Chapter 16: Globetrotting
Back home at Fablehaven, Kendra was out on the porch, sitting on the swing and thinking to herself about the situation at hand. As the seat gently swayed back and forth in the light breeze, Kendra couldn't help but wonder. Was the Necromancer really the solution? Assuming that they could get the thing to work once they found it, would using it to storm the Demon Domain really be their best possible chance at rescuing Seth and Sarah?
"Hey, Kendra," said Goldenrod, as she flew up towards the swing, accompanied by Passion and Larissa.
"Hey," said Kendra. "Um, I know that you weren't supposed to come along with us to the Demon Domain, but thank you. We'd have been doomed if you hadn't been there to restore Bracken. But, I need to ask, why did you come?"
"We really wanted to help you," replied Passion. "We want to be fairy angels someday."
Kendra smiled. "There aren't too many fairies out there who have that goal. I'm thankful for what you did. But, you kinda defied our orders by coming along."
"But we saved you, didn't we?" asked Larissa.
Kendra nodded. "I guess that makes you three kinda like Seth."
"How so?" asked Passion, who was displaying a worried look on her face.
"Seth likes to go against the grain, so to speak. Usually, his negligence only makes things worse. But sometimes, what he ends up doing actually winds up being beneficial."
"So, should we be following our hearts, or somebody's orders?" asked Larissa.
"Good question," answered Kendra, as Warren walked out the front door, wearing a pleasant smile.
"I got it," said Warren.
"Got what?" asked Kendra.
"A plan. We may not know what lies within the Floodmaze, but after our little splash in the ocean earlier, I came up with what I believe to be the most practical solution."
"What's that?"
"Mariana."
"Mariana?" asked Kendra. "You really mean it?"
"Yup."
"Who's Mariana?" asked Goldenrod.
"She's a leviathan," replied Warren.
"A leviathan?" gasped Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod in unison, as they flew behind Kendra.
"She's actually really friendly," said Kendra, gently patting the fairies with her hands. "You don't need to worry. Although she's closer to Seth than anyone else."
"Where is this leviathan?" asked Larissa.
"She should be at Duskreef Lagoon," replied Warren. "It's a preserve on an island located between Australia and New Zealand."
"But wait," said Kendra. "The Floodmaze is located in Lake Superior, which is north of Michigan. Getting Mariana from Duskreef Lagoon to the Floodmaze won't be easy."
"We do have the Translocator," said Warren. "All we need to do is to reach the Floodmaze, then travel to Duskreef Lagoon. From there, we can warp Mariana directly to the Floodmaze."
"You think it'll work?" asked Kendra.
"I hope so. The Floodmaze is supposedly entirely underwater. And the last time we went on an underwater mission, Mariana was a great help to us. It's been over half a year since we last saw her."
"It sounds like a feasible enough plan that it could work," said Kendra. "When should we get going?"
"The sooner, the better," replied Warren. "I'll go explain our mission to the others, and once we're good and ready, we can move on out."
Several minutes later, Kendra and Warren gathered up the rest of the family at the entrance to the house, along with Bracken, Bright, Clover, Raxtus, Geminus and Vanessa.
"Are you all sure that you're up for this?" asked Grandma.
"I was born ready," said Warren.
"It can't be any worse going back to the Demon Domain," added Bracken. "At least in this vault, us fairies won't have to worry about being overwhelmed by darkness."
"Try not to take too long," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Every minute you spend going after this Necromaster, is an extra minute Seth has to endure being in the Domain Domain."
"We know," said Kendra. "I'm not too keen on the whole idea of the Necromaster, but if it really is our only shot at braving the Demon Domain, it's probably gonna be our best bet in the long run."
"Please take care of Vanessa for us," said Raxtus, who had turned to face Dale and Clover.
"She's in good hands," said Dale, who was currently holding the purple hatchling in his arms.
"Well, looks like we've got everything," said Warren, "so let's get going."
