Emily’s strength had returned, so she was the first across to Palustric. Taking him by the waist, she began to tug with him. Adam sprang across and seized his sister’s waist to pull, too, but nothing could shift Palustric.
“It’s no use,” Adam panted. “We’re getting nowhere like this. We’ll have to think of something else.” He started unloading objects from his pocket, with the vague idea of digging into the wall plaster.
“Think of something!” Palustric grumbled. “The leg I'm standing on is aching like mad!”
Adam took Cari out of his pocket and laid it on the floor with the other assorted items: damp string, bottle-opener, soggy matches and so on. Three pairs of hopeful eyes studied the orb; sure enough, it grew paler.
“Look!” Emily cried. “Cari's going to help us!” Slowly, steadily, Cari grew transparent, “Like a crystal ball!” the girl breathed.
They looked into the orb and suddenly a face appeared. It was a face Emily had never seen. “Look, there’s an old man,” she whispered. The old man smiled as if he could hear her.
“Deductio!” Adam said. “Look, he wants—”
“Hurry up, will you, get me out of here!” Palustric called over his shoulder, ignorant of what was happening.
Adam continued, “…to tell us something.” He ignored Palustric and turned to Lar, “But I can’t hear him, can you hear him, Lar?” The pixy shook his head. Adam looked at the wizard’s lips, which were moving, forming a word over and over again.
“Reason!” Lar squeaked. “He’s telling us to reason.”
At the pixy’s words, Deductio nodded and the orb instantly became silver again.
Adam snorted: “Huh! That's a fat lot of use! Reason! That won’t get us out of here!” He dug at the wall plaster near Palustric’s leg with his pocket knife. The plaster seemed as hard as stone and the knife made little impression. Palustric urged him to try again, but Adam knew it was no use. The dwarf began to suffer now. To torment him more, mocking sniggers came to their ears.
Emily, who had never met Deductio, was the only one thinking about his message. Suddenly, she said, “We’re in the Theatre!” Adam and Lar looked at her blankly. “What do people do in a theatre? They act!” She looked hopefully at the others, but their faces remained blank. “What I mean is,” she said, “is that we have to reason our way out of here. It’s no use digging at the wall. It must have something to do with the Theatre.”
Adam would have scoffed at Emily’s suggestion, but he’d learnt too much in this place. He tried hard to find a solution, as did the others; but it was Emily who spoke first, in a voice so low that only Lar could hear her easily. “We’re in the Theatre of Pride,” she whispered. “The only way out of here is to fight him with the weapon he fears most…modesty. Now, follow my example.” She moved to the centre of the room and, putting her hands on her hips, tilting her head back like an actress, she declared in a ringing voice, “My name’s Emily. I’m not really as beautiful as this in real life, but I’m not ugly either. I’m not very good at school, because I daydream a lot, but I’m not stupid. I used to spend too long in front of the mirror, but I’m not going to be so vain in future.” She waved silently to Adam, who joined her. He had understood.
“My name’s Adam,” he said quickly in a strong voice. “I fooled the dragon, Lentor, but I couldn’t have managed it without Cari’s help and I used to show off about being clever, but I’m not going to anymore.”
Lar joined them. “My name’s Lar,” he squeaked. “I'm a pixy who knows a lot of wise sayings. None of them is mine. I promise to invent my own sayings in future.” Adam groaned at the thought, just as Palustric began to boom from his plaster prison.
“Palustric’s the name. I’ve always been so proud of being a dwarf, but now I know I’ve a lot to learn from other folk and I’m sure I’ll do that in future.”
“Aaagh!” a cry of frustrated rage filled the room as the door reappeared and flew off its hinges into the hall with a great crash. Palustric fell to the floor with a thump and rubbed his suffering leg frantically. Adam dragged him to his feet without ceremony, and the dwarf half-limped, half-stumbled out of the room on Adam’s arm as a hate-filled voice screamed, “Vengeance! Revenge! Revenge!” The word rang in their ears. Emily and Lar dashed after the other two while they all kept hurrying until the Theatre was well behind them.
