by Tim Flanagan
In the river no one moved.
Joe struggled to control the shiver that went through his body making his jaw vibrate. Scarlet suddenly became aware of how loud her breathing was, but trying to hold her breath only seemed to make it worse. The donestre crouched down and sniffed at the ground, following its nose to the river. He stood silently for a couple of seconds looking at the strange shadowy shapes in the water where the river seemed to part slightly and go around. He was unaware that he was looking at Ralphina, Edgar and the children. Although they were hidden by their cloaks, their effect on the water could not be disguised.
With surprising speed and flexibility the donestre leapt from the bank drawing his sword from his back whilst in mid air and landed in the river between two of the shadows that were Ralphina and Edgar. He could not see them but that didn’t matter. In the darkness of the night he relied more on his highly developed sense of hearing anyway so he closed his eyes and blocked the attack that came from both sides. Edgar’s sword swung high above the water aiming for its head, but his sweeping arc was blocked by the widest bladed sword he had every seen. The blade was almost twice the width of Edgar’s and had a small hooked lip at the end. As the blades clashed together, the donestre’s free hand struck Edgar hard in the chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and pushing him momentarily under the water. The strike on Edgar’s chest was mirrored by a clash on the other side of the donestre as a powerful stroke of his sword flicked Ralphina's out of her hands. Whilst Edgar was under the water, Ralphina picked a small bladed knife from her belt and threw it at the donestre, knowing that she wouldn’t hit Edgar by mistake. Hearing the cutting and whistling of the knife in the air, the donestre simply raised his sword causing the knife to harmlessly deflect off the wide blade and drop into the water. Immediately his block was followed by a fast swing of his broad sword, the tip just cutting the surface of the water in front of Ralphina’s chest. Pushing herself backwards, she only just managed to avoid being sliced in two by the blade.
By now Edgar had resurfaced and swung once again at the towering figure of the donestre with his sword. Twice he was blocked by small effortless movements. This time the donestre attacked with such force that the repetitive strikes of his blade against Edgar’s pushed him backwards nearer to where the children were as well as further into the river until just his shoulders were above the water. With his free hand he managed to grasp a large rock from under the water and with an effort he slammed it into the nose of the donestre. The creature’s large frame fell backwards so that he sat down in the water slightly shocked and dazed from the strike. Blood from his nose began to filter down around the creases of his mouth following the path of his fur and for the first time a sound and emotion came from the creature. A deep broken rumble of anger erupted from its mouth, displaying the yellowed teeth inside its jaws. It grabbed a thick branch from an overhanging tree and ripped it with great force from the trunk. Edgar knew that the fight had now taken a turn for the worse. The donestre’s violent instincts were taking over and Edgar did not expect to be spared a quick death. He suddenly had an idea how he could get an advantage against the donestre.
‘Go,’ shouted Edgar to the children who had been frozen with terror at the sight of the fight happening just several feet away. ‘Go!’
Whilst the donestre looked over to where smaller shadows in the water were now moving, Edgar took a deep breath and, like a dead weight, he slowly and silently sank under the water out of sight of the donestre. As he swam carefully under the water towards the donestre, he saw it stand back up. The donestre had been relying on hearing to locate Edgar, but now he was unable to pin point exactly where he was so he turned his attention to Ralphina. Striding through the water towards her he suddenly became aware of something under the water brush against his legs. Before it could react, a white blade shot out of the water and into the chest of the donestre. Holding onto the handle with both hands and pushing with all the force his legs could create, Edgar burst from the water in front of the donestre pushing the blade through the creature's body. Stunned by the blow and crippled with the pain, the donestre stopped in its tracks. Ralphina now came forward and took the thick stick from his weakened grip and swung it as hard as she could at its head, knocking it off its feet and into the water to sink lifelessly to the bottom.
By now the children had almost reached the other bank where the water was shallower and only lapped over their knees. Joe found a shallow area where a collection of rocks reached the bank and proceeded to lift himself out of the water. Half watching Edgar and Ralphina behind them, Max also stepped forward onto a higher moss covered rock ready to lift himself onto the bank too when his foot suddenly slipped from beneath him and his body disappeared into the water, the force of the water taking him downstream and away from the rest of them.
‘Max!’ shouted Scarlet moving forward trying to see if she could reach him, but he was already gone.
7. Across Pollwiddon Cove
Continuing to walk during the rest of the night now just seemed like nothing more than an unconscious movement of putting one foot in front of the other without thinking about it. Edgar, Joe and Scarlet felt numb, not because of the cold damp clothes that clung to their skin, but because of the loss of Max. After he had slipped into the water, Joe had tried running along the bank, but had quickly lost sight of Max as it twisted and turned over the rocks beneath the water and into the darkness. There was nothing any of them could have done to save him. They remained by the side of the river for a while to see if Max or any of the wolves managed to find their way back, but none of them did. Reluctantly they made the difficult decision to move on to avoid any further attacks from other donestres that might be patrolling the forest. Raelyn had recovered from the impact of the donestre against him, but even his eyes had a sad look in them at the loss of his wolf brothers. With heavy feet and a sad heart Ralphina continued to lead the small group away from the river, through some trees into a thicker forested area, still heading in the direction of the sea and Pollwiddon Cove.
