Cave Of Forlorn

by R. C. Rutter

  “You men, pull up the wagons. The engineers will be leaving soon. You will escort them and assist them in any way possible. Is that understood?”

  The men stood motionless. “IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?”

  “Yes, Captain. Yes, Sir” came the responses.

  The guards walked over to the horses, each gathering two for a wagon. Antonio walked his horses over to the first wagon and began attaching the harness. When the other guards were busy with their wagons, he took out a knife and sliced the ropes leading to the reins and the brakes. It was hard to determine how much to cut but Antonio knew it was only a matter of time before the ropes failed. Antonio finished and was walking away towards the castle when he was halted by the captain.

  “You, soldier. Where do you think you are going?”

  Antonio froze and thought quickly “I was going back to the prison. My shift is almost over.”

  “No, you have been assigned to me. Take your place as the driver of the first wagon. We will be leaving soon. The engineers wanted three days to load. They have used up three hours. Time to go” and with that the captain walked away.

  Antonio swallowed hard. There was not enough time to repair the ropes. He hopped up into the seat and sat there thinking. “This is not good. Not good at all” he thought to himself.

  * * *

  Lydia was pacing herself leading the group through the cave. She started singing. Not because she was happy. She was singing to take her mind away from the cramped tunnel. She could feel the walls closing in on her. They weren’t really. Lydia was claustrophobic and certainly did not want anyone to know. She had the reputation of being a warrior and wanted to keep it that way. She glanced back to see if anyone else was nervous and they all looked complacent. Robald blew her a kiss and she blushed, turning around, she realized the cave was ending with no exit. “Oh snap! All this way and we get a dead end.” Lydia made her way back to Eric. “Dead end I am afraid. We must turn around and try another tunnel.”

  The word was quickly spread and the soldiers turned around and began the return trip, leading the way. Lydia felt relieved. At least they would be out of the cave for a while. She needed some space to stretch her mind.

  The group had been walking for about ten minutes when a commotion came from the front of the line. Swords were drawn. Robald and Thorgon tried to make their way to the front. Erica tossed a flare. Coming towards them at a very fast pace was a small man. He glanced and glared at each of them as he passed them, letting his eyes linger for a brief second before continuing. He was mumbling under his breath and had a quizzical look on his face. His white hair was flowing behind him. A white beard reached to his waist. He was saying in a scratchy voice “Make way, coming through” as he walked. When he approached Lydia she realized that he was no taller than her elbow. He looked to be fully grown and rather old. Lydia moved aside and let him pass. “Where are you going? There is no way out. This cave ends.”

  The little man grunted as he passed and was soon out of sight.

  Robald stopped and waited for Lydia. “I shall take the point, my dear. He should be coming back this way soon and I want to make sure you are safe.” Lydia beckoned Robald to come close to her. He bent over and Lydia kissed him on the cheek. Robald smiled, stood back up, and promptly smacked his head on the cave ceiling. A few snickers were heard. Lydia took off to join the group but kept wondering about the little man.

  After a few minutes, the little man did not reappear. “Surely he would have returned this way by now. He was moving rather quickly.” Lydia said out loud. She stopped and turned around to look but there was no one behind Robald.

  Robald must have been thinking the same thing as he yelled “STOP” which got everyone’s attention. He turned and hastened down the cave followed by Lydia. They made their way to the end and it was empty. The little man was gone.

  Robald looked around to see if there was any kind of opening. He removed his sword and tapped the walls and ceiling of the cave. It was all solid rock. He called to Eric “Can you ask Shabb to catch the scent? Maybe he can find where it leads.”

  Everyone moved aside as Shabb approached. Sniffing the air, he shook his head. “Oh good grief little doggie” Lydia remarked. “Hello? You’re a wolf, remember? Tracking a scent? You know, sniff it, and follow the scent?”

  Shabb glared at her and started growling. Robald walked between the two of them. “Now, now, we are all on the same side here. No use antagonizing one another. I am sure Shabb is doing his best.” Lydia stalked off mad. She could not believe Robald would not back her up. She sat down at the side of the cave and crossed her arms. ‘Robald will regret this!’ she thought.

  Lydia was sitting there for a few minutes when she noticed a small pool of water to the right of her. There were little footprints coming out of the water heading directly to the end of the cave.

  Lydia called for a flare and illuminated the footprints. She followed them. Robald and everyone else that was close by silently watched her. The footprints led right to the end of the cave and disappeared. Lydia reached out and put her hand on the cave wall. It was very warm, very, very warm.

  “Hey, he went through here.”

  Lydia backed up and shone the light on the cave wall. It looked just like the rest of the cave.

  “Eric? Erica? Cerberus? Come take a look at this. What magic is this that would make a wall into a door? Or a door into a wall?”

