CHAPTER 8
“Welcome to Bumberton!” Vivian said smiling, as she ushered Tobin into the strange house.
“What is a Bumberton?” Tobin asked politely.
Darcie burst into peals of laughter. Vivian smiled patiently at her old friend, and then turned back to Tobin.
“Bumberton is the name of this house,” she told him.
“Why would you name a house Bumberton?” he asked, perplexed.
Vivian smiled tolerantly. “The house came with the name,” she replied.
The interior of Bumberton was warm and inviting. There was a satisfying glow from several coloured lamps. A crackling fire set in a large stone fireplace, added both light and warmth. The windows were covered with paisley, patterned drapes which matched the large chesterfield, and plush armchairs scattered around the room. Two different sets of stairs sat at opposite ends of the room.
After setting his heavy rucksack by the front door, Tobin explored the room. Darcie briefly explained their recent escape from the ogre to Vivian.
“An ogre? In Elden Forest?” Vivian exclaimed when Darcie had finished. “That can’t be right!”
“I know,” Darcie replied wearily. “I thought it was a mistake when I first read the analysis on the Catalogue, but there’s really no mistaking an ogre is there?”
“No, I suppose not,” Vivian said quietly, biting her lip. They obviously were both concerned about this strange development.
“You’ll have to contact your father and let him know there’s an ogre running around in Elden Forest,” Vivian said to Darcie who nodded in agreement. “But first, some tea for both of you. You look exhausted.”
“That sounds great,” Tobin replied wearily, as he settled back into a cushy armchair.
Vivian prepared tea in the kitchen upstairs, and Darcie immediately ensconced herself in a large red blanket.
A myriad of thoughts had been swirling around in Tobin’s head since the moment he had been awakened by the sounds of the ogre. In the comfort of Bumberton, the thoughts began to settle, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him.
The delicious aroma of bergamot accompanied Vivian as she descended the stairs from the kitchen, bearing a tray with a flowered teapot and three cups.
“So Darcie,” Vivian said, as she poured tea into the cups, “How is your search for Celeste going?”
“Quite well, actually” Darcie replied, accepting a steaming cup from Vivian.
“Really?” Vivian looked surprised, and delighted.
“We’ve received some new information recently,” Darcie said, and began to relate the exploding mail incident, and the subsequent destruction of the Travelling Mirror Network.
“I had no idea the Travelling Mirrors had been destroyed!” Vivian exclaimed.
Tobin found himself tuning out their conversation as he held the warm mug in his hands, and inhaled the calming scent of bergamot. He was starting to relax, and unwind, when a startled laugh pulled him back to the conversation.
Darcie and Vivian were grinning at him.
“Obviously Tobin needs a nap.” Darcie said, cheekily.
“Follow me, and I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms. Then I can draw you both baths,” Vivian said. “You’re both quite filthy.”
Following Vivian up one set of stairs, they passed through a spacious kitchen, with a massive stove, atop which several pots, bubbled happily. A large, worn oak table was centred in the room. Up the stairs they continued until they arrived at a trap door. Vivian opened the door, and Tobin and Darcie followed her up into a room filled with light.
It was a spherical room, made entirely of glass. Early morning sunlight, its rays warm and golden, touched everything. The room was filled with floating wooden platforms, each overflowing with a variety of vegetation.
Tobin gaped in awe at the room around him. A hovering platform near his elbow held a delicate plant, intricately leaved with small purple berries nestled in clumps underneath. The berries had iridescently glowing seeds. Tobin stared, mesmerized.
“What is all this?” he asked, in awe.
“This is the conservatory,” Vivian said, her fingers lightly trailing through some tall grass on a platform that hovered near her knees. “I keep clippings of all the plants I find from the different places I’ve travelled to. Then I cultivate them in my little garden here. Most of these plants have useful magical and medicinal properties. And some of them are just pretty.”
“It’s beautiful,” Darcie said, smiling up at her old friend.
They followed Vivian up a rope ladder which ran through the centre of the conservatory, and arrived at the next floor. A series of rooms radiated out from a large, comfortable sitting room.
“Tobin you can take the room with the red door, and Darcie you can have the room with the blue door,” Vivian instructed.
Not needing further invitation, Darcie and Tobin retired to their respective rooms.
