Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Koro was still in shock several minutes after Wonder left her in the Rook Museum. This was exactly what she was afraid of happening. She should have explained things as soon as they met, but she was afraid of how Wonder might react. She definitely should have broached the subject when Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets joined them. They seemed to come to an understanding and maybe they could have helped explain things to Wonder.

Koro knew she could sit in the dark for hours thinking about all the ways she had messed up, but there wasn’t time for that now. She needed to get to Magic Rock somehow and tell him what had happened. She quickly came up against her first problem when she realized the door was shut and door knobs were not designed with Rook feet in mind. No matter how hard she tried Koro could get the door open. She was stuck in the Rook Museum.

“This is no time to panic,” she told herself, though she suspected this might actually be the perfect time to panic. She sat perfectly still trying to force an answer into her brain. She was concentrating with all her might when her feathers were ruffled by a slight breeze.

“A breeze?” She looked around the room but couldn’t see much in the dark. “If there’s a breeze then there must be a way out.”

She took to the air to search the room and find the source of the draft. She was flooded with relief when she found several small windows set into the wall near the ceiling and one of them was open just enough for her to squeeze through.

It wasn’t a perfect solution because she still couldn’t get back in the tower to search for Wonder, but it was better than being stuck in that awful museum for the rest of her life. From way up here at least she could easily keep an eye on what was happening on the ground without alerting any suspicion. She desperately wanted to talk to Magic Rock, but she found him on the steps of the tower talking to several Vendors and she didn’t dare risk exposing herself to them.

She flew a few laps around the tower and made a note of the exits and then perched on a ledge above a side door to think about what to do.

***

Inside the tower Wonder was still turning the Crystal Heart over in her hand and sifting through everything Gwendolyn had said. She knew Gwendolyn was telling her truth about not being able to put the world back together, but it wasn’t easy to think about.

Wonder also thought about the advice Gwendolyn had given her about trusting her friends. She thought about Koro and if she was really her friend. Wonder just wasn’t sure after what she had seen. The voice in the museum said that the Rook are evil, and Koro hadn’t tried to deny it. Even Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were terrified when they saw Koro, and they had talked about how terrible the Rook were. Of course, they had also traveled together after Wonder introduced them and even seemed to get along. They never did tell Wonder the truth about the Rook, which made her question what the truth was.

Maybe Koro was different. She certainly didn’t act like she wanted to destroy everything. And she had mentioned several times that she never really fit in with her family. Maybe she really did just want a friend.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.” Wonder admitted to herself. She resolved to find her way back to the Rook Museum and talk to Koro. She still wasn’t sure what was true, but she would decide for herself and not base her feelings on some voice in the wall.

Wonder climbed back down the vines and walked out the door into the familiar hallway. She tried to retrace her steps as best she could. The run down to Room 23 had been a bit of a blur, but she made her way back to the Mezzanine with relatively little trouble. She opened the door to the Rook Museum and cautiously poked her head inside.

“Koro?” She asked the dark room. “Koro, are you still here?”

No reply.

“Come out, Koro, please. I need to talk to you.”

Still nothing.

Wonder stepped all the way into the room and pulled out her Firefly Jar. She checked the museum, avoiding looking at the other Rook-related artifacts as much as possible. Koro was nowhere to be found and Wonder was at a loss until she looked up and noticed the open window. Her spirits fell. “I’ve probably frightened her off and she’s flown away to where I’ll never find her again.” She stepped back outside and sat down in the hallway to think about her next move.

“Koro’s gone, maybe for good. Everyone else is waiting for me outside to tell them how I’m going to save them and fix Ur, but now I know I can’t do that.” She let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the wall. “This is a fine mess.” Further down the hall she noticed a set of stairs leading down and got an idea. She thought up her new plan while she was walking down the stairs.

‘Maybe there’s another exit I can try. If I can sneak out a side entrance I might be able to get Magic Rock’s attention and talk to him alone. He always has good advice.’

This set of stairs ran straight and long right down to the ground floor. She inched open the door at the bottom and found it opened directly onto a street adjacent to the one the Vendors were waiting on. She stepped silently out and closed the door behind her. Now she just needed to figure out how to get Magic Rock’s attention without alerting anyone else.

Wonder had only been considering what to do for a moment or two when she heard a rustling noise in a tree nearby. She looked up into the branches but didn’t see anything.

“Koro? Is that you?”

The street was silent for a second before she heard Koro’s voice from the tree. “Please don’t run away again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Wonder was so relieved to hear Koro’s voice she almost shouted, but then she remembered the feeling of betrayal and it cooled her excitement. “Why did you lie to me, Koro?”

Koro’s large, black bird head peeked from around the trunk of the tree. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just thought if you knew what I was you would run me off like everyone else.” She sounded sincere and Wonder’s anger lost some of its edge.

“I didn’t even know what a Rook was, why would I have cared?”

“Because everyone hates the Rook! If I had told you what my people did what would you have thought of me?”

Wonder considered that. “I don’t know, but it would have been nice to have gotten the chance to make up my mind. You were my only friend; I’m sure I would have taken your word over some old stories about what happened in the past.”

“You’re probably right, I was just so afraid of being left alone again. You were my only chance at having a real friend. The Rook kicked me out because I didn’t want to attack the Glitchen, but the Glitchen only ran or tried to attack me because I’m a Rook. I spent most of my life on my own, hiding and watching. I thought the Giants waking up would be the best thing that could happen. I would disappear and nothing would matter anymore, but then I was still here and everyone else was gone. I was more alone than ever! When I saw you just waking up I thought, ‘Here’s my chance. Maybe this is the start of something better.’”

Wonder was dumbfounded. Koro had always changed the subject when Wonder asked about her family. She just assumed Koro missed them and it was too sad to talk about. She had never considered that anyone might be happier in this new version of Ur. “Oh… wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Koro. I didn’t know.”

Koro dismissed it with a flap of her wing. “I know, I know. It’s not your fault. I should have told you. When you’re forced to live your life as an outcast I guess it makes you paranoid, but that’s no excuse. I just wish—“ but Koro never finished her sentence.

“Well, what do we have here?” Uncle Friendly stepped out from behind a large root near the end of the street looking very pleased with himself. “I heard voices and thought I would come investigate. I’m glad I did. Conspiring with the Rook? I expected more of you, Wonder.”

“No, Uncle Friendly, you don’t understand!” Wonder protested, but Uncle Friendly cut her off.

“I understand enough! The Rook are the enemies of this world and if you’re conspiring with them then that makes you the enemy as well.”

“But—“

“Now, I know you’re young. You’re still learning about this place, but you need to understand: the Rook are evil and they want nothing more than to see this world destroyed. Now, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Uncle Friendly was towering over Wonder staring into her with his gigantic eye. “What did you find in the tower? Did you learn how to call the Giants back?”

Wonder didn’t know what to do. She was feeling panicked and her brain wasn’t working. All she could squeak out was, “No, not exactly.”

“Not exactly? Well, what does that mean?”

And then it was over. Wonder was too scared to think straight and started recounting everything that had happened in Room 23 including Gwendolyn’s plan to wake the Giants. Luckily she was so frightened she jumbled most of it and forgot some key parts, like the Crystal Heart, but Uncle Friendly got enough to understand that she wasn’t going to put the Giants back to sleep, she was going to wake them up and end this world for good.

