Chapter 20––The Tourist Shibu went up on his toes, and flowed into a slower version of his Ranger run. This gave him a faster version of a walk than most people could hope to match. And very soon, both the bullies and the luscious smell of roasted meats were left far behind. Shibu had been so intent on getting away from the troublesome foursome, that he hadn't really considered where he was going. That made him slightly angry with himself, because Cici had taught him that a Ranger always knew where they were at all times. It seems that Shibu's fast walk had taken him down what he thought at first was a blind alley, but as he turned sideways to work his way down the small space, it turned out to be the space between three houses. Two set side-by-side made up the narrow alley, and at the top of it, there was a step and a half worth of extra width between the top of the alley, and the back side of the third house. Shibu slid through them as easily as one of the feral bow meows that now seemed to become more frequent as he moved into a new neighborhood within the capitol city. He had seen lots of pictures of various homes in Bonta, so he wasn't surprised to turn and look at the house that had provided him with cover. It was a simple dwelling of one story, made of a combination of wood frame, whitewashed walls insulated with straw, and the heavy bricks that were fired in a kiln. Shibu had seen this done in his village, as the miners brought up rocks that could be powdered, formed, and then literally cooked in the hottest flames Shibu had ever imagined for days on end. It was a lot of work, and very expensive, but more brick houses might have spared his village so much destruction on the night he arrived. Many of the houses in the neighborhood were also decorated with wooden flower boxes that showed a wide variety of blooms. Shibu even saw one or two of them being used as miniature gardens to raise various herbs. The sight and scent of herbs growing in the midst of the marble city swept Shibu back home in an instant. Sage, Lavender, Mint, and Cloves were all there to greet him, like old friends come to the big city in his backpack. The streets around the houses were laid with cobblestones, and repaired in some spots with bricks, and even with tar, all carefully whitewashed to maintain the pleasant white color that was a citywide theme. Most of the houses had slanted green roofs, protected from the weather by a tile baked very much in the same way as the bricks that made up the houses. The pictures Shibu had seen in his distant books now seemed to leap at him, and take on a life of their own that was much more vivid than any book page. Most houses had wooden troughs around the edges, that allowed rainwater and melting ice to run off into wooden barrels placed at each corner of the house. Shibu found himself transfixed once more as he dropped into a casual walk along the well manicured streets. He discovered quickly that the streets themselves curved slowly, becoming continuing loops which seem to be stacked one on top of the other, forming terraces which went higher up along with a gentle rising slope of the ground into which each street of houses was built. The views of the city from the terraces, fenced with heavy black wrought iron for safety sake, allowed Shibu a view which took in each quarter of the city that had been built in layers over time around the great Castle on the Hill. The only thing that Shibu enjoyed more than seeing the sights was the thought of running as fast as he could through the seemingly endless loops that were never ending necklace around the city of Bonta. But he held himself well in check, as he seemed to know that when people saw a stranger running, they might be inclined toward being frightened, and on narrow streets like these, as pretty as they might be, blind panic was no one's friend. The terraces themselves were interconnected by short flights of two or three white marble steps, which Shibu happily took in short well-balanced jumps. It became a game to him as he walked along, passing from level to level, both up and down the hill crowned by the castle. As he walked along, Shibu continued another Ranger skill that Cici had taught him. But when his step count reached 2000, down one particularly long and interconnected City street, Shibu considered turning back. He walked a few extra steps, to the edge of the terrace which overlooked most of the merchant quarter of the city of Bonta. A squeeze of alarm shot through him when Shibu saw how far above the city his walk had taken him. Rather than lose his balance, or lose his way, Shibu turned and looked up instead. He was so close to the castle now that it hurt his neck to look all the way to the top, which seemed lost in the blue sky itself. It was then that he noticed that the wall on one side of the terrace had changed. It was no longer made of individual bricks and mortar, but rather of massive marble blocks, some three times as tall as Shibu himself. Here and there, Shibu could see what looked like miniature walls of brick, pressed into the soil of the terrace walls, to keep the earth from sliding under the weight of the marble. This was the base of the castle, and in a real sense, the foundations of the kingdom of Bonta. Shibu looked around urgently. There were no signs nor marks anywhere on the streets or on the walls themselves to warn him away, yet Shibu developed the sudden and dramatic feeling that he was someplace where people were not generally meant to be. As a visitor to the fabled city, the last thing he wanted to do was to run afoul of the city code, which provided for the safety of all Bonta's people. Shibu had a sudden impulse, and returned to the edge of the terrace, where a high wrought iron railing served as both handrail and safety rail for any passerby. He looked out beyond the rail, and down just a little way, to see how far down the edge of the next terrace might be. It would be far easier for him to make a short jump then it would be for him to meander back along the full length of the loop road and go down the steps which would put him one level down. Sure enough, the next terrace extended outward just slightly below the one upon which he stood. But the wrought iron fence on the edge of that terrace spoiled his intention of trying a jump, for it gave him no clear space to stand in once he landed. He would have to risk grabbing the fence as he fell, and climbing up and over it. His adventure with the baby bird, what seemed like so many summers ago had indeed taught him a few useful lessons. So Shibu contented himself to turn around, and discover that he was completely alone within his own line of sight on both sides. This gave Shibu the chance to go up on his toes, and break into the full flowing energy of a Ranger run along the looping terrace! As Shibu felt himself fall into the run, and the form and energy of it, he found himself making short hop steps over the occasional soft green grassy places, and the top of the benches placed inside some of the loops, to afford passing citizens a quiet and scenic place to relax.

