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“How? If we had the keys we could sneak in through the back door of the jail. It’s never guarded.”
“Key, eh?” Marlin reached into his robe and fumbled about briefly. Something in the back of his brain came up with information about the ‘universal key’ which he had read about in the files he was carrying. From his pocket he produced the ‘universal key’. “With this device I can open any lock.”
“Any lock?”
“Yes.”
"You must be a master thief then.”
“Master thief? Why, I’m the King!” Marlin laughed.
“You’d best not say that too loudly,” Athon cautioned. “It wasn’t always so , but the man who sits upon the throne in Stadule Castle is cruel. He does not take kindly to others referring to themselves as any sort of royalty.”
“I suppose I shouldn’t really be getting involved in all this , but I need to know more about the technology of your homeland.”
“Help me free my sister and we will tell you all we know.”
“Let’s go then.”
“Let me gather some things first,” said Athon.
Athon stuffed some objects into a knapsack and the two made their way to the rear of the jail.
Marlin pulled the ‘key’ from his pocket and pressed it against the lock in the door. With a tiny ‘click’ the door opened. The two men entered and the door swung shut and locked behind them.
They appeared to be alone. “The guards are either drinking, eating, or sleeping. With your device this should be easy.”
There were two corridors leading from the back door. One went north, the other to the east. “I’ve seen the special cell they keep female prisoners in,” Athon informed Marlin. “It’s down this corridor to the east.”
Off they went down the corridor until they came upon Kyra’s cell.
Kyra was lying on the cot staring up at the ceiling.
“Kyra,” Athon shout-whispered. Kyra looked over.
“Athon,” she replied a little too loudly. She rolled off the cot and approached the bars to her cell. “What are you doing here? And why have you involved this stranger?”
Marlin quickly interjected. “We’ve come to free you. Sorry about the last time we met...I was, uh, distracted.”
Kyra smiled wryly and took a deep breath. Marlin’s eyes bulged. “That’s alright. I have yet to meet a man who wasn’t ‘distracted’.”
“Let’s get you out of there.”
Marlin pressed the ‘key’ against the lock of the cell door. Nothing happened. Marlin shook the key and tried again. Again, nothing happened. Marlin violently slammed the key against the lock. There was the sound of metal on metal then the entire cell door melted. “That’s not what’s supposed to happen,” commented Marlin. “But it’ll do. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
From off in the distance the trio could hear the guards coming to investigate the noise.
The trio dashed down the corridor to the back door.
Marlin tried his key on the back door but it failed.
The sound of the guards got closer.
Marlin desperately tried the key again. It did not work.
Marlin shook the key furiously.
Kyra turned to Athon. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Athon replied.
The two turned and moved as one. They kicked the door right off its hinges.
“Remind me to stay on your good sides,” dropped from Marlin’s lips.
Brother and sister both laughed and grabbed one of Marlin’s hands and led him out into the night. They had slipped into the shadows behind one the houses just as the guards had made it to the back door of the jail.
Once they were safely in hiding Kyra turned to Marlin and said, “Thank you for your help. That’s quite the gizmo you have. I’m sorry , but I didn’t catch your name.”
“Marlin Clamor,” Marlin informed her. “And you’re welcome.”
“I made a bargain with Marlin,” Athon told Kyra. “If he helped me to free you I agreed that we would tell him all we know about the technology of our homeland.”
Kyra nodded. “Niraba isn’t safe for us anymore,” Kyra stated. “And that includes you Marlin. It won’t take the King’s men long to figure out that it was the stranger from the inn who helped us.”
“What will we do?” asked Athon.
“We should go to the Castle of Stadule and consult with Gromwyn,” came Kyra’s response. Athon agreed.
“Who’s ‘Gromwyn’? And how far is it to Castle Stool sample?” Marlin wanted to know.
“Stadule,” corrected Kyra. “We can make it there by morning if we leave now and don’t stop to rest along the way.”
“Walking?” Marlin asked without expecting a reply. “Don’t you people have cars or buses or airplanes or even horses?”
The siblings weren’t listening. They had already begun to sneak away in the shadows.
