by Roy Huff
“You’re right, Cleophas. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to smash your table.”
“It’s already forgotten. Let’s use that energy to focus on finding a solution, and I have an idea just how we might do that.”
Owen returned with a wet cloth and began wiping Anika’s hands. Cleophas then revealed his journal, and started discussing with them the details of what he had written. Owen nodded in acknowledgement while listening to Cleophas lecture for half an hour. By then the word ‘Ubaloo’ had been seared into Owen’s brain.
“Here, take this,” Cleophas said to Owen as he handed over the journal.
Owen felt a rush of adrenaline as a sense of assuredness came over him. At least now he had a starting point and something he could discuss with The Keeper. Everville was his next stop, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
CHAPTER 4:
VENGEANCE
The Keeper watched through the portal as Toe and the others followed the Ubaloo to the walls of Vermogen, but he could not see past the walls. Once the contingent of Fron disappeared from view, The Keeper turned his attention back to the land of the giants.
The giants had been preparing for quite some time for the great battles that awaited them, and they had dug deeper and wider than ever before, almost five miles below the brutal desert.
“Get the monstrum ready,” General Varrick, leader of the giant army, commanded.
“Yes, General,” two of the worker giants said in unison as they heaved and pushed the behemoth of a rock smasher into place. The monstrum was massive and difficult to move, but it was effective. It was an old-fashioned contraption made of two humungous wooden arms encased in metal shielding with a centerpiece that resembled a large pendulum comprised of dull cast iron.
A few moments later, they let out a great warning cry to all those in the area. When the centerpiece was released from the top of the machine, the gravity of its own weight created enough force to pulverize tons of rock with one smash. Upon impact, a massive amount of rock broke free and created a rockslide in the underground realm. A cloud of dust filled the immediate vicinity and created a white powder that caked the faces of all the creatures and giants in the area.
After the dust cleared, dozens of giants created a line starting at the pile of debris. They flung the large boulders in the direction of a manual assembly belt that was powered by brute force. The giants who operated the assembly turned large winders that were used to carry the smashed rock through miles of caverns. With amazing swiftness, the piles of rock that had collapsed next to the machine were whittled away to dust. It was a quick and efficient system.
After watching the troops work, General Varrick nodded in approval and headed off towards his study. As he walked, his feet created tremors each time they came into contact with the ground that could be felt all the way up to the surface. He sat down on his large stone seat and took a sip of water from the mug resting on the top of the table in front of him. As Varrick took his first drink, The Keeper’s image appeared on the surface of the table.
“Varrick, Oldrik and his followers are nearing your location, and are on their way to visit the Dark Forest. I need you and your men to delay them as long as possible until the Fron visit the point of origin and find out exactly how Them have managed to overcome our prior fix.”
“Consider it done, Keeper.”
“Thank you, Varrick. We are in your debt, and all those who reside in our realm are grateful for your efforts.”
General Varrick immediately informed the other giants of Oldrik’s location, and a group of three quickly climbed the underground cavern walls and punched through the surface. With the loss of their fellow brothers in the recent Fron battle, they were hungry for revenge. Even their huge muscles hinted of their eagerness as their powerful limbs catapulted them into the air across hundreds of yards above the surface of the brutal desert. With each landing, the impact produced tremendous force and a deafening thunder.
Oldrik and his followers had continued their journey belowground, but above the main level where the giants were currently residing. They were just approaching the river leading to The Valley of Darkness when they first felt the tremors.
“Stop,” Oldrik said as the shaking alerted him to the approach of the giants.
Just then, the three giants jumped one last time, the highest they had ever jumped. They reached almost a thousand yards into the air, and on their descent, they focused the position of their landing on one spot.
The impact created an earthquake that grew in intensity, building second by second, moment by moment. The ground could take no more of it, and for half a mile in every direction of the point of impact, the dirt surrounding it collapsed into the underground catacombs.
“Help us, Master Keeper. Help!” Elmer shouted as the ground above him came raining down.
Oldrik grumbled as Elmer and Calvin sought shelter by huddling around him. The collapse had cut off the path to the river leading to The Valley of Darkness, leaving Oldrik and company stranded but unscathed, at the bottom of a massive sinkhole that was now open to the torturous sun above.
The three giants landed at the bottom and surrounded Oldrik.
“You will not pass,” Borak, the largest of the three giants, said. Borak stood three times the height of the other giants, a real giant among giants. He had dark brown hair and eyes, with chiseled muscles, and a face that wore the scars of battle. A sturdy helmet sat atop his head, and metal chainmail armor made from the special stones in the underground realm of the giants covered his upper body.
“We will eventually. You can delay us for now, but we will move forward,” Oldrik said menacingly.
Borak’s eyes lit up with anger. He swung his fist in Oldrik’s direction, but it was no use. Oldrik had erected a shield with the power of his rod to prevent anyone from harming him or his followers.
