The Seventh Medallion (Bartholomew the Adventurer Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  Books by Tom Hoffman

  The Eleventh Ring

  The Thirteenth Monk

  The Seventh Medallion

  Orville Mouse and the Puzzle

  of the Clockwork Glowbirds

  Orville Mouse and the Puzzle

  of the Shattered Abacus

  Paperback versions available online

  at Amazon, Barnes & Noble

  With lots of love

  for Molly, Alex, Sophie, and Oliver

  A very special thanks to my wonderful editors

  Debbie, Alex, Beth, and Karen for their

  invaluable assistance and excellent advice.

  Copyright © 2015 by Tom Hoffman

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Tom Hoffman Graphic Design

  Anchorage, Alaska

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Tom Hoffman

  Visit my website at thoffmanak.wordpress.com

  Email: [email protected]

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing: 2016

  ISBN 978-0-692-54162-3

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 – Thaumatar

  Chapter 2 – The Black Sphere

  Chapter 3 – The Flickering Mouse

  Chapter 4 – A Tale of Sacrifice

  Chapter 5 – Dear Oliver

  Chapter 6 – Up, Up and Away!

  Chapter 7 – Clonk it!

  Chapter 8 – Clara’s Visitors

  Chapter 9 – Paradise Lost

  Chapter 10 – The Ballast Pump

  Chapter 11 – Captain Mudgeon’s Story

  Chapter 12 – The Ghost of Tenebra Past

  Chapter 13 – A Walk Through the Trees

  Chapter 14 – The Blue Wall

  Chapter 15 – The White Triangle

  Chapter 16 – Vahnar’s Map

  Chapter 17 – The Surangi

  Chapter 18 – Bellumia 121577

  Chapter 19 – The Garden of Dreams

  Chapter 20 – Stick

  Chapter 21 – The Cave

  Chapter 22 – Through Death’s Door

  Chapter 23 – The Facility

  Chapter 24 – Flying Colors

  Chapter 25 – The Visitors

  Chapter 26 – The Injector

  Chapter 27 – Home

  Chapter 28 – The New Pier

  Chapter 29 – Bartholomew’s Gift

  Chapter 30 – The Package

  Chapter 31 – The Anniversary

  Chapter 32 – The Wedding

  “We have not even to risk the adventure

  alone, for the heroes of all time have gone

  before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known:

  we have only to follow the thread of the hero

  path. And where we had thought to find

  an abomination, we shall find a god. And

  where we had thought to slay another, we

  shall slay ourselves. And where we had

  thought to travel outward we shall come to

  the center of our own existence. And where

  we had thought to be alone, we shall be

  with all the world.”

  – Joseph Campbell

  Bartholomew the Adventurer Trilogy

  Book Three

  The Seventh Medallion

  by Tom Hoffman

  Chapter 1

  Thaumatar

  “You’re certain? You’re absolutely certain this is the one?”

  “Yes, I’m certain. You seem to forget I was deciphering ancient Mintarian star charts before you were a mouseling. Believe me, I know Thaumatar when I see it.”

  “Creekers, hard to believe we’re orbiting the birthplace of inter-dimensional travel. The Thaumatarians dreamed up the World Doors back when we were still running around throwing spears at wild Nadwokks. We didn’t even have fire back then. Heh, can you imagine eating raw Nadwokk for lunch?”

  “Focus, Beinerr. Take us in closer, please. Reduce orbit to one fifty miles and scan for infrastructure. I’m not seeing any ships. There should be ships. Lots of ships. Unless they don’t use them anymore – they could have some advanced form of travel we haven’t even dreamed of yet.”

  “One fifty miles it is, esteemed Master Scientist Vahnar. Scanners on, as per your most excellent command.”

  Vahnar grinned. “Now that’s the kind of response I like to hear from my senior nav-pilot. While you’re at it, see if you can get my wife to come out here and take a look at Thaumatar. It’s certainly more interesting than studying interstellar dust particles in that tiny lab of hers. Maybe she can use her gift to help us figure out what’s going on here.”

