“No, he is the real thing, and he has already proven his steel. He slayed the Adder yesterday,” Mij Explained.
“I thought I smelled roasted adder stew last night," said Brudie. "So you are an adder-slayer and The Keeper of the Sword. Greetings, and welcome to The Mountains of Mazzel" he continued with a big smile. "Follow me to my lodge.”
As they left the crevasse, it opened into a small field of Shell flowers. On the opposite side of the field near a huge monolith stood a house made of sod and wood with a thatched roof.
“Just like the old country,“ said Seamus.
“Come in! come in!” Brudie said, welcoming them into his home. "It’s not much, but it’s mine.”
They entered into a massive room where a fire burned in a large stone fireplace. In one corner was a huge bed made of straw and a table and chairs. Closest to the fireplace on the opposite side was the kitchen.
“Come, sit. Tell me of your adventures so far,” Brudie said.
Brendan opened his pack and got out an empty bottle of Shelltea. “I knew we should have saved some.”
Brudie said, “No. No. I have a special bottle I have been saving for today. You must try it.”
Brudie pulled out a small wooden keg and four wooden mugs and poured the Shelltea.
Brendan sipped it. “Smooth with a bit of a spice flavor. I love it," he said. "Wow. What do you do to get this flavor?”
“It is a family secret,” Brudie replied.
“I must get it before we leave,” Brendan said.
Brudie nodded his head and smiled. “I’ll get you the recipe later.”
Then Mij told Brudie the whole story from when Seamus arrived and how the books of the ancients were correct except for Thomas.
Hours passed into the late night.
“Now, we must plan our next move," Mij said. "We must go to find Willow the Pink.”
“That won't be hard. She is in El Ehcim. The king has her locked up in the tower. In a room made of mirrors,” said Brudie
“Mirrors! What kind of sick man is this king?” Mij questioned.
"He is crazy with power. You see, the prince, his only son, fell in love with her. As do all men. He asked for her hand, and she said no. She knew her life was meant for the Zierns' quest. So he had a room of mirrors made up to keep her from using her fairy magic. He then tricked her to go into the room and locked her in until she marries his son,” Brudie explained.
Seamus asked, “Why a room of mirrors?”
Mij answered, “A fairy's power is in her light, but if the light reflects back on to her, she will turn into a tree. Many fairies have perished in this way. Have you ever sat under a tree and thought you heard someone singing or whispering in your ear? That is a fairy tree, hoping to be set free one day. But only one pure of heart can release a fairy from this curse.”
Mij told Seamus, “Years ago, Willow the Pink was married to a fairy prince. But one day he was fighting the Wombats. As he fought back, a shield of one of the Wombats reflected the magic back to him, turning him into a tree. She was with child at that time. They say she still sits under it and sings to him. Then she cries. You see, she is not pure of heart. She has hatred for the Wombats that did this to her husband. So she can not release him from his lonely fate.
"She had a baby but gave it to the fairies in the forest to protect it from the Wombats that still hunt this child. She knew then that she was to be part of our quest. In the ancient books, it was written that a fairy with a rare pink light will accompany the heroes of Isnack. From that day on, she has searched for the Keeper of the Sword. It is also written in the Great Book of Fairies that the Zierns will set the tree fairies free from their prison. So this is why she has given her life to the quest. So that one day her love will be free.”
After the story, the heroes of Isnack sat back, drank Shelltea, sang and told stories of Isnack and the land of Ack, Seamus of Ireland and the great City of New York until they all had fallen asleep.
El Ehcim
The morning was crisp and cold as Seamus awoke to an empty cabin. He stepped outside, and it was a bright day with a blue sky. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized it wasn’t as bright as it had been the day before. "Must be some seasonal thing with the crystals," he thought. He looked around and saw a hot spring behind the house. He stepped into the spring and soaked for an hour or so. He then got out of the hot spring, went inside and put on his clothes.
