by J Battle
So saying, he walked forward, into the darkness, into the mist; not knowing what he would find, but absolutely certain that it was something he needed more than life itself.
Chapter 22 BobbyJ
BobbyJ moved easily through the heavily laden stalks, his ears listening and his eyes flitting from side to side, but there was no-one to notice him as night began to fall.
Then he reached the end of the cultivated land, and he had a choice to make.
The river that had flowed to his right had taken a dog leg to the left, and now ran across his path. To his immediate left was the road, exposed and open to prying eyes.
He could get himself wet and cross the river, or he could take the road.
On the other side of the road was a thick wood; he could cross and conceal himself in the shadows, and continue on his way south. It seemed the obvious thing to do, so he paused to reconsider, as was his usual way.
But there was no other real choice, so he slipped onto the dark surface of the road, being sure to look both right and left, and scurried across.
He'd barely passed the first tree when something heavy fell on him with a loud 'hmfff!'
'Hold on, there, Sammy. Don't let hold of him,' hissed a voice from deeper in the woods.
BobbyJ twisted his body around and rammed his bandaged right fist into the stomach of his attacker, tossing him to one side with a loud groan.
He was on his feet, and ready to fight or run; whatever would suit his purposes best, when a heavy branch came crashing down on his head and consciousness made its escape.
'See there, Sammy Boy, you don't always have to throw yourself at 'em, and that's a truth you can put in your old pipe and smoke yourself to your bed.'
Tom stood over the prostrate body of the stranger, the branch resting by his head.
'He hurt me, bad,' moaned Sam as he got to his knees, 'for a little fellow, like. I thought I had him fine.'
'Can I have your belt, there Sammy? We'll need to tie his hands together before he wakes up.'
'Do I have to, Gorgie? Me pants will only fall down if I do.'
'You're the only one with a belt, and we ain't got no rope.'
'Here, ' said Tommy, bending closer, 'he's got himself a belt, here. Why don't we use that instead? And if his pants fall, that'll only slow him down.'
'Be careful, there, Tommy, don't put down that branch…'
He was too late; Tom had laid the branch on the ground to leave his hands free to allow him to engage with the stranger's clothing.
With a jerk, and a kick, and hardly a sound, BobbyJ was on his feet, and Tom thrown onto his back on the ground.
Gorge dived for the branch, but a heavy boot knocked him to one side, leaving him gasping in the dirt beside Tom.
That was the moment Sam chose to throw his punch. Not only was it backed by tremendous and extraordinary power for a lad of 15, it was also timed to perfection, catching BobbyJ flush on the side of his jaw and snapping his head sideways.
Once again, he was down; stunned and dazed.
Moving with unexpected speed, Sam wrapped his belt around BobbyJ's wrists and pushed him face forward into the mulch that pertained around the roots of the ancient trees.
At a loss for a moment as to what to do next, he remembered one of Dan the Man's sayings. 'If ye don't know what to do, take a seat and a smoke, until ye do.'
So he planted his square backside in the middle of the strangers back, and pulled out his pipe.
'You be fine over there, boys?' he asked as he drew his first breath. 'Lying down on the job and all? Leave it all to Sammy, heh? As usual. But don't ye be going and telling Dan the Man himself about this. No, he says I ain't to fight any more, and I'll be in trouble again.'
'Don't you worry yourself, there, Sammy Boy. You did just about right there, and that's no mistake.'
Tom came closer and prodded BobbyJ in the shoulder.
'I think he'll be away asleep for a while, there.' He turned and watched Gorge getting up, his hand holding his side.
'Now we got him, Gorgie, what we going to do with him?'
'We'll take him along to the Mage, and he can have the pair of them, to deal with as he chooses.'
'We won't have to go in will we?' said Sam, dropping his pipe to his lap, 'and see him, like; the Mage. He spooks me something when I sees him, and that's the plain and truthful truth. I crosses the road when I see him coming, so's he don't look at me sideways on, like.'
'We can just take him to the door, and hand him over to one of his men, and then we can be about our business.'
'Where we going to sleep tonight, now? Dan the Man will have locked up and that’s for sure. And I reckon it'll be cold tonight.'
'Don't worry about that, there, Sammy Boy. I'll just knock on her Lady's door and then I'll charm us all a bed for the night, and with supper as well, I say. Just you go and watch me.' Tom clapped Sam on the shoulder.
There was a deep groan from beneath Sam buttocks.
'That weren't me,' he said, hastily, 'it were him.'
**********
‘Hello there, Mister? Are you awake or turned to stone by some magic of the Trytor?’
There was no response to her words, so Esmere leaned forward as far as her chains would allow, to get a better look at the man in the opposite cell.
He was sitting in the far corner, his head turned away from her. As far as she could see, he was terribly thin, and dressed in a filthy, threadbare robe of indeterminate color.
‘Did you hear me, sir? There’s just us two down in these cells, so there’s no harm to come from talking, is there?’
The head seemed to lift a little, as if he was listening.
‘I don’t know what is going to happen to me, but you look like you’ve been here a while, perhaps you can help me?’
‘He…he doesn’t have Magic.’
