The journey had begun and our
adventurers joined forces to… well, to do something, that’s for sure. At first
they had no other aim than just to see the world and what had become of it
after the Giants woke up, so that’s exactly what they did. The party walked
back through the high passes of Groddle Heights and they eventually found
themselves traveling the coastal cliffs of Alakol. From there they trekked
inland to explore the cave systems of Kajuu. From Kajuu they came down from the
hill sides to the desert of Andra. Once in Andra Wonder expected they would
keep moving ahead into the desert, but Magic Rock turned them aside to follow the
foot of the hills.
“What’s out that way?” Wonder
asked pointing toward the empty arid North.
“Those,” Magic Rock explained,
“are the Ancestral Lands. They are from before even my time. Ancient Glitchen
lived there, but they have long since passed away from this world and now those
roads hold a powerful sway over any Glitchen who enters them.”
Wonder stared in amazement out
into the desert. “Is it dangerous out there?”
“Not exactly. Or rather, it
wasn’t really, but it was too much for any Glitch to handle for more than a
short exposure. There was a term they coined—Ancestral Nostalgia—it would build
up the longer a Glitch remained in those empty lands until they simply couldn’t
take it anymore and they would be forced to retreat back to the safer roads.”
“Wow…” Wonder was awe struck at the idea of such a powerful place.
“On top of that there were the
Juju Bandits. Not really a menacing sort of people, but they were always
popping up unexpectedly looking to steal something. Easy to out-run, but
horribly inconvenient, or so I’m told.”
Wonder was enthralled. “I wonder
what it’s like out there now.”
“Well, that’s the problem. All
the things I just described were the dangers of the Ancestral Lands when things
here were normal. With the Giants
awake and everything going crazy I’m not sure what would happen, and I don’t
know if I want to find out.”
Wonder was disappointed, but he
seemed to take Magic Rock’s warning to heart even if it was difficult. As he
turned away he wondered aloud if someday the lands they were exploring might be
considered Ancestral Lands to some new civilization. It was something no one
had really considered until now, but it made them all a little uneasy.
*****
Magic Rock had been guiding them
based on his own knowledge and intuition. He didn’t have a map, but he seemed
familiar with the lay of the land and if he couldn’t tell them exactly how to
get to a specific street he at least knew what each region might hold and where
they were in the world. All in all it was much more organized than the aimless
wandering Wonder and Koro had been doing before.
In all this time they came
across very few animals scattered throughout Ur, but still no Glitchen or other
inhabitants. What’s more, nothing spoke to them the entire time they were
traveling. Of course Wonder and Koro hadn’t thought much of it because neither
of them realized that animals could talk, but Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were
extremely worried.
“Everything used to talk!” Magic Rock exclaimed after trying to
communicate with a chunk of Dullite in Tahli.
“What did they used to say?”
Wonder asked.
“Mostly nonsense,” Mr. Trinkets
chimed in. “Especially the Bubble Trees, they were crazy, but I used to have
chats with the piggies and butterflies on Master Sebastian’s home street. None
of them were sparkling conversationalists, but they had their own thoughts and
ideas and they were generally pleasant to be around.”
“What do you think it means?”
Koro asked. She had gotten more comfortable with the group over time and it
seemed as if Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets had warmed to her as well.
“Honestly, I have no idea,”
Magic Rock said, “but it definitely isn’t a good sign. It’s as if they lost
their voices when the Glitchen left.”
Then Wonder asked the question
that had been bothering him for several days. “Magic Rock, why did the Glitchen
leave?”
“Well, because the Giants woke
up. I told you this before, didn’t I?” He seemed puzzled. “This world was
imagined in a shared dream and when they awoke the Glitchen disappeared.”
It was the response he had been
expecting; then Wonder got to the real point of his question. “So why is
everything still here except the Glitchen? Why did they get zapped away and not
the piggies or the chunks of Sparkly or the bean trees?” Wonder’s voice started
to break a bit. “You say those things lost their voices, but they’re still
here, and you’re still here. Why is that?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know the
answer to that.”
“But why? Why did everything
else stay except the Glitchen?” Wonder was struggling to keep his emotions
under control, but it wasn’t working. “You said the Giants were supposed to
take everything, so why did they take everyone else, but not me? Why am I the
only one? Why am I the only one left alone?”
Magic Rock looked up at Wonder
in shock at his sudden outburst. He opened his mouth to mumble an apology, but
closed it again when he couldn’t think of anything more to say.
After another moment of
uncomfortable silence Wonder turned away. “I’m sorry,” he said and walked away
to sit under a paper tree; he found the rustling pages oddly comforting.
The other three looked at each
other silently wondering what to do. This wasn’t like Wonder at all. He was
usually upbeat and optimistic about everything.
Koro was the first to speak,
“I’ll go talk to him. Just give us a minute.” She turned and hopped the short
distance to where Wonder was sitting.
Wonder addressed her softly
without looking up as she approached. “Hey, Koro.” Wonder sounded like he had
been crying.
“Hey, Wonder.” Koro perched on a
rock next to Wonder. “You’re not alone you know.”
Wonder was feeling a bit ashamed
for lashing out like that. “Yeah, I know. It’s just hard to be left behind.”
“You’re not the only one who was
left behind,” Koro reminded him. “We all were.”
“Yeah, but at least you got to
experience this world as it was intended. I never even got the chance to meet
another Glitch.”
“To be honest,” Koro began, “I
wasn’t really happy with the way things were before.” She wanted to say more, but
decided not to.
“Maybe so, but at least you know
that. At least you got to decide that for yourself. I don’t have a choice. I’m
stuck after the fact, like some unwanted leftover.”
“I know, and I can’t change that
for you, but you’re not unwanted. We want you and you got the chance to know
us. That’s better than nothing, right?”
Wonder sat in silence for a
moment then answered. “Right.”
“We’re family now and we’ll
stick together no matter what.”
“Promise?” Wonder looked up at
her friend.
“I promise.”
“Thanks, Koro. You’re a good
friend. I’m sorry I got so upset. I guess I’m still working out the kinks in my
emotions.”
Koro chuckled. “Don’t worry
about it. Most people never work out those kinks. Now let’s go back to the
others.”
Wonder stood up, placed Koro on
his shoulder and walked back to Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets.
“I’m sorry, guys; I guess I’m
just having a tough time thinking about what I missed out on.”
Mr. Trinkets patted Wonder’s
shoulder with one of his mismatched hands. “It’s OK Wonder, we understand.”
“Your question actually got me
thinking a little more seriously about this situation,” Magic Rock said. “I
have an idea of where we might get some answers.”
Wonder was excited at the news.
“Really?”
“Yes, maybe. There is a tower
far to the South. The Glitchen used it to house their knowledge. It might hold
some clue about what happened when the Giants awoke. It’s a long shot, but it’s
better than nothing.”
But Wonder didn’t care that they
might not find anything; it was a chance to find out why he got left behind.
“Let’s get going!”
And just like that our band of
aimless wanderers had a quest: to reach Jethimadh Tower and find some answers.
