"War of the Blood?" Pat asked him.
"Blood Pudding," Canto elaborated. "Someone insulted a woman's blood pudding and there was civil war for two years between those who hated the pudding and those who, well, were fond of the cook. One side even pushed ta other into the bogs and they were dragged down by the weight of their axes."
Ruth covered her mouth in horror and Pat frowned. "Why didn't they drop their axes?" she countered.
Canto scowled at her. "A dwarf never drops his ax unless his arm is cut off."
"And how did it end?" Pat wondered.
"The one who spoke the insult had to eat the blood pudding for a whole month," Canto replied.
Pat raised an eyebrow. "That's it? All that and that's the only punishment he received?"
"If ya knew how bad that blood pudding tasted ya wouldn't take it so lightly," he countered. He turned his ass and tromped down the trail. "Now let's get there before night. If those dang Helpers aren't helping anyone then the city is a dark place after the sun sets."
While the larger group headed for the city, Ned and Fred made their way down into the swamps. The hard dirt path transformed into a wet, mucky trail that wound its way through weeping willows whose branches brushed against the filthy pools of water that sat beneath them. Mold and fungus covered the few rocks that poked out of the dark waters, and frogs croaked their deep tunes. Dead trees poked out of the water, and thick sludges of moss floated on the surface. Every now and then a Dirth bug would crawl over the path, emit its gas in one hideous fart, and move on. It was a dreary, damp place, and Fluffy nearly dismounted Fred when he violently stopped at the entrance.
Fred whipped his head this way and that to see what was the danger. There was nothing but frogs and Ned, who stopped to see what was the matter. "What's wrong?" Ned asked him.
Fred shook his head. "I don't know. Fluffy just stopped and he won't go on."
Ned pursed his lips together. "It's the smell of the bog. Cantankus have sensitive noses to it, and can smell the bog stench even as far as Dirth. They won't go inside the marshland if they can help it."
The young man nervously glanced around at their inhospitable and spooky surroundings. "So we have to leave him here?"
The old castor smiled and shook his head. "Fortunately I know just the spell." Ned slipped off his horse and went up to Fluffy. He bopped his staff against the beast's nose, and a thin barrier covered the nostrils. "That should work. What do you say, Fluffy? All better?" Fluffy gave Ned a big, long lick. Ned came away with a large drool booger on his nose. "A simple woof would have sufficed."
Ned performed the same favor for his horse, mounted his steed, and led the way through the marshland. Even the humans had to cover their lower faces to stifle the stench. It was a mix of rotten eggs, an uncleaned and well-used locker room, and one of those silent and deadly farts that could rival a skunk. After a few miles Fred couldn't take it much longer. "Are we there yet?" he gagged.
Ned glanced out at the marshland and squinted his watering eyes. "Difficult to say. The Stars can be very unfriendly, and if they don't want us inside their city we may never find our way out of the marshland."
"What?" Fred yelped.
Ned didn't act at all worried. "The Stars have enough magic to enchant the marshland and change the direction of the trail to lead us in an infinite circle, and we would never know their trick until the smell overpowered and killed us."
The color drained from Fred's pale, green face. "There's no way out of here? We're going to die?"
"Not entirely," Ned comforted him. "If we spot a Star and follow the creature it may lead us to the city, or a horrible death by drowning in the bog." Fred and Fluffy whimpered, and the young man slumped over his cantankus in abject misery until Ned let out a small exclamation. "There she is!"
Fred shot up and whipped his head around. "Where what is?"
Ned spurred his horse into a sprint. "Don't dawdle!" he yelled at Fred.
Fred and Fluffy quickly followed the mad chase through the dangerous marshland after something Fred couldn't see. The stench of the bogs grew worse until Fred felt dizzy. The path ahead of them blurred and sounds became muffled. His grip on the saddle horn loosened, and he didn't have enough consciousness to catch himself before he slipped off. He fell headfirst into the bog, and he was awoken from his daze by the sticky water that poured into his mouth, ears and nose. Fred thrashed and kicked, but he didn't know which way was up and which was down. His feet caught in tree roots and his body was covered in the rotting material of the bog.