‘I beg your pardon and leave, sir?’
‘The Trytor; he doesn’t have access to Magic; never had.’
‘And so you’re not turned to stone, then?’
‘And there is no aid to be had from me.’
‘Just some words and company, then, if you can spare the time.’
His head turned to her then, tilted a little as if he was trying to get the measure of her. ‘Ay, there, Girl. Time is one thing that is not in short supply down here.’
‘How long have you been here, then, if I can be so bold as to ask?’
‘How long? Now, there’s a question. It feels like an age has passed since I’ve watched through these here bars, but it will be a year or more, I should think.’
‘What did you do, to be locked away for so long?’
‘Do? How many years do you have, Lass?’
’18, last Fall of Leaves.’
‘Well then, you are old enough to know the way of the world. I didn’t have to do anything, anything at all, to be locked away here. My crime was simply being; being who I was, and I was a stupid man, and I say that myself, because there are plenty who would agree. But, mayhap, I am a different man today.’
‘How have you lived for so long, here in the cells? For the story is told that no man survives a month in the Trytor’s dungeons.’
‘I could be trite and say that I survived by not dying, but that would hardly be an answer.’
He turned his head away then, as if the wall was of sudden interest to him.
‘What would a good answer be, sir?’
‘I am alive simply because he wants me to remain alive, and that’s the end of it.’
‘Why? Why is he keeping you alive for so long?’
‘What is your name, young girl? We should introduce ourselves, because that is no more than good manners.’
‘My name is Esmere, sir. And yours?’
He turned his head to her, and frowned, as if he’d lost his name over the months of imprisonment.
‘Pleased to meet you, Esmere, though our acquaintance will be brief. I knew an Esmere once, many, many years ago, when I was a
young man.’
‘And your name, sir?’
‘It has been so long since I had cause to use it, but it is Garraldi, and I am very pleased to meet you, Esmere.’
‘And I am pleased to meet you also, for I would not like to be down here all alone.’
She settled back a little, with a rattle and a slither of chains.
‘Why do you think our acquaintance will be brief? Do you think he’ll release me soon?’
Garraldi’s face saddened, and he shook his head. ‘No, my dear, that is not what I meant. You are in chains, and I have seen others in chains, and also those without. Those without chains are fed as I am; food every second day, and water on the in-between days; though the food is foul and the water stagnant.’
‘And when are those who are chained fed?’
‘They are not fed at all, my dear.’
‘What! Will he starve me to death? For nothing?’
‘He will do as he pleases, for that is his nature, without his brothers to put him in his place.’
‘Then we must escape, Garraldi, for I will not end my life here; not at all.’
Garraldi turned away from her then, as if the hope in her voice was no more than gall to him.
Chapter 23 Teddy
Teddy had taken up his station behind a sparse growth of bushes, in clear view of the Mistwall, turned an angry red in the light of the early sun.
By his side was his bow, fashioned under the careful eye of his Pa, and his two arrows, laid end to end in the grass.
If his Pa was the Warden of the North, then he was his eyes and ears, and no-one else would breach the valley’s defenses without warning; not if he had anything to say about it.
He’d barely settled into his position when he saw them, and fear washed over him. It wasn’t the men, though there were enough of them, and some looked rough enough to shame their mothers. It was the creature that accompanied them through the supposedly impregnable barrier of mist.
Tall, he was, and manlike, except for the long limbs, long wizened face and brilliant glowing blue eyes. He wore a heavy, luxurious cloak, but it didn’t hide the wrongness of his form; nor the wave of evil that seemed to wash across the grassy slope between them.
Teddy grabbed his bow and set one of his arrows; then he stopped. What harm would his puny arrows do to such a creature? Would they simply bounce off his bony chest? Would they do no more than draw their attention to him?
Without needing to think it through, he knew that this was an infinitely more dangerous incursion into the sanctity of the valley’s peace than the two men from the day before.
With a silent shake of his head, he rolled away from his hiding place and slid quickly down the hill. He would have to tell his Pa; he would know just what to do.
He was panting when he reached his little cottage, and his Pa bade him take a drink and catch his breath before he delivered his message.
‘He’s big, Pa, big as two men, and he’s horrible; and evil. You can tell just from the sight of him, Pa. What’s happening, Pa? Nobody ever came before.’
‘Ay, Tedward, that be nothing but the truth, but we have our job to do, and that’s for sure.‘ As he spoke, Frenk reached up to take down the ancient sword; so recently put back in its place above the door.
‘What you doing, Pa?’ Teddy looked aghast at the gleaming sword in his Pa’s good right hand. ‘You can’t fight it, Pa. Not alone.’
‘Now, Son, you know enough to understand this. That we guard the valley; that we protect the men, women and children who live down there below us. That we have our duty and honour.’
‘But, Pa, you can’t do that. You’re not a soldier; you’re a farmer.’
‘A man can be more than one thing, when the need arises, boy. And the need is now.’
‘But, Pa. You…’ Teddy stopped, looking up at his father; not wanting to say the words. ‘You couldn’t… stop them men, yesterday. And this…thing. He’s not a man, and he’s got about a full dozen men with him.’
