by Chris Ward
There was quiet between them as they both looked up at the majesty of the heavens. After a time it was the big man who spoke.
‘A full moon is just about to rise over the rim and spoil all this,’ he said laconically, waving a hand at the spread of stars, and then added, ‘I wonder what Fryn is doing tonight?’
Rema smiled. ‘Probably forgotten all about you Andes, there are so many handsome men in Highton, and you so far away up here in The Safeness...’ he immediately regretted the teasing for Andes sat up suddenly which in a small boat was never wise. In addition the giant man started rocking the craft madly from side to side such that Rema was forced to hold on with all his might and felt a sudden pain in his back.
‘Ow!’ he cried with great exaggeration, ‘will you stop that you fool, my back is completely ruined,’ but Andes was not so easily halted and with an agility which belied his size he sprang up onto the gunwales and with a foot on either side of the boat rocked it so much that water started to pour in over the sides.
‘Come on Rema,’ he called, ‘tell me now, are these fine men you speak of so skilled as I, that my Fryn would want to look anywhere but upon these features.’ With this Andes suddenly stopped the boat dead in the water and gave a rather good impression of one who is quite taken with their own reflection. Rema could not but laugh and agree.
‘No doubt she will never look at another,’ he cried, and then because he could not resist it, ‘except perhaps at me, but then I will never betray a friend so I suppose she is safe for the present.’
They collapsed laughing in the boat and watched the great ripples which had so confused the mirrored surface of the lake gradually diminish until once more the stars above could no longer be distinguished from their reflection in the water.
Rema now lay on his stomach and peered down into the blackness.
‘Do you know how deep this is Andes?’ he asked when once more he felt like talking.
‘No one knows,’ replied his friend, ‘although I heard once that old Thurman tried to find out and his line was not long enough.’
‘It is bottomless,’ said Rema seriously.
‘It can’t be bottomless,’ scoffed Andes, ‘there is no such thing...’ but Rema interrupted somewhat pompously.
‘My great, great kindpa, whose name I carry and who I believe was well known for various exploits, not least it is reported the saving of all Revelyn...or so they say... told his son who told his son who told my kindpa who told me that this volcano is connected to the centre of the earth.’ He paused not looking at Andes but continued to stare down into the depths before adding quietly. ‘In which case, it has to be bottomless.’
Andes who was not interested in staring down at nothing sat back contentedly once more in the stern, and watched the edge of the full moon appear over the rim of the ancient crater which contained their small town, The Safeness, and at whose centre was the still deep lake upon which floated their small boat.
‘You never knew him.’ Andes spoke quietly being half distracted by the wonderful sight of the moon which now seemed to grow and fill the sky. ‘But I hear from all the stories that he was a legend.’
Rema shook his head, ‘No I never knew him.’ But Rema knew many stories and the grave in which the great man lay; a mighty cairn of rocks marked the spot outside the crater just through the tunnel near the fall-away, where the eagles soared and the hunters left to track the Orax upon Algehorn. It was a place he had often visited and knew by heart the inscription carved deep into the memorial stone. He knew the dates for they were a part of his childhood.
‘He lived ninety two summers, but was laid in the grave a score and five before my birth.’
‘They say you look just like him,’ said Andes dreamily.
‘So they do,’ Rema replied in a whisper, ‘but I will never know.’ He thought he saw a light flash far down in the deep, a sudden spark of fire which appeared for the briefest moment and then was gone. Probably a fallings star he thought reflected in the water.
‘Do you remember how we dared each other to hold a rock and sink as deep as we could?’ said Andes suddenly returning to the conversation, for the moon was now full above the crater and no longer held his interest.
‘And you nearly drowned yourself in trying to outdo me,’ laughed Rema. There it was again the flash...so strange.
‘I seem to remember it was you who had to be pulled up by the rope and encouraged to take another breath,’ said Andes once more enjoying the banter.
Rema ignored the truth of the comment and sat up in the bow. A moment later he turned to Andes, a pinched look upon his face.
‘Is that you I smell? Could you not control yourself? I have nowhere to run on such a small ship.’
Hardly had Rema made the remark than the water all around the boat began to shimmer and then suddenly there were countless small bubbles breaking the surface, and the smell of sulphur came strong upon them. The two friends glanced at each other in alarm. Rema looked once more into the depths and froze. Far below the surface in the water which was crystal clear but so deep than none had ever seen the measure of it, there was now a constant orange glow.
‘Andes, look,’ his voice was full of panic for he knew that he looked at death, and then for a frozen moment the two friends gazed down through the clear water to the centre of the earth.
‘It can’t be...’ whispered Andes his voice trailing away to nothing.
‘The volcano has come alive.’ Rema gave sudden voice to what they both knew and then they were lost in panic for a moment trying to find the oars and row to edge of the lake, only to find that the boat seemed to have a mind of its own for it turned in circles ignoring their efforts to direct it. All around the water was disturbed by a shimmering vibration and breached by foul sulphuric bubbles emitting gases which threatened to overwhelm them.
