“I suppose we don’t really have a choice, then, do we?” she asked, turning back to face Mich and Tina.
That morning the group circled the grounds in search of forage. Both Nola and Tina were too stressed to conjure any proper food. They spent much time in the armory, while Nola perfected the armor as well as she could. Without the cross to make the armor magically strong, they would be taking chances.
Nola clothed herself in mail armor of steel scales down to her feet. Tina preferred to wear mail over a leather vest and leather trousers. She also wore a solid-steel gorget. Nola thought she looked like a wild warrior woman, with her blond hair all tangled. Mich clad himself in leathers, a mail gorget and a pair of thick leather gauntlets. He preferred the freedom of movement.
Nola could agree with that. The armor was extremely heavy. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to run very well in steel pants. She disbelieved her armored trousers. Tina liked hers, so was welcome to them. Nola was sure Tina could handle the mail trousers, so left it at that.
“Now we need a plan,” Mich said, leading the way to the drawing room.
They sat throwing ideas at one another and eating luberries. None of their ideas seemed viable.
They finally decided the only way was to search out Reility at the Fren Cliffs. Mich knew that they were left unguarded during the day, but that was because the Fren would surely be busy there, converting hapless creatures into their own kind. He decided that their best bet was to try to sneak in at night.
“But why can’t we try it during the day?” Nola asked. “Last time we were there, we passed through unmolested.”
“I don’t think that the Fren knew your nature then. Besides, there were a lot fewer of them. The Fren must now outnumber the Kafkians by a hundred to one. So I think it’s better to tackle them when fewer are alert, though that still won’t make it easy. I’m sure the cliffs will be guarded at night, while the Fren rest. What I’m not sure of is how we will get past them.”
“Can’t you transport us directly there?” Tina asked Nola.
“I can’t. That requires magic and I can’t do that without the cross.”
“Oh, yeah.” Tina sighed. “I wish there was some other way, but I guess Mich is right. We should take our chances tonight.”
So it was decided. The group would start traveling within the hour. With luck, they would be at the cliffs in three days, providing they didn’t run afoul of any Fren on the way.
Nola rode Spirit while Tina rode behind Mich. Snort stayed to guard the deserted castle. He was proud to do his part and would surely make a good guard.
The trip was grueling and painful. After six hours of riding at a quick, trotting pace, Nola’s buttocks and thighs ached with every bounce. They slowed to a gentle walk in the late afternoon and finally made camp well into the night.
Their first day behind them, Nola realized that they had made surprising progress. They were in sight of the once prosperous Welton Town. Now there was nothing but an empty blackened field.
Nola lay close to Mich, next to the glowing embers of the fire. The night, as always, smelled sweet, despite the ruined land around them.
She let her mind search out Spirit’s. He was dozing, head down, ears lolling, on the opposite side of the camp. He opened his eyes. Yes, friend?
“I just wanted to apologize for all that’s happened.”
You have no need to be sorry. You are doing well.
“But I’m not doing well! I lost my power through sheer stupidity. What good am I now? I know I should have faith, but it’s so hard. The main reason Reility didn’t even try to harm me is that he knows I’m impotent now without my cross, so he can just let me squirm. I know we are walking into disaster. I don’t think we'll even get as far as the Fren Cliffs before we are found and killed.”
I, above all others, know what you are feeling, Nola. But, my dear friend, you must press on if we are to have a single chance. Reility is strong, but I feel once we have released his people from his grip and return them to their original states, he will become weaker. He may, in fact, die. When the good outnumber the evil, the evil is driven off. I believe in our endeavor. We will find your cross and you will summon the other Creators to your side, and together we will turn the tide.
“But without real magic—”
Reility is surely overconfident now, so perhaps careless. We are doing what he least anticipates: attacking him in his stronghold. The element of surprise gives us a better chance.
“Thank you, Esprit. I can always count on you for an encouraging word.”
