The Worlds of the Sheaf

The Confrontation - Part 5

     None of the Tharians knew anything about the principles upon which the silver ships operated, so they were given fetching and carrying jobs, thereby allowing the felisians to spend all their time doing the technical work. They were cannibalising one of the other ships to obtain spare parts, and there were more parts stored in the Masters' headquarters, and about an hour before sundown one of the felisians took Thomas and Matthew to the building of silver metal to help him carry back something he called a plasma pump.

     There was indeed a back entrance to the building, as Jop Sonno had suggested, and the felisian, whose name was Lun Wasker, led then in and along sharp cornered metal corridors towards what seemed to have been a workroom of some kind. Strange metal devices of all descriptions littered the floor and every available surface; some small like marbles or spiky metal jacks, others so large that it would have taken a dozen men to lift them. They saw a row of half a dozen identical devices that looked a little like legless horses, and the felisian joked that if they'd still been working they could have explored the planet in style, a comment that left the Tharians baffled.

     "Here's what we want," said Lun Wasker, striding across to a table and running a hairy, clawed hand lovingly across a half melted looking lump of metal bearing regular openings and markings. It was about a foot wide and looked heavy, and indeed when Thomas tried to lift it he could only raise one side of it a couple of inches off the table. Lun laughed. "Why do you think I brought two of you? Be careful, though. It's an awkward shape to get hold of. Whatever you do, don't drop it. I don't think it would be damaged, but why take chances?"

     Matthew took one end of it, testing its weight. "It's not that heavy," he said, lifting it clear off the table, but then the smooth metal slipped through his fingers and he was only just able to lower it gently again before it slipped out of his grasp altogether. "I see what you mean," he said with a sheepish grin as the felisian winced with horror. "Take the other end of this, will you, Tom?"

     The wizard moved in to comply, but then he stopped, gazing off into the distance with a thoughtful look on his face.

     "What is it?" asked the soldier. "Tom?"

     Thomas said nothing but moved slowly away, the plasma pump forgotten. Moving as if sleepwalking, but with a look of intent concentration on his face. Matthew moved to stand beside him, growing increasingly worried. "Tom? What is it?"

     "There's something here," said the wizard distractedly. "I can sense..." He turned to stare at his friend. "I can sense magic! There's magic somewhere in here!" He moved closer to the wall until he was right up against the cluttered bench that stood against it. "No, not in here," he amended. "In there. On the other side of this wall." He trotted out of the room, looking for the entrance to the next room, Matthew and Lun Wasker running to keep up with him.

     He found a likely door further down the corridor, but it was locked. "We've never been in there," said the felisian. "We thought it was just another office or something."

     Thomas ignored him, however, and cast a spell to pick the lock. A moment later he was able to push the door slowly open against the protesting squeals of its rusty hinges.

     It was indeed an office of some kind, but belonging to several people who'd worked together, sharing resources and comparing notes. The furniture was more or less human in general shape and style, but the size of it made Thomas feel like a pygmy.

     Sitting in one of the chairs was the mummified corpse of a huge humanoid creature, its skin thick, hairless and rubbery like the hide of a hippo, still strong and elastic even after centuries of death. It must have stood eight or nine feet tall when alive and was massively muscular. Each of its arms was as thick around as the torso of a man and its thick, stubby fingers looked as though they'd been easily capable of crushing a man's head.