After dressing, he opened the front door to go for a refreshing walk when he saw something big heading his way from across the field. It was coming too fast for him to recognize what it could be. He slammed the door and grabbed his sword and shield just as the door flew open behind him. His heart rate jumped as he whirled around to confront his attacker.
Brudie's huge body filled the doorway. “Glad to see you’re awake, Seamus, you old sleepy-head.”
“What?” Seamus said.
“We have been up since daybreak getting the rest of the meat from the adder. Look," Brudie exclaimed, "I got the fangs off that adder."
Mij shook his head and smiled. "How would they look crossed over the fire place?”
“Great!” Seamus answered.
“I’ll put them up when we get back. But now we must eat and start off to El Ehcim as fast as possible. This is why I asked my friend to assist us. Step outside and say hello to my buddy, Shawn.”
Seamus found himself looking into the cute face of a ferret, but the biggest ferret he had ever seen in his life. Its coat glistened, silky and smooth.
“Wow,” Seamus exclaimed. “It’s a ferret, but I thought they were small creatures.”
“You forget, we are the ones who are small here. We’re three inches tall. He’s strong, fast and smart.”
“Thank you.”
“No way!" Seamus laughed in wonder. "He talks?”
“But of course. How would we ask him to help us pull the cart if he didn’t? I don’t know about you sometimes, Seamus,” said Brendan.
Within minutes they all worked at loading a cart with supplies for their quest and then Brudie attached the cart to Shawn with harness and saddled the ferret for himself to ride. The others climbed onto the back of the cart, and they were off.
Shawn scampered over the landscape as if it were flat. Up and down the mountains they went, as fast as could be. In mid-afternoon they came to a stop.
“We stop and eat here,” Mij said.
They opened up a wrapped bundle and gave Shawn a big slab of adder. Then they got out the cooking pans and started a fire. Brendan cooked for everyone. He melted the snow, boiled it and added leaves he had found in the forest and dried. They made a wonderful tea that Seamus enjoyed along with the others.
They sat around and talked about the next move.
“First we go talk to the king and ask him to release Willow the pink,” said Mij.
“You do not know this king do you?" Shawn said. "He and his son are very selfish. They will get what they want one way or the other and believe me, it is usually the other.”
Brendan got up, climbed a rock, and said, ”Come here. Look at this.”
They all went to see. In the distance they saw Gleep, but the black was spreading over the top of the cave.
“What is this Mij?" Brendan asked.
“It is what the elders were afraid of . . . It is the Mot.”
“Mot?” Shawn looked puzzled
“That is the name of the new king of the Wombats. He has caused this. He made machines that keep the blue crystal light away from the Wombats. Some even fly,” Brudie said .
They all stared silently at the glow of fire and the spreading darkness. “We must move fast to save Willow the Pink now,” Mij said and then weakly fell to his knees.
“Mij!” Seamus cried out.
“Do not worry about me. I will be all right. The light from the blue crystals gives us all strength. But if they turn black, who knows how we will survive these times.”
The four heroes then
made a vow. With swords held high above their heads, they all cried aloud, “We will find the Sword of Zierns and return it or die trying!”
Right after that, the snow started falling heavily. So much fell they had to make the cart into a sled. Brudie was good with an ax He fashioned skies to attach to the cart wheels with rope. That helped them go through the raging snow for hours.
Finally Brudie said, ”We're here.”
“Where? I can't see anything in this snow,” Brendan complained.
“We are at my summer house near the Forest of the Fairies.”
“I don’t see anything.” Mij squinted through the snow.
Seamus heard the sound of a door opening, and a gaping black hole appeared.
“Quick. All of you get in,” said Brudie
After they were all in, Shawn stood in the entrance and said. “I must go now and protect my family from the Wombats. Good luck, my friends. I hope to see all of you again in better times.”
“Be safe my friend,” said Brudie.
Seamus was sorry to see the helpful ferret leave.
