Chapter Two

His breath caught in his throat as the ghastly roar died away in the long tunnels of the dungeon beneath the Ifling fortress. He was completely unaware of the fact that Surith was calling his name until the ferret was standing right next to him, pulling urgently on his sleeve. He looked down to see the sparkle of dark, terrified eyes in the darkness, but he could make out nothing else now that all the torches had gone out.

 

“We have to go, now.” The ferret’s voice was tight with fear as it continued to pull at his sleeve.

 

“Are we safe?” David asked with a tremor in his own voice as he strained his eyes to see into the cell across from theirs.

 

“We are as long as it’s in its cell. Now, come o-“

 

A terrible retching sound came from the far side of the corridor, followed by a loud, metallic thud against the floor only a few feet away from where they stood. The ground shook with the impact.

 

“What was that?!” David cried out as he blindly searched the darkness before him, trying futilely to see what had happened.

 

“We’re not all that safe anymore,” the ferret said in a deceptively calm voice. “Come on!” Surith grabbed hold of his sleeve, and pulled him towards the tunnel that had been revealed when the rocks that had blocked it had been removed solely by the ferret. He could tell were it was by the draft coming into the cell through it, and ducked his head to make sure he didn’t hit it against the top of the tunnel. He couldn’t exactly remember how big the opening had been before the lights went out, so he bent over almost double as he ran along, hoping that he would be low enough to fit through just fine. He could feel the rock closing in around him, and knew that he had made it into the tunnel just fine.

The awful roar sounded again, right behind them, and there was the scream of protesting metal as it tore their cell door loose from its hinges with what could only be incredibly strong limbs.

 

David ran down the tunnel as fast as he could, not the least bit worried about stepping on Surith for the ferret was much faster and already well ahead of him. He could tell this by the scrapping sound of the ferret’s claws on the rocky floor as it bounded along on all fours in front of him.

 

Fast as he was, apparently the Goragorfax was faster. Its hot, fetid breath hit upon his back only moments after he had entered the tunnel, and he knew he had no hope of beating it to the end, but he continued to run for all he was worth anyway, driven on by fear and the adrenaline that particular emotion was pumping into his system. The Goragorfax thudded along behind him at an amazing pace, whatever claws it had scrapping loudly against the floor. Although he felt for sure that the creature had to be enormous since it had so easily ripped not one but two metal doors right off their hinges, it seemed to have no trouble going through the tunnel that was so short that David was bent over as he ran to keep from hitting his head against the low ceiling. Its breathing came in rapid, excited hisses that flowed over the back of David’s shirt and tickled the hairs on his neck.

 

He tried to ignore the thing behind him, paying as much attention as he could to where he was putting his feet in the rocky terrain of the tunnel, not wanting to chance a fall that would see the creature upon him in an instant. He stumbled once or twice, but quickly found his footing. Fingers trailing along the sides of the tunnel, he tried to keep himself heading in the right direction. He couldn’t afford to get turned around in the pitch black, and get lost in the tunnel if it should happen to branch off or anything of that sort, not with that creature chasing after him.

 

He had tried to be careful of where he was putting his feet, but he finally landed on a rock the wrong way, and fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, scraping the skin off in several areas. The thing behind him growled with an air of excitement, knowing its prey had stumbled in the dark, and lunged at him. He barely managed to scramble back onto his feet in time to avoid being flattened to the ground as the creature pounced. It landed with a spray of gravel and a frustrated snarl as the boy shot out from under its clutches.

 

“Surith!” he cried out, not knowing what else to really do other than continue his blind dash down the tunnel. He wasn’t even sure if he was going in the right direction anymore. There was nothing to tell him if he had gotten turned around after his fall and short scuffle with the monster behind them. The fall had slowed him considerably, giving the Goragorfax time to catch up with him, again. Sharp, stinging pain exploded in his back, and he was nearly knocked down by the forced of the blow that had struck him. Four, terrible claws ripped down his shirt and tore into his back, but he didn’t stop, even with the tremendous pain now shooting through him. He staggered on, but had now been slowed even more by the terrible wounds that had been inflicted on him. Blood rolled down his back, soaking into the waistband of his pants where it was even now starting to dry into an unpleasant, tacky mess.

