by Michael Kerr
“It must be over three hours since they left,” Sam said. “I’m worried. They should have been back before now.”
“Do you think they’ve been captured?” Ben asked
Sam nodded. “I’m beginning to. What shall we do?”
“Nothing,” Tommy said. “They told us to give them till dawn. “And if they have been caught, then Zoot must have betrayed them. If he has, he’ll have told his cronies where we are. They could be on their way here now. We should get back to Magar and Juno.”
“I don’t think so, Tommy,” Pook said. “Gorf, Fig and Speedy are our friends. We have to help them.”
“We can’t help them,” Tommy said. “We’d just end up being captured or killed.”
“Pook’s right,” Sam said. “We haven’t come all this way to abandon our friends and run away.”
“Okay, Sam. So what can we do? Have you got a plan?” Tommy asked.
“We should find somewhere to hide, and see if they come looking for us. If they do, then Zoot will show them the entrance to the passage, and they’ll think we went back the way we came.”
“Then what?” Ben asked.
“I’m thinking,” Sam said.
“Well try to think quicker,” Tommy muttered.
Sam grasped the glowing necklet that King Ambrose had given her, and let it give her the strength to be positive and calm, and to think clearly. She remembered back to what the king had said when he had handed each of them the necklaces made of small, polished ruby-red stones threaded onto strips of leather: ‘Wear these. They are charged with the power of good, and will help you stay true to your quest. In what may prove to be difficult times ahead, these necklets will give you the strength of will to keep going.’
Tommy had asked the king if they were magical, and King Ambrose had replied: ‘Not in the sense that by wearing them you can ward off evil, or make spells of your own. Whortles can’t do magic. But they will give you the determination, courage, and above all the belief that what you are attempting to do is the right thing.’
“Two of us will have to go back,” Sam said, “to find Juno and ask him to cause a diversion. If he roars and knocks trees down and stomps about outside the city walls, then we might be able to sneak into the pyramid and find the others, while the horgs are distracted.”
“Who stays?” Ben asked.
“You and me.”
“Great plan,” Pook said. “Come on, Tommy. And you’ll have to carry me. I don’t like those cockroaches. And some of those rats were my size.”
Tommy held his still smoking torch up to a lit one that was in a bracket on the wall of the temple. Once it had a steady flame, he picked Pook up and was ready to go.
“I’ll move as fast as I can,” Tommy said. “You two be careful. Don’t take any stupid risks.”
When Tommy and Pook had gone, Sam and Ben made their way around the temple and paused beneath an enormous statue carved out of shiny black marble. It towered over them at the back of the sacrificial pit, and was a muscular beast with cloven hooves and giant bats wings that reminded Sam of unfurled umbrellas. On each side of its head were thick curved horns, almost identical to those of a ram’s.
“What do you think that’s supposed to be?” Ben said as they crouched down behind the base of the house-high figure.
“I think it’s a sculpture of the Dark One,” Sam said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if it was life-size.”
― CHAPTER TWELVE ―
GANZO
High up in the Pyramid of the Moons, sitting on a magnificent, solid gold throne in what had once been the royal court of the ruler of Urucuaro, Ganzo reached into a gilded cage that hung by a hook on a stand next to him. He selected a plump, yellow bird that was similar to a canary, but the size of a thrush, and gripping it by the legs he popped it into his mouth, unmindful of the shrill cheeping and the flapping wings. He chewed for a moment or two – with razor-sharp teeth that never stopped growing, and had to be kept short by gnawing on animals’ bones – and the cracking sounds of delicate bones could be heard, before he swallowed and reached for a jewelled goblet filled with what looked to be a dark red wine, but was in fact the fresh blood of a fairy.
“What is it, Meeva?” Ganzo asked his captain of the guard. “Do you have news for me of where we might find the Chalice of Hope for my father, the Dark One?”
