In Search of Auria (19 page)

I couldn’t cheer up. At this point, the
passage was the only way to the other side. But without the Nomac’s
permission, I felt like the canaries and other animals in the
lobby; trapped, closed and limited to what its possessor allowed
them to do.

Then, an idea came to me. My thoughts jumped
from limited to animals, from animals to beasts, from beasts to
book, and from book to knowledge.

“Ok, then,” I told the Nomac, “I guess I’ll
stay in the city for a bit. But since you’re present to me at the
moment, I have some questions that only your great intellect can
answer.”

“Well, yes. Ask me,” said the Nomac, liking
my complement.

“How did you get that monster to guard your
passage?”

“You mean the Bunyip? It was in one of my
Know Quests. While returning from the surface with root samples,
fine toads and a small eucalyptus plant to study, I stumbled upon a
goblin. He had in his possession an odd looking rock. It was rough
with oval lumps lining around the extremities. It looked
fascinating, unlike any other rock I’ve ever handled. I traded half
my supplies, for I had to have it. When I returned, the others
laughed at the sight of it. But, when one day it broke and a baby
creature emerged, I knew I had made the right decision.

“Unfortunately, it grew to be quite
troublesome, destroying private property, eating valuable supplies.
It even ate my guiding compass, which always showed me the way back
to the city. Alas, I had to banish it to the outside above, and a
very strict policy was created for bringing creatures into our
abode.”

“Yes, I noticed those limitations by only
seeing the few frogs and birds in your building lobby.” The Nomac
folded his arms with a disappointing stare.

Now was the time to make the offer, “What if
I told you that there is a way to learn about all those wonderful
and dangerous creatures from the world above, without ever stepping
out of the comfort of your gnome city?”

The Nomac slowly raised one eyebrow. I
looked to the side and Harwit was scratching his head.

“And what way is that?” he asked.

“This way!” I took out the book from my bag
and raised it high for all to see, “Behold, the great Book of
Beasts… First Edition!” The gnomes ogled it like if looking at
fresh water on a vast desert.

“This,” I opened it, passing through the
pages, “contains information on creatures, famous and not known by
all; gargoyles, lamias, vampires, giants, selkies, harpies, and
much more.”

“It even has illustrations,” Rubas expressed
after I let him have a peek. The Nomac ordered him to bring the
book, but I closed it and raised it out of reach.

“Oh, I see you’re interested in it. It would
be a valuable book to have in your collection, don’t you
agree?”

The Nomac took a deep breath, puffing his
beard while exhaling, “Very well, you made your point. You want to
trade, don’t you? Fine, I’ll give you access to the other side of
the mountain in exchange for the book.”

“Not only that,” I extended my arm and
pointed at Harwit, “You must supply him with all the tools he needs
for his first Know Quest.” Harwit’s jaw completely dropped when I
said that.

The Nomac tightened his brow and twisted his
lips until finally conceding to the proposal, “All right, fine!
Harwit will get his quest; and you, your passage. Just hurry up and
give me that book!”

I gave my farewell to the book and handed it
to Rubas. He carried it over his head and ran to the Nomac. When
they opened it, they went, “Ooh,” and “aah.” The other gnomes
flocked around to see, too. While they immersed themselves with the
knowledge of the book, Harwit and I exited the building, happy to
know we got the things we both wanted.

Harwit took me to the passageway. To my ugly
surprise, it was right behind the Nomac Manor. An alley behind the
building led to a tunnel on the mountain wall.

“You could take the regular path to the
other side through there,” Harwit said, “but because of the
discrepancies of size and area between you and the tunnels, it
would be a most complex travel.”

“Huh?”

“You’re too big for the tunnels.”

“Ok. Then, what other option do I have?”

“Come with me, I’ll show you,” he took a
right at the tunnel and went up a staircase perfectly carved from
pure, black volcanic rock. I could see my reflection off its
polished surface. Its steps were low and short, just like the
gnome’s. We walked up and all the time I was just admiring the
craftsmanship of the stairs, not paying any attention to where we
were headed. They were flawlessly leveled and buffed, and each
riser had a small white stone embedded on its center.