 

Suddenly, a small, pinpoint of light appeared in front of him, and he knew that the end of the tunnel was in sight. It was still daylight outside, and the ferret had said that the monster behind him was afraid of the light. If he could make it to the end of the tunnel, he would be safe.

 

A long, narrow, moist thing snaked about his waist, and pulled him backwards with a tremendous force. His feet were pulled up off the floor as the thing that had caught hold of him lifted him up. The Goragorfax had, amazingly enough, caught him with its tongue, and was now pulling him back into its mouth. He had no idea what the size of the thing truly was, but he could easily imagine getting shoved into the mouth whole without even a chance to scream for help. Doubling over, he managed to touch the floor with his hands, and started feeling about frantically with his fingers, trying to find anything that he could use against the beast before it had time to devour him whole. The tips of his fingers brushed over a large, jagged rock, and he seized it up in his grasp. Turning about in the confines of the thing’s tongue, he stabbed down with the rock as hard as he could, piercing the sensitive flesh that encircled him. The Goragorfax let him go with an awful, pained roar that echoed through the tunnel, deafening David with its sound.

 

He dropped to the ground with a grunt, and turned from the thing. Sprinting for the light ahead of him, he prayed that he made it to safety before the monster could recover itself. The Goragorfax had not been stopped by the blow, and was soon after him again, its screams now those of a thoughtless, enraged monster. The sounds did not stop as it charged after him, intent on making him pay dearly for what he had done to it.

 

The light before him grew larger and larger, but it was not until he stumbled out of the tunnel that he finally felt safe. Collapsing to the ground, he rolled over onto his side and looked back at the tunnel just a few feet away. He couldn’t see the monster within, but its snorting breath and anguished cries let him know that it was still there, standing near the exit of the tunnel, but not even coming out far enough for him to get a look at it. Hiding in the shadows of the exit, the beast screamed and hissed at him, but refused to come out any further to avenge itself. He assumed it simply could not do this, regardless of how much it wanted to. The light of the sun kept it at bay.

 

Looking up from the tunnel he had narrowly escaped from, he could see that it led deep into the bowels of a large, dark structure that looked like what one might assume a castle in a fairly tale looked like, one belonging to an evil witch or magician. The walls were smoothed to the point that one could see not a single crack running through the material it had been made of, running high into the sky where they ended at the corners in tall spires that looked like daggers piercing the clouds above. The entire structure shimmered in the light. There was not a single window or anything that looked remotely like a door to be seen. The whole structure sent the enormous forest about its shadowed side into what looked like an early night, completely blocking out all sunlight. Fortunately, they had come out on the side that was now being lit by the sun. If they had come out during the morning hours, the Goragorfax would have had enough darkness from the shadows of the fortress to have been able to pursue them.

 

Surith knelt down next to him, and helped him to his feet. “Come on, lad. Let’s get out of this place. The Goragorfax may not be able to come out into the light of day, but that won’t stop the trolls or the Iflings if they discover we’ve escaped.”

David turned from the Ifling fortress, and stumbled after the ferret into the forest beyond. They soon lost themselves among the massive trees and thick undergrowth, safe, for the time being.

 

 

*****************

 

Gunth stood before the throne of Xorin Tull, head lowered in shame. It had only just been discovered that the prisoners, and one Goragorfax, had escaped their cells sometime during the early afternoon hours. The tunnel they had used to accomplish this had been easily found by the guard who had gone to deliver their noontime meal, but none had proceeded to its end, assuming the prisoners were now in the belly of the monstrous beast. No one wanted to run into the Goragorfax, even if its belly was full, for they were well known to be temperamental and gluttonous, even at the best of times. Gunth and all the other trolls had not seen the death of these two prisoners as a bad thing, but it was obvious that the Iflings did not view it in the same light. Many of them in the throne room were in an obvious state of high agitation, twitching their long tails rapidly about their legs and wringing their long, delicate fingers together as they milled about, their hooves clicking against the floor rapidly as they paced about. Worse yet, Xorin was visibly displeased.

 

Xorin’s nostrils flared several times their usual size, staying open the entire time, a sure sign that he was not the least bit happy with this most recent situation. “They escaped? How did they escape?” His voice was low and powerful, a sure sign that this was not a good time to be talking to him, and Gunth now wished he were somewhere else, anywhere else.

