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  “So what did you get from Lady Elain’s bedroom?” asked Jo.

  “Follow me upstairs,” said Arthur. They ascended the stairs and Arthur took Jo into the expansive wardrobe, and she saw what he had taken from it.

  “You took her personal wardrobe?” she asked.

  “That’s what she was spending the money on, the money that she got from selling the ale and whisky” said Arthur.

  “What did you get it for?” she asked.

  “I got it for you,” he said. Jo was speechless; she didn’t expect Arthur to do something like this.

  “Won’t the people in Proceur be annoyed?” she asked.

  “Actually, Magpie said it would be a good idea to get rid of them, since it would only make everyone angrier than they already were,” he replied.

  “Thank you so much, I never expected this. But this still doesn’t mean that I fully trust you,” she said.

  “If you say so, you get acquainted with your new present, and I’m going downstairs to write a report for your father,” said Arthur.

  “Where are we going to next?” she asked.

  “I found this in the house,” said Arthur. Jo took the piece of paper that Arthur had, and she began to read it aloud. “’Commander Elsius to oversee conversion in Starfall Academy’,” she read.

  “So, were going to Starfall Academy for the rich and intelligent to find out what’s going on,” said Arthur.

  “OK, that sounds like it’s going to be another chapter in our already strange adventure,” said Jo.

  The ship flew off to Gard, leaving the City of Proceur peaceful once again, and all of its inhabitants grateful for the timely intervention of Sir Arthur Pageon and Princess Josephine.

  Starfall Academy

  The ship flew around the edge of the Southern Mountains, and since it was getting dark, they saw the lights of Gard ahead. The city of Gard is known for its many fantastic buildings, and its even more fantastic mines. After settling on the mountains the settlers from Elowe began to mine. They prospered much more because they could settle above while the people of Elowe had Evermore above them. The city grew fast and is known to have the greatest army, and the greatest wealth of all the cities. It is currently ruled by Lord Yage, who has plenty of women, though only had the one wife. Lady Sylvia divorced him when Yage threw a bottle at her, which missed but it didn’t matter as the damage was done. Sylvia left for Seraphale Island and has begun to build her castle which she has named Alectrona Castle. Taking her nineteen daughters and a third of Lord Yage’s fortune, she and her next fifty descendants will be wealthy no matter what.

  The main landmarks of Gard are the palace, which is incredibly huge and beneath it is the treasure vault, and Starfall Academy. However the academy doesn’t really belong to Gard as it sits above the city, nestled between the thunder scarred peaks. It silently stares down to the city below while its purple bricks are illuminated every night by the many lights of the city. It is an academy for the very rich and the very intelligent, two things that rarely go hand in hand. The academy has been very quiet lately, darkened windows and silence all around the valley.

  No trees grow there and it is the site of a much older town that was demolished for the building of the academy. It was known as Dark City and was home to some rather odd people that disappeared overnight and the next day the whole place was empty. Not much evidence was left for the few people that went there looking for an explanation aside from the lack of personal items suggesting a mass exodus, but a mass exodus from what?

  “What’s your plan then? How are we supposed to get into the academy?” asked Jo.

  “I don’t know to be honest, this one’s going to be tough,” said Arthur. The ship landed on the far left side of the valley, and it sat, about half a mile from the academy, but about 20 feet from the cliff edge that descended down to Gard.

  “We need to think of something,” said Jo.

  “I think I’m going to do what I always do in these situations,” said Arthur.

  “Go on,” she said.“

  I’m going for a walk on my own, that way I can think of something to do and it’s not because of you since I think better on my own,” he said.

  “Okay, I’m going to look through Lady Elain’s wardrobe,” she said.

  “I’ll see you later,” he replied, and walked off outside.

  It was very warm, since they were in the south in midsummer, and Arthur walked over to the newly repaired banister then jumped over to the ground. It was very rocky but Arthur was experienced at climbing, so he ambled across the landscape to a large rocky outcrop that rose up out of the ground, and gave him a good view of the academy.

