Into the Fairylands
Chapter IX
The Battle to the Pedigree
~*~
The tugboat charged
across the ocean at top speed. Ed,
Alice, Zach, Travis, Little Dill, and the army of brownies had heard the
message from Smith-Blake of the creature before the demise of Blinky, himself
and the Neon Gypsy. They had made
good time, leaving the Island of the Gallan-Gallet far behind. Little brownies took turns shovelling coal
into the ship’s boiler, minding the engine and steering the ship, which was
quite a sight to see as they stood on one and other’s shoulders to control the
helm.
While all
this was happening Ed, and the other four were below deck serving some sort of
role in the venture. Little Dill sat in
a large swivel chair, wearing a pair of over-sized headphones as he dictated to
Alice the position of the Manookoo and the Pedigree,
who in turn marked them out on a map in colour coding. Ed, Travis and Zach spent most their time
wiring Kina in Newtown or Bloom in Bathill, as far as they knew the Manookoo
was spotted by the Nimbian Aero-core and making headway toward the
north-eastern part of the Gallan-Gallet and would be intercepted by the
Manookoo soon.
“One, two,
three, one two, three,” called a random and unexpected voice. “How one earth do you work these confounded
things?”
“It’s
Buggie-boo!” cried Little Dill.
Ed grabbed
the communicating piece. “Ed here,” he
said. “What can we do for you?”
“I’ve been
studying some accounts of the Manookoo,” was the reply. “There is something I’ve discovered.”
“What is
it?”
“The rock Spyrus
was forged by the Zeltic god Kinmount, god of ice and stone. It is said in order to warn those who were
deemed blessed by Horcus, Spyrus will freeze bodies of water that cross its
path.”
“In other
words?” asked Ed. However, before
Bug-a-boo could say more the ship shook, in a way that suggested that they had
run aground. When the quake stopped, Ed,
Alice, Zach and Travis all found themselves on the floor of the ship. In the sudden occurrence, furniture, papers,
and books we thrown about, a bookshelf even nearly fell on Travis.
When the
group had managed to climb from below deck, they were in for a surprise. The boat had landed itself on a vast region
of ice, stretching out from them in almost every direction. Many of the brownies were hard at work,
trying to unload supplies from the ship onto carts and packs for the next
stretch of the journey.
As everyone
prepared for the voyage ahead, the sound of some horrific creature could be
heard charging a cross hazy abyss. Out
on the horizon, it came. A black,
snake-like creature, massive and deformed with an arm and a leg peering from
one of its sides came slithering across the plain. Following this monster were several other
beings, each deformed in some way or another.
“Ready
yourselves!” called Ed to the others.
“We'll
holds 'em off,” Little Dill cried. “You
guys goes aheads to the Pedigree.”
Ed took one
last look at Little Dill. “Good luck old
boy.” he said to the toy.
Little Dill
saluted and ran to join his army.
Ed, Alice,
Zach, and Travis watched as the brownies charged forward toward the frightful
herd. They wasted no time running along
the ice, which was oddly not slippery as they ran. The group could see that the army of
creatures was not nearly as large as they thought. They were now farther from the horde and could
continue forward with the use of a compass and a dirty map of the section between
the Gallan-Gallet and Nimbus to guide their journey.
It was
quiet, the kind that gave the impression that at any minute something unpleasant
would appear. To the left and right of
them was nothing, just clouds and ice.
The wind was their only company in this long trip.
No one
dared say a word, for fear of their voices being their downfall. They had no way of contacting Kina as the
radio from the ship had been damaged when the boat landed and the portable one
was in one of the carts with the brownies.
Just when
they thought they were down and out, something shot down from the sky and ran
in to Ed, knocking him down. It was a
seagull.
“I say,”
snapped the gull and it got up. “Here I
am flying and what-what, when next thing I know some jiffy dragon and his
purple cloud cross my path and separate me from my squadron.”
“Who are
you?” asked Alice, ignoring the fact that this gull had crashed into Ed and was
making them more exposed to the possibility of another attack from the
Manookoo.
