The Mystic Travelogues

by J. C. Nusbaum

  Tug took her hand and tried to give her a reassuring smile. He was not used to hearing his name, but he already felt familiar with Jodie. Now hearing her call him “Tug” made him want to be that boy. But there was still so much he couldn’t remember, and a lot of what Jodie said had no meaning for him so that he didn’t know what were the right questions to ask.

  “Who is Uncle Oscar?”

  “Our uncle— the most wonderful uncle we could hope for. He’s here in the Nome Kingdom, forced to sleep in captivity. But I know that if we can find a moor mushroom and put it under his tongue, he’ll wake up.”

  “Easy,” Feldspar said.

  “How do we get to him?” asked Tug.

  Feldspar thought about it for a moment and shook his head. “Tricky. Guards, fire pits, rubble traps— no time for sneaky.”

  Tug ran his hand over the rolled up fate blanket and recalled the various images of his life juxtaposed with the symbols of conflict and sadness. Though he knew the images well enough now that he did not have to look at the blanket, he had not given much thought to the lessons the scribe had counseled him to learn. It became clear to him that the patterns of his life showed tragedy happening to him. This was clear, even without knowing the particulars of his life history.

  Then, Tug remembered his dream. He needed to confront the thing that could cause him the most pain, not hide from it or hope things might get better.

  “We can’t wait to be caught,” Tug said. “And we don’t have anyone else to help us. Feldspar, can you find us a moor mushroom? Jodie will need to take me to the King, and you’ll need to be ready if we get a chance at saving our uncle.”

  “Yes,” said Feldspar. “Know just where to look.”

  Jodie was not convinced of this plan. “King Renatus is a wicked, wicked Nome. There’s nothing you can say to him that will convince him to let Uncle Oscar and the rest of us go.”

  “I have to try. I don’t know what I can say to this king, but please trust that I have a reason for doing it this way.”

  Jodie nodded. Failing to trust Tug before had made her miserable, regardless of whether or not she believed he could succeed. “Okay. But what about Leopold? The King hates him more than anyone.”

  “I can try to hide him in my blanket.”

  But Leopold gave a contrary growl and stood up to indicate he would face the Nome King openly along with the children.

  “All right,” Jodie said. “Feldspar can get the mushroom and meet us in the throne room.”

  They parted ways at one of the mine entrances. Feldspar continued on his own to look for the antidote to Uncle Oscar’s forced slumber.

  “Go out first,” Jodie instructed Tug and Leopold, “but stay close to me.”

  Soon as they stepped out of the mine, the frenetic crowd of Nomes stopped and gawked at the intruders for just a moment before rushing towards them.

  “These are my prisoners!” Jodie shouted. “You all failed to capture them, so I will take them to the King.”

  No one doubted the intentions of their Mamelon, but the Nomes fell in behind them and followed them to the throne room. Most of the Nome Kingdom was present and crowding the Great Hall by the time they reached King Renatus. He sat strumming his fingers together as they approached, as if he had been waiting for them to arrive.

  This gnarled old Nome looked different than the image Tug had from his dream. Fear gripped his chest that he had made a terrible mistake in trusting the fuzzy logic that unfolded in his sleep.

  Jodie bowed her head and addressed the King, “Your Majesty, I have brought you the Auberon Leopold and the escaped feather hunter.”

  “My dear, let us not pretend you are still part of my Kingdom. It is clear your sympathy is with these traitors.” The Nome King’s scraggly eyebrows dropped in mock grief. “It saddens me that we shall lose our Mamelon, but you have already abdicated.”

  Tug stepped forward, unsure what to say but realizing there was very little time to say it.

  “King Renatus, I have come to escort the girl and our Uncle Oscar out of your Kingdom.”

  The Nome King began to cackle so hard that he had a coughing fit. His chamberlain brought him a goblet of water, but the King shooed him away.

  “You thought you would just come and collect them and be on your way? You have lost your mind. None of you shall ever leave. You had your chance to be part of my Kingdom, and you failed to appreciate my generosity. Now you shall be imprisoned with your beloved uncle.

