William held on to all hope as Thérn dragged him across the grass toward the enemy. Valstarius charged back at him, so that they were head-to-head, and closing distance...fast. William was barely keeping his feet when, up ahead in the grass, was a rock which he didn’t see, and it sent him tumbling over with a crash. He almost took the legs off the centaur in the process, but he wasn’t that lucky. Rather, Valstarius took a mighty leap and landed clear of both William and his sweeping blade.
Yet neither the sword nor the centaur were ready to concede here. Thérn hoisted William back to his feet until he was skiing through the dirt again.
Watching this proved truly testing for the others. They had nothing but concern for the boy’s safety, and seeing him in such a situation was utterly nail-biting. They were all huddled up together just outside the fight; the only ones who were actually trying to help were The Body, Ifcus, and Khrum. But Icrick was holding his dear friend the leprechaun tightly in his arms, whereas The Head wouldn’t hear of such stupidity. Redmun, too, wished to get out there and aid him, only, with all the commotion, he feared damaging William with some chance attack. Alas, he waited until the moment was right. In the meantime, he conveyed his most practical instructions to the boy.
Nobody knew where Wren had gotten to, and now would have been a perfect time to have a dragon by their side. Even to just have him present might’ve been enough to discourage this fiend.
“Control yourself, boy!” Redmun cried through the ruckus. “Let your arms flow with the movements.”
“I CAN’T!” screamed William lividly, his arms being wrenched this way and that.
Valstarius then circled for another charge and, much to William’s surprise, so did he. Dirt exploded at the centaur’s paws as he tore into a mighty gallop, and Thérn lifted William off his feet and towed him through the air like a loose flag.
Taking his chance, Redmun dashed out too; fast on his feet, not daring to let up. He chased the beast as quickly as his legs would go, and yet haste was more of an ally to this creature.
Dropping his head, Valstarius hissed as both he and the boy drew nearer. He wasn’t to be fooled this time. Out came his axe, whose point reflected in his eyes. Lesser and lesser, their distance closed. Closer, and closer, and closer they neared. Suddenly, William cried out, as they exploded head on. Crashing together like two trains on a track, they rolled off into the undergrowth by the wood’s edge. Skidding still, Redmun probed his surroundings with his ear in search of fresh coordinates. He heard nothing above the mundane swayings of nature. Suddenly, William jumped to his feet (or else it was Thérn making him do so) and Valstarius rose up slowly thereafter, with his axe raised high above his head. The battle was afoot.
Weapons clashed, dousing William with a flurry of green sparks. Again fixed upon their location, Redmun ran in, only to be foiled once more by how close they were, leaving him apprehensive of attack. So, again he was forced to wait and listen to the movements as that terrible battle unfurled.
Thérn sliced himself back and across, parrying all strikes from this terrible foe. William even felt as though he was controlling the situation a bit better than before. For every time Valstarius struck, he would jump out of the way, slashing wildly at every angle. Of course, he was merely playing puppet to the sword, but he still felt strong, and somewhat intrepid.
Caught up in the action, Icrick cried excitedly, “Go on! Get him, William! Get him!”
However, brave as the lad’s actions were, the creature was growing angrier than he’d already been, and that wasn’t good for young William.
Valstarius slammed his great axe down upon Thérn, strike after vicious strike, like the wild animal he was. He may not have been penetrating William’s guard, but he was gradually beating him into the dirt.
“Help me!” the boy yelled. “For God’s sake, I need some help! Why are you just standing there?”
He was on his back in the thick grass, and the centaur proceeded to bash down upon him, screaming his head off with sheer animalistic rage. Thérn’s fuller was practically bouncing off William’s nose, and the sharp, clanging steel was stinging his eardrums.
“Let us out there, ya whelp!” cried Khrum, struggling in Icrick’s arms like a young pit bull trying to get loose after a cat.
“Don’t be stupid!” the Grogoch protested. “You’ll be killed. Be realistic for once. Besides, this Redmun fellow looks to have a plan. A trustful one it ought to be, or else he’ll have hell to pay.”
