Then, with nothing much else to do, the sorceress embarked on a string of wild adventures, lived to a ripe old age, and eventually died in outer space.
But the divided kingdom she had created lived on, becoming known as the great Khom-PEEU-Torr.
The Construct
Anne stared at her twin—or near twin. Other than eye color, the most obvious difference between them was how very clean the young woman was, as though she hadn’t spent a single second of her life in a mine. There wasn’t a speck of coal dust or dirt on her smooth brown skin, and her hair was perfectly combed. Anne felt a bit like she was looking in a mirror that had given her reflection a good bath. The other difference was their clothes: In contrast to Anne’s well-worn attire, the young woman wore a simple white tunic with a silver belt, light brown pants, and a long white coat so thin Anne couldn’t imagine it provided any protection whatsoever against the elements.
“Who are you?” asked Anne.
“I am the one who never lived,” said the young woman. “But you may call me the Construct.”
Anne studied her from different angles, stepping from side to side. “How—how come you look like me?”
“I was created to look this way,” said the Construct.
Anne frowned. “Created?” She looked to Rokk and back again. “Are you another robot?”
“Not as such,” said the Construct, “although we are not completely unrelated. I am a projection of light known as a hologram.”
Anne had no idea what that meant, but at the mention of light she did notice the Construct seemed to emit a faint glow.
“How do you know my name?” asked Anne.
“I know many things about you. For instance, I know you are here because of a quest.”
“Yes. A Rightful Heir quest.”
The Construct shook her head. “For you it is a Rightful Heir quest. But in actual fact it is what is known as a Write Error Check.”
“Um, a what?” said Anne.
“The details are unimportant. What matters is that you have acquired the key. In order to finish the quest, you must now use the key to access the computer.”
“Computer?” said Anne.
“I’ve actually heard of that,” Hiro interjected. “It’s another type of Old World machine.”
“That is correct,” said the Construct. “A computer was used to create this world. It was built by Dr. Zarala Cole.”
“Zarala?” said Anne. “But that’s who the dragon symbol on the medallion refers to.”
The Construct nodded. “Zarala lived in a world of science and technology, of flying machines and cities of glass and steel. But her world was dying, and she wished to create a world of magick in its place.”
“And… this is that world?” asked Anne.
“Yes. But there needed to be a way to fix the computer if something ever went wrong. Hence the Write Error Check.”
It was a lot to take in. Anne had never heard about computers before, or that someone had created the world. She simply assumed the world had always existed. It never occurred to her that someone or something might actually have made it.
“So you’re saying there’s something wrong with the… the computer thing?” asked Anne.
“Yes,” said the Construct. “There is a corruption in the system, and it is beginning to degrade.”
“What happens if the Write Error Check doesn’t happen?”
“The degradation will continue until the world is destroyed.”
“What?” exclaimed Anne. “I thought this quest was about becoming the ruler of some kingdom, of the place I came from. No one told me if I failed the whole world would be in danger.” She glanced over at Jocelyn, who avoided her gaze.
“You have the key,” said the Construct. “There is still time to prevent disaster.”
Anne felt her cheeks grow warm. “Oh, right. Um, about that. We sort of… lost the key.”
“Hold up the gauntlet,” said the Construct.
Anne did so.
“Now say ‘Activate key.’”
“Activate key,” said Anne, and her heart leapt for joy as the key appeared over the gauntlet, spinning as it had before. She now had everything she needed to fulfill the riddle’s last line and “claim the throne”—whatever that meant.
The Matron suddenly stepped forward. “I’ll take that,” she said. She grabbed for the key, but her hand passed through it as before.
“Only the gauntlet may hold the key,” said the Construct.
Anne reached up with the gauntlet and plucked the key out of the air.
“In that case…” The Matron gestured toward Rokk with her metal hand. Rokk reached for Anne once again, but this time she managed to jump beyond his grasp.
“I’m your friend, Rokk,” Anne said to him. “You don’t want to do this.”
Rokk faltered midstep. He seemed to resist the Matron’s power momentarily, but then she thrust out her metal hand and urged him forward again. He took another step toward Anne.
Anne held up her own gauntlet. It slowed Rokk, but it didn’t stop him completely.
“Resist her, Rokk,” said Anne.
“I… cannot,” he said. “Must… obey… her command.”
“Resist, Rokk!” Penelope shouted from the other side. “Show her what you’re made of.”
“You can be more than the sum of your programming!” Hiro yelled.
“Evelyn, stop this at once,” said Jocelyn. “You’re a better person than this. I know you are.”
The Matron only sneered and continued pressing Rokk forward.
Anne retreated along the shelf until she reached the wall and could go no farther. Rokk soon loomed over her. Anne raised her gauntlet-hand and reached out, trembling. She knew she couldn’t fight Rokk and win, so she gently rested the palm of the gauntlet on his huge metal hand and spoke softly, encouraging him.
“You can be your own person,” she said. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to do what she says. At the top of the tower you chose to come with us, and I know somewhere in there you have the power to choose again. Don’t let her take that from you.”
Rokk froze with his arm outstretched, quivering.
