Chapter 26 – Lost in Time
Everyone in the chamber gazed at the scroll that had magically materialized upon the chessboard in astonishment. After a few seconds that felt unnaturally longer than they should have, Tanu reached down and picked it up.
"There appears to be some sort of seal on this scroll," noted Tanu, pointing to a solid black ring, which was keeping the scroll from being unravelled. He attempted to slide the ring up and down the scroll, hoping to loosen it, but had no such luck.
"Maybe I can cut it off," said Warren, wielding a dagger in one hand. He then accepted the scroll from Tanu, and proceeded to try and slice through the seal, but was unsuccessful. "Man, this thing is really tough. Whoever put this seal on it really doesn't want anybody reading this thing."
"I've got an idea," said Kendra. "Let's just use the Disapirit on the seal."
"It's worth a try," said Vanessa, as she pulled the purple instrument out from her bag and faced it point blank at the seal of the scroll. She then unleashed the Disapirit's energy upon the seal, but after trying for several seconds, held back when she saw that it wasn't doing anything. Vanessa then tried using the Disapirit directly upon the scroll itself, but had zero success.
"This scroll must protected by some powerful magic," said Tanu. "If only we could penetrate it. But I don't know if we can, even with our current provisions and abilities."
"So where do we go from here?" asked Kendra, looking around the alcove again, when something suddenly caught her eyes. "The writing on the wall! It's changed!"
"What does it say?" asked Warren frantically, as everyone stared at the writing, despite the fact that most of them couldn't possibly interpret it.
"First it said CLOSED," began Kendra. "Now it says READ THE SCROLL."
"Well, I could've figured out that," muttered Warren. "But easier said than done. We can't even open the stupid thing."
"First we get to a dungeon that we're not supposed to enter," said Vanessa, "then we solve some outrageous puzzle to get a scroll that we can't read. What do they want from us?"
"I wish I could answer your question," said Tanu. "But if the vault really is closed off, and we've been left with a message within that scroll, I say we find a way to open it ASAP."
"But what about the instrument in the vault?"asked Kendra. "How are we supposed to recover it if we're not permitted entry?"
"I'm afraid that I do not have an answer for that," said Tanu. "I propose that we return to Fablehaven with the scroll and see if anyone else can help us, be it Trask or the Fairy Queen. If we're really not supposed to enter the vault at this point, I wouldn't want us to force our way in."
As Kendra climbed onto Raxtus' back along with Warren, she couldn't help but stare back at the large boulder that was blocking access into the inner vault. As Raxtus began to flap his wings and take off, she reread the message that said "READ THE SCROLL" yet again. Part of her felt that Tanu was right, that they should not be entering the vault and instead reading the scroll. The other felt that the whole thing was a ruse to keep people away from the vault, and that they should instead make their way through the barricade and venture on in.
The dragons flew the knights back the way they came, eventually returning to Fablehaven during the mid-afternoon. As the dragons flew over the preserve and descended towards the front yard of the house, they were greeted by Grandpa, Grandma, Dale, Trask and Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson.
"Sorry to hear that your journey hit a rough spot," said Grandpa, as the four knights climbed down from the two dragons.
"Maybe you could help us find a way to open the scroll that we've uncovered," said Tanu, as everybody migrated inside the house and into the living room.
"I'll see what I can do," said Trask with a wry smile on his face. "Just when I thought I'd get a chance to settle down for once."
Tanu sat down across the table from Trask, and removed the scroll from his bag. "This is it," said Tanu, handing the scroll across the table to Trask. "See if you can figure this out."
"Did you ever consider simply unrolling it?" asked Trask, as he rolled open the scroll to everyone's astonishment.
"How'd you do that?" asked Warren. "We tried everything! What'd you do with the seal?"
"What seal?" asked Trask, examining the scroll. "There was no seal on this. You saw what I did."
"As weird as this is, I'm not one to complain," said Warren. "What does the scroll say, anyway?"
"It appears to be written in some sort of fairy language," said Trask. "You know what that means."
Kendra rolled her eyes. "Again?"
"Kendra, we'd hate to force you to use your ability in such a manner, but you know how important this is," said Grandpa.
"No, I understand," said Kendra. "I just wish that this whole thing didn't have to be so convoluted."
"You can use my computer if you'd like," said Mr. Sorenson, placing his hand upon Kendra's shoulder.
