Chapter 22
In less troubled times, a line drawing of the journey to Ipitch’s house would have been quite straight with a few zig zags along its length. On that Wednesday afternoon, with the streets serving as a camp site for the soldiers of Carporoo, it would have resembled the path taken by a blindfolded man lost in a maze. Uncle Malik led Braddle through the newly created back streets and alleyways of Carporoo towards Ipitch’s house and then away from it again, then towards it, again. We must avoid contact with the soldiers he told Braddle. Eventually, after a couple of hours of dizzying toil they arrived at their destination.
During the journey Uncle Malik told Braddle what had happened to him since they had spoken late on Monday night after Braddle’s escape from General Stoo. Because of the late hour, he told him, he had decided to wait until morning before embarking on his mission but the soldiers came early. He only just managed to fall through the kitchen window before they broke in. That was exciting enough, he said, but hiding on the Morrie’s roof was even better.
“It’s not so easy to take an old campaigner like me prisoner” he said, laughing.
Once the soldiers had done their worst to the house Grenta then helped him to get across to Moogcheek’s house opposite.
“She’s a great girl and I think she likes you…though I don’t know why” he said with another laugh. “I can definitely hear wedding bells in about twenty years.”
“Wedding bells! Twenty years!” Braddle exclaimed, embarrassed.
“Yes” his Uncle said. “You don’t want to get married too young now, do you?”
It was easy, he continued, to leave from Moogcheek’s house and visit his old comrades spread across the city. He managed to visit about twenty of them and all of them volunteered for duty starting with Moogcheek himself.
“That’s not many” Braddle had told him. “We wouldn’t be able to do much with just twenty soldiers. General Stoo has got thousands.”
“Maybe not at the moment” his Uncle had replied “but it is a start. Everyone I spoke to will speak to other people they can trust. Hopefully, we can build something substantial quite quickly.”
“What’s the plan?” asked Braddle.
“Don’t know yet” he said. “We’ll have to see what Drostfur has to say.”
Ipitch’s house was quite large. It had two floors, a big front door with two large bay windows either side and a large garden, though the ground had only, as yet, been marked out for future work. To Braddle’s amazement the house looked finished. Clearly, Mr Ipitch was a wealthy man who could afford to pay others to do it for him. Uncle Malik banged on the front door with his fist.
“Now, let us step back a bit” he said “so the occupants can see that we are not General Stoo’s pet spronger.”
They stepped back a few paces and waited.
“Don’t let Ipitch’s manner bother you” advised his Uncle. “He can be a bit direct and he despises fools. Problem is that he sees fools everywhere. Over all though, he is a good man. Used to be my commanding officer.”
“Direct?” asked Braddle.
“Nothing serious. He just prefers straight talking and, as I have personally witnessed, politicians and poets both love him for it.”
The front door snapped open. “Quickly”, a voice called.
When inside Braddle and his uncle waited until the door was closed and locked again. Uncle Malik had a big smile on his face as he looked at the man who was now locking the door. The man was short, stocky and bald. When he turned round Braddle observed that his face was exquisitely wrinkled and that he seemed to have poor eyesight for he screwed his eyes up slightly as if he was forcing them to focus on what was in front of them.
“Belay, is that you?” he asked of the man. “My god, isn’t old age a terrible thing.”
Belay chuckled.
“You know it is. Besides, have you looked at yourself recently? You look like my father.”
“You wouldn’t think” said Uncle Malik to Braddle “that this little, fat, ugly man once thought he was the handsomest soldier in the whole of the army. Totally deluded he was. Just like half of the women in Carporoo.”
Braddle thought both men were bitter enemies and were about to start throwing fists around but suddenly they both burst out laughing and hugged each other.
“What have you been up to?” asked Uncle Malik. “I haven’t seen you for years.”
“Not much” replied Belay. “Earning a living and waiting to die. Until now, that is. How about you?”