Borak and the other two giants continued to expend significant amounts of energy bashing the shield that stood in their way.
“Your tricks won’t last forever, Oldrik. You’ll be sorry when we finally get to you.”
“You won’t get to me, Borak. Your strength is useless, and you will regret your stupidity in helping The Keeper.”
Borak bent down. Every sinew, tendon, and fiber of muscle in his massive thighs flexed, every hair stood erect as his legs prepared to launch him into the air. He jumped up as high as he could, and as he did, his body resembled a rocket once his feet lost contact with the ground. On his descent, he crouched his body and used every bit of force available to bear down on the top of the shield above Oldrik and the others. The impact made a deafening crackle and shook the ground, sending out tremors for miles.
Borak and the other giants continued to take turns colliding with the shield in what appeared to be a futile attempt to break it. Oldrik remained unfazed. All the while, his connection with the races surrounding The Other In Between had been growing, and by that time, he had been able to connect with the minds of the Fwaylan that resided in The Valley of Darkness and had mentally called upon them to help. Oldrik knew it would only be a matter of time before the Fwaylan arrived, and then he could continue his trek to the Dark Forest.
In The Valley of Darkness, the Fwaylan began to appear from behind the rocks. All across the valley, thousands of them started moving in unison. Their lumbering movement became a jog, and soon a gallop. From the top of the concave cliffs to the river’s entrance, an almost limitless herd of menacing, oversized canine-like creatures poured from all regions of the valley. The sound of their movement created a roar that filled the valley and echoed into the underground caverns.
The Fwaylan entered the river’s entrance and made their way into the underground caverns, appearing as a faucet flowing in reverse. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived in the land of the giants, and Oldrik sensed their approach.
“They’re coming for you now, Borak. I suggest you leave while you still have the chance to do so in one piece.”
B
orak ignored Oldrik’s jibe and continued pummeling the shield. With one last attempt, the ground beneath the shield collapsed and the sinkhole grew to reach the new main level of the giants.
The walls around the giants collapsed and tons of rock piled up, covering much of the empty space that had existed before, but the area was limited to less than fifty square yards. General Varrick mobilized his men and started digging away the portions of collapsed tunnels that separated them from Oldrik.
Varrick removed the first stone that revealed the sunlight above and the position of Oldrik. A beam of light lit up the underground caverns where the giants resided and shined with tremendous brilliance. The other giants hurried to the same spot and started removing the rocks and tossing them aside. When the last boulder was removed, Borak and the other two giants jumped in the hole and took defensive positions surrounding Oldrik.
By then, the Fwaylan were only a few hundred yards off, so the general called for the archers, who proceeded to take their positions facing upwards to the entrance of the hole.
The growls and the stampede grew louder, and archers prepared to make their first wave of shots, but the blinding sun made it difficult for them to see the position of the Fwaylan. As a result, a few of the Fwaylan were able to make it through the hole before the archers could target them with their first volley.
Borak and the other two giants who had collapsed the hole managed to grab the few Fwaylan that had made it into the tunnels. Borak flung one of the creatures at a wall and leapt on it as it fell to the floor. The creature was no match for the massive size and weight of Borak, who crushed it where it lay. The other two giants did the same with the other two Fwaylan which had slipped through.
The small size of the hole and position of the archers created a bottleneck that prevented the majority of the Fwaylan from entering. General Varrick ordered the archers to stop the volley of shots but to remain ready if given the order to continue. The Fwaylan circled the hole without attacking, unable to make any real progress and not willing to lose any more of their kind. For the time being, the giants had successfully stalled both the Fwaylan and the movement of Oldrik, but it was unclear how long this would last.
CHAPTER 5:
THE BOX
At Professor Samil’s estate, Drusilla watched in eager anticipation as Zee lifted the lid of the first box that Odious had brought them. Peering inside, he reached in to grab some of the objects. There were documents, a notebook, some letters, a few photos, and a smaller box. He thumbed through a few of the photos, which had pictures of Professor Samil along with some people he recognized from paintings in the Art Club. He handed them to Drusilla, who glanced at them with similar disinterest. It was the smaller and cube shaped wooden box that had grabbed their attention.
Zee lifted it out of the container, unsure exactly how to open it. The box was almost smooth, but there was a slight grainy texture to it that gave away its wooden composition. There was no visible entry. He turned it over a few times, inspecting it for a crack or an opening, and then he touched one of the corners of the box.
As soon as Zee touched one of the corners, two lines formed from the center of the top and continued towards the edge and halfway down the sides. The top of the box then split into four equal sections that opened up and folded halfway over the sides. The inside of the box contained three separate compartments, equal in shape, each held a different object.
Zee lifted the first object out of the box. It was a glass jar that contained a shimmering liquid. It had hints of opal and fleeting rainbow colors that faded into white as he swirled it around and inspected it.
