ISOF (29 page)

Obediently, the group filed through an open door to find themselves inside a room that was even darker than the rapidly forming night outside. Bumping into each other the group finally managed to stand huddled together waiting for whatever it was that had summoned them. The slamming of the door startled all of them. The darkness seemed impenetrable as their eyes failed to register the slightest glimmer of light. Suddenly, a bright ball of light floated across the room and hovered just above their heads.

‘Sit down then,' ordered a voice.

Each choosing an illuminated seat, the group sat as instructed. The ball of light increased in size until the entire room was bathed in a warming glow. Standing by the doorway stood Briel, a smile playing on his face.

‘You took your time,' he said as he walked over to the largest chair and sat down. ‘It was getting a bit chilly standing out there waiting for you to come along.'

Ben was the first to find his voice.

‘I thought you disappeared in a whirlwind,' he said looking at the others for support.

Briel laughed gently. ‘That's what Thrumble and the others would have liked.' He gave a contented sigh. ‘But rather than the finish we are now at the start of a long and arduous journey…'

‘Hang on,' said Ben. ‘II think we've had enough of long journeys and the arduous bit thank you very much.'

With a shake of the head, Briel leaned forward and tapped Ben's knee. ‘Not a journey in the way you mean,' he explained. ‘Your actions today have become the catalyst for change. A change that will, hopefully, see the Jaresh overthrown and the evil behind them exposed.'

Trep frowned. ‘You mean there's something even nastier out there than the Jaresh?' he asked.

For a few moments, Briel looked at Trep directly. ‘The truth is,' he said sadly. ‘There are forces at large that you can only begin to imagine. Haven't you wondered, even for a moment, how the Jaresh came to occupy our lands so easily?

‘They just appeared,' said Trep with a shrug. ‘It al happened so quickly there wasn't time to resist or do anything.'

‘The truth,' replied Briel. ‘Is that the appearance of the Jaresh was not the beginning but the result of evil scheming with some of our own people actually working towards the day of occupation.'

‘You mean like, Cedric,' said Ben.

Alisha's faced clouded over. ‘If I ever get to that scumbag,' she began.

‘He's been incarcerated in…' Briel began.

‘I hope it hurt,' interrupted Trep angrily.

Briel smiled. ‘He's been taken to a far off place where he'll be kept prisoner until someone either decides what to do with him or forgets about him altogether.'

Noj, who had listened carefully to Briel's explanations, raised a finger.

‘Can I ask you something?'

‘Of course,' replied Briel with a smile. Ben rubbed his eyes and looked intently at Briel. ‘Was all that stuff back there, you know the whirlwind and glowing spheres and everything, was it all trickery or something else?'

Briel's eyes flickered momentarily. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before answering.

‘As in life,' he answered slowly. ‘Some things are learnt, some are acquired and,' he paused momentarily, ‘some are innate, we are born within them.'

‘So what does that make you?' asked Ben. ‘A magician, a trickster or a wise being?'

Briel sat back in his chair and sighed. ‘I think,' he said, his voice sounding tired. ‘It is time for you to move on.'

‘But what are you?' persisted Ben.

‘What I am,' replied Briel. ‘Is for another time but,' he raised a finger in warning as Ben started to open his mouth to question. ‘Now isn't the time or place to discuss such things.'

‘Will there ever be a right time and place?' asked Alisha with a puzzled frown.

‘Most probably,' replied Briel. ‘But now it is late and I am tired.' He nodded at Petal. ‘It's time for Petal to finish her task and lead you out from here and put you on the road back to Leonard's Place.'

‘You trust that she won't turn us over to her mates or the Jaresh the moment your back is turned?' growled Trep.

‘Oh, she won't do that,' grinned Briel. ‘We've known each other for a long time.'

‘Really?' asked Ben looking from Briel to Petal.

‘Yes, really,' grinned Briel. ‘She's my daughter.'

The journey back to Leonard's
Place
, as Briel had described it, was fairly uneventful until the moment came when Petal stopped, pointed towards the path that led to the forested area where Leonard dwelt, and started to say her goodbyes to everyone. Noj, Trep and Ben had tried desperately to put on mature, impassive faces during the goodbyes but failed totally when Alisha allowed tears to freely flow. Discretely wiping his nose and coughing loudly, Ben held out his hand toward Petal.

