Anne agreed. They walked across the wide avenue to the next street. When Anne looked back, the bird was still watching their every step.
“Don’t look now,” said Penelope, “but we have more company.”
Perched over the door of the building directly ahead was another small brown bird, identical to the first. In fact, Anne looked back to make sure it wasn’t the same bird, but the first one was still watching them on the other side of the street.
“They look like sparrows,” said Valerian.
Anne studied the bird in front of them. “I think you’re right,” she said. “Jeffery, I don’t suppose you want to try talking with them?”
“You are correct,” said Jeffery, “in supposing that I don’t want to.”
“But you’re a sparrow, too,” said Anne.
“I was told never to talk to strange birds.”
“Who told you that?”
“I told myself, and I trust me implicitly.”
They continued forward while keeping constant track of the birds. Then they rounded a corner and were greeted by another dozen or so perched on various doorframes and ledges.
“This is a bit unnerving,” said Hiro.
“Well, they haven’t tried to swarm and kill us yet,” said Penelope, “which means that so far this dead tier rates above the first one we visited. Unless this is the first one, in which case never mind.”
“Over here,” said Valerian. He led them off the main avenue and into a small park surrounded by a low stone wall. The branches of the trees were filled with sparrows.
In the middle of the park was an obelisk. It was slightly taller than Penelope and appeared to be made of the same black stone as the pillars that operated the archways—which, now that they had been in the Never-Ending Maze, reminded Anne of the black walls there as well.
“This is it,” said Valerian.
Anne looked around. “What is?”
Valerian pointed to the obelisk. “This monument. This is where the forge is.”
“You mean this pillar is the forge?” asked Penelope.
“No, it’s the doorway to the forge,” said Valerian. “I don’t know how it works, though.”
They walked around the obelisk. Three sides were bare, but the fourth side had a message inscribed in some strange script. None of them could read what it said, not even Hiro, who had studied a few ancient languages. Below the inscription, near the bottom of the obelisk, was a tiny plaque with a carved image. Anne knelt to get a better look. It was a dragon—and not just any dragon.
“Look at this,” she said excitedly.
Hiro crouched beside her. “The Sign of Zarala.”
“What does that mean?” asked Valerian.
“It means we’re close,” said Anne. “It’s the same as the image on the medallion. On our first quest, that symbol on a map helped us locate one of the major destinations, a place called the Infinite Tower.”
Anne inspected the dragon image more closely. A series of very faint, curved scratches were visible on the main pillar around the plaque. “There are some marks here,” she said.
Hiro inspected them. “It looks like they were caused by something rotating. And technically the dragon image is on its side. Maybe it turns?”
Anne grabbed the plaque and tried turning it in both directions, but it didn’t budge. “I guess not.”
“Maybe it’s locked,” suggested Penelope.
They examined the rest of the obelisk for any sign of a locking mechanism but found none. After checking the obelisk a third time, they decided to fan out and see if there might be any hints in the rest of the park. Other than dead gray grass and bushes, however, there wasn’t much to see.
The birds in the trees continued to watch them curiously, but otherwise they did nothing to interfere.
“Check this out,” called Penelope. She was standing near a corner of the park’s stone wall. Everyone joined her, and Penelope pulled back some gray vines to reveal another small plaque containing yet another dragon image. It, too, was sideways and had scratches around it.
“Try turning this one,” said Hiro.
Penelope grabbed the plaque and gave it a twist. At first it resisted, but with effort she was able to turn it until the image was straight. There was a distinct click as it locked into place.
The sky suddenly filled with sparrows screeching and diving at them.
“Duck!” yelled Anne.
Everyone hurried across the park to the obelisk. Anne tried to turn the plaque again, and this time it moved a fraction of a turn.
“There must be more,” she shouted over the din. “Check the other corners.”
Penelope, Hiro, and Valerian ran to the remaining three corners of the stone wall as the sparrows chased after them.
“I’ve got one,” yelled Valerian.
“Me too,” said Hiro.
“Me three,” called Penelope.
Some of the sparrows dove at Valerian as he crouched down, but a sudden flare of light sent them scattering. Jeffery swooped through the air, zigzagging back and forth, chasing the sparrows away. Valerian turned the plaque and ran back over to Anne.
“Done,” he said.
Anne tried the plaque on the obelisk again, and it turned a bit more.
Then Hiro arrived, breathing heavily. “All finished,” he said.
Anne turned the plaque again. It was almost in place.
Penelope was having trouble, in part because she kept having to stand up and swat away the sparrows. Now that three of the plaques had been turned, all the sparrows were concentrating on her.
Anne, Hiro, and Valerian ran over.
“It’s stuck,” said Penelope.
Valerian knelt down to help her with the plaque. Meanwhile, Anne removed her cloak and used it to shoo away the sparrows. Hiro did the same. Penelope and Valerian both strained until Anne thought their heads would explode, but finally the plaque turned.
They returned to the obelisk. Anne closed her eyes and made a silent wish for it to work. She grabbed the plaque and gave it a final twist. It turned smoothly and clicked into place. Then the entire obelisk slid backward to reveal a hidden stairway leading underground.
