Arboria

by Anthony Stefano

  “I come from Vulcania where I received word that a group of children have visited the land of fire.”

  “Children? What kind of danger is that?”

  The sorceress struck Zago.

  “Fool, those children are not from Arboria but from another world, a world I have been seeking for a long time. Find these children. Search all the cities, all the villages, kill all those who aid them, burn their homes as a warning. Nobody may cross your Queen.”

  “It will be done, my Queen,” said Zago.

  “Good. You two may leave, I wish to speak with Zgard in private.”

  Zago and Meyffrey left the room.

  “My Queen?”

  “Do you remember your world?”

  “I do not understand, my Queen.”

  “Do you remember where you come from?”

  “Vaguely, my Queen. I remember a forest and some children.”

  “I found you a long time ago. You had come from the other world, and I saved you.”

  “I do not really remember.”

  “Yes, I welcomed you because you had seen the portal I had been seeking for so long. Unfortunately, you no longer remember it. I raised you as my own son, I gave you power. You are my most faithful servant.”

  The Queen approached Zgard and took his face between her hands.

  “Oh, Johnathan, bring me these children, bring them to your mother and I will destroy this world which made you suffer so much.”

  Alexander dropped down behind the balcony.

  “What is it?” asked Dongo.

  “It’s Johnathan. Zgard is Jonathan!”

  “I do not understand,” said Golmuth.

  “Before we came to Arboria, we heard about a child that had disappeared in the woods surrounding the house where we were spending our holiday. That little boy’s name was Jonathan, he disappeared in the woods and was never seen again. Everybody thought he was dead. Now I see what he has become. He went through the portal in the woods just like we did. He has been tricked by the Sorceress. She has been using him and she is looking for a way to invade our world. I would like to find out why...”

  Alexander stood up again and looked down at the Sorceress.

  “We have to find this library. Geum, Gom, go and explore the castle and come back here when you have found it.”

  The two gnomes transformed into various decorative objects in order to blend in with the furnishings and came back several minutes later.

  “We have it, we found it!”

  “We will follow you,” said Golmuth.

  “Transform into Zgard and Zago,” said Alexander. “Stand guard in front of the door while we try to find the book.”

  Golmuth, Alexander and Dongo finally entered the library. The map Gravenstein had spoken of was standing against the back wall of the room. The room was circular and consisted of five floors. Alexander pressed on the drawing of the castle of Avengard on the map and the whole thing rotated. A staircase appeared, leading down into the bowels of the castle.

  “I am scared, it is very foreboding here,” said Dongo.

  “Stay at my side,” said Golmuth.

  The dwarf lit a torch that one of the suits of armour was holding. They went down the steps and found themselves in a corridor decorated with suits of knightly armour and spider webs.

  “I hate spiders. They lay their eggs on my branches and I wake up to find myself being eaten alive,” said Dongo.

  “Let’s search all the pedestals under the statues, the book is somewhere here,” said Alexander.

  “I have it!” cried Dongo.

  He passed it to Alexander who blew the dust off the cover. He brought the torch closer to the first page.

  “Arboria, the land between the trees,” he read. “There exist several parallel worlds that are interconnected. In this book, we will speak of Arboria, that little piece of paradise that nature has made. The animals there live in peace, the trees speak with their roots and leaves, little creatures tend the land, the forests are luxuriant and the water is as clear as crystal. Nature created a place that was wonderful and untouched, until now... I was among the first humans to discover this place. We established a small village at the foot of a strange rock. We christened it Aramunt Vel. Everything was peaceful at first, but little by little human nature took hold and we began slaughtering animals more often than we farmed the land. We burned the trees to feed our fires. A chief by the name of Erevor was chosen and his faithful followers built a castle in the rock beside the village. It was a chaotic time. I began actively searching for a way back to my world. At that time, the trees could still speak – they were not yet fixed to the ground as they are now. I met Ramenor, an ancient tree who told me how to find the portal between the two worlds. After several years of searching, I finally discovered that place by which we doubtlessly arrived in this world. I crossed through and found myself in my world. I was overwhelmed by a strange emotion, my hair became black again, my skin had no wrinkles, I had rejuvenated. I returned to my family, they had not even noticed my disappearance. It was as if I had never left. I understood then that time did not flow in the same way on Earth as it did in Arboria. When I came back to my world, I came back to the age at which I left it more than 10 years earlier. Many years later and feeling the end of my life approaching, I decided to return to Arboria to die. Arboria had changed so much, there were now towns, many more humans and a king named Oden. I had the immense privilege to know him and we became fast friends. One day, a strange young woman arrived at the king's court and turned him into a squirrel, he disappeared into the woods and no one has ever seen him since... It is time to hide this book. The Sorceress is stalking me and it is only a matter of time before she finds me. She must never get her hands on this book; who knows what damage she could do if she went through the portal. HG.”

  “What is the matter, Alexander?” asked Golmuth.

  “A squirrel. The king was transformed into a squirrel. It was a squirrel that took Amy’s doll and that is how we ended up here.”