  Erica touched the wall and quickly pulled her hand away. “Old magic for sure. I don’t have anything for this.” She turned and looked at Cerberus. “Have you?” The creature shook his head. “Eric? As much as I hate to admit it, you might be able to do something I cannot.”

  Eric approached the wall and waved his staff back and forth. As he did so, letters and symbols became visible. “I have no idea what this is or means. Perhaps a spell that opens is in order?”

  Eric tried and failed. He tried again and again. After about fifteen minutes, the entire group was sitting down as Eric, Erica, and the creature continued casting spell after spell at the wall. The three of them were getting tired but continued to try.

  A commotion was heard again from the end of the line. Another little man was approaching. With white hair and a white beard just like the other one, he glared at each person he passed. He was clearly agitated that people were in his way. He hesitated when he saw Shabb and said “changeling, interesting” then kept on walking.

  He reached the wall and took out a small jewel. Crystal clear it was and shone brightly in the faint light. He carefully placed it in a small hole in the wall then took a small step back. He raised both arms and said “Apre Forlorn.” Just as quickly as he said it, the wall disappeared and a bright light filled the cave blinding everyone.

  A few seconds later and the light was gone.

  “Wow, what was that?” asked Gweneviere to no one in particular. Her eyes started adjusting to the darkness again. She looked around and saw lots of eyes being rubbed.

  The wall was closed again. The jewel was gone as was the little man.

  “Was not expecting that!” said Eric. “He must have walked through when the light shone. “Well we now know the spell. Trouble is how do we get one of those crystals.”

  “I have an idea” said the voice from the side. It was Lydia. “Take one of my jewels and try it.” She broke off one of the jewels from her bracelet and gave it to Eric.

  Eric placed the jewel in the same spot and took a step back. “Okay everyone; be prepared to move when you see the bright light. Form two rows behind me. Hold onto the person in front of you and be prepared to move quickly. Okay then, everyone ready?”

  Eric closed his eyes, lifted his staff in the air and spoke “Apre Forlorn.” He took a step forward and smacked into the wall followed by everyone behind him crashing into each other.

  “Well, that went well” was the muffled sound from Eric. “Could you please move back a little now?”

  The columns moved back into position. “Right you
are then. Shall we give it another try?” Eric was about to cast the spell again when he looked back. “This time please wait for the person in front of you to move. It just might prevent me from being smashed into the wall again. Well, here goes nothing. Apre Forlorn.” Eric closed his eyes. This time Eric waited for the light before he began moving. Unfortunately, there was no bright light. He opened his eyes and the wall was still there.

  “Well, I love it when things go smoothly. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. I am open for suggestions?”

  A murmur could be heard moving through the group “A wizard is asking for advice? Who ever heard of such a thing?”

  Lydia approached Eric. “I have an idea. I shall ride Shabb back to the cavern and try another cave. Riding him I can make swift progress.”

  “No!” came the reply from Robald. “Too dangerous, I shall go.” As he said that, Shabb’s eyes got really big and he started backing up. Robald began laughing. “Oh no, I have no intention of trying to ride on your back.” His laughter reverberated down the cave. “No, I shall walk quickly and you shall accompany me.”

  Lydia rolled her eyes. “Robald, my dear, these caves are too small for you, maybe a few soldiers? They should be quicker and time is of the essence here. Better that then staying here saying Apre Forlorn.”

  A bright light filled the cave blinding everyone and was quickly gone.

  “Lydia!” was all the shocked Eric could manage to say. He motioned for her to stand in front of him facing the wall.

  “Everyone line up, same as before. Hold the one in front of you. Now Lydia, cast the spell and move as fast as you can?”

  Lydia waved her arms “Apre Forlorn” and ran towards the light pulling Eric behind her.

  * * *

  The King watched as Antonio pulled out a knife which flashed as it reflected the sunlight. Luckily no one else seemed concerned. Antonio did something with the ropes, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then began walking very quickly away from the wagon. He did not get very far. The captain walked over and yelled for him to get into the wagon.

  The King suspected that Antonio cut the ropes. If so, the wagon would crash. An investigation would surely follow and it would be discovered that the ropes had been sabotaged. It would only be a matter of time before they realized that Antonio was the one who connected the ropes. He would surely be hanged.

  “Not a good outcome for a loyal servant” thought the King.

  The captain gave the order for the caravan to move and took his place at the lead. He was followed by the soldiers on horses and foot soldiers. Once the foot soldiers had cleared the area, the wagons began moving.

  As each group passed the castle gates, they took off at a fast pace in order to catch up to the main army. The foot soldiers passed the gate and began a quick march. That only left the wagons.

  The King could see Antonio’s worried face. He knew he had to do something. Taking a step, he waved his arms and cast a spell.

  The first fireball shot right past the captain as it headed for the castle. It slammed into the wall next to the gate with sparks flying in all directions as the gates shook.

