The Team and the Cavern

by S G Read

  They made temporary shelters with what was available while the leprechaun watched bemused. He just settled down on the layer of leaves and finally went to sleep. The others settled down and chatted quietly until they went to sleep. It was a lot more comfortable than the floor of a cave. The one thing they did notice was that the white shoed leprechaun did not snore, well at least this one did not. Celia made a mental note to ask him about it in the morning before she went to sleep.

  When they opened their eyes in what passed as the morning, they were alone. Stuart looked about for some sign of the missing leprechaun but did not worry. He trusted the leprechaun and just waited for him to return. When he did he was laden with more fruit.

  ‘I thought we could eat here before we move on and you have to get in early to beat the headless ones to the fruit. They are uncommon unfriendly when you try to pick fruit when they are.’ The leprechaun announced.

  They all looked at Toby but Toby remained silent. They ate the fruit and then walked on, after finding somewhere to deal with any pressing calls of nature. They walked to the trail by the mountain and started back to the turning which led to the crossroads. Now the leprechaun was in front with the team following a safe distance behind him. They had a scout who was watching the leprechaun and ready to hide should he signal. Suddenly that copy of Fergus turned to stone in front of him. JC was following and he had no problem slipping into a crevice to make sure he did not suffer the same fate. He watched and listened, his heart beating fast. He expected to see the leprechaun at any moment, instead he heard him.

  ‘Got you, you slimy excuse for an apprentice. Now I have seen it all, disguising yourself as me. All I have to do now is to free the wizard.’ The leprechaun declared in satisfaction and walked on happily.

  JC sneaked a look and saw the leprechaun walking away. He smiled and waited until he was out of sight before he used the spell to turn the leprechaun back from stone.

  ‘Was that who I thought it was?’ The leprechaun asked.

  ‘It was.’ JC answered. ‘But he must be the one we sent round to sort out the apprentice earlier, why didn’t he stop and say hello and walk on?’

  ‘Did you see the blood on his head?’ The leprechaun asked.

  ‘No, I was hiding.’ JC admitted.

  ‘He must have banged his head and it must have affected him.

  ‘Now he thinks he has defeated the apprentice and is one his way to free the wizard.’ JC complained.

  ‘He’s got a shock coming then.’ The leprechaun declared. ‘I just hope he is turned to stone without being able to say anything, or the apprentice might think something is up.’

  ‘Maybe I should have turned him to stone then.’ JC asked.

  ‘It is too late to worry about it now, come on let’s go.’ The leprechaun answered.

  Now that the threat of the white shoed leprechaun was gone, they walked on until they came to the crossroads; there they waited for the others. The others were watching from cover and walked over when they saw them together and out in the open.

  ‘Did you see the other Fergus then?’ Simon asked.

  ‘Oh yes, we saw him, he is heading for the palace.’ JC answered.

  ‘Would you believe that he turned me to stone?’ The copy of Fergus asked. ‘No, by your leave, just a quick zap and I was stone.’

  ‘The trouble is that he thinks he just defeated the apprentice and he is off to free the wizard.’ JC added.

  ‘I hope the apprentice just zaps him.’ Stuart replied. ‘If there is time for that copy of Fergus to say anything the apprentice might catch on that something is going on.’

  ‘Then we should go and ask this grimalkin character what she knows, before we find out the hard way.’ Ben replied, tapping on the rock to demonstrate what he meant by, the hard way.

  They walked on towards the grimalkin’s cave but as they did so they also kept an eye out for flying predators, just in case. As they approached her the Grimalkin turned her head to see who was coming and then turned it back again in disdain. They speeded up to make sure she did not retreat into her cave before they got there. Finally they came to where the grimalkin was lying in front of her cave in what passed as the sunshine in this world.

  ‘Hello Grimalkin.’ Ben greeted politely.

  ‘More questions I expect.’ She replied rudely, not bothering to look up at them.

  ‘As if,’ Ben retorted, ‘still, as you offered.’

  By now the group had gathered around her.

  ‘Just how did I offer?’ The Grimalkin answered.

