They had not gone far before Lasun said, “You are too hasty. What if that is truly the only way to find the bells?”
“If so, then you marry Binna instead of me.”
Lasun chuckled. “I do not think my wife would agree to that. She can be quite protective over what she believes is hers.”
“I confess I forgot you have a wife. With a wife at home, were you not hesitant to come with me?”
“She did not object, so why would I. Besides, missing her reminds me of how I felt when we first married. I have become complacent in my marriage.”
“I have not yet known that feeling...” Just then, Nerratel came to another box that was also suspended in air. This time the box was larger and higher, so he stopped his horse and pondered if he should stay on it or get off and try to reach the box standing up.
Lasun asked, “What do you suppose this place truly is?”
“It is Upper Extane,” a voice right behind him said.
Lasun nearly fell off his horse trying to turn around to see who had spoken. “Binna...how....”
“More questions? Very well, I shall answer two of them. One I have already answered. You are on Upper Extane. The other question you shall ask soon enough anyway. It will be about Artilly and I. We are called Pendernics and we are here to help you win the quest.”
“What is a Pendernic?” Nerratel asked.
Binna grinned, “Ah, that would be three questions and I only agreed to answer two.”
Nerratel asked, “I suppose you mean if I marry you, you will answer all our questions?”
Artilly was suddenly standing in front of Nerratel’s horse. “She does not truly want to marry you. We asked the question and you answered it – you are not greedy. You are not willing to do anything, anything at all, to win the quest and become king. We find that highly commendable.” She looked around Nerratel’s horse at her sister. “This one might finally be the one.” Artilly smiled when Binna nodded.
“The one?” Lasun asked.
“Four questions,” Binna said. “If three are not allowed, why would we answer four?”
Frustrated, Nerratel shook his head. “You talk in riddles.”
Artilly laughed. “Precisely! What has two, three and then four?”
No longer disturbed by the appearance of the two women, Lasun dismounted. “The legs of a horse?”
“Correct!” Binna said. “You win!”
Lasun slightly narrowed his eyes. “I won far too easily. I wager had I said anything else, I would have been equally correct.”
“Possibly,” Binna admitted.
The suspended box began to mysteriously lower until it was within Nerratel’s reach. The symbol on the top of the box was a circle with seven spokes joined in the middle, so he committed it to memory and opened the box. He had neglected to look for a symbol on the first bell, but this time he was curious and carefully examined the blue glass inside and out. On the inside, where the bottom was attached to the stem, he could barely make it out. Indeed, the symbol on the bell matched the one on the box. Nerratel sighed his relief and put the second bell in the pouch with the first.
Lasun was not that impressed, started to ask a question and then thought better of it. “The ease of with which we found two bells surprises me. I expected more of a challenge.”
“Perhaps the riddles will get harder,” said Binna.
“Or,” Artilly answered. “Perhaps there shall be no riddles at all. I am not fond of riddles, are you sister?”
“Not at all, though King Grafton loved our riddles.”
Instead of asking a direct question, which he was certain they had already declined to answer, Lasun said, “For a Carbollo, he was a good king.”
“He was a great king. He often came here after his quest.”
“So he could remember after all,” Nerratel mumbled.
“Oh, yes, he could remember every delightful moment of it, but...” Binna abruptly stopped talking.
“But?” Nerratel asked.
“Five questions,” Binna pointed out. “I fear Lasun is a bit more alert than you. Perhaps he should be the next Mobbox king.”
Nerratel did not quite know how to react to that suggestion, so he ignored it. “Since you are apparently able to keep up with us, even without horses...” His first attempt at not asking a question was harder than he thought. “I mean to say, you are welcome to ride with us.”
Artilly was immediately thrilled, and when Nerratel reached his hand down, she grabbed it and happily swung up behind him. “I was hoping you would offer. I do get a little tired now and then.”
By the time Lasun pulled his horse up next to Nerratel’s, Binna was seated behind him. “Sister,” Binna said, “shall we not show them the water first?”
