Chapter Four

The tunnel was worn smooth, apparently by regular traffic although the boys did not see anyone. About every three hundred yards or so, it dead-ended into a wall shaped like a cul-de-sac. At each dead-end, Grafin pressed a spot on the wall, and a stone door slid away to reveal more tunnel. This scenario played out more than a dozen times on their journey, until they emerged in a wet cave behind a waterfall, which not only fell into a rapid stream but also created a sizable pond on the floor of the cave. A boat big enough to carry four people was lashed to the shore.

"Where are we going?" Hunter asked.

"And why the secret tunnel?" Sayer questioned. "Seems like anyone could figure it out anyway."

"Actually, you're right Sayer. Anyone could figure out how to open the sectors from one section to the next. The trick is to open the correct sector. Each of those walls has three openings which might be chosen. Only one will open at a time. Once the sector has been entered, the wall closes behind. If you choose the wrong sector, you will be trapped in an endless maze until you are either rescued or starve. So far, no one other than those authorized to enter has found even the main entrance in the ceremonial chamber. So, should either of you ever find yourself alone in the tunnel, remember to chose the right sector or pray that someone is allowed to ride and notices you."

"You still didn't tell us where we are going," Hunter repeated.

"We are going to Pandor's Fen," Grafin said. "It's located in a caldera of a dormant thermal vent. We have built our penetralia there. It's the most secret of places and the gathering place of the masters and trainees. The fen that surrounds it is miles of marshland, and even if someone were to make it across the fen, there is only a narrow gash in the side of the caldera through which it may be entered on the fen side. For us, the masters and trainees, we use the river to get back and forth from Pandor's to Lorenwood. Thus we travel only from a most secret place to a hidden village at the base of Helmshill. Please get into the boat."

Sayer and Hunter were still mystified about the events of the last hour, but they clambered into the wooden craft. Grafin unlashed the boat and boarded at the rear, grasping the rudder strongly. The boat began to float toward the waterfall, but shortly before they would have been drenched, the master turned the vessel to the right into a channel the boys had not noticed. Instantly, the boat came to life, gaining speed as the water rushed them faster and faster down a fairly steep slope. The wooden sides bashed against the edges of the channel but they soon realized that this in fact kept the boat from capsizing or even changing course. All Grafin needed to do was basically try to keep it centered using the rudder, although it didn't seem to make any difference in the end. They were going headlong to wherever this channel emptied. Twenty minutes later, they sailed out of the chute onto a large pond surrounded on three sides by large wooden buildings similar to those in Lorenwood, except these were built on pilings above marshy ground.

A boy standing on a small pier tossed a rope to Grafin as the boat drifted toward it. Grafin grabbed the rope and tugged the boat to the pier while the boy secured it. Sayer and Hunter did not need to be told to get out. It was the first thing they had on their minds.

"Welcome to Pandor's Fen," Grafin said. "You two have been expected for the last two days. Your trainers and the other trainees have been anticipating your arrival."

"I thought I was going to meet my master," Sayer said.

"You are, when he is ready to receive you. Until then, Talen will take you to the chow hall for some food and then give you a tour of your new home or at least your home for now."

Hunter tried to guard his thoughts, but it was no use. He had noticed Talen from the moment the boy had thrown the rope. Talen was reasonably tall, with shoulder-length light brown hair which fell softly around his beautifully sculpted face. His legs and torso both appeared to be long, and his eyes were a color of blue bordering on violet. He smiled perfectly and presented his hand to both boys.

"I'm Talen," he said. "I'm your escort. I'll bet you're both hungry so let's hit the chow hall as ordered."

Hunter wondered if the boy were riding his thoughts. `What a fuckin' nightmare' he thought, believing that the perfect boy escorting them would know of his attraction.

Sayer broke out laughing. Talen seemed not to know what the joke was but Hunter was instantly red and glowering at his companion. "Fuck you, Sayer!" he thought aiming his eyes directly at him.

"Message received," Sayer giggled then turned to follow Talen. "Want me to dismount[PC1] ?"

"What difference does it make now?" Hunter grumped. Regardless of his attraction to this new boy, there was a connection with Sayer that would never be broken. Somehow he knew that.

Until they were presented with a plate of steaming meat, root vegetables and bread, Hunter and Sayer hadn't realized how hungry they really were. Talen sat with them as they wolfed down the flavorful serving and asked for a second. At last, their hunger sated, Sayer looked at their escort.

"Tell us about this place," he said. "And about you, for that matter." Sayer looked over at Hunter, knowing that the second part of the request interested him more than the first.