The sparrows flocked together and swarmed, digging at them with claws and beaks.
“Everyone inside!” yelled Anne.
Penelope went first, followed by Valerian and Hiro. Anne went last, but before she dropped belowground, she reached up and turned the plaque sideways again. The obelisk immediately slid back into place, nearly taking her head off.
The stairs led down to a long corridor that would have been completely dark were it not for Jeffery’s glowing feathers. Anne could hear the sparrows chattering outside, but with the obelisk closed, the noise was considerably muffled. She was about to ask how everyone was doing when the hallway suddenly filled with a cloud of sparrows, screeching and diving.
“How did they get through?” yelled Hiro.
The group ducked and ran down the corridor, which led to a door that opened into a room filled with strange equipment. Once everyone was inside, Anne slammed the door shut, but that didn’t stop the sparrows. The birds passed directly through the solid barrier.
“What’s going on?” shouted Valerian.
“I think they’re holograms,” said Jeffery.
“If they’re holograms, then how come they hurt so much?” said Penelope, as she fought off half a dozen at once. “I thought holograms were made of light.”
“We can figure that out later,” said Anne. “Right now we need to get rid of them.”
“Turn off their emitter,” said Jeffery.
“Their what?”
“The thing that makes them appear,” said Jeffery. “Remember on our first quest when the Matron smashed that gray box and the Construct disappeared?”
“What’s ‘the Construct’?” asked Valerian.
“Never mind,” yelled Penelope. “Just look for a gray metal box!”
Everyone fanned out
and searched the room. In one corner, buried beneath some crates, Anne found it: a tall, gray metal box with a completely smooth surface.
“It’s here, but I don’t know how to turn it off,” she said, running her hands over it.
“Stand back,” said Penelope. “I’ll turn it off.” She lifted a metal chair over her head.
“I’d really prefer if you didn’t do that,” said a voice behind them.
Penelope froze, and Anne spun around.
In the center of the room, in the middle of the chaos, stood a young woman. She wore a simple tunic and pants and a thin, knee-length white coat, and she appeared to be Anne’s exact twin, except that her eyes were brown, not yellow.
Anne, Penelope, and Hiro had met her once before.
It was the Construct.
THE HANDMAIDEN’S TWIN
Once upon a time, there was a handmaiden whose job it was to spin yarn for her mistress. Day after day, all she did was spin, spin, spin. She got a break only once every other Saturday to play a rousing game of rugby.
Deciding there had to be more to life than spinning yarn, the handmaiden invented a duplicating machine and created a twin of herself. She set her twin to work and then spent a leisurely day walking through the forest, swimming in a stream of clear water, and arm wrestling the occasional bear.
When the handmaiden returned home, however, she discovered that her twin had not done as instructed. Instead, the twin had used the machine to create even more twins, who were all now arguing over whose job it was to spin yarn. Rather than becoming angry, the handmaiden saw an opportunity. The twins formed a theater troupe, made a small fortune, and used the money to buy the world’s largest radish.
There is no moral to this story.
The Forge
Anne stared at the young woman, who had a faint aura around her that flashed briefly whenever it caught the light. It was a little like looking at a ghost. Anne’s twin ghost.
“I thought you were dead,” said Anne. “You disappeared when the Matron destroyed that gray box.”
The Construct smiled. “Dying would be very difficult considering I have never actually been alive. That box was merely a remote terminal, and while its destruction prevented me from appearing, my actual program is located elsewhere.”
Penelope cleared her throat. “Um, not to interrupt this happy little reunion,” she said while crouched on the floor next to Hiro and Valerian, “but could you maybe do something about these birds?” The holographic sparrows hadn’t stopped attacking.
“My apologies,” said the Construct. She tilted her head slightly and her expression went momentarily blank.
The sparrows disappeared.
The Construct smiled. “There, all taken care of.”
Anne’s ears were ringing in the sudden silence, which was wonderful. Penelope, Hiro, and Valerian rose to their feet, still slightly wary, half-expecting the sparrows to reappear at any moment and continue their attack.
“What are they?” asked Anne.
“A security program,” said the Construct. “They act as my eyes and ears and let me know when potential intruders are approaching. Unfortunately, they can get a little carried away.”
“Tell me about it,” muttered Penelope. “How come they can touch us?”
The Construct walked over and poked Penelope in the shoulder. “You mean like that?”
“Hey, how did you do that?”
“The other terminal you encountered was less sophisticated. The terminals here are more powerful. They emit what you might call solid holograms.”
“They’re solid, all right,” said Hiro, rubbing the scratches on his arm.
“Sorry if I’m being rude, but who are you?” Valerian asked.
“I am known as the Construct. I serve as the interface for the computer.”
“Er, the what?”
“We’ll fill you in later,” said Penelope.
Valerian looked back and forth between the Construct and Anne. “But why do the two of you look alike?”
“I was designed to look this way,” said the Construct. She studied Anne with curiosity. “So, Anvil of Saint Lupin’s, Keeper of the Sparrow, another quest so soon?”
