Hilda - Lycadea (31 page)

"Wasn't that a day?" William whispered.

Hilda nodded. "It was. I hope we can get all
this fixed, William. Adventures are fun, but going home is a good
thing too. I need a bath, after all this."

"We all do."

"Yes," the witch agreed, "you start to smell
funny."

William knew better than to react to
that.

The next day everyone worked together to get
more living space set up. In the afternoon a strange shuttle
arrived, on board some Lycadeans from another city. They had
noticed that there was a problem, while their systems were
collapsing as well.

"We may well have a chain reaction going,"
Rebel thought out loud, after hearing what the new people had to
say. "Maybe, if you still have enough power in that thing, you can
go and visit a few more cities to see if they have the same
problems."

The new arrivals, who had been brought up to
speed on the latest changes in the situation of the planet, were
somewhat reluctant at first, but they quickly were convinced after
seeing the wounded people and the collapsed pyramids.

They promised to check on other villages, but
first they said they'd make sure their own people were safe.

Kerna then ordered the pilots of the local
shuttles to fly out to villages as well, to see that the situation
there was under control.The pilots did not object. They went as
they were told.

Day after day pilots came in and flew out
again, bringing people who had heard the news. Sometimes Hilda or
William would accompany them. Kerna was always going along. Word
had spread about the witch from Lycadea, and everyone wanted to see
her, hear her. At times also people from the new council would go
with a shuttle, to talk about the new things that were planned for
the planet.

Hilda, Rebel and William also often visited
the distant village, making sure that the people there heard what
was going on, and other villages.

-=-=-

After many weeks of continuous working,
flying and talking, Hilda declared that their work on the planet
was done.

Kerna did not look very convinced, but Rebel
and Maurizio, and also the wizard, said that Hilda was right.

The small group sat in one of the new
cabin-like homes that was set up for The Witch, near the village
where they had originally found the old ones.

"Everything is moving now, Kerna. There are
many people now who are supporting the ideas that are started, and
slowly it is spreading over the entire planet. We can stay here,
but there is nothing more we can do," William said.

"I understand. It's just..." Kerna slowly
patted Dwey. "It's just that I have come to like you so much, and
I'm so used to having you around, that it is hard to accept you
will not be here anymore."

She looked around at the faces of the people
who had done so much and who had helped to bring the change about.
"I'm going to miss you terribly."

"We'll miss you too, Kerna," said Hilda. "But
maybe you will find a cute man here who will wipe you off your
broom. Don't give up on that thought."

"It is not that. Well, maybe it is. But I
feel like I still have to learn so much."

"You don't have to do everything alone,
Kerna. Look at the number of people that will run for you,"
Maurizio reminded her.

"I know. But they are... not you." Kerna
frowned for a moment, then picked up Dwey and looked at the dark
face. "We're going to be fine though, aren't we?"

Dwey made a sound. Kerna grinned and put her
pet on the floor. "Yes. You are right. You should be going
home."

This sudden change in her surprised the witch
and the wizard, as it did Maurizio and Rebel.

"When would you like to return to where you
came from?"

"Uhm... what?" Maurizio asked the only
conceivable question.

"You came from somewhere, didn't you? I can
show you where to go, to go back there." Kerna rose to her
feet.

"And since when do you know that, Kerna?"
Hilda was curious now, Kerna's difference in attitude was
amazing.

"I'm not sure. I think it's because of Dwey,
but I am not sure of that either."

William looked at their cats. "I think Dwey
spent too much time with those two."

Grim and Obsi looked at the wizard. Obsi
yawned and pretended to be innocent. Dwey made another sound.

"Are you certain you want to tell us?" Hilda
asked as she rose also.

"No, but if I don't do it now, I don't know
when I will again," Kerna confessed. "If ever."

The others got up also, understanding that
suddenly the moment of saying goodbye had come.

