The Shadow Dragons - James A. Owen [65]
As they approached the conservatory, they could hear the noises of a heated discussion taking place. Quickening their pace, they rushed into the room and found that a new arrival had come to Tamerlane House.
“Ransom!” Jack exclaimed. “It’s very good to see you!”
“You made it!” said Ransom with obvious relief. “When I lost the Yoricks, I tried jumping back to this time, but it took a few tries to nail the date. It’s all been a botch of things from start to finish.”
“We’re just happy to see that you made it away in one piece,” said Charles.
“Yes, yes,” Ransom said distractedly. “It’s good to see you alive and well too, all of you. I’m sorry if I’m a bit brusque, but something terrible has happened. I have to show you, right now.”
“Whatever you need,” said Chaucer, gesturing broadly. “Please.”
Ransom cleared a space on the table and hefted a small case onto it. He popped open the twin latches on top and spread it open to reveal a curious device. It had coils and lenses, and two sets of frames that held slides in front of a turntable.
“It’s called a Hobbes stereopticon,” Bert explained as Ransom assembled the machine. “You can use a lens built into the side of the case to record events, and then it replays them for you later.”
“A camera and a projector,” said Jack. “Very nice.”
“Better than that,” said Bert. “It projects images and sound in three dimensions, and you can walk through them to observe a scene from every angle.”
“Do you have somewhere I can plug this in?” Ransom said, holding up the cord. “I used up the batteries making the recording.”
Jakob Grimm took the cord from Ransom and scrambled under one of the tables, searching for an outlet. “Got it,” he called after a moment. “Give it a go, Ransom.”
The philologist flipped a switch on the back of the stereopticon, and suddenly an incredible light show blazed to life. As Bert had said, the projection was displayed in all three spatial dimensions, filling the room. It was the coastline of a massive island, reduced to the size of a play set—except the tin soldiers were real, as was the battle they were witnessing.
Because the projector was on the table, the ground level of the film was at the Caretakers’ waist level. And so, as they walked around examining the scene, they looked like leviathans wading through the channel.
There was a great deal of destruction evident past the coastline. Fires raged, and in the distance, they could see buildings being toppled. According to Ransom, it got worse.
“The island is called Kor,” he said, looking back at John. “Do you know it?”
“It’s one of the oldest and largest in the Archipelago,” John said. “But what would cause all this destruction?”
“This is a declaration of war,” stated Ransom. “And a message to us all. If Kor can fall so easily, then it bodes ill for the rest of us. But there is something else.”
He pointed to several small objects on the surface of the water that disappeared as they watched. “Seven ships,” he said grimly. “Seven ships—and an army comprised of children—caused all this damage.”
“This is not an event in the future history,” said Twain, “but a continuation from one past”.
“Agreed,” said Bert. “This must be the Winter King.”
“Were those ships what they appeared to be?” John asked with a rising feeling of dread. “Surely they couldn’t be. Not here. Not now!”
“The Dragonships lost in time,” said Jack. “From the Underneath, in 1926.”
Ransom grimaced. “I can’t say for certain, but I believe so. And I think he’s put them to use in places other than in the Archipelago.”
“Then why wait so long to begin the war here?” asked Jack. “The Summer Country has been at war for years—what was he waiting for?”
“He hasn’t just been waiting to make a move in the Archipelago,” said John. “He’s been planning to conquer them both all along.”
“This must be discussed with Artus and Aven,” Bert said as he paced the floor. “We need to go to Paralon.”
“That’s a good idea,” said John. “We need to see what Artus’s plans are. He needs to know, if he doesn’t already, that the war has finally come to the