Of course, I couldn’t follow them for long. They were on horseback and I was on foot. Also, I had to assume that they still had men looking for me. I stayed at the edge of the woods and followed the road, but very soon I lost track of the hoofbeats.
I sat on a fallen log and tried to remember my Webelos orienteering. I had a pretty good sense of direction, but there was no way I would be able to find my way back to the Malveen’s hideout. However, Rocko had gotten us from Fester to just outside of Cassab without too much twisting and turning. If I figured correctly, Cassab was mostly east and a little bit north of where we crossed the river when we escaped from the Duke’s castle. If I headed due west, I would be sure to get to the river. Then I could look for a place to cross. After that – well, I would have to improvise.
Next task – which way was west? By gut feel, the main road leading our of Cassab seemed to run north. I’d have to leave the track and go cross-country. I peered up through the tree canopy to gauge the location of the sun. It was almost right overhead, so that was of little help. I’d just have to go with my gut and keep an eye on the track of the sun. If it appeared to be lowering in a different direction, I would adjust my course.
I stepped off the road and plunged into the undergrowth. It was thick, but not insurmountably so. I had spent much of my youth thrashing around in woods very similar to the ones I was in now. I was very familiar with this type of terrain, and as a result, it only took me an hour to become hopelessly lost.
I had been pretty sure that I was heading in a westerly direction, but the trees began to grow closer together. The canopy overhead was so dense that I couldn’t get a reading on the sun. I tried to soldier on as best I could. I’d pick a tree that was where I thought west should be, then make for that tree. Once there, I’d pick the next tree in line and keep going. It was a rough slog without a compass, and I just had to hope I was traveling in the right direction.
My stomach began to hurt, then my head. The hangover was back in fiull force, but it was also something more than that. The cumulative effect of the last several days, the lack of food, lack of sleep, too much beer – it was like I was back in Seattle, still living my worst life. Then there were the mind-altering effects of the travel, for lack of a better word. First from my fifty-year old body into my thirteen-year-old one, then sideways into this crazy sword and sorcery parallel universe.
Head aching, gut banging (and now, subtly, beginning to crave food), I pushed forward through the dense brush and trees. I stumbled over roots and logs, occasionally falling to my knees. I gave up any pretense of trying to follow a regular path. I was just going with my gut – my hollow, rolling gut.
I must have started to hallucinate. Ahead, I thought I could see a small but intense blue-white light, maybe the size of a firefly, but much brighter. I wasn’t sure if I was following it, or it just happened to appear in the direction I was heading. It really didn’t matter.
Sometimes, it appeared to be just a few yards ahead of me, other times it disappeared from sight entirely. I stumbled onward, and it appeared again. It drew closer, and it grew larger. It looked like a human form in a luminous shroud. The form twisted around, and I caught a glimpse of its face.
It was Lady Gieselle!
I dropped to my knees and cried out, “My Lady! My Lady!” The figure swooped into the brush and disappeared.
I moaned and staggered to my feet, trying my best to run after the glowing form of the fair Lady Gieselle. Either she had escaped or I was seeing things – although I knew that the latter was much more likely. I ran raggedly through the rough underbrush, pursuing where the vision had disappeared. Where had the fair lady gone?
I staggered on, feeling hopeless and hopeful at the same time. I had to find Lady Gieselle! So intense was my focus that I didn’t notice a growl that came from behind me. There was a whine and a sharp bark. I turned to see a wolf in the clearing across from me.
At least I think it was a wolf. Maybe it was a coyote or a dingo or just somebody’s big dog. I wasn’t enough of country boy to know. All I knew was that I didn’t like dogs. I never had since a neighbor’s toy poodle bit me on the calf when I was three.
I froze. The wolf-dog growled, and advanced slowly across the clearing. There was a flash of light from behind me, and then a bolt of – something, lightning – shot past my shoulder and lanced the wolf-dog. The beast gave a brief shriek, then toppled over dead. Smoke rose from a ragged black hole in it side.
