by Zax Vagen
“Have you ever seen such a spectacle?” asked Thist.
Kelvin leaned on his bow. “This sight never gets old.”
Jem was dumbstruck for a moment as he gaped at the ocean. “Who or what would want to subvert a world like this?” said Jem.
“What is a subverter anyway?” asked Thist.
“It sounds like something stupid.” said Jem. “Like the stories we used to hear about ‘the hagget,’ do you remember those?”
Thist pulled his shirt over his head, hunched his back so far down that his face touched his knees. He hobbled forward while croaking like a frog and imitating gassy bodily functions.
“Look;
I’m the hagget,
Old and weak,
I’m the hagget,
Weary and sick.”
Jem laughed as he remembered the playground ditty. Kelvin kept quiet. He stared at the ocean with a longing look on his face. He looked up at Thist as he made a silly playground joke and couldn’t help but smile at the mirth.
“I don’t know about this ‘mission’.” said Jem “I think we have jumped headlong into a few things in the past couple of weeks since the journey has started. We took on big tasks without thinking. I think it was blind luck that we succeeded in most of them. What if our luck has run out and we get juiced by the dragon?”
“We can’t hold back now.” said Kelvin. “We have to do this.”
“What makes you think that we can succeed?” insisted Jem.
“That’s easy, Jem.” chuckled Thist, still in his hagget personification. “We are very bad at failing.”
Jem rubbed his chin as he looked back at the ancient forest. “I wonder if we can use my ant nest cutting trick on one of those trees.”
“The wisps will hate you for it.” said Kelvin. “Why would you want to cut one of those trees anyway? Firewood?”
Jem swatted Kelvin on the back of the head. “Firewood! No! I think I can build the daddy of all trebuchets and use it to deliver a message to our dragon friend.”
Kelvin looked annoyed at Jem. “You just want to start shooting at someone’s peaceful looking home? What if you hurt someone?”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” said Jem. “What do you think we should do?”
“We have to figure out what it is that we want.” said Thist. “Without that we cannot even make a decision on what to do, less even how to do it.”
“Here is what we know,” started Jem, “there is a dragon in the castle and it has something called a soul bridge, whatever that is.”
“What are we going to do with a soul bridge?” asked Kelvin as he tried to make the best of the situation.
“What I have learned on our journey from my annoying head voices,” said Thist, “is that every voice in my head is a soul that is trapped in one of the diamonds in my pouch.”
“How can you be sure?” said Kelvin. “I mean you don’t even know if they are diamonds or not, do you?”
“Look.” said Thist as he tipped the diamonds out of the pouch and into his hand. “Look at all the gemstones in the light. Can you see how they sparkle?”
Kelvin looked mesmerized by the diamonds. “You never showed them to me before. They look wonderful, but how can you say they have souls in them? How can you know that?”
“Now look at them in the shade.” said Thist. “They all sparkle except one. The voices agree that the soul from this one diamond is either lost or has crossed over for some unknown reason. They say that if we can free the soul bridge then all the souls can cross and life will be able to go on.”
Jem shook his head. “Cross over? You mean new babies could be born.”
“Yes.” said Thist.
Kelvin bit his nails in an odd display of nervousness. “That is a good reason to go after the soul bridge, I guess. Let’s build the daddy of all trebuchets and lay siege to that castle.”
“Not so fast.” said Thist as he raised one hand, “Let’s formulate a plan first.”
“I’m all ears,” said Jem as he sat down next to Thist and dug his hands into the brightly coloured pebbles.
“First we have to stick to what we are good at.” said Thist as he started to rub some pebbles together. “Pace ourselves and also be adaptable.”
Kelvin picked up a flat looking pebble and flicked it across the water, “You have just given us vague instructions. Can you be specific in terms of laying siege to the castle?”
Thist watched the stone skip over the water. “Each one of us has strengths and skills that are formidable on their own but as a team we could be invincible. Together, I think that dragon stands no chance. I can imbue items, Kelvin can shoot arrows and Jem can build contraptions.”
