As he said it, a pack of wolves began to creep out from behind the trees and headed straight toward the bears.
“Oh,” added Grubb, “I forgot about the kids. Wolves is the best they can manage.”
“So all the bears are adults, and the wolves are all their children?” asked Drake, flabbergasted.
“Yeah… ’orrible ain’t it,” replied Grubb, shuddering at the thought.
Jared stepped forward, “So if this is a defence mechanism, what was it that you were defending yourselves from?” he asked slowly.
“No offence, Mr…?”
“Dunbar,” interjected Hannock, “Prince Jared Dunbar.”
Lorzic rubbed his head, “Ooh my word,” he sighed. “Forgive me, Your Highness, only… you don’t appear to be at your best… not exactly… regal,” he continued nervously, pointing at Jared’s worn apparel and tarnished armour.
“Watch your tongue,” snapped Hannock, “I may be forced to cut it out for you, as a bear or whatever else you care to turn into.”
“Don’t worry, Hannock,” called Grubb, “’e ain’t bein’ disrespectful… ’e’s just a bit thick in the head.”
“I’m the mayor, Grubb. You can’t say things like that about me,” protested Lorzic.
“You’re forgetting somethin’, Lorzic. I don’t live in your poxy village anymore, and furthermore, we ain’t even in it!”
Lorzic seemed a little flustered, “No, sadly not,” he said softly. “But we hope to get back there one day.”
“Something drove you out of your own village?” asked Drake. “What could possibly drive a complete township from…” He paused, “I think we need to sit down and discuss this.”
Grubb fell to his knees and began pleading with Jared, “Please,” he begged, “don’t get involved. They’ll be fine out here, no-one will bother ‘em. Trust me, Jared, they’ll drive ye mental within a week. They’re all nuts! Let’s just go.”
As they all settled at the treeline, the Vikkery began to transform. It appeared that there were more females than males, which was obvious by their lack of horns. But the children, the children were adorable. Their tiny faces were covered with downy hair, and they were constantly giggling as they chased one another around. Even Hannock smiled at one point.
Lorzic and two other Vikkery huddled together with the companions so that their conversation would not scare the youngsters.
“Let me guess,” whispered Jared, “A shadow lord, no real face just features present in black smoke.”
Lorzic, now as himself, smiled, “Who’s that then?” he asked.
“The shadow lord, the one who drove you out of your village,” replied Jared.
Lorzic frowned and shuffled closer to Jared, “Have you been drinking?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the occasional tipple, but you have to be careful. It’s barely midday and if you feel you need a bit of something to get you through the day, well… just saying.”
Jared was speechless and sat there agog at Lorzic’s suggestion. “No, I have not been drinking!” he protested.
“See?” mumbled Grubb, “I warned ye… mental within a week.”
“Prince Jared merely thought that your problem may be the same as ours,” suggested Emnor.
“Oh no sir, definitely not,” replied Lorzic shaking his head vigorously, I don’t drink at all.”
“That’s not what I meant,” urged Emnor.
“I’m not condemning you,” Lorzic re-assured him. “We’re all different. Just letting you know I’m here if you ever need someone to confide in. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
“But I don’t have a drinking problem!” hissed Jared, trying to keep his temper in check.
“That’s it, my boy, keep telling yourself that and eventually it’ll become fact,” smiled Lorzic.
Grubb was sucking in his cheeks and biting his lower lip, “I’ve got to feed Buster,” he squeaked, and dashed off, Lodren in hot pursuit.
Out of earshot, Grubb roared with laughter. Through his tears of joy, he saw Lodren chasing after him, “Did ye hear that?” he asked, barely able to breathe.
“Well I’m glad you think it’s funny!” Lodren replied, glaring at him. “Jared’s taken to drink, and you think it’s hilarious.”
Grubb paused in disbelief as he looked at Lodren, then fell to pieces again.
“Grubb, stop it! What if Jared’s in danger and doesn’t realise it because he’s squiffy?”
