Logan Marsh: A Thrilling Fantasy Novel (Action Adventure,Mystery, Y/A Book 1) (9 page)

"No, yes, no… we are sorry… we didn't know," the giants shook with fear, "don't make us small! Please, we'll do everything… no small!" the giants began to weep.

"Do you promise not to do it again?" asked Achtisanor.

"Yes, yes, promise. Just no small! Sorry! Please! Thank you!" the giants continued to cry.

"What do you say?” Achtisanor asked the squibs.

"Where are Dupree and Chase?" asked Fitz.

"They… one is there… we threw him into the forest…" the giants said apologetically. "And the other one… someone flying took him."

"Krunch," said Achtisanor.

The squibs whispered among themselves for a whole minute, and every time the word "shrink!" was heard, the two giants flinched, when the word "release!" was heard, they were more relaxed.

"We have decided—," called Fitz after the deliberation.

"We will set you free, but only if you agree to the following conditions," said Sai quickly.

"One," said Fitz, "from this day forward, the giants will pay great respect to the squibs."

"Giants will honour squibs… yes, yes, okay!" said the giants.

"Two," said Sai, "whenever the squibs are in peril, the giants will come to their aid."

"Come to their aid… okay, okay!" said the two giants.

"Three," called Fitz, "from now on, the giants will take a bath every Friday."

"What, every Friday? Yes, yes, a bath, we promise," said the giants, looking forlorn.

"And four," said Sai, "from now on you must wear skirts."

"Skirts?" wondered the two giants.

Sai and Fitz looked at them menacingly.

"Okay! Okay! Skirts, skirts…" called the two giants.

"And… that's it!" concluded Sai.

"Yes, if you will do all that, the commander will return to his former size," said Fitz.

"Yes, yes, promise, promise!" called the giants.

"Now take your friend from here and return to the mountains," said Achtisanor.

"Yes, come, commander, let's go," one of the giants lifted his small friend and walked to the river.

"Do you remember what they said?" asked one the giants.

"I think so… but we better write it…" the second muttered.

"Do you know how to write?" asked the first.

"No… and you?" asked the second.

"No," said the first, "so let's sing them…"

Achtisanor, Logan, De-Stik and the squibs smiled towards the two vanishing giants.

"It is high time that you have arrived to save me from these louts," De-Stik said angrily. "My treasure of jokes almost ran out."

"Hurry! Hurry! Get over here!" Krunch leaped suddenly from the foliage. "Come, quickly! They hit one of the squibs," he panted. "I found him on top of a golden-leaf tree, and I put the other one on it too. Quickly! They are unconscious, the healing potions are not working." He leaped back into the foliage.

"Maybe you can tell your pig to move a little faster?" called Dunlop to Serdamus, who trailed behind him, sitting on the back of a young boar.

"I canna do nothing, Dunlop, Sludge is still small," said Serdamus. "It's difficult for him'ta move in that pace. Maybe ye be running a little slower?"

"If I'll run any slower than we won't reach in time," rebuked Dunlop. "We have tarried enough on the way here. I don't know why the press association thought the rented race elephants could enter the forest?! I will write a very harsh letter to the press association president. Very harsh indeed. What an improper management. What will the advertisers say? The sponsors will stop paying us if the story is not published in time."

"Okay, giddyup, sludge, faster! Run with ye!" Serdamus slapped his little hand on the boar's legs.

"At last we have reached Idrinor," said Dunlop when the sound of running water reached his ears.

"Come on, Sludge!" called Serdamus. "Run to the water, go on!"

The boar screamed and ran wildly into the trees, passing the surprised Dunlop, who fell down on the ground.

"Great, Sludge. Faster, Giddyup!" Serdamus yelled happily.

"I'll never understand pigs," Dunlop rose to his feet, cleaned his cloak, pulled his hair back and started to run after the boar. "Wait for me, Serdamus!" he yelled.

"Oh!" Serdamus was thrown from the boar's back into the river, when it stopped suddenly on the shore to drink.

"Help! Dunlop!" called Serdamus. "Save me! I be drowning!" his hands hit the water in an attempt to stay afloat.

"I'm coming, Serdamus," called Dunlop. He came running, threw his pack aside and leaped into the water to save his little friend.

"Ouch!" yelled Dunlop when he hit the shallow river. "Oh!" he stood up straight on his legs. The water reached his knees.

"You stupid sod," yelled Dunlop to Serdamus, "stand on your feet!"

"What? Oh… I can stand here," cried Serdamus happily and exited the river in an awkward gait.

Sludge rolled happily in the mud.

"Stupid pig," called Dunlop towards the satisfied boar.

"Bad Sludge," admonished Serdamus. "Now all me paints are wet."

