‘Eh?!’ Was all the stunned cat could utter as the others also fell in an exhausted heap around Arthur.
‘How did we get here?’ asked Insuro. Dark have been my thoughts!’
‘And mine,’ said Sky. ‘Really awful!’
Very unsure that everything had miraculously gone back to normal, the cat edged his way around the side of the group, trying not to be too obvious about it, and halted a short way away in case he had to make a run for it. It was only when he was satisfied that they all seemed to be acting normally that he jumped up onto a nearby boulder.
‘Ladies, gentlemen and aliens,’ he said, puffing out his chest as befitted the importance of the speech he was about to make. ‘I can tell you that you were all affected by the fog, and that soon after you sat down, you all lost your minds,’ he announced.
This was met with general amazement.
‘What happened?’ asked Margot.
‘How did we get here?’ asked the Major at the same time.
The cat made a long pause for dramatic effect before continuing.
‘Well, I’m glad that you ask. Firstly, it was of course very fortunate for all of you that I myself, being of feline persuasion, was not at all affected. I mean, have you ever heard of a mad cat?’ he said, and chuckled slightly at his own joke while the rest of them stared impatiently at him.
‘There was never really any danger, of course. I mean, obviously I saw it all coming and immediately formulated a plan to save you should my suspicions be proven correct. When they were, I knew that I had to get you out of the fog as quickly as possible to cure you before you all started on Arthur.’
‘On me?’ asked Arthur, surprised by what the cat had just said.
‘Oh yes!’ said the cat. ‘They were all getting ready to take the Arnac, throw you into the fog or worse. It was just terrible to listen to them all. They were like a pack of rabid, bloodthirsty dogs. I just couldn’t stand by and let an injustice happen.’ The cat was not even trying to conceal his enjoyment.
‘Really?’ asked Sky, sounding shocked.
‘Oh yes. As a matter of fact, without my help, Arthur would almost certainly have perished at all of your hands.’
‘I’m sure you’re exaggerating,’ said Margot. ‘It doesn’t sound like something I’d do, for a start!’
‘Well, if you think so, you explain how you got up here, then,’ retorted the cat. ‘By the way, Mr President, I don’t want to boast or anything, but perhaps a medal or two might be in order for this. You know, it was me who saved the day on the bridge of the Gorkan that time, and if you remember, I got a medal for that one.’
Insuro, who was looking greatly troubled by what he’d been hearing, nodded his head politely. ‘You have done well and we all owe you a debt of thanks, there is no doubt,’ he said, and before the cat could say anything else, he raised his hand to stop him.
‘I think that you must not take what has happened to heart, Keeper. There are none here among us that would wish you ill. What vile poison is concealed within this fog I cannot say, but its aim is to make sure that whoever enters it, never leaves.’
‘Lucky for us it never had to deal with a cat!’ said the cat, unable to stay silent.
‘See, I told you!’ exclaimed Sava. ‘This valley is cursed by the dishonoured!’
Again Insuro raised his hand for Sava to calm down.
‘Cursed or not cursed, it is clear that some power resides here. It has infected the fog with its anger and greed. Whatever it is, is not our concern. Our task is to find a way out and I think that our friend the cat has found it for us.’
‘Well, you know, cats have very good instincts for this sort of thing. We are quite used to saving the day… in fact …’
‘Thank you, my friend,’ interrupted Insuro and for a brief moment he fixed his eyes on the cat’s, communicating something to him not intended for the rest of the group to hear.
‘Have it your way,’ said the cat sulkily and turned his back on the group.
‘I suggest that we remain here until the new sun. I will go with Vello to collect the equipment we have left behind.’
‘The Captain and I will go with you,’ volunteered the Major.
‘Thank you. When we return we will follow the ridge path.’
12
The Old Watchtower
None of the group were able to sleep that night, expect of course for the cat, who seldom seemed to have a problem. Arthur was haunted by what he’d heard about everyone having turned on him. He understood it was the fog that had poisoned their minds, but he still couldn’t get rid of the thought that it hadn’t turned them all against the cat, or each other. Why against him? The cat had relished telling him who had said what and retelling the story countless times about how he had saved the day, each time making it just a little more dramatic than the last.
‘I swear, the next time you tell it, there will suddenly be dragons and giants which you had to fight with only your tail for a sword!’ said Arthur, after the fourth time of hearing the story.
‘Don’t be silly – there weren’t any giants! But now that you mention it, I thought I saw something blot out some of the stars when I got to the ridge…’
Arthur rolled his eyes. Dawn was still hours off and he’d chosen to sit slightly apart from the rest of the group.
‘I think we need to be wary of everyone,’ whispered the cat. ‘Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t been so quick to save… ’
‘Cat! Stop it! It’s getting boring.’
‘Boring!? But I saved everyone! I didn’t have to!’
‘And everyone is grateful – really. But you keep going on about it.’
‘Phh!’ meowed the cat. ‘I should have let them throw you into the fog! I’d have been all right, I saw it coming!’
