Potlendh

by David J. Wallis

  Before the twins could respond, Uniqua commandeered the conversation by changing the subject. “You mentioned dangers we have to face, Father. What can you tell us of them?”

  “I will tell you of the Islet. Few have ever traveled this far. Fewer still have ever left.” The Dragon’s tone sounded ominous.

  “Know this: the straight road that used to take you directly to the castle no longer exists. Even before the Great War, an earthquake severed the road and created a huge chasm. There is no way to cross. Neither can you climb down the sheer cliff and reach the bottom. And it is impossible to climb up the other side even if you could. Besides, no one has ever seen the bottom of the chasm, although there are many stories about what lies there. Some say that it is bottomless. Some say that it reaches all the way to the center of the Earth. Others believe that a river of lava and fire fills the trench, dooming everything that falls into it. Still others speak of terrible monsters that will eat your souls. Nevertheless, you cannot go that way.

  “Instead, you must travel around and through the Mountain. It will be arduous, meaning very difficult, and very dangerous. Too many people have lost their way, and they, of course, were never heard from again.”

  “Trolls?” Carl suggested.

  “There are worse things on this Island than Trolls, my Son.” With a claw on his right front foot, he drew a rough map of the Islet. “We are here at Dragon’s Bridge. To reach the Mountain of Power castle, you must reach the Great Wall of Centaurs, which lies to the south. To do that, you will have to cross these hills and enter a grassy plain. As long as you stay on this plain, you will remain safe. Do not walk on the beach or the sand. It might be beautiful and alluring, but you will never come back. It has a name that describes its dangers: Forgetful Beach.

  “You must look for a cave to the south as you walk in the plain. It is called Ogre’s Tunnel, guarded by a strange and twisted Ogre.”

  “We met an Ogre already,” Karen interjected. “He was actually kind of nice.”

  “This Ogre likes to play games,” Father Dragon continued. “He will not let you into the tunnel until you have defeated him in a game. He will expect you to play fairly, but he likes to cheat. You won’t be able to win, but maybe if you make him tired, he will let you go into the tunnel.

  “Once you’re in the tunnel, follow it blindly. Ignore everything you see, feel, or hear. Otherwise, you will lose your way.”

  “What’s in the tunnel?” Carl asked.

  “In actuality, nothing,” Father Dragon said simply. “Unless you want to count the darkness. The tunnel runs straight, no turns, no other openings, but the number of people who have lost their way is many. Hold onto each other. Support each other. Do not leave anyone behind.

  “Once you emerge from this tunnel, you will come to a fast flowing river. You cannot cross this river until you come to a crossing bridge far down from the Mountain. Do not try to enter the river. You won’t survive. I’m not sure of any other dangers there. But I caution you not to do anything until you reach the bridge. Once you are on the other side, you will finally reach the Dock of the Dwarves in the south.

  “These Dwarves are not like the Dwarfs of the FOB. These people were made out of living rock, not flesh and blood. They will ferry you along the moat towards the west. I do not know what they will ask you for payment. Be prepared to give up your most precious things, for they like to collect strange and odd things.”

  Carl involuntarily felt his pocket from the outside. The opal was still secure.

  “Who made the Dwarves?” Karen asked.

  “The Bats of Dark City,” Father Dragon answered. “You may have to travel there if the monsters of the moat do not let you pass. Beware of the Bats. They are a cunning race. Not many know much of them, since they keep to themselves and their city. It is known that they live in an upside down city.

  “Either way, you will finally reach a landing that I spoke of earlier. Once you have landed, you will finally be on the only road that leads to the castle. Actually, you will be walking on a high wall, upon which statues of Centaurs stand. Walk along this wall road, and you will finally reach the great door of the castle.”

  “We thank you for your knowledge, Father,” Uniqua thanked the Dragon. “But right now, we are all tired and need to rest. If the Bunnies will be so good as to prepare a meal, we will eat and then sleep. We will begin our last journey tomorrow.”