“Captain
Jolly Roger at your service ma'am.” was the gull's reply with a bow. “Leader of the Gull light air infantry. My squadron and I were to return to base camp
when this cloud appeared out of nowhere.
I must say, I've never seen ice on an ocean; though I've never seen ice
on water before either.”
“Have you
seen a ship anywhere?” Ed asked, feeling it would be wise to start moving again
soon.
“Oh yes.” Jolly Roger replied. “I saw a big grey one not too long ago.”
“Would you
be able to lead us to it?”
“I could
jolly-well try.”
For the
first bit, Jolly Roger moved about to make sure nothing was broken. When all seemed safe, the gull set to the
air, making sure that the quartet were close by to follow along. On the ice, Ed, Alice, Zach and Travis
followed as much as they could.
The cloud's
vapours made it hard to see where the sun was, in turn making it to determine
the time of day, only that the sun was still up in the sky. In the rush to leave, some of the supply bags
were left behind, leaving them with this desperate situation. With limited supplies, Ed was desperate to
find the Pedigree as soon as possible.
It was
getting darker. Jolly Roger was becoming
harder to see as they made their way across the ice-like surface. But just as they thought their hopes were
dashed, the sight of lights from a massive, geometric form could be seen.
“There she
blows lads!” called Jolly Roger from above.
“I told you I would jolly-well get you there!”
By the time
Ed, Zach, Travis, and Alice reached the warship night had fallen. The cloud's vapours made the area darker;
they were able to reach the ship by following the long array of lights that
stood out like stars in the blackness.
“Hallo!” Ed
called up.
“Who's
there?” called an unseen voice.
“Four
travellers.” Ed called back. “We've come
a long way. Dr. Kina told us to come
here.”
“Wait one
moment.” the voice yelled in return.
After
several minutes, a rope ladder unravelled along the side of the Pedigree. “Come on up!” the voice called as the rope
ladder hit the hard ice.
One at a time,
each one made their way up. First
Travis, then Alice, Zach, and finally Ed.
Climbing proved to be an intimidating venture. As each person moved higher on the ladder,
the ground below became more of a dark and void-less abyss. Alice watched as an enamel mug broke from her
backpack and fell below. After what
seemed like a few minutes, a shattering clang rung out.
At the top,
their welcome was not what was expected.
Several scruffy looking crewmembers had Ed, Zach, Travis, and Alice
surrounded in a circle, sailors in front, left and right and the edge of the
ship overlooking the abyss from behind.
Each sailor was armed with a gun and were prepared to use them.
“Move aside
boys!” ordered a voice from behind the crew.
Emerging from behind the crowd was a boar in blue slacks and a white
shirt. “Ah! Mr. Ed!” the boar cried as
he saw Ed and company. “We were hopin’
you would get here soon. Drop yer guns
lads. These folk are expected.”
Just then,
Jolly Roger crashed in. “Hallo all,” the
gull greeted.
As the crew
began to go back to the posts. The boar
led Alice, Ed, Travis and Zach to his quarters on the ship.
“Pleasure
to meet you all.” the boar said at last.
“Captain Joseph ‘Jo’ Mulligan at your service.”
“Pleasure
to meet you Mr. Mulligan,” greeted Ed in a grievous way. “These are my companions, Alice, Zach, and
Travis.” We were coming along by sea to
meet with your ship when we struck the ice bank.”
“You lot
go' off lucky.” commented Mulligan as he poured some hot water into some enamel
mugs. “We got ourselves trapped in this
ice when tha' bloo'y clou' landed. We
kept beeing attacked by some flyin' snakes all day since. We're like sittin'
duck 'ere.”
Over the
cup of hot tea, Ed provided the narrative what had happened, making sure he had
given everything he knew over to the sea captain.
“Wha' abou'
the bird?” asked Mulligan as he pointed a thumb at Jolly Roger, when the
account was finished.
“Oi!”
snapped the gull. “I'll 'ave you know
I'm head of the Royal Army of Gulls and loyal servant to King Stormwing of the
floating castle Auld Lang Syne.”
“Don't
worry about 'im.” explained Ed. “He's the one who guided us to your ship.”
