"Just how comfortable do you expect those cots to be, Sarah?" Hopper chuckled
as he began to relax under her soft touch.
A shout from below drew their attention as Jack and Nicole appeared at the edge
of the woods, carrying a food satchel. The pair headed for the base of the rocks to
examine Sarah and Hopper's handiwork. The pair had succeeded in diverting nearly half of the rushing water away from the entrance to the cave. What spilled over was much more violent but the brunt of the force was to one side.
"Perfect!" Nicole shouted up to them.
"It looks great, but will it hold?" Jack
“It'll serve our purposes." Hopper, jumped down from a large boulder then turned and gently lifted Sarah down beside him.
"What's that?" Sarah asked, reaching for the satchel.
"Fairyland's first air tank." Jack answered, winking at Nicole.
"We lined it with pine tar. Hopefully it will hold as long as your dam." Nicole Handed it to Sarah. "We were just about to test it." Moving to the edge of the pond, Sarah handed Jack the satchel. He blew it up like a large leather balloon and shoved it under the surface. After a few seconds a few bubbles appeared.
"Okay so it's not perfect. But I think it should last long enough to give me the air I need to check out the cave." Jack pulled the satchel from the water and emptied the small trickle of water from the bag. “A little more tar and it will be perfect.”
“I'm not so sure this is a good idea.” Sarah frowned, "It could make you over
confident. You'll go in too deep and get lost."
"We've thought of that." Nicole said. She grabbed the satchel from Jack and
proceeded to smear the dark pine tar she'd collected on a large oak leaf along the outer
seams. "We'll tie the rope from our climbing gear around his waist. He can secure it to a
rock near the entrance. Then follow it back if he gets confused or kicks up too much dirt.
And if he doesn't reappear in a sufficient amount of time, one of us can swim down and
pull him out using the small wine skin as a secondary air tank."
“I don't know,” Sarah stared at the satchel. “It just sounds reckless . . ."
"Sarah, it's only a game, remember?" Hopper added, putting his immense arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "If we don't take some chances, we'll never win."
"Hopper's right, all we need is a good plan." Jack smiled softly, touched by her concern, " Remember, I won't really be in the water. It's all in our minds."
“Ok, so tell me then, how are you going to see in that cave?" Sarah countered.
"That's where you come in babe." Jack slid in between her and Hopper, sliding his arm
around her waist.
"Uh oh." Sarah glanced at Hopper for assistance.
"Remember the spells I had to memorize?" Nicole moved closer. "One was a spell of light."
Nicole repeated the strange words to Sarah until she memorized them. Hopper
found a large tree limb and placed it on the rocks at the edge of the pond. Sarah directed
the incantation at the tip of the limb by staring at it and concentrating. Sarah felt like the queen of fools as she waved her arms for emphasis and shouted the magic words. No one was more surprised than she when the limb sputtered and sparked, then burst into flames. Nicole snatched it up and thrust the burning end into the churning water. The flame continued to burn, unaffected.
"Jack, hypnosis is a powerful thing." Sarah cautioned.
"Relax, if I'm in there too long, Strong will pull me out of the trance and you'll go
on without me." Jack smiled and filled the satchel with air. "Wish me luck."
The three remaining adventurers stood at the edge of the pool and watched as
Jack disappeared into the darkness of the cave. With the torch in his teeth, satchel in one
hand and the rope tied around his waist, Jack quickly found a rock to anchor the rope. He then swam toward what appeared to be the back of the oval shaped cave. The area inside was small, no more than 6 feet wide and 20 feet deep. Jack was certain he would have no trouble quickly locating the object in such a confined space.
The water poured viciously over the falls after crashing into the newly constructed dam above. The seconds seemed like hours as the others watched and waited for Jack to emerge from the cave.
"How much time does that satchel give him ? ' Hopper asked, bending so close to
the water his nose touched the surface.
"Well it took five deep breaths to fill it . . . " Nicole answered, "I'd say about 45
second per breath considering his exertion. Maybe three and a half to four minutes?"