  “Rest,” Father Dragon agreed. “Have no fear or troubled dreams. No one will threaten you while we stand guard.”

  Words are all well and good, they say, but the twins slept fitfully. Perhaps it was because they tried to sleep on full stomachs, something mothers everywhere say you should not do. Or, perhaps it was because of the dangers they were about to face. It could also have been the knowledge that they were so close to their goal of getting back home to their father.

  In the morning, everyone was very tired, and even a hearty breakfast failed to either cheer them up or make them less weary.

  “It is time,” Father Dragon said with finality. “May the Lord of Power watch over your steps and keep you safe.”

  With tearful goodbyes, especially from Cassandra and the Bunnies the Group parted from the Dragons. But when the last words were spoken, it was a somber Group that started to traverse the low hills that nestled the great Mountain of Power, heading west and slightly north towards Forgetful Beach.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  FORGETFUL BEACH

  Instead of rising, the hills began to flatten out. That is because the Group moved away from the Mountain of Power towards the moat and the only beach on the islet. At one point they saw the faint outlines of an old road, the road that could have taken them directly to the castle. Signs, old and in sad repair, warned travelers not to take this road. Only death lay at its end.

  The air barely moved among the hills, and the Group felt rather warm, stifling. The twins began to perspire under the hot sun. The cloudless sky offered no relief either.

  As soon as they reached a grassy plain that bordered the beach, however, the air felt so cool and refreshing. The water just beyond the beach looked so inviting. The twins’ natural impulse was to run out onto the beach and jump right into the water.

  You know now how they must have felt. When I am hot and sticky, I do not want to sit in front of a fan. Sitting in an air-conditioned room might be nice. But what I really want to do is go to the nearest swimming pool and jump in. Even turning on a sprinkler and running through it can be a lot of fun.

  So, you cannot blame the children for starting toward the beach. Even Tiny wanted to dip his toes in the cool water. If Uniqua had not shouted a warning, I am afraid we might have lost all three of them at this point in our story.

  “Don’t step on the beach!” the Unicorn shouted.

  The Giant and the twins stopped running. Unfortunately, when something really excites us or is very attractive, we all tend to forget the earlier warnings. Is this a kind of forgetfulness? Or is it because we all have short attention spans? Whichever, it was going to get everyone in trouble—and soon.

  “I’ll bet it tastes good,” Karen muttered, wiping her forehead.

  “Don’t think about it,” Uniqua told her. “Bunnies, break out water rations. We’ll take a moment to rest.”

  As our friends rested and drank canteen water, which had become warm in the bottles, they could not help but gaze at the beach and the clear water reflecting the clear blue sky above.

  Carl became puzzled. “I thought there was supposed to be a moat around the islet.”

  “There is,” Uniqua agreed.

  “Then how come I can’t see the other side?”

  “Maybe it’s an optical illusion,” Karen suggested. “You know, like when you think you see water in the desert.”

  “It still doesn’t make sense,” Carl insisted. “First, I thought the moat was kind of like a river.”

  “Not necessarily,” Karen argued back.

  “And, are
n’t there supposed to be mountains lying across the moat?”

  Karen thought about that a moment. “Maybe that’s why it looks so beautiful. It’s kind of like a trap. You think it looks so safe, but once you’re in—gotcha!”

  Carl grunted. “You know what? You like to take all the fun out of things.”

  “All right, Group,” Uniqua said, standing up. “We still have a long way to go. And, we’re not going to get there if we lie here all day.”

  Her announcement was followed by a few groans. The grass felt so nice under them with no bugs scratching or biting them. The air felt so cool against the skin. The scents from the beach and the moat were pleasant, almost like being on a real beach next to the sea. No one really wanted to move.

  They traveled along the beach, being very careful to not step on the sand. In one place, this was very hard to do, and they had to step very carefully to avoid any contact. You see, the Mountain of Power had one of its roots nestled up close to the beach, and it looked as though it were a steep cliff. The strip of grass between it and the sandy beach was hardly wider than the width of a shoe! Fortunately, the path was no more than ten steps long. Still, it took each member, walking singly, holding onto the mountain wall for support, a long time to navigate this hazard.

