Howls of laughter echoed around the room, pierced by disapproving sighing and the sound of Peter's feet stamping on the floor as he jumped up and down, clutching his smouldering buttocks. Whirling around in pain, Peter looked for something that might help. Spotting a tiny sink in the far corner of the workshop that was filled to the brim with a dark liquid, in two quick bounds he was beside it. Turning round to face the others, he plonked his backside firmly into the mass of dark liquid. The look of relief on Peter's face was accompanied by the sound of bubbling and hissing from all around his immersed rear. As the laughter died down to a manageable level, Gee Tee piped up from the cold, solid floor.
"That's another batch of mantra ink down the drain! If I ever come across a mantra recipe that requires 'roasted rear', I'll be sure to call on your services, child." Peter wasn't quite sure how to respond to the old shopkeeper, but true to form had no problem seeing the funny side of things as Flash and Tank continued to giggle, despite the presence of Gee Tee. Even the master mantra maker found a smile and a chuckle eventually, especially when it took both Tank and Flash to pull Peter free of the sink. With the festivities over and, more importantly, the steaming great hole in the back of Peter's trousers repaired by one of Gee Tee's lesser known mantras, the four friends allowed themselves to relax in the remaining oversized chairs in the workshop.
It was only then that Tank went on to explain about the hand and finger movements that helped control the drink, all the time deliberately not revealing how he knew of its existence, much to Gee Tee's annoyance.
Tank told them how he'd become intrigued about what Peter had said Manson had done during the hockey match in which they'd gone head to head. From Tank's understanding, it seemed that whatever it was Manson had cast, a mantra or something else, the hand movements played a pivotal role in stunning most of the team. So, Tank being Tank, he'd tried to seek out every last piece of information pertaining to hand gestures and mantras. While he hadn't discovered as much as he'd have liked, he had found out that some of the more ancient races had, long ago, been able to cast mantras by very small movements of their limbs or appendages, the Manticores and nagas being but two of those races. As he continued to explain all this, Flash added snippets of information that he'd gleaned over the years in relation to the subject. All of this was new to Peter and, even more surprisingly, most of it was new to Gee Tee as well. When Tank had finished talking, the master mantra maker commended him on his work, again suggesting that it was down to his own mentoring. With everything out in the open and the four of them pooling their combined resources (Peter was feeling as though he hadn't brought much to the party so to speak) a wave of optimism rolled across the friends as they sat chatting.
"So you think that Manson may have picked up that trick from one of the nagas?" asked Tank, directing his question towards Flash.
"He could have picked it up almost anywhere as far as we know. But from what we now know is going on with the nagas, it strikes me as too much of a coincidence for them not to be involved."
"But that's the whole point," interrupted Peter, wriggling uncomfortably in his chair. "We have no idea if they are involved with whatever Manson was doing... I really don't understand how there can be a connection."
"There may not be," reiterated Flash, "but all I was trying to say was that for two things like this to be happening at the same time, and not be connected in some way, sure sounds doubtful to me. I bet right at this very moment the king and his advisors are trying to put the pieces together."
"Hmmmm," hummed Gee Tee softly. "You, young Flash, are wise beyond your years. Both of you," ventured Gee Tee, indicating Tank and Peter, "would do well to listen to what this one has to say. I, for one, agree wholeheartedly with him. It is way too much of a coincidence for two things of this magnitude to be going on independently of one another. The three of you need to help the king and start piecing bits of the puzzle together, because something else that I don't doubt is that there's a whole lot more to this than the tiny fragments we know about. The more I hear, the more it makes me think that much darker times lie ahead for all of us."
Sitting in silence, they all considered everything the master mantra maker had just said.
After a few minutes, Gee Tee rose from his chair, more than a little unsteady on his talons.
"Whoa," he uttered, wobbling about. "Hat frink has had more of an feect than I fould have wought."
"I think it's time to get you into bed," declared Tank, making a grab for the old shopkeeper's right wing in a bid to lead him upstairs.
"Before he gets any more of his mucking words fuddled," quipped Peter, trying hard to contain his laughter.
Tank shot Peter and Flash his best 'I'll remember this' look from over his shoulder.
Ten minutes later, with Gee Tee firmly tucked up in bed and secured in the shop, the three friends made their way back down Camelot Arcade, heading for the nearest monorail station. On reaching the station, Peter and Tank bade goodbye to Flash, thanking him for saving their lives. He nodded, shaking their hands and thanking them for a very interesting evening, nodding at Peter as he walked away, all the time patting his bottom and laughing. Knowing that he was going to get ribbed about this for quite some time, Peter joined Tank in boarding the monorail, the two friends finding that they had a whole carriage entirely to themselves.
"Do you think both things are connected?" whispered Peter. Tank paused a little before answering.
"I know what they're saying, and why. But I can't for the life of me see how the two events can possibly be linked. The more I think about it, the more implausible it seems."
Peter nodded his agreement, but as he did so, he realised that the tiny little voice at the back of his mind, the one that seemed to know so much, the one he'd learned to trust in times of need, was screaming out that there was indeed a connection with everything that was happening. As he was about to tell Tank this, the monorail pulled into Salisbridge and the doors to the carriage whooshed open. Both friends exited, walked up the stairs and went their separate ways, all in under a minute. Making his way back home, all Peter could think about was the connection, if any, and just how he could help the king piece the puzzle together as Gee Tee had suggested. Minutes later, with those thoughts still uppermost in his mind, he dozed off, snugly tucked up in bed.
15
Ball Pampering
Casually glancing back over his shoulder, he breathed a sigh of relief as he opened the door to his workshop and slipped inside. Standing in the dark for a few seconds, composing himself, he felt like any second now he'd be caught, discovered, that his part in this plan would come to an abrupt end, meaning his wife would almost certainly fail to see the dawn of a new day.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he switched on the lights and hurried over to his workbench. Slipping off his backpack, he dropped it onto the table and unzipped the main pocket. From inside he retrieved his rather large, dragon sized lunchbox and plonked it down on the bench. Tossing the backpack onto the floor, he slipped into his wheeled seat, letting his tail slide gently into the perfectly formed hole in the back of it. Knowing time was of the essence, he figured that if he hadn't been caught by now, then the chances were that nobody knew what he was up to. After all, he was one of the single most trusted and respected figures not only in this building, but throughout this part of the dragon kingdom. His work was renowned across the world. Why would anyone suspect him of anything untoward? The answer was... they shouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't... it was just too unbelievable.