Just before the young man lost consciousness a voice, clear and loud, rang in his head. "Your staff!" it cried out.
Fred used the last of his strength to reach for the staff, and when his hands wrapped around the stick parts a bright light exploded around him. The oppressive bog was pushed back from his body and fresh air surrounded him. Fred clutched onto the staff and coughed out all the bog he'd swallowed. He cracked open his eyes and realized he was in a barrier bubble like the one he'd created fighting the water monster over Salaron Bridge. Beyond the walls lay all the decomposing matter that had tried to suffocate him, and Fred was disappointed to find there wasn't a speck of light anywhere around him, though he swore he saw an old ax head among the rotting vegetation. He thought he felt himself moving, and realized that though the barrier protected him he still sank into the bottomless bog. The movement gave him the direction of up, but there wasn't any sign of the surface.
His salvation came in the form of a glowing fishhook that came down from the heavens and hooked onto his barrier without bursting his bubble. It pulled him up through the muck and when he broke the surface he fell back in relief. Ned stood on the path with his staff in hand and Fluffy beside him. From the top of Ned's staff ran a golden line that ended at the glowing fishhook. Ned guided the bubble onto the path, and Fred would have kissed the solid ground if it didn't smell and look so rancid. Besides, he had no intention of climbing out of his safety bubble. Fluffy, however, rubbed himself against the barrier and Fred let the poor thing in for some fresh air.
Ned let his fishhook vanish and perused the young man. "What a fine adventure this is, but we seem to be getting into more trouble than fun. What say we get out of here?" Fred and Fluffy enthusiastically nodded., and Ned glanced around them. "We've lost our guide, and from the familiar trail I'd say we're going in circles. We must not be wanted, so I'm afraid we're just going to have to make a splashier entrance."
"You mean we can still get to the city, or can we go to Dirth?" Fred asked him.
Ned crept up to the edge of the path and looked into the bog. "Both, but our first destination is the Star city," he reminded his apprentice. Ned created a barrier around himself and his horse with the exception that his arms and his staff lay outside the bubble. He clasped the staff in both hands and held it over a pool of bog water. "Better prepare yourself. This is going to be messy," he warned Fred.
Fred's face paled. "Prepare myself how?" he exclaimed.
Ned's reply was to tap the bottom of his staff against the surface of the water. It created a ripple effect where the vibrations spread over the connected pools of the marshland. The greater the distance away from them the larger the ripple grew until it was a wave of water that flowed over the dead and living trees. The water harmlessly lapped against the castor barriers, but farther off Fred saw the ripples slam against trunks and cover the path ahead of them. There was even a large spot in the distance where it crashed against some unseen rocks.
Ned gave an exclamation of joy and pointed at that spot. "There she blows!" he cried out.
"There what blows?" Fred asked him.
"The city of the Stars. It's invisible to those they don't want inside, but its walls can't lie to nature," Ned chuckled. He dropped his bubble and mounted his horse. "Now that we know where it is the magic of the marsh no longer affects us and the path will lead us to it. Keep your barrier around your head and follow me."
Fred shrank the barrier to
that size and mounted Fluffy. They trotted along, and after a few miles the winding path straightened. They rounded a large, dead tree and before them stood a city with a gate. Fred halted Fluffy, frowned, and pulled the cantankus back behind the tree. There wasn't a city visible there, but taking a few steps forward and looking around the other side of the tree the city reappeared.
"Don't dawdle," Ned scolded him.
Fred hurried forward and their path ended in front of a gate five feet high that was surrounded on both sides by six-foot rock walls topped with sharp and pointy dead trees salvaged from the marshland. The walls on either side of the gate wound around the city to create a circular protective area. Ned dismounted and Fred followed suit, and the two walked up to the short gate.
A bright ball of light with thin wings like those of dragonflies popped up over the arch above the gate and spoke in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. "Who are you?" it demanded to know.
"I am Ned, and this is my apprentice Fred," Ned introduced them. "We come in peace to seek advice from your leader."
