The Serpent of Eridor

by Alison Gardiner

  ‘You go left, I’ll go right,’ said Ikara, as she unwrapped herself from Keeko.

  They squelched stickily through the silt that had collected on the rocky bottom over many years. Hundreds of small slits fissured the rocks, interspersed with masses of tiny pools.

  ‘By the way,’ called Keeko to Zorrin. ‘What exactly does it look like?’

  ‘No idea,’ he replied. ‘Could be any size or shape: free or even set in something, like a ring or dagger handle.’

  ‘Helpful,’ murmured Ikara.

  ‘We’ll carry on looking up here in case our lake theory is wrong,’ said Flick.

  Footsteps retreated from the edge as the pair in the lake worked in silence, Keeko poking gloomily under rocks and in pools of glowing water. Ikara, less patient, swept mounds of silt aside with her tail. Finally they met at the opposite side, empty-handed.

  ‘With my luck, it’ll have gone down the central crevasse,’ said Ikara, washing herself off in a large puddle.

  ‘Maybe,’ said Keeko, sitting down on a rock covered in bright orange weed. ‘However, what I know for sure is that we aren’t destined to find it.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Ikara.

  ‘That legend. We have to assume it’s true if we believe that the stone exists. It said that a human would find it, not a snake or a monkey.’

  ‘Mutt head. You could have said earlier. We need Alex,’ said Ikara, looking perkier than she had all day.

  ‘Why bother?’ asked Keeko, tossing pebbles into the crevasse. ‘He couldn’t scale the sides. Neither you nor I could catch him. It would take a whole raft of monkeys and snakes to give him a soft landing.’

  ‘I can get him.’ Ikara closed her eyes and concentrated. She started to swell until she was almost as large as Hypnos had been.

  Keeko stared at the enormous snake. ‘Awesome. I didn’t know you could do that.’

  ‘Only found out myself a few months ago.’ Ikara slithered around to the far side of the lake then slid her head over the top edge.

  ‘Alex,’ she boomed out.

  ‘Why didn’t you puff up when we were fighting Hypnos?’ asked Tariq, wandering across to her. ‘You could have defeated him single-handed. Or even no-handed.’

  The vast green eyes surveyed him coldly. ‘First, it takes time. We were a shade short of that. Also, Hypnos wouldn’t have stuck to strength only in serpent-to-aqualate combat. A few spells and I’d have been a pile of minced snake, although an impressively large one. So listen.’ She explained what Keeko had said.

  Alex looked at the steep, jagged sides falling to the silty bottom far below. ‘You’re joking, right?’

  ‘It’ll be simple,’ replied Ikara. ‘Slide down me. When you’ve finished the heroic finding thing, I’ll hoist you back up.’

  ‘Any other choice?’

  ‘Nope,’ said Skoodle.

  Alex placed a hand on Ikara’s head, ready to climb on.

  ‘Hang on. Leave me behind,’ said Skoodle, scrambling out of Alex’s pocket. ‘No point in me going down there. A hamster’s not destined to find it. Legend fact.’

  ‘OK.’ Alex held Skoodle out to Zorrin.

  Zorrin made no move to take Skoodle. ‘No, he should go too. He’s proved valiant and resourceful. Another set of eyes might help.’

  ‘Great. Flatter me into submission.’ The small cream body slid back into Alex’s pocket, tiny claws holding tightly on to the edge of the cloth. ‘But don’t crush the resourceful one.’

  Alex swung a leg over Ikara’s neck, mounting her like a horse, encircling her with his arms, hanging on tightly. He closed his eyes for a second to steady himself, then took a deep breath and loosed his grip.

  ‘Too fast,’ yelled Skoodle. ‘Slow down.’

  ‘Can’t. Mudslick.’ Alex shot off the end of the tail, landing face down in a pile of silt. ‘You OK, Skoodle?’

  ‘Filthy and I smell of stagnant mud. Otherwise fine.’

  Brushing down his bruised body, Alex got to his knees.

  ‘Start fulfilling the legend, human. Get looking,’ Ikara rumbled from above them.

  Alex scrambled his way round the base of the lake, scraping around in the thick silt, almost suffocated by the smell of rotting fish and bits of dead animals. He rooted beneath bushy green pond plants, dug in small pools, checked behind hundreds of rocks, looked under a clam shell, dug underneath several sheep skulls and peered into fissures – all to the accompaniment of a constant barrage of advice from Skoodle and Keeko. After a complete tour of the lake bed he’d not found the crystal.