Andes finally managed to direct the small craft toward the shore, his mighty strength almost lifting them out of the water with each stroke of the oars, such was the power he possessed, and Rema caught a glimpse of his friend he had never seen before...the joking light hearted Andes was fighting for his life, and then a new realisation dawned upon him.
‘The water is falling Andes,’ he cried out in fear, ‘look we are dropping.’ But the great man did not pause in his efforts and Rema marvelled for it seemed that he had actually brought them closer to the edge, but now the boat was dropping as the vast lake fell into the earth, and there was no longer a safe shore to reach, only newly exposed rocky walls, sheer and shining wet in the perfect moonlight.
This is how a leaf must feel before it is sucked down a pipe, thought Rema suddenly.
Above them he saw that the simple floating jetty made of huge logs from which they had departed on this night adventure. It was now hanging down into the crater and as he watched the great weight of it could no longer be held by the ropes which bound them and with a mighty sound the whole structure broke free and fell, tumbling and breaking apart as it did. He ducked instinctively as large pieces smashed into the water all about them and marvelled that Andes did not flinch but carried on rowing without any display of fear.
Surely you are indeed of the Edenwhood, he thought. This moment has shown me that.
All about them the water started to turn like a giant whirlpool and even Andes realised that he was better off saving his strength for none could fight such a thing. They were being remorselessly pulled back toward the centre as the spinning torrent became steeper. Rema and Andes held onto the boat as best they could, the oars abandoned and lost forever. They coughed in the sulphuric gas and both knew that they were about to die an awful death. Rema looked up and saw his world as though through a tube, whilst high above, unmoved by their desperate plight the full moon sailed peacefully through the heavens, as Andes cried out in anguish.
‘Fryn, I love you!’
At that very moment, as the giant’s plaintive cry echoed endlessly off the black rock walls dripping wet with troubled water, the lake be
came suddenly calm and they were engulfed in a growing stillness as the torrent slowed its mighty spinning and their descent ceased altogether. Even the gaseous eruptions disappeared and they found it easier to breathe despite their pounding hearts. The two friends looked at each other without speaking for they were beyond words.
Time passed; Rema thought at least a span, as water poured down the walls of the rocky tube in which they were trapped and every now and then a large boulder broke free from the sheerness and fell like thunder into the water, sending a towering plume of spray high above which shimmered like diamonds in the moonlight as it fell back to the surface.
‘Whose idea was it to go rowing in a volcano,’ Rema whispered finally when it seemed that all was calm once more, all the while staring at his friend. Andes allowed himself the smallest grin and looked around before responding quietly.
‘I am sure it was you, dear Rema, but whilst we are here in this difficult position of your making I would like to point out to you that small cave in the wall, I remember distinctly seeing that once when showing you how deep I could dive.’ He nodded with some exaggeration, ‘yes I am sure that is a familiar place to me.’ Rema could not help but smile now for they had dropped at least two hundred cubits and his friend’s quick response despite their predicament was most impressive.
Even now when we are about to die we can make light of a situation he thought. We humans are strange creatures.
And then as if by some common understanding they both peered over the side of their fragile boat in a strange and perfect unison and looked down into the depths, drawn by the unimaginable horror which lurked there waiting to decide their fate. The orange glow far below was now a massive boiling turbulence which lit the water and the mighty shaft throughout all its depth and as they watched, the water clouded as though muddied by some strange injection. Rema put his hand over the side and pulled back quickly.
‘The water is hot, very hot; we will be boiled alive if we fall in.’
Andes tested it and he too grimaced with the sharp pain which stole up his hand. Desperately they looked about and realised that they were trapped in an impossible situation, the walls too sheer and wet to climb, the water heating to a point which would mean a horrible death with the slightest slip. The sat and looked at each other as a thousand thoughts rushed through their troubled minds.
Andes thought of his love, the young and impossibly beautiful Fryn. He felt a great regret that he would never lie with her; that their simple plans for life together would never be. He felt a sudden tearing anguish for his parents, and then realised that they were not far away, asleep in their stone house in the town above. Perhaps they too will not see another day he thought, and I will never say goodbye. At least Fryn is safe in Highton. That small comfort he held to in this last moment.
Rema thought only of his dream to explore the world beyond the Highlands, to travel and explore like he knew his mighty ancestor, his namesake Rema Bowman had done. He had a sudden clear vision of the great man’s grave upon which he had played so many times as a child. My life will not extend beyond this point he thought with regret, for all the Orax I have slain upon the Algehorn I would have once liked to see something of the world beyond.
‘Rema the water!’ Andes cried suddenly in excitement, ‘it is rising again; we are going up!’ Rema stared around and sure enough the water about the boat had turned a muddy brown and boiled with a great turbulence fed by the hellfire below, but all was now moving again up toward the sky, the lake and the boat thrust heavenwards. All the two could do was hold fast, for their very lives depended on it.
