The Fourth World Page 8

  “I've heard tales of ruins buried in the desert, but no one has ever found anything.”

  They moved slowly and carefully, trying to find the walls. There were stones everywhere, which made moving around in the dark more challenging. Steven encouraged them to keep talking.

  “Are you listening to this?” Asked Theo, who’d heard a splash of water.

  There was no time for an answer; a wave invaded the place and they were dragged by the current, all of them trying not to drown. When the water calmed down, they saw a spot of light in the distance and swam to it. To their joy, it was the exit. They had the impression they were in a cave. They drank the water until they felt satisfied, and once outside, they found themselves in a quiet river with many trees around.

  “Where are we?” Asked Thomas.

  “It can only be the Oasis...” replied Habel, who was sure of where they were, but did not understand how they had gotten there. They swam to the bank and out of the river, then laid down on the grass.

  “Look!” Chad shouted, pointing to a large, old ship up the river.

  They got up, immediately prepared to flee or attack anything that came from inside, when Habel looked more intently and declared, “It's okay! It's him; it's Lorne! And there's Kyla!” Habel smiled and pointed to a woman with wings flying toward them.

  Kyla had black skin and long, curly, black hair; her eyes were as green as the river. She wore a red dress with long sleeves. The two friends hugged, and Habel introduced her to her companions.

  “I hope you guys didn’t get hurt on the trip, but it was the quickest path to bring you here.”

  “Did you do all that?” Thomas asked, not believing what he’d heard.

  “No!” She replied with a laugh. “I can’t do that kind of thing! Lorne did.”

  Kyla went to the ship and came back, paddling a boat. Steven and Thomas recalled the day they arrived at the lighthouse; it seemed so distant in the past, as if it had been many years before, or as if it were the memory of a dream.

  Habel nudged them, telling them to get into the boat.

  Upon arriving at the ship, a man came and received them with open arms. He was tall, had short, brown hair, a goatee, and deep brown eyes. He looked arrogant, wore a large, black coat, and underneath it, a rumpled, dirty shirt and black pants.

  “Habel, good to see you!”

  They hugged each other and then he turned to the rest of the group.

  “My name is Lorne. So, how did you end up here?” He demanded with a grin.

  “But she said...” Steven began but then hesitated, realizing the man was not being serious.

  “He's joking with you,” Kyla said, recognizing that the doctor was not in the mood for jokes. “Don’t believe everything he says. Habel, we got your message; we've been trying to find you for a long time. When we did, Lorne realized that you were on top of the ruins and thought making a shortcut would be a good idea.” Kyla added, “Good thing no one got hurt.” She could not contain a laugh; she was happy to see her old friend.

  “Kyla will accommodate you, and then we'll talk,” said Lorne.

  The ship was enormous, and it looked like they were alone because they saw no crew. Kyla showed them the cabins; each had a double bed and a wooden tub. There were clean clothes on the beds along with trays of bread, milk, and fruit.

  “I'll leave you guys alone; you can sleep if you want.” Kyla realized that Habel was the only one who seemed relaxed; the others seemed to be suspicious of everything. “Relax; we are friends.”

  Before they entered the room, Steven whispered to Habel, “Do you truly trust these people?”

  “Sure!”

  “I'm not here to lay down in a bed and relax; we don’t have time for this.”

  “I don’t know about you, but it's hard for me to think and act when I’m as starving and tired as I am. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll eat and clean myself up before doing anything else.” She entered the room and closed the door.

  The others did the same. Steven could not deny that he was hungry; so, he walked to the tray and finished all the food. Though his body wanted to rest, his mind would not stop. He didn’t know how much time they had. They couldn’t just stay there, but Habel was right; he felt exhausted and couldn’t be useful in that state. He stepped into the tub, telling himself that they still had time, and let the warm water take the pain from his body.

  Hours later, they were all gathered in Lorne's room. It was bigger than the others, and there was a large, rectangular, wooden table where they sat. Each one told part of the story; when they were finished, Lorne was stroking his beard.

