Dormia (26 page)

They looked at each other and laughed.

"You sure you feel up to moving again?" asked Alfonso.

"Let's go," said Bilblox. "The others will be waitin' for us."

"Yeah," said Alfonso quietly. "I just hope they made it out of Barsh-yin-Binder."

For the rest of the day, they floated peacefully down the river. Their destination was a landmark in the river known as the
Three-fingers Gorge. This was the spot where they were to meet up with Hill and Resuza. According to Dr. Van Bambleweep, there was no way they could miss the landmark. The fingers were actually three rock pillars sticking up from the river, each of them approximately two hundred feet tall. A series of wooden bridges ran across the top of the three fingers, allowing travelers to cross from one side of the river to the other. Dr. Van Bambleweep had sketched them a crude diagram:

It was early evening by the time they rounded a bend in the river and came upon the Three Fingers. The sun was beginning to set behind the massive, snow-covered Ural Mountains in the distance, but enough remained to light up the Three Fingers and make them glow. A cool breeze rocked the coffin. Alfonso and Bilblox sat and stared, speechless. From a distance, the Three Fingers looked stark and white, as if they were giant bleached bones sticking up. Bilblox steered the coffin to the shore just before the Three Fingers.

"I guess we oughta climb to the top," said Bilblox. "Hill and Resuza might be there already." He smiled. "Can't wait to see yer uncle and that girl, right?"

"I guess so," Alfonso replied bashfully.

***

That evening, they set up camp at the top of the gorge, after a long, difficult climb up from the water, especially now that they had to carry the coffin. There were no signs of Hill or Resuza.
For dinner, Bilblox and Alfonso cooked potatoes over the fire. As the scent of roasting potatoes wafted through the air, the lid of Spack's coffin rather suddenly popped open.

"What's for dinner?" came her tired voice.

"Potatoes," said Bilblox. "Want some?"

"Bring them here immediately," said Spack. "I shall have two, well cooked."

"Come and get it yerself," said Bilblox.

"Do you mean to tell me that after kidnapping me, you
now
refuse to feed me?" Spack asked. "
Incredible!
" She lay back down and said nothing.

After dinner, Alfonso and Bilblox were sipping the last of the hot coffee when a lonely howl rose from somewhere in the darkness. In response, more howls came from everywhere, including, it seemed, from someplace very close to the campsite. Alfonso shut his eyes and inched closer to the fire.

"Someone's headed our way!" said Bilblox. "Could be Dragoonya!"

Alfonso leapt to his feet and began kicking snow onto the fire to put it out.

"Get down!" yelled Bilblox. "Get outta sight!"

"Both of you shut up!" hissed Spack.

"It's okay," whispered Alfonso. "I think I know who it is."

Alfonso strained his eyes and saw two sleds being pulled by huskies. It was Hill and Resuza. Alfonso and Bilblox yelled in excitement. Resuza waved back enthusiastically. Hill drove his sled right up to the campsite and parked it next to Spack's coffin. He beamed at Alfonso and picked him up in a massive bear hug. Next was Resuza, who smiled happily and kissed Alfonso on the cheek. He blushed.

"Sorry we're late," said Hill. "Van Bambleweep's plan worked like a charm and we made great time until we got to those bridges by the Three Fingers. We couldn't cross them on the sleds, so we had to go ten miles downstream before we could find a spot to ford the river. Anyway, thank goodness we're fine. Bilblox, you look a little better! Are you recovering?"

Bilblox pointed toward Alfonso. "Thanks to this kid," he growled.

That night, the reunited group huddled around the fire and shared stories. Alfonso regaled them with their rafting adventure on the underground river aboard Spack's coffin, as well as the riddle of Prince Binder. Hill retold the story of their escape from Barsh-yin-Binder. According to Hill, Resuza had played the role of the concerned daughter brilliantly. "This young woman is quite an actress," said Hill. "You should have heard the sob story she gave to those Dragoonya soldiers. I was starting to shed some tears!"

"Ya know," remarked Bilblox, "the only part I can't figure out is why that Kiril fella helped us."

"Indeed, gents," said Resuza. "That was a strange event, and one I hope we shall never repeat." She stared into the campfire. No one said anything. They were all thinking about that terrible moment when Bilblox was almost killed.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, a squeaky voice uttered a single word: "Fools!"

"Who said that?" asked Hill.

