EXCERPT 20 – THE RANGER OF TRAVEL

February 1, 2011

Lace, the second chronicler, passes through the portal at the bottom of the well and visits Earth in her final story. An excerpt appears below the painting of what I imagine it looks like traveling between portals from Boad to Earth.

There was no splash. The water opened below me, and I fell into a black expanse of night sky spattered with sprinkles of stars and distorted globes of multi-colored lights. I clutched at the air in a panic.

“Settle, Fuzzybug Lacejacket. It be a misuse of energy to flap your arms thus so,” said Keevo Bloggum, amused.

“Where’s the water?” I gasped, twisting my head around to get a look at the nearby falling ranger of travel, who sat calmly, legs crossed, arms folded, beside me on the nothingness.

“If this well be like the nest portals, when we plunge far enough, time will take us to swim up and be there,” explained Keevo.

Had she answered my question? I thought not, but I was understandably lacking wit while falling through starry darkness streaked with rushing twists of vibrant color, and words were nothing but noises of nonsense to me. The ninciest sliver of time had passed, such was so, since I had been standing by the well of a sunny morning splashing my sleepy face with water. Now here I was falling between portals and heading for adventure on your scary world. No wonder my wits were scattered. I hugged myself and stared at Keevo Bloggum. Truth, hugging and staring turned out to be a way to push back fear. Staring at Keevo’s calm and smiling green face helped to make the falling become a pleasure. I relaxed and opened my hands. I held them out to feel the rushing push of air from below.

“What did Babba Ja Harick mean about the jesterbeasts?” I asked, recovering some sense of serenity.

“Ah, the jesterbeasts. We must herd them, ye know,” replied Keevo.

“Why?”

“The portals be closing,” she announced simply.

“Jesterbeasts travel to the world down the well?” I wondered.

“And back. There and back, true and often. Now don’t ye see, Fuzzybug Lacejacket? The portals be closing. Jesterbeasts there will be trapped forever if we fail to collect them and return before the last portal closes,” explained Keevo Bloggum with a wink and a fair wide grin.

I was glad of her wink and her grin. Falling with a ranger of travel who winked and grinned was a crucial comfort to me, such was so. If the portals closed, jesterbeasts would be stuck in your world forever. That would not be good. I don’t mean to insult you, but I suppose I must. I thought what a tragedy it would be to be trapped on your world, unable to escape back to mine. Fair to say, I had to judge from certain horrors I had seen down the well. Truth, such were the thoughts which passed through my mind. Jesterbeasts traveled to your world and back! I never knew. I was the Royal Chronicler of Fiddleeebod, collector of stories for bar years and years, hundreds stacked, and yet I never knew.

“Aha! Prepare,” said Keevo Bloggum.

I looked down and saw a milky whirlpool. Plunge. And this time there was a splash. The milkiness filtered away as I rose through the water. Clear crystal, bubble cold, and then my head broke the surface. Keevo Bloggum sat on a great gray boulder in the middle of the pool. Pool, yes. Great gray boulder. I swam over and joined the ranger of travel.

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