Everyone hugged everyone. Then Kerna draped
Dwey over her shoulder and walked out of the cabin, leading the
way. She summoned the brooms for everyone, making Hilda proud. It
was not easy calling the broom for another witch.

William flew Maurizio, Hilda flew Rebel. They
took to the sky and followed Kerna to the mountains where they had
lived in the cave for a while.

Hilda started to understand what Kerna had in
mind.

The witch who had been no witch steered her
broom directly to the entrance of the cave with its reddish
glow.

After landing the brooms there, Kerna turned
to Hilda. "You know, don't you?"

"I do. It's that strange passage."

Kerna nodded. "You should go now before I
change my mind and keep you here." She smiled a feeble, tired and
forced smile.

"Yes. We should. Say goodbye to everyone from
us, will you? And good luck, kid. Maybe we'll come back
someday."

"That would be nice, Hilda. Really nice."

Hilda nodded. "It would be good if you all
hold on to each other," she then said to her followers. She took
William's hand.

When everyone had joined hands, Hilda walked
towards the red glow, the others in tow.

"Hilda?" Kerna said before the witch entered
the cave.

"Yes?"

"I'm not a kid."

Hilda laughed. "Whatever you say, kid. Good
luck." Then she stepped into the red glow, dragging the others with
her.

The walk through the twisting tunnel was much
shorter than the first time, because this time Hilda knew the
trick. The four people and two cats ended up in the strange red
cave. Hilda explained that this was where Kerna and she regained
their magic.

"This place sizzles with it," she continued,
as now she could feel the real deal.

She searched for the wall of magic that Kerna
and she had crossed before while going after the cats, found it and
ushered her friends along.

"Now we have to wait until it gets warm,"
Hilda stated.

They waited, but nothing of the warming kind
happened.

"Crappedy crap, am I doing something wrong
here? There was heat everywhere, then we found this cold column in
the middle, right about there, and then somehow we found this door
through which we came into the cave."

William looked at the witch. "Are you sure
you are alright, Hilda?"

"Never better, wizard. I'm serious. You saw
us coming in through the door! I really would like to have a door
like that again, so we can go home."

There was a door.

"Holy Bejeebus!" the wizard exclaimed. The
door had appeared right in front of him.

Rebel and Maurizio had to calm down their
nerves a bit. Then Rebel asked: "Is that the door that leads into
the cave again?"

"I'm not sure. This looks like a different
door. I wonder where it leads..." Hilda grabbed the handle and
pulled.

"I think you need to push this one,
Hilda."

"I know that! Just testing if it's solid."
Hilda pushed. The door swung open without any resistance.

Four, no, make that six faces peered through
the open door and saw a black void.

"Wrong door perhaps?" Maurizio wondered. Then
he sniffed something. "No. Right door."

Before anyone could stop him, the captain
stepped through the door. His boots landed on a wooden floor. "This
is the deck of the Mimosa." He walked a few steps, vanishing in the
dark. "And I see a few stars."

The remaining people near the door heard a
crash, a thud and a curse.

"And more stars," Rebel assumed.

Hilda popped up her wand and lit it up.
William was right behind her with that. The light showed the pirate
captain sprawled out over a roll of rope he had missed - well,
actually not - in the dark. The man did not seem to mind his
awkward position.

"We're home!" he yelled out. "And where the
hell are the guards on this thing?"

"Huh? Wha'?" a sleepy voice said from behind
an opening door. "Oh, damn, it's you!"

Behind the man speaking, a decent sea of
light spread out over the deck, enough to give the three waiting
people the confidence that this was indeed the deck of the Mimosa.
As they stepped onto it, the deck lights came on, illuminating the
large ship as far as possible, with its black splendour.

"What kind of a bloody mess is this?"
Maurizio roared from his undignified position. "No watch on deck?
No lights?"

"According to the ship's clock it is daytime,
captain, so we did not think we would need a watch." The sailor
that had woken up rubbed his face. "You do have a point about the
lights."