"I did," said Spack. She had reemerged from her coffin and was now standing in the darkness, at the very edge of the camp-fire's glow. Her thin, pale face flickered dimly in and out of the blackness.

"Why did you call us fools?" asked Hill.

A slight smile crept across Spack's face.

"Because you haven't escaped anyone," said Spack slowly. "You're being played like pawns in a game of chess."

"Oh yeah?" said Bilblox. "What makes ya so knowledgeable?"

"My big, blind, dumb friend," said Spack, "I know
more
about
what
you're carrying and
where
you're headed than
any
of you. And let me assure you, it is a very, very, very good thing that you have me here to help."

"Who are you?" asked Hill pointedly.

Spack bowed ever so slightly. "My dear friend, I'm your guide," she replied.

"Guide to where?" asked Hill.

"To Dormia," replied Spack. "My country."

The silence was broken by a far-off but piercing howl.

"Dormia?" said Resuza. "What's Dormia?"

S
PACK WALKED
closer to the campfire and took a seat next to Alfonso. She moved gingerly, as if she had not used her leg muscles in a very long time. She eased her way down to the ground and, as she did, her joints creaked and popped in a very unpleasant way.

"I have urgent business to discuss," said Spack. "But first I have some complaints to lodge with the leader of this expedition, whoever that might be. I can't recall signing up to join this operation, but if and when I did, I neglected to lay down my terms. The food thus far has been poor, the accommodations miserable, and the company wretched! What's more, my coffin has incurred serious bangs, scrapes, water damage, and
the wheels have snapped off. I expect some improvements—right away!"

"Ya got some nerve," growled Bilblox. "Why don't ya try walkin' on yer own two legs before ya start askin' for better grub?"

"Tell us what you know and why you claim to be our guide," said Hill. "Then we'll see what we can do for you."

Spack glowered at Bilblox and said nothing.

"Here," said Hill kindly. "Have a cup of cardamom tea. I'm sure you'll be in a better mood afterward. We bought it at a small shop back in Barsh-yin-Binder." Hill grabbed the pot of boiling water dangling above the fire and poured tea into a tin cup. Spack took the cup of tea and grunted appreciatively.

"At last, someone with a bit of humanity," muttered Spack. "You see," she began, "I always knew that I was destined for some great purpose in life ... destined to play some pivotal role in the fate of Somnos ... and now it has come to pass."

"What are you saying?" asked Hill. "Something about Somnos? Speak up! You're part Dormian aren't you? I knew I recognized that lullaby! What do you know about Somnos?"

"A great deal," said Spack. "For you see, that place is my home. Let me explain..." She took a sip of tea and smiled shyly at Hill.

"I've had a hard life," she began. "Always bullied by other kids and bearing the brunt of practical jokes. Never had any friends. Even my own parents were embarrassed of me ... Yes, I was diagnosed as a 'tired Dormian,' and that is the worst kind of Dormian to be. We are the freaks of Dormian society because, when we fall asleep, we actually sleep soundly on our backs and do nothing but snore."

"That doesn't sound so awful," said Resuza sympathetically. "Isn't that what most people do?"

"Oh let me assure you, it is awful," said Spack. "I was the only person in my neighborhood who slept like that. It kept me from having friends, going to school, and playing sports. Worst of all, it meant that there was no way that I could fulfill my dream of becoming a Wanderer."

"A Wanderer?" inquired Bilblox.

Wanderers, explained Spack, were the heroes of Dormia. They were charged with the most important task of all: preparing to help the Great Sleeper whenever and wherever he or she might turn up. To do so, they traveled the world and settled into foreign societies. All this because, for strange and mysterious reasons, Great Sleepers and the Dormian blooms they planted always sprouted
outside
Dormia. Therefore, it was crucial that there were Dormians everywhere in the world, ready to help the Great Sleeper and protect the bloom. These Dormians were known as Wanderers because they crisscrossed the globe looking for Great Sleepers. Of course, the vast majority of Wanderers never laid eyes upon a Great Sleeper. Yet there always had to be a steady flow of Wanderers into the 'outside world,' because one never knew
exactly
when a Founding Tree might die, necessitating the emergence of a new Great Sleeper. Those lucky Wanderers who actually helped a Great Sleeper find their way home were idolized and became legends.

"Yes, that's the life!" Spack exclaimed. "Wandering the world: this year China, next year India, the year after that the horn of Africa!"