"Okay," said Kendra, as she accepted the rolled-up scroll from Trask. She then ventured upstairs to the second floor and entered her parents' bedroom. On a desk in the corner of the room was her father's computer, which she sat down in front of and logged into. Akin to what she had done with the tome, Kendra opened a word processing program and proceeded to type down everything she read from the scroll.
The writing that Kendra had laid her eyes upon was almost unbelievable. As twisted and complex that everything appeared to be, it at least provided her with some solid answers, including the true whereabouts of the Accelerizer, and what had happened to it.
Roughly half an hour later, Kendra printed off her translation of the scroll, and brought it downstairs for everyone to see. Grandpa accepted the document from Kendra's shivering hand, and began to read it aloud to everyone in the room.
To the finder of this scroll:
If you are reading this scroll, then you are hopefully
one with a righteous heart, and are in a safe sanctuary.
We have done everything in our power to conceal the
Accelerizer from evil. However, our writing, as well as
the instruments of eternal power, are incapable of
determining between good and evil.
We, the founders of the Knights of the Dawn, wanted
to make sure that the five instruments of eternal power
were well hidden, to the point where anyone who lacked
the secret knowledge of their whereabouts would never
stumble upon them by accident.
We sent in our best warriors to reach and infiltrate the
vaults that housed the five instruments. Even with
their provided knowledge, they did not have an easy
time with their missions, except for the knight assigned
to the labyrinth, who lamented on the lack of
difficulty that he faced.
Doubting as to whether or not the labyrinth was a
suitable vault for the Accelerizer, which we've deemed
to be the most devastating of the instruments, we agreed
that a better home was needed for it. One which we
hoped would never be found through a conventional
method, hopefully so that it might be forgotten over time.
Using the Chronometer, we travelled forward into the
future, until we reached a time period where magic and
fantastic creatures were practically unheard of outside
of a small group of people.
However, technology had advanced far beyond our expectations.
Unable to bring the Accelerizer forward through time,
we instead employed a group of people from the future
to travel back to our time. Using their advanced
intellect, they constructed a vault in outer space.
The new vault was named Silicon Station, and is located
along the asteroid belt. As the information written in
our tome about the labyrinth was no longer valid,
we removed it, and instead gave clues leading to
the new vault to two trusted parties. However, we made
sure to not include new information to help keep Silicon
Station a secret.
If one must retrieve the Accelerizer from Silicon Station,
please follow the procedure below. Travel to the secret
preserve known as Rio Branco in the Kingdom of Portugal,
or possibly Brazil, depending on your current date. In Rio
Branco,travel to the large statue of the golden phoenix near
the center of the preserve. With this scroll in your right hand,
place your left on the phoenix's beak and hold it there for
ten seconds. This should open up an underground passage
leading to a secret hangar. Inside the hangar is a shuttle
ship that will transport you to Silicon Station.
Everyone in the room was shocked, as Grandpa continued reading. "That was the real message. The rest of the scroll seems to just be access codes."
"Outer space?" asked Grandma. "Are they serious?"
"If they sought assistance from the future, I suppose we shouldn't rule out the possibility," said Grandpa.
"It still feels preposterous," said Kendra.
"It can't be a trap," said Tanu. "They had too many earlier opportunities to catch us. I get the feeling that this is the real deal."
"So basically, we have to travel all the way into deep space just to get this instrument?" asked Warren. "With conventional spacecraft, it could take months upon months to reach the asteroid belt. How long's this shuttle they speak of supposed to take?"
"It didn't say," exclaimed Kendra. "Hopefully not too long. But I'll go, no matter how long this trip will take."
"Hold on a second," said Mrs. Sorenson. "You're really considering going into outer space for an undetermined length of time? What will you do for food? What will you do if there's a malfunction and you run out of air?"
"Might I suggest that we inspect this so-called space shuttle before we use it?" asked Vanessa. "If it doesn't look safe, I propose that we abort this mission."
"But if the Accelerizer really is in outer space, how else are we supposed to retrieve it?" asked Kendra.
"Try to convince NASA for their assistance?" suggested Warren.
"Listen, Kendra," said Grandma, placing her arm around her granddaughter's shoulder, "I don't want to sound discouraging, but no one can do everything. Venturing into outer space, without knowing what one is doing, is extremely dangerous, and perhaps, even out of our league. As amazing as you already are, this is a whole different ball game."
"So, you're saying we should just give up?" asked Kendra.
