Free Fall - Into Other Worlds

Chapter 5 : The Guide (Part 2)

       The lift took them high up into the branches of the tree. Kara focused on looking up while grateful it was too dark to see the ground disappearing below them. They came to a stop beside a wide platform and some stairs affixed to the tree trunk. Eron led the way up the stairs and through the hatch at the top. After passing through the entry, Kara and Mage Wix found themselves greeted by a very unique style of tree house. The treetop abode was made up of different levels. The main level seemed the largest with a lot of open space. The second floor accessed from within the hollowed out tree base appeared to have at least two rooms, and a third and fourth space could be seen even higher in the branches.

Two things immediately caught the attention of the newly arrived guests. Kara immediately caught the tantalising smell of food wafting through the air and hugged her rumbling belly. While the mage was fascinated by the many small lights that had no flame illuminating the strange house.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Eron said with a smile. He walked to the entrance of the main room and gestured for them to enter. "Please go in and take a seat anywhere for now. I need to check on the food I was cooking." Without waiting for a response he scampered off and disappeared through a different door.

After entering the spacious room, Kara and the mage's mouths opened in amazement. Neither ever imagined seeing the sight before them. Two wooden clockwork trains moved around the walls on their little tracks, while model planes and helicopters hung from the ceiling. These things didn't exist in this world, so how did this man have models of them in his home? There were shelves of handmade books and rolls of papers tied with string upon one wall, and shelves cluttered with weapons, gadgets and unusual looking objects on another. In a corner there was a large desk covered with tools and wood shavings, and hand-drawn blueprints were spread out below the tools.

"Is this some form of crossbow?" asked Kara glancing over the blueprint. "Do you think he made all this stuff?"

Her question fell on deaf ears as Mage Wix was completely fixated on the toy trains. He'd never seen such an unusual sight. Trains were something he couldn't even imagine the purpose of. The mage was baffled at how the wooden object moved without any sign of magic being used.

"Men and their toys..." muttered Kara with a sigh. "Mage Wix!" She shouted to ensure his attention.

"Huh?" He turned to her with a startled expression.

"What kind of person is this guy? After seeing the battle yesterday, do you guys actually have planes and helicopters here?" She stared up at the models hanging above her.

Mage Wix's expression changed from wonder to worry. "You mean to say you know what these strange things are? Are these creations from your world?"

"Mmm..." Kara nodded. "These cute clockwork trains are well made. It must have taken a long time to make them. My friend Ren was really into building models when we were younger, and those ones came with ready-made parts."

Mage Wix couldn't really understand what Kara was talking about as she used words that didn't exist in his language. He felt something was a little off. Could he be wrong about the identity of this young man? Have they walked themselves into a dangerous situation? He massaged his chin as he considered the possibilities.

Kara was drawn to the beautiful yellow flowers running along the walls. It wasn't the beauty of the flowers drawing her curiosity, but their warm glowing light. The flowers were what illuminated the room and the rest of the house. They made Kara feel she'd wandered into another realm within the world she'd fallen into.

Eron came in quietly and set up a small table before bringing three stools to put around it. The other two didn't notice his silent comings and goings until he brought in a steaming pot of stew and placed it on the table with a bang.