by M J Webb
‘This is it,’ she thought, as she steeled her nerve and resigned herself to the fate that awaited her, ‘my calls for help have not been answered. My time has come, I am going to die!’
Then, just ahead on the open plain, half way between her and the bridge, a bright light suddenly appeared and disappeared in an instant. She blinked and shook her head to clear her eyesight from the blinding flash. When she looked again, the astounded Princess could not believe what she was seeing. Standing before her like a blessed vision, was Jake!
She wanted desperately to slow down and stop her horse, to help the Keeper make a stand against the ferocious creatures even though she knew it would probably mean their deaths. But Zephany also knew that she could not, she dare not. The graxoth were far too close for that and they would surely kill her before she reached Jake if she did. So she maintained her horse’s gallop and charged for the bridge.
The lead graxoth was very close and it was bearing down upon her now. When it was overhead, it dropped the sraine it was carrying, hoping to land the creature directly upon the speeding rider, but once again failing to hit its target.
Then, a split second later, the graxoth was struck by a weapon more powerful than any it had encountered before, in this life or the next. The metallic sphere struck the creature in the middle of its body and passed straight through, ripping out its insides. The graxoth let out an almighty cry as it reeled under the weight of the blow. It lived for only a second or two, before it fell dead from the sky.
Jake tried to guide his weapon onto the remaining two creatures as Zephany sped past his position concentrating hard on riding as swiftly as possible, but managing a little smile. For some reason though, he couldn’t. The sphere missed and the graxoth continued their pursuit of the Princess. The ball returned to Jake’s side, he was concerned and dismayed by his inability to control the weapon sufficiently but he lifted his arm again to have another try. Only now the graxoth had passed him and he had to turn around to aim the strike, conscious of the fact that a sraine assassin had been dropped behind him.
Zephany was almost at the bridge now, but the two pursuing graxoth were getting very close and she was not going to make it across!
Jake threw his sphere again, aiming once more at the creature that was closest to the Princess. It struck it squarely on the back and once again passed through the creature’s body. The graxoth screamed an awful cry and then dropped from the sky like a stone, though the sraine it was carrying fell to the ground unharmed.
Jake tried once more to redirect the sphere onto the last remaining graxoth, but yet again he was unable to alter its course and it returned swiftly to his side. He was now completely powerless to stop the last of Vantrax’ servants from attacking Princess Zephany; it was already too close to her and there was no way that Jake could get another shot off in time. The galloping horse was already taking its first giant strides onto the bridge and to add to his concerns, Jake was now faced with a sraine on either side of his position, both of which were now advancing on him swiftly, as they raced in for the kill!
The last of the graxoths dived menacingly down onto Zephany and it was just about to release its sraine to attack her. The young warrior realised what was about to happen and raised herself swiftly up onto her horse’s saddle, with astonishing bravery and skill. She stood only for the briefest of moments, before throwing herself off her steed with all her available strength and disappearing over the side of the bridge, plunging into the deep ravine from an incredible height. She fell rapidly into the swirling torrent below.
The incensed and exasperated graxoth roared in fury. It swerved violently to avoid hitting the bridge and watched with frustration as Zephany’s horse continued unharmed and crossed to the other side of the river. Then, realising that the young Princess was all that mattered, it dropped the sraine onto the wooden structure, before swooping down to begin an immediate search of the river below. It screeched and sqwarked loudly as it flew up and down the water trying to find its prey, becoming more and more enraged with every minute that passed without success. But Zephany was nowhere to be seen, the young royal had disappeared completely.
Meanwhile, in front of the bridge, Jake drew his sword as the two sraines attacking him approached speedily from either side. He reasoned correctly that they would be too fast and nimble for his sphere and his Keeper’s instincts told him that, ‘this is a fight best won with a blade.’
Faced with swift and deadly opponents who would attack from different directions, Jake decided immediately to, ‘take a leaf out of Lord Bierenstell’s book’. He fell on bended knee, lowered his head and closed his eyes.
