The Journey to Northumberland and the Rise of the Undertoads

by Kenneth Mullinix

  *

  The days new morning light broke over the western horizon. Soft, life-giving moon light came beaming into the upper window above Louis's bedroom. The dim blue lights illuminated his room in the odd colors of this strange world. Climbing onto the top of the headboard once again Louis looked out of the window towards the blue moon's rising.

  Many confusing thoughts shot through his mind upon his awakening. Louis spoke aloud to himself, "The moon is this world's sun, and it rises from the west and sets in the east. Everything rotates left-wise or opposite from my world. If this is their sun, which is the moon here it should be setting in the west not east.

  The fairy circle when I tended to it now let me think...to raise a fairy we all did the Widdershins dance, left hand-wise against the rotation of the sun. Positive is negative, negative is positive...there has to be a reason to all of this."

  Louis thumbed through the pile of clothes that the porter had brought in the day before. At the very bottom of the heap was another set of clothes that Louis had not noticed before. There was a matching set of a new wizard outfit with a same style pointy hat, a gray over-sized robe and another pair of bright red shoes turned up at the toes. Louis thought again long and hard about how would he, or should he present himself to this world, and the friends or enemies in it that he was surly to meet? Another moment of bottomless thought; a wizard or magician he was and a wizard or a magician he would be, be it a clumsy one, a good one, or a bad one.

  After dressing himself in his new clothes, once more a knock was heard on the large wooden door at the distant side of the room. The porter called out from behind the thick door, "Wizard Sir it is Glorandal your caretaker. Rise and shine, your breakfast is ready in the main hall."

  Louis placed Mr. Beamer's books, the quagga-tail switch, the adder stone, and his other personal belongings inside of his deep pockets, then headed for the door.

  "Good morning Glorandal, I hope you slept well last night."

  "I did Louis Parks, wizard sir. I hope you did as well for today is to be a day to remember."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "For this day you begin your fated journey into Northumberland, you are to meet T?ngarar Spadefoot and learn of his plans for you. So this will be the first day on the road for you and your quest, and for all others in this land, this will be the beginning of the salvation of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and Deganwy Castle."

  Heading down a long marble hallway towards the main dining room inside of the great room of the castle the conversation continued.

  "Does everyone know who I am in this castle, or in this land as well for that matter?" asked Louis in bewilderment.

  "We have all heard of your coming from Digger the Thief, Digger the Blue Moon Hair and from Atamo the Astral Fairy. Digger knew of you in Centerville, for he is the only one amongst us who has ever seen the bright light of the yellow sun, of the world above us. You see he is the only one who can travel between these two worlds. He is also the eyes and ears of T?ngarar Spadefoot. He works for him as well."

  "You are correct I have seen him many times in Mr. Beamer's garden. I have known of him for many years. He is indeed a thief; he steals Mr. Beamer's vegetables regularly. He has a large family that is growing daily. He is a rabbit of questionable morals and values. You mean he has been spying on all of us who live above your world? If he is the eyes and ears of the enemy then how do you trust him?"

  "I am privy to knowledge that most do not have. Atamo is a good friend of mine, he tells me all. You see I can understand his riddles and rhymes and his play on words, Atamo is indeed a wordsmith. I understand the spoken word of the fairies, brownies and elves better than many because I am an educated elf. I graduated from the city of Elphame's university, before it was lost in disrepair. That was so long ago you see before the wasting of the lands of Northumberland started. Now as for Digger the Blue Moon Hare, good news he is a double-agent. He works for Atamo as well. We are going to see Atamo now and over breakfast he will tell you of your day's journey. I am to translate for him so that there are no questions about your quest and the direction that you must travel today, so we must hurry to the main dining hall to meet with him" said Glorandal the Porter as they turned down another long hallway and on onwards towards the grand hall.

  A turn here, a few steps there and after a few more moments, they arrived at the two large open wooden doors which was the entrance to the grand hall. As the great room opened up before them it appeared that all of the residents of the Deganwy Castle had come for breakfast this favorable and very striking morning.

  Louis looked upwards towards the ceiling of the great hall. It must have been over two hundred and fifty feet tall. There were large round marble columns spaced about every fifty feet or so holding up the massive ceiling. The grand room was well over eight thousand feet long. There were two long marble tables at the very center of the space stretching from one end of the room to the other. And sitting at the tables were various and odd looking; portly elves, diminutive dwarfs, stately workingmen and women, irregular looking fairies, regal brownies and a few other strange human-types and animals that Louis did not entirely recognize.