Reaching the top, I praised the stairs
remarkable craftsmanship, “I must say, Harwit, the ability your
kind has in crafting is too great. The beauty of these steps says
it for itself.”

I was waiting for a positive response from
him, but I got no answer. When I looked at him, he was pointing at
another genuine craft even more impressive than the staircase. On a
slight incline was a metal box with metal wheels, riding on top of
parallel railings.

“This modern marvel,” Harwit said proudly,
“is called the minecart. We use it to transport cargo and valuables
from the different points of the mountain towards here, the city.
Before, we had wooden carts. We had to push them and it was
difficult to maneuver them within the twisting tunnels. But with
this invention, thanks to the rail tracks it rests upon, you only
need to push it down the slope and its inertia will take it to its
destination.”

I walked towards the minecart and admired
its intricate details. Each of its sides was gold plated with small
representations of the gnomes. It depicted them mining, reading
books, teaching the young ones, building their houses, among other
things. I looked inside, and there was enough space for me to fit
in snugly.

“So, this minecart will take me to the other
side?” I asked.

“Yes. The Downtrack, as it is called, is one
of the first tracks we built and it goes directly to the other
side. It’s a bit bumpy, but don’t worry, I’ll accompany you.”

I immediately hopped in, tucking my shield
on my side, and my sword and bag between my legs. Harwit grabbed a
small ladder to get on. He sat on a rough, bulky seat attached to
the side. It had a belt and a bar to hold on to.

“Are you ready?” he asked me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He looked down to a gnome working on the
tracks and commanded, “Release the cart!”

The gnome nodded and with a hammer knocked
away the wedges keeping the cart in place. Slowly, it started to
descend, pushed by its own weight. It started picking up speed as
we entered a narrow mine way. Wooden beams supported the walls and
ceiling. It was dark and lanterns only glowed about every twenty
meters. All this time the minecart got faster and faster.

“Woah, it’s getting fast!” I said.

We took a hard right, then down, another
hard right, straight, and a hard left. I gripped the rim of the
cart like if I were hanging from the edge of a cliff. My hands were
so stiff I thought I would bend the metal. Shortly, my breathing
eased once the unpredictable curves ceased. I then saw a light at
the end of the tunnel.

“We reached the other side already?”

“No,” Harwit shook his head, “we reached the
plant.”

We exited the mine way to a lighted area.
The place had been mined extensively; there was enough space the
gnomes had placed a peculiar contraption in it. It was a tall
rectangular frame made of wooden logs, held together by ropes and
nails. The structure was built in such a way that it held a long
drill cylinder in its middle, like the one I put the arrow coffer
in. On its top, there was a strange apparatus with smoke coming out
of a pipe. We quickly passed it, but the structure stayed on my
head.

“What was that, Harwit?” I asked.

“That was one of the plants we have for
extracting the methinus. On the top there’s a pressure box; a
mechanism that mixes gas and fire to have a series of minute
explosions. The pressure of the explosions move the gears on the
top of the drill, therefore, spinning it to pierce through the
rock. After we reach a gas pocket, we collect and flow it through
an extensive network of pipes to light up the city. That is why you
see a pipe connected to every lamp and lantern.”

I could not comprehend much of the
mechanisms the gnomes had, but I knew it was ahead of its time. Man
could learn and benefit so much from them. Maybe there would be a
time were such things could exist on the surface. It would make the
balorian “troll power” a joke.

After the plant, there were no more lanterns
to light the way. I could not see the rails or where we were going.
But, I felt the slope get steeper; and the cart, faster.

“It’s picking up speed, faster than a
horse!” I yelled over the shrieking noise of metal on metal. Ahead
there was a weak red glow coming from beneath. It looked like a
drop.

“That light, is it another plant?”

“No, those are the Sizzle Pits,” Harwit
answered.

“Sizzle Pits? What do you mean?”