He stared down at Wonder for a long time in shock until his surprise turned into a self-satisfied smirk. He pulled something from his pocket. “I don’t blame you, Wonder. You’re too young to understand what’s going on and the Rook have twisted your mind. But I can’t let you destroy this world. I have to do what I can to protect it.” He pressed something into Wonder’s hand.

Wonder looked down and saw what looked like a piece of paper. “What is—“

Uncle Friendly squeezed Wonder's hand around the paper and with a pop she disappeared.

Koro squawked and flapped her wings in the tree, but Uncle Friendly just looked up at her and smiled. “Go back to your friends and let them know your plan failed. Uncle Friendly is defending Ur now, and he won’t go down without a fight.” With that he turned and walked back toward the front of the tower.

<< Chapter 10: Room 23 | NOTES | Chapter 12: The Forest at Night >>

Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Koro was still in shock several minutes after Wonder left her in the Rook Museum. This was exactly what she was afraid of happening. She should have explained things as soon as they met, but she was afraid of how Wonder might react. She definitely should have broached the subject when Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets joined them. They seemed to come to an understanding and maybe they could have helped explain things to Wonder.

Koro knew she could sit in the dark for hours thinking about all the ways she had messed up, but there wasn’t time for that now. She needed to get to Magic Rock somehow and tell him what had happened. She quickly came up against her first problem when she realized the door was shut and door knobs were not designed with Rook feet in mind. No matter how hard she tried Koro could get the door open. She was stuck in the Rook Museum.

“This is no time to panic,” she told herself, though she suspected this might actually be the perfect time to panic. She sat perfectly still trying to force an answer into her brain. She was concentrating with all her might when her feathers were ruffled by a slight breeze.

“A breeze?” She looked around the room but couldn’t see much in the dark. “If there’s a breeze then there must be a way out.”

She took to the air to search the room and find the source of the draft. She was flooded with relief when she found several small windows set into the wall near the ceiling and one of them was open just enough for her to squeeze through.

It wasn’t a perfect solution because she still couldn’t get back in the tower to search for Wonder, but it was better than being stuck in that awful museum for the rest of her life. From way up here at least she could easily keep an eye on what was happening on the ground without alerting any suspicion. She desperately wanted to talk to Magic Rock, but she found him on the steps of the tower talking to several Vendors and she didn’t dare risk exposing herself to them.

She flew a few laps around the tower and made a note of the exits and then perched on a ledge above a side door to think about what to do.

***

Inside the tower Wonder was still turning the Crystal Heart over in his hand and sifting through everything Gwendolyn had said. She knew Gwendolyn was telling the truth about not being able to put the world back together, but it wasn’t easy to think about.

Wonder also thought about the advice Gwendolyn had given him about trusting his friends. He thought about Koro and if she was really his friend. Wonder just wasn’t sure after what he had seen. The voice in the museum said that the Rook are evil, and Koro hadn’t tried to deny it. Even Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets were terrified when they saw Koro, and they had talked about how terrible the Rook were. Of course, they had also traveled together after Wonder introduced them and even seemed to get along. They never did tell Wonder the truth about the Rook, which made him question what the truth was.

Maybe Koro was different. She certainly didn’t act like she wanted to destroy everything. And she had mentioned several times that she never really fit in with her family. Maybe she really did just want a friend.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.” Wonder admitted to himself. He resolved to find his way back to the Rook Museum and talk to Koro. He still wasn’t sure what was true, but he would decide for himself and not base his feelings on some voice in the wall.

Wonder climbed back down the vines and walked out the door into the familiar hallway. He tried to retrace his steps as best he could. The run down to Room 23 had been a bit of a blur, but he made his way back to the Mezzanine with relatively little trouble. He opened the door to the Rook Museum and cautiously poked his head inside.

“Koro?” He asked the dark room. “Koro, are you still here?”

No reply.

“Come out, Koro, please. I need to talk to you.”

Still nothing.

Wonder stepped all the way into the room and pulled out his Firefly Jar. He checked the museum, avoiding looking at the other Rook-related artifacts as much as possible. Koro was nowhere to be found and Wonder was at a loss until he looked up and noticed the open window. His spirits fell. “I’ve probably frightened her off and she’s flown away to where I’ll never find her again.” He stepped back outside and sat down in the hallway to think about his next move.

“Koro’s gone, maybe for good. Everyone else is waiting for me outside to tell them how I’m going to save them and fix Ur, but now I know I can’t do that.” He let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the wall. “This is a fine mess.” Further down the hall he noticed a set of stairs leading down and got an idea. He thought up his new plan while he was walking down the stairs.

‘Maybe there’s another exit I can try. If I can sneak out a side entrance I might be able to get Magic Rock’s attention and talk to him alone. He always has good advice.’

This set of stairs ran straight and long right down to the ground floor. He inched open the door at the bottom and found it opened directly onto a street adjacent to the one the Vendors were waiting on. He stepped silently out and closed the door behind him. Now he just needed to figure out how to get Magic Rock’s attention without alerting anyone else.

Wonder had only been considering what to do for a moment or two when he heard a rustling noise in a tree nearby. He looked up into the branches but didn’t see anything.

“Koro? Is that you?”

The street was silent for a second before he heard Koro’s voice from the tree. “Please don’t run away again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Wonder was so relieved to hear Koro’s voice he almost shouted, but then he remembered the feeling of betrayal and it cooled his excitement. “Why did you lie to me, Koro?”

Koro’s large, black bird head peeked from around the trunk of the tree. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just thought if you knew what I was you would run me off like everyone else.” She sounded sincere and Wonder’s anger lost some of its edge.

“I didn’t even know what a Rook was, why would I have cared?”

“Because everyone hates the Rook! If I had told you what my people did what would you have thought of me?”

Wonder considered that. “I don’t know, but it would have been nice to have gotten the chance to make up my mind. You were my only friend; I’m sure I would have taken your word over some old stories about what happened in the past.”

“You’re probably right, I was just so afraid of being left alone again. You were my only chance at having a real friend. The Rook kicked me out because I didn’t want to attack the Glitchen, but the Glitchen only ran or tried to attack me because I’m a Rook. I spent most of my life on my own, hiding and watching. I thought the Giants waking up would be the best thing that could happen. I would disappear and nothing would matter anymore, but then I was still here and everyone else was gone. I was more alone than ever! When I saw you just waking up I thought, ‘Here’s my chance. Maybe this is the start of something better.’”

Wonder was dumbfounded. Koro had always changed the subject when Wonder asked about her family. He just assumed Koro missed them and it was too sad to talk about. He had never considered that anyone might be happier in this new version of Ur. “Oh… wow. I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Koro. I didn’t know.”

Koro dismissed it with a flap of her wing. “I know, I know. It’s not your fault. I should have told you. When you’re forced to live your life as an outcast I guess it makes you paranoid, but that’s no excuse. I just wish—“ but Koro never finished her sentence.

“Well, what do we have here?” Uncle Friendly stepped out from behind a large root near the end of the street looking very pleased with himself. “I heard voices and thought I would come investigate. I’m glad I did. Conspiring with the Rook? I expected more of you, Wonder.”

“No, Uncle Friendly, you don’t understand!” Wonder protested, but Uncle Friendly cut him off.

“I understand enough! The Rook are the enemies of this world and if you’re conspiring with them then that makes you the enemy as well.”

“But—“

“Now, I know you’re young. You’re still learning about this place, but you need to understand: the Rook are evil and they want nothing more than to see this world destroyed. Now, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Uncle Friendly was towering over Wonder staring into him with his gigantic eye. “What did you find in the tower? Did you learn how to call the Giants back?”