“What are you waiting for?” shouted the Matron. “Remove that gauntlet.”
“I… can… resist,” said Rokk.
Anne smiled at him. “I believe in you, Rokk.”
Rokk slowly lowered his arm and turned to the Matron. “You cannot control me. I will no longer obey your commands.”
The Matron gestured at him, but it had no effect. Rokk took a shaky step in her direction. She moved her hand in a different pattern, but he continued toward her. He took another step, and this time the Matron stepped backward herself. With each step, Rokk became more stable, more in control of himself.
The Matron retreated toward the elevator. She passed directly through the Construct, as though the girl wasn’t even there. The Construct shimmered but appeared otherwise unaffected. When Rokk reached the Construct, he stepped through her as well. As the Matron passed the gray box, her cane flattened into a sword and she swung it sideways. The blade ripped through the exterior of the box and cut a deep gash. Then she raised her metal hand and the elevator doors opened.
“This isn’t over,” said the Matron, quickly stepping inside. She swept her hand down and the doors slammed shut just as Rokk reached them.
The Matron’s words echoed inside Anne’s head as she took a deep, steadying breath. Too many conflicting emotions vied for her attention: Rokk’s attack, finding out the real purpose of the quest, discovering she had a twin of sorts.
Rokk returned to Anne. “My apologies,” he said. “I did not wish to attack you.”
Anne took his huge metal hand in her own. “I know. I’m proud of you.”
A shower of sparks erupted from the gash in the gray box and smoke poured out.
“I’m guessing that’s not a good sign,” said Anne.
“There is not much time,” said
the Construct. “As I’m sure you have discovered already, the gauntlet grants you limited power over Old World technology, and the key will enhance that power. It will also allow you to access the encrypted coordinates to Zarala’s lab, which are contained within the medallion. You must go there and complete the quest. In the lab you will find—”
The gray box exploded. Rokk stepped in front of Anne and took the full force of the blast. When it was over, he stepped back, slightly singed but otherwise unharmed.
Anne coughed from the smoke. “Thanks.” She scanned the debris and the surrounding area. “Wait, where did that girl go?”
Rokk pointed to the ruins of the box. “She disappeared when that device exploded.”
Did that mean the Construct had been connected to the box somehow? Anne felt a sense of loss. Even if the Construct had only been made of light, she didn’t deserve an end like that. There was so much more Anne had wanted to ask, questions she felt certain the Construct could have answered.
Anne looked across the chasm. “How do we get back?”
“I believe I can traverse the distance while carrying you,” said Rokk.
“You mean jump?”
Rokk nodded.
“What about the elevator?”
“I calculate an eighty-seven percent likelihood that the Matron will sabotage it.”
Anne suspected he was right. Plus, taking the elevator would mean leaving the others behind, and they couldn’t do that. Anne climbed into Rokk’s arms and held on tight. He backed up to the pillar and surged forward, running. When he reached the edge of the shelf, he launched himself into the air. As they flew across the chasm, Anne closed her eyes and pictured green fields and castles and pirate adventurers and definitely not falling for eternity into endless darkness. Seconds later, Rokk landed solidly on the far side.
Penelope came running and began checking Anne over. “Are you okay? I thought I was going to faint when the Matron appeared. And then all that stuff with Rokk, which”—Penelope looked at the metal man—“you and I are going to have some serious words about, Mister.” Penelope turned back to Anne. “And what was up with your glowy identical twin? And what do you think the key does? And where do you think Zarala’s lab is?”
Before Anne could even decide which question to answer first, Jocelyn approached and said, “My apologies, Anne. I should have been more forthcoming.”
“Can you at least tell me the truth now?” Anne pointed to the gauntlet and medallion. “Why does the Matron want these so badly?”
“I can only conclude that she wishes to be the Keeper of this quest. In fact, I believe she already attempted it using another gauntlet. She herself hinted at the outcome of that attempt.”
“You mean her hand?” said Anne.
“Yes,” said Jocelyn. “That might also explain what happened to this tier, if this is where she failed. Many generations ago our family was entrusted with protecting this quest. When Evelyn and I came of age, I was given the gauntlet for safekeeping, and she the medallion.”
“If the two of you are supposed to be protecting them, why is she trying to take control?”
Jocelyn shook her head. “I don’t know. She used to be a sweet person, shy even. But then she changed drastically, and we had a terrible falling out. I haven’t visited Saint Lupin’s in years, since before you arrived there.”
“So why did you come back now?”
“My mother left instructions for me to return on a certain day.”
Anne felt her chest tighten. “Did she say why?”
“Yes,” said Jocelyn, and she stared directly into Anne’s eyes. “So that I would find you.”
Anne reeled. Her heart was pounding. She felt like a fly trapped in a spider’s web, struggling to break free, sensing the spider approaching but with no idea which direction it was coming from.
There was a dull rumble and the ground shook.
“What was that?” asked Anne.
“I do not believe this tier is entirely stable,” said Rokk. “And the destruction of that device might have triggered a security threat response.”
Anne was about to ask what exactly he meant by “security threat response” when Hiro called to her. “Anne, you’d better look at this. Quickly.”