“I didn’t think it was going to be, but life has been good since I left the army” replied Uncle Malik. I have my niece, Frey, and Braddle here to thank for that.”
Belay turned to face Braddle. He screwed his eyes up tight.
“Ah, so this is the famous Braddle, the boy with the giant?”
Braddle was unsure what to reply. He hadn’t thought of himself as famous or, even, as having a giant. Before he could respond though Belay continued.
“Don’t worry we’ll defeat this Stoo and get your mother back, won’t we Malik?”
“That’s the plan” said Uncle Malik. “Is Drostfur still here? We need to speak to him right away.”
“Yes, Drostfur is still here. Come, I’ll take you to him.”
Belay led them down the hall and through a large living room.
“It was lucky that you came now. Drostfur is about to hold a meeting. Ten of us have managed to get here.”
“Who contacted you?” his Uncle asked.
“Flut. He came to see me after you had spoken to him. It was like I had woken up from a dream once he told me what was going on.”
Belay stopped outside a door on the far wall of the living room.
“They’re in here” he said.
After knocking gently Belay opened the door and flicked his head to signal that they should go in. Braddle entered first. As he did so eleven heads turned to look at him but because the room was small it felt at least twice the number.
“Ah, Braddle, you’re here” said a voice he recognised. It was Drostfur.
Drostfur rose from his seat and came over to him. Braddle assumed he was grinning but it was hard to tell through his beard, which seemed to have grown bushier since they had last met.
“I am glad to see the return of my fellow escapee” he said. “I think we can teach these old soldiers a thing or two. Don’t you think Belay?”
“Maybe them” replied Belay, pointing at the others in the room, “but certainly not this soldier,” pointing at himself with his thumb.
“Let’s hand you over to General Stoo and see what happens then” a voice called from somewhere in the room. “You’d probably get stuck in the window.”
Everyone laughed, even Belay himself.
“Well Braddle, I think we all need to hear what you have to say” continued Drostfur. “Come and sit over here. Formal introductions will have to wait, though I think I should, at least, introduce you to Ipitch, the owner of this house and the man who has kindly given me refuge.”
Ipitch was sitting in a chair facing the assembled group. Despite his old age, emphasised by his grey hair and beard, he still looked strong and mentally sharp. Braddle could see that he was a man used to commanding others and being deferred to. Drostfur took Braddle to him, made the introductions and then turned to his Uncle. At first, Ipitch sat in silence, scrutinised his face and then looked into his eyes. Braddle did not turn away. At last, he spoke.
“I understand you have befriended a giant” he said. “Can you trust him?”
“Yes” replied Braddle. “I think so.”
“You think so? You ‘thinking so’ may not be enough young man. How can we trust him?”
Braddle wanted to tell him that he had no choice but he remained silent.
“Does your giant have a name?”
“Alfie” he replied.
“Alfie? Why do these giants insist on giving themselves such silly names?” he asked.
The quest
ion was not directed at anyone in particular and no answer was demanded of Braddle.
“What does your giant do? What is his role in his world?”
Braddle told him that he was still at school.
“School? You mean to tell me that your giant is a child?”
Ipitch looked as if he had just taken a hit to his solar plexus. He looked shocked and on the verge of doubling up in agony. The urge to defend Alfie, to defend himself, took hold of Braddle and forced him to raise his voice.
“Alfie is the bravest giant there is. Though he could crush the whole of Carporoo with one hand, he has decided to help us.”
The look of pain disappeared from Ipitch’s face and was replaced with a faint smile.
“I hope you are right young man. I hope you are right” he said.
“Well, let's make a start” said Drostfur, sitting down next to Ipitch. “Braddle, you sit next to me, here.”
Braddle sat down next to Drostfur and faced the assembled guests. All of them were sitting down, except his Uncle and Belay who were standing by the door, and they were all looking at him. Two of the group were women (one of the women was smiling at him and when he glanced at her she winked) and another, who was a lot younger than the others, wore a grey soldier’s uniform. Up until a week ago the soldiers of Carporoo were, for Braddle, something to be admired, something to be aspired to, but now they all appeared to be the malevolent possessions of General Stoo; they were things to be avoided, to be feared. How can one be here?
