Chapter 1, Part v

Hector couldn't sit still. All through the meeting with Professor Trellis, he had been fidgeting and tapping his foot on the floor, he would have exploded if the meeting hadn't suddenly ended with the visit of a messenger for the Professor.

“What do you think the City Council needs Professor Trellis for?” asked Blanche, the nighttime caretaker.

Tom shrugged and stretched his arms. “Who cares? I get to go home fifteen minutes early today.” Hector and the other five librarians were walking back to the main office, where they were gathering up their coats and gloves to head home. He said goodbye to everyone and told Tom to come in an hour later than usual the next day. “Because who's going to be in the library that early in the winter?” he explained. Tom didn't protest.

Hector hastily scooped four books into his leather shoulder bag, paused, then decided to include The Adventures of Sir Jimbo. He quickly slung the strap over his shoulder and was about to leave the office when he noticed Blanche was observing him from the corner.

“Wow, Hector, you're certainly off in a hurry tonight. What's the rush?” she asked, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

Hector automatically smiled. “Rush? Oh, I've just had a lot to think about today. Going to... work on some projects,” he concluded. It was truthful enough.

Blanche smiled wryly. “It's called a date, not a project. When are you going to tell us what your secret girlfriend's name is?”

 “I don't have a secret girlfriend,” he laughed. He realized he was absently running his hand up and down the bag strap, and he stopped himself. “I'm single as single can be. Just give me my books and a quiet place to read, and I'm happy.”

Blanche pulled away from the wall and shook her head with a smirk. “You'll change your mind some day. Best head off while there's still some light outside.”

Hector thanked her and left; he closed the big front doors behind him, locking them shut just like he did every night. However, even with everything on his mind, he paused for a moment with his hand on the huge wooden doors.

He looked up at the library, the biggest building in town – even bigger than City Hall – and smiled. Carvings of fantastical creatures and mythological figures dominated the facade, and he remembered his childhood when every day, it seemed, he entered this grand old building and looked up at those carvings. They had seemed to invite him in, to tell of the wonderful worlds contained inside the innumerable books that filled the shelves beyond the door. For Hector, the library had always been another universe altogether; a place he could go to escape from the cares and sorrows of everyday life. It was a magical place.

A cold wind blew, and Hector's mind returned to the present.

 He turned away from the library and quickly made his way toward the little stone jail by City Hall; ever since his visit with Slick Johnny, his mind had been consumed with the jail and its occupant. Even though his first visit had been disappointing, somewhere deep inside Hector knew there was a real Tove there. He knew it! There had to be!

The moon illuminated Dunberg as he crossed a few streets – he lost count in his excitement – and crunched across the frosted path up toward the city center. Then, for all the world appearing more grand and imposing than the colossal building next to it, the little stone shack appeared at the top of the hill. Its dull gray stone shone a brilliant white in the light of the full moon.

Hector's heart skipped a beat when he noticed that Slick Johnny was missing, as were all signs of human life. The jail was abandoned! Was it empty? Hector burst into a run, trying to reach the jail before anyone could see him.

He collided with the side of the shack, squeezing into its shadow and panting with adrenaline and anticipation. If I get away with seeing the Tove,he found himself thinking between gasps and the thuds of his heart, I might get in huge trouble... But it was worth it. Something inside him drove Hector onward.

The pumpkin-sized rock was still lying beneath the barred window, so he quickly stepped onto it and pulled himself up to peer inside.

His throat was constricted with anxiety, so he coughed and whispered, “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

There was no answer.

 “Can you understand me?”

Silence. He waited for what must have been a full ten minutes, but there was no response: not a sound, not a scratch, not a breath. The Tove was gone; or worse, it had never been there in the first place.

Hector's wrists and knees trembled, their strength drained with the adrenaline and guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach. Slowly, he slouched, stepped off the rock and pulled his coat tightly around his shoulders. With a defeated sigh, he turned away and started the slow walk back to his house. He was reaching into his book bag when suddenly a whisper rang out in the empty night and jarred his bones.

“Will you let me out?”

