The Wanderers of the Water-Realm

by Alan Lawton

  Hetty gently rotated her hips as the questing fingers moved inwards.

  “I wonder,” she whispered softly. “If many other couples loved and then rested here, as we do?”

  “They did indeed lassie!” Angus replied. “The laird’s agents used to ask only a small rent for this Island. There’s good feeding for the sheep, the fish are plentiful and potatoes grow well in a plot of ground lying beyond the cliffs. But the families who settled here never stayed for long, they always returned to Skye bringing tales of strange happenings. My old grandmother ‘One Eyed Meg’ was the last person to use this cottage. She used to come here occasionally with a crippled fisherman for company, to listen to ‘The ‘Song of the Wind’as she used to say.”

  Hetty drew back her hips and her lovers fingers slipped from her body.

  “Oh Angus!” She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I must ask a great service of you. When the time comes for me to open the portal, I shall have no choice but to conduct the ritual from the stone alter lying in the centre of the ancient circle.

  If I should be successful, then my children will return to this reality by way of the cave that opens out onto the cliff-face. Someone must receive them when they emerge from yonder cave and lead them up that dangerous cliff-side path to safety.

  My children may emerge into warm sunlight or into the teeth of one of the gales that blow upon a stormy night. This I cannot tell, all I know is that you and I are the only people on this island and I must ask you to undertake this dangerous task for me.”

  Angus laughed aloud and playfully tweaked the witch’s left nipple.

  “Have no fear.” He said with confidence. “I spent half my childhood climbing about the sea-cliffs in search of gull’s eggs and the like. I will retrieve your kin without even breaking sweat. Play your part within yonder stone circle and I will do the rest.” He reached out and took the wisewoman in his arms.

  “Time enough for making our plans when the sun rises.” He said. “Now let us spend the remainder of the night enjoying the comforts of love.”

  The nine remaining members of the expedition rounded a sharp bend in the ancient highroad and released a collective groan of disappointment as they viewed yet another mountain valley opening up before them.

  The travellers had continued following the ancient highroad until it entered the southern mountains and for many weeks they had followed the route as it wound its way through a seemingly endless succession of mountain valleys, but the wanderers situation was now becoming desperate for only thirty darkenings remained before the time came when they must reach the portal and cross the thinning curtain into their own reality.

  It was Paris who first caught sight of the spire. The party was resting for a few minutes before resuming their journey and the envoy had taken the opportunity to scan the distant horizon of jagged peaks for any sign of their objective. As he did so, he noticed a brief flash on the horizon, a flash that could only have been caused by a beam of sunlight striking through the rolling crimson clouds and reflecting from some object made from polished metal. He concentrated his gaze upon the same portion of the horizon and once again perceived the same metallic flash.

  Whiteflower was known to have keener eyesight than any other member of the expedition and Paris called her over to him and asked her to scan the same section of the horizon.

  Again they witnessed the metallic flash.

  “I see it,” the girl cried excitedly. “And I believe that it’s the great metal spire that we seek. It’s almost obscured by yonder crag with the twisted peak, but it appears to be the marker we have been searching for so desperately!”

  “Thank providence for its mercy.” Darryl exclaimed as he joined the group.

  “It appears this road is running in the general direction of yonder spire, but it lies at a great distance and we shall be forced to march with all speed if we are to reach it in time to pass through the portal.”

  He looked skywards and viewed the position of the five suns and then pointed towards a mass of ruins clinging to the verge of the highway some distance to the south.

  “The remnants of some old way-station,” He surmised “We shall reach the place before darkness if we move at once and its walls will give us valuable shelter once the cold night winds begin blowing.”

  The expedition made good progress and succeeded in reaching the cover of the ruins well before theWater-Realm night was due to fall. The little group was able to make camp inside a building whose roof was still largely intact and a rapid meal was quickly prepared, from their stock of dried provisions; afterwards, they settled down to enjoy the temporary oblivion of sleep.

  The first glimmers of dawn were beginning to penetrate the ruins when Myra suddenly shocked her companions into full consciousness with her cry of warning and the travellers awoke to find the young wisewoman on her knees and holding her head in both hands.

  “The Hix,” She called out. “The Hix are close by. I hear them as they converse with each other by mind-speak; they know that we are here and will be upon us in a very short space of time.”

  Darryl and the mighty boat hand instantly sprang to their feet and grasped their weapons, but the witch ordered them to lay down their arms and remain still.

  “Weapons are of no use to us now!” She stated calmly. “I must attempt to contact the Hix and beg for their assistance. Brother, take that parchment, which the Hixian’Prime gave to you and show it to the first warrior who enters this building.”

  The young witch knelt upon the floor, then gathering her mental energies she flung a message towards the nearby Hix.