  “I do not think it was a coincidence,” said Dongo.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where is the portal?”

  “It says that we have to find four stones with the symbols of the archway on them and that the portal is in the centre. Apparently, it was this HG who put the stones there so he could find it in the middle of the woods. According to the book, the stones are near Between-Two-Rocks.”

  “Then we should get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps,” said Dongo.

  In the library, Zgard was looking at the map and surprised the companions as they walked up the stairs.

  “Well, was I convincing?” said Geum, changing back into a gnome.

  “I thought we were done for,” said Dongo, relieved.

  “We have to hurry, there is a lot of movement in the corridors. I don’t know what’s happening.”

  “Let’s get out of this accursed castle.”

  They ran towards the door and hurried into the corridor.

  “Shh, someone is coming.”

  They turned around, opened the first door they found and hid inside.

  “Oh my, what is this room?” asked Dongo.

  It was circular and windowless, the floor and the walls were stone and everything was covered in strange writing engraved into the rock. At the centre of the room was a rectangular stone sarcophagus on which part of the writing was illuminated with a green light. Roots and branches wrapped around the sarcophagus and held it down.

  “It is the magic of the Sorceress,” said Golmuth at once, “it is because of this sarcophagus that her henchmen are almost impossible to kill.”

  They left the room and began looking for a way out. Unfortunately, they only found another room which gave on to another balcony above the throne room.

  “Speak, then. I am listening!” said the Sorceress, sitting on her throne.

  “If I give you this information about the children, will you accept to wage war again a
nd eradicate our common enemy, the Ice Orpes, once and for all?”

  “My dear Katorock, I will need more than just information if I am to go to war again with the Ice Orpes. Anyway, they are all rallied to me.”

  “They killed my son!”

  “I care not for your son!” shouted the Sorceress, getting up from the throne.

  “Oh, yes, I know. The portal between worlds is the only thing that interests you.”

  The Sorceress calmed and sat down again. “Speak, I am listening.”

  “My people have told me that these children come from the other world. They are in the company of an Ice Orpe by the name of Antarus. He is the heir to Sylum, he is the son of their king Celastrus.”

  “Are you sure that these children are not from Arboria?”

  “I am certain of it.”

  “Celastrus no longer rules in Sylum, it is Glacius who now sits on the throne.”

  “I know, my Queen, but Antarus has the shield.”

  “What?!” The Sorceress leapt up once more and raised her arms to the sky. “That shield is the only thing that can protect against my magic. Where is the sword?”

  “Vulcaria is still in the volcano at Vulcania.”

  “Let it stay there. That sword is capable of destroying my most faithful soldiers.”

  “Very good, my Queen,” said Katorock with a bow.

  “I will wage war on the Ice Orpes and retake Ganarock. I should never have let you have it.”

  “We have to warn Antarus,” said Alexander.

  They ran as fast as they could through the many corridors of Avengard. They descended the grand stairway, swerved to the right and reached a room with an unbearable stench.

  “I think we are in the food store,” said Golmuth.

  “It stinks here,” said Dongo, pinching his nose.

  Zago entered and slammed the door behind him before giving the wooden table a solid kick.

  “Tobias, I am hungry!” he shouted.

  The companions made desperately for the neighbouring room and hid inside. They saw Tobias cooking up some food, complaining as he did so. Golmuth knocked him to the ground with a solid blow to the back of his head.

  “And now?” said Alexander.

  Gom transformed himself to look like Tobias. “I will take care of him,” he said. Gom made his way to Zago, carrying the food that Tobias had prepared in his hands.

  “About time, slave, I am starving,” and he plunged his face into the bowl. “What are you looking at?”

  “Nothing,” said Tobias.

  “Do you have nothing better to do in the kitchen?”

  “Yes. I will leave you, master.”

  Gom did not need to be asked twice and he dashed back towards his friends.

  “Well,” he said, “did you find a way out yet?”

  “We found a door which leads into another room with a trapdoor in it.”

  “Tobias!” Zago shouted, “bring me my favourite drink.”

  Gom looked at his friends with an expression of fear. “How could I know what that maniac’s favourite drink is?”

  “I will deal with it,” said Geum, himself now taking on Tobias’ appearance. “You get that trapdoor open!”

  He went to Zago carrying all of the drinks he could hold.

  “I told you to bring my favourite,” said Zago.

  “I know, master, but you really do change your mind so often that it is difficult for me to keep up with which one is your favourite.”

  “Give me the blue bottle, slave.”

  “Here, master.”

  “Go back to your work and consider yourself lucky to be alive.”

  Geum did not hesitate to get back to his friends. “The trapdoor?”

  “There we go!” said Dongo, happy to have been able to pick the lock.

  “More stairs,” said Golmuth, poking his head through the opening.

  “In any case, we don’t have much choice,” said Alexander. They all disappeared through the trapdoor one after the other, Alexander going in last. The stairs led deep into the ground and had not a single bannister. Dongo reached out and grabbed Alexander so as not to fall.

