by Lawson, Alan
Jason looked at her, but kept his seat, still warming his hands on the fire. Emily looked around, thinking back on her words that the trolls would never come after them, and wondering on the strength of her distraction spell.
The silence surrounded them.
Neither Jason nor Emily thought to look at Sherbit, who had got to his feet and was trying to clear his throat.
“T-t-thank you for… h-h-helping me,” Sherbit stammered.
Jason and Emily looked round at the little creature in shock.
“You can talk!” Jason said, realising as soon as he said it, how ridiculous it sounded.
“Of course I can talk,” Sherbit replied, with a much stronger sounding tone, “and I wanted to say thank you for rescuing me, although I could have done it myself.”
“Are you sure? Those trolls were rather big… and nasty,” Emily said doubtfully, as she made herself more comfortable. Sherbit moved closer to the fire and turned around to face them.
“Well, I wouldn’t have been in that situation, if it wasn’t for you two.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Jason asked
“If you hadn’t chased me, I wouldn’t have been caught!” Sherbit’s face fell, “Oops, erm, no. You never chased me. It wasn’t me.”
He twisted his tail again, and dropped his gaze.
Jason jumped up, startling Sherbit so much that he nearly fell into the fire.
“So it was you watching us! What were you doing? Who sent you?”
Emily had never heard Jason sound so focused and determined. She stood up and spread her hands in a conciliatory gesture.
“Ok, Jason. I’ll take it from here. We don’t want the little fellow anymore frightened than he already is.”
Behind her, Sherbit grinned mischievously at Jason, who looked at him with shock, feeling a cold prickle of unease at the back of his neck. Reluctantly, he sat down. Emily followed suit.
“So Sherbit,” she said with a reassuring smile, “why were you watching us?”
The creature squirmed.
“Erm, well, you see, you were both sitting, near erm, a rock I like to sit on, and I was waiting for you both to leave…” he trailed off with a nervous giggle, and quickly asked a question before Emily or Jason could respond his excuse. ‘So, erm, what brings two young folk like you into the Elderine woods, hai, hai?”
Emily sighed. “We aren’t too sure yet. Jason isn’t from here, you see. He was warped here from another world’
Jason nudged her.
“Emily, don’t tell him anything! He could be a spy, or - or something else that could be bad.”
Emily turned to him with a yeah, right, expression that slowly melted from her face as Sherbit’s innocent voice continued.
“I don’t suppose this has anything to do with…” he paused and turned away, coyly, just meeting their gaze and no more, “The Elderine Stone?”
He jumped onto the rock, and showed them a very large grin.
“How did you know that?” Jason asked sharply.
“So much for not telling him anything,” Emily said, and folded her arms, pretending to be in a huff.
Sherbit knelt down on the rock, crawled over to the edge and lowered himself down. “I can tell you what I know of the Stone, and I can tell you where you should go to find more….” He cocked his head, ears twitching, and spoke quickly and furtively, under his breath. “But you will have to take me with you.”
“What? Why should we?” Jason asked, more uncomfortable than he wanted to admit. There was something not quite right about this creature. Or maybe it was just the forest playing havoc with his nerves. Or lack of sleep. “Who knows?” he thought. “Who knows when anything will ever make sense to me again?”
“Jason, you can be very cruel at times, do you know that?” Emily said jokingly. “Poor Sherbit must have been through a lot. From what I know imps don’t tend to go off by themselves. He could be lost.” She paused. “I think we should keep him.”
“Keep him,” Sherbit repeated with a frown.
“Oh,” Emily giggled, “I mean that you can come along with us.” She smiled, and then giggled again.
“What about the Elderine Stone? Tell us what you know about it.” Jason demanded. Emily frowned. Jason was definitely wound up tighter than usual. She sighed dramatically and pulled a serious face, hoping to at least get a smile.
“It’s a long story. Not too happy for me,” Sherbit began, “Miss Emily is right, we imps do normally stay together, but one day, oh it was terrible!” He began to wail uncontrollably.
