They waded out of the lake and sat drying in the sun under a stand of tall trees. A village stood in the distance, and cars rumbled far away. "At least we're not deep in a jungle this time," Erec said.

"I just can't believe that Balor Stain and his brothers are Baskania's sons," Bethany said.

"Clones," added Erec. It gave him a chill.

"I don't think Balor liked it either," she said. "Imagine finding out Baskania was your dad."

Erec would not have wanted that shock. "But you'd think Balor would love it," he said. "He was so proud to be the son of the 'great sorcerer Mauvis Stain.' Now his dad is even more powerful and evil. How perfect."

"I bet he'll like it once he gets used to it," Bethany agreed.

"Funny, he'll turn fourteen on April twentieth. He's just two days younger than me," Erec said.

Bethany considered that. "Interesting. I'll bet Baskania planned on Balor, Damon, and Dollick taking over the Kingdoms of the Keepers all the way back when he cloned them."

"And here I show up, trying to take the throne away from them." Erec nodded. "No wonder he hates me. I just wish I knew why I am supposed to be destined to rule here. It doesn't make sense. And also who those other kids are who are supposed to rule with me. Why did we get picked?" He wished he had more time to ask the Oracle questions. He could have spent days there, just finding things out.

What had he really learned at the Oracle, anyway? He'd heard 150.

a lot more about the Stain brothers than himself. He learned that Rosco had some tap into Oscar's mind and had killed Oscar's father. But what about the things he really needed to know? That terrible explosion in his future was the Castle Alypium blowing up. But he still had no idea when it would happen, or why, or how to stop it. And what he had found out about the rest of his quest was useless. "Get behind and set it free"? What could that possibly mean?

Erec took the Serving Tray out of his backpack, and they ate pizza, macaroni and cheese, chocolate bars, four types of chips, five kinds of cookies, French fries, and, in an effort by Bethany to be healthy, an orange.

But when they finished, they both felt a sense of loss. "Should we walk to those houses over there and see where we are?" Bethany asked.

"I guess." Erec shrugged. "I don't know what else to do. We'll have to find a place to sleep soon." They started walking. "I just wish the Hermit was here. Maybe he could help."

"I do too," a voice sounded right behind them. "If we could only find him, things would be so much better."

They spun around to see the Hermit strolling along, clicking his tongue in disappointment. Below the Hermit's long robes, feathers sprung from the back of his shoes like odd wings.

"Hey!" Erec shouted. Bethany threw her arms around him, then quickly pulled them away, not fully comfortable with him yet.

"What should we do?" Erec asked the Hermit. "I have no clue what that quest means. 'Get behind and set it free'?"

The Hermit giggled, then doubled over laughing. It seemed that he had the same sense of humor that the Fates did. "Oh, it's precious." He gasped. "Get be-hind. Oh..." He sank to the ground 151.

laughing, tears of mirth rolling down his face, and pounded the ground in delight.

Bethany and Erec waited expectantly until he calmed down.

"I know where you need to go. So perfect. So beautiful." He chuckled. "I can't tell you what to do there. That is up to you. But I know where you must go to find out. Tonight you can sleep on this nice patch of leaves. We will leave in the morning for Ceryneia."

"Where is Ceryneia?" asked Bethany.

"In Otherness," said the Hermit. "Much farther south than where you were before. It's right on the border of Otherness and northern Thailand, close to where the Ping River springs from the Chiang Dao Mountains. Not too far from the Upper Earth city Chiang Mai."

"Otherness is in Thailand?" Erec tried to remember what Jam had told him about Otherness. It ran through many countries and was filled with creatures that had been exiled first from Upper Earth and then from the Kingdoms of the Keepers. Jam had said a big section of Otherness ran through remote parts of Russia and China, and a bunch of other countries. Upper Earth people stayed away from those areas because they were hard to reach and untamed. They were also kept away by the spells and force fields that Baskania had put around Otherness.

