The Ivory Bow
“Awesome!” murmured Ty, as he stared open-mouthed at the vault.
They were standing in the middle of an arsenal of weapons. The walls were lined with rows of every conceivable kind of weapon: pellet guns, high-powered rifles with telescopic lenses, catapults, longbows, sabres, daggers, stilettos and spears.
Oubaas felt uncomfortable surrounded by so many guns and he sat as far away from them as he could. His last encounter with a gun had been a very painful one.
“Where did you get all these guns?” asked Ty.
“Mmmm, let’s just say that there have been many hunters who wonder what happened to their weapons,” Custodius replied.
“You mean you stole them?” asked Chilli.
“I wouldn’t put it quite so strongly” the old man said, wagging his finger at Chilli. “Let’s just say I’ve borrowed them from their owners, for a veeeeeeeeery long time” Custodius chuckled.
Doof! A loud thud on the vault door wiped the smile from his face.
“This isn’t the time to gloat” Panacea interrupted, “we have very ugly, very angry company on the other side of that door. Now, where is the Bow so we can get out of here?” she asked her twin.
“My, my, you have become bossier in the last thousand years, dear sister” Custodius retorted with an affectionate grin. “But you’re right. It’s time for us to outfox Mr Morbidius Ultimatum Esq.”
The old man walked over to two crossed blunderbusses mounted on a bracket. He reached over to the antique guns and simultaneously pulled both triggers. Immediately, the sound of metal grinding on metal came from behind the wall as it divided itself in two. The two halves drew slowly open to reveal another pair of steel doors that slid smoothly apart, exposing a chamber behind it.
“Behold, the greatest of Morbidius’s fears” announced the professor, throwing his arms open wide.
The inner sanctum was a smaller steel room. It was empty except for a white marble slab lit by a single beam of light that fell onto a carved wooden chest lying on the slab. Custodius motioned for everyone to join him as he entered the sanctum.
No sooner had they all filed in than clang! the doors slid shut behind them. The professor walked over to the casket on the slab. He stuck his hand down the front of his shirt and pulled out a brass key on a gold chain.
“It’s beautiful!” remarked Chilli staring at the ornate wooden box.
It was covered in intricate carvings of elephants with garlands of flowers around their necks. On their heads were magnificent headdresses while, on their backs, were ornately carved blankets. Virtually every part of the elephants had been decorated; even their ankles, which were ringed with wreaths of flowers. The carvings were inlaid with minute particles of mother of pearl that gently reflected the light.
“It’s amazing,” Ty gasped.
“It certainly is,” agreed Custodius. “It belonged to a very wealthy maharajah who ruled a province in India many, many years ago.” Custodius put the key into the lock and gently turned it.
Solemnly, the old man slowly opened the chest to reveal its precious contents. There, lying on a bed of red silk lay an elegant longbow. The Ivory Bow! The old man carefully lifted the Bow from its resting place.
It was about a foot long, and was made from the single tusk of an elephant. Across it was strung a single taut strand of fibre. This wasn’t just a weapon. It was a work of art.
Every inch of the bow had been carved with tendrils of ivy twined around garlands of chrysanthemums and roses. The arrow shaft, still lying in the chest, was fletched with white peacock feathers. It was hard to imagine that something so beautiful could be so lethal.
“Isn’t it magnificent?” asked Custodius, admiring its handiwork. “Sadly, this tusk” he said, pointing to the ivory, “belonged to the last elephant that roamed freely in the maharajah’s kingdom. Ironically, it was killed to create this Bow which was a gift to the maharajah from his subjects. Thankfully the Bow was never used, but what a waste of a life. I was told by an Indian seer that never had a more perfect bow been made, and that its weight and balance has never been surpassed. I was told to keep it in a safe place, because its true power could only be unleashed when used by someone with a pure heart. This person would only use it for a single noble deed that would have an impact on the whole world. It would seem that it is you, Ty, who shall perform this noble deed. No doubt your work with wounded and sick animals has made you eligible for this task. So, here it is. I have kept it all these centuries. It has been waiting for you.” He handed the Bow to Ty.
Ty took it and stared at it, turning it over and over in his hands, feeling the ivory begin to warm to his touch.
“But there’s no arrowhead on the arrow” observed Chilli, pointing to the flat end of the arrow’s shaft.
“Hang onto this Chilli. I’ll sort that out” said Ty. Handing the Bow to her, he rooted around in his jeans pocket. “Here it is” Ty said, holding up the crystal heart. He lifted the arrow’s shaft from the chest and slipped the heart onto its tip. It fitted perfectly! The instant the crystal snapped into place, it began to glow bright red.
“The heart has found its true purpose; it has become the Arrowheart,” the professor declared.
Panacea rapped her cane sharply on the floor. “Ha, Morbidius, it looks like you’re going to be stuffed and mounted in Custodius’s museum!” She even managed to dance an unsteady little jig. It made her thick glasses bounce around on her nose and a few whisps of hair escape from her bun.
“Ty, you better keep the heart in your pocket. It mustn’t get damaged. If it does, it won’t be of any use,” warned the professor.
“Good idea” said Ty, slipping the heart back into his pocket.
Skree-skree-skree! Oubaas suddenly let out a bone-rattling shriek.
“Oubaas, what’s wrong?” asked Ty. His answer was a muffled banging from the other side of the vault door.
“It’s Morbidius! He’s managed to break through the door of the main vault. We’d better get out of here!” cried Chilli.
Doof! A large bump appeared in the door.
“How do we get outta here?” Ty asked. As far as he was concerned, they were trapped inside a sealed metal box.
“We don’t exactly get out of here. Not in the way you’re thinking anyway,” answered the professor with a knowing grin.