“Molten rock that is spewing out from the
core of our earth.”

“You mean lava, like in a volcano!?”

“Exciting, isn’t it? Oh, here comes the
drop, weeee!”

At that moment, I discovered something about
myself: women were not the only ones capable of high-pitched
screams. We went down the drop; an incline almost vertical. The
rails were between two cascades of lava that flowed out from the
walls. I held on tight and felt the heat tingle the hairs on my
fingers. Then, the slope leveled out over a pool of molten rock.
The rails rested on stones that emerged from the lava.

“Ah, this is too hot. Why would you build it
like this!?” I screamed at Harwit, but he ignored me, raising his
hands as if having the time of his life. He was mad! How could
anyone enjoy this? But ahead, the worst awaited us. There was
smoke, flames and rocks erupting right between the rails.

“Wait, wait, wait! We can’t pass by there,
we’re gonna get toasted!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Harwit
smoothly said with confidence.

Pieces of burning rock bombarded the sides
of the cart, flames scorched the bottom, and smoke intoxicated my
lungs. I could only sit there, my eyes injected with horror and my
body petrified, receiving a barrage from hell. It was the worst
ride ever.

“You people are crazy!”

#

We finally reached a round room on the other
side of the mountain. There was a wooden shack to the right and a
flight of stairs to the left. The cart hit a rotating plank
connected to a series of ropes and pulleys. The ropes were attached
to a bell on the ceiling. It clanged loudly, announcing our
arrival. Harwit pulled a lever beside his bulky seat and slowly
stopped the minecart.

I was a complete calamity. I was covered in
soot with burn marks on my head and arms. Harwit was also covered
with soot, but did not receive a single burn. I guess the smaller
you are, the smaller the chance of getting hit by a freaking ball
of fire!

“What a great ride, don’t you think?” He
asked so happily, but I wanted to slap him hard across the room. I
got off the cart and gathered my stuff with a straight face, “Where
is the exit, I must go.”

“Of course!” He hopped off the minecart and
took me to the staircase along the wall. Meanwhile, after leaving
the cart, four gnomes came out of the wooden shack carrying buckets
of water and pieces of cloth. They started washing the minecart. At
the top of the stairs, there was another gnome beside another
pulley system connected to yet another “pressure box”. After the
gnomes at the bottom cleaned the minecart, this one would use the
pulleys to raise it to the top. On the opposite wall there was an
arch made of twisting roots and ivy; it was another illusion
wall.

“Here it is,” said Harwit, “Pass through
here and you will immediately walk outside the mountain.”

I was still upset about the ride, I just
wanted to leave without even thanking him. But before I left,
Harwit pulled on my pants.

“Erik, before you go, I want to let you know
I appreciate all that you did for me here. The Know Quest I’ll
embark on and the status it shall grant me among my people will
certainly change my life. Thank you so much.”

His words softened me up and dulled the
anger away. I kneeled beside him and smiled, “It is I who should be
thankful. You selflessly presented me to your Nomac and took me to
where I needed to go. Because of you, now I am that much closer in
rescuing the woman I love.”

He grinned and nodded. I stood and headed
for the arch.

“Farewell, Harwit. Until we meet again.”

“Farewell, Erik. I hope we do someday.”

He waved me goodbye as I walked through the
rock and to the outside world.

I exited the gnome’s domain by the rock
illusion Harwit showed me. It took me to the foot of the mountain,
an area full of thornbush and barbweed. Luckily, it was not that
thick and I slipped out to the road. Beside the road was an immense
lake. The sunrays of the afternoon sparkled on the crystal waters.
I took out the map to verify my position. It appeared I was on the
road beside Lake Glissia, the largest body of water in the country.
At that moment, a farmer passed in front of me. He sat on a wagon
full of hay, hauled by a grey horse. The man looked like a decent
fellow, and I was sure he was going to offer me a ride. But when he
noticed I was all dirty, burned, and stinky, he hurried the horse
and passed me by. I didn’t blame him; I didn’t look like the most
proper guy around.