Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal Author Quest (6 page)

Rian choked over those last words, and I knew that he was thinking of Aedan. I walked over to him and leaned my crutches against the windowpane. “There was nothing you could have done to save him.”

He pretended not to hear me. “Safe. That was my first thought when I reached the Dark Wood: my own safety. After everything that happened to Aedan, after seeing all those other Gelfling and Podlings robbed of essence, all I could feel was relief that it wasn't me. No selflessness, no heroism. Just a Gelfling child with a sharp stick trying to save his own skin.”

I didn't have an answer for that. If even a warrior like Rian couldn't be a hero, I knew there was no hope for a cripple like me. We stood there in silence, staring out at the darkness and hating ourselves.

“I should have died with the rest of them,” said Rian. “I should have died trying to save Aedan.”

“And if you had died,” said Alethi from the hearth, “what would that have changed? Nothing. By bringing everything you've learned back to the clan, you're honoring the ones who died. Aedan would have wanted you to stay alive, to spread the truth.”

Rian spun to face her, his temper sparked. “You think Aedan would have wanted me to be a coward?”

“You're the bravest Gelfling I know.” Alethi walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “But bravery without wisdom is just dressed-up pride. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stay alive to fight another day.”

“I will fight,” said Rian firmly. “If nothing else, I promise you that.”

“You won't fight alone. I'll do everything in my power to help you.” Alethi gazed into his eyes so deeply that I again felt jealousy growl inside of me.

“And so will I, of course,” I interrupted. “I would beat down the Castle of the Crystal with my crutches if I could. But we're not strong enough. The Skeksis are twice our size, and they have weapons we don't even understand. There's no way we can defeat them.”

“You're right, Kaelan,” Rian agreed. “We can't defeat them, not alone. Even if we had the whole Harath clan with us, we would be no match for the Skeksis. But if we could unite all seven of the Gelfling clans—if we could bring all of Thra together to fight—then maybe we would have a chance.”

“But the clans haven't been united for almost a hundred trine,” Alethi said, frowning. “My father told me that all the clans used to gather for a festival every trine while the matriarchs of each clan held council with the queen. Over time, the rivalries between them became so fierce that they chose to stop gathering in order to preserve harmony. Now the clans live as peaceful strangers, indifferent to one another. We trade with each other, and the matriarchs still submit to the queen's authority, but we're not the unified race we used to be. We aren't enemies, but we're not allies, either.”

“We'll have to be allies if we want to live,” said Rian grimly. “Without all the clans, Thra won't survive. We need each other, no matter what rivalries may be lurking in our past.”

A moment passed before he added, “Even though those warmongering Spritons do make me ashamed to be a Gelfling—I'd rather chop off my ear-tips and pretend to be a Podling than admit I'm related to them.”

Alethi gave him a reproving look. “If you want unity as much as you say, you'd better watch your tongue.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rian laughed. “I know, I know. There's no way the other clans will trust me if I start our friendship by insulting them.”

“And what if they still don't trust you?” I asked. “You're a stranger to them, and it's not good news that you're bringing. If I were in one of the other clans, I would be looking for an excuse—any excuse—to believe that your whole story was just an elaborate hoax.”

“Rian wouldn't lie about something as important as this!” Alethi protested.

“Of course he wouldn't,” I agreed. “And I know that. But the other clans won't. It's in the Gelfling nature to turn a blind eye to evil. Just look how long our clan has watched the plains of Skarith die and pretended nothing is wrong—we'd rather believe an easy lie than a difficult truth. I doubt even the Harath clan will look kindly on the messenger who comes to tell them that their world is crumbling and everything they've known about the world since the Second Great Conjunction has been a lie.”

“Always the optimist, aren't you?” Rian smiled mysteriously. “You're right, Kaelan; the truth won't be what the Gelfling clans want to hear. But don't worry. I promise you, they'll believe me.”

I shook my head at the self-assured smile I knew so well. “How can you know that?”

“Because I have proof.”

He reached under his chainmail coat into the pocket of his tunic and pulled out several yellowed sheets of parchment. We gasped.

“Those aren't—” Alethi stammered.

“—skekTek's parchments?” I finished.