 

“A tunnel that the ferret must have found while digging about the cell,” Gunth answered. “We had no idea it was there.”

 

Xorin nodded. His voice dropped into a freezing cold zone that did not bode well for his captain of the guard. “A tunnel, you say. They escaped through a tunnel that your men did not know of? How could that be? Do you fools not realize that a prison is supposed to be secure? Do you not realize that escape is supposed to be impossible? Why would I have ordered you to put them in the dungeon when I wanted to keep them if you were just going to let them walk right out of it?”

 

“They are of no threat to us now, lord Xorin. The Goragorfax that escape caught them and ate them,” Gunth reassured the Ifling, feeling that this could only be a good thing for all of them.

 

“Are you so sure of this? I must know for certain.” He placed the tips of his long fingers together, and rested his narrow chin against them. “Take your best men, and I doubt that is saying much, and search this tunnel and the forest beyond. I want proof that they are dead, especially the member of the tribe of Arthur. Bring me proof that the Goragorfax ate him. And Gunth.”

 

The troll looked up at his king.

 

“Don’t fail me this time.”

 

 

******************

 

David stumbled about after the quick moving ferret, feeling more worn and tired than he ever had in all his life. Judging by the position of the sun, they had been free for several hours now, and had been on the move the whole time. Surith refused to slow down, even when David begged him and cried out that he could go no further. Each time Surith would turn his head about on his long neck without slowing, and call behind him, “Do you want to end up back there? Xorin will send out guards to look for us, and they won’t get so tired so fast, not with thoughts of Xorin’s whip running through their heads. Come on, just a little further.”

 

A little further seemed to be miles and miles away, but he kept struggling along behind his only companion in this whole world. It was obvious that the little ferret had no intention of stopping, and he couldn’t afford to lose the only friend he had found in this strange place. He pushed himself, even though his muscles cried out in pain and his lungs shrieked in agony, he kept pressing himself along behind the ferret.

 

Finally, near dark, they stopped next to a large tree to rest. David sat down, and looked at his sore feet to find that during the day’s activities he had managed to cut them up pretty badly. Blood had smeared all over the soles of his feet, and it took him some time to locate all of the lacerations that had caused the bleeding. That and the cuts in his back caused him to be amazed that he had not succumbed to sever blood loss and pass out long before he had reached their destination. Surith moved closer to him, and took a look at his wounds, checking first the ones on his feet and then the four along his back.

 

The ferret hissed air through his teeth. “Those look pretty bad, but I know of something that will help. I also have to get us something to eat. You rest here, and I’ll go get what we need. I’m not planning on moving any further this day, and I think we have gone far enough to be safe.” The ferret looked about him as if confirming this statement. “Even in the dark of this night, I don’t think the Goragorfax will be able to find us, if they do let it out to hunt for us. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He turned, and swiftly bounded away in the direction they had been heading in all that afternoon.

 

David thought of calling the ferret back as he bounded off between the tall trees of the forest, but thought better of it. He had been right. They needed food, water and he did need some medical attention if the ferret knew what he was talking about. His wounds were pretty bad, and if they weren’t treated they would soon run the risk of becoming infected or losing enough blood that he would pass out. They couldn’t afford for him to be a frightened child, demanding not to be left alone right now.

 

He leaned his back against the rough bark of the tree he had sat down next to, alternating holding one foot and then the other to try and ease the pain, coating his hands in his own blood as he did so. He closed his eyes, and listened to the forest around him, wondering if he would hear anyone before they could get to him. He wasn’t cut out for this sort of life, and he knew it. He was just an apprentice to his uncle, not a fighter or a soldier. He knew nothing of taking care of himself in the wild, and was now completely dependent on the ferret he had befriended back in the Ifling prison. If something happened to Surith, he was as good as dead, and he knew that, too. He had no idea how to get home, how to find food or even what would be edible in this strange new world. He had no idea how far it was to the nearest civilized establishment or even what that place would be populated with. For all he knew it was common for animals to speak in this world, and the towns were all filled with talking cats, dogs, ferrets and hamsters.

 

With thoughts of all the horrible things that could happen to him if the ferret didn’t come back running about in his mind, David slipped into a fitful, uneasy sleep.