  “Thanks, that was a close one.”

  “Alexander, now is not the time to dawdle, quickly now!” said Golmuth.

  “These stairs are going further and further down. Are you sure they are going to lead to a way out?” asked Geum.

  “I have no idea, but we do not have much of a choice, we have to hurry. Tobias could wake up at any moment and raise the alarm,” said Golmuth.

  At the end of the staircase, they found a large vaulted room dug into the red rock and a huge double stone door.

  “That is enormous,” said Alexander.

  “Yes, but what worries me is that there is no lock on our side,” said Dongo.

  Alexander put his ear to the door. He could not hear a single thing, when suddenly structure started to vibrate and he was thrown to the ground by a shock wave.

  “What is in there?” he asked.

  “I am not sure that I have any desire to know,” answered Dongo.

  Off to one side was a tunnel which they entered. It was dark and moving through it was difficult.

  “Who goes there?” said a voice.

  “Silmaril!” shouted Golmuth.

  “You know my name?” said the dwarf hanging in the iron cage.

  “Yes, we saw your kidnapping from Rocaille. We found Werner Gravenstein.”

  “Werner? How is he?”

  “Quite fine, he is hiding just beyond the Quilar Ravine. He showed us the way to get here so we could find a book that would allow us to get back to our world.”

  “Incredible, you come from the other world?”

  “Yes, the Sorceress does not know that we’re here. We read the book and we know where the portal is.”

  “In that case, you are in grave danger. We have to get out of here. Free me and my friends.”

  “Your friends?”

  “There is a little group of Elwings in the shadows on the ground.”

  “Allow me,” said Dongo, “I am starting to get used to locks.”

  He freed all the Elwings and Silmaril from their chains, but not without some difficulty.

  “How do we get out of here?” asked Gom.

  “I am not sure you will get out of here,” said Tobias’ voice.

  “Let us pass, you fiend,” said Dongo.

  “I thought I smelled rats and weeds down here.”

  “Weeds?!” cried Dongo.

  He ran at Tobias and hit him hard. Tobias was thrown against the rock wall and lost consciousness. Dongo got up and rubbed his hands.

  “Tie him up,” Dongo told the Elwings. “He will think twice the next time he calls an Elwing a weed.”

  “Let’s go!”

  “We are at a dead-end, we have to climb the stairs again and find a way out of the castle,” Golmuth said.

  “No,” said Silmaril, “follow me. There is another way.”

  The whole group followed Silmaril and headed towards the huge double stone door.

  “Are you sure you want to open that door?” asked Golmuth.

  “It is the only way. I know what is on the other side.”

  The dwarf opened the door. It creaked loudly, proof that it must not have seen much use. A gigantic creature was lying down on the other side, bound by immense chains.

  “What is that?” asked Alexander, amazed by the sheer size of the beast. “A dinosaur?”

  “That is a Kirantorus, the largest animal in Arboria. They essentially live underground and eat rocks.”

  “It eats rocks?”

  “Of any kind, yes. We are going to break its chains and have it dig us a way out of here.”

  “How did you know it was here?” asked Golmuth.

  “I have been in Arboria for a very long time and have spent as much time underground as I have in the open air. The Kirantorus is a very rare animal that few people have ever seen, even the gnomes. If you liste
n to the stone you will hear a funny rumbling when they are eating. Avengard was the rockiest part of Arboria, so I deduced that the Sorceress must have hold of one.”

  “It’s wonderful,” said Alexander, touching the animal’s horns.

  Its body was green with grey patches and scales. Its size and head resembled those of a triceratops but with four horns, two large ones and two smaller ones at the end. It also had a long tail that ended in a fork. All of the Elwings got to work to free the animal. They climbed on its back and the head began to spin at its end while its face remained motionless. Soon, the four horns were turning so fast that they formed a circle that cut through the rock wall.

  “It’s too loud,” said Alexander, sticking his fingers in his ears. “They will find us down here.”

  Zago, Zgard and Meyffrey ran into the throne room and stopped before the Sorceress.

  “My Queen, what is going on? The ground is shaking.”

  “It’s the Kirantorus, its escaping!”

  The henchmen had just reached the trapdoor to descend into the depths of the castle when the Kirantorus brought the group outside the castle and into daylight, and they headed in the direction of the ruined town of Aramunt Vell.

  “We should not wait here,” said Silmaril.

  “We have to find our friends, they were supposed to be waiting for us here,” said Alexander.

  He climbed off the animal and rested his forehead on the Kirantorus’ head.

  “Thank you for saving us, you are free now.”

  “You are not coming with us?” Golmuth asked Silmaril and the Elwings.

  “No, I have to get the Elwings to safety. I will go and find Werner and tell him what you have done for me. Thank you for saving me from the clutches of that terrible Sorceress.”

  “Well then, good luck to you!”

  “And to you all as well.”

  The animal put its nose to the ground and began digging a new tunnel. Suddenly, a dark voice could be heard booming in the air and at that moment the sky and the daylight turned into darkness.

  “What is happening?”