Even though Spack had always wanted to become a Wanderer, she was never considered for the job because she was a
tired Dormian. Still, Spack dreamed. Most of all, she dreamed of participating in Great Wandering Day. On this day, which occurred only once every twelve years, a new generation of Wanderers departed for the outside world.

"The day was one big parade!" recalled Spack. "The city streets were covered with fragrant white and yellow flowers. Banners hung from every window and doorway. Dormians assembled before the city gates in their finest clothes to bid farewell to their wandering heroes. Each Wanderer was given a satchel with a dagger, a slingshot, a pouch of medicinal herbs, a vile of poison, a watch, gold coins, and little toy maracas—"

"Maracas?" inquired Alfonso. "What kind of—"

"Don't interrupt my story!" sniped Spack. "It'll all be clear to you soon enough. Anyway, as I was saying, I wanted to be a Wanderer! And why not? Was it that impossible to imagine that a tired Dormian might be useful? Well, according to the elders, it
was
impossible. They refused, but I showed them. You see, when I was about fifteen years old, there was a Great Wandering Day and I decided to join in, unofficially of course. The Wanderers leave in these great big sleds and, during all the commotion of the parade, I simply darted out of the crowd—as fast as a tired Dormian could move—and hopped into a sled. I hid under a blanket and kept quiet. All around me I could hear cheering and trumpets sounding. Then came a noise that I shall never forget: the rumbling of the great stone doors of Somnos. It was as if the mountainside itself opened up. The very ground shook. Seconds later, howling winds poured in."

Spack paused to have a sip of tea. Every last person, even Bilblox, was hanging on her every word.

"We were brave Wanderers," recounted Spack, her eyes
shining. "It was bitterly cold and the wind was merciless. Everyone was freezing, even me. We slid downhill for two days and I never moved once from my hiding place. Of course, it helped that I could sleep for most of the time. On the third day, though, they discovered me. As you might imagine, they were a bit unhappy but—
overwhelmed
by my bravery—they decided to drop me off in Barsh-yin-Binder, where I was told to go undercover. They never gave me one of their satchels, but what does it matter? There, I was treated like a queen!"

Spack flashed a brief triumphant smile. "And now, here I am leading the Great Sleeper home! I can't wait to see everybody's face. They'll raise a statue in my honor. Everyone will wonder how they could have been so cruel to me."

"Ya haven't led us anywhere yet," said Bilblox. He stood up and looked around the campsite. "I'm not tryin' to sound mean, but how d'we know this ain't made up?"

Hill spoke for the first time in a while. "Spack doesn't need any proof. What she says is true."

"How can you be sure?" asked Alfonso.

"Trust me, I know," replied Hill. "I remember now—I remember what happened." Tears welled up in Hill's eyes and he looked incredibly sad.

"Uncle Hill?" said Alfonso. "What's the matter?"

"The mind is a funny thing," said Hill softly to himself. "All of those years I tried so desperately to dredge those memories from the depths of the past. I tried everything—even hypnosis—but to no avail. Now it's as clear as day. Of course, that's how it happened. Of course! It was Great Wandering Day. What silly boys we were. What silly, silly boys!"

"What in the heck are ya talkin' about?" asked Bilblox.

"I
remember,
Bilblox—I remember it all," said Hill with a dull, faraway look on his face. "That's how Leif and I got lost outside Dormia. It was on Great Wandering Day. The crowds, everyone shouting..."

Hill's voice tapered off. "Leif and I had been told to watch each other and be careful," he continued. "But we were curious. So were the other kids. A group of us all ran behind the last sled in the procession. And I just ... went too far. I didn't turn around with the other kids. Leif ran after me. Then, the next thing we knew, those massive doors slammed shut. I tried to get back in ... I pounded on the doors but they couldn't hear us. We ran ahead, thinking we'd find the Wanderers, but they had disappeared. It was bitterly cold and all we had were thin jackets."

Hill continued in a low, sorrow-filled voice: "A day later, we found a small band of Wanderers who recognized us. They were very kind, and put us on their sled and gave us food. I remember this one very pretty young woman with long blond hair. She gave Leif a maraca and she gave me the old Dormian watch that I still have. We were crying and I think she wanted to keep us occupied. I don't remember much else, except many days of travel and being so tired I could barely move. And then the terrible howling and snarling began. We must have been attacked. The young woman hid us under the sled, and then left."