Part 1  -------------------------      It was a misty morning. The moonlight daytime slowly overtook the liquid cool of the nocturne. As I wandered along the familiar road, my fuzzy surroundings told the tale of a great party the previous night. I could only remember shattered fragments of the festivities, but my soreness alone told half the tale.      As always when I got to the coffee shop I was greeted by the classic aroma of coffee mixed with the smell of the antique wood paneling and furniture. By the time I was seated in my usual booth sunlight was streaming obliquely in through the slowly thawing grand glass windows. A spider in the top corner briskly toed his way onto the glass, testing it like water before fully setting down each foot. My gaze transfixed on the window was interrupted by the waitress, bringing with her a wave of olfactory pleasure that woke me from the night’s sleep and seemed to cast off the morning’s chill.      "Here’s yer coffee mister Lixor." The waitress said as she whipped out a pad and pencil from her apron pockets. "Would you like anything to eat this mornin’?"      "Not just yet, Claire" I said. "Check on me in a few minutes, maybe I’ll work up an appetite." I smiled at her as best I could.      "Okay darlin." She said. She put the pencil and paper back in her apron and hurried off into the back of the restaurant. I watched her walk away, my eyes glued to her departure. I was always a watcher. I liked her. She didn’t question my intentions. I find this quality to be rare and precious. With just so much as a smile and an order placed promptly, she was on your side.      I sat in silence for a while. The first person besides myself who came into the restaurant was a tall man with a scruffy dark beard and an untidy mess of hair. He sat across the room from me and glanced in my direction from time to time as strangers tend to do. Before long, the place was humbly buzzing with the morning commotion. Smoke from pipes and steam from coffee lit up in the sunbeams. Low voices murmured morning conversations in between bites of egg and bacon and pancakes. The scent awoke a hunger in me. Very suddenly I felt as if I had not eaten in several days. Taken by surprise I tried to think of any time within the previous few days when I had eaten. Over much consternation I came to the realization that I couldn’t remember anything about the last three days. Maybe more. However, my main interest at the moment was food.      As luck would have it, Claire came back by me in short order. "Have you managed to work up an appetite yet mister Lixor?" she said. She again whipped out her pencil and paper.      "That indeed I have." I announced triumphantly. "I’ll have a stack of pancakes as high as you can stack them, two scrambled eggs, some bacon and some sausage links." Claire was quickly jotting down notes on her pad. "Oh," I said. "Also some more coffee, if you please." She finished her scribbling and looked up at me.      "That’s quite an appetite you’ve grown in just a few minutes darlin’," She said smiling. "You sure you can handle all that?"      "I always finish what I order Claire, you know that." I said. I watched again as she placed the pencil and paper into her apron and walked away. The waitress skirt fit her form very well. I’ll simply state that she was very well shaped, which was probably the second reason I liked her.      I sat waiting for my food to arrive. A red haired woman led a tall brutish man out of the restaurant. A lady came in with three children, all making noise and running about teasing one another and smiling and laughing.      Before I had even noticed that he stood up, the scruffy man who came in after me was standing in front of my table. I looked up at his weathered face and he stared down at me. His eyes were a light gray so faded they were nearly white. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a something that resembled a pen. Very delicately he placed it on the table in front of me. Without saying a word he put his hands together in front of his chest and bowed ever so slightly. Then he turned and walked out of the restaurant.      Claire broke my puzzled expression by placing food in front of me. As curious as I was about the object placed on the table my hunger was stronger. As I hurriedly ate pancakes and eggs I glanced every now and then at the object. It didn’t look like a pen now. It was a small black tube, about the size of a pen, but it looked like a roll of paper. It had a blue ribbon tied around the center of it. Odd. Very odd.      When I had finished my food I washed it down with some coffee. I was in such a hurry that I scalded my tongue. "Augh!" I said. Claire just happened to be clearing my plates at that point.      "Careful with that coffee, darlin." She said. As she was grabbing plates her hand came near the tiny scroll and without thinking about it I snatched it up of the table. Claire glanced at me briefly and went about her business. Like I said, Claire was the type that didn’t ask too many questions. That was just fine by me. Right about then I had too many questions of my own.      Once Claire had cleared away the dishes and gone on to other parts of the restaurant I opened my hand to look at what the stranger had given me. Very carefully I untied the blue ribbon from the black paper. Silver writing glistened in the sunlight as I unrolled the paper. In a very fancy script was written a small paragraph.      