Wonder didn’t know what to do. He was feeling panicked and his brain wasn’t working. All he could squeak out was, “No, not exactly.”

“Not exactly? Well, what does that mean?”

And then it was over. Wonder was too scared to think straight and started recounting everything that had happened in Room 23 including Gwendolyn’s plan to wake the Giants. Luckily he was so frightened he jumbled most of it and forgot some key parts, like the Crystal Heart, but Uncle Friendly got enough to understand that he wasn’t going to put the Giants back to sleep; he was going to wake them up and end this world for good.

He stared down at Wonder for a long time in shock until his surprise turned into a self-satisfied smirk. He pulled something from his pocket. “I don’t blame you, Wonder. You’re too young to understand what’s going on and the Rook have twisted your mind. But I can’t let you destroy this world. I have to do what I can to protect it.” He pressed something into Wonder’s hand.

Wonder looked down and saw what looked like a piece of paper. “What is—“

Uncle Friendly squeezed Wonder's hand around the paper and with a pop he disappeared.

Koro squawked and flapped her wings in the tree, but Uncle Friendly just looked up at her and smiled. “Go back to your friends and let them know your plan failed. Uncle Friendly is defending Ur now, and he won’t go down without a fight.” With that he turned and walked back toward the front of the tower.

<< Chapter 10: Room 23 | NOTES | Chapter 12: The Forest at Night >>

Chapter 10: Room 23

Wonder hit the door running and kept going. He had never experienced betrayal, but he found it to be more than he could deal with. How exactly is a Glitch supposed to react to finding out that their closest friend is actually their oldest enemy? True, Koro had never acted much like an enemy, but Wonder wasn’t in any position to consider things rationally at the moment. For all he knew it could be one big Rook trick! The only thing he could do was get as far from Koro as possible.

He ran back through the unfinished hallway, past the Interrogation Room and into the endless corridors that lead back down the tower. His head was still spinning and he wasn’t really paying attention to where he was headed, so he didn’t notice the sign on the door that read “Room 23” when he opened it and charged headlong into the darkness.

The sudden change of surroundings brought him up short. He had been expecting another hallway with another series of doors; instead, he was in a large, dark, open room. In fact it didn’t really seem like a room in a tower at all; it seemed like another street in Jethimadh or Chakra Phool, only it felt like he was underground. Wonder knew that was impossible; he hadn’t gone that far down the tower, and it made him a little bit nervous.

He was trying to see into the distance, struggling with the decision of whether he should explore or go back and find another way. With a sigh he took a step further into the room. His curiosity combined with his desire to find anything to take his mind off of Koro pushed him on.

Wonder took a few more steps before he tripped over something. Picking himself up he was cursing the darkness when he remembered the Firefly Jar he had in his bag. He reached in and grabbed the jar. The Fireflies were dancing around inside and looked quite content. When they saw him looking in they seemed to get a little brighter and dance a little faster like they were trying to show off.

Wonder held the jar up and it cast a warm light all around him. He still couldn’t see the ends of the room, but at least the dirt path was lit up clearly. There were vines and other plants growing up from the ground and hanging from the ceiling far above. It definitely looked more like an outdoor street than an indoor room. He looked down to see what he had tripped over and found another log with crudely carved arms and facial features like the one he saw in the Rook Museum. He wondered where they had come from, and it made him kind of sad to see them lying on the ground helpless.

He followed the path, but the room wasn’t quite as big as he had imagined at first and he quickly came up against the back wall. Wonder was a little disappointed to find nothing but smooth rock at the end of the room and he sat with his back to it trying to think of what to do next. He started to think about Koro, but decided he wasn’t ready to deal with that yet and instead turned his thoughts back to the mission. He tried to consider what to do about getting back to those other rooms he hadn’t checked, but his heart wasn’t in it and his thoughts began to drift to feeling sorry for himself.

Just as Wonder was beginning to settle into a nice little pity-party he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He covered the Firefly Jar and looked again. There, a little ways above him he could swear he saw a faint blue glow. He pulled the Firefly Jar back out and looked around. Sure enough there was a ledge of rock above him and a vine growth climbing up to it that he hoped would support his weight.

He hooked the jar to his bag and tested the strength of the vines. They seemed sturdy enough so he climbed slowly at first trying to feel it out before gaining some confidence and making the rest of his way fairly easily. When he got to the top the path looked very similar to the one he had just left. He covered the Fireflies and saw the blue glow in the distance directly in front of him.

Wonder’s thoughts were racing about what he might find down there in the dark. So far it hadn’t crossed his mind that it might be something dangerous, but now he began to get a little frightened. Why would Glitchen keep something down here in the dark where it was hidden away from the rest of the world if it wasn’t something bad? His steps slowed as he approached the glow and considered that he might not like what he found. Just as Wonder was thinking about turning around and getting out of this room as fast as possible a voice startled him so badly he almost dropped the Firefly Jar.

“Don’t be afraid, little Glitch. Come closer and let us speak.”

Wonder stood perfectly still for a moment, but something about the voice reassured him. He slowly began walking toward the glow again. As he got closer the blue light was enough to see by so he put the Firefly Jar away. He approached the source of the light and the voice spoke again.

“Welcome, Wonder. This has been a strange life for you so far, hasn’t it?”

As it spoke the light dimmed and Wonder could make out the pale, translucent shape of a Glitch in a flowing dress, floating several inches off the ground. Wonder thought she looked a little sad.

“Don’t be shy,” the Glitch teased, “I’m a friend.”

Wonder tried to shake the surprise from his thoughts. “Another Glitch? So I’m not the only one left?”

The floating Glitch gave a small smile. “No, I’m afraid you are the last of our kind. I’m no longer a Glitch as you are. I am merely the spirit of a Glitch that lived and died long, long ago. You may call me Gwendolyn.”

“Gwendolyn.” Wonder repeated the name. “But why are you here?”

Gwendolyn laughed, and it sounded whisper-thin like the wind through leaves. “That is a loaded question. If you mean, ‘Why did I remain in Ur after I died?’ well, that business is my own and doesn’t concern your current situation. If you mean, ‘Why am I still here if the rest of the Glitchen disappeared?’ that is a mystery to me as well. If you mean, ‘Why am I here right now talking to you?’ well, that one’s easy. I want to help you.”

“Help me?”

“Of course! Someone has to save this world and I believe that someone is you. And right now you need someone to help, and I believe that someone is me.”

“I don’t think you can help me… unless you know how to put the Giants back to sleep?”

Gwendolyn looked down at Wonder thoughtfully. “No, I’m afraid I don’t know how to put them back to sleep, but I don’t think that’s what saving this world means.”

Wonder was confused. “But Uncle Friendly said we need to put them back to sleep to restore Ur. He said they must not be fully awake if we’re still here, so we need to get them all the way back to sleep and it will reset things.”

“Uncle Friendly is right about one thing: the Giants aren’t fully awake. That is the reason we’re still here. Unfortunately putting them back to sleep is neither easy, nor is it the right thing to do.”

Wonder still didn’t understand. “But you said I’m supposed to save Ur. How am I going to do that if I don’t put the Giants back to sleep?”

“You’re going to wake them up.”

This was not the answer Wonder had been expecting. He wasn’t sure how to respond. “But… won’t that destroy the rest of the world?”