  After walking for about twenty minutes, he reached the base of the rock, and looked up. One side was illuminated by the bright lights of Gard, and he swore that he saw a girl at the top. After rubbing his eyes and thinking that he must be dreaming he began to climb. The stone had lots of places to climb, and he found it quite enjoyable to reach the summit. After a while climbing, he reached a small plateau, and a warm breeze blew over it. He then saw the girl, who was sitting on a rock, quite pleasantly.

  “Good evening,” he said.

  “Good evening,” she replied.

  “How did you get up here?” he asked.

  “I flew,” she replied, walking out of the shadows so that Arthur could see her better. She had long light brown hair and wore a simple blue dress with a big white bow on the front.

  “Oh, and do you plan on flying back Miss?” he asked.

  “Archie; it’s nice to meet you, Sir Arthur,” she replied.

  “Are you a witch?” he asked.

  “I’m not holding a broomstick you know, anyway I have a present for you and Princess Josephine” she said, holding out a blue box with a white bow on it.

  “Oh, is this a bomb?” he asked.

  “Is it ticking?” she asked.

  “No, it’s sloshing,” he replied.

  “Have you ever heard of nitro-glycerine? It’s a liquid explosive and shaking it could blow your head off,” she said, without a note of concern on her face.

  “On the bright side if it goes, we both go,” he replied.

  “I think I’m gonna like you, Arthur. My full name is Archaelia D’Angelo Mysterioso but call me Archie,” she said.

  “That’s a guy’s name, though I suppose it’s short for Archaelia” he said.

  “Look, I just wanted to give you this and now I have to go, unobtainable, unreachable and unnecessarily enigmatic. We’ll meet again and you’ll probably want to know more,” she said, stepping away from Arthur.

  “I barely know you, and I have problems enough with that stuck up strawberry field’s bimbo down there,” he said.

  “That’s no way to talk about your partner, besides I guess she doesn’t talk about you the same way to other people,” she said.

  “If you would have been watching the previous couple of weeks you would have seen how much of a pretentious do-nothing condescending…” but Archie put her hand on his shoulder and he suddenly felt funny. He felt as though all his anger was a red cloud and was slowly changing to blue cool waters.

  The girl then faded out of view right in front of Arthur. He felt like this was all a dream, and looked at the box quizzically. After shaking it up and down he heard the sound of water sloshing around inside a bottle. He slipped it into his jacket pocket and looked down for a way to get back to the ship.

  Arthur made his way back to the ship and he saw that it was still very dark. This was a special time in the Discoucian year, when the sun would not rise for three days. The whole world would be in darkness until the sun rose again though it was hard to tell when, since most of the clocks in Discoucia were based around the sun. “I was only gone for about an hour,” he thought to himself as he climbed back aboard the ship, but when he looked at his watch which was powered by a solar crystal, it had in fact been several hours. When he got back into the cabin Jo was fast asleep on the settee.
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  Arthur sat down at his desk and began to open the box. Jo awoke to the sound of Arthur sitting down, and she walked over to him sleepily. “Where were you? It’s been ages, but it’s a little hard to tell since it’s Tridark Time again,” she said.

  “I was looking around from above at the academy and I could see no lights, and I met a witch up there,” he said.

  “Oh, you did, did you? Is that the reason you took so long?” she asked.

  “I think so, she gave me this,” said Arthur, unravelling the bow.

  He opened the box, and inside was a small blue bottle and a piece of paper. Jo took the bottle and studied it, while Arthur read the note. “I got this idea from Alice in Wonderland though I’ve changed it a bit to suit the situation, but it will help you get into the academy without sticking out too badly. Drink one teaspoon of the liquid but don’t waste it, and when you’re finished take another teaspoon and you shall be back to normal, A’.”

  “So this is the gift from your witch, and what do we do?” asked Jo.