Lord, Your presence is requested at the council of The three hundred thirty three on the first Day of the new moon. If you cannot attend Please send word via your messenger and We shall reschedule your meeting. ~The Council      No sooner had I finished reading it than the letters faded into the blackness and thereafter the black became white. I turned the paper over and over but could find no traces of the words that had been there just moments before. The ribbon that bound the parcel had also turned to white and as I looked at it, it turned to dust. Similarly the paper disintegrated in my hand and left no trace save a fine white powder on my skin. I sat for quite some time staring at my hand, then glancing where the ribbon had been, then glancing towards the door where I had last seen the stranger. My head was abound with questions.      This was odd. This was very odd. Part 2 ================      I tried my best to go about my business as usual that day. I purchased a paper in the town square. I went walking through the central park. I didn’t really read the paper though. Nor did I pay much attention to the people around me. I saw some families out and about. Many children were running and playing. Some people walked pets. One dog I saw was very strange. It was entirely black except for the tops of its ears and the tip of its tail. Usually, I took great joy in walking through the park and observing others in their social behavior. On that particular day however, my mind was somewhat preoccupied. Quite explainably so I’d say. I had never heard of a council of the three hundred thirty three, I wasn’t aware that I had a messenger, or that I should be referred to as Lord. I did not know where to go to find this council, or when to go. Much less could I figure out what in the blazes I had to do with any of it.      I wandered through the park for a longer time than usual that day. Normally, I’d tend to find some lunch at about noon. By the time I thought to look at my pocket watch it was a bit beyond two o’clock in the afternoon. I wasn’t much in the spirit for food even then.      I settled to stop for tea and to make straight for the library thereafter. Perhaps I could discover some rational explanation for the events of the morning, though they seemed highly irrational.      The library building itself was somewhat abnormal. It stood some distance behind the city hall and away from the main thoroughfare. The exterior was faceted in dark marble with scowling gargoyles perched atop it. Within were six floors full of ornate bookshelves and winding staircases and reading rooms with old musty chairs. An old lunatic of sorts had left it to the town when he passed away. An old rich lunatic that is to say, and when lunatics are rich, most people are perfectly willing to pass their behavior off as ‘eccentric’. Regardless, therein lie the largest collection of books for hundreds of miles.      Upon entering the library I was met by a small lady I assumed to be the librarian. Her black hair stood in many directions before falling down around her thick glasses. I thought she matched her place of employment quite perfectly.      "Welcome to Barron Worldon Library. Is there anything I can help you find, sir?" She said. Her eyes looked huge and comical in her lenses. The distortion set me back a few moments in my reply.      "Um... I believe I’ll need to be looking into some books on astronomy first off." I said. I glanced off to the portraits on the walls to avoid staring at her bulging eyes.      "Those will be in the east wing on the third floor starting in the Aurora Room." She said. She flashed a toothy smile and continued. "We’ve got quite a collection of books on astronomy. It is our largest section. You’ll find it takes up most of the east wing."      "Thank you very much." I said. I walked away as quickly as I could so as not to see her eyes any longer. I was on the verge of laughter. I took the first staircase I found going upwards. Unfortunately I discovered that it only led to the fourth floor. Rather than go all the way back down that flight, I decided to look for one that went down only one level. The next flight I came to leading down only went to the second level. I climbed it back to the fourth and kept looking for one to take me to the third floor. The difficult part of this process was that the staircases were not labeled, and they were not well lit. Also as they were circular, one could not see how far they went up or down. My luck was in and before long I found a set of stairs leading to the third floor. Even better, I was already in the east wing.      Down and extremely long hallway I found a door with a brass plaque beside it that read "Aurora Room". The heavy wooden door was surprisingly easy to swing open and shut silently behind me. The builders must have been particularly skilled.      The Aurora room was fairly small. It was lined with dark wooden bookshelves tall enough that I could scarcely reach the top rows. At the far end from the door was a window with three sections to it. Within each of these that glass was divided with metalwork into a tall honeycomb pattern, each of the smaller panes about the size of my hand. There were two antiquated wrought iron lamps with dingy green shades on them. Today the sun outside was plenty bright so I didn’t bother with the lamps. Perusing ponderously through the books on the shelves I came across one before long that read, "Moon Cycles, Projected through year 2331AD".     