Into the Light- Lost in Translation

by Michael White

  The conversation seemed to have turned towards what accompaniments were best with Groblette, and the current sway of opinion seemed to agree that a nice slither of ham went well with them especially well. Paul turned his back on the serpents and began to lay the stones out in a circle, each stone at a regular interval as he had seen them used by Sparr and Ybarro. He had seen in the past that the regularity of the spaces at which the stones were laid out seemed to vary with the size of the circumference of the circle. This one would not need to be huge, though he knew that he did not have all of the stones, and so the spaces he placed them at were long and regular.

  Having emptied his pockets Paul returned to the packs and began to fill them back up with the stones again. He looked anxiously over to where the white stones were laid on the ground. The serpents did not notice them as he had set them out slightly out of their line of sight, though he knew if any one of the serpents went for a wander then they would almost certainly notice them. He hurried himself and made his second trip across to the stones.

  Once again he filled his pockets and then staggered across to the partially completed circle. He had to re-space some of the rocks as he began to realise that the circle was going to be unevenly spaced, and he thought that it must be important for that not to happen. The two Groblettes had always placed them equidistant of each other and so he re-spaced them and then made his way back to the packs for the remainder of the stones.

  There were not many left now. Stuffing them into his pockets he looked up at the serpent covered rock and saw off to the east the first signs of the dawn beginning to rise on the horizon. He wondered why this small clearing in the forest was the only part of it open to the sky, but as he saw the first beams of sun hit the black onyx rock he began to realise why. The sun would make the black rock warmer and warmer as the day went by, and probably retain the heat during the night too. Even now Paul noticed some of the serpents look up lazily at the rising sun and began to yawn hungrily.

  “A nice breakfast will see me right and that’s the truth.” said one of the serpents, and several others nearby rose their long necks almost in a nodding motion.

  “I’m starving!” protested another.

  “‘Ere, when's it time for fresh Groblette?” enquired another in a high pitched squeaky voice and there were shouts of approval from many of the other serpents moving about the rock. Paul hurried back to the half completed circle, his pockets full of the last remaining rocks. Quickly he placed the last few remaining stones, careful to ensure that he was inside the circle when he placed the last stone. As he did so he felt a small hum of power run up the arm he had placed the rock with, but as soon as it shocked into his fingers it faded. He was not sure what this meant at all, but he carefully paced around the circle, ensuring that all of the rocks were the same distance from each other, and that none had moved since he had placed them.

  He walked the circle twice and everything seemed to be in place, but he was not quite sure whether it would work. What if the placing of the rocks took years of training? He gulped and stood in the middle of the rocks, holding onto his invisibility as if it were the last vestige of hope he had of saving the Groblettes. Already several of the serpents had slithered off the rock and the lazy morning sun was beginning to fill the clearing. Luckily none of the serpents had come across the rocks yet, though if they did and what he had done had worked then he would soon be aware of it!

  He stopped in the centre of the circle. This was his only plan. After this he had only a general idea of how to rescue the Groblettes. As he thought it through, considering his options, he silently cursed to himself and picking up one of the stones which trembled warmly in his hand as he lifted it, and leaving the circle made his way back to the discarded packs. From here he picked a small sword and placed it under his cloak. He had told himself that he had no intention of using this as a weapon. He had done that once and would never do it again! He knew however that if he were to free the Groblettes he would have to have something to cut their bonds. Re-entering the circle and placing the last rock he trembled as the stone felt suddenly warm to the touch, a brief shock almost like that of static electricity racing up his arm,

  It was now or never. The serpent's seemed to be becoming more boisterous, and so with a sigh he unclenched his fist and the power dropped from him like a shroud. He gulped in the warming air as he knew that now he was invisible no longer.

  Yet none of the serpents seemed to notice him.

  Paul smiled and looked over to the rock where it appeared the subject of sauce or no sauce seemed to be the current topic of conversation.

