by Rudi James
They flew on in silence.
When they arrived back at Shanglo’s Haven they saw that Droch and his followers were already confronting Shirrac and his men. Both groups were standing stock still and there didn’t seem to be any talking going on.
‘I wonder what on earth is going on,’ remarked Drum. ‘Nothing seems to be happening. I know. I do believe Shirrac has somehow managed to play for time. Good for him. We can take advantage of that. I’ll set us down about in line with the rear ranks of those Sand Dwellers. And look,’ he pointed at the Sand Dwellers, ‘every single one of them has a fire lance. Droch managed to manufacture some more. Just as we suspected.’
Drum brought them down in line with the rear right flank of the Sand Dwellers.
‘Get the powder ready,’ he commanded. ‘Alex do you know how to fire this thing?’
Alex nodded. ‘I think I can remember what I learned in my history lessons about these things.’
He proceeded to load gunpowder down the barrel of the cannon followed by a wad of cloth. He then used the ramrod to push the wad tightly against the powder. Finally, a cannonball was rolled down the barrel on top of the wad and powder.
With the gun loaded Alex now poured some more gunpowder into a small hole at the top rear of the cannon. This powder would be the fuse, when ignited, which would fire the main charge in the barrel.
‘Ready to fire,’ he announced.
Drum lit the rags, which were wound round sticks.
‘Now the moment of truth.’
The cannon had been lined up as well as possible with the rear Sand Dweller rank. Drum handed the flaming stick to Alex. ‘You do the honours Alex.’
Alex took the stick and told them all to stand well clear of the rear of the cannon.
‘This thing will recoil quite violently when it’s fired,’ he advised. ‘So don't get in the way.’
Alex himself stood to one side as he gingerly stretched out the burning rags towards the top rear of the cannon to ignite the powder. A very brief fizzing noise was followed by an almighty boom. The gun carriage lurched violently backwards.
***
‘Times up.’ Droch's rasping voice broke the stillness. ‘You!’ He pointed at one of the Sand Dwellers. ‘Bring two of the hostages over here.’
The Sand Dweller obeyed and two of the Realm People were jostled towards Droch. ‘Now point your lance at them,’ commanded Droch. Once again his order was obeyed. ‘When I say the word take them both out with one shot.’
Droch turned to Shirrac.
‘Now my brother, come over here and tell me where the crystals are and how to use this to get to them,’ he demanded, displaying the amulet.
Shirrac had let out a gasp when he saw the two hostages brought roughly forward. One of them was his wife. He had no choice but to obey Droch. He did, however, have one more card to play. He stepped forward right next to his malevolent brother.
Droch held out the amulet. ‘Where are the crystals?’
Shirrac pointed to the engraving on the amulet.
‘At this star system,’ was all he said.
Droch stared at the amulet in disbelief. ‘In space?’
Shirrac nodded, knowing that the star system no longer existed but that the engraving still formed a link to his friend Seggim Tome.
‘And how, pray, do we get there?’ Droch sneered.
‘By rubbing the amulet across here,’ replied Shirrac, pointing once more at the star system engraving.
Droch took the amulet and rubbed it. When nothing happened he turned to Shirrac and was about to fly into a rage when a dull explosion rent the air. It had come from some distance to the right and a little behind where the Sand Dwellers were standing. A huge spurt of earth, stones and other debris showered the Sand Dwellers that were standing in the rear ranks. A couple of them went down clutching their faces and dropping their lances. Everyone whirled round to see what was going on. A second explosion then pushed a round iron ball from thin air and a second spurt of shrapnel and earth showered the Sand Dweller rear ranks. This time the ball bounced and struck one of them in the ribs. He and several others fell down, releasing more of the lances. Then, all hell broke loose.
The Sand Dwellers suddenly broke ranks and began firing their lances indiscriminately while making a dash back to the forest. Fireballs from the lances flew in all directions, splintering trees and starting fires.