  Alex peered over the edge of the deep chasm carved through the bottom of the lake. A ghostly light cast up by shimmering water at the bottom lit the sides. Nothing was caught on the ragged edges. ‘After all that, it’s not here.’

  ‘It can’t be very large or set in a dagger or anything biggish, or it would’ve have been very difficult to pass it on secretly so often,’ said Skoodle, brow furrowed. ‘Yet if it’s fairly small, any currents from Hypnos swimming around might have swished it away. He would have had to put it somewhere secure.’

  ‘Like where?’ asked Alex.

  ‘The clam shell on the other side of the lake. Clams don’t live in fresh water but Hypnos might have brought one in from the sea if he needed one.’

  Alex half ran, half stumbled round the irregular sloping wall of the lake until he reached the clam shell wedged between two rocks.

  ‘Put me down,’ whooped Skoodle. ‘I want a clear view of history being created. Open it. Prove I’m a genius.’

  Placing Skoodle on the ground, Alex picked up the shell. ‘Looks disappointingly ordinary.’

  ‘Maybe so. Get on with it.’

  Alex flicked it open. Cushioned in the pearly interior lay a blue crystal, lit by a supernatural internal fire. ‘We’ve found it. It’s stunning,’ he yelled.

  A cheer rose from the others.

  Tariq arrived at the edge of the lake first. ‘Quick, bring it up,’ he called. ‘Let’s see it.’

  ‘Come on, Skoodle,’ said Alex, reaching down.

  ‘Give me a minute. There is a puddle here. I’m dry as a desert.’

  Skoodle scurried to a small pool and began to drink.

  *

  The crystal felt oddly warm in Alex’s hand. As he gazed down into its magnificent depths he began to feel very strange: palms sweaty, his head dizzy. He felt invincible. I’ve found it, he thought. So it’s mine. Why should I hand it over?

  Into his brain leapt a passage that Zorrin had read out from his parents’ netbook. ‘The essence of the Sapphire of Akan steals into the mind, stealthily taking over free will and reason. It eats the soul, leaving a hollow shell.’

  ‘It’s getting to me. I’ve got to get rid of it,’ he yelled at Skoodle. ‘I’ll come back for you.’

  He bolted across to Ikara, who swung her head down.

  Alex climbed astride the vast nose, eyes closed to avoid staring into her huge green ones, clutching the sapphire in one hand. Ikara swung him upwards. Sliding off the scaly head, he walked unsteadily across to Zorrin and held out his hand. The stone lay on his palm, spitting light.

  ‘There’s no doubt it’s the Sapphire of Akan,’ said Zorrin, as he reached forward to take it.

  A blow like being hit by a tree trunk flung Alex backwards in a sickening, wrenching fall.

  ‘You’re forgetting the pact with Virida,’ said Karlan, tone heavy with pain but triumphant.

  CHAPTER 34

  Karlan’s voice seemed to be coming from a long way away as it seeped through the fog in Alex’s stunned brain. Alex tried to raise himself a few inches off the floor. Agony gripped him, muscles feeling as if he had been crushed by a bear. Each breath he took sent shafts of pain through his chest as the raw ends of broken ribs grated against each other.

  Karlan rose unsteadily to crouching, blood flowing from his chest as he moved. A trail of red marked where he had silently crawled on his elbows to the edge of the lake, legs tightly bound.
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  Virida’s eyes blazed. ‘You fool, Zorrin. All this for nothing. The pact remains intact. Give me the sapphire or die.’

  ‘Think again,’ replied Zorrin. ‘The agreement does not bind Flick or me.’

  ‘I’m aware of that,’ spat out Virida. ‘Nevertheless, I know you would not let them die like rats tortured in agony when you could save them. Release me so that I may collect my crystal.’

  ‘No,’ shouted Tariq, voice echoing around the cavern. ‘Do not release her.’ He walked forward to stand in front of Zorrin. ‘We’ve agreed to die, all of us. We will never let her have the sapphire. If she becomes mistress of it there will be mass destruction. Thousands of lives will be lost.’

  ‘Tariq is right,’ boomed Ikara. ‘We’ve agreed not to concede to filth such as her.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Keeko through her orgreeb.

  ‘I’m prepared to die,’ said Alex, hoarsely, gripped by agony so severe that he felt there could be little life left in him anyway.

