Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker (5 page)

In the Toymaker's private office, the
tally recorder was now showing 349. The Doctor's hand hovered for a
moment over one of the counters, then made a move. The voice of the
Doctor called out with confidence. 'There. I'm only at 350 moves and
Dodo and Steven have found the TARDIS, I see.'

'That,' said the Toymaker, standing
behind him, 'remains to be seen.'

Steven and Dodo were moving across the
room a little cautiously. The room was only illuminated from the area
in which the TARDIS stood. 'Is it real?' asked Dodo hesitantly as
Steven reached the door.

' She's bright, that one,' commented
the Toymaker to the Doctor, as Steven nodded excitedly and pulled the
door open. The Doctor leant forward anxiously watching his two
companions.

Dodo and Steven rushed forward and
inside. 'It's not the TARDIS at all,' said Steven. 'Look!' Inside,
there was just the square outline of an empty police phone box.

'What's this?' he said. He bent down
and picked upa piece of paper off the floor. Dodo snatched it out of
his hand and started reading it.

'It appears to be a riddle,' she said.
'Listen: Four legs, no feet; of arms no lack; it carries no burden on
its back. Six deadly sisters, seven for choice, call
the servants without voice.' She looked at Steven in wonderment.
'What on earth does that mean?'

'It must be a clue of some kind,' said
Steven. 'And look, there's a way out at the other end.' The back of
the fake TARDIS swung open.

'Perhaps this is to tell us where the
real TARDIS is?' Steven shrugged. 'Or perhaps it's just another game.
Come on. Either way, we've got to find out.'

He stared to go through, but Dodo hung
back, then turned to look at the clowns. All she could see were two
small twisted clown figures, now the size of mere dolls. Shocked,
Dodo turned and ran quickly after Steven.

'Steven!' Dodo ran up to him
breathlessly. 'Those clowns, they've turned into dolls.' But Steven
waved his hand at her impatiently then motioned to a large door at
the back of the TARDIS.

'I think we'll find the next game
beyond this door,' said Steven.

'Are you sure of that?' queried Dodo.
Steven nodded and pointed. On the centre of the door was a panel
showing the Doctor's tally recorder. The top line read 1023 as
before, but the bottom line now read 415.

'That's the Doctor's move recorder for
his trilogic game,' said Steven. 'This must be where we go.'

The door was covered by a series of
bolts and locks which Steven commenced to undo. Dodo started to help
him. 'There,' said Steven as the last bolt was drawn, 'that should do
it.' He pushed. 'It won't open.'

'It must,' said Dodo. She threw her
body against the door. Then, as the door refused to give, she stepped
back impatiently. 'Oh, come on, Steven. It must pull to open. Let's
try.'

Both of them took hold of one of the
bolts and pulled. The door slowly creaked open. As the door opened, a
shaft of rich golden light fell across their faces and they moved
forward in wonderment.

They found themselves in a large
medieval throne room. Set around the walls were ornate tapestries
showing hunting scenes, intermingled with long heraldic banners in
rich shades of red, blue and gold. The room was thickly carpeted, and
facing them as they entered were four large throne-like chairs. Each
chair was different with fine carvings of interweaved flowers and
grotesque figures and heads. On each chair was a thick, red, plush
cushion. And, strangely, the chairs were numbered one to four.

Meanwhile in the Toymaker's study, the
Doctor, with only his hand visible, was continuing the game. His
voice sounded satisfied as he gave the familiar dry chuckle. 'Well,
well,' he said, 'I haven't made a mistake yet.'

The dark, tall form of the Toymaker
materialised beside him. 'Let us hope not, Doctor,' he said. 'I would
hate you to end up in my doll's house.' He turned and indicated the
Victorian doll's house. 'That is the fate I've reserved for your two
friends.'

'Oh, they'll win too,' said the Doctor
confidently. 'Don't underrate them. I choose my companions very
carefully.'

'Not carefully enough, I'm afraid. They
will lose one of the games and end up like the two clowns. We shall
be able to amuse ourselves for all of eternity if it suits me. Then,
the way I feel, my mood,' the Toymaker extended one of his hands and
looked at his long fingernails. 'My mood is going to be very
important to you.' He looked up at the scanner. 'Your friends have
reached the next test I see. They're in the throne room.'

