12. Stone Returns to Stone

Followed by the others, Simon and the giant retraced their steps to the rocky outcrop, but now the river ran out of the mountain over the place where they had all been standing and the dam wall was no more.
Treading carefully on the slippery rocks, they made their way alongside the river and into the cave from which it ran. The lake, too, had now gone. But in its place, filling the cave from one side to the other, was Olrik’s army — just as Drimwort had said it would be — rank upon rank, and all of it turned to stone. And at its head, caught in his final act of defiance against the Dark Prince, his sword still in his hand, was someone who could only be Olrik himself.
Simon gazed at the monolith in awe. He was a giant taller even than Trumblegast, and he had but a single eye, right in the centre of his forehead. Or, rather, he had but a single socket where his eye should have been.
‘Look,’ said Simon, pointing to the lifeless face high above him. ‘His eye is missing! Now we know why the prophecy called him ‘Blind Olrik’.
The others followed his gaze.
‘I wonder how he lost it?’ said Katy.
‘It must have happened after he’d been turned to stone,’ said Drimwort. ‘Otherwise the Shield of Doom wouldn’t have worked and he never would have been turned to stone.’
Trumblegast, who was nearer the cyclops’ height, looked closely at the stone forehead. ‘I reckon it was knocked out by a lump of falling rock,’ he said.
‘Of course,’ said Drimwort. ‘That’ll be what happened. When the Dark Prince caused the roof-fall that blocked the mouth of the cave, a piece of rock must have struck Olrik. He’s much nearer to where the dam was than the rest of the army.’
‘Well, I’m glad it happened after he was turned to stone,’ said Katy. ‘At least he didn’t feel anything.’ She looked around her and then moved closer to Simon. ‘It’s a bit scary, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘Being among all these stone creatures.’
‘Mm,’ said Simon. ‘It certainly gives you a funny feeling — knowing they’re not really dead but just sort of — well — waiting.’
‘And they’ve been waiting for hundreds of years,’ said Drimwort.
They had now begun to thread their way between the silent, unmoving beasts and were talking in whispers as if they might be overheard. Just behind Olrik was a snow leopard, caught by the Dark Prince in mid-leap, its mouth open and its great fangs still ready to sink themselves into him. A little further back was a huge creature which looked as if it had been covered in thick hair from head to foot. ‘A yeti,’ said Trumblegast. ‘There ain’t many of them around nowadays.’
At the other side of the river was a huge dragon, reared up on its front legs, with its wings partly open. It was easily recognisable, as were a lot of the other stone creatures — goats, horses, bears, eagles, hares, lions, rabbits, cats, dogs, lynx, squirrels, tigers, elephants, and even donkeys (in which Chervil showed a great deal of interest). But there were others, like the yeti, which were new to the children. There was a great bird of prey — twice as large as the largest eagle — which Drimwort told them was a roc. Then there was a fearsome creature which had the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. ‘A manticore,’ said Xanthus. ‘You make sure you don’t get on the wrong side of the likes of him, if you can help it!’
And then there were giants. One of them (who looked just like Trumblegast) had been caught by the Dark Prince as he strode towards him, his great nail-studded club held above his head. ‘It’s Gramplegast!’ said the giant. ‘It must be. My great-great-great-Uncle Gramplegast! Well, tickle my whiskers, who’d have believed it?’
‘So,’ said Drimwort, turning to Katy and Simon. ‘We’ve found the lost army and Olrik, but how are you going to give him back his sight? The floor of the cavern is as clean as a whistle now we’ve let all the water out. His stone eye will have been washed away with all the other debris.’
‘I think I can begin to see how,’ said Katy. ‘But the time hasn’t come yet.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Simon.
‘I mean that something has to happen before Olrik is given back his sight — and it hasn’t happened yet.’
‘Well, what is it?’ asked Simon.
‘I’m not allowed to tell you,’ said Katy. ‘I wish I could, but I can’t.’
‘But that’s stupid,’ said Simon crossly. ‘What are we supposed to do — just stand around here waiting?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Katy. ‘Oh, I wish Elyon was here — he’d tell us what to do.’
‘And I am here,’ said a voice from behind them.
They all turned and there, standing in the entrance to the cavern, was the faun, his curly hair shining in the sunlight, his bright eyes fixed upon them.
‘Elyon!’ cried Katy. She ran back down the cave until she stood in front of him and the faun kissed her on her forehead.
‘You have done well,’ he said. ‘You, Katy — you, Simon — you, Drimwort — all of you. But much remains to be done.’ He stood for a moment, looking beyond the little group of travellers to Olrik and the ranks of stone creatures filling the cave. And in the silence, Simon heard Chervil and Xanthus whispering beside him.
‘It’s worth a try,’ Chervil was saying. ‘Go on. Ask him.’
‘All right, I will,’ said Xanthus. He walked forward until he stood before the faun, the donkey following him, and he lowered his head.
