by A. E. Wright
Chapter Five - The Waters of Roseworth
THE AIR WAS dry on this warm spring day. The longer we soared through the topaz sky, the more the skin around my mouth became cracked and sore. My muscles ached after the first hour, the next three after that were pure physical torture. Still, the rush of adrenaline and its accompanying sense of elation did not ebb whilst I was in the sky. We flew over the east coast of England towards the very centre of the country, toward my former home. As we came into land in-between a shimmering reservoir and dense woodland I recognised the area instantly.
Our wings detached, we stood on a grassy verge next to a reputably treacherous road, named the Snake Pass because of the way it seemed to slither through the landscape; it had seen its fair share of accidents. The many blind turns in the road and its remote location made it quite formidable. It was so dangerous only a hint of snow could bring the whole road to closure. Snake Pass wound through the most beautiful landscape of the Peak District meaning many nature tourists would journey down it daily, drinking in the breath-taking views. My mother had taken me down this patch of road many times before. It seemed strange to be here now with Merl.
I watched my elderly ancestor as he surveyed the trees, looking for the precise direction we needed to head in and wondered if it was fate that led me to him all those months ago. Was it destiny that I stood here now with this withered old man who, even with all his faults, I had grown to love? It seemed odd to me that I should be the first magic-born heir in all the generations since Merl had children of his own. What was it about me, why was I so special? I certainly didn't think I was particularly special. Did I have some kind of genetic abnormality? Was that the reason I could perform magic when others before me apparently could not?
I became frustrated at my own thoughts. They were irrelevant, I was where I was and nothing could change that now. I had a mission. I had to perform the spell and free the island of Falinn Galdur from Agrona. I felt a prang of fear at the thought of facing her again, the darkness within her was so prevalent I felt it as soon as she rose from the cold stone slab in the chamber of light. I never wanted to experience that feeling again but unfortunately, I didn't have much choice. At least this time I would be much more powerful myself, or so I hoped. I decided to go and wait at the water's edge, there was something calming about water that always helped to clear my mind.
The reservoir, the Ladybower reservoir to be precise, was one of the most magnificent man-made creations I'd ever witnessed. Its tranquil grey-blue waters rippled mildly with the spring breeze. The reservoir was a contradiction in its nature, the way the water seemed so gentle yet so magnificently powerful sent a shiver of excitement down my spine.
When I was younger, my mother brought me to picnic here occasionally. A little further down the road from the spot Merl and I now occupied. I remember after we ate, I would go to the edge of the water, just as I was now. I would find small rocks and stones to skim on the surface as she sat and bathed in the rare English sunshine.
The memory of my child-self skimming pebbles on the water's edge evoked another more recent memory within me, the memory of skimming pebbles on the Blossomdown beach with Crone. This memory stung, it was the day I decided I would do my utmost to help the races of Falinn Galdur defeat Agrona. On that very night, I was the reason that she awoke. I was a fool, and the curse associated with the spell was my only option if I wanted redemption. So much for clearing my mind, I thought as I watched a water boatman skim the surface of the water before me.
"Come Violet, we must try to reach the Waters of Roseworth before nightfall." Merl beckoned. We would be on foot for the rest of the journey, the trees were too thick to fly through and flying over them was out of the question as Merl explained suspicious Goblin archers could shoot us down. Dutifully I obeyed and we set off toward the thick forest of ash trees.
Although I'd been to the reservoir many times before, I'd never been into the woodland surrounding it. As we entered the wood through a thick cluster of ash trees, we disturbed a group of red admiral butterflies. They swarmed in a circle above our heads before dissipating into the shelter of the verdant woodland canopy of leaves overhead. It was a beautiful yet extremely odd thing to behold. I'd never seen more than a couple of butterflies together at once. I was about to start idle conversation with Merl about how strange the occurrence was but I stopped myself before any words escaped my mouth. Merl wasn't one for any kind of conversation let alone about butterflies and how could he take me seriously as the saviour of Falinn Galdur when I couldn't even concentrate on the task in hand.