  ‘It is just that now we are on the white shoed leprechaun’s side, and we want to know where the best place to open a portal so that we can get out after we have overthrown the apprentice.’ Ben continued. ‘You being a native and all that might just know.’

  ‘On his side are you now?’ She asked. ‘How do I know that is true?’

  The copy of Fergus made his way though the group and stood in front of her.

  ‘Because I say so.’ The leprechaun answered.

  ‘How did you manage this then?’ The grimalkin asked, now showing a lot more interest.

  ‘It wasn’t easy.’ Stuart answered. ‘We will also need to know what the inside of the palace is like, for when we go in there to free the wizard.’

  ‘You know that the best place for a door to the other world would be up on the plateau as I saw you going up there.’ The Grimalkin answered. ‘The palace is quite a maze but I can show you how to get from A to B inside. Come inside all of you, just in case anyone comes along and sees you together, the apprentice has lots of spies.’

  They all filed into the cave and the grimalkin closed the door. She drew the layout on a piece of paper, marking where the stairs to the cellar were and the team tried to learn what was where to save time when they finally managed to get inside.

  ‘So what is your plan?’ The grimalkin asked and she was asking anyone who was willing to answer.

  Stuart looked at the leprechaun and he nodded.

  ‘We have been reviving all the stone copies of Fergus we can, to build an army and we have also revived all the leprechauns in the village who can fight.’ He answered. ‘We are keeping that a secret from the apprentice.’

  ‘So you are going to attack on all sides at once then?’

  ‘Yes, we are but at the right time.’ Stuart answered. ‘We need the apprentice to be away long enough for us to ambush him.’

  The Grimalkin smiled.

  ‘You’d best get going then and send someone to tell me when it is safe to return to the palace.’ She asked and ushered them out of her cave.

  They all assembled outside and she settled down to sleep again.

  ‘Where to now, we have our map?’ Sherman asked. ‘Do we just walk back to the village with it, or do we have anything else to do?’

  ‘We have to make sure the latest copy of Fergus doesn’t catch us in the open.’ Stevey answered. ‘That’s a must.’

  ‘Actually, will another one appear?’ Toby asked. ‘Another one is made when the last one is dead and there are a lot of leprechauns alive now, so another one shouldn’t come out, should he?’

  ‘You’re right there.’ CJ answered.

  ‘So where did that last one come from?’ Simon asked.

  He must have come out just after we turned the leprechaun to stone after it had turned the other Fergus to stone after we had just woke him up.’ JC answered.

  ‘But there were others in the village!’ Toby pointed out. ‘And some of them are Fergus’s, so another one couldn’t have come out.’

  ‘The one we met had a bleeding head according to Fergus.’ JC informed then.

  ‘So something happened, he had a bash on the head and did not know what he was doing?’ Toby asked, not really convinced.

  ‘So that means he has been walking around since then and not attacking the apprentice?’ Stuart asked.

  ‘I must admit, that doesn’t sound like the leprechaun we met.’ Toby declared.


  ‘So what is going on?’ Sherman asked.

  ‘Think Fergus, you must know what they have all done when they come out, surely.’ Stuart urged.

  The leprechaun scratched his head and started thinking, something he had not done for a long time.

  ‘Got it,’ he said suddenly, ‘once one of me was creeping round the corner toward the palace, after walking the long way round and caught sight of the apprentice ahead! He turned back and went the other way round, where this time he saw the real me.’

  ‘So why did he think you were the apprentice in disguise?’ Celia asked.

  ‘I think we all know the answer to that one,’ Ben answered, ‘he’s mad. No offence intended.’

  ‘None taken young feller, I think you have hit it on the head, he’s as mad as they come.’ The leprechaun answered.

  ‘So if he does walk right into the palace to free the wizard and gets zapped, the apprentice will ready himself for the next one.’ Molly concluded.

  ‘And he won’t be coming.’ Celia added, finishing the statement for her.

  ‘That means we are going to have to attack sooner rather than later.’ Stevey declared. ‘Or it will all be a waste of time.’