  “Except the bear,” he added. “This time we’ll rip him apart at the seams and make a cushion out of him for my regal derrière.”

  Tug continued on, though his voice quivered, “Maybe I can offer you something of value in exchange for letting us leave.”

  He hesitated to show the egg to the King, as Tug had come to doubt his dream or that an egg was really of any value.

  “I have all the riches of the world here in my Kingdom, what makes you think you have anything I would want?”

  Tug decided to be candid. Although his dream made little sense to him, perhaps it would have meaning for the King.

  “I don’t remember ever being in your Kingdom, or what I might have done to upset you. But last night I had a dream that urged me to come to you and offer you a gift. Since I have arrived, I have learned that your Kingdom is in danger. It is over-mined and about to collapse all around you. It isn’t safe for you here. Perhaps helping you is my gift.”

  The King began to laugh again, dismissing Tug’s words without stopping to consider them.

  “What an exceedingly stupid boy! My Kingdom is the oldest in existence, and Nomes are the wisest and most powerful race of all. You come into my domain, knowing nothing about nothing, to tell me about my Kingdom? And why? Because you dreamt that you should. An idea you had when you were not even conscious.”

  Tug nodded. He thought of the egg concealed in his pouch. But he no longer had the courage to show it to the King, afraid he would be mocked mercilessly for it and that would be the end.

  “Let me tell you something about dreams,” the King said. “They are silly little nothings, without meaning or relevance to a truly intelligent individual. They are the fantasies and fears of those who do not take command of their own lives. Only the weak let their anxiety and their delusions steer their actions, believing they should listen to them instead of taking power for themselves.”

  Tug looked about them, at the hopeless situation he had led them into, and believed this might be true. He hung his head, accepting whatever fate the King had in store for him. But King Renatus was not yet through chiding the boy.

  “Just last night,” the Nome King continued, “I had a nightmare that would terrify a weaker Nome. I dreamt that someone named Henry entered my Kingdom undetected and marched right up to my throne and threatened me with an egg. But did I spend the day hiding under my bed, in fear that this might somehow come to pass? No, I took command of my fear and continued my Kingly responsi…”

  The Nome King’s voice trailed off in a whimper as he watched Tug retrieve an egg from his clothes and held it up before him. The Nomes cowered at the sight of it, backing away from the children and murmuring in fear. Tug could hear the word “poison” repeated by many and saw terror in the eyes of every Nome, including the King’s.

  Tug was not able to believe that an egg could pose the extreme danger that seemed to terrify the Nomes, though the panic all around him was real. Even if he had the means, Tug knew he could not bring himself to hurt any of the Nomes, not even the King. But seeing the Nomes paralyzed with fear, Tug realized he could try and bluff his way out of the kingdom if it would save his friends.

  Tug stepped up to Renatus and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off of his throne and holding him several inches off the ground. The deposed King began to wail for mercy, shielding himself from the egg that Tug held out with his other hand.

  “Bring us our uncle,” Tug demanded, “and let us leave the Nome Kingdom. If you do this, you
won’t be harmed. If you try to trick us…” Tug paused for a moment, uncertain how to choose his words. “… I’ll be forced to use this egg.”

  In the midst of the commotion, Jodie spotted Feldspar and approached him to retrieve the moor mushroom. He handed it to her with a shaky hand. Even the little Nome was terrified at the sight of the egg.

  “Bring them the wizard,” King Renatus cried. “Hurry it up!”

  A group of Nomes left for Uncle Oscar, and while they waited, the King tried to regain his composure, despite his hanging in the air in Tug’s grasp.

  “If you harm me,” Renatus said, “thousands of Nomes will descend upon you to avenge my demise.”

  “That won’t help you any,” Tug said, coolly.

  “You insolent bat turd! You will never have a moment’s peace after you leave my Kingdom. My Nomes will hunt you down and torment you wherever you go.”

  The threat was not an idle one, and Tug stopped to consider what the King was saying. “You’re right. We can’t just leave,” he said.