We walked in silence much farther into the woodland, the occasional sound of birds twittering in the trees or a squirrel foraging on the ground below were the only noises that disturbed the quiet. The trees grew larger as did the ferns, primroses and wild mushrooms. It was beautiful my homeland. Beautiful in a way I never truly appreciated before I left it behind.
"Merl" I began.
"Yes?" He answered uncharacteristically monosyllabically as he tried to ascertain the correct direction,
"Why didn't the Goblins pass through the gate when all the other creature did?"
"Because they didn't ruddy well want to Violet. I am a powerful wizard and I was an illustrious politician in my day, but I am not, nor ever have been in the habit of compelling a whole race to leave their beloved home behind them."
"So some of the magical creatures stayed behind, in my world I mean?"
"Some creatures chose to stay in the world you hail from yes, many others passed through the gate. It drew a great amount of strength from me to open the gate to the extent that allowed so many to pass through. It took me almost ten years to recover from the magic I used over that time. There is still yet magic in your world. However, it goes undetected easily enough. Throughout the years people in your world have become less inclined to open their eyes to it."
"Hmm." I mumbled in thoughtful agreement before continuing onward silently.
I guessed we must have walked around seven miles into the woodland before Merl held up his hand, indicating that we had reached our destination. I studied the seemingly unremarkable patch of woodland expecting at any moment a hoard of goblins to begin rushing out from behind the trees but they did not.
"Why have we stopped?" I whispered.
"Because we have reached the Goblin kingdom." Merl stated.
"Right, so where are the Goblins?" I was perplexed.
"They are all around you Violet. They are most likely listening to every word you speak at this very moment." I took a second look, yet I still could not see anything out of the ordinary.
"Are they invisible?" I asked. I heard what sounded like a soft throaty chuckle carry on the breeze.
"Of course not you nincompoop. They are however, rather rude not to greet their guests, especially guests that come bearing gifts." The breeze began to pick up, transforming into a mild wind that threw dead leaves and pieces of foliage up into the air. The smell of recently damp wood filled my nostrils. A disembodied voice echoed all around us as if carried by the wind.
"Tha come bearing gifts eh wizard, have tha brought back my water tha stole from me?" The voice had a familiar broad Yorkshire accent and a guttural quality to it.
"Not quite, but I do have something that I'm sure will be of great interest to you." Merl proposed.
"Thasa thief wizard, nothin tha can offer'll interest us." The voice had a distinctive anger in its tone.
"Very well, come Violet the Goblins have no interest in the elixir of deception, let us not waste any more of their time." As Merl turned to leave his heavy silver coat whipped around with the rising winds.
"Ang on, ang on, are tha sayin tha's got the Elixir o' deception on thee wizard?" There was a distinctive curiosity to the voice now.
"Indeed I have." Merl smiled at how quickly his plan was working. I stopped at his side dumbstruck. I still had no idea where the intangible voice was coming from.
"Oreyt we can talk, but if
tha tries anythin funny, it'll be the last thing tha does." The Goblin warned.
The wind rustled once again, picking up increasingly heavier pieces of foliage. It continued to grow unnaturally strong, especially for the time of year, until it seemed to be so strong it was uprooting some green spotted giant toadstools. They tumbled clumsily along the wood floor and toward our feet. This seemed odd to me, the wind wasn't blowing in our direction and the toadstools were rolling toward us from all kinds of angles. Growing in number and varying in size, they seemed to be materializing from anywhere and everywhere in mere minutes. After what must have only been around five minutes we were surrounded by the odd spotted toadstools, some were vibrant greens like the moss on the trees, other were a much duller brown colour, all were vibrating violently.
I looked to Merl who was completely at ease and looked back at my nervous face with passive annoyance. I shook my head in frustration, why did he never warn me about these kinds of things. Why did he always leave me half-terrified?
