The Eleventh Ring (Bartholomew the Adventurer Trilogy Book 1)

by Tom Hoffman

  “Anything you need is yours. There is a large room off the main library you can use. I would also offer my assistance in the shaping of any laboratory equipment you might need.”

  “Thank you, Morthram. I’ll start working on plans for the lab tonight.”

  Morthram continued,“We have all agreed the use of stealth is our best hope for defeating Oberon, but how precisely should we use it? What is our plan?”

  Oliver responded first. “You said you saw scientists building a machine of some kind in the Lost Fortress. If I could join Oberon’s team of scientists, perhaps I could sabotage the machine.”

  “How would you get them to hire you?”

  “I thought about that. I could let it be known I was working on a similar machine which would allow anyone to shape their thoughts. I have been thinking a great deal about just such a machine. There really is no reason why one couldn’t be built. The texts in the library have given me any number of ideas for its construction. With my credentials, Oberon would be a fool not to hire me. Or at the very least, kidnap me and force me to work for him.”

  Fen responded, “I’m quite certain that would work. I know how Oberon thinks. He must always have the best, and in the world of science, you are the best. I could send letters to a number of Grymmorians who support Oberon and will more than likely pass the letters on to him. I will say you are designing such a machine here in Penrith, and will also mention your credentials as a scientist. It won’t be long until they contact you.”

  Bartholomew stood up and said, “I can infiltrate the Fortress using my shaping skills. Using invisibility spheres and formshifting, I shouldn’t have too much trouble finding Clara, although I have no idea what traps Zoran may have in store for us. As much as I would like Morthram’s assistance, I think in this case we should work alone, neither of us knowing the plans of the other. In the event one of us is captured, we will have no secrets to reveal. I also have a number of ideas for a few items which do not require active shaping.” He told them about Clara’s thought and how it could be used to escape from the Lost Fortress.

  Morthram spoke up. “Fen, what about you? Is there any need for you to go to the Fortress? Your knowledge of Oberon has already helped us immensely.”

  “My place is not in the Fortress, it is talking to the Grymmorian general council. When Oberon is removed from power, I want to be certain he is not replaced by someone just like him. We have suffered under this tyranny long enough. It’s time for the countries of Grymmore and Lapinor to again become allies.”

  Morthram nodded. “Excellent. I believe we are on our way to a viable plan. Our next tasks should be building Oliver’s lab and sending the letters announcing Oliver’s shaping machine.”

  Oliver’s lab was soon functional, and he spent all his waking hours there, leaving only for meals and sleep. Bartholomew visited the lab several times, but had little understanding of what he saw. The room was filled with beakers, flasks, and glass tubing, most of them filled with a strange assortment of boiling liquids and gooey, bubbling concoctions. There were blinking electrical devices and shelves lined with mysteriously labeled jars. Bartholomew quickly became lost when Oliver tried to explain any of it to him. It appeared to be more magic than science to Bartholomew.

  Fen anonymously sent letters to six prominent Grymmorians who were on friendly terms with Oberon. He said he was afraid Oliver’s machine might spell the downfall of Grymmore, adding that Oliver was not concerned with politics, only science. He would work for whoever would be the most helpful in advancing his shaping device.

  Bartholomew discovered a fatal flaw in his plan to use Clara’s thought as a means of escape. If he was wearing a shapers mask it wouldn’t work. He remembered the small yellow spheres he and Morthram had shaped in the mine. If one was trapped inside a secret compartment in a ring, the wearer could flip the ring open and the sphere would fly out, transporting him to a predetermined location.

  He decided to seek Oliver’s help and headed down the long hallway leading to the new lab. He heard footsteps behind him and turned, but saw no one. Curious. Perhaps it had been the echo of his own footsteps? He continued down the hallway and heard the footsteps again, louder this time. Before he could turn around, an invisible pair of paws slipped a shapers mask over his head. He tried to pull the mask off but it was too late – it had already attached to him. What he saw next was completely unexpected. The air rippled and swirled in front of him, the blurry figure of a rabbit flickering in and out. Seconds later Oliver stood in front of him, wearing a ridiculously large grin.

