Читать книгу The Cup of Galfar. Alderosa's Daughter - Alexander Pererva - Страница 8

While Allie was fixing the monkey and listening to Lemonade’s story, Uncle Zand was watching them with interest and some surprise. Allie noticed that and asked:

“Uncle Zand, sir, you must think this is all so weird?”

“Well, how do I say this? For instance, it’s really the first time I’ve seen a real cat, although its image is on our kingdom’s coat of arms. And, it’s been at least a decade since I last saw a dummy.” Zand nodded towards Lu. “And, I’ve never seen one that can talk.”

“What did you call her?” It was Allie’s turn to be surprised. “A ‘dummy’?”

“Well, yes, a dummy, or pseudolife, as our learned magicians call it. There used to be a lot of them around these parts before the war with Galfar. Only they couldn’t talk. But you don’t know anything about it, of course. I believe it is my turn now to tell you some things.”

Zand stopped, gathering his thoughts, and then began his story:

“I’m not a magician or alchemist of any kind. That’s why I’m going to tell it all simply, just how I see it, and only what I know for myself. You, Allie, guessed correctly when you said we’re not on Earth. That’s true. This land is called Ameron. I’m sure no one on Earth knows about it.”

Allie just shrugged.

“At the same time,” Zand continued, “Earth and Ameron are so close it’s hard to believe. To be more exact, they exist in the same space and at the same time. For example, we are now sitting in my house, and the very same spot on Earth would be, let’s say…”

“Three P’s,” muttered Lemonade.

“What’s that?” Zand was confused.

“‘Three P’s’ means ‘Polar Pioneers Park’, ” explained Allie.

“The place where the ‘Cave of Horrors’ is.”

“That’s right.” Lemonade said. “We get it. Parallel worlds or multi-dimensional space, we’ve heard something about that.”

Uncle Zand stared at the cat with a mix of astonishment and respect.

“I’ve never heard those words, but I feel that you understand what I’m talking about. It is truly a pleasure to talk with you. Well, then, I will go on. One time-space continuum can hold not just two or three, what did you call those, parallel worlds, but, farlan only knows how many. Here in Ameron we are aware of at least ten such worlds. We call them spheres. The spheres are sort of stacked into one another, and all together compose a Spheroid. One Spheroid can hold, according to some wisemen, two dozen spheres, or, according to others – an unlimited number of spheres. It is a complex issue, and we have no time to dwell on it. The main thing is, it is not difficult to move between the spheres. There are natural ‘windows’ between them, and also an experienced magician can create such windows for a short time. The only limitation is, the spheres are placed in a certain order in relation to each other, and from any given sphere you can only move to a contiguous, or adjacent, sphere. Ameron, for example, borders with Earth on one side and Galfar on the other. The sphere that borders with Galfar on its other side is Norba, and the next contiguous sphere for Earth is Vildi. I forget the others, and it doesn’t really matter.”

“Sounds like a nesting-doll,” Allie said, as if thinking out loud.

Zand gave her a quizzical look.

“Those are hollow wooden dolls of different sizes. And they stack into one another,” the girl explained. “In order to get to the smallest one, you need to open each one in turn.”

“Well, it’s a fitting comparison. In order to get to the farthest sphere, you need to travel through all the spheres in between.”

“Now I see why the car from the ‘Cave of Horrors’ can only get to Galfar through the icy grotto,” Lu, who had been quiet so far, joined the conversation. It seemed like she felt shy in front of Uncle Zand because of the way she looked. “We were really lucky that Earth’s adjacent sphere is Ameron, not Galfar.”

Zand stared at Lu in amazement. She felt embarrassed and clung to Allie.

“Oh, Uncle Zand,” Allie said with reproach and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t get used to a talking dummy.”

“She is not a dummy, she is a real girl like me. Only under a magic spell.”

“Put on her in that same Galfar, by the way,” added Lemonade.

“I apologize again, Lu. Please don’t be mad at me.”

Zand extended his hand to Lu. She hesitated a moment and then put her soft plush paw into his large palm.

“Well, kids, I see you’ve got many charges against Galfar,” Zand looked at the strange group with sympathy.