“Oh yes,” Artilly practically purred. “I love the water.” She patted the side of Nerratel’s horse’s rump. “Take us to the ocean.” Both horses immediately turned down a path that led through the trees. When Nerratel looked back at her, she winked. “That’s another thing. You can just tell them where you want to go. They understand the language even if they cannot speak it. They do it for us – they do it to please us, and to make life easier for those of us who...”
“Sister,” Binna interrupted, “too much too soon. Do not forget, they are from Middle Extane and there is much for them to grasp before they can understand.”
“Oh, I forgot,” Artilly said. She closed her eyes, and with her arms already around Nerratel’s waist from behind, she laid the side of her head against his back. “Nerratel Mobbox, did you know your sister spoke to the king before he was murdered.”
“I did not know that,” he answered. Again, he struggled to ask a question without actually asking it, so he just waited to see if Artilly would tell him what his sister said. Yet, before she could, Nerratel began to hear the crashing of water, the same sort of crashing heard when a waterfall hits a lake. The crashing grew louder and louder, until at the edge of the forest he saw a sight he never before imagined. Bigger than a lake, the water appeared to have no other side, and it was one large wave after another that made crashing sounds against large, round, smooth rocks on the shore.
Even the air smelled different, and the birds were big, landing on the water and then taking flight again. He felt Artilly slide down off his horse, so Nerratel dismounted.
“Upper Extane is surrounded by water.” Artilly explained. “It is an island, you see, just as Middle Extane is a mesa. Twice a year, the Pendernics come to Upper Extane and swim in the water. It soothes and refreshes them.”
Lasun said, “I can see why. The sound alone is calming.”
“’Tis like a song,” Binna added as she and Lasun also dismounted and joined the others.
“What are Pendernics?” Lasun asked.
Binna laughed, “Even if I were to answer, you are not yet ready to hear it.”
They stayed for a time, just listening to the sounds of the ocean until Nerratel said, “Though I should wish to stay forever, we’ve not the time. We must find the other bells before Raxton finds them.” He got back on the short horse, gave Artilly a hand up, and waited for the others, “I shall ask the horses to take us to the next bell.” He had only just said it when both horses turned and went back into the forest. “If only they could speak.”
AS SOON AS ENOR, SARINNA, Gincar, and Telder made it down the eroding stair steps, they quickly moved away from the cliff, turned around and looked up. To their amazement, there remained no sign that there had ever been any stairs. Even the bottom few were gone.
Gincar began to weep. “I want to go home.”
“So do I,” said Sarinna. She turned her rage on Telder. “See what you have done? You have killed us.”
“We have not killed you,” Telder moaned. “We need wives and you need husbands.”
Gincar pointed a finger at Enor and cried, “Not that husband. He is a Mobbox and I am a Carbollo!”
Enor grinned. “Too late. I see no way back up, do you?”
“We are trapped forever down here,” Sarinna snapped again through gritted teeth, “and when my brother finds out, he will...”
“What? What will Nerratel do?” Telder asked. “We have no way up and he has no way down.”
Slowly, Gincar turned around and looked behind her. Before her was a wide-open area that held no greenery whatsoever. It looked as barren as the cliffs. The dirt was tan instead of the rich black soil she was accustomed to, and she saw no hint of a lake or even a bird. “Tis worse than we thought!”
“It cannot be that bad, Enor scoffed. “The Lowlanders survive down here and so shall we.”
Sarinna grabbed Gincar’s arm and started walking. Almost immediately, the tan dirt began to seep into their shoes, which made walking that much harder. “If the Lowlanders make us pay for intruding, rest assured, I shall make certain it is you, Telder, who pays the price first!”
Walking behind Sarinna, Enor grumbled, “From what I can see of this place of no color, death might be welcomed.”
“Do be so kind as to volunteer to be the first to die,” Gincar sneered.
After walking a considerable distance, they came to a place where the way was blocked by tall, thick, thorny shrubs, the likes of which did not exist on Extane. Enor took out his sword and tried to cut a path through the first one, but his sword just bounced off.
