Discoucia Page 10

  “Look, we are at the bridge,” said Archie.

  Much to Arthur’s amazement, they had reached the bridge. The Chasm was so large that Arthur’s eyes had trouble adjusting to it. The Bridge spanned halfway across, and in the light Arthur saw that the side that the bridge began from was dull, but the side they aimed for was twinkling and that was apparently the gems that they were aiming to mine.

  “So what did you want to show me?” asked Arthur, who spun around expecting to see the teddy bear. Instead it was the girl about the same age as him, wearing the same white and blue dress with light brown hair down to her waist. Her dress had a white bow around her waist, and there were two blue butterflies holding her hair out of her face. She seemed to be glowing in this shadowy netherworld and made Arthur feel safe.

  “Wha…who are you?” he asked.

  “It’s the same me, only this is my favourite form, and the reason you didn’t know that we had arrived here so fast is because of the trees. If you want to know why the people are disappearing, then the trees are where you need to start. I’ll see you in Chene when you have finished here,” said Archie, who faded out of view, and Arthur was left alone on the natural terrace.

  “Hey, whoever you are I’d get off that terrace, unless you want to get a sand bath!” shouted someone below. Arthur climbed up a rusted ladder to another terrace, and stood next to a group of workmen who pulled a large chain, and a mass of sand flowed out of a small hole beneath the platform, and out to where Arthur had been standing.

  “Wait, the person I was with is still down there somewhere,” he said.

  “Sir, we saw you standing there for about five minutes talking to yourself,” said one of the men.

  “Talking to myself?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes. Who are you anyway?” he asked.

  “Sir Arthur Pageon, I’m here to help with your missing person’s problem,” said Arthur.

  “I don’t know what you think you can do, but you should probably go and see the site manager, he’s in his office next to the bridge,” he said.

  “Thank you!” shouted Arthur, who walked up some stairs, and strolled across a large open corridor, and saw the vast expanse below. He made his way to the railway track, which was a double track, and a couple of mine carts were moving up and down.

  “Can I help you sir?” asked a man standing in a mine cart.

  “Yes, I’m here to see the manager, I’m on business from the King,” said Arthur.

  “I can take you to him, but he’s in a very bad mood at the moment, so you will have to be tactful,” he replied.

  “Very well, I’ll take my chances,” said Arthur. He climbed aboard, and they zoomed down the wooden lattice structure that supported both the tracks and across the flatland which was covered in stalagmites, some as large as the trees that grew between them.

  “So tell me what you know,” said Arthur.

  “Seventeen men have disappeared in the last two weeks, and they have all been on their own, they walk off and just disappear,” he explained.

  They came to a small building with a wooden painted sign saying ‘Office’. “Here you go, good luck sir,” he said, and the cart pulled off down the track towards the bridge. Arthur entered the office, and dodged a flying piece of metal.

  “I said knock when you want to enter!” shouted the manager from behind his desk.

  “Sorry about that, only when seventeen of your miners go disappearing then I see that as exceptional circumstances,” said Arthur.

  “Who the heck are you?” he asked, now slightly subdued.

  “Sir Arthur Pageon, representing the High King,” he said.

  “Well that’s all nice, but what do you think you’re going to do?” he asked.

  “What have you been doing to prevent it yourself?” asked Arthur, now leaning on the manager’s desk.

  “We’ve set traps for it, but we can never catch the damn thing,” he said.

  “What does it look like?” asked Arthur.

  “No idea, we’ve never actually seen it, but when men go over to the east dump, they never come back again,” he explained.

  “And what are you dumping?” asked Arthur.

  “Sand, bits of dead tree, rocks. Nothing that his majesty would consider illegal to dump,” he replied.

  “The bits of dead tree, are they from any tree in particular?” asked Arthur.

  “They’re from acacia trees, those trees won’t grow down here like the others do. I mean, birch trees and oak trees grow down here perfectly, but acacia is different,” he explained.

