Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds (Orville Wellington Mouse Book 1)

by Tom Hoffman

  “Oh, I imagine you’ll think of something.” With a smile and a quick wave the Thirteenth Monk vanished. Orville found himself standing alone in the vast silent sea of living statues. He studied Sophia’s face and saw the beginning of fear in her eyes. She had realized the purple beam was heading toward her. “Hmmm...” Orville put his arms around Sophia and gently lifted her out of the beam’s path. “That should do it.”

  Orville walked across the room to the podium and stepped up onto the stage. He gazed at Draken Mouse’s snarling face. “You are such an angry mouse. We certainly don’t want you shooting deadly beams of purple light at anyone else.” Orville held out one paw and streams of colored light flowed out of Draken Mouse and up through the ceiling. A pair of heavy iron manacles blinked onto Draken’s outstretched wrists.

  “And that, as they say, is that.” Orville walked back across the room and stood next to Sophia. He whispered a single word.

  “Start.”

  The room was chaos, two hundred screaming mice popping up spheres of defense while pointing to the beam of deadly light Draken had shot across the room toward Sophia. The two best friends were standing a safe distance away when the beam vaporized both their chairs.

  Draken Mouse screeched with rage when he realized he had not harmed Sophia. He spotted Orville and Sophia and tried to shoot another beam, but much to his dismay discovered his arms were tightly manacled. When he tried to blink away the manacles, he could not. When he tried to blink himself out of the room, he could not. His shaping powers were gone, sent up into the starry night sky by Orville Wellington Mouse.

  Sophia cried out, “The beam missed us! We need to stop him!”

  Orville grabbed her arm. “It’s all right! He can’t hurt anyone now.”

  Sophia looked up at the podium and saw Draken Mouse surrounded by a group of burly Metaphysical Adventurers, heavy iron manacles on his wrists. He was screeching wildly at them, threatening to vaporize them all.

  Sophia looked puzzled. “Why doesn’t he blink off the manacles?”

  Orville grinned. “You and I need to have a talk.”

  Sophia nodded absently, watching as the Metaphysical Adventurers trundled Draken Mouse over to a swirling spectral doorway. Sophia could sense that this particular spectral doorway led to the dark and infamous Malgraven Prison. She also knew Orville was right. Draken Mouse would never harm another living creature. She reached into her cloak and withdrew her Papa’s silver Metaphysical Adventurers ring, clutching it tightly in her paw until Draken Mouse had disappeared through the spectral doorway.

  Chapter 36

  The Scream

  Two days later Sophia and Orville were sitting comfortably under the large shade tree behind Orville’s home.

  “I told you Proto wouldn’t let us down.”

  It was the first time Orville had ever seen Sophia give a look of chagrin. “I should never have doubted him, Orville. I guess I was so worried that Draken Mouse would get away with murdering Papa that I didn’t want to give up control, but I have to admit Proto’s tactics were truly brilliant. I think he surprised me even more than he surprised Draken Mouse. His jokes were a little bit rude but also kind of funny. Who would have guessed a Rabbiton could have a sense of humor and understand what makes mice laugh? As long as I live I will never forget the look on Draken Mouse’s face when he realized he had been exposed. It’s hard to believe one mouse could be filled with so much rage and hatred.”

  “Would you like another little cake? Every since I gave Mum the recipe there’s been no shortage of them in our house.”

  Sophia was opening her mouth to reply when they heard the scream. It was a shrill piercing scream that carried with it a sense of unbridled terror, and it had come from the front of Orville’s house. An image of the little mouseling in his woodcutter dream popped into Orville’s mind. The two friends leaped to their feet and blinked into the front yard. Orville spotted a mouseling pointing up at the sky, her face a mask of fear.

  Orville was the first to see it, a large pale blue metallic sphere descending from the sky. Sophia ran over and picked up the mouseling.

  “It’s all right, little one, the big blue ball won’t hurt you. I think it just wants to talk to us. Isn’t it funny that a big blue ball from the sky could talk to us?”

