by W. D. Newman
CHAPTER 3
BAD NEWS
By late evening, they were already around the tip of the hills that extended out into the prairie and were driving straight toward the dwarves’ cabin. Amos pulled back on the reins and drew the wagon to a stop. Although the sun had set, the western sky was still lit with bright reds and oranges and there was plenty of light to see by.
“We’ll camp here tonight; it’s as good of a place as any,” said Amos.
“Where are we sleeping?” asked Louise. “I didn’t see any cots or mattresses loaded onto this wagon.”
“You and the kids will sleep under the wagon and the rest of us will sleep out in the open.”
Louise arched her eyebrows and planted her hands on her hips.
“Oh no,” Ben thought, “Amos is in trouble!”
“Let me take care of Dan first,” Amos chuckled, “and then I’ll show you. Hob, Gob, and Nob – you three guys start cutting some tall grasses and spread them beneath the wagon. Spread them nice and thick.”
The big man unhooked the equally big horse from the wagon and began removing the tack. If you ever saw Amos standing beside a normal horse, you’d be struck by the sheer size of the man. Likewise, if you ever saw Old Dan standing beside a normal man, you’d be struck by the sheer size of the horse. However, when the two of them were standing together, as they were now, they looked like any other normal sized man and horse. They were a perfect match for each other.
After the tack was removed and stowed away in the wagon, Amos took a piece of burlap and rubbed Old Dan down. When the sweaty horse was dry, he brushed him until his coat was once more sleek and shiny, and then led him out into the meadow where he could graze on the tender spring growth.
Back at the wagon, the three dwarves had quickly amassed a large pile of grasses and were spreading them beneath the wagon as Amos had instructed.
“Perfect!” said Amos. “That should make a nice, soft mattress. Let’s get the bed rolls and spread them out over the top of the grass.”
“Why are we sleeping under the wagon?” asked Ben.
“It will keep you dry when the dew falls,” answered Gob.
“Oh, cool. What about you guys?”
“We’ll be fine. We are used to sleeping outdoors and a little dew won’t hurt us.”
Before retiring for the night, they cleared a spot by the wagon and built a small fire with some dry sticks they found in the trees at the edge of the field. Hob produced a pan from the back of the wagon and warmed some biscuits over the flames. Once the biscuits were piping hot, he cut thick slices from a wedge of cheese he had brought along and placed the cheese inside of the biscuits. It was a simple meal, but Ben had brought enough sodas so that everyone could have two and, with the cold colas, the cheese biscuits were delicious.
The next morning, everyone awoke to the smell of salted pork sizzling in the frying pan. Hob heated some more biscuits while Gob sliced some more cheese and, in very short order, everyone was enjoying a delicious breakfast.
“How did you sleep last night, Louise?” asked Amos.
“Actually, I slept rather well! I feel very refreshed this morning.”
“Me too,” Casey added. “I can’t get over how nice it is this morning.”
“Ah, yes,” said Nob. “Another beautiful day for travel, but we are not that far from our cabin now, so we should be able to enjoy our noon day meal at a proper table.”
Amos stood and brushed the biscuit crumbs from his furs. “You guys get everything packed up while I fetch Old Dan.” The big man stretched and yawned. They were right; it was a beautiful day. The sun was up above the horizon, shining warmly in a cloud-free powder blue sky. The light grey mist that hung over the prairie was beginning to burn off and hundreds of birds were greeting the day with songs of praise. Amos walked out into the fields and whistled. In a flash he heard the thunder of Old Dan’s hooves and, presently, the big horse came charging out of the mists to answer the call of his master. Nothing lifts your spirits like a fine spring day and apparently Old Dan was feeling it too. He pranced around Amos, his tail sticking up in the air, shaking his head and snorting. He was ready to go.
Within an hour they were traveling once again. Ben taught the dwarves some more verses of Yankee Doodle and even Amos sang along with them.
Brother Ephraim sold his Cow
And bought him a Commission;
And then he went to Canada
To fight for the Nation;
Yankee Doodle came to town,
For to buy a firelock,
We will tar and feather him,
And so we will John Hancock
But when Ephraim he came home
He proved an arrant Coward,
He wouldn't fight the Frenchmen there
For fear of being devour'd.
Rocking back and forth in the wagon, with their bellies full and the warm sunshine caressing their faces, the dwarves soon gave up on the song and stretched out to take a mid-morning nap. Ben and Casey moved to the rear of the wagon and sat on the edge, with their feet dangling out of the back.
“Hey, what’s that?” said Ben, shading his eyes against the bright noon sunshine.
“What?” asked Casey. “I don’t see anything.”
“Look there!” Ben responded, pointing back toward the way they had just come. There were three black specks in the distance and they were getting larger.
“It looks like riders,” said Casey. “You’d better let Amos and Grandma know.”
Ben hopped up and, careful not to step on the sleeping dwarves, moved to the front of the wagon.
“Hey, Amos, I think there are some riders coming up on our rear.”
The big man pulled on the reins and brought the wagon to a stop. Hob sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Are we there?” he asked.
“No,” Amos answered. “There are riders coming up behind us.”
“They’re coming fast,” Louise remarked.
Hob kicked Gob and Nob. “Get up, we got company!”
Amos got down and walked to the rear of the wagon. Ben and Casey climbed onto the seat with Louise, while the three dwarves stood side-by-side with their short swords drawn. The riders were coming extremely fast. They would be at the wagon in just a few more seconds.
“They’re elfin horses,” said Amos.
“What do you think they want?” asked Hob. “They are riding those horses as if a dragon were on their tails.”