"I've been here for about four months now," Talen said. "I came exactly on my fourteenth birthday. I guess that's pretty young to be admitted but I hear you guys are just thirteen. That's really cool."

Sayer was impressed that this boy did not appear to be jealous or envious of the two of them. That was a good thing, something to remember.

"Anyway, this is where we train. Only boys that possess strong riding traits are selected. I have been instructed, by my master, not to ride either of you. So has every other boy here. We all have a master who supervises our training program. Then there are the trainers themselves, experts in self-defense, archery, swordsmanship, survival and physical training. We also report to instructors of history, lore, language, geography and mathematics. Then the masters themselves drill us in riding and blocking. We all thought we were pretty good riders when we came here. We have since found out we were idiots. Your masters will show you what I mean." The beautiful boy flashed a perfect laugh that radiated his pleasant personality.

"Well, asshole," Hunter thought at Sayer, "you're apparently the only one around here who's allowed to ride me. So keep it between us."

Sayer simply grinned and nodded.

For the next hour, the two boys followed Talen around the complex, and complex it was, with passages, walkways and floating bridges on the fen, and stairways and doors everywhere. They observed boys in all manner of training, as outlined by Talen. It was obvious that this place involved work and that considerable effort would be needed to even come close to the skills they were seeing with the trainees. By and large, the trainees seemed to range in age from about fourteen at the youngest to perhaps seventeen. Talen explained that the goal here was to bring each boy to the pinnacle of his own talents and abilities. When that was reached, the boy would be returned to Lorenwood to find a mate and make himself available for future service when needed. Some of the most gifted stayed on here to become trainers, and the most gifted of the trainers became masters.

Grafin appeared in the main assembly room where Talen had finally ended his tour.

"Well Talen, did you show them everything?" he asked.

"No sir. I showed them as instructed and I have not been told where they will lodge."

"They will lodge with you," Grafin informed him. "With you and Rory."

"Great!" Talen exclaimed with seemingly genuine enthusiasm.

"You will meet your master in the morning," Grafin announced. "Both of you will have the same master. Until then, I suggest you follow Talen one more time to your quarters and meet Rory as well. We will meet all of you here at the eighth bell in the morning."

Talen led the two boys from the assembly room through a door near the entrance. They wound down a series of staircases until they arrived at sort of a landing. Attached to the landing was a floating bridge. Talen motioned for them to follow him stepping onto to the unstable planking. As they traveled its length, they could hear the squishing of the floats pressing into the fen as they crossed. After what seemed like about five minutes, they arrived at a large circular landing with five more floating bridges like spokes on a wheel, leading off to wooden structures also built on pilings. Talen took off on the second bridge from the right, with Hunter and Sayer close behind. They climbed a switchback of stairs to the entrance.

"Welcome home," Talen grinned.

They stood in a large central room comfortably furnished with couches, chairs, a few desks and tapestry wall hangings. A large fire burned in the fireplace. There were about six boys sitting around the room, reading, talking and now obviously looking at the two new members of their lodge. Talen dutifully introduced Hunter and Sayer to each one, the last one being Rory. Hunter did everything he could to block his thoughts as he met each of them. They were all incredibly good-looking boys in perfect physical condition and Rory was every bit as handsome as his roommate. "Couldn't there be at least one average looking boy here?" he thought to himself and obviously to Sayer. He glanced over at him but apparently Sayer was preoccupied with the introductions and neglected to hone in on Hunter's thoughts.

The room turned into a flurry of questions as the boys, and three more who arrived a bit later, peppered Sayer and especially Hunter with questions. Since they were not allowed to ride, they had to gain their information the old-fashioned way. Hunter found it difficult trying to explain his world, his parallel as they referred to it. It appeared they were all aware of other parallels but none had ever visited any, nor did they know of anyone else who had, except for Pandor and Farin.

"Why? Did Pandor and Farin cross into another parallel?" Hunter asked.

"Sayer didn't tell you?" Rory asked.

"No, he didn't," Hunter exclaimed with a bit of frustration. There was so much he didn't know. He had only been in this world for a couple of days while he assumed his own parallel remained in limbo awaiting his return. He had no idea how that worked.

"I didn't tell you because I don't know what they're talking about," Sayer said with his own frustration showing.

"It's part of the lore they teach here. I forgot you guys are just starting," Rory apologized.

"Tell us!" Sayer and Hunter said in unison.

