by Bob Cregan
After just a few yards the nature of the tunnel altered. The floor changed from the dry, hard earth of the main sett to a different construction. Flat stones appeared, lining the floor in a regular pattern. It did not seem natural to Musty, like the stones had been placed there deliberately. He thought of the rumours of how humans sometimes did that when they made their paths down in the valley. He slowed, nervous of this change, but at the same time curious.
He inched forward in a stop-start manner for some time and he became increasingly flighty as he left the sounds and smells of the main set far behind him. It was not long before he decided he had gone far enough, and should stop so he could start on his winter chamber.
He examined the side-wall and gave a tentative scratch with his claw to test the texture. The surface gave way quite easily and in a short time Musty had dug the beginnings of the short tunnel which would lead to into his new chamber.
He had dug about the length of his body, with only his tail still sticking out into the main passage behind, when the floor suddenly gave way. One of the stones - the paving of the Long Way had continued under Musty’s feet as he dug into the wall - collapsed as he dropped down to all fours after a strong digging stoke.
As one fell, the others surrounding it followed, and Musty found himself tumbling through the air surrounded by a tangle of stones, earth and roots. He fell quite a distance, at least the height of a small tree Musty reckoned, before he landed on his back into what he quickly realised was a large open space.
Shaking the dust off his back Musty sat up and looked about him. He had landed in a large tunnel and to his surprise he could see. The walls gave of a very faint green glow, enough for badger eyes to see quite clearly. He sniffed the wall and smelled a fungus similar to one he had seen give off light in the woods above.
Those woods seemed very far off now, and it was plain he was now quite stuck. The tunnel walls were lined with stones in exactly the same way as the floor of The Long Way. It must have been dug so it followed the roof of the passage beneath, so the the floor of one was also the ceiling of the other. Looking up, he could see the hole in the stone lining though which he had fallen; a small trickle of dry soil still fell from the gap.
The tunnel was large. A horse could walk through it quite easily Musty thought. It extended in both directions as far as he could see, but one direction - the one which led out of the circle - had some sort of obstruction; Musty could hear echoes quite plainly. The other direction appeared endless just like The Long Way above.
Musty decided he had had quite enough of this adventure, and headed out of the circle, hoping that he could find a break in the stone walls somewhere. Any exposed soft earth would mean he could dig and escape his unpleasant situation.
He was disappointed. When he reached the obstruction he discovered a wall, built of stone exactly like the sides of the tunnel. Musty had hoped that the tunnel had just collapsed, leaving a pile of earth, but he could not dig through stone. Musty looked at the wall, gave it a little dig with his claws, and wondered why someone had built this obstruction across what was plainly the way out of the hill. After a while, he turned and started to walk in the only direction available to him, inwards, towards the centre of the circle.
The passage continued towards the centre unchanged, the stone walls rising high and unnatural; the roof an undamaged expanse of stone. To be trapped in a structure obviously made by human beings made Musty jumpy and he made his way forward at crawl, starting at every sound, real or imagined.
After he had progressed a good distance he noticed something different about the passage ahead. He tensed as he saw what looked like two human figures standing on either side of the stone corridor. He nearly fled, half turning in panic, but two thing made him stop. Firstly he knew he really had nowhere to run to; he would be retreating to a dead end and his best bet would be to stand his ground if there were humans ahead. Legend had it that humans, for all their size and fearsome weaponry, did not like direct fights and a few sharp bites might make it possible for him to sneak past. Secondly, something about the figures did not look quite right to Musty. They were too small and did not move.
So controlling his instinct to run, Musty crept forward his eyes straining to see what lurked ahead. After a few feet he relaxed somewhat. His nose told him that these figure were not human. In fact they smelled of very little; no different to the walls of the passage.
As he approached he realised they were just images of humans somehow carved from two large stones. These had the been placed on either side of the passage like sentries.
Close examination showed the likeness to be not good. The arms, legs, bodies and faces were all there in the correct places, but everything was crudely fashioned and out of proportion They stood on low plinths which were strangely carved. There were groups of straight and curves lines joined together in a manner most mysterious to Musty’s eyes, though he knew that these things were to be seen wherever humans gathered; their meaning unknowable.
He turned his head from the statues, dismissed now as unthreatening, and brought his attention once more to the passage ahead. His ears and nose sensed a change ahead. He could sense an echoing quality to the sounds reflecting back, and his nose felt that the air currents had changed a little. He thought there was even a little more light now, the quality of which was different from the greenish tinge given off from the walls; more golden he decided.