Grubb wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, “Don’t be so daft,” he shouted, “There’s nothin’ wrong with ‘im! Can’t ye see? This is what most Vikkery are like. They get an idea in their heads and straight away, they believe it! Go on, test it. Go an’ ‘ave a chat with one of ‘em, I dare ye. It only took ‘alf a minute before Jared was ready to strangle Lorzic, but you’re far more patient. I’d say that you could stand the full minute before ye squashed someone’s head with that hammer o’ yours.”
“Well, if they’re all that daft, how do they ever get anything done?”
“Oh, they’re not daft with everythin’, you’ll find that out soon enough. It was the look on Hannock’s face that got me though, I just ‘ad to move away. What a picture!”
“So, we’re going back to them then?” asked Lodren, dubiously.
“Too bloody right!” replied Grubb with glee, “I ain’t ‘ad this much fun for ages.”
After quickly feeding Buster, his excuse to dash off not being a complete untruth, Grubb and Lodren re-joined the others.
“What did he look like?” Emnor asked Lorzic.
“He was really weird looking,” Lorzic replied. “Young, pale skin, bony gangly arms and legs. You know… ugly, straggly hair. Looked like him, actually,” Lorzic pointed at Drake. “Well, he looked a lot like all of you really. Apart from you,” he added, pointing at Emnor, “He wasn’t quite as ugly as you, not wrinkled, no horrible matted, smelly beard.”
Drake blinked slowly, “Tell me, Lorzic,” he enquired, “do you make friends easily?” He made no attempt to hide his sarcastic tone.
“Strange that you should mention that, young man,” replied Lorzic, with a smile. “Yes, I do actually. Then again, with good looks like mine it’s hardly surprising.”
Grubb was sucking in his cheeks again.
“This… ugly youngster, did he speak to you?” asked Hannock.
“Oh yes, he was very polite in fact, until he started threatening to roast my people alive. That’s when I started going off him.”
“Funny how the threat of incineration can turn you off a person,” grinned Hannock.
“But you say he wasn’t alone?” asked Emnor, trying to regain a little focus.
Lorzic pretended to wretch, “No, he had those horrible snake things with him.”
“Snake things?” enquired Emnor.
“Big heads like snakes, slid around like them too. Blowing dart-things at stuff and melting it.”
Jared passed knowing glances with the other companions. “Why did they attack you?” he asked.
“Said he wanted us to work for him, but we didn’t like the terms, so we told him we weren’t interested. That’s when it all turned nasty.”
“What did you do next?” asked Faylore.
The Vikkery directly behind Lorzic sat bolt upright and puffed out his chest. “We did what any sensible Vikkery would do,” he announced. “We scarpered.”
“Didn’t you try to defend your village?” asked Faylore. “Surely there were more of you than there were of them?”
“Probably the case, Faylore,” suggested Grubb. “But they ain’t the kind o’ numbers a true Vikkery cares about, are they Lorzic?”
Lorzic looked more uncomfortable with Grubb’s question than he had with any other, “The village was no longer worth defending, Grubb. Those snake things had already taken the amulet, the helm and the hammer. There was no point, I tell you! The sacred relics had been stolen, would you have us
all lose our lives as well?”
“No…” Grubb replied slowly, “… but at least ye could’ve put up a bit of a fight.”
“Do you have any idea where they went, Lorzic?” asked Faylore. “We are searching for someone and they may know where he is.”
“I don’t know where the young one went…” Lorzic took a deep breath, “… but I do know where those snake things headed off to.”
“Where?” asked Grubb with a stern look on his face.
Lorzic glanced up, fear in his eyes, “Mallorkan caverns,” he replied. “They went into Mallorkan caverns. A couple of us followed them. We thought they might stop somewhere along the road, so we could slip into their camp and get the relics back. They never even paused, they headed straight in and haven’t been seen since.”
“These relics you speak of, Lorzic, do they possess some type of power?” asked Emnor, far more interested in the conversation since they were mentioned.
“Oh, that they do!” laughed Grubb, “Well… a power this lot can’t resist anyway.”
“And what exactly is the secret that they hold?” asked Drake, his voice once again not sounding like his own.
