When the Stilt approached the river, Renchi stopped the machine and looked at Lumi, as if silently asking: What do we do next? Lumi nodded, after which Renchi took hold of the lever and pushed it forward. Entering the river, the Stilt slowly moved to the opposite bank. It seemed as if the metal legs had to make a lot effort to take every step. But, despite the strong current, the machine successfully crossed the river. All that was left to do was overcome the steep ascent. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it began to rain heavily. The Sharmuziks had noted dark clouds looming over their heads when they were crossing the river, and the clouds eventually covered the entire sky. It was raining dogs and cats and the rain instantly washed away the sand on which the Stilt was trying to climb. Its feet sunk in the mud. Finally the machine completely toppled over and was slowly sliding into the river. Realising that there was nothing they could do, the Sharmuziks began to run ashore quickly. And as soon as everyone had left the machine, the Stilt fell into the river in an instant. Since the machine was built with incredibly light metal, it was immediately picked up by the strong current and carried away into the unknown with all the food supplies.
The rain turned into a violent storm. The sky was menacingly dark because of all the thick clouds. The wind picked up the leaves and twigs, tossing them around. It seemed as if all of nature was angry at the Sharmuziks for crossing the river and turning up on foreign land. Suddenly, quite close, a bolt of lightning struck and thunder rumbled incredibly loudly, as if throwing off balance the earth itself. The Sharmuziks, who had hidden from the rain under the crown of a small dense tree, immediately dashed into the thick of the forest, trying to escape what had completely surrounded them from every side: nature.
Without looking back, the Sharmuziks rushed ever farther from the river, as if trying to get away from a dangerous predator that was about to catch up with them. Tired from such a long run, they stopped under the large leaf of a plant. The rain practically did not get to them through the dense crown of the trees, which, like a shield, were taking the full blow of the bad weather. Fumbling for a biscuit in one of his pockets, Lumi decided to share with the others and, breaking off a small piece for himself, he passed it on to the others to do the same. Taking turns, one after the other, the Sharmuziks were breaking off their share of the biscuit. And so, when Archi got a small piece, being not that hungry, he decided to give it to Barti, who constantly suffered from hunger.
“Here you go, Barti, I can’t… Barti?”
Realising that among those present, the Shmurite baker was missing, the Sharmuziks began to call out for their buddy, but they got nothing in response but the howling of the wind. Night was falling, and through the darkness, it was quite difficult to make out anything that might have resembled Barti. To find their friend, the Sharmuziks decided to come out of their dry and calm place under the leaf and go out in search of him. The forest, which was more like an impenetrable jungle, seemed even more terrifying because of all the sounds that were reaching them from every direction. Overcoming their fear, the Sharmuziks decided not to abandon their idea and began to move forward uncertainly.
In the meantime, Barti was still running with all his might, pushing away the leaves and twigs that were constantly slapping him on the face. And so, finally stopping to catch his breath, he realised that he was in the middle of a dark and unfamiliar forest. He could hear rustling, swishing and occasional voices of birds or other animals. All of this was like a huge ball of fear, which continued to expand, grow in size and head towards Barti. By chance, the Sharmuzik noticed a faint light coming from behind the trees. Barti wanted to go towards this light; it was luring him with its warmth.
The rain did not even look like it was going to subside, on the contrary, it began to pour down with even greater force. But the Sharmuziks did not stop in their search for Barti, who had likely in a panic run farther ahead than the others. Nolton, looking closely at everything around, more out of fear than in search for Barti, noticed a path that could lead them out of the forest or maybe lead them elsewhere. He decided to share his find with the others, but no one could hear him over the strong wind. Suddenly another bolt of lightning struck followed by a peal of thunder. Startled, Nolton fell to the ground. And so, in the bushes ahead of him, he saw two shining eyes staring at him. Fear hit the Sharmuzik like an arrow, and in a blink, he jumped to his feet. After running a few metres, he ran headlong into a trunk.
Part 4. What Happened Next
Opening his eyes, Nolton realised that he was in a room. He had a very strong headache. It was still pouring outside the window. The Sharmuzik was lying in a small bed, very much like his own. There was a small table nearby and a candle went out on it. At the end of the room, at the door, was a cabinet. Most likely, this was someone’s bedroom.
Suddenly, there were footsteps behind the door. Someone was gently opening the door. A Sharmuzik who was a stranger to Nolton and much older than him came into the room. His hair was grey and he was wearing a red knitted jacket. The Sharmuzik was holding a kerosene lamp in his right hand, the light of which reflected from his glasses. It seemed as if his eyes were shining themselves as they stared intently at Nolton.
“You’re already up? Though, no need for a response, I can see for myself. I may be old, but my vision is 20/20! And my hearing is not bad either, for that matter,” the Sharmuzik said. “What was your name again? Ah, Nolton, of course. As you can see, my memory is no longer the same. Just heard it, but already managed to forget it!” he said grinning. “By the way, let me introduce myself. Professor Wisen, a modest scientist and master of this abode. At your service.”
“It’s a pleasure,” said Nolton.
“Now then… we’ll have time for conversations later. Please join us at the table. The others have been waiting for some time for you.”
In the kitchen, all the members of the expedition were sitting at a small table. Together with the lost Barti. They were all drinking a cup of hot tea with a slice of berry pie and were very happy to see Nolton. As it turned out, he had been lying on the bed unconscious for several hours.
When Barti was running with all his might from the rain, he stumbled upon the hut of Professor Wisen by chance, who gladly agreed to help search for the others. Barti was quite quick to find Lumi, Renchi and Archi who were in turn trying to find him. And while they were arguing and figuring out who found whom, they realized that they had now lost Nolton, who only recently was with them. He was found by Professor Wisen who had unintentionally scared him with his glasses that were reflecting the moonlight. But in the end, all’s well that ends well. Lumi and Renchi carried Nolton to the hut, where he was made a compress and left to rest.
Having heard the story of his friends, Nolton already wanted to question Professor Wisen about who he was and how he had ended up here. And whether he had written that diary that mentioned another city. But Archi beat him to it, as he was not one to ever miss an opportunity to obtain new information for the local weekly. He immediately prepared his pen and notebook, waited, out of politeness, for Professor Wisen to finish his tea, and addressed him with a question.
“Could you tell us your story, Mr Wisen? I am certain that all those present will be very interested to learn a little more about you.”
Having heard these words, the grey-headed Sharmuzik looked around at those present to make sure that they all were really interested in his story. All the Sharmuziks except Barti had put down their pie and tea and were all ears for the fascinating story. Rising from his chair, Professor Wisen picked the teapot, added some water to it from a wooden barrel and hung it over the fireplace.
“We need more tea for a long story,” the Sharmuzik explained his actions, and went back to his seat. Sitting comfortably in his chair, he looked somewhere into the distance, as if looking into the distant past, and began to recount his story. “I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was sitting at a long table waiting for the others. And so, when everyone had gathered, we began discussing a problem that was worrying the