by Lynda Engler
Master Sreng bellowed the incantation to open the passageway to the Underworld. “Arcana enchantus grimoire Dis! Kullucks get thee back from whence thou came! Dis, I call upon you to take your evil creatures back!” He pointed to a spot in the ring of bronze and spoke the words to focus the energies of the universe on that exact spot. A great bolt of lightning shot out of the wand in Sreng’s right hand as the universal energies opened the passageway and a path to the Underworld was revealed.
Dis, the author of all evil, sprang forth from the red, glowing hole in the plane created by Sreng’s incantation. He was evil incarnate with his hooves, his sulfurous odor, and his horns! Allied with the forces of darkness, Dis ruled the Underworld. Banishment to Dis’ realm was the worst fate anyone could imagine.
Dis let out a mighty roar. “Who has summoned me?”
Master Sreng shouted from his position high on the standing stones, “I have! I am the Master Sage of Finias and I have summoned you, Dis the Demon of the Underworld, here to take these creatures of yours back to where they belong.”
Dis looked about him for the first time. He saw the mass of dark, evil, misshapen creatures milling about in their magical cage. Senchos the Footless sprang into action and ran to face the demon.
“He traps us here! Evil sage holds us here,” Senchos explained to the demon. “Get us out!”
The stench from the huge group of Kullucks was overwhelming. Arthur wasn’t sure how long he could watch from this close vantage point before having to go back to where the others were, for fear of being overcome by the awful smell.
“Where will you go?” Dis asked the Kulluck leader.
“We hunt! We kill, we eat. Animals all for us.” Senchos pounded his clawed fists to his chest. He reminded Arthur of a gorilla.
Dis spoke in a thunderous voice. “I created all of you long ago. You do not remember but you were born in the Underworld and crawled out through the Southern Sea. I will take you back to the Underworld with me. You will hunt and kill and eat there. Whatever you like, I will allow. It is my realm to do as I please. Come with me and I will provide you with all you need. And in turn you will serve me!”
Senchos was a bit smarter than the rest of the Kullucks but he still did not get it. “Hunt and kill and eat here! Run and hunt and eat.” He didn’t seem to understand that Dis was offering them fresh pastures to do as they pleased.
Dis stood tall and bellowed, “You I do not recognize.” Dis looked at Senchos with great curiosity. “I did not create you – but I created your father. He crawled out from the ooze with the others. How is it that you came to be?”
Senchos just stared at Dis. He did not understand the question. His pea-sized brain barely remembered his human mother. He had run and hunted with the rest of the Kullucks for as long as he could remember.
But Dis did not wait for Senchos to answer and resumed speaking. “Your mother must have been one of these weak humans. Well, no matter. You are still one of mine. Bow down to me!”
Senchos the Footless kneeled down and faced Dis. “Help us out of this trap!” demanded Senchos.
Dis was not pleased that this half-human was making demands on him. He roared to the Kullucks, “My friends, I promised I would take you to the Underworld and I always keep my promises! I will take you back... but not today!” With that, a loud explosion rocked the Senmag. Lighting flashed from the sky and the demon disappeared. The passage to the Underworld slammed shut and the ring of bronze crashed apart.
The Kullucks were free. They let out a mighty howl as they escaped the sage’s enchanted bronze ring. Now they were free to terrorize Finias yet again!
But the Kullucks appeared blinded by the bright light that had come out of the fissure Dis had appeared from and they now dashed about wildly.
King Tuan shouted, “They are blind! Everyone, get out of their way so no one gets trampled!”
Men and boys ran behind anything they could find for protection. And on the flat, nearly treeless plane, that was not easy. They hid behind dolmens as the evil Kullucks dispersed. The creatures scattered and stumbled about, trying to leave.
But even blind they were a mighty force. A few of Tuan’s men had arrived with bows and arrows and got off a few shots at the retreating Kullucks. At least ten of the creatures fell to the ground. When their fellows stumbled over them, they clawed at them and ripped them apart. They killed even their own kind!
Chapter 8: Plans
April 8, 2200 B.C.E. Ireland
Arthur had spent the night as a guest of King Tuan and shared a room with Taran. They spent a restless night, both worried about the failure of their well-thought out plan. Arthur dreamed of a black-hued flood covering his home village. An ocean of thick black fluid, sticky and smelly, engulfed his house and flowed over everything in sight. He was drowning in it!
Arthur woke with a start, gasping for air. It was dark in the room and Taran was still sleeping, although fitfully. He lied back down and tried to sleep.
Arthur must have fallen back to sleep because the next thing he knew it was light out. Taran was shaking him awake. “Come on Arthur, get up.”
Taran always woke at first light. It was the custom of his people. Arthur told him about his nightmare as they got dressed. Arthur slept in his under-tunic, so now he pulled on his over-tunic and leggings. He had only the clothes he’d arrived in and the Finians were not in any position to offer other clothes to Arthur right now.
Taran said, “I dreamed of demons. I guess that isn’t surprising after yesterday. I’m afraid I’ll dream of nothing but demons for the rest of my life.” He shuddered as he said those words and a chill ran up his spine.