  “I’d like to take a trip to the east dump, you’ve blocked it off I hope?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes, it made sense. Now no one goes there but if you’re going, then I’ll go too, the men’s morale is low enough as it is” he said.

  They both left the office, and walked through the forest of stalagmites on a road that had been carved through. They reached the east dump, which had a wooden wall with a patchwork metal gate, and a yellow sign saying ‘Danger’ written on it.

  “You mix around the letters in that, you get ‘Garden’,” said Arthur.

  “Excuse me?” said the manager, who was fumbling with the lock.

  “Just trying to lighten the mood,” said Arthur, just as the manager opened the door.

  The east dump had a wall around most of it, but part of it backed onto a cliff, and over that cliff was The Dark Chasm River. They walked along the open space, and Arthur saw something move in the dark. “Did you see that?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes, but not clearly,” said the manager. They came a lot closer to the edge of the cliff, and heard the river flow invisibly past. Arthur threw a rock and they waited thirty seconds until they heard a splash.

  “There it is, it’s out there, in the dark,” said a very frightened manager.

  “Look, I can’t see anything,” said Arthur. Then the manager did something completely unexpected: he screamed, and ran for the gate, but then stopped, and ran for the river. Arthur tried to grab him, but he jumped so fast that nothing could stop him plummeting down into the darkness. Arthur drew his gun, and took out a device that he had been tinkering with, a portable torch. He clicked a button on its end and a spark illuminated the various crystals inside the tube, and a flash of light showed Arthur the Creature for what it really was. A miner, clothes ripped, frothing at the mouth and a wild look in this eyes, charged at Arthur, but was repelled by the light of the torch. Arthur ran for the gate, and the miner followed him. Arthur flashed the light again, and it recoiled, it ran towards the cliff edge. It lost its balance, and slid off, with a terrible holler as it plummeted down, to join the other seventeen men it had sent down there. Arthur looked around and picked up a root that was sticking out of a pile of sand. He tucked it into his pocket and walked off.

  Arthur reached the manager’s office, and a crowd of miners had gathered. “What happened to the chief?” asked one of them.

  “He fell. The creature was one of your lot and he had rabies, that’s why whenever you brought lights over there he attacked, and it seems that all of your men jumped over the edge of the cliff. Either out of terror or of being infected,” explained Arthur.

  “Is the creature gone now?” asked another.

  “He fell, into the river, and hopefully that’s the last of it, but do you have any idea who it could have been?” asked Arthur.

  “It could have been Langdon; he was always disappearing to explore caves after we’d finished work,” he said.

  “In that case, I’ll alert the King and you all stay together. I’d build a wall around the camp, just in case,” said Arthur.

  “Thanks, I suppose. Are we going to get overtime for this?” asked another miner.

  “That’s something you should bring up with your new manager. Is there anyone who can take me to the surface?” asked Arthur.

  “I can, we’ll use the new elevator,” he said.

  Arthur was slowly winched up to the surface, slightly dis
turbed after what he had seen down here in the dark, and wondering how someone could have caught rabies all the way down here; then he got his answer. He saw out of the elevator, much to the surprise of himself and the man with him, a wolf, running across the tracks, and being chased by a load of miners.

  “Don’t touch it!” shouted Arthur, but he heard the sound of gunshots and the miners killed the infected animal.

  “I suppose you’ll sleep better tonight,” said Arthur.

  “Yes, but I didn’t think we had wolves in Discoucia,” he said.

  “Only in Evermore’s zoo. I wonder if one escaped,” said Arthur, just as they reached the top of the shaft.

  Arthur left the underground, not wanting to go there alone again, and he made his way to the Azure Hall, to meet up with the King and to report to him about the infected animal.

  A Trip to Chene

  Arthur had missed Jo, not that he cared to admit it, and found it good to see her again. Unbeknownst to him she felt the same way, but she didn’t care to admit either.

  “So, how was your trip?” asked Jo.