“It’s ok, Sherbit. Tell us what happened,” Emily said, trying to calm him down. As if by magic Sherbit stopped crying, and gave her a fawning look. Jason watched him suspiciously.
“Well, one day, the slave traders, they came to our enclave. They start picking us up one by one! Not many of us managed to escape their evil traps. I was unlucky. I was running and running and then swoop! I was caught. All I remember is black, until I woke up one day in a cage. I was frightened, and confused.”
“And the Elderine Stone?” interrupted Jason.
“I’m getting to it! I sat in the cage for a few days, but nothing happened. Then one day a lady came. She had a soft, gentle voice, but something seemed strange about her. Very strange. She picked me, and a few others, and we set off to the north. I don’t know how long we travelled. It seemed to be days. We couldn’t see where we were going as she had thrown a cloak over our cages. Then we stopped. The air was cold, and I could hear strange noises. Something came close to us and lifted the cloak. I saw the lady walk towards a large ruin with a tall tower. There were mountains all around. We were lifted up. I couldn’t see what was carrying us. We were carried up to the ruins and placed on pedestals around a big room. In the centre there was another pedestal. It had a blue stone sitting on top of it.” Sherbit stopped. His large eyes filled with tears.
“That sounds like the stone I touched back home!” Jason said with a touch of excitement in his voice.
“It certainly sounds suspicious. Do you think that that Lady was you know who?” she dropped her voice to a whisper and added “The Dark Lady?” She turned to the imp. “Sherbit, was she?”
“Hmm, hmm, I think so,” Sherbit replied, rather nervously.
“I knew it! He’s a spy!” Jason shouted, jumping to his feet. “I knew we shouldn’t have told him anything!”
“No, Master Jason! I’m not a spy! The Dark Lady, she did terrible things! She was always transforming her slaves into horrible beasts with her magical powers. The pillars drew our energy into her spells – so cruel, so cruel! When my turn came I managed to escape somehow, and I tried to get as far away as possible! Then I meet you two, and I’m safe.” Sherbit looked exhausted, but relieved to have told his tale. He breathed a sigh of relief, and loosened his grip on his tail, letting it twitch a little in his hands. His ears stopped quivering, and drooped.
Jason had been thinking hard.
“Sherbit,” he said slowly, “Do you know how to get back there?”
He was sure he already knew the answer, but wanted to see Sherbit’s reaction, perhaps glean some sort of clue as to where his loyalties lay.
“No, Master, I don’t.” He said, resuming the grip on his tail. “Please don’t say you want to go there. It’s a terrible place.”
“We have to go there, Sherbit,” Emily said gently. “We need to stop the Dark Lady.” The pride in her voice was unmistakable. “But, we need to know where the ruins are, and how to get there.”
Sherbit scuffed his heels a little, and looked up at her with his most innocent expression.
“You could always go to Haspar,” he hinted.
“Of course! The Great Library! Now why didn’t I think of that? We could find out about the Order of Elderine and how to get to the Dark Lady’s lair. We may even get to see the King and Queen.”
“The King and Queen?” Jason asked, incredulously.
Emily nodded excitedly.
“Yes! They’re supposed to be the only living descendants of the Order of the Elderine. I can’t believe I didn’t think if that before!”
She stood up decisively, and started to kick dirt over the fire, handing the pot and cups to Jason as she did.
“Right Jason, you rinse those in the pool, fill the waterskins and bring them back here. I’ll cover the signs of the camp.”
Before long, they were packed up and the camp was as clear. Emily picked up her staff, and took the lead, Sherbit keeping close behind her.
“We have a long way to walk, but as soon as we get out of this forest we should be able to see Haspar. Then it’s only a matter of getting to the path, and following it. Is everyone ready? Let’s go.”
