The Woods Out Back

by R. A. Salvatore

Chapter 13 Island Boss

 

  They spent a quiet night - almost. Sometime before dawn, Gary awakened from a fitful sleep to find yellow eyes staring at the camp from every direction. Kelsey and Geno were already up; Gary could make out their dark forms nearby in the gloom.

  The yellow eyes slowly advanced.

  "Give us some light," Kelsey whispered, and with a snap of a leprechaun's fingers, the whole area was bathed in a soft glow. The grubby slaves of Ceridwen's island jumped back, startled, then began thumping crooked clubs against their makeshift shields and throwing sand into the air. Not even Kelsey or Mickey had ever seen such a mixture of rabble. Dirty humans, goblins, a troll, and even a dwarf stood shoulder-to-shoulder (or shoulder-to-hip) in the threatening ring about the camp. Gary wasn't sure whether they wanted a fight, or if they had come to enlist the newest slaves in their ragtag army, and he wasn't certain which of those choices he would prefer.

  The rabble calmed and quieted as the initial surprise of the light wore off and once again they tightened their ranks. They looked around to each other, hesitatingly, and finally one ugly, powerfully built man, fully armored (though his armor was quite rusty), strode out boldly from the ranks.

  "Jacek," he proclaimed, thumbing his barrel-like chest. In a proclamation of superiority, the large man chopped his heavy sword against the soft ground. "This is Jacek's island. "

  "Seems this one's for Kelsey," Mickey mentioned, and the grim elf nodded his agreement. Without the slightest trepidation showing in his determined strides, Kelsey stepped out to meet Jacek squarely.

  "I had been told that this was Ceridwen's island," the elf replied to the boast.

  "Castle is Ceridwen's," Jacek retorted without a second's hesitation. "Island belongs to Jacek. "

  The grubby dwarf stepped out of the ranks then, eyeing Geno fiercely and stroking his thick blue beard. "Ye know him?" Mickey asked.

  "Not of my clan," Geno replied, never taking his eyes from his counterpart. Like Geno, the stranger had several hammers hanging from his wide belt. Deliberately Geno pulled two hammers out and sent them spinning into the air above him. After just a few catches, he added a third. The other dwarf did likewise, and added a fourth as soon as Geno had, then put a fifth up before Geno could respond.

  "Dwarfs have their own types o' challenges," Mickey explained to Gary.

  "Well, Jacek," Kelsey said evenly, "it seems that you must now share your island, for Ceridwen has trapped us here. "

  "You join with Jacek!" the ugly man roared. "You serve Jacek and Jacek lets you live. "

  Kelsey looked at Mickey and Gary and the two could tell from his smirk that Jacek was about to get a lesson.

  "I think not," Kelsey replied. Jacek started to turn towards his own troops, but Kelsey's sword flashed up and nicked him on the ear. The ugly man spun back and wetted his finger in his own blood, his face contorted in budding outrage.

  Gary realized that Kelsey could have killed the man as he had turned away, but he understood the elf's caution, and his plan. Kelsey didn't want the whole rabble force, particularly the troll, to get into the fight, and the elf was betting that defeating Jacek fairly would put an end to it all.

  The nick on the ear had worked. Too angry to care about his allies, Jacek roared and launched a mighty swing Kelsey's way.

  Kelsey was too nimble for the heavy weapon. He easily stepped back, then came in with a straightforward thrust that cut a strap on Jacek's crude breastplate, leaving a vulnerable hollow. Kelsey couldn't finish the move, though, for Jacek, incredibly strong, reversed the lumbering swing and came across again, driving the elf backwards.

  Jacek advanced, holding his sword by both hands straight out in front of him. Kelsey moved to the side and Jacek turned to follow, wisely keeping the swift elf out at sword's length.

  A fierce thrust had Kelsey spinning to the side. He slipped down to one knee and Jacek roared in, cutting an overhand chop. Gary screamed, thinking Kelsey doomed, but the elf dove and rolled towards Jacek, inside the angle of the blow, and came up beside and then beyond the man, slashing him in the leg as he passed.

  Jacek growled, but seemed not to care about the wound. From his scars, Gary could see that he had suffered many worse hits in his fighting days.

  To the side of the main action, Geno and the grubby dwarf continued their five-hammer juggling. In the blink of an eye, the grubby dwarf, seeing his leader in trouble, launched one of his weapons Kelsey's way. Fully engaged, Kelsey never saw it coming.