The cat slunk off in a huff, mumbling to himself. Arthur returned to his thoughts. Surely Sky, Insuro, the Major… surely they’d never do anything to harm him. Try as he might, he couldn’t believe they would, not after everything they’d already been through together. And besides, if one of them had wanted the Arnac for themselves, they could have taken them whenever they wanted. It wouldn’t have been hard.
By dawn Arthur had managed to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. But he’d promised himself that he would try to be more careful. When it was light enough to be able to see, the Major and Insuro, accompanied by Vello and the Captain, followed a very reluctant cat back down into the valley to collect their things. Arthur and Sky, meanwhile, went off to investigate the ridge undulating in and out of the mass of fog, which lay like a sea of dense, swirling cloud filling the valley. Sezan was scanning Yan for any signs of toxins left by the fog as they went.
‘We were lucky to get out of there alive, I think,’ said Sky, throwing a small stone from the ridge into the valley. ‘If it hadn’t have been for the cat, who knows what bad things might have happened.’
‘Yes, I know, I had to listen to the story at least a thousand times last night.’
Sky laughed. ‘I can imagine.’
When they got to the point where the cat had stopped running that night, where the ridge had given the impression of suddenly plunging back into the fog, Arthur lay down and cautiously peered over the edge.
‘Doesn’t look so bad in the daylight… I think I can see something down there,’ he said.
Arthur gazed out towards where the ridge broke back through the fog again, perhaps a hundred metres or so further along. The next part of the ridge which was visible rose high out of the valley, too high to see beyond it. Steadying himself, he slowly lowered his legs over the edge, his feet disappearing into the swirling greyness.
‘This feels weird,’ he said, looking down and not seeing his feet but feeling something solid. Letting go of the ledge, he carefully felt around for his next step.
‘Jus
t be careful,’ said Sky, getting ready to follow him.
Soon all that remained above the fog was his head. And with another step, it, too, disappeared.
‘Arthur?’ He heard Sky call out. He raised his hand up to signal he was okay. Once he was in the fog, it became possible to see a step or two in front of him. He was able to follow the line of the ridge, which looked as if it had long ago been fashioned into a very rough pathway. He wondered if the fog had always been here or if it was really like Sava had said, about the Northern Lords and their great battle.
‘Don’t you think it’s strange that the fog doesn’t spill over the edge of this ridge?’ asked Sky, a few steps behind him.
‘Why strange?’
‘Well, because we’re walking in the middle of this ridge and the fog is above our heads and you’ve seen how high we are. It’s a sheer drop but none of it is pouring over the side.’
‘I guess,’ replied Arthur, not really sure if there was any reason for it to tip over the edge or not, although he saw her point.
The ridge path continued downwards before finally climbing once again. It was slow going. At one point Arthur stumbled badly, and had it not been for a large rock in his path, he would almost certainly have fallen over the edge and down the other side. Things didn’t improve much when once again the ridge began to rise. With their heads above the fog, it was impossible to see where they were putting their feet. For Arthur, each step felt like it could be his last. Having nearly fallen, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Eventually, they both made it up and out of the fog without any more incidents, and they clambered up the narrow path. Looking back, Arthur could see Margot, who waved to them from the other side.
‘Everything okay?’ She called out.
‘Yes, but you need to be really careful! It’s hard to see anything and the ridge is really narrow in this section. Arthur almost fell over the edge!’ shouted Sky back to her.
Margot raised her hand to show that she had understood. ‘For God’s sake be careful!’ She shouted.
Near the top of the rise, they flopped down, out of breath. From where they were, they could see Margot, Yan and Sezan still waiting for Insuro and the others to get back. The Andarran sun shone on the snowy hills beyond the valley. Far off in the distance was a large mass of ice and snow which seemed to uniformly cover most of the landscape.
‘That must be the Northern Plateau,’ ventured Arthur, feeling for the first time as though they were getting closer to his father. Sky, however, was staring at the sea of fog below them.
‘Even though the sun is shining, the valley doesn’t seem much brighter. It just seems to suck all the light into it. Don’t you think that’s creepy?’
‘Very!’ agreed Arthur, distracted by what he’d just spied. Further along the ridge was a tower. Rising high into the air, it had a wide overhanging top and large windows, which, from where he was sitting, looked intact. At its base, a layer of fog lapped its foundations.
‘Sky, look!’ He said, crawling behind a mound in case there was someone inside. ‘It looks old, doesn’t it.’ Built out of grey stone, the tower looked beaten and battered by the ages. A wide crack ran down the side facing them.
‘What do you think… abandoned?’ He asked, and, without waiting for a reply, got up and started towards it.
‘What if it isn’t?’ whispered Sky, catching up.
‘Well, I’m not going back down there,’ he said, pointing in the direction they had just come from.
‘Shouldn’t we at least wait for the others?’
‘Probably,’ he said without stopping.
‘Bah! You’re as bad as that cat of yours!’
‘Sky, it feels empty. Trust me!’
The entrance to the tower was on the far side. It lay open. Where once a door might have stood, now there was a large empty doorway, leaving the tower open to the elements and defenceless. Directly opposite the doorway at the far end of a room were the remains of what might once have been a grand fireplace, now collapsed in on itself. Broken furniture and other objects lay scattered about the floor, partially covered over by drifts of snow. Above the fireplace hung a faded etching, no longer discernible. Apart from the area lit by the light from the open doorway, the rest of the room and the tower were blanketed in darkness. Arthur took his night vision glasses from his jacket and put them on. A stone staircase became visible in the corner, spiralling upwards to the top of the tower.