Without much trouble I deducted that the next new moon was in three days. I had three days to figure out the rest of this riddle.      Unfortunately, I had no idea where to look next. I placed the book on moon cycles back onto the shelf where I found it. Wandering about the room I stopped to look out of the window at the far end. There was a large field of yellow grass ending in a forest that seemed to stretch beyond sight. From the corner of my eye I caught a movement near the edge of the forest.      I leaned closer to the window, my hands and nose pressed against it to see out better. I couldn’t quite make out what the things were that were moving along the forest. I could tell there were two things. It looked like a tall dark man walking a small black dog. For a moment they seemed to see me. They paused and then disappeared into the forest. Just then my hands were burning and the panes each lay on began to glow bright white. My vision blurred and I could no longer make out anything.      I had the sensation of falling. This continued for some time. Wind whistled by my ears and whipped at my clothes. Bewildered I stared around but could see nothing. Just bright whiteness.      Then it all went black. Again I felt gravity. I felt I was sitting on a cold stone floor. There were muffled voices around me. Someone was there. I blinked hard, but I still couldn’t see.      "Hello?" I said. "Hello? Who are you? Where am I?" I felt into the air with my hands but met nothing. I heard the muffled voices giggling. "Please, help me. Please, I can’t see." I said. Desperation was overtaking me.      "Well," a shrill voice said. "If you took that silly hat off you’d probably not be so blind." There was more giggling from voices similar to the one that spoke. I put my hands up to my face and sure enough there was a fuzzy cloth surface over my eyes and nose.      With all due speed I grabbed it and pulled upward.       I was not at all prepared for what met my eyes then. Part 3 ==============      If you took a turtle, stood it on its head, and gave it bat wings, you’d have an approximate idea of what these creatures looked like. What I assumed to be their heads resembled the turtle’s tail, and their tails were large and stumpy, respectively. Their wings fluttered and buzzed on and off like beetle wings adjusting and settling.      The tallest of the bunch stepped towards me. He stood about three feet tall. We were eye to eye, so to speak. I couldn’t make out any eyes per se. I couldn’t tell where it’s mouth was either, and yet it began to speak to me nonetheless.      "Are you a friend of Mr. Over?" It asked me. For a minute or two I did not answer as I was busy staring at the funny looking creatures and the room I was in. The room had a very high ceiling, stone walls and a stone floor. There were several round windows that resembled portals on a boat. They were placed in a seemingly random fashion on all sides and the ceiling as well. Through the windows all I could see was a bright deep blue. That was at least a tiny bit comforting.      "Mister who?" I said.      "Mister Over." The thing repeated. "This is his house. I shouldn’t think he would appreciate you using the portal to his house if you are a stranger to him."      Now, understand that while I generally make it a policy not to lie, I was then fearing for my life and indeed my very sanity. I had no idea what these creatures were capable of or if they would become hostile upon deciding that I didn’t belong. Somehow the idea of three foot tall turtles with bat wings attacking me was not particularly favorable.      "Yes, yes of course I’m a friend of Mr. Over. Didn’t he tell you I was coming?" I said. I made an effort to stand up but got tangled in what I was wearing. It was very different from what I had been wearing just a few minutes ago. I nearly fell flat on my face before resigning myself to staying sitting down.      "You seem awfully confused for one who claims to know where he is going." The thing said. If it had eyebrows, I’m sure one of them would have been raised in a look of suspicion. "Just a moment ago you shouted, ‘Where am I?’." The creatures all around me fluttered and buzzed their wings.      "Well," I said, trying to think fast. "It has been a long time since I used a portal. I always get disoriented, and as you saw my hat ended up over my eyes." I still had the hat in my hand and held it up as to give proof. It seemed to be something like a Santa hat, but all black and with no trim around the bottom nor puff on the tip.      "We were not told of your coming. We were expecting Mr. Over to return soon." The thing said. "Have you received word as to when he will be returning?" It seemed unsure of itself.      "Did he not tell you when he would be returning?" I asked. I had to buy myself some time. If I kept the thing talking I could look for an exit. A desire to get away from these things had begun to grow in me. I still suspected these critters could be vicious if they discovered I was not being honest.      "Mr. Over did not tell us where he was going or when he would return." The thing said.      "That is odd." I said. "He was to meet me here."      "If Mr. Over is to meet you here then he will assuredly return soon." The thing said. It seemed very pleased at the idea as did the others all around. They buzzed and fluttered their wings and whispered among themselves.      "Well," I said while making another attempt to stand up. "I suppose if he is not here then I might as well run some errands while I am here." This time I was successful in my effort to rise. I discovered I was wearing long black robes that fell in folds all around me and swept the floor a bit. The material had the thickness of wool and yet was as soft as well worn cotton. The wide sleeves went beyond the ends of my hands.      The robe had a star shaped silver clasp at the collar. Although I could not see my feet I could tell the shoes I wore were different as well. I felt suddenly taller, although I think that may have had something to do with the three foot tall critters all around me.      "Will you be attending the council meeting with Mr. Over in three weeks?" The thing asked me. It now seemed much less imposing.      "Yes, indeed I shall." I said. I tried to give my best air of confidence. "Now, if you would kindly point me towards town. I have not been here in many years, and things have no doubt changed." I placed the silly hat on my head and continued looking around for the door. If there was a door I could not see it from where I was.      "The Red Vine Way will still lead you directly to town if you follow it." The lead thing said. It then turned and spoke to one of the others. "Go and fetch the caller for mister.." It turned back towards me. "What is your name?"      "My name is Mr. Lixor." I said.      "Go fetch the caller for Mr. Lixor." The thing said to the other thing. The other thing turned and walked straight towards the wall. As he was nearly there the wall opened in a turtle-thing size hole. I couldn’t make out anything of the room beyond it. The wall closed behind it. Shortly thereafter a different hole a few feet over opened and the little thing came back through. Then the wall closed again.      "Here you are." Said thing 2, handing over a small object to the first thing.      "Thank you." It replied. Then it turned to me. "Mr. Lixor, this is our household caller. If Mr. Over returns and you are still out we will let you know." He offered the object to me.      "Why thank you." I said. If I was to keep up this ruse I needed to play along regardless of whether or not I intended on returning. I grabbed the small thing and looked it over. It was a black box about the size of a matchbox although it appeared to have no seams or features whatsoever. I started walking towards one of the walls. If the wall didn’t move for me like the one did for the creature then I would look awfully silly in about five seconds.      "Mr. Lixor!" Said the thing. "You’ll be wanting to go out the front wall rather than the back one to get to Red Vine Way." Out the front wall, eh? Indeed. My supposition had been correct. By some bizarre means the walls here were rigged to open and close as one passed through them. Astonishing, yes. However, at that moment astonishing things were occurring one after another. I had no choice but to go along. The only explanation I could formulate was that I had fallen out of the library window, given myself a concussion, and was dreaming all of this in my delirious state. Yes, that had to be it. The man with the small scroll in the restaurant must have set off these delusions. That I was nearly sure though.      If only all of this didn’t seem so very real.      I turned around and walked in the other direction. Just as I was nearing the wall it began to move. A hole large enough to accommodate my height opened up. Bright light streamed in. I stepped out and the wall closed behind me.      The world outside this little house of turtle bats boggled my mind as I stood there in odd clothes, trying to take it all in. Part 4 ===================      Have you been to see the ocean? Do you remember the feeling of standing before it and marveling at it's vastness? I do. As I stepped out into that new world, I felt a similar thing. The sky was an impossible dark blue, the dirt a red-ish shade of brown. A breeze played against my face. The air smelled of something indefinable, it reminded me of rainy days and fresh laundry. The sun shone incredibly bright. Somehow it seemed to feel rather comforting.      I turned to look at the building I had just come out of. To my surprise I found that the building itself appeared to be a castle, the round section I had just come out of being a single tower at one outcropping. The castle looked medieval but was entirely white. The brightness of it made me squint my eyes.      Even in my awe I remembered the creepy turtle things with bat wings that lived inside of it. Despite my desire to inspect and explore this fortress more, I walked away with all due speed. I pulled the robes I was wearing closer around me against the brisk air. I walked in a direction straight outward from the house. I had no clue as to where to find the Red Vine Way. There was no clear path leading away from the building. I thought if I could manage to find this town then perhaps I could deduct some idea as to where I was. So I kept walking.      The wild grass that grew in patches was pleasantly soft. As I passed one of the trees I saw earlier I noticed that it smelled like a mild green tea. By all other appearances it was similar to an olive tree, except that the leaves were a brighter green. That and the scent of tea leaves. Something on the cool wind also smelled remotely like garlic. Only ever so faintly though.     