The toadstools were transforming before our eyes, transitioning from a mere feature of the woodland into living, breathing, animated beings. Very ugly animated beings, with huge oval ears, wide noses reaching from ear to ear and wart riddled faces, they stood around three or four feet tall with a greyish hue to their complexions. Their clothes were no more than brown rags. Their bare feet were small and stumped. There were no immediate differences between the males and females other than twisted beards that grew toward the feet of the males. The leader, Grogog I assumed, stepped forward. He wore a crown of twisted twigs and leaves that sat on a tuft of messy green hair.
"What does tha want wizard? N' am not fallin for eny tomfoolery this time, tha can be honest or be off." The Goblin warned.
"I merely wanted to enquire about a sword. I have been informed you are privy to the location." Merl lied, despite the Goblins many warnings.
"An what sword would that be eh?"
"The sword by the name of Cali, you see we have a dragon to fight and I think this particular sword may prove very useful." Merl stated. There was a hushed chattering emitting from the surrounding Goblins.
"Ay it would." The Goblin king laughed. "It's a shame it dunt exist wizard, thas wasted tha time."
"Now it seems it is my turn to ask the truth of you Grogog, you see I have recently made acquaintance with the former General Balthus, he has quite an interesting story to tell about yourself and the sword. He seems to think you might have stolen it from him during the Worlen conflict with the Spinners. We both know you fought alongside the Spinners at Cragsley. Interestingly, you and your army managed to come to my island without passing through my gate." Merl's right eye twitched inquisitively.
"Ay I did, it tuk four seasons and a damn good barge but we got there, but I never saw that sword, n' al tell thee again, it dun't exist. Balthus is a liar n' a big head, he just wants everyone t' think he had that sword becus he likes the attention." Grogog replied angrily. "Al hav me elixir now if tha dunt mind." He made a snatch at the small vile of red liquid that Merl had produced from underneath his cloak at the beginning of the conversation. Merl held it out of his reach.
"How dare you, first you insult my intelligence by laughing at my reason for journeying to your lands and then you insult a good friend of mine, I should turn you into a toad." Merl was as red as the liquid he held in his hands.
"Ay an you insult mine by mekin up stories about imaginary swords when we both know the real reason thas here is for me water." Grogog spat back. Merl opened his mouth to reply. No doubt he had concocted some clever plan to fool Grogog into giving us the water or leaving it unattended long enough for us to steal some but I had had enough. I decided I wasn't going to be part of whatever plan Merl had in mind.
"Yes you're right Grogog, can I call you Grogog or do you prefer King Grogog?" I asked politely yet making sure that my voice held enough force that I did not sound weak. Grogog the Goblin king seemed taken aback by my honesty. Shocked, he did not answer instead he left me to continue. "I'm afraid something awful has happened and that it happened because of my actions. The only way I can put it right is to perform a spell and to do so, I need a little drop of your water." I offered. Merl looked furious but I'd said too much to take any of it back now. Quiet intakes of breath from the Goblin crowd all around followed my bold request.
"An why should I care about thee problems eh lass?" Grogog finally found his voice. "I've protected those waters ever since me father wer murdered. They belong t' ut Goblins, we stayed behind when the wizard ere opened his gate t' protect what's ours, why should a just give em t' thee?" Grogog pointed at me accusingly.
"Because I am asking for just a drop of your water and in exchange Merl will give you the elixir and you can hide your water forever, I'm assuming that's why you brought the elixir?" I questioned Merl who nodded his head but angrily avoided direct eye contact with me. "If you don't grant me the small drop I'm asking for then we have no chance of defeating Agrona, I assume you've heard of her?" Grogog tufty eyebrows arched all the way to the top of his head. I could see I was starting to gain the interest of my audience so I continued. "I will only take a drop and that is only with your permission but if Agrona ever finds your water, she'll drain the whole thing and murder your people at the same time. By the look in your eyes when I mentioned her name, you know that's true. Help me and you help yourself by default." I reasoned. Grogog considered my proposition for a moment, I could see an internal battle playing out across his wart-addled features. When he finally came to a resolution, I was not filled with hope by the look of foreboding on his face.