‘It's been a pleasure,' he said over loudly.

‘Don't be daft,' replied Petal and immediately embraced Ben in a hug that threatened to reduce his lung capacity. After she'd finished with Ben, she hugged Noj and Treo in turn and, finally, turned to Alisha.

‘Now' she said, wiping her own eyes. ‘Don't be silly. It won't be long before we meet up again and then we can have a good old laugh.' She patted Alisha's hand. ‘OK?'

Alisha nodded and they each waved until Petal had long disappeared from their sight. The four silently trod the path that led towards the forest. It seemed almost impossible to put into words the events of the last few days. Even Briel's brief explanations hadn't helped the group come to terms with what they had seen and the loss of Mak.

Before they had taken their leave of Briel, they had tried to ask further questions about the Jaresh, what the day's events meant and, most importantly, why Mak? To each question, Briel had merely shook his head pleading sleep deprivation, starvation and irritation in equal measure. Frustrated not to be given any answers, they'd given in to their own need for food and sleep before accompanying Petal the following morning.

Approaching the edge of the forest, they were both surprised and pleased to be welcomed by an effervescent Leonard holding Culpin under one arm whilst waving frantically with the other.

‘Welcome, welcome,' he called. ‘It's so good to have you back.' He began trotting along the path towards the buildings. ‘Come along,' he yelled, ‘not a moment to lose.'

As the four followed after Leonard, the smell of a busy barbeque assailed their nostrils. Trep quickened his pace.

‘Smelling good,' he grinned.

As they entered the clearing where the buildings rested and the barbeque bustled, Leonard stood with his arms outstretched.

‘A few adjustments to the cooking facilities since you were last here,' he chuckled. In a blur of movement, Leonard began assembling dishes and plates with an occasional meddle with the barbequing food.

‘You took your time,' laughed a voice close to Ben.

Turning to see the source of the voice, Ben was delighted to see Telu standing with both hands on her hips.

‘Cat got your tongue?' she enquired cheekily.

Ben decided that words were insufficient and immediately hugged Telu.

‘Hey, let up a bit,' she laughed. ‘Anybody would think you haven't seen me for a while.'

Ben stood back and grinned broadly. ‘Well, he said, still smiling. ‘Apart from seeing you in the market place performing something devious with Cedric's vocal cords, it has been a while.' He thought for a moment as the smile dissolved from his face. ‘By the way, what was it that you did to Cedric?'

Telu shrugged. ‘Nothing he didn't deserve,' she replied. ‘It's nothing permanent, but he'll not be able to say anything for a good few months. The effect will wear off eventually and, hopefully, by that time he'll be far gone from here and out of harms way.'

Ben was aware of another figure sitting a short distance away. He looked at the figure, shook his head and looked again.

‘Pinchkin?' he asked nervously.

The figure turned to face him. The face looked like Pinchkin but it was somehow different. Ben couldn't work out what was different, if it was Pinchkin, or whether it was a relation of hers. He took a few steps closer to the figure.

‘Hello, Ben,' said Pinchkin, her voice ringing melodically.

‘Pinchkin,' said Ben once more. ‘Is it really you?'

‘Yes,' laughed Pinchkin. ‘It's me.'

‘You've changed,' he said looking intently at her face. ‘Your eyes seem to sparkle and your hair, your face,' he shook his head. ‘You look so much younger.'

Pinchkin laughed. Her laughter chimed through the clearing causing everyone to join in with the merriment. ‘Silver-tongue,' she smiled.

‘I didn't mean you looked old before,' he stammered. ‘It's just that you…'

‘I'd stop there, Ben,' she advised. ‘Better to leave it sounding like flattery eh?'

Ben nodded.

‘Grubs up,' called Leonard, much to Ben's relief.

For quite a while, nothing much was discussed as food became the priority. Eventually, after a lot of small talk and a few questions and answers concerning their various encounters, Ben, Noj and Trep turned expectantly toward Pinchkin.