  Glorandal motioned for Louis to follow him towards the center of the room and as Louis entered the hall, heartfelt applause erupted throughout the distance as all noticed the little wizard's entrance. Louis was taken aback by the affection, not really understanding all the attention giving to him by the townsfolk. Glorandal escorted Louis to the head of the table. Louis dutifully sat down.

  Looking to his left he spotted what appeared to be the mayor of the city; Mayor Thithor read the nameplate on the back of his notable high-backed chair. Then to the right side Louis read the nameplate on another high-backed chair, Governor Bregon. Handshakes and backslaps abounded as all tried to say hi to little Louis and wish him well on his future journey. Louis could not trust his unmoved eyes. It was all so special and overwhelming to him. He slunk down into his chair wrought with worry and overcome with grief, but did not let his emotions show to all, for the fear of letting them down. All he kept thinking in his inner-mind was...what have I done now...I just know it, I am going to let everyone down. Why is it always me? Why is it always me? Louis's youth showed, in his lack of self-confidence and self-worth.

  Atamo entered the room from the far side flying directly towards the head of the table. Broomstick entered behind him and as well headed directly towards Louis. Both arrived as applause erupted again. Broomstick gave a loving nudge of his long nose into Louis's mid-section which comforted Louis in his moment of worry and self-doubt. Louis pulled lovingly on one of the unicorns soft pink ears. Atamo circled twice about over the long marble table, flying on the ragwort of the Dulinnor his companion bird and confidant. After giving Louis another affectionate bite on the neck, he took to hovering over Louis in flight.

  "It appears that everyone is present" loudly proclaimed Mayor Thithor as he stood up and addressed the room in his deep pleasant voice "good morning all. I trust the pancakes and sweet rolls are especially delicious this most special of mornings."

  Clapping erupted about the room once again as a steaming hot plate of pancakes arrived for Louis's consumption. Glorandal the Porter placed the overflowing plate in front of Louis, gave a broad smile in his direction, bowed down and exited towards the kitchen for a moment to have his own quick breakfast.

  The mayor continued with his salutations and greetings.

  "Welcome, welcome one and all to today's festivities, and we want to especially welcome our visitor and guest of honor who has dropped down from the heavens above to be with us today. It is the heroic "Fairy Circle Tender"..."Louis the Red"...or better known to most of us from the scared scrolls from our grand library, it is Robert Louis Parks, "The Savior of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and Deganwy Castle."

  After scanning about the room then looking back over his shoulder to spot Atamo and Broomstick Louis's
worries only amplified that much more. He tried to find courage in his newfound friends faces but could not. Self-doubt and self-persecution clouded his young mind once again. The Wizard gave a half-hearted smile at Broomstick as mayor Thithor with his full of meaning voice continued to speak. After a few more minutes of greetings he introduced Governor Bregon to the room.

  The governor was a tubby elf and found to be shorter in statue than Mayor Thithor; both were hefty around the waist, and overly friendly. The Governor stood up to speak as Louis finished the last of his pancakes and freshly baked sweet rolls. The delightful meal lightened his spirits. Glorandal was now seen entering the grand room again from the far off kitchen doors. He made his way over to Louis's side just as the governor ended his morning's speech.

  "And in closing with today's introductions and greetings may I introduce to you, the ones that you all know, all too well already, here is Atamo the Astral Fairy and Broomstick the Unicorn."

  The pink unicorn brayed loudly as Atamo rose in flight above the room. He circled twice about high overhead on the back of Dulinnor then hung in flight once more, but this time right above Glorandal's left ear. He began to speak to the porter who listened intently to each and every word that was spoken to him. The room became as quiet as a high snow filled mountaintop on a windless day. All looked towards Glorandal as he began to speak the words of their mystical leader Atamo.

  "Today is indeed a day of days. Arriving from higher than and dropping down so gracefully from the skies, he comes from the upper world of sunlight and warmth. "The One", he has finally arrived. It has been too long that we have awaited his arrival, that grand day is now upon us. All of us who live in this Neither World, in the below world of the Kingdom of Gwynedd welcome the Great Wizard, it has been spoke of, and written about since the beginning of our time here in this land we call home."

  Louis listened with great interest as Atamo and Glorandal words engulfed the silent room. Perking up in his chair and in his mind Louis was starting to fully understand his place in this new world and what was expected of him in the near future. Glorandal and Atamo continued onwards with a litany of dancing words.