In the dark backstreets, as their chests heaved for breath, Lar piped: “Now Pride has lowered his wings, is it not so, Master?
“Shut up, Lar!” Adam hissed.
“But I thought it up myself—” the pixy began to protest as Adam’s arm swept him off his feet and into a dark corner between two houses. Palustric tugged Emily after them. “Hide!”
For the first time, Lar’s hearing had let him down. Maybe he had been concentrating too hard on his new saying—they were just in time.
Goblin soldiers with fiery torches held above their heads passed the end of the narrow street. Their harsh voices boomed in the stillness of the night; their firelit faces modelled by shifting shadows from the flames meant they reached new levels of ugliness.
“Pride has sent his troops after us,” Emily whispered.
“I don’t think so,” Adam breathed. “Didn’t you see their uniforms? I reckon they belong to the Archgoblin and that they are still searching for you, Emily. We can’t risk going back to the inn; they’ll be watching it.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily whispered sincerely. “It’s all my stupid fault. I behaved very badly up there. I should have given the Archgoblin my masterpiece. It was his by rights. I don’t know what came over me…”
“Don't think about it anymore. It’s the place—the Citadel of Wealth—it has a corrupting effect on people. What did you do with your masterpiece, by the way?” Adam wanted to know.
“I threw it in the moat.”
“A pity!”
They made their way downhill by backstreets and sticking to the shadows as much as possible. On three occasions, they had to hide as patrols passed them, their torches lighting up alleyways and dark corners. More by good luck than skill, they were not found. So, they left the Citadel with great stealth, the way they had come in. Even if soaked from the moat and cold and uncomfortable, they didn’t stop till they had left the village far behind them.
VI
On The Road of Strife
31
The moon cast a disturbing red glow over the earth and didn’t help to relieve the gloom of the four friends as they sat on rocks under the stars. They were without a plan, cold and miserable and couldn't decide what to do. It was in this state that the two shadowy hooded figures found them.
“Sheath your sword, Adam,” a friendly voice greeted him.
“Deductio!” Adam said with relief. Now they would know what to do with two wizards for advice.
The wizards sat down on the rocks with them. “There’s no time to lose,” Deductio began. “The storm clouds are gathering. We must slumber no longer!”
The other hooded figure nodded in agreement, and in the gloom they recognised Sapiens.
“The balance has been disturbed,” the old wizard went on, looking at Adam. “The winning back of the Key of Ingenuity has stirred up the forces of evil. Long ago, Pride lost all sense of good, corrupted by power to devote himself to evil-doing. Now the Key is away from Lentor, he senses the opportunity to seize the absolute power he craves. The Key alone can give him that.”
Sapiens nodded again. “Time is on his side, already he has mobilised the hobgoblins while the goblins are in foment,” she said. “In the West, the Hag is rubbing her hands at the prospect of suffering and destruction. Her spriggan columns have crossed her frontiers with orders to unite with the Marshland goblins, who even now await them in arms.”
“My friends, the peril is grave,” Deductio took up the theme, which Emily felt was just right for such a spooky night. She shivered violently. “We are in the shadow of death, but we must not bend the knee. There is no choice—u
nless we wish to live as slaves.”
“What shall we do?” Emily asked, shivering all the more. Deductio took her hand gently and looked into her eyes, which were wide with fear.
“You were fortunate, my child: Pride had you in his clutches, yet, here you are. Pride is merciless when crossed. He will seek revenge. To avenge himself on you is now one of his fondest desires. Therefore, your peril is great. You have no choice; be willing to meet danger, even to court it.” He gazed even deeper into the girl’s frightened eyes. “This is a question of absolutes—only the power of love and truth can defeat evil. You possess the power to fight with these weapons without reward.”
“We’re too young!” Emily protested. “We’re weak and—”
Sapiens pulled her hood back from her face and took Emily’s other hand. She fixed Emily with her cool, blue eyes. “It has always been so,” she said firmly. “You are young and, as such, weak. The weak are not equal to the challenge. They are without expectations, except the hope of their own making: a struggle to be worthy. Do you understand, my dear?”