Hector whipped around and very nearly screamed out loud.

He slipped and slammed his knees onto the hard ground, but he didn't notice the pain. Ogling up at the figure in the window, his mouth started speaking with a mind of its own. “What-- you're really-- but why didn't--”

“Ssshh!” the Tove hushed him. “If they hear you, they'll come back! Will you please let me out?”

“Why should I let you out?” Hector stammered. This must have been a dream, a fantasy born of his own fevered imagination... “Besides, I don't have the keys!”

“Well, go find them!” the Tove whispered frantically. Its pointed teeth flashed as it talked. “If they come back, they will take me to the Mome Raths and all will be lost!”

 Hector blinked. “They'll take you to the whats?”

The Tove shook its head. Hector glimpsed its long and pointy ears, and couldn't help imagining Slick Johnny's impression of a Tove. “Never mind! You just have to get those keys and let me out. Please, you have to help me!”

Hector's caution overrode his wonder. “But-- But where's Slick Johnny? Why isn't he here? What if he comes back?”

The Tove tightened its grip on the bars of the window; its hands were covered with fur, just like Johnny had said. “A man came and took him away. He said something about a meeting, a council. I didn't understand everything they said. But now is my only chance to escape, and please--” Was that a catch of emotion in the creature's voice? “--You're the only one who can help me! Go find the keys!”

There was a moment of silence, where Tove and human stared at each other. Hector felt a vibrating energy in the air. I have the potential to choose which way this story goes, he meditated. He slowly stood up and squared his shoulders. It can end right here, or play out until the end. Who knows where this story might lead? If I leave this person in the jail, he will surely die; at any rate, he won't escape, and his end will be dark. But if I set him free...

            

“Well?” asked the Tove urgently.

            

Hector's heart fluttered. What was he to do? What would be the right thing to do?

            

“You tried to break into my library,” he pondered out loud.

            

“It was for a good reason!” Hissed the Tove pleadingly. “I promise! I can explain it all to you! But if I stay here, I will die!”

            

He frowned. His bowels were full of conflicting feelings and instincts. “In the interest of my library, and of the city of Dunberg, I would think that you should stay in there... no offense or anything. But still...”

            

The prisoner made a worried, frustrated sound. “Librarian. What can I say, what can I promise so that you will free me? My intents were good. I only wish to protect others. What I was trying to do with your library was to protect all Toves and all humans. If there were time to explain, I would do so, but there is not! What can I say that will earn your trust?”

           

  Hector hesitated yet again. “You were... trying to protect all humans?”

           

 The shadow in the jail nodded furiously. “Yes! I was! From an ancient and evil force!”

            

He pondered this. Could he trust this creature, who, by long-held tradition and custom, was supposed to be feared and driven away? He had tried to break into his library. But admittedly, he didn't know that his motives were evil. What if he really was trying to save all humankind?

            

“Tove,” he said slowly. “I do not enjoy seeing anyone in captivity. Especially if he is there only because, through circumstances beyond his control, he finds himself on the receiving end of an unfortunate prejudice. And so,” he paused again and thought through his words. “If you can promise me that your intentions are good, I will set you free. But I have a single question for you: What will you swear by?”

            

This caused the Tove to stop and think. There was silence for a good two minutes, which seemed to stretch into hours in the stressful moment. Its fingers squeezed the bars and relaxed. Finally, it spoke.

            

“What I will say may not make sense to you. But I beg of you that you believe me. I was looking for a book that explains how to stop something called the Jabberwock. If we don't stop it, it will destroy the world.”

            

Hector considered this. This didn't make much sense, but the Tove seemed to be telling the truth.

            

“I know you don't understand everything,” it pleaded. “And if you let me out I will explain these things to you. Please believe me.”

            

Hector found that his fears began to subside. He knew that it might not be a very wise or well-educated decision, but he felt that the right thing to do would be to let the Tove out. Saving the world sounded like a pretty good idea, after all.

            

“Hold on,” he said. “I'll be right back.”

