The Wanderers of the Water-Realm (65 page)

“It would appear that we are viewing the remains of yet another of the great bridges constructed by the ‘Ancient Dead.” Paris said knowledgeably. “It must have sprung from the area where the wall of the escarpment is torn away and then carried across yonder valley upon that line of pylons to the vicinity of the great metal spire. The bridge’s tubular roadway must have collapsed, due to the passage of time and its remains lie buried amidst that mass of vegetation in the valley bottom.”

“What you say is probably correct, envoy.” George agreed. “But why did the ancients build such an enormous structure in the first place?”

Myra immediately slapped her travelling pack. “In this receptacle I keep the grimoire of my ancestor ‘Rose Littlewood’ and she seems to have answered your question in the final page. Unfortunately it’s couched in yet another of her complicated riddles and I cannot grasp its full meaning. As I recall, it goes like this …

The old ones came and cast a span
Across a vale where terrors vie
So they, alone, could tread the path
To lands beyond the rolling sky
But venture forth, and love will die
.

“Strange words, indeed,” The envoy commented. “But I think we can assume the ‘Ancient Dead’ nurtured yonder ‘Forest of Oblivion’ and introduced its savage and dangerous inhabitants. The ancients doubtless intended the valley to act as an effective barrier between the general population of the Water-Realm and the portal that must have been of great value to them. However, they would need safe access for themselves and their servants and that appears to be the reason why they originally constructed the bridge.”

“Aye, that would seem to be the case,” Darryl said in agreement. “But the bridge is now gone and we must pass through that bloody jungle if we are to reach the portal. Yet do we stand a reasonable chance of making such a crossing?”

“I believe so!” The young witch answered decisively. “I have communicated at great length with Q22 and he informs me that his family has occasionally hunted in the fringes of the forest, but only when driven to do so by sheer starvation, for many of the plants in yonder forest are poisonous and a simple touch is enough to kill. Three ferocious carnivores are also present in great numbers. The forest is home to a huge creature, that moves on two legs and known to the Hix as K1. The beast is much feared because it can swallow a Hixian warrior in a single gulp. K2 is a snake-like predator that drags its victims into the depths of the swamps and devours them. But the creatures, which the Hix fear the most are the K3, and I had a great difficulty in gaining an accurate description of them, save that they are small, ferocious, hunt in groups and move so fast that even the quickest warrior cannot outrun them.”

The girl studied the look of near despair upon her companion’s faces, and she managed to force a smile.

“Do not be alarmed.” She said. “The Hix know of a route that will take us directly to the base of the spire and its one that can be travelled with a fair degree of speed…”

The girl paused and indicated that she was now receiving a mind-message from Q22 and moments later she turned her attention back to her comrades.

“Come.” She ordered. “Our guide grows impatient and requires us to continue the march without further delay!”

Q22 shook the young witch’s shoulder and made sure that she was fully awake before addressing her in mind-speak.

“Come wisewoman -- It will soon be time for the rising of the five suns -- We must move without further delay -- For a dangerous portion of the forest lies before us -- And I wish to be through it well before the next darkening!”

Myra struggled to her feet and immediately began rousing her fellow travellers; a task that proved to be far from easy, for each member of the expedition was now suffering from the physical effects of the journey.

Almost five darkening ago, Q22 had guided the expedition to the mouth of an ancient inspection duct that led the travellers downwards until they reached the soft leafy floor of the ‘Forest of Oblivion’. The Hixian escort had immediately formed up into a tight defensive screen and thereafter protected their charges with the greatest possible dedication, as the expedition passed beneatha thick canopy of high tree branches that filtered out most of the light from the five suns.

The first of their protectors had perished on the third day of their march through the forest, when a long worm-like creature lunged out from a patch of stinking marsh and dragged the Hixian down beneath the slime in the space of little more than a second. Another warrior had died when the trunk of a long dead tree was accidentally disturbed by their passage and fell, squashing the unfortunate spear-carrier like an over-ripe fruit, whilst a third was badly crippled and abandoned to his fate after stepping upon the spines of a poisonous plant. Small wonder that the expedition’s progress was slow and undertaken with great care, for danger was lurking on every side. Fortunately, Q22 had been able to follow the general line of the ancient bridge and the expedition was often able to pass, in near perfect safety, through long sections of the tubular roadway that had long ago crashed to the ground due to some powerful cataclysm and now lay in ruins upon the valley floor.

Myra succeeded in rousing her comrades from their slumbers and they slowly rose to their feet and began consuming the rich and nutritious purple fruit the Hix’had picked from nearby bushes. Fortunately, hunger was not one of their problems for the forest contained ample sources of food that could be procured without undue difficulty.