  The little mouseling snuggled closer to Sophia, not looking entirely convinced that a huge talking blue ball coming down from the sky was something to laugh about.

  With a soft humming noise the gleaming sphere settled gently on the ground in front of Orville’s house. Neighbors were peering out from their windows, some rushing outside and calling their mouselings home while gazing fearfully at the sphere.

  A curved rectangular panel on the side of the craft hissed open, folding downward to create a stairway to the street below. There was a collective gasp from the dozens of anxious spectators as a ten foot tall silver Rabbiton strode out of the ship and down the stairs. The only sound was the whispering breeze as every mouse present waited to see what this astonishing creature would do.

  “Oh my, this is not at all as scary as I thought it would be, and even better, there’s not a single Anarkkian Attack Spider in sight. Everyone looks so friendly, as if we’ve been dear neighbors for a hundred years. What a lovely little village. Quite peaceful and utterly picturesque.” Proto smiled and waved to the crowd of wide eyed mice.

  Sophia ran over and threw her arms around Proto. “Proto! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Your plan worked perfectly! Draken Mouse is in Malgraven Prison, exposed for the murdering beast that he is. Thank you dear Proto, for all your wonderful help.”

  “You’re ever so welcome. You know, I quite enjoy being thanked for something besides a tasty snack or a warm beverage. I quite like it. I quite like it, indeed. Oh, speaking of tasty snacks, I almost forgot the lovely gift tray I have for all your charming neighbors.”

  Proto dashed up the stairs into the ship, returning moments later with an enormous tray laden down with several hundred tasty little cakes, freshly baked cookies of every size and shape, and dozens of little white boxes filled with delicious chocolate creams. He carried the tray over to the growing crowd of mice, some who backed away nervously at his approach.

  “Would anyone care for a light snack? I have tasty little cakes, an assortment of freshly baked cookies, and a wide variety of delicious chocolate creams. I’ve been told with some authority by Orville Wellington Mouse that the lemon creams are quite delightful.”

  Five minutes later Proto was surrounded by almost a hundred mice clamoring for tasty snacks. “Oh my, you’re all so hungry! How wonderful!”

  Sophia could not stop smiling. “How does he do it, Orville? I’ve never seen anyone make friends faster than Proto does. It’s hard to comprehend how much he has changed since we first met him at the Cube. Somewhere he found the courage to step outside of the Cube and fly an old restored blinker ship all the way to Muridaan Falls. In five minutes those mice lost their fear of him despite his unusual size and appearance. Look, there’s even a mouseling sitting on his shoulders!”

  “I think he should make Muridaan Falls his new home. He could stay with me and Mum. Do you think my Mum would mind having a ten foot tall silver robotic rabbit living in her house?” Orville grinned, trying to imagine the expression on his Mum’s face when he introduced her to Proto.

  “Knowing Proto, I have a feeling it wouldn’t be long before he and your Mum were the very best of friends.”

  When Proto’s tray was empty he waved goodbye to the mice and made his way through the crowd to Sophia and Orville. A mouseling called out, “Bye, Proto! Can you come back tomorrow and play?”

  Proto was almost giddy. “Did you hear that, Orville? That little mouseling would like me to come back tomorrow and play.”

  “I had a thought, Proto. What would you think about making Muridaan Falls your new home? You could live with me and Mum and make tasty snacks whenever you like, if that’s what you want to do. You saw ho
w much the mice love them. And even better, you could go on adventures with me and Sophia.”

  “Oh my, that does sound enticing. I would see the world firsthand, not just through the eyes of a glowbird. Think of all the delightfully ferocious creatures I would encounter! Imagine standing face to face with a deadly poisonous Plindorian Swamp Hornet, its hideous stinger only inches from my nose! Oh my, how thrilling that would be! You have convinced me, Orville Wellington Mouse. I’ll do it. I shall move to Muridaan Falls.”

  Orville was genuinely surprised by how quickly his Mum accepted Proto, and how readily she had agreed to let Proto stay with them.

