by Rudi James
‘Well, shall we go down to the village? Perhaps our guest is in need of some refreshment; I know I am. Leena go and gather all those available together and have them prepare food and drink in the usual place.’
Leena responded immediately and raced off down the hill ahead of them.
Quite a crowd had gathered now outside the small dwellings and Alex could hear the excited babble of voices. Leena reached the bottom of the slope and Alex could see her speaking with some of her friends outside the nearest cottage. A bustling activity developed as various individuals briskly made their way in and out of two or three of the cottages. Some of them emerged with platters laden with food; others with wooden barrels. These people, including Leena, then made their way to what appeared to be a special clearing just inside the edge of the forest which Alex, until now, hadn’t realised was so close. He’d now had a few moments to take a better look at his surroundings.
The men were all dressed in the style of Hogarth, but in many different colours. There were bright blues, reds, greens, yellows and dark browns and some even wore a mixture of these. All wore the broad leather belts with leather pouches and all had the large wide-brimmed floppy hats. The women also wore very bright colours; so bright and varied in fact that, try as he might, Alex could not shake off a feeling of unreality.
Chapter three
Of Feasts ad War
The reality of the situation was once more brought home to Alex by the babble of voices that had grown ever louder. Alex heard his name called by several of those carrying the food to the clearing.
‘Hi Alex!’ shouted one.
‘How are you Alex?’ asked another, loudly.
It was obvious that Leena had told everyone his name.
‘Let’s make our way to the tables and begin the feast,’ suggested Shirrac.
They passed several of the small cottages with their bright roofs and sand coloured walls. Alex noted that there was no way he could have entered one without bending right down, as the doorways were only tall enough to admit his hosts.
The right hand edge of the clearing had taller trees under which stood a huge wooden table made up of many large cross-sections of tree trunks and joined together like an immense jigsaw puzzle. The seating was constructed from smaller logs that were embedded in the ground. It was obviously a permanent eating site.
By the time they reached the table it was already laden with a great variety of food. Fruit, vegetables, hot and cold meats, various salads and a tremendous selection of cheeses, along with numerous, very dark bread loaves.
It was much cooler here, being well shaded by the trees. Alex was very hungry now and the food looked delicious.
Just then Shirrac took Alex by the arm. ‘Come and sit at the head of the table and be our guest of honour. You will find that this part of the table and seating will be more suitable for your height. We had it specially made for our taller visitors.’
‘Thanks a lot,’ said Alex, sitting on the log that Shirrac had pointed to. He noted that some of the seats and parts of the table were much higher than the rest. Higher even than the position at which he now sat. He deduced from this that some of these people's guests must have been very tall indeed and wondered who they might be.
Most of the people had seated themselves at the table and were still talking excitedly, some of them looking at Alex and smiling warmly. Alex smiled back. Shirrac and Hogarth had taken seats either side of Alex, with Leena and Jissi sitting next to their father. Bremmish had wandered off to the other end of the table and was laughing and joking with his friends.
Shirrac asked the girls to move down a seat. ‘I'd like you to leave a space for Drum next to me,’ he told them.
The two obeyed and just as they were moving down, everything went quiet. All heads upturned, apparently to look at an empty space in the air.
There was a flash of light and a loud crack. A figure appeared and was greeted with loud cheers from below.
‘Meet Drum,’ said Shirrac.
Alex, bemused, looked at the figure in mid-air wondering how everyone had known that Drum was about to appear.
Shirrac saw Alex's expression and smiled. Then he turned to the still hovering figure. ‘For goodness sake get yourself down here next to me. We all know you like to make an entrance. There's a young man here I'd like you to meet.’
‘In that case I'm on my way,’ replied the newcomer. In a slow smooth glide he swept down, took his place next to Shirrac and immediately went to shake Alex's hand.
‘Hi, I'm Drum,’ he said. ‘As you must already know.’
Alex smiled. ‘Yes, I had gathered that.’
