Dreams of Jupiter

Part 5 - Gearing Up

Steve didn't hesitate to reply. 

"Thank you, Myles," he said with a brilliant smile. "Your help will be invaluable." Then he was grimly sober. 

"As for what you can do, that's both easy and difficult to answer. I will need your expertise with technology, as we have lost ours. And you're going to have to fight. If I could send you to the best weapons masters in Vandium to learn their craft, I would." A thoughtful expression appeared on his half-shadowed face, easing the grimness for a moment. 

"However, urgency is a unrelenting taskmaster, requiring certain shortcuts be taken." He reached out to take Myles by the arm. 

The young man frowned as he felt the warmth of the sorcerer's touch right through his clothing. Then he was dropping to a knee and vomiting as pain exploded in his head with such force, it sent a wave of nausea surging through him. A heart beat later the pain spread to his body and he flopped onto the ground convulsing. Seconds later he blacked out.

He wasn't sure how long he was out but when Myles finally came to, all that was left of the pain was a strange twisting sensation in his head and a lingering ache in his muscles. 

"Damn it, Steve," he growled, rolling onto his hands and knees. "A little warning next time would be nice." Then he was falling silent as he heard two voices in low, intense conversation. 

" ... as quickly as I could, master," a high-pitched male voice Myles didn't recognize, said. "But why the Overlook? It's infested with unwashed heathen." 

"I was gating through time and over considerable distance, Theo," Steve replied. "I didn't have as much control over the exit as I would've liked. I was fortunate to land as close to the capital as we did." There was a brief pause, then: "Are you sure Korsahg demanded ransom?"

"Yes, master. The Witch Lord demands the king step down and hand over control of Vandium to him and the Broen, or the Seer will be executed."

"Feron will never agree to that," Steve said grimly. "Yet we cannot lose the seer. We need to extract her from Korsahg's grasp with all expediency. Have you assembled the company as I requested?" 

"I did, master, despite some of them being questionable." 

"Thankfully it is only your place to do, not question," Myles heard Steve say, a hint of steel in his deceptively mild tone. 

"Forgiveness, master," Theo immediately said, his tone abruptly afraid. 

"Granted," Steve said dismissively, already moving on. "You have one of my reagent satchels. Good. I'm in need of some of the contents." 

"Are you recovered enough from the assassin's blade to undertake this journey, master?" Theo asked. 

"Yes." Steve tersely replied, his tone brooking no discussion. Then: "I know you're listening, Myles. Time to do something more." 

Careful hands then were helping Myles back to his feet. Turning towards their owner, Myles was about to thank them. Except he found his voice lost when he found himself looking not at another human-like Vengazi like Steve but a slender upright reptile with the face of a Mexican iguana. 

"Hello," it said brightly, its lips creasing in a close approximation of a smile. 

"Uh, hello," Myles stammered. 

"Allow me to introduce one of my more brighter apprentices." Steve stepped close to say, making a gesture towards the reptile, who was dressed in tunic, pants and cloak much like Steve's. 

"This is Theolonus. At least, that's as close as you'll get to his real name in Vandu. Theo, this is Myles, the young fellow from Earth I was talking about." 

"Most honored, Myles," the reptile said , holding a delicate hand to chest and bowing. "Thanks to my apprenticeship to Master Steaphan, I have met many curious and wonderful creatures. But you are the first from Dirt." 

"Earth, Theo, Earth," Steve corrected and the reptile hastily bowed, the scales covering his cheeks flaring from green to a deep blue. 

"Forgiveness, Myles," Theo said, clearly embarrassed. "I did not mean to misname your place of origin." 

Myles smiled. 

"There's nothing to forgive, Theo," he said, his shock at finding a talking iguana already wearing off. "It's an easy mistake to make." 

"It certainly is," Steve agreed. "Now give Myles that satchel I had you bring with supplies for him, Theo." As the slender reptile handed over a simple leather bag bulging with supplies, Steve said:" Time to get you some proper clothing, Mr Abbott." 

A gesture opened a hole in the air through which Myles could see a well-lit corridor made of stone. 

"Theo, go to Feron's castle and tell him I survived Korsahg's treachery and now work to get the seer back before the ritual of sundering can be performed." 

"At once, master." The reptile stepped through the hole which immediately disappeared. 

Another wave opened a second hole, this one looking into a dimly-lit chamber. Steve made a stabbing gesture at the hole and Myles watched in amazement as several torches in the room flared to life, filling the room with warm light. 

"The armory in my tower just outside the capital," Steve explained then gestured for the young human to step through. 

Which, after a brief hesitation, Myles did, going from jungle heat to cool castle. Shivering with the temperature change, Myles turned to watch Steve step through, the hole disappearing behind him. 

With the hole gone, Myles could see the revealed wall behind was thickly festooned with hanging weapons and stored pieces of armor.

"Pick something that suits you," Steve said before turning towards a door. "I'll get our company and return." 

"But I've never used this stuff," Myles protested. "How will I know what to pick?" 

"You'll know," Steve answered mysteriously. Then he was gone. 

Left alone, Myles stared at the wall with a frown. It was as his eyes ranged over the collection of armaments in the hopes of inspiration that Myles spotted a sliver of light visible between two stones. Abruptly curious, he stepped forward to probe at the sliver with his finger. He flinched when touching it made a good portion of the wall move. 

After a slight hesitation, Myles gave the wall an experimental push. Then he watched as a door-sized portion swung out of the way to reveal a previously hidden chamber. One filled with machines.

At least they were machines. As an intensely interested Myles stepped in for a closer look, he quickly saw that most of the devices were in various states of disassembly. Not only that, they were all covered with a thick layer of dust, the kind that gathers over centuries. Making things more difficult was the fact that he didn't recognize any of them, most as alien and unrecognizable as the world he was on. 

Some parts, however, he did recognize. That piece there, that looked like one of Tesla's coils, just miniaturized and elongated. And that there looked like one of the dry cell batteries he had invented. Both had connectors. All he needed was some sort of cable, ... There! That one looked like it would do the trick. 

He reached out to pick the coil out from the tangle of parts it was with. It was significantly heavier than it looked, but not enough to make it awkward. 

"Maybe I could use my experience with Tesla's equipment and my engineering training to make something out of this," he murmured and began to work.