by Jim Eldridge
They continued walking, but after they’d gone about a hundred metres, the tunnel seemed to get much darker.
‘There’s something right across the tunnel,’ said Milo. ‘It looks like a net curtain.’
They approached the hanging obstacle, and then stopped.
‘It’s a giant spider’s web,’ said Jack.
Big Rock stepped back.
‘Hate spiders.’ He shuddered.
‘Actually, spiders are good creatures,’ said Meenu. ‘They eat flies and other insects that spread diseases. People shouldn’t be frightened of them.’
‘Unless they’re very, very big,’ said Jack nervously. He pointed. ‘Like those.’
The others looked, and saw that about twelve huge spiders had crawled down from the ceiling onto the spider’s web, and were making their way down to the floor of the tunnel. They were so big that the gang could see their eyes, and the hooked claws next to their gaping mouths.
‘AAAAARGH!!!’
As one, they all shouted and stepped back in alarm. The next second there was a flash of bright light that lit up the tunnel as Blaze changed into a dragon. The dragon opened its mouth and let out a burst of flame, directed at the heavy spider’s web. Immediately the spiders retreated, back to where they’d come from, scuttling away and disappearing into cracks in the rocks above them. A large hole, burnt by Blaze, had appeared in the heavy web.
‘Thanks, Blaze,’ said Jack, as the phoenix changed back to its normal shape.
‘The spiders are still here,’ said Milo apprehensively. ‘They’re hiding in the ceiling and the walls.’
‘We’ve got Blaze with us if they come after us again,’ said Jack.
‘Don’t like spiders,’ grunted Big Rock.
They moved on. Jack noticed that Blaze kept cocking his head to one side, as if he were listening out for something.
‘What’s up, Blaze?’ he asked.
‘Something’s following us,’ whispered the phoenix.
‘What?’ asked Jack. ‘The spiders?’
‘Perhaps,’ said Blaze. ‘But I can’t tell.’
Jack called for the others to stop, then motioned for them to gather round him. He whispered, ‘Don’t turn around, but we’re being followed.’
‘What by?’ asked Big Rock, turning around to look.
‘Jack said, “Don’t turn around”!’ snorted Robin.
‘Ah,’ said Big Rock. ‘Anyway, I not scared. I go back and see who it is.’
And he turned to head back down the tunnel.
‘It could be spiders,’ said Jack.
Big Rock stopped.
‘I wait and see,’ he said.
‘This is a really creepy place,’ said Milo with a shudder.
‘At least the only problems we’ve come up against have been those spiders,’ said Meenu. ‘If we’re lucky, that’ll be all we meet.’
‘And if we’re unlucky, we’ve still got the rats and the ghosts to come,’ said Robin sourly.
‘No such thing as ghosts,’ said Big Rock.
CHAPTER 5
They followed the tunnel as it twisted and turned. As they walked, Jack and Blaze kept their ears alert for whatever was following them; but either they’d stopped following them, or they were being very quiet about it.
The gang turned a bend and stopped as they came to a fork, where the tunnel branched in two directions.
‘I think we ought to take the tunnel to the left,’ said Milo.
‘Why?’ asked Robin.
‘Because I just heard a noise coming from the tunnel to the right.’
They strained their ears and listened, and then they heard it too. A scuttling sound, along with a sharp, scratching noise.
‘Spiders?’ asked Meenu.
‘That noise sounds a bit heavy for spiders,’ said Jack. ‘And what’s making that scratching sound?’
‘Claws,’ said Blaze. ‘Very sharp claws.’
‘There’s a swishing noise as well. Like something sweeping along the ground.’
‘Long tails,’ said the Avenger.
‘Lots of long tails,’ added Milo, listening.
‘Blaze, I think we might need you in your dragon shape again, with lots of fire,’ said Jack.
There was a flash of light as Blaze changed shape into the dragon once more. He opened his mouth and breathed out … but this time there was only a puff of black smoke – no flames.
‘I’ve used up too much energy changing to be able to make fire,’ said Blaze.
‘That’s a pity,’ said Milo nervously. ‘Because the swishing and scratching and scuttling noises are getting nearer. And any second –’
‘SSSSS!’
