Hey guys and gals :). This is another in my line of point-of-view stories, featuring Ian the Grey Ranger. Just a quick reminder (otherwise people are gonna be super confused, heh), these stories have original characters, and are set in Australia (which is actually important here). In terms of time, the Rangers have been Rangers for a couple of years now. Billy (and the other senior Rangers) are approaching the end of high school (and down under, the school year matches up to the calendar year, ending in November) ergo the reference to graduation. I hope you enjoy :).
Chapter One
School camp's always an adventure, but it doesn't usually change your life.
Mine did.
When I was eleven, my class went on a trip to the coast. I surfed, swam, and met the Power Rangers. I know, right? Like that wasn't incredible enough, they asked me to join them, giving me the opportunity to fight alongside them as the Grey Ranger. Me, Ian Thompson, a kid who grew up in outback Queensland, with the chance to be a superhero? I know I was nervous, but I said yes anyway, and I'm glad I did.
See, in the back of my mind, all I could think of was that it would be the most awesome adventure. Alongside some of my best friends, I'd get to see and do things that nobody else on Earth would ever know about. But then sometimes the adventures can be a little too big. When I first met the Rangers, they'd already been together for a few months. I think the extra time was really important for them to get used to their new lives. The other Rangers always seem so in control, like they're never overwhelmed. They always know what to do, regardless of whatever crazy situation we find ourselves in. It's inspiring, but also a little intimidating. On our last few missions, I've felt more and more out of my depth, like I'm fighting just to keep up with everyone else.
Anyway, it was a warm October Saturday, and I was in the Youth Centre that afternoon finishing up some homework at the team's usual tables, around the corner from the Juice Bar. Beside me, Billy was hidden behind stacks of books piled high in front of him. The senior team's final ever high school exams were only a couple of weeks away, followed closely by graduation. All six of them were spending the weekend studying. I didn't see why Billy was so worried. The Blue Ranger is scary-smart, and I'd be surprised if he didn't finish top of the class. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he didn't finish top of the state.
Closing the chemistry textbook before him, Billy slid it across the table, took his glasses off and massaged his aching eyes.
I looked up from an English assignment. "Need a break?" I asked.
Billy nodded glumly. "I am beginning to lose my recollection of fresh oxygen and vitamin D," he said, then caught himself. "Sunlight," he added with a smile.
Across the Youth Centre, I saw Teresa step out of the locker-room hallway. Catching sight of Billy and I, she waved and wandered over towards us. Teresa is one of the kindest people I know. While her fighting skills are incredible, when I first became a Ranger, she always took a second to make sure I was okay.
"Hey guys," the White Ranger said, sliding into the chair beside me. "How goes the studying?"
"In desperate need of a timely diversion," Billy replied.
We'd all learned long ago not to tempt fate, and I glanced worriedly to Teresa. Sure enough, a second later our communicators all chimed that familiar six-note tone. We looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, but the Youth Centre was mostly empty, and Ernie was in the kitchen cooking. Teresa raised her wrist to her mouth and spoke.
"Teresa here. Go ahead."
"Teresa," crackled Zordon's voice. "Are any of the other Rangers with you?"
"Just Ian and Billy."
"Excellent," Zordon replied. "If the three of you aren't busy, could you teleport to the Command Centre? It's nothing urgent, but I have a favour to ask."
"We'll be right there," Teresa said, and the communicator fell silent.
Teresa helped us cram our books back into our backpacks, and we headed down to the locker-room hallway. Vanishing from the scene in flashes of silver, white and blue, we soon materialised in the central chamber of the Command Centre. Looking down over us was our mentor Zordon, a powerful ancient wizard trapped in an interdimensional timewarp. He's a cool guy, Zordon, and he's probably seen some amazing things. I wondered sometimes if he ever missed being out in the field with the rest of us.
"Rangers," beamed Zordon. "It's good to see you."
"How can we be of assistance, Zordon?" Billy asked.
"I need the three of you to teleport to Germany," Zordon began, "and find the College of Magical Knowledge hidden deep in the Black Forest. One of the teachers there is an old friend of mine, Professor Barnabus Brucklehurst. I need you to deliver something for me."
"Sure," nodded Teresa.
"I guess," I added.
"Alpha, if you would?" Zordon asked. Zordon's robotic helper Alpha stepped around before us and placed a small black box on top of the nearest console. I reached over to pick it up, and a strange feeling swept the length of my arm. The box was light, but felt like it was humming. I slid it into my back pocket.
"So how do we get there?" Teresa asked.
"Teleportation doesn't work close to the college," Zordon replied. "It's one of the school's defensive measures. Your morphers won't work properly either, but I doubt you'll need them. You'll have to teleport to the city of Offenburg and take the Black Forest railway down to the small hamlet of Gengenbach. From there, follow one of the lesser-used trails out into the forested foothills surrounding the town. Here," and Alpha handed Billy a rolled-up map. "It's not a long trek, and from the weather reports, it's going to be a fine day."