  ‘Me too,’ stated Skoodle, voice angry as he shouted into his orgreeb. ‘Uncle Toomba, I’m definitely on the way this time.’

  ‘It’s a brave deed you do for Eridor this day,’ said Zorrin, his voice resonating round the cavern. He stood proud: sculptured face resolute, black hair cascading down his back, mood streak spitting blue sparks. ‘You’ll be remembered in song and legend. Your families will be honoured.’

  ‘Their deaths will be slow and agonising. Perhaps watching them suffer will change your mind,’ said Virida to Zorrin.

  ‘I sincerely hope not,’ said Tariq. ‘Yet if I’m to die, I’m taking one of you with me.’

  With a massive swipe of his paw, he belted Karlan in the back. Screaming, Karlan plummeted over the vertical edge of the lake.

  A cry seemingly from Virida’s soul tore through the cavern. ‘Save him.’

  Zorrin pointed at the falling man. ‘Letharto.’ Karlan stopped dropping, hanging helpless in the air, like a boneless cat.

  ‘The spell is mine, Virida. It cannot be overridden by you. Is there any reason I should not let him die?’

  Virida flung herself forward on to her knees, terrified eyes fixed on the figure suspended in space. ‘For mercy’s sake. For respect of another wizard.’

  ‘Not good enough. You didn’t show mercy to me. You’ll have to do better than that.’ Zorrin dropped Karlan another two metres.

  ‘Wait. I’ll break the curse. Your companions will go free if you return Karlan safe to me.’

  ‘Agreed,’ said Zorrin, as he allowed Karlan’s body to rise. ‘Although I’m astonished. I didn’t think that such a generous spirit was to be found in the evil forces. Why swap him for the power of the sapphire?’

  The witch flung back her hair, head held high. ‘He’s my husband. The loss of the sapphire is like a knife in my breast, but is nothing compared to the anguish I’d suffer on losing his life.’

  Karlan’s limp figure was dropped into an awkward heap beside Virida.

  ‘What will you do with us now that the stone is yours?’ she asked, bending over Karlan, long black hair brushing his face.

  As Zorrin paused, a soft voice cut through Alex’s dazed thoughts.

  ‘Let me help you up,’ murmured Saranak. ‘For you’re too weak to stand alone.’

  He held both hands out to Alex, who instinctively reached up to him. Saranak’s hand closed round his arm, nails digging painfully into his flesh. With a sharp crack he broke Alex’s wrist, wrenching the stone from his hand. A wave of pain crashed through Alex’s body as he landed on his crushed ribs, fractured arm flailing. Twinkling lights filled his darkened vision.

  Saranak held the sapphire aloft. ‘The stone is mine and all its power with it. You’re all defeated. It is justice: having broken the pact by such a foul trick, you shall die anyway.’

  ‘You pledged to be my ally till midnight. Don’t you fear breaking your oath?’ asked Zorrin.

  Saranak smiled mockingly. ‘Possession of the crystal far outweighs the power of any oath, even that of the Rod of Gethsite. Breaking it cannot affect me now.’ Saranak strode across to Virida. ‘Touch Karlan,’ he said. ‘The power will revive you both.’

  Virida placed a hand on Karlan’s leg as Saranak put his hand on her shoulder. A surge of life shot from Saranak’s arm into the crumpled figures before him, as if an electric cable were pouring energy into them. Their backs arched in spasm as the power surged through them. The magical bonds fell off; Karlan’s wounds dried and healed. He rose to standing, head high and proud. Youth infused Virida’s face as her hunched shoulders relaxed, the sagging back strengthening.

  ‘Why didn’t it help me?’ Alex croaked to Zorrin, his throat tight with pain.

  ‘You have no magic, unfortunately.’

  ‘These bonds could be more use elsewhere,’ said Saranak, pointing at the ropes binding Virida’s feet.

  The magical webs flew through the air, landing to form a tangled mass of threads around Flick’s and Zorrin’s bodies, clamping their arms painfully to their sides, yanking them on to their knees, binding them to the ground.

  Saranak’s face glowed in triumph. ‘Only the owner of the sapphire can release those bonds. You are permanently – terminally – trapped. Your magic is frozen. Useless.’

  The goblin band stepped out of the shadows, Rectoria at the front. She brandished her sword at Zorrin. ‘Not so clever after all, are you? None of you appeared at the jungle exits so we turned back, luckily in time to enjoy your downfall.’