  “Well, he seems friendly enough, and we could use a little help around the house. I’ve been working so many extra hours I’ve barely had a moment for housecleaning. Proto, would you mind helping out with the chores if you live with us?”

  “I would be quite delighted, I assure you. I have already taken it upon myself to plan our menus for the next three months. Leave the grocery shopping to me, along with the preparation of all meals. Dinner will be served promptly at six o’clock every night, so please do try to be on time.”

  Orville’s Mum took a step back, looking at Proto with new eyes. “Orville Wellington Mouse, clear out the spare room for our guest. My new friend Proto is more than welcome to stay with us as long as he wishes.”

  Chapter 37

  Sophia’s News

  Orville was not surprised when Sophia told him she had been accepted at the Symocan Institute of Mechanistic Studies, but he was also not entirely happy about this turn of events. She had done so well on her entrance exams that not only was she granted a full scholarship, but the school was providing her room and board at no cost.

  “Isn’t that amazing? There’s so much I want to learn there. Mirus Mouse says it’s an excellent school, and even though Quintari’s technology is far more advanced than Earth’s, I still need to learn all the basic mechanistic theories and their practical applications first. After I graduate I can advance to a more specialized school if that’s what I want to do.”

  “That’s great. I’m really happy for you.”

  “Umm... you don’t sound very happy for me.”

  “Well, to be really honest, you’re my best friend and you’re going away. I won’t see you very much.”

  “You’re forgetting about blinking. The Institute is only fifty miles north of Muridaan Falls on the other side of the mountains. I can blink back here in less than a minute, and you can blink up to the school in less than a minute. Don’t forget you’re my best friend too, and I want to see you just as much as you want to see me.”

  “I forgot about blinking. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.”

  “That’s not all, Orville. The headmistress of the school is an old friend of Mirus Mouse and used to be a Metaphysical Adventurer. She told Mirus I could take time off from school if Master Marloh needs us, as long as I make up the work. That means we can still go on adventures together!”

  “Now I really feel like celebrating. Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? Proto has a delicious meal planned and I know Mum would love to hear the good news about your school.”

  Orville hurried home to clear out the spare room and found Proto standing beside the blinker ship next to a mound of wooden crates and boxes. “What’s all this stuff, Proto?”

  “Good afternoon, Orville. I dashed back to the Cube for a few items I thought might come in handy on our adventures. I’ll just set everything up in the spare room. Do you think our Mum would mind if I installed a small duplonium powered electro-temporal optical synthesizer?”

  “Wait, you said our Mum?”

  “Quite so. I’ve never had a Mum before, so this will be a wonderful new experience for me. I will be relying on you to teach me the necessary protocols involved when addressing our Mum. So, a duplonium powered optical synthesizer would be all right?”

  “Umm... I think so. It won’t explode will it?”

  Proto threw back his head with a great laugh. “Ha ha ha ha! I assure you, the odds of some catastrophic event such as that occurring are relatively small. Now, if you would give me a hand with some of these boxes, it would be most appreciated. Oh dear, do be careful with that one! If you drop it, a good portion of Muridaan Falls will be relocated to a most inhospitable environment filled with dreadful green fog, simply dreadful. If you think the creatures in Periculum are scary, you should see what’s creeping around in that deadly green fog. Quite frightful, I assure you. Perhaps I should carry that for you.”

  Three nerve-racking hours later Orville was sitting at the kitchen table breathing in the delightful aroma of Proto’s culinary creations. “Mmmm... that smells wonderful, Proto. Mum, did Sophia tell you her good news?”

  “She did indeed. I had no doubts at all she would be accepted by SIMS. Sophia is quite brilliant, as you yourself have said many times.”

  “You think I’m smart?” Sophia beamed brightly at Orville, a wide grin on her face.

  “Yes, I’ve only said that about five hundred times now. You’re very, very smart. Happy now?”

  “I guess. Oh, I almost forgot, Master Marloh wanted me to give you this note.” Sophia pulled a crumpled piece of yellow paper from her pocket and set it down next to Orville.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not the kind of mouse who goes around snooping in other people’s business.”