  Beinerr gave Vahnar a sideways glance. He had his own opinions about Lybis’ gift, but he knew well enough to keep them to himself. Beinerr had heard all the stories – Lybis saw events before they happened, she knew what people were thinking, she could talk to people in their dreams. He might only be a nav-pilot on a puny Science Guild survey ship, but he knew when something was creepy.

  Beinerr swiped the holoscreen, then tapped it twice. “Attention Madam Lybis, Master Scientist Vahnar requests the pleasure of your company on the bridge as soon as you are able.”

  Vahnar laughed. “That should get her down here.”

  Beinerr’s eyes were riveted on his scanner display. “This is odd. Broad spectrum scanners aren’t showing any activity on the planet. Nothing in this quadrant anyway. No ships, no lights, no vehicles, no movement of any kind. I’m not liking this.”

  “Hmm, you’re right, that is odd. Try scanning for life forms.”

  Beinerr tapped three circular discs on his console as he eyed the holoscreen. “Nothing. And I mean nothing. Not a mouse, not a bug, not a bird, not a plant, not even microorganisms. We’re picking up plenty of infrastructure, but it looks ancient. Half the buildings have collapsed. I don’t know how else to put it – the planet appears to be dead. Wherever the Thaumatarians are, they’re not here.”

  “It has to be a glitch in our equipment. A species or a culture can fade away into history, but every single life form on an entire planet? If life force is anything, it’s tenacious. We should be seeing something. Double check the scanners, then take us around the planet and we’ll do a total field scan.”

  “Increasing velocity to seven point three, scanners on wide spectrum, total field. Life forms will appear as white blips on the bridge screen.”

  The main monitor on the forward bulkhead blinked on, displaying the planet’s surface in sharp colorful detail as it passed below them.

  Vahnar eyed the screen. “If I wasn’t seeing it, I wouldn’t believe it. Everything looks deserted and totally lifeless. Right there, that looks like it used to be a forest. The trees are dead and have fallen over, but they’re not decaying, they look like they died last week. That can only mean there are no microorganisms and no insects to facilitate decomposition. I’m beginning to wonder if we should even do a planetfall. We have no idea what killed everything. I’ve never run into anything remotely like this before.”

  Beinerr and Vahnar watched mutely as the surface of the planet slipped silently past on the bridge monitor. They had not seen a single bl
ip of white light to indicate an active life form.

  Beinerr was startled by a rustling noise behind him and spun around. It was Lybis, wearing her white cloak and hood. When a mouse becomes a member of the International Quintarian Science Guild they are issued a traditional white cloak and hood, an age old symbol representing the purity of science. Most scientists never wear them again, but Lybis always wore hers.

  Beinerr managed to give Lybis a pleasant smile, trying not to make it look too forced. He wondered to himself how Vahnar and Lybis had ever gotten together. “Greetings, Madam Lybis, you’re just in time to–”

  Lybis held up her paw, motioning for silence. Her eyes were fixed on the bridge screen, her face taut. “Wait. It won’t be long now. Wait.”

  Beinerr’s smile vanished. He glanced at Vahnar, who shrugged and turned to look at the bridge display. For several minutes the three of them watched the Thaumatarian landscape passing by.

  Lybis let out a long slow breath. “Now.”

  There was a blinding flash on the screen and the image was replaced by a swirling vortex of white light. Seconds later the planet’s surface reappeared on the monitor.

  Beinerr laughed nervously. “A glitch, that’s all. Sometimes the scanner feedback loop is–”

  Vahnar shook his head. “No. Take us back. Find out what that was.”

  “It can’t be life force. It would have to be as big as a planet. It’s not possible.” A deep wave of anxiety rolled through Beinerr. He did not like the feeling at all, and he didn’t care much for Lybis’ gift.