“Of course you can. Remember, we all love you and are here to help. We each have our own reasons for helping; however, we all have Kafka in common. Now get some rest; we will be riding long tomorrow. Heat and I hope to carry you to the worm tunnels by tomorrow night.
Nola was grateful for Spirit’s ever-present advice. He seemed always to know best. He was a good friend and there was no way she would let him die. In order to save him, she must save herself. Spirit was right; she had to have faith in her own efforts if she was to have any hope of succeeding. She blew a kiss to him and curled up as well as she could in her leather and armor clothing.
The next morning, Nola found some burned bushes and squatted behind them. Mich gathered oranges from the small tree that Nola believed into existence. She knew it would not live long in the ashy soil, but it served its purpose. Tina was busy disbelieving their camp, making sure that even their footprints were gone. She left no trace of their passing, in case they were being followed.
They ate their oranges in haste and left their camp as empty and desolate as they found it.
They traveled through Welton Town. Technically, it could no longer be called a town. There were no ruined buildings to mark its borders, only a pale, dusty road going through the center of the dark, ash-covered ground.
The sun had been joined in the late afternoon by twin moons, one large full and one smaller gibbous. The group was becoming exhausted.
They came to a halt, knee-deep in the muck. They had been traveling close to the badly shrunken River of Thought in order not to lose sight of it. They dismounted to study the landscape.
Nola’s ankle turned slightly in the thick mud, causing her to tumble into it with a splat. She rose, covered in disgusting mud. “ Yech!” Tina remarked for her. Her ankle was a bit sore, but was okay.
The water had been absorbed by the ash and all around them was mud, as black as coal. The river still flowed, telling them that all hope was not lost, but compared with its former glory, the river was now a mere trickle. If there were any worms left in the tunnels, they had surely drowned.
“How should we go about setting up camp?” Mich asked.
“Maybe I can make a thick stage of wood and sit it atop pontoons. That way, we stay dry and we won’t sink.”
I smell— came Heat’s desperate thought.
Nola glanced at him. His nostrils were flaring wide and his silver orbs rolled back.
Then the attack came. The entire group was surrounded by Fren. At least seventy of the noxious creatures closed in on them, jags flashing in the twin moonlight. A few of them carried heavy cudgels. They formed a ring around the travelers.
“Wait a schecond!” said one of them as he prevented the ring from closing further. He seemed to be in charge of them and he spoke with a strange accent. “Ischn’t that one there the one Reility warned usch about?”
Another Fren stepped forward. “No, these are nothing. Look at her, she is as black as we are, and that other, she could never be so simpleminded as to weight herself down with armor!”
Nola was thankful that she had fallen in the muck, which covered her from head to foot, hiding her face.
“You are right. Reility would not be afraid of shuch nothingsch asch thesche.”
They began closing in again. “I think that they should be strong enough for a week’s worth of work before we recast them.”
“Yesch. And look at those fine
creaturesch,” he said, advancing on Heat and Spirit.
Four more Fren rushed forward with ropes. Heat spread his wings and tried to lift into the air, but he was too slow. Ropes of seemingly infinite length were lashed across his withers and over his wings, pulling them tight to his body.
This overbalanced him and caused him to fall. He had the bad fortune of falling on one of the Fren. When he stood again, the flattened Fren filled out before their eyes, like a cartoon figure recovering from an encounter with a steamroller. He struck Heat’s cheek with his club, cursing at him in some strange language.
Nola figured it would be best for all if they surrendered, as the Fren weren’t actually trying to kill them. “We'll have a better chance if they think we're of no account. Maybe we can catch them when they’re off guard.”
The others agreed. Surely they would be taken to the cliffs, which was where they wanted to go anyway.
But it wasn’t comfortable. Heat and Spirit were hobbled and haltered with the ropes. The rest of them had their hands tied tightly, and their feet were hobbled as well to keep them from running away. They were forced to move out with the points of jags in their backs. The two unisi were whipped mercilessly with ropes, even though they were cooperating with their captors.