Gwendolyn looked down at Wonder sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Wonder. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but listen to your heart. You were already skeptical of Uncle Friendly’s plan, you just didn’t know why. Think about what you are hoping to accomplish. The Giants imagined this world and its inhabitants in a dream. When they woke up parts of that dream disappeared. The Giants are still somewhere between waking and sleeping which is why we remain, but the most important and complex part, the Glitchen, are already gone. If you somehow found a way to put the Giants back to sleep the Glitchen wouldn’t just reappear. This world has already been damaged and it can’t go back to the way it was. The Glitchen are gone for good.

“If the Giants were to fully fall back asleep the best we could hope for is to be left alone. More likely the dream would change and become dangerous to us. If we do nothing and leave things as they are we might remain unchanged for a while, but eventually things will start disappearing. Things are already changed aren’t they?”

Wonder nodded. “The animals and trees don’t talk anymore. Magic Rock said they used to talk all the time.”

Gwendolyn considered this and sighed to herself. “So you see, left unchecked things would continue to progress like this. Maybe one day the Vendors wake up to find their minds gone, or maybe streets start disappearing without warning. It would be a slow, painful death for this world. We deserve better.” Gwendolyn floated silently while she let it all sink in.

Finally Wonder responded. “But what about me?”

Gwendolyn smiled down at Wonder. “I’m afraid your story ends with us as well.”

Wonder’s head fell and he began to cry softly.

“Why are you sad?”

Wonder looked back up and wiped his eyes. “Because I don’t want to die.”

“It is hard to be the hero sometimes. I wish I could comfort you by saying your actions will be remembered for generations to come, but that wouldn’t be true. I can tell you that you’ll be reunited with your Glitchen brothers and sisters and this entire world will go along with you. More importantly you will be saving every other rock, tree, piggy, Vendor and ghost whether they realize it or not.”

“But why me?”

“Because it has to be you, Wonder. The Glitchen were the favorite of the Giants and you were the favorite of the Glitchen or else you wouldn’t be here. You are the answer to this problem.”

“But I don’t know how.”

“I think I might be able to help you with that.” Gwendolyn floated backward several feet to reveal a music block lying on the ground below her. It looked very much like any of the hundreds of music blocks Wonder had come across except that the front showed an image of a night sky behind a tree line.

“A music block?” Wonder asked.

“This is a special music block,” Gwendolyn replied. “It’s very old and still holds much power. I will show you where to take it. All you have to do is get there and play it.”

Wonder picked up the music block and turned it over in his hands. There didn’t appear to be anything special about it on the outside, but he could feel a force pulling at him from within. He placed it carefully in one of his bags and looked back up at Gwendolyn. “Where do I go?”

“Ah, here we come to it: the quest. It is difficult to explain, and I doubt you would understand or remember my instruction either way. You’re going to the end of the world, a place where Ur butts right up against the waking world.”

Wonder looked at her questioningly. “But if you can’t tell me how to get there how am I supposed to find it?”

Gwendolyn floated in close to Wonder, only a foot or so away, and spoke quietly. “With this.” Gradually the soft light emanating from Gwendolyn became a blinding radiance. It flared once forcing Wonder to shield his eyes, and then it began to die. When he moved his hands from his eyes Wonder saw Gwendolyn bring a brightly shining object away from her chest. It was like the light had passed from Gwendolyn to this thing that she was holding cupped in her hands. She offered it to Wonder.

“It’s OK,” Gwendolyn said, her voice just a whisper. “Take it.”

Wonder reached up and took the object. It felt round, smooth and cool with some ridges and protrusions near one end. The light had faded enough now to make out the outline.

“It’s my Crystal Heart. It will help you find your way.” Gwendolyn was beginning to sound far away and her form was fading in the dying light.

“Wait! What if I need more help?” Wonder shouted at her almost invisible form.

“You have help. You have friends. Trust them. Lean on them to get you to your goal, but in the end you must walk the final road alone.”

And that was the last he saw or heard from Gwendolyn. The only evidence of their conversation was the Crystal Heart still softly glowing in Wonder’s hand.

<< Chapter 9: Inside the Tower | NOTES | Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem >>

Chapter 10: Room 23

Wonder hit the door running and kept going. She had never experienced betrayal, but she found it to be more than she could deal with. How exactly is a Glitch supposed to react to finding out that their closest friend is actually their oldest enemy? True, Koro had never acted much like an enemy, but Wonder wasn’t in any position to consider things rationally at the moment. For all she knew it could be one big Rook trick! The only thing she could do was get as far from Koro as possible.

She ran back through the unfinished hallway, past the Interrogation Room and into the endless corridors that lead back down the tower. Her head was still spinning and she wasn’t really paying attention to where she was headed, so she didn’t notice the sign on the door that read “Room 23” when she opened it and charged headlong into the darkness.

The sudden change of surroundings brought her up short. She had been expecting another hallway with another series of doors; instead, she was in a large, dark, open room. In fact it didn’t really seem like a room in a tower at all; it seemed like another street in Jethimadh or Chakra Phool, only it felt like she was underground. Wonder knew that was impossible; she hadn’t gone that far down the tower, and it made her a little bit nervous.

She was trying to see into the distance, struggling with the decision of whether she should explore or go back and find another way. With a sigh she took a step further into the room. Her curiosity combined with her desire to find anything to take her mind off of Koro pushed her on.

Wonder took a few more steps before she tripped over something. Picking herself up she was cursing the darkness when she remembered the Firefly Jar she had in her bag. She reached in and grabbed the jar. The Fireflies were dancing around inside and looked quite content. When they saw her looking in they seemed to get a little brighter and dance a little faster like they were trying to show off.

Wonder held the jar up and it cast a warm light all around her. She still couldn’t see the ends of the room, but at least the dirt path was lit up clearly. There were vines and other plants growing up from the ground and hanging from the ceiling far above. It definitely looked more like an outdoor street than an indoor room. She looked down to see what she had tripped over and found another log with crudely carved arms and facial features like the one she saw in the Rook Museum. She wondered where they had come from, and it made her kind of sad to see them lying on the ground helpless.

She followed the path, but the room wasn’t quite as big as she had imagined at first and she quickly came up against the back wall. Wonder was a little disappointed to find nothing but smooth rock at the end of the room and she sat with her back to it trying to think of what to do next. She started to think about Koro, but decided she wasn’t ready to deal with that yet and instead turned her thoughts back to the mission. She tried to consider what to do about getting back to those other rooms she hadn’t checked, but her heart wasn’t in it and her thoughts began to drift to feeling sorry for herself.

Just as Wonder was beginning to settle into a nice little pity-party she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She covered the Firefly Jar and looked again. There, a little ways above her she could swear she saw a faint blue glow. She pulled the Firefly Jar back out and looked around. Sure enough there was a ledge of rock above her and a vine growth climbing up to it that she hoped would support her weight.

She hooked the jar to her bag and tested the strength of the vines. They seemed sturdy enough so she climbed slowly at first trying to feel it out before gaining some confidence and making the rest of her way fairly easily. When she got to the top the path looked very similar to the one she had just left. She covered the Fireflies and saw the blue glow in the distance directly in front of her.

Wonder’s thoughts were racing about what she might find down there in the dark. So far it hadn’t crossed her mind that it might be something dangerous, but now she began to get a little frightened. Why would Glitchen keep something down here in the dark where it was hidden away from the rest of the world if it wasn’t something bad? Her steps slowed as she approached the glow and considered that she might not like what she found. Just as Wonder was thinking about turning around and getting out of this room as fast as possible a voice startled her so badly she almost dropped the Firefly Jar.