  But Geno did. He, too, hurled a hammer, his catching the grubby dwarf's missile in midflight and deflecting it harmlessly away from Kelsey.

  Gary and Mickey, even Kelsey and Jacek, turned to regard the dwarfs. In a flurry of movement that none of them could truly follow, the half-sized opponents whipped their hammers at each other. Sparks flew as hammers connected in midair; Geno grunted as he took one off his chest; the grubby dwarf grunted as one of Geno's connected.

  Then from the midst of the confusion there came a sharpcrack! and both dwarfs stood facing each other for a long, silent moment, each holding his last remaining hammer. Gary wasn't sure what had happened, but he came to understand when he noticed the line of blood rolling down the grubby dwarf's forehead. Without a sound, the little creature fell facedown on the sand.

  A goblin started out from the ranks, but Geno waved his hammer the creature's way and it promptly retreated. Gary knew the rabble forces wouldn't hold back for long, though; all of them began shifting uncomfortably and looking about.

  "Get ready for a fight," Mickey said at Gary's side.

  "I will kill you and kill your dwarf next!" Jacek promised. He launched a series of wild, straight-across cuts that kept Kelsey up on his toes and backing, but in no serious trouble. Jacek continued the vicious assault, swinging and slashing and muttering curses. Soon, though, Kelsey tired of the game. The heavy sword came across a bit low and the nimble elf hopped right above it, coming back down and charging ahead, slamming his shield into the side of Jacek's head before the man could possibly recover.

  Kelsey went right by the man, just ahead of Jacek's fast-approaching backhand sword cut. The elf fell low to his knees, reversing his grip on his sword as he dropped. Jacek's heavy sword waved dangerously close above Kelsey's head, but Kelsey expected it, and knew it would miss, and didn't even flinch. He doubled his own weapon back under one arm and thrust it straight out behind him, driving it deep into the self-proclaimed island boss's lung.

  Jacek heaved for air and started to bring his sword back in. Kelsey came up and about, throwing his shield against Jacek's arms to stop the dangerous weapon from coming back around. Kelsey was face-to-face with the man now, barely an inch apart, close enough to smell Jacek's hot breath.

  Kelsey grimaced and pulled straight up on his sword hilt, further tearing the man's insides.

  "Kill you," the big man promised, but his threat was lost in a breathless wheeze and a spout of blood. He shook violently a couple of times, then Kelsey unceremoniously pushed him back to the ground, where he lay quite still.

  "Are there any others who claim ownership of the island?" Kelsey asked evenly. The goblin reappeared from the ranks, looking the troll's way, and started to mutter something. Geno had seen enough of that one. The dwarf's hammer went spinning, catching the ugly goblin on the side of the head and cleanly snapping its neck.

  "Pretend ye got more," Mickey whispered to Geno, and the dwarf laughed in reply and began pumping his (empty) arms. Illusionary hammers spun out at the rabble. They dove and ducked, and turned and fled, the hammers chasing them out impossibly far into the night.

  Soon the whole force was in wild flight, running with all speed to the south. Geno kept up his laughing, Mickey joined in, and Kelsey flashed a satisfied smile as he wiped the blood from his sword on Jacek's pants.

  "Shut up," Gary demanded, his green eyes narrowed as he regarded the wildly amused dwarf. Geno turned on him sharply.

&nb
sp; "You got a real one?" the dwarf growled at Mickey, holding one hand out as though he expected the leprechaun to give him a real hammer to heave at Gary.

  "They're dead," Gary replied, thinking that those words explained everything.

  "They asked to die," Kelsey cut in. "Would you feel better if it were my own body and Geno's lying in the sand?"

  "You don't have to enjoy it so much," Gary protested.

  "He was just a human," Kelsey spat. "If you care so much for him, then give him to the lake, or bury him. " Never releasing Gary from his golden-eyed gaze, the elf walked away, Geno in tow. Gary looked to Mickey, but the leprechaun had no answers for him this time.

  So Gary did bury Jacek, and the dead dwarf and goblin as well. He thought of his parents throughout the task and wondered what pain they would suffer if he never returned to them. He imagined his picture on telephone poles and milk cartons, fliers handed out at malls, as his parents sought desperately some information about what had happened to him.

  When he got back to the others the next morning, Gary's eyes were bloodshot. None of them asked him about it, though, and he was beginning to believe that they didn't even care.

  The day passed without incident, without anything but the small, wind-driven waves lapping on the forlorn beach and the mountains hovering just out of reach. The next night, too, showed no excitement, no noises in the dark or yellow eyes staring at the encampment.