“You mean you didn't figure that out before he went in the water?” Sarah glared at her.
“And just who’s watch would we have used to calculate that?” Nicole calmly met her gaze.
The trio stared into the water in silence, leaving their concerns unspoken, Finally Hopper asked, "How long has it been?" Hopper glanced up at Sarah as he pulled off his vest.
"At least three minutes."
Hopper pulled off his boots and dove into the water.
“It's just a game." Nicole whispered.
"Yeah and if they both end up out of it, it's over.'' Sarah turned to face her. "I
came here to spend time with Todd, not you!"
"What is all this hostility, Sarah? I'm just trying to be nice, to offer some comfort." Nicole stared at her.”
"Why would you do that? You never cared before and it's too damn hard to believe you've started now. It's all just part of the game. You're attempting to be the friendly elf, lover of nature and all that it gives life to." Sarah moved menacingly closer. "You've never said a civil word to me the entire time I've known you Nicole. So don't think I'm going to fall for your manipulative bullshit now."
"Calm down, Sarah. You're just upset because Hopper's taking a chance. He'll be
back in a few seconds. You're worried for nothing. You haven't lost your Paladin. He's not in any danger.”
"Todd is NOT my Paladin. He's simply a little over protective. Unlike you, he
was taught to treat people with respect. Now if you don't mind, I think Hopper and Jack
are more important than your return to humanity." Sarah actually growled at Nicole before turning back toward the water.
Hopper reached the entrance to the cave. His large troll eyes adjusted to the darkness inside immediately. Following the rope, he located Jack's still lifeless form, floating less than a yard inside the entrance. Below Jack, lying on the stone floor of the cave was what was left of the burning torch and a small jewel encrusted chest about the size of a deck of cards. Snatching Jack's arm, Hopper stuffed the chest into his mouth and headed out of the cave. Staying near the bottom of the pool, Hopper cleared the turbulent waters and raced for the surface. Hopper shoved Jack out of the water above him and hit the surface at a fast swim desperate to get to the shore.
"He’s not breathing!" Hopper's deep voice boomed over the roar of the falls. Gasping for air, Hopper allowed Sarah and Nicole to drag Jack over the rocks and onto the grass. Sarah forced Jack into a sitting position and used the Heimlich maneuver to cleanse his lungs of water. She laid him on his back and forced air into his lungs. Nicole placed an ear to his chest.
"No heart beat!" She gasped.
Sarah pushed her away and started pumping his chest. Hopper appeared at her side and began puffing air into Jack's lungs.
"It's only a game." Nicole managed hugging herself as she watched them struggle to bring Jack back to life.
"It can't be safe to allow someone to think they've died. I don't care if it is just hypnosis, this is insane." Sarah said as she continued to force Jack's heart to beat. Suddenly Jack coughed and his head jerked forward. Hopper roared with delight as his friend rolled to his side gasping for air. Sarah hugged the large troll, relieved they didn't have to wait until the adventure w
as over to find out if Jack had really suffered from the ordeal.
"What happened?" Jack squeaked, looking up at his three nearly hysterical friends.
"You were dead." Hopper smiled weakly. "I pulled you out of the cave just in time."
"Dead?" Jack coughed, rolled over onto his back and sat up.
"Absolutely," Hopper added, "Sarah had to revive you."
“I guess I wasn't cut out for underwater spelunking." Jack forced a smile.
"Maybe not, but you're a great treasure hunter." Hopper's huge hairy face glowed with excitement as he offered Jack the small chest and added, "The honor's all yours."
"I saw you dive into the water and pull me out." Jack whispered softly, oblivious
to the chest. "Nicole grabbed my arms and Sarah kissed me . . . "
"Are you all right?" Nicole moved forward. She stared at him with such
intensity, Jack could no longer meet her gaze. He fell silently back on to the grass.
"My chest hurts and I've got a massive headache." He sighed, clutching his head
in both hands.
"Let's get him out of the sun." Sarah ordered, pulling Jack to his feet. "Can you
walk?"