*

Professor Trellis enjoyed having a commanding presence. It made meetings so much easier to steer his way. He looked at each member of the City Council straight in the face, watching every last one of them break eye contact and look somewhere else. He also liked the Dunberg City Hall, with its dark green tapestries and curtains hung from the arched roof. A roaring fire blazed in the hearth, and it was obvious that this was rarely done, so he felt pleased that they would stoke it up just for him.

 “Gentlemen,” the Professor said quietly. “You have a real treasure on your hands. You really have no idea. A live Tove? That is no small feat!” He let the words sink in. Every pair of shoulders in the room relaxed, and the one they called Slick Johnny even smiled. “I congratulate you. I must take the creature away, but as promised, the city of Dunberg will be reimbursed handsomely.”

“Will you take it away tomorrow?” asked the Mayor, a reedy man in his forties. His thick mustache nearly hid the tight worry-lines his mouth made. “The sooner it's gone, the better. I just don't feel right with that thing in my city.”

 “Have no fear, noble Mayor, I will depart this very night with the savage in my custody!” There was a general round of approving chatter around the table. “With my faithful assistants Io and Cyras, we will have no trouble at all. We will arrive in New Poliston within the week and it will be as though this unfortunate incident had never happened.”

The Mayor was pleased, but everyone glanced nervously at Io and Cyras, who sat in their own little piece of the round table. No one sat by them. They had said nothing during the entire meeting, nor would they say anything. They wore dark, exotic clothing and had little glittering eyes that peered out from under their hoods.

Professor Trellis let the silence sink in, then turned to the City Treasurer. “Honorable sir, will you please fetch the keys for me?”

The strong-willed, muscle-bound mountain of a man stood up in a servile manner and huddled over to the cast-iron safe at the far end of the room. Everyone watched with eagerness as he procured the master key and carefully opened the heavy lock. Inside, several racks of iron keys gleamed in the lamplight. The Treasurer peeked this way and that way, handling several rings of keys.

“Are you having trouble, sir?” Trellis asked, adding a little ice to his words.

The Treasurer flinched and bumped his head on the safe. He slowly straightened himself and said, looking ashamedly at the middle of the round table. “Um... they're gone, sir.”

There was a terrified silence; not even a gasp or a shriek. “Excuse me?” the Professor asked.

“The keys to the jail, sir, they're gone...” The man swallowed nervously. “There's only one set, and we're always careful to know exactly where it... is...” He trailed off nervously.

Trellis looked around accusingly. “Well? What are you just sitting here for? Go find them!”

All fifteen members of the City Council jumped from their seats and stumbled around in confusion before all running their separate ways. Trellis held a calming hand toward Io and Cyras, who had stirred ever so slightly. “Not you. First, I want to see if they can handle this on their own.” Io and Cyras obediently remained sitting.

*

Five minutes earlier, Hector stood just outside the jail door, fumbling with the cold key ring.

“Quickly!” the Tove whispered. Then, after a pause, it asked, “How did you manage to get the keys?”

“Well, Slick Johnny's always forgetful,” Hector said. A smile inched its way onto his face as he found the right key, as battered and thick as the iron padlock on the jail door. He jiggled it into the keyhole and breathed on his frozen hands to warm them up. “So he gave me a copy of the master key once, just in case he ever had to use it and lost it. He's done that a couple times,” he added reassuringly.

The Tove nodded slightly, but said nothing more.

The key finally found its way into the heart of the lock. Hector gripped it and turned it this way and that, shaking with the effort. “This thing's so old and crusty – umph – nobody even uses this jail these days anyway – hold on, almost there –”

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the City Hall next door. Hector's blood froze.

“Hurry! Do it now!” hissed the Tove urgently. Sounds of anger and surprise echoed from the other building, and torchlight flared from the doorway.

Hector gave the key one final thrust, and the ancient lock gave way. He shoved the door open into the darkness.

            (Graphic 1.7: Hector and the Tove notice that the City Council is coming. Hector frantically twists the key and the door swings open. The Tove pushes him over and quickly escapes into the woods. Hector, with a look of panic on his face, flees as well.)