“Ye hath arriveth at the entrance to The Valley of Thieves. It be right next to The Valley of Dead Trees,” he began. “The valleys doth nat joineth up. There be large rocks between them. Ye doth nat wanteth to goeth down The Valley of Thieves. It be the wrong way for ye to goeth. Nat a pretty sight, anyway. The shadows in there hath had everything taketh away from them. They hath no clothes on, no teeth, no eyelids or eyebrows, no hair, and they shall be chased by fierce black hounds forever,” he said.
“I really think we do not want to see such a sight,” said Petronella.
“The Hounds be here to helpeth me keep order in The Valley of Thieves. These dogs be faster than the wind. They can sniffeth a thief from a mile. Their chief is Diablo, a dog of huge strength. A cross between a pit bull and a rottweiler,” said The Centaur, as it kept kicking up its back hooves, lifting clouds of black dust from the ground.
A pack of hounds came running by. Barking fiercely. The cave echoed the barking, making it seven times louder than it normally would be. The biggest hound sank a sharp bite into one of The Centaur’s hooves. In answer, the horse kicked the dog in the teeth. It groaned. Its teeth were scattered around like pearls in the dust. “That shall keepeth him quiet,” The Centaur said. The rest of the pack ran off in their different ways.
“How come it attacked you?” Petronella asked.
“To telleth ye the truth, I were a bit of a thief once. Nothing serious. I were Lord Fortesque’s butler. I used to stealeth money from him and giveth it back to the poor ill and dying peasants. In myn view, the money hath been taketh from them by Lord Fortesque in the first place. I were caught. His soldiers giveth me a deadly beating. They thinketh I were dead. But I were saveth by some good folk who nurseth me back to health,” said The Centaur.
“What a sad story,” Petronella said.
“After that, I liveth to a ripe old age. I decideth to cometh here and guardeth The Valley of Thieves to proveth that I be no common thief,” he said.
“I see,” said Petronella. “Thank you for sparing me going into The Valley of Thieves. I don’t think my stomach could have taken that. Just seeing The Hounds was enough. I would really like to go now. Can you tell me the way? I need to get to the other side of the cliff, but the cliff face there is all straight up and smooth. I can’t climb up that.”
“I can helpelth ye. Ye need to goeth all the way round to the other side and travelleth inside the cliff through a series of tunnels and climbeth flights of stairs. It is very easy to lose ye way in there, especially as it be pitch black inside.”
“So can you give me directions? Otherwise, how shall I ever get there?”
“I can doth better than that. I can taketh ye there mynself. It doth nat matter if I be away for some time. The Hounds hath nat been feedeth yet. They shall chaseth the shadows even more viciously. I shall giveth them some food upon my return.”
“I am very happy to accept your kind offer. I must get to Percy to see what has happened up there. I do hope that The Harpies have not reached him and have not... I’m sorry, I can’t say it.”
“Those Harpies be wicked beasts. I knoweth what ye wanteth to say. Yes, there be that danger. We shall be as quick as can be. Now, please, mounteth on my back, holdeth on tight to myn mane and I shall travelleth as fast as I can to getteth ye there.”
At first, the way was steep. The Centaur could hardly force its way up. Then came flatland and a series of tunnels. Gradually the horse’s pace got faster until he galloped at such a speed that Petronella nearly fell off when he raced away around the bends. Up more steps and dashing headlong through more tunnels and caves until he came to a sudden halt.
“Here ye be. Ye may getteth off now. If ye goeth through that door over there,” he said, turning his head to his left, “you shall findeth a small house. It belongeth to The Great Bear. Ye can trust her. She be as good as gold. One of her rooms hath a balcony that looketh out onto the ledge you telleth me about. I be sure she shall letteth ye go out onto that balcony to getteth a good view of the area.”
“Thank you so much. I will go and knock on her door straight away. I do hope she’s in.”
“She should be. Very old she be. So doth nat goeth out much. But she doth her very best to be an excellent guardian of the cliffs. I must needs rusheth off back and feedeth The Hounds. Good luck, Petronella. I hopeth all goeth well for ye.”