  “I think she could be the real deal, because I never mentioned anything about what were going to do, and she disappeared into thin air. Also when you asked me if I had met a god before, I have,” said Arthur.

  “I knew it, and was this witch the same person?” she asked.

  “She looked similar, though she was accompanied by a young girl the first time and had longer hair,” he explained.

  “And we should trust her for no reason, right? It could be poison,” she said.

  “Why would she want to poison me? Look I’ll take it first and that way if it is poison you can tell your father and he can catch her for murder, deal?” asked Arthur.

  “I wouldn’t ask this of anyone, not even Lilia, but if you’re willing to risk your life for this” she said, and handed Arthur a teaspoon from the side. Arthur poured the liquid carefully out and put the bottle back on the desk. He drank the bright blue drink and it tasted like sweet fruits and was so nice that he wanted more, but knew he couldn’t.

  After a couple of seconds Arthur looked at Jo, who looked at him astonished, and he saw that she had begun to grow taller.

  “Arthur, you’re, you’re, cute,” she said.

  “Huh what are you talking about, when did you get taller?” he asked, looking around.

  Jo then confirmed the obvious. “I’m not taller, you’re shorter,” she replied.

  Arthur walked over to a mirror and saw that he had become younger, about 100 years younger. His clothes were too big for him, and he pulled his trousers up, which made Jo laugh.

  “This is perfect, you drink it and we’ll be kids again and we can fit into the academy like the other students!” he said.

  “Hmm, the chance to be young again for a couple of days, try and stop me,” she said, picking up the teaspoon.

  “Wait a second, I think I should get changed first, and then I’ll get my sisters old dress from when she was 100, and you can wear that. It’s probably the only thing that will not be too big for you anyway,” he said.

  “Go on then, but be quick, I can’t wait,” she replied.

  Arthur carefully made his way upstairs, and after about five minutes came down again in a smaller version of his blue ensemble carrying the purple dress for Jo.

  “Now go outside,” she said.

  “Whatever you say” he said and walked outside, and had to reach up to the door handle which was higher than before. As Arthur walked out he was met by Corky.

  “Hello lad, are you from the academy?” he asked.

  “Guess again, Cornelius,” replied Arthur in a deadpan sarcastic tone.

  “Well I’ve seen some strange things while I’ve been your driver but this beats them all, what have you done now?” he asked.

  “Well, since were infiltrating Starfall Academy we needed to be kids, and a witch gave me the means to do that. Absurd, I know, but there you go,” he said.

  “Ok, is Princess Josephine a child too?” he asked.

  “Yes, she is,” said a much younger Jo, who walked out of the cabin and stood next to Arthur. Jo was wearing the purple dress that Lilia used to have, and it fitted her perfectly.

  “You two do whatever this is and I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.

  “That’s three days away and I trust your going to one of the pubs in Gard?” he said.

  “Obviously,” replied Corky.

  “In that case, I’ll fly the ship away if anything happens,” said Arthur.

  “See you later, little sir” replied Corky, who set off down the path to the streets of Gard.

  “What a pleasant fellow he is,” said Arthur

  Discoucian Horror Story

  Arthur and Jo began to walk towards Starfall Academy. “What do you know of the academy?” asked Jo.

  “Nothing much, it was built about fifty years ago and has been a secretive place ever since. But all the students that attend come out as geniuses at the end of their education so they must be doing something right,” said Arthur.

  “Don’t you think that this is all a bit surreal? I mean, were kids again and that’s great but when you really look at it, it’s a little strange,” said Jo.

  “Yes I agree with what you’re saying, but if we question everything that goes on it loses some of its magic don’t you think?” he asked.

  “I suppose so, how does it feel to you?” she asked.

  “Since I know everything I did when I was older, it feels weird being a kid and an adult at the same time,” he said.

  They were getting closer to the school and they saw that it had a porch surrounding the whole bottom floor, and the roof of the porch was held up by purple brick columns that shone in the reflected light of Gard. Behind the porch were the dark windows that had no light at all and looked out at the two walkers like cold, empty eyes.