  “And you?” Lorne turned to Chad, who opened his eyes wide. He had become accustomed to not being acknowledged. “What was your mission?”

  “Find the Grail Spear,” Chad replied promptly.

  Lorne frowned and continued. “Those two, the woman and the other one, they are going to Sermeria on their own, right? They are not with a sermerio?”

  “No,” Steven replied.

  “So, if that's what they want, why should I get involved?”

  “Because she will die!”

  “But that's what she wants, isn't it?”

  “Only because she thinks she's responsible for what's going on,” Steven snapped. “But she doesn’t want to die; I know she doesn’t want to!”

  “Or are you the one who doesn’t want her to die?”

  Steven felt the blood rise in his face as he remembered Justine's words. No matter what they say, no one wants to die, not even suicidal people; those even less, because what they truly crave is for someone to save them. The disease was well-advanced when she’d said that, and Steven always had the impression that she blamed him.

  He pushed that thought aside and asked Lorne, “Are you going to help us?”

  “Yes! But I'll need you to help me, as well.”

  No one was surprised by this remark. Habel had already told them that he would require something in return.

  “You must know that I have never sent any human back. I'm researching it, but I can’t promise anything.”

  “We know; anything is better than letting them take us.” Steven was losing his temper. “If you will not accompany us, can you at least take us to the place where the travelers stop to stock up?”

  Lorne stared at him for a moment. “I already said I will help. You're very anxious; you will not rescue anyone that way. I'll take you to the market; let's see if anyone has seen your friends.”

  “How can we be sure you're trustworthy?”

  As these words came out of Steven's mouth, Habel wanted to disappear. She respected Lorne, and Kyla was her friend. If she could, she would have kicked the doctor at that moment.

  “That's an excellent question, and the answer is simple: You have no way of knowing.” Lorne smiled and left the cabin.

  Habel cast a look of disdain at Steven, while thinking he was a very unpleasant fellow. Kyla left the cabin, and she followed. The silence was a little embarrassing; each one of them found an excuse to leave the room, until Steven and Thomas were alone.

  “I assumed you'd be more concerned about Richard and Hubert than a woman you hardly know,” Thomas said with his usual sarcastic smile.

  Steven didn’t answer. The pirate left, closing the door and leaving the doctor alone.

  A while later, Steven joined the others. They were all on the deck, watching the scenery as the ship slid into the calm waters. The trees were so tall and green. They could not believe a paradise like this was in the middle of a dreadful desert. Little by little, the trees were giving way into roads.

  “Here we are; I present to you: The market,” Lorne said.

  The market was in the middle of the palm trees. It was not as big as Steven had expected. It had no more than fifteen stalls, and there were only a few people passing through it.

  “There are two types of guards who circulate in the market; some are from the citizens of the Oasis and the others are sermerios. I urge y
ou to wear the capes I left for you. And try not to draw attention. Chad, you stay here.”

  The boy thanked him internally.

  The capes looked old and were dark like tree trunks. Habel hid her wings and even sort of looked like a human.

  “Aren’t we going, too?” Kyla asked Lorne.

  “No. If they get into trouble, I don't want to be there.”

  Steven shot him a bitter look.

  The wizard continued. “You're not the only one who wants to save somebody. I have my priorities.”

  As they left the ship, Steven turned to Thomas. “I expected you to stay behind, too.”

  “I prefer to know what I am dealing with.”

  Steven thought they would stand out with the capes, but once they were inside the market, he realized that many others wore similar clothing. Just as in Raban, there were beings of all kinds.

  “I think we'd better split up,” Steven suggested.

  “I'm going with Theo and Thomas to try to find something out about Richard and Hubert,” Habel said promptly, wanting to get away from Steven.

  “I'll see if Lácio and Virginia came by; we'll meet back here.”

