SWNOVELS Chapter 65 - Transmutation.. or Translocation?
“I really don't want to hear your bad jokes.”
“But it's not a joke. Someone left something in front of my door and I saw it’s a strong potion. And I also have three brooms borrowed from Smart's workshop.”
As he realized that none of them got what he meant, Johnny continued:
“Drink from this potion, each of you and you will ...”
“ARE YOU INSANE?!” Alexander snapped at him to the extent permitted by the situation, paying attention to not be heard by anyone. “Do you think is the water from the fountain of the wise? Maybe it's something bad ... left by someone who wants to hurt us. Haven't you heard a stranger was on the corridors of Elmbridge?”
“That stranger couldn’t enter our rooms to hurt us ... he had no way, with no key.”
“Yes, smarty pants ... that's why he left that at the door ... who knows, maybe it’s poison or something stronger!”
After a few moments of silence, Johnny whispered again:
“It's not poison. I drank from this potion. The only effect is that it makes you very small.”
And without other explanations, the boy poured the potion on the three brooms that in a few moments disappeared without trace.
Then he drank from the potion and put the bottle in Elizabeth's hand.
“Trust me.”
Johnny's gone as well.
The girl sighed, then looked at Alexander.
“I have fairy tears. They are healing in case ... We are waiting for you ...”
The girl also drank and then handed Alexander the bottle and she disappeared as if by charm too.
Everything suddenly became so big for Elizabeth ... except Johnny and the three brooms.
“How interesting. How big everything is. Look ...”
But the girl couldn’t say anything anymore. Johnny swooped her onto his broom, then they flew away with the speed of the wind. They could hardly go round a giant at the last moment, as he began to walk dangerously chaotically through that huge corridor. They flew for a few moments and then landed back on the floor.
“Was that trying to kill us ?!”
The two children saw a huge Alexander almost as big as the lofty Mount Artpathi walking down that corridor. He was about to crush them a few moments ago. After taking a few steps down the corridor, he disappeared too.
“Finally, here he is.”
And taking the other two brooms, he flew with Elizabeth to Alexander.
“I told you to trust me. Now let's move on ...”
He handed the other two a broom, one for each of them.
“Elizabeth, can you fly on ...?” Alexander asked, showing the girl that magic flying broom.
“Yes. I learned at Smart's class. And I fly pretty well.”
“Then follow me.”
The three kids began to fly down that corridor, like little flies. They went past Rujnoiu without problems. They also went past Professor Jack, whom Alexander even teased a little, flying close to his face, getting big Jack react as anyone would do under a mosquito attack.
They went past Smart too, when he went down to his workshop.
As for doors ... what could be easier than getting through keyholes riding those flying brooms. Keyholes for human beings, wizards or sceptics are normally used inserting a key to close and open the door.
The kids were so tiny that the keyholes looked like really impressive arcades with enough room for an elephant to easily go through. Of course, an elephant after drinking that potion. So for the three broom flyers, there was no problem getting closer and closer to the place where Alexander headed them.
When they saw there was no one to find them, the children landed on one of Smart's work benches.
“From Smart's workshop you can descend to the crypt, and then you can reach the Lost Lane ...”
"We just have to find the entrance to that corridor and find a way to open it," sighed Johnny.
“Leave it to me,” Alexander smiled so sly that the other two immediately calmed down.
And the three kids flew to the steps leading to that crypt.
…
Back to their pre-shrinking size, Elizabeth, Alexander and Johnny strolled through the crypt, past the eternal resting places of the first wizards. That crypt was built on several levels, being joined together by quite narrow stairs, following a spiral pattern.
At the lowest levels were the graves of the oldest wizards ... the pioneers of human witchcraft.
Through the dim light in those corridors leading to the rooms that housed the remnants of the wizards, the same little shadows could be seen climbing down those rows of steps.
“I'm scared,” the girl said.
"Stay calm, I take care of you," Johnny whispered in a voice broken by the fear that came over him because of the journey among the lifeless.
They stopped again, as they heard several heavy steps, specific to the guards of the school rooms, those rock elves.
The heavy footsteps’ sound slowly faded away, so the three children continued on their way.
After other two levels towards the heart of the Earth they stopped, as the steps led up to a wall.
"I think the Lost Lane is behind this wall," Alexander said, holding a candle in his hand. “We just have to go to the other side. But how ...?”
Alexander looked at the other two to see if any of them had an idea.
“I saw in those books, more suppositions about this lost corridor design. Ideas wrote down about how the tunnel under the castle could be built. I guess we could get inspired from these notes and ...”
The girl stopped, because Alexander's gaze was like "do you know what you're saying?"
“That's what I read in books,” she continued. “And by translocation we could get right there.”
“Didn't you say there are too many versions when it comes to the place where we can get? We could get to a place where there isn’t enough space, there is no air ... and we’ll be lost forever. Dead for good.”
As Elizabeth's idea didn't turn out to be good, Alexander looked very briefly at Johnny. But, the best idea Johnny could have at that time was to open his mouth bored and tired and say nothing.
"Yes, I expected something like that," said the other boy. “You’re lucky with me,” he said, proudly. “Follow me ...”