt as if the universe had become his body, as though he was connected to all things. He became aware of Sophia’s inner self merging with his, their deepest thoughts and memo
ries intermingling. It was a strange feeling to know everything about Sophia and to have her know everything about him. There were no secrets between two mice who linked minds, each mouse aware of every event which had occurred in the other’s life, and how it had affected them.
A thought from Sophia blossomed in Orville’s mind.
“Okay, here we go, we need a nice brisk wind heading directly east.”
Proto looked on with fascination as the two shapers sat silently in the boat. The process of merging minds lay outside Proto’s scientific understanding, but he found it intriguing, a scientific puzzle worthy of a solution. Small ripples appeared in the water behind them, breaking up the reflection of the golden glowing roots, turning the water a warm amber color. The sail flapped wildly for a moment, then billowed out, pushing the ship forward.
“They did it. Astonishing, using the combined power of two minds to create a windstorm.”
Sophia let go of Orville’s paw and opened her eyes. She looked up at the taut yellow sail and grinned. “Good job, Orville!”
It took Orville a moment to regain his focus on the world. “It’s a weird feeling to link minds like that. I could see all your memories from when you were growing up. I can’t believe those mice made fun of you and called you names because you were so smart. That was really mean of them.”
“They were afraid of anyone who was different. You went through the same thing, that’s why you never told anyone about the objects you shaped in your sleep, or how you spontaneously blinked into your front yard when you were just a mouseling. You didn’t want other mice to think you were different, you were afraid they wouldn’t like you.”
“It was easier for me to hide my shaping skills than for you to hide how smart you were.”
“I knew why they were making fun of me, but it still bothered me a bit. They were just afraid, that’s all. Most mice are afraid of things they don’t understand.”
Orville gave a yelp and grabbed the rudder. “Duck! We’re going to hit the roots!”
Sophia did not move, keeping her eyes on the rapidly approaching roots. She knew when the boat moved forward it pushed against the water, creating a wall of pressure which was transmitted through the water toward the tree roots ahead of them. Much to Orville’s surprise the roots moved out of the way, avoiding any contact with the boat.
“Just as I suspected. The trees interpreted the increased water pressure coming from the boat as an approaching predator, and moved to avoid it. We can sail directly east with no interference from the roots.”
“That makes it a lot easier, all I have to do is hold the rudder steady.” Orville leaned back against the side of the boat, holding the tiller with one paw. With a small flash of light a large oatmeal cookie appeared in his other paw. “Mmm…. nothing tastier than a warm oatmeal cookie while you’re sailing across a mysterious subterranean lake on a weird planet inhabited by walking trees.”
Sophia smiled. Her adventures with Orville were some of the happiest moments of her life.
Three hours later Proto was guiding the ship while Orville napped, curled up in a warm blanket. Sophia’s eyes were drooping, her head nodding. Proto glanced up at the roots. The light from the roots had been decreasing for the last hour. He gave Orville’s foot a nudge. “Orville, I believe your theory regarding sunlight traveling directly down through the trees to the roots has been proven correct. The sun is going down on Tectar and the roots are dimming. In a few minutes we shall be in total darkness.”
Orville sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Total darkness? How can we see where we’re going? The lake is too big to light with orbs.”
A sphere of light shot out from Sophia’s paw. “I’m sending this orb directly east, traveling at the same speed as the wind. Just follow the light and we’ll be fine.”
“Good idea.”
As the roots faded to darkness, Proto held the rudder steady, following Sophia’s guiding light as the wind pushed them ever closer to Castle Caligari and Mendacium the Dark Wizard.
It was Orville who spotted the curious glow coming from the murky depths of the lake.
Chapter 23
Sophia’s Lost Ring
Orville flicked his wrist and the wind storm which had been propelling them across the lake stopped, the surface of the water becoming a vast and silent mirror.
“What are you doing? Why did you stop the wind?”
“Look down below. There’s a glowing light running along the bottom of the lake.”
Sophia and Proto peered over the edge of the boat. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not natural, it’s perfectly straight and has–”
Orville heard a small splash followed by a shriek. “My ring! I dropped my ring into the lake!”
Orville had never seen Sophia cry before. His stomach twisted. “You dropped your ring? What ring?”
“I dropped Papa’s ring! His Metaphysical Adventurers ring slipped off my paw. I lost his ring.”
“Maybe we can find it.”
