The Warble (16 page)

“You must hurry; for
there is a band of zelbocks headed this way, and they’ll be here within a few
minutes,” Roage said.

Werrien took the rope
and placed it through the iron ring. Then he threw the ends of it over a sturdy
tree branch and began to pull on it as hard as he could. The door lifted up,
but then his hands suddenly slipped from the rope, and the door dropped and
slammed shut again. Using all his strength, he pulled on it again and managed
to lift it slightly higher than the last time.

“It’s big enough for me
to get through,” Looper said.

“Then go quickly! I
don’t think I can hold it much longer,” Werrien’s voice strained.

Looper cautiously went
in, and just as he disappeared, Werrien dropped the rope and the door slammed
down.

“They will have to come
quickly for you, or else you will surely be caught again by the zelbocks,”
Roage said to Werrien.

Werrien was still not
sure what was going on, or even what the door in the ground was for. “Who will
have to come for me?”

Before Roage could
answer, the door in the ground suddenly lifted up and Rumalock stuck his head
out into the open air. “Ah! Werrien! You have made it. Come down inside,” he
said.

Werrien took the rope
off the tree, placed it back where he had found it, and started to cover it up
again.

“Just leave it and go,”
Roage said impatiently. “You can’t afford to be caught again.”

Werrien went into the
underground after Rumalock, and the door slammed shut after him. Roage quickly
buried the rope and covered the door with the leaves. He had just finished when
the zelbocks approached.

One of them caught
sight of him and shot an arrow at him. It caught the end of his wing and pulled
out a few feathers. The arrow landed in the earth, no more than a quarter-inch
from the covered door. Roage let out a shrill caw and flew off.

After the door in the ground shut,
Rumalock climbed down an old wooden ladder, and Werrien followed after him.
Above them, they could hear the pounding of the zelbocks’ horses’ hooves as
they trampled over the hidden door.

The underground was
cold, and it smelled of damp earth. Rumalock began to walk north, toward a dark
tunnel. He carried the same lantern that Werrien had held on the raft ride
earlier that evening, and again, it was their only source of light.

“Where are you taking
me?” Werrien asked Rumalock.

“Just follow me,”
Rumalock said ardently and led the way through a tunnel that was just tall
enough for him to fit through. Werrien had to duck, for he was at least a head
and a half taller than Rumalock. The farther they traveled, the thicker the
silence became; Werrien began to feel somewhat claustrophobic. Finally, they
reached a wall, and Rumalock turned left. They walked on farther yet, until a
light could be seen coming from a room up ahead. Sitting in the middle of the
room were Ugan, Retzel, and Kristina, and on Retzel’s shoulder sat Raymond. The
four of them were sitting around a table, looking at a map. Clover sat on the
edge of the table, swinging her legs to and fro, looking not the least bit
interested in the whole situation. When they heard Rumalock and Werrien
approaching, they stopped talking.

“Werrien!” Kristina
said excitedly, jumping up and running toward him. She wrapped her arms around
him. “It’s so good to see you,” she said, closing her eyes and squeezing him
tight. As she did so, the Warble heated up the gold case, tucked inside
Werrien’s shirt. It became very hot, causing her to jump back quickly.

 “It’s nice to see
you…too!” Werrien returned the embrace yet he felt a little awkward about her
sudden affection toward him.

“Now children, I am
going to help you the best that I can, but we must get straight to business. As
you are well aware, Queen Sentiz and her zelbocks are after you,” Rumalock
said. He placed his lantern in the middle of the table between two large
dripping candles. Kristina sat back down in her chair, and Retzel quickly
pulled out a chair for Werrien to sit in. “I have sent a spy into the queen’s
camp to find out the direction they will be heading.” He brought everyone’s
attention back to the map. “The queen’s army will be heading northeast. Then,
at about this point,” he pointed to the map, “they will head east, to get to
the far north side of the mountain.” He dragged his finger a short distance and
then stopped. “They will climb the mountain at precisely this spot.”

“That’s the way I was
planning to go. It’s the only place I know of that one can climb up the
mountain. As a matter of fact, there is no other way,” Werrien said.

“Over the past several
years, I have searched the mountain’s base for another way up, and I have found
one more spot. Here.” Rumalock pointed his finger a little more west on the
map. “It’s a little risky, but it can be climbed, at this spot.”

 Werrien looked
closely at the spot on the map. “Funny, I’ve been around the base of the
mountain a few times, and I’ve never noticed a place there where the mountain
could be climbed.”