  “Like a nice sauce, I does.” grunted one of the larger serpents, “Sets a dish right off does that.”

  “I likes me meat pink and tender.” explained another one of the serpents, “Gravy only gets stuck in me fangs and what have you.”

  “Yeh. Pink and tender seems right to me too.” said a smaller serpent and Paul watched carefully as the largest serpent atop the onyx tor looked across the clearing almost nonchalantly before running its eyes across him. Paul almost smiled as the serpent did a double take and then blinked twice before slithering quickly off the rock and heading towards him. With satisfaction Paul also noticed several of the snakes guarding the Groblettes come out to see what was going on and began to slither across towards him out of curiosity.

  “Ere!” shouted the large serpent as it approached. “Wot you up to, you cheeky blighter?” Paul smiled at the serpent as it approached, now followed by several of its comrades. Paul thought that it was quite difficult to know when a serpent was outraged, but the large reptiles bearing down on him seemed to have all the classic signs of anger. Paul took a second to regard his enemies.

  They were enormous. They also were of different colours; some green, others red, black and orange. All had the same yellow ravenous eyes though, long fangs protruding from their drooling maws. They also seemed to have several large bumps along their body at even distances. Paul counted four on the serpent that now crawled towards him, and he had no doubt that the others were the same. As it reached the outside of the circle the enormous serpent rose up above him as if ready to strike, yet it looked at Paul with avid eyes, obviously suspicious as to why Paul was not trying to run away.

  “Big old snake aren’t you?” said Paul sarcastically, railing against the thought of fading from view, lifting a rock and running. Yet inside he was in turmoil. If the rocks were not laid correctly, then he was as good as dead.

  “Oo you calling a snake?” said the giant serpent, hissing loudly. “Cheeky geezer you are, ain’t yeah? Gonna end up on me dinner plate you are, make no mistake!”

  Paul laughed and the serpent looked even more confused.

  “Give him what for!” shouted one of the other serpents at the back of the growing crowd. Cheeky blighter! Bring him over here! He’ll make a tasty snack if I’m not mistaken!”

  “Ugly looking snake too.” continued Paul, pacing nonchalantly around the circle of stones which was beginning to be surrounded by all of the serpents, “Last time I saw scales as ugly as that they had been made into a pair of boots.”

  “Boots?” squeaked the serpent in shock, “They make boots out of serpents?”

  “Only if you are lucky.” smile Paul, “Most of them get used for bags and what have you. Heels, maybe.”

  “Blimey.” said the serpent, and then it made a strange grimace. It took Paul a few seconds to determine that it was actually smiling. “Well we shall have to eat you won’t we if we are to avoid being made into boots and what have you.” With a lunge the serpent threw itself forward. Paul’s heart stopped as the snake moved towards the stone, it’s huge head striking down like a thunderbolt.

  The instant the snake’s head struck down the reaction was instant. There was a sound that reminded Paul of the sound not unlike that of a rubber band being twanged and the snake shot away into the air as if an invisible hand had gathered it up and thrown it as far as it could high into the air
. The snake shot through the air and vanished off to the east squeaking loudly to itself as it was cast inelegantly off into the woods.

  The other serpents stood around in confusion, looking at each other. Slowly Paul saw their anger rising and almost all at once they threw themselves at him, hissing madly. Again the snakes were cast away like confetti swept away by a strong wind, hissing and crying out as they were thrown through the air. Even more of the serpents came and threw themselves at the circle, and Paul cowered down, closing his eyes and clenching his left fist, fading from the world into the shadows.

  As he peeked out between his fingers he saw the snakes were continuing a furious assault upon the circle, but they were all being cast away into the woods effortlessly. Paul felt the colour draw from the woods, the trees and bushes becoming black and white, the shadows whispering at him to join them for once and all. He hid from the rage of the assault, noticing almost absent mindedly that the snakes guarding the Groblettes were also advancing on the circle, leaving the cells unguarded.