As they argued among themselves, The Body was also growing restless with the righteous desire to help, but the remainder of his full self was not so willing.
“Don’t even think about it,” scowled The Head. “I need you in one piece...s-so to speak.”
Stifled on what to do, Redmun addressed all of them angrily, “Is this boy not your friend? Do something. I cannot risk just jumping in and hoping for the best; whatever about a nest of Gremlins.”
Eventually, Icrick let the leprechaun loose, and said, “Oh, go on! Do what you must! Help him.”
“About friggin’ time!” snapped Khrum, bounding onto the ground, where he began pegging pebbles at the centaur.
“Leave him be, ya hairy aul’ maggot!” he screeched, flinging stone after stone at Valstarius.
It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Inspired by the little fellow’s heart, Icrick picked up some larger rocks and he, too, began slinging them at the centaur, hitting him clean between the horns every time.
“Take that, Valstarius!” cried the Grogoch, in a whimper blended from fear and bravery. “And that! And that too!”
Feeble as this onslaught of theirs was, Icrick wasn’t expecting it to distract the abominable brute, but it did.
With Valstarius’ attention finally diverted, Redmun came rushing from the shadows as fast as humanly possible. Rummaging through a small leather pouch by his hip, he displayed three black, shiny stones. Aerial bola incantations; most effective when cast downward from a great height. Quicker and faster he ran, before soaring to the skies like a hawk, his hat stolen by the wind as he flew.
Drawing back his arm, Redmun flung down those stones, as hard as he could, sending all three incantations down upon the centaur. William was so weakened by then that he would’ve been unable to defend himself any longer should Valstarius have kept hacking at him. A miracle to his ears, he heard three thunderous bangs, one after another, from the sky above. At the same time, the centaur was hoisted violently off him, squealing, and screeching, and thrashing, and clawing. Had William been in the way, then surely he would have gotten snagged, too.
A huge puff of ashen smoke had erupted. Borne from within were three black centipede creatures, massive in length, bearing eyes as that of white-hot metal. Having manifested from within the ashen cloud itself, these insects wrapped themselves around the centaur’s limbs and forced him off William with brutal conviction.
With an immense surge of power, Redmun landed hard beside the lad. Hauling him upright, he ordered, “To your feet, boy! Sheath that sword and follow me! Those spells will not last long!”
So away they went, getting a decent head start on the centaur should he somehow untangle himself from those magical insects before good time.
* * *
Recovering their trail, they found themselves sprinting into even wilder country, where the yellow grasses were practically bobbing about their heads and blocking all view from behind, which was very unnerving, given they couldn’t hear Valstarius’ screams anymore. He could therefore be well in pursuit again, secretly, for all they knew. Just then, ahead, through the withy coppice, they saw a roaring river, whose rapids ran by way of the waterfall above.
It didn’t take them long to reach that mighty cascade. It was still some hours from dawn when they felt its misty spray upon their faces. There was a path of stepping stones there, around which those great rapids rushed into the green dale below.
Over the crashing noise, William shouted, “Where a
re you taking us, Redmun?”
“Beyond the falls!” Redmun answered.
“Good! The sooner we get away from that monster the better!” Crosco remarked.
“Was that the same creature from back your way?” Khrum asked him then. “The same one who chased us through the wood?”
“Yes!” The Head replied, a touch worriedly. “And now he knows for certain that I’ve deceived him. Not, what I would call, a fantastic predicament to be in!”
Before he could add anything further, they had unexpectedly happened upon a clash on the mountainside. A battle of mighty beasts. When Redmun heard it, he halted his troop with his arm. There on the cliff face, just right of the falls, were Jimzin and a Griffin of a monstrous size.
Jimzin was perched upon a pillar of stone with Wren on his back. Ferociously he was roaring at the eagle-like creature, who kept on swooping in, in an attempt to rip chunks out of the dragon. Its talons were like shears, jutting out before him with every assault. Jimzin tried snapping back at him, but he could catch nothing, for the Griffin’s swiftness was far too astute.