"Aye, I'll give thee a drop of me water lass. You've got something about you, unlike wiry face here." Grogog pointed at Merl's scarlet face, Merl gritted his teeth desperately wanting to unleash a tirade of profanities upon the Goblin king but wisely holding back. Unaffected, Grogog continued "But I'll warn thee too, I'm not placing much hope in thee. Thas young and small and I've seen the witch Agrona and what she can do, thas no match for her lass. I'll take that elixir in exchange for a drop of my waters but only becos I'll need it to hide from her once she's finished with thee." Grogog looked at me almost sympathetically. "Tha can come with me and al give thee a drop but then be off." I nodded in agreement. "Old wiry face can wait here, a don't trust him."
Whilst Merl waited stony faced and encircled by the surprised looking Goblin crowd, Grogog ushered me through a small opening in a thick brush. I squeezed my way through the narrow passageway holding my arms close by my side so that I wasn't scratched to ribbons by the surrounding branches. When the way became clear again, I was in a small gully hidden by a thicket of bramble bushes. On the first glance, the water flowing through the narrow gully was unremarkable in appearance. They seemed much the same as any other translucent brook or stream that sprung in or around woodland areas. I approached the grass edge cautiously, I did not want to offend Grogog or show any kind of entitlement to his jealously guarded spring, on closer inspection the waters twinkled with same supernatural quality as the stars at night. Dazzling as they trickled gently down the gully I watched them with the same comforting serenity as I felt when reliving the echo of Gweniveev's dream. The atmosphere became tense as Grogog noticed how enchanted I was with his precious water. He clenched his strong jaw and eyed me suspiciously. I wasn't here to steal from him, I'd already made the worst enemy possible, the last thing I needed was a Goblin army turning against me too.
"May I?" I asked tentatively.
"Aye a drop." Grogog warned. I felt around in my small leather sack for the glass vile Merl had requested I save before we set off on our journey. I took out the wooden cork; its squeaking interrupted the tranquil babbling of the gently flowing waters. I was about to bend down to collect a small amount of water when I noticed a small boulder nestled next to one of the thistle bushes, the name Grangless inscribed in the stone. It was both a simple and poignant reminder of just how far Madge had to go to perform the spell before me. She was payi
ng with the curse, doomed to transform into the same being that killed her partner. What price would I eventually pay? I stopped mid-bend and straightened my back again, Grogog's features rearranged changing from his initial suspicion to surprise and then offence. I walked over to the small yet brutishly built Goblin and passed him the vile.
"If you don't mind Grogog, I would prefer that you collect the water." Grogog now conveyed nothing other than complete confusion at my strange behaviour. I continued, "I know how much these enchanted waters mean to you. I get that your father died protecting them, that your kind protect them to preserve them and I think that's honourable. For that reason, I can't take them from you. If you want to make them a gift to me, I will happily accept. If you don't, I will understand and I beg your pardon for the intrusion and ask only for your friendship instead." I cringed inwardly at the idea of going back to Merl with no water, sure I was about to learn some new and interesting curse words and possibly spend a couple of days as a toad but I was doing this my way. Grogog considered me for a few moments stroking his thickset chin before disappearing into a break in the thistle bushes. I turned and headed towards the entrance disappointed and ready to face Merl's wrath. Just as I reached the opening, a small hand grabbed me by the back of the elbow and coaxed me to face back towards the water. It was Grogog again holding out a glass flask. Much larger than the vial I had brought with me, the flask had interwoven twigs weaving complexly around its sleek design. The unmistakable Waters of Roseworth swished around inside the bottle, gleaming when I peered through the gaps in the twigs.