  “Poof! Surprised?”

  “Oliver? What have you done?”

  “Oh, just a little project I have been working on with Morthram.” He handed Bartholomew a ring.

  Bartholomew looked at it. It was a plain silver band with a small green stone set in the center.

  “Touch the ring to your head.”

  Bartholomew looked puzzled, but did as Oliver asked. The shapers mask he was wearing released its grip on him. He pulled it off his head.

  “How did you do that? And how did you make yourself invisible?”

  “After I analyzed the orange substance you brought back from the mine, I was able to synthesize it. I discovered I could combine the de-masking agent with molten silver, and when the silver solidified it formed a ring which would release a mask. As for becoming invisible, that came about by understanding the nature of ferillium crystals. Ferillium crystals are a highly efficient way to store vast amounts of energy, but since I had none, I settled on a crystal with a somewhat similar structure. The green stone on the ring is a breonium crystal. Morthram was able to store an invisibility thought cloud in the breonium crystal which is released when the stone is tapped three times. The breonium crystal cannot store much shaping power, so the invisibility cloud can only be used once, and will only last for about three minutes.”

  “This is amazing, Oliver, and right in line with something I wanted to ask you about.”

  By the end of the day Bartholomew was wearing a heavy silver ring with an inset breonium crystal. The silver was infused with the de-masking agent, and inside a hidden compartment was a small yellow sphere which would transport the wearer fifty miles away even if they were wearing a shapers mask. By the end of the next day Oliver, Morthram, and Fen were all wearing the new escape rings. Oliver showed several interested shapers how to fabricate the rings, and they would soon be available to all Guild members.

  Fen’s prediction of Oberon’s behavior proved to be quite accurate. A letter arrived for Oliver from one of Oberon’s master scientists. He spoke enthusiastically of the work they were doing on their own shaping machine, and what a benefit it would be to both rabbits and muroidians. They wanted Oliver to come and work collaboratively with them. Oberon would pay Oliver twice whatever the Excelsior Corporation was paying him. Once the device was complete, a duplicate machine would of course be constructed for Lapinor. If Oliver wanted the position he should promptly reply and Oberon would send a carriage to meet him at the border. The letter didn’t mention anything about the Lost Fortress or the hundreds of captive shapers.

  Oliver wrote back saying he would happily accept the position and would be at the Grymmorian border gatehouse in three days.

  He had one last project to work on with Bartholomew. Together they created two small sacks made out of shaper masks, each one holding a single thought cloud within it. One thought was of a bright green color, the other of a bright red color. When the bag was opened, the thought would find its way back to Bartholomew like a homing pigeon. If Oliver arrived safely at the Lost Fortress without incident, he would release the green thought. If he was being held captive or had otherwise run into trouble, he would release the red thought. Once they received either thought, Morthram and Bartholomew would leave for the Lost Fortress. What would happen after that was uncertain at best.

  They held a party for Oliver the evening before he left for Grymmore. It was a cheerful event, with much lau
ghing and any number of delicious pastries, but beneath the laughter and camaraderie lay the sobering awareness that this could be the last time they saw him. He was going to the Lost Fortress to work for King Oberon, and there was nothing certain about any situation involving Oberon. Oliver, however, seemed supremely confident and genuinely excited to see Oberon’s machine. He carried the red and green thoughts with him when he left in the morning.

  Bartholomew shook his paw as Oliver stood next to the waiting carriage. “Have a good trip, and please be careful. Above all else, stay safe.”

  “Indeed I will, my friend. I have far too many inventions rattling around in my head to let anything happen to me. You and Morthram be careful as well. I know it won’t be long until we’ll all be back here having a slice of Mr. Ferillium’s apple pie.” He climbed into the carriage and closed the door. As the carriage began to move forward, Oliver waved and called out, “Give Clara a hug for me when you see her!”

