Urtish saw him and said, “Oh, come here. This is all your fault. Your ability to see through illusions makes us all wear these clothes, and it gets unbearably stuffy in this room since there isn’t any ventilation. Come over here and take a look at these documents.”
Stavius edged towards the table to look at the papers strewn across it while keeping himself as far from Urtish as possible.
Urtish ignored him and began explaining his work.
“Heroes have used this valley as a training ground to fulfill our prophecy for hundreds of years, but this isn’t where it all started,” he began. “I believe that attempts were being made in England a thousand years ago and that it might have been going on for far longer than that. The problem is that I’ve reached a dead end and you are the only one who can help.”
Stavius looked at his pleading eyes but had no idea what he meant nor what he wanted.
Urtish then quickly explained that he had found some ancient artifacts and writings from England in the oldest boxes of files. He suspected that the English had been trying to fulfill the prophecy a thousand years back and that, somehow, the Soul Reapers had brought some of their files to this cave when the attempts began here.
“I think that people from Earth have been visiting here for thousands of years and that our worlds are more intertwined than any of us realize,” he explained. “We might have a better chance at fulfilling the prophecy if I could learn more about how our two worlds are connected, but I have almost no data here, and I have no way to ask Satish to search for it on Earth.
“I need you to convince a man solely interested in American history to research ancient history from around the world. He needs to search for anything which relates to visits to this world so that I can use what he learns here. But I can’t influence him,” he concluded.
Stavius just stared at him in disbelief.
“I’m serious,” Urtish pleaded. “I believe that there is a strong linkage between our two worlds but here I only have access to limited local history for a few hundred years and over there I have access to a wealth of global events but am only interested in American history. I need someone to get me to do the research over there that I need in my mind over here.”
“Um, that sounds impossible,” muttered Stavius. “Mr. Narwani would think I’m insane to ask and, besides, I don’t even think he likes me.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” admitted Urtish. “Satish thinks you’re a typical kid who doesn’t value what can be learned from history, although you surprised me when you knew about George Santayana. Of course, now I know why,” he laughed.
“OK, so what do I do?” asked Stavius.
“From what I can tell, heroes were trying to fulfill the prophecy about a thousand years ago in England and then there was nothing until a few hundred years back. I don’t know why there was a break, why the attempts moved, or if there is anything similar to what’s going on here on Earth. My gut tells me, however, that there has to be some connection. Try to find anything you can about legends, seven talismans, magic, quests, and whatever else you can imagine. And get your history teacher involved! Maybe between you, him and me, we can piece something together and figure out what is going on,” said Urtish.
“Um, OK, but I have no idea how to do that,” admitted Stavius. “I’ve never been good in history, and I’ve never been interested in it. Now you have me interested in ancient history, but I’m stuck in your American history class.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Stavius. You should also know that Satish has no interest in legends or metaphysics, only verifiable facts. But I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” smiled Urtish. “But be very careful with whom you share these secrets. I think that there are visitors on Earth.”
“Yeah, the ones trying to reduce my magical abilities here by confusing Mark with the new STEAM curriculum, right?” asked Stavius.
“Wait, you’ve figured that out?” marveled Urtish.
“Yeah, my friends and I are starting a math and science club to keep my skills up,” said Stavius. “We’ve called ourselves Team Stavius, Earth Division and we’re trying to get Janus to join us as well.”
“Wait, you’ve told your friends about Mearth, and you know who Janus is too?” yelled Urtish. “You have to be careful and change the name of your club!”
“Hey, I know. We’re all scared, especially after what happened to the last group of heroes!” said Stavius.
“What about the last group?” asked Urtish. He was becoming more and more impressed with this young man.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you,” said Stavius. “We found them. They all went into comas in their sleep on the same night in June, six years ago and none have ever come out.”
Urtish slumped into a chair looking as though he had been physically beaten.
“I cannot stress this enough. You have to be very careful, Stavius. Your club cannot be a school function, or else you and your friends will be suspected, but perhaps I can help. Satish and his wife both disagree with this new curriculum approach to the point where his wife quit teaching because of it. Figure out a way to ask him for a math tutor. He’ll recommend his wife, and perhaps she could assist your club. She goes by her maiden name, Mrs. Datta, and she used to teach calculus until she took early retirement this year. Be careful, young man, both here and on Earth. You might be the best chance we’ve ever had to save our world.”
The older man stood, put his tunic back on, and opened the door. The two began walking back towards Janus and Bernice, who were both impatient to get started on the journey.
“And remember, Stavius. Not a word of this to anyone over here!” warned Urtish as they approached the others.
Chapter 10
Leaving the Valley
The sun was far higher in the sky than planned by the time the three travelers exited the valley. The treetops on the western hills were already starting to glow with the brilliant light of the morning sun. High hills surrounded the valley, casting long shadows to protect the village from the searing late-summer sun.
The reason the villagers left them halfway up the hill on the trail out of the valley became evident as Janus and Stavius crested the ridge. The magical energy spring did not extend beyond the valley, and the effect was, quite literally, breathtaking. Stavius felt a tightening in his chest, and Janus began wheezing and gasping for air.