"Thank you my newest friend." I sincerely meant those words.
"Tha welcome lass, be lucky." I couldn't help but notice the tone of sympathy in Grogog's voice, he knew I was doomed just as well as I did.
Although he was flying at least three meters in front of me, I could sense Merls annoyance at my actions all the way back to the island. Even so, I did not regret what I had done in the woods, if anything I was pleased. I wasn't happy I'd annoyed Merl but I was beginning to realise that if I was disappointed with myself every time I did something that annoyed Merl then I would spend a great amount of time disappointed. No, I was happy that I'd made a friend, after finding out about Dahlia's betrayal and the way that Elba was acting I was glad of any friend that would have me.
Bettery was waiting in the garden of Merl's home when we touched down. Merl removed my wings and plonked them unceremoniously back into the jar of water before taking off his own and placing them carefully back into the smeared glass jar.
"Hello dearies, nice to see you back safe it is. Any news?" My stomach lurched. I'd forgotten that Bettery thought we'd gone searching for Jestin.
"No." I shook my head sadly. Without a word, Merl thundered past into the kitchen and then disappeared up the stairs.
"What's got into him?" Bettery wasn't completely surprised by Merl's abrupt behaviour but she was not used to being unaware of the cause. She'd been his only friend for so long it must have seemed odd to her now that he had someone else to take his bad moods out on.
"He stood in wild boar poo." I lied. Bettery made a tutting sound and disappeared off into the kitchen chuckling softly.
I walked through the kitchen, grabbed a slice of honey bread that sat temptingly oozing with strawberry jam on the table-top, and mooched off towards my small, cold room. As I passed Merl's room, I could hear odd sounds emitting from somewhere deep inside. It was a sound somewhat like the rattling of chains only tinnier, a thinner more veiled sound that was hard to place. I was just about to knock and enquire if Merl was all right when I heard a door creak in the hallway below.
I stealthily doubled back on myself and tentatively stuck my head over the thin banister. I was surprised to see Elba quietly closing the portal passage to Forge Gate, the passage that Merl had to repair after we broke it the night I awoke Agrona. My feeling of surprise quickly turned to confusion, how had she managed to open the portal? Merl explained last summer that only he or his heir could open one of the portals that were hidden behind the bookcases in the hallway. As Elba checked both left and right to make sure that she had slipped through unnoticed. She loitered on the spot suspiciously for a few moments before heading away toward the kitchen. I ducked back behind the bannister quietly, not daring to glance over again until I had heard the kitchen door click to a close. Once I was sure she had gone, I glanced back over the bannister. There was no sign of Elba so I decided to head downstairs to see if I could decipher just how she was getting through the portal and why she was going through it at all.
I climbed back down the dusty wooden staircase quietly, only stopping when I heard the third stair from the bottom creak. Although I could quite easily explain away why I might be walking down the stairs in the home that I lived in, for a moment my heart jumped into my throat. I looked guilty, sneaking down the stairs like some clandestine cat -burglar. If Elba came out of the kitchen now she would know I'd seen her coming through the portal and she'd closed up. She had told me once before that her specialty in the Worlen army had something to do with the secret quarter. If she knew I was onto her, I'd never find out what she was up to. Fortunately, she did not emerge from the kitchen and I continued onward a little more cautiously.