From out of the right-hand tunnel appeared a long, slithering snake. It had a wide mouth with sharp teeth, and a forked tongue that flicked in and out. Its eyes glowed yellow in the gloom. As he looked at it, Jack could feel himself getting sleepy.
‘Don’t look at its eyes!’ shouted Meenu in alarm. ‘It’s a hypnosnake!’ And she turned her back on the creature, and then reached out and quickly pulled the Avenger’s mask down over her eyes.
The snake’s hypnotic gaze was having an effect on the others, too. Even Big Rock was looking dazed.
‘You can’t hypnotise me!’ cried Robin, and the old horse poised himself to charge at the snake, but somehow his legs and his body began to feel so very heavy …
WHOOOSHHH!!!
Jack came out of his trance with a shock. He looked towards the tunnel on the right. The snake-like creature had gone.
‘Who did it take?’ he asked anxiously, looking around at the rest.
They were all still there: Milo, Big Rock, Robin, Blaze, the Masked Avenger and Meenu.
‘What happened?’ demanded the Avenger, straightening her mask so she could see again. ‘Where did that thing go?’
‘Something grabbed it and pulled it back into the tunnel,’ said Meenu. ‘I saw it vanish out of the corner of my eye.’
‘Whatever it was, we ought to be thankful to it for saving us,’ said Milo.
‘Or not,’ said Robin.
‘What do you mean?’ asked the Avenger.
‘Something that can do that to a creature like that sounds pretty big and dangerous to me.’
‘Like what?’ asked Big Rock.
‘Well, we heard the sound of sharp claws, but that snake didn’t have legs or claws. So whatever took that snake …’
‘Is rat,’ said Big Rock.
‘We don’t know that for sure,’ said Meenu.
‘Yes we do,’ said Jack with a shudder and a gulp, and he pointed.
From out of the tunnel came a rat. Then another. Then another. And not just small rats, or even medium-sized rats. These were enormous rats, as big as dogs, with very sharp teeth glinting in the half-light, eyes shining, their coats glistening black and brown, and their very long tails swishing behind them.
CHAPTER 6
‘Okay,’ said Milo. ‘These are definitely the giant rats, and if you want my opinion, this is as far as we go.’
‘No,’ said Jack. ‘I have to get inside the castle and get that ring.’
‘Rats not hurt me,’ said Big Rock. And he stepped towards the creatures, his fists bunched.
The rats let out a low growl and opened their mouths to bare their sharp teeth at the big troll as they advanced. Suddenly the leading rat leapt at Big Rock, claws and teeth bared.
BOP!!
The rat crumpled to the ground, out cold, as Big Rock’s fist rammed into its snout. The other rats stopped their advance and looked down at the unconscious rat.
Good, hoped Jack. That will scare them away!
It didn’t. Instead, more rats came rushing out of the tunnel, some leaping at Big Rock, the others aiming for the rest of the gang.
Jack grappled with a rat that jumped at him, his hands around its throat to keep its head away from him and stop its sharp teeth from biting him. Now would be a good time to turn into Thud, he told himself, but nothin
g was happening.
The Masked Avenger had grabbed one of the rats by its tail and was swinging it, banging it against the rocky side of the tunnel. Robin was kicking out hard with his hooves, sending rats falling back. Milo had jumped on the back of one rat while Meenu held onto its tail, the pair of them trying to bring it to the ground together.
Blaze had taken on the form of a huge grey rat and was battling, rat against rat, while Big Rock continued grabbing and punching. The rats obviously saw the troll as the main danger, because more of them joined in the attack on Big Rock.
Let me turn into Thud! begged Jack. But still nothing happened.
Suddenly Jack became aware that someone else – or something else – had become engaged in the battle and was pummelling the rats that hung onto Big Rock and hurling them aside.
And then there came a warning shout from Blaze. ‘Look out!’
There was a huge rushing sound coming from the direction of the entrance behind them, and the next second the gang were engulfed in a wall of foaming, swirling water that lifted them off their feet and hurled them along, banging them against the sides and floor of the tunnel.