  By the morning after that, Gary came to realize that boredom would be their biggest enemy, boredom that led to ambivalence, ambivalence that would lead the companions to the same state as Jacek and his wretched band.

  Gary feared that many, many days and nights would pass quietly. He had seen Kelsey in dire straights, outnumbered by goblins and by trolls, but the elf had fought with fire in his golden eyes, slashing and battling fiercely even when all seemed lost. Now, though, Kelsey truly appeared defeated. He sat on the beach, staring.

  Just staring.

  Mickey finishedThe Hobbit that day. "Fine tale," he muttered as he handed it back to Gary, but when Gary tried to respond, tried to get the leprechaun to elaborate, Mickey only walked away.

  Geno was the noisiest of the group, stomping and cursing, throwing hammers at any target that presented itself. But the dwarf would not talk directly to Gary, or to Kelsey or Mickey, and every time Gary went anywhere near him, he lifted a hammer threateningly.

  Gary snorted at him and spun away, angry and afraid. He felt as though a cage had been built around him. He almost wanted to test Ceridwen's spell and jump in the water, but he couldn't find the courage. "Can't I go for a walk?" he asked Mickey some time later.

  "Go north," the leprechaun advised. "And ye might want to put yer armor back on. " The leprechaun nodded to the pile, lying on the beach.

  Something odd struck Gary Leger then. Ceridwen had pointedly taken the broken spear from him, though she cared nothing for his dwarf-forged spear and allowed the others to keep their weapons as well. Why hadn't she taken the armor? It certainly was as valuable as the spear.

  "Ceridwen's got slaves all about, and most're nasty things like the ones we fought, would be me guess," Mickey went on, not noticing Gary's perplexed expression.

  Gary nodded but started away, leaving the armor in a pile on the beach.

  "And keep from the castle!" Mickey shouted a warning. "It's warded, don't ye doubt!"

  Though the glassy-sided castle did intrigue Gary, he had no intention of going anywhere near the place at that time. He stayed along the beach, studying the shore, looking for some solution to Ceridwen's riddle, and thinking, too, of the mystery surrounding the missing spear. The distance across the lake was much less north and west of the island, but Gary saw no chances for escape in those directions. Sheer mountain walls ran down right into the lake, and even if Gary and his friends managed to get across the shorter expanse of the water, they'd have an impossible time trying to get up from the lake. The only way out was back in the same direction they had come, Gary knew, but he had no idea of how they might get across.

  An hour later, Gary found himself scrambling over the sharp rocks of a jutting jetty, dangerously close to the water. Too frustrated to really care, he just spat at the lake that would burn like acid and continued on, stubbornly inching ever closer to the edge. Then Gary dropped flat to his belly, suddenly, wide-eyed and staring ahead to the lagoon beyond the rocks. Many yards from shore, but only waist-deep in the water, stood a monster that would have towered above the mountain trolls, a giant three times Gary's height.

  It was lean, though still huge, and apparently fishing for a meal, slapping its thick hands into the water but coming up empty each time.

  Gary watched for several minutes, filled with a combination of amazement and terror, then dared to get back to his knees and began backtracking the way he had come. He knew it was only a matter of time before the behemoth looked his way, and he felt naked indeed out on the rocks without his spear and armor (though he didn't know what good the puny weapon, dwarven-forged or not, would do against the likes of this monster!).

  He had almost made it to the sand, and was thinking that it was a good thing that he did not have the bulky armor on, when the giant saw him.

  "Duh, hey!" it cried, a booming baritone voice.

  Gary didn't stop to reply. He scrambled and kicked his way across the remaining stones of the jetty, jumped down to the sand, and sprinted away, spurred on by the approaching splashes as the behemoth lumbered its way across the lagoon.

  Sand dragged at Gary's legs, slowing him - again he felt as if he was in that dream state unable to outrun his pursuer. An image of his parents flashed in his mind, the two of them staring down in disbelief at their son, squashed in the blueberry bushes in the woods out back.

  Then the sound of splashing stopped and Gary dared to look back, hoping that the monster had changed its course. But the giant hadn't given up its pursuit; to Gary's surprise and dismay, the huge thing had already made it to the beach and was almost across the rock jetty.

  "Stupid to come out here," Gary berated himself. He put his head down and ran on, knowing that the giant's long strides would surely overtake him before too long.