“We are still lacking a clear plan.” said Kelvin.
“I think I know what we can do.” said Jem, “We have a sniper, an aerial bomber and a secret weapon. Deployed strategically, we can persuade the dragon to give us his precious soul bridge.”
Kelvin looked at Jem and shook his head. “Are you sure of this?”
Jem shook his head back at Kelvin sarcastically. “You are the sniper. I can use a trebuchet to rain down hell from anywhere and far out of sight. And not even Thist knows what Thist can do. I think that the power is in our hands.”
Kelvin nodded. “Thist, what do you think?”
Thist lay down so that the pebbles on the beach could give his travel weary muscles a good massage. “I think…” he paused as he rubbed his back on the smooth beach pebbles. “…I should just walk up to the gates and ask for the soul bridge, you guys can cover me with trebuchet and bow fire.”
Jem raised his eyebrows, “That is not a bad idea. I’ll have to build a trebuchet first.”
Kelvin shook his head in disbelief, “So we are going to do this?”
“Yes.” said Thist.
“Then I should fletch some arrows.” said Kelvin with a broad smile. “And you can imbue some things for us.”
Thist jumped up in delight at Kelvin’s idea. “Tea anyone?”
“Great idea.” said Jem. “Let’s head back to the forest and set up a camp there, we can have some inspirational tea, while we plan and strategize the taking of the soul bridge.”
Kelvin and Jem were ready to hike back to their original camp site in the ancient forest. Thist lingered on the beach for a few minutes as he gathered up a few carefully selected pebbles. “Wait!” said Thist.
“What?” asked Kelvin.
“Let’s make the tea here” He looked up and noticed how the mist rolled over the mountains beyond the forest bringing fresh rain clouds. “It will rain before we get a fire going in the forest.”
Kelvin picked through a pile of drift driftwood as he selected the straight sticks for arrow fletching. Jem was digging a hole in the pebbles to start a fire in. “Good thing we have all the tools from the shed.” said Jem to himself.
Thist looked confused for a moment. “What tools?”
“Jem brought all the tools from the shed at the old tavern.” said Kelvin.
“All the tools?” asked Thist.
“Yes,” said Jem, “all the tools.”
“How?” asked Thist.
Jem grinned, “Kelvin and I dragged two extra ropes with us that were tied to large parcels on the tavern side of the canyon. They are still there. All we have to do is pull the parcels across on the four dangling ropes and we have the parcels. We don’t have to go all the way back for them.
“Two parcels?” asked Thist.
“Tools in the one and sundries in the other.” said Kelvin.
“Sundries?” asked Thist.
“The left over gold coins and berry wine.” said Jem.
“Berry wine!” exclaimed Thist. “I’m not drinking that rubbish again, that stuff nearly killed us.”
Jem nodded with a wry smile. “I’m never drinking that stuff either, but I think that if you go to negotiate for the soul bridge at the castle then you might want to go bearing gifts.”
Thist nodded. “How m
uch berry wine did you load into your package on the bridge?”
Kelvin started to giggle. The tears streamed down his face as he tried to speak.
“What’s his problem?” asked Thist.
“He loaded all of the berry wine” said Jem. “He even made me help him.”
Thist looked shocked and pleased. “All of the berry wine? That’s at least one hundred bottles. So what is the plan then?” asked Thist, “When are we going back to fetch the wine bottles and tools?”
“I think we should make some tea and then head back.” started Jem. “Maybe we can get the stuff across by tomorrow before breakfast. In the meantime I think everyone should think hard about how we are going to complete this mission. The idea is still freaking me out a bit.”
“The three of us both.” said Kelvin.
Thist rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation of the tea. “Something good always comes from the tea.” said Thist.
“Often something bad as well.” warned Jem. “You either freak out with all your head voices or you pass out from ‘over-magic’.”
“Speaking of over-magic,” said Kelvin, “that wicked bull whip that you are carrying on your belt since you crossed the bridge…have you imbued it with something yet?”