  ‘Not if I go and try to get to grips with him.’ The leprechaun replied. ‘Like I always do, I will do one of the routines and he will get me but then you can turn me back again.’

  ‘And then you can go and try again and again until we are ready.’ Molly added. ‘Just make sure you are laying down so that he doesn’t want you for his garden.’

  ‘The wizard’s garden,’ Fergus corrected, ‘I will keep low all the time, that should do it but I hope I don’t end up in the swamp!’

  ‘But we have people watching to see when the one that tries to enlist the animals is due, so that we can go into the palace while he is gone.’ Simon declared.

  ‘She’s right though,’ Toby exclaimed, ‘that is the only way it will stay a secret.’

  ‘Well, we have time to go back to the village and then we just send out a Fergus to do battle and another one to let us know when that Fergus is turned to stone.’ Stuart declared.

  ‘Won’t he notice all the missing stone leprechauns?’ Denis asked.

  ‘Yes, is the answer; we need to get back to the village as soon as possible and plan the attack.’ Stuart answered. ‘We send out this Fergus and when he is turned to stone, the next one will go and enlist the help of the animals, regardless of what the apprentice is expecting. The apprentice will see the blood on his head when he gets the one who turned Fergus to stone and we can use the bash on the head as a reason he does it out of turn, if it is out of turn!’

  They started back to the village, going back the way they came to make sure no one saw them. Now they walked fast, as they wanted to get back to the village before it grew dark. They had a drink in the stream and picked fruit as they passed the trees, despite the Acephali which was filling its basket. Simon even distracted the head long enough to take fruit from the basket and hurried on. They were tired and hungry again when they reached the entrance to the tunnel but the sight of Fergus’ leg flying out the front kept them from going inside. Ben and Simon crept in silently to deal with any waiting trolls but the tunnel was clear. When they walked into the village they looked as tired as they were. They stopped to eat fruit and have a drink, before walking to where the rest were gathered. The group of ones was well rested and full of fruit but still acknowledged their return.

  ‘Was it a worthwhile walk?’ Ben one asked.

  ‘The Grimalkin drew us a map of the palace.’ Simon two answered.

  ‘That should help.’ Ben one speculated.

  ‘We thought so.’ Simon two agreed.

  ‘You should go and prepare to do battle with the apprentice.’ Stuart two said reluctantly to the copy of Fergus who had gone with them. ‘I will send someone to watch what happens and then turn you back if he does not put you in the garden.’

  ‘I will do that very thing.’ That copy of Fergus answered. ‘I will also tell the others of my brother’s sacrifice in the tunnel.’

  Stuart nodded. The leprechaun walked away, thinking about what he was going to do and when he hit upon what he thought was a plan, he hurried away with the darkness falling. He stopped to talk to Seamus the white shoed leprechaun before he went off to fight the apprentice. He thought they ought to know about the trolls in the tunnel.

  ‘We need a leprechaun to follow Fergus and watch him.’ Stuart two declared.

  ‘Why?’ Ben one asked.

  ‘To make sure we know when he has been turned to stone and where.’ Stuart two answered.

  ‘Why is he going out when the other Fergus will be along?’ Ben one asked.

  ‘Because we have all these Fergus’s alive and well here,’ Toby one answered, ‘why didn’t you think of that?’ He added, turning his head in Stuart one’s direction.

  ‘I obviously did as he is me.’ Stuart one answered pointing to Stuart two.

  ‘No, he did.’ Toby one argued.

  ‘But he’s me.’ Stuart argued back.

  ‘Can we be sure of that?’ Toby two asked, joining in. ‘Is he exactly like me?’ He asked again, pointing to Toby one.

  ‘Well I happen to know what that Stuart is thinking at this very moment.’ Stuart two declared, looking at the other Stuart.

  ‘Which is?’ Stuart one asked.

  ‘That we are both tired of this conversation,’ Stuart two answered, 'as it is getting us nowhere.'

  ‘You’re right there, let us talk about something else. It is bad enough that we have to send leprechauns out to be turned to stone, without trying to figure out who is the real person out of the two of us!’ Stuart one replied.