‘It’s the river!’ shouted the Avenger. ‘It’s broken into the tunnel!’
Frantically, Jack fought to keep his head above water, but the force of the raging torrent pulled him down. He could feel the water filling his nose, choking him. No, he thought. I mustn’t drown! I have to find that ring!
And then he felt a grab on his collar and found himself being hauled upwards, out of the water, and plonked down on a rocky ledge. Dazed, he opened his eyes and looked into the face of Dunk, the orc that Big Rock had hit outside the entrance to the tunnel.
Jack became aware that the others were also climbing onto the ledge, being helped up by Big Rock, who was standing, rock solid, in the racing water. The Masked Avenger and Meenu had hauled themselves out, while Robin swam to the ledge and was helped out by Milo, Big Rock and a large grey rat, which turned back into Blaze once the old horse was safe.
‘There are some steps here!’ called the Avenger. ‘They go up!’
And she ran to a doorway in the wall of the tunnel.
‘Come on!’ she called.
Meenu followed her, along with Milo, Robin and Blaze.
Jack turned back to the orc, who was still crouching on the ledge.
‘You saved my life,’ he said, surprised.
‘Yes,’ said Dunk.
‘Why?’ asked Jack.
‘Because if I didn’t, you’d have drowned,’ said Dunk.
‘But …’ stammered Jack, still bewildered. He didn’t understand this. All the orcs he’d known, especially those who worked for Lord Veto, had been nasty and vicious and were not to be trusted.
Big Rock hauled himself out of the water onto the ledge, then held out his hand towards Dunk.
‘You help me fight rats,’ he said. ‘Save me. Thank you.’
Dunk took the troll’s hand and shook it.
‘I still don’t understand why you helped us,’ said Jack.
‘Because I want to find Lord Veto,’ said Dunk.
‘Why?’ asked Jack.
Dunk hesitated, then he announced: ‘Because I want to tell him I quit. I’ve realised his sneaky ways have led me down the wrong path in life. I’ve had enough! I thought you might be looking for him. If you find him, then I find him.’
‘But if you want to quit, you could just leave now,’ pointed out Meenu.
‘Yes, but Lord Veto owes me back wages,’ said Dunk. ‘I intend to get them so I can start a new life.’
‘So it was you who was following us?’ asked Jack.
‘Yes,’ said Dunk.
‘You good orc,’ said Big Rock. ‘Brave. I sorry I bang you to ground.’
‘Yes, well, I’m sorry as well,’ said Dunk. ‘It hurt.’
‘You can punch me,’ offered Big Rock.
‘No thank you,’ said Dunk.
‘Hurry up!’ came the voice of the Avenger. ‘I think we’ve found the way to the kitchens!’
CHAPTER 7
Jack, Big Rock and Dunk scrambled up the steps and found the rest of the gang waiting impatiently for them. Robin looked at Dunk suspiciously.
‘What’s that orc doing with us?’ he demanded.
‘He saved my life,’ said Jack. ‘And he came to Big Rock’s rescue when those rats were attacking us.’
‘An orc?’ said Robin.
‘Yes,’ said Jack.
Robin shook his head in astonishment. ‘An orc doing good,’ he said. ‘I’ve never heard of such a thing.’
‘I think the kitchens are this way,’ said the Avenger, pointing.
‘Yes, they are,’ nodded Jack. ‘I recognise this part of the castle. We’re in the cellars. This must be the entrance to the tunnels.’
He set off at a run, the others following him, and soon they came to a door with the word KITCHENS on it.
Jack pushed open the door and stepped in, and then he stopped, as all the memories of his time working there as a kitchen boy flooded back. How long had it been since he was last here? A year. A long time. But coming back into the kitchen like this, seeing it all looking the same, it was as if it had only been yesterday.
The others crowded through the door behind Jack and stood looking around them, taking in the large kitchen with the two huge wooden tables in the centre of the room, and the old iron oven in the fireplace, blackened with age and heat. The oven was cold now – the wood fires inside it had been left to go out. Along one wall was a row of ancient sinks made of stone, with very old water taps above them.
‘Is this where you worked?’ asked Milo.