Thist looked down at the whip on his belt, “No! I hadn’t even thought of that much, what kind of power would I imbue in it?”
Jem looked at the whip for a moment and then shook his head. “Nothing, it’s awesome just like that.”
“Can you use it properly?” asked Kelvin.
Thist flashed Kelvin a deadpan face as he unclipped the whip. He held the handle and flicked the length out to his right side, took a stance and then lashed out at a pebble on the beach twenty paces away. The whip curled around the pebble and it became airborne, flying back at Thist. Thist caught the pebble in his left hand and the entire whip neatly curled back in his right. “I used to hunt guinea fowl with a whip, you just lash the neck and you have yourself a fresh bird for dinner.”
Kelvin was impressed by the whip skill but cringed at the thought of eating guinea fowl. “Tough meat.” said Kelvin.
Thist started gathering small pieces of driftwood for the tea fire. “Don’t you know how to cook a guinea fowl?”
“Tell him” said Jem.
Thist rubbed his nose, a dead giveaway that he was starting to tell a joke. “You find a very smooth pebble or even two, then you put the cut meat into a pot of simmering water and a teaspoon of salt with the pebbles. After three days you throw away the guinea fowl meat and eat the pebbles.”
Kelvin could not contain his laughter. He had never heard the joke before.
Jem shook his head. “I’m sick of travelling with you two. I miss home, I miss Kaylah and most of all I miss my mother. I wish there was a way to communicate with them back home.”
Thist looked away as he tried to hide his own longing from the other two. “I’ll see what I can do.” said Thist.
Kelvin grabbed Thist by the arm, “Before you ‘see what you can do’ as you so lightly put it, please check with us before you do something stupid.”
Thist ripped his arm free from Kelvin’s grip and shot him an angry glare. The hair on his arms and neck started to prickle and he knew that he should contain his fury as it built up. “You led us here. You were supposed to lead us to a town called Fineburg. Now we are somewhere left of absolutely nowhere. I’m just as sick of travelling with you as Jem is. I also miss my people back home and I want to know why you led us to this stupid castle. Fineburg is far away from this deadbeat pile of ruins.”
Kelvin stuck out his hand to try to calm Thist down. “Okay my buddy, just calm down. Let’s talk it through, shall we?”
Jem came close to Kelvin and made a calming gesture with his hands “Thist, look at me, just calm down. We are going to have some nice tea and then we are going to rest a little before we make tracks back to the village of cheese makers.”
Kelvin took a step back and looked at Thist’s feet. “Please Thist, I got distracted on the way and I might have gotten us a little lost. This is not the way I remember but I only realise now how lost we are.”
Thist closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “This mission is stupid. I’m getting my things and going home, with or without you and there is nothing that you can do about it.”
Kelvin stepped closer to Thist in an effort to console him with a slap on the shoulder. Thist spun his arm around in anger and swatted Kelvin’s hand away. “Leave me alone!”
“We need you for this mission Thist,” said Kelvin, “we have to…”
“We have to what?” shouted Thist, his voice climbing in volume as the urgency of his anger and frustration started to mount up. “We don’t have to do anything. Fight dragons? Who fights dragons? And why?”
Jem wanted to protest the scene that he saw unfolding before him but knew better than to make Thist angrier; it could lead to sorrow. “Thist look at me.” Jem implored. “Look at me. It’s me, Jem. Kelvin, step back please, you don’t know what you are doing. Thist! Look at me, take a deep breath, just count with me.”
“No!” shouted Thist, “I don’t want to do your stupid counting exercise.” He bent over and picked up a hand sized pebble and squeezed it between his forehead and the palm of his hand. He gritted his teeth as he started to growl in anger. The stone started to glow with white light as Thist enchanted ad lib an imbuing spell.
“I imbue this infernal stone
With my anger,
As I hold it to my head
I hold it to my soul
And pour into it,
All that is weak
And all that is foul.”
Thist found himself on his knees, his trousers starting to drink the sea water as the waves lapped around him. The stone in his hand was glowing and pulsing.
“Thist!” called Jem.