Tobin soaked in the large porcelain tub for hours. Vivian had provided them each with a HotSpot spell, so that the bath water never cooled. It felt wonderful to soak away the many long days on the road. All the weariness, and pent up tension from being trapped in the manor house, their recent escape from the ogre, and two weeks sleeping on the hard ground outside, seemed to ebb away with the bathwater.
When Tobin finally emerged from the tub, he found a new set of clothing waiting for him on the end of the bed. He quickly pulled on the soft blue tunic, and brown breeches, and went to wait for Darcie in the common sitting room.
In no time at all, she emerged from the behind the blue door, also in a new tunic and breeches. Her wet hair hung loose around her shoulders, creating wet splotches on her new cream tunic.
“That feels better, doesn’t it?” she said smiling.
Tobin nodded in agreement.
“Vivian lent me a Communication mirror so I could call my father. I’ve updated him on our search, and told him about the ogre. He’s issued questing permits to several of his knights, who have headed out to take down the ogre.”
“Hopefully they catch it. That thing was a terror,” Tobin replied.
“I was also thinking, we should probably avoid sleeping right now, and just make sure to go to bed early tonight, so we can be on the road, completely refreshed tomorrow morning.”
“That sounds good,” Tobin replied distantly.
“What’s wrong?” Darcie asked, sitting across from him in one of the plush armchairs.
“Well, doesn’t it all just seem a little convenient to you?” Tobin asked Darcie. “I mean, this house appears, just after we escaped the ogre, offering a friend from your past, and every possible comfort?”
Darcie broke into peals of silvery laughter. Tobin frowned in confusion.
“That’s how Bumberton works!” Darcie exclaimed, still smiling widely. “Vivian’s magic is based on need. Remember, I told you that before. Bumberton translocates to wherever there is need. The magic of the house obviously knew we needed a safe, comfortable place to stay,” she explained.
Tobin looked doubtful. “It just seems too easy.” he said finally.
“Well, I’m going down to the kitchen to make some tea and cut myself a slice of Vivian’s famous carrot cake. Nothing seems quite so bad when you have cake in front of you, and a warm mug in your hand,” Darcie replied.
Tobin pondered the truthfulness of that statement as he followed her downstairs.
Vivian’s carrot cake was every bit as good as Darcie had said. Tobin sat in the warm glow of the fire as he chewed happily. The smell of bergamot wafted up to him from the mug that sat on the table.
Darcie and Vivian carried the conversation. Tobin was happy to just sit and listen. Vivian listened sympathetically as Darcie detailed Celeste’s disappearance, and their efforts to find the source of the magical signal.
As Vivian cut them another piece of carrot cake, the conversation shifted to their childhood, and soon they were chuckling over shared jokes, and old pranks.
“I hope
you don’t mind all this reminiscing, Tobin,” Vivian said smiling, as she cleared away the plates.
“Not at all,” Tobin replied. “I find it very interesting. Actually, Darcie was mentioning another friend you two had before; I think the name was Vorn.”
Vivian’s smile disappeared, and she exchanged a quick glance with Darcie.
“I’m sorry,” Tobin apologized, sensing he had hit upon a sensitive subject.
“No, it’s fine, Tobin,” Vivian said quickly. “We just haven’t talked about Vorn in a very long time. Maybe we should.”
Darcie sighed, and then nodded, resignedly.
“Vorn, Vivian and I, all grew up together, at the castle,” she started. “We were all born within a few weeks of each other. All of our lessons were together; we always played together. It was always the three of us. Vorn was exceptionally clever,” she paused as she gathered her thoughts. “He was always the ringleader in our little trio, making up most of the games we played. But as we got older, he seemed to grow more and more preoccupied with magic. He would study magic for hours, sometimes even forgetting to eat meals, or sleep. We started to see less and less of him. Then, when he was sixteen, he got into an awful argument with his father, Maven Jackton, who was a magician at the castle. Those two were always disagreeing about one thing or another, but this was different. Vorn was so angry, and they both said horrible things to each other. Nobody really knew exactly what the argument was about, Maven Jackton, would never speak about it, but the morning after the argument, Vorn was gone from the castle. We never saw him again.”
“Where did he go?” Tobin asked. “You must have searched for him.”
“Of course! We wanted to go out and look for him right away, but Maven Jackton wouldn’t hear of it. I think he knew that Vorn had chosen to leave, and that he didn’t want to be found. Maven Jackton died only a few years later, during a magical experiment that went horribly wrong. As far as I know, he never reconciled with Vorn.”