“Don’t be afraid, little Glitch. Come closer and let us speak.”

Wonder stood perfectly still for a moment, but something about the voice reassured her. She slowly began walking toward the glow again. As she got closer the blue light was enough to see by so she put the Firefly Jar away. She approached the source of the light and the voice spoke again.

“Welcome, Wonder. This has been a strange life for you so far, hasn’t it?”

As it spoke the light dimmed and Wonder could make out the pale, translucent shape of a Glitch in a flowing dress, floating several inches off the ground. Wonder thought she looked a little sad.

“Don’t be shy,” the Glitch teased, “I’m a friend.”

Wonder tried to shake the surprise from her thoughts. “Another Glitch? So I’m not the only one left?”

The floating Glitch gave a small smile. “No, I’m afraid you are the last of our kind. I’m no longer a Glitch as you are. I am merely the spirit of a Glitch that lived and died long, long ago. You may call me Gwendolyn.”

“Gwendolyn.” Wonder repeated the name. “But why are you here?”

Gwendolyn laughed, and it sounded whisper-thin like the wind through leaves. “That is a loaded question. If you mean, ‘Why did I remain in Ur after I died?’ well, that business is my own and doesn’t concern your current situation. If you mean, ‘Why am I still here if the rest of the Glitchen disappeared?’ that is a mystery to me as well. If you mean, ‘Why am I here right now talking to you?’ well, that one’s easy. I want to help you.”

“Help me?”

“Of course! Someone has to save this world and I believe that someone is you. And right now you need someone to help, and I believe that someone is me.”

“I don’t think you can help me… unless you know how to put the Giants back to sleep?”

Gwendolyn looked down at Wonder thoughtfully. “No, I’m afraid I don’t know how to put them back to sleep, but I don’t think that’s what saving this world means.”

Wonder was confused. “But Uncle Friendly said we need to put them back to sleep to restore Ur. He said they must not be fully awake if we’re still here, so we need to get them all the way back to sleep and it will reset things.”

“Uncle Friendly is right about one thing: the Giants aren’t fully awake. That is the reason we’re still here. Unfortunately putting them back to sleep is neither easy, nor is it the right thing to do.”

Wonder still didn’t understand. “But you said I’m supposed to save Ur. How am I going to do that if I don’t put the Giants back to sleep?”

“You’re going to wake them up.”

This was not the answer Wonder had been expecting. She wasn’t sure how to respond. “But… won’t that destroy the rest of the world?”

Gwendolyn looked down at Wonder sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Wonder. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but listen to your heart. You were already skeptical of Uncle Friendly’s plan, you just didn’t know why. Think about what you are hoping to accomplish. The Giants imagined this world and its inhabitants in a dream. When they woke up parts of that dream disappeared. The Giants are still somewhere between waking and sleeping which is why we remain, but the most important and complex part, the Glitchen, are already gone. If you somehow found a way to put the Giants back to sleep the Glitchen wouldn’t just reappear. This world has already been damaged and it can’t go back to the way it was. The Glitchen are gone for good.

“If the Giants were to fully fall back asleep the best we could hope for is to be left alone. More likely the dream would change and become dangerous to us. If we do nothing and leave things as they are we might remain unchanged for a while, but eventually things will start disappearing. Things are already changed aren’t they?”

Wonder nodded. “The animals and trees don’t talk anymore. Magic Rock said they used to talk all the time.”

Gwendolyn considered this and sighed to herself. “So you see, left unchecked things would continue to progress like this. Maybe one day the Vendors wake up to find their minds gone, or maybe streets start disappearing without warning. It would be a slow, painful death for this world. We deserve better.” Gwendolyn floated silently while she let it all sink in.

Finally Wonder responded. “But what about me?”

Gwendolyn smiled down at Wonder. “I’m afraid your story ends with us as well.”

Wonder’s head fell and she began to cry softly.

“Why are you sad?”

Wonder looked back up and wiped her eyes. “Because I don’t want to die.”

“It is hard to be the hero sometimes. I wish I could comfort you by saying your actions will be remembered for generations to come, but that wouldn’t be true. I can tell you that you’ll be reunited with your Glitchen brothers and sisters and this entire world will go along with you. More importantly you will be saving every other rock, tree, piggy, Vendor and ghost whether they realize it or not.”

“But why me?”

“Because it has to be you, Wonder. The Glitchen were the favorite of the Giants and you were the favorite of the Glitchen or else you wouldn’t be here. You are the answer to this problem.”

“But I don’t know how.”

“I think I might be able to help you with that.” Gwendolyn floated backward several feet to reveal a music block lying on the ground below her. It looked very much like any of the hundreds of music blocks Wonder had come across except that the front showed an image of a night sky behind a tree line.

“A music block?” Wonder asked.

“This is a special music block,” Gwendolyn replied. “It’s very old and still holds much power. I will show you where to take it. All you have to do is get there and play it.”

Wonder picked up the music block and turned it over in her hands. There didn’t appear to be anything special about it on the outside, but she could feel a force pulling at her from within. She placed it carefully in one of her bags and looked back up at Gwendolyn. “Where do I go?”

“Ah, here we come to it: the quest. It is difficult to explain, and I doubt you would understand or remember my instruction either way. You’re going to the end of the world, a place where Ur butts right up against the waking world.”

Wonder looked at her questioningly. “But if you can’t tell me how to get there how am I supposed to find it?”

Gwendolyn floated in close to Wonder, only a foot or so away, and spoke quietly. “With this.” Gradually the soft light emanating from Gwendolyn became a blinding radiance. It flared once forcing Wonder to shield her eyes, and then it began to die. When she moved her hands from her eyes Wonder saw Gwendolyn bring a brightly shining object away from her chest. It was like the light had passed from Gwendolyn to this thing that she was holding cupped in her hands. She offered it to Wonder.

“It’s OK,” Gwendolyn said, her voice just a whisper. “Take it.”

Wonder reached up and took the object. It felt round, smooth and cool with some ridges and protrusions near one end. The light had faded enough now to make out the outline.

“It’s my Crystal Heart. It will help you find your way.” Gwendolyn was beginning to sound far away and her form was fading in the dying light.

“Wait! What if I need more help?” Wonder shouted at her almost invisible form.

“You have help. You have friends. Trust them. Lean on them to get you to your goal, but in the end you must walk the final road alone.”

And that was the last she saw or heard from Gwendolyn. The only evidence of their conversation was the Crystal Heart still softly glowing in Wonder’s hand.

<< Chapter 9: Inside the Tower | NOTES | Chapter 11: Things Aren't Always What They Seem >>

Chapter 9: Inside the Tower

When Uncle Friendly said they had a lot to talk about he wasn’t kidding, and he did most of the talking. Magic Rock asked him questions about what had been going on since everyone disappeared—what Uncle Friendly referred to as “The Awakening”—and why all the Vendors were gathered at the tower.

Most of what he said didn’t make a lot of sense to Wonder since he hadn’t been around before and wasn’t as familiar with Ur. He talked about how the Vendors already had a plan in place to meet up if the world didn’t end when the Giants woke up. Once it was apparent that Ur was still there they all teleported to Jethimadh Tower. They had been near the tower since then trying to figure out what to do next.

