Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi (6 page)

6

Musterion

This portal experience wasn’t anything like the first one. Myles wondered if it was like right before being born. Everything was dark and quiet except for a sound like rushing water. Suddenly a light raced toward him, growing brighter as it advanced. He felt as if he were rapidly being pushed to the top of the tunnel.

The brick floor rose quickly to meet him. The roof of the tunnel closed in from above. Myles fell to the rising floor and then he could only conclude that he was
pressed through
the ceiling and out into a new space. When he crashed through into the new space, he gasped for air. That’s when he realized that he was also covered in some kind of slime.

“Omar! You here? Oh! …man, I uh…I don’t feel so hot. The air…it’s so…it’s so harsh.”

Omar's voice answered, also choked as if he couldn't breathe. “This slime is utterly relentless. It’s all over my eyes ... I can’t see.”

“Yeah, same here, Doc.” Myles managed to clear the goop from his eyes first, and as his vision started to come into focus, he looked over toward Omar. “Dear God, Omar, is that you?”

Still clearing his eyes, Omar stood up and fumbled around. “What is it, Myles? Is there another spider?”

“Omar, is that you?” Myles tone sounded serious and definitely afraid.

Omar quickly finished clearing his eyes and looked down at himself.

What in the world just happened?
His skin was now a grayish color. He stared at his arms. “What’s this?”

“Oh Doc, that’s not even the beginning of it. Look behind you.”

Omar looked over his shoulder and saw a large, grey, skin-covered wing. Not believing what he saw, he looked over his other shoulder to see a matching wing on the other side.

Myles’ face turned pale as he stared over at Omar. “Are you feeling all right, Doc?”

Omar could feel the anxiety rising within him so he grabbed a mirror from his bag and began studying the changes that had occurred to his body. He was still the same size as before, and his hair was still black. His facial features were about the same except a little more angular than before, but now he had pointed ears. His eyes were no longer brown; they were now a grey color that matched his skin.

After studying his new form for a minute, he looked over at Myles and smiled as he observed, “You know, it’s really fascinating, and I think I quite like it.” Omar arched his back a little and stretched out his new wings. “I wonder if I can fly with these things.”

Myles shook his head in disbelief. “All I can say is, better you than me. I wouldn’t have thought it was so cool.”

Omar flapped his new wings and began to lift off the floor. Omar laughed with delight. “You know what? I think I’ll manage to cope.” He was not a scientist at the moment. He was more like a kid who had just received a new toy and was having a
lot
of fun playing with it.

Myles pulled up the sleeve of his trail coat to see what had been causing the tingling sensation on his arm for the last several minutes. Myles showed Omar a faint tattoo of an eight-digit number on the top of his forearm. “That wasn’t there before we stepped into that portal. I don’t know where we are now, Doc, but it definitely looks like we’re still not back home.”

Omar looked down at his own forearm, Sure enough, he saw that he had a tattoo, a different eight-digit number. “Supernatural, indeed.”

Omar wanted a video of his new form. He began digging through his bags while Myles started to explore their surroundings. The brick was a grey color, he observed, and they seemed to be in some kind of room again. An open doorway gave way to what looked like a hallway. Myles wandered the room and then went down the hallway, where he found a square opening in the floor big enough for him to drop through.

Myles dropped to his knees and looked down about a hundred feet to where he could see what looked like a town square. Brick and wood buildings surrounded a water fountain. Tunnels led in every direction from the outskirts of the square. He could also see many creatures of different shapes and sizes walking through the square. Myles stared through the hole in amazement. He couldn’t believe his eyes. For a moment he just knelt there, watching the activity. Some of the creatures looked outlandish. Myles finally caught his breath and called out, “Doc, you’ve got to come see this!”

Omar wrestled to get a shirt on over his wings so he didn’t hear him at first. He’d cut holes in the back of the shirt but the wings were longer than his arms so he couldn’t even get his wings through the slits.

Myles walked back into the room and laughed at his dilemma. Omar chuckled too. “This is going to take some getting used to.