Proto’s eyes were wide. He was uncertain how to respond to Sophia’s tears. “Orville is quite right, there must be a way to find it. No need to cry. Perhaps you could shape one just like it?”
Sophia wiped the tears from her eyes. “I can’t shape another one, it wouldn’t be the same. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have put my paw over the edge of the boat.”
“We’ll find it. If we can find Tectar, we can find a ring at the bottom of a lake. One of us will dive down and look for it.” Orville gave Proto a significant look, raising his eyebrows.
“Of course I would be the logical choice since I don’t need air and I can utilize my thermal sensors to locate the ring. My only concern is how I shall return to the boat once I recover the ring.”
“I’ll shape a rope, fifty feet should do it. Once you find the ring we’ll pull you back up.”
With a flash of light a sturdy rope appeared in Orville’s paws. “Tie this around your waist and give a couple of quick tugs when you’re ready to come up.”
Sophia put her paw on Proto’s arm. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want something to happen to you because of a lost ring.”
“I am more than happy to help. Don’t forget, I am quite indestructible.”
Orville held the rope taut as Proto slid into the water. “Two tugs means I’ve found the ring. You shouldn’t have any problem raising me up due to the upwardly directed buoyant force produced by the water, decreasing my subjective weight.”
Orville nodded politely. “Sure, sounds good.” He glanced over at Sophia to see if she understood what Proto had said.
“It means he’ll weigh less when he’s underwater. It’s just physics.”
Proto released his grip, slipping beneath the surface with a small splash.
“He turned on his ear lights, I can see him.” The rope ran through Orville’s paws as Proto continued his descent.
“He’s hit bottom, the rope stopped. I can just barely make out his lights, but he’s walking around down there. He’s next to that long glowing thing. I don’t know what he’s doing, though. How will he find the ring if it’s buried in mud?”
“He said something about thermal optics, so maybe he’s scanning for infrared radiation.”
“Um, that’s probably it. Whoa! He’s tugging on the rope! Let’s pull him up.”
The pair of adventurers pressed their feet against the side of the boat and began hauling the rope in. “Creekers! How much does he weigh? I thought he said this would be easy.”
Orville’s muscles were burning by the time Proto’s silver hands grabbed the side of the boat and his head popped out of the water. He triumphantly held up Sophia’s ring. Sophia took the ring and gave Proto a hug. “Thank you, thank you so much!”
“It was far easier to find than I had expected. The lake is an artificial body of water, the bottom flat and smooth, constructed from Morsennium. Your lost ring has proven to be quite a fortuitous event. If you hadn�
�t dropped it, I would not have made a most remarkable discovery.” Proto raised one eyebrow.
Orville’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of remarkable discovery? It’s not a cave, is it? Or creepy creatures living down there?”
“No need to fret, it’s not a cave or a trapdoor, and the good news is you don’t need to know how to swim, just how to hold your breath.”
“Wait, are you saying we have to dive down to the bottom of the lake?”
“Precisely. It will be as easy as falling off a log, or in this case, falling off a boat. I’ll hold both of you and we’ll sink like a stone to the bottom of the lake. Nothing could be simpler.”
“Sink like a stone? I don’t really like the sound of that.”
Sophia slipped her papa’s silver ring onto her paw. “What’s down there?”
“The long glowing light Orville spotted is nothing less than an enormous transparent tube running along the bottom of the lake heading east. Even better, I watched a cylindrical car pass through this marvelous subaquatic tunnel, and I located an airlock we can use to gain entrance. Once we’re inside, we simply take a transport car to the end of the tunnel, which may even take us past the Obex Range.”
“How do you know the tunnel goes where we need to go? It might just go in a big circle.”
“Oh my, did I forget to mention what else I found? There was a rather peculiar symbol scratched into the airlock door. Let me think now, what was that? Oh, I believe it was the image of a coiled serpent.” Proto let out a great laugh.
“Whoa! Haukesworth was down there? How long do I have to hold my breath?”
Sophia said, “You don’t have to hold your breath. Shape an airtight sphere of defense around you and fill it with fresh air. If you need more air, you can shape more.”
“And your sphere of defense will also protect you from the pesky little creatures with the big snappy teeth.”
Orville’s whipped around to face Proto. “There are pesky little creatures swimming around down there with big snappy teeth?”
Sophia snickered. “Come on, let’s go for a swim. Don’t let a few little fishies scare you.”
