I can’t concentrate on classes the next day. My mind is whirring through all the things that have to go right in order to get to the scanner. I can’t imagine how Briareth, Folas, and Adamar feel right now. If I’m not even on the team and yet I’m feeling this anxious, how would I feel if I was involved? Then again, I might be feeling more anxious than them because I can’t help out more than I already have. If I chewed my nails as a nervous tic, I’m sure they would be nubs by now.
Seconds crawl by on the clocks in the classrooms. The seconds change to minutes, and then– ever so slowly –they evolve into hours. Eventually lunchtime comes around and we are all reunited. Briareth and Folas haven’t told us exactly what they are going to do yet, but now would be a good time. We have decided to eat outside behind Master Cellica’s greenhouse so as not to be disturbed. Adamar brings up the question we’re all thinking first.
“So what are you two going to do?”
“What do you mean?” Folas asks.
“What is the plan for tonight?” Adamar restates. “What sort of distraction, when do you want to start, what is your excuse, what are you going to do?”
“Oh, we're going to start some time after supper.” Briareth says. “After we finish our food, someone goes to grab all the bracelets from Adamar’s, Faladel’s, and my dorm. Then I cause a fight, set all the horses free, that sort of stuff. Basically I’ll cause as much chaos as possible.
“During that time Folas can get up to the paths, and across them while the teachers take me up to the HeadMaster for punishment. Adamar will sneak in bug form onto the platform, and then jump off and go find Folas. Or he could be, like, in Folas’s pocket from the beginning. But we might need someone in the know if the teachers take me to someone else instead of the HeadMaster for disciplinary action.”
“I’d prefer to be in Folas’s pocket, we need to get in and out of there as soon as possible, I don’t want to waste time finding him.” Adamar decides, and takes a sip of his tea.
“What’s the excuse that you came up with?” Valkallyn asks.
“We wanted to find the kitchens!” Folas says excitedly. “It’s one that we’ve tried before, but with the new information the HeadMaster gave us recently, we can say that we think it is somewhere in the Masters’ Tower! If the Masters ask, I’ll claim that Briareth decided to help me out for old times sake, even though he wouldn’t be around to reap the benefits of such a momentous discovery!”
“What new information?” I ask.
“Oh, you must have missed it at the meeting. The HeadMaster said that the kitchens were located in a place that a student ‘couldn’t go’, so it has to be either on top of the walls, in the Masters’ Tower, or in the HeadMasters Tower. On the walls the smoke of cooking things would be seen, but the towers are too high to get a good look. Also anyone can go to the HeadMaster’s Tower, they just have to misbehave, and that is easy enough. So voila! It has to be the Masters’ Tower.”
“How did you figure all this out?” I ask. Surprisingly it is Valkallyn who answers.
“Isn’t it obvious? They spend way too much time thinking about food, and how to get more of it. I swear if the kitchens were accessible by students, then these two would be the fattest on campus.”
“That’s mean!” Briareth protests. “I know a couple students who would give us a run for our money at least.”
“Really?” Valkallyn challenges. “Name them then.”
“I don’t want to point any fingers.” Briareth mumbles. Valkallyn giggles, but changes the subject instead of pressing her advantage.
We spend the rest of the lunch hour like that, laughing, eating, planning out this evening's run. Adamar tries to draw the path that Folas will have to take to get to the scanner, but fails miserably. He says he’ll be able to guide him there tonight though. I sure hope that’s the case. As everybody laughs at his drawing skills I watch him sip his tea silently and stare at his ‘drawing’. His eyebrows are furrowed as he studies it. I guess I’m not the only one worried about what will happen tonight.
When the bell rings to go inside for classes we say goodbye and hurry to our next ones. More time passes, and I can’t concentrate any better on my classes. My concentration doesn’t seem to get worse either though, so I suppose that’s a good thing.
I dutifully take notes on what the Masters say, try to seem like I’m paying attention, answer the questions they ask me, and write down the homework. I hope they don’t notice my inattention. If they do, they might realize that something has changed, which could lead to uncomfortable questions.
Eventually, all the evening’s classes are finished. We meet up at supper and immediately after we get our dinner, head outside so we won’t be disturbed. We head over to the moat instead of Master Cellica’s greenhouse this time. Once we find a spot far from the very few picnickers, Adamar drops his plate off and heads back inside to grab the begonia bracelets from his dormitory.
“Faladel?” Briareth says, munching on a donut.
“Hmm?” I respond.