“Uncle Zand, why are they doing all of that?” exclaimed Allie hotly. “What do they want from us, from Earth?”

“I can only guess,” said Zand pensively and stroked the girl’s head. “Galfar’s dealings are shrouded in mystery, and even here in Ameron, a sphere that’s contiguous with Galfar, we know very little about it. They say that our ancient chronicles bear witness to the fact that there used to be no Galfar, at least not in our Spheroid, and Norba was Ameron’s adjacent sphere. No one knows how Galfar came to be or where it came from. At least no one among us ordinary beings. There are rumors and speculations, but the sure thing everyone knows is this: Galfar bears evil in itself, and all doings of Galfarians and their Supreme Guard of the Cup are destructive and bring only troubles and tribulations. Naturally, to other spheres. Galfar itself must be getting some profit from that. Galfar’s treachery became evident ten years ago, when it waged open war against us. Before that we’d been pretty good neighbors, there was even some trade going on between us. For instance, those dummies came from Galfar, and there used to be lots of them here before the war. They were toys and servants, and even laborers. After the war some wanted to destroy them, but then it was decided that, since they hadn’t done any harm to us even during the war, after Galfar’s defeat they couldn’t cause any trouble either. So they were all exiled beyond the mountains, to the Free Lands. But, I’m digressing.”

“Uncle Zand, your story is so interesting, but we really do have very little time. Can you just tell us who those Guards of the Cup are?”

“There is strict hierarchy among Galfarians. A Guard of the Cup is a kind of title that designates the hierarchical rank of this or that Galfarian. The highest rank is the Supreme Guard of the Cup, then there are the Guards of the Cup of two ranks, then it’s the two ranks of the Adepts, and at the very bottom are the masses – the Unattained.”

“So, what is this Cup then?” asked Lu. Allie and Lemonade nodded. Everybody wanted to know.

“Oh, that. Well, there is a legend that says there is a Universal Cup of Evil in Galfar. All evil that is committed in all spheres is collected, drop by drop, in this Cup. When it is filled to the brim, Evil will rule the Universe. No less and no more. To the Galfarians it must be some sort of sacred symbol, if you can say that about Galfar, that they worship.”

“Well, it seems that this bowl of theirs is not full enough yet since they couldn’t take over Ameron,” said Lemonade and scratched behind his ear.

“That’s true, they didn’t, but, honestly, they were really close. Those were very dramatic events. Fortunately, Ameron was fine in the end, although the circumstances of that victory might seem rather strange and inexplicable. But that is a different story. To cut it short, Galfar’s armies were defeated and expelled from Ameron, all ‘windows’ between our two spheres were sealed and blocked by Shelengh the Great and his assistants. After that there were no more dealings with Galfar…”

“And Galfarians now deal with Earth,” Allie finished his sentence.

“I think they were interested in Earth long before, it’s just that after their defeat in Ameron their influence on Earth increased. I should also mention some peculiarities about Earth. In some ways it is even more mysterious to us than Galfar. A long time ago, several centuries back, there was a close bond between Ameron and Earth. There were many natural ‘windows’ between the two spheres, and people could quite easily move between them, sometimes without even noticing. But gradually, due to some unknown causes, the ‘windows’ became fewer and fewer. People of Earth visited Ameron less and less, and those who continued to visit other spheres were persecuted and sometimes even killed. Evolution of life on Earth went in a totally different direction than here in Ameron, a direction strange and incomprehesible to us. Centuries went by, and Earth forgot about other habitable worlds, not on distant stars, but literally within arm’s reach. Moreover, in their stubborn pride, people of Earth not only lost connection with us, but refused to believe in the existence of any life other than their own.

That is how, in a few centuries, Earth’s humanity completely lost the ability to travel to other spheres. That is why I said that Earth is farther from us than Galfar. Do you understand?”

Allie silently nodded.

“That is why Galfarians feel so much at ease on Earth,” continued Zand. “It is very easy to hide in a place where no one believes that you exist, and do your dark business. They don’t dare to come to us anymore, although, it turns out, they still use our territory for their Galfar-Earth ‘window’. That’s what I think about all this.”