The day was spent walking through the brooding forest. They must have started out even earlier than Jason had thought, as the trees started to thin out while the sun was still high overhead. The heaviness of the wood lifted as they came towards the end of it, and it seemed to Jason that they made better time because of it, their hearts and footsteps growing lighter as they walked. Sherbit capered and sang and swung on nearby branches making them both laugh. Emily was glad to see that Jason’s earlier tension and suspicion had gone, and their conversation turned to brighter and happier things. Finally, they stood at the edge of the forest on a large slope that wasn’t too high or awkward to descend, but offered up the whole breathtaking panorama of the land. Jason had never felt so relieved to see open space. True to Emily’s words, they could see a vague image of what looked like a town to the south. It was further than Jason had hoped, but they could make it before dark if they put their minds to it.
Sherbit took a quick glance north and suddenly hid behind Emily’s leg.
“What is it, Sherbit?” Jason asked.
The creature raised a trembling arm and pointed.
“The Mingus Mountains” Emily explained. “That’s where we’ll be heading, when we find out more.”
Sherbit looked up at Jason with a look demanding only sympathy.
“It’s okay, Sherbit. We won’t let anything happen to you.” Jason smiled at him, and turned to head down the slope.
Slowly they made their way down and headed for a path that lay a few metres away.
As they joined it, they saw a signpost that proclaimed: “Haspar Walking Distance: 1 Day.”
“Well, I guess we best start walking.” Jason said with a wry smile, and they headed south, the Mingus Mountains a dark sentinel behind them.
Chapter Four: The Slave Traders
It seemed like they'd been walking for forever, but Jason could tell by looking at the sun that it had only been a few hours. The trees of the Elderine Forest were now distant, but at least they knew they were heading in the right direction.
The day was warm and pleasant, with clear skies that stretched out above them, making the walk was more enjoyable than they had expected. Sherbit led the way, walking slightly in front of Jason and Emily. Every now and then, Sherbit would stop for a moment and look at something intently, flowers, stones, or random bits and bobs lying on the ground. When the other two caught up with him, he would stop his speculative stares and rush ahead again. It was almost as if he was marking his way; laying a secret path, in case he got lost.
As Sherbit ran ahead, Jason and Emily smiled as they heard the small creature singing, or mumbling, they weren’t too sure which it was. They tried to listen to the small creature's pleasant tune, but he was either singing in a strange language or purposefully hiding his utterances so no one could understand. Even with his secretive habits, Sherbit really did look as if he was enjoying himself as he zigzagged along the path.
Jason took a deep refreshing breath, marvelling at the scents in the air. It just smelt like any spring day back home, in his world. "Shouldn't it be different?" he thought, "shouldn't there be spices, or something to tell me it's not just a glorious, normal day? Secretly, though, he was glad. He would have missed the familiar fragrance of spring, and summer, and even winter. He wondered if they had snow here. His thoughts wandered like the path they walked, the even pace of their steps bringing back memories of the homeward trek from school he had followed so many years of his life. This made him think of all the things he didn’t miss. The insufferable acts of his aunt Florence, her crazy friends who often poked Jason with their knitting needles when they wanted his attention. School, well, he supposed he would have to get some sort of education here, but he'd never again be at a school like his old one. Things could really be different here, they could be better. But, where would he live, how would he earn his keep? What could he do here? The questions made him frown, but he shrugged them off, deciding he should just try to live one day at a time. The plans would come clear in time.
Emily too, had also been thinking as she walked, and now she broke the silence with a question.
"Sherbit, tell us a bit about your home. What was it like? You know, before the” She paused before continuing “before it happened. I know it must be hard, and if you don't want to tell me I'll understand. Gosh, I really shouldn't have asked, but I've never met an imp before, and I'd love to hear more about you and where you came from."
Sherbit stopped in front of the two teenagers. The wind blew gently passed them, with a very welcoming breeze. The midday sun was almost uncomfortable to walk in, but not so warm that they felt the need to move into the shade to cool down.
"It’s okay Miss Emily, I don’t mind talking about my home, and I have nothing bad to say about it. It was all good until those good-for-nothing Slaves traders came.”