Lodren immediately disappeared behind Jared, “He’s doing it again, Mr Jared! Tell him to stop doing it, please tell him to stop doing it,” he implored.
Drake frowned, “Doing what?” he asked, completely oblivious to the changes in his voice.
Jared ignored Lodren, “You were saying, Grubb?”
“The only power that could ever influence a true Vikkery,” replied Grubb, “… greed!”
Hannock was becoming impatient, “Well get on with it,” he sighed.
“The relics have been in the main village hall for centuries. They’ve been there so long that nobody even remembers where they came from. We Vikkery are not very good at keeping tomes and scrolls like Faylore’s people, but we do know when something’s valuable. You see, the relics are made from pure silver and gold. A king’s ransom wouldn’t be enough to buy ‘em.”
Jared drummed his fingers on his knee. Leaning forwards, he looked Lorzic dead in the eye, “Perhaps we could be of some help to one another,” he suggested.
Lorzic shrugged his shoulders, “I know we could be of some help to you, Prince Jared,” he smiled. “We could help you with your drinking problem for a start, but how could you possibly help us? And what’s more, what sort of remuneration would we be talking, gold or barter?”
“I do not have a…” Jared paused and took a deep breath. “What I’m suggesting, is that we could retrieve your priceless relics for you if, in turn, you could do something for us.”
Lorzic eyed him suspiciously, “What sort of thing? It wouldn’t be anything… dangerous, would it?”
“No Jared, please don’t,” pleaded Grubb yet again. “These lot think getting out of the tub is too dangerous to do by yourself. Always best to have someone to hold yer ‘and in case ye slip.”
Jared rolled his eyes.
“Well one can’t be too careful,” said Lorzic. “Many accidents take place in the home you know.”
“See! And you probably thought I was making that up,” exclaimed Grubb.
Lorzic turned to face Grubb, “I know you’ve always been unhappy with the way you are, Grubb. Who and what you chose to be are your own affair. But, those of us without psychological problems and a very short temper are apt to tread far more carefully as we make our way through life. And, we don’t squash our cousin’s heads.”
“Now you listen ‘ere you pompous old git…” bawled Grubb, “… just ‘cause I don’t change into normal beasts as boring as you do, doesn’t mean there’s somethin’ wrong with me. And I haven’t got a short temper neither, I didn’t mean to squash ‘im, but at least it ended the feud!”
“And that’s why we reversed the judgement and said you could stay, but you wouldn’t! I still say you should have taken your father’s advice and joined the family business. You could have remained with the ones you love instead of going off into the wilds to live as a hermit. I mean, healing sick animals and people, where’s the profit in that?”
Grubb suddenly became very calm, “That’s it with you, isn’t it? It’s all down to coin! If it doesn’t pay, don’t do it. Well I’ve got news for ye, this…” he said pointing at his friends, “… is what life is really about. Having people around ye that ye care for, and care about you. People you’d give yer life for and would put their lives at risk to protect you. I’ll tell ye something, Lorzic, I’m richer than you’ll ever be. I wouldn’t give one moment of my time with any o’ my friends for a hundred times what those relics o’ yours are worth.” He turned his back and began to walk away, “Good luck findin’ ‘em,” he called, “’cause you’ll get no ‘elp from me.”
Lorzic raised his eyebrows, “See what I mean?” he sighed, “Totally unstable.”
Lodren was shaking with rage. Storming forward, he grabbed Lorzic and hoisted him into the air with one hand, “You…” he hissed, “… are the most unpleasant and the rudest person I have ever met. If there weren’t ladies present, I assure you I would tell you exactly what I thought of you. Grubb is my best friend, and nobody talks to him like that. Do you understand?”
Lorzic nodded frantically.
“Now you go after him and apologise. When you come back, and I’ll just add that if Grubb’s not with you, don’t bother coming back, we’ll have a civil discussion on how we can help one another. Am I making myself quite clear, you nasty little Vikkery?”
Lorzic nodded again.
“Good,” said Lodren, forcing a smile as he lowered Lorzic to the ground. “We’ll see you shortly then. Pardon the pun.” He tugged down his tunic, a habit he had picked up from Hannock, and sat back down.