“Righ',”
grunted Mulligan. He didn't say much
after that, though the naval captain led them to a set of rooms adjacent to his
own. “You are welcome to stay as long as
you need to.” Mulligan added before leaving them.
The four were
now alone. After setting the sleeping
arrangements and a late supper of soup and some buttered bread from the ship's
mess hall, everyone made their way to bed.
Everyone, except Ed and Zach. The
two young men sat in the little common area that was located between the set of
rooms.
Zach
couldn't sleep; his mind was trying to take in all that had happened. First, Ed was dead, then it turned out he was
alive and living in another world all together.
After that, there was the trip through the tunnel via fireplaces and the
trip to town. Then they were in Bathill,
delivering a report to the Deltic government, warning the kingdom of the
arrival of the Manookoo cloud. It seemed
to Zach like he was in a dream; one that seemed was confusing and seemed to have
no end.
Ed was deep
in thought; he could forgive himself for what had happened. In bringing his friends to the Gallan-Gallet,
he had opened them up to the risk of death.
For all Ed knew, Little Dill and his brownie army were shredded by the
Manookoo. Like the others, he did not
see what happened to the toy and his crew.
With Little Dill possibly gone, Ed felt as if he would be powerless to
what would happen to his friends. The
fear made him feel ill as he looked out onto the black abyss outside.
The next morning Ed, Zach, Travis and Alice were assigned
jobs. Alice was sent below deck to help
in the kitchen, while Zach and Travis was sent to help move boxes in the stock
room. The three of them were flung into
back braking work. Every time there was
a job done, a new one would pop up.
Ed was more fortunate, his
understanding of Imperial naval code made him valuable in the wireless
room. Mulligan allowed the young man
have free reign over his assigned radio.
Ed sent word out to Bloom and Kina that they had arrived and of the
events that occurred after their crash on the ice bed. He then proceeded to join the rest of the
wireless crew in notifying other warships of the Manookoo’s path.
Captain Jolly Roger was not
exempted from work either. Under Ed’s
orders, the seagull made his way to the wreaked boat to find Little Dill and
any of the brownies. He set out at the
first sign of light and promised to return before nightfall.
At noon, Ed and the others
picnicked on the poop deck. It was a
modest meal of bread, cheese, and some smoked meat called “musker” by the
sailors with some cold tea from that morning’s breakfast to wash it down.
Ed, Travis, Zach and Alice were too
caught up in their own thoughts to notice Jolly Roger fly in. The bird had what looked like a rag of sorts
with something cradled inside.
“‘Ere, ‘ere hads!” Jolly Roger
called in a muffled way as he flew in.
“I ‘ave a ‘ur‘ise ‘or ‘ou!”
It wasn’t
until the seagull crashed into the group that anyone noticed. The rag and the object in side landed on one
of the empty plates. Inside was Little
Dill, battered from the chaos of war.
His uniform was torn and tattered, while a few stitches on his head were
loosened.
“Hellos,”
the little toy said wearily before stubbing backwards and landing onto his
bottom.
It took
some time before Little Dill had enough strength to tell of his fight. Ed placed the tired toy in his bunk while
Jolly Roger explained the situation.
“It wasn’t
a pretty sight lads,” the bird explained in his usual way as he sucked tea from
an enamel cup. “There wasn’t much left
when I reached the boat. I found the wee
lad among the wreck.”
“Was there
anyone else,” asked Alice, remembering the brownies.
“No’
sure. I can make another trip in a while
if ye like.”
When Ed returned,
Jolly Roger gave him the same report and then set out again for the wreck. The gull had promised he would be much faster
now that he knew where the boat was and would return once he had finished his
search.
Once the bird was gone, Ed and the
others returned to their work. Mulligan
relieved them of their duties for the day by dinner. It was not long after their meal that the
sound of bugle could be heard across the horizon, getting louder and sharper
each minute. Not long after this, there
was a great fuss being made on the port side of the Pedigree. Mulligan was
called to see to it, after some shouting and cursing, Mulligan ran below deck
the Ed and the others. “You be’er ge’ up
‘ere,” he snapped before marching back upstairs.