This obviously started a train of
thought in the Doctor's sometimes imperfect memory. 'That game!' he
exclaimed. 'I might have known. Steven! Dodo!' he called out. 'Take
care! It's chair number -'

Abruptly, the Toymaker reached forward
and cut off the interconnecting sound. Then he turned back, his
normally self-satisfied expression becoming one of anger. 'You're
turning foolish in your old age, Doctor,' he said. 'Now I will be
forced to make you dumb as well as invisible. You cannot speak until
you reach the second last move of the trilogic game. Now, leave them
alone to play their game while you play yours.'

He changed the pitch of his voice
slightly to give a direction to the trilogic game. 'Go from move
number 442 - and no more tricks if you please.' The Doctor's hand
moved towards the board. The Toymaker's face settled down to its
usual slightly ironic mocking look and he moved over to his desk.
'Well,' he said thoughtfully, 'your friends managed to outwit my
clowns. I shall have to pick some more worthy opponents from now on.'

He pitched up a pack of playing cards
and spread them out on the desk. 'I think perhaps the Heart family.'
The Toymaker's long fingers probed among the cards and brought out
the King, Queen, and Jack of Hearts. 'They've had plenty of
experience in a great variety of games.

'And now Doctor,' he said sharply. 'I
must have a little chat with your friends.' The Toymaker slowly
dematerialised.

Dodo and Steven were wandering around
the throne room, examining the rich tapestries and banners and the
ornate carved chairs that adorned the room. 'You heard the Doctor's
voice,' said Dodo. 'I wonder what he was trying to warn us about?'

Steven turned towards the thrones.
'These chairs I imagine,' he said.

As he spoke, the Toymaker materialised
in front of him. 'I'm seriously annoyed with your friend,' the
Toymaker's tone was sharp and curt. 'Once again he tried to talk to
you. For that I had to deprive him of his voice. Let it be a warning
to you. Play the games according to the rules or else give up now.'

'The rules, you said,' said Steven.
'Ha!' He laughed scornfully. 'Your players break them. They cheat.'

'Anyway,' Dodo chimed in, 'how can we
believe anything you say? Everything here is purely a figment of your
imagination.'

Steven nodded. 'For all we know, that
voice may not have belonged to the Doctor at all. Perhaps it was you,
leading us towards another trap.'

The Toymaker smiled a thin smile. 'I'm
glad to see that at last you're treating me with due respect.'

'Only as long as you've got the
Doctor!' said Dodo. 'After that, we'll see who the -' The Toymaker
abruptly disappeared.

As Steven and Dodo gazed over to where
he had been, the door opened and two strangely dressed figures
entered: a full-sized live King and Queen of Hearts based upon the
playing cards. The Queen was the tallest. She had a proud haughty
expression and kept her nose raised as though if she lowered it she
would notice some unpleasant odour - the
smell of the common people perhaps.

The King on the other hand, was a
short, rotund, slightly bewildered-looking monarch with an amiable,
almost absent-minded expression on his face. It looked as though he
was never quite sure where he was or what he was doing there.

'Is this the room?' said the Queen, her
voice high-pitched and imperious. She turned back to the King as he
did not respond. 'Is this the room, I said?'

The King blinked and looked around the
room. 'I think so, my dear.'

'Then,' said the Queen, looking over at
Dodo and Steven with some distaste, 'I suppose these are the people
we have to play with.'

'What, my dear?' The King glanced
around and then shuffled over and looked Steven and Dodo up and down
in a myopic manner. 'I suppose so, my dear. They seem to be a couple
of peasants by their dress.'

Dodo looked down at her short skirt. 'I
beg your pardon?' she said. 'A couple of peasants?'

'Who are you calling peasants?' cried
Steven, but Dodo caught his arm.

'Steven,' she said, 'don't you see who
they are?' 'They do look rather familiar,' replied Steven. 'They're
playing cards,' said Dodo. 'We are here to play our next game with a
couple of playing cards - the King and Queen of Hearts.'

Steven nodded a little glumly. 'The
Toymaker's warped sense of humour, I suppose.' The King and Queen,
meanwhile, had gone to take a look at the various chairs. Now the
Queen turned to the King. 'None of these looks at all like the throne,'
she said.

The King, who had once again gone off
into some sort of dream world, snapped to. 'Eh?' he said. 'Oh yes my
dear. Not like my throne. Oh no, no. They don't, do they? The
Toymaker said we'd find them in here though, didn't he?'