The rushing water reclaimed the rocky shaft at a frightening speed and then the boat was suddenly higher than the many houses which sat beside the ancient lake. For a fleeting instant Rema and Andes saw the sleeping town below the towering column and they realised that no-one knew, all were still asleep, as death leapt upon them. And then suddenly, the lake, no longer trapped in the volcanic shaft collapsed outward into the crater and the boat plunged down and landed thunderously amongst a crush of debris on the shore of the lake where the waters once more poured back into the shaft, in an instant pulling several houses with it.
Rema felt the mighty hand of Andes grab him from where he had fallen winded, soaked and part boiled by the heat amid the remains of their boat just as the rushing torrent began to pull him once more back towards the shaft. And then they ran together, knee deep in a vileness which sucked at everything, and found before them the stone platform on which hung the danger bell, a refuge amongst the rushing mud. Without thinking Rema grabbed the rope and rang the bell, and screamed madly into the night.
‘Wake up, wake up flee now...’
And then all around was noise and confusion for from deep within the shaft came a demonic roar, as the water poured down carrying all before it, houses, carts animals and those poor unfortunates who had roused sleepily and confused at that very moment just to step out into their final calamity.
Rema and Andes saw that much of the township which lay close to the lake had disappeared, swept away in the first rush of water. They looked for a moment in complete shock, and then Rema found himself.
‘Go find your parents Andes,’ he ordered, surprised that his mind was suddenly so clear. ‘The water will come again and the gases too; meet me high up, by my house, if the volcano erupts we are done for but if it is the only the first signs we might yet escape. Go now Andes.’
Andes looked at Rema, startled by the force of his friend’s words and then he was gone with a speed and agility which none could match for he was of the Edenwhood and a race apart. Rema rang the bell three times more before it fell as the platform upon which it stood crumbled, undermined by the rushing water which had quickly undercut its foundations. Rema leapt nimbly off onto the hillside as it fell, and keeping his feet within a moment was above where the first rush of water had reached and travelling swiftly upward toward his home perched high on the crater wall. As he ran he carried with him the growing burden of a knew knowledge, that his entire world had changed and should he by some miracle survive till the dawn, nothing could ever be the same again.
Half way up the crater on the steep path he had walked a thousand times Rema paused and turned to look upon the ruin of his town. The mighty gaping hole where the lake had been was a churning cauldron of mud, where great columns constantly erupted high into the air, accompanied every now and then by the orange glow of molten rock pushing up from deep beneath. A column of black and white smoke rose vertically up towards the heavens in the still night air and this reflected the moonlight as though to increase the sense of doom which hung over all. He saw that much of the town had been lost and many other buildings collapsed in ruins as the ground shook with every passing moment. Rema could see people lying like ants where they had fallen and he wept openly as several struggling to escape, collapsed and then slid down through the mud and debris over the edge and into hell.
‘Why?’ he cried desolately into the doom, ‘why this, in this safe place; how can it be?’ It was a question which would remain to haunt him.
He continued on up into the fresh night air and did not look back, worried now that even his great friend Andes, strong beyond all men, would not return, but he held those thoughts close and did not let them break hard upon himself for he knew there was much to do and little time. Rema arrived at the old stone house which was the Bowman’s home and had been for many generations. He paused to gain his breath and took in the much loved scene for what he knew would be the last time. There were two homes, this one which stood right by the crater wall and which opened into the huge rock cavern which held the family business. It was here that generations of Bowmans had made the best bows in all Revelyn and he had worked here with his father Refr all his life.
At least I hold no fear for my Refr and Silva he thought; knowing that his parents had gone several days before to Highton where Andes’ love Fryn lived, to visit relatives. But they will be devastated by all th
is. I cannot bear to tell them.
He paused and then whispered solemnly. ‘If I survive at all.’
He looked over to the other home which the family owned. It was the highest house in The Safeness and stood close by a hand-cut tunnel which allowed easy access through the rim onto the steep slope of the outer crater where Rema Bowman’s namesake was buried beneath the mighty cairn of rocks. He knew that it was in this old home that Rema and his wife Serenna had lived and raised their family over a hundred summers before. Rema had grown up with the picture of Serenna always before him for there was a likeness of her hanging in both homes, and her red hair and adventurous ways were still talked of as legend in the town.
All these thoughts in a heartbeat.
He did not look again at the unfolding catastrophe below but quickly entered his home and collected the few necessary items which he knew he needed. These he placed in a small bag along with several of his parent’s most precious possessions, at least the ones which were small enough to carry. The rest is lost he thought sadly.
Rema passed through to the rear of the house and into the large hewn cavern and was immediately overcome by the familiarity of the place, for now untouched by the outside trouble. Rows of partiality completed bows and racks of Lynx-gut strings, oils and glues, and raw timber yet to be shaped filled the space. He took it all in with a single glance, choking back his tears. He looked in vain for his precious bow which puzzled him greatly for it always stood in the same place and he had seen it there that day. He belted on his sword and took one final look, and with a whispered sad farewell he left, walking through the house overcome by the deepest emotion and suddenly acutely aware of the smells and feel of his childhood home.