“I was wondering if you could be the coordinator for the ruckus, telling Folas when the distraction is in full swing and all. That is the last piece we need for this puzzle to work out, and I believe you can fill it. You wouldn’t have to do much.” Briareth continues hurriedly. “Just stand back, watch the chaos, and tell Folas when to go-”
“It’s okay Briareth.” I tell him. “I’ll do it. No need to try and convince me.”
“Excellent!” Briareth looks pleased, and I smile.
We watch the sunset through the forest’s branches as we wait for Adamar to get back with the begonia bracelets. I try to calm myself. It isn’t that big of a job, but I want to do it perfectly. I want everything to be perfect on this mission so we can find the animals, save Myrddin, and enjoy the rest of our stay here. If I’m honest with myself, I also might want to prove to myself that I’m not just some idiot prince who others can use to get themselves heard in court, who repeats other’s ideas instead of stating his own.
Ever since I got here, I feel like that is what many people have seen me as. Only a few have acted on it, but I’m sure the rest are thinking it. They look at me and see a pathway to power, for them, for their families, for their friends. Well, except for Adamar, Folas, and Valkallyn- it’s nice to have some people I can trust. But three students out of a whole school isn’t much. And I don’t want to be the person the rest of the school probably sees me as. I don’t ever want to be the sort of prince who sacrifices his ideas and ideals for a pack of sycophants.
Soon enough, Adamar arrives back with the bracelets, we put them on and then it is time to go. We check to make sure that the bracelets work, and then we each split up into our different ways. Adamar towards our room after passing a small device to Folas, Briareth out to the middle of the field, me out to one side, and Folas sprinting in the direction of the nearest door to the inside of the wall.
Briareth waits for five minutes so that Folas can get into position before starting his distraction. When the five minutes end, pure chaos breaks loose.
----------------------------------------
Folas
I hear Faladel’s voice come through my bracelet, it’s a little scratchy, but still recognisable.
“Time to get going Folas! Most of the Masters are down here. Good luck!” I scramble out from my position in an abandoned classroom near the stairs and start to run. I jog up the stairs, push open the trapdoor, and gulp a breath of the humid night air. I run to the nearest floating path. Everything depends on Adamar and I. I can’t let a little fear of heights slow me down at a time like this. I jog on the path and can hear my footsteps pounding on the fragile stone. I am eerily aware of the fact that nothing is physically supporting what I am standing on.
I grimace and try to banish such thoughts from my mind. I concentrate on my breathing, in, out, in, out. No time for deep breaths. Hurried gasps will work just as well. My heart pounds in my chest. A quick thud, thud, thud. Sped up, but still rhythmic. Like my footsteps. I don’t dare take my eyes off the path for fear that my feet will lead me astray off the edge. I would never survive a fall from this height. I shouldn’t look over the edge to see how small people are, I really shouldn’t. I wish this thing had protective rails.
Suddenly from below I hear a massive Boom! I shoot a quick glance down and watch as a fireball blooms beneath my feet. The colors unfold like a flower blossoming at fifty times the speed, but still much slower than I’d expect fire to be. First I see a single blue streak of flame, which quickly pours out into a small white circle, with a blue hearth. Then it transforms further, the white expanding into an larger orange ring, then a huge red one. Then the ‘flower’ withers out, and another is born near it, starting again from the blue fronds of flame. It’s so cool I have to resist the urge to stop and watch it. If only I wasn’t using this as my distraction, then I could also be distracted by the light show.
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The arrival of the first bits of hot air from the flames quickly forces me to make up for the short amount of time that I had been gaping at the fireballs. I had forgotten that hot air rises, so the scalding blasts quickly drive me to the end of the bridge. As the main blast arrives, I lunge the last couple of feet into the Masters’ Tower and feel a blistering pain engulf my body. I land on my belly with a massive Ooof! The cold stone floor feels wonderful beneath my heated skin, and I roll over and over across the floor to get rid of the excess heat faster.
I relax for a moment, but then am distracted by a squirming in my pocket. Darn it, I had forgotten that I was in enemy territory on a mission. Probably due to the relief I felt at being out of the sweltering outside air. What a rookie move. Getting up, I let Adamar’s bug out of my pocket. It just stands there for a bit. I stare at it confused. I don’t exactly know how this thing is supposed to work. Did I accidentally squish it when I was rolling around and break something important? But it had wiggled in my pocket… I bend down and whisper to it “What do I do now?” Shortly afterwards, to my great relief, Adamar responds through the begonia bracelet.