Frenk put a hand on his son’s narrow shoulder.
‘I wasn’t shamed by that failure, Son, for I stood my ground and said my words, and I say they were good men, in any case. And I shall not be shamed today, when I stand before this creature and say my challenge.’
Teddy stared up at this father, desperately trying to find the words to dissuade him.
In the end, he nodded. There was nothing else he could do.
‘If you are going to do it, Pa, then so am I. I’ll stand beside you with my bow, and I’ll shoot him in the eyes if he don’t obey your orders, Pa. That’s what I’ll do.’
‘No, boy, you will not. This is man’s work, and you’ve years yet before you can call yourself a man.’
Teddy lifted his bow and arrows in one hand and shook them at his father. ‘Wherever you go, pa, I’ll be right beside you. It’s my place, and you can’t send me away like a child; I’ve seen 10 summers.’
‘You’ll go where I send you, boy, and no argument.’ Frenk glared down at his son; suddenly angry.
‘You can’t send me anywhere,’ countered Teddy, as fierce as his Pa, ’but you can take me with you, side by side, to see the Mage, to warn them of what’s coming.’
‘Tedward,’ said Frenk, sadly.
‘No Pa, listen to me, just for now. If we stand and fall against that there monster, then the Mage won’t know, will he? He won’t know they’re here, and he won’t have a chance to get the men together, and his Magic, he’ll need his Magic. But he won’t have the time, if the monster just turns up and knocks on his palace door, will he? So we’ve got to warn him of what’s a coming. We got to, Pa. Ain’t we?’
Frenk turned from him and stood in his doorway, looking up the slope, to the pink mistwall in the distance.
‘Ay, lad, mayhap you’re right. Mayhap we are of more value to the valley if we leave and give the warning, and return with an army and the Magic of the Mage to stop them. But I need to take a look there myself, to be sure that he’s not just a big ugly man who’s put the fear in you. I’ll just take me a peek, and then we’ll be off to see the Mage. How does that sound to your ears, there?’
‘Pa, he might see you. You’re too big to hide behind the little bushes.’
‘Don’t worry none, Son. I can be as quiet and sneaky as a fox with six mouths to feed, and that’s for sure. So, just stay here, and gather some things together; it might be some time before we can return to our home.’
He stepped out of the doorway then, and began to run up the hill.
Teddy stared after him for a moment, and then his hand went to his mouth. He’d just realized that his Pa was still carrying the sword.
**********
Cavour stretched out on the bed and tried to relax. At least, he thought, I do have a bed and not a cold dungeon floor.
He closed his eyes for a moment; not to sleep, but perhaps just to see more clearly. He was locked up, but he was close to the prize he sought on the Trytor’s behalf; of that he was sure.
All he needed to do now was find a way out of this room, find out where they kept the Wellstone, steal it, and make his escape. Sounded easy if you said it quickly enough.
The room was 10 feet square, with no window and one locked and guarded door. He knew it was still guarded because the guard must have a bad leg or some-such ailment and he groaned a little every once in a while.
All he needed to do was persuade him to unlock the door, give him something to sooth whatever ailed him and he’d be fine to let him free and about his business.
He closed his eyes again, wishing they’d left him his pipe. With a pipe in his mouth he could outwait eternity. Without his pipe, he was a bride waiting for a tardy groom.
He was standing on the bed a little later, poking at the wooden ceiling with his fingers, when he heard the door being unlocked.
He dropped back down onto the bed just as the door fell open, and a small familiar figure was bundled in and pushed to the ground.
‘I
did wonder if you’d ever arrive to rescue me,’ said Cavour.
‘Don’t be too sure yourself that I’m not here just to do that very thing, Mr Cavour,’ said BobbyJ, as he rolled over onto his back.
‘So, you let yourself be captured just so you could rescue me?’
‘Well, they weren’t going to let me in any other way as I could see.’
**********
Frenk’s fist pounded on the door.
Teddy was standing anxiously beside him; every once in a while he would glance over his shoulder, back up the hill, as they stood outside the Mage’s palace.
His Pa had returned less than an hour after he’d gone to check on the new trespassers, and he’d been grim and silent on the journey here.
Then the door opened, and Teddy was surprised and pleased to see that it was the Lady standing there, all smiles.
‘Why, Frenk, you sounded as if you might knock the door down with your fist, and that’s the truth. What has caused this urgent banging, and brought such a frown to your usually happy face?’
‘My Lady Alice,‘ said Frenk, gruffly, ’there be Elvenfolk in the land.’
Chapter 24 Elstar
'Well now, Henray, this is more than you expected, is it not?'
Henray looked down the length of the valley, rich and verdant within the secrecy of its misty barrier.
'Ay, M'lord. You are not wrong, there, at all.'
'Lead on then, man, and let us see what we might find.'
Henray bowed to the crawlord and set off down a narrow path between a patch of rough ground on the left, and the beginning of a greensward on the right.
'Mighty fine grass, there, M'lord,' he said as he walked, 'for this high above the sea.'
Elstar grunted. 'It's not grass we're here for Henray, fine though it might be.'