In their sleep, the boys’ worried minds played out their worst fears.
They both tried to put the nightmares out of their minds. And Arthur’s usual way of taking his mind off of worries was with food.
“My father says I’m just like him – eating to take my mind off things,” Arthur explained to Taran. “Aunt Morgana says I’ll get fat if I do that but Father managed to stay trim so I think I will too. When you spend half your life at war like Father, I suppose you burn it all off. Father’s warriors are all fit too and I expect to grow up just like all of them.”
Taran showed Arthur the way to the kitchen. Ainé had already prepared breakfast for the family. The cooking here was done outdoors at the fulacht fiadh – a stone-lined pit filled with water that was kept hot by fire-heated stones that brought the water to a boil. Pots of food were either hung over the boiling water or actually submerged in it. The porridge had been cooked over a pit just outside the kitchen door.
“It smells really good,” said Arthur as they entered the kitchen. “Nothing like a good breakfast to make me forget about just about anything.”
“Taran, please go wake up your sister and tell her to come for breakfast, meager as it is,” said Ainé. She ladled porridge into ceramic bowls. The beaker pots and bowls in Ainé’s kitchen had thin sides and beautiful decorations. They were bell shaped with elegant “s” curved sides.
“Arthur, I’m sorry that all I can provide is porridge,” said Ainé. “I have not even been able to bake bread during these attacks. Most of our grain storage bins were knocked over when those evil creatures trampled this city. The grain was scattered and pounded into the ground. Many of our hens were taken by those creatures, so I can’t even give you children eggs this morning. We’ll need all the eggs to hatch so we have more chickens. I’m sorry I can’t spare any.”
Arthur was not used to servants as the Sea People’s settlement did not have any. He knew his father’s court had many servants, but he was not sure how to address a maid. So he spoke to her as he would anyone. “It is I who should be sorry, My Lady. I was so sure my plan would work! I should have been able to stop those creatures.” Arthur was very angry at himself for letting the people of Finias down.
“Acch! You are just a young boy! Why should you be able to do what even King Tuan has not been able to? Believe me, a
ll of Finias, what remains, is grateful for your help,” Ainé replied.
Taltiu entered the kitchen behind Taran and all three slowly ate their porridge. Arthur began to feel better with some food in his belly. The warm food in his stomach somehow made his head work better.
Suddenly he sat up straight and said, “I have an idea!”
Taltiu replied, “I hope this one will work better than your last one.”
“Taltiu!” Ainé shouted. “That is no way to speak to our guest! Watch your mouth young lady or I’ll wash it out for you with lye soap.”
Apparently Taltiu had tasted soap before. She needed no further reason to stay silent.
Taran spoke up, “Arthur, tell us your new plan. I for one would like to hear it.”
“All right but I don’t have it all worked out yet. Maybe you can help with the details,” Arthur replied.
It had taken a bit of time, but they had finally become friends – something not unusual when two shared a secret like they did. After all, Taran could not tell anyone of Arthur’s true origins; they would think them both crazy!
“Most of the castles and walled cities where I come from have a moat around the outside. Your city has no moat, and I think it’s vital for your defense not only against the Kullucks but any other enemies,” Arthur stated.
“Arthur, what is a ‘moat?’” asked Taran.
“Ah, I guess you haven’t developed those yet... here,” replied Arthur. He meant “in this time period” of course, but only Taran and Arthur knew that.
“A moat is a deep trench that surrounds your city walls. The best moats are wide and deep and filled with water. I don’t think we have the time to build a moat like that but even a narrow trench, say as wide as a man is tall, would be good if it were deep enough and dug right,” Arthur explained.
“How is a moat dug right?” inquired Taran. He didn’t realize it yet but Taran learned more about engineering during Arthur’s visit to Finias than he did in all the craftsmanship studies he had for the rest of his school career.
“We should dig a trench around the walls with one side straight and the other side sloping. The sloping side would face outward. The advancing enemy will slide down the walls into the trench, but not be able to climb up the other side,” Arthur explained. His father had taught him about using moats for defense.
Taran called King Tuan into the room and described Arthur’s latest idea. The king asked, “Even if we do this, it doesn’t guarantee that the Kullucks will be deterred from attacking again but it should slow them down. Digging a trench like that will take many hands. It will need to be deeper than a man and at least as wide at the top, narrower at the bottom.”
The king issued the order and all able bodied men, older children, and women who could be spared were sent to dig. It was hard work, but at least the ground had thawed and the spring rains had made the soil softer. They never could have done it if it were still winter!
For two days and nights the people of Finias took turns in shifts, digging. At night they worked by torch light. Those too tired to dig held the torches. After two days the trench was ten feet wide, 8 to 12 feet deep, and surrounded half the city.
April 10, 2200 B.C.E.
A lookout arrived early the morning after they completed the moat and reported the Kullucks had been spotted on Green Forks Road and were only two hours away. There were no horses in Ireland yet, so lookouts arrived on foot. By 10 a.m. a runner arrived from the village of Aerin’s Landing to report the Kullucks were bearing down hard across the planes from the south.