They were pushed, prodded and poked along over the swampy ground. Many of the Fren seemed to quiet down during the journey, as if speaking was against some unwritten law. There were several “Shhh!"s passed between the creatures. All was quiet by evening, when the head Fren shouted for them to halt.
At this point, it was obvious that they were to make camp. The head Fren shouted orders and the others milled about, searching for fodder. When the scant available firewood and food were gathered, the Fren sat around in a circle, with Nola and her friends inside, close to the fire.
The Fren tore apart live animals before them. Their still-screaming bodies were passed from one to another as each took his share. Evidently some sort of magic prevented the animals from dying immediately, despite dismemberment. Trust the Fren to find a way to make eating fun!
At one point, a still-twitching leg was thrown in Nola’s direction. She shoved it away with her foot. Another Fren rushed up and snatched the leg. “Don’t waste our food on them! They won’t live much longer anyway!”
“Perhaps she'd like the head?” another said as a rodent head was thrown into her lap. Nola shrieked and quickly lifted her leg, causing the severed head to fly into the air and land in the fire. But a Fren quickly fished it out, relishing its toasted quality. Burned fur seemed to be a delicacy to these creatures.
The Fren gave them each a drink of water, but no other food. They teased the group, often throwing things at them, laughing and taunting them endlessly. One of the Fren went so far as to touch Spirit’s hide with a flaming stick.
Spirit bucked, and his linked hind feet hit the Fren dead between the eyes with a sickening crack. The thing flew outside the circle and landed in the river.
Every creature went silent and all eyes turned to the river. The river’s murky waters began to shine brightly in the moonlight, yet the water was still as if it had simply swallowed him. Then there was a loud gurgle and a bubble floated to the surface. It did not burst. It kept growing.
Inside the bubble was the Fren. Its mouth worked open and closed and his fists clenched. He had such a pained look that Nola was forced to turn her head away.
As the Fren struggled inside the multicolored bubble, something started to happen to him. His body went from opaque to translucent. He was turning into gray smoke that swirled within the bubble. After a moment the bubble burst, spewing smoke into the night sky. It mingled with the smoke from the fire and was gone.
The Fren immediately went back to their business as if nothing had happened. In fact, one of them grabbed the dead Fren’s supper and gleefully gorged himself. Nola wondered why they did not lash out at Spirit.
Spirit’s mind came to Nola’s. They are creatures of pure evil. They care no more for their own kind than they do for us. They do not attack me because they feel I am too valuable as a work animal to harm.
“But the river—what happened?”
The Fren are not Kafkians nor are they humans. They cannot lie in the river. The river works only for humans and their dreams. Spirit closed his eyes, and for a moment Nola felt his sadness. I wish I hadn’t lashed out that way.
“But he hurt you! I’m glad you did. We should push them all in the river!”
You don’t understand, he thought, lowering his huge head to look at her. We need to keep them alive. These evil creatures have a Kafkian seed deep inside them. They are tortured and they need our help. If we destroy them, there is no hope for Kafka’s survival. And no hope for your world.
Nola bit her lip. He was right. Her purpose was not to destroy them, but to restore them. She had to make sure she kept that in mind. It was just that whenever she met these creatures, they radiated evil and malice. Her reflex action was to hurt or kill them. It was as if they evoked evil that was in her. She had to fight that evil, rather than the creatures who were already its victims.
After the episode, all went quiet again and most of the Fren lay down to rest. Several stood guard over their “guests,” facing outward, while four stood guard outside the ring of travelers.
Mich moved closer to Nola in order to whisper to her. Tina also moved in to hear. They did not look at one another, in order to avoid suspicion. The Fren who guarded them stood with their backs turned and were far enough away so that they could not hear their whispers.
“I discussed this with Heat. He seems to think that we should just go along with them. They don’t have any idea who we are,” Mich whispered.