“It’s hard keeping my mind in two places at the same time, Folas. Just be patient for a bit.”
I wait, letting my breathing settle and my skin cool down the rest of the way, watching the bug. It isn’t a very big bug. In fact it’s the tiny sort of bug that people often miss. It’s about the size of a small spider, black, plain, certainly not shiny, and has six legs. Basically it’s the type of bug that people know is a bug, but have no clue what type. After I study it for thirty seconds, the bug starts to wiggle again, and Adamar’s voice comes through the bracelet.
“Okay, I think I have this down. I’m going to start moving now. This little guy is fast, so please try to keep up. I don’t want to have to go back for you.”
“I’ll do my best!” I promise. Then we start off, the bug scuttling along at a ridiculous pace, leaving me jogging trying to keep up. Never once does Adamar have to back track. Frankly I was expecting a lot worse because of the wonky drawing he had tried to make earlier today to show us our path. I guess his mapping skills are a lot better in his head than they are on dirt or paper. I mean, didn’t he say the walls in here move? And he still knows where we’re going?
I can’t keep track of time as we travel, so I have no clue how much time we have left. Endless corridors turn in my head to a stream of grey blurs as I pass them. I can’t keep up this pace much longer. I wonder worriedly if the Masters already know we are here. If they do, there isn’t much we can do about it, can we? As if sensing my nervousness, Adamar’s bug speeds up a little and we take another turn.
Right, left, left, right again, then another right, and a left. Is it possible that the Masters have somehow trapped us in an endless loop and are just waiting for us to get tired out? That makes more sense than Adamar being able to perfectly navigate this maze of walls. If the Master’s are watching us though, I’m determined to give them a good show. After glancing at Adamar’s bug to make sure it’s not watching, I stick my tongue out at the ceiling and any potential watchers. I’m not giving up that easily suckers!
I stumble and almost fall from shock as Adamar’s voice emits from the bracelet. Instead of asking me what exactly I think I’m doing he simply says, “We’re here.” I quickly halt and backtrack to where the bug is sitting in front of a room with no doors.
“So we weren’t in an endless loop after all.” I say.
“What?” Adamar asks.
“Nothing. It’s nice that we don’t have to pick a lock or something.” I blather, embarrassed. “Now let’s get started on finding that scanner.”
“Eh… I already know which one it is.” The bug scuttles into the room, and over into a corner. I follow it and it leads me to a strange machine. It has a screen that is black with lots of little white dots, a ton of levers, some cords, some buttons, a couple of dials, a lens, and two big black handles. Nearby is a map of the forest, a map of the school, and a separate map of the tower. They seem designed to be compared to the black screen with all the white dots.
The screen itself is strange. It is around face height, and is at a diagonal angle. It is supported by a tower that seems attached to the table where a 3-D replica of the entire forest is. There are more dials and buttons on the side of the table. I have no clue how to work this thing. I hope Adamar does, or there is an instruction manual for dummies or something around here. Or we might just have come all this way for nothing.
“Adamar,” I whisper to him. “What do I do?” I might be imagining things but I think the bug gives me a look.
“Give me a boost and I might be able to tell you. I can’t see anything from down here.” replies Adamar.
“Okay.” I say hesitantly. I cautiously pick up the bug. It’s spindly metal legs feel weird on my hand. I don’t like the sensation, it kinda gives me the creeps actually, so I put the bug on my shoulder instead. “Now what?” I ask.
“Could you please put me on the scanner? I can’t read what the buttons say from here.”
“You know, you could have just asked me to put you there in the first place.” I mention while moving him.
“Well, when I was down there I didn’t know the buttons had labels.” Adamar responds. I can imagine that his supercilious voice is coming out of the bug quite easily. The bug scuttles around on the scanner for a bit. He goes over to the glowing dots, which, now that I take a closer look, I notice are moving around. Then he scrambles down and looks at the maps, and the little 3-D miniature of the forest.
“How does this work do you think?” I ask.
“Magic.” Adamar says, I can imagine his completely straight face underneath the bugs camera ‘eyes’ and chuckle.
“Good one Adamar, but what I meant was how does all this add up to figuring out life forces?”
“If I had to guess.” Adamar pauses for dramatics, “More magic.”
I grin, “I might have been asking for that, but could you guess at the details?”
“No. I have no clue either. But I think I’ve figured out how to operate it.” The bug scuttles back up to the glowing dots area. “You noticed the maps off to the side, yes?”
“Mmn-hmn.”