As the conversation went on Wonder’s earlier excitement turned to boredom and he found his attention drifting to the Vendors standing at the base of the tower. They had mostly turned to each other, coming together in groups to chat while Uncle Friendly figured out what to do. Wonder wondered what their lives had been like before and what it would have been like to trade with them if he had been given the chance of a normal life.

While he was daydreaming Magic Rock and Uncle Friendly had apparently come to a decision and were staring at him. He slowly turned back to them and realized they had asked him something and were waiting for a response.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Uncle Friendly seemed exasperated. “Of course not,” he grumbled to himself followed by something else he couldn’t make out.

“It’s OK,” Mr. Trinkets said. “I was starting to nod off myself.”

Magic Rock pushed on. “Yes, yes, very funny. The long and short of it is Uncle Friendly here believes the Giants are still somewhere between waking and sleeping and that if we can get them back to sleep the world will be restored to its former balance.”

“Really?” Wonder was excited about the possibility, but couldn’t see how they could put the Giants back to sleep. “So, how do we do that?”

“Well, that’s where they’re kind of stuck. There is a theory that we can somehow use the store of Wine of the Dead that Hell’s Bartender brought up with him. Maybe make it into a concentrated powder. It’s deadly to Glitchen and Vendors alike, but it might be just enough to put the Giants back to sleep.”

“OK, so can we try that?”

This time Uncle Friendly answered him. “We’d love to. The problem is we’re not sure how to deliver the powder. How do you sprinkle something on a Giant when you live inside its mind? That’s where you come in.”

Wonder was confused. “I’m sorry?”

“We know that Glitchen in the past have called the Giants into our world and talked to them face to face. We think that if you can do that we might have a chance to dose them up and put them back to sleep.”

The longer he listened the more far-fetched Uncle Friendly’s plan seemed. “And how exactly am I supposed to call the Giants?”

“Well, we don’t really know that either, but we know it’s been done before. Our thought is that if there is a way to call the Giants you’ll find that information in the tower.” Uncle Friendly was waiting for a response.

It seemed to Wonder that he talked a big game, but underneath his cool exterior he was extremely worried. The plan would need several miracles, at least, if it had any chance of working. On the other hand it was the only plan they had. “So why do you need me? You’ve obviously been here a while; haven’t you searched the tower by now?”

“And now we’ve come to our first problem, which you have easily solved just by showing up!” Uncle Friendly seemed pleased to reach a question he could answer with confidence. “The tower will only open for a Glitch. Until now we believed them all to be gone and our hope was lost, but now here you are: the last Glitch in Ur.”

Wonder finally understood his part in this conversation. “So you need me to go in, figure out how to call the Giants and then come back here and tell you so you can put them back to sleep.”

“Yes, well, almost. We need you to go in, figure out how to call the Giants and then actually do it so you can put them back to sleep.”

Wonder was shocked at Uncle Friendly’s suggestion. “What? Why do I have to do it? You are all much smarter and understand this world better than I do. I’m the last person that should be calling the Giants!”

“That’s just it, Wonder, you’re the last person, or at least the last Glitch. You’re the only one that can do it. The Giants don’t listen to us, but they might listen to you.”

“He’s right, Wonder. We have no idea if any of this will work, but right now you’re our best hope.” Magic Rock spoke softly trying to convince him. “We’ll wait for you here, but this is something you’ll have to do alone. So, will you do it?”

Suddenly Wonder felt the weight of what they were asking. That morning he had been nothing more than a traveler hoping to find some answers and now all of a sudden he’s the savior of Ur? He couldn’t imagine how any of this could make sense, but at the moment he didn’t have any better ideas. He felt his mind split. One part was completely numb from the shock of what was being asked, but the other part was suddenly kicked into overdrive. There were so many things he still didn’t understand about this world; maybe they were right, maybe he is their last hope to put things back together. Maybe this plan will work and everything will go back to normal and he can lead a normal life with his own home street and his own butler. Maybe Uncle Friendly’s idea isn’t crazy at all, it just needs a Glitch—any Glitch—to make it work.

It was this part of his brain, the hopeful, but slightly illogical part, that agreed to enter the tower alone and look for a way to call the Giants back to Ur.

“OK,” he said. “I’ll do it. Just tell me where to go.”

***

The next few hours were spent discussing the layout of the tower and likely locations of knowledge and resources that would be helpful. Magic Rock and Uncle Friendly did most of the planning without consulting Wonder which irritated him until he realized neither of them seemed to really know much about the tower and most of the search was going to be up to Wonder and his instincts. This did not make him feel any better about the plan.

As far as he understood there were several rooms, likely near the top of the tower, which would have been used as museums or libraries or something similar. Much of the tower was still under construction and there were hallways that suddenly ended and doors that opened into nothing, so he should be careful. Other than that his goal was to head as high in the tower as he could get and search the rooms there.

When it was time for him to go there was little fanfare. Though all the Vendors realized what was happening and were watching him intently there were no announcements made or any official words said. Instead Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets quietly wished him luck and then stepped back. He took one more look around before opening the large front door, taking a deep breath and stepping inside.

The entrance was not quite what Wonder was expecting. For such a grand tower he somehow thought the inside would feel bigger. Instead he was in a relatively small corridor warmly lit by lamps hanging overhead. There were several doors along the walls and then the corridor just ended.

“Well,” he said to himself, “here goes nothing.” He opened the first door he came to and stepped through.

Jethimadh Tower was at least as confusing as they had warned him it would be, if not more. He didn’t have a map or a guide or really any sense of general direction other than up. The doors all had signs, but they just seemed to be random numbers and letters; none of them made much sense to him. He just kept climbing and going through door after door, finding more hallways and more doors. After what felt like the hundredth corridor he wondered what idiot architect had designed this place, and then worried that even if he found what he came for he wouldn’t be able to get out again.

He was beginning to feel like he would never reach the top when he came to a door with a wooden plank across it and a sign that said “Under Construction.”

Wonder thought to himself, ‘At least this is something different,’ and decided to have a peek behind it. He tugged the plank off of the door and pulled it open.

What he saw when he stepped through was another hallway, but this one was clearly still being finished up. The lamps weren’t all hung and the walls weren’t quite finished. Along one side were two doors. One labeled “Interrogation Room: No Admittance,” the other labeled “Mezzanine.”

Wonder thought a room where interrogations happened was likely to have lots of information, so he tried the Interrogation Room first. The sign wasn’t lying when it said “No Admittance,” because the door was locked and he couldn’t get in. Disappointed, he turned to the other door.

Wonder didn’t know what a Mezzanine was, but the door was unlocked so he opened it and went through. He was in another hallway, but he felt like she was close to her goal as the doors here had signs that read things like “Hall of Records” and “Hall of Rejected Concepts.” Hall of Records seemed like a good place to start, but as he was reaching for the door knob another door caught his attention. The next door over was labeled “Rook Museum” and Wonder’s fascination kept him rooted to the spot.

He knew almost nothing about the Rook, except what Magic Rock had told him, which wasn’t much, but he clearly remembered the fear in his friend’s eyes when they thought they had seen one. He had asked about the Rook several times on their journey to the tower, but the rest of the group had always changed the subject or feigned ignorance. Now here was his chance to find out what they had been keeping from him. He was eager to complete his task and get back to his friends, but he figured a quick peek couldn’t hurt, so he turned away from the other doors and stepped into the Rook Museum.

At first there was nothing to see. The room was large, but it was very dimly lit. There was a small log crudely carved with arms and a face lying on the ground next to the door. He poked at it with his foot, but it didn’t move. Wonder stepped a little further into the room, but couldn’t see much. There was a large picture on the wall near him, but it was hard to discern in the dark. Looking a little closer he noticed a small red button next to the frame.