  Tug walked over to Leopold and, still holding the King in his clutch, stooped down to whisper something in the bear’s ear. Leopold listened and nodded. After Tug finished, Leopold walked over to one of the Nomes and grabbed the pickaxe he was carrying. The Nome let it go willingly, and Leopold smiled smugly at the Nome’s cowardice. The bear paused to look back at Tug and Jodie before continuing on his way out of the Great Hall. No Nome tried to stop him from going, or follow him after he left.

  After Leopold was gone, Tug stood up on the King’s throne to address all of the Nomes.

  “Each of you has an important choice to make, and I’m afraid I can’t give you much time to consider it,” Tug said in a firm but compassionate voice. “The Nome Kingdom is in real danger. We are going to close the entrance to the world above, but your entire realm may collapse in the process. If it doesn’t happen now, it will probably happen some day very soon. Your world is weakened by the treasures you have mined, and it’s impossible to put them back where they were.”

  “Lies!” The King screamed. “Nomes have mined here since the beginning of time. This Kingdom is as strong as the rock from which it is built.”

  “If any Nome wants to leave with us,” Tug went on, ignoring the King’s rants, “they can join us in the forest above. But you may never return to this underground kingdom.”

  The Nomes looked nervously at each other, conflicted and unsure of the boy’s words.

  Before Tug could explain further, the group of Nomes who had gone to retrieve Uncle Oscar entered the Hall carrying an open trunk with a man’s legs and arms hanging over the sides. When they set the trunk down, the children could hear the distinct sound of snoring coming from the trunk.

  Jodie rushed forward and smiled at the sight of her sleeping uncle. She gently opened his mouth to slip the mushroom Feldspar had given her under his tongue. At first it had no effect, but when she shook her uncle, he began sputtering and bolted upright as if he had just been woken by a jarring dream.

  “Jumpin’ Jehosafats!” Uncle Oscar said. “Young girl, don’t do that!” But soon as he regained consciousness and saw the army of Nomes surrounding them, he grinned and patted Jodie’s hand. “I recant. Well done.”

  “We need to get moving,” she said to him. “Can you stand?”

  “Of course I can, you know that.”

  Oscar pushed himself up on shaky legs, and Jodie lifted his arm around her shoulder and began walking him through the chamber. Tug followed closely behind, holding King Renatus up in one hand and the egg in the other.

  They moved as swiftly as they could to the parallel crossing, the whole of the Nome Kingdom filing in behind them. When they reached the opening, Tug advised Jodie and Uncle Oscar to start climbing the stairs right away.

  “We can’t leave without you,” Jodie protested.

  “You may need extra time. I promised Leopold I would wait for him.”

  Uncle Oscar looked knowingly at Tug. “I can’t imagine that bear would want you to do that.”

  “I know,” said Tug.

  Jodie gave a half-smile at Tug, and then kissed him on the forehead.

  “Please hurry.”

  Tug nodded and watched them begin the ascent to the forest.

  Once they were well on their way, Tug turned back to the Nomes gathered at the entrance to the upstairs world.

  “I need a Nome to volunteer to lead the rest up the staircase.”

  A small hand rose tentatively above the crowd, and Tug saw Feldspar trying to make his way out of the pack of Nomes.

  “Let him through,” Tug said. “And the rest of you that want to leave, form a single line behind him.”

  The King glowered at Feldspar, but the little Nome turned up his nose at him, recognizing that Renatus no longer commanded him as a subject.

  One by one, a handful of Nomes began to line-up behind Feldspar. A gravelly voice called out from the crowd, “How do we know what you say is true about our Kingdom being unsafe?”

  “I am not sure if it is true, myself. I only know what I saw in your mines and what the stones feel like to me. Ask yourself what they say to you, what you have seen, and make your own decision.”

  Many more Nomes began to line-up behind Feldspar, and the King began to turn red as his velvet tunic. “Traitors!” he yelled. “Any Nome that leaves is, is… banished from my Kingdom.”