  “This place looks a bit evil don’t you think?” asked Jo.

  “Yes but thankfully were both sensible adults that won’t be put off by mere appearances,” replied Arthur.

  “Are we?” she asked.

  “Yes, yes we are,” he replied, and they carried on walking to the building. When they reached the front door, Jo was about to knock, but Arthur stopped her.

  “We’re trying to sneak in,” he said.

  “Oh, so we go in round the back?” she asked.

  They walked along the porch and past the windows. Arthur put his hand to the window and tried to see in but it was all black inside. “Either the room is empty, or there are tinted windows,” said Arthur.

  “And if they are tinted windows, then you may have just peered in on a class full of kids and not known it,” she replied.

  “Yes, you’re quite right, and if you are in fact right then we’re through the looking glass here,” he said.

  “Thanks for the cheery conversation,” she said.

  They continued along the porch until they were out of the light and it began to become pitch black, now that they had lost the light of Gard. “Here’s a door, but how do we get in?” asked Jo.

  “It’s probably locked,” said Arthur.

  “I can’t think of a reason why it would be unlocked,” said Jo. The door then creaked ominously open, and inside was as dark as outside.

  “You first,” said Jo.

  “Why me? I thought it was ladies first,” said Arthur.

  “That’s only in safe situations now get in there boy,” she said.

  “Yes girl, if you insist,” he replied, and was about to walk in.

  “You know this just proves my point that,” but she couldn’t finish as Arthur pulled her into the corridor.

  It was warmer in the corridor, but that made it no less eerie. Arthur looked around, but didn’t want to turn a torch on for fear of alerting someone. He walked along the dark corridor, and heard a click! It was only Jo closing the door behind her. Arthur put his finger to his lips in a gesture to be quiet. Jo nodded in the gloom, and she tiptoed along the floor to join Arthur. From what they could see
the corridor was small, and there were multiple doors on either side. Arthur tried a door handle and it was stuck. The whole building was quiet; however there was a sound, a very quiet sound, and Arthur put his head to the ground to listen. Jo walked straight into him and fell on top, and instead of shouting, she began to hear the sound as well. It was a humming, and it seemed to be coming from below the floor. They got up, and carried on down the stuffy corridor. There was no light coming from anywhere, and the whole place was an overload of creepy.

  After walking slowly along the corridor they felt that they had entered a larger room, since it was cooler in here. Arthur’s eyes were beginning to get adjusted to the gloom, and he could make out a staircase, and that he was standing on a carpet. The windows let in no light, and it was pitch black all around, for Jo at least. She was beginning to get a seed of fear, and it was starting to grow. Arthur looked over, and thought he saw something moving at the top of the staircase. It was so dark that he couldn’t be sure, as he couldn’t hear anything. In the dark all his other senses were sharpened, but the humming was the only constant sound he could hear.

  Jo had now become more frightened, and she grabbed Arthur’s hand. Though she didn’t remember his hand being so knobbly, and she squeezed it.

  “Arthur,” she whispered, but she didn’t get the reply she wanted. She felt something hiss on her face and ran blindly into the open. “ARTHUR!!!” she shouted, and the silence was broken by an ear-splitting gunshot, and the shattering of glass. Light poured in from outside, and for a second Jo saw what she had taken the hand of. It was a short creature with black eyes and long arms, and at the first sign of light it ran up the stairs. “Arthur, come here!” she shouted. Arthur walked over and she grabbed him and didn’t let go.

  “Come on, it’s gone now,” said Arthur.

  “Let’s get out of here” she said.

  “Yes, but were coming back, and next time we’ll be better equipped” he said. Arthur jumped out of the window, and was surprised about how much more energy he had, and Jo followed who was just as surprised. They ran back to the ship, and as they did, two glowing yellow eyes watched them from an upper window.