On my first glance at the large beech wood bookcase, that unfortunately for me stood nearest the kitchen door, all I could see was a collection of dusty books. The spines of which were connected by long spindles of grime. I'd never noticed before just how unloved the books on these cases actually were, it was as if they had not been touched in centuries. Maybe they hadn't, there was only Merl living in this home for so long. I studied each shelf on the case carefully to look for signs of disturbance. There was nothing until I reached the top shelf. I had to stand on the tips of my toes to reach the highest shelf. Elba, who was shorter than me in her human form, must have had to climb onto the bottom shelf to reach the point where the dust had been wiped away with the arch movement. It was as if someone was trying to reach toward a specific point and had brushed the dust-covered books with their arm. I inspected the end of the arch and sure enough, nestled between 'The Ten Best Uses for Merrow Bone' and 'How to Train Your Bat Pup' was a crumpled piece of parchment. I reached, stretching my arm to its full capacity and grabbed the very edge of paper. Just as my fingers began to slide the paper away from its resting place, I heard the knob on the kitchen door click open. The familiar yet muffled sound of Elba's voice travelled through the wood of the door as she muttered something indecipherable to Bettery. I froze not really sure, what to do. Should I stay in position and just pretend that I was looking for reading material? I could casually walk away, no they would ask why I'd come in the direction of the kitchen and suddenly turned away. I was not a good liar, I'd blurt something out that I shouldn't. The door began to creak open slowly and more by instinct than rational thought, I took my hand away from the piece of parchment, ran it over my body and quietly whispered 'Cela.'
I was gone, invisible to the naked eye but sill existing in the material sense. I was not visible but I certainly was not immaterial. If Elba came to check on her hidden treasure I was rumbled. Even if I shuffled away, her super accurate werewolf senses would detect my movement. I had to be quiet. I had to be still. My heart jumped around in my chest as if it had been woven onto a string of firecrackers, erupting with tiny explosions. THUD, THUD, THUD I could hear it, the sound of my nervous heart filled my ears. Sweat gathered in small globules upon my head and upper lip. Just why someone I once called a friend made me so nervous now, I couldn't exactly place but there was something about post-captivity Elba that just didn't sit right with me.
Elba clicked the door closed behind her quietly as if she did not want to disturb the piece within the lower rooms of the house. Her green eyes narrowed in my direction, darting around suspiciously before coming to rest on the small piece of the parchment that protruded between the books. Her nostrils flared as she caught my scent. I hadn't bathed since the visit to my homeland
and although I liked the Goblins well enough, there was no denying that their odour was not the prettiest I had ever encountered. I had been standing so close to Grogog that the smell must have stuck to me. I was surely caught. I might as well reveal myself now and hope the fact that I was spying on Elba didn't lead to a fight between us. In hand-to-hand combat, there was no way I could fight off a werewolf. I sighed silently and brought my arm up toward my head in order to expose myself. In the same instant, Rosamaylind appeared at the kitchen door.
"Elba, could you come back into the kitchen for just a moment? I am in need of your expertise." Her soft Irish accent was, in that moment, the sound of my salvation. I breathed a sigh of relief after Elba gave her hidden treasure one last glance before setting off toward the kitchen, with Rosamaylind pulling the door to a close behind them both.
I wasted no more time after that close encounter, quickly pulling the parchment away from its resting place and silently sprinting up the stairs. The strange noises that were coming from Merl's room had stopped and were now replaced by the thunderous sound of his snoring. I closed my own door quietly and sat on the small, uncomfortable bed to unfold my mysterious booty.
As I gazed down into Elba's secret stash, the guilt hit me in the stomach like an enormous iron butterfly. What lay before me was a map, a scribbled sketching of the trees that formed Galdur Wood. It had numerous red crosses and thick black circles marking out areas of interest, some searched with no luck, others yet to search. The areas that had already been searched were the ones closest to Forge Gate but Galdur Wood was so big it stretched almost to Blossomdown, to search the whole area could take years. Elba wasn't sneaking around because she was so badly traumatised by her experience of captivity that she wanted to exact revenge on the people that did not come to rescue her. She was not the horrible person I'd jealously painted in my mind. Yet Elba was undoubtedly angry, she was angry with me and she had good reason. Deep down, I too was angry with myself. Despite the fact that I ached with every fibre of my being to be close to him again, I had let my head rule over my heart. Elba, it seemed, was the only one truly searching for Jestin.