‘This is Alex,’ said Shirrac.
‘Brought here as a guest by none other than Hogarth.’
Drum whistled softly and raised his eyebrows. ‘I had no idea Hogarth was so far advanced.’
‘Neither did I,’ interrupted Shirrac.
‘It seems we must take a closer look at his expertise.’
Alex looked in Hogarth's direction and caught him grinning from ear to ear.
‘Anyhow,’ continued Shirrac, ‘let's carry on with the festivities. You can have a chat with Alex. I'm sure he’d like to know more about us.’
‘Glad to,’ said Drum, and swapped seats with Shirrac so that he could sit next to Alex.
Just then they were interrupted by one of the group who had been talking to Bremmish. He was carrying with him a stone pitcher. ‘Anyone for mead?’ he asked.
‘How about you Alex, or would you prefer wine?’
‘Well, er . . . I . . . ’ Alex was unable to finish.
‘Oh come on, a goblet or two won't harm you. Do you good in fact. I'm Jorash by the way.’
Alex shook Jorash’s hand and agreed to try the mead. His parents allowed him the odd glass or two of wine at meal times or special occasions. In any case his parents didn’t know that he and his friends sometimes, secretly, met in one garden shed or another to quaff a bottle of wine between them. He held out his goblet.
‘Pour away,’ he invited.
‘Wonderful,’ responded Jorash, pouring some of the pitcher's contents into the goblet.
Alex took a sip and his eyes widened in delight. He had heard of mead but never tasted it. It was rather thick and syrupy and had a wonderful smooth flavour. Alex looked around him and saw that the festivities were now in full swing. Everyone was laughing, singing and shouting.
‘Help yourself to food,’ invited Drum. ‘Then we can talk.’
‘Don't mind if I do,’ replied Alex, reaching forward and piling some cold ham, salad and some of the dark bread onto a wooden platter in front of him. He noted that Hogarth and the others were already eating. He caught Jissi nibbling delicately on her food while watching him shyly out of the corner of her eye.
‘Well Alex,’ said Drum, ‘I hope you’ll stay with us for a little while, now that you're here. It's been quite a long time since we had a visitor from outside. I've a lot to show you if you’re interested.’
‘I'm very interested,’ said Alex, having to raise his voice a little above the general noise. ‘It's just that I'm thinking of my parents worrying about where I've got to.’
Drum smiled.
‘It’s very commendable that you should be so concerned. Don't worry about it. They needn't ever know where you’ve been unless you decide to tell them yourself, though I doubt if they'd believe you. They won't know that you’ve even been away. You’ll see what I mean, if you decide to stay for a while.’
‘I must admit,’ said Alex, ‘I do have some questions.’
‘Good,’ replied Drum. ‘I’ll be glad to answer them for you. You’ll also have to come and visit my archives and see some of the relics I've brought back from other places. So ask away.’
‘When I first met Hogarth,’ said Alex, ‘and when I came here with him, I thought he knew all about what you all seem to call realm travel. I felt a bit uncomfortable when Shirrac gave him a severe telling off.’ He paused. ‘Isn’t he qu
alified to do what he did?’
‘Ah!’ Drum looked thoughtful. ‘Technically speaking he isn't. It seems, though, that he did everything right and in some respects it’s our fault for not paying more attention to him. For one so young he seems to be further advanced in the art of realm travel than we thought.’
Alex looked puzzled. ‘How old is Hogarth then?’
Drum scratched his head.
‘I suppose in relative terms he is about your age, biologically speaking. In terms of your realm years he's actually about a hundred and thirty-five.’
Alex's jaw dropped.
‘A hundred and . . . ’
‘Yes, you see, our life span is about ten times what yours is,’ explained Drum. ‘Hogarth, as far as you’re concerned, is about thirteen going on fourteen, as I said, biologically speaking. He has of course gained far more wisdom and knowledge than you would have been able to at your biological age, which I would guess is around fourteen. He has, after all, had ten times longer.’
