Down The Moonbeam Road - Chapter 1

“Verdammt”, another deep pool of water missed and now both feet were totally soaked. Moving up the stairs of the university library was not made easy in wet socks, but getting out of the downpour was paramount. Passing through the doors of the foyer and threading his way through two corridors to descend one level he reached the meeting room located in the basement. Entering, he was greeted by friends sitting at one of the large tables.

“Sorry I’m late, but the heavy rain has delayed much of the city’s public transport, but I brought some things you will be interested to see.”

“Great” and replied Martin with a wave of his hand reset the privacy barrier so as not to disturb others engaged with their own research. Activating the viewing screens, Martin pushed past a number of screens to point his finger at one particular line. “Here, you must read this.”

It had been eight days ago that Gerard, Martin and Hermann, graduate students were selected by their professor, to undertake a special project as their secondary disciplines of history and languages would serve them well. Laying out sheeves of documents, maps and an antique looking volume, they listened intently to a fantastic story. 

“A multiverse?”, “portals?” “Another time?” interjecting. Herman mentioned the existence of multiverse was gaining acceptance, but travelling between spheres was not possible and if so, would be extremely dangerous.   

Judging the moment opportune, the professor opened the leather-bound book to reveal pages filled with tightly written script in a language unknown. Between groupings of text were hand-drawn maps displaying locations of centres of some importance. The book certainly looked antique and rather than mention how old it was, the professor made its authentication, dating and translation their first assignment. The professor would hold his opinions and await their conclusions, university resources would be available for translation and analyse of their findings.

Remaining sceptical about the project, their research did produce some interesting results. Despite the rough translation, the book was a personal journal written by a court official surmised Gerard. Authenticating the leather binding found it to be at least five hundred and fifty, possibly six hundred years old, however, the paper remained a mystery, as its composition could not be traced to any known manufacturer. The writing the computer had found, closely resembled an Elven language created by writers of the fantasy genre. 

“Ha”, “What is next, Alice through the Looking Glass?’ spat Hermann. Gerard, eyes fixed on the passage pointed out by Martin and began reading out loud, “1649 CE, Meeting ministers; agenda items were discussed including the rebellion in northern realms, HH advised monitoring events, but take no action.” Second line, “Await general’s report on the campaign.” 

Absorbed with the cryptic notations, Gerard proposed HH most likely meant His Highness. Advancing to the next page appeared the general’s report. 

Next Week, Civil Unrest