They were completely bewildered by the attack and had no idea what kind of weapon was being used. This unnerved them of course, and so they ran.
The distraction allowed Shirrac to wrest the fire lance from the guard who had marched his wife over to Droch. Unfortunately the wily Droch was even quicker off the mark and he grabbed Shirrac by the throat. At the same instant he somehow hijacked the fire lance that Shirrac had possession of.
‘You're coming with me,’ he told Shirrac. ‘Resist and I'll blow you apart,’ he threatened, thrusting the fire lance towards his brother. ‘Crystals or no crystals.’
By now the Sand Dwellers were quite well dispersed and their former hostages picked up several of the discarded lances. The now freed Realm People chased the fleeing Sand Dwellers, firing the lances at them but not really intending to hit any of them. The realm people were not a violent race. They wanted only to send the Sand Dwellers back to where they came from.
Nevertheless, the lances caused quite a few explosions and damaged more trees, some of them bursting into flame.
Joining the battle now were Alex, Hogarth, Drum and Boris. They each had one of the fallen lances in their hands, having abandoned the cannon. They had only been able to fire the two shots, as much of the gunpowder was too damp. Fortunately, two shots were all that had been required to disperse the enemy and create confusion. The four of them joined the other Realm People in firing on the Sand Dwellers. It turned out to be quite a firework display.
In the meantime, Droch had entered the forest and was forcing Shirrac to run ahead of him by threatening him with the lance.
They didn’t get far. They were just about to enter a clearing when the whole sky and the surrounding trees were bathed in an eerie white glow. The glow condensed itself into a huge white pillar of light. The light shrank rapidly and dispersed to reveal the huge figure of a man in a long white robe with a high collar.
It was Seggim Tome. He shook his head vigorously.
‘I hate that journey,’ he remarked. He turned his attention to the two running figures whose path he was now blocking. ‘You, you with the lance. Droch is it not? I suggest you drop it.’
Droch stopped dead in his tracks, raised the lance and fired it directly at Seggim. To Droch’s surprise and considerable chagrin, the emerging fireball seemed to bounce harmlessly off thin air in front of Seggim.
‘Fire that again and I'll have to retaliate with my own weaponry which, I can assure you, you will not enjoy,’ warned Seggim.
Droch stared at Seggim and then meekly put down the lance.
‘Now Droch, I advise you to return the amulet to Shirrac.’ Seggim’s voice was firm.
Droch knew he stood no chance against the big man, so he approached Shirrac and handed back the amulet.
‘Now be on your way,’ commanded Seggim.
Droch did not require telling twice. He quickly made his way out of the clearing and into the forest, casting one last malevolent glance back at Shirrac.
Shirrac looked at Seggim with a puzzled expression on his face.
‘You’re letting him go?’
‘I am,’ replied Seggim. ‘I have already destroyed his mutant powders and released the friendly Sand Dwellers from his control.’ Droch, his Sand Dweller followers and the renegades from your people can return to their place of banishment. I have put in place a monitoring system in my outpost so I can respond rapidly to any threat he may pose in the future.’
Shirrac heaved a sigh of relief, but then looked puzzled.
‘I thought, according to your law, you were not supposed to interfere direc
tly.’
‘Quite true,’ agreed Seggim, ‘but when you tricked Droch into rubbing the amulet, my alert system told me that there was a potentially very hazardous situation developing; one that could ultimately endanger the work that my people and I are doing. I was therefore entitled to take whatever steps were necessary to prevent it. That was very clever of you to get Droch to rub the amulet that way.’
Shirrac smiled.
‘I wasn't sure what you would be able to do, but I knew you would do something. You were our only hope.’
‘Aren't you forgetting something?’ asked Seggim. ‘There are a certain four people who were very close to defeating Droch without my help. I did a quick survey of the battle on the way in.’
Shirrac had to agree. ‘You are quite right and we owe no small thanks to Alex, whose idea it was about the cannon. I think this calls for a celebration.’