  When Uniqua heard Cassandra muttering to herself as she tried to waddle along the narrow path, she remarked, “You could learn to fly, Dear.” But that only earned the Unicorn a withering look from the Dragon, who started muttering even louder.

  Finally, that danger was past. The grassy plain widened again, and the mountain retreated towards the center of the Islet. The Group continued on their trek to the cave, wherever it happened to be. Not knowing how far they had to go, they kept searching the mountain for an opening. So, this searching slowed them down a bit.

  “Mother!” Tiny suddenly exclaimed after about a half hour of searching. He was looking at the beach when he saw his mother sitting on the sand, her back to him. “Ma!” he cried out again, but the Giantess seemed to ignore him.

  “No, Tiny! Wait!” the children yelled. But it was too late. The Giant raced across the grass and onto the beach. But he had taken only three of four steps when he slowed his run to a walk. Two more steps and he came to a stop. He half-turned towards the Group, and by the expression on his face, he looked very confused. Then he sat down on the sand, not four feet from where his mother was sitting.

  If it had only been Tiny who had forgotten the warning, things might not have been so bad. But when a person panics, often people around them will panic, too. As Tiny ran towards the beach, the children started to run after him. Then the Bunnies, trying to stop the children, ran after them. So, before you could say “Jack Robinson,” Tiny, the two children, and the three Bunnies all found themselves on the beach.

  The twins later described their experience like this: one moment they were trying to stop their friend. The next minute, they felt this overwhelming calm. They quickly forgot why they had raced onto the beach. Then they forgot why they were on the Island. But worst of all, they forgot about each other and their father.

  “Oh, dear. Oh, dear,” Uniqua muttered, trying to think of a plan to rescue their friends.

  “Now what do we do?” cried Cassandra. She became so worked up that she became larger in size.

  “No, Cassandra,” Uniqua cautioned. “We cannot help them. If we step on the sand, we will become just like them.”

  “I will retrieve them,” Prince Bot decided.

  “Are you sure?” Cassandra asked with concern.

  “You have a memory, too,” Uniqua rejoined.

  “I can protect my memory,” the Robot said. “I have analyzed the situation. I calculate the danger is only to cellular memory, not digital memory. If I am correct, the magic of the beach should not affect me.”

  “Just the same,” Uniqua advised, “do not go very far. Just step onto the sand and wait. We want to be close enough to reach out and grab you and pull you back.”

  “Your formula checks valid. I will execute your plan.”

  The Robot hovered across the grass and onto the sand where he stopped. After five minutes he reported, “Diagnostics verify no loss of memory or unusual interrupts.”

  Uniqua conferred with Cassandra. “He is not touching the ground,” she observed. “Maybe that is why he is not affected.”

  “And, if I could fly—” Cassandra did not finish her thought. She was thinking that if she could fly and not touch the sandy beach, then she might have been able to rescue their friends.

  “There is no use in thinking of ‘ifs.’ What’s done is done. Prince Bot is our only chance of hope right now.”

  And, it certainly turned out that way. Even though the Robot was small in stature, he certainly made up for it in strength. He fetched the Bunnies first. One by one, he stretched out his claws and took hold of their clothes. Then, kind of like a helicopter, he lifted them up off the ground and carried them to the grass. Gently, he deposited them near Cassandra’s feet.

  “The Bunnies were light. They were no burden,” the Robot reported. Then he flew out to where the children lay, a step or two further from where the Bunnies had fallen.

  While he carried Carl and Karen to safety, the Bunnies begin to stir. Hunny, the first Bunny to be rescued, sat up and asked, “What happened?”

  “The children are much heavier,” Prince Bot told the Unicorn and the Dragon. “I expect difficulty in extracting the Giant.”

