Excerpt:
A man called Bibubba steps forward. “During the Pluto Viso Wars I was friends with a man by the name of Carp who worked in Merlin’s lab. He conjured the medicine that brought King Arthur out of his sleep. Carp may remember the chemical formula.”
Captain Crayon asks, “Is he in the Outlands? Where is he?”
Bibubba screams to a friend. “Yo Skelter, you and Carp took a vacation to Witch City last year together. Is he back in the Outlands?”
Skelter steps forward. “Yes. He is back in his Outland Realm, the Bismark Mountain.”
Hearthville Serial: Book 7
Episode 31e
Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental.
All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.
By Charles Peters
Copyright 2022
All Rights Reserved
Chapter / Episode List of the Heathville Serial
Captain Crayon makes sure that his men box and label all the communication equipment from the salvaged Sabian Blackrock tanker spaceship. Victor was going to try to use the equipment in an attempt to try to figure out how to communicate with people outside the Outlands. Captain Crayon is expecting Victor and some men to come to retrieve the equipment from Captain Crayon’s salvage yard.
Time passes.
Captain Crayon says to one of his men, “Something is not right. Victor should have already arrived.”
Captain Crayon gets on his radio. He sets the radio signal to communicate with a compound in the Second Iapetus, the Outland Iapetus. There is no answer.
Captain Crayon and 40 of his men board a Fighter Spaceship. Captain Crayon is not sure what to expect to find at the Outland Iapetus. When they arrive there does not appear to be any fighting. Everything appears quiet. Too quiet.
Captain Crayon sends probes down into the Outland Iapetus. The images he begins to receive from the probes are horrifying. Although it is not like in the physical world with decaying physical bodies, still there are astral bodies laying everywhere. There is no death in the metaphysical world. But there is what is called sleep, and every soul in the compound appears to be in that sleep.
Captain Crayon feels like crying but he knows he must be a man. He must hold it together. Still, he moans to his men. “I don’t know what to do. I do not know how to stop what has happened there from happening to us. If Victor and Iapetus could not stop this from happening, what chance do we stand.”
Rasputin nods. “Well. We know more than we did know. We know the long term symptom, sleeping, means that it is a sleeping virus. We know a sleeping virus was used during the Pluto Viso wars and ironically Amelia did have cures for most of the sleeping viruses.”
Captain Crayon asks, “Do you know where her data is hidden?”
“Merlin conjured the first cures for Amelia. But he is not currently in the Outlands. The last I heard he is in the Witch City.”
A man called Bibubba steps forward. “During the Pluto Viso Wars I was friends with a man by the name of Carp who worked in Merlin’s lab. He conjured the medicine that brought King Arthur out of his sleep. Carp may remember the chemical formula.”
Captain Crayon asks, “Is he in the Outlands? Where is he?”
Bibubba screams to a friend. “Yo Skelter, you and Carp took a vacation to Witch City last year together. Is he back in the Outlands?”
Skelter steps forward. “Yes. He is back in his Outland Realm, the Bismark Mountain.”
“Can you call him and explain the situation?”
Skelter looks at the images of the astral bodies laying everywhere. His eyes widened. “What is the situation? I will get Carp on the radio but Sir, Captain Crayon, you will have to talk to him.”
Captain Crayon says, “Get on the radio. I will explain.”
Skelter talks into a microphone. “Hey Carp, this is Skelter. Captain Crayon needs to talk to you. We may be in desperate need of your help.”
Carp replies. “Man. Man. This is as bad as the Pluto Viso Wars. I am hearing Belial has come out of hell into the Outlands and is looking to cage us all. We are too spread out. The armies are too divided. The Space Alien Witches are all so god damn stupid they are not going to stop him. We don’t stand a chance.” There is the sound of excitement and tears in his voice. “We are all going to be fucking caged.”
Captain Crayon takes the radio. “By God we are not caged yet. In the Pluto Viso Wars you worked in one of Merlin’s labs. Do you remember the chemical formula to cure the sleeping sickness?”
“Of course I do.”
“Can you make the cure?”
“Yeah. I can source the chemicals.” He screams to someone. “Clean my lab up. Pull up the file, the recipe, RZXCureSane. Get those chemicals into my lab.” He speaks back into the microphone. “How much of the medicine are we going to need?”
“The best I can tell everyone in the Outland Iapetus has fallen into the sleep including Iapetus and Victor. You know Caelous, Victor.”
“I know exactly who you are talking about. The god who sent Belial to hell. Shit. I can make enough for around 5,000 souls. Then I am going to have to go the Root Jungle to get more chemicals.”
A different man comes on the radio to speak to Captain Crayon. The man is named Dresden. He says, “Belial is probably already on his way to the Outland Iapetus to cage everyone there. You need to work as fast as you can to get those souls out of there. Do you understand?”
“I understand. But I am not set up for that. I salvage machines to make my money. I am just a lowly junker.”
Dresden says, “Look. I have figured out a spell where I can bypass the locks where I can talk to Merlin. I have not figured out how to communicate with anyone else outside the Outlands. Do you object to me telling him what is going on?”
“No. I don’t mind. That sounds like a good idea.”
“Even though Merlin is in Witch City and not in the Outlands, I would like for him to take command. Is that okay with you?”
“Fine.”
Dresden says, “And I will be second in command. You will be third. Regardless of what you say, I know you are more than a junker. I know your true history.”
“Okay.”
“And Carp will be in charge of making the meds.”
“Sounds good.”
“Now I am going to send some spaceships to help start gathering up the souls. I think I can get them there in ten minutes. My fighters will be a little bit longer. We need to clear the Outland Iapetus as fast as we can.”
“Okay. We will get started. And let us pray that we do not fall into the sleep before we even get started on the mission.”
“Right.” Dresden screams to Carp. “We need the inoculation med first.”
Carp screams back. “We had a supply of the inoculation from an issue we had earlier. Some of the men are already inoculated. We are already busy inoculating the rest. We will make sure Captain Crayon and his men have a supply. I am shipping by magic and not spaceship. Let us just hope my magic does not start pinging.”
Dresden screams to Captain Crayon. “Did you hear and understand that?”
“I did. And he worked fast. The boxes are already here.”
“Good. We don’t have much time to establish the resistance.”
Carp talks into the microphone. “Now the inoculation is not the same med as the cure and we still have to make the cure. Do not try giving the inoculation to anyone who has fallen into the sleep.”
“Understood.”
Dresden says, “My men are keeping a close eye on the radar. So far, we see no sign of an impending attack on the Outland Iapetus but we have to act the same as if there is an impending attack.”
“Okay. Let us keep our fingers crossed we can get Iapetus and Victor awake in time to fight Belial.”
“Yeah. Understood. You have got that right.”