Warren then reached into his bag and removed the Translocator.
"Where are we going with this?" asked Kendra.
"First, we need to travel to the Floodmaze, so that we can return there afterwards with Mariana. I've never been to Lake Superior myself. Speaking of which, has anyone here gone on any trips to Lake Superior that I should know about? We can use that as a shortcut."
"Raxtus and I have flown over Lake Superior on our flights between here and Wyrmroost," said Geminus.
"That's too vague," said Warren. "It's a huge place. Also you'd have been in the sky, making it too difficult to pinpoint your location. I've been to Chicago before, so we'll use it as a starting point."
"Where in Chicago are we going to travel to?" asked Kendra.
"Grant Park," said Warren. "There'll be people around, but hopefully we won't draw too much unwanted attention."
"Good luck, everybody," said Clover.
"Take care," said Dale.
At that moment, Raxtus turned invisible, while Geminus shrunk down into her diminutive fairy form.
Kendra placed her hand on the Translocator, as did Bracken, Bright and Geminus. She then felt as Raxtus invisibly touched the Translocator.
Warren smiled, then twisted the Translocator. "Okay, let's do this."
In an instant, Kendra experienced the thrill of being pulled through the Translocator. A moment later, she found herself standing in a large park of some sort, surrounded by well-tended flower beds. In the distance, she could see tall buildings situated behind some treetops.
"Don't think anyone saw us," said Warren, looking around as he slipped the Translocator back into his bag.
"Now what?" asked Raxtus, whose invisible presence Kendra could only sense.
"You and Geminus need to fly us out of here," said Warren. "Let's go behind those trees over there and take off."
The group all walked away from the main path they had arrived on, then crossed over some grass to where a number of trees were growing close together. Once they were surrounded by trees, Raxtus became visible, while Geminus grew back into her dragon form.
"So far, so good," said Warren, as he climbed up onto Geminus' back.
"Ride on me, Kendra," said Raxtus, prompting Kendra to climb onto the platinum dragon. Bracken climbed on behind her, while Bright got behind Warren. Now that everyone was atop a dragon, Raxtus and Geminus started to flap their wings and took off.
Kendra looked down at the park below, watching as it grew smaller the higher that Raxtus flew. She could soon see the city of Chicago way beneath her, as the dragons rose up into the clouds. Needless to say, Kendra would've like to have actually seen the city for what it was, but now was not the time.
The dragons proceeded to fly northbound for close to two hours. As they had been in the sky the entire time, it was impossible for Kendra to get a sense of their exact location. Fortunately for her, the dragons could instinctively determine whereabouts their destination was.
"We should be closing in on the Floodmaze's coordinates," said Warren, looking over a piece of paper. "We're high above the middle of the lake, so we should be good to fly down."
Kendra grasped Raxtus firmly, as the fairy dragon took a nosedive downwards. The thrill and sheer distance of the descent was greater than any roller coaster could ever hope to achieve. Down and down, faster and faster, Raxtus and Geminus made their way towards the lake below by flying in a tailspin formation. Shortly before they would've hit the water, the dragons veered upwards. As though the two dragons were professionals, Raxtus and Geminus seemingly missed colliding with the water by practically a few inches.
"Whoo-eee!" said Warren, as Geminus slowed down her flight by spinning around in a circle above the water, as did Raxtus.
"This never gets old," laughed Raxtus.
"Where now?" asked Bright. Kendra looked around, and was only able to see nothing but water from one stretch of the horizon to the other. She knew that Ontario had to be to the north, while Michigan was to the south, wherever north and south actually were.
"We should be really close to the vault now," said Warren, poring over his notes.
"How will we know where exactly it is?" asked Kendra.
"The only clue we've got is the exact co-ordinates," said Warren. "We'll have to dive down to find the vault, and we might as well do that once we've returned with Mariana."
"So where should the vault be from this point?" asked Bright.