"And now we are both soaked wet," Dunlop lifted his pack on back. "I still don't know why we needed this pig!"

Dunlop entered the river again, in order to cross it.

Serdamus took the boar's leash and dragged him forcefully into the river.

"Come on! Clean all that mud of ye!" he said when the boar rose on his hooves and shook his body, splaying mud everywhere. "And now I have to do it too," he said after one look.

The three crossed the river and continued on their way.

"We'll head to the beach," Dunlop walked quickly between the tall trees.

"Sludge, now no strangies, ye," Serdamus alighted on the boar's back, which started to reluctantly move again.

The forest grew dark around them. They could no longer hear the sounds of the river behind them.

"I'm cold," said Serdamus after a short while, "maybe we'll make a bitsy stop here and get dry?"

"No stopping now, Serdamus!" said Dunlop firmly.

"I think it will be scary to sleep t'night with all the trees here like this," Serdamus looked around.

"Don't worry," Dunlop tried to ease his worries, "I have brought my dagger." He pulled a small dagger from his belt.

Dunlop turned around when Serdamus did not answer. Sludge stood there, but Serdamus was no longer on his back.

"Serdamus?" wondered Dunlop, returned a few steps and looked around. "Serdamus?"

"Dunlop!" a small and choked whine was heard from above.

Dunlop looked above and saw Serdamus hung upside down. A bug and horrible creature held his feet and he smiled towards Dunlop, revealing rows of big, ugly fangs.

"What the h…" Dunlop muttered before something hit him on the back of his head and he knew no more.

"Here, a little closer. It's right here." Krunch moved between the trees to the tree on which he left the two unconscious squibs. Achtisanor, Logan, De-Stik, Fitz, and Sai followed him.

"You said that the tree has golden leaves?" asked Logan.

"Yes! Golden leaves, a shining canopy," gasped Krunch. "Here it is!"

Inside the darkening forest, a majestic sight unfolded in front of the companions: an impressive thick and large trunk. He was covered in a golden-orange hue, and his canopy, which spread like a cloud above them, was filled with golden leaves.

"Whew," said Fitz excitedly, "I've never seen such a tree."

"Neither have I," said Sai.

"We see a wonderful sight after so long," said De-Stik, "I think I'm going to write about it a song."

Fitz lifted a golden leaf and examined it with his lenses. "I have never seen such a material," he said. "Sai, take some of the leaves to the lab!"

"They are over there," Krunch pointed upwards, "on the treetop."

"I shall climb with spree!" said De-Stik. "I have never climbed on a golden tree." He leaped to the trunk and started climbing, but when he reached the first branch, it collapsed and De-Stik was thrown to the ground. De-Stik moaned and rubbed his aching buttocks.

"Come on, De-Stik," called Krunch, "you can do it!"

De-Stik jumped and tried again, but when he reached the first branch, it collapsed again and he fell to the ground again, to the sound of Achtisanor and Logan’s laughter.

"Do not laugh at me!" said De-Stik and he rose to his feet. "I have never encountered a stubborn tree."

"It is not the tree," smiled Logan, "you are the stubborn one."

"Okay, Logan," said De-Stik. "You are laughing while I frown; let us see you get the mission done!" He stood back and waved his arm as he escorting Logan to the tree.

Logan stepped to the tree and stood in front of it, she looked at De-Stik and then at the tree.

"Hello, Idrin," she talked to the tree in the Elvish tongue, which only Achtisanor understood, and caressed it.

"Gigigigi," a loud laughter was heard. "Gogogogo, oh, you are tickling me. Gigigi, gogoggo…"

The golden bark suddenly moved on the surface of the tree, and two eyes and large nose appeared on it.

"It… it talks," Sai ran and hid behind Achtisanor.

"It's good to see one of you inside this big forest," said Logan. "I was surprised that there are not many of you."

De-Stik opened his mouth in wonderment.

"It's Elvish," explained Krunch.

"And it is good to see you too, Lagwanamaris, my dear," replied the tree. "It is true," he continued, "there are no more Idrins around me. I am alone."

"I am sorry," Logan lowered her head. "So you have a large task – to lead such a big forest."

"Indeed, my dear," said Idrin.

"On your top, dear Idrin, there are two wounded and unconscious squibs," said Logan. "I am asking for your permission to climb and bring them down, so we may heal them."

"Of course, my dear," said the tree, "please, climb."

A long branch reached down and Logan jumped on it, and it began to rise gently to its place, where another branch waited to lift her higher. So Logan jumped from one branch to another, while the tree helped her along.

"That is not fair," said De-Stik. "It seems that for me you did not show such care."

"Gigigigi…" laughed the tree. "You did not ask nicely like Logan. And besides, you hurt me when you climbed!" the tree said angrily in the common tongue.