Sherbit's voice held anger, but beneath that, there lay something more, something vaguely discomforting. It was almost as if his hatred for the slave traders masked another, darker emotion, as a pale scab might hide an ugly, infected wound.
“Those Slave traders sound like a nasty bunch," Jason said, "Who do they work for?"
Emily answered him, saying, “Nobody knows for sure, but many people think they work for the Dark Lady, keeping her supplied with slaves, so that she can cast terrible spells on them.”
“I agree with those people,” Sherbit said, rubbing his watering eyes. “I have seen what she does to creatures, and people brought to her.”
He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked up at Jason and Emily. Noticing that Emily and Jason were now paying complete attention, he continued, wringing his tail between his hands so hard that Jason was sure it must have hurt the creature.
“I was lucky enough to get away. But all the rest…” he began to cry uncontrollably.
“It’s alright, Sherbit.” Emily said, in a soothing, gentle voice. “We’ll put a stop to it, don’t worry. And when we are finished you’ll be able to go back to your home.”
She knelt by the imp, stroking his head as one might soothe a child, or a cat. He fawned at her a little, and the tearful floods became the breathy little sobs and sighs, as he calmed.
Jason thought for a moment. How exactly were they going to put a stop to it? After all, he still wasn’t too sure exactly what it was they were going to put a stop to.
“Are you going to be ok to carry on?” Emily asked, still stroking the small creature.
Sherbit managed to pull a brave smile.
“Yes I am thank you. The sooner we go, the sooner we can stop all the bad things.”
Emily stood up and looked over at Jason, then back to Sherbit.
“Well let’s go then.” Jason said. “Nothing will get in our way.”
As they started walking again, Jason noticed that Sherbit’s earlier activities must have exhausted him, as he tagged behind them. Instead of running ahead he was only just managing to keep up.
They walked in silence, each alone with their thoughts once more. Engrossed in their silence neither of the friends noticed the change in their surroundings. An eerie feeling drifted through the air hugging them like a dense mist. The birds were silent, and the temperature dropped to a cool skin tingling level.
Emily shuddered. Her
actions startled Jason, and he began to look around, trying to pinpoint what was wrong. A cold breeze blew passed them, stealing his breath in a long streamer of vapour.
“It has become cold all of a sudden,” Emily remarked, wrapping her arms around her body to keep the heat inside.
“Yeah, it has.” Jason replied. “But the sun is still out and there are no clouds.”
They all stopped for a moment. Turning in small circles around each other, to try and spot anything out of the ordinary. Emily held her staff in an iron like grip, while Sherbit’s lower lip was clasped as hard, by his teeth, as his tail held tight in his hands. They stood still, listening. Listening for any sort of noise but the only sound was their breath.
Finally, their eyes met, and they grinned.
“Look, at me! I’ve only been here a few days and I’m a paranoid wreck!” Jason joked, rubbing his hands to stave off the chill.
“The weather is very unpredictable you know,” Emily said, the smile on her face brightened by relief.
“Tell me about it” Jason replied with good natured sarcasm.
“My grandfather once built an instrument that could tell you the weather that was to come!” Emily said with a laugh. “Crazy thought, isn’t it? Knowing what weather could be, a full week ahead!”
Jason smiled to himself, thinking of how everyone back home took weather forecasts for granted.
“Well?” She was all business now. “We’d better not hang around; we certainly don’t want to be caught in a thunder storm. You never know how the weather could change.”
She brushed down her cloak, turned south and started walking again.
Jason raised his eyebrows, shook his head and looked at Sherbit. The imp still seemed uncertain, so Jason stooped to scratch him behind the ears before standing to start after Emily.
She was standing still only a few steps ahead.
With a gasp, he started to run. He was panicked by the look of concentration on her face as she stared at the ground.
She held out her hand and cried “Whoa!”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Jason asked. He looked at the ground around her, trying to see what she saw. There was nothing. He started to walk to her, slowly and quietly, so he wouldn’t startle her. She could be casting a spell.