He broke off as Alpha handed us all a small bundle of books and papers. "If anyone asks," Zordon continued, "you're three exchange students on a morning hike."
I turned to Billy and caught him grinning. He always loved it when Zordon gave us cover stories. I did too. It made the whole thing seem very James Bond. "Good luck Rangers," Zordon said, and I felt his gaze linger on me for a second. "Enjoy the trip."
Oceans, mountains and deserts flashed under us as we shot through the atmosphere towards Germany. A minute later, we materialised in an abandoned side-street in the middle of Offenburg, a short distance from the railway station. Offenburg was a large city, peaceful in the early morning save for the quiet hum of street cleaners and cafés opening for breakfast. We quickly made our way into the station, and it wasn't long before we were onboard a comfortable train carriage heading south through the Black Forest.
The trees were tall and ancient, towering over the train, and I felt quite small watching them flash past the window. The forest seemed to go on forever, extending all the way back to the jagged snow-capped peaks on the horizon. Teresa and I sat opposite each other, while across the aisle, Billy was sitting beside a businessman deeply engrossed in his newspaper. Up ahead, the forest began to thin, and the conductor's voice echoed out of the train's PA system. It was all in German, but I heard the word 'Gengenbach'.
Teresa nodded. "This is our stop," she said.
As the train rolled out of the forest, Gengenbach steadily came into view. It was a small village nestled between forested hills on all sides, with what looked like a vineyard on one slope close to the city. The narrow streets were lined with leafy green trees and small buildings, while the town's skyline was a maze of sloping rooves, chimneys, clock towers and church steeples.
As the station approached, we stepped over to the carriage doors, but Billy glanced back to the businessman he'd been sitting next to. Peering over the man's shoulder, Billy quickly saw the traveller was stuck on the paper's daily sudoku puzzle. Tapping the man on the shoulder, Billy leaned forward and pointed almost at random to the little squares on the page.
"Six," he began, "nine, one, two, seven, and four. Oh, and that square in the top corner where you have a five? That's actually an eight." The businessman stared in puzzled gratitude, and Billy smiled and rejoined us by the doors.
Stepping onto the street, the Blue Ranger unfolded the map Alpha had given us.
"Where to?" asked Teresa.
I swept my gaze over the map. "If we're here," I said, pointing to the station, "then we need to follow this road, and take the second trail past this farmhouse here."
So we set off. Although it would've been late in the afternoon back home, here, it was still quite early. Before long, we'd found the right trail, and the sounds of the village faded away behind us as the trees grew thicker and we followed the overgrown trail deeper into the forest. The sounds of traffic were soon replaced by the wind through the trees, and bird calls in the branches above us.
"It's nice here, isn't it?" Teresa said.
Billy nodded, and offered us the bottle of water he'd grabbed before we'd left. "The forest is not only noteworthy in terms of its biodiversity," he began, "but rich with local legend," and he held up a tourist guide he'd bought while we were waiting at the station. "The region's folklore is full of tales of elemental sorcery, spectral entities and cases of lycanthropy. There are also races of dwarves purported to live under the lakes."
As we strolled down through a forested valley, I suddenly caught sight of a dark shape darting between the tree trunks behind us. It almost looked like a shadow missing a person. I stopped and looked back, but couldn't see anything. It must've been a trick of the light. Brushing the hair out of my yes, I jogged back after Billy and Teresa.
"How far away do you think we are?" Teresa asked as I caught up.
I looked at the map. "Not far," I replied, and nodded to a rise up ahead. "I think it'll be just over this ridge."
"Do you hear that?" Billy asked. Quickening our pace, we jogged to the top of the hill, and the forest opened out before us. On the other side, the trail continued down and disappeared into the trees on the left, while on the right, past a grassy lawn and sitting near the side of a rocky ravine, was the college. We'd found it.
"Wow," I breathed.
A long time ago, the college had been a charming three storey manor house, with beige stone walls under a roof of blue tiles. I could even see what looked like stables back behind the house. But at some point, the house had become too small for its use, so rather than move, a succession of different builders had just kept haphazardly adding to the building, all independently of each other. Entire wings had been added wherever space allowed, and sometimes where it hadn't. Patios had been walled in to become corridors, which had then become stairwells. So many chimneys and blue-tiled turrets had risen on the roof that it gave the whole building a look of mushrooms springing up after a rainstorm.
Thick ivy was climbing most of the outside walls, while higher up, intricate stone carvings peered down over us. I could see eagles, lions, fairies and centaurs carved into the rocky walls. Flowers growing in beds by the front stairs were dazzlingly bright, with golds, violets and fuchsias amongst colours I didn't even know the names of. On a balcony over the entrance, a young woman was having an animated conversation with a potted plant that seemed to be talking back. A few windows across, a dozing wizard was resting his head on his own hat, while on a patio beside the stairs, a pixie was chatting to a strange young man with leaves in his hair and a pair of goat legs under his waist.
I nudged Billy's shoulder as we stepped off the trail. "Is that a satyr?" I asked.
"I believe so," Billy replied. "How remarkable."