“Calm down, Janus,” Stavius said to his friend as he put his arm around Janus’ shoulders. “There is plenty of air to breathe. These symptoms are caused by your body trying to make sense out of not being surrounded by magical energy. It’ll pass in a few minutes.”
Janus didn’t look as though he entirely believed Stavius but gave one longing look back toward the valley and walked onward anyway. Bernice was carrying their packs, but they were starting the day walking rather than riding. Her bovine pace was leisurely to match, but they would need her endurance later in the trip.
Janus finally caught his breath enough to ask Stavius how he knew it would pass.
“I was living in a small village on the outskirts of Septumcolis when the Soul Reapers grabbed me,” Stavius explained. “It was a farming community at the far eastern side of the region. We lived in the hills, but the gardens and farms were in a fertile plain right at the edge of the magical boundary. Those two geographical features enabled us to produce some of the best produce in the area.
“I was a dragon hunter and last summer we had a family of dragons nesting in the hills beyond the farmland. Their nest was outside the magical boundary so they’d come in during the days to forage our crops and regain their magical strength. I was hired to get rid of them.”
“So, you went and killed an entire dragon family?” asked Janus.
“No, I went up in those hills every day for a month until I found their nest, which is how I became familiar with being outside of a magical field. Then I went up one evening with nets and captured them all while they were sleeping. I had my centaur par
tner, Randy, cart them far away to be released while I stayed and destroyed their nest. I think I might have seen them fly past one time, but they never rebuilt their nest or bothered us again.”
“Wow, they must’ve paid you well for that,” said Janus.
“You would think so, but not so much. I barely broke even by the time I bought my supplies and paid Randy. Dragon hunting isn’t nearly as lucrative as you might think,” sighed Stavius.
“Better than what we’re doing now,” noted Janus. “We’re risking our lives to save the world, and I somehow don’t think anyone will ever pay us.”
“Thanks for pointing out another lousy aspect of my life that I hadn’t even considered, Janus,” groaned Stavius.
“Oh, do be quiet you two and pass me some apples,” yelled Bernice.
“They’ll give you gas,” said Stavius.
“I don’t care. Toss those fruits up here, boy,” laughed Bernice.
Stavius took two apples from one of the packs on Bernice’s back and tossed them to the centaur’s human hands.
He took his mind off his troubles by considering how different the world was outside of the magic valley. The first things he noticed were the smells or lack of fragrances. Aromas from a myriad of summer flowers had filled the valley. There were no flowers out here, only low plants, bushes, and trees. The wood smelled earthy and woody, but not floral at all.
The next difference he noticed was that the forest wasn’t as dense as in the valley. The trees looked as though they were struggling to survive and there was very little variety. He saw plenty of scrub oaks and some stands of pine on a distant hill, but nowhere near the assortment of trees in the valley. There were undergrowth and vines everywhere but none of the rhododendrons or azaleas they had back home. It felt like a wasteland.
The next thing he noticed was the silence. There were no bird sounds at all and the only noises, other than their footsteps, were the occasional streams and the buzzing of flies and grasshoppers.
Janus must have made the same observations because he asked, “Does anything live out here?”
“Oh, there are lots of things living out here, boys,” answered Bernice. “And trust me that you do not want to meet most of them. The creatures living on the outside are ruthless survivalists. They scrounge, hunt, and kill to live. We need to stick to the main trails and get out of here as quickly as possible. Now toss me some more apples.”
Janus threw him a couple more apples and asked, “So, how do these creatures survive without magic?”
“Oh, they don’t,” answered Bernice, as she took a big bite out of an apple. “They rely on the small springs and watering holes scattered throughout the area. The creatures living out here might have adapted to surviving on less magical energy than you, but they still need to go to the watering holes and soak some up periodically. Of course, the trick is not to be eaten by the predators waiting around the edges.”
“And what about us?” asked Stavius. “Will we be able to make it to Septumcolis without recharging?”
“Are you kidding?” laughed Bernice. “You two will need to recharge at least once a day to survive. But that’s why I’m here. I know some less popular springs and how to avoid the predators. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”
Neither Stavius nor Janus were convinced, but they said nothing and kept walking.
The trio spent the first half of the morning hiking along a trail that seemed to involve the most significant amount of climbing and descending hills possible. Bernice explained that this was part of what hid the valley and assured the boys that the trail would level out before lunch.
Bernice was right. By mid-morning, they had entered a narrow, deep valley created by some long-forgotten stream and followed it for the rest of the day. They ate their lunch beside a large creek flowing through an intersecting valley and then followed it, and a series of connecting streams and valleys until late afternoon.
The tall hills had been gradually shrinking in height since mid-afternoon and had become low, rolling hillocks by the time Bernice instructed them to stop for the day. She guided them to the top of what appeared to be the last mound at the edge of a seemingly endless savannah of tall grasses to the north.
“Set up camp here, and I’ll take you to a nearby magic spring,” she instructed.
There was a minimal amount of effort required to set up camp, but the boys unloaded the packs from her back while Bernice shook and stretched. She told them to climb on her back as she walked to a nearby clearing surrounded by poison ivy. They could feel their bodies absorbing the magic as soon as they entered the meadow.