  “Go in that direction; deep down, there is an area where travelers leave their animals. If they came on that huge bird, they must have stopped there,” Habel said.

  Steven hurried off, struggling not to run; he did not want to draw attention to himself. The market seemed to have everything, from food to magical artifacts. He reached the place Habel had showed him and saw an old man with pointed ears.

  Steven approached him. “Did a woman and a man appear here on a huge gray bird?”

  The man stared at him for a moment and grunted. “I want no more confusion from your race. Go away!”

  “Please, sir, it's important.”

  “I said, I don’t want to know!”

  It was then that Steven lifted his head and saw that everything inside the place was destroyed. It was a large place with different spaces to accommodate different animals. There was room for ordinary horses, winged horses, dragons, carriages, and so on. The part that was destroyed was for the dragons. The animals were restless, and the individuals who worked there were trying to calm them down.

  They must have passed through here, and if they made this mess, the sermerios must have seen it.

  Steven moved to the tents next to the place. Perhaps some merchant in a better mood could give him more details about what had happened there.

  Habel and the others went to a few stalls, asking for information, but the merchants were all busy with their clients and paid no attention to them.

  If I arrived here from the desert, starving... Habel thought. She glanced around and strode to a tent that sold food, canteens, and all the supplies needed for a trip. The other two followed.

  Habel took advantage of the fact that the merchant was without customers and bluntly described Richard and Hubert, choosing not to mention the sermerio, so as not to raise suspicion.

  The man seemed to remember of Hubert immediately. “Yes, I remember a fellow like that. He showed up here in a deplorable state. He had no money, not even for an apple. I felt bad for him, gave him an apple to eat, and he left.”

  “Was he alone?” Theo demanded.

  “Yes, I'm sure.”

  “And which way did he go? Did he mention to you where he was going?” Habel asked.

  “He asked me where the sermerios take the prisoners. I replied that they take them to the city. He demanded directions and ran away... I mean, he tried to run, but it looked like his foot was hurt.”

  “What city?” Inquired Thomas.

  “The Oasis has a city. Where do you think they live?” Habel replied, then thanked the merchant.

  “That is no problem; I have little to do here, and it's always good to help.” The man let out a friendly laugh and moved to greet a Raban, who was scowling for having to wait so long.

  When they returned to the meeting place, Steven was already pacing back and forth. Habel was the first to speak, revealing what they had learned.

  Steven did the same, but with less enthusiasm. He knew he was the only one who wanted to save Virginia. The others did not even know her, and Thomas had no intention of saving anyone.

  “Let's go back and tell Lorne,” Habel said.

  “No!” Steven replied, and they looked at him in surprise. “He is not interested in us. We'll only waste time if we go back to the ship. Let's go into town and...”

  “And...?” Interrupted Habel, already irritated. “What's your big plan? We get there, knock on the prison door, and plead, ‘Please, can I take my friends? Thanks.’ What is your problem?”

  “That man has his priorities, as he said, and I have mine...”

  “Clearly, yours is not saving your friend,” said Thomas, entering the conversation.

  Steven felt his face flush. The others said nothing else, and they walked towards the ship. He had no other choice; he followed them. He couldn't do anything alone.

  Chapter X - The Prison of the Oasis

  Once again, they were gathered in Lorne's cabin. Chad was there, too, listening intently, but as always, he didn’t contribute much to the conversation. For the first time since they met Lorne, he was in a serious mood.

  “Your friends—if they're still here—can only be in prison. Kyla, go with Habel to town; see if you can find this Hubert before he does something stupid.”

  They left promptly, and he continued. “I think we all want the same thing. I've been trying to find a way to break into that prison for a long time, but I needed more people. In fact, I expected to have more help than just four humans, but we will do our best with what we have.”

  Theo interrupted him by raising his hand tentatively. “I'm not a simple human.”

  Lorne looked at him curiously.

  “I still only have limited control over it, but maybe you can help with that... Zauber has experimented on me and... in short, I become a tiger when I'm nervous... scared... or in pain.”