  “We come in peace and are travelling under the protection of the Hixian Prime -- We bear the parchment as an assurance that you will not harm us -- You are also instructed to give us all the assistance that we require.”

  The reply entered her brain almost instantaneously.

  “If you are telling us the truth -- Witch -- Then come out of your shelter -- All of you -- Otherwise we will atack and kill you all.”

  The young wisewoman stood up, drew the knife from her belt allowing it to fall to the ground.

  “Disarm yourselves!” She ordered. “And then we must venture outside and meet the Hix. It is our only chance!”

  One by one, the members of the party quit their temporary night shelter and stood in a little group upon the ancient highroad as the light from the five suns strengthened and illuminated the ancient ruins and the surrounding crags. After a while, a single Hixian’ warrior bearing his familiar long spear, emerged from the rear of the old buildings and cautiously advanced towards them with his weapon held at the ready. He drew near to Myra, who was holding the Hixian’Prime’s parchment before her and he inspected it carefully. After a short pause he grounded his spear and raised his hand in greeting.

  “Have no fear.”

  Said a voice within the wisewoman’s mind,

  “I have now seen the Prime’s parchment and it requires me to place myself and my family at your disposal -- My identifier is Q22 and I am leader of our numerous family group -- Our settlement lies close by and we invite you to visit us and refresh yourselves -- Before suggesting how we can be of service to you.”

  Myra quickly explained the situation to her companions and they readily agreed to accept the Hixians hospitality. They re-entered their night-shelter, gathered together their belongings and returned to the highway where an escort of about thirty heavily armed Hixian warriors awaited them. The warriors took up a defensive posture on either flank of the newcomer’s tiny expedition and the entire body moved off in a southerly direction along the ancient highway.

  After a little while they quit the road and entered a small side-ravine. It contained a spring of fresh water and the travellers were able to make out the dark mouths of a number of caves that evidently provided safe accommodation for the Hixians extended family group.

  The newcomers were quite used to the grotesque appearance of their hosts as a result of their journ
ey to the ‘Heart of Emerald,’ but their remaining porters were obviously terrified and the young wisewoman had to cast a calming spell in order to allay their fears.

  The travellers, however, noticed that many of the village’s inhabitants were of a much slighter build than their massive warrior escorts and did not carry any form of weaponry; these creatures, the newcomers quickly learned, were egg-laying ‘Breeders’, the nearest Hixian equivalent to the human females of Earth. In addition, numerous adolescents mewed and grovelled in the dust of the ravine and avidly consumed anything that could be remotely considered as being edible; It became immediately clear to the travellers, that the social organization of this isolated family of Hix was quite different from anything they had observed during their visit to the main Hixian homeland in the eastern wastelands.

  Q22 pointed towards a pile of freshly gathered Thoa-nuts and the obvious inference was for the travellers to satisfy their hunger and thirst. The Hixian leader stood patiently by whilst they completed their repast before he communicated mentally with the wisewoman in order to discover their future requirements.

  At Myra’s request, the members of the expedition grouped themselves close to Q22 who was also joined by some of the Hixian elders and using her mental powers, the wisewoman was able to act as the communications link in the strange conference held between such vastly different forms of intelligent life.

  Q22 demanded and received a full and truthful account of everything that had happened to the newcomers ever since their arrival in the Water-Realm, including every detail of their mission to the members of the Hixian Prime who held court within the ‘Heart of Emerald,’ only then did they move onto current matters.

  Myra began explaining their need to reach the base of the spire of white metal as soon as possible in order to stand a chance of crossing the curtain leading to their own world. Then, and only then, did the young witch’s inner-eye define fear in a member of the Hixian race and she even noticed that Q22’s head twitched slightly when she repeated her demand for urgent help in the name of the Hixian Prime.

  The creature’s answer was slow in reaching her brain.

  “Witch woman -- We must follow the commands of the Hixian Prime -- And aid you with all the means at our disposal -- But we ask -- Cannot you forget this return journey of yours and live out your lives -- Happily -- In our world?”

  Myra replied at once.

  “No -- No -- Certainly not -- We are absolutely determined to return to our native reality -- And we cannot do this without the help of you and your people.”

  The Hixian leader replied at once, but Myra defined the sadness in his communication.

  “Our family will spare no effort in assisting you in reaching your goal -- But many of our warriors will die in protecting you -- From the unspeakable horrors that we must inevitably encounter during this dreadful march -- Many of our breeders will perish when no one lives to bring them food -- Our family will face hardship and grow few in numbers.”

  Q22 leaned forward and placed a huge hand upon Myra’s shoulder and began caressing it with surprising gentleness.

  “Remember the courage and loyalty of the Hix -- When you dwell -- Once again -- In the comfort of your own reality -- Now come witch-woman, who’s thoughts reach the minds of others -- Let us waste no time and begin our march without further delay.”