  “TAKE COVER!” the captain yelled as more fireballs flew passed towards the castle. The explosions reverberated around the castle.

  Antonio did not wait around for instructions. He jumped off the wagon and headed back to where the King was hiding.

  The sound of the explosions caused the demons to jump up from the conference table and rush to the windows.

  “Can’t tell exactly where the fireballs are coming from.”

  “Outside the walls, no doubt.”

  “That leaves out the King unless he has escaped the castle.”

  “Not possible. He is too weak already. He would lose much of his magical power.”

  “Trace the magic trail. Find the source.”

  “I am tracing it only there does not seem to be any magic.”

  “Impossible, you idiot, must I do this myself?”

  The conversation was cut short as the demons realized a fireball was coming directly at them. They barely got out of the room before it burst into flames.

  * * *

  Lydia fell to the ground as she lost her footing. Eric landed beside her with a grunt. Bodies were falling everywhere. The brightness was overwhelming. It was extremely quiet. One bird started chirping, then another. Their ears were soon filled with the chorus of forest animals. Lydia slowly opened her eyes and looked around. There were many shades of colors with flowers everywhere. Even the trees had flowers growing on them.

  The rest of the group was having the same experience. That is, all that had made it through the opening. Lydia did a mental roll call. Eric, Erica, Robald, Thorgon, Gweneviere, Cerberus, Seth, Malcolm, and Shabb had all made it through. Not one soldier was present.

  “And what of the soldiers?” Eric was now standing next to Lydia.

  “I was in front of Captain Artemus” said Thorgon. I felt him let go as we started moving. “Maybe he lost his grip?”

  “More like he lost his courage!” quipped Lydia.

  “Peace to all who enter here!” was the voice from nowhere yet everywhere.

  Swords drawn, the group quickly formed a circle waiting for an attack.

  “Peace to all who enter here! There is no need for swords. No harm will come to you! You can relax now. You are amongst friends.”

  The Apsaras dove from the treetops dancing and shimmering in the sunlight. It was then that everyone noticed the blue sky.

  “Sky? Clouds? Birds flying? This cannot be” exclaimed Robald. “We’re in a cave inside a mountain. And just what are those little things flying?”

  “I believe they are Apsaras. Small celestial creatures that are thought to be a conduit for the Gods” replied Seth. Robald looked surprised that Seth actually knew this. “We studied them in the Mythology class. I need to go back and apologize to my teacher. Told her there were no such things. Feel rather silly now.”

  Gweneviere started to say something but stopped and froze. A bright ball of light was approaching. Gweneviere’s mouth hung open as she stared.

  The entire group was now standing and transfixed on the sight. The ball of light was literally sitting in a chair, or rather a throne. The throne was on a platform which seemed to be floating. Underneath the platform were sixteen of those little men, each holding onto a length of rope as if to stop it from floating away.

  The sounds of flutes were getting louder as the entourage got closer. The Apsaras began humming in a very low tone, almost a growl, and then started disappearing as the bright light got closer.

  The entourage approached and stopped about ten feet away. The little men let go of the ropes and instead of going up, the platform floated to the ground. The men backed up, bowing as they moved.

  The light slowly faded revealing a tall woman. She was absolutely gorgeous with piercing blue eyes and long blonde hair. Her gown and robes hung from her tall stature like a flowing waterfall. Her eyes were twinkling as she smiled and raised her arms, palms up.

  “Welcome my friends to the world that never ends” she said, her voice sounding like honey. “It pleases us that you are here.”

  “My name is Isadora, Queen of Forlorn.” She graciously waved her arms at all of the little men around her. “And these are my loyal subjects and friends. We live here in harmony, the way life was meant to be, each to his function, and a function to each. All of us serve the common good and we have prospered here for many centuries.”

  Her attention focused back on the visitors. “You are welcome to stay as long as you like. I am confident that once you get acclimated to our world, you will appreciate the life we have here and choose to stay. Imagine a world with no sorrow and no pain.”

  “Come now, I am sure you need some rest. Bartholomew has informed me that you have traveled for many days in the cave leading to this entrance. Bartholomew was the first to pass your group on the way here. We don’t get too ma
ny visitors through this door.” The Queen gave them all a big smile. “Tell me, just how is it that you were able to open the door?”

  Eric spoke first “We observed one of your people place a jewel and cast a spell. We did the same and were able to open the door.”

  Isadora tilted her head slightly “Interesting. And who was it that cast the spell? Was it you, wizard?”

  Eric looked surprised at being called a wizard.

  “Come now, I can sense magic within you, and there is always the matter of that staff you carry. Not many succeed unless they are from here. In fact, I can’t recall anyone that has ever opened the door before, have you Bartholomew?”

  Bartholomew shook his head.

  Seth stepped forward. “It was I. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion. We meant no disrespect.”