  Then, just as sudden as the attack had begun it ended. Paul felt the shadows welcoming him, and he vaguely noticed his fingers clenched in his left fist now drawing blood, his fingernails raking inward at his palm.

  With a gasp he fought back, releasing the power of the shadows and slowly the colour drew back into the world as he clenched his right fist, drawing on the mysterious power that the Green Man had invested in him. With a gasp he fell to the ground upon which he was kneeling and slowly raised himself.

  The clearing was empty.

  He dragged himself to his feet, panting in the effort of releasing the shadows and stood upright in the circle, swaying from side to side. He knew that he did not have much time. He picked up one of the white rocks from the circle, the now familiar feeling thrumming through his fingers as the circle was broken. He cast the rock to one side and rushed towards the cells, running along the line of pens to ensure that they were all unguarded. They were.

  Pulling the sword from under his cloak he entered the pen he had entered first and slashing at the ropes binding Wahid he pulled the Groblette to his feet.

  “What the?” gasped the Groblette, swaying as he tried to gather his senses.

  “No time.” gasped Paul. He pointed to the far side of the rock, “The packs are over there. Grab a knife and help me free everyone. We haven’t got long. The serpents will be back soon!” To Paul’s surprise Wahid clapped him on the shoulder almost in gratitude and raced from the clearing towards where he had indicated the packs were. As he entered the next cell he saw the Groblette entering the cell at the far end, sword drawn, eager to assist.

  The next cell contained the prone figure of Brith, and as Paul cut through the ropes binding him the Groblette stared at him wide eyed, as if he was at last daring to hope that freedom was at hand. Again, Paul gave instructions as to where the packs where and what needed to be done. Soon there were four of them freeing the prisoners, and then finally the seven Groblettes were free, stretching in the clearing and running backwards and forwards retrieving their weapons and packs.

  “You are beyond our gratitude for your help here this day.” said Beezle, the captain bowing low to Paul as she said this. To Paul’s surprise the remaining members of the company of Groblettes likewise bowed deeply.

  “I too recognise I was wrong in my evaluation of you.” said Wahid, raising his arm and placing it on Paul’s shoulder, “I beg your forgiveness.”

  “There is no need to forgive.” said Paul, smiling, “You only acted as you saw fit with regards to the safety of the rest of your company.” Wahid merely smiled and nodded once, removing his hand from Paul’s shoulder and continuing to retrieve his weapons and pack from the ever dwindling pile on the forest floor.

  “Be quick!” shouted Paul, “The serpents will be upon us again sooner rather than later! Be as fast as you can!” Rapidly they began retrieving their belongings. “I used the stones to make a camp and then called the serpents to me. Once they attacked they were flung into the forest. I suspect they will be back looking for revenge very, very soon! We must be gone when they return!” The Groblettes stood open mouthed as he told them this, Flip in particular smiling widely at the serpent’s fate. Now they knew not only where the serpents had gone, but also why they had to move fast. The serpents would not get lost in the forest and were no doubt already racing back to their den as quickly as they could.

  To Paul’s dismay Ybarro and Sparr clutched their empty packs and began to retrieve the white stones from the circle he had laid them in.

  “We have no time to retrieve the stones!” shouted Paul and the two Groblettes looked at Beezle for confirmation. The captain nodded in assent gravely and the two Groblettes dropped their packs, the stones by necessity now forgotten.

  “Form a line!” shouted Beezle and the Groblettes hastily did so. The captain gazed up at the sun as it rose in the east and headed quickly in the other direction. The pace was fierce, the company fleeing into the forest at full pelt. Yet they could not travel as quickly as they had before. They had spent an indeterminate time bound and tied in what amounted to a cell and so they were stiff and their aching muscles could not move them as quickly as they liked. Fear amounted for some of it of course, but their pace was awkward and stilted. Yet on they went as fast as they could, trying to put the thought of their aching bones and muscles to the back of their minds.