The people of Finias returned within their walls to await the inevitable. The Kulluck onslaught began shortly thereafter. The horrible beasts ran across the Senmag at full speed. They never seemed to slow down! Their strength did not wane and they had unlimited energy.
The first of the advancing Kullucks slid into the trench and the others followed. One after the other, they fell. They clawed and kicked and tried but they could not climb up the other side!
Arthur and Taran watched from the top of the tower along with King Tuan and his aides. The boys let out a loud cheer as the first of the monsters fell into the pit.
As more Kullucks slid into the trench, they trampled those underneath them, killing them. Eventually there were enough dead Kullucks in the trench that those entering were now standing on top of the pile. As the defensive trench filled with dead monsters, the Kullucks were getting close to reaching the top of the stone wall surrounding the city.
A lookout in the south tower shouted to those below, “They’re almost to the top of the wall. Take cover!”
The people of Finias had seen enough of these relentless attacks that they knew their only defense at this point was not to be there when the Kullucks entered the city. The king ordered his people to take cover in their underground food storage cellars and bar the doors.
The people were safe in the shelters – the Kullucks did not seem to know about cellars and they must have thought – if they even thought! – that the people simply disappeared.
But the Finians could not live forever in their cellars.
Chapter 9: More Plans
April 11, 2200 B.C.E. Ireland
Battle planning was becoming a breakfast habit in King Tuan’s household. After their latest failure to get rid of the Kullucks, even Arthur was getting depressed. It didn’t look like they would ever win against these monsters.
Ainé served porridge once again while Taran, Taltiu and Arthur sat silently eating. Taran was glad that his mother and her maid had not fled the city. Ainé fed the twins their own porridge, alternating spoonfuls between the two toddlers. Only the twins seemed energetic and eager this morning. Suddenly, Keevan spit porridge at Ainé. “Oh! You little rascal!” Ainé shouted.
Taltiu laughed at her little brother. But Taran and Arthur hardly seemed to notice the little boy’s antics. They were thinking hard about their situation and what they could do to win this battle.
Suddenly, Arthur dropped his spoon in his bowl and sat bolt upright.
“You look like someone with an idea,” said Taran.
“You guessed it!” replied Arthur. “Where I come from we have many weapons that you do not have. I don’t mean to boast – these are just facts. One of the weapons that we have is something called a catapult. It is made of wood and it can throw things a great distance. We could make one – but it will take the work of many strong men and even then still take a few days,” Arthur explained. “I’m not sure we have enough time to build this, but we need to try!”
“And what would we throw with this catapult?” responded Taran.
“Well, my first thought was to throw explosives at the Kullucks but the materials we need for that are not found easily around here. So I’ll have to improvise,” Arthur said.
“What are explosives?” asked Ainé.
“Compounds that when mixed together, go boom! But the major ingredient, sulfur, is not found readily in this part of Irel... ah, the Emerald Isle,” Arthur stuttered. “But we can soak cloth in oil. What happens when you set a flame to oil?”
Taltiu spoke up. “It burns! Can your catapult throw the burning cloth at the demons?”
“Yes, I think it can,” replied Arthur. “If we throw enough burning material at them while they are grouped together we could cause some serious damage.”
Taran asked, “What does one of these devises of yours look like?”
“It is made of wood and has a flat base. Where I come from we use catapults to throw spears or other missiles at invading armies. But I can redesign it, with your help Taran, to throw heavier objects at a higher trajectory.
“A catapult has two arms that stick up from the middle of each side, each held up by a cross bar to brace them. Between the two standing pieces of wood is another straight piece connecting them. A movable arm is anchored at the bottom and the end of the arm holds what you want to throw. A length of strong sinew is tied to the connecting piece and under the arm. When you pull
back on the arm, the sinew tightens up and when you let go, you send it flying. It’s kind of like a bow and arrow but much larger and lain on the ground. This would be easier to explain if I could show you what one looks like. I can draw you a picture if you have some paper,” Arthur explained.
“Paper? I am not familiar with that word but I can bring you some bark from Master Sreng and ink,” Taran replied, and ran off to the front room to make the request of his teacher. He returned not only with bark and quill, but with Master Sreng as well.
“Taran says you have another plan and you must draw a catapult. I must see this and report on it to the king if it is a viable plan,” Master Sreng announced.
Arthur drew a passable picture of a catapult then said, “We’ll need lengths of hard wood, nails, good strong sinew, and a metal bucket or clay pot that we can fill with burning oil and cloth on the end of the throwing arm. Do you think the king will approve?”
Just at that moment, King Tuan entered the kitchen area. “I heard plans being discussed. Don’t you children ever sleep?”
“Father,” said Taran, “Arthur has come up with another fantastic plan to rid us of these monsters. I hope you’ll approve it!”
“Well, my son, if you have examined the plan and think it is good then I will stand by your recommendation. After all, you will someday become the ruler of Finias; that is, if there is anything left to be ruler of,” replied Tuan, his voice full of apprehension.