“Uncle Zand, sir,” pleaded Allie, “so what do we do now? How can I help Mom and Dad? There are only eight days left.”

Zand scratched his shaggy beard.

“I’ve given it some thought. I’ll say what: you’ll need to go to the capital, to Eleont, to see the First Royal Magician, Shelengh the Great. If he cannot help you, no one can.”

Seeing Allie’s trembling lips, Zand hastily added:

“But he’ll definitely help. He is learned in all mysteries of magic science.”

“Where is Eleont? And how do we get there?”

“The capital is far, and not easy to get to,” Zand sounded concerned. “But it can’t be helped. There is only one way to get to Eleont in time. Allie, are you afraid of heights?”

Allie shrugged.

“I don’t know. When I was little, I climbed the diving tower all by myself, they barely made it in time to take me down. I guess I’m not afraid then. Probably.”

“That’s good. Then it should work. You’ll ride on a ‘carpet’, it’s their flying season now.”

“A carpet?!” exclaimed Allie and Lu at the same time and looked at each other.

“Yes, definitely a ‘carpet’, ” Zand smiled slyly at the puzzled friends. “But it’s easier to show than to explain. Follow me.”

He went to a small door in the side wall of the house. Behind the door was a narrow winding staircase that led upward. Allie remembered the tower with the windmill. Of course, they were inside the tower. Zand and the whole gang went up the stairs to the observation deck with glass windows all around it at the top of the tower. The view was excellent: they could see the whole surrounding area. But Allie was interested not in the view of the surroundings, but the interior of the tower. There was a huge telescope mounted on a special platform. There on the platform was a small chair and a table. The eye of the telescope was on the same level with a person sitting in the chair. In the center of the ceiling there was a metal shaft with a pinion. A complex system of gears made up of different cogs, wheels and pulleys connected the shaft with the telescope platform, and there was a special board with switches and levers. Apparently they controlled this whole mechanism.

“Well, do you like it?” asked Zand, noticing the girl’s surprise. He added, his hand on the telescope: “It’s all my handiwork. Pretty much everything here was made with these hands of mine.”

“It’s really cool,” Allie answered and walked around the mysterious construction. “What is this for?”

“I’ll tell you if I have the time. Now look to the south. No, not at the sea, the opposite direction. There, by the forest. See?”

Allie, and then Lu and Lemonade, looked in the direction Zand was pointing. There, about nine hundred feet from the tower, on the edge of the forest, something weird was happening. From time to time some flat objects rose from the ground, ascended forty to fifty feet above the tree tops and, undulating slightly, began to glide through the air, gradually picking up speed, until they disappeared behind the distant hills. It was impossible to figure out what those objects were and to estimate their size. Allie couldn’t understand whether those were birds or some kind of flying machines.

“Uncle Zand, what are those?” she asked, staring at the forest edge.

“Sit down here,” Zand pointed at the chair.

Allie did just that and sat down by the telescope. The chair was hard but comfortable. Zand stood near her and moved a switch on the board. The cogs and wheels started turning, and the whole construction, telescope, Allie, Zand and all, started rotating slowly. When the telescope faced south, Zand stopped it, bent down, looked through the eyepiece and turned some knobs on the switchboard. A minute later he said with satisfaction:

“There. Now you look.”

Allie looked, and saw a meadow, covered with thick soft grass and bright flowers. It was so close that it seemed she could reach out and touch the flowers. The grass had grown very tall, at least waist-high. Only a few random patches shaped like circles or ovals with rough edges had short, dark, intensely green grass. It looked as if it had been trimmed by a lawnmower. Suddenly Allie saw a wave ripple over one of those patches, like the wind that sways the stalks in a wheat field. But the wind couldn’t have stirred such short grass, besides, the tall grass growing just next to it was absolutely still. There came another wave, then another, and now the whole lawn looked like tumultuous sea. Then something happened that Allie had been expecting: the undulating round lawn about twelve feet in diameter slowly took off the ground and up into the air. It stayed in one spot for some time and then started moving away due south.