“Trust me; it’s there.
Would you bring out the Warble?” Rumalock asked Werrien.

Werrien reached inside
his shirt and took out the gold case, but as he was about to place it on the
table, it got so very hot that he had to drop it. It slid across the table and
stopped in front of Kristina.

“Well, at least we know
it’s in there. I will explain to you the safest and fastest way for you to get
to this spot at the mountain’s base without running into the queen’s army.”

“Oh, how I dread seeing
those horrible zelbocks,” Raymond chimed in.

Ugan, who had been
sitting quietly up until this point, decided to speak up. “There’s something
I’d like to give to you, my brother.” He reached into his coat, pulled out the
Book of Prophecy, and slid it across the table toward Rumalock.

Rumalock looked
surprised. “My brother, where did you get this?”

“I saved it from
burning in the fire at your home.”

“That is so noble of
you. I wouldn’t have thought you to do something so great.”

“It was not a great
deed that I did. Actually, I’m no more than a coward. You see, I gave it to the
queen, but it was not without consequences, for in my spirit I grieved, knowing
I had done nothing good in my life. But then, for some reason, I was given a
second chance when the queen fell overboard into the sea, and I was able to get
back the book. That’s when I made a promise to myself that I would return it to
you, if it were the last thing I did in my miserable life.” Ugan lowered his
head in shame.

There was silence for a
moment and a sad expression came to Rumalock’s face. “At least you have come
this far, my brother,” he said, softly.

A swift breeze blew
into the room and extinguished the two candles. Kristina grabbed hold of them
so they wouldn’t fall over. At the same time, the Book of Prophecy blew open to
the last page that had writing on it. New writing began to scroll across the
page as they watched.

“What does it say?”
Kristina asked.

All six gathered around
the book, and then Werrien read out loud:
“Queen Sentiz and her zelbocks are
leaving the base camp to begin their assent up Mount Bernovem in search of
Werrien and Kristina.”

Clover balanced on top
of the gold case, like a circus performer. “Ouch!” she yelled suddenly and
jumped off the case into the air, grabbing her feet in her hands. Everyone
turned their attention on her. “It’s hot!” she added, irritated.

Rumalock sighed and
then continued, “I’m sorry to say that there is no more time for discussion. We
must leave at once!” He closed the Book of Prophecy and tucked it under his
arm. Then he picked up the gold case, but it became so hot again that he had to
drop it. It fell on the floor and slid under the table. He picked it up, and
handed it to Werrien. Then he picked up the lantern and began to walk briskly
toward the dark tunnel. Kristina grabbed Raymond and followed him; the others
followed after her. When they arrived back at the ladder that led up to the
hidden door, Rumalock took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to
Werrien. “Here, take this small map. It has your directions from this point on.
I have outlined in red the way you should go.”

“But I have no weapons
to defend us,” Werrien said.

“I have taken care of
that.” Rumalock went behind the ladder. He came back with a bow and a quiver
full of arrows.

“That’s my bow and my
arrows! How did you get these?”

“Let’s just say I have
my connections. And,” he added, “I sharpened your arrowheads myself.” Rumalock
turned to Kristina. “My thoughts are with you, dear chosen one.” He turned to
Ugan and Retzel. “I want you two to go with the children.”

“What about you?”
Kristina asked Rumalock.

“Don’t worry about me,
child.” Rumalock gently placed his hand on Kristina’s shoulder. “You have
enough to think about.” He smiled kindly at her and then went to open the
hidden door. He watched as Werrien, Ugan, Retzel, and, lastly, Kristina climbed
up the ladder.

“Wait!” Kristina said
suddenly. She went back down the ladder and threw her arms around Rumalock.
“I’m worried that this could be the last time I see you.”

“Dear child, I know how
you must feel, but I’m sure everything will turn out for the best. Now, you
hurry up and get going.” Rumalock gave her a pat on her blonde head.

Kristina went quickly
back up the ladder, and the hidden door slammed shut behind her. But just
before it did, Clover slipped through the opening—if she had been even one
second later, she would have been squished like a bug. “Couldn’t wait just a
few seconds longer?” she snapped at Kristina.

“Look, Clover, we don’t
have time for arguing. Besides, you didn’t have to come,” Werrien said in
Kristina’s defense.