The second object was a miniature landscape oil painting on canvas with a gold frame. It was about the size of wallet photo. The painting had stunning detail including very tiny brush strokes that looked like they were made with a miniature brush.
The final object was a tan scroll, frayed around the edges and tied with a thin red ribbon. Zee pulled on one of the ends of the ribbon until it opened and the scroll uncoiled.
They looked intently at the scroll, which contained a map. The map was divided into two sections. The left side contained a half sphere with a circle in the middle surrounded by eight regions of near equal size. The center of the circle had the words “Everville and the land of the Fron” written on top. The other eight regions on the right were named as well and contained symbols that Zee immediately recognized. The symbols were identical to those that were engraved in the bo staves that were used during training and the roundabouts.
Lines connected each of the eight regions on the left to the eight regions on the right side of the map, which contained the right half of the matching sphere. The right side was the mirror image of the left; only the names and symbols were different. The center of the right side was named “The Other In Between,” with the word “Them” written underneath. The eight regions surrounding the center of the right circle were also named and contained different characters, which Zee also recognized as being symbols used for different bo staves.
Between the two halves of the sphere was written the word “Borderlands,” and in the center was a sphere called “The Earthly Realm.”
“What the heck is that,” Drusilla said.
“I don’t know, but it looks pretty cool. It’s obviously an old map of some kind, but is it a map of something real or something else, a story in a book maybe?”
Zee put down the scroll to take a second look at the miniature painting.
“Hold on a sec. I’m going to go get a magnifying glass.”
Zee put down the painting, which Drusilla proceeded to pick up, and then he ran off to the other room. Drusilla held the painting up to her eyes in an attempt to see more detail, but nothing stood out.
After Zee returned, they both looked at the painting through the magnifying glass, hoping to find a clue.
“I don’t see anything special here,” Zee said.
“Neither do I,” remarked Drusilla.
They put down the object with a look of disappointment on their faces, and then started shuffling through the other documents that were in the currently open box, and the other three boxes.
Drusilla picked up the photos and said, “You know, Zee, most of the people in the pictures are in the paintings at the Art Club.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too, but that doesn’t really help us much.”
They continued looking through the documents, and then they picked up the notebook.
“Look. It’s Professor Samil’s.”
“Yeah, it looks like my dad’s handwriting.”
They flipped through the notebook then turned back to the first page.
Entry Number One:
I’m getting closer to finding a way to stop the breach, but I think The Keeper is holding me back. After talking with some of the other creatures here, I think there must be more ways to stop Them and the other races surrounding The Other In Between.
“Well, I guess we know what the map is for now,” Drusilla said.
“Yeah, but we still don’t know what it means. Was he writing a book, or maybe some kind of novel?” Zee said.
“Maybe, but let’s read the whole thing, and we might get a better idea,” Drusilla said.
Back in Everville, The Keeper had been alerted as soon as Zee had opened the box, and he had been watching as Zee and Drusilla attempted to decipher the purpose of each object. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Zee discovered his father’s past. As The Keeper observed them, his face took on a look of concern and uncertainty.
The Keeper approached one of the endless shelves in his workshop and looked at the objects which rested on one of them, glass containers identical to the one that Zee had found, each filled with the same shimmering liquid. The Keeper picked up one of the containers and inspected it while stroking his beard thoughtfully. He put down one container and picked up another, looking at it with the same curiosity.
“It can’t be. Can it?” The Keeper said to hi
mself, aloud. He rubbed his chin and continued to stroke his beard as he pondered the thought that had just occurred to him. He also sensed that Owen was about to transport himself to Everville. And with that thought, Owen arrived.
“Owen, I know why you’re here and I don’t have any answers for you just yet.”
“Keeper, I was talking with Cleophas and his notes suggested we might find some answers in Brackenbone. Do you think I should go there?”
“I’ve sent a small contingent of Fron to travel behind the walls of Vermogen near the center of Brackenbone. It’s the origin of the breach. When they return, I’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with, and hopefully some answers and a possible solution to your problem. Until then, there is nothing we can really do here. I suggest you go back to the earthly realm. Take care of your friends. Right now, they need you more than I do. I’ll alert you when you are needed here.”
Owen transported himself back to the home of Cleophas.
“So what did you find out?” Anika said.
“It looks like Cleophas was right. Something’s going on in Brackenbone. The Keeper sent some of the Fron to go check it out. He said that the origin of the breach is located somewhere in Brackenbone, and once they figure out what caused it, he might have some answers.”
“Well guys,” said Cleophas, “while we’re waiting, why don’t I prepare you a proper supper? I’ll have Avery and Dante’s Uncle Jack over as well.”
“Yeah. That sounds good,” Anika said.
“Sounds good to me, too.”
“Splendid. I’ll call them over right away. How would you guys like to help me in the kitchen?” Cleophas said in a deep, confident tone.
“Sure. No problem,” Anika said, as they both headed off in that direction.
CHAPTER 6:
