by L. EE
The officer, last on the bridge, quickly untied the rope from the railing and jumped in. Both he and Andy struggled in the rushing water that seemed determined to sweep them downstream. Seconds later, the rogue tree slammed into the weakened bridge, shattering it and sending pieces sailing through the air like daggers. Andy and the captain tried to avoid the shrapnel, but with so many projectiles in flight, it proved impossible. A ten-inch fragment found its target in Andy’s shoulder, and his grip faltered as it dug into muscle.
“Ow!” he screamed, pain shooting down his arm.
The anchor crew dashed down the shoreline, reeling in the taut rope.
Hold on! Andy demanded of himself, struggling to keep his head above water. He coughed and his head dunked below the torrent. Kick! Kick! he screamed at himself. Ow! The pain of the bridge fragment imbedded in his shoulder burned more intensely than any injury he’d experienced. That combined with the strong current made it almost impossible to resurface. I’m gonna die! His lungs felt as though they would explode. Despite willing himself to hold on, Andy’s grip weakened and the wet line began slipping through his hands. His mind began to cloud and all sense of time evaporated. He felt himself become one with the fury of the river as he surrendered to it.
Sergeant Gavin somehow found his wrist and yanked, halting Andy’s voyage downriver. The soldier hauled him from the torrent and laid him on the shore. Andy’s mind remained cloudy and it didn’t occur to him to breathe. Where am I? he wondered dreamily. What’s hitting my face? I really wish it would stop. It kind of hurts.
Suddenly, a booming voice interrupted his reverie: “Wake up, Andy!”
Startled, he reflexively inhaled and began coughing. As he awoke fully, he saw Father leaning over him. Captain Ladilas lay hacking and sputtering on the shore next to him.
“Andy, you’re okay!” Father exclaimed, relief in his voice.
Sheets of rain pelted the river’s edge and Andy lifted his arm to shield his face.
“Eeeyouch!” he cried as pain burned his shoulder.
Andy looked over and saw a chunk of wood sticking at an angle through his rain poncho. The instant he saw it, the pain grew more intense and he yelped again. A five-inch piece of bridge protruded from the captain’s arm just above his wrist. While wincing, the officer didn’t cry out. I need to suck it up and be a man, Andy chided himself and stifled another yowl.
The sky let loose with a series of three quick flashes of lightning immediately followed by a deafening boom of thunder as if furious at its defeat.
“We’d best get away fwom this wiver,” suggested the wizard.
“Andy, can you walk?” Father queried. “The dwarfs are known to be skillful healers. They can fix you up. I’m afraid if we try to remove the fragment, we may not be able to stop the bleeding. It’s not far now.”
Andy nodded.
The group moved back from the water and Alden cut a length of the soaked rope and brought it over. As he gently moved Andy’s arm, Andy nearly yelped again, but he managed to hold back as Alden finished the makeshift sling. Hannah pulled out a spare apron from her pack, tore it in half, then gently wove it around the wood fragment to slow the bleeding. Alden made a second sling and Hannah repeated the bandaging process for Captain Ladilas.
With the dripping sleeve of his good arm, Andy silently wiped away the tears that flowed freely down his cheeks.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A Curious Welcome
An hour later the group trudged up a hill whose incline grew steeper with each step. Their only consolation was that with the trees being so dense, the foliage diverted some of the rain. They approached a flat clearing and saw a set of finely carved wood pillars standing ten feet apart; they looked out of place in the otherwise natural setting. Each column rose about fifteen feet and bore detailed inscriptions up and down its length. The carving of a pickaxe adorned the capital on the left pillar and a caduceus embellished the right.
“We’ve reached the entrance to Voluspa, home of the great hall of the dwarfs in the shadow of Mount Mur Eyah,” the King announced.“You doing okay, Andy?”
Andy nodded, gritting his teeth. Each step jarred his injury and demanded his full concentration to manage the stabbing pain; he neared the point of exhaustion.
The group gathered around and the King declared, “My experience with dwarfs is limited only to correspondence with their king, Nithi XXVI, so I’m not sure what to expect. Let’s proceed cautiously. Once we make contact, I will give them Medrick and Henkel’s letter of introduction and we’ll hope all goes well from there.”
Several in the group shifted uneasily.
A path began on the far side of the pillars, so they passed through and followed it. Fifty or so paces up the trail stood a sign that looked fairly new.
As they approached, the King asked, “Mermin, what does it say?”
The wizard stepped forward and studied the strange characters, but after several minutes shook his head. “I don’t know, sir.”
“Well then, let’s hope it’s not important.”
The trek grew more arduous as the incline increased. Andy found himself staggering, swaying from side to side as they advanced. Alden and Hannah moved to either side of him and steadied his steps as the climb became a blur.
No one uttered a word, and the relentless pounding of raindrops on the forest canopy drowned out all sounds except for the most adventurous animals that dared leave their dens or burrows.
“I think I see another clearing up ahead!” Sergeant Gavin exclaimed awhile later, startling the group.
The announcement broke through Andy’s delirium. Then, with ten yards to the clearing, he heard a strange chorus sounding like nothing they’d encountered on their trip thus far. It didn’t sound like an animal. Sharp squeaking punctuated a rising zhhh sound.
Sergeant Albin shouted, “Everyone, stop where you are!”
As soon as he uttered the command, all eight members of the group felt themselves rammed together and jerked off the ground. Andy’s shoulder slammed into Alden and he let out a scream; Captain Ladilas moaned as the quick confinement smashed his injured wrist into the King. When movement ceased, they found themselves suspended in a rope cocoon thirty feet off the ground. It became instantly clear the unfamiliar sounds had been wheels in need of oiling and rope retracting quickly.
“Sergeant Gavin,” Hannah gasped, “you’re sitting on me.”
“Oh, goodness. Sorry about that.” The sergeant attempted to shift.
“Ouch!” yelped Alden, taking some of the man’s weight as he moved.
“Don’t stop there, your foot is digging into my back,” informed Mermin.
“Everyone, stop!” the King declared. “We’re not going to be comfortable up here. Anyone have an idea how we might get down?”
The fidgeting halted as everyone thought—everyone except Andy, that is. Glad for the reprieve from walking, he immediately dozed off despite the discomfort.
“Andy! Wake up!” Father implored, not long enough later.
With difficulty, Andy lifted his heavy eyelids. “Huh?”
“Alden mentioned the gold key might get us out of this,” Father repeated. “Can you get to it?”
It took several seconds for his words to register, but Andy finally understood. Unable to look due to his confinement, he struggled to reach the pouch hanging around his neck.
“Hannah, can you move your foot?” Andy mumbled.
The request precipitated another transformation of the rope cocoon’s contents accompanied by various exclamations, but at last Andy fingered the string around his neck. He slowly pulled, felt the pouch rise inside his tunic, and at last it popped out.
“Alden, can you hold it so I can get the key out?”
With considerable effort, Alden brought both hands over to the small sack and held it open. Andy’s fingers finally located the key and pulled it out.
“He’s got it!” Alden announced.
“Say what you need to make
it work,” Alden encouraged.
“Right, okay.” Andy thought for several seconds before uttering a simple request: “Please get us down from here…gently.”
Everyone strained to hear movement. An owl hooted in the distance and the incessant dripping of the downpour continued, but nothing more.
“Try it again,” Sergeant Albin encouraged, not sure what to think about this unorthodox method of fixing the problem.
“Maybe everyone needs to believe it’ll work,” suggested Hannah.
“Everyone ready?” the King queried. “Okay, give it another try, Son.”
“Please let us down gently,” Andy repeated to the key with as much conviction as he could muster, which wasn’t much at the moment.
It took several seconds, but then that distinct squeaking sound began once more and the ground slowly approached. When they stopped, the ropes slackened until the net lay flat, allowing everyone to scramble out.
Andy felt a little better after his catnap, but as they continued their trek, his shoulder resumed its war cry at the jostling of each step.
“What a cuwious gweeting by the dwarfs of Voluspa. I hope King Nithi doesn’t extend any more ‘welcomes,’” Mermin quipped as they climbed what had become a mountain.
“Voluspa? Nithi? Are you kidding?” Andy interjected.
“Weren’t you paying attention when the King said we’d reached Voluspa?” Hannah reproved.
“I guess not.”
“Why’s it matter?” Alden queried.
“I read a book in school this year called The Hobbit. It’s a story about dwarfs of the line of Durin trying to recapture their homeland after the evil dragon, Smaug, stole it from them.”
Alden and Hannah stared back with blank expressions.
“I also had to write a report about the dwarfs, including where they came from, what they do, and all that stuff. Most of what I learned came from an old poem called ‘Voluspa.’”
Father overheard Andy’s comments and stepped back to join the trio of kids. “And where did you discover dwarfs come from?” he asked
“According to the poem, they were created by Vala Aulë, who carved them from rock. Durin was the first of the seven dwarf fathers he created, but another was called Nithi.” Could that story be true? I always thought someone just made it up.
The King laughed. “Andy, you may know more about the dwarfs than anyone in our party. If what you say is true, you’ll certainly win the trust of Nithi XXVI, which could prove beneficial in forging a strong relationship with the dwarfs as you assume the throne.”
Wow, I had no idea!
The group soon came upon a pair of boulders that looked like sentinels guarding either side of the trail. As with the wood pillars, these rocks bore intricate carvings with beautiful scrollwork. One image depicted dwarfs fashioning a machine. Another showed someone wearing a crown and admiring a jewel necklace around his neck.
“Heads up!” announced Captain Ladilas. “Let’s not have another welcome like the last one.”
Everyone nodded and sharpened their hearing, walking slowly and deliberately for about twenty yards. They breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened.
Fifty yards beyond that, however, Andy felt a sharp stab in his thigh through his drenched poncho. At first he thought a bee had stung him. But apparently everyone else felt the same sensation, for the other group members halted and began lifting their rain-soaked coverings.
As he investigated, Andy felt suddenly light-headed and his surroundings began to swirl. He collapsed as everything went dark.
Andy awoke some time later and could honestly say he’d never been in so much pain. His head felt as if it might explode, his shoulder kept zapping him at the slightest movement from the imbedded wood shard, his nose was still sore and puffy from its collision with the oscray spong, and every muscle ached from his battle against the river’s current.
He moaned, rolled onto his side, and found himself resting on a cot.
His eyes strained in the dim surroundings and his nose picked up a decidedly musty, fecal smell. With effort he stood and peered through the iron bars that caged him. In the cell to his right Hannah lay unmoving on the cold floor.
He noticed activity in the cell beyond and glanced up to see a vulture-man staring through the bars at Hannah and then at him.
“What’s your problem?” Andy called, glaring at the bulging-eyed man.
“What’s yours?” a voice farther off shot back.
This comment precipitated a flurry of bird-calls and rude noises from the host of vulture inmates.
Andy’s hand moved to his belt where he kept Methuselah, but it wasn’t there! The dwarfs must have taken it. He scanned his cell. Looks like they also took my backpack.
Ignoring the bird-men, Andy watched Hannah sleeping. Despite his discomfort, his thoughts returned to earlier. What happened on the bridge after I saved her? That look we shared… He felt an unfamiliar fluttering sensation rise in his chest. He tried to dismiss it, but it persisted.
Andy roused himself and squinted. He could barely make out several more cells containing vulture-people. They stared and gestured in his direction.
I wonder why the dwarfs have all these guys locked up?
“You’re awake, Andy,” Sergeant Albin commented from behind him. “You’ve been out for quite a while.”
Andy turned and looked through the bars. He saw Sergeant Albin, and Captain Ladilas in the cell beyond.
