A small group had gathered in the throne room, but the mood was less than festive. These were all that remained free if Ryoo's power: Faela, Arim, Cheryl, Lenny, Ralph, and the Elf Prince, Emrey. Prince Tirzah sat in a corner, crying in great gulping sobs and streams of tears.
It was a solemn little group that sat in a circle before the throne. They tried to ignore Tirzah's weeping and the snores of the sleepers. All were asleep but the aforementioned seven, and this was a sleep that refused to release those in its grasp. The six had done all they could for Tirzah, but he was unaffected by their attentions, so most dropped the effort in exasperation.
"It's too spooky," Ralph remarked. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding the hilt of his dagger, rested on his lap.
"It reminds me of the scene from Sleeping Beauty," Cheryl said, "where everyone in the castle fell asleep when the princess was enchanted. But that was just a story and all it took was a little smack on the lips from the prince and, poof, everything's perfect again. Nothing like that is likely to happen here."
"Truly spoken, Lady Cheryl," said Prince Emrey. "I fear that only the destruction of the evil Witch, Ryoo, will bring about the change you describe."
Lenny was not happy. "You mean we still have to go to Galgolb?"
"I'm afraid so, young friend."
Arim had been uncharacteristically quiet for some time. Now he asked, "Why aren't we asleep like everyone else? I mean, everyone--my father, the visiting dwarves from Shimron Meron, and even the Elves that came with you, Prince Emrey--they're all asleep. Only seven of us are still awake, and only six of us are in our right minds. Why in Madra aren't we asleep?"
"Two possibilities present themselves," Lenny said. "Either El Shaddai protected us, or Ryoo is an incompetent fool to not bewitch the six most dangerous to her plans. The former is much more likely."
"I agree," Faela said quietly. "Abba is not one to fail to keep His promises. He means for you three visitors to complete your mission."
Cheryl sighed. "But how?"
They all reflected briefly. Then Lenny brightened. "Tirzah had a plan," he said.
"Tell it," Arim demanded.
"We spoke during the banquet," the gray-eyed boy continued. "He speculated that we should take steeds and maps he would provide and ride through the Bluewood. He felt you, Prince Emrey, would be willing to lead us over Mount Oran."
Ralph and Arim thought that was a wonderful idea. The two boys jumped up and ran out, saying they would check on the horses.
In the sudden silence Faela stood and walked over to Prince Tirzah, who had finally stopped crying and uttering pessimistic prophecies.
"Tirzah, dear," the woman said gently. "You must get some rest."
Faela helped the ruler of Maychoria to his feet. He was pliable as a jellyfish and didn't say a word as Faela led him to the door.
Lenny started to get to his feet, but Emrey held him back.
"Don't," the elf warned softly. "He needs her now."
Lenny nodded and sat back on his heels. Soon Arim and Ralph bounded back into the hall.
"All the horses are asleep," Arim reported dismally.
"Have you ever heard a horse snore?" Ralph questioned his sister.
She shook her head. "It's really funny," the boy said. "Like a lady gargling crossed with a frog choking on a fly."
Faela came back and was told the bad news. Ralph let out a 'what'll we do now?' and everyone was silent for a moment, thinking.
A knocking was heard on the great doors. Startled people looked up in fear. Emrey, as calm and placid as an undisturbed pool in a wood, walked over and opened the huge doors across from the throne.
The others got a brief glimpse of the Maychorian night sky, then someone slipped in and the doors were shut gently.
The stranger stepped forward into the torchlight.
"Viara!" Emrey exclaimed. "Why are you here, fair Lady?"
Viara was an elf-maiden dressed in the clinging soft greens and brown of her kinsmen. A light of joy radiated from her beautiful face, the delicate molding of which reminded Cheryl of a fragile flower. The children realized then that Emrey and Viara were dressed in the same clan-colors.
"I come with tidings strange and dreadful," Viara's silver voice replied. "Who are these with you, Prince Emrey?"
"These three children come as fulfillment of prophecy," Emrey answered. "They are Cheryl, Lenny, and Ralph, of the other world, Terra. And this is Faela and Arim, of Prince Tirzah's court. We too have strange and dreadful news."
"Your name is Viara?" Ralph piped. "I thought that is a country on the other side of the Purple Mountains."
"Was, Lord Ralph," she replied. "That country is now a part of the Trakinos Desert."
"Viara means promise," Emrey added with a touch of pride. "You are looking upon the promise of Abba to the Trastille clan--a promise of peace."
"But that tale should be told later, and is besides as yet unfinished," Viara said as she settled herself on the rug. "Tell me your own tale."
The others followed her suit, settling themselves into more or less comfortable positions while the three Terrans again told their story. Half an hour or more was spent bringing the elf-maiden up to speed, but at last Viara was called upon to tell why she had come to Maychoria in such haste.