Kelvin stood a few paces farther away. “Is he…?”
“I want to go home.” said Thist, “This journey to Fineburg is a wash.”
Kelvin raised his arms into the air in a sign of exasperation. Jem made a hushing sign to Kelvin to try to calm him, to no avail. “Come on Thist,” said Kelvin, “we came all this way, we’ve had great adventures, let’s just do this one thing and then we can go.”
“You can go on your own,” said Thist. “Or with Jem if that’s what he wants to do. I’m going home.”
Kelvin reached out to Thist again but Jem blocked his hand. “Stop!” said Jem. “Just stop if you know what is good for you.”
Bitter disappointment flashed in Kelvin’s eyes as he bit his bottom lip. Jem saw the flash of emotion and just had to ask the question. “Why do you want to attack this castle so badly anyway?” asked Jem.
Kelvin looked away as he tried to hide his emotion. “I just don’t want to go home, I guess.”
“You would rather storm a castle and fight a dragon than go home?” asked Thist.
“I would rather risk my life doing something than save my life doing nothing.” said Kelvin. “Is that enough for you?”
Jem looked at the castle in the distance. It had massive walls, tall spires and towers. He could also see a moat and a narrow draw bridge. From this distance they could barely make out tiny figures patrolling the wall. There were no flags aloft on the flag poles or any coat of arms as would be expected. Jem shook his head. “We rebuilt a bridge” said Jem, “isn’t that enough already? Besides, this is a fool’s errand; how will we take that castle from an army?”
Thist had a fire stoked under the tin travel pot, “Tea’s nearly ready, and the hum is nearly finished so we have to use it sparingly.”
“We shouldn’t have made a fire.” said Kelvin “They will see us.”
“I don’t care.” said Thist. “As far as I am concerned I’m out. The three of us, storm a castle? On account of some old fool on the hill telling us that there is some stupid item in the castle worth risking your life for? No, I feel like having some tea, then I w
ill go home, alone if I must.”
Jem watched as Thist vented his anger. He knew it was stupid to interrupt him when he was in such a bad mood. Kelvin gritted his teeth in frustration. He wanted to scream and curse. He wanted to beat his fists on the floor as he wailed in anger and frustration. But he didn’t. He walked down to the edge of the water, picked up a large fist sized pebble and flung it into the water. The single physical act did not help much to vent his frustration. He picked up another and threw it and then another and then another. After several throws Kelvin flexed his hands, they were in pain. His arms hurt, his back hurt. He gritted his teeth and seethed, “Not now, whatever you do, not now.” He took a deep breath and composed himself as he struggled to hide his own bodily discomfort. “Is that tea ready yet?” shouted Kelvin as he rubbed his hands.
“Yes. Come and get it.” said Thist.
As Kelvin approached, Jem shook his head at Kelvin trying to signal some kind of message.
“What?” asked Kelvin.
“Whatever you wanted to say, don’t. Let it go. Just let him be.” said Jem.
Thist was already sitting comfortably on the pebbles sipping his hot tea. In one hand he held a dented travel mug and in the other he had the glowing stone. “I’m calling this the anger stone for now.”
“What about the glowing anger stone?” asked Jem.
“What does it do?” asked Kelvin as he sat down and tried to lighten the mood with small talk. Thist turned his head away and looked to the castle in the distance and muttered. “It glows in the dark.”
Jem was quiet, it was clear to the three that the journey to Fineburg had failed and that the idea of laying siege to the castle was ludicrous. They were sombre and each young man had resorted to their own method of sulking or mourning of their failure.
“The tea is good.” said Jem.
Thist looked at his near empty mug and nodded his head with raised eyebrows. “There is something about it isn’t there?”
Kelvin said nothing. The trio wrapped up their tea break and started back up to the forest. The pebbles crunched under their feet. Everything felt heavy, as if the burden of failure and regret had soaked them and filled their packs with boulders. They had not moved far from the pebble beach when they were stopped by a patrol of seven guards. “Halt. Identify yourselves.” The lead guard had a stern voice.