  Orville was about to mention the clockwork glowbirds but remembered his Mum was there. He unfolded the note and scanned it. “That’s odd, Master Marloh wants to see me tomorrow afternoon, but the store is closed tomorrow. I wonder what he wants? Probably a bunch of new books arriving or something.” He glanced over to Sophia, sending her a thought cloud. “Do you know anything about this? Is he sending us out on another mission already?”

  A blue thought cloud floated out of Sophia’s ear and over to Orville. “I don’t know anything about it. He just asked me to give you the note.”

  Orville read the note again. He was getting a strange feeling about this. He glanced up to his Mum, who gave him a bright smile. “More snapberry pie, Orville?”

  Chapter 38

  The Ring

  Orville found himself becoming more and more anxious about his meeting with Master Marloh. He knew it didn’t have anything to do with new books. It was something far more important than that, but what that was Orville had no idea. He sat at the kitchen table absently poking his fork into a plate of snapberry flapcakes.

  “Our Mum seemed a little worried about you this morning, Orville. She said she heard you get up several times during the night. Are you all right?”

  “Oh, thanks for asking Proto, I’m fine. I’m just a little nervous wondering why Master Marloh wants to see me.”

  “Oh my, I’m sure it’s nothing at all. Perhaps he wants us to go fetch him one of those dreadful centipedes from Periculum. Ha ha ha ha!”

  Orville smiled, but his apprehension was growing even stronger. There was much more to this than was readily apparent. He went to his room and attempted a short nap but couldn’t sleep. He was still wide awake when it was time to go. He threw on some clean clothes, hurried downstairs and out the front door. Twenty minutes later he was standing in front of the Book Emporium. He had to force himself to open the front door of the shop, stepping into the darkened building.

  Master Marloh popped up from behind the counter when he heard Orville enter. “Ah, there you are, on time as always. Thank you for coming on your day off.”

  “Oh, I don’t mind, Master Marloh. Umm... are there new books or something?” Orville knew there were no new books.

  “No, nothing like that, but there is something I need to show you in the library. It’s something you should see.” Master Marloh was studying Orville’s face carefully. Orville had a feeling his world was about to change.

  Master Marloh swung the blue door open and Orville took a deep breath, then followed him in. What he saw in the library was
not what he was expecting to see in the library. He thought he had run through every possible scenario during his long sleepless night, but this was not one of them. He stood facing three mice he never thought he would see standing next to each other. He stood facing Sophia, the Thirteenth Monk, and his Mum.

  “Hi, Orville. Surprise!” Sophia was trying her best to smile brightly, but Orville could see the anxious look in her eyes.

  “Uhhh... Mum... what are you doing here?”

  Orville’s Mum stepped over to him and gave him a hug. “I never thought I would see this day, but here we are. I have something for you.”

  His mum removed a small gold box from her coat pocket and pressed it tightly into Orville’s paws. “This is for you.”

  Orville’s heart was pounding. He looked at Sophia and saw tears welling up in her eyes. He unlatched the small gleaming box and flipped it open. There was a ring inside. It was a Metaphysical Adventurers ring.

  Orville looked up at his Mum in bewilderment. “You know about the Metaphysical Adventurers? I don’t understand.”

  “That ring belonged to your Papa. He was not a fishermouse, he was a Metaphysical Adventurer. This was his ring, and I want you to have it.” Orville could tell his Mum was trying not to cry.

  “Papa was a Metaphysical Adventurer? That doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t he ever tell me? I thought he was a fishermouse.”

  Orville’s Mum brushed her paw across his cheek. “He loved you more than life. He didn’t want to keep the truth from you, but he didn’t want you following in his footsteps. He didn’t want you to face the dangers he had to face every time he went out on a mission. He hid the truth from you even when you showed such an intuitive understanding of the metaphysical world.”

  “He wasn’t lost at sea, was he?”

  “No, he wasn’t lost at sea. That was the story we both agreed upon if something should happen to him.”