All these small changes told him that ahead was a chamber and it was a large one. One which perhaps opened out to the outside world, for how else could he explain the extra light so deep in the earth below the stone circle.
A few steps forward confirmed both his impressions of the space ahead, and the light coming from it. The latter grew in intensity as he approached, much faster than he expected, almost as if it knew he was coming and brightened as he approached. Musty moved into the chamber, which was now quite well lit, and the badger stopped by the entrance astonished.
He realised that the chamber must lie directly beneath the centre of the stone circle for embedded in the roof of the chamber was a massive rock whose shape, texture and size mirrored that of the huge monolith which lay on its side above. The vast rock acted as a ceiling, seeming to float in the roof despite its weight, but Musty noticed that this impression was just an illusion for it was actually supported at one end. Part of the monolith moved down in a smooth arc and rested a foot-like lump on the floor of the chamber. Musty eyed it suspiciously, realising that it was only this support, aided by the manner in which the stone was wedged into the earth, which stopped the whole thing from crashing down and filling the chamber.
The rest of the ceiling was plain earth which just gave emphasis to the strangeness of the underside of the monolith. Musty’s ears flattened as he thought of the weight of the massive stone which sat balanced in this precarious manner. The other walls of the chamber were, like the passage which led to it, stone-built.
All of this was unusual enough for the simple mind of a badger, but it was something else which made Musty shuffle his feet and shake his head in agitation. Something which lay on the floor of the chamber directly under the main mass of the monolith.
A series of unnaturally smooth white rocks were laid out in a circle on the floor of the chamber, like a tiny mirror of the massive circle which lay meters above his head sparkling in the dew. It was these rocks which were the source of the yellowish glow which filled the chamber. Shaped roughly like pears, they each pulsed faintly at the speed of a slowly beating heart. A small object lay in the centre of this glowing circle. It lay in a depression, and was half hidden by the surrounding earth. It seemed to be made of stone or something similar.
Musty shuffled closer, intrigued by the arrangement. He sat up on his haunches to get a better view into the hole and he saw that the item placed there was a small statue, painted black and white. He swayed on his back legs trying to see the details but as he did so o
ne of his feet knocked into one of the glowing rocks. It over-balanced, fell over and turned over three or four times before it ended up rocking on the earth some distance from the edge of the circle.
Nothing happened for a second or so but then all the rocks simultaneously stopped glowing, and the whole of the chamber was pitched into utter blackness. Musty started in surprise and one of his back feet kicked another of the rocks sending it skidding into a distant corner. Musty crouched down terrified, his muzzle pushed flat against the earth, and waited for his eyes to become used to the darkness.
Slowly the glow from the fungus in the walls returned to illuminate the scene once more, and as if mirroring the rise of that eerie green glow, Musty started to feel that he was no longer alone in that chamber. He could feel a growing pressure on his mind, the sort that came when he knew he was being watched. This pressure had a quality to it; a personality even. It felt like exultation and malice.
Just as Musty wondered what this new development could possibly mean, something stuck at his mind. A sharp pain flashed in his head. It faded quickly and was replaced by a numbing of sensation and thought, as a new consciousness flooded through his brain; a consciousness utterly alien and malevolent. Musty’s mind withdrew in panic, as this invader steamrollered all opposition, until he found himself cornered; trapped in a tiny part of his head. Musty was effectively a prisoner in his own body.
The invader ignored the badger’s mind as inconsequential, and seeing this Musty dug down even further, hoping that by doing so he would remain unnoticed; that the presence would not wipe him away completely.
The new owner of Musty’s body tested it out, moving forward at a shuffle. It advanced clumsily at first, but then with more confidence as it - without even being aware of it - started to use some of Musty’s mind to work the unfamiliar body. Musty considered resisting, not allowing the invader use him in this way, but then decided that such action could just make his presence obvious; at this time he decided that it was best to stay quiet, so he allowed his body to do as instructed by the alien presence. As he did so he became aware of strange thoughts and realised that by cooperating he had come closer to the interloper to the extent he could read its mind.
I am free! At least for a while. I cannot escape in this body though, not without taking the statue, with me. This creature - a badger I believe - is too alien for me to survive without being close to that channel of my power. If I can somehow get the statue out of this cursed chamber then I can take it somewhere closer to people, and then I can get to work. I can use this little freedom to eventually gain true liberty from the real prison down there in the valley.