  ‘Or ripped apart by a troll.’ Stuart two added.

  A leprechaun started out after the Fergus who was going to fight the apprentice, it seemed better than listening to the team argue with their selves.

  The group of twos settled down to rest while both Stuarts discussed what was going to happen next and what they should do. This was a battle they had to win, not just for them but the wizard. They might get their hands on the other book and close the portal but that still left the wizard a prisoner and the copy of Fergus doing what he had been doing for the last hundred years and suffering for it. With trolls in the wizardom things would only get worse for him.

  ‘Must be odd, talking to yourself.’ Ben one declared.

  He was sitting as far away from Ben two as possible, he knew what he was like.

  ‘Yes it is.’ Toby one answered.

  He was busily questioning his copy, just to see if he knew, all that he knew himself. It was a fruitless task as they were the same person. Toby finally worked that out and Toby two returned to his group. The two groups sat apart even though, somehow they could tell who was a one and who was a two. That did not make sense as they were the same person but it was true.

  Finally after a long conversation, which was the same as talking to himself, the only difference being that the person he was talking to was actually visible, Stuart one walked over to where the copies of Fergus and the other leprechauns had gathered.

  ‘The apprentice does seem to know where you are coming from when you try to attack him. Do you think someone did betray you?’ He asked. ‘If they did they still might be and we need to find out who it is, if someone betrayed you.’

  There was a short, irrational conversation between the gathered copies and the rest of the leprechauns, then one of the copies answered.

  ‘The answer is we don’t know but it does seem logical, as he seemed to know every attack from early on. In all these years we should have beaten him at least once.’

  ‘Well apart from the grimalkin, the headless bodies and their heads, there is only the red shoed leprechaun, Seamus to tell on you.’ Stuart declared. ‘The headless bodies can’t talk so it was either the Grimalkin, the heads or the red shoed leprechaun.’

  ‘Surely not Seamus.’ One copy answered, dismissing al
l the others out of hand.

  Several other copies echoed the answer but other copies started to argue the other way.

  ‘It would explain a lot.’ One copy declared.

  ‘So how do we find out?’ Another copy asked.

  The rest of the leprechauns remained silent. They had been asleep all this time and did not know anything. It was interesting listening to the copies arguing amongst themselves.

  ‘We will watch Seamus the red shoed leprechaun to see what he does. If he does look like he is going to tell the apprentice what Fergus is doing, we will stop him and bring him back here to find out why he betrayed him!’ Stuart one answered.

  ‘How do we do that?’ Another copy asked.

  ‘When the last copy I sent out is defeated, we will send another on and he makes sure he runs into Seamus without turning him into stone. For some reason he starts going in another direction with a brand new cunning plan, which we have yet to think up. He will explain it to Seamus and we follow Seamus, just in case. If he does try to go and tell what he knows to the apprentice we follow him, capture him before he can and bring him back here until the battle is over, but we can’t turn him to stone or he will just reappear!’ Stuart answered.

  ‘That sounds brilliant.’ Toby two cried.

  ‘It does rather.’ Toby one added.

  ‘I’ll go with some copies of Fergus so that we can see just what goes on.’ Ben one offered.

  ‘Any other volunteers?’ Stuart asked.

  By now, it was a waste of time asking them as they all volunteered, all thirty one of them.

  ‘You can’t volunteer!’ JC argued when he saw Stuart two’s hand up.

  ‘Why not, he’s in charge?’ Stuart two asked, pointing at Stuart one.

  ‘Well you are a Stuart and Stuarts don’t get to volunteer.’ JC answered. ‘You have to be kept safe.’

  ‘Well in here, it seems I do.’ Stuart one replied. ‘I remember you lot keeping me safe in the jungle and that did not go so well as I recall. Who do you want with you then Ben?’

  ‘I’ll have Ant with me, he might need to run to get ahead of Seamus, and you know what I am like when it comes to running!’ Ben answered.

  ‘We have to wait until we know the other copy of Fergus has been defeated before we put this plan into action. Until then we need to think up a new attack plan and a reason for the new plan.’ Stuart one explained.