He pushed the button and a light flickered to life over the image. A crackling noise startled him and a voice began speaking from the wall next to him. Wonder jumped back in surprise, but he quickly realized the voice was narrating the story in the picture.

“Back in the early ages of Ur,” the voice began, “small islands formed spontaneously from the primordial chaos.”

While the voice went on about the dangers of the early days of Ur, Wonder examined the picture. It showed a scene of some early Glitchen running away in fear from a darkness in the background, and flying with them were several large black birds that looked just like—

“Oh no! Koro!” In all the excitement of meeting the Vendors and his new quest he had completely forgotten he still had Koro tucked away in one of his bags.

Wonder tore open the bag and lifted Koro out carefully. “Koro I’m so sorry! You’ve been in there for hours and I completely forgot!”

Koro hopped down to the floor and fanned her wings. She looked a little ruffled, but no worse for the wear. “It’s OK, I’m fine,” she said. “Where are we?” By this time the voice had stopped talking and the light over the picture had gone out so there wasn’t much for Koro to see but a big, dark room.

“We’re in the tower! You missed out on quite a bit. You really should have joined us. I know you said you were nervous, but there was really nothing to worry about.”

“Where is everyone else?” Koro asked.

“They stayed behind. I’ll fill you in on all the details later, but I had to come in alone because they said only a Glitch could open the tower. I guess you got in because I brought you here with me.” Then turning to the picture on the wall he went on excitedly, “But, Koro, look at what I found!” Wonder pushed the button and the picture lit up as the voice began speaking again.

“Back in the early ages of Ur…”

Wonder pointed up at the picture. “Look, it’s us! Our people, together, back in history!”

Koro’s eyes went wide.

“...The ancient Glitchen tribes suffered under constant threat to their very survival…”

“Wonder, where are we?”

“I told you, we’re in the tower.”

“…But by far the most dangerous and terrifying of these was The Rook…”

“Where in the tower?”

“The Rook Museum, why?” Wonder looked at his friend, confused.

“…The Rook, enemy of imagination, visited its wrath upon whatever the Giants created…”

Koro was suddenly panicked. “We shouldn’t be here!”

“Koro, what’s the matter?”

“…It was the very manifestation of fear, doubt and uncertainty…”

“We can’t stay! We have to leave now!”

“Koro, you’re scaring me, tell me what’s wrong!”

“… It pecked and clawed relentlessly at the periphery of the Giants’ domain…”

“Please trust me, we need to go!”

“Koro, what’s the big deal? It’s just…“ but Wonder’s words fell short. As he looked back up at the picture something in his mind clicked. He made connections he hadn’t been able to make before. All of those odd looks between the others, Koro’s unusual behavior, it all suddenly made sense. Those birds weren’t flying from the terror, they were the terror.

“…Black winter to the Giants’ spring of creativity…”

“Koro…” Wonder whispered in horror. “You’re a… a Rook?”

Koro looked up at Wonder pleadingly. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted a friend.”

Wonder looked back at Koro as if for the first time. He stared in silence for a long moment and then turned and ran from the room while Koro watched him, defeated.

“…It was—if I can say so myself—most awful.”

<< Chapter 8: An Unexpected Gathering | NOTES | Chapter 10: Room 23 >>

Chapter 9: Inside the Tower

When Uncle Friendly said they had a lot to talk about he wasn’t kidding, and he did most of the talking. Magic Rock asked him questions about what had been going on since everyone disappeared—what Uncle Friendly referred to as “The Awakening”—and why all the Vendors were gathered at the tower.

Most of what he said didn’t make a lot of sense to Wonder since she hadn’t been around before and wasn’t as familiar with Ur. He talked about how the Vendors already had a plan in place to meet up if the world didn’t end when the Giants woke up. Once it was apparent that Ur was still there they all teleported to Jethimadh Tower. They had been near the tower since then trying to figure out what to do next.

As the conversation went on Wonder’s earlier excitement turned to boredom and she found her attention drifting to the Vendors standing at the base of the tower. They had mostly turned to each other, coming together in groups to chat while Uncle Friendly figured out what to do. Wonder wondered what their lives had been like before and what it would have been like to trade with them if she had been given the chance of a normal life.

While she was daydreaming Magic Rock and Uncle Friendly had apparently come to a decision and were staring at her. She slowly turned back to them and realized they had asked her something and were waiting for a response.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Uncle Friendly seemed exasperated. “Of course not,” he grumbled to himself followed by something else she couldn’t make out.

“It’s OK,” Mr. Trinkets said. “I was starting to nod off myself.”

Magic Rock pushed on. “Yes, yes, very funny. The long and short of it is Uncle Friendly here believes the Giants are still somewhere between waking and sleeping and that if we can get them back to sleep the world will be restored to its former balance.”

“Really?” Wonder was excited about the possibility, but couldn’t see how they could put the Giants back to sleep. “So, how do we do that?”

“Well, that’s where they’re kind of stuck. There is a theory that we can somehow use the store of Wine of the Dead that Hell’s Bartender brought up with him. Maybe make it into a concentrated powder. It’s deadly to Glitchen and Vendors alike, but it might be just enough to put the Giants back to sleep.”

“OK, so can we try that?”

This time Uncle Friendly answered her. “We’d love to. The problem is we’re not sure how to deliver the powder. How do you sprinkle something on a Giant when you live inside its mind? That’s where you come in.”

Wonder was confused. “I’m sorry?”

“We know that Glitchen in the past have called the Giants into our world and talked to them face to face. We think that if you can do that we might have a chance to dose them up and put them back to sleep.”

The longer she listened the more far-fetched Uncle Friendly’s plan seemed. “And how exactly am I supposed to call the Giants?”

“Well, we don’t really know that either, but we know it’s been done before. Our thought is that if there is a way to call the Giants you’ll find that information in the tower.” Uncle Friendly was waiting for a response.

It seemed to Wonder that he talked a big game, but underneath his cool exterior he was extremely worried. The plan would need several miracles, at least, if it had any chance of working. On the other hand it was the only plan they had. “So why do you need me? You’ve obviously been here a while; haven’t you searched the tower by now?”

“And now we’ve come to our first problem, which you have easily solved just by showing up!” Uncle Friendly seemed pleased to reach a question he could answer with confidence. “The tower will only open for a Glitch. Until now we believed them all to be gone and our hope was lost, but now here you are: the last Glitch in Ur.”

Wonder finally understood her part in this conversation. “So you need me to go in, figure out how to call the Giants and then come back here and tell you so you can put them back to sleep.”

“Yes, well, almost. We need you to go in, figure out how to call the Giants and then actually do it so you can put them back to sleep.”

Wonder was shocked at Uncle Friendly’s suggestion. “What? Why do I have to do it? You are all much smarter and understand this world better than I do. I’m the last person that should be calling the Giants!”

“That’s just it, Wonder, you’re the last person, or at least the last Glitch. You’re the only one that can do it. The Giants don’t listen to us, but they might listen to you.”

“He’s right, Wonder. We have no idea if any of this will work, but right now you’re our best hope.” Magic Rock spoke softly trying to convince her. “We’ll wait for you here, but this is something you’ll have to do alone. So, will you do it?”