  “I will!” Bartholomew did his best to sound enthusiastic, but this new adventure they were on was the very definition of perilous. He remembered the words he had naively spoken on his first adventure. ‘I would hardly use the word lovely to describe adventuring. Adventures can be quite perilous you know’. How little he had known back then.

  Almost a week later Bartholomew woke up to find a thought cloud hovering next to him on the bed. He hesitated only a moment before drawing it to him. His mind was filled with a bright green color. Oliver had done it. He was in the Lost Fortress, and he was safe. It was time to bring Clara home.

  Chapter 23

  Oliver’s Tale

  Oliver found the carriage ride to the Grymmorian border quite pleasant. There was no walking involved, he had brought several interesting scientific volumes to read, and he had packed a substantial lunch. The weather was delightful, and the driver pleasant but not excessively chatty. They reached the border gate in the late afternoon. Oliver thanked the driver by way of a generous tip, then picked up his two bags and marched over to the gatehouse.

  “Name?”

  “Oliver T. Rabbit.”

  “Any fruits or vegetables or insects of any kind?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Shaper?”

  “I am not.”

  “Purpose of visit?”

  “King Oberon sent for me.”

  The guard looked up from his pad of paper with a startled expression. “What?”

  “King Oberon sent for me.”

  “You’re the one they’re waiting for. Follow me, please, sir.”

  Oliver followed the guard over to a large black carriage drawn by four horses. The guard knocked on the carriage door, then opened it for Oliver.

  “Please step into the carriage, sir. I will take care of your bags.”

  Oliver climbed into the carriage and took a seat. A distinguished looking muroidian sitting across from him smiled pleasantly. Moments later the driver shut the door and the carriage jerked forward.

  “You must be Oliver T. Rabbit.”

  “I am indeed, sir. Formerly employed by the Excelsior Corporation as head of Research and Material Acquisitions.”

  “I am familiar with your work, and can tell you it is an honor to meet you. I am Grymmorian Science Master Tarami. I have a background in several disciplines, but of course nothing comparable to your levels of expertise. We were very pleased to hear you had accepted the King’s offer to work with us. I hope you will find our facilities adequate. The laboratories are in a rather unique location, but as I always say, science is science wherever you find it.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m quite excited to begin. Are you at all familiar with the project?”

  “I am, but I would rather let you see for yourself the progress we have made. If I might be candid, I have heard some intriguing rumors about you, including one that said you were designing your own shaping machine. Is this true?”

  “I have given a great deal of thought to the machine and have a number of viable designs in mind, but haven’t yet begun the actual fabrication of the device. The only thing I’m really lacking is a method of storing the vast amounts of necessary initial shaping energy. I am leaning towards the use of breonium crystals as the energy storage system. Ferillium crystals would be far more efficient, of course, but they are impossibly difficult to create.”

  Master Tarami studied Oliver carefully. “Indeed.”

  They chatted pleasantly about other topics for an hour or so until Master Tarami said he was tired from the long ride and thought he would take a short nap. Oliver stretched out across his seat with a good book, but was soon snoring, lulled to sleep by the rocking carriage. After the first few snores, Tarami’s eyes popped open. He held out one paw and a pink cloud emerged from Oliver’s ear, floating over to Tarami. Soon a stream of thought clouds was flowing from Oliver to the Grymmorian science master. When they stopped, Master Tarami sat silently for several minutes, a dark expression on his face. A thought cloud floated out of his ear, shot out the carriage window and sped off into the distance.

  The carriage stopped at an inn where they had an excellent dinner, along with several different kinds of wine. Oliver tried a number of native Grymmorian dishes and found them to be both exotic and delicious. Talk turned to the project he would be working on.

  “You had mentioned your laboratories are in an unusual location?”