"I didn't get hit by a bus." Jack frowned, but leaned against Hopper's hulking form nonetheless. "How long was I out?"
"How long before you ran out of air?" The tall troll asked, leading Jack to
the tree”.
"The bag sprung a leak, after my second breath. I was pretty far in . . ." Jack
stammered, trying to remember. "There was a side tunnel near the back. I had just
entered it after searching the main area and finding nothing."
"Two minutes tops." Hopper answered firmly, moving Jack inside the tree line.
"I found you inside the main entrance."
"Two minutes, I guess that's okay."
"Of course it's okay," Nicole said. "Do you really think you stopped breathing?"
"It sure seemed like it to me." Hopper offered, lowering Jack onto the soft grass
beneath a large tree.
"It's just part of the game. We wanted some excitement. So Strong gave it to us.
He'll be as good as new in a few minutes, then we can head out." Nicole grinned, holding
out the jeweled chest to Jack. "It's not locked."
Taking the chest from Nicole, Jack set it on the ground before him. Using the
small knife, still stuffed into his belt, Jack pried the rusted latch open. Inside was a
bundle wrapped in a thick layer of wax. Turning the chest over, he let the bundle fall on
to the grass. The others knelt beside him gazing at the lump of hardened wax. Using his long
black claws Hopper gently poked at it.
"It's solid." Hopper said.
"Think your seven headed monster is hiding inside?" Jack smiled wickedly and slammed his fist into the package. The wax cracked and splintered apart revealing a leather wrap secured tightly with burlap straps. Jack's small knife quickly cut the straps then pulled back the leather to reveal its contents. Jack frowned and said, “l thought it'd be some kind of potion or a magic wand."
"So did I." Sarah said reaching for the worn, brown leather book. Two thin ornate silver snakes served as binders. The eyes were tiny sparkling rubies and the winding bodies were adorned with tiny blue and yellow gems that sparkled like crushed glass in diamond shaped clusters.
"Is that it?" Hopper stared over Jack's shoulder. "There's got to be something else."
"Conjuration," Sarah said, looking up at him.
"Well . . . yeah, that's a given, Sarah." Jack smiled weakly.
“No, that's what it says." She shook her head at him.
"What says?" Hopper stared at her. "You mean the book is talking to you?"
"No, silly." Sarah giggled and shoved at Hopper's massive shoulder, which didn't
budge him an inch. "The title, on the cover."
"You can read it?" Jack asked running his fingers over the strange runes that
ran across the top of the cover.
"Duh," Sarah stared at him, uncomprehending. "It's English, Jack."
"No, it's not." Hopper chimed in.
"It's not?" Sarah stared at the writing. "It is to me."
"Then I guess it belongs to you." Nicole smiled, grabbed the book and tossed it to
Sarah.
While Jack slept, exhausted from his ordeal. The others dove into the book. Sarah read the titles of the spells and incantations aloud as she flipped through the pages. Hopper insisted on earmarking certain spells for easy future access. Tiring of the search, Nicole left them to their work. Deciding her time was better spent in examining the map they'd gotten at the Inn. She grabbed the satchel and headed over to sit next to Jack's sleeping form just as Hopper and Sarah began to work on a levitation spell.
‘Okay, raise your arms out in front of you and command it to rise." Hopper instructed as Sarah concentrated on the spell.
The words were unnatural and hard to form, much more difficult than the spell
Nicole had taught her. She wasn't entirely sure she was even pronouncing them 'correctly.
The book contained no instructions, simply the incantations. Nothing happened as she stood over the small block of cheese, her hands stretched out above it. Sarah frowned and wiggled her fingers at the loaf of bread on the grass before her as if that would aid her spell.
"Well, you cast a spell over me long ago and you didn't even have a book then."
Hopper grinned, his booming voice deepening further as he gazed into her deep blue
eyes.