  His breath came in labored gasps. He veered to the water, then prudently remembered the curse and realized he would find no escape that way. Now his weary feet dragged even deeper in the sand. He heard the heavy footsteps closing, inevitably closing.

  They were right at his back!

  Gary swung about to meet his doom. The giant towered over him but made no immediate moves, its heaving breaths coming nearly as labored as Gary's. "Duh, you run fast," the monster commented.

  "Not fast enough," Gary muttered under his breath as he glanced all about for some possible escape. He pointed suddenly back to the water, cried out, "A whale!" and took off as soon as the dim-witted monster turned about.

  "Where?" the giant asked, oblivious to the trick. By the time it turned back, Gary was way ahead. "Hey, wait!" the monster called, and the chase was on once more.

  Gary knew that his only hope was to find some cover, so he veered away from the water's edge, heading for the bare stones farther inland.

  The giant plodded behind, its wide feet unhindered by the soft sand. "Duh, hey!" it called out several times.

  The first of the huge stones was barely twenty feet away.

  Out in front of Gary stepped Kelsey, sword in hand. Geno came around the other side of the rock, juggling three hammers. Gary nearly fainted in sheer relief. He turned back to consider the giant. It still approached, but at a walk, more cautiously.

  "Duh, hey," it said again.

  Geno whipped a hammer off its shin.

  "Du. . . ow!" the behemoth roared, grabbing at the leg. Another hammer bounced off its shoulder, and both Kelsey and Geno circled to opposite sides and steadily advanced.

  Great birds shrieked and rushed down from the skies to peck at the giant's head; huge-clawed crabs dug the
mselves out of the sand and snapped at its bare toes. The monster squealed and cried, kicking and slapping.

  Gary was only confused for the second it took him to realize that Mickey must also be in the area. "Where are you, Mickey?" he demanded.

  The leprechaun materialized, perched upon a stone off to Gary's right. "This kind's bigger than trolls," he remarked. "But not so hard to fool. Ye're lucky we came out to get ye, lad. "

  Gary wasn't so sure about the leprechaun's assessment. Another hammer bounced off the giant's head and it howled again. Behind it, Kelsey stood with leveled sword, lining up a vital area for a critical strike. The pitiful giant was too engaged and confused by Mickey's illusions and Geno's missiles to even know that the elf was behind it.

  "Stop it!" Gary yelled at Mickey. The leprechaun shot him a curious glance.

  "What're ye about?"

  Again Gary found himself without the words to answer. The giant hadn't harmed him; he had the feeling now that he was not so vulnerable, that maybe the giant hadn't meant to harm him at all. "Just stop it!" he screamed in Mickey's face, loud enough to get Kelsey and Geno's attention as well, and he swung around and rushed towards the combatants. Gary silently congratulated himself as Mickey's illusions disappeared, but the giant wasn't out of danger yet.

  "Behind you!" Gary heard himself yell, to his own disbelief, as Kelsey again leveled the sword and started his thrust. The giant spun about and Kelsey reversed his attack and hopped back defensively, turning a murderous stare upon Gary.

  Gary didn't care. He ran right up to the giant and skidded to a stop in the sand, standing with his arms out wide. Geno raised yet another hammer for a throw, but Gary poked a finger the dwarf's way and warned, "Don't!" Amazingly the gruff dwarf lowered the weapon and scratched at his hairless chin.

  Gary and the giant regarded one another for the second time.

  "What are you doing?" Kelsey demanded of Gary.

  "I don't think he meant to hurt me," Gary replied. "He was just fishing when I found him. He's a prisoner, too, isn't he?"

  "But a dangerous one, don't ye doubt," Mickey answered, strolling up to a position a few cautious feet behind Gary. "Giants been known to make meals of ones such as yerself. "

  "Duh, eat him?" the giant balked, a disgusted look crossing his thick but almost boyish features: dimpled cheeks, thick lips, and bright eyes the color of a crisp and clear winter sky.

  "I thought so," Gary said, noting the expression and relaxing visibly.

  "How come I have not seen you before?" the giant asked in its slow, deliberate voice. "Elf and dwarf?" The giant scratched at its wild black hair.

  "We haven't been here for very long," Gary replied. "I'm Gary Leger and these are. . . "

  "Enough!" Kelsey demanded. Then to the giant, he said, "Your life has been spared. Now be gone, before you feel the sting of my blade. "

  "I've more hammers yet!" Geno added, putting three more up in a juggling routine.

  "Forget them!" Gary growled, commanding the behemoth's attention. "What's your name?"

