Thursday, 27 July 2017

Into the Fairylands: Chapter 9

Into the Fairylands
By J. R. Bennett
<Chapter VIII~*~Chapter X>

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.

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