Chapter 22

The Painter took out the brush and painted a circular stone arch about ten feet in diameter—large enough for them to ride their motorcycles through.

The arch materialized, and the portal immediately activated, radiating light.

Archer took one of the rifles from his back and erased it with the brush, fully restoring the brush’s charge.

“Who’s first?” the Painter asked.

Anka climbed onto her motorcycle, started the engine, and, without activating flight mode, rode straight into the portal and disappeared.

“After you,” Sol said.

Archer mounted his motorcycle, started it, and flew in after Anka.

An instant later, he emerged into another world, still astride his motorcycle and hovering several feet above the ground.

Anka was nearby on her own motorcycle.

A few seconds later, Sol appeared behind them on his.

They had arrived in a gently rolling landscape of green meadows beside a forest.

In the distance, battle standards fluttered above a large army of infantry marching directly toward the three of them.

The soldiers were no more than a third of a mile away.

“They’re armed with swords and bows,” Sol said. “We’re in the Iron Age.

“Our flying motorcycles may frighten them.

“No, wait. They have flying units.

“An... emissary is approaching us.”

About thirty feet above the ground, a woman was flying toward them through the air, holding a gleaming white flag.

She wore a flowing white robe and stood with both feet on a stone disk about a foot and a half across.

She flew close to the trio and landed between them and the approaching army.

The Painter saw that the woman was extraordinarily beautiful.

Archer and Sol landed their motorcycles.

All three of them switched their helmets to transparent mode.

“Greetings,” the woman said in a pleasant, gentle voice. “My name is Dola Ray. I am an ambassador of Akbert the Universal, King of Arkonia, whose lands you are now standing upon.

“May I ask who you are and what brings you here?”

“My name is Archer, and these are Anka and Sol,” the Painter said. “We come from another world called Ankarian.

“We came here to help your world.”

“The King will be pleased to hear that,” Dola Ray said.

“May I escort you to the royal castle in our capital, Pogrimar?”

“Yes. We’d be glad to meet your ruler,” the Painter said.

“Can your flying machines travel faster than the wind?” the ambassador asked.

“Much faster than the wind,” Sol said.

“In that case, may I ask to ride on one of them as a passenger?” Dola Ray asked.

“Yes, of course,” Archer said. “You can ride with me. This one here.”

He pointed to his motorcycle resting on the ground.

“And do you have room for my flying disk?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sol replied. “I’ll put it in the cargo compartment.”

“Thank you,” the woman said in her melodic voice, taking a seat behind Archer.

Sol picked up the stone disk on which she had arrived and placed it in the cargo compartment of Archer’s motorcycle.

“Is your king’s castle far from here?” Archer asked as he mounted the motorcycle.

“A week’s journey on foot,” Dola Ray said. “By air, it depends on how fast your machines can fly.”

“All right,” the Painter said. “Then you’ll have to show us which way to go.”

“Agreed,” the woman said, gripping the Painter’s armor with her free hand.

Dola Ray pointed with her flag in the direction of the marching army, and the Painter took off that way. Anka and Sol followed.

They flew over the ranks of marching soldiers.

Archer noticed that many of the soldiers didn’t even bother looking up at the motorcycles passing overhead.

The Painter continued accelerating until they reached about 185 miles per hour.

Dola Ray tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to slow down.

Archer, Anka, and Sol were wearing space armor that completely isolated them from the outside environment, so the speed of their motorcycles made little difference to them.

Dola Ray, however, was exposed to the full force of the air rushing past them, her white robe whipping violently in the wind.

Archer slowed to about 125 miles per hour, and they continued flying in the direction indicated by the ambassador.

They passed over fields and estates, roads and bridges, villages and small towns.

What particularly caught the Painter’s attention were the forests.

Some had been cut down.

Others had been burned to the ground.

And the farther they traveled into the Kingdom of Arkonia, the more evidence they saw of massive logging operations and timber being hauled away.

Soon, the spires of tall stone towers appeared on the horizon.

They belonged to the royal castle, surrounded by the vast ancient city of Pogrimar. Numerous roads converged upon the sprawling settlement.

As they approached the city, Archer gradually reduced their speed until they were traveling at a comfortable thirty miles per hour.

Before long, four specks appeared in the sky above the city and began moving toward them.

They were four men dressed in gray robes. Each stood atop a flying stone disk and carried a combat staff in his hands.

Dola Ray told Archer to stop, and he followed her advice.

The trio came to a halt in midair just outside the massive city walls. Archer turned his motorcycle sideways so the approaching men could see the ambassador riding behind him.

The four mages flew up to them and stopped about thirty feet from the Painter.

“I am Dola Ray,” the woman called out. “Ambassador of King Akbert. I am accompanied by three guests from another world. They are under the diplomatic protection of the Crown.

“We are proceeding directly to the King.”

The leader of the four mages said nothing at first. He regarded the trio and their flying motorcycles with obvious suspicion.