Marlin caught up with them at the edge of town. “Listen,” he said, “if the King is so hot to get rid of you two, why would you want to go closer to where he is?”
“Because we can hide easily right under the King’s nose with the help of our friend Gromwyn,” Athon explained.
The trio sprinted from the edge of Niraba into the forest.
Athon and Kyra led Marlin silently along a winding path through the forest. Marlin could not make out any trail they might be following.
They came to a clearing and Marlin said, “Could we stop for a while? All this walking is killing me. Besides, I’m still hungry. I never did end up getting anything to eat.”
The siblings hesitated.
Kyra checked the stars for the time. “It should be fairly safe here now. Most of the soldiers should be in Niraba by now.”
Athon broke out some of the gear from his backpack. “Take this and eat it,” he said to Marlin. He offered Marlin a strange tan bar the size and shape of a chocolate bar. This bar looked like it was made from pressed bamboo.
Marlin took the bar cautiously while asking, “Do I eat the whole thing or do I have to peel it? Any dangerous spiny quills I have to be aware of? You know the kind that inflicts instant death or terminal flatulence?”
“Nothing of the kind,” Athon assured him. Athon bit into his own bar. “This is a processed seaweed product. Very high in nutrients.”
Marlin gave a tentative bite to his bar. ‘Not bad,’ he thought as he began to chew more vigorously. Aloud he said between bites, “Who came up with these?”
It was Kyra who answered him, “It was developed by the people of our home island. We had been warned for awhile that our little island was sinking.”
“So,” Athon picked up the conversation while Kyra took a bite of her bar, “Our people spent a great amount of time developing machines and processes which would capitalize on the sea.”
“Why was the island sinking? And if your people knew the island was sinking, why didn’t they all leave?” Marlin had to know.
“The island was sinking because of the greed of the people. Especially the greed of the king. He proclaimed that all structures on the island were to be built of gold.” Kyra sneered.
Athon piped in, “The island couldn’t support the weight of all that gold so it started to slowly sink.”
Kyra continued, “The people finally realized something was majorly wrong when a favourite basilica slid into the sea. But by then it was too late.”
The three sat and ate silently for awhile.
Marlin broke the silence. “I don’t suppose that any of the tools your people used to repair and build their machines are still around?”
Athon shook his head. “The seaweed bar process is very simple. Not like that gizmo you have. Where did you get that?”
“The company I work for makes them,” Marlin said.
“They should make one that just unlocks doors instead of melting them,” Kyra offered.
“That’s what it’s supposed to do.”
“Oh,” sa
id Kyra plainly.
“Perhaps Gromwyn will be able to help you,” Athon said.
“We should get moving. It isn’t safe to stay still in these woods too long,” advised Kyra.
“Don’t tell me let me guess,” Marlin yammered, “There are bands of crazed undead zombies wandering about who are eager to have us join them?”
The siblings looked at Marlin, then at each other, then back at Marlin. “Oh no,” Athon said. “Just your typical bandits, thieves, wild animals, and assorted nocturnal carnivorous plants.”
“Oh good,” Marlin said aloud. Under his breath he murmured ‘I have to stop watching so many horror flicks.”
The band was on the road again. They trudged on for what felt to Marlin like hours. This gave him time to consider his situation. The way he had it figured, he was way off any case that he had been working on. Based on the technology he had glimpsed in the VibraTech files, he surmised that the world in which he now found himself was not part of the original bargain.
In reality it had actually been several hours of straight walking. Marlin could hardly move when they finally arrived at the walls of the Castle of Stadule.
They crept along the castle wall. Marlin had to settle for walking with his legs bowed like a cowboy’s because they were starting to give way.
Beneath a tarp, which had been painted the same colour as the wall, they found a crack large enough for them to squeeze through to the interior of the castle courtyard.
They made their way down the back alleys to a little brown door set deep in the stones of the building.
Athon wrapped rhythmically on the door.
“Moccachino,” Marlin thought he heard a voice behind the door say.
“Athon and Kyra,” Kyra said very close to the door.
