In three days time we'd begin our journey to find Shambala and the missin' Arianni people . Mizzus Anderton would accompany us ta the Tucky Kingdom. Gee would stay behind to coordinate things from the Palace. Explainin' our presence would be difficult enough, without havin' ta account for a three-foot tall, eight-foot long, chrome-skinned salamander. Gee promised ta monitor our progress, and lend us aid when needed. We didn't know then that urgent matters with the High Council would put him out of touch when we needed him most. He did spend those three days preparin' us with as much information as was known about our quest. He 'splained that Freck, me, Mizzus Anderton, and Uncle Ren would travel by floater to the Tucky Kingdom which is nearest ta the Mammoth Caves.  Then the that Kingdom would take over, and make sure we got ta the cave entrance. From that point on we'd be on our own.

We'd be equipped with head lamps, flashlights, helmets, sturdy abrasion resistant waterproof clothes, and gloves. Our boots would be thick, warm, and waterproof. We would each have a backpack carefully stocked by the makers with special concentrated food and water enough to take us there and back. We would also carry heavier items, such as ropes, descenders, carabiners, and bolts. On our belts hung a rock pick and a rope cuttin' knife. Gee sent us mental pictures of each item, and gave us thorough instructions on their use. He quizzed us to make sure we understood the purposes and usage of all of the spelunkin' (cave exploration) gear.

"Geez," I commented, "who knew it would take this much stuff just ta stroll through a cave?" I was goin' for humor. Ya know, ta ease the stress we was feelin'. I guess no one got it. It's purty darn awkward when a joke goes

Freck didn't laugh, she glared, "I, for one, want to thank you Gee, for this assistance. I feel a lot better 'bout goin' into a scary deep, dark cave 'cuz of what yer teachin' us."

"Come on," I said, "ya knows I was kiddin didn't ya? Of course I'm happy that we are gettin' well prepared ta go on this journey. After all, neither of us has ever even seen a cave 'cept in movies. Right, Freck?"

Gee responded, "Thank you. It is a privilege helping you two. We all want you to return safe and sound. I am determined to get you as prepared as possible before you go. Now I need to give you some background on the Arianni."

He began fillin' us in on their history. "Thousands of years ago, the Arianni people lived in the Northern climes. They were nomads who subsisted off hunting game and foraging for food. You may have learned about the Ice Age in school. We had our Ice Age here too. We were only able to survive the extreme cold temperatures by moving all of our people and as much equipment as we could underground. Other keepers migrated to the southern hemisphere. As you can imagine it was a time of great upheaval. The last we heard about the tough Arianni was they were trekking north toward the pole. We lost track of them then and assumed them dead. No one could survive that historic glacial deep freeze. Or so we thought.

"I believe that the Grand Keeper already told you about the journal of Admiral Byrd, yes?"

"She did." We both said at the exact same time. We looked at each other and broke out laughin'. Sayin' the same thing at the same time is purty funny, ain't it? It was ta us anyway. Gee patiently waited until we were done with our giggle fit.

"Once we became aware of his experience we tried to duplicate his journey. We and other keepers tried many times but always failed. We wondered, since Admiral Byrd was human, not keeper, it might require humans to get through. According to the journal they are a very secretive people. The Admiral was only able to visit them with their direct assistance.

"He was traveling in his airplane near the north pole exploring when he got off course. There were patches of turbulence. All of the plane's instrumentation, magnetic and gyro compass went haywire. It was no longer possible to determine his location. Suddenly the blinding white snow of the arctic turned a yellowish color then gave way to green valleys and hills. He was now flying over lush terrain at the pole! Impossible, and yet there it was. The temperature gauge read 74 degrees. It just could not be. There was a river below. He spotted what looked like some kind of animal. Dropping down to 1,000 feet he trained his binoculars on the object. What he saw he couldn't believe. It was a living, walking, long-extinct mammoth!

"Continuing his flight he noticed changes in his aircraft. It seemed lighter, and somehow more buoyant. The controls would no longer function. He became aware that he was being flanked by odd disc shaped aircraft that he could not identify. Over the radio he heard a voice speaking in clear English. I quote from his journal, 'Welcome, Admiral, to our domain. We shall land you in exactly seven minutes! Relax, Admiral, you are in good hands.' He also wrote, 'I note the engines of our plane have stopped running! The aircraft is under some strange control and is now turning itself. The controls are useless.'

"This was, as far as we know, the first contact with the Arianni in the land of Agharta since they disappeared over two million years ago. You have heard the word Shambhala. That is the name of their capital city."