After they unloaded the sled, they quickly made a fire inside for warmth and sat quietly, staring at the fire.
“I have never seen a storm like this," declared Brudie. "The black crystals have put our land out of balance. Even the weather has changed.”
“We must get the sword soon,” Mij said quietly.
Waiting for two days in the cabin, our heroes felt helpless, but they made plans and went over the Book of Zierns some more, readying themselves for what was to come. Mij continued to recover from his wounds. Brudie had medicine in the cabin that helped him heal faster and helped him get his strength back. Mij worked on some contraption that he found plans for in the Book of Zierns. Brendan helped.
On the third morning Seamus awakened to quiet. He listened for sounds of the wind, but heard nothing. He sat up and shouted to the others, “Get up. It has stopped. Let’s get moving.” Anxious to continue the quest so he could rescue his son, he was the first dressed and ready to go.
They all got up and put on their clothes and armor and fur cloaks over them, not knowing what they might encounter outside the door. Weapons in hand, they opened the door to a winter wonderland. All the trees were covered in fresh snow. Everything was white.
“Beautiful,” Brendan said.
Brudie informed them, "We are about half a day's walk from the Forest of the Fairies down this mountain.”
They started off again carrying all they could. As they descended the mountain, the temperature grew warmer and the snow began to melt. They came to a large field of grass, and just on the other side they could see The Forest of the Fairies. Beyond that, they could see Tiffany River shining in the light. To their left, in the distance they spotted the bright, white walls of El Ehcim towering over the forest.
“We made it!” Brendan exclaimed.
"Not quite,” Brudie said.
They looked at him in surprise. Brudie had not told them of one important thing. “Snow bees," he said ominously. "There is a hive of them just over there.” He pointed at the middle of the field.
“Snow bees? Why didn’t you say this earlier? Now I know why the book told of an invention called a sprayer I had to make. This is why I saved the venom from the Adder, Seamus.” Mij stood with his hands on his hips, looking fierce.
“Oh I see," Seamus murmured with a little bit of doubt in his voice. "Have you ever used this on these snow bees before?” he questioned.
“No, but the books have not been wrong yet,” Mij stated with self-confidence.
Brendan said, “What about Thomas? It was wrong about Thomas.”
“Okay, just one, Okay," Mij conceded. "The drawings the ancients left were precise. I had to rig a few things because Brudie didn’t have all the parts we needed at the cabin. If the sprayer works and we walk very quietly, we should be able to sneak by and make it to the forest.”
“All right. Remember, then. If anything happens, run to the forest,” Brudie warned.
Leaving most of their supplies behind, they tread softly across the field. They had made it ten feet beyond the hole in the ground when a large bee flew up. Its body was white with gray stripes and the head and legs silver like chromed metal.
It flew straight up, stopped, spun around and turned right toward them and flew straight at Brudie, the tallest thing on the field. Brudie drew his battle ax and threw it straight into its head. It dropped like a lead balloon. Thump! It hit the ground, making a loud noise.
Three more flew out in a snap, facing away from them.
Mij screamed, “I will spray the hole so no more come out! You save yourselves!” Grabbing the sprayer, he sent a fine mist into the hole. That stopped them. No more came out.
The other bees turned, looked at Seamus and then at Brendan and Brudie. They all hovered over for a second then came at the three heroes. Seamus grabbed his spear.
Brendan roared, “Aim for their abdomens!”
One came right for him with the stinger pointing at him.
Brendan dropped onto his back and, as the bee flew over him, he cut it open with his sword. The stinger just missed his head. It was a move that would go down in history.
Brudie dove for the first bee, ripping out his ax from its head just as the other bee came at him. He blocked the stinger with his shield, but the stinger stuck in it and lifted him up off the ground. Ripping the shield from his arm, he quickly took out his back sword and fought the bee with his ax and sword, dodging the silver stinger and cutting at its steel legs as they came at him.