The door swung wide to reveal an elderly gentleman with outstretched arms. “Children,” he beamed. He stopped when he saw Marlin.
“Who is this?” he wanted to know.
“Gromwyn, this is Marlin,” Athon introduced.
Gromwyn and Marlin shook hands.
“Nice medallion,” commented Gromwyn.
“It came with the robe,” Marlin flipped back.
“Then you’ve met the Tree of Pondish,” Gromwyn deduced.
“Yes, I do seem to recall a conversation with some foliage,” Marlin mused.
“We must talk then. Come,” he commanded.
He led them down a dimly lit, narrow passageway to another wooden door. Gromwyn passed his hands over several points on the door. It opened. They went inside.
The small room they entered was furnished sparsely. There was a bed pushed up against one corner. In another corner sat a small trunk. A wooden table sat in the centre of the room surrounded by four chairs. There was also another door.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Gromwyn invited them.
They each chose a chair around the table. Marlin dropped on the bed. “Nice hovel,” he commented as he closed his eyes.
“It serves its purpose for the time being,” Gromwyn said nonchalantly. “However time is growing short. We must get in to the castle proper in order to expose the false king.”
“False king?” Marlin opened his eyes and looked at Gromwyn.
Gromwyn looked back. “Yes. The man on the throne is not the real king. I am.”
“Sure, and I’m really Bruce Campbell.” Marlin closed his eyes again.
The three natives exchanged puzzled looks.
Marlin began to snore lightly.
The three friends stayed up awhile chatting. The siblings filled Gromwyn in on what had happened in Niraba. They also told him everything they knew about Marlin.
Marlin had no idea what time it was or exactly where he was when he awoke a few hours later. His eyes finally focused on Kyra.
“Did you sleep well?” She asked.
Marlin lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Yes,” he croaked. It all came back to him.
He tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed. They moved hesitantly. “I’m stiff,” he commented.
“Flatterer,” teased Kyra. “The washroom is through that door.” She said pointing to the door.
“No,” Marlin protested. “My legs...oh never mind.” He trotted off to use the facilities.
Gromwyn’s bathroom was crafted almost entirely out of hewn rock. It had a sink, a flush toilet, and a large shower stall. Someone had left fresh towels out for Marlin to use. He did.
While he showered he took time to think about his situation. He was relaxing under the warm spray of the shower when a completely different thinking pattern started to erupt. Images of a book being tossed through the air, a couple of bleeding bodies, and a man holding a gun flashed swiftly through Marlin’s mind. He tensed up then seemed to relax. “Why do I suddenly have the urge to call my mother?”
He returned to the first room refreshed and relaxed.
Gromwyn was placing a large tray filled with food on the table when Marlin came back from freshening up.
The four sat down at the table and began to eat.
“The citizen’s are growing restless,” Gromwyn commented as he sopped up some egg with his biscuit.
“What’s been going on?” asked Athon. He had been the next to fall under Morpheus’ control the night before.
“The false king has imposed a thing called taxes.”
“Taxes?”
“Yes, it means that part of however much money you make is taken by the government.”
“What does the government do with the money?”
“I can see that it could be useful for building roads and things like that. But I think it’s just a way for the fake king to line his pockets. He must be stopped.”
Marlin piped in. “If you’re the real king, then why don’t you just walk in and reclaim your throne?”
“It’s not that simple. I have no proof that I am the real king.”
“That’s why Gromwyn needs your help,” Kyra said.
“Authenticating kings isn’t exactly on my resume.”
“There is something I need you to get from the Tree of Pondish.”
“You know the Tree. Why don’t you go get it?”
“The Tree and I had a falling out.”
“Why haven’t you asked Athon or Kyra to run this errand before?”
“I wanted to see what the imposter was up to.”
“How’d the imposter manage to take your place?”
“I received word that the town of Carast in the middle of the desert had had its supplies destroyed by a dragon. I went secretly to see if this was true. No one here knew that I had left. The imposter took my place as soon as I had left.”
“How did the imposter know you were going to Carast if no one else did?”
“Good question. One for which I don’t have an answer.”