Then he spoke.

“Strangers, I will warn you only once. You are on the sovereign territory of King Akbert the Universal. Conduct yourselves accordingly, or you will be dealt with swiftly.

“We recognize the diplomatic protection of the Crown.

“You may proceed.”

“Thank you,” Dola Ray said, patting the Painter on the shoulder.

The trio flew around the four mages and continued toward the castle.

They passed over the city’s countless stone streets and the thousands of residents going about their daily lives below. Many of them didn’t even bother looking up to see what was flying overhead.

Apparently, flying objects were an entirely ordinary sight here.

Pogrimar Castle stood at the heart of the city—a massive structure built from stone blocks, with half a dozen levels rising one above another.

Dola Ray pointed out a landing platform on the castle’s fourth level.

They landed there.

Several of the King’s servants immediately hurried out to meet them.

“Honored Ambassador,” one of the servants said to Dola Ray, “what shall I tell the King regarding your arrival?”

“Tell him that Dola Ray has returned with three travelers from another world who wish to help the King with his troubles.”

“At once,” the servant said, hurrying into the castle.

“You may accompany me to the guest chambers,” another servant said.

“Lead the way,” the ambassador ordered.

The servant guided them through the corridors of the stone castle and into a luxuriously furnished waiting room.

Archer sat down in an armchair. Anka and Sol took seats together on one of the sofas.

Another servant entered.

“Would our guests care for anything to eat or drink?”

“No, thank you,” the Painter said.

“No,” Dola Ray replied.

The servant left the room.

Less than a minute later, a little girl of about eight came running into the waiting room.

“Dola!” the girl exclaimed happily.

She ran up to the woman and hugged her.

“Hello, Vidya,” the ambassador said with a smile, hugging her back. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great!” Vidya announced in a bright voice. “Who are these people with you?”

“They’re travelers from another world,” Dola Ray said.

“Do they want to meet the King?” the girl asked.

“Yes. And I think the King will be very interested in meeting them,” the ambassador replied.

“What are those flying machines you have?” the girl asked, turning to Anka.

“They’re flying motorcycles,” Anka said.

“Motor-cycles,” Vidya repeated, then laughed. “That’s a funny name.”

“They can travel on the ground and fly through the air,” Anka explained.

“Are they magical?” the girl asked.

“No,” Anka said. “They’re technological. There’s no magic involved.”

“Wow. Cool...” the girl said. “All right, I have to get back to studying mathematics. See you later, Dola!”

“See you,” the ambassador replied.

The girl ran off.

“The King’s adopted daughter,” Dola Ray explained.

A moment later, a tall man wearing a crown entered the room.

He was carrying a cheerful-looking Vidya in his arms, and a white blindfold covered his eyes.

“Greetings, dear guests,” the blind king said. “I am Akbert the Universal, King of Arkonia.

“And what should I call you?”

The trio quickly rose to their feet, and the Painter introduced himself.

“My name is Archer, and these are my companions, Anka and Sol.”

“Hello. I’m Anka,” Anka said.

“And I’m Sol,” Sol added.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” the King said. “And you as well, charming Dola Ray.”

“Your Majesty.”

The ambassador bowed.

“I’m pleased to welcome all of you to my castle,” Akbert said. “Please forgive me for not receiving you before the entire royal court in the throne room.

“I wanted us to meet somewhere more private, without all the ceremonies and customs.

“This way, we can speak more openly.

“I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all,” the Painter said.

“Very good,” the King said, setting Vidya down on the floor. “Run along, sweetheart. Go study.”

The girl ran off without another word.

“Please, have a seat,” the King said, sitting down on one of the sofas himself.

Everyone took their seats.

“I’ve been told that you are travelers from another world,” the King said. “Please, tell me about your world and what brought you to ours.

“In return, I’ll tell you about myself and the troubles facing my kingdom.”

“Sure,” the Painter said. “We come from a world called Ankarian. The world is named after my companion Anka.”

Archer gestured toward her.

“The three of us are the founders of a civilization that, over the past five hundred and five years, has grown from a small tribe into a global civilization of one trillion humans and one trillion artificial people.

“Sol is one of those artificial people. His body isn’t made of flesh and bone. It’s made of ordinary wood.”

“There are two trillion of you?” the blind King asked in astonishment. “How is that even possible?”

“Well,” the Painter began, “during the prehistoric era of our world, we discovered a portal to another world called the Four Crowns.

“The Four Crowns possessed ancient technology from a spacefaring civilization. And by ‘spacefaring,’ I mean that they could build vessels capable of leaving their home planet and traveling to other planets and other stars.

“Their level of development was so advanced—so far beyond anything our world possessed—that they knew how to build worlds capable of supporting populations in the trillions.

“We borrowed their technology, their science, and their knowledge, and used them to bring our own world into the space age.”