As we approached the front archway, the two turned to us and offered friendly waves. Teresa stepped forward. "Maybe you can help us," she called. "We're looking for Professor Brucklehurst?"
"Through the front doors, second staircase, third door on the left!" the satyr pointed.
"Thank you!" I called.
Stepping under the arch, we followed the stairs up to the front entrance. "This place doesn't seem large enough to be a school," I said.
"Possibly it's one of those larger-on-the-inside locales?" Billy suggested. Pushing open the doors, we stepped into a narrow hallway that was barely wide enough for the three of us. Billy immediately ducked to avoid a low chandelier. "Or not," he added.
Beneath our feet was a faded, worn carpet. But beautiful paintings and tapestries hung from the walls, while the most inviting smells were wafting out of a nearby dining hall. We passed one narrow staircase and continued on. Two witches dressed in colourful, flowing robes offered us a cheerful good morning as we passed, while a flying carpet drifted over our heads.
"Don't we have one of those in the Command Centre?" Teresa asked.
Soon on the second floor, we followed the corridor along until we found a door with Professor Barnabus Brucklehurst inscribed in gold above it. Billy lightly rapped his knuckles on the door frame.
"Just a minute," came a voice from inside. The door was soon pulled open, and standing before us was Professor Brucklehurst. He looked ancient and tiny, with a white beard that fell to his knees over colourful robes. Bright, lively eyes peeked out from behind thick, gold-rimmed glasses. Seeing us, he smiled. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"Actually, professor, we're here because of an old friend of yours," Teresa said. "Zordon sent us."
Brucklehurst's face lit up. "Zordon!" he exclaimed. Stepping back in shock, he ran his gaze over us as if seeing us for the first time. "That means you're… you! Oh! How thrilling. Come in, come in. I won't ask your names," and he tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially. "In fact I even know a charm that might make me forget your faces once you leave."
"That's okay," Teresa smiled, and we followed him into his office. It was impossibly tiny. Most of the space was taken up by a desk covered in strange magical gadgets, while the bookshelf opposite was full to bursting with dust-covered leather-bound volumes.
"This college is the most amazing place," Billy murmured.
Brucklehurst beamed with pride as he sat on the edge of his desk, and sent a pile of books cascading to the floor. "We've been here more than a century," he said. "We are a resource for anyone learning the magical arts. There's only a small teaching body, but we get by. Most of us live here, but some live in town or out in the woods. The school is enchanted, you see, so that you can only find it if you come looking for it."
"How long have you been teaching here?" Teresa asked.
"Decades now," the professor replied. "I was a student here too, you know. My original thesis project was about reproducing the mystical properties of sunlight."
"Fascinating," Billy said. "Did you succeed?"
"I set fire to my toolshed," Brucklehurst replied. "Nobody was hurt, and it needed redecorating anyway."
From somewhere in the building came a muffled thud. The walls shook and a small shower of dust rained over us. Teresa glanced to the corridor as smoke began drifting into the room. "Was that the kitchen?" she asked.
"Possibly," Brucklehurst replied cheerfully. "Either that or the dragon nursery out by the stables. They're so boisterous when they're young."
I laughed. "This sounds like the coolest college ever."
"Anyway, we didn't mean to interrupt your day," Billy began. "Since undoubtedly your teaching schedule is quite inflexible, but…"
Brucklehurst waved his hand. "You're not interrupting at all," he said, then his smile began to fade. "Actually, I was waiting for somebody," and the professor pulled a silver pocket watch from his robes. "That's not right," he murmured. From the sounds of it, he'd forgotten the three of us were in the room. "Arvis, where are you?" Without another word, Brucklehurst brushed past us outside.
The three of us stared blankly at each other. "Well, we might as well follow him," I said. We chased after him, following the professor down the corridor, up a set of stairs then down another, to a closed door at the back of the building. The sign above the door read Professor Arvis, Keeper of Keys.
Pushing the door open, Brucklehurst stepped inside. The curtains were drawn, and there was no light. It was dark and musty, and we saw Brucklehurst frown. "Professor Arvis was meant to drop in and see me this morning," he explained. "I was reading and lost track of time, but Arvis never arrived."
I could see in Brucklehurst's face that he was starting to panic. "Maybe he's just running late today?" I offered. "Happens to the best of us."
Billy nodded. "Or possibly he's feeling unwell?"
"Arvis is as fit as an ox," Brucklehurst replied. "And he's never been late. I warned him, you know," and he turned back to us. "Living in the forest, all alone? A recipe for disaster. Merlin's beard, I should've known something terrible would happen today. My socks matched perfectly this morning."
"It's gonna be okay," Teresa said. "You've got your students to teach, right? We'll track down Professor Arvis. I'm sure he just forgot or something."
Brucklehurst collapsed against the wall. "You would?" he asked. "You're very kind. Follow the main trail just over the next rise. Arvis lives in a small cottage, you won't miss it. Thank you for this."
"C'mon guys," Teresa said. "We'll be back soon with your missing professor," and the three of us headed outside.
To be continued.