At that, the four of them just stood staring at the shrubs.
It was Enor who had the answer. “This way,” he said, beginning to walk up the row of shrubs.
“How do you know?” Gincar asked.
“I just know,” Enor answered.
“Very well,” said Sarinna, “you go that way and we shall go this. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sarinna started to walk down the hedgerow of shrubs in the opposite direction.
Enor rolled his eyes, turned around and followed. “You are to obey me, Sarinna.”
“Or you shall kill me like you did the King?” she asked without stopping. She walked several more feet before she turned around. “Know you not that we are all capable of killing? If you harm either of us, I shall harm you in your sleep. Tell me, do you sleep on your stomach or your back?”
“My stomach,” Telder managed to whisper.
“Good, I much prefer stabbing you in the back.”
She might have laughed if she had stayed long enough to see his eyes widen. She was too angry and upset, and went back to walking down the hedgerow instead. For a long time, the four of them continued to walk, and still they could see no end in sight. It was Gincar who begged them to stop, complaining of a thirst she had never known before. When she looked to the brothers for water, both of them shook their heads.
“You intended to live in the forest without flasks?” an incredulous Sarinna asked. Her ire raised that much more, she continued, “We would not be thirsty, if you had not killed King Grafton! What a stupid, stupid thing to do! And for a Mobbox, one of my beloved Mobbox to do it, ‘tis twice as stupid!”
“It was Enor’s idea,” Telder tried.
“Quiet!” Enor said.
“Well, it was,” Telder argued.
Enor grabbed his brother’s arm. “No, I mean listen!”
It was faint, but they could definitely hear shouting.
“They sound angry,” Gincar whispered.
“And mean,” Sarinna agreed. “Well, if we want water, we are at their mercy.”
With no other choice, they continued to follow the line of harsh looking shrubs, walking in dirt that completely filled their shoes, and air that seemed impossible to breath. Still, they had seen no sign of birds, animals, or people – although the shouting was growing louder.
Sarinna abruptly stopped when she recognized two of the names the people were shouting – Raxton and Nerratel. “How can that be?” she whispered. With a determination to find out, she quickened her pace, leaving the others behind. “Raxton and Nerratel have come to rescue me!” As her excitement increased, so did her pace until she started to run.
At last, there was a break in the shrubs and a cleared path to follow. Even so, Sarinna came to a full stop. On the other side of the hedgerow, the dirt had turned to cobblestones with lush green grass on either side. The sky was a beautiful blue with fluffy white clouds, small birds sang in trees that had an abundance of branches and green leaves. She turned to watch as a flock of beautiful white birds with long, red tail feathers flew overhead. Sarinna caught her breath. “What place is this?” she muttered. Not believing her own eyes, she looked back at the barren, dusty land behind her, and again at the shocking contrast in front of her.
It was not until the others caught up, that she followed the path and the path grew in width and length until a magnificent village came into view. The cottages were just as pristine and glamorous as the king’s blue crystal castle on Extane. Every building had tall towers, with pointed dome-tops, and open-air windows. The gold and silver cobblestones in the courtyard glistened in the sunlight, and instead of a gazebo, there was a drinking well, built with a patchwork of polished gray and red stones.
The people were standing in two lines in front of a three-sided structure. On a table inside the structure were two large pots, one marked Nerratel and the other marked Raxton. At first they had their backs to the strangers and were shouting at each other, but a few at a time stopped what they were doing and turned around. Soon, all the people quieted and stared at the strangers. At last, a woman with golden hair and a seriously receding hairline smiled and started toward them. She specifically approached Sarinna. “We have been expecting you.”
“How...” Sarina started.
The woman interrupted, “So far your brother and Raxton are tied in the quest. Each have found two bells.”
The three Mobbox and the one Carbollo stared at the strange looking woman who seemed friendly instead of as hostile as they expected.