The captain had worked himself up to his
feet.

"So how did you get back here, captain?" the
sailor asked, as more crew members arrived on the deck.

"Through that door," Maurizio pointed. Then a
surprised expression took over his features. "Where's the
door?"

Hilda, William and Rebel turned. The door had
vanished, they were standing near the wall of the high deck.

"It's probably late where you came from," one
of the sailors said, "people make mistakes then."

"I'm not - uhm - yeah, we should get some
sleep," Maurizio attempted to save face.

"And some food," Hilda added. Her wizard
agreed with that.

"Yes, that too," Rebel said, as she looked
around the ship. "At least this place looks still in order."

They moved through the layers of sailors that
had formed and made their way to the strange automatic kitchen.
Nothing had changed there.

When they sat at a table in the giant dining
room, Hilda said she was relieved that the food on board was a lot
better than the mistake for oatmeal the machine on Lycadea had spat
out. "At least we had a good wizard cook there to make it
edible."

Rebel and Maurizio laughed about that as they
dug into their food.

Then Maurizio called the sailors in, to hear
how they had gotten through all that time. Big was the surprise
when Xander told them that it had only been a few days.

"At least we think it was a few days. Always
hard to tell when there is no difference between day and
night."

The sailors were then treated to what the
magicals, the captain and Rebel had seen and done. By the time all
was said and all questions were answered, everyone was seriously
tired, so beds were located and sighs of relief were uttered. In
one bed the sighs came after a period of other sounds.

-=-=-

The next day they tried to think of ways to
get Hilda and William back home.

"Best thing we could have," Maurizio said,
"is that we get hit by an asteroid or something."

"That does not sound like the best thing,"
William objected. "That sounds like we're being destroyed, with the
ship."

"This is the Mimosa, remember? It is not just
a ship. It plays with asteroids."

"Just a nuisance that asteroids not often
want to come and play," Rebel remarked.

"So we have to make something happen," Hilda
decided. "I wonder what this ship of yours can do when we give it a
little nudge."

"Nudge?" Maurizio's voice conveyed worry. He
had seen this witch in action, and her casual use of the word
'nudge' gave him slight reason for distress. "You are not going to
nudge the steam system of the Mimosa, Hilda. This is sensitive
machinery, exquisite craftsmanship, and should be handled that
way."

"Yes, that is why the hammers and chains are
there," Rebel chuckled, "and the big wrenches, the heavy protective
clothing and the goggles."

William demanded to see the engine room.
Maurizio first considered objecting, but seeing how the wizard had
saved them a few times, together with Rebel, he gave in and took
them below deck.

Close to the big doors they found the huge
bulk of the metal man they had seen as they had first come aboard
this remarkable ship.

Maurizio looked pleased that the contraption
was taken care of well. Then he showed them the engines of
exquisite craftsmanship.

Hilda and William were overwhelmed by the
number of copper pipes, the gauges and valves. Huge copper barrels
with all kinds of shiny metal bits, six in a row, were the
propulsion system, according to the captain.

"Those need most of the hammering," Rebel
revealed. 'We just don't hit the thin parts, or the bits that look
breakable."

"So how does this ship jump?" William asked.
"Does it have to do with these things?"

"Maybe." Maurizio sounded very certain about
that.

"I don't know either," Rebel said in her
defence, as the witch and wizard looked at her.

"Is there some connection from these things
to the crystal?" William asked. He was nearing the end of his
technical knowledge. That had never been much and living with Hilda
had deteriorated it rapidly.

"Could be. We never took the trouble to look
at that."

"Aha."

"I think we have to do something with that
crystal," Hilda said. "From a distance. I don't want it to whack me
a second time. Once was too often already."

Her suggestion made sense, so the four went
to the deck again and walked over to the crystal. Several sailors
were scrubbing the boards, probably because there was nothing else
to do.