Drum thought for a moment.
‘One can't make too direct a comparison though; the learning equivalent is not quite the same. For example, Hogarth's intellectual ability at fifty was far superior to what yours would have been at the comparative age of five.’
Drum looked at Alex.
Alex nodded. ‘I understand. So what age is Shirrac?’
‘Shirrac is four hundred and ten of your years. Leena is a hundred and fifty-five, Jissi a hundred and seventy and I’m three-hundred and twenty.’
‘Phew!’ exclaimed Alex. He fell silent again for a moment. He wanted to ask where Leena’s and Jissi’s mother was but didn't want to appear too inquisitive about private matters. To his surprise Drum volunteered the information.
‘There is something I should tell you Alex. Unfortunately we ha ve been at loggerheads with a race we call the Sand Dwellers. They attack us from time to time and take hostages. Shirrac’s wife is such a hostage. She disappeared not long ago along with some others. Quite a few of our people have gone recently. We want them all back of course, but that would mean giving in to Shirrac's evil brother, Droch.’
Before Alex had time to make any comment and as if to bear out Drum's words, there was a ground burst of white light and another figure flashed into view.
‘SAND DWELLER ALARM!’ he yelled at the top of his lungs. ‘Sand Dweller attack imminent; take cover!’
For a few seconds a deathly silence hung over the gathering and then absolute chaos broke loose.
Alex froze in his seat, transfixed by the sudden pandemonium. One moment he had been talking quietly to Drum, the next moment people were leaping out of their seats in panic and scattering in all directions to escape what seemed to be an invisible enemy.
The means by which they were trying to escape was unique in itself. Alex saw that many of them had delved into their pouches and thrown powder in the air. Dozens of brilliantly-coloured rings of light appeared. As he rose from his stool to take flight himself, he became aware of Shirrac shouting something about the powders and then tossing the contents of his own pouch into the air.
Many of the people dived under the perimeters of their circles of light. Some vanished; some rose rapidly into the air and flew away. Yet others streaked across the clearing, at tremendous running speeds, into the forest. Alex felt Drum grasping his arm, at the same time throwing some powder skywards. The pair of them, after what seemed like an age, dived inside the ring that had been formed and were whisked upwards and sideways at high speed towards the forest. At the same time Alex began to hear a loud rumbling sound coming from the edge of the clearing.He saw huge mounds of earth bursting upwards followed by very large, brown, shaggy-haired creatures. Each one appeared to be holding some kind of weapon, an extremely oversized pistol or revolver of some sort. The ends of these fearful looking devices were spinning at very high speed and made a dreadful screeching sound. The sound alone was almost enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone.
The two of them reached the forest in a very short space of time and landed very quickly. As they touched down, Drum threw more powder upwards and just had time to inform Alex that they were about to become invisible before the ring of light reached them.
From their vantage point just inside the forest, they were able to see what was going on in the clearing. Amidst much shouting and screaming large nets were being cast towards the remaining revellers. They had been either too slow to take a suitable escape route, or were not wearing their pouches. Incredibly, the stragglers were eventually able to evade the clutches of the Sand Dwellers and make their escape, to the extreme annoyance of the hairy attackers.
The weapons the creatures were carrying were silent now, but they themselves were stampeding every which way, looking for more prey, but to no avail. Every last one of the Realm People, as Alex now referred to them in his mind, had made their getaway. He was relieved and delighted that they had.
Alex realised he was holding his breath and his heart was pounding as he and Drum watched the frustrated Sand Dwellers wantonly kicking, smashing and destroying everything in sight as they shuffled back and forth. Finally they disappeared down the holes from which they had made their entrance.
After what seemed an interminable length of time, Drum finally broke the silence. ‘I think it best to wait a little while longer.’
Alex agreed, puzzling over why he could see his companion if they were both supposed to be invisible.
‘How come I can see you?’ He asked.