"I bear tidings from our clan," she said in her soft voice. "Ryoo has been very busy. Early this evening we were startled by a great rumbling noise that echoed through the Bluewood. It came from Mount Oran, and when we started up the twisting paths to the summit we saw that slopes of ice and rock blocked them all. Evil blanketed the entire summit like a dark cloud, and even the bravest Elves fled for their lives, but I alone knew it was Ryoo. I heard the small, insistent Voice telling me to tell none what I knew, but to come immediately to Maychoria Castle."
"How'd you get here?" Ralph asked suddenly. "I mean, I thought it was a long way from the Bluewood to here."
Viara smiled at him. "It is many, many days on foot, friend. My good friend, Falkor, allowed me to ride him."
"Is Falkor your horse?" asked Arim.
Viara colored, and Emrey answered for her. "Falkor is an eagle who has his aeries on the summit of Shimron Meron. Viara knows all the eagles of the great mountain, and Falkor is their Prince. None but Viara in our clan (and most likely the entire world) knows the language of the eagles. It is a gift of Abba."
Ralph looked at Viara with new respect. "You rode an eagle from the Purple Mountains to here? Wow!"
Lenny glanced up as a castle cat padded into the throne room. The light gray tabby lay down in the startled Cheryl's lap.
"Only the horses are asleep," said the girl. "I mean, the cat isn't, nor the other animals… this spell seems very specific."
"Ryoo must have known the plans Tirzah told me," Lenny mused.
"It is said that those who choose the way of Kataphage have power for a season," Faela said. "Power to see far away and hear secrets. But all power will return in the end to its Maker."
"If she can see and hear far away," Arim said in sudden fear, "how do we know she can't see us now?"
"Abba has full control over what our enemies--and we--hear and see," Faela explained. "Sometimes He lets us or them see things we wouldn't otherwise know, just to prove He is still Lord of all. If we had carried out Tirzah's plan, we might be tempted to believe we had done it by ourselves. And His ways are always much better, of course."
"You're right," Cheryl said. "But we still don't know how."
They were silent for a moment. "Let's pray and ask Abba to help us," Lenny suggested suddenly.
"Yes," Viara agreed. "Prince Emrey, will you?"
They all got on their knees. Emrey prayed solemnly, asking for the wisdom and guidance of El Shaddai.
Everyone felt refreshed and revitalized by the Elf's prayer, but there were no sudden flashes of brilliant inspiration. For a moment they all remained in their worshipful positions. Cheryl's mind filled with thoughts of Abba's goodness and mercy. A wandering concept filtered into her consciousness, and she grasped at it, but it slipped away like a wet bar of soap. Then, when she'd given it up for lost, it floated gently out of her mouth.
"A map," she whispered. Louder she said, "Prince Tirzah spoke of maps. Where are they?"
Arim jumped up. "I'll get them," he cried, racing off with Ralph at his heels.
The others made themselves comfortable. Faela sighed. "He is so impulsive."
Presently the boys were back, each carrying a sizable pile of parchments. They smilingly handed them to Emrey and Cheryl, Arim surrendering his load to the Elf, and Ralph the girl. Cheryl's feline friend vacated its comfortable position before it was rendered uncomfortable by the maps.
Cheryl studied the top map, which was of the lands from Maychoria Castle to the Purple Mountains. A patch of brown marked the farmland east of the castle. It led to the vast expanse of blue-green that indicated the Bluewood. Several rivers were shown on the map, but one in particular caught Cheryl's eye. The line of blue snaked across the map, beginning just south of Maychoria Castle, sailing smoothly across the farmland and into the Bluewood, there turning sharply south and ending up somewhat further down the mountain chain, where it disappeared.
Cheryl bent closer to make out the name. "The River Olnar," she read aloud. "Could we use that?"
"I love boating!" Ralph exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Yes," Viara said. "A boat would be the very thing."
Emrey peered at the map from over his pile. He reached out and pointed to where the river turned sharply south.
"The Allistrey clan make their home there," he said doubtfully. "They are rather suspicious and paranoid. Though the Trastille live near, we know the Allistrey very little."
"Abba will guide us," Ralph said in his cheerful, confident tone.
Emrey's doubt vanished in a firm nod.
"We'll leave the Olnar where it turns south?" Lenny inquired.
"That would be the wisest course," the Prince replied.
"Indeed," said Viara. "The Allistrey are merely shy, not hostile."
Emrey found a map of that part of the Bluewood. There were no territorial boundaries shown, just different names inscribed in different areas. Where the thick turquoise marking swung south, the words 'Allistrey, of Morralitha' were written. Farther north and east, almost at the top of the detailed map, was penned 'Trastille, of Emrey.' Thin black lines marked paths through the wood.