When Ed, Alice, Zach, and Travis
arrived, they were directed by Mulligan to the port’s edge where a spot light
had been set. Looking down below, they
were surprised to see a very unimpressed Bug-a-boo standing on what looked like
a boat made from random pieces of scrap.
As Ed looked below, he couldn’t help but wonder how it was able to cross
the ice field.
“Ed!” Bug-a-boo bellowed from
below. “Will you tell this accursed sea
urchin that I mean no harm and to let me board?”
“I told you I can’t let you on,”
Mulligan snapped back, “unless you tell us who you are!”
“And I’ve already told you who I am!
Doctor Cosmo Maximilian Bug-a-Palooza-Pick-a-low-Boo, Doctorate in
charms and spells, High Warren for the Realm of the North, and chief clerk for
the Order of the Four Keepers.”
“You can trust him with that,”
assured Ed.
Mulligan made a sigh. “Right boys,” he said at last. “Let down the ladder.”
The whole group was in for a
surprise when up from either opening of the patchwork boat came a flock of
birds. First came a few eagles wearing
iron helmets and breastplates while carrying in their talons heavy spears. Following them were some pigeons with golden
broaches tied around their necks and black caps upon their heads. When the pigeons landed on deck, one of them
cried in a low and clear voice: “His Majesty, King Stormwing, King of the
Periculosus[1]
Ocean, Ward of the Foam Hills of Nimbus,
Duke of the Pearl Coast, and Prince Regent of Bird Island!” When this announcement was made, up from the
black abyss came a pelican, dressed as royally as possible, and landed with
kingly grace. Following the regal
pelican was Bug-a-boo, looking extremely unpleased as he pulled himself up onto
the deck.
“That’s the last time I get help
from birds.” grumbled the wizard.
While Mulligan was stuck talking to
King Stormwing. Bug-a-boo had a meeting
with Ed, Travis, Zach and Alice in the quartet’s rooms.
“When the radio went out,”
Bug-a-boo explained, “I rushed here as quick as I could to see that you lot
were all right.”
“Well, you took longer than you should
have,” commented Travis.
“I would have used my pipe,” the
wizard defended, “but I made it as far as Stormwing’s castle. I can only conclude that Horcus designed it
to withstand charms.”
“How charming,” Ed said humorously.
“This is not a time for trivial
puns Ed,” Bug-a-boo snapped back. “Out
there, a vengeful demigod is moving forward toward your home. Anyways, I was fortunate enough to run into
Stormwing, who owed me a favour and agreed to take me here. When we ran into the cloud, his eagle guards
were quick enough to lift the boat… castle… whatever-you-call-it, on top of the
ice. It was after this that we saw your
gull, he directed us to the Pedigree
while he went the opposite direction, something about survivors if I remember.”
At that moment, Little Dill stirred
from his sleep on a makeshift bed.
“What have we here,” Bug-a-boo said
as he scooped Little Dill into his hands.
Little Dill
just gave an innocent look.
“Such a
mess too,” the wizard continued. “Alice,
see if there is some needle in thread about, I won’t have this toy go out in
such a state.”
It did not
take Bug-a-boo to sew up Little Dill.
Once the wizard had finished his work, Little Dill gave his account of
the battle. There is very too little to
mention except that Little Dill and the brownies only just barely won against the
creatures. When the toy finished his
narrative, it was Bug-a-boo’s turn.
“I have
some disturbing developments to prove you.” He explained. “It appears Manoo will be more dangerous than
we thought. From what my research tells
me, Manoo is not just a god, but a titan as well.”
“That
couldn’t be any worse,” put in Zach.
“Well young
man, titans can be unpredictable. There
was a time when they dwelt in this world, but were killed off during the Campaign
of the Faerie.[2] The only ones that did survive were the
lesser beings that make up what we know as giants. From what I found in the records house in
Nimbus, it is said that Horcus fell in love with a titan named Ironbone and it
was she who bore Manoo. There isn’t very
much to go after that. We know Manoo
became the god of the dead, then betrayed Horcus by siding with the Manookoo over
human sacrificing, and was thus locked away on Spyrus.”