‘I can't say it was all fun,' said Ben. ‘But I think I've learned a lot about myself and,' he grinned, ‘about other people.'

Pinchkin smiled although her eyes appeared to be seeing other events that were yet to happen.

‘What I don't understand though,' continued Ben. ‘Why am I here?'

With a nod, Pinchkin looked directly at him. ‘You were an outsider,' she replied. ‘You hadn't become tainted by events here or formed opinions that would affect you ability to carry out those tasks that only you could perform.'

‘Me?' queried Ben with a hint of suspicion. ‘What's so special about me that I had to be dragged into all this?'

Pinchkin's eyes narrowed. ‘You have gifts that you are barely aware of and that are still being developed.' She smiled and nodded at Ben. ‘I'm sure we'll see and feel the benefit of those gifts the next time you drop in.'

‘Next time!' yelped Ben. ‘What next time? I'm done, finished, complete, had enough, big time!'

Telu leaned over and took Ben's hand. ‘You don't want to see me again?' she asked mischievously.

‘Er, well,' squirmed Ben. ‘It's just that, I thought sort of…'

‘And just,' continued Telu still holding Ben's hand. ‘Just when I thought this was the start of something good,' she said with a huge grin.

‘She's joking?' asked Ben looking at Pinchkin. ‘I mean, you know her, right?'

Pinchkin gave a slight shrug. ‘In my experience,' she said. ‘Telu rarely jokes.'

Trep suddenly fell backwards from his chair clutching his sides with laughter. As the others joined in with the laughter, Ben pulled his hand away from Telu's grasp and looked pleadingly at Leonard.

‘Do you need a hand with the washing-up?' he asked.

Leonard shook his head. ‘Washing-up?' he said grinning. ‘There's more food to be eaten. Besides,' he added, ‘I think Briel wants a word.'

The laughter stopped as quickly as it had started and all heads turned to see Briel standing at the edge of the clearing. He strode over to the barbeque, snatched a sausage and promptly sat on the nearest chair.

‘Tasty,' he said eventually. He winked at Ben and the others. ‘I know you wish for questions to be answered so, rather than beat around the bush, I'll tell you what I think you need to know.'

Now,' he began with a lick of his lips. ‘Any chance of another sausage?' he laughed as Leonard produced a small plate piled with various barbequed snacks. ‘OK,' he said between nibbles. ‘We knew it would be impossible to begin reclaiming our lands and defeat the Jaresh without being devious to say the least.' He nodded at Ben. ‘Firstly, it was necessary to have someone who was unaware of our situation and who had certain gifts that would prove useful now and in the future.'

‘You mean that when I fell into…'

‘Later, Ben,' interrupted Briel with a raised hand. ‘Now, it was also necessary to send the four of you on a mission under the pretext of searching for and rescuing Alisha.'

‘I rescued myself and them,' said Alisha haughtily. ‘They would have been lost to the world had I left them where they were.'

‘Agreed,' replied Briel. ‘But while everyone, including Cedric thought that the focus of your mission was to rescue Alisha, it was possible to perform the real purpose of the journey and that was to restore four key elements to their rightful place and start the liberation of our lands.'

‘Couldn't you have just told us what we were looking for at the start and save all this subterfuge and messing about?' snapped Trep.

Briel shook his head. ‘Too dangerous,' he replied. ‘Knowing that we had a traitor who would immediately inform the Jaresh of our intentions meant that we had to use some diversionary tactics.' He rubbed his hands together. ‘The first element was the fruit that Pinchkin gave to Mak,' said with a sigh.

‘Yes,' said Noj coldly. ‘And it cost him his life.'

‘I'll come to that in a moment,' said Briel. ‘The diamond and the bell, the second and third elements, were essential to restore our rivers to the sparkling and babbling waters that had once brought such vibrant life to our lands.'

‘That all sounds a bit nauseatingly romantic to me,' said Ben. ‘The Jaresh will simply dirty them again and you'll be back to where you started.'