 

********************

 

 

Gunth stood outside the tunnel’s exit, looking in at the wounded Goragorfax that still hung about the shadows of the rocky corridor. Blue ichor trickled out of the cave from where one of the prisoners had stabbed at the creature, wounding it worse than he had ever seen one of its kind wounded before. Its unsubstantial body shifted and changed constantly as it tried to find some form that would let it deal with the pain it was in. The long tongue, spilling fluid even now, transformed from tongue to leg to arm to tentacle to tongue once again at a rate that was impossible to keep up with as it flailed this wounded appendage about. Even in the waning light it refused to leave the safety of the tunnel, all thought of chasing after those that had hurt it gone long ago. Now, it only wished to remain in a safe place, letting its wounds heal.

 

They had found the exit to the cave earlier that day during their search for the prisoners. Gunth’s hopes that it had eaten the prisoners swiftly evaporated when he found the Goragorfax lingering near the end of the tunnel, wounded and whining for help. Its shapeless body had swirled and roiled in a display of extreme agitation just beyond the light that was getting into the cave. Gunth had barely been able to make out its ever changing shape with his eyes as he stared in to see if either of the prisoners was in there with it. He had sent two of his men in to search, one from the opening and one from the exit. While they were searching the tunnel, he sent out a number of trolls to start looking about the surrounding forest, not wanting to waste a moment of time just in case they had escaped, and that seemed more and more likely with each passing moment. The two in the tunnel returned to report that there were no signs of the prisoners within. That would have meant nothing in and of itself if the Goragorfax had eaten them, as they can change size and shape at will and tend to eat their prey whole, but with it injured and as frightened as it was, he doubted that both had ended up in its belly where they belonged. The question was were either of them in there now, or had they both escaped?

 

He growled angrily at the two trolls standing dumbly before him. “Start searching the forest with the others. Report back to me if you find even the slightest trace of their passing.”

 

They both trundled off without saying a word, fearful of how angry their captain had been at them. He turned to the fortress to report his findings to Xorin. This was not going to be a pleasant evening.

 

 

*******************

 

A small, furry hand was shaking his shoulder, and David started out of a rather nasty dream with a frightened cry. Fortunately, the nightmare easily let him go, and it turned into a ghost of a memory within seconds of coming awake. He looked up to see that Surith had returned, and was carrying a number of large, melon-like fruits and long, narrow leaves in his paws. He knelt down, and handed David one of the fruits. “Here, eat this while I take care of your wounds. We have to be heading out again soon, so this can’t take much time, and you need your strength.”

 

David looked up at the darkening sky, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them. “Go? Again?” he asked groggily. “Why do we have to get going again, and so soon? I thought you said we were done moving for the day, and it’s going to be so dark soon. Can’t we wait until tomorrow?”

 

Surith shook his head. “No. We have to get going now. This place isn’t as safe as I had originally hoped it would be. There is a ravine not far from here. I saw it as I was out gathering the things we needed. Its floor is well hidden by a good many, very leafy plants and will offer us a considerable amount of protection from being detected by the trolls, and I can assure you that they are looking for us. Now, eat, but take off your shirt first. I need to see to those wounds on your back.”

 

David slipped the torn bit of cloth, not really so much a shirt now as a rag, over his head, and set it beside him before picking up the fruit. He started to peel it while Surith wrapped some of the long, narrow leaves about his middle, much like a bandage. To make sure it stayed in place, he also wrapped them about both his shoulders, making it a bit difficult to move his chest, but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem he hoped. He could breathe well enough, and that was all he really needed to do for the time being.

 

“What about cleaning the wounds first?” he asked as he tossed the last of the peel away. He had been too hungry to even think of mentioning that before, but now that his belly was no longer grumbling at him, his medical training was coming back. Bandaging a wound was a good thing, but you had to make sure it was clean to avoid getting the wound infected.

 

“The leaves do that,” Surith uttered as he tied the ends of the bandage tight. “They also secrete a medicine that will help the wounds heal faster. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

 

David fell silent, and let the ferret work on his wounds. He took a bite out of the fruit, and was instantly amazed at, not only how good it tasted, but how juicy it was. It was an explosion of sweetness that overwhelmed his taste buds. He licked the juice trickling down the corner of his mouth up with an eager tongue. He had not eaten all day, and this was absolutely wonderful. He couldn’t even decide what it tasted like. It seemed to be part apple, part pear, part peach and part strawberry. He quickly gobbled up the rest of the fruit, and eagerly went for a second one.