“Impressive,” said Hannock with admiration. “Ever thought of becoming a diplomat?”
The companions watched as Lorzic ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, in pursuit of Grubb.
“I wonder what it was?” asked Drake, curiously.
“What what was?” replied Hannock.
“Lorzic said that Grubb should have joined the family business. Just wondering what sort of business it was.”
“Something to do with making money, I suppose. You heard what Grubb said, the Vikkery are obsessed with anything that earns coin.”
“Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t like shiny things. That’s why he chose Buster when King Tamor offered him a reward,” suggested Lodren.
“I’ll ask him when he comes back.”
“You’ll do no such thing, Mr Hannock!” exclaimed Lodren. “It’s to do with his family, and that’s private.”
“Speaking of family, Jared,” said Hannock, “When are we going to rescue His Majesty? I’m not happy with him being trapped as he is.”
“Neither am I, Hannock. But we know that he’s safe, for now at least. I’m just a little concerned as to how we’re going to bring him out of the enchantment. You know, with Yello…” his voice tailed off.
“Don’t worry yourself about that, dear boy. It’ll only take five minutes once we get back to Reiggan.”
Lodren’s eyes grew wide as he stared sideways at Drake, “Mr Jared…”
Drake looked up, realising how quiet it had gone, “What?”
***
It didn’t take long for Grubb to calm down. He and Lorzic re-joined the companions, although Grubb still didn’t seem to be completely happy. Lorzic on the other hand wore a smile that would suggest that nothing untoward had taken place.
“Everything alright?” asked Hannock, an air of humour apparent in his voice.
“Fine, why shouldn’t it be?” asked Lorzic, oblivious.
Closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly, Jared spoke to Lorzic, “We have decided that the first thing we should do is escort you all back to your village.”
“Why would you want to do that?” asked Lorzic, curling his lip.
“So that you can return safely to your own homes,” replied Jar
ed.
“What homes?” asked Lorzic.
“Your homes of course! Your homes in your village.” He’s so infuriating, thought Jared.
Lorzic laughed, “What’s the point in that? There’s nothing left now. It’s all flat. It would cost far too much to rebuild it, we may as well start afresh somewhere new, somewhere safer.”
Grubb frowned, “What do ye mean, there’s nothin’ left?”
“Well…” replied Lorzic, “… as we were leaving…”
“Ye mean, as ye were running away, don’t ye?”
“Alright, Grubb,” replied Lorzic. “As we were fleeing for our lives… a few of us looked back. We could see the buildings being torn to pieces! Whole roofs were being thrown as if they were paper and walls were being smashed until they were nought but pebbles flying through the air.”
“But the hissthaar, that’s what those snake-like beings are by the way, don’t have the strength to smash buildings like that!” exclaimed Drake. “They can melt things with those poison darts they use, but not throw a roof off a building.”
“Maybe they’ve made friends with their new neighbours in Mallorkan caverns,” suggested Grubb.
Hannock sighed loudly and dropped his chin to his chest, “Go on then, what lives in the caverns?” he asked, slowly.
“Zingaard,” mumbled Grubb.
“A zingaard, is that it?” laughed Drake. “Are you forgetting what Lodren did to the first you told me about?”
“No, I’m not!” growled Grubb. “And I ain’t forgettin’ what it did to Queen Faylore neither.”
Faylore hurried to him. Leaning down, she gave him a huge hug, “Oh, you big sweetie, how lovely of you,” she cooed.
“Alright, alright,” protested Grubb, “Stop makin’ a fuss,” he moaned, trying unsuccessfully to pry her arms from around him, “And I didn’t say a zingaard, I said zingaard.”
“So, you think there are more than one in there?” asked Emnor.
Grubb laughed, “I don’t think, Emnor. I know. Mallorkan caverns is… well… how can I put this?” he blushed, turning his head so as not to make eye contact with Faylore. “It’s erm… oh dear. It’s their… erm, breeding ground,” he mumbled.
The Cessation of Karrak: Ascension III (The Karrak Trilogy Part Three Book 3) Page 21