“Not yet, Master. But we have captured one of our own kind, two fairies, and a giant beast from the Desert of Storms, and foiled an attempt to set free the rest of the fairies.”
“What did you do with them?”
“They are shackled in the castle’s dungeons. I thought you may want to deal with the traitor, Zoot, personally. And I believe that the creature from the desert would make for good sport in the arena.”
With clawed fingers that had long, curved talons as strong as steel, Ganzo snatched another bird from the cage and swallowed it whole, then got to his feet. He was much taller than any other horg, and his broad shoulders and thick arms rippled with muscles. His eyes were lime-green, unblinking, with black slits for pupils. And he wore a tight tunic fashioned from silver rings linked together, from which a long dagger with a bejewelled handle hung in a sheath fastened to a belt made of tanned lummox skin.
“Bring these new prisoners to me” Ganzo said. “I wish to speak with them.”
Fig and Speedy were escorted from the castle, into the Pyramid and up to the royal chamber, to be confronted by Ganzo.
“Why would you be so stupid to travel all this way on a fool’s errand?” Ganzo asked, addressing the question to Fig.
“We had to try and free the fairies you abducted,” Fig said.
“And no doubt attempt to take back the fairy crown,” Ganzo said.
Fig nodded.
Ganzo laughed. It was a throaty, wet sound. “I have no need to have you or any of the remaining fairies put to death,” he said. “For when the crown is cast into the sacrificial lava pit and is consumed, then you will all fade away and be no more. For you are less than real and depend on the magic crown for your existence.”
“Your threats do not frighten me,” Fig said. “For if you harm one more fairy, or destroy the crown, then you will never learn the exact location of the chalice, and the Dark One will no doubt punish you for failing him.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“No, Ganzo,” Fig lied. “But I know someone that does, who is not of this world. With my magic, I could contact them. But since my wings have been cut off, I am powerless, and will be until they grow back.”
“I don’t believe you,” Ganzo said. “Mayhaps if I kill one fairy every passing of the moons, you might change your story.”
“You would do better to make a trade. Let us take the crown and return to our own land, and you will be told where to find the chalice.”
“And why should I trust you, fairy?”
“Because you could always find us and steal the crown again. It is I who has no reason to trust you, for it is known that the word of a horg is not worth the breath used to utter it.”
Ganzo’s arm shot out. He grasped Fig by the throat and lifted him up, to hold him in front of his scaly face. “You would be wise not to insult me, old fairy,” he hissed. “Your life hangs in the balance, and you are testing my patience. Tell me what I need to know, or you shall be responsible for the lives of all the others, starting with the scrawny looking individual who stands next to you, shaking in his skin.”
“Harm one more fairy and you will never find the chalice. That is my promise,” Fig croaked.
Ganzo saw the steely look in Fig’s eyes, and knew that no amount of torture would make the old fairy talk.
“You shall attend the Test tomorrow,” Ganzo said. “The main contest will be between the creature that accompanied you here, and a sabre-toothed panther. If your friend should win, then you shall all be set free, and I will give you back the fairy crown, in return for the information you have. But should he lose, then I will test y
our courage by killing all those you care about. I have the belief that you would not want to leave here alone with their blood on your hands.”
“Whatever you do, I will not feel guilty,” Fig said. “It is you who are in control of your own actions, and will be responsible for any decision you make.”
Ganzo dropped Fig, who fell to the floor. He then nodded to the guards, and Fig and Speedy were led away, back to the dungeons.
“Have the other creature brought before me,” Ganzo said to Meeva. “Let me see if he is a worthy opponent to pit against my panther.”
Gorf wanted to put up a fight, but there were too many armed horgs. He fought the urge to attack them when they unchained him from the wall and bound his arms behind his back. He was led up the spiral staircase that they had entered the dungeon by, out into the night, and along a covered walkway into the main entrance of the pyramid, to climb many flights of winding stairs before being guided along a corridor and into the throne room, where he was pushed down roughly onto his knees in front of an imposing horg whom he knew must be the leader of these barbaric lizard men.