“Where’s my father?”
“The King’s four cells down from me.”
Andy squinched his eyes but couldn’t see him in the poorly lit surroundings.
“Andy! What a relief. How are you doing?” his father inquired, overhearing.
“My whole body hurts.”
“I’m not surprised after all you’ve been through. Alden’s down here in the cell to my left. He’s still out.”
“Where are Mermin and Sergeant Gavin?” Andy asked.
“We’re here,” Andy heard a duet of voices call from the cells beyond Captain Ladilas.
“What happened? How’d we get here?” Andy questioned.
“I think the dwarfs loaded tranquilizing darts on either side of the path. We must have triggered them as we passed,” reasoned the captain. “I can only assume the dwarfs found us and dragged us here.”
“Did you give them the letter of introduction?” Alden stammered, standing.
“Good, you’re awake,” sighed Andy.
“Me too,” mumbled Hannah, rubbing her hands against her temples and attempting to stand.
“Since I woke, no guards or anyone else has been in here to give the letter to,” the King replied.
As if on cue, everyone heard the lock click and saw the handle turn on the solid metal door of the prison. The vulture-men directed a riotous chorus of insults at their captors that increased in intensity and became deafening. A beam of light snuck in as the door opened, and Andy pulled his hand up over his eyes.
“Enough!” boomed a short dwarf in the lead. The stout fellow strutted in, wearing iron chain mail over a red tunic. A leather belt punctuated his abundant middle and black leggings covered suggestions of legs.
Two dwarfs dressed in similar livery followed close behind. Like their leader, they had meticulously groomed their abundant beards; the hair of an upper layer was drawn together in a gold ring, while the bottom had been left loose and covered much of their barrel chests.
The dwarf in front stopped outside the King’s cell and commanded, “Bring him!”
His subordinates quickly complied, forcefully shackling the King even though he offered no resistance.
“Hey, take it easy with him!” Andy shouted.
“It’s okay, Andy,” his father cautioned.
The leader glanced at Andy and motioned in his direction. One of the soldiers walked to Andy’s cell and informed, “You’ll be next.”
Andy swallowed, eyes wide.
They drove the King into the aisle an
d back out the door. The metal reverberated as it slammed shut.
“Where are they taking him!” Andy demanded.
“For questioning,” Captain Ladilas speculated aloud.
“He’ll give them the letter of introduction and hopefully that’ll get us out of here,” Sergeant Gavin added.
Hearing this, the bird-men hurled more insults. After several minutes, however, they quieted, the fun extinguished when Andy and company didn’t respond.
Turtles could move faster than time at this rate, Andy thought as he lay on the lumpy cot affixed to the back wall of the cell and studied the ceiling.
After a considerably long time, Andy heard the handle on the metal door jiggling once more. “About time!” he complained as he stood.
The King did not accompany the trio of dwarf guards as they proceeded to Andy’s cell.
“Where is he? What did you do with him?” Andy demanded.
They unlocked Andy’s cell. “Come here,” the leader called from the hallway.
“I’m not going anywhere with you until I know what you did with the King,” Andy replied.
Hearing this, the vulture-men began whooping and hollering, joking that they were privileged to be held captive with royalty.
One dwarf moved past his superior and into the cell, pulling out a length of rope.
Unsure what the dwarf intended to do with it, Andy braced for the conflict, his mind spinning between, Please don’t hurt my arm! and How am I gonna get out of here? His eyes darted around the cell looking for any possible escape.
Just before the dwarf reached him, the leader’s expression transformed from straight-faced to smiling. “All right, Brufn, we’ve had enough fun!”
Andy didn’t know how to react. “What?” he uttered, cradling his arm.
The dwarf trio watched Andy’s reaction and burst out in full belly laughs.
The bird-men watched. Their confusion silenced them, but not for long.
“Let them out,” the leader ordered. “And give them back their weapons and provisions.”
“Yes, sir!” echoed two deep voices accompanied by the jingling of keys.