Into the Fairylands: Chapter 11

Into the Fairylands

By J. R. Bennett
<Chapter X~*~Chapter XII>

Chapter XI

The Trial of Horcus

~*~

            Jolly Roger flew up to the eagles that were pulling the sled and informed them of what was to be done next.  The eagles then began to adjust their course as so they could transfer onto the rock.

            Getting on to the monolith wasn’t hard.  It was moving slowly enough that the eagles could pull the sled up to the side and everyone get off quickly.  Despite Spyrus’ moment, walking was quite easy.

            “Right,” whispered Bug-a-boo.  “Now that we’re here, we need to be on our guard while we find the seal.”

            “Do we even know what it looks like?” Zach put in.  “I feel like this was never really specified.”

            “Zach’s go a point.” Ed said.

            “That’s because we don’t know what it looks like.” Bug-a-boo replied.  “It was hard enough finding it out, much less what it looks like.”

            “Maybe we should split up,” suggested Travis.  “It’s too big for us to all go it together and it won’t make a difference if we don’t know what it looks like.”

            “Even Travis has one.” Ed commented. “Normally he gets one of those a week.”

            Travis gave Ed a look.

            “I don’t want to risk it.” Bug-a-boo went on, pausing for a second.  “No.  It isn’t right.  There’s a good chance we’ll find the seal with Manoo.”

            With the old wizard getting the final word on the matter, everyone began the trek along Spyrus.  The eagles stayed behind to keep watch and provide an easy escape when the time came.

            The surface of Spyrus was quite smooth and the steeper areas were noticeably harder to climb.  The fog didn’t make it any easier with some craters being hidden by random, thick gobs.  At one point, Travis nearly fell into one of those craters.

            “Careful!” Zach cried as he caught Travis.  “Last thing we need is a casualty.”

            Not long after that, everyone decided to set up camp for the night.

            “There’s not much of a point going any further.” Ed argued.  “It’s hard enough to walk in this fog without someone breaking their neck; the dark’ll just make it worse.”

            They were too exposed on the surface for a proper fire and had to rely on a small mound of coals for warmth.  For extra protection, everyone took turns keeping watch through the night.  It wasn’t worst thing as they had Little Dill to keep them company since the small toy didn’t need to sleep.

            In the morning, they started out again.  This time Jolly Roger flew a bit ahead to see if there was anything important.  Every once in a while the seagull would return to warn them of some craters and then fly back.  The day ended with another fireless campout with no results.

            The morning began with more hiking before stopping for a brief luncheon.  Bug-a-boo kept lamenting about the situation as he fingered through a small book of notes.

            “Wha’s up, Ed?” Zach inquired, noticing a queer facial expression on his friends face.

            “Do you hear something?” Ed asked.  “Like heavy breathing.”

            “I don’t hear anything,” said Travis.

            “I’m hearin’ something.”  Ed insisted.

            In one of the craters, that was a few miles away, fire shot out into the air.

            “I think we found our titan.” Ed mused and jumped to his feet.

            Jolly Roger flew ahead to scout for any danger and was quick to return with an “all clear” answer.

            When everyone arrived at the cave, they were met with the smell of decay and burning.  Alice poked her head over the opening when she heard the sound of something big and hot coming up the cavern.

            “Swo---osh!” went a geyser of flames into the air.  It lasted for a few minutes and then dissipated.

            “Something’s down there, that’s for sure.” agreed Bug-a-boo.

            “Could it lead to Manoo?” asked Alice.

            “Possibly.” Ed answered.  “The only problem is that fire.”

            Zach looked at his watch, his lips moving like he was counting. “Fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven…” he counted. “Two minutes. One, two, three…”

            Finally, another flaming geyser shot up.

            “Ten minutes!” Zach announced.

            “What about ten minutes?” asked Ed.

            “That’s how much time we’ve got before the next flame shoots up.”

            “You don’t honestly think there’s a way down there?” doubted Bug-a-boo.

            “Have you any other ideas?” Zach shot.

            “Yes.  We keep going.  There’s no guarantee that this cavern goes anywhere.”

            “Well, the longer we wonder, the more likely it is that this rock has made land fall.”

            The tense silence that followed was soon broken by another blast of fire.

            “There goes another ten minutes.” Travis muttered to Ed and Alice.

            Jolly Roger and Little Dill were losing patience.  As soon as the fire stopped, the bird and toy set out down the cavern.  They made it back just before the flames shot up.

            “There’s a cave down there.” Jolly Roger explained.  “Could easily get to it if we’re fast enough.”

            “So, there’s a cave.” Ed pondered.  “Could lead to Manoo, could not.”

            “I’m starting to wonder if the fire is even real.” Alice put in.

            “What do you mean?”

            “Haven’t you noticed that there hasn’t been any heat from the fire when it shoots out?”

            “Now that you mention it,” added Bug-a-boo, “it’s not hot at all.”

            “So, it has to be an illusion,” concluded Travis.

            “Bingo.” said Ed.  “We just need to make sure that it’s true and not a real trap.”

            “I’ll doos it!” piped Little Dill and started puttering to the edge of the crater.  “If you guys are goings to arg’oo ‘bouts it, I mights as wells.”

            Before anyone could do anything, a rush of flame erupted into the air.  Everyone watched in horror as Little Dill leaned over the edge and the flames rushed past him.

            Nothing happened.

            “Obviously a trick.” observed Zach.

            “Could have been Horus’ way of keeping intruders out.” Ed added.  “I remember George telling me once that Horcus was always a paranoid god.  There’s a good chance that this won’t be the last trick.”

            “Great,” fumed Zach, “a god with a paranoia complex.  What next? One with a Napoleon complex or Freudian issues?”

            “Now is not the time for quips.” Bug-a-boo interrupted.  Now that we know that it is safe to go in, we’d may as well prepare ourselves for what’s to come.”

            When the flames died down, Ed and Travis peered down into the pit.  It seemed to go downward and then curve into a horizontal position.  There was no sign of any flame to light the way below, further confirming that the flaming geyser was just an illusion.

            Using some pegs and rope, everyone made their way down to the bottom of the cavern, still feeling uneasy whenever the flames would shoot up.  Little Dill however rode on Jolly Roger and met everyone at the bottom quite quickly.

            “Tooks yous long enough!” the little doll mocked as everyone finally reached the bottom.

            They left the rope behind as the group began to make their way through the tunnel with lamps.  The long cavern curved in every direction, making it hard to determine whether they were going the right way at times.  It was eerily quiet; the only sound heard was their feet, tapping along the solid stone.

            “We should be getting close.” said Bug-a-boo, trying not to be too loud.

            “What makes you so sure?” Zach quizzed.

            “A tunnel can’t go on for ever young man.  Eventually, we should find the end.”

            “Oi!” Ed called.  “I think there’s an opening ahead.”

            “How can you tell?” asked Travis.  “It’s so dark here; I can barely my hand in front of my face, even if there are lamps.”

            “I can hear the wind.” Ed replied. “I know it sounds weird but if you listen closely, you can hear the wind whizzing across the opening.”

            Alice approached the opening cautiously.  She could hear a slight sound of the wind – Ed was quite right about that – but it was hard to tell what was above due to it being so dark.

            Jolly Roger fluttered up to the opening with a lamp clutched to his talons.  The little light seemed to float for a few seconds as the gull went up and then disappeared.

            Everyone waited in anticipation.  In the few moments they waited, time stretched into what felt like an eternity. 

            At last, Jolly Roger returned.

            “There’s something up there alright.”  He replied.  “No sure what… There was a queer sound.”

            “What sort of sound?” Ed asked.

            “Like something large was breathing.”