“So you are travelers between worlds?” the King asked.

“Not exactly,” the Painter said. “The Four Crowns was the first world we ever visited.

“Your world is the second.”

“And you came here to help us?” Akbert asked.

“Possibly,” Archer replied. “Tell us what problems you’re facing, and we’ll see if there’s anything we can do.”

“Well,” the King said, “I’m afraid our problem is a very ordinary one.

“We’re at war.

“Another race is threatening us with extermination. We’re preparing for a massive invasion from the sea.

“If the enemy succeeds in landing on our shores, everything will be lost. We cannot defeat them in a fair fight.

“Our only hope is to intercept them at sea and sink their entire fleet.

“Whatever price we have to pay in that naval battle, we have no other choice. Our survival is at stake.

“That is why our entire population has been mobilized. We are cutting down whole forests and building hundreds of ships.

“Our scouts estimate that we have approximately two years before the enemy’s black sails appear on the horizon.”

The King took a deep breath.

“And who is this enemy?” Archer asked. “What is this other race?”

“The Dreurgs,” the King said. “A race with whom diplomacy is impossible because they regard us as animals.

“They have the shape of humans, but they are black from head to toe. Black on the outside, black on the inside, with black blood flowing through their veins.

“Dreurgs are stronger and faster than humans. They are exceptional warriors, difficult to wound and almost impossible to kill.

“They attack in enormous hordes, conquering entire continents and either enslaving whole peoples or exterminating them completely.

“They have a particular hatred for us because we possess magic, while the Dreurgs are biologically immune to it.

“In one respect, this gives them an advantage: our spells have no effect on them.

“But it also means they are incapable of learning the magical arts themselves. Their bodies simply aren’t made for magic.

“And our magic offends them.

“They believe all of Arkonia must be exterminated so that the world can be rid of mages.

“The Dreurgs like simplicity.

“And they prefer a world made simpler by the absence of Arkonians.”

“How have you managed to avoid them until now?” Archer asked. “Why are they only coming for you now?”

“They are only coming for us now because until recently they were engaged in a conflict with an enemy even stronger than they are.

“We know this because we have diplomatic relations with those who observe their enemy.

“That conflict ended twelve years ago.

“Since then, the Dreurgs have conquered two neighboring peoples and exterminated a third. The people they destroyed were also known for their ability to wield magic.

“And now we are next.

“Geographically, they have to pass through our lands to reach another continent beyond us.

“At this very moment, they are gathering their horde, building ships, and preparing to come here.”

“Let me make sure I understand you correctly,” Archer said. “Destroying the Dreurgs would benefit not only your people, but other peoples throughout your world as well?”

“Yes. Exactly,” the blind King said. “Every people in this world would live more peacefully if the Dreurgs no longer existed.”

“Well,” the Painter said, “we’ve heard what you have to say.

“I need to discuss our next steps with my companions.”

“Of course,” Akbert said. “There is a guesthouse in the city, not far from the castle, reserved for guests of the Crown. It is called the Tolomei Refuge.

“You may stay there.

“You will, however, need our currency to pay for your accommodations. I’ll instruct the treasurer to provide you with whatever amount you require.

“In the meantime, is there anything else I can do for you?”

Archer looked at his companions.

“A map of the world would be useful,” Sol said.

“And a guide to your world,” Anka added.

“Very well,” the King said. “I’ll have a map provided to you.

“As for a guide—Dola Ray, would you be willing to take on that responsibility for the time being?”

“It would be an honor,” the ambassador replied.

“Excellent,” the King said. “Then I’ll await your answer.

“And I look forward to meeting with you again.

“It was a pleasure meeting all of you. Take care.”

The King left the waiting room.

“Let’s wait until they bring us the maps of the world,” Dola Ray said.

“All right,” the Painter replied. “Dola Ray, in the meantime, I need to discuss the situation privately with my companions. You won’t be able to hear what we’re saying.”

“Okay,” the ambassador said. “I’ll be on the balcony. Call me when you’re ready.”

She stood and went out onto the balcony.

Through his neural interface, Archer activated a private communication channel so that their conversation could not be heard outside their helmets.

Then he addressed his companions.

“So, what do we think about everything we’ve heard and seen?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Anka said. “Maybe we just haven’t gotten to know this new world well enough yet.

“But right now, it feels like we’re being asked to help complete strangers.

“I can’t say I feel particularly motivated to help them.”

“Sol?” Archer asked.

“The problem the King described presents an interesting challenge, and I would enjoy finding a solution to it,” Sol said. “But Anka is right. At this point, we know very little about this world or the people who live here.”

“Exactly,” Anka said. “We just arrived. Immediately rushing off to save somebody feels strange.”

“I agree,” Archer said. “The King said we still have time before the Dreurg invasion. A few years, right?”

“Yes. We have plenty of time,” Sol said.

“Then let’s use that time to get to know this new world better,” the Painter said.