Rian nodded. “Just a few of them—I didn't want him to discover they were gone immediately. As long as he thinks I'm just a lazy guard who missed a shift, I'm less of a threat. Still, parchments or no parchments, I'm dead once he finds me, so I decided to make the most of the opportunity.”

“Are you sure it was worth the risk?” Alethi asked, her eyes bright with fear.

Rian's jaw clenched firmly. “Since that beam of blue light opened the door to skekTek's laboratory, every move I've made has been a risk. There's no such thing as safety anymore, not for me. The only thing I can do is fight against the Skeksis with everything I've got. This way, at least I've got evidence when I go to the clans. And hopefully it slows down skekTek's foul science for a few days.”

“Which parchments did you steal?” I asked.

“See for yourself.” He held them out to me. “Maybe you'll be able to make more sense of them than I could.”

“Doubtful,” I said, staring at the strange symbols and sinister-looking sketches.

“There's something else I've been wondering,” Alethi said to Rian. “How was a ray of light shining through a vial able to open skekTek's laboratory?”

Rian shrugged. “I've never seen or even heard of anything like it.”

“Nor have I,” said Alethi slowly. “Unless . . . but that's not possible.”

“What?” Rian urged.

Alethi knelt down in front of the forge fire. For a long time she said nothing. Then she sighed. “My father told me that long ago, before the Second Great Conjunction, there were stories of the Great Crystal coming alive whenever the harmony of Thra was threatened.”

Rian's forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean, ‘coming alive'?”

“I don't know, exactly. But according to the stories, the Crystal had the power to create change—to start a fire, or open a door, or save a life—in ways that would shape the destiny of Thra. And I thought maybe the light that came out of the vial had something to do with the Crystal. Maybe the Crystal
wanted
you to discover skekTek's laboratory, to see what you saw, to bring the Gelfling clans together.”

“It's as good a theory as any,” said Rian. “And maybe, if the Crystal meant for all this to happen, it will turn out all right in the end. Maybe we'll save the Gelfling clans and restore balance to Thra.”

Alethi turned to him with tears brimming in her eyes. “I wish you were right. But it's not possible.”

“Why not?”

A single tear slid down her cheek. “Because if the Crystal had the power to shape Thra's destiny, it never would have let the Skeksis crack it and turn the world dark.”

Rian said nothing.

I set skekTek's parchments on my anvil with a sigh. “I don't understand any of it—not the Crystal, not even these parchments. I've never seen script like this before.”

“My father may know how to read it,” said Alethi, running her slender fingers across the pages. “And if not, perhaps he'll know someone who can.”

Rian pulled his cloak around him and moved toward the door. “We'll go to your father's house, then. But we can't stay long—we need to warn the matriarch and the clan elders. And then I need to get out of Skarith, out of the Skeksis's reach.”

“Can't it wait at least till morning?” Alethi followed him and caught his hand in hers. She didn't seem able to stop touching him. “It's dangerous to travel outside Skarith so late after nightfall.”

“The Skeksis may not wait that long,” said Rian without looking up. “Besides, I'm beginning to believe that every danger we've feared for so long is really just another one of the Skeksis's disguises.”

“Even the Hunter?” asked Alethi.

“Especially the Hunter.” Rian's eyes darkened in anger. “Come on, let's go.”

I reached for my crutches. Rian turned to me with a strained expression on his face.

“Kaelan,” he said slowly, “perhaps it's best if you stay here. If we stay together and we're caught, the truth dies with us.”

“You're worried I'll slow you down,” I blurted out.

“It's not that!” Rian reddened. “The danger is too great. If Skeksis come looking for me here and find the smithy empty, they'll know you're involved somehow.”

“I don't care what they know.” I slammed my fist on the heavy oak table. “I'm every bit as willing to fight as you are.”

Rian smiled sadly. “You've always been a fighter, Kaelan. But not every battle is won with a sword. I need someone who can stay with the Harath clan and keep an eye on the Skeksis; someone they won't think of as a threat.”

“Who's threatened by a cripple?” I said bitterly.

“Please, Kaelan,” Rian implored. “I don't have time to argue with you right now. The Skeksis could come looking for me any minute.”

Alethi, who had been standing at the window, turned to us, her face a mask of horror. “Too late.”

There was a heavy knock at the door.