“This is a very safe magical spring,” explained Bernice. “Few creatures would expect to find one here because most magical energy sources are also near water springs. The barrier of poison ivy also helps keep the riff-raff out,” she laughed. “Still, we should only stay here long enough to recharge. Safe magic springs are precious, and we don’t want to expose the secret.”
The boys climbed on Bernice again after fifteen minutes and rode her to a nearby stream. They all drank the crisp, clean water and refilled their canteens. Bernice went downstream and carefully washed the poison ivy oils off her legs with strong soap. They walked back to their hilltop camp, ate a cold dinner, and Bernice bid them a good night.
Bernice was snoring within minutes, but sleep didn’t come so quickly to the boys, even though they were both exhausted from the day’s journey. Eventually, they gave up and walked over to a clearing at the edge of the hill and sat down to gaze across the expansive grassland stretching out toward the horizon. The night sky was spectacular with more stars than Mark had ever seen on Earth. The nearly-full moon shining down on the tall grasses swaying in the light breeze was a beautiful sight. The prairie almost looked like a calm sea with gentle swells rippling in the moonlight.
Their serenity was torn apart by the sudden growls of large predators and squeals of terror in the distance, and they both sat up in surprise.
“What was that?” asked Janus with a shaky voice.
“I don’t know,” answered Stavius. “Whatever it was sounded big though. Maybe a lion or a tiger?”
“I didn’t know those kinds of animals lived out here,” whimpered Janus.
“I didn’t either, so maybe it was something else,” whispered Stavius.
Janus was terrified, and Stavius could see the pale moonlight illuminating the abject terror in his eyes.
“Hey, don’t worry, Janus,” he reassured the young boy. “It did sound big, but it also sounded very far away. Besides, we have Bernice here to protect us, and nothing’s going to mess with her!”
“That’s easy for you to say, Stavius,” panted Janus. “You’re twice my size and used to fighting. The only thing I’ve ever been good at is magic, and there is none of that out here.”
Janus had been quiet for most of the day, and Stavius suddenly realized why. The obnoxious boy who was usually cocky with a quick wit had been nearly silent ever since they had left the valley. Janus felt powerless and scared, perhaps for the first time in his life. Staven had felt that way for his entire childhood living a magical society with no magical abilities, and Mark had often felt the same on Earth. Still, Stavius doubted he could convince Janus of his empathy.
“We’ll be back in the magic in three or four days, Janus,” he said as he put his arm around his companion. “Just three or four more days.”
His approach must have worked because the old Janus resurfaced for a few seconds to say, “Where we’ll be surrounded by people wanting to kill us.” Then he laughed and added, “Come on, let’s go to sleep. I’m beat, and you want to stay up all night chit-chatting, Stavius.”
Chapter 11
Prairie
The next day felt like the longest day in either of the boys’ lives. Last night the nice, flat grassland had looked so inviting after a day of climbing up and down steep hills and ravines. Today the trio would’ve given anything to be back in the mountainous forest.
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Bernice woke them up well before dawn because she wanted to get across the river at the other side of the grasslands before nightfall. She ate some carrots and broccoli and walked down to the spring while the boys sat on the hilltop waiting for the sunrise.
“Huh, that’s odd,” Stavius suddenly remarked.
“What’s odd?” asked Janus as he followed Stavius’ gaze eastward towards the brightening sky.
“I had pretty much convinced myself that Mearth and Earth are different realities but in the same place, but now I’m not so sure.
He continued after seeing Janus’ puzzled expression. “I know that Mearth has magic and different plants and animals. I know that the moon, Venus and Mars have oceans, forests and, I suppose, animals. I guess I was hoping that everything else was the same other than that.”
Janus laughed, “Yeah, those are pretty minor differences, after all.”
“No, you know what I mean,” complained Stavius. “The gravity of Mearth feels about the same. The sun is the right size and color, the moon and planets seem to be in the same places. Physically Earth and Mearth could be the same, except for that whole atmosphere and oceans thing on the moon.”
“And your point is?” asked Janus, who was starting to get bored.
“Well, I was looking at the constellations and realizing that they aren’t quite right,” continued Stavius. “Mark is no expert because he can’t see much with all the light and smog where he lives on Earth, but he does recognize Cassiopeia, the Big Dipper, and Orion.”
“And?” repeated Janus.
“And while the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia look similar, something is wrong with Orion. Mark can only see the shoulders, hips, belt, and sword at home and they look the same, but the rest looks all wrong. You see, he remembers how Orion is supposed to appear from star charts because it is the only constellation he thinks looks at all like its namesake. And Orion is supposed to have a bright star for a head and an arc of stars for a bow.”
Janus looked up at the sky and, in an odd twist, the sheer multitude of stars made it difficult to identify most constellations. Finding Orion was easy, though. It was rising just above the eastern horizon. Janus thought that Orion’s body, belt, and sword looked fine but Stavius pointed out that the star buried between his shoulders should’ve been his head and that his bow looked like it been run over by a wagon. Either the textbooks on Earth had fudged the positions to make the constellation look more like Orion, or the stars here were in slightly different places.
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