The Hermit said, "There are parts of Otherness in most countries, some more than others. Ceryneia is a beautiful part of Otherness, just like Thailand is a beautiful part of Upper Earth."

Erec wished that his quest was more clear. His second quest had also been vague: "You must stop the monsters in Lerna." He'd had no idea who the monsters had been. In fact, he'd had it all wrong. But at least it had told him where to go. "Remember my first quest?" he asked. "It told me to open Patchouli's eggs in Nemea. You can't get more specific than that. I wonder why this one barely said anything."

"Maybe it had to be this way," Bethany said. "The Fates probably 152.

knew that the Hermit would figure it out. If it had been specific, then Balor and Baskania would know where to go too. Balor probably heard what the Fates told you at the Oracle."

She had a good point. Balor knew the whole quest now too, but he probably was as clueless as Erec would have been--as Erec was about everything else. The other important problems he had to solve still loomed over him. Who would blow up the Castle Alypium, and when? Plus, how could he help fix the Substance before things got worse on Upper Earth and all the bees disappeared? He wasn't sure if life would end on Upper Earth first because of the Substance draining out, or if the plants would disappear without bees to pollinate them, and there would be no oxygen left.

If only he knew his father, it would all be so much better. He wished that he had just that simple pleasure. Someone from here who could help him. Having a father was something most people didn't think twice about. Couldn't he have that one small thing?

The Hermit, almost as if he knew something Erec did not, crossed his arms, looked at the sky, and started to whistle.

After breakfast from the Serving Tray the next morning, Erec and Bethany followed the Hermit through the castle Port-O-Door and into the vestibule. After tapping the yellow square marked OTHERNESS, a map appeared on the screen. The Hermit touched the spot labeled CERYNEIA at the southern end, right near the border. He chose an unlabeled section and the door clicked.

Their Port-O-Door turned out to have lodged itself in the wide trunk of a jackfruit tree. The massive fruits with green, pebbled skin hung over their heads, some of the darker ones bigger than Erec could reach his arms around. They stepped into the sunlight of a perfect day. Dense bamboo thickets clustered nearby. Bright red orange blossoms with banana-shaped petals hung from tall coral tree 153.

branches. A few of the ripe jackfruits lying on the ground smelled of rotting onions, but even this did not mar the effect of the gorgeous scenery before them.

Erec and Bethany walked in awe, the Hermit trailing behind them. Narrow streams trickling through the mountains dropped off breathtaking waterfalls. Yet Erec was soon thinking about his quest. "'Get behind and set it free.' What could that mean? I'm guessing something is stuck under a big rock. I need to get behind the rock and push it out of the way to set the thing free."

"I don't know," Bethany said. "I was thinking you would have to get behind someone's idea. You know, support them. And with you backing them, you can set their idea free."

"Baskania seemed to think that Balor had to get behind me or get behind in the search." Erec tripped over a heavy jackfruit. "That couldn't be it, could it? I don't want to go find Balor and get behind him."

"I doubt Balor has anything to do with it," Bethany said. "Or the Fates wouldn't have made it so he doesn't even know where we are."

Erec agreed. "Maybe a big animal is stuck somewhere. If I get behind it I can find a way to set it free." He felt better about the quest now. The Hermit had taken him to the right place at least. Setting something free didn't sound nearly as bad as the battle in Otherness that had been his second quest.

Around a corner, a small village was nestled in the mountain. People worked on terraced fields cut into the hillside. The Hermit said that they were paddies, where farmers grew rice.

Bethany began to skip down the path, and Erec sped up to join her. It was exciting to be with her here in Asia, whether it was Otherness or Upper Earth. The people in the rice paddies looked human from a distance, but when Erec got closer he saw most of them had four or more arms. Several had extra legs as well. He counted sixteen arms and four legs on one of the men.

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"Look," Bethany whispered. "They move so gracefully, like they're gliding."