“Go back!” Redmun yelled to the others. “We must find cover until this quarrel subsides!”
“Wait; she’s our friend. She’s with us!” yelled William. “We have to help her!”
I must say that neither Khrum nor Icrick expected him to sound so fretful over Wren’s wellbeing, given his behaviour around her of late. Then again, who were they to judge?
Surprised by this, Redmun asked, “You know that beast?”
“Yes! That’s Jimzin of Greale horde,” the boy replied. “And the girl’s name is Wren! They’re part of our group.”
Redmun delayed briefly, then, “Very well,” he said, before letting out a sharp whistle to the Griffin.
Immediately the beast stood down and flew back to the peaks above.
“How did you do that?” gasped Icrick.
“I know him,” Redmun replied, with a sort of smile. “Now let us get moving before that centaur sees where we’ve headed.”
Jimzin came swooping down to the group, and Wren hopped off his back. They began clambering up the side of the falls with the rest of them.
“Thank you, sir!” she called ahead to Redmun, but he kept moving, with no acknowledgment to her.
“Where did you get to?” snapped the boy. “While we were off getting chased by monsters, where were you? We could’ve used your help!”
“Who’s he?” Wren asked, gesturing toward the blind man.
“Never mind him. Now answer my question! Why didn’t you help us?” William confronted.
“Listen!” she snapped, with a look of utmost intolerance. “I already told you. Jimzin does what he wants, when he wants and nobody can tell him otherwise! It was his choice to see what was happening with the Gremlins; I was just going along to remedy my own curiosity! Then, after he’d seen it, he decided to fly around the mountains a few times to look about for himself. That’s when we came across that Griffin. I told you, dragons...are...stubborn! What did you expect me to do? Jump off his back at two thousand feet to my death, trying to help you people?”
“Well...no...” William sulked, after being put in his place by that little speech of hers.
“Good!” she concluded, habitually rubbing her shoulder as if out of stress. “Now I’ll hear no more about it. So, if you please, who’s this man, and where’s he leading us?”
William then spoke as though he’d just gotten a swift clip across the ear. “This is Redmun. Saved us from the creature down by the woods. Going behind the waterfall there...”
“And what did this creature look like?” she asked.
“It was a centaur o’ some sort. Valatius...or something like that.”
“You don’t mean Valstarius?!” Wren asked, halting in her tracks.
“That’s the one.” William nodded.
“A servant of Briggun himself!” she gasped. “He saved you from him? Oh, you are one lucky young man, William!”
“Wait,” he urgently replied, “he knows Drevol Briggun?! Valstarius knows Briggun?”
“I should think so!” she answered.
Suddenly, a worrying notion struck William like a dull knife between the ribs, and he called ahead to Redmun. “Um...I heard o’ this...um...this creature who...um...lives in the east. A Pooka o’ some sort. Will that centaur creature tell him about me and our run-in back in the woods? I mean...does he know the Pooka...um...personally?”
“Yes, he knows Briggun,” Redmun said, feeling around for decent footing upon the rocks. “However, unless he has no other choice, it is unlikely that he would say anything about you, for Valstarius likes to surprise his master with gifts and he prefers to do things alone...and you would be a precious gift for Drevol indeed! No, the centaur is very competitive when it comes to Briggun’s attention, so you have no fear; he will not tell any other dark agent that you are here. Besides, if Drevol did know of your presence, believe me...we would already know all about it.”
“M-M-My presence?” asked William, curious as to how much Redmun really knew about him and his dealings.
“Yes, your presence, boy! So be warned,” Redmun uttered, turning his face slightly. “Now that Valstarius is aware of your presence...you will be the only thing he thinks about.”
He then proceeded to climb. After hearing tidings that were so enveloped in such mystery, threat and question, William’s nerve shrunk, thus leaving even more to dabble upon his already troubled mind.
Wren then uttered softly into William’s ear, “Anyone who was ever caught by Valstarius has never seen the light of day again! You owe this man...whether you like it or not.”