“Just hold still for a second, because it’ll be easier for me to get it on than for you. Besides, I’m good with puzzles, remember?” Omar gave up trying and let him take the shirt. Myles studied the problem for a second and then slipped the shirt over the wings first and pulled the shirt down over his head while Omar stretched his arms through the sleeves.

When Myles told Omar about the city he could see through the hole, they rushed down the hall. Omar stared at the scene in wonder and finally said, “Natives!”

“Yeah,” answered Myles, “and I doubt we speak their language, Doc. Those are some strange-looking creatures down there.”

“Ah, but I do have a cure for that in my bag. It is my auto-audio translator. It’ll bridge any gap of communication we may have. All you have to do is carry a nickel-sized device in your pocket, and it’ll let you hear them in your language while it lets them hear you in their language.”

“You’re amazing, Doc. You have a gadget for everything. Okay, fork it over.”

Omar ran back to his bike and pulled it out of the bag. “Now Myles, before rushing in this time, let’s observe them for a while and then discuss what we’ll do. I think we need to develop a plan first. Don’t think because you can talk to them that you should.”

Myles shrugged his shoulders. “All right, Doc, I’m game.”

They hunched over the hole and didn't speak for some time. Finally Omar observed, “There seems to be some kind of social organization by species. How many different kinds there are down there, do you think?”

Silence ensued again. Myles presently said, “I got eleven.”

Omar shook his head. “Twelve.”

“No way, Doc. I only see eleven.”

“What about the cats?”

“Okay, Dr. Doolittle, I admit I wasn’t counting animals.”

“Well, neither was I. But back home cats don’t walk on their hind legs while conversing with other creatures.”

Myles took another look. “You got me there, Doc. How did I miss that? Not to mention that those aren't just kitty sweaters they're wearing.”

“There are two more major things to consider, Myles. First, did you notice that there are no humans down there? And second, did you see there are other grey-skinned creatures with wings down there that look like I do?”

Myles nodded. “Yeah. That I saw. It looks like you’ll fit right in, Doc. On the other hand, I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Exactly!”

“Do you have a gadget in your bag-o-tricks that’ll fix that?”

“Actually, I do have one that bends light to project whatever image you want. But it runs on sunlight.”

“There’s no sunlight here, so I guess I’ll have to let you do the talking.”

“That sounds like a good idea, Myles.”

“It’s a nice invention though. If you have a spare, I’ll buy one when we get out of here. That could be a handy tool in my line of work.”

“You wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

“Try me, Doc. I might surprise you. I’ve gambled my way into a small fortune.”

Omar's heart pounded. It was all he could do to keep from shouting.
Myles is a gambler!
The
gambler? The one Misaki talked about? I’ve come just like Misaki asked, and I’ve brought the gambler. I guess that proves we’re not here by accident.
He swallowed hard and kept himself from blurting that out for now. “My 'gadget' would cost you 1.5 million dollars.”

“Will rubies and diamonds do? I’ve got them on me right now.”

“Myles, are you serious?”

“Yes! I’m serious.”

“You must be one accomplished gambler.”

“Oh, believe me, I am. And I’m a great con artist too.”

“Shame on you, Myles, Honestly, you’re going to get yourself killed someday!” Omar was glad he hadn't reminded Myles about Misaki's request.
The man boosts his own ego enough already. How could he be the one Misaki wanted me to bring?

“I about did already. I wonder what rare gems go for in these parts.”

“Rare gems, huh? Now don’t get us in to any trouble, Myles.”

“Me? Never.”

“I’m serious. I’m not a criminal. I don’t need that kind of trouble.”

“All right, Doc, all right, you got a deal. We’ve gotten each other this far, so there’s no reason to make you mad now.”

Omar was not quite sure that he believed Myles, but apparently he was an important part of this, so his word would have to do for now.
Why did Misaki want me to bring a gambler?
“Now let’s get on to the task at hand.”

Myles was not used to all this talking. He was the kind of man to act first and ask questions later. He felt that life was just so much more fun that way. But Omar wasn’t half bad for being a nerd. Yeah, he’d told others before that he’d change and not get into trouble, but this time he really wanted to. The truth was that almost getting caught on that last con was just too close for comfort, and he needed to make a clean start.