At these words Musty sensed memories flowing through the presence in his mind, and as delicately as he could - to avoid detection - he drifted in to eavesdrop, to learn about his enemy.
He saw the interior of a human house. Not one of now, but from long ago. There was just one round room with a fire in the centre. The smoke from the fire rose up high and disappeared through a hole in the roof, which he could see now was made of some kind of turf. There was a door to the outside though which lightning occasionally illuminated a woodland scene filled with torrential rain.
In the corner of the room a human - a female Musty thought as it had long hair - knelt before a small pottery statue. It was finely made and was of a human woman, but not the one in the room Musty thought. It showed someone tall, and the face was painted white, the hair black, whereas the woman was quite short and her hair was golden. She bowed down in front of the effigy, occasionally looking behind her, like she was afraid of being caught.
Her fears were realised; a group of three male humans burst in as she was prostrate on the ground. Dressed all in white they appeared angry. They shouted at the female and pointed at the statue on the ground. The scene faded …
Next there was a procession going along the tunnel though which Musty had just passed. It looked the same as now, except the stone walls were freshly dressed and looked newly built. The male humans dressed in white were there, as well a several others. There was no sign of the woman. The men in white carried a rough wooden platform at waist-height, on which was placed the statue the woman had been worshipping. They all looked serious, worried almost, and they chanted some words as they marched along the corridor.
When they arrived in the chamber beneath the centre of the stone circle they stopped and lowered the wooden platform to the floor. The white stones had already been placed in a circle on the floor, except for one which had been move to one side so as to create kind of doorway. One of the men in white moved towards the wooden platform and gingerly pushed the statue with his toe so it dropped to the floor; it was as if he wanted minimal physical contact with the object. He continued in this manner until he had inched the statue to the centre of the white stones. The other men chanted louder and faster as he did this, reaching a crescendo as their friend eased the statue into a small hole which had been dug to receive it.
He retreated, moved out of the circle, and placed the last white stone in its place in the ring. The men stopped their chanting and moved around outside edge of the circle. When they were spread evenly around the circumference, the oldest of them gave a nod, at which signal they all moved in and placed their hand on one of the stones and spoke a single word.
At the sound of that word the stones started to glow and the memory faded to nothing.
Musty felt presence inside him look around the chamber, searching for a way of escape. It started to probe his memories trying to find how Musty had made his way there in the first place. Its sped through his fall from The Long Way and his discovery of the stone wall which blocked the tunnel’s exit. Frustrated it left his memories and returned to examining the ceiling of the chamber. It looked at the underside of the monolith, and that piqued its interest. Again Musty went for a ride with the intruder’s consciousness as it used his eyes to scan the whole rock; from stone foot to the where it joined the ceiling.
It was Musty who saw that there was a small protuberance which arched up from the narrow base of the rock and reached as far as the top where it joined the earth of the ceiling. It could be called a ledge , but only just, as it was narrow and uneven. The sight of this gave Musty an idea - risky and unlikely to work- but could just provide both escape from the chamber and a way out of his current predicament.
The presence in his mind did not notice the ledge , and its attention had moved from the stone, and was now passing over the walls, looking for some weakness ; a place where Musty could start dig. Gently as he could Musty tried to guide its attention back to the stone and at the same time to suggest his idea - not his complete idea of course - to the presence.
There was some resistance at first, but eventually his eyes flitted back to the massive stone with its ledge, and the idea planted by Musty took hold. Musty’s body moved over to the statue which still lay in the centre of the circle. There was an anxious moment when Musty though that the presence was going to move the statue - his plan depended upon it staying exactly where it was, directly beneath the monolith - but the creature was just measuring it to see if was too big for what it had in mind.
Satisfied, the badger moved over to the monolith. A small hop and a scramble and he stood on the rock ledge. He moved forward and upward until he reached the roof, his nose touching the loose earth of the ceiling. He balanced himself briefly, bracing his back legs, and then he started to dig.
He dug straight upward so that one side of his tunnel was formed by the rock of the monolith. His luck held, for the ledge in the rock continued upwards beyond the ceiling; broken and uneven sometimes, but giving enough purchase when he wedged his body in the tunnel to continue his progress upwards.