The Star scoffed. "You two are the ones who attacked our walls, aren't you?"
Ned was aghast. "An attack on your lovely city? We could never do such a thing!" The Star guard hovered over the wall and didn't reply. Ned shrugged. "Well, perhaps we did conjure up a wave or two to find the city, but we meant it no harm."
"We?" Fred muttered. He couldn't recall helping make that magic.
"You scared away all the animals," the Star countered.
"Animals?" Fred repeated. He couldn't recall seeing anything living except the plants.
"Is your apprentice only able to repeat words?" the Star asked Ned. It turned so the brightest spot on its body pointed at him. Fred assumed that was the face. "Do you see how I float above the ground? Why would we need a gate like the one below me except to let in things that couldn't float, like animals?"
Ned stepped in front of Fred and smiled apologetically at the Star. "He's a little slow, but what about our request to enter?" he persisted.
"Enter? We're allowing no one but the marsh animals to enter, now go away," the Star ordered. He zipped toward them, but bounced off the barriers over their heads. "Go on, shoo before I really get mad."
Ned and Fred glanced at each other, and without a hint of concern they both looped the reins of their steeds around nearby sturdy trees. Ned raised his staff and the gate opened. They ducked under the archway and past the sputtering Star. "W-wait a minute!" it shrieked at them. The two humans stood in a small, narrow courtyard separated from the rest of the city by a newly built wall as tall as the one through which they'd passed. The Star zoomed past them and blocked their path. "You're not allowed in here, now go home!"
Ned traipsed past him and tapped his staff on the wall. There wasn't a gate to this wall. "I don't recall this wall the last time I visited, and it shuts out your animal friends from the rest of the city. Why was it built?"
"None of your business, now leave before I call in reinforcements!" the Star threatened them. Ned kept tapping on the wall as though looking for a weak spot, and the Star vibrated with anger. He let off a high-pitched, shrill whistle noise, and a dozen more wisps flew over the new wall and surrounded the humans.
One of the lights had a bluish tint to them, and it jerked back before it floated over to Ned. "Edwin?" it guessed.
Ned smiled. "Hello, old Star," he teased the creature.
The old star let out a holler and whipped around Ned's head in glee. "Edwin, what are you doing here? We haven't seen you for several birthing cycles!"
"Oh, you know, here and there saving the world," Ned laughed. "But what sort of a welcome is this, Hywel?" Fred assumed that was the Star's name. "Are not even castors allowed in the city now?"
"I'm afraid some recent changes in our feud with the dwarves have made it necessary," the old Star replied. "But this wall shouldn't bother you. Drop on over the side and come to the Tower. The Leader will explain everything there."
"What!" exclaimed the guard Star. "These two are intruders! They need to be dealt with according to-"
The old Star bopped the younger one on the head. "Edwin's an old friend of ours, you dolt. Brush up on the allowed list and get back to guarding the front."
"Y-yes, sir," the younger Star glumly obeyed.
The old Star turned to Ned. "Come on, let's go see the Leader."
CHAPTER 11
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ned asked Hywel. The old castor rapped his stick against the wall. "We need some help with this."
"Not a problem," Hywel reassured him. The guard Stars swarmed around Ned, and before Fred's wide eyes the Stars lifted Ned off the ground and over the wall. They quickly swarmed back to his side, and Hywel and the others floated toward him.
Fred backed up away from the wall and the Stars. "Can't I just use magic?" he pleaded.
"The stench in the city is too great for any magic use more complicated than the barrier around your head," Hywel replied. "Now don't squirm."
The Stars zipped around him and caught Fred by his sleeves. He was yanked from the ground, and glanced between his feet to watch the Stars float him high above the ground and over the wall. The young man clawed at the air and the Stars zipped out of the way of his flailing arms. Their break in formation caused him to fall a foot before they balanced him. "Let me down!" Fred pleaded.
"You heard his request," Hywel told his fellow Stars.
They dropped him over the side of the wall and Fred crashed into Ned.