  “I got attacked by a crazed rabies-infected miner and nearly died by falling into a chasm, but other than that it was fine. How was your trip?” asked Arthur.

  “I nearly got poisoned by Lady Josette, then I had to sit for three hours listening to her babble on about how she has such a better life with no men around.” she replied.

  “We have different ideas of what danger is, I suppose,” said Arthur.

  “So tell me about the wood you found,” she replied.

  “Well this is a root from an acacia tree, and I found that when it is cut, spores are released into the air, and they are hallucinogenic,” he explained.

  “So they’re a drug?” asked Jo.

  “In a sense yes, and since we’ve stopped cutting down acacia trees none of this would happen above ground. I would assume that the wind would blow the spores away before someone inhaled them, but deep underground there is a distinct lack of wind so the miners would breathe in the spores and see what they expected to see, a monster,” he replied.

  “That’s brilliant, if not rather creepy,” she replied.

  “Your father will make sure that all of the acacia trees that were planted down there are gone and hopefully this won’t happen again,” said Arthur.

  “That still doesn’t explain how a wolf managed to get all the way down to the Dark Chasm Bridge without anyone noticing,” said Jo.

  “Maybe it found a cave that we don’t know about, and it could have remained hidden for days, but I would like to know where it came from,” he said.

  “You don’t think it could have been your sister, do you?” asked Jo.

  “I sincerely hope not,” said Arthur.

  “But anyway, at least we’re on our way to Chene now, good old clean Chene full of bright lights and normal rich people who are so stuck up I’m surprised they’re not floating,” said Jo, rubbing Arthur’s back as he was laying his head on his desk.

  “I suppose so,” he said.

  “Good, then I’ll take you out for dinner at the Seven Wonders restaurant and we can talk about my idea for getting you into Harrha without your sister noticing,” she said.

  “OK, I’m good with that, but first I’m going outside as I’d rather like to see the sky and the land and feel the air,” he said.

  “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, and walked up the stairs while Arthur walked out onto the deck.

  He watched the dark shapes of mountains loom past, and the tiny lights of villages. He wondered to himself about what the lives of the people in those villages must be like, not having to worry about anything other than their own little problems, and he thought that he wanted a simple life like that, with a family of his own. An image of Jo popped into his head, and he tried to think of something else, then an image of children with curly platinum hair came into his head. He decided to do something that would take his mind off these thoughts, so he decided to go and see Corky on the bridge.

  Arthur climbed up a ladder that led up to the bridge, which was above Arthur’s bedroom, and had a simple wooden wheel to steer the ship. Corky was smoking a cigar, and was surprised to see Arthur.

  “Is everything okay sir?” he asked.

  “Not really Corky, I think I’m in love,” he said.

  “I know” he replied bluntly.

  “What do you mean you know?” asked Arthur.

  “I’d have to be blind, or blind drunk not to notice sir, I think you should go for it. After everything I’ve seen you need a woman,” he said.

  “I don’t need anyone, I did perfectly well on my own before,” said Arthur.

  “She’s buying you dinner in Chene, she wouldn’t stop asking questions about you all the way to and back from Adlin, and she’s already moved in so what more proof do you need?” asked Corky.

  “I suppose you’re right, but she’s a Princess of Discoucia,” he said.

  “And you’re a Sir of Discoucia, an honour you don’t inherit but get given after you’ve proved that you’re worthy of the title,” said Corky.

  “And considering that my father was a traitor and my sister one too, will the High King want Lilia as an in-law?” he asked.

  “Something tells me that things may turn out differently, but we’re nearly there and if it‘s OK with you, I’d like to get thoroughly hammered tonight since Adlin had no alcohol,” said Corky.

  “If that’s how you want to spend your time then go ahead, have fun and thanks,” he said, climbing back down to the sitting room. Unknown to him, Jo had heard every word through an open window, and she fell asleep straight away.