The benches had ornamental wood and iron backs,with rounded topmost edges.

Just enough to step onto and spring off of again! If Shibu had set them up, the benches could not have been more perfectly spaced. And Shibu's longer stride gave him a solid platform for the next arching step. A long stride or two made Shibu feel as if he had found a way to fly above the city itself! At the top of each running jump, he seemed to be able to see more and more of the City, unrolling beneath his feet like a pure white tapestry. Shibu could not seem to think of anything else.

Until there was a cracking sound under his feet. Weakened and weathered wood splintered, and suddenly, he was falling again! But this time, he knew more, and his reflexes were better.

Don't just fall like a dropped rock. Tuck and roll. Flip and rebound.

He was stronger and better balanced than he was at the tree.

This time, when his arms moved, it wasn't a panic reflex.

Blue flash. Another opening in space. Roll, spin. Fall into there, rather than hitting the iron fence. There was stone underneath him, rather than the grass up above. He tucked tighter, and dropped one foot. The drag gave him control. His body contributed reflex and strength. Now he was sliding across cobblestones, rather than crashing hard into them. Shibu went down low slipping into a long skid that spent the energy of his fall.

And then, he was still.

He pulled a deep breath from the air, and the scare flushed out of his system. Shibu looked up a fair distance. He was now forty feet lower than a moment ago. Deeper down, where the foundations of the mammoth castle up above formed the entire world.

Yet, there was air here. He could feel it moving across his cheeks, and the tip of his nose. Daylight came to his eyes. Reflected in bright shafts off of the pure, polished white blocks of marble.

And he could hear voices. Close in next to him. The sound of them brought him back to his center, and he was still, as the heart in his chest slowed down again.

"Wow, Sonny! You should be in the circus!" an elderly voice spoke up."You even managed to make it look good! That blue light sure is purrdy." He continued.

Shibu glanced at him, moving only his eyes, because his body was still collecting itself. Shibu exhaled, trying not to hiss like a cobra.

"Thanks." he whispered instead.

"You picked a strange place to practice, that's for sure." The elderly Ecaflip observed. "But you move like somebody who plays Boufball."

That made Shibu smile. "I do." Shibu replied, as if he was learning to speak again without any breath at all.

"I knew it!" The old codger responded brightly. "It always shows!"

"Where is this?" Shibu asked. "Did I fall right out of Bonta?"

"The old gambler laughed warmly. "Close to it, sonny. This is where Bonta really starts, if you wanna know."

"What do you call this place?" Shibu asked.

"Home." replied the elder wistfully. "Every building has a foundation, A flat,level place where building starts. This is the base of the Castle. We're about fifty feet below the base of the hill. The Castle built out and up, right over this place."

Shibu looked up, and looked around for the first time, as his body relaxed.

The stones here formed a vaulted ceiling, Shibu felt more air flow around him in the wide, arced space.

"You wanna see our only "Tourist spot" down here, m'boy?" The Elder asked as he helped Shibu to stand up , square and solid again.

"Sure." Answered Shibu. "This place isn't in any of the books I've read, That's for sure."

This made the old Ecaflip laugh. "Name's Carlton, sonny. What do you call yourself?"

"I'm Shibu!" the boy said brightly. "Pleased to meet you, Carlton."

"My pleasure."Carlton replied. "When I was your age, I played Boufball too. So we're both players."

"Boufballer once, Boufballer always!" Shibu said with a smile.

That put an extra spring in Carlton's step as the two of them walked slowly along what seemed like a hallway made of the same white stone as the Castle far above.

But as they went around the curving corner, the space around them expanded into what seemed like a cave made of Marble. Here, there were iron sconces set into a few of the stones. They carried weak but consistent flames that both lit and warmed the cavernous space. In the center of the space, set into a circle of stone and iron, were four tremendous blocks of stone, tens of feet high, and just as wide. Four white cubes, each of which seemed to be half of a mountain, buried here, underground. They held up the Castle above.

"The Castle's cornerstones, Shibu." Carlton announced, clearly enjoying a chance to play tour guide.

"Wow! I've never seen so much rock, outside of the quarry!"

"Stones so big, people have forgotten how much they weigh." Carlton said as if telling a story, but speaking with the ring of truth. "Some say these were cut and put in place by a dragon, but that was so long ago, no one is sure anymore."

"Fantastic! You could rebuild my entire village right here, and there would be more space."

"Well, well! You are a bright one." Carlton said in reply. "There is something else you should know, and one more place that I can show you." Carlton replied. "Would you like a cup of cocoa, young fella? And I'll just bet you're hungry, too."

Shibu started to politely refuse, but before he could speak, the light in his sapphire blue eyes gave away a truth that manners could not hide.

"Thank You, Carlton. I'd be glad to." Shibu answered right away.

"No problem, Shibu. I want you to see my village, as much as you remember yours."

"A village?" Shibu asked. "Down here?"

"Sure enough!" Carlton replied. "The people have to live someplace, don't they?" The elder Ecaflip added. "Come along, and I'll show you the forgotten realm of Bonta." Carlton told Shibu. "Why, we even play Boufball down here.'

"Really?" Shibu answered as the gleam in his blue eyes flashed to life again.

"Why sure!" Carlton answered. "What would life be without Boufball?"