  "We who call this world home have been under T?ngarar Spadefoot's rule for so long, time has come for a change in power, and the change has come in the size and form of this small redheaded wizard that sits before you now. We are tired of laboring under Spadefoot's powerful and evil rule. How many amongst are still giving twenty percent of your bounty each month to support his toad armies in Northumberland. How many of our children have gone missing, who now work for this tyrant king? The toad army has laid waste to so many parts this once beautiful and rich land. They have plundered all the lands to the north, south and east and soon they will march on Deganwy Castle and the Kingdom of Gwynedd.

  The only thing that stands in his way is the White Queen Elphen who lives in the city of Elphame inside the Dark Tower of Hagby. Our own wizard is to meet with T?ngarar Spadefoot this day, and he is to give our wizard the powers to defeat our ancient queen who many in this land think that she is now our foe. She is the Land Draug...the after-walker."

  Louis looked about the room once again at each innocent elf, dwarf, child, woman and workingmen, all were entranced as the words flowed freely from Glorandal's mouth. Louis drank from a glass of water sitting on the table, trying to quench his parched throat. His hands trembled and his knees began to knock uncontrollably under the table. Louis looked out of a nearby window thinking of that lone woodpecker and Mr. Beamer's barn, of Molly and all of his friends.

  "But little does The Toad King know that Queen Elphen our queen is not to die at the hands of the wizard but she is to be freed by him, and returned to us, to return to her thrown once again. She once released from the Dark Tower, her powers will return and she will become the great queen she once was, she will vanquish the toad armies and T?ngarar Spadefoot from our lands once and for all."

  Applause echoed off of the interior walls of the great hall. Little ones began to jump up and down on the tables as all began to dance and sing in harmony thinking of the return of their defeated queen. The ever proud governor rose to his feet and began to speak out again, "Mr. Great Wizard sir will you please address the gathering at your feet? You have come so far to be here and there is so much to be done, can you please speak?"

  The room became as quiet as that lone mountaintop once again as Louis steadied himself against the table. Rising upon shaky legs and with unsteady confidence Louis found the slimmest of margins and the littlest of courage to speak.

  "Good morning all...er...ah...I am not a well-spoken politician...ah...as your delightful governor Bregon nor that of a seasoned speaker as your mayor Thithor but I will do the best I can."

  A light applause filled the room.

  "I feel I need to address the worship and warm greetings that you all have befallen upon me today."

  Louis cleared his throat next he quelled his knocking knees. He continued with his confidence slowly building.

  "It is true I have fallen into your land from the world above. I was sent here because of my own undoings and wrong deeds. I was sent here as punishment for my bad behavior only to find myself apparently sent here for a reason, and that reason is to save this land from evildoings and clear wrongs. Although I have not met this Mr. Spadefoot I feel I know his type. He is a bully of the worst kind is he not, and larger than all in this land, meaner and most nasty in temperament? He uses his unusual size to frighten the weaker of mind and spirit, and he uses and feeds off of your fears am I correct? I know this type. I just dealt with one like this in the upper world, my world, in the land that I call home Centerville."

  Each turned towards each other in the room and mouthed the words, Centerville. Louis offered a pregnant pause, after that he collected his breath.

  He continued.

  "Atamo and Broomstick, Glorandal and others here in your castle have given me full support and love though out my short time that I have been a resident here. Although I know little of your land, I feel that I can accept your challenge to de-thrown this awful and powerful king, and his great armies. I feel that if somehow I overthrow this king then I will be returned to my world. It appears to be the only way to my own salvation, is to give you your salvation. It is my punishment for my past deeds.

  Who sent me here is not known, or who or whom will return me to my world of golden daylight, of bright sunlight. I guess this will just have to play out and we will see the truth soon enough. But first I must find my friends that arrived here with me only a few days ago. Have any of you seen a girl that would look out of place here in your land, she would be wearing strange clothes, not like any of yours and most of all she wears way too much lipstick. Her name is Hot Tamale Molly and she is with her friend Tessie Whitman.

  Then there is a tall, skinny kid who goes by the name of Chug Martin he appears to be hairy hobgoblin but he is only dressed like that. He is very gangly and again would appear out of place in your lands. And lastly my other friend Short Stack is dressed like a leprechaun. He is shorter than most of you. Has anyone seen them or heard of anything?"

  A meek voice called out at the far end of the room, "I have heard of these four that you speak of."

  "Come forward, who said that!" yelled out Louis as a glimmer of hope shot through his mind, could his friends still be alive?

  A very small girl elf made her way through the crowd of well-wisher towards the end of the long table. After a bit of difficulty she stood before Louis. She could not have been more than three foot tall, wearing the standard elf clothing of green and red. She brushed back her long flaxen hair off one of her slim shoulders, bowed down before the wizard then spoke out again, but this time she turned towards the crowds who sat before her and Louis.

  "I have heard that each of your friends have been sentenced to death by T?ngarar Spadefoot. They are to be held with this death sentence upon their heads until
you bring Queen Elphen's black beating heart or golden crown to him on a platter."

  Louis's throat went dry again.

  "Two of your friends are held by Noctuid the Black Witch, the other by Hydrarchos the Water Serpent and the other by Morr?gan the Stone Troll, he also has been called George the Cave Troll as many of you know. Most of you in this room know these three vile creatures and what horrors they have bestowed upon our lands over the years."

  "What is your name little one? And how do you know of these real truths?" asked Louis.

  "I am Tolthe. I am a wee folk from the Tlannatar clan. My father is a peddler of goods to Spadefoot's armies. He spends many nights with the undertoads upon his arrival in their camps in Northumberland then returns the next day after his payload has been oft-loaded. He heard some of the underling toads talking between themselves the other night about your friend's whereabouts. And my father in turn told me, and now I tell you."

  "Do you know the whereabouts of these creatures? I must go to my friends first then I will deal with Mr. Spadefoot and his armies" said the very distraught little Louis.

  Broomstick and Atamo hearing the conversation halted the conversation.

  "Today you are to meet with T?ngarar Spadefoot in Northumberland in Bramble Forest, at the center of his lands. You must meet with him first then you can look for your friends on your way to the Dark Tower of Hagby and Queen Elphen" said Broomstick as he flipped his tail back and forth.

  "I know where these creatures live and can tell you how to get to their lairs. I also know of their ways. Your friends will be safe for the time being because Spadefoot needs them alive so you will do his evil tidings" said Tolthe as she turned to face the room again.

  "She is correct Atamo confirms this to me Louis. You can free your friends if possible after you meet with Spadefoot. Since your breakfast is finished, please gather your belongings. I will go with Atamo and you, and Tolthe she may go as well. We will all go on the road to Spadefoot's burrow this day" stated Broomstick.

  "Then we celebrate the journeys beginning and our soon to be freedom, everyone let us dance and give an impressive send off to our Great Wizard. The Wizard from Centerville" shouted out Tolthe as she pulled a small wooden flute from of her pocket and began to play.

  Louis not ever being one to miss a party or have a good time joined right in and began to dance and sing right along with everyone else. He pulled his own flute out of a pocket and began to play along. All danced out of the front doors of the grand hall, down the narrow cobblestone streets towards the front wooden gates of the castle.

  For the first time since Louis had entered this strange land his mind was free of worry and despair, he was just a small boy again dancing and singing as most boys of his age like to do only Louis was doing it with elf's, dwarfs and fairies.

  As Louis crossed over the large wooden gangplank and deep moat, Broomstick, Tolthe, Glorandal and Atamo followed Louis out onto the dirt road leading away from Deganwy castle. Reaching into his robe, he un-wrapped a handful of firecracker power. Sending a handful crashing against a large nearby rock brought the crowd shouting for joy.

  "Spadefoot's demise is at hand!"

  The little wizard's showboating was exactly what the people needed to see, the wizard being wizardly in the face of certain uncertainty.

  "The lands of the Kingdom of Gwynedd will soon be free!"

  Hearty shouts of joy and many goodbyes accompanied the traveling party as they slowly left the cool shadows of the castle walls and the safety that they provided.

  "Good luck Mr. Wizard from Centerville" shouted out a few of the smaller elves in the crowd.

  "Yeah good luck Mr. Wizard" a voice was heard coming from another elf.

  "Good luck finding your friends" shouted out many.

  "Louis remember we are all depending on you, come back to us safe" was heard another voice.

  As the party crested a last hill at the outskirts of the large clearing and the music and shouts unhurriedly faded from their ears Louis turned back towards Deganwy castle, to wish each of the fair inhabitant's farewell one last time. He now turned back towards his new friends; the astral fairy, the pink unicorn, the portly elf and the wee folk, giving each a broad smile and wink.

  He slowly closed his soft brown eyes hoping all the while that this was all just a fanciful and horrible dream because the awful and foul lands of Northumberland and the vile and foul T?ngarar Spadefoot would soon be in his immediate future.