  The city of Chene was truly a wonderful and majestic sight to see, lying on a flat land that borders Icester, Evermore, Fina, Cesta, and the mountains that divide Discoucia from the lands of Obsatia, Kharoon, Karga, and The Echoing Mountains. In the day the city stands gleaming in the sunlight, and at night it can be seen from all the borders of the cities like a guiding light on a dark sea voyage.

  The ship landed on Chene’s massive Sky Port above the train station, and Arthur decided to go for a walk since there was no one around and the streets were so well lit that he felt quite safe after the horror he had previously experienced underground. He walked down Upper Heaven Street and made his way to the Garden of Eden, which was a park where all kinds of exotic flowers grew, and cool crystal clear water flowed from magnificent fountains.

  “Good evening Arthur,” said Archie, who was sitting on a park bench alone, and holding nothing. Arthur sat down next to her and didn’t reply. “How was the flight here?” she asked.

  “You said that you wanted to help me, first I meet you as a Teddy Bear in the underground, and you change into the witch I met above Starfall Academy,” said Arthur.

  “Aren’t we supposed to talk about something trivial before we get into the meaningful stuff?” she asked.

  “Are you a hallucination?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes and no,” she replied.

  “Very well, I’ll play your game. Tell me why you are not a hallucination,” he said. Archie didn’t speak, but instead she smacked Arthur on the back of the head.

  “Oh very good, If you were a hallucination I wouldn’t have felt that,” he replied.

  “Very good,” said Archie, who stood up and changed her size to 10ft tall, and walked over to a tree to get an apple, and then she returned to normal.

  “I see. Are you a magician?” he asked.

  “I was for a while, but then I became an author,” she replied.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” he said.

  “Go ahead,” replied Archie eating the apple.

  “This is probably the most surreal experience of my life,” he said.

  “In comparison to how your life was before, you will have to get used to these surreal moments,” said Archie.

  “Okay so if you are a god, then tell me about yourself and what you mean whe
n you say that you are an author?” he asked.

  “This is not a conversation that we should be having now; I don’t even know why I appeared to you this early, there must be something special about you,” she explained.

  “Thank you, but do you mean that we are going to meet again?” asked Arthur.

  “Of course I shall see you, Jo and um, never mind. Next time you need me, then I shall meet you again but just try to look surprised,” she replied.

  “Are you going? What am I going to do for the rest of the night?” he asked.

  “When you’re with me time distorts, so as you can see it’s morning now,” she replied.

  “That’s impossible,” said Arthur.

  “Well anyway before I go, I should probably tell you something else,” said Archie, who told something to Arthur before fading away.

  Sure enough, the sun rose behind the trees and Arthur was left alone in the park, holding the apple with a large bite out of it. “Hey Artie! There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” shouted Jo.

  “Oh, sorry I was just talking to someone but they’ve gone now. How did you sleep?” he asked.

  “Oh, I felt a bit lonely considering I couldn’t find you this morning,” she said.

  “Right, where do you want to go today then?” he asked. “I want to go swimming, and later on I would like to go to that fancy dress shop I saw on Miracle Boulevard,” she replied.

  “Oh you mean Madame Arrietta’s?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes, have you been before?” she asked.

  “Many times, and she knows me so we’ll get better service than anyone else,” he replied.

  “Good, then we can go out for dinner at the Seven Wonders,” she said.

  “Sounds brilliant, are we going swimming in the Paradise Hotel?” asked Arthur.

  “Yes but there’s something I have to do first, could you wait for me in the ship?” asked Jo.

  “If you insist. I’ll see you in a while,” he said, walking off around the corner of the street.

  Arthur had no intention of going back to the ship as he knew that Jo had been through his safe, so he decided to follow her. She walked along Upper Heaven Street and round the corner to the business district. She came to the big red brick building that extended up to the sky. This was the centre of agriculture and what Jo was doing in there was a mystery, so Arthur watched as she entered the building. “What is she doing?” asked Arthur to himself. He walked up to the window and saw that she entered a side room, but there was no one around for her to see.