  “The forest path must be nearby!” shouted Wavebrite, “when we were abducted by the snakes it was not a long journey until we were thrown into the cells!”

  “Run!” shouted Flip in encouragement from the rear of the line and Paul took up the call in earnest. As if in recognition of the need to leave quickly loud thrashing sounds could be heard coming from the undergrowth of the forest behind them.

  “Ouch! My bleedin’ ‘ed!” came a loud roar from some distance behind them, “I’ll have you lot, I will!” came a deep voice from far behind them and this encouraged them to run faster, racing on through the trees and vegetation.

  “Faster!” encouraged Beezle, and if anything, the company’s speed increased, all eight of them racing through the forest as the sounds of pursuit from behind them became less and less.

  Yet even then they did not slow down. They raced on and suddenly they burst through the trees and onto the forest road. They all gave a cheer and stopped for a second, all bent double and holding onto their knees gasping for breath.

  “The road will be quicker to travel upon.” smiled Wahid, looking up at the sun that was yet to rise to its zenith and having checked this they began to run again, heading west and towards the end of the forest.

  By now mid-day was upon them and they ran onwards along the forest road hoping that soon they would be free of the forest at last. Yet on they raced along the forest road, though as of yet it did not look as if they were drawing any nearer to the seemingly endless woods. By now they heard no sounds of pursuit from anywhere; in fact, if anything the forest was eerily quiet. An hour or so after noon they slowed to a stop upon Beezle’s command and they threw themselves to the floor, gasping for breath. They lay there for a few minutes until eventually they began to raise themselves, ready to move off again.

  “The serpents have left no food in our packs at all.” sighed Flip, “though once free of the forest we can hunt again.”

  “The sooner the better.” sighed Beezle and they were off again, though this time the captain led a brisk marching pace that was not quite a run. By mid-afternoon Paul thought that the forest was beginning to brighten, the gloom produced by the branches and leaves overhead thinning out and dappling the bushes and trees that bordered the forest path with bright splashes of sunlight.

  An hour later the path wound around a tight bend and there ahead lay open fields. The company gave out a loud cheer and happily began to run towards the sunlight.

  They left the forest behind them and Paul looked around him, recognising the hilltop upon which he had stood with the Green Man the day
before.

  He thought about telling the Groblettes of his adventures during their separation but he decided to keep it quiet, his left arm aching slightly, the tree mark livid and warm to the touch when he had rolled up his sleeve earlier to look at it.

  Now however he had no distractions to prevent him from taking in the view. The road ahead led down slowly through granite flecked fields, rounding a bend ahead beyond which flat fields fell away from them ahead. On the horizon there was a small line of blue, and Paul knew that it was the sea. As if to confirm this a salty breeze blew across the rocky hills and the Groblettes seemed almost to come to life as they sniffed at the air, their aches and pains forgotten.

  “The sea.” smiled Ybarro, “I smell the sea.” Flip nodded, smiling broadly.

  “Anchor Bay is but two days’ march from here, Paul.” he said, “soon we will be home.”

  There was another cheer from the company and they strode on into the afternoon, the forest now long forgotten behind them.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Coming of Nahuatl

  Evening fell and the company had progressed a short distance from the forest but could still see the woods off to the east. The sea drew nearer and the smell of salt on the wind was stronger, but the Groblettes did not seem to hurry, for they were too exhausted to go any faster.

  As evening began to fall they left the road and camped amongst a small circle of stones that sheltered them a little from the wind and allowed them to catch several small rabbits which were soon cooked and hastily devoured.

  Paul thought that he had never tasted anything quite as tasty in all of his life, and ate it quickly. Night fell and Beezle formed a rotating watch as now they now had no stones to protect the camp and they realised that they must be on their guard. Paul noticed glumly that he was not included in the watch detail, but he let it pass. He was still a prisoner at the end of the day, even if he had saved them all.