Chapter 26

“What in hades is all this?” Monte gasped when Tom led him into the warehouse.

Tom shrugged, “Amy says that a Wheelship stopped here about four thousand years ago. They set up this system and stayed for about two hundred years to have some kids. Apparently, they left about five hundred people here. They also built your homes in the cliffs and the elevators.”

“About fifty years after the ship left, the planet was bombarded by a massive meteor storm. Unfortunately, they lost a third of their people. The wizards that stayed made the tunnel bigger to protect the rest of the people. They added the ponds, so they had fresh water.”

“Just before the next meteor storm, the people who were left and who weren’t magically inclined contracted an illness that the wizards couldn’t find a cure for. They and their mammalian livestock all died after the wizards left, and the meteors rained down upon them again.”

“Amy said that the wizards had used the transporter ring to go to a neighbouring planet to get help. They believed that settlement ships had been sent there. She doesn’t know if they ever got there as she never received any further communications from them.”

“Since then, there have been more meteor showers and subsequent earthquakes that affected her systems and the crystal cavern. She did indicate that as the centuries have passed the meteor bombardments are now less severe and frequent.”

“She believes that it was just before your people turned up here when her systems went offline. She had to put everything into standby mode until a wizard turned up to fix things for her. So, while she became aware of your people, she couldn’t help you.”

Monte frowned, “But we have been here for nearly three thousand years.”

Tom shrugged, “But you didn’t have a wizard, did you?”

“No, apparently many of the ships like my ancestors’ were in, didn’t have any people with magical items on them. They can’t handle being put in stasis for more than twenty years.”

“The two ships that landed in this region did have a box that had a dozen two-gem rings and about the same number of single-gem rings in them. Should some of our people or our children showed promise, they were to receive them.”

“The Captains of the ships were to look after the rings, and if someone came to them and wished to claim one, they could be tested. Eventually, they were all handed out, and most of the people with two-gem rings took over their own island to rule it. However, to my knowledge, no one has been able to make new magical items.”

“So where did the mage with the four-gem items come from?” Tom asked.

Monte shrugged, “Did this Amy say this was the only base the wizards built on this planet? Also, if they had a lot of people die here on this island, the magical items could have been left by them. Wizards and mages can be killed, you know.”

“We still find hidden rooms in the warren we live in above. Even down here, there could be more rooms to discover and more items to be found. Just look at what you have found. Also, some of those people may have even moved to other islands in our group or even the other island groups.”

Amy chose that time to butt in, “You are correct, Prince McDoohan. I believe there were two other emergency bases established, but I don’t detect your people settling in those locations. The two ships that came not long after yours went to the Aqua Islands.”

“I have not been in contact with the other bases for many centuries. Also, my records show that thirty-six mages and novices did stay in this region after the wheelship, and the wizards left.”

“If their items were given to them by the wizards that were here, then the items should have returned to the distribution room. This room is located off the main bedroom in the living area of this base.”

“If the wizards died before this happened, the return spells might not have worked anymore. Also, only two wizards stayed after the ship left, so some of the items may not have been linked to them.”

Monte looked around to see who was speaking. Tom grinned, “Monte, Amy is an artificial intelligence that looks after the base. If you talk or think at her, she can hear you. You are going to love what she can do for your people. Shall we go tell your wives what we found?”

“Sure, why not,” Monte said with a big grin.

Tom and Monte rode the elevator to the top floor.

Tom wasn’t sure how far underground the warehouse was, but the elevator did have twenty-four buttons they could select from on the panel. It also took a good minute to get to the top.

The storeroom they exited into was, to Monte’s surprise, behind the kitchen his servants used to feed his family. “Oh, wow! This is going to be awesome,” he explained.

The two men found their way to the living quarters and surprised the family who was just getting up for the day. They enjoyed a cup of tea while the others ate breakfast and they told them of their adventures. If the men were after, shock and awe, they got it in spades.

“So, can you make the cure?” Donny asked after finishing her breakfast. She was, after all the practical one.

Tom replied, “Yes, Amy told me where to find the laboratory, and she is getting her androids to deliver the supplies I need to it. Tron is in electronic contact with her as she can’t reach me up here telepathically. She says the shield around the warehouse stops her projecting this far.”