“Okay. What is it that you want from the Tree? And please tell me that you have some form of transportation. My walking has to be curtailed for a bit.”
“I have horses.”
Marlin thought back to the summers he had spent on his uncle’s ranch. “Horses I can do. Now, what do you need from the Tree?”
“The Key of Obisk.”
“You need a key, eh?”
“Yes, and...” Gromwyn stopped Marlin from pulling the ‘key’ out of his pocket. “I need one that won’t melt my kingdom.”
“Point taken. Alright, I’ll go get this Key of Obisk for you. When I return I expect you to try and help me get back home.”
“Fair enough , but Athon and Kyra will join you.”
Gromwyn lead them to the horses after packing them some food and liquids for their journey.
The three had a fairly uneventful ride to the Tree.
Marlin approached the tree and began singing.
“Oh cryptic tree, oh cryptic tree..” sang Marlin. “I need your help oh cryptic tree.”
The tree chuckled. “I see you’ve made some friends.”
Marlin indicated each sibling in t
urn. “That’s Athon. This is Kyra.”
“I know,” said the Tree. “I knew when they were born and where. Their homeland contains great treasure and knowledge. If only one could get there now.”
“I’ve come to ask for the Key of Obisk.”
“Certainly. Do you have anything to exchange for it?”
“Did you have something in mind?”
“I am partial to harps. Bring me the Harp of Harkening and the Key of Obisk is yours.”
“Who comes up with the names for these things? Harp of Harkening?”
“It is named for what it does. Does a light not bring luminance?”
“Sure but we don’t call light bulbs, “Orbs of Luminance”.”
“It is named that so that people don’t confuse it with other harps like the Harp of Harassment.”
“Harassment?” Marlin had to know.
“Nasty little stringed thing. It won’t stop playing. Or rather, whoever picks it up can’t stop playing it. Drives people crazy.”
“Okay.” Marlin turned to Athon and Kyra. “Any idea where we can find the Harp of Harkening?”
“We had that harp on our island. If only we could get down to where it sank.” Athon said.
“We could if we had a submarine.”
“A what?”
“A submarine. A vehicle which travels under water. Depending upon how deep the island has fallen, we could explore and retrieve artefacts from there.”
“Perhaps the shipbuilders in Port Tinnsley can assist you,” suggested the Tree.
“We know the way,” Kyra informed Marlin.
“Wonderful,” Marlin sighed as he mounted his horse. “At least I’m racking up those frequent rider miles.”
On the ride to Port Tinnsley Marlin asked, “Aren’t you two afraid of running into the false king’s soldiers?”
“Not really,” came Kyra’s reply. “Most of the people here on the main island know who we are. We have friends everywhere.”
“But people around here don’t know who you are,” Athon added. “When we reach Port Tinnsley you should try to make yourself unobtrusive.”
They arrived at Port Tinnsley and tethered their horses outside the market square.
Kyra and Athon left Marlin so that they could move freely through the crowd. Marlin stood against the wall of a building, trying to blend into the shadows.
“You there in the shadows. What’s your name?” A passerby wanted to know.
Marlin paused. His brain was telling him two names. He chose one at random. “Marlin.”
“Merlin? Hey, that rotten wizard is back! Get him!”
An angry mob gathered around Marlin in a semi-circle.
“You promised us miracle ballast.” Came a shout from the crowd.
“Yeah,” came another voice. “You said your magic miracle ballast would allow our ships to be as light as air.”
“Now wait,” Marlin pleads. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”
The mob advanced. They all seemed to be carrying rocks and weapons.
Marlin fidgeted with the ‘key’ in his pocket. He hid it in his palm and removed his hand from his pocket. ‘Since they aren’t listening I’d better play along. They want magic? I’ll give ‘em magic.’
“Stand back!” he shouted as he brought the hand concealing the ‘key’ down on the stone block beside him. Nothing happened.
“And we’ve seen nothing for over twenty years!” Came another angry shout.
“Stand back!” he shouted again. Again he tried to get the ‘key’ to affect the stone. Again nothing happened.
The mob began to throw stones at Marlin. He instinctively placed his hands to the side of his face and turned away.