As soon as he had, the noises that could be heard all around him seem to be magnified a hundred times over. Time seemed to slow somehow in that moment, so that every single blade of grass caressed by the gentle wind was now rustling so loud, that he could detect each movement clearly. It was amazing!
The first sraine approached him at tremendous speed but in Jake’s mind the attack was clumsy and slow. He lifted his sword quickly and struck a heavy blow across the creature’s body, inflicting a mortal wound from which it would not recover. The sraine’s momentum carried it way past Jake’s position and it gave a terrible, ear splitting scream as it took a minute or so to die.
The second sraine attacked him only a fraction of a second later and at the same incredible velocity, but it was with no more finesse than its counterpart and once again the assault seemed to Jake to be incredibly slow. The young Keeper’s eyes were still closed, he heard the creature approach from what seemed like a considerable distance away, though in reality it was only a few yards. This time, he thrust his sword up into the air as it jumped onto him, ducking at the same time to narrowly avoid its fangs. His sword passed straight through the sraine’s body and its forward motion enabled Jake to lift it up and over him, the young boy somehow even managing to withdraw his sword as it passed him by. It was a near perfect kill and the action of a master swordsman. Jake stepped up to the dying sraine and looked down upon the hideous features of his assailant.
“Uuurrrrgghhh… Yak! What the hell are you supposed to be?” he asked, as the sight nearly turned his stomach.
He turned around sharply to search for any sign of Princess Zephany. He could see a solitary sraine standing at the entrance to the bridge. It seemed to be lost for a moment, unsure what it should do next, but it soon caught sight of Jake and immediately began to charge in his direction. There was no sign of the young Princess, nor of the graxoth that remained, and that worried him.
‘Oh my God,’ he thought, hoping desperately that she had survived but fearing the worst. ‘Where is she???’
He had no time to dwell on it though, the sraine was approaching fast and he lifted his sword to prepare to meet the determined and swift assassin. But then, an incredibly bright light suddenly appeared in front of him. It moved rapidly towards him and it engulfed him completely before he could do anything about it. Everything went black. He could see and hear nothing. Jake was furious and filled with frustration at having been snatched away before he could ensure Princess Zephany’s safety. He screamed out loud.
“No!!!”
A second or two later, he found himself back in Nadjan, staring at the mightily relieved face of his best friend.
Chapter 11
Evening of 22nd August – Outside the Village of Weanlior - Nadjan
The air before an astonished Ben suddenly began to rip itself apart. His best friend climbed wearily through the gap that was created, a fraction of a second before the opening closed seamlessly to leave no sign at all of the abnormal occurrence. Jake immediately sheathed his sword. He stood bent over with his hands on hips for a few seconds, trying desperately to catch his breath, as his amazed and concerned friends looked on, waiting patiently to hear of his exploits. It seemed to take an age for Jake to recover and someone was far too impatient to wait.
“Hey, tell ya what, Jay,” said Ben, eventually breaking t
he awkward silence. “You’re getting a lot better at making an entrance. You’re a regular Houdini now, aren’t ya?”
Jake chuckled slightly as he stood up straight to respond. His breathing had slowed somewhat and he felt able to speak. “Yeah well, I’ve bin practising, in I?”
He smiled at Ben and winked. Then he turned to Tien.
“So, how did you fare, Keeper? Tell us, what news of the Princess?”
“Err… Not bad, I think. You could’ve warned me about those creatures though! They nearly…”
“I… I told you, I can only warn of the things I see,” interrupted Tien, a little concerned that Jake might feel he had let him down. “I had no visions to speak of this time, and I knew nothing of the perils you faced. What were they like? Describe them to me, tell me everything.”
Jake told them all about the graxoth and sraine he had fought against in minute detail, before recounting the battle blow by blow and informing them of Princess Zephany’s probable fate. He left out nothing and it took some time to tell the tale.