Emily looked at the wizard’s stern face and nodded feebly. Sapiens was right, even though the only thing she wanted was to be back home with her parents and her Jasmine. She bit her trembling lip to hold back the threatened tears.
“What shall we do?” Emily repeated, this time almost under her breath.
“Each of us must move at once,” Deductio said, snapping his fingers. “There’s no time to lose. Sapiens,” he let go of Emily’s hand, “leave at once for the Council of Elves. Warn them and lead the Elven forces directly to the Dwarfish lands.”
Sapiens nodded, stood up and pulled her grey hood over her head. She squeezed Emily’s shoulder, “Be brave and may fortune be with you.” Without another word, she turned and left.
“As for me,” Deductio reclaimed their attention, “I shall seek the two most powerful of our order: Valens and Veritas.
“Wizards,” Palustric whispered unnecessarily to Adam.
“Lar,” Deductio ordered, “take a horse and summon the pixies and brownies to arms, we’ll meet in the Dwarfish lands.”
“O Wise One, I cannot!” Lar squeaked, squinting more than usual.
Deductio’s eyes flashed from within his hood. “Why not?”
“A horse?” Lar spread his hands and hunched his little shoulders by way of explanation.
“Ah! You're right!” Deductio smiled thinly and stood up “Come, come out of these rocks.” The little band obeyed, climbing down to the level ground, where, to their surprise, the wizard whistled a high-pitched series of notes. Out of the darkness came a flash of brown and white fur. A large, shaggy dog skidded to a halt at Deductio’s feet, sat down and stared up with adoring eyes into the wizard’s face. The tip of its tail gently beat on the dusty ground.
“Oh, he’s lovely!” Emily cried. “What’s his name?”
“Guess,” the wizard smiled.
“Fido?”
“No, Guess!” Deductio's smile widened.
“Ben?”
“No, Guess!”
“Patch?” Emily frowned
“No, he’s called Guess,” the old wizard chuckled. “My sense of humour!”
“Aw!”
Adam, Palustric and Lar laughed, momentarily forgetting the danger they were all in. Emily stroked one of Guess’s floppy ears and laughed too.
“Guess, this is Lar,” Deductio presented the pixy to his dog. “Take him to the pixy lands. Serve him well and defend him, with your life if need be, my canine friend,” Deductio said sternly.
The dog leapt up, he was as tall as Lar, and, tail wagging furiously, licked the pixy full in the face.
“Eeh!” Lar squeaked, jumping backwards, spitting and wiping his face with his tattered sleeve as the others burst out laughing again.
“Lar, it looks like you've got a new friend,” Adam grinned.
The pixy scowled, but Guess wagged his tail even more fervidly. “Friends get on better from a distance, is it not so, O Wise One?”
Deductio smiled and shook his head. “You know that this is not the true meaning of the saying, Lar. Come on, up you get!” He lifted Lar onto Guess's back, and Lar grasped the leather collar at the dog’s neck. Then Deductio stooped and spoke into the dog’s ear, warning him of the hazards they would have to steer clear of on the road.
When he had finished, Emily stepped over to Lar and put her arm around his thin shoulders. “Take care, Lar, and good luck!”
Adam hardly glanced at his friend. “Bye,” he said trying to sound casual, but his heart was heavy. Even though he’d known Lar only a short time, it seemed like a lifetime after what they’d been through together. Lar was more than a friend and Adam would miss him sorely.
Palustric went over to the pixy and squeezed his hand, but didn’t say anything.
The two youngsters and the dwarf watched sadly as their friend waved from the dog’s back and disappeared into the night. Their mood was not helped by Deductio, who sighed: “He has a long, dangerous road ahead of him.”
“I hope he’ll be all right,” Palustric said with feeling.
“At least we’ll have some peace from his sayings,” Adam said gruffly, but they could tell he had a lump in his throat.