  “Take us back over the area that flashed, and turn off the life form scanner so we can see what’s down there.”

  Beinerr’s shoulders tightened. “As you wish.” He flipped on the inertia dampeners and with a low hum the ship came to a gradual stop one hundred and fifty miles above Thaumatar. Beinerr swiped the holoscreen and the ship slowly turned, retracing their path over the planet.

  “Maintaining orbit directly above flash coordinates. The flash was directly below us.”

  “I don’t see anything. There’s some kind of big rectangular structure five or ten miles to the west, but the flash seems to have come from the desert.”

  “Switch on life force scanners.”

  The screen turned a brilliant white.

  “Creekers. Switch them off.”

  The planet’s surface appeared again. They were looking at a vast, barren desert. Lybis looked at Vahnar. “We have to go down there. We have no choice. Everything depends on what we do now. Everything.”

  Vahnar nodded. If there was one mouse in the world he trusted, it was Lybis. “Beinerr, take us down. Check the atmosphere for contamination. We still don’t know what killed everything. Well... killed everything except something.”

  Forty minutes later the Guild survey ship touched down on the surface of Thaumatar. Vahnar stared out the porthole, eyeing the rolling sand dunes. To the west was the massive structure they had seen on the ship’s scanner. It was at least five miles away but looked enormous even from this distance. A dark sand color, with steeply sloping sides, the monolithic structure stood at least three or four hundred feet tall. It seemed like an odd place for the Thaumatarians to build such a mammoth structure. He wondered if the building had anything to do with the enormous life force flare on their scanners.

  “Air is fine, no contamination. You’re good to go. You might want to suit up. You never know, especially under these circumstances.”

  Lybis nodded. “Thank you, Beinerr, we’ll suit up. You stay here and mind the ship. If anything happens, take her back to Quintari. Tell the Science Guild what happened. Give them all the data.” Almost as an afterthought Lybis added, “I am getting a powerful sense of urgency, but it’s confusing. The feelings are coming from several different times and places.”

  Vahnar and Lybis donned their protective suits, pressed a tab on the port bulkhead and watched the outer hatch unfold down to the desert floor. They were greeted by a blast of broiling hot desert air as they exited through the hatch.

  Lybis and Vahnar made their way down the ramp to the sands below. Vahnar scanned the area for any possible threats, but saw nothing. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for. Maybe an invisible Nadwokk the size of a planet.” He looked around for Lybis. She had headed off across the dunes, one paw extended in front of her. Vahnar knew what she was doing. She was letting the universe guide her toward whatever it was that flared up on the scanner. With a sigh of resignation he followed his wife into the desert.

  Chapter 2

  The Black Sphere

  Step by deliberate step, Lybis made her way across the dunes, her eyes closed, one paw extended out in front of her. She made a wide turn to the east, ascending a large sloping dune. Vahnar halted at its base, well aware that small sounds or sudden motions could pull Lybis from her altered state. She paused at the top of the dune, rotating slowly like some curious organic antenna. When her arm was pointing to the west, pointing toward the massive sand colored structure in the distance, she called out, “From there. It came from there.” Without further explanation she headed east, trekking down the far side of the great dune.

  Vahnar trailed after Lybis. As he was making his way up the sandy slope he heard her cry out.

  “Vahnar! Come quickly!”

  Vahnar instinctively pulled a silver cylinder from the black sheath strapped to his leg. He flicked it twice and the device telescoped out, emitting a low hum. As he dashed up the dune he twisted the Sleeper’s control knob to maximum power. He’d never used a Sleeper in the field before, but every Science Guild apprentice underwent rigorous Sleeper training in the contact simulators. At low power it would do just what its name implied – cause the enemy to instantly fall asleep. At high levels the sleep effect became far more pronounced and at maximum level, quite permanent. When set to level twenty the Sleeper sent out a powerful electronic pulse beam which caused a fatal overload in the enemy’s brain.