Emrey placed the map on top of the one Cheryl was examining. With the tip of his index finger he traced a path that led from the curve of the river up through the Allistrey land and into the area marked 'Trastille.'
"We will follow that path," the elf-Prince said. "My people and I will lead you to the Purple Mountains, where Viara and I must leave your company."
"Speaking of the Purple Mountains," Ralph remarked. "How are we going to cross them with all the paths on Mount Oran blocked?"
"An excellent question," Viara said. "One to which no immediate solution comes."
Cheryl looked around the tight circle. Every face was stumped, except one.
"Faela?" Cheryl asked hopefully.
Faela's eyes crinkled as she smiled. "This night at the banquet I spoke with one of the dwarves who came from Shimron Meron. He mentioned in passing that his race has built a series of tunnels and passages through the mountain. It may be possible for you to pass through it to reach the Trakinos desert."
The faces of the seven companions brightened considerably at the suggestion. Prince Emrey grinned broadly and said, "Of course! How could I forget? We of the Trastille tribe know the dwarves well. We visit them, and they us, though I've never felt comfortable in a cave, and I doubt dwarves have a deep affection for the trees we elves are so fond of. But I know they completed a passage through Shimron Meron. Once we get through the Bluewood, I will gladly introduce you to some dwarves who will delight in helping some of Abba's servants, especially once they realize the importance of your quest."
Cheryl grinned. "Great!"
"Yeah, great," Lenny echoed unenthusiastically. "Now all we gotta do is find a way across an uncharted desert, through a dark and evil country, and infiltrate a castle held by the enemy. Piece of cake."
"That's the old Lenny speaking," Ralph scolded. "You know Abba will take care of us."
Lenny gave him a close-lipped smile and sighed.
"Well, we'll cross that desert when we come to it," Cheryl replied, completely unaware of her pun.
The others did notice it, however, and giggles broke out. A mystified Cheryl realized just what she'd said, and laughed.
Having a plan (even a partial one) had loosened the tension they'd all felt, and the girl's unknowing joke had the effect of shattering it completely. Now they realized how tired they were.
Cheryl yawned. "This has been a very exciting night," she said, "but we must get some rest if we plan to get an early start tomorrow morning."
"You are quite correct, Lady Cheryl," Emrey agreed, muffling a yawn.
"Let's turn in," Lenny sighed, heading for the door.
Cheryl started to follow everyone else out, then felt eyes on her back. She spun around and saw the gray cat watching her. Alarmed and a little frightened, Cheryl stared into its green eyes. Then the animal turned and, with several light springs, leapt out the open window.
Those eyes, Cheryl thought. There was something strange about them. They were too intelligent to belong to an animal.
Cheryl shrugged and slipped out the door, leaving behind maps, sword, dagger, and magnifying glass, which the weary councilors had forgotten as sleep overcame them.
Cheryl woke to bird song. A blue bird with white and gold markings perched in the open window, singing fit to burst. The song rose to an urgent peak as one golden eye gazed piercingly at her.
Cheryl sat up with a gasp. The events of the past two days flooded her mind, and she jumped out of bed and dressed hurriedly in the court gown she'd worn to the banquet the night before.
Stretching and yawning, she exclaimed, "What a night!"
The little bird twittered scoldingly, then flew off.
Cheryl had just finished plaiting her wavy brown hair when a knock sounded at the door. She finished off her braid with a blue ribbon that matched the trimming on her white dress, then hurried to the door and opened it.
"Lady Cheryl," Viara said. "Come with me, if you please."
"I will, if you call me Cheryl."
The elf maiden laughed, sounding like the tinkling bells on her feet.
"I mean," Cheryl amended, "since we're going to be traveling together, we might as well be on a first name basis."
Viara smiled and nodded.
As the young women traveled down the bright passage toward the banquet hall, the three boys joined them. Lenny tugged on his new turquoise Maychorian shirt, then smiled ruefully at his sister.
"Uncomfortable?" asked Viara.
"No," Lenny replied. "Actually, it is the most accommodating garment I've ever had the pleasure of wearing. I'm just not used to the arm slits."
"I like them," Ralph remarked. "It feels freer, looser."
"I didn't say I didn't like them," Lenny calmly responded. "They're just different."
"Sometimes different is good," Ralph argued pointlessly.
"I--"
"Are you guys arguing again, and such a stupid one?" Cheryl said in exasperation. "Here we go again."
Arim laughed. Lenny and Ralph grinned weakly, then once again offered their hands to each other.
"Put 'er there, brother."
"You got it, friend."
Cheryl sighed in contentment. "I like them a lot better this way," she whispered to Viara and Arim.
The two Maychorians grinned.
Viara, Emrey, Faela, Cheryl, and Lenny spent the morning planning and packing. Each person in the expedition would be responsible for two bags: one of provisions and one of blankets and other necessities.