  The Nomes continued to get in line, but a few stepped away, afraid to even think of leaving the Nome Kingdom. Among those were the Nome Council that Tug saw at Jodie’s grotto, as well as many of the very regal looking Nomes covered in fine clothing and jewels.

  “Stop!” the King commanded in vain. “This is your Kingdom. Only here are you immortal.”

  But none of the Nomes seemed to listen to the King, not even the ones choosing to stay underground. Instead, they turned to Tug to hear from him what was to come next.

  “You are your kingdom. All of you. You will bring your kingdom to the forest and your domain will be more than just darkness.”

  When at last the entire Kingdom seemed divided, Tug asked if there was anyone else who wished to leave. The chamberlain Kaliko sheepishly stepped away from the Council, and the first officer became the last in line.

  Somewhere below them, a rumbling noise began to shake the ground.

  “Go!” Tug said to Feldspar, and the littlest Nome began leading the rest up the stone stairs.

  Bits of rock began to fall down around Tug, and the stone walls started to quake. Tug had trouble keeping his balance, and had to let go of the King to steady himself by grabbing a stalagmite.

  The King scurried back to the Council, but they did not want to come between him and the boy.

  “You better hurry up and leave,” Renatus said to Tug. “The bear will find his own way out, I am certain.”

  Tug didn’t respond, but held the egg up as if he were going to throw it at the King. The remaining Nomes shrieked in terror and ran off in all directions. The King scampered after them, but looked back over his shoulder and sneered at Tug before following the rest deeper underground.

  The falling stones grew larger, and Tug began to hear the sound of smashing glass echoing through the caverns. He was afraid for his life, but determined to be crushed by the collapsing underworld before leaving Leopold down here by himself.

  Enough time passed since the tremors began that Tug felt certain Leopold should have made it back to the steps, and was now overdue. Lifting the remaining torch hanging by the exit, Tug made his way to the abandoned mines to search for Leopold. He barely fit through the entrance; several parts of the mineshaft had already collapsed. But he climbed over and under support beams and fallen boulders until he reached the spot where he had instructed Leopold to strike at the weakened foundation beneath the Nome Kingdom.

  Through the clouds of dust, Tug heard Leopold’s faint growl before he could see him. He found him trapped under fallen rubble and debris. The pickaxe was nearby, and Tug m
ade quick work of clearing off the stones and freeing the bear. He carried him back to the exit, dodging falling stones on their way. Before climbing the stairs, Tug picked up the egg and smashed it over the entrance to the staircase. Splattered yolk ran down the stone arch and dripped onto the bottom step. And then Tug continued his ascent as the Nome Kingdom collapsed around him.

  TUG woke up staring at a canopy of trees. He was lying on top of his fate blanket and clutching Leopold, reluctant to let him go. When he sat up, he saw Jodie sitting by his side, smiling with concerned eyes.

  “I remember running up the steps, but it was too difficult,” Tug said.

  “The Nomes carried you the rest of the way. They heard you and went back.”

  Tug looked around and saw hoards of Nomes squinting in the bright sunlight and trying to make out the bigger world they just entered. They were surrounded by the woodland animals that had escorted Tug and Leopold through the forest, still watching everything with curiosity. His uncle sat on a stump nearby, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. When he saw Tug was awake, he stood up and made his way over to the children.

  “Do you remember everything?” Tug asked Jodie.

  “I think so, though I’m not sure how I can know if I don’t know something. But I remember me, and you, and our summer at Three Chimneys before we came here. That must mean I’m okay, right?”

  Oscar nodded and explained, “Leopold managed to destroy the preservation room with his agile axing. It must have happened before Jodie exited the Nome Kingdom. Now your names are no longer preserved and spirited away. But once your memories have been lost, only the spoon can bring them back. Do you still have it, my boy?”

  Tug reached into his pocket and found the spoon. He showed it to his uncle, who beamed with pride.

  “Good-oh, son! Forgive me for not entrusting you with it from the beginning.”

  “Can Tug use it to get his memories back?” Jodie asked.

  “He has had the power to restore his memories all along, though he never would have remembered, even if he had been told how it’s done.”