The first sound of the sea that they heard was the soft rushing sound of waves as they gently lapped against the rocks. The forest came to an abrupt end and if they hadn't known the sea was there they would have walked straight off the side of the land and plummeted into the water. Through a thin line of trees the thick exposed roots marked the last of the land before the sea started and in a sheer drop below ground level the water crashed up against the eroded land. The wind blowing around the cove was much more noticeable compared with the shelter they had had amongst the trees of the forest. Standing on the edge they all looked at the view before them. By now the darkest of the night had passed and they could just about make out the different shades of black and grey that made up the shore line on the opposite side. Reflected on the surface of the sea in the distance were the shadows of three small rafts gliding across to the other side.
'Look,' Ralphina said to Edgar. 'There's the remaining donestre. We shouldn't cross while they are still within view.'
'How are we going to get across anyway?' asked Scarlet.
'Along the coast line where it dips down to the sea, there's a small beach where a boathouse remains. An old fisherman lives there and I have heard that, for the right amount of money, he will take people across.'
'Can we trust him?' Joe asked.
'Not entirely, but it's our only way to get over the water. The old ferry that used to take travellers from your world across to faerie land was destroyed by the queen leaving her lands protected on three sides by water.'
They followed the rocky edge of the coastline until it swung inland slightly. Ahead of them they could see a shingle beach at the same level as the sea. A short makeshift wooden jetty protruded from the beach and into the water where a small fishing boat was tied securely against the thick posts driven deep into the seabed. The beach formed the end of a small narrow valley which was bordered by shallow chalky stone walls. Ralphina pointed out a wooden door that was
built into one side of the valley wall. At random positions around it were small circular windows. A thin metal chimney stuck out at an awkward angle releasing thin wisps of grey smoke into the early morning air. They carefully picked their way down the rocky slope to stand at the bottom of a ledge on the other side of the valley to the door. They waited beneath the safety of their camouflage cloaks cautiously checking there was no danger within the valley before Ralphina removed her hood.
'Let me go and talk to him first,' she said to Edgar. 'Stay here and remain under the cloaks until I give you a signal.'
She crossed the shingle floor of the valley, stepping over thin trails of water that drained from the forest soil towards the sea, until she stood in front of a round topped wooden door that was smaller than herself. She took another cautious look up the valley before knocking gently on the door. Although it wasn’t a very hard knock it echoed off the valley walls making her feel nervous and uncomfortable. She looked across to where she knew Edgar and the children were hidden, then down to Raelyn who was standing by her feet. He confirmed that his sensitive hearing picked up no signs of danger so she knocked again, only louder this time.
The thick door opened slightly, just wide enough for Ralphina to see an old squinting eye looking out at her. The owner must have been about the size of a child, but the leathery creased skin around the eye told her it was a much older person and belonged to the fisherman she was looking for.
'What do you want?' croaked a suspicious voice from behind the door.
'My name is Ralphina, daughter of King Ulfric of the Caniards of the Golden Hall…' answered Ralphina, but her introduction was cut short.
'Yes, yes,' the voice said impatiently, 'and I’m Bothelgrit, son of Gravelshale of the ground dwellers. Now what do you want?'
'I’m looking for passage across the Cove.'
'I thought the Golden Hall was destroyed?' he asked, ignoring her request.
'You are well informed, sir. The Golden Hall lies in ruins and the king is dead...' Ralphina began to explain until she was interrupted once again.
'I heard that Caniards were not in favour with the queen at present.'
'Unfortunately she has taken a dislike to us...'
'Then why would I risk taking you across the sea?'
'I can pay you. I have gold.' Ralphina knew that there was nothing ground dwellers liked better than shiny gold. She withdrew a leather bag from her belt and opened it up to show the old fisherman.
'So you have,' he replied as he moistened his lips with the thin tip of his tongue. 'I suppose you would want to take your pet dog with you?' he looked down his flattened nose at Raelyn.
'My wolf will be coming, as will three others,' Ralphina pointed across to where Edgar and the children were. At her indication they removed the hoods of their camouflage cloaks to show themselves to Bothelgrit, who opened the door slightly wider so that he could see across the valley.
With a mocking laugh he shook his head and withdrew back behind his door.
'You ask far too much, Caniard,' he said to Ralphina and began to close the door to end the conversation.
'Wait!' she said desperately, 'I have something else you might like.' She undid the clasp around the neck of her cloak and reached beneath it to pull out a necklace. Although it was clasped in her hand, Bothelgrit could see small cracks of light coming from between her fingers, illuminating the early morning darkness.
'What is it?' he asked intrigued by the light. She opened her fingers slightly releasing clear beams of light. He could see a fine lace-like golden pendant that enclosed the purest and clearest crystal he had ever seen.