  "Duh, Tommy," the giant replied, glancing around nervously from elf to dwarf. He held up his huge hands, showing a missing digit on one. "Tommy One-Thumb. "

  "Well, Duh Tommy," Geno muttered sarcastically, "I believe that you should be leaving now. "

  "Greetings, Tommy One-Thumb," Gary said, more at the obstinate dwarf than at the giant. "I'm sorry for the fight. "

  "He's a giant, lad," Mickey warned. "A rogue, a killer, don't ye doubt. Giants aren't evil like the trolls, but they can be a nasty lot and a mighty enemy. Let him go and come along - for everyone's good fortune. "

  When Gary looked upon Mickey, he saw only sincere concern in the leprechaun's gray eyes.

  "Maybe ye should go back to yer fishing, Tommy One-Thumb," Mickey offered.

  "Where is whale?" Tommy asked Gary. "Tommy did not see any whale. "

  "There wasn't any whale," Gary apologized. "I was just trying to trick you. I was afraid. "

  "Duh, oh," mumbled Tommy. "Most people are afraid of Tommy. "

  "Well, can ye blame them?" Mickey asked.

  The giant shrugged and turned, and started slowly away. Gary began to protest, but Geno and Kelsey rushed up to stand right before him, Geno purposely stomping his heavy boots down on the tops of Gary's sneakers.

  "You ask him along, and my next hammer kisses you good!" Geno promised, poking a stubby finger against Gary's nose to accentuate his point. Gary tried to push the dwarf away, but Geno shoved off first, and Gary, his feet hooked under the dwarf's boots, fell down to the sand. He jerked aside to avoid a stream of Geno's spittle.

  Kelsey said nothing, but the elf's narrow-eyed stare revealed similar sentiments and, as with the fight of the previous day, Mickey had no answers for Gary.

  Ceridwen was waiting for them, or more particularly, for Kelsey, when they arrived back at the camp.

  "So you have defeated Jacek," she purred at Kelsey, placing her hand familiarly on the elf's shoulder. Kelsey brushed her away but would not look her in the eye.

  "I had hoped that would happen," Ceridwen went on. "Jacek was such a brutish beast. The slaves will perform better with you leading them. "

  "I'll not lead your wretched slaves," Kelsey replied.

  "We shall see," Ceridwen said calmly. Her hand went back to Kelsey's shoulder and she stroked the long strands of his sparkling golden hair back from his face.

  "And I'll not serve you in any capacity!" the elf screamed at her, verily running away from her undeniably alluring touch.

  "I could not let you complete your quest," Ceridwen explained, and it seemed to Gary that the witch was almost apologizing. "You understand that, of course. "

  "I understand more than you believe," Kelsey countered slyly.

  "Not so," Ceridwen retorted, stubbornly walking back to stand beside the elf. "You have no idea of how long a hundred years can be on an empty island, Kelsenellenelvial Gil-Ravadry. Your people will not come for you - not here. You have only me. " Ceridwen's hand went back to Kelsey's golden locks, petting delicately. Kelsey tried to pull away again, but this time the witch grabbed tightly to his hair and pulled him to her as easily as if he had been made of paper.

  Gary was horrified at Ceridwen's bared power; Kelsey seemed so insignificant against her. Both Mickey and Geno had turned away, but Gary could not avert his eyes.

  Ceridwen had Kelsey's head bent at an awkward angle, as though she meant to snap his neck. "Draw your sword and strike me down!" the evil witch hissed in Kelsey's face.

  Kelsey's hand went for his sword hilt, but he backed it off immediately, his whole body slumping in despair.

  "You are my slave," Ceridwen growled, a voice that seemed unearthly, demonic. "My plaything. I will do with you as I please, and when I please!" With just the one hand, Ceridwen tossed Kelsey into the air, towards the shore. He landed in the sand, dangerously close to water's edge, and as he rolled about, his elbow touched the lake.

  Kelsey howled and rolled back, clutching at his burning arm. If Gary or any of the others had doubted Ceridwen's spell, they knew better now, for Kelsey's sleeve and fine armor were burned right through at the elbow from barely brushing the deadly water.

  "I will have some work for you soon," the witch said to Geno, paying no heed to the wounded elf.

  "As you wish, my lady," the brown-haired dwarf replied with a low bow. Ceridwen cackled and threw her black cape high about her shoulders. As it descended, her form shifted and she was again a raven, soaring back to her castle of glass.