The room
became quiet as Bug-a-boo pulled on his pipe.
Blue smoke frothed out from it in a sleepy manner.
“Does he
have a weakness?” asked Ed. “I mean all the Zeltic gods had a weakness.”
Bug-a-boo
perked up at this. “There was one,” he
said, “but it’s quite a challenge and I’m only going on a hunch.”
“Well, what
is it?”
“Spyrus was
created using part of Manoo’s soul so he would be neither living nor dead. It was marked on Spyrus with a seal so, if Horcus
felt it necessary, Manoo could be easily killed off.”
“I thought
you couldn’t kill a god,” commented Alice.
“Not in
this case my dear,” replied Bug-a-boo as he laid down his pipe. “As Manoo is half a god, he is not granted
the power of pure immortality. This
means he is open for an attack, but since part of him is trapped in Spyrus, he
is protected unless the seal is broken.
The only solution it to go further up and further in; but then, where do
we find it? The cloud has spread itself
over several leagues. It’ll be like
looking for a needle in a purple hay stack.”
“Oh! oh! I
gots it!” cried Little Dill enthusiastically.
“Well, what is it then?” inquired
Bug-a-boo impatiently.
“We knows the clouds is movings
rights?”
Everyone nodded.
“So logic-co-co-ly we just has to
wait.”
“Seems a bit of a risk,” commented
Zach.
“Whats do yous gots?” snapped Little
Dill.
“Our little friend is right,”
murmured Bug-a-boo. “Spyrus is on the
move, but waiting contains a variety of unknown possibilities and can take up
quite a bit of time. Time that we do not
have and, if there is any at all, can’t afford to lose.”
Little Dill piped up again, this
time determined not to let his idea go unheard and dismissed by Bug-a-boo.
“Why don’ts we use the birdies
then?” the little doll said, jumping up and down to attract attention and
pointing at Stormwing, who had chosen to sit in on the meeting.
“I beg your pardon?” the bird king
snapped.
“Not you of course, your grace.”
said Bug-a-boo, trying to sooth the bird king’s feelings.
“I can spare a few soldiers,”
Stormwing said, “but I refuse to risk any of my officers to lead the search.”
“Oh! oh! pick me! pick me!” Little
Dill cried, still jumping.
Stormwing began to laugh. “Why
would I chose you?” the bird king snorted.
“‘Cause I’ve beens t’rough more
wars than yous could shakes a stick at!” Little Dill snapped back with the
stern glare.
Stormwing was taken aback. He had never had someone, let alone a toy,
snap back at him before.
The following morning, the Pedigree was abuzz with action.
Above deck, Mulligan and his crew were picking off any Manoo creatures
that were flying overhead periodically.
Little Dill, who had been dubbed colonel-and-chief of the search party,
was making plans with Jolly Roger, who had only just returned that morning with
what was left of the brownies from the wreck.
Below deck, things were not as
hectic. Travis and Alice were planning
the supplies they would need for their part of the trip while Ed and Zach
helped Bug-a-boo with the making of charms, though the wizard doubted they would
be of much use.
Before leaving, Little Dill came
bellow to say goodbye. He looked smart
in the uniform one of the pigeons made for him, with a medal from Stormwing to
commemorate his appointment. “Mark the
words in it well,” the King bird noted, “it has the sacred motto of my family
upon it.”
“Whats is it?” asked Little Dill.
Stormwing squawked something in
pelican and then returned to speaking in English: “‘Charge forth and carry what
is sacred.’ I hope you will follow these
words little warrior.”
Little Dill blushed but quickly
covered it with a stiff salute and then climbed on board Jolly Roger and the
two flew off, leading the army of eagles to find Spyrus.
[1]Pronounced:
Par/ick/los/us
[2]
Author’s Note: The Faerie Campaign is a battle in Zeltic mythology where the
Faerie King Gregon led an army against Clawfoot the Destroyer, king of the
titans. According to myth, it lasted 300
years and led to the end of the rule of the titans and the rise of the current
age, the Faerie Age.