“Friends” said Drostfur “I would like to thank you for being here and I would like to especially thank Malik for contacting most of you and Ipitch for giving me a refuge in his home and allowing us to meet. We are now, unexpectedly, living in dangerous times and you have come here at great risk to yourselves and families and for that I and the whole of Carporoo thank you.”
“We will fight…” a large man, with a wondrously large face, sitting in the centre of the group, said then fell silent. He hadn’t finished his sentence but it looked to Braddle as if he felt that he had said enough.
“I see Tableface hasn’t lost any of his oratorical magic” said Belay from the corner of the room. Everyone laughed including Tableface himself.
“We all know why we are here” continued Drostfur. “Stoo with the aid of an unknown giant has deposed the ruling council and is attempting to install himself as the sole ruler of Carporoo. He has already handed over to this giant many of our friends, including this young man’s mother, and he will continue to do so until all opposition to him…disappears. We must stop him and, in my opinion, we must do so quickly otherwise his power will take root and spread its poisonous and self-serving tendrils into every home. Before we discuss what action we should take, though, I have been informed that Braddle here has something important to tell us about Stoo’s giant.”
Everyone, including Drostfur, fell silent and looked intently at Braddle. He felt his cheeks grow hot and his mouth go dry. He looked at his Uncle. Uncle Malik smiled and mouthed silently ‘for your mother.’ Braddle coughed and looked at the group in front of him.
“Alfie, my giant” he said “has discovered who General Stoo’s giant is. It is his neighbour, a Mr Nicholls and he has promised that he will stop this Mr Nicholls and force him to return all of the people he has taken.”
“When is this to happen?” asked Ipitch.
“Now” said Braddle.
“NOW?” spat out Ipitch. “What do you mean NOW?”
“I mean that he will do it now but we decided that the prisoners shouldn’t be returned until Friday morning. We thought that there was no point in them coming back if General Stoo was still in control.”
Ipitch looked as if a giant eye had unexpectedly appeared at his bedroom window as he was undressing for bed. It took a few moments before he could gather his thoughts and remember how to use his vocal cords.
“Let me get this clear” he said. “In less than two days General Stoo’s giant will return the Ruling Council and others to us and he will do this because your child-giant will give him no choice?”
“Yes” said Braddle.
Ipitch frowned and shook his head.
“I think” said Drostfur “that we have no choice but to assume that Alfie will do as Braddle says. We have no choice but to prepare for their return otherwise they will just find themselves back in the hands of Stoo. Next time their disappearance might be more permanent.”
Braddle looked at his Uncle. He felt scared. The thought of his mother back in the claws of General Stoo was too horrible. The thought that he would have helped to bring it about was unbearable.
A familiar voice spoke out and ruptured the silence. It was Uncle Malik.
“Then” he said “we must remove General Stoo by Friday morning.”
“WHAT?” shouted Ipitch. “IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE.”
The rest of group echoed Ipitch’s ‘impossible’ and added others to it:
'OUT OF THE QUESTION’, 'CRAZY' and 'RIDICULOUS' were shouted out repeatedly. Even Tableface joined in. After shouting “How…” he fell silent again, however.
“Some resistance you lot are” shouted Belay.
“We are not strong enough yet to attack General Stoo” shouted back Ipitch. “There’s no way we could do it and win.”
Braddle watched the uproar around him. It was pointless, he thought. General Stoo has won. It would be better for his mother to remain with Mr Nicholls. At least she was safe. He had to get back to Alfie quickly and tell him. Everyone was on their feet except, he noticed, the young soldier. He remained silent. He looked at Braddle and raised one eyebrow. He then cleared his throat and spoke up.
“There is a way to defeat General Stoo by Friday morning” he said “but you need to calm down first and return to your seats.”
Everyone sat down.