I turned to thank my savior and beheld the shining visage of the enchanting Lady Gieselle. She stood about ten feet away, glowing and smiling radiantly. She beckoned me with her finger. I fell to my knees – partly from awe and partly from exhaustion. I opened my mouth to thank her…
And there was an almighty roar from behind me.
I twisted around to see a pillar of fire thundering into the darkening sky. There was just enough clearing in the branches overhead to see it clearly. Up and up the geyser of orange fire roared, wreathed in dense black smoke.
I looked around, but Lady Gieselle – or her apparition – had gone. I turned back and contemplated the fiery blast in the sky. It was ugly and foul, and could only have come from Fester. Most likely from the tower of Duke Noe’s castle.
Abruptly, it stopped; disappeared as if a switch had been thrown. Well, at least I now had a good idea of which direction Fester was. Feeling slightly more clear-headed from the adrenaline rush, I marked a path in the direction of the fire-pillar and began moving through the woods in that direction.
I reached the river road just as the last light of day was fading. I was lucky. If I had followed the apparition of Lady Gieselle, I would have gone the wrong way. Maybe. Or maybe she was guiding me to a safer place. I don’t know. Hell, I really didn’t know anything at this point, other than I wanted to drop about forty bucks at a McDonald’s and then sleep for three days.
That wasn’t in the cards. My new goals were to: 1) free Rocko, then 2) free Lady Gieselle. To do these things, I had to first get across the river. I peered through the bushes, but the river road seemed to be clear. I could see the stone bridge in the distance – located approximately where the Iron Bridge was in my world’s Fester. As far as I knew, it was the only way across the river, and was sure to be heavily trafficked and tightly guarded. As if to prove my point, a pair of armored horsemen thundered across the bridge as I watched. I’d have to swim again.
The Duke’s castle was less than a quarter mile upriver from the bridge. I went about a hundred yards upstream of the castle and hunted up a suitably-sized log that I could use as a float. I stripped off my clothes and piled them on the log and began paddling across. When I was about halfway across, the thunderous roar came again, and I could clearly see the column of fire and smoke rising from the top of the tall tower at the Duke’s castle. Undoubtedly some of Ellas’ dark magic. In response, I could hear a clamor in the castle. A few minutes later, a large number of horsemen galloped across the bridge, this time heading away from Fester. I stopped kicking and sank down behind the log until they had passed, then began paddling madly for the shore.
I made it to the Fester side of the river and scrambled up the steep bank. I crawled under a bush and put my clothes back on, then just rested, trying to catch my breath and figure out my next move. The clamor from the last tower eruption had died down, so I crept out from under the bush and made my way carefully to the base of the castle wall.
I found a stout branch about the size of a baseball bat. I doubt it would do me much good in a fight against one of the guards, but it felt comforting to have a solid chunk of wood in my hand. I stuck to the river side of the castle, as there were fewer doors and openings on that side. I got to the base of the tower, which was closest to the river. I heard a faint rustling coming from further along the tower base. I faded back a few steps and kept moving, trying to be as silent as possible.
In the light of the rising moon, I could see a small, hunched-over figure scrabbling at what appeared to be a small, barred window. It looked like one of those twisted little man-things, like the one who had brought me the gruel when I was in the dungeon. Surely, I could handle it with my piece of wood. I wound up and prepared to rush at the dark figure.
“Put that branch down, Scott Gray,” hissed the figure. “Don’t be a fool!”
It was Rocko.
“Rocko!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Didn’t they capture you at Cassab?”
“Shh,” he admonished, holding a long finger to his lips. “Yes, I got away. You may have noticed that the Duke’s men look frightening, but they are not very competent. They mostly rely on intimidation. I escaped quite easily. However, we have another problem with which we must deal. Look.” He stepped back from the barred window and waved at it. I took a cautious step forward and peered in. It opened on a dungeon much like the one I had been imprisoned in, but this one was somewhat larger. In the dim moonlight filtering down, I could just make out Misa Malveen and her brothers chained to the stone walls.
Part 13 Coming Soon!