CHAPTER 13
THE MYSTERIOUS PATH Raxton chose did not lead him back to the first garden. At least, he didn’t think so. It was still a garden inside a gazebo with six archways to be sure, but this time there was a chair in the center of the garden with an old man sitting on it. The old man definitely was not there before. Instinctively, Raxton put his hand on the handle of his sword.
“Fear not, I am far too feeble to fight you,” the elder said. He wore full-length trousers, unheard of on Extane, a shirt, a vest over the shirt, and an odd looking hat on his head. The old man had bushy eyebrows and bags under his eyes. His legs were crossed, he seemed very relaxed, and both his hands, one over the other, rested on the top of a short pole.
Raxton slowly took his hand off his sword. “Who are you?”
“My name is Oberra, not that it matters much.”
Raxton’s eyes widened. “The man lost in the castle?”
“Lost? No, I chose to stay. There is happiness here.”
Effrin was careful to stay behind Raxton, and timidly leaned out so he could see around his friend. “He is older than the king.”
Raxton ignored him. “Have you come to give me a riddle?”
“A riddle? No, young man, I have come to tell you a truth.”
Effrin finally stepped out from behind Raxton and walked toward the old man. “Can you tell me the truth? Is there such a thing as a Slewworth?”
“Oh, my yes. A fearsome creature indeed.”
“Has it blue claws?”
“I am afraid so, but you need not fear them here.”
Effrin sighed his relief. “Good.”
“I am relieved as well,” said Raxton.
“Do you know the way out?” Effrin insisted.
The old man cast his eyes downward for a moment. “Out? You wish to leave before the end of the quest?”
“Well, no,” Effrin answered. “but after the quest, where...”
“Ah, after the quest,” answered the old man, “if you have not already found it, then I shall show you.”
“Where is the next bell?” Raxton asked.
“That
, I cannot tell you.” Oberra lifted his hat, pushed a lock of hair off his forehead, and then put his hat back on. The lock of hair fell right back down where it was.
“So, you cannot give us a riddle,” said Nerratel, “nor tell us where to find the bells? Forgive me, Oberra, but I have not the time for a truth just now.” He abruptly turned around, chose the closest archway, and then walked down that path. Unlike the other two, the walls on this path were streaked with a multitude of different colors that were so bright as to nearly blind him, yet there was no rhyme or reason to the painting.
In fear of being left behind, Effrin rushed to catch up. “You were unkind to him.”
Raxton scoffed. “I have no the time to be kind. If I am not king, I cannot...”
“You cannot what?”
Raxton didn’t answer. When this pathway split, just as the others had, he chose the one in the middle. Just a few steps down that path, his surroundings abruptly changed. Instead of brightly lit, there was less light, not bright colors, and the walls seemed to become closer and closer.
“We must go back.”
“You may go back if you wish, but I intend to find the next bell.”
Effrin considered it, but just for a moment before he hurried to catch up. “I promised your brother I would keep you from harm.”
“Which brother?”
“All of them, if you must know.”
Raxton smiled in spite of his increasingly impatient mood. “What did you give Annack to recommend you for the quest?”
“A ride on my horse. Besides, Annack did not lie. I am the best Carbollo at solving the riddles, only...”
“Only we have yet to hear a riddle.” Raxton abruptly stopped and turned to face his friend. “This is the riddle – this place of confusion and wonder, and we are tasked to solve it by finding our way out.”
“Sound reasoning,” said Effrin. “Now that you have solved the riddle, I am free to go home, am I not?”
Raxton shrugged. “I have no objection, but what reason will you give them for deserting me?” Just as abruptly, Raxton turned and continued down the increasingly dark and narrow path. Little by little, the path got smaller just as the stairs had, until Raxton was no longer certain he would fit. Soon, he had to turn sideways in an effort to keep going. Just when he thought he could go no further, the walls began to allow more room, just as the stairs had. When he saw a faint light shining down on the handle of a door, he sighed his relief. By the time he arrived, there was plenty of room for him to face the door full on.
The Kings of the Seven Bells Page 11