"I apologize, my golden tree, I really do" said De-Stik. "I did not think I can hurt a majestic creature like you."

"Apology accepted, Mr. De-Stik the poet," the tree replied.

"How… how did you know their names?" Sai peeked from between Achtisanor's legs.

"Gogogogo…" the tree laughed, "Idrin knows, Sai."

"Idrin?" repeated Sai.

"A tree of life," explained Achtisanor. "They are very rare in this region. The dark minions have tried to exterminate them for centuries."

"Hmmmm," said Sai.

"Idrins are the source of a forest's life, and this how they received their moniker," continued Achtisanor. "They manage the forest and breathe life, energy, and fertility into them. Some say that the golden elves are developed from Idrins. Since the beginning of time, the elves and Idrins have guarded the forests and their animals."

"I could not explain it better than you, Claudiomaris," said the tree.

"But I don't see any elves around here," wondered Sai.

"There are a few," said Achtisanor. "Most of them reside in the northern forests. The elf families left this place thousands of years ago because of its closeness to Kolchis."

"I am working on sprouting new trees," Idrin apologized.

"That's wonderful," said Achtisanor. "Nature will approve."

"Knight Claudiomaris," Idrin turned to Achtisanor, speaking the elven tongue, "Patrickiomaris would have been proud to see you continuing his way to fulfil your destiny."

"My destiny?" replied Achtisanor in surprise, also in the elvish tongue.

"Gigigigi, gogogogo!" the tree laughed. "Yes, your destiny, you still have not found it."

"What?" asked Achtisanor.

"Your destiny," answered the tree and laughed. "But you are on the right way."

"Careful, I am going down," Logan shouted from above, accompanied by the rustle of leaves and branches.

Logan leaped from the last branch. Two white squibs with torn white frocks were tied to her body with a rope.

"Chase!" Fitz ran to him and untied him from Logan.

"Depree!" Sai ran to them.

"They are still unconscious," said Logan. "They are critically wounded."

They put the wounded squibs on the ground. Achtisanor examined them, closed his eyes and touched his hand to their foreheads.

"They are not well," he opened his eyes and stood.

"Oh no!" Fitz eyes filled with tears.

"What do we do?" frowned Sai.

"I can heal them," the tree said.

"Really?" asked Fitz and Sai.

"Yes," replied the tree, "but I have a little mission for you."

"A mission?" asked Krunch.

"A mission!" replied the tree.

"I am sorry, honoured tree, but we have a destination to reach," said De-Stik. "We must until tomorrow night get to the beach."

"Do not worry, my mission is brief," said the tree, "and if you succeed, I will make sure that you will all arrive on the beach in front the exact location of the city of reflections in a safe and fast way."

"Okay, Idrin," said Achtisanor, "what is the mission?"

"A noble decision, Claudiomaris," said the tree, but he turned towards Fantastick. "De-Stik the troubadour, I know that one of your biggest talents is riddle solving."

De-Stik lifted his head in pride.

"I will ask you this riddle, and when you know the answer – you may start the mission."

"Well, honoured tree, I must confess," smiled De-Stik in satisfaction, "solving riddles is what I do best."

"Well, listen you all," said the tree.

"Do not be dismayed if it hit you from above.

It may seem close, but it hides inside a trove.

If you will put them deep in the ground,

You will make me very proud."

De-Stik's brow turned into a map of thought lines. He murmured the riddle again and again.

"Well," he said, "dear tree, your riddle is easy. Its rhymes did not make me queasy. I confess, some of the words were quite distracting, but it is not something that will prevent us from questing." De-Stik looked quite smug. His companions turned to him expectantly.

"The answer is… well… something you adorn. The solution is your fruit, the acorn!"

"Gigigigi, very good, De-Stik!" said the tree. "As every oak I nurture acorns, which can cause headaches even for troubadours, and when you plant them, they will grow into young trees, make me proud as a father."

"What is the mission?" asked Logan.

"Well," answered the tree, "a few days ago my acorns fell so that the first rain will nurture them in the ground, but in the following morning – they were all gone. They were stolen by wretched soldjas that live in the rock mine, not very far from here to the north."

"Soldjas?" Fitz and Sai said with fright.

"Soldjas are the allies of the Ashon forces. They terrorize the entire area. They hunt wild animals only for the game of it. They cut down trees and burn them and badger all the passers of the forest. You must stop them and return my golden fruits!"

"We shall do it," nodded Achtisanor.

"What about Chase and Dupree?" asked Fitz.

"Leave them among my roots," said the tree. "When you come back, they will both be healthy and on their feet."

"Onwards!" called Krunch, who could never pass an opportunity for an adventure.