Hywel floated down to them and laughed at the tangle of castors on the ground. Fred scrambled off Ned, and the old castor stood and brushed himself off. "Well, quite an adventure we're having, isn't it?"
Fred rubbed his sore head and scowled at him. "I don't think that word means what you think it means..." he grumbled.
Ned patted the young man on the back and turned Fred toward the city. "If you can't enjoy the adventure, at least enjoy the view."
Spread out before them was the City of the Stars. The circular city spanned the size of a football field, and enclosed within its walls were tall, spiral towers. They were shaped like cones, and had white, fluffy exteriors. Small, circular holes dotted the walls of the towers, and Stars flitted in and out of them. Those inside the towers lit them up like festive lights, and in the center of the city was the greatest light of them all. That was the Tower Hywel spoke about and which housed the leader of the Stars. The Tower was forty feet tall, and instead of cone-shaped the structure was square. The walls leaned inward so the top tapered off to a small square about one foot by one foot square. Stars floated at the base and at five foot intervals up the height of the Tower, but they stopped ten feet short of the top.
"So much security," Ned mused.
"Yes, quite troublesome when we would rather be caring for the beasts in the swamp, but Leader will explain everything," Hywel promised.
Hywel led the pair through the forest of cones and beneath an archway at the base of the Tower. The Tower was a single room, and at the back on the floor was a small, ancient stump. The center was rotted out, and from the hole arose a rock platform. Atop the platform floated a large Star who glowed a bright golden color. Ned guided Fred up to the throne and knelt on one knee while he bowed his head; Fred did likewise. Along the walls floated a large guard of Stars who Fred felt watched them.
"Good day, Edwin," the Star greeted them.
"It's Ned now, dear Leader Cadwaladr," Ned corrected him.
"What brings your new reincarnation here?" Cadwaladr asked him.
"We come in search of a treasure perhaps told to your kind by the ancient castors," Ned told Cadwaladr. "It works with a stone that appeared in Dirth."
Cadwaladr's light darkened to a red color and he trembled. "Do not speak that name here! We have nothing to say about those filthy dwarves!"
"My apologies, Leader," Ned apologized with a bow of his head. "But as important as your feud is with the dwarves, we are in a bit of a hurry and need any
information you can give."
"Feud? War is a little more than a feud," Cadwaladr countered. "War is what's happening between us, and it won't be stopped until they give in and plead mercy."
"Still, we are in need of any legends you may have about a treasure," Ned insisted. "If we find it quickly it will avert a disaster in Dirth."
Cadwaladr froze, and the other Stars in the room perked up at Ned's words. Leader floated down off his rock-stump and close to Ned's face. "Disaster in Dirth?" he slowly repeated. "How would such a disaster come about?"
Fred glanced nervously around the room, and Ned frowned. "The stone is possessed by the evil of Canavar," Ned explained. "If the power is unleashed then the only way to stop the flood of evil is to destroy the stone with the item."
"Very interesting..." Cadwaladr murmured. He floated back up to his perch and faced everyone in the throne room. His voice boomed over the tall room. "Guards, send word to the city's messengers. No one is to help these two find the treasure."
Several of the guards shot out of the throne room while Ned scurried to his feet. "Don't be a fool, Cadwaladr. That stone is as much a danger to you as it is to the dwarves."
"I have to thank you for your information, Ned," Cadwaladr replied. "Now all we need to do is pull back our troops and wait for some stupid dwarf to awaken the stone."
"You don't understand. The power of the stone will cover this entire area until it's destroyed every living creature," Ned protested. Fred stepped back and saw the Star guards creep in closer toward them. "Are you willing to sacrifice your animals? They will all be killed by Canavar's evil."
"There are hardly any animals left around the city, and those that are there will be evacuated," Cadwaladr countered.
Ned shook his head. "That will not-"
"Silence! We will hear no more of your words!" Cadwaladr thundered and the Tower shook with his anger. Leader breathed out and his red color faded back to gold. "For your kindness to us in the past we won't eject you from the city, but don't tempt any of our people to help you or you will be forever banished from us."
The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) Page 7