 

After his back had been taken care of, bound tightly in the narrow leaves, the ferret moved to his feet, wrapping each one tight in the leaves until he felt sure that he would not be able to even wiggle his toes. The pain of the wounds quickly abated, and a soothing coolness seemed to flow into him from each cut. Sitting back, the ferret said, “The wrap around your middle will last a few days without needing to be changed. The ones about your feet will have to be changed daily, due to the fact you’re going to have to be walking on them. Ready to go?” it asked, staring up at him with dark eyes that twinkled in the waning light of day.

 

David pointed at the melons by Surith as he tossed the skin of his own into the tall grass. “You haven’t eaten yet.”

 

“I can wait until we reach the ravine. It isn’t far.”

 

David climbed to his feet, hissing in pain. Now that he was putting pressure on them, they were starting to hurt all over again. Nodding he said, “Let’s get this over with.” He bent down, and gathered up as many of the fruits as he could carry. He wobbled and stumbled around a good deal, but he managed to follow the ferret between the tall trees and through the grasses, sometimes only being able to see the arched back of the ferret as he leapt clear of the waving, green blades. They soon reached the edge of the ravine, as Surith had promised. David looked down into it with a groan of dismay.

 

The sides of the ravine were fairly steep with jagged rocks protruding out of them. There were a decent number of hand holds, but with his feet the way they were, it would hurt going down. The ferret had been right about it being impossible to see them once they were down in the ravine. The floor far below him was covered with thick, dense foliage that would easily hide them both from sight, even if someone were standing this close to the edge and staring straight at them.

 

Surith turned to him, and said, “Come on, let’s go. It’ll be dark soon, and we want as much light as we can get to see down there.” The ferret fell to all fours, and slowly lowered himself over the side, front first, by stretching out his long, furry body, and finding stable places to rest before lowering the back half of himself. He descended this way, moving much like an inch worm, with a decent amount of speed. He moved with a deceptive amount of ease, and the boy found himself envying the thing.

 

David watched the ferret until he had reached the bottom, where he disappeared into the lush, green foliage with a soft rustle of leaves, and then, with a deep sigh, he sat upon the edge, dangling his feet down the dirty side. There was no plant life lining the steep sides which meant there would be no roots he could use for hand and foot holds, so he had to search about for what looked like a fairly trustworthy rock to put his weight on before he could go on. There was one about six feet from the edge where he was sitting. Turning about, he lowered his feet down to the small ledge, keeping hold of the edge with his fingers. The dirt beneath the tips of his fingers suddenly gave way, and he slid down the length of the side until his feet hit against the ledge he had seen. It held for only a moment before the dirt crumbled away beneath his weight, dropping him like a stone. He fell and tumbled over and over, hitting against clumps of dirt and jagged rocks until he crashed into the brush twenty feet below the edge he had been standing on only seconds ago. The wind was knocked out of him, and he felt certain that there couldn’t be a single part of his body that wasn’t now covered with a bruise. He didn’t feel anything trickling down his back, and was honestly surprised that he had not torn his bandages out of place during the fall. He inspected his bound feet, and found that they were in no worse condition than they had been before he had slipped down the entire side of the steep ravine.

 

Surith hopped over to him, and leaned close. “Are you alright?” he asked with only the slightest hint of concern in his voice.

 

David slowly sat up, rubbing at his bruised arm. “I…I think so. That hurt.”

 

“Well, I didn’t expect you would fall the entire way.”

 

“I didn’t intend to.”

 

“Well, come along then. Let’s get down this ravine a short way, and see if we can’t find a safe place to rest.”

 

David climbed to his feet, and noted that the plants stood only up to his belly. If he was going to hide among them, he would have to crawl on his hands and knees, and he didn’t feel like doing that right now. He followed after the bouncing form of Surith, still stumbling and wobbling along, hoping they could rest soon.