'It was a gift from my father. The Light of Angelist. Inside the golden cage is a shard of crystal that contains a single droplet of water from the magical lake of Angelist. The light will never weaken or fade. For someone who lives underground most of the time I’m sure it could be of use to you.' She lifted the necklace over her head and placed it gently in the quivering calloused hand of Bothelgrit whose eyes greedily examined it.
'The queen could put me in her dungeon or kill me if she knew I was taking Caniards into her land. But, this is so beautiful,' he seemed to be talking to himself, persuading himself to take the necklace; the more he stared at it the more he desired it. His hand grasped tightly around the light, his decision was made. 'The price would also include your gold pouch,’ he said greedily with a shallow sneer in one side of his mouth. ‘You would all have to stay under a cover if I were to take you, including the dog. We should go now while there is still some darkness in the sky.'
'Thank you,' Ralphina smiled to Bothelgrit, although secretly she was sad to let go of such a special gift. She beckoned over to Edgar and the children while Bothelgrit busied himself behind the door.
As soon as Edgar reached them, the small, but thick figure of Bothelgrit, stood in front of the door. Ralphina had heard of the ground dwellers but never actually met one before. He was no taller than Joe or Scarlet and his face was flat and broad with a thick nose and low eyebrows. His skin was old and weathered as were his clothes and he too wore a grey cloak that hooded over his forehead, but it didn’t make him invisible. They silently followed him along the valley towards the beach and the boat they had seen tied to the wooden jetty. They waited on the jetty until Bothelgrit indicated that they could climb aboard his boat. He rolled back a thick leather patchwork cover for them to hide beneath. The children climbed under first and lay down against the side of the boat. Edgar and Ralphina followed and lay down next to them. Scarlet felt nervous that the cover was going to be pulled back over their heads but Bothelgrit manoeuvred two short wooden poles which were split at the end and propped the cover up to allow air to circulate and his passengers to breathe. He then tied the cover securely with rope through guide holes to the deck so that it did not blow away. The whole operation only took a few minutes and Edgar could tell that this wasn’t the first time that Bothelgrit had taken hidden passengers across the water to the other side.
Bothelgrit pushed the boat away from the jetty allowing it to glide effortlessly across the water. He used the wind blowing against the sails to silently take them towards the coastline of the faerie queen’s land. Scarlet lay thinking about Max and wondering whether they would ever see him again, or if he was dead. Despite the cramped conditions, the strong smell of fish and the occasional splash of salty water that leapt over the side of the boat onto them, the crossing was not unpleasant and only took about an hour. From the opening at the end of the cover, Scarlet could see the sky taking on a pink colour as the sun began to creep out from behind the clouds. The dawn of a new day did not raise her spirits and although she had not said anything to Edgar or Joe, she was fearful for the rest of their journey. She had seen how dangerous some of the creatures in this world were and realised that their lives were just as much in danger here as they had been in their own world with the Moon Stealers.
The bottom of the boat scraped against some gravel as Bothelgrit navigated the boat up onto what they all assumed would be the beach on the other side of the Cove.
As they lay under the thick cloth waiting to be told when it was safe to disembark, they heard Bothelgrit jump off the side of the boat and land with a heavy squelch on the ground. The boat jerked forward in small bursts as he pulled it further onto the land. The cloth was violently pulled back to reveal the sky above them. Grey and pink clouds were frozen in a twisted dance against the deep blue depths of space, broken only by small pin pricks of light scattered in random clusters as far as they could see. The peaceful scene was quickly broken by the withered face of Bothelgrit staring down at them.
‘Well,’ he said impatiently, ‘are you getting out or what?’ He thumped his thickened fist against the wooden side of the boat. ‘Come on, and take that dog with you, he's making my boat smell. I still have to go fishing before daybreak.’
They stood up inside the boat and stretched their stiffened limbs before stepping onto the ground. What they placed thei
r feet onto was not a shingle beach but a sodden ground of grass broken by small pools of water. Turning away from the sea Joe looked upon a flat land that stretched a long way into the distance.
‘Welcome to the Feculent Marshes, daughter of King Ulfric,’ said Bothelgrit with a crooked smile on his face as he pushed his boat back out into the sea.
8. The Pucks and the Pixy-Lights
In front of them stood the rotten skeleton of a small wooden boat that had been abandoned to the fate of the marshland. The wooden beams of the boat had long been broken and were partially covered by moss and thin grasses stuck up from where the bottom of the boat should have been. Away from where they stood, the surface of the wetland was broken by a series of small shadows created by the low growing reeds and grasses which clustered together around reflective pools of water. In the distance they could see some stunted pine trees dominated by a white towering rock face behind them and the top of the Rocks of Goran in the distance. The stone walls glowed brightly as they reflected the pink of the sky. The marsh also seemed to take on a purple haze as the sky was mirrored in the many pools of water. The air around them smelt dreadful, almost like rotten eggs and mould making them want to cover their mouths with their hands.
‘What’s that dreadful smell?' asked Joe.
‘It’s the smell of things that are rotting and decaying in the water: fish, birds and plants,’ replied Ralphina.
‘There’s somebody out there,’ said Scarlet suddenly pointing deep into the marsh some distance ahead of them.