Both the men and women had straight, long, black hair, but the women had pinned their hair up with lotus blossoms. A few of them appeared male in half of their bodies and female in the other half. Some had third eyes on their foreheads. Odd as they looked, they were beautiful and mesmerizing.

"What are they?" Erec asked.

"They have no name," the Hermit said. "Or they go by many names. They are very powerful. They once mingled with people, long ago, but now they choose to live in Otherness."

Erec could have watched them work all day, but the Hermit urged them along. "There is a human who lives here. He might be able to help you with your quest."

They walked up a dirt path into the village. A few of the elegant, many-limbed beings drifted in and out of the buildings and down the streets, but none of them paid attention to Erec and Bethany. Their houses looked welcoming, full of soft fabrics and vibrant colors.

A ranch house, much plainer than the rest, stood on the edge of town. A chubby man sat on the front stoop gazing at the mountains. He had only two arms and two legs, and definitely did not look as graceful as the others in the village. Scraggly gray hair fell on the sides of his face, circling his mostly bald head.

"I'll be watching," the Hermit said. But when Erec turned around, he was gone.

When the kids approached, a delighted smile lit the man's face. He wore a dark brown sackcloth tied around his waist with a rope, similar to Swami Parvananda's garb. His skin was far lighter, though, and covered with warts. When Erec got closer, he could see that the man had a glass eye, like Erec once had. It looked cloudy and old, though, like it needed changing.

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"What brings you kids round here?" His voice sounded so goofy it made Erec wonder if he was crazy. But his one eye twinkled, and he seemed nice enough. "You just here to visit? Or are youse on the run?"

Erec wondered if he should tell him about his quest but decided to find out more first. "Just visiting," he said. "What's your name?"

"Call me Artie," the man said, his voice bouncing all over the place. "I just likes to live here with these nice people in Otherness. They's so pretty. Youse pretty too," he said, pointing at Bethany. "Not youse so much." He pointed at Erec. "Youse okay, but youse ain't pretty."

"Uh, thanks," Erec said. "So, anything interesting going on around here?"

"Oh," Artie's lips formed a small O. O. "Everything heres is interesting. It's really pretty here. Kinda like youse." He pointed at Bethany again, and her face turned pink. "Youse can make yourself at home here." He smiled. "Just wander yerselves around my place if ya wants. But if ya do, watch out fer me behind." He cackled. "It bites!" When Artie said it, it sounded like "bee-hind." "Everything heres is interesting. It's really pretty here. Kinda like youse." He pointed at Bethany again, and her face turned pink. "Youse can make yourself at home here." He smiled. "Just wander yerselves around my place if ya wants. But if ya do, watch out fer me behind." He cackled. "It bites!" When Artie said it, it sounded like "bee-hind."

Erec and Bethany sent each other stunned looks.

Then Artie began cackling. "My behind is gonna get you. It's gonna bite you."

Bethany took a step back.

A serious look came over Artie's face. "My behind is a bee-utiful bee-hind, and nobody can touch it but me."

Erec looked back, hoping to see the Hermit somewhere. If he had ever thought the Hermit was crazy, he seemed totally normal after meeting Artie. Could the Hermit have brought them here for a joke? Erec wouldn't put it past him.

But Artie still seemed preoccupied with his bottom. "Where is it?" he asked, looking around. "Where did my behind go?"

156.

"Uuh..." Erec pointed. "Aren't you sitting on it?"

"I am?" Artie jumped up, his dark robe wobbling with his fat belly. He turned around and looked at the step where he had been sitting, then he laughed. "I'm not sitting on anything!"

Yeah, not anymore, Erec thought. This guy was something else.

"What, youse wanna see my bee-hind? Is that it? Youse wanna see it? Pet it or something?"

Erec stepped back, horrified. "No!"

"That's good." Artie nodded. "Cuz nobody is allowed to pet it but me. But I'll show it to you. Come here. I'll show you my hinds quarters."

Erec started walking away, but Bethany stopped him, a funny look in her eye. "What was your quest, Erec?"