 

 

*****************

 

Xorin sat back in his throne, staring down at Gunth. He was not pleased with the troll, not in the least. If he had not been a practical and patient Ifling, he would have ordered the troll’s head cut off and mounted on a pike before the fortress for all to see, but the troll had always been loyal and dependable before now, and it did seem foolish to waste good help in such an unproductive way. “They escaped, you say.”

 

Gunth nodded. “Yes, m’lord. At least, we believe they did. The Goragorfax was badly wounded when we found it, and so we assume they eluded its clutches. My men are searching the forest as we speak.”

 

Xorin leaned forward, his lip curling up to reveal row after row of sharp fangs. “Find them. Find them, or I shall mount your head in the central hall for all to see,” the Ifling hissed, exposing every last one of his two hundred teeth in a snarl that would turn the hair on anyone’s head white.

 

Gunth bowed, and retreated out of the room without uttering another sound. He knew that now was not the time for banter with his master.

 

Hothe, who was not so well versed in the Lord Ifling’s moods, glided forward to stand beside Xorin. Whispering in his ear, the aide said, “Did I not tell you it was not the best idea to keep him alive. You should have killed the member of the tribe of Arthur while you had the chance. Now he is gone beyond our reach, beyond our control. He is free to do what Merlin foresaw he would do. Perhaps Arthur’s wizard did know what he was talking about after all. Our time is nearly at an end.”

 

Xorin waved the aide away with an irritated flick of his hand. “Let me be, snake,” he hissed angrily. “All is not lost. They could not have gotten far. They will be returned to me, and this time, I will have what I want from that one. I will have what I want, and then he shall die the most horrible death one can think of.”

 

 

******************

 

Surith knelt beside the sleeping form of the member of the tribe of Arthur, a small, gleaming dagger held against the soft, pink flesh of the throat that trembled with his breathing. They had finally found a decent place to sleep, and the boy had settled down into a deep slumber the moment he had laid down. The ferret, on the other hand, had stayed awake for several hours, his thoughts roiling like mad in his head. It was now late into the night, and he had finally made up his mind, or so he had thought.

 

His hand trembled with his indecision. It would be better for all if he ended the stranger’s life here and now, especially for the boy. He was a young pup who had made some terrible error of judgment in coming here. There was no way that he could be the one Merlin spoke of, but there would be those that would believe him to be, and then everything would change, wouldn’t it? Even if he was not the one, everything would change because there would be those who would want it to be true, those who would use the boy as a figure head, not caring one bit about what they were doing to him, or his wishes in things. He was not some great person, come to change the world for the better, Surith felt sure of this. He was a child, wanting nothing else but to go home. Who were they to keep him for their own purposes? Who were they to decide his fate just because of the words of an old and wise man that had been spoken hundreds of years before this little one’s life had even began.

 

He pressed the knife against the defenseless throat, but it trembled in his hand, and he could not seem to get it to make the cut that he was sure would be for the best. He could not bring himself to free this creature from its horrible fate. Cursing his inability to do what must be done, he lowered the knife, resting the cold edge against the boy’s arm. The boy hadn’t stirred once the entire time his life had been threatened, but now he shivered slightly as the knife rested its cool blade against him. He would wake in the morning, thinking the ferret was his best friend in the whole wide world, but Surith would know. Surith would know how he had almost murdered a defenseless cub. And for what? To protect it? What was he protecting the boy from? Did he even know what the fates had in store for any of them? Was it his place to decide such horrible things? He was the second cousin to the queen of the Blackfoot tribe, a title that held no weight, no meaning, even among his own kind. He did not want this burden. He did not want to be the one that took the boy out of this world. He also did not want to be the one to introduce him into it. Surely this was not what was meant for him. He had only saved the boy out of kindness, and now just look at the mess he found himself in. Surely this was not the time, not the place, for the one Merlin spoke of to arrive. This boy was a mistake, a mistake that could only ruin their world, but he did not have the strength to correct it.

 

Surith leaned down close to the deeply slumbering figure, brushing aside a lock of dark brown hair, and whispered into David’s ear, a sound no louder than a gently breeze blowing through the trees, “This is for the best. If you die out here in the wild, perhaps your fate will be better than if you live and are mistaken for someone you cannot be.”

 

With these last words, the ferret turned about, and hopped out of David Alexander’s life forever, hoping the cruelness of the wild would have the courage do what he could not.