‘I agree,’ said Seggim.
Chapter thirteen
Farewell
Fire lances, some of them still smoking, lay strewn everywhere, from the edge of Shanglo’s Haven to the banquet area and the edge of the forest.
The Sand Dwellers were all gone now, apart from the ones that had been felled by the cannon fire. By some miracle none of them had received any serious injury. Facial cuts and some bruises were the order of the day, plus some deflated egos.
The Sand Dweller that had been hit by the cannonball had surprisingly survived, receiving only a couple of fractured ribs. Luckily for him the projectile had lost a lot of its power before it struck him a glancing blow. Sand Dwellers were also, fortunately, very powerfully built creatures.
It was strange, but the only Sand Dwellers to be injured were the ones who had been under the influence of Droch’s hypnotic mutant powders. Seggim Tome had destroyed those powders and so the Sand Dwellers were free from Droch’s control.
Several of the Realm People were gathered round the injured former enemy and were tending to their wounds. Once the Sand Dwellers had been seen to, they left and headed back into the forest. They had thanked the Realm People for their help and expressed real regret that they had been enemies. Some of them seemed dazed and didn’t really seem to know what had happened; such was the influence of Droch's mutant powders.
Drum, Alex, Hogarth and Boris had gathered at the banquet area with dozens of the freed Realm People. They busied themselves putting out fires, gathering and disposing of the debris that lay scattered around. The fire lances were put in a separate place out of harm’s way.
All at once everything fell quiet as they stopped and looked up at two approaching figures that had emerged from the forest.
One was a huge man in a white robe the other was Shirrac.
‘Seggim Tome,’ someone near Alex whispered.
‘Seggim Tome,’ another voice called out. Soon a whole chorus of voices was whispering the name.
Shirrac entered the banquet area and raised his arms. Seggim stood behind him with his usual big smile.
‘Listen everyone,’ commanded Shirrac. ‘Tonight is going to be a very special night. Droch has been defeated and tonight we celebrate.’
Loud cheers greeted this announcement. Everyone clapped and stamped their feet and did little jigs on the spot.
‘Someone go and fetch all the youngsters,’ requested Shirrac.
‘They are all in the last row of cottages in the village. I asked them to remain there out of danger.’
No sooner had Shirrac made this request than several of the Realm People broke away and made off in the direction of Shanglo’s Haven. At the same time one of the women ran up to Shirrac and threw her arms round him. It was his wife.
For the second time since his arrival, Alex was going to sit down to a banquet with the Realm People. This time there would be no interruptions. This time too, a large bonfire was going to be lit to keep everyone warm during the cold evening. Some of the realm people were already piling up large quantities of wood a respectable distance away from the banquet tables.
Once again huge platters of food were brought to the tables.
As it was beginning to get dark, oil lamps were set down at various points on each table. Once lit, each gave off a cosy yellow glow that added to the atmosphere.
Some of the Realm People lit the fire and soon big flames bathed the whole area in warmth and light.
With the tables laid and everyone seated, Jorash came round with a pitcher of mead. He made straight for Alex and offered him some.
‘This time,’ he said, smiling at Alex, ‘we'll be able to enjoy the full feast without any rude interruptions.’
‘I certainly hope so,’ replied Alex.
Just then, all the youngsters arrived. They looked happy and relieved that everything had turned out so well. Leena and Jissi were among them and when they saw their mother they ran over to her and threw their arms round her. After much hugging and kissing, they turned their attention to Alex and gave him the same treatment.
Alex was caught by surprise and was left somewhat speechless. Drum, who was sitting next to him, nudged him.
‘Looks like you've made a hit with those two.’
Alex grinned but said nothing.
Seggim had taken his place at the large tables at the head of the festivities. Alex now knew why those particular tables had been made so big and were so much taller than the rest.
A lot of talking and laughing was going on now and, just like before, the party became louder and louder. Boris and Hogarth had seated themselves on the other side of Alex and were really getting in to the swing of things.