"Get behind..." Erec stopped, struck by the same thought she'd had. "No way." He shook his head.

"Didn't the Hermit bring you right here?" she asked. "How many times has Artie said 'behind'? That's the exact word from your quest."

"The Hermit brought us us right here. If you want to go take a look at old Artie's warty bottom, go help yourself. But leave me out of it." right here. If you want to go take a look at old Artie's warty bottom, go help yourself. But leave me out of it."

"Erec." Bethany's voice dropped a few pitches lower. "You are here on a quest. Get in there and get behind Artie's behind. Maybe something is stuck in it."

Erec felt so disgusted he almost gagged. What kind of a quest was this anyway?

He took a step toward Artie, who looked jolly as ever. If this was not really his quest, the Hermit was going to pay, big-time.

"Come on." Artie walked around his house toward the back. What, he couldn't show Erec his nasty tush right here? This was worse than Erec had thought.

Erec swung around to Bethany. "You are coming with me. If you are helping me on this quest, you come along. Understood?"

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A nauseated look swept over her face. "Fine. Ugh."

The two of them followed Artie into his backyard. He walked up to a small barn and waved the kids inside.

Erec stopped. "No, I don't think I'm going in there," he said. "You can show us your behind out here, if you have to. Only if it's really important."

Artie looked crestfallen. "You'll want to see my bee-hind, really. She's a beautiful one." Bethany gave Erec a stern look, prompting him to stop arguing. "But she's in there," Artie added.

Bethany and Erec looked at each other, confused. They hesitated at the door, then plunged in.

Artie waved them over. In a pen stood a small red deer. Swarming around it were masses of honeybees. The deer did not seem to mind the bees at all. In fact, it looked completely comfortable surrounded by them. The bees were not attacking it in any way. A few buzzed away and some new ones flew in from outside as they watched.

Bethany's eyes were wide. "Erec. It's a bee-hind. A hind hind is a deer." is a deer."

Then the answer clicked in Erec's head. Get behind and set it free. Could that mean this bee-hind? He tried to remember how it was spelled on the quest paper, then he realized that he hadn't actually seen it written. The Fates would have spelled it the normal way, to fool Baskania. They had said "bee-hind" in the same way Artie did. Maybe this was the thing he had to set free.

He opened the latch on its pen and swung the door open, but the hind did not run out. In front of Artie's stunned face, Erec reached in to grab it and run. The bee-hind bit his hand, hard. And a few bees stung him too.

Artie shook his head. "I told yas. Youse can't pet it. Only I can pet my bee-hind. I told youse it would bite you. Come on, let's fix that cut."

158.

As Artie cleaned the gashes in Erec's hand and put a bandage on him, he said, "My bee-hind and me is best friends. I protect her and she protects me. We is really good together."

"How long have you lived here?" Bethany asked.

"As long as I can remember." Artie settled into a chair. "My son, Kyron, lives here too. He's a trapper and a dragon slayer. He'll be back tonight, if you want to meet him."

A dragon slayer? That didn't appeal to Erec at all. "Well, maybe we'll just find somewhere else to stay."

"I wouldn't advise that," Artie said. "You don't want to go talk to those other people, you know, thems ones with all the arms and legs. They's nice if you don't bother 'em. But youse don't want to bother 'em."

After being bitten by Artie's bee-hind, Erec believed Artie's warnings. "Is there anywhere else to sleep out there?"

Artie shook his head. "I wouldn't do that. There's a terrible beast that comes out at nights. It's a manticore. I wouldn't want to be out there alone. Our house is protected by my bee-hind."

Erec still couldn't stop thinking of the other meaning of the word behind behind and it started to make him laugh. Bethany was fighting back the giggles as well, but when they looked at each other, both of them burst into a fit of laughter. and it started to make him laugh. Bethany was fighting back the giggles as well, but when they looked at each other, both of them burst into a fit of laughter.