‘Let’s go up,’ he said.
‘But I haven’t got my night vision glasses with me.’
‘It’s okay. Just hold on to my hand and I’ll guide you.’ He held out his hand for her to take, leading her carefully up the crumbling staircase. Several times they had to work their way around or jump over areas where the steps had broken away, leaving holes big enough to fall through. As they climbed, Arthur saw that the walls were becoming increasingly streaked and damaged. A draught blowing down from above was also noticeably stronger as they neared the top. There the door, like the entrance to the tower, was missing. Arthur peered cautiously through the doorway. Deep snow lay blanketed across the floor. The room appeared empty and forgotten: broken windows on this side of the tower had long ago left it exposed to the elements.
A wall running down the middle split the large area in two. Wading through the snow, they reached the second room. Here the windows, as he had seen from below, were still intact, and apart from snow near the doorway, this part looked like it had lain undisturbed for a long time. There was a large, solid table in the centre with several chairs still standing around it. Others lay broken on the floor. Unrecognisable objects hidden beneath thick layers of dust were visible on the tabletop, whilst at the head of the table, something was slumped in a chair facing the entrance. Sky was the first to spot it.
‘Arthur look! Bones! And look, it’s wearing metal – maybe armour!’
Sky was right. In the chair were the skeletal remains of someone who had once been dressed in armour. Over time, the skeleton had come apart under its weight, and now parts lay scattered on the floor by the chair. Arthur stared at the remains of the warrior, its skull lying half covered in dust and hair by the table leg. He felt surprised not to feel afraid. He’d always imagined that he would if he ever saw a real skeleton. But now he just felt sad and wondered if the warrior had died here alone. There was nothing in else in the room that looked like the remains of another person. Lying on the table in front of the skeleton, heavily furred with dust, was a long object. Intrigued, Arthur leaned forward and picked it up. It felt oddly both heavy and light at the same time. He blew the dust off, revealing a sword still in its scabbard. With a rush of excitement, he drew the blade out and held it up to the light. The silvery metal glinted as though it were new. An uneven, jagged stone of deepest red had been inset into its pommel. Arthur spun the sword round to get a closer look at the curious stone. He had a sudden overwhelming desire to touch it, and, without understanding what he was doing, reached out his hand. The moment it met the jewel, Arthur gasped and dropped to his knees clutching the sword. He never heard Sky’s cry of concern behind him.
In a blinding flash, he had the sensation of being propelled through the adjacent tower window, away from the cursed valley and out over the snowy Andarran hills in the direction of the vast expanse of snow and ice he had spotted earlier. He was travelling so fast that everything was blurred, and in the blink of an eye he found himself descending rapidly into the side of a mountain. Arthur’s heart skipped a beat as suddenly there in front of him was the image of his father pacing up and down in a small, boxy room. Arthur gasped; he looked so different. He looked much older and so very pale. He was no longer dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing on the Horizon. Now his clothes were drab and loose-fitting, like badly made pyjamas. There were two other people in the little room with him.
‘Father!’ He called out, trying to keep his
voice low. His father did not seem to hear him.
‘Papa!’ He called out again. This time his father stopped pacing and appeared to question one of the others in the room. He could see the person shaking his head.
‘Papa, it’s me, Arthur!’
‘Arthur?’ replied his father, not quite believing what he was hearing.
‘Yes Papa, it’s me, can you hear me?’
‘Yes, yes!’ He replied in a whisper, his eyes welling up with tears. ‘Oh my boy! You’re still alive! I am so happy to hear your voice! Are you okay? Where are you?’
‘Yes Papa, I’m fine, we’re all okay.’
‘It’s been such a long time… I started to fear the worst. You cannot imagine how happy I am to hear your voice.’
‘And I, Papa! We are here on Andarra, we are coming to get you and the others.’
His father looked shocked. ‘Really? Here? How did you get here? I don’t know where we are, son, they keep moving us every few months.’
The image of his father faded briefly.
‘Papa – I don’t think I have much time. Take care of yourself. We are coming. A Solarian told us where you are.’
‘A Solarian?! Are you sure you can trust him? I think they’ve lost interest in those of us who are left. I fear something is going to happen soon.’
‘Those of you who are left!? What do you mean?’ Arthur could now feel himself being pulled backwards. ‘Papa, I am leaving!…’
Like an elastic band that had been stretched out, Arthur had the sensation of being snapped back towards the tower.
The next thing he remembered was the sound of Sky’s frantic voice and the sensation of her rocking his shoulders.
‘Sky stop!’ He pleaded. ‘I’m okay, I just feel a little dizzy, that’s all. I’ll be okay in a second,’ he said, opening his eyes and finding himself back in the top of the tower, sprawled out on the floor. He sat up slowly and got to his knees, keeping his head bowed, waiting for the spinning to stop.
Arthur and the Andarran Rescue Page 13