“Look, are you being serious now, or just trying to wind me up?” William frowned, being rather impatient about the quantity of detail which he was obviously not yet clued up on.
“Of course!” said she, rambling on ahead, taking care not to stumble.
William gazed up at Redmun, watching him as he found his way up through the rocks. Anun did, after all, say that his intentions were good. So what reasons did he really have to deny the man’s help? Then again, what reasons did Anun have for William to truly deny the man’s help? William did not know...
After a further short climb, they finally reached the waterfalls and, most importantly, the cave concealed behind it. Inside they wandered, one by one (except, of course, for Jimzin, who’d just taken off by himself again after seeing what they were up to). It was a shallow, dank cave, full of puddles and drippings, with its ceiling netted with bunches of chunky vines. At cave’s end, a great round wall awaited them. It was terribly cracked and splintered. It must have been in a thousand pieces, and the only thing holding it together were the good many creeper vines branching out all over it.
Having approached the wall, Redmun began fishing through the deep nest of foliage just to the right of it. Eventually, in finding what he was looking for, he leaned back with a groan as he heaved upon a particularly thick vine. Following that there was a snap, and then a grinding sweep. Redmun stood away, and the others followed his motion. The wall rumbled and shook ever so slightly, when all of the vines began peeling back the shattered rock so as to reveal the hidden land behind the falls.
Redmun went in first, and the others trailed after. And so, there it was, before their eyes. The hidden realm of Làn Cùrdhal.
Gigantic was that chasm. So massive that the mountains on the distant side were but miniature shapes, which then continued to grow around the very lip until they met with the waterfalls under which they were standing. Perilous and steep those mountains were, in that they could not be conquered. Any attempt to do so would surely mean death. Creating the perfect defence from the outside world, the peaks of Làn Cùrdhal also fabricated an ideal barrier to conceal its secret world. From a bird’s-eye view, the canyon bore some resemblance to that of a stone ring, wreathed with mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Then circling around the very summits themselves were more of those magnificent Griffin
s. It was, of course, their duty to protect this realm, should any being actually succeed in reaching the inside. Yet such events were slim, for the reasons I’ve just explained.
Within the chasm was a grand blanket of forest and nothing more, other than a muddy, serpentine river which ran wide through the middle, flowing into yonder thereafter. The canopy of trees below the wiser emergents was wild and full, like undulating hillocks of moss which brought tranquillity and crispness to the air. It was so full of life, that place, judging by what they heard. All voices of the nocturnal fauna were busy chirping, and buzzing, and croaking with vivacity. How astonishingly beautiful it was too, in that clear night, with the stars twinkling down. They could no less regard it than with candid reverence and respect. Yet nobody cared for that kingdom more than he who dwelled within it, alone with his animal companions; Redmun. He then led on with a silent bid for them to follow.
Before them was a vertical stairway of wood and stone. Quite treacherous it seemed, as there were no banisters for support. All they had to hold onto was the wall to their right, and even that was swathed with sodden moss and slimy patches. The stair walked steeply down, and down, and down the heel of the mountain, until it eventually led to the entrance of the jungle...for a jungle it was.
Once William had finally approached ground level, everything became all the more daunting. It was all well and good, observing this hidden world from above. At least from there he may have had some inkling as to which direction he could go. However, from ground level, it was bleak, and everything looked alike, everywhere he glanced. It was but a gloomy wilderness. Gloomy and discouraging.
Lichens were dangling from all of the trees like tattered garments, and the ground itself was supple and wet with dead leaves, mosses and shrubs. The deeper they roamed, the more the understorey began seething with toadstools, great spreads of bluebells, colourful bromeliads and, in places, far courses of springing ramsons. Ferns grew copiously amongst them, making the jungle floor very cumbersome to wade through at times. Not to mention the vast families of black spruce and western hemlock which were overrun with gloriously vibrant epiphytes of many shapes and sorts. That place was truly wild, truly natural, sometimes precarious, but not without the essence of formidable beauty.
The Other of One - Book One: The Lythiann Chronicles Page 33