“What d’you mean ‘we don’t get out of here’?” Chilli’s heart sank. Just when things are looking up, the professor loses his mind, she thought.
Custodius smiled and said: “Let me show you, rather than tell you.” He turned to a cabinet in the wall and pulled the doors open to reveal a small control panel. I hope that’s going to launch a nuclear warhead at Morbidius, thought Ty.
Humming to himself, the old man punched a few keys on the panel, flipped a few switches, then reached out and slammed his fist down on a large red button. Immediately the room began shaking violently, making Chilli’s glasses jiggle on her nose. “Whooooaaaa!” she exclaimed, almost losing her balance.
A familiar feeling of weightlessness hit them in the pit of their stomachs. Ty recognised the feeling and he realised what was happening.
“We’re moving! We’re going upwards!” Ty cried. “Are we in some kind of an elevator?”
“Indeed we are, Ty. We are going up.” The professor gestured skywards with his thumb.
“But we’re in a vault. Aren’t we professor?” asked Chilli, puzzled.
“Well, yes and no. I built the vault many centuries ago. But when I got older and it became tedious to negotiate those tunnels to get to the surface, I added an antechamber and converted it into an elevator and an excavator. I guess you could call it an excelator! Above us is a giant digging wheel that can tunnel its way through solid rock. All I have to do is programme it to take me where I want to go. Now I can go anywhere, anytime I want. Genius, eh?”
“And where are you taking us?” asked Ty.
“I’ve programmed it to transport us to where you and Chilli can put the Bow to its rightful use. I’m taking you to Effluvia,” replied the professor.
“Effluvia? Where’s that? And why are we going there?” Chilli queried. “Shouldn’t we go back to Oblivia? That’s where Morbidius keeps his enviroputer.”
“I’m glad you asked” Custodius declared. “Morbidius keeps Oblivia a secret from the citizens of Effluvia. So the Effluvians only know Morbidius as their benevolent protector. What they don’t know is that Morbidius’s grand plan is going to wipe them out as well. Ignorance really is bliss, I fear,” the old man tutted.
“So you think Morbidius’s heart is somewhere in Effluvia?” Ty asked.
“Let’s just say, I’m taking an educated guess,” declared Custodius. “Morbidius would never destroy Oblivia because that’s where he runs his operations and keeps his beloved collection. But I think he would happily fry everyone in Effluvia to get what he wants. Don’t you think?”
“Makes sense,” agreed Ty.
“Good!” replied the professor. “Now everyone, stand with your back against the wall. We have to buckle up. This could be a bumpy ride.” Alarmed at the warning, Chilli and Ty flattened their backs against the wall.
Satisfied that everyone had done as he had asked, Custodius stuck his cane into a hole in the floor and gave it a twist.
Phsssht. The floor slid apart and four chairs rose up on steel columns.
“Cool!” exclaimed Ty. “We’re on the Starship Enterprise!” he grinned.
“Now, take a seat and buckle yourselves in. Ty, put Oubaas on your lap” instructed the professor.
“Come Oubaas” ordered Ty, patting his lap. The nervous baboon immediately leaped up onto Ty’s lap. He wasn’t charmed by the room’s violent shaking and shuddering.
“Gooood boy” Ty murmured.
Click! Ty locked the two ends of the seatbelt across Oubaas’s chest.
With that, the excavator started to shudder violently again. It began bucking so wildly that it was almost impossible for them to keep their heads upright. Ty wrapped his arms tightly around Oubaas to stop him panicking. He knew the baboon could seriously hurt himself, or them, if he became hysterical.
The pressure exerted on the walls of the steel room made them creak and groan alarmingly as the drill bored through layers of rock. Several bolts and screws were wrenched from their housings and shot out across the room, narrowly missing the passengers.
“Professor” yelled Ty, “will the vault hold?”
“I don’t know m’boy. I’ve never taken it to Effluvia before,” replied Custodius. “But don’t worry. I made this thing strong enough to last for a good few thousand years.”
The deafening noise drowned out his words, and the screech of metal told them that they were drilling through harder minerals. The chamber shuddered alarmingly, tossing the passengers from side to side and making their teeth chatter. If they were thrown from their seats they would be hurled around the chamber like a tennis ball in a washing machine.
Just when Chilli thought that she couldn’t take it anymore, the vault suddenly stopped shaking and the loud noise dulled to a quiet hum.
“I think we’ve passed through the rock. We must’ve hit soil. I estimate we’re near the surface,” the professor declared.
With those words, the chamber shuddered and came to a juddering halt, making everyone bounce in their seats.
“Aha!” cried Professor Lovage. “We’ve arrived in Effluvia! Now, everyone, I don’t know what to expect. So I want you to come and stand behind me. Panacea, I want you to stand right at the back.”
“Not on your Nellie, Custodius!” argued his sister, “we came into this world together and if you’re leaving it, I’m going with you.” Panacea went and stood defiantly next to her brother.
“Okay, okay. There’s no time to argue” answered her brother, linking his arm through hers.
Ty had to smother a laugh at the picture of the small white-haired twins standing arm in arm, their canes raised menacingly. Somehow Ty doubted that the sight of the two of them could even scare a baby rabbit. Maybe Morbidius would laugh himself to death.
“Right, everybody ready?” asked the professor. A murmur of ‘yesses’ and nods answered him.
“Okay, I’m opening the doooooor... now!” The professor jabbed his cane at a button on the control board.
Pssshhht. The doors hissed as the airlock was released.
The travellers waited with dry mouths as the doors slid slowly open.
Oubaas bared his teeth menacingly at the fingers of yellow fog that began clawing its way through the gap.