‘This is where I lived,’ Jack corrected him. ‘I helped prepare food at those tables, and washed up the pots and pans and plates and cutlery in those sinks. And at night I slept in a basket in that corner.’ And Jack pointed towards the far corner of the kitchen, where they could see a broken wicker basket. ‘I can’t believe it’s still there. They didn’t throw it out.’
He walked over to the corner of the room, the others following him. They stood looking down at Jack’s old bed: a ragged, round basket, lined with bits of old paper.
‘I had a dog who had a better basket than that,’ said the Avenger.
‘Poor Jack,’ sighed Meenu. ‘It must have been horrible.’
‘It was,’ admitted Jack. Then he smiled. ‘But I’ve got friends now. And that’s what counts.’
He knelt down beside the basket, then reached out behind it and pushed his fingers into the gap between two of the bricks in the old, crumbling wall. The brick came out. Jack dropped the brick in the basket, and took out a tiny cloth parcel from the hiding place. He unfolded the cloth to reveal a silver ring. On it was a crest: a small picture of a shield, with what looked like two stones either side.
‘This is it,’ said Jack.
‘Ha!’ exclaimed Big Rock, excitedly. ‘Me look, Jack?’
‘Here,’ said Jack, and he handed the ring to Big Rock.
The giant troll examined the ring, and then gave it back to Jack.
‘That Royal Troll Ring,’ he said.
‘What do you mean, Royal Troll Ring?’ asked Meenu.
‘Shield on it,’ said Big Rock. ‘Shield of Troll King.’
‘I didn’t know there was a Troll King,’ said Milo.
‘There not, no more,’ said Big Rock. ‘When Troll King died, he last one. No more Troll Royal Family.’
‘But why did my mother leave this to me?’ asked Jack, studying the ring.
‘Maybe she Troll Princess,’ said Big Rock. ‘You half-troll, Jack.’
‘But what would a Troll Princess be doing at Veto Castle?’ asked Milo.
‘Perhaps you’d better ask Lord Veto,’ hissed a voice.
CHAPTER 8
They spun round and saw a shadowy figure, standing in the doorway. It was very tall and thin, and covered from head to foot in some sort of black material.
‘It’s a ghost!’
exclaimed Robin.
‘No such thing as ghost!’ snorted Big Rock, and he strode towards the figure.
Immediately the figure produced a long sword with a wickedly sharp-looking blade.
‘Sword not hurt me!’ snapped Big Rock.
But before the troll could do anything, the shadowy figure had moved – it was now standing with the sword pointing at the Masked Avenger’s throat.
‘No,’ said the figure. ‘But it’ll hurt her.’
‘I didn’t see it move!’ whispered Dunk, shocked.
‘Because it’s a ghost!’ repeated Robin, awed.
‘No,’ said the Avenger. ‘It’s a ninja. One of the deadly assassins I told you about. They can use anything and everything as weapons. They move as silently as ghosts.’
‘He only one,’ snorted Big Rock.
‘Er … two,’ said Robin.
‘Three,’ said Blaze.
They looked towards the door, where more figures, dressed in the same way and holding long swords that glinted in the half-light, had appeared.
‘I count six,’ muttered Milo.
‘Me too,’ agreed Jack.
‘If you do as we say, you live,’ said the first ninja. ‘If you resist, you die.’
‘We live,’ said Robin.
‘Me and Masked Avenger beat them!’ said Big Rock firmly.
‘While the rest of us are chopped into little pieces,’ said Milo unhappily. ‘No, we have to give in, Big Rock. For the moment.’
‘What did you mean when you said, “Ask Lord Veto”?’ Jack addressed the first ninja, puzzled.
‘Follow and you’ll find out,’ said the ninja. ‘But any tricks from the troll, or anyone else, and you’ll all die.’
‘No tricks, Big Rock,’ Milo said.
‘Okay,’ nodded the troll.
Three of the ninjas left the kitchen and stood in the corridor outside, swords ready, while the gang came out, followed by the final three ninjas. As they walked along the corridor, aware of the armed ninjas beside them, Milo whispered in a low voice, ‘Any chance of turning into Thud and getting us out of this, Jack?’