“I have led armies far and wide throughout many lands, but I have never seen a creature the like of you before,” Ganzo said. “Stand up, strange one, and tell me what you are.”
Gorf climbed to his feet and faced Ganzo. “I am a desert hunter, and my name is Gorffin,” he said. “As to exactly what I am, that is a mystery. I believed that I was half hairy troll and half goblin, but now know that to be false. Mayhaps I am a Bigfoot.”
“What is a Bigfoot?” Ganzo asked.
“A secretive creature that frequents the mountains and forests of another world.”
“Whatever you are, Gorffin, you must realise that by invading my stronghold, you have almost certainly forfeited your life.”
“Do you hear me asking for mercy?”
“No. And that pleases me. I have decided to give you a chance to live, although as you will come to know, it is no more than a very slim chance at best. I have told the two fairies you trespassed with, that if you should survive the trial that lies ahead of you, then you shall all go free and be given back the fairy crown, on condition that I am given the location of the chalice. Do you know where it is?”
“If I did, I would not tell you.”
“Even if I was to spare you an encounter with what will almost certainly result in your death?”
“I would rather die than see the chalice fall into your hands. For it holds a strength of goodness that stops evil from overrunning Allworlds.”
“Very well, Gorffin. But if you change your mind before it is too late to save your life, then speak up. For come the next moonshow, you will not only have been killed, but will be little more than butchered cutlets and offal being served up on plates at a banquet. Is that how a noble hunter such as you wants to end up?”
Gorf smiled. “Should what you say come to pass, then I hope that my meat is tough and stringy enough to choke you.”
Much later, when Sam and Ben began to think that Tommy and Pook had not made it back to Magar’s cave, they heard a hideous roar, and knew that Juno was outside the walls of the city.
Tommy and Pook had made it back without mishap. Tommy had run as fast as he dare along the tunnel, mindful that the ground was slimy and covered in lichen, and that he was carrying Pook.
Back at the cave, Tommy told Magar what was happening, and Juno was more than happy to create an invisible diversion. Within minutes of Tommy returning, Juno was bounding back and forth outside the fortress, bellowing and kicking up dust. Horg soldiers crowded the battlements and fired arrows, hoping to hit something that they could not see. They believed that they were being attacked by a demon, or a vengeful spirit. Many of their comrades had been snatched by the unseen monster, and they were not certain that the walls or the deep moat were enough to keep it out.
Sam and Ben left the temple and skirted the courtyard keeping to deep shadow until they reached the open doorway that led down to the dungeons of the castle.
At the bottom of the staircase they came to a locked gate. In the darkness next to it was an archway leading into a small room full of brooms, wooden buckets and lengths of chain and manacles that were hanging on spikes that had been hammered into one of the walls.
“This must be a storeroom,” Sam whispered. “Let’s stay here and wait for someone to come and open the gate.”
“What if no one does come?” Ben asked.
Sam tutted. “You need to be more positive, Ben.”
“Okay, when somebody shows up, what do you intend to do?”
Sam hefted the heavy crossbow up a couple of inches. “If I have to, I’ll use this.”
“Could you really shoot someone, Sam?”
“Not someone, Ben. A horg. If we have to kill a few of them to free the others, then you have to remember that it’s us or them. You saw what they did at the Oak Palace. And we know that they eat prisoners. They’re just lizards with attitude.”
Footsteps caused them to stop talking and hold their breaths. A soldier had entered the area in front of the gate from another door. He was pushing a small cart in front of him.
“Javek,” the soldier, whose name was Sulak, shouted. “Open up. I’ve brought some swill for your prisoners that even the pigs will not eat.”
Sam waited until she heard a key turn in the lock, and the squeak of the gate opening. She then rushed out from hiding and pointed the crossbow in the general direction of the two horgs. Ben joined her.
“Put your hands up,” Sam said.