As the expedition was preparing to resume its march, Myra began to feel the strange sensation in her head warning her that Q22 was about to enter her mind.

“You must warn your people that today’s journey will take us through an extremely perilous section of the forest -- An area known to be the main breeding ground -- Of the terrible creature that we call -- K1 -- We must move slowly and with great care -- To avoid disturbing one of the females -- If we are unlucky and are attacked -- Then we must fight for our lives.”

The mental contact was broken and the expedition resumed its march and began entering a particularly dense portion of the forest, where the strange cries of unfamiliar animals echoed through the thick canopy of vegetation above their heads. Occasionally, they caught sight of massive herbivores, whose long necks enabled them to browse upon the tender foliage growing upon the upper branches of the tallest trees; animals whose ancestors had probably originated upon the planet Earth in some long forgotten age. But some of the other creatures, whom they briefly sighted, had a totally bizarre appearance suggesting an origin in some distant and unbelievably strange reality.

Biting insects were also present in this part of the forest and the travellers often had to brush them away from unprotected portions of their bodies as they marched. Unfortunately, the Hix were even more susceptible to their painful attentions and were obviously suffering terribly from their agonizing bites. The warriors were also much annoyed by the clouds of cloying vapour rising from the rotting vegetation lying underfoot and crushed with their massive feet as they advanced through the forest.

All day, the expedition struggled onwards and night was drawing near when Q22 halted the column and once again the wisewoman felt the Hixian entering her mind.

“Wisewoman ---- We have come across a female -- K1 -- Who is broodding a clutch of eggs -- The creatures usually continue sitting -- Come what may -- Se we will try to slip past her -- Keep a sharp look-out -- For if her mate is nearby -- He will attack at once!”

The young witch passed the message on to her comrades and the march was resumed without further delay.

Soon, the travellers became aware of a series of long menacing snarls issuing from the nearby undergrowth and as they advanced, they caught sight of the head of a fearsome creature staring menacingly at them from the shelter of a shallow depression in the ground. They shuddered with horror when they saw the long rows of sharp carnivorous teeth within its monstrous jaws. The rear of the column was almost beyond sight of the brooding monster, when an even larger specimen of the same genre burst out of the trees and attempted to seize one of the Hixian guardsmen who had closed in to protect the travellers with their long spears. George acted instinctively and leaping forward, he drove the head of his long handled axe deep into the creature’s forehead before the animal had time to grasp its intended pray.

The ex-boat hand then cursed as he watched the monster disappearing back into the jungle with his favourite weapon firmly embedded in its skull.

“A shame that I lost my trusty axe,” he remarked, as he drew the steel cleaver from his belt. “But I won’t need my war axe when I’m home and crewing on a canal boat!”

Evening came and the members of the expedition took refuge in a fallen section of the ancient bridge that snaked its way southwards through the steaming tangle of the forest, and the travellers were much heartened when Q22 mentioned that the most arduous and dangerous portions of the forest now lay behind them. He also told the wanderers that most of their route now lay through long-collapsed sections of the ancient bridge structure. The stout metal, he asserted, would protect them from the vicious animals dwelling outside in the tangled undergrowth and they would no longer be harassed by stinging insects and threatened by poisonous plants.

The following day found the expedition picking its way through the massive tubular sections that seemed to stretch endlessly before them. Indeed, so complete were many segments of this ancient roadway that not a single beam of light penetrated from without, and the travellers were forced to rely exclusively upon a strange blue light radiating from long lines of translucent globes hanging from the metal ceiling high above their heads.

“Bloody kind of the old devil’s to leave us some light.” George remarked to the envoy as they marched. “But how the hell do they keep burning after all this time?”

Paris shook his head. “The knowledge of the ancients was so great that we are little more than forest insects by comparison!”

The ex-boat hand simply nodded and asked no further questions.

Day followed day, darkening followed darkening and the expedition advanced with considerable rapidity through the tubular remnants of the old bridge structure. However, they were sometimes forced to endure the terrors of the jungle, for in a few places, the ancient roadway had been completely destroyed and they had no choice but to trek through the forest until they found the beginning of the next complete section.

One afternoon, the travellers emerged from a section of the roadway and found themselves staring at a massive cliff made from the same white metal. The cliff stretched upwards until it towered a good thousand feet above the valley floor. As Myra looked upwards in awe, she felt Q22 entering her mind.

“Wisewoman -- Half a day’s march beyond yonder wall -- Lies the base of the great metal tower -- And also the shrine that you have come so far to find ----.”