  “King Oberon decided to build the machine in a secure location. This is not a device you would want in the paws of your enemy, considering the massive shaping power involved. As I mentioned in my letter to you, we will be building a duplicate machine for Lapinor once we have a good working prototype. The labs are inside a structure we refer to as the Lost Fortress. We are uncertain of its age, but believe it to be a minimum of two or three thousand years old. We unfortunately have no idea who built it. The carvings and glyphs found throughout the Fortress are unknown to us. The Fortress was discovered by a party of the King’s guards almost ten years ago. When they found it, the exterior was covered with vines and other plant growth, but the inside was pristine. We’re still trying to determine how it managed to last millennia with almost no weathering or distress. It’s a fascinating structure and demands a much more concentrated study than it has received. Perhaps you will be able to spend some time studying it yourself while you’re there.”

  When dinner was over they boarded the carriage again. The driver had folded the seats down so they could sleep. Oliver pulled a blanket over him and was soon sleeping soundly, with some assistance from the two glasses of wine he had during dinner. They finally arrived at their destination just as the sun was setting the following evening.

  “Welcome to the Lost Fortress, sir.”

  Oliver climbed down from the carriage and gave a barely concealed gasp of amazement. “Good heavens, this is the Lost Fortress? The scale of this structure is comparable to nothing I have ever seen.”

  The driver carried Oliver’s bags across a wide bridge leading to the Fortress. At the front of the Fortress were two enormous metal doors standing nearly forty feet tall. Oliver and Master Tarami entered the Fortress through a small door at the base of the two main doors. The sheer immensity of the interior was staggering.

  “This engineering is quite unique. What kind of rock are the walls made of?”

  “We’re not certain. In fact, we’re not even certain it is rock. It may be some sort of synthetic material. The main gates seem to be metal, but again, it’s not a metal we are familiar with.”

  They strode along for almost a half mile until they reached a wide set of descending stairs.

  “There are two levels below the main floor. The laboratory is on the first sub-level. The level below that is for storage, although the area is so vast most of it remains empty. We’ll get you set up with a room, then tomorrow we can visit the laboratory and see the machine. We’re all very excited to hear what you think of it.”

  Master Scientist Tarami led Oliver down the stairs to the fi
rst sub-level. They passed at least a dozen corridors before making a right turn, finally stopping in front of a room with a strange metallic glyph embedded in it.

  “This will be your room.”

  “What’s the symbol on the door?”

  “I have no idea. I can only assume it’s an ancient number or letter. Oh, work hours are uncertain at best. We have been known to work all night and sleep all day, so meals are always available in the dining hall. They’ll prepare whatever you wish. I see your bags have already arrived so I will leave you to your own devices until tomorrow. I’ll stop by in the morning and we can visit the lab.”

  “Thank you for your kind welcome, Master Tarami. You have made me feel quite at home.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Oliver. I clearly understand the degree of expertise you bring with you.”

  With a friendly wave, Master Tarami headed off down the corridor, leaving Oliver alone. Once the door was closed, Oliver took out the shaper mask bag containing the green thought. He untied it, holding the bag open until he was certain the thought had escaped. Then he unpacked his bags, put his clothes away, and retired for the evening.

  At the end of the corridor Master Tarami stood watching Oliver’s room. He saw the green thought float out through the door. With a grim smile of satisfaction he turned and disappeared down the hallway.

  The following morning there was a knock on the door just as Oliver had finished dressing. It was Master Tarami.

  “Would you like to have breakfast first, or would you rather see the lab?”

  “Ha, a difficult choice indeed. My two favorite pastimes – food and science. In this case, I believe science trumps food. I would love to see your lab.”

  “Excellent, just follow me.”

  Master Scientist Tarami’s lab proved to be far larger than the Excelsior Corporation laboratories, with forty lab stations and over a hundred scientists and technicians.

  “This is far more extensive than I had expected. I am truly impressed with the caliber of your facilities.”