  Vahnar raced up the sandy slope, calling to Lybis. He crested the dune, spotting her at the base, hunched down next to a large ruptured silver sphere. Lybis saw Vahnar’s Sleeper and waved her paw. “I’m fine – put that thing away! Come look at this.”

  Vahnar studied the sphere as he made his way down the dune. It reminded him of a comm satellite he’d seen that had dropped from orbit and smashed into a mountainside on Quintari’s third moon. This sphere was larger of course, about twelve feet in diameter, and constructed of an unknown alloy, but it did have a similar look to it. “It looks like it dropped orbit. Is it a satellite?”

  “No, not a satellite. It’s hollow. It must have hit this outcropping at incredible velocity to do such damage. It’s not metal. I’m not even certain it’s made out of physical matter as we understand it. It’s an extraordinary object, possibly infused with extra-dimensional forces, almost as if–”

  Lybis stopped in mid sentence, her head tilting, her eyes losing focus. Vahnar waited patiently for her to continue. Half a minute later she turned to him, shaking her head. “No. This sphere is not the source of the flare, it was only the container. Look here, the sand has been melted, probably a plasma field escaping from the ruptured sphere. We need to find what that plasma was protecting.”

  Vahnar was completely bewildered by this. “I don’t understand. I thought we were looking for a creature – some massive beast filled with immeasurable amounts of life force. Wouldn’t the crash impact have killed anything inside the silver sphere?”

  Lybis didn’t reply, but motioned for him to follow her. She stepped cautiously across the rocky outcropping back onto the sand. Twenty feet away she stopped and kneeled down, gingerly moving her paw back and forth above the sand. Without a word she lay on her stomach, her eyes just inches from the ground. She licked the end of her paw, and with a barely perceptible motion tapped it to the sand. She stood up and held out her paw for Vahnar to see. “Look.”

  Vahnar looked but saw nothing. “What? Is something wrong with your paw?”
/>
  “Look again.”

  Vahnar moved closer, his eyes fixed on her paw. “Uhh... you have sand on your paw?”

  “Closer.”

  Finally he saw it. Among the scattered grains of sand on Lybis’s paw lay one grain which was not the same as the others. It was the same size, but it was far from being sharp and jagged. It was a perfectly round Black Sphere. “I don’t understand. What is it?”

  “It’s the reason we were brought here. This Black Sphere is what caused the scanners to flare.”

  Vahnar laughed. “That’s silly. Whatever set off the scanners has to be gigantic, as big as a battle cruiser. That thing isn’t even alive.”

  Lybis gave Vahnar a gentle smile which he recognized instantly. She was about to tell him why he was wrong.

  “The moment you told me we were searching for Thaumatar I began to feel uneasy – as though there was something I had forgotten. Something important. As the ship drew closer to the target quadrant I began having visions, both waking and dream state. During these visions I was witness to the last days of Thaumatar.

  “The end of Thaumatar began with a stupendous explosion at the brown complex to the west of us. Something went catastrophically wrong there. The force of the blast shot the silver sphere many miles up into the atmosphere. When it came down it was traveling at an unnatural speed, far faster than it should have been, and smashed into the rocky outcropping. The outer silver sphere ruptured, spraying out ferociously hot plasma and sending the Black Sphere flying across the sand.

  “When the collision occurred the Black Sphere was infinitesimally small. In fact it was not a sphere, it was a single point. A singularity. Several hours after the crash the singularity began to change, began pulling life force from the surrounding flora and fauna. First the plants and small insects, then the birds flying overhead. They all fell dead, dropping to the desert floor. From that moment on, the planet was in its death throes. Within three days there was not a single living entity on Thaumatar. The life force of every plant and every animal had been drawn into the singularity. When there was no more life to be absorbed, it stopped. It was larger now and the protective black shell had formed around it. Whatever the Thaumatarians were building destroyed them and their planet.