‘Not so,' replied Briel firmly. ‘Although a symbolic act, the Jaresh are a superstitious race. Now that those two essential elements have been returned to where they belong, the Jaresh will not go near or do anything to the rivers. They'll avoid them at all costs.'

‘You could have told us to look for a bell and a diamond,' said Trep. ‘It would have saved us a lot of bother.'

‘And what diamond and what bell would you have looked for?' asked Briel. Nobody could think of an appropriate answer. ‘Precisely,' said Briel with a nod of his head. ‘You would have spent your time aimlessly wondering about, picked up a couple of pieces of junk and thrown them into the rivers and…?' he looked at the group for answers.

‘Nothing,' said Noj. ‘Absolutely nothing.'

‘Exactly,' replied Briel. ‘It was important that those two elements found you.'

‘And the fourth?' asked Ben.

‘Alisha,' answered Briel with a smile in her direction. ‘In her runs the true blood-line of an ancient people, a people who ruled long before even I can remember.' He gave a distracting cough. Briel looked directly at Alisha and held her gaze. ‘Lord Tolc is your guardian.' He laid a reassuring hand on hers as she began to question his words. Tears rolled gracefully down her cheeks. Gently, Briel wiped her moist face with his finger. ‘It doesn't change things,' he said with a smile. ‘Lord Tolc has treated you as his own from the start and you have been a loving daughter in return. That will never change. But,' he said with anger colouring his cheeks, ‘somehow that odorous individual, Cedric discovered your true identity.' For a moment, Briel appeared lost in thought. ‘Cedric must have spent many an hour in the library, searching through long forgotten books to find the truth. I must remember to have a word with Owl about that,' he said almost to himself.

‘So why…' began Alisha.

Briel held his hand towards her. ‘My dear, he said quietly. ‘If the truth about you had been known from the start there wouldn't have been a future for you. Once Cedric revealed your true identity to the insidious evil that brought the Jaresh to these lands, the only option he had was to abduct you and place the blame on the Sirens, allowing him to maintain his treacherous dealings and no-one the wiser.'

‘That's all too much to think about,' replied Alisha. ‘And it's too much to bear.'

Briel nodded. ‘For now,' he said. ‘But the time will come.'

‘And what about Mak?' asked Noj sadly.

Pinchkin sighed. ‘It was his choice,' she replied. ‘He chose to take the fruit even though I told him it might demand everything of him.'

Trep wiped a trace of a tear from his eye. ‘But what if he had refused,' he asked.

‘I would have asked you,' said Pinchkin looking into Trep's eyes.

‘Did he know what was expected of him?' asked Ben.

‘Only that he had the fruit and it would be necessary to use it to restore the sacred tree in Janring,' said Pinchkin as her own eyes began to moisten.

‘It really needed him to lose his life in the process?' said Ben feeling anger rising within him.

‘I couldn't be certain,' began Pinchkin as her voice became faint. She swallowed before continuing. ‘The tree, like the rivers, once restored and in such a dramatic way, the Jaresh will refuse to touch it. They'll try and find out if some form of sorcery can be used against it but there is none, they'll waste their time searching but find nothing.'

‘I think,' said Briel leaving Pinchkin to grieve silently. ‘It will be appropriate to erect some form of memorial to Mak near his home.' He bowed his head. ‘I will give it some thought.'

For a few moments everyone was quiet, it didn't seem fitting to say anything while they remembered Mak.

‘What was with the posh frock and whirlwind then?' asked Ben feeling the need to break the silence.

Pinchkin answered as Briel took the remaining few snacks from his plate and placed them all into his mouth.

‘It was time to announce the emergence, once again, of the Wise Beings,' she said, her eyes sparkling. ‘It was time for us to make our presence known once again.'

‘And you're also…?' asked Ben.

Pinchkin nodded. ‘There are others who will become known as and when time dictates,' she smiled.

‘Cool,' grinned Ben. He looked at Briel who was busily licking the final few morsels from his plate. ‘Just one more thing.'

‘Fire away,' replied Briel. ‘Fire away.'

‘You've a daughter?

Briel swallowed and suddenly began to choke. Leonard reached over and, with a few well-placed smacks on Briel's back, helped to bring some normality to his breathing.