One of the Fren turned his head and looked at them, grinned and turned back. They seemed more concerned with who might approach them than who might escape them. Perhaps they were expecting an attack from the Nola whom they believed was still out there somewhere.
Tina lowered her voice below a whisper. “You know, I just can’t believe how we lucked out!” she said. “If they knew it was us, we’d probably be dead. I have an idea.” She paused, then said, “I think we should give ourselves new names to call each other, you know, for safety’s sake.”
“That’s a great idea, Tina,” Nola whispered. “I’ll be Wilma. That is my mother’s name.”
“That’s good,” Tina said. “I’ll be Joy. That was my friend’s name when I was little.”
“Okay,” Mich said, “I’ll take Richard.”
With that taken care of, they all sat quietly through the night, unable to rest. None of them had any idea of what lay ahead for them, or how they would get themselves out of this fix.
After an eternity of dead silence, the morning sun’s rays descended upon them. The Fren rose and moved on. Nola and the others got moving with alacrity, so as not to attract any hostile attention. This wasn’t entirely successful, but did cut down on the abusive behavior.
The Fren took them along the river and it wasn’t long before they arrived at the cliffs. The sheer stone rose above them, seemingly deep into the sky. The cliff face was riddled with tunnel entrances.
They stopped at a point near the center of the cliffs. Nola heard a bellow from somewhere far above.
“HOOO!” the voice floated down.
“Incoming!” yelled the guard next to Mich.
They stood a moment, waiting for something to happen. In a moment, they could see a huge wooden crate descending on ropes. As it neared the ground, the three humans were pushed forward toward it.
Spirit and Heat both whinnied loudly as they were hauled away from their friends.
“Esprit!” Nola cried. She hadn’t anticipated this. She struggled to follow but was roughly held back by two Fren. “Where are they taking you?” she called.
I don’t know, came his thought. I cannot read the minds of evil creatures, nor would I choose to. Do not worry for me, my friend! It is bad enough I should worry for you.
&n
bsp; Spirit’s thoughts came quietly. Nola had to concentrate in order to make them out. Perhaps the evil of this place prevented telepathy. She was losing him.
In one last rush of thought, he managed to say, Don’t forget, my friend, never lose faith! Never!
And with those words, he disappeared into one of the lower tunnels and his thoughts came no more.
Nola stared after them, the tears coming painfully to her eyes once again. She was shoved into the box with Mich, Tina and four Fren. The door was pushed closed from outside.
She hung her head in the darkness of the crate as it began to rise. She felt an emptiness she’d never felt before. She’d gotten used to Spirit’s reassuring thoughts, and she felt as if a large piece of whom she was, was gone. How could she be strong now? She was no longer a whole person. She'd lost her dreamstone cross and her best friend. She felt the walls of the box closing in.
The crate rose in silence. The only noise was that of the Fren’s harsh breathing. Nola’s ears were popping as the crate jarred against something. The door behind them fell with a loud crack against the tunnel floor.
Beyond the doorway was nothing but dust-filled blackness. The three friends were forced into the tunnel. As they stumbled along, they could still see rays of light that squeezed between the planks of the crate and around its edges.
Nola was afraid as she once again faced forward. Her eyes strained, trying to penetrate the darkness. The walls around her were dark and rough. They seemed to feed hungrily on any light that shone on them. Nola searched desperately for her feet and hands in the dark but could see nothing.
She could feel that the tunnel had begun to wind to the left. She kept her shoulder close to the wall, touching it occasionally with her hands. She tried to keep a mental map of the tunnel. However, when the tunnel became steep, it twisted right, then left again; then it seemed to double back. Nola had lost all sense of direction. It was weird enough to be hauled way up to enter a tunnel that then wound steadily down, without trying to figure why it curved all around instead of going straight to its destination. But maybe the Fren were just naturally crooked creatures.