Anne and the others hurried over to where he was standing. Hiro pointed to the rods. The spheres on top of the rods were pulsing red, making them semitransparent. Inside each sphere was a cloud of tiny black shapes. The shapes were moving violently, as though trying to get out.
“What are those?” asked Penelope.
“I don’t know,” said Hiro. “But I don’t think we want to stick around to find out.”
“But I thought dead tiers were, you know, dead,” Penelope said. “Those things don’t look dead to me.”
Anne held up her gauntlet-hand. “We got what we came for. Everyone head for the surface.”
No one argued.
They raced across the room and up the staircase. At the balcony, before she headed down the tunnel, Anne looked back. The spheres were pulsing faster and brighter.
Anne dashed after the others. The enormous stairs were an obstacle for everyone except Rokk. They had to leap up onto each step and clamber over the edge, which quickly became tiring. By helping one another, though, and with Rokk’s assistance, they soon reached the top and ran through the main doors and back outside. Jeffery flew circles over them and yelled encouragement the whole time.
Rokk stopped and attempted to close the doors, but they wouldn’t budge.
“They have been rendered inoperable,” he said.
As they turned for the forest, a distinct buzzing sound echoed from inside the building. Anne thought she saw a shadowy cloud of movement at the bottom of the stairs. She and the others backed away. Something small flew up out of the entrance. It had a long body and two sets of wings.
“What’s that?” said Anne.
“It looks like a dragonfly or something,” said Penelope.
Several more appeared. The group continued moving toward the tree line, slowly at first, but more quickly as additional insects flew out of the entrance. Then one of the dragonflies buzzed forward and struck Anne, biting her on the arm.
“Ouch!” she yelled.
A few more dove at her and she swatted them away. More dragonflies flew at the others, and soon dozens of dragonflies were swooping and buzzing at everyone. The group swatted at the tiny attackers as fast as they could and stomped on any that got knocked to the ground. Rokk took out several of them at once by clapping his giant hands. As Anne ran and dodged, Jeffery landed on the gauntlet and dropped one of the dead dragonflies into her hand. Its crushed limbs had a metallic glint, and its body was sparking.
“What are these things?” she asked.
“They appear to be robotic,” said Rokk.
An even louder buzzing drew their attention back to the entrance.
“Uh, I don’t think this is all of them,” said Jeffery.
More dragonflies poured out of the building. Many, many more. And these were much larger than the first few. They were easily the size of Anne’s fist.
“I think perhaps an even hastier retreat is called for,” said Jocelyn.
“I agree,” said Anne. “Everybody run!”
They turned and fled into the forest, and Jeffery soared into the sky. The buzzing sound increased, and the forest, which had previously been so quiet, was suddenly filled with the sounds of life (except it was the sort of life that signaled approaching death). Anne pounded her way along the path beside the others, and soon her leg muscles, already sore from climbing the Infinite Tower, were burning from the effort. The dragonflies drew closer.
“I’m… not… going to… make it,” Hiro wheezed between gasps for breath.
“Me… either,” Penelope panted.
Rokk scooped Hiro and Penelope under one arm, and grabbed Anne with a second hand and Jocelyn with the third. He carried them along the path, his powerful strides putting distance
between them and the oncoming swarm. When they reached the edge of the forest, Rokk charged out of the trees and up the hillside to the spot where they had first arrived.
Rokk set everyone back on their feet.
“What now?” said Penelope, still panting.
“Rokk, can you return us through the portal?” asked Anne.
“Yes,” said Rokk. “But without the tower to amplify the signal, I will require several minutes to summon it.”
“I don’t think we have several minutes,” said Hiro, looking down the slope.
As if to confirm that, Jeffery came zipping out of the forest and up the hill. “They’re coming!”
Penelope drew her sword. “I guess we’ll just have to hold them off, then.”
Jocelyn drew her rapier and stood beside Penelope. Hiro took out his letter opener. Anne had nothing with which to defend herself. All she had was the gauntlet. What had the Construct said, though? The gauntlet had power over Old World technology, and the key made it stronger.
“Wait here, everyone,” Anne said.
Anne ran back to the crest of the hill, a plan forming in her mind. Her palms were sweating and her stomach was doing flip-flops. The dragonflies flew out of the forest and swarmed up the slope. As the first ones reached the top, she raised her gauntlet-hand.
The dragonfly robots froze in midair, their wings still humming.
As more and more crested the hill, Anne’s gauntlet stopped them as well. Sweat began dripping down her face, and her arm trembled, but she held on nevertheless. Soon the air was filled with thousands of dragonflies, all caught as if stuck to a giant invisible sheet of flypaper.
Finally, no more came. Anne had stopped them all.
“You did it!” Penelope shouted.
“Wonderful,” Anne said between clenched teeth. “Too bad… they couldn’t… have made it… more of a challenge.”
As if in response to Anne’s words, a sound like a million dragonflies rearing up and saying “Oh, really?” reverberated in the air. A giant shape rose from the center of the forest, towering over the trees. It had two sets of wings, but it also walked on two hind legs and carried a large club.
The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes Page 16