“Thank you, I’ll never forget your kindness,” said Petronella.
She saw The Centaur gallop away into the distance. Back the way they’d just come.
12 The Great Bear
There was a huge knocker on the door in the shape of a bear’s head. Petronella grabbed hold of it, but it came off in her hand. So she banged the whole knocker on the door. No answer. Again she banged on the door. “PLEASE OPEN UP,” she shouted, “PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP ME.”
If nobody opened the door, what would Petronella do? Or even more importantly, where would she go? Wouldn’t she be stranded behind this door? Unless someone came past and helped her... Petronella sat down on the doorstep, put her head in her hands and wondered what to do. Why was everything so difficult?
Maybe that was a noise she heard behind the door. Like a scratching sound. Yes, someone was opening the door. And there stood the biggest bear you can imagine. Brown and furry she was. Cute she was not. In fact, she looked dangerous. But The Centaur had told Petronella to trust this bear. Not that Petronella had much choice.
“H-e-l-l-o,” said The Great Bear, looking down at Petronella still sitting on her doorstep.“I’m a bit hard of hearing. Old age, you know?”
Petronella stood up and noticed how small she was compared to The Great Bear who towered above her.
“Yes, but you’ve opened the door. I am so grateful for that. Will you allow me to come into your house, please.”
“Why do you want to come into my house? Who are you?” said The Great Bear.
“My name’s Petronella, I... Look can I explain later? It’s urgent.”
“No, please explain now. I do not let anyone into my house, unless I know the reason why they need to come in. I am not one who likes company. Either of humans or of other bears.”
“OK, I will explain if you really want me to. But it’s a long story and it’s a matter of life or death. While I’m talking to you a boy might die and be eaten up by The Harpies.”
There, she’d said it now. In a moment of despair, she’d let it all out.
“And what’s the boy’s name? How old is he?”
“His name’s Percy. Percy Trollope. He’s eleven.”
“You can come in, then,” said The Great Bear. “Be my guest.”
“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I’m sorry to insist but I do need to go out into your balcony right now to see if Percy’s still there.”
“He’s not there anymore. I know that.”
“What do you mean?” asked Petronella.
“Well, it took you such a long time to get here. The Harpies are quick. Like lightning. They only take a few seconds to fly up here. Nasty scavengers that they are. If they smell fresh blood, or a body, they’re up in no time. Mind you, scared stiff of me, they are. I mauled one of them once. They are careful not to come anywhere near me. It was you who told them about the boy. You have to take your responsibilities.”
“What are you saying? It’s all my fault?”
“No, I know your intentions are good. You are a good person, Petronella. Nobody can doubt that. I saw you from my balcony when you toppled off the ledge. I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything to help you. I wasn’t quick enough. I’d been taking an afternoon nap.”
“What?”
“Yes, and once you went over the edge, I saw Percy. On all fours and trembling. I went down to the ledge and brought him here to my home.”
“Is he here, then?”
“Yes, he’s sleeping in the back bedroom. I bandaged his knees and gave him warm milk and honey.”
“Oh, The Centaur said you were a good creature.
He was so right. How can I ever repay you?”
“I don’t need to be repaid. It is my job. I am guardian of this cliff. Not that many people come past here, mind. That’s just as well because I do sleep a lot.”
“Can I see Percy?” Petronella said.
“Yes, of course, you can. Let’s go and wake him up. He’s been sleeping for a while. He ought to have some food.”
When he opened his eyes, Percy couldn’t believe it was Petronella, there in front of him. He thought that the fall must have killed her. Petronella sat on his bed and told him about what had happened to her since they separated: The Harpies, The Valley of the Dead Trees, and The Centaur.
The Great Bear meanwhile had cooked a nice meal for her guests. And, over dinner, they talked about how The Great Bear got to be in Trogot Caves.