  Saranak held the crystal up to the ceiling, palm open, so that all could see his trophy as it shone its brilliance into the cold cave air. ‘With the help of these warriors, victory over Eridor is mine. Zorrin, you are entirely overcome. You have no more weapons.’

  ‘Wrong,’ said a voice from behind him.

  Before Saranak had time to turn round, Smuddy Binks launched himself straight at the wizard. His heavy body crashed into Saranak, flattening him. The crystal flew from the wizard’s hand, spitting cold blue fire. It fell in an arc towards the edge of the lake. As everyone stared, it disappeared into the depths of the crater.

  ‘It’s fallen down the crevasse,’ screamed Keeko from the side of the lake. Nothing can save us now.’

  The evil wizards rushed to the edge of the crater and looked down. Keeko stood on the glowing mud peering into the void – while Skoodle sobbed nearby, face in hands. The unearthly light of the blue sapphire would have blazed out from wherever it had landed. Nothing showed against the faint shimmer of the silt lining the lake.

  Alex shifted to try and see for himself but intense pain blasted through him, leaving him breathless, rigid in agony, unable to move. Yet the look on the three evil wizards’ faces proved that Keeko was right. On one was disbelief, on another rage, on the third terror.

  Saranak screamed, an unearthly cry of agony, as his body shrank, becoming old and wizened. His robes fluttered in rags round his bent body. Grey skin tightened over his skull, like a corpse, peeling off his arms in sheets of dry scales. His hair turned thin and stringy.

  ‘The oath,’ he yelled. ‘Quick, give me a task, Zorrin. I need the chance to show you loyalty.’

  ‘Too late for that,’ said Zorrin grimly. ‘Nothing can save you now.’

  ‘Kill me, Karlan. Don’t let the Rod take me alive.’

  As Karlan’s finger rose, the cavern floor beneath Saranak split. Saranak fell into the fissure, screaming. Karlan’s spell bounced off the cold granite in an explosion of purple sparks. The ground closed, leaving only a cloud of dirt where the wizard had stood.

  CHAPTER 35

  A sob escaped from Virida as she stared at the dust cloud. ‘Gethsite,’ she whispered, hand over her mouth. ‘Eternal agony.’

  White-faced, Karlan put his hand on Virida’s shoulder. ‘We have lost a powerful ally.’ He pointed at Smuddy Binks. ‘Your punishment is death.’

  As he drew breath to annihilate the badger a faint whistling sound cut the air. Karlan and Virida van
ished.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Flick, struggling uselessly at her bonds.

  ‘Time tear,’ said Alex, pulling off the glove of Mazal with his teeth. ‘I still had one from the boat.’

  Rectoria laughed, harsh and strident. ‘There’s some justice in that. That’s how Karlan disposed of your parents.’

  Alex stared at her, his mind trying to absorb this monumentous news. Not dead? Alive, but in another time zone? Maybe he could he get there too. Tiredness evaporated. He wasn’t going to give up now. However hopeless things were, he would fight to his last drop of blood to get back to his parents. First, he somehow had to save Zorrin. He began to crawl towards Rectoria, every movement white-hot agony.

  ‘Using time tears shows more persistence in Karlan than I would have believed,’ said Zorrin from his knees. ‘They’re not easy to find.’

  Rectoria snorted. ‘He would never have carried out such a menial job himself. He sent Olip to seek them at the falls of Fernacia. But that’s not important now.’ She looked at Flick, who was muttering spells and wrestling with her bonds. ‘Only the sapphire or Saranak could have broken the cords that hold you now. Since they’re both eternally lost, nothing can release you.’

  From the scabbard by her side she pulled out a sword, its blade echoing the silver light of the fireball floating above the tunnel. She brandished it above the helpless figures of the two wizards.

  Smuddy Binks rocketed forward. Snarling, Rycant leapt at him – felling the badger with a single blow of a massive front paw. The badger’s head hit the floor with a dull crack. Smuddy Binks lay still, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The dog stood snarling over his victim, teeth bared.

  ‘I’m ready to take my place in history as the one who executed Zorrin. If any of you move, Flick dies too.’ Eyes alive with battle fury, Rectoria glared down at Zorrin. ‘No more will you be the scourge of our people. I’ll carry your severed head back to them, proof of my victory.’ Gloating, she held the sword aloft, revelling in its cruel beauty.