Everville: The City of Worms (11 page)

Chapter 19:

Spies

Felix, Faine, and Asher had just arrived at General Varrick’s location. Felix looked up at the Fwaylan bone cage that held Calvin and Mallory and said, “Calvin and Mallory! Calvin and Mallory!”

“Yeah, what do you want, you tiny midget?” Calvin spat.

“We came to rescue you. We think we can help you, and maybe you can help us, too,” replied Faine.

“Why should we trust you?” Mallory said with unease.

“Why shouldn’t you trust us? You were once a Fron. You know that the Ubaloo are a trustworthy race. Can I ask you? Where has helping Oldrik gotten you? You have a chance to redeem yourself and get on the right side of things, just as Elmer did. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to take it?” Asher asked.

“Elmer was a traitor,” Calvin shot back.

“A traitor to whom? To The Keeper or to Oldrik, and wasn’t Oldrik a traitor himself?” Faine retorted.

“Elmer was a traitor to both. Oldrik was a traitor just to one. That makes Elmer worse,” Calvin said.

“Let me ask you this. Do you want to stay in this cage until you die? You don’t think the giants will let you out, do you? Do you want to wait for Them to win the war, and what if Them lose, or what if the war never ends? That’s what The Keeper believes. This is a war that will never end, and the only way anyone is taking over the land of the giants is if Them win the war. Your only way out of this cage is to help us,” Asher said earnestly.

“Okay. I’m in,” Calvin said. “I don’t mind being a traitor. This cage sucks, and I’m hungry.”

“Do you switch allegiances so easily?” Mallory asked with contempt.

“Come on, Mallory. Oldrik almost killed me. He smacked you around, too. General Varrick has been nicer to us than Oldrik ever was, and we were his enemies. What good did Oldrik ever do for us? I think they’re right. We chose the wrong side of things. We shouldn’t let our pride keep us tied to the wrong side,” Calvin said.

“Yeah. The wrong side. The wrong side,” repeated Felix.

“Well, I guess you’re right, Calvin. We don’t really have much choice now, do we?” Mallory said.

“You always have a choice,” Asher said. “It’s just up to you which choice you make,” he continued.

“What is it exactly that you want us to do?” Mallory asked.

“We need you to travel with us to The City of Worms and spy on the army of Them.”

“Oh. Is that all?” Mallory said.

“Listen, you have pledged your allegiance to Oldrik. You will be able to find out what Them are planning and the location of the army. Then you tell us the location and the plans, and we can communicate that back to The Keeper so we can defeat the army of Them,” Faine said.

“That seems like a lot of risk, and what happens if we get found out? What happens if you lose?” Mallory questioned.

“What happens if you do nothing? You stay in this cage,” replied Asher.

“He does have a point,” Calvin said.

“Well, I guess we’ve done dumber things, and I am starting to miss my old home anyway,” Mallory said.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. Now let’s do this thing,” Faine said.

Asher signaled to General Varrick, who opened the cage and released Calvin and Mallory.

“Borak will carry you to the tunnel beneath the monolith, and I’ll inform The Keeper,” the general said.

Borak lifted Calvin and Mallory and placed them each on one of his shoulders. Felix, Faine, and Asher climbed up on the heads of the other three, Felix on the head of Calvin, Faine on the head of Mallory, and Asher on the head of Borak. Felix and Faine held Calvin and Mallory’s slimy ears to steady themselves while Asher kept a tight grip on Borak’s hair.

“Hold on tight,” Borak said.

Borak bolted through the underground catacombs. The acceleration almost made all three Ubaloo fall off. Being triple the size of the other giants, Borak often had to duck his head as they entered new passageways. After a while, the entrance to the encampment grew large enough that ducking was no longer necessary. Once inside the larger encampments, Borak was able to leap through most of the way.

The encampments grew larger and more complex as they got closer to the monolith, which was nearly a hundred miles away. After about a third of the way, they reached the final catacomb. It had to have been at least seventy miles across and perhaps twice as long.

“I think we made the right decision,” Calvin said with a gulp as they entered the final encampment.

“The right decision. The right decision,” repeated Felix.

The Ubaloo looked about in amazement, as did Calvin and Mallory. If there was any doubt about their chances of victory, it was laid to rest when the magnitude of the giant’s feat was in full view. They now saw what Elmer had seen before his ascent up to the brutal desert above. The giants had created a massive new underground realm that was larger than anything any of them had ever seen below the surface: terrain that resembled mountain chains, plants and vegetation that were striking in color and similar to those aboveground, cities strewn across the vast landscape.