Midway, Cheryl paused and lifted her head, listening. "What's that noise?" she wondered aloud.
Faela and Lenny stopped packing to listen. Lenny hefted a jar of 'apple' jelly from one hand to the other.
"I hear nothing unusual," the boy asserted. "What does it sound like to you?"
Cheryl was mystified. "It sounds like a cat fight."
The three companions moved to two windows and peered out. Now they could all hear the hissing, scratching, and raucous meowing of a terrific catfight. "Do you see anything?" Cheryl asked, gazing anxiously here and there.
"Look, over in the bushes!" Faela exclaimed, pointing. Cheryl gasped as she caught a glimpse of gray and orange through the green.
Accompanied with a snarling yowl, the gray cat of the night before, grown to huge size, tumbled out of the brush. An orange cat the size of a wolf followed it, and the fight began anew. For a moment the gray cat appeared to be winning, and the three spectators watched with held breath.
The orange cat cried in a human voice, "By the Golden Eagle of Hosiotos, I will defeat thee, foul Katamobe!"
The gray feline screeched in pain. It bolted away, then turned and intoned in a harshly demonic voice, "You will not win, servant of the Maker. I am only vanquished for a season."
It turned and fled. The orange marmalade victor turned and pierced Cheryl with its golden eyes, before leaping off into the underbrush. Cheryl's knees felt suddenly weak, but she shook it off with difficulty.
Lenny noticed her sudden pallor. "What is it?" he asked anxiously. "Are you in proper control of your physical abilities?"
"Are you feeling all right?" Faela asked in concern.
"I-I'm all right," she said shakily. "Just a little spooked, for a moment."
"Spooked?" the other two asked in unison.
"Those eyes, those piercing golden eyes…."
"Are you sure you're all right?" Faela insisted.
"Yeah, yeah."
Emrey and Viara came into the room, carrying more supplies. "Well," the elf-maiden remarked with a satisfied sigh. "I think we have all the food we'll need until we reach the Trastille lands."
"Yes, I believe our provisions are sufficient for the journey," Lenny agreed.
Faela noticed that Emrey looked a little doubtful. "What is it?" she asked him.
"I'm not sure," answered he, slowly. "I have the feeling I'm forgetting… something…."
"You know," Cheryl answered. "I think I feel the same way."
"I admit to similar perceptions," Lenny added.
Ralph and Arim spent the morning outside in the woods. They'd intended to find boats to convey them down the river, (an issue their elders completely forgot,) but quickly forgot all worries in the bright sunshine. They laughed and chased each other through the trees and underbrush under the green roof of leaves.
A sudden thunderclap stopped their play short.
Arim skidded to a stop, and Ralph nearly ran into him before he too paused to listen. They suddenly realized how dark it was. With a roar of thunder, lightning struck less than a hundred feet from the boys.
"Let's get out of here!" Ralph yelled.
They immediately turned and headed full speed back to Maychoria Castle. Rain began to fall, muffled by the trees. The boys were soaked to the skin before they reached the doors to the throne room.
Rain pounded down in gray curtains as Ralph pulled desperately on the latch. The door was locked fast.
"Come!" Arim shouted above the roaring of the storm. "There's another entrance, this way!"
Ralph yielded to his friend's tugging and they raced to a smaller door just around the corner. Arim pulled on it as another bolt of lightning crashed down, much too close.
"It's no use," the Maychorian boy grunted as the door resisted his efforts.
Ralph sucked his lip, thinking rapidly as he stared vacantly at the other boy leaning against the engraved wooden door. The beating rain plastered Ralph's brown hair against his forehead.
"The stable!" Ralph cried, leading the way.
They ran to it as a brilliant lightning bolt struck precisely where they'd been standing by the door. They rushed inside the stable and leaned, panting, on a stall door.
"Come on," Arim said once they'd gotten their breath back. "There's an underground passage from the stable to the castle, remember?"
When the storm hit, Cheryl and the others rushed around closing shutters and tripping over sleepers. Slightly damp and tired, they met again in the room holding their packed bags. Emrey looked a little suspicious.
"That storm came awful fast," Cheryl remarked.
"Yes," Lenny mused. "The geographical location does not seem conducive to sudden meteorological altercations."
"I don't think it's quite natural," Emrey said.
Cheryl started and stared at him in sudden realization. "You don't think--?"
"I do," he confirmed.
"What?" Lenny asked.
"Ryoo," Cheryl explained, troubled. She glanced around. "Where are the boys?"
"Right here!" Ralph and Arim came in, sopping wet.
"You were outside?" Faela chided.
"We meant to find some boats," Arim sheepishly replied.
"How did you intend to--oh, never mind. You'd better get into some dry clothes." Faela clucked in a motherly manner.
"Yes, ma'am," they answered.
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