A little sadness seeped into the room as old memories were silently revisited. After a few minutes, Vivian left Darcie and Tobin to entertain themselves. They passed the next few hours playing card games, as Vivian finished some chores around Bumberton.
“Nonsense, you’re guests!” she replied, when they offered to help.
After a light dinner of fresh baked bread, cheese, and a light salad, they finished the evening with cups of tea, reading quietly in Vivian’s comfortable lounge downstairs.
Darcie was quiet again that evening when they parted ways in the sitting room. Tobin couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard muffled sobs coming from behind the blue door.
The next morning a thick fog hung in the air, accompanied by a bone-aching chill. As Tobin came down the back staircase carrying both his and Darcie’s rucksacks, Vivian was pulling two thick cloaks out of an old chest of drawers.
“These will keep you warm,” she said handing them to Tobin.
“And these will keep you happy,” she added, pulling out a brown wrapped package, and handing them to Darcie who took the package, and held it to her nose.
“Muffins!” she said happily.
Vivian had stayed up late to make muffins for the two of them. She obviously knew her friend very well. They both hugged Vivian, and Tobin thanked her for the kind hospitality.
“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Vivian called, as they turned to wave goodbye at the bottom of the stairs.
With the aid of Darcie’s compass, they found their way back to the road. They turned to look back at Bumberton, and Vivian but the clearing where the odd house had sat was empty. Bumberton had already moved on to the next place it was needed.
“It left so quickly!” Tobin exclaimed surprised.
“Obviously, Bumberton knows it fulfilled its purpose,” Darcie replied.
“What do you think that was?” Tobin asked.
“I think it knew we needed a place to stay, after our adventure with the ogre. Also, I think it knew we needed a friend,” Darcie said.
The early morning fog turned into a light, misting rain in the late morning. Tobin huddled further into the hood of his cloak, in an attempt to find warmth. It became harder to walk as the road turned to a sloppy muck. Tobin’s boots and cloak were soon spattered with mud, and the damp chill in the air seemed to penetrate through to his bones.
In the late afternoon the rain began coming down in a deluge. They hurried under trees and outcroppings, until Darcie called out to Tobin that she had found something. He ran over to where she was knelt down, beside a naturally formed small cave in a rocky overhang. They crawled toward the back of the cave, and Tobin was surprised to find it quite spacious, but most importantly, it was dry.
Darcie fiddled with her leather case, and Tobin could hear the clinking of bottles. In the dim light from the entrance of the cave, Tobin saw Darcie hold one of the vials from her case up to the light. She shook the sparkling purple liquid, nodded in satisfaction and unstoppered the vial. Purple smoke issued forth, blanketing the cave in a heavy fog.
When it cleared, there were dozens of candles bobbing merrily in midair, all around the cave. Tobin blinked in surprise.
After a few seconds, Tobin noticed the candles were behaving oddly. They would gutter wildly, then snuff out completely, only to re-light themselves again, shining merrily, as though they’d done nothing of the sort. Darcie frowned in irritation.
“Stop that,” she said crossly, and the little flames bobbed to attention at once. There were enough candles that the small cave quickly warmed up. Darcie unwrapped some of the muffins Vivian had baked, and heated them over the small flames of the quivering candles so that the insides were deliciously gooey with melted chocolate.
Tobin was still eating when Darcie took out the small figurine of the bear from the bag of artefacts. She turned it over in her hands, her fingers probing the delicately carved surface.
“This reminds me of something,” she murmured, holding the figurine up to the light. I know what this does... I’ve seen it before! I just can’t remember. It’s sitting just at the edge of my memory, and if I push too hard, it vanishes again. It’s so frustrating!”
Tobin swallowed a bite of chocolate chip muffin.
“Maybe don’t push so hard then,” he replied. “Let the memory float up, and sit there for a while. It’s like not looking directly at something. You just catch a glimpse of it every now and then, and then suddenly you realise you know exactly what it looks like, without ever looking right at it.”
Darcie stared at him. The flickering candlelight made her gaze even more intense. “That’s a really interesting way of thinking about it,” she said.
He grinned, pleased to be of help. “Are there any more muffins?” She tossed him another muffin from her rucksack.