‘I'll explain all that later. Suffice it to say that we’re both within the same time envelope, so to speak, therefore invisibility does not affect our being able to see one another.’
Alex could tell that his companion was still very upset at what had happened and decided it would not be a good time for any more questions. The pair of them remained silent as they watched the clearing for any signs of the attackers. There were none. In stark contrast to the earlier panic, noise and pandemonium, the utter silence that now prevailed was so complete it almost hurt Alex’s ears.
‘I think it may be safe to venture out now,’ remarked Drum at last.
Just as he spoke one or two flashes of light at the edge of the forest revealed some of the escapees who had evidently also been invisible. Their very cautious and furtive approach to the now destroyed banquet area was evident by the way they quickly dodged back under cover at the slightest cracking of twig or rustling of leaf. It was dark now and the only light was that from the full moon.
The whole area was bathed in that eerie silver blue that was unique to moonlight. Long pale shadows swayed back and forth as the wind caught the trees, resulting in a somewhat spooky atmosphere, enhanced by the ghostly hoot of a distant owl.
Drum took Alex's arm.
‘We'll become visible again on the count of three.’
Alex felt a slight "bump" immediately after Drum's count, and was aware of a very brief flash of light which surrounded them for only a fraction of a second. The two of them moved forward towards the edge of the clearing. Alex wondered what had become of the rest of his companions. In the commotion, when the attackers struck, things had happened so fast that he hadn't had time to see where the others had gone. As if to answer his question, Shirrac, Hogarth and the two girls emerged from the edge of the forest about ten metres further up. Others were also beginning to reappear.
Shirrac approached Alex and Drum.
‘We had better post some extra lookouts,’ remarked Drum.
‘It's already taken care of,’ Shirrac replied. ‘There they go now,’ he added, as the area was lit up briefly by various rings of light and a number of the Realm People took to the sky. They flew off in several different directions.
Alex was absolutely fascinated by all the different powders that had been used that evening. Each one seemed to have a different characteristic, as was, of course, the case.
‘The first thing that needs to be done,’ said Shirrac, ‘Is to get this mess cleaned up.
’
Drum and the others nodded in agreement.
‘I think the danger is well past now,’ remarked Drum, sensing everyone’s unease. ‘I don’t think the damage is as bad as we thought,’ he added, as they came nearer to the banquet area.
Alex looked at the wrecked site, and apart from two or three dislodged tables and one with a split down its middle, most of the damage was to items of tableware. Broken platters, goblets and smashed earthenware pitchers lay strewn everywhere.
More and more people were emerging from their hideouts and were approaching the site. Already there was bustling activity as they busied themselves clearing away the debris. They began quietly enough but became gradually noisier as their confidence returned. The more evident it was that the danger was over, at least for now, the noisier it became. Alex made a move to help with the clearing up, but was stopped by Shirrac. ‘Not you,’ he said. ‘You are our guest and I'm sorry that you had to witness what went on here today. But now you know what we have to put up with from time to time. I'm just glad that nobody was caught this time. We were very lucky. I think it best if you went back to our village, Shanglo’s Haven, with Drum, Hogarth and the girls.’
It's not your fault,’ replied Alex. ‘I only wish I could have been more help.’
Shirrac smiled. ‘Perhaps you can be,’ he said. ‘Who knows, if you care to stay with us a while, what a fresh mind can bring. Not to mention a fresh face. That will have the enemy guessing once they know you’re here. Get along with you now, all of you. I'll supervise short work of this mess here and join you soon.’
Drum took Alex's arm. ‘Come on, you can stay with me in my cottage. If you like, tomorrow I'll show you my archives and my collection of artefacts, from the future as well as the past.’
Alex’s eyes widened at this last comment. ‘Artefacts from the future,’ he thought, ‘That should be very interesting.’
The five of them walked in silence for some of the way back to the village, until Hogarth spoke.
‘There must be something we can do about those wretched Sand Dwellers. They’ve been making life a misery for us for some time.’