Clover’s eyes grew wide
with embarrassment.
How could he talk to me like that, and especially in
front of Kristina? The nerve he has, after I saved him from the wicked queen
.
“I see you won’t be needing me anymore,” she said haughtily. She wrinkled her
nose and stuck her tongue out at Kristina. Then she flew off.

“Feisty spirit that one
has,” Retzel said.

“She’ll get over it;
she always does,” Werrien said. Then he turned to Kristina, “Where’s Taysha?”
he asked her.

Kristina shook her head
sadly. “After Rumalock took me into the underground hideout, we heard a great
commotion above us. Rumalock said it must be the zelbocks searching for me. We
stood very quietly at the bottom of the ladder, and when the noise finally
stopped, Rumalock said it would be safe for me to check on Taysha. I went
outside again, but I couldn’t see her anywhere, and even when I called for her
and looked all around, she was nowhere to be found.”

Werrien lowered his
head in sadness.

“I’m so sorry, Werrien.”
Kristina felt terrible.

“She’s a smart girl.
She’ll find her way home.” Werrien took the map out of his pocket and began to
look it over. “It says we’re to head northwest from here. If everything goes as
planned, we should have the Warble up the mountain and in its resting place
within a day, hopefully.”

The four had been
walking for about half an hour when Raymond, who had been sitting on Retzel’s
shoulder, stood up on his hind legs and began to sniff the air.

“What is it, Raymond?”
Kristina asked.

“I sense something is
coming our way.”

They all stopped and
stood silent.

“I don’t hear
anything,” Ugan said.

“Sh-h! I think I might
hear something,” Werrien said. He drew one of his arrows out of his quiver and
quickly placed it in his bow. “Quick! Everyone take cover!”

Kristina, Ugan, and
Retzel, along with Raymond, ran and hid behind the nearby trees. Werrien drew
his bow back and was ready to shoot, but just before he let the arrow fly, he
heard a soft whinny. “Taysha? Is that you girl?”

A large figure emerged
from among the trees, and Werrien could tell that it was his beloved mare. She
went to him and nudged his arm with her head.

“I’m so happy to see
that you are well,” Taysha said.

Werrien hugged her
around her neck. “And I’m so glad to see you are well too.”

Their reunion was
interrupted by more noise coming from the same area where Taysha had just come
from. Werrien raised his bow again, ready to shoot.

“It’s okay; I brought a
friend,” Taysha said.

Then another horse
emerged; it was about the same size as Taysha however black in color.

“Oh, great, not another
big brute,” Raymond said, as they all came out from hiding.

“Lisheng?” Ugan
questioned the dark horse.

“Do you know this
horse?” Werrien asked Ugan.

“Very well, as a matter
of fact,” Ugan said. “This is Lisheng, Ramon’s horse.”

“Why have you come
here?” Werrien asked Lisheng.

“I have always wanted
to escape my horrible owner, but there was never an opportunity. I felt it was
only a farfetched dream for me, but today my dream has come true.”

“For me also, my good
friend but let me ask you—how did you ever manage to get away from Ramon?” Ugan
asked.

“Well, you see, Queen
Sentiz was in a rage, yelling out orders to the zelbocks. I saw her storm into
Ramon’s tent. Then he came out with her on his tail. She was shouting at him to
saddle me up and ride me ahead of the zelbocks. He was to lead them up the
mountain. When he came to the place where I was tied up, I noticed his behavior
was very strange—he was hiccupping and staggering, and his breath smelled
horrible. Then another odd thing—he’d usually saddle me before untying me, but
this time he untied me first and then went to get the saddle. When he left, I
noticed the zelbocks were running to and fro, preparing to leave. It was the
perfect opportunity for my escape, and escape I did.”

“Well, I guess you
couldn’t have come at a more opportune time,” Werrien said. “We could sure use
two horses to speed us along.”

“I am honored to be at
your service, Prince Werrien,” Lisheng said, enthusiastically.

Ugan and Retzel mounted
Lisheng, and Kristina and Werrien got onto Taysha, but before they proceeded,
Werrien took out the map once again to make sure they were heading in the right
direction. “Looks like we’re on track.”

The horses started to
gallop, but it wasn’t too far into their journey when they were visited once
again by Roage. He flew between the two horses and landed on the ground in
front of them. Taysha, startled, reared up on her hind legs.

“Whoa, girl! It’s all
right. He’s on our side,” Werrien said.

Roage stretched out his
wings and cawed loudly, making both horses skittish once more.

“Could you stop trying
to scare the horses?” Kristina snapped at Roage.