Eventually Shirrac called everyone to order.
‘It gives me great pleasure to confirm that our battle with the Sand Dwellers and Droch is over,’ he announced. ‘And thanks to Seggim here, whom some of you know from his previous visits, Droch’s mutant powders have been destroyed.’
There was more cheering. Utensils were banged on the tables and hats were thrown in the air.
‘But,’ continued Shirrac, ‘I have to say that our victory is due in no small part to our four friends over there.’ He pointed in the direction of Drum, Alex, Hogarth and Boris. ‘And in particular, we should all thank our young visitor, Alex, whose idea it was to deploy the cannon from Drum’s archives.’
All eyes turned to Alex and for a moment there was complete silence. Then yet another great cheer went up. When the noise died down, Leena, who was sitting with her mother and sister at the tables opposite, asked, ‘Are you going to stay a while Alex?’
Alex stood up and raised his arms momentarily.
‘What can I say? I've been here for two days and I really need to get home.’
‘You don’t have to worry about that,’ said Leena. ‘We’ll make sure you get back at the right time, so no one will have missed you.’
Alex thought for a moment.
‘I know that, but I would feel better if I saw that for myself. You have to remember, realm and time travel are not exactly what I'm used to.’
Seeing that Alex was feeling slightly uncomfortable, Shirrac interrupted.
‘We must all understand and respect Alex's feelings,’ he said. ‘Come over here for a moment Alex.’
Alex did as he was asked.
Shirrac stood up. ‘Alex,’ he said, a little sadly, ‘we do understand your need to go home, but before you do we would like you to accept something from us, as a gesture of thanks for your help and friendship.’
Shirrac placed some leather pouches on the table in front of him. ‘Some of our powders have replenished sufficiently,’ he announced.
Alex knew the pouches contained the various powders that he had seen being used so often.
‘On behalf of every one here,’ Shirrac said, ‘I would like you to say which of the powders you would like to have for yourself.’
‘I . . . I don't know what to say,’ he stammered.
Shirrac smiled at him. ‘Don't say anything. Just pick one.’
‘Well, I suppose I'd like the . . . er
. . . invisibility one.’
‘Excellent!’ exclaimed Shirrac. ‘A wise choice.’
He picked up one of the pouches, looked inside it and handed it to Alex.
‘There we are my friend, a pouch of yellow powder. Use it sparingly and it will never run out. Use it wisely. I know you would not use it offensively. The powder itself wouldn’t allow that anyway. Shanglo somehow managed to programme the powders not to respond to offensive commands. That’s why the second time we tried to use them, on the Sand Dwellers, they didn't work. They worked in the initial rescue attempt only because it was the first time. After that, powder memory logged such action as against Shanglo’s wishes.’
Alex held the pouch in his hand, looked around at the now silent Realm People and said, ‘Thank you.’
He suddenly felt very sad for he knew the time had come to leave. He had only been with them for a relatively short time, yet felt he had known them his whole life.
‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘I really have to go.’
Just then, Shirrac’s wife came up to Alex and took his hand in both of hers. Shirrac introduced them.
‘Alex, this is my wife Kalina.’
She looked up at him with dark blue eyes and Alex noted that she looked like an older version of her daughters.
‘I'm sorry this is going to be such a brief meeting,’ said Kalina regretfully. ‘My girls have told me all about you.’
Leena and Jissi had also joined them, followed by Hogarth, Drum and Boris.
Alex looked around him and felt a lump come into his throat. He suddenly found himself shaking all their hands.
‘Goodbye Drum. Goodbye Hogarth, Boris, Shirrac.’
‘Goodbye Alex,’ Leena and Jissi shouted together.
‘I hope you will come back,’ said Jissi, trying not to look sad but failing.
The great hulking Boris took Alex’s hand; a huge tear ran down his face.
‘Is not goodbye,’ he boomed. ‘We meet soon . . . again. I know.’