There was an awkward moment when the stone bulged outwards and a tunnel had to be dug out sideways so he could make his way around the obstruction, but for Musty’s plan to work he had to do this anyway and so he just worked away until he
had a small horizontal tunnel in the earth and could turn around to face the rock of the monolith.
The creature that possessed his body seemed to be happy to let Musty have a considerable amount of control when it came to digging of the escape tunnel. And so Musty dug. He dug a wide - very wide - tunnel which wormed its way up the side of the monolith. He made the tunnel slope upward gradually - very gradually - so that the there were many twists and turns before his nose detected the moistening of the soil which indicated that he must be near the surface.
With one last push he burst through the turf and burst out into a clear night. He had come out within inches of the monolith, which stood black against the starry sky, massive and eternal. It was hard to imagine the chamber, the evil which lay beneath, and the taste of freedom made Musty just want to run around in the grass before going to his burrow so he could sleep amongst his family.
But he knew what was coming, and it was no surprise when the presence in his mind ordered him to go back down the tunnel, back to collect the statue which seemed somehow to be source of its power. He had no choice but to obey.
As he went down he used his whiskers and ears to try and find any signs that his plan had a chance of success, but he felt nothing and was despairing until he came near the place where his new set of tunnels broke through the ceiling into the chamber. He could just see the green glow of the chamber ahead when the earth gave a tiny heave.
Knowing the meaning of this Musty dug deep and overthrew the invader. He took over his body and made a dash for the chamber. The presence within, taken by surprise, could only watch as Musty dashed forward. The tunnel shook, earth fell all around and a deep rumbling echoed around the tunnels.
He did not bother trying to scramble down the rock face of the monolith, but just dropped down to the earth. As his paws slammed into the ground he dashed to the wall and turned around just as the presence in his mind crushed his resistance and pushed him back into the small dark recess in his consciousness.
The badger that was once Musty looked back at the stone. It shook, causing earth to rain down from the ceiling, and the creature in Musty’s mind saw now what Musty had achieved.
Musty had dug and wormed through the soil much more than was needed to just escape to the surface. The earth in the ceiling at far end of the monolith - the end most distant from the supporting foot - was a now a sponge; a swiss-cheese, more air than earth. And now it was collapsing in on itself as the unstoppable weight of the rock pushed into it.
It toppled, falling away from the supporting foot of stone, which in turn started to slide along the floor in the opposite direction. It gathered speed as the delicate balance which had kept the structure stable for centuries was smashed, disturbed by Musty’s excavations. It did not fall far, for the foot sliding across the floor was destined to eventually hit the wall of the chamber. But Musty did not intend it to collapse completely. All that was necessary was for the ledge of stone to come crashing to the floor exactly at the point where the statue lay hidden in its niche.
Musty felt wild dread rise in his unwelcome visitor as, seemingly in slow motion, the unstoppable momentum of the rock crushed the feeble poetry figure into the finest dust. The panic in his mind shut off suddenly, and Musty felt a sharp pain flood his mind as the interloper was forced out, driven out by the destruction of its conduit into this world. The pain increased in intensity until it was too much and Musty’s mind shut down and he fell into unconsciousness.
When he opened his eyes the pain was gone. Musty sat up and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He looked around the chamber, trying to remember. The monolith lay at an angle stretched from the floor on one side of the chamber to the ceiling on the other.
Where was this? Musty remembered falling through the hole in The Long Way but nothing more that this. He looked around and noticed the passage into the chamber. This prodded his memory and he remembered its exploration and coming into the chamber, but after that his mind refused.
After a few minutes Musty gave up trying, sat up and moved over to the rock and saw that its angle of lean made for an easy path up to the ceiling. He walked up sniffed the roof decided that he had had enough adventure for that night . And so for the second time, though the first one he would remember, Musty started to dig himself out the chamber.
Once on the surface he could see that something dramatic had happened to the stone in the centre of the circle. It had dropped dramatically at one end; the other had risen up leaving a just wedge shaped lump of rock sticking out of the moonlit turf instead of the flat table which had existed before.
“Something defiantly happened down in that hole which I can’t remember,” thought Musty reflectively. “Probably a good thing I can’t as well. Adventures are dangerous and it is best if I avoid them in the future.”
If you enjoyed these adventures of Musty, then you can have some more.
Read
The Venomous Knife of Iona Skane
By
Bob Cregan
Available for the kindle and kobo e-readers. The first chapter follows.
Chapter 1