"Let me see," said Warren, cross-referencing his notes with his phone. "We want to go... that way!"
Raxtus and Geminus flew off in the direction that Warren had been pointing in.
The two dragons were now flying only a few feet over the surface of the water. They weren't moving all that fast either, as Kendra was able to enjoy the breeze as she rode above the lake.
"Slow down," said Warren, prompting Geminus to lower her speed. Raxtus followed Warren's request and slowed down as well.
"Okay... Stop around... here!"
Geminus drifted down into the water, as did Raxtus. Kendra could feel as her boots and pants plunged into the lake, getting soaked immediately. Warren, Bracken and Bright had all gotten their lower legs soaked as well. Ironically, the dragons, who had just been zipping through the air for miles, were swimming around in the water rather smoothly, not unlike birds.
"Now what?" asked Bracken.
"Well, this should be the place," said Warren. "We just need to mark our spot, so that it'll be easier to picture this place in our mind when we return here."
"Mark this spot?" asked Bright.
"This place is all water," said Warren. "So, an indicator would be a nice thing to have."
"What kind of indicator?" asked Raxtus.
"Why not a buoy?" asked Warren. "We could place a buoy in the water."
"You're a boy," said Bright. "What exactly is you getting wet supposed to accomplish?"
"Not me," said Warren. "A buoy. B-U-O-Y. The "U" is silent."
"Aren't buoys those floating metal things people place in the water to serve as navigational aids for boats?" asked Bracken.
"That's what I'm talking about," said Warren.
"I think I can do one of those."
Bracken then used his magic to conjure up a silvery buoy in the water. It slowly swayed back and forth due to the waves. "Is this what you wanted? I made sure it won't drift around."
"That's perfect!" said Warren. "Now we can travel back to the point of this buoy later when we use the Translocator."
"What if somebody notices this stray buoy floating around out here?" asked Kendra.
"I wouldn't worry about it. Few ships pass through here, and there's probably some distractor spell that keeps them away from this area anyway."
"Now where do we go?" asked Geminus.
"We'll head to Duskreef Lagoon now," said Warren. "Stan told the caretaker that we're coming, so we should be good to go."
"Where exactly is Duskreef Lagoon?" asked Raxtus.
"In the Tasman Sea, off the coast of Australia. I've been to Sydney before, so let's just warp there for now."
Raxtus and Geminus swam next to one another, so that everybody was able to place a hand on the Translocator. Warren proceeded to twist the artifact, and it transported the entire group out of the middle of the lake.
A moment later, Kendra saw that the entire group, still mounted on their dragons, were now in the darkened bedroom of a hotel. In front of them was a couple sleeping in a king size bed. Soaking wet, excess water was flowing down the bodies of the two dragons and creating a puddle on the carpeted flooring.
"What's going on?" whispered Kendra.
"This is the hotel room I stayed in when I was in Sydney," whispered Warren. "I forgot about the time difference in Australia, though. It's still early in the morning here."
"Arrgh, I hate cramped little rooms," said Raxtus, trying to find a spot where his large body could stand between the bed and the television console. "This is exactly why I never go inside the house."
"Let's just get out of here before those two wake up," said Bracken, climbing down off of Raxtus. Following Bracken's lead, Kendra, Warren and Bright got down from their dragons as well. Kendra then watched as Geminus accidentally smashed the television screen with her tail.
"Oops," said Geminus,
"What's going on?" the man who was in the bed asked wearily. "Who are you? Why are you all wet?"
"Uh, this a dream," said Warren. "Go back to sleep."
"You can't be a dream!" said the man, switching on a bedside lamp. "Alice, wake up!" he shouted, shaking the woman who was in bed with him. "There's these..."
"Nighty night," said Bright, who had directed some sparkles towards the man, causing him to fall into a deep sleep.
"There, now he's dreaming," said Bright.
"Telling someone this is a dream always works in the movies," said Warren.