Suddenly Wonder felt the weight of what they were asking. That morning she had been nothing more than a traveler hoping to find some answers and now all of a sudden she’s the savior of Ur? She couldn’t imagine how any of this could make sense, but at the moment she didn’t have any better ideas. She felt her mind split. One part was completely numb from the shock of what was being asked, but the other part was suddenly kicked into overdrive. There were so many things she still didn’t understand about this world; maybe they were right, maybe she is their last hope to put things back together. Maybe this plan will work and everything will go back to normal and she can lead a normal life with her own home street and her own butler. Maybe Uncle Friendly’s idea isn’t crazy at all, it just needs a Glitch—any Glitch—to make it work.

It was this part of her brain, the hopeful, but slightly illogical part, that agreed to enter the tower alone and look for a way to call the Giants back to Ur.

“OK,” she said. “I’ll do it. Just tell me where to go.”

***

The next few hours were spent discussing the layout of the tower and likely locations of knowledge and resources that would be helpful. Magic Rock and Uncle Friendly did most of the planning without consulting Wonder which irritated her until she realized neither of them seemed to really know much about the tower and most of the search was going to be up to Wonder and her instincts. This did not make her feel any better about the plan.

As far as she understood there were several rooms, likely near the top of the tower, which would have been used as museums or libraries or something similar. Much of the tower was still under construction and there were hallways that suddenly ended and doors that opened into nothing, so she should be careful. Other than that her goal was to head as high in the tower as she could get and search the rooms there.

When it was time for her to go there was little fanfare. Though all the Vendors realized what was happening and were watching her intently there were no announcements made or any official words said. Instead Magic Rock and Mr. Trinkets quietly wished her luck and then stepped back. She took one more look around before opening the large front door, taking a deep breath and stepping inside.

The entrance was not quite what Wonder was expecting. For such a grand tower she somehow thought the inside would feel bigger. Instead she was in a relatively small corridor warmly lit by lamps hanging overhead. There were several doors along the walls and then the corridor just ended.

“Well,” she said to herself, “here goes nothing.” She opened the first door she came to and stepped through.

Jethimadh Tower was at least as confusing as they had warned her it would be, if not more. She didn’t have a map or a guide or really any sense of general direction other than up. The doors all had signs, but they just seemed to be random numbers and letters; none of them made much sense to her. She just kept climbing and going through door after door, finding more hallways and more doors. After what felt like the hundredth corridor she wondered what idiot architect had designed this place, and then worried that even if she found what she came for she wouldn’t be able to get out again.

She was beginning to feel like she would never reach the top when she came to a door with a wooden plank across it and a sign that said “Under Construction.”

Wonder thought to herself, ‘At least this is something different,’ and decided to have a peek behind it. She tugged the plank off of the door and pulled it open.

What she saw when she stepped through was another hallway, but this one was clearly still being finished up. The lamps weren’t all hung and the walls weren’t quite finished. Along one side were two doors. One labeled “Interrogation Room: No Admittance,” the other labeled “Mezzanine.”

Wonder thought a room where interrogations happened was likely to have lots of information, so she tried the Interrogation Room first. The sign wasn’t lying when it said “No Admittance,” because the door was locked and she couldn’t get in. Disappointed, she turned to the other door.

Wonder didn’t know what a Mezzanine was, but the door was unlocked so she opened it and went through. She was in another hallway, but she felt like she was close to her goal as the doors here had signs that read things like “Hall of Records” and “Hall of Rejected Concepts.” Hall of Records seemed like a good place to start, but as she was reaching for the door knob another door caught her attention. The next door over was labeled “Rook Museum” and Wonder’s fascination kept her rooted to the spot.

She knew almost nothing about the Rook, except what Magic Rock had told her, which wasn’t much, but she clearly remembered the fear in her friend’s eyes when they thought they had seen one. She had asked about the Rook several times on their journey to the tower, but the rest of the group had always changed the subject or feigned ignorance. Now here was her chance to find out what they had been keeping from her. She was eager to complete her task and get back to her friends, but she figured a quick peek couldn’t hurt, so she turned away from the other doors and stepped into the Rook Museum.

At first there was nothing to see. The room was large, but it was very dimly lit. There was a small log crudely carved with arms and a face lying on the ground next to the door. She poked at it with her foot, but it didn’t move. Wonder stepped a little further into the room, but couldn’t see much. There was a large picture on the wall near her, but it was hard to discern in the dark. Looking a little closer she noticed a small red button next to the frame.

She pushed the button and a light flickered to life over the image. A crackling noise startled her and a voice began speaking from the wall next to her. Wonder jumped back in surprise, but she quickly realized the voice was narrating the story in the picture.

“Back in the early ages of Ur,” the voice began, “small islands formed spontaneously from the primordial chaos.”

While the voice went on about the dangers of the early days of Ur, Wonder examined the picture. It showed a scene of some early Glitchen running away in fear from a darkness in the background, and flying with them were several large black birds that looked just like—

“Oh no! Koro!” In all the excitement of meeting the Vendors and her new quest she had completely forgotten she still had Koro tucked away in one of her bags.

Wonder tore open the bag and lifted Koro out carefully. “Koro I’m so sorry! You’ve been in there for hours and I completely forgot!”

Koro hopped down to the floor and fanned her wings. She looked a little ruffled, but no worse for the wear. “It’s OK, I’m fine,” she said. “Where are we?” By this time the voice had stopped talking and the light over the picture had gone out so there wasn’t much for Koro to see but a big, dark room.

“We’re in the tower! You missed out on quite a bit. You really should have joined us. I know you said you were nervous, but there was really nothing to worry about.”

“Where is everyone else?” Koro asked.

“They stayed behind. I’ll fill you in on all the details later, but I had to come in alone because they said only a Glitch could open the tower. I guess you got in because I brought you here with me.” Then turning to the picture on the wall she went on excitedly, “But, Koro, look at what I found!” Wonder pushed the button and the picture lit up as the voice began speaking again.

“Back in the early ages of Ur…”

Wonder pointed up at the picture. “Look, it’s us! Our people, together, back in history!”

Koro’s eyes went wide.

“...The ancient Glitchen tribes suffered under constant threat to their very survival…”

“Wonder, where are we?”

“I told you, we’re in the tower.”

“…But by far the most dangerous and terrifying of these was The Rook…”

“Where in the tower?”

“The Rook Museum, why?” Wonder looked at her friend, confused.

“…The Rook, enemy of imagination, visited its wrath upon whatever the Giants created…”

Koro was suddenly panicked. “We shouldn’t be here!”

“Koro, what’s the matter?”

“…It was the very manifestation of fear, doubt and uncertainty…”

“We can’t stay! We have to leave now!”

“Koro, you’re scaring me, tell me what’s wrong!”

“… It pecked and clawed relentlessly at the periphery of the Giants’ domain…”

“Please trust me, we need to go!”

“Koro, what’s the big deal? It’s just…“ but Wonder’s words fell short. As she looked back up at the picture something in her mind clicked. She made connections she hadn’t been able to make before. All of those odd looks between the others, Koro’s unusual behavior, it all suddenly made sense. Those birds weren’t flying from the terror, they were the terror.

“…Black winter to the Giants’ spring of creativity…”

“Koro…” Wonder whispered in horror. “You’re a… a Rook?”

Koro looked up at Wonder pleadingly. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted a friend.”

Wonder looked back at Koro as if for the first time. She stared in silence for a long moment and then turned and ran from the room while Koro watched her, defeated.

“…It was—if I can say so myself—most awful.”

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