The gaoler and the soldier looked surprised, but did not do as they were told.
“What are you?” Javek asked Sam and Ben, having never seen human beings before.
“Just throw the keys to us,” Ben said.
The one-handed gaoler chuckled. “Make up your minds. Do you want me to put my hand up, or throw you the keys?”
Sam knew that the two horgs were not taking them seriously. The soldier was readying himself to jump at them. She made a decision and fired the crossbow.
Sulak hissed with pain and dropped to the ground. The bolt from the bow had hit him in the thigh and almost passed through it. Only the red flight feathers could be seen protruding from his leather leggings.
Ben pointed his weapon at the gaoler’s chest. “The keys,” he said. “Now.”
Javek unclipped the key ring from his belt and tossed the bunch to Ben, hoping that he would use one of his hands to catch them, and be off guard for a second.
Ben didn’t move. Just kept the bow on target. Sam bent down and picked up the keys as they hit the floor.
“Now help your friend to his feet and walk backwards until you come to an empty cell,” Sam ordered.
Javek did as he was told. He was a gaoler, not a soldier. He had no intention of getting himself stuck with an arrow.
Sam opened the door to the cell and stood well back while the two horgs went inside. She then locked them in.
“If you start shouting for help, we’ll come back and shut you up for good,” Ben said. “Which cell are the fairies locked up in?”
“There are two of them in the cell at the far end of the corridor,” Javek said. “And there are more of them in a dungeon on the lower level.”
Fig and Speedy were in the cell they unlocked. Sam removed their shackles while Ben kept lookout.
Fig and Speedy were amazed and overjoyed to see them. “How did―?” Fig began.
“Not now, Fig,” Sam said. “Let’s free the others and get away from here. Where’s Gorf?”
“I don’t know,” Fig said.
It took them a few minutes to release the other fairies from the dungeon. There were thirty of them in total. The others had been sacrificed, or died while being tortured for information. They also freed Zoot, who told them that Ramuf had betrayed them.
“Do you know where Gorf is?” Sam asked him.
“Yes,” Zoot said. “They took him to Ganzo.”
“Why?”
“To question him, or kill him. Perhaps Ganzo will make him fight in the arena.”
Sam turned to Fig and Speedy. “You know the way back,” she said. “Take the others to Magar’s cave. Then let him lead you off the mountain, and go back home. We’ll find Gorf and the crown, and follow you as soon as we can.”
Fig wanted to argue. But he knew that there was nothing that he or the other fairies could do. Without their wings they had no magical powers, and would be more hindrance than help.
“Thank you,” Fig said to Sam and Ben. “And be careful. Do not risk your lives for the crown.”
Sam, Ben and Zoot watched from the door as the band of fairies crossed the courtyard and vanished into the temple.
“I don’t know what we can do, Sam” Ben said. “The two horgs we locked up will be found. We can’t stay here.”
“When they realise that we’ve set all the prisoners free, I should think they’ll find the passage that leads from the temple. The last thing they would expect is for us to have stayed behind.”
“I’ll take you to a place where you can hide,” Zoot said. “Then I will find out what has become of Gorf.”
Zoot led them up the spiral staircase, above the dungeon and cells and through a door that opened onto the courtyard of the castle.
“Keep low and close to the wall,” Zoot said, looking both ways before rushing away from the castle to the nearby Pyramid of the Moons, where he entered a small rear door at the rear and led them along a gloomy corridor. More stairs led up through many levels, until they were inside the very top of the pyramid. The four walls sloped inwards to a point above them, and there was a square hole where they met, through which Sam could see the night sky full of stars.
“There are parts of the pyramid that have never been explored, and others like up here that are not used,” Zoot said. “No one will find you.”
Sam said, “We’ll sit tight. But be back before daylight, or we’ll have to do something.”
“If for some reason I do not return, then wait until night falls again, then escape from the city. If I cannot find and free Gorf, then you would not be able to.”