Deductio wanted no further waste of time. “You three must warn the dwarves. Palustric, it is your land that is under immediate threat. Pride means to have the Key—”
“Never! He'll never get into the sanctuary!” Palustric said hotly.
Deductio sighed wearily, “Not by direct assault, friend. Do not underestimate the enemy; he has many devious arts. Even now the word is spreading among the goblins. They are uniting. Goblins only need the slightest encouragement to harm—as you know. They’re wicked by nature, no matter how civil they might pretend to be.”
Palustric knew that Deductio was right; you couldn’t argue with a wizard, they were always right.
“Then we’d better be going,” he growled.
“Don't trust anyone, friends. These are dangerous times in which you must cross hostile lands.” The wizard gave them a tired smile and began to walk away. They watched his back wordlessly for a few seconds until Adam spoke.
“Why are we waiting? Let’s go!”
Hesitating only the instant required to glance from Adam to the gloomy road, Deductio vanished.
“He's gone!” Emily gasped.
“He is a wizard,” Palustric said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“Come on!” Adam wanted to be off.
“No!”
He looked at his sister. “Why not?”
“We can't just leave Blitz,” Emily said, “and in any case, our journey will be much quicker and easier on horseback. Remember how far it is and…and, I don’t mind telling you, I’m tired out as it is.”
Adam had forgotten about Blitz in his understandable desire to escape from the Citadel. It was true; life would be much easier with the great stallion.
“There's no way I’m leaving him with those horrid goblins,” Emily added. “Blitz is the best horse in the world.”
“All right, all right,” Adam said, “message received, but we can’t just walk back to the inn and collect Blitz. It’s too dangerous. The Archgoblin’s soldiers have probably taken him into the Citadel.”
There was a long, depressed silence. Then Palustric suddenly said, “No!”
“Eh?”
“No. Think about it,” the dwarf said. “The Archgoblin wants Emily, not a horse. He’ll know that Emily wants her horse back.”
“So, he'll have set a guard to watch Blitz,” Adam reasoned.
“Exactly!”
“So, how do we get Blitz?” Emily asked desperately.
Adam pursed his lips. “Not by daylight.”
Unlike the previous night, there were no clouds; the stars twinkled in defiance of the gloomy old moon. Since the old moon throws little light, it often witnesses secretive deeds; therefore, it was just right to cloak the three friends’ silent
approach through the goblin village to the rear of the inn. The inn yard, enclosed by a high wall and a large gate, was flanked by two old stables with double wooden doors. From the shadow between two houses across the street facing the yard gate, they could see two goblin guards.
“Remember,” Emily whispered, “the stables have got barred windows at the back to let air in?”
Adam and Palustric nodded.
“When I get those two guards to follow me, you two go down the side behind the stables and look through the windows. Find out where Blitz is.”
“But how…?”
“Give me some gold coins,” Emily whispered, “about twenty.”
“That's about all the money we have left,” Adam said reluctantly but passed them to his sister.
She took them and handed three back to him to spend later.
“Now go around the back of this house and watch from the next alleyway,” Emily said. She waited just long enough to give them time, then tossed a gold coin onto the cobbled street in front of the guards. It fell with two loud clinks, making both guards spin round.
“What's that?” one grunted.
The other pointed to the ground. “It's a coin!” he cried.
“Hush!” the first goblin said, leaning his pike against the wall. “You’ll wake the others: this is ours!”
“Right!” the other grinned craftily, leaning his pike too and joining his companion as he straightened up.
“It's gold!” he said, holding it out on his palm and closing it quickly as the other reached for it. Their greed for gold was so great that neither goblin asked himself where the coin had come from.
This was the moment. Emily tossed another coin much nearer the alley entrance. The goblins shoved each other roughly as they scrambled for it while, in the next alleyway, Adam nudged Palustric and grinned. Emily led the goblins deep into the alley with another three coins, but one goblin was faster and stronger than the other; so, as he pounced on his fourth coin (to the other’s single coin), the weaker goblin slid a knife into his ribs before prising the coins from his dying companion’s hand. Emily shuddered but lured the killer on with another coin.
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