Sarah glanced up and met his gaze. "That was cupid. He got us both with the
same arrow that day." She smiled, forced away the blush that threatened and turned back
to the bread. Lowering her hands to inches above the cheese, she repeated the phrase over and over again until everything around her faded from view. Her fingers, then hands began to itch, then tingle. The sensation moved up her arms. Then, ever so slowly the loaf began to rise off the ground, stopping to hover nearly a foot above the grass.
"I did it!" She squealed jumping into Hopper's arms and kissing his massive mouth.
"I knew you could!" He spun her around then quickly deposited her back in
place. "Now, try something else." He added pulling back slightly and running his huge hand across his gruesome maw.
"There's a hiccup incantation. Let's try it on Jack." Sarah smiled mischievously,
heading for her first victim. The strange words flowed from her, dancing on her tongue.
The sensation was tantalizing, invigorating. She felt the power of the magic rise inside
her. Then, suddenly, Jack bolted upright and hiccupped.
Giggling with glee, Sarah and Hopper fell onto the grass unable to contain their
Delight Jack glanced around as the hiccups quickly worsened then suddenly subsided.
Studying the two wriggling forms on the grass before him and judging from Nicole's
large grin, he grew suspicious.
“What's going on?” Jack’s eyes narrowed at the ugly troll as Hopper righted himself and tried to look innocent.
"She just cast a spell on you Jack." Nicole explained as two imps rose and
Gleefully staggered toward them.
"What kind of spell?" Jack demanded turning toward Sarah.
"Oh relax, Jack. It was just a little case of the hiccups." Sarah announced, proudly.
"Well then we can quit worrying about those warriors now. Sarah has everything under control. She'll make them hiccup so hard they'll fall right off their horses." Jack
chuckled, leaning back against the tree.
"l'm just getting started, Jack." Sarah answered with a defiant smile. "Go back to sleep, Barbarian."
"Not likely." Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him. "Show me
your stuff oh Magical one."
"I should try another small spel
l, before I attempt anything remotely threatening." Sarah smiled slyly and turned toward Hopper.
A look of great concern came over Hoppers face as she began to chant. Trying to
hide his distress, he managed a smile and said, "Did I tell you how beautiful you looked
just before you lay down on the cot this morning?"
Sarah ceased her chanting and stared expectantly at Hopper. "Well?"
"Well, what?" Hopper stared back at her. "What kind of spell was it?"
"You tell me." Sarah answered , rising to face him.
"Nothing's happening." Hopper glanced over at Jack, "Is it?"
“You look the same to me." Jack said, "No feminine features yet, Sarah."
"What?" Hopper staggered backward terrified.
It was Jack's turn to fall back laughing.
Hopper grimaced, “Very funny." Then suddenly he stiffened and started to squirm. "Sarah!" He bellowed, "Stop it!"
Smiling wickedly at Jack, Sarah, "He hates to be tickled."
Hopper jerked and wiggled, screaming with laughter as he worked his way toward
them. "Sarah! It feels like ants are crawling all over me." He gasped, then fell to the
ground and started rolling and kicking with laughter. "Enough!"
The others laughed in spite of their empathy for the tall troll. "I thought nothing
could bring him to his knees " Jack said with a guffaw. "Leave it to a seemingly defenseless female to lay you out cold, eh Hopper?"
"This will teach him to appreciate you, Sarah." Nicole added. ..
"Well at least he'll never underestimate me." The tall sorceress smiled back at her.
Hopper rolled onto his knees and crawled to Jack, gasping for breath. "Help . . . me.”
Jack knelt beside him. "Sarah, I think he's had enough." A shiver ran through
him as he recalled Nicole's recent fit of hysteria.
"Well your hiccups stopped right away." Sarah's smile vanished. "It should stop any second."
"I . . . can't . . . stand it!" Hopper collapsed onto the grass. "It hurts . . . "
“Todd?" Sarah rushed to his side.
"Is there some kind of counter spell?" Nicole asked.
"Can't . . . breathe . . ." Hopper gasped, his lips were turning blue. Tears were
streaming down his hairy cheeks.
"Do something! " Jack grabbed Sarah by the shoulders.
Forbidden Quest Page 6