  Lorne was intrigued. He pulled a dagger from inside his cloak. “I’m just going to make a small cut; I need to see this.”

  Theo was a little uncertain, but he let Lorne make a small cut on his forearm. Immediately, his eyes changed color, his ears became hairy and round, and the hand that was cut turned into a tiger’s paw with large claws. He returned to normal quickly without finishing the transformation.

  Lorne could not hide his surprise. “This can be useful...” He stood up and moved to a cabinet. When he opened it, they saw books upon books, but Lorne took none of them. The last shelf had scrolls; it was one of those he wanted.

  When he found what he needed, he opened it on the table. It was the blueprint of a building; it was drawn by hand and in some places, the ink had faded. “Here it is. This is the prison.” They noticed that Lorne had made notes on some parts. “Where there is an X, that is where the guards stand at night. I don’t know if the Sermerios will use special guards, since they are their prisoners; so, we will have to rely on this to avoid surprises.”

  “How did you get your hands on that?” Steven demanded.

  “Do you think I've been waiting here all this time for you to drop into my lap to help me? We need a strategy...”

  The door opened. Habel had a grin on her face and behind her was the reason—Hubert. He was dirty and bruised but did not seem to have any serious injuries.

  Steven stood up in surprise, as though he’d seen a ghost. He took a few steps toward his friend and hugged him. Even weak as he was, Hubert returned the hug with a faint smile.

  “Come in,” said Lorne.

  “We have limited time; so, I'll be straight with you, and then your friends can tell you what’s happening. But first, I need to know what happened to you.”

  Hubert collapsed on the chair next to Steven. Habel gave him a glass of water. He drank it in a single gulp and, with difficulty, said, “When I caught up with the sermerio, I could already see the treetops. He
was much faster, and I had no strength left... if I approached him any closer, he would see me, and I could not fight him...” Hubert took a deep breath and drank more water.

  “So, he did not see you?” Lorne asked.

  Hubert finished drinking the water, took another deep breath, and proceeded. “No. When I got here, the first thing I did was collapse in the river and drink water until I could not drink anymore. Then, I found the market, but I noticed that there were sermerios everywhere... I went to the food stand without being seen... then I went on my way to the city... my foot is bruised... I didn’t go very far...” Hubert looked like he would pass out at any moment. Lorne went over to him and shook his shoulders, and Hubert woke again.

  “Do you think your friend is still here?” Lorne asked.

  Hubert, drifting away again, did not answer. Lorne shook his shoulders once more, repeating the question, and Hubert woke up. “Yes! I was right behind him... I don’t think it’s been long enough for them to have taken him somewhere else.”

  Understanding that the conversation would not progress much further, Lorne said, “Kyla, take care of him.”

  She placed her hand on Hubert’s shoulders and led him out of the cabin. Habel went with them.

  Lorne said to the others, “You can rest; I need to think about how this will play out.”

  Everyone left but Steven. Lorne didn’t give him chance to speak before saying, “I don't need a sleepwalker. Go rest; we can only act at night and everyone has to be alert and fit.”

  “Virginia must have arrived before Hubert... what if she's not there?”

  Lorne lifted his head and stared at him. “If she's not there, you will settle for saving your friend and she will die. I will not go after her.”

  Steven felt as if this man could read his thoughts. Perhaps he understood what he felt better than himself, and that made him uneasy, so he nodded and left. He wanted to save her, and he felt guilty for thinking more about her than Richard.

  They slept, ate, and talked amongst themselves. Kyla showed them the armory, where there were all sorts of weapons: Throwing knives, daggers, swords, darts, and so on. They each trained with the bow. From time to time, they stopped to chat. Steven struggled to participate. He knew that isolating himself was not the best thing to do, but when they spoke, he did not listen. He could not let go of the sense that they were wasting time. Chad, on the other hand, was amused, and even participated in a dagger fight with Thomas.