Impossible Dreamers

Chapter 52 (quetwi-que): The box

'We see some of what is going on in Bartyronis,' Karema said, 'but not all. It's very different from Seren-ila. When we saw part of Seren-ila, we could work out more or less what was happening in the whole of Seren-ila. People talked to one another, without concealing what they were doing. Bartyronis is not like that. Everywhere there are secrets – truths which are concealed from others.'

'So is this why you didn't want us to go to Tyropolis on our own?' Trentaya asked.

'Partly,' Karema said. 'It would have been impossible for you to understand what was happening there, let alone get anyone to change their behaviour. But there was another reason.'

'What was that?' asked Trentaya.

'Ralkino is a very practised and skilled herelina traveller. His mind can journey further than anyone else in the Shadowlands after eating just tiny amounts of the herb. So he could warn us that water would be pumped into the mountain. Without that warning we would have lost many of our people, and we would certainly have lost this machine.'

The machine Karema referred to was just a smallish box decorated with Seren-ilian patterns, as far as the travellers could see. Karema opened the door of the box, or cupboard, or whatever it was, and invited the group to look inside. Trentaya went in first, and the others heard her gasp. Karema motioned to Bolseno to follow. He hesitated, as he was afraid that it would be too much of a squash, but Karema indicated again that he should follow.

'How is this possible?' Bolseno's voice could be heard from inside.

Next, Jengara stepped in. Another gasp. Then Falera and Deventino.

Mertingo watched in puzzlement as all his companions stepped into the small space – much too small, he thought, for them all to fit in. He laughed as Karema, standing at the door, invited him to follow.

'Are you also expecting me to go in there?' he asked Karema. 'I have difficulty with very small spaces. And water. The tunnel getting here was awful. Perhaps if Jengara comes and does her special stuff, I'll be able to go in. To tell the truth, I have no idea how the rest are managing to breathe.'

'Don't worry, Mertingo. You have nothing to fear. Just step through the door. I promise you will be fine,' came Jengara's voice.

And so, Mertingo was the last to step into the cupboard. And there inside were the others. Not packed together as he had thought, but spaced out in a large hall. Mertingo gasped and laughed like the rest.

'In the Shadowlands, we are experts on space and time,' said Karema. 'Herelina has shown us that the space between things isn't fixed – places that seem far apart can be brought together. Nor is time itself fixed. Even so, we cannot see what the future will bring, nor can we harvest the herelina which has not yet grown. So we must be patient. The machine cannot be used to travel now, only to do this – to bring a large space into a small area. But when the herelina is plentiful, we will bring this space into another space entirely. The Great Hall of Tyro's Palace.'