"If travelling into outer space is something we aren't be able to handle, I'm afraid so," said Grandpa. "And that means no chance of getting the Accelerizer."
Kendra bent her head down and began to cry.
"Kendra, it's not like we won't try," said Warren.
"What if we can't make it?" cried Kendra. "I mean, they purposely hid this instrument where nobody would ever find it. And I don't even care about the instruments anymore! I just want Seth back, and for Navarog to just... leave us alone!"
Mrs. Sorenson gave Kendra a hug, "Don't you think we miss him too?"
Kendra hugged her mother back. "I know. But we need to at least try. Since this shuttle is said to be at Rio Branco, how do we go about going there?"
"The new caretaker of the preserve is a man named Carlito Demano," replied Trask. "I'll give him a call and let him know that you'll be coming. And as much as I'd be willing to trust him, I won't be telling him about the secret shuttle. At least, not yet."
First thing tomorrow, we'll head out for Rio Branco," said Tanu.
"I guess it might be interesting," said Kendra. "It's the only one of the secret preserves I haven't been to. I just hope that this journey doesn't turn out to be a bust. Otherwise, I don't know how we'll ever save Seth."
The next morning, the four knights ate a hearty breakfast, and were soon riding on the backs of Raxtus and Geminus, who were heading southbound towards Brazil. Although it was much farther than Newfoundland and Labrador, if nothing else, Tanu had pretty much memorized the location in his mind.
According to Tanu, Rio Branco was located roughly 100 miles northwest of Brasilia. After having flown for a good number of hours, Raxtus and Geminus descended down from the clouds and into the rainforests of Brazil. The rainforest was humid, more so than the African terrain she and Warren had traversed, and that had been on foot.
After flying for several minutes, Tanu directed the dragons to the front gate of the preserve. Since Grandpa had alerted Carlito that they would be coming, the register for Rio Branco would not be repelling Warren, Tanu and Vanessa from the preserve as they had been from the other vaults.
As Tanu swung open the front gate, an enormous, green and red feathered serpent with an impressive wingspan flew down next to them, with an intimidating glare in its eyes.
"Who are you?" asked the serpent in a deep, raspy voice.
"We're the visitors from Fablehaven," said Tanu. "You must be Felvanor, the quetzalcoatl."
"Correct," said Felvanor, bending down and sniffing each of the six visitors, including Raxtus and Geminus, whom it dwarfed by comparison. "I hope for your sake that you're telling the truth. Please wait right there."
Felvanor flew off from the gate, and returned a moment later carrying a middle-aged man in overalls. He had his black hair tied back in a ponytail.
"Oi!" shouted the man from atop the quetzalcoatl. "I am Carlito Demano. I see that you met Felvanor. Don't worry. If you're being truthful, she won't hurt you. Would you like to take a load off?"
"I guess we could use a small rest," said Tanu, as his comrades nodded in agreement.
Carlito and Felvanor led the group to a small manor not too far away from the entrance to the preserve. While Felvanor waited outside with Raxtus and Geminus, Carlito led the four knights into his manor, seating them in what appeared to be a well-furnished lounge.
"My daughter Suzanne would be delighted to get anyone a drink," said Carlito, as he waved to a young girl standing in the hall. "Now, what brings you to Rio Branco?"
"I'm not sure how we should say this," began Tanu, "but, we are on a top-secret mission for the Knights of the Dawn."
"Ah yes, you're looking for the instruments of eternal power," said Carlito. "Don't be surprised of my awareness, I am a knight myself. But why did you come here? It's true that the Oculus was once hidden on this very piece of land, but that was months ago. After that, the preserve was overrun by a shadow plague. Restoration hadn't begun until very recently, after the Society of the Evening Star disbanded."
"Well, we've been following a series of clues," said Warren. "So far, they've led us here, which is supposedly where we'll find a path to the actual vault itself."
"So, where exactly does this clue tell you to go?" asked Carlito. "Rio Branco is by no means a small preserve."
"All the clue mentioned was that we needed to travel to a statue of a golden phoenix," answered Tanu.
"Ah yes, the sun bird statue," said Carlito. "Getting you there won't be a problem, but there isn't much to see."
"What do you mean?" asked Warren. "The statue doesn't need to be impressive, so long as its there."
"That's the problem," said Carlito. When the preserve was overturned by the Society of the Evening Star, the statue was more or less... destroyed."