Mij kept spraying the bees as they tried to come out of the hole. They died as the spray hit them. He shouted, “Hurry! I do not have enough spray to last all day."
Brendan and Seamus fought the other bee together. It stabbed at them with the stinger. They blocked and counter-attacked. Meanwhile Brudie swung his great sword and cut the bee's wing in half. When it fell like a rock, he jumped on top of it and stabbed it between the neck and back plate.
The bee that was fighting the others turned its head toward Brudie, leaving an opening to its neck. Brendan quickly jumped in the air and came down on the opening cutting its head right off.
Mij called out, “I am almost out of spray. Help!”
Brudie saw a boulder a few feet away from him, and with a great bellow of "Zierns," he lifted it over his head and threw it over the hole.
“Run to the forest!” Mij screamed.
Seamus gasped for air as he raced for the tree line. Nearly there, he turned to see a massive silver cloud aiming at them. “Faster!” he shouted.
The buzzing grew deafening, drowning out their own shouts. Seamus was six feet short of the forests with the bees zooming in on him and the rest of the team, about to sting them to death. He covered his head and shut his eyes as if that could make a difference, when the buzzing stopped.
He peeked over his forearm to see a rainbow surrounding the group and the bees retreating toward their hole in the ground, collecting their dead as they went.
“What is this?” Seamus asked.
“The fairies again," Mij explained.
“We made it to The Forest of the Fairies!” They all cheered.
They entered the forest under the protection of the fairy rainbow. Seamus swatted at a little fly, but stopped his hand before hitting it. He looked at the fly again. The fly studied him briefly then landed on his nose and kissed him.
Seamus smiled. “A fairy. Did you see that? I love this place.”
“What!" Brendan screamed. "We almost got killed again, and you love this place? You are very strange indeed."
The Forest of the Fairies
The fairies had protected them. The fairies protected any good person who tried to enter their forest. They knew that the Acks were good folk. Mij had told them, “The fairies' magic is so pure, so good, that it is much more powerful than that of the Wombats. The only problem is that they can do great magic only in the forest or very near it. The t
rees give them power, you see.”
Brendan then said to Seamus, “They will be little help for our cities, so we are on our own. It is not that they do not wish to help us; they can’t.”
“This is where Willow the Pink comes from," Mij explained, She is a very strong magical being because she is half fairy and half Ack.”
Seamus said, “They are all so small, though.”
“No, not all," said Mij. "The elders are all the same size as we are. The little ones are more what you call pixies. Willow, well she was one of a kind until her daughter was born. She now rests in the safe hands of the fairy elders until her time comes.”
“What do you mean by that, Mij, when her time comes?” Seamus asked. When Mij hesitated, he added, “Oh, never mind. Let’s go. We have to free Willow the Pink.”
The lights disappeared, and they didn’t see another fairy the entire time in the forest. They finally made it to Tiffany River. They found a crystal emerald green boat docked there.
“This boat has been waiting for you a long time, Seamus," Brendan said, all excited about riding in it. "When I was a kid, I dreamed of the day I would be one of the chosen few to go on this quest. I practiced my fighting skills every day just so I could ride in this boat. I would practice over there by the big rock. It was my inspiration. Now I have achieved my dream. Thank you, Seamus.”
Mij said, "The fairies made this boat about a thousand years ago from one green grain of sand. Green Crystal was the only material that would last the test of time and still float.”
The boat was amazing. It kind of looked like a Viking boat but with a fairy on the front and wings that swept up the sides, nearly reaching the helm. The white silk sail displayed a large embroidered gold Z with vines around it.
Once they boarded, they untied it from the dock and continued their quest. Brendan directed them to set the sail, so they headed in the right direction toward the city of El Ehcim and Willow the Pink. As he navigated the boat, his eyes glowed like that of a child. His big smile and far-away eyes said he had fulfilled his life's dream.
The Keeper of the Sword Page 4