Fortunately, I didn't have to walk long before I came to the Red Vine Way. It was marked by no signs and was not paved. If it were not for the thick red vines growing along the sides of it I would not have known it was any different from the ground around it. In it grew patches of grass just as in the field. There were no evident ruts as from wheels. Odd for a path to a main town to be so un-trampled.      I set off down the Red Vine Way. I walked for several hours I believe. As I no longer had my pockets, I no longer had my pocket watch, so I could not be sure of the time. The shoes I had found myself in were quite comfortable. The soles were thin enough that I could feel the bumps in the road yet thick enough to keep the occasional sharp stone from damaging the foot. Something like leather I thought. As I walked the sun began moving in the direction I was going, so I decided I would remember that direction as West. I had no idea how long I would be stuck here, so having my bearings in whatever manner I could seemed a good idea.      In about another hour I came upon the first signs of civilization. A small house protruding from the side of a hill stood piping white smoke from it's chimney. The house was built of the same white stone as the castle I had just come from. It sparkled like a spot of snow on the hillside. Other than the smoke coming from the chimney there was no movement.      I continued down the Red Vine Way. The houses in the landscape became more common. Outside of a couple there were grazing animals that somewhat resembled cows, but with vertical horns like those of a gazelle. Every now and again as I walked along I spotted large smooth pink stones in buried in the ground, just part of the tops showing. They looked like smooth pink river rocks. I had never seen pink river rocks before. Perhaps they were soemthing like quartz? My curiosity got the best of me and the next one I saw I knelt down onto the ground to investigate. Looking closer it still appeared to be a stone. The part of it that was showing was perhaps three times the length of my hand. As I reached down to touch it, I felt a strangely warm sensation on my hand and drew it away. The temperature outside was brisk at best, why would this stone be so warm? The sun was shining brightly, probably heating the conducive stone to beyond the surrounding temperature. I reached down once more towards the rock, slowly this time. Just as I was about to touch it, I was startled.      "Don't touch that!!" Said a booming voice. I jumped back in surprise and let out a little yawp.      "Where are you?!" I asked. I frantically looked on all sides of me. I had been looking around me before reaching for the stone and had seen nothing.      "Up here you Miffel!" the voice boomed down from above me. I looked up into the sky and yelled back without thinking about it.      "What in the blazes are you doing up there?" I said. I could see now that the man above me was the bearded man I had seen in the cafe earlier that morning. To my amazent, he was riding on what appeared to be an ancient roman chariot with white wings sticking out the sides, and hooved beasts of a sort I couldn't classify pulling it.      "Apparently keeping you from blowing your head off!" He said. The chariot began to lower down to the ground. I could see now that it was not in very good condition. The red paint over the wood was dented in many places and chipping off all over.      "I don't know what you mean." I said. He reached the ground and hopped out. He walked over to me and offered his hand in greeting.      "I mean you were about to disturb a Jerroping in its volatile stage." He said. "I am Mr. Over, by the way." A large grin showed between his beard and mustache.      "What the hell is a Jerroping?" I said.      "You're not going to at least introduce yourself?" He said. His brow was suddenly stern and very imposing.      "Um.. yeah.. I um.. My name is Mr. Lixor." I managed to stammer out. I realized I was still holding my hand out from shaking hands, and let it drop. My bewilderment was about to get the best of me and reduce me to a babbling fountain of questions.      "Ah, good good." He said. The grin came back over Mr.Over's face. "I can see you really are new here. I had my doubts as to whether or not you were honestly from the other side. I feel much better about having to trust you now."      "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." I said. I stared blankly with big eyes.      "Of course you don't, of course you don't." He said. "However, out here amidst the Jerropings is hardly the proper place to discuss it." He walked back over towards the chariot and motioned me to come with. "Come back to the chateau and we'll discuss it over some tea."      "I.. um.. okay." I said. I'm not sure why I suddenly trusted this man so much. Perhaps because he was the only thing remotely human I had come upon since I had been here. I think it was more though. I felt we had some sort of a connection. What it was and where it came from was a mystery to me.      I climbed into the chariot next to him. There was a cushioned seat on the inside, like one from a fancy carraige. I sat down and held on to the side carefully as Mr. Over barked commands at the beasts. We rose into the air, the chariot's wings beating silently. Then we were off and flying faster than I can remember ever traveling. At this pace, we would get to the chateau soon, and I would soon know why I was here, and where here was.