A dozen boys settled comfortably around the fire, always ready for Rory to tell a story even though they had heard it many times before. Rory began. "The masters tell us that Farin's world was like yours," he said looking at Hunter. "His name was Forest, in his world, according to legend. That sort of translated to Farin here in our old tongue. When Pandor was almost thirteen, he was an able rider, although not yet ready for training in Lorenwood. The school was there then -- in the Middlemost. Anyway, Pandor started having dreams -- dreams that he was hearing a cry for help from another boy. He told the overseer about his dreams but was just turned away until they became painfully frequent. Finally, the overseer talked to the Doyen about Pandor's dreams. Doyen Ordon brought the boy into the Middlemost and listened to his tales of dreams. Pandor said the boy was begging for help but he didn't know who or where the boy was. Ordon guessed that these cries were coming from another parallel but had no idea how to tell Pandor what to do. His only suggestion was for Pandor to concentrate on his dreams and see if there was any information on how to get through to the boy.

Pandor became obsessed, focusing his thoughts almost totally on the dream boy. At last, he wandered through the forest on the north side of the Helmshill range and found one place where the thoughts of the dream boy were exceptionally strong. Pandor stayed at that spot for three days, trying to get through. At the end of the three days, he found himself riding in the mind of a boy in a world that was foreign to him, but he could see through the boy's eyes and read his thoughts. Sadly, he had no way to tell the boy he was with him. He was only riding."

Hunter and Sayer just looked at each other; it was almost as if Rory were describing them.

Rory continued, "Pandor came back to Lorenwood, packed up supplies and moved to the spot where the calls were the strongest. He remained there for almost two months. One day while riding Forest, he saw the boy's father threatening to kill him. Pandor himself was screaming at what he saw, desperate to do something to protect the boy who had now become part of his life. Forest ran for the hills, and in that moment, when he could run no further and cry no more, a gate formed. Pandor could see him -- not through Forest's eyes but with his own. Impulsively, he reached through the gate and grabbed Forest, yanking him across the threshold into our parallel. Forest was dazed and shocked. He was choking and crying and on the verge of collapsing. Pandor surrounded him with his arms and let the boy cry. It is told that when he let go, the boy simply looked over at him and said, `I know you. I don't know how I know you but I do.'

So Pandor brought Forest down the mountain and into Lorenwood. Pandor called him Farin. Forest never used his given name again. He never wanted to go back to the life Forest had been living. He only wanted to be with Pandor. Even after Farin became a channeler, he would never prevent Pandor from riding him, nor would Pandor prevent Farin. They were more than brothers. The connection, the bond between them, was unbreakable regardless of how far apart they might be physically. The two of them were the youngest to ever train and the fastest to go beyond all the skills of the masters. And in the end, their ability to channel the thoughts of our enemies against one another prevented Maginar from destruction -- at least until now."

The room fell completely silent except for the crackling of the dying fire. All the boys looked at Sayer and Hunter.

"Wow," was all that Hunter could manage to say in a whisper.

"Everyone in fourteen thinks that Rory will become a lore master," one of the other boys said, shaking his head away from story.

"You think they think that Hunter and I might be like them?" Sayer asked worriedly.

"We don't know," Talen said. "It sure seems like you guys kind of fit the legend. And we know we are all training for battle. You're the youngest since them -- thirteen. This is the Fourteen lodge. We are the youngest in Pandor's Fen -- until you."

"I can't ride anyone," Hunter said dejectedly.

"From the lore, neither could Farin, and yet within a week of time with Pandor, he began to feel his thoughts and then the thoughts of others. It is said that he could ride with the best of them within a month," Talen responded. "Maybe that will happen to you. Anyway, if we don't get in our bunks in the next five minutes, we'll be doing punishment tomorrow. You guys are rooming with Rory and me. Come on, I'll show you."

The lodge had three sleeping quarters that each held four. There was a bathroom between the outer rooms and the central sleeping quarter. The boys in the central room could use either while the outer rooms used the closest one. Sayer and Hunter were allowed to go in first. Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes and fresh towels were neatly stacked for each of them. Hunter wondered where the shower was. Talen explained that the door in the back of the bathrooms led to the communal showers but that there was no time now since they had to be in bed. Sayer and Hunter washed up as best they could and then slid into warm bunks on the one side of the room while Rory and Talen slid into the two on the other side. Light from a crystal source dimmed and soon the room was bathed only in soft moonlight coming through the windows along the junction between wall and ceiling.

"We're all glad you're here," Talen said to the darkness.

"Thanks," Sayer said not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, thanks," Hunter added. His thoughts raced across the events of the last two days as he turned toward the wall, tucking his pillow under his head. He was asleep in seconds.