“Jake, is that right? Am I correct in assuming that, if she has survived, the Princess still has one of these graxoth and another sraine hunting her? Tah! Can we not help her in some way? There must be something we can do? Can you go back again?” asked Verastus.
Jake wasn’t sure, he was more than willing to try though. He looked over inquisitively at Tien, but the old wizard simply shook his head, the pain of disappointment burning in his eyes.
“No. I am afraid not, my friends. It is impossible now, we have done what we can for her, but now she is on her own. And she carries all of our hopes with her. If she survives the fall into the river that you have described, if she was not taken by the treacherous currents, she will have to somehow find a way to defeat them. Let us hope that she proves to be of the same stock as her father.”
“She will succeed in getting through Tien, she has to. It’s not far to the city, not really. She’s pretty handy with that bow of hers you know, and her sword. She’ll…” began Jake, sounding more hopeful than convinced.
“Yeah! You’re right, pal,” added Ben in support of his friend, trying his best to lift everyone’s spirits as usual. “And I’m sure she’s got a knife or two hidden somewhere about her as well. A regular Rambo she is, Terminator, Predator and Alien rolled into one, only much better looking.”
Tien and Verastus were once again completely flummoxed by Ben’s comments, which meant nothing to them, but they each understood his meaning and they were by now getting used to his ways, so they just shrugged their shoulders at one another in an unspoken agreement to, ‘let it go.’
“Right then, listen in, all of you. I think it’s clear that we can’t help Zephany now and that’s all there is to it. We have to look after ourselves, do what has been asked of us. That means we have to go for the second of the stones we need! Err… Where exactly are we going for it, Tien?” asked Jake, realising suddenly that he knew nothing of their next destination.
The old wizard decided that the time was right to reveal all. He coughed a little to clear his throat. “Ahem… Let the search continue. Now that we have successfully begun our quest my friends, we have to push onwards and secure the rest of the precious gems we seek. That means that we must head for the forest of Readal. It is far away to the west, though it is still here in Nadjan.”
“Wh… What??? Readal? You are not serious, Tien. No one enters Readal forest! Those who are foolish enough to venture into the trees are usually never seen or heard of again. It is said that it is haunted, bewitched. There are things alive in there that…” began a shocked and stunned Verastus.
“Yes, yes. I am well aware of the stories and myths surrounding the place, thank you. I do not deny that there is an element of truth to them. It is true for example that the forest does hold its fair share of demons. It has a few spirits that other woodlands do not that is for sure, a few secrets shall we say? But, that being as it is, it does not alter the fact that we have to go there, we have no choice. We must walk where others fear to tread if we are to obtain, ‘The Eye of Toganoll.’ It is…”
The wizard was suddenly and rudely interrupted by the sound of spontaneous and hysterical laughter.
“Ha ha ha… Oh come on! Nah, that’s it. It’s too much, Tien. Stop it now, please! It’s like some old Jason and the Argonauts flick me dad used to watch on telly. The next thing you’ll be telling us is that…” began Ben, through his fits of giggles. He was finding the whole thing completely absurd and, as usual, giving his opinion in ‘full Technicolor.’
But, on this occasion, he was interrupted himself by a sharp admonishment from Jake.
“Ben! Shut up! This ain’t no laughing matter, ya know. It might sound silly to you, I suppose it does to me a bit, but he’s telling the truth, I can feel it. Just look at him!”
Ben stopped laughing immediately and looked straight at the stern faced wizard. “Oh Christ, he’s right, isn’t he? You are, aren’t ya?” he asked, as he resigned himself to the obvious truth in Jake’s words. His smile disappeared to be replaced by a look of real concern. “Oh no, here we go again.” He fell silent, allowing Jake to continue.
“That’s better. Now, what’s so special about this forest? And precisely where do we find the stone?”