“Myles, are you listening to me?” Omar shouted.

“Sorry, Doc. I zoned out there for a minute.”

“Where did I lose you?”

“At the beginning.”

Omar rolled his eyes and sighed. “Look, this is important. We can’t just jump into this feet first.”

“Omar, come on, we’ve been watching these critters for a long time. And what have we learned? Nothing, as far as I can see.”

“Myles, I’ve learned a lot.”

“Doc, you’ve just been watching and talking the whole time.”

“You have much to learn about science, my friend.”

“All right then, hit me with what you’ve got.”

Omar handed Myles his binoculars. “The café is the place that seems to have the largest diversity of creatures. Are you there?”

“I’m looking straight at it so what am I supposed to see?”

“Look at the table on the far right side of the patio.”

“Are you talking about that freaky, vampire-looking guy? Let’s see, jet black hair, skin as white as a sheet, fangs hanging out of his mouth, and sinister eyes that glow a putrid green. Now that guy is creepy! Whoa! He has shadows coming off him like smoke too!”

“You have a good eye, Myles, but you missed three things.”

Myles wasn’t used to being told that his observation skills were weak. He glowered at Omar, but the scientist wasn't finished.

“Take another look. Science notices small details and you’re looking at the larger things. Now, tell me this—what’s he eating, what’s he drinking, and what do you see under his fingernails?”

Myles pushed the zoom button on the high-tech binoculars. “Let’s see, he’s eating…oh, that’s awful! He’s eating some kind of raw meat. And what’s that he’s drinking…is that blood? I don’t know for sure about what’s in the cup, but I bet that dark brown stuff under those claw-like fingernails is dried blood. Wow! That guy is like a creature out of a horror movie!”

Omar started to chuckle at Myles' assessment. “He does have a menacing look about him, doesn’t he? And if you notice the movements of all the other creatures, they steer clear of him, which he doesn’t seem to mind at all. The reason I pointed him out, however, is because of the creature on the opposite side of the patio. Take a look.”

Myles swung the binoculars over to the other side and started to laugh. “Hey Doc, it’s a purple man! Where are the purple people eaters?” He was amused by his joke, but he kept gazing at the two creatures sitting there. “Hey look, he’s sitting next to a creature with grey skin and wings. That guy looks like you, Doc! And the purple one has wings too!” He dropped the binoculars and turned to Omar. “Is that dude glowing?”

“Yes, he is, and the glow seems to change color with his facial expressions. When that horror movie creature with fangs sat down on the other side of the patio, he began to glare at him and gave off a red glow.”

“He’s like a walking mood ring, isn’t he?”

“Yes, exactly. Now look at all the grey-skinned creatures like me.”

Myles lifted the binoculars to his eyes again. “Well, Doc, most of them are wearing robes and carrying rolls of paper under their arms.”

“That’s parchment, and judging from their appearance, I’d say they’re scholars. Now Myles, what do all three of them have in common?”

“Hmm, let’s see... they have pointed ears, they have angular features, and they have wings just like you do.”

“Good job, Myles. You really do have excellent observation skills. These shared features mean that as far as species go, they are cousins sharing common ancestors.”

Myles realized it was like a poker game. He was looking for a “tell”, something that would give useful information. You could tell what kind of a poker player someone was before the game even started by the clothes they wore and the way they spoke. “You know what, Doc? This science stuff isn’t so bad.”

“It really can be fun, Myles. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Being the consummate scientist, Omar wrote in his journal:

We have observed three smaller species. I have named them based on their physical appearance.

1.
Coprinus comatus -
humanoids (all males have beards), who all wear a mushroom cap, have fur clothing, and stand about one foot in height.

2.
Anisoptera Compleo –
humanoids with bright hair and eyes, who eat frequently, have large wings like a dragonfly, and only stand about 3 inches in height.

3.
Darklings –
also humanoids, who stand about 3 inches in height, have jet black hair, and all wear dark clothing.

In addition, we observed seven other species which were larger and closer in size to an Earthly human. These descriptions are only our early conclusions based on watching them from a significant distance. Further information will be collected after we’ve approached them and hopefully interacted with them.