Anne frowned. “I wasn’t planning on it, but yes, another one got activated. This one is a Dragon Slayer quest.”
The Construct smiled and shook her head. “That is how the quest has been presented to you, of course. In reality, the name is an anagram.”
“A what-a-what?” said Penelope.
“Anagram,” said Hiro. “It’s when the letters from one word or phrase are rearranged to spell something else.”
“What does Dragon Slayer stand for, then?” asked Anne.
“It’s really a Send Array Log quest,” said the Construct. “After the Write Error Check from the first quest was performed, this second quest was designed to assess the integrity of the World Engine Array—the part of the computer that created the Hierarchy. The log verifies if the Array is operating correctly.”
“And where does killing the dragon queen fit into all of this?”
“The dragon monarch carries the array log within her.”
Valerian’s eyes widened with realization at the exact moment Anne also figured it out. “The dragon stones,” they said in unison.
“Correct,” said the Construct. “Dragons were the original protectors of the computer, even though they long ago forgot their true purpose. Each dragon stone carries the necessary information. You need only take one of the stones to an upload terminal.”
“We can worry about that part later,” said Anne. “Right now we need to shut down the forge that’s located here. Can you do that for us?”
“I am unable to access it from here,” said the Construct. “For security reasons, the forge operates on a stand-alone network. But you should be able to lock out the knights by changing the security code. I will take you there.”
The Construct turned and walked through the wall. A moment later she reappeared.
“My apologies,” she said. “After ten thousand years on my own, I tend to forget not everyone can do that.”
The Construct took them through a different door to a room whose only feature was a white pillar, which reminded Anne of a device called an elevator. She’d only ridden in one once, when she, Penelope, Hiro, and Rokk had descended from the top of the Infinite Tower during their first quest.
A seam appeared, and a set of doors slid apart.
The Construct gestured inside. “Down we go.”
The Construct entered, followed by Anne, Penelope, and Hiro, but Valerian hesitated.
“It’s fine,” said Anne. “We’ve done this before.”
He nodded and stepped inside, still looking a little uncertain despite her reassurances.
The doors closed again and the elevator descended. Unlike the previous elevator, this one had a window, and Anne peered through it. They were in an enormous cavern that dwarfed even the arena on the dragon tier.
“During your first quest, I take it you found Zarala’s lab at Saint Lupin’s,” said the Construct.
“Yes,” said Anne. “Unfortunately, it got destroyed in my final battle with the Matron. But I did learn about Project A.N.V.I.L. Can you tell me anything about that?”
“It is unimportant.”
“Unimportant? But I was going to ask the dragon queen about it.”
“I cannot make your choices for you, but my advice would be not to waste your question on such a trivial matter.”
Anne couldn’t believe her ears. She had obsessed about Project A.N.V.I.L. for the past two months. How could the Construct expect her not to be curious about it?
“Can you tell me about it, then?” asked Anne.
“That information has been locked inside a coded file. Do you have the password?”
“No.”
“Then I cannot help you.”
It irked Anne to be this close to the information she so badly wanted, yet be unable to get it. After
several minutes, the elevator reached the bottom. Upon exiting the elevator, the Construct pointed to a large, square building of gray stone in the distance.
“The forge is inside that structure,” she said.
The group crossed the cavern, but as they neared the building, the Construct slowed.
“What’s wrong?” said Anne.
“Something isn’t right,” said the Construct. “I’m not receiving a signal from the security grid.”
“Um, isn’t that a good thing?” said Penelope.
“Even when it is dormant, it sends out a signal to indicate that the program is working properly. But I’m not picking up any signal at all.”
They continued forward cautiously. When they reached the building’s front door, they found it ajar.
“Does anyone else hear that sound?” asked Hiro.
Anne listened, and indeed there was a low humming noise. As they stepped inside, the humming became even louder. Beyond the entrance was a long, black corridor. Jeffery began to shimmer.
“I think you’d better go back inside the gauntlet for now,” said Anne.
“I agree,” said Jeffery, his voice modulating, and he disappeared.
They proceeded down the corridor, and the humming grew louder still. The corridor wasn’t long, and at the end, another open door led into a dark room. The only visible light was a red strobe on top of a structure directly in front of them. The structure was a massive cube, twenty feet to a side. The side of the cube facing them held a vault-like metal door, easily twelve feet high, with a single word inscribed across its surface:
F.O.R.G.E.
“Behold, the Finite Optimized Replication Generator,” said the Construct.
“Um, that only uses four of the letters,” said Anne.
“It takes both the g and the e from generator,” said the Construct. “Apparently, someone struggled in coming up with a good acronym.”
“That’s the forge?” said Valerian, sounding surprised. “I thought it would be, you know, an actual forge.”
“It looks like an Old World device,” said Hiro.
“Yes,” said the Construct. “And it’s been activated.”
Anne scanned the surrounding space. The flashing red light made it hard to see, and the corners of the room remained in deep shadow. However, she could make out catwalks crisscrossing the space above them.
The Adventurer's Guide to Dragons (and Why They Keep Biting Me) Page 15