Into the Fire

Rian cursed under his breath and reached for a sword hanging on the wall. “They won't take me alive,” he said firmly. “I swear by Skarith there won't be an ounce of essence left in me by the time skekTek gets his claws on me.”

I shook my head. “If you fight today, you'll die today, and the hope of Thra will be gone.”

The heavy knocking continued. “Open up!” called a shrill voice.

“Coming!” I shouted back. I turned to Rian and Alethi and dropped my voice. “Hide. Both of you. Go down to the coal cellar, into the back room, and lock it from the inside.”

“I'm not letting you face the Skeksis alone,” Rian whispered fiercely, staring me down.

I stared back, unflinching. “You don't have a choice.”

“Open in the name of Emperor skekSo!” shrieked the voice outside.

“Give me a moment, for pity's sake!” I yelled. “I'm just a poor cripple living alone.”

Rian gave me a long, reluctant look. His eyes were full of things there wasn't time to say.

“Go,” I said softly. “It will be all right. Go.”

He and Alethi slipped through the cellar door. Once it closed behind them, I picked up my crutches, hobbled to the door, and slid the bolt back.

Immediately the door burst open and a huge creature pushed his way inside the little smithy. Because of my injury, I rarely saw the Skeksis and had never learned to tell them apart from one another, but there was no mistaking that this was one of them. Vulturelike head, flaking, leathery skin, long, bony fingers, and a foul smell. I tried not to gag.

“Where is he?” the Skeksis croaked, standing so close to me that I could see insects crawling between the folds of his reeking robe.

“I'm sorry,” I answered, “I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you looking for?”

Growling, the Skeksis grabbed the sturdy oak table and toppled it, sending hammers and half-finished tools flying. “I know he's here,” cried the intruder. “No one lies to skekVar. Where are you hiding, Gelfling?” Bits of wood showered the room as the General began destroying the rest of Kratos's meager furniture.

“Please,” I begged, trying to look as pitiful and crippled as I could. “Please, sir, I'm just a blacksmith. I've done nothing wrong. If you'd tell me who you're looking for, I'd be happy to help.”

The General turned on me, breathing heavily. “I seek Gelfling named Rian. Was told I would find him here.”

“And you would have found him here on any other day,” I said, my eyes wide with false sincerity. “But he never stopped by to see me today. I've been worried sick about him—is he in some kind of trouble?”

My guest gnashed his beak angrily. “He stole something of Emperor skekSo's—something of great value. He will return it, or he will pay the penalty.”

I raised a hand to my forehead, hoping I seemed surprised. “That sounds horrible. I can't believe Rian would do something like that. Are you sure there hasn't been some mistake?”

“SkekVar makes no mistakes.”

“If he turns up,” I lied, “I promise you, you'll be the first one I tell.”

SkekVar looked me up and down with beady red eyes. He seemed inclined to trust me, but I couldn't be sure. “You won't mind me searching your shop, mmmm?”

“Of course,” I said, “of course. Whatever you need.”

I leaned on my crutches and watched the General search. I willed him to believe me, willed him not to check the coal cellar, and to give up his hunt long enough for Rian to get away. I willed it all so hard that I worried skekVar could hear my thoughts leaking into the air.

“What's this?” said the General, drumming his skeletal fingers against the cellar door. “Where does it lead?”

Beads of sweat burst on my forehead. It took all my concentration to keep my voice calm. “Just an old cellar entrance. I haven't unlocked it for several trine, not since the old blacksmith died. Stairs are hard for me, you understand.”

SkekVar accepted the explanation without question and kept moving. I breathed a sigh of relief. The danger was past.

Or so I thought.

“What's this?” the General asked again. He pointed to something sitting on top of the anvil—a stack of parchments.

My heart stopped.

“It's just . . . ,” I stammered, making a beeline for the anvil as fast as my crutches would carry me. “Just a few . . .”

“Oh?” SkekVar took a step toward me, reaching for the parchments. His eyes were hungry. “Mmmm,” he gargled.

In a single swift motion, I seized the stack and threw it into the crackling fire. “Failed designs,” I finished. “Just a few failed designs. I've been meaning to burn them.” I sighed and watched with regret as Rian's evidence, his greatest tool for uniting the Gelfling clans, blackened and crumbled into ashes.