“So I was wondering,” Tobin said, as he happily chewed his second chocolate chip muffin. “Did Maven Elvira take over the position of Principal Magician when Celeste disappeared?”
Darcie looked at him strangely. “Maven Elvira has been the Principal Magician for nine years,” she replied.
“If Celeste is the most talented, and powerful magician, why isn’t she the Principal Magician?” Tobin asked.
Darcie smiled, surprised at the question. “My grandmother would have been an awful Principal Magician!” she exclaimed. “Just because someone is a talented magician, doesn’t mean they can fill an administrative role like ‘Principal.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize,” Tobin replied.
“Celeste is completely brilliant, but when she gets an idea into her head it completely consumes her. She has a lot of passion, and ingenuity, and she’s a wonderful person, but she’s not terribly practical,” Darcie explained.
“Well, I look forward to getting to know her, when we find her,” Tobin said.
Darcie smiled. “Thank you,” she said, “By the way, you have chocolate all over your face,” she grinned wickedly.
Shortly, they fell asleep listening to th
e sounds of the heavy rain, while the bouncing candles cast cheerful shadows on the wall.
The next morning was bright and sunny, as though the rain had washed the forest clean. Droplets glinted on the trees in the morning rays of sunlight, and the forest glistened and sparkled with the scintillating light.
Because the road had already begun to dry, they made good time finding their way back onto the path. Midmorning, they stopped near a small stream to clean their mud spattered boots and cloaks, repacking their rucksacks with the cloaks at the bottom.
Darcie found a beautiful, flower clad meadow where they could eat lunch. It was filled with strange flowers, and vines that Tobin had never seen before, rousing his curiosity. After he had finished eating he jumped to his feet to explore.
“Careful,” Darcie warned. “Some of these plants have strange properties.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Tobin scoffed.
On the far side of the clearing Tobin found a massive blue flower. Almost as large as his head, it had a strangely intoxicating perfume. There was some sort of liquid sitting on the soft blue petals. Tobin reached out to touch the blue liquid.
“Wait!” Darcie cried out from behind him.
Too late.
The thick, syrupy blue substance was seeping out of the large flower and onto Tobin’s hand. Frantically, he tried to rub it off. It kept climbing up his arm, spreading rapidly across his chest, and down his legs. Soon his entire body was encased in the gooey blue substance, which then began to harden. Darcie was rooting through her bag of artefacts, trying to find something that would help.
“Hurry!” Tobin urged frantically. His speech was distorted because he could barely move his mouth. Tobin made a desperate attempt to move his leg, and to his surprise and relief, his leg flexed. Fracture lines began to snake across the hardened surface of the blue substance. Encouraged, Tobin began to flex his arms, and hopped awkwardly around, trying to move his legs in a graceless, shuffle dance. Great flakes of the blue substance were coming off. Finally, Tobin was able to move enough so that he could rip the hardened chunks of the blue substance off his arms and chest.
Darcie had stopped her search and in evident amusement, watched Tobin caper about like a madman.
Tobin was feeling elated, until he ripped a sizable chunk of the hardened substance off of his arm, to discover that the skin underneath was the same royal blue colour as the gooey substance had been.
“I’m blue!” he whispered, horrified. “Darcie! I’m blue!”
“So I see,” she replied, a strange look coming over her face.
“Are you... laughing?!” Tobin demanded, outraged.
She was. No longer bothering to try and hide it, she threw her head back and laughed uproariously for several minutes, her cheeks red, and her hair coming loose from her dark braid.
Tobin waited impatiently for her to stop.
Still chuckling sporadically, she finally wiped tears from her eyes.
“Have you quite finished?” Tobin asked, irritably.
Darcie turned away. “As long as I don’t have to look at you, I’ll be fine!” she hiccoughed. “In any event, you won’t be blue for too long. I think I’ve found something that will help,” she said, pulling a thin silver rod out of the rucksack filled with artefacts. “This is a Disenchanter,” she told Tobin. “It should undo most enchantments.”
She passed the rod over Tobin’s head, and he felt a shiver, followed by a strange tugging sensation. The air in front of him seemed to ripple and suddenly, his arm was no longer blue. A faint glittering residue hung in the air.
Tobin breathed deeply in relief. “No more blue?” he asked Darcie.
She smiled impishly. “No more blue. And I think we need a new rule. You are no longer allowed to touch anything!”