“I was a human being when I arrived here. I was grabbed by The Trogot when I was out for a walk in the woods one evening. The monster pushed me into the first tunnel and, as you know, there’s no way back out. I didn’t even live in Fort Willow,” said The Great Bear.
“From the way you speak, I can tell that you are not a Strincas,” said Petronella.
“No, I’m not. That’s right. I am from the village next to Fort Willow: Cedar Woods Village. I lived there in the 1960s. I was grabbed by The Trogot then I was shoved down here. On my travels through Trogot caves. I managed to crawl a little way down the cliff. I was much lighter. I was a woman then. It was afterwards that I turned into a giant bear. Anyway, I was spotted by the bear who was guardian here at that time. She was a lovely creature, bless her. So I decided to stay here with her. Keep her company. Then The Trogot decided that she should go and guard another cliff a long way from this one,” said The Great Bear.
“So, are you telling me that you were human once and now you’re a bear?” asked Petronella.
“Yes, that’s right. I turned into a bear because I could not have defended myself against all the nasty beasts down here, if I’d been human. At first, I often forgot I was a bear and hid when I saw these wild creatures. Then I noticed that when I bumped into any nasty monsters by chance, they were afraid of ME,” said The Great Bear.
“Will you turn back into a human being if you came out with us now?” asked Petronella.
“I don’t know if I could get out. Anyway, I want to stay here. I love my little house and do not wish to leave. The Centaur doesn’t want to go back either,” said The Great Bear.
“Well I never,” said Petronella.
“Hath my ma and pa been turneth into animals?” Percy asked.
“That I cannot say. I do not go in that part of Trogot Caves. I believe there are both animals and humans up there near the way out. What shape they have taken, I do not know.”
“It’ll be all right, don’t worry,” Petronella said to Percy.
“We must needs be going now. I wanteth to get to myn ma and pa. As much as I be grateful to ye for what ye hath doneth, I would liketh to goeth, please.”
“We need to start all over again and crawl down to the bottom of the cliff. I really don’t know how we are going to do that. We’ve got to go down on all fours again and go along that ledge. How will Percy ever mangage with those knees?” said Petronella to The Great Bear.
Percy looked worried.
“No, you don’t need to go down that way, if you don’t want to. How would I ever get down there with my weight? The ledges would break off for sure. There is another way. It’s not short, but it is less dangerous. There’s a downhill road inside the cliff which winds around to the other side of the rock face,” said The Great Bear.
“Where shall that road taketh us to? Shall we be in the right direction to getteth to the bottom of Trogot Caves?” asked Percy.
“Yes, it will take you in the right way, but it will not take you back down to The Valley of Dead Trees. You will arrive in the cave next to it,” said The Great Bear. “I will come to the crossroads with you. From there onwards, you can’t go wrong. Just follow the road, until you get to the next cave.”
“Shall we be near the bottom of Trogot Caves when we getteth there?” said Percy.
“Indeed you will. You have done well.”
The three of them set out downwards along the road. Coming up the road in the other direction, there were shadows pushing huge round rocks. Each rock had three shadows pushing it up. The shadows puffed and groaned.
“What be they doing?” Percy asked.
“They are rolling the rocks from the bottom of the cliff right up to the top. Where three giants stand. Once the shadows reach the top, the giants roll the rocks back down to the bottom of the cliff again along a steep ramp. The rocks then land on the very same point as they were before. The shadows run down the long ramp to the bottom and roll the same rock back up again using this road. This will go on forever. You’ll see many more of them.”
“What have they done to deserve this?” asked Petronella.
“They were the ones who always spoke of doom. The heavy people who had no joy about them, had nothing good to say to anyone. They lived their lives in gloom. Made everyone’s life a misery. For them the future was always black,” said The Great Bear.
As they walked down a little further, they noticed steam coming from below. It was everywhere along the road and formed clouds.
“Where be this steam coming from?” asked Percy.
