Kirby - Cave of Wonders

Welcome to Infinity Ring, a daring adventure through time!

It all starts here in the books, where youll discover a world in which history is broken... and meet the three young people who must risk their lives to set things right.

At the end of this book, youll find your very own Hystorians Guide. The Guide has been created to help time travelers avoid the dangers that await them in the past.

And youre going to need all of the Guides tips, hints, and codes when you experience history for yourself in the action-packed Infinity Ring game. Prepare to journey deep into the wilderness in the next episode of the game. There, youll need to save two brave explorers from the SQ!

Fix the past. Save the future.

infinityring.com

To all those who teach and study history, I thank you
M.K.

Have you seen in all the length and breadth of the earth
A city such as Baghdad?
Umara ibn Aqil, ninth-century poet

T HE DESERT wind whipped around them, stirring up sand. Dak shielded his eyes and used his shirt to cover his mouth to keep from breathing in the grit. Sera and Riq did the same. They were standing in the middle of a dusty road, the three of them having just warped from the Great Wall in Ming-dynasty China. For Dak, the prickling, sickening disorientation of having his body squeezed through time and space like a basketball through a keyhole hadnt faded yet... and neither had his excitement.

Where are we? he asked.

This was their twelfth warp together. Youd think by now, Dak would be used to it, but that question still thrilled him.

Where are we?

What would they see and do? Who would they meet? So far, Christopher Columbus, Vikings, King Louis with his wonderful gooey cheese, Harriet Tubman, the ancient Maya. People and cultures Dak had only read about in books before now.

Sera checked the Infinity Ring before tucking it away in her satchel. Coordinates are right. We should be near the city of Baghdad on January 27, the year 1258.

Good. Dak reached to pull out the SQuare. Lets figure out the Break were supposed to fix here.

Hold on. Riq coughed. Lets get out of this wind. All this sand wont be good for the SQuare.

Oh. Right. Dak looked around, and then realized he had just agreed with one of Riqs suggestions without arguing or mocking it. Sera would be so proud. He turned to her. Bet youre glad Ive got the SQuare in my pants, now, huh?

Sera rolled her eyes at him. Which way should we go?

Riq pointed. I think I see something that way.

The three of them peered down the road, straining to see anything through the windblown sand. Dak was trying to decide how best to make fun of Riq in this moment, when a horrible grunting sounded right behind them.

The three of them spun around to find themselves face-to-face with the protruding nose, huge teeth, and flapping lips of a camel.

The man riding the camel shook his fist at them, shouting in a language Dak didnt recognize. He wore long robes, and a turban coiled around his head.

Arabic, Riq whispered.

Dak and Sera cocked their heads at the same time as their translation devices kicked in.

The man threw his arms up. Are you deaf? I said, get out of the road!

The camel blared at them again. Spit flew out of its open mouth. Its breath smelled bad, and not in the good way a nice cheese smells bad. In the bad bad way. Sera plugged her nose while Riq pulled her and Dak off to the side. The rider passed them, and behind him came others. Many others. Most of the camels bore huge bundles slung over their humps.

It was a caravan. An actual camel caravan! At the sight of them, facts bubbled up in Daks mind. Thats how it felt. Like bubbles in a soda, or a burp. They just rose up, and he couldnt keep them in, even though he knew it annoyed most people. Those bundles are probably filled with spices and silks and frankincense and stuff like that. Baghdad was on the Silk Road trade route, and

Dak! Sera and Riq both said.

He winced inside. Same as always.

Sorry. He shrugged. At least we know which way the city is. I bet this caravan is going there now.

Sera and Riq nodded their agreement with him. So they set off down the road with the caravan, walking through the sandy wind alongside the smelly camels.

Neither Sera nor Riq said much along the way. Dak was used to Riq not talking much with him. Theyd become better friends than they were in the beginning, after fixing the first few Breaks together. But the dude still got on Daks nerves. A lot. So he didnt mind that he was being so quiet right now.

But Sera.

Seras silence worried him. Normally, he could practically read her thoughts, like she could his. But lately, she felt very far away, and he had no idea what was going on inside her head. There was something she wasnt telling him. He knew it. But he didnt know what that was, and that really bothered him.

The other travelers on the road didnt seem to take any particular notice of them. Dak figured that was because they were still wearing their clothes from China, which was also on the Silk Road, and people here probably saw clothing from China all the time. For once, Dak, Sera, and Riq didnt look so out of place. Or out of time. Dak was glad, too, that their Chinese clothes were relatively thick and warm. It was wintertime here, and the desert air was surprisingly cool.

Baghdad turned out to be less than a mile away. It soon loomed up out of the dust and sand. The wind died down as they passed through the city outskirts, where some buildings were constructed in stone, but most were made out of mud bricks. They crossed several canals, and passed houses with thick walls, low doors, and narrow windows, a design perfect for life in this climate. They crossed open squares where people gathered around wells and in the shade of palm trees.

Ahead of them, the outer walls of the city rose up, high and imposing, reminding Dak of a really huge sand castle.

More facts bubbled in Daks head. Baghdad was built not far from where Babylon used to be, and it was one of the greatest centers of learning in all the world, with giant libraries holding thousands of books. This was a Golden Age for the Middle East, while Europe was in the Dark Ages.

Riq turned to look at him. Dak kept going before he could interrupt.

Scholars and philosophers from all over the world traveled here just so they could study, and everyone worked side by side, no matter where they came from, or what religion they belonged to. The most important thing to them was knowledge.

Riq was still staring at him. Dak waited for him to make fun of him, getting ready to fire something back. But Riq didnt say anything. He just... stared.