Off in the distance, Calvin and Mallory could see two gigantic monoliths. Underneath each monolith were eight tunnels, each with monstrums on both sides that had been used to help hollow out the tunnels. One monolith was for the eight realms surrounding Everville, and the second was for the lands surrounding The Other In Between. Above each tunnel was the symbol of each realm. Each symbol was carved deep into the side of the monolith and covered a diameter of a thousand feet. In the center of the first monolith was the symbol for Everville, and The Other In Between on the second.

The monoliths were each several miles high and about ten miles across. They were covered in green vegetation interspersed with brown and black areas of impenetrable rock. Each tunnel could easily fit 150 giants across and 3,000 columns of giants deep, which was about half of General Varrick’s army.

Massive encampments stood a few miles before the entrance of each tunnel, but Borak headed for the largest encampment of them all, situated before what was clearly the tunnel which led to The City of Worms. Now clear of any restrictions, Borak began leaping into the air as high as possible.

The fiber that composed the giant’s muscles was the most resilient of all the known species, able to withstand tremendous impact and allowing them to achieve remarkable heights and speeds. Borak reached higher than a thousand feet in the air with each jump and traversed more than fifty miles in mere minutes. They were now nearing the base of the encampment leading to the tunnel.

“Borak, it’s good to see you. I see you’re carrying a few friends,” Chester, one of General Varrick’s soldiers said, standing by the tunnel entrance.

“Likewise, Chester. These friends will scout the position of the armies of Them. Escort them to the portal, they have the essence for their transport, as well as for ours.”

“Yes, Borak,” Chester replied.

Chester escorted them ahead of the army. Calvin and Mallory could now see the tremendous size of the monstrums. Several giants sat at the base of each contraption, one on each side of the tunnel. Large earthen stoves generated tremendous heat they could feel as they passed the entrance of the tunnel.

The giants were roasting several large animals in manual rotisseries. The heat was substantial, but the smell made it worth the discomfort. The juices glistened as each drop rolled down the golden brown skin of the animals attached to each skewer. The aromas reminded Calvin and Mallory of the many different types of meats usually present at the frequent Fron celebrations.

Chester looked at Calvin and Mallory’s drooling mouths, seeing the Ubaloo salivating as well, and grabbed one of the skewers. He ripped off a few pieces of meat and handed large chunks to each of them. The pieces of roasted flesh were larger than the actual size of the Ubaloo, but that didn’t seem to bother them. The Ubaloo used their muscular arms to hold the oversized meat while they sank their teeth into the succulent, tender flesh.

Calvin and Mallory, as well as Felix, Faine, and Asher, were so busy eating that they didn’t realize they had already arrived at the portal within the tunnel. Chester picked them up and sat them down on the ground.

“I’ll give you a few more minutes to finish eating and then I’ll send you through the portal,” Chester told them.

Asher handed Chester both of the containers holding the element and continued eating. After another minute, the Ubaloo couldn’t eat another bite and handed the leftovers to Calvin and Mallory, who tossed the remaining scraps into their mouths. They swallowed in one gulp, but it took a few seconds for them to get it all the way down their throats.

“Get ready,” Chester said.

He picked up one of the containers, which he could barely hold with his fingers due to its small size, and placed it in the receiver. The tunnel lit up in front them in spectacular fashion.

“Well, what are you waiting for? The portal won’t stay open for long,” Chester yelled.

“Here goes nothing,” Felix said as he ran through the portal. Faine and Asher followed closely behind. Calvin and Mallory hesitated and looked at each before walking forward and across to The City of Worms.

Calvin and Mallory looked back and watched as the portal vanished. The only way back now was to cross The City of Worms and reach the natural portal leading to Brackenbone, but before they did that, they would need to accomplish their mission and find the armies of Them.

Chapter 20:

The Party.

“
I
hope this thing turns out well,” Anika said as she set the last tray of snacks down on the large table in the back.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Owen replied as he scanned the assortment of food that was available and took a few samples.

Just then, two men in their early twenties walked through the door carrying amplifiers and some other equipment for the party.

“I’m the DJ. Where are we going to set up?”

“You can set up right there in the front,” Anika said as she pointed them to the front of the conference room.

That was the last thing that needed to be done, but it was still early, only 9pm, so they thought it would be a while before most of the people showed up. Dante, as well as both Owen and Dante’s roommates, Adamo and Tesla, had already arrived. They had crowded around in the back while nibbling on snacks and discussing how long they thought it would be before more people would come. The conversation alone must have lasted at least fifteen minutes, and it was like trying to watch a pot of water boil; nothing happened.

The DJ started the music. It was an electronic dance track with a lot of sub bass and syncopated drums. Dante began nodding his head and Tesla soon followed. The music was good, but at that moment Anika didn’t have much confidence in the eventual success of the party, which had started to look very seventh grade middle school-ish.

Drusilla walked in the door.

“Hey guys.”