"Let's just get out of here," said Raxtus, shrinking down into his diminutive human form. Likewise, Geminus shrunk down to her fairy state. The two of them were still soaking wet.
"Let's do something about this water, too," said Bracken. He then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Kendra could see that entire group was now completely dried off. Even the carpet, that had just been soaking in water, was now dry as a desert.
"And the TV," said Warren, pointing to the smashed television screen.
"I don't know about fixing electronics," said Bright.
"Hopefully, it's just the cracked screen," said Kendra.
Bright shot a blast of magic at the screen, seemingly fixing the crack that Geminus had made with her tail.
"I think we're good," said Warren, walking towards the door. "Come on."
Kendra bent down and opened her bag, signalling for Raxtus and Geminus to get inside. Once they had gotten in, Kendra followed Warren, Bracken and Bright out the door and into the hotel hallway.
"Man, that trick worked a lot better when we ventured to Cairo," said Warren, as the group proceeded to walk down the hall.
"It would've been better to have dried ourselves off, first," said Bright.
"Things have just been so hectic lately," said Warren, as he reached his hand out and grasped a doorknob. "I wasn't thinking."
"What matters is that we're here now," said Bracken, as Warren pushed the door open, revealing a stairwell. The group walked into the stairwell and proceeded to dash up several flights of stairs towards the top.
Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Warren tried to open the door. It was locked shut.
"Let me get that for you," said Bracken. As the unicorn prince snapped his fingers, Kendra could hear a latch click from within the door.
"Thanks," said Warren, as he pushed the door open and led the group out onto the rooftop. Once Kendra had stepped outside, she could see a starry night stretching across the sky above her. Brightly lit city towers, many of which were taller than the hotel itself, surrounded the building in every direction.
"Well, we made it this far," said Bright.
Sydney at night was truly a sight to behold. She had only been to Australia once before, and that was from her trip to Obsidian Waste, which was located on the opposite side of the country. She had never seen the city of Sydney with her own eyes before.
"Guess the only thing to do now, is to head out for Duskreef Lagoon," said Warren.
Raxtus and Geminus jumped out of Kendra's bag and landed on the floor in front of her. The others all watched as the two fairy dragons quickly grew into their larger forms.
"Where to now?" asked Raxtus, as Kendra and Bracken climbed onto his back.
"We want to head east," replied Warren, who had boarded Geminus, along with Bright. "But right now, let's take a quick detour to the north end of the city."
"Okay," said Geminus, as she flapped her wings off proceeded to fly off the roof of the hotel, accompanied by Raxtus.
Looking down at the city below her, Kendra could see the waterfront at the north end of the city coming into view as the dragons flew towards it. Before long, Raxtus and Geminus were now flying above Sydney Harbour.
"We're far enough," said Warren. "Turn around!"
As Raxtus turned around to face the skyline of the city before him, what Kendra saw was truly a sight to behold. All of the buildings had been lit up, including the Sydney Opera House. The view of the city that stood before them was simply breathtaking, especially since they were in an elevated position above the water.
"That's beautiful," said Bright. "We certainly don't have anything like this in the Fairy Kingdom."
"And to think that mortals built all this," said Geminus. "Um, no offence to any Sorensons or Burgesses.
"I'd love to admire the sights all day," said Bracken, "but we've got two shadow charmers who need rescuing. We've still got to get to Duskreef Lagoon, meet up with Mariana, and then make our way through the Floodmaze before we can travel back into the Demon Domain."
"You've got a point, Bracken," said Kendra. "We really should get going."
"We need to go on a world tour at some point," said Warren. "Not using these missions as an excuse to leave home. But right now, let's just get moving. Head east, fearless dragons!"
Raxtus and Geminus both nodded, and proceeded to fly in an eastward direction. Now that they were heading towards Duskreef Lagoon, Kendra looked back and watched as the city of Sydney slowly shrank from their perspective until it was out of sight.