Steven turned around to Dodo. 'What's
that riddle again?'

'Dodo thought for a minute then
replied. 'Four legs, no feet; of arms no lack; it carries no burden
on its back.'

'That must be these chairs then,' said
Steven excitedly.

'But what about the rest?' she asked
and continued: 'Six deadly sisters, seven for choice,' she quoted,
'Call the servants without voice.'

'Oh,' said Steven disappointed. 'It
can't be the chairs then; there's only four of them.'

Behind them, the Queen tapped the King
on the shoulder with her fan. 'You're not paying the least attention
again, Henry. I warned you - if we don't find that throne, the
Toymaker will keep us here. We'll be playing cards for all eternity,
and thus we shall never rule again.'

The King turned his slightly vacant
gaze back towards the Queen. 'Ah,' he said. 'A good point, m'dear.
Yes, got to find the throne. This card playing is quite ridiculous;
the monarchy is not dead!' He moved over towards the chairs and
brought out a monocle which he polished and then proceeded to
examine.

Dodo had been watching this exchange
with interest. She turned back to Steven. 'What do you make of them?'
she queried. 'They seem like real people.'

'I don't make anything of them,' said
Steven. 'Let's just ignore them.' He turned away. 'Peasants!' he
muttered under his breath. 'They've been sent here to distract us.
Look,' he said. 'There's a passage over there. I didn't notice it
before. Let's see if there are any further rooms in this palace, or
whatever it is.'

After they'd gone, the Queen turned
back impatiently to the King. 'Where's that Knave?' she called.
'Cyril! Cyril! Tormenting the Joker as usual, I expect.'

The door was pulled open and a
strange-looking couple entered. The first was a lean
lugubrious-looking Joker, sad, stoop-shouldered, wearing the Joker's
cap and bells and obviously modelled after the playing card of the
same name. Behind him, there was a rotund, red-cheeked youth with
large, round, innocent-looking blue eyes. He was dressed in the garb
of the Jack of Hearts. He was carrying a short sword with which he
was prodding the reluctant Joker before him.

The Joker looked over at the King and
Queen. His voice was wavery, thin and nasal. 'Did you have to give
him that sword?' he asked.

The Queen waved her fan impatiently.
'Quiet, fool! Cyril, what do you think you're doing?'

'Oh, nothing,' said the Jack. 'Just
fooling around!' He sheathed his sword. 'I'm hungry.'

The King turned to look at him. 'The
boy's always hungry.'

'He's a pig,' the Joker muttered almost
inaudibly.

The Queen turned imperiously on him.
'What did you say?'

The Joker waved his cap and bells.
'What's wet, goes down but never up again?' he asked. 'Give up? The
rain ... get it?'

'Stop talking nonsense, fool. We must
find that throne before those peasants stumble upon it. Where have
they gone?' she said, looking around the room.

'Along that passage, my dear,' said the
King, who was obviously a little sharper than he appeared.

'Why didn't you tell me before?' said
the Queen impatiently. 'We must follow them. Fool,' she snapped, you
stay here and keep an eye on these chairs. Cyril,' she turned to the
Knave, 'stay here with the fool and please stop annoying him!' She
swept on into the passage, followed by the King.

Steven and Dodo were standing in
another throne room. This room was quite different from the golden
one they had just left. It was panelled in a dark oak; wood that
looked as though it had been weathered and darkened through the
centuries. On the two main facing , walls, there were four cupboards:
each of them shaped like the TARDIS. In the centre of the room were
three more thrones. These were plainer, with less ornate carvings,
and without the cushions. They were numbered five, six and seven.

Dodo gave a little start of surprise
and pleasure. 'Look Steven,' she said. 'More TARDISes.'

But Steven remained looking at the
thrones. 'Three here, and four in there. It is the chairs. Don't you
see?' he turned back to Dodo. 'Six deadly sisters, seven for choice.
I suppose that means that six of them are dangerous to sit in.

'And only one of them is the right one
we have to find to win the game,' said Dodo excitedly.

Steven nodded. 'Yes, it's a deadly kind
of musical chairs. Just the sort of game you'd think that evil toy
makers would make up. We'll have to work it out by elimination. I
wonder how dangerous they are.' Steven walked over to the first chair
and was about to lower himself into the seat.