  Tiny might have been—well—tiny in his current size, but he did weigh a great deal more than the children and the Bunnies combined. Prince Bot found out very quickly that he could not lift the Giant even an inch off the ground. What made matters worse was the fact that he had run a long ways out onto the beach. All Prince Bot could do was try to drag the Giant. This, too, was very difficult.

  I have moved a number of large rocks in my life. These rocks were so heavy that they destroyed my little red wagon I carried them in. I was able, however, to roll them along the ground. But then, I had the advantage of standing on the ground next to them. I could use both my weight and the force of my legs against the ground to push these heavy rocks. This is called leverage.

  “We have rope,” the Bunnies announced. “We can pull Tiny off the beach. Hmm-hmm. Hmm-hmm.”

  So, Uniqua called the Robot back over to the grass. The Bunnies tied one end of the rope into a noose so that it could be slipped over Tiny’s feet. Then the Robot went back to Tiny, placed the noose end of the rope around Tiny’s right leg, and flew back to the Group.

  “Everyone pull!” Uniqua commanded.

  As I wrote above, I could push those heavy rocks. But now we are talking about pulling. The same forces are at work but in different directions. You are still using your feet against the ground, but instead of being close up to the rock and exerting force directly on it, the Group was pulling against gravity and the ground from a distance.

  It was hard work, even when all eight Group members were pulling on the rope with all their strength. At first, Tiny did not move at all. Then his body started to rock back and forth. Now, if you can move a heavy object just enough to rock a little, you can use that energy to help move it. So, with lots of rocking motion, Tiny’s body finally started to slide against the sand. Still, it took several hours before they finally succeeded in getting part of Tiny’s body on the grass. Then they could get hands, claws, and teeth on the Giant’s clothes and drag him completely off the beach.

  “We’re never going to get the mother off the beach,” Cassandra observed. “She looks like she might be the same height as Tiny. But look at her! She’s huge!”

  “I have an idea,” Uniqua said. “Take the rope off of Tiny.” The Bunnies hopped over to the sleeping Giant and removed the rope. “Now, Prince Bot, please hover to the Mother Giant and slip this noose around and under he shoulders. It’s a good thing she is sitting up.”

  The Robot complied, which means he followed Uniqua’s directions. When he returned t
o the group, the Mother Giant was ready for rescue. All they had to do was wait for Tiny to wake up.

  And when the youngest Giant did finally stir and saw his mother sitting on the beach all alone, he sat up and started to cry.

  “Not to worry, Tiny,” Karen quickly assured him. “With your help, we’re going to rescue your mother.”

  Of course, Tiny brightened at this, and after Uniqua explained her idea, he stood up and grabbed the rope.

  “Everyone stand back!” he told the Group. “I can do this myself, and it’ll be a lot safer.”

  Like the small engine that could in the story, Tiny was a powerhouse of energy. His muscles bulged three times larger than normal. (Makes me think of the Thing of the Fantastic Four.) His feet sank several inches into the grass ground as he started pulling his mother across the sand. But, you know, I think it was his heart that gave him the determination to save his mother. After all, he was pulling at least three times his own weight—dead weight is what we call it because there is no help in moving the weight. And each step he made away from the beach caused him to sink into the ground. (This reminds me of trying to walk in deep snow: with each step, it gets harder and harder to move forward.)

  At last, Mother Giant was on the grass, where she rolled over onto her side and began to snore. Tiny collapsed into a little ball next to her, and for the longest time neither Giant moved.

  “We’ll camp here,” Uniqua decided. “It should be dark soon anyway, and we can’t go on until Tiny’s mother wakes up. Otherwise, she is likely to wander off onto the beach again.”

  The Bunnies immediately went to work, and in no space of time at all, a hot meal warmed everyone’s spirits.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  THE OGRE’S TUNNEL

  I believe there are two ways of looking at bad things that happen in life.

  Most people tend to get angry when things go wrong. Or, when things do not follow the plan they made. Everyone likes to have things turn out right. So, why don’t they?