“Oh, the steam comes from the boiling river below us. You’ll find the river in the next cave you are going to. As you get nearer, you’ll notice that these steam clouds will get bigger and thicker. When you are inside the cave, you will hardly be able to see anything at all. At the end of this road, you’ll see a waterfall. The water tumbles off a ledge at the bottom of the cliff. Throw these stones down into the water,” said The Great Bear, handing Petronella and Percy three round smooth stones each.
“What shall happen when we doth that?” asked Percy.
“I can’t explain now. We’ve arrived at the crossroads. I have to rush back home as I have been off guard for far too long. I wish you good luck.”
The Great Bear gave them a quick kiss each and waddled off back from where they’d just come. Petronella and Percy were together again and ready to brave the rest of their travels.
13 The Red Seal
It was true. The steam-clouds got bigger and thicker. Petronella and Percy walked through them. They held hands, so as not to lose each other. They could also hear the sound of water tumbling down. They had to be getting near the waterfall, though they could not see it. The sound of thundering water got closer and closer. Soon it was so loud they could hardly hear each other speak.
Between one cloud and another, they saw a dark whirlpool into which the water fell.
“This must be the place where we’re to throw the stones in, Percy,” Petronella shouted.
“Yes, me thinketh it be so. Doest we throweth them in one by one or all together,” Percy shouted back.
“It doesn’t matter. She didn’t say. Let’s throw them all in at once.”
A big splash told them they had hit their target. A strange form came swimming towards them. They could now see that the water was a deep red colour. Murmurs came from the middle of the river. The shape swam some more and reached the bank where Petronella and Percy were standing. It found a ramp, and waddled all the way up it until it reached our friends. It was now clear what the creature was. A huge red seal.
“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you. I am the guardian here. You have reached The River of Boiling Blood. Here in the river are dangerous shadows swimming about. Please take my advice and go as soon as you can. The shadows here were violent when they were alive on Earth. There are many of Lord Fortesque’s soldiers here. But there are others, too.”
“I see,” said Petronella. “Well, let’s get out of here now. Which way do we...”
A shadow was climbing out of the river. Had a knee on the bank already. “I shall get you. You stupid brat,” it spat a small fountain of blood towards
Percy.
In horror, Percy recognised him. “That be the shadow of the soldier who killeth me. I be sure of it. I shall never forgetteth that cruel voice.”
The Red Seal kicked the shadow back in again.
“COWARD!” Petronella shouted after him.
“You had better leave now,” warned The Red Seal. “As I said, it is far too dangerous for you here.” While he was saying this, yet another shadow started shouting abuse. He was climbing out of the river onto the bank.
“That be the man who used to cometh to Charis Cottage in the mornings to taketh me to work in Lord Fortesque’s fields,” said Percy. “How could I ever forgetteth him? He used to kicketh and beateth me hard.”
The Red Seal kicked this shadow back in, as well.
“One question before we leave. Is Lord Fortesque here?” Petronella asked.
“No, he’s right down at the bottom. You will meet him soon at your next stop. Please leave now. Go through that door over there,” The Red Seal said.
The two rushed to the door. They turned back to have a last look only to see another shadow trying to climb out and chase after them. They darted through the heavy door and slammed it shut behind them.
They found themselves in a small pitch black room. The two of them hardly fitted in it.
14 The Gergon
They stood still and waited for something to happen.
“Shall someone cometh to fetcheth us, Petronella?” Percy asked.
“I don’t know. We didn’t get proper instructions this time because we had to rush away.”
“What shall we doth?”
“We can only wait. We can’t go back to The River of Boiling Blood, that’s for sure.”
“But, we be so tight in here. And it be so dark. I cannat breatheth.”
“That can’t be helped, Percy.”
A sound of a machine started up. The whirring was speeding up. The tiny room jolted then plunged downwards. Yes, they realised they were in a lift. As it gathered speed, it felt as if they were plummeting at the speed of light. They held on to each other. Found it hard to keep their balance. It was difficult to work out how long they’d been in the lift. But it seemed like a very long time indeed. By the time they got to the bottom, they were totally whacked.
Petronella & the Trogot Page 10