“Drusilla, glad you could make it. Is Zee coming?” Anika asked.

“I’m not sure. He said he would think about it.”

“Oh, sorry,” Anika replied.

“This is Dante’s roommate, Tesla, and Owen’s roommate, Adamo,” she continued.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Tesla said.

“Yeah, likewise,” Adamo added.

Just then, a few people walked in the door. The crowd was still very sparse, especially for such a large conference hall. For the time being, they waited in the back munching on the snacks until more people arrived. Five minutes passed and a couple dozen more people showed up.

Dante couldn’t help himself.

“Well, this is my party, I might as well be the first one to bust it out on the dance floor,” he said, as he walked forward to the center of the room and did his best attempt at making some respectable dance moves. They weren’t respectable by anyone’s account, but it did lighten up the mood a little.

Within a few minutes, several dozen more people showed up; it was only 9:30, but the crowd had grown to an acceptable size, and Dante was enjoying himself. A few brave people had joined him on the dance floor, and the party was in full swing.

Half an hour later, the room was packed. The DJ had increased the volume of the music, and there was no space left on the floor. It was apparent that the word had spread about the party.

“Looks like the party is a huge success,” Owen shouted in Anika’s ears.

“Yeah. I’m just so happy for Dante. He really needed this, or maybe I was the one who really needed this,” she said loudly.

“You needed what?” Owen shouted.

“I said I’m happy for Dante,” Anika said a little louder.

“Yeah, me too. Great job, Anika. Dante’s lucky to have a friend like you,” Owen responded.

“Thanks, Owen. I’m gonna walk around some. I’ll catch you later,” Anika said at the top of her voice.

“Okay. Have fun,” Owen replied.

Owen looked around the party. Everyone did appear to be having fun, Dante included. Just then, he saw Zee walk in the door, so he went over to greet him.

“Glad you could make it, Zee. I know Dante will be happy to see you. How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. I’m gonna go over and say hello to everyone. I’ll see you in a bit,” Zee shouted as he walked away.

As Zee left, Tesla approached the door.

“Hey, Owen. Great party, but I gotta get going, homework and all. I’ll see you around sometime,” Tesla said.

“No problem, Tesla. Just glad you could show up for Dante. Thanks for coming, and good luck with your studies,” Owen shouted back.

“Thanks, Owen.”

Anika stopped Tesla before he had a chance to walk out the door.

“Going so soon?” she asked.

“Yeah, well, engineering major. You know how it goes.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay just a few minutes longer?”

“Wish I could, but I have heck of a lot of work to do, and I don’t do very well on a lack of sleep; not to mention the fact that I’m not a night person.”

“Okay then. Thanks anyway for coming,” Anika shouted back.

The party continued for the next couple of hours. Just about everyone had stepped out on the dance floor at one time or another. Dante looked as if he were having the most fun. The entire time, his face had a perpetual smile, and he must have lost at least a couple of pounds with the amount of energy he’d expended dancing.

Then Jacob walked in the door and the mood changed. Drusilla, Owen, Anika, and Zee stopped dead in their tracks. Dante was still oblivious and continued dancing as hard as ever, but that soon stopped as well. Jacob was holding two bo staves, one in each hand. At first, people thought he was wearing some kind of funky costume and holding a couple of props, but their misunderstandings were soon corrected once he used one of the bo staves to knock the power cords out of the amplifiers.

A couple of gasps could be heard in the background. The center of the room cleared. Jacob stood alone in the center once everyone had stepped back a good ten feet. Jacob threw the bo staff that he was holding with his left hand at Owen, who caught it before it fell to the ground.

“Don’t want to leave the little girl unarmed,” Jacob said.

“Is this really necessary, Jacob?” Owen asked.

“Yes it is necessary, and I’m on to your little tricks. You think you can come into my house and take what belongs to me and get away with it? You’re dead, Owen. I’ll make sure of that, either here or in the other place.”

“I’m not going to fight you, Jacob, not here. If you have a bone to pick with me, let’s set up a proper match at the Art Club. We can make an event of it.”

“Screw you, Owen. I’m going to take you on right here, right now.”

Jacob threw a few swipes of the bo towards Owen, but none of them landed. Owen continued to duck and move out the way without having to lift the bo he was holding.

“You’re such a wimp, Owen. Why don’t you grow a pair? I know what will make you angry. Why don’t I fight your new girlfriend, Zee? His father wasn’t that good of an art teacher anyway. I’m glad he’s dead. He’s done the world and the university a favor.”

Zee stepped forward. His face had turned a deep red, like it was about to explode. Owen held him back with his arm.

“Don’t let him goad you into anything, Zee. It’s not worth it,” Owen retorted.

Drusilla stepped forward and said, “You know, Jacob, if you really want to fight a girl, why don’t you fight me?”