Gee paused to let it all sink in. I didn't know what ta say and by the looks of Freck she didn't quite either. In my mind I wondered if it was true, but here we were in the Kingdom of the Keepers, and if anyone told us about it before comin' here I would not've believed it. On the other hand, I had no reason to think Gee would make up such a story. If the Keepers tried to go to Agharta they must have believed it as well. I knew for sure that my mamma would not've agreed to let us go if she warn't entirely convinced.

"So," I asked, "There's an area at the top of the world where it ain't cold and people live there?"

Gee responded, "Not exactly. It is believed that there are access points at both top and bottom of the globe. When his instrumentation failed he was guided by the Arianni through a opening right into their domain. Where he finally landed was inside of the earth. Scientists believe the earth's core is solid, but we are certain that it is not. Topside is hollow. Let me show you." He produced a large hand drawn map that with North and South Pole accesses. These openings led straight into the middle of earth. It looked like a whole other world inside of ours. There were oceans, continents, and mountains. 

Freck wondered, "Is this the same as an in-world?"

"Not at all, Freck. In-worlds, as you remember, fill the spaces inside atoms. Each in-world exists almost exactly, but not quite, in the same space as Topside. Agharta is inside of the earth, not a separate planet like the Kingdom of the Keepers."

"Can we stop here just a minute?" I asked. "My poor head is spinnin' like a green minnow sucked down a drain."

"Me too." Freck agreed.

Gee laughed a little, or what passes for amusement in a salamander. It's hard to tell. He's not equipped with many facial expressions. "It is almost time for lunch. We will take a two hour break to rest and refresh, but we have to finish this today because you leave in the morning."

Had it been three days already? I was so preoccupied with all these plans and preparations that I didn't realize how quickly we would be on our way. That was good because all the activity kept me from worryin' about the danger too much.

Freck and I was sittin' at a picnic table in the North Pavilion. As usual the makers put out food for us and things ta drink. Gee wandered away to forage in a nearby vegetable patch. At first we were lost in our own thoughts, then Freck whispered, "Do you think it's really true? "

I whispered back, "Well Gee believes it. Didn't he say that he personally led one of the failed expeditions?"

"I don't think he said that, but I'd bet a nickel ta a dime that he did."

"And," I said, "the other Keepers musta believed it too, or they wouldn't persist in findin' it, right?"

"She replied, "It just seems so fantastic. Exciting, but really strange. It's like they are askin' us ta believe in fairytales. Admiral Byd, Agharta, Shambala, and Arianni's, all tossed together in a great big ball of how do you like them apples? Now I'm beginnin' ta understand how Alice felt when she fell inta Wonderland."

I said, "Maybe it doesn't matter what we believe. We're gonna find out the truth of it one way or another. That's what this journey's all about, ain't it?"

After lunch Gee returned and began by sayin', "We are almost done. Admiral Byrd first told the military about his experience when he returned stateside in 1947. After hearing his report his superiors ordered him to keep it a secret. As a naval officer he had to comply. The official government position was that the Admiral's report was dreamed up. They had to be careful how they phrased it, because Byrd was a decorated national hero. The public would not like it if they sullied his reputation.

"So he kept a lid on it until 1956 when he released his journal to the world. He went against orders because he was retired, and strongly believed what he learned from the Arianni was more important than following orders. He died a year later in 1957 at the age of 68. By then he had faded from the public spotlight and his journal was easily dismissed as the fantasies of a sick old man. When asked about the 1947 fight government officials swore there was no record of this flight. Today few people even know about it, and even fewer think it is true.

"Let us look at the map again. The openings you see at the North and South Poles are being guarded by the military—all of the time. Many research teams sent to the Arctic and Antarctic are thinly disguised government agencies more intent on keeping people away than in doing actual research. It is not an option, at this time, to try and enter through either of these."

Gee pointed to other ways in. "That leaves us with six tunnel accesses. The shortest one is through Mammoth Caves, according to the map. The tunnel splits here (and he pointed to the junction on the map) one leg going left and the other right. You will take the right because it leads directly to the large land mass and is nearest to the city of Shambala. We are hoping that the arrival of two children and one adult via tunnel will be non-threatening to them. If they let you in, that will be the first step in restoring connections.

Gee's tone got very serious as he said, "Remember cave exploration can be very dangerous. Once deep inside the tunnel I will be the only one able to connect with you. Solvers trained in rescue will be at the ready should anything go wrong. Hopefully you will not need them and the journey will go smoothly as planned."

◽️◽️◽️

On cave day we got up early. We had a good breakfast. Said our goodbyes and boarded the vator ta the dock. All of our equipment, clothes, and supplies were already preloaded.

As the floater shot inta the sky, I almost wish't I'd made another choice.