“Thank you, Keeper. This is all I know; Readal forest is dark and thick with huge trees,” began Tien. “They grow unlike any forest I have seen and they block out the sun so that it is almost like permanent night in there. The woodland is as old as time itself and it is protected and inhabited by the descendants of Toganoll. They are…”
“Eh? Hang on a minute, will ya? Slow down. Let’s get this right. He’s dead, and his eyes weren’t actually eyes, they were precious gems? But his family are still alive and now they’re running amok in there, protecting one of ‘em from any would be thieves?” interrupted Ben once more.
Again, his comments received a stern glance from Jake which said without the need for words, ‘Be quiet! I’m not gonna tell you again!’
Ben playfully lifted both his arms up in a flamboyant gesture of surrender, allowing the unperturbed wizard to speak again.
“Well, actually Ben, the stone we seek is made from Mynaen Ore. It is not of this land, of Estia. It was brought here centuries ago by one of the many warrior clans, I do not know which, or why. And of course it was not one of his eyes, do not be so ridiculous! It was however, part of his crown when he reigned. That was before all of the wars, before his people were hunted to the very brink of extinction. They worship it now as a symbol of their past, of their ongoing struggle for survival, and of their future. In their eyes they own that forest and everything within. They have fought for the land and defeated many who sought to remove them, at unbelievable cost. They are extremely distrustful of strangers and they allow none to enter, or leave. Those that try usually perish, but we…”
“Oh, fab! That’s just great then, innit? Let’s get going, eh? Come on guys, grab your gear, can’t wait,” interrupted Ben, for the final time. But to his utter disappointment and disbelief, the others had actually taken him seriously and were already making ready to depart.
“Hey! Hold up! I didn’t mean it. Aw, come on you guys? Don’t be so hasty, let’s think about this, eh?”
“What’s there to think about?” answered Jake, as he packed up his things. “You’re right. The stone is there and we’re here. It’s got to be done, hasn’t it? Nobody else is gonna do it for us. The quicker we stop moaning about it and make a start, the quicker we’ll be able to get home. So let’s go!”
Ben shook his head slightly as he begrudgingly conceded the point. He knew that his friend was right, as usual. It had to be them. There could be no avoiding it.
“Ah well. Okay, if you say so pal, but remind me never to follow you into any strange rooms again, will ya?” he said, as he picked up the bag with the box of stones inside. “It ain’t good for my nerves.”
Jake laughed and nodded an agreement of
sorts. “Ha ha… Okay Ace, whatever you say.” He finished packing his things and called out to the others as soon as he was ready to leave. “Everyone ready? Okay, horses, we need horses. It’s a long trek, so Tien and I will…”
“Srrr… Apologies for the interruption Keeper, but perhaps now would be a good time to test out some of your new powers?” Tien stated suddenly, a knowing smile on his lips. “Please, listen to me. Close your eyes and try to picture the village ahead in your mind, you will see it soon enough, trust me.”
Jake did as he was told. To his complete amazement and surprise, as soon as his eyes were shut, a crystal clear picture formed immediately in his head. He could see wooden cottages strewn around an assortment of small, narrow streets. Solely within the confines of his mind he saw himself wandering around them, searching for something, until the image stopped when he was standing outside a large, wooden stable. In the vision he entered through the huge doors to find that it housed just three tethered horses. He closed his eyes even more tightly as he concentrated hard upon what he had to do.
The ability to use this new power was coming naturally to him, it was as if he’d just turned on a television, it was as simple as that. He was amazed at how clear the picture was. He imagined himself untying the knots and loosening the reigns and, to his surprise, it actually happened, until finally all three horses were standing free around his image. Then, he used all the mental energy he could muster to make the vision lift the heavy saddles and place them onto the horse’s backs, even managing to fasten the restraints tightly, and making no sound at all.
When he had finished readying the horses, he willed the animals to report to him in the fields outside the village and they walked silently through the barn doors that he opened for them. They broke into a gentle canter as soon as they were clear of the dwellings, arriving with Jake and the others just a few minutes later. It was all a bit surreal for Jake, as if he had dreamt the whole thing, but Ben’s reaction to seeing the stallions ‘reporting for duty’ confirmed that it was no figment of his imagination.