“No one’s going to be fighting anyone,” said one of the two large campus security officers who had just walked in the door.

Owen and Jacob both put down their bo staves, and the campus security began talking to people there to find out exactly what had happened. After a few minutes, they decided to take Jacob into custody for initiating an assault and possible death threats. They asked Owen, Drusilla, and Zee to accompany them back to the office.

They spent the next hour or so in the main security office until the police arrived and questioned them. The police took statements from everyone in the room and later followed up with a few additional witnesses including Dante and Anika, who had remained at the conference room cleaning up the mess after most everyone else had left.

About twenty minutes later at the security headquarters, one of the police officers looked at Jacob and said, “Based on what we’ve found, we’re going to take you into the station for disorderly conduct. We may file additional charges if my superiors think it’s warranted. We’re going to let everyone else go, but Owen and Drusilla, you can expect follow up calls from my commanding officer.”

The police handcuffed Jacob and walked him to the back of the squad car. A group of about twenty or so onlookers who had also attended the party watched as the police drove off with Jacob. Owen, Drusilla, and Zee decided to walk back to the party to check up on Anika and Dante. By the time they had arrived, the DJ had gone and Anika was just about to turn off the lights.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Owen said to Anika and Dante.

“I’m sorry, too,” Zee said.

“Don’t worry about it guys. The party was great! That was the best party of my life. Of course, that’s not really saying much,” Dante replied.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Anika said. “Now I’m going to get some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

With that, everyone decided to head back to their homes to try to put an end to a very stimulating evening.

The next morning, just before his alarm rang, Owen was pulled from his sleep into The Keeper’s Workshop. Owen opened his eyes and a yawned a couple times, still tired from the night before.

“What is it, Keeper?” Owen said, as he fought to keep his eyes open.

“We are assembling the armies of Everville and the army of giants to converge on The City of Worms. We must prevent the armies of Them from taking the element. The Second Pillar has protected the city, but something has changed. Them have been plotting and scheming and have sent the armies to lay siege to the city, we think in an attempt to steal the element from the worms. Our armies and the army of giants will flank the armies of Them from both sides once we get Them’s position.

“The great decision that we have been pondering is whether or not we will have to destroy the worms. It was decided long ago that the power would be channeled and dissipated through the worms. It was also assumed that one day the lure of power would eventually attract Them to the element within the worms that are located in the city. That is why it was just a temporary solution, but we have been unable to find a new way to dissipate that element, so now we find ourselves in this strained position,” The Keeper intoned.

“There is just one problem, though. There is no known method to kill the worms. As long as the worms hold the element, they contain more power than any known land or realm within in the entire multiverse. Even Them are unable to kill the worms, but there is another problem. Even if the worms were somehow destroyed, there would be no container for the element, and the element would float freely, ready to be seized by anyone who could create a makeshift collector.

“It is not known how the armies of Them are planning to transfer the element from the worms, since the worms still have the protection of The Second Pillar. It is hoped that our armies can fight off the armies of Them and stop whatever plan Them are scheming, but if we are unsuccessful, our only chance of finding a solution to kill the worms and dissipate the element the worms’ hold is by consulting The Second Pillar, who surrounds the city.

“I have sent the Ubaloo, as well as Oldrik’s former helpers, Calvin and Mallory, to spy on the armies of Them and bring back any information they can find on the armies’ plan and position. When they return with the intelligence, I will need to consult The Second Pillar and learn The Second Pillar of Truth. You are the only one known that possesses the potential power and virtue to accomplish that great feat.

“Your skills have also grown, and you have the ability to send yourself at will to any location within the surrounding lands of Everville. When I call upon you, I will need you to transport yourself to the portal in Brackenbone that leads to The City of Worms. You must then travel from the portal to The Second Pillar, which surrounds the city. It lies to the east about a half a day’s journey from the portal. You will travel with the armies of Everville, but they must continue on without you beyond that point. If you fail, grave consequences will meet both our realm and yours.”

“I’ll be ready, Keeper, and I’ll do what I can. Hopefully it will be enough,” Owen replied.

“It will have to be,” The Keeper said gravely.

“There is just one more thing, Owen. Others in your realm, including Jacob, have been working with Them. Cleophas may be able to find out more information on exactly who those other people are and how they are providing Them support. It may also provide you with some additional clues that we can use to help find out what Them are planning,” The Keeper continued.

“Understood. We are supposed to be meeting with Cleophas later this week. I’ll see if we can meet today at the Echo Club instead.”

“Good. You will be called upon soon, so stay alert,” The Keeper replied.

The Keeper then sent Owen back to his room. The alarm rang, and Adamo woke up.

Adamo yawned, turned to Owen, and said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Adamo. I think it’s going to be another long day.”