  During the following fourteen darkenings, the expedition marched ever southwards in the general direction of the shining metal spire, but the travellers were now under the protection of thirty hand-picked Hixian warriors. However, the original members of the expedition now numbered only five; the remaining porters, who had remained loyal until they had reached the village of the Hix, had chosen to travel no further and elected to draw their pay and return to the coast under a safe conduct from the Hixian family elders. Indeed, their departure had proved fortuitous; for the route chosen by Q22 was difficult in the extreme and the few belonging the travellers still possessed had been divided up and carried by their massive protectors.

  After leaving the village, the expedition had followed the line of the ancient highway for a further two darkenings, but on the morning of the third day, they branched off onto a side-track leading them through a gap into the mountains and then back onto the highway with the saving of at least a full darkenings march. The detour came as no surprise to the travellers, for Q22 had previously warned them that time-saving diversions, often hazardous, would be required if the expedition was to reach the portal before their fast approaching deadline expired.

  A few darkenings later, the highway swung due east and their guide led them away from the road and along a path taking them up into the highest reaches of the southern mountains. As they climbed, the air began to thin and the temperature plummeted until crimson icicles could be seen hanging from rocky ledges and a thick layer of frost crunched beneath their feet as they advanced.

  The newcomer’s teeth chattered and they drew their narr-skin cloaks tightly around their bodies as they marched. Yet it was their Hixian escort who suffered worst from the cold, for the great creatures appeared to have little resistance to low temperatures and they could be seen struggling forward in a pitiable condition.

  The expedition was forced to spend two full darkenings at high altitude and both humans and Hix huddled together in the darkness in an effort to conserve every last vestige of warmth. Dawn came after the second darkening spent in the high mountains and the members of the expedition rose to their feet and prepared to resume their painful march, all save two of the Hixians who had frozen to death during the night. Yet even in death the unfortunate pair continued to serve a purpose, for their bodies were torn apart and used as an emergency food source by their surviving kinsfolk.

  Hours later, the expedition reached the bottom of a steep valley where they rejoined the highway and continued to follow the ancient route as it snaked it’s way ever southwards towards their intended goal.

  Finally, a day arrived when the travellers emerged from the mouth of a steep pass and found themselves viewing the great metal spire from what appeared to be fairly close quarters, for the edifice towered above them and seemed to be almost touching the rolling clouds overhead.

  “Three more darkenings!”

  The voice of Q22 within the wisewoman’s mind was clear.

  “We shall confront the last great obstacle standing -- Between ourselves and the shrine lying -- At the base of the great metal spire -- The area upon which the spire stands is entirely surrounded by a great circular valley -- A valley that is hot and humid -- And contains a forest that is home to trees and plants -- Found nowhere else in the Water Realm ----.”

  For a moment the witch almost lost contact with the Hixians mind, for Q22 suddenly and quite inadvertently transmitted a wave of naked fear.

  “This forest is inhabited by strange creatures that are totally alien to this world -- Many of them are dangerous in the extreme and more hideous than anything that your imagination can conceive -- We must cross this terrible valley -- And I am warning you now -- So the ordeal will not come as a complete surprise!”

  Myra passed on this fresh knowledge to her fellow travellers and it served to dampen the elation they had all experienced as a result of their latest viewing of the spire.

  George however, managed a laugh.

  “What does it matter?” He asked, as he shouldered his long handled axe and prepared to resume the march. “We have already survived a great many dangers and the ones lying ahead need not scare us unduly. I think!”

  “I hope that you’re correct.” The young wisewoman replied. “But anything with the power to frighten the Hix cannot be treated lightly. Q22 has also told me that only a single hour of daylight remains and we must make camp for the night before descending yonder cliff and entering the ‘Forest of Oblivion,’ which is the Hixians name for that terrible wooded valley lying before us. Q22 also suggests that we check our weapons carefully, for he feels sure that we shall have much need of them be
fore we climb the cliff lying beyond the forest and finally arrive at the foot of the great spire.”

  The members of the expedition were soon occupied with their normal evening tasks as the Water-Realm night closed upon them, and Paris sought out Whiteflower, who was scraping the red soil from some edible roots a Hixian guard has given to her.

  “Have you given thought to the future?” He asked gently. “What do you intend to do once Darryl the swordsman passes through yonder portal and returns to his own reality?”

  The girl was surprised by the nature of the question and almost dropped the knife that she was using to clean the vegetables.

  “I shall be at my master’s side when he returns to his own world. I will never leave him and I will stay with him until the moment death parts us!”

  “That was the answer I expected you to give,” replied the envoy. “Love blinds you to the fact that you can never cross the portal without subsequently destroying your own life and possibly blighting the future of the man whom you adore.” He paused. “Remember, lady, like most other Water-Realm humans, you have a light red skin-colouring due to your ancestor’s long exposure to the environment of this reality.