“Well they are probably for comparison to this glowing dot area so that you can tell where the life signs are. We will probably need to use those unless you have memorized a map of the school at this size.”
“Okay. But how do I make it the school instead of the forest?”
“That probably has to do with the 3-D model down there.” Adamar says through the bracelet, his bug pointing with one of its fore-legs. “Because the lens there– no, the one to the left of that one – is connected to this arm which is attached to the scanner here, I’d say try turning one of the dials down here.” He scurries his bug to the bottom row of dials. I stare at all them confused.
“Can you tell me which ones to turn?”
“Nope, sorry. The labels are in some sort of code. I don’t think we have the time to crack it right now.”
“Hah! I knew I was right, Ma! Sometimes it is better just to try something instead of figuring it all out first!.” I mutter to myself and turn one of the dials at random.
“Hmm?” Adamar says through my bracelet.
“Oh, nothing.” I reply, a bit embarrassed. Suddenly the 3-D model of the forest zooms in. It startles me and I yelp, quickly turning the knob back to the original. “Not what we wanted.” I comment aloud. I think Adamar is chuckling over the begonia, but it comes through as a strange crackling sound. I hope his bug’s eyes don’t catch my cheeks flush.
“You should try to remember how to get it back to this form so that no one knows we were here after we leave. That is assuming we don’t get caught here of course. If we do get caught just press a lot of random buttons before they manage to pull you away from it okay? That way the Masters won’t know what we are looking for.”
“Alright.” I say. That makes sense. Come to think of it, most of Adamar’s ideas make sense. I wonder how he does that. I twist another dial at random, and the entire forest speeds southward off screen. I guess that wasn’t the right thing to do. I turn it back, then twist the next dial, this makes the forest go east. I reset it and try to think of what to do.
“How about you push a button next?” Adamar says. His bug is just lounging on the top of the scanner now. It looks so lazy that I feel the urge to flick it, just to see it’s reaction. But I don’t, because that would be stupid.
“Which one? There are eight.”
“The far left one.” Adamar says confidently. I press the button. Nothing happens. I press the next one. The forest changes to a swamp. I press it again to turn it back, and nothing happens. I try again, still nothing. I frown. The bug, though, seems to be smiling at me.
“Try pressing the first button again.” Adamar says. I oblige, and the forest comes back. I press the third button, and see a coniferous forest covered in snow. The fourth button shows a mountain spewing liquid fire and ash, the fifth a sandy beach, and the sixth one shows the school grounds. There are two more buttons, but I don’t have time to explore them. I still need to figure out how to operate the rest of this thing and find the missing animals.
I take a look at the glowing dots map, and rifle through the pile to find the more detailed map of the grounds. I compare them and start to mark places off in my head.
That group of lights is the girls dorm, that one is the boys, that one only has small dots and we want large and small animals together. Eventually I find a suspicious blob of lights and use the bottom dials to scroll inwards. As they separate I can clearly see a few larger ones and a lot of small ones.
“I think I’ve found it, Adamar!” The bug scuttles up the scanner and comes to look at my findings.
“That looks promising, we should certainly check it out. I think you have found it, but we can’t be sure yet. Are there any other suspicious areas?”
“Nope, this is the only one I could find!” I say confidently.
“Then this is probably it. Set the scanner back to the forest, hurry now, I think someone’s coming.”
I scramble to reset it. Then run out into the hallway, following Adamar’s bug. We scurry back the way we came, but something is wrong. There is a rising sense of dread in the air. The stone walls almost sound like they’re rumbling. Adamar seems to sense that something is wrong too, sending his bug scuttling faster and faster towards the exit.
Eventually my burning lungs give out. I halt my frantic dash in the middle of the hallway. “Stop. I need to catch my breath.” I gasp out to Adamar.
“We can’t stop! The tower seems to be-” Adamar’s voice cuts off as the walls around us move, speeding past me in a blurr, trapping Adamar’s bug and I, cornering us, so that we can’t escape. “-changing.” Adamar finishes quietly as the walls slow down and then grind to a halt, leaving only one open pathway.
As I start forward to go down it, a figure slowly appears. It is like the person is doing the opposite of dissolving. Tiny particles in the air are turning into little pieces of him, and then coming together to form a whole. I watch in horror as the figure flips back his newly materialized hood, revealing an all too familiar face. I know that behind me a bug is scrambling into a hole in the recently moved wall to disappear.
I tear off my begonia bracelet and eat it, wincing as the sour taste fills my mouth.
“Well, well, well,” Says Master Kolvar. “What do we have here?”