“I don’t know,” Amos answered, “but I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Are you sure they are elfin horses?” asked Louise.
“I’m positive. They are black as night and no horses, in heaven or on earth, can fly as swiftly as those. Look! They are upon us now!”
As the horses thundered up to the wagon, the elves pulled back hard on the reins, causing their mounts to sit back on their haunches. The great steeds plowed up the rich black earth with their hooves as they came to a stop. The lead elf hopped off his horse and draped the reins across the horse’s neck. He motioned for the other two to remain in their saddles and then turned to Amos. When the big man recognized the elf, he gasped.
“Garrick? What are you doing here?”
“It is my brother Marcus, the Keeper.”
“What of him? Is he well?”
“Three days ago he was captured while visiting his ancestral home on Faerie. He is being held for ransom somewhere in the great city of Jupiter.”
“Captured? By who?”
“By none other than the city’s namesake.”
Amos paled. “Jupiter has returned?”
“Jupiter is the name given him by the Creator. He goes by another name now. He calls himself Bellator.”
“You said Marcus was being held for ransom,” said Louise. “What is Bellator holding him ransom for?” She had climbed down from the wagon and was now standing beside Amos with Ben and Casey. Hob, Gob, and Nob had sheathed their swords but remained st
anding in the back of the wagon. This was grim news indeed for the three dwarves for they had come to love Marcus as a brother.
“The sword, Excalibur” Garrick answered, studying Louise and the two children. “Are you, by chance, the Louise that Marcus has so fondly spoken of?”
“Yes,” Louise answered, “and you are?”
“I’m sorry,” Amos apologized. “This is Marcus’s brother, Garrick. You have never met, because Garrick lives in Faerie and rarely comes to Camelot.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you,” said Louise, “but please tell us more about what has befallen Marcus.”
“It is a long story and you shall hear it in full when we get to the castle, but first, tell me; is this Ben Alderman?”
“Yes, this is Ben and NO; he is not any kind of chosen one!”
Garrick studied Ben for a moment longer and then turned his attention back to Amos. “Finding all of you here together is the first good fortune we’ve had since this whole business began, but how shall we get all of you to the castle in a timely manner?”
“I have Merlin’s staff,” said Ben. “I can have us all there in an instant.”
“Marcus had told me of the staff. That is the second piece of good fortune. Perhaps our luck is changing for the better. What of your horse and wagon?”
Amos turned to the three dwarves. “Would you guys mind taking the wagon on to your cabin? Put everything inside and just turn Dan loose. There’s plenty of water and grazing for him there and he should be fine until we return.”
“We don’t mind at all,” Hob answered, “but we are coming too! We’ll take our boat down the West River and meet you at Castle Twilight later this afternoon.”
Ben grabbed the staff from the wagon while Hob climbed into the driver’s seat. Nob and Gob scrambled into the seat with him and the three dwarves at once began fighting over the reins and arguing over who would drive the wagon.
“Rock, paper, scissors,” Ben yelled to his three friends. It was another thing Ben had taught them and they used it quite often to settle disputes among themselves. Especially important disputes, such as who would get the last piece of pie or, as in this case, who would get to hold the reins for the remainder of the trip. The dwarves pumped their fists three times and played their hand. Gob threw a rock, Hob threw scissors, and Nob threw paper. A tie! They rapidly pumped their fists three more times. This time Gob and Nob threw scissors and Hob threw a rock.
“Rock crushes scissors, I win!” Hob exclaimed. He grabbed the reins, clucked to Old Dan, and they were off. In just a few minutes they were all three singing another verse of Yankee Doodle.
“They are like children,” Garrick marveled.
“They are worse than children,” Amos replied.
“We will see you off safely before we head back. Our horses are tired, but we will still arrive at the Twilight before the dwarves.” Everyone turned their eyes on Ben.
“Okay,” said Ben, clearing his throat. “Marcus said that all I have to do is hold the staff and then say the name of your forest. He said that would transport me and anyone touching the staff, straight there, so gather round and grab hold.”
Louise, Casey, and Amos moved in close to Ben and placed their hand on the staff. Amos squeezed Ben’s shoulder and Louise nodded. Ben took a deep breath and spoke the word that Marcus told him to use.
“Twilight!”
Nothing happened. They should be in the Twilight forest now or maybe in the castle, but they were still in the meadow.
“Look,” said Garrick, pointing behind them.
Everyone let go of the staff and turned around. There, a few feet behind them and suspended a few inches above the ground, was a large vertical black hole. It was a pathway just like the one the elves had created with the unicorn horns they had recovered from Stone Dog.
“Did Marcus say anything about a tunnel?” asked Louise.
“No,” Ben answered. “He said the spell he cast into the spell catcher would send us straight to the Twilight.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive! At least I think I am.”
“Come on Ben, think harder!” said Casey.
“Great day, I was positive at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Do you think that pathway leads to the Twilight?” asked Amos.
“Where else would it go?” Ben replied.
“Well, we are not going to step in there to find out,” said Louise. “I suggest that one of the elves catch up with the dwarves and send them back to pick us up. We can go down the river with them in their boat and get there tonight.”
“Their boat is not big enough for all of us,” Ben pointed out.
“I could transform and run across country,” said Amos. “I’ve done it before and you three could ride Old Dan.”
“Absolutely not!” said Louise. “I meant it when I said I’d never ride another horse. Dan is not an elfin horse and a fall from him would probably kill me!”
“You can ride my horse,” Garrick offered. “He will not let you fall.”
Before anyone could speak again, Ben took the staff and darted into the pathway. Shocked, everyone stared at the black hole where he had just vanished and waited breathlessly to see what would happen next.
*****