‘Elyon — Lord,’ he said. ‘It is a small thing, I know. But would you — can you — will you —’
‘Will I what?’ asked Elyon, and he looked as if he was trying hard not to smile.
‘Will you — that is to say — would you be so gracious as to — to — to restore my horn to me?’ said Xanthus, his voice dropping almost to a whisper.
‘Your horn?’ said Elyon, sounding puzzled. ‘Oh, you mean that silver thing that used to stick out of your forehead. Why do you want that back? It was never of much use to you, was it?’
‘No,’ said Xanthus, sounding miserable and embarrassed both at the same time. ‘No, it was not of “use” exactly. But I am a unicorn, you know; and a unicorn without a horn looks — well — rather foolish.’ Then he added wistfully, ‘ And, anyway, it was — er — rather beautiful.’
‘Ah, now we come to the truth of it,’ said the faun. ‘It was indeed beautiful. Too beautiful, perhaps.’ He shook his head. ‘Dear Xanthus, I have often sighed over you as you polished it when it could not have been brighter. I have seen you gaze on it with pride in every pool you passed. I think you will be better off without it.’
Wretchedness enveloped the unicorn from head to hoof. He nodded his head in mute acceptance and began to back away. But Chervil stepped forward.
‘Then, p— p— please, Elyon — Sir,’ he stammered. ‘W— w— will you take from me my tail.’ He glanced round at it. ‘It’s not much of a tail anyway, I know that. But if you were to get rid of it, you see, those who look at us will laugh at me and not at Xanthus. And that would be better — really it would — for laughter doesn’t bother me. After all, if it weren’t for Xanthus I would still be in the mines, being beaten by the dwarfs.’
Elyon leaned forward and placed his hand on the donkey’s grey head. ‘Oh Chervil, Chervil,’ he said. ‘I did not look for such valour in one so lowly. But by it you have won my heart this day. Xanthus shall have his horn. Not for the sake of his wounded vanity, but for the sake of your love for him.’ He took his golden pipes and raised them to his lips. A silvery, haunting melody filled the cavern. And as they all watched in wonder, a long, beautiful, silver horn grew slowly from the broken stump on Xanthus’ forehead.
‘There,’ said Elyon, lowering his pipes. ‘You are once again the unicorn you were — though no longer quite so vain, I hope.’ He walked across the cavern floor to where Olrik stood. ‘Now,’ he cried. ‘We must delay no longer. Let stone return to stone!’
There was a silence and everyone looked at him, wondering what he meant — except for Katy. She reached in the pocket of her jeans and then held out her hand to Elyon, opening it so that he and the others could see the smooth, sparkling, green gem which lay there.
‘Wow!’ said Simon. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘From the spider’s cave,’ said Katy. ‘But I was told to keep it secret. I’ll tell you about it later.’ She looked back at the stone. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘It’s growing bigger!’ And so it was. As they watched, they could see it swell and change shape until it was like a great eye, complete with an iris and pupil.
‘Now,’ said Elyon. ‘You can give Blind Olrik back his sight.’
Katy looked up at the great stone figure. ‘But how?’ she said.
‘I’ll lift you,’ said Trumblegast. He put his hands round Katy’s waist and raised her in the air until she was level with the cyclops’ head. Carefully, Katy took the eye and pressed it into the hole in Olrik’s forehead where his old eye had been. It slipped easily into place, and Trumblegast lowered Katy back to the ground.
‘Now, watch,’ said Elyon.
All around the eye, the stone was changing colour. Grey stone skin turned to weather-beaten brown skin. Grey stone hair became shiny black hair. Grey stone lips took on the colour of old mahogany. Grey stone teeth became white. Then the change spread down Olrik’s body. His jerkin turned from grey to green. His stone sword became burnished steel. His trousers became russet. His boots became brown. And then he began to move. With a great battle-cry, he began to leap forward and bring his sword down. But then he saw Elyon. And as his eye took in the faun, the children, Drimwort, Trumblegast, Xanthus and Chervil, he faltered and came to a standstill.
‘The Prince of Darkness,’ he said, looking bewildered. ‘Where’s the Prince of Darkness?’
‘Kaldis is gone,’ said Elyon. ‘Be at peace, Olrik, and sheath your sword. When all your comrades have been restored to you, all will be explained.’
Now, the change had spread to those just behind Olrik. The snow leopard began to carry on with his snarl before he, too, realised the Dark Prince was no longer there to be snarled at. He stopped and looked about him in confusion. Then he began to complain about the heat.
The yeti alongside him had come back to life too and he was in full agreement with the leopard about the temperature. ‘Phew!’ he said. ‘It really is quite abominable!’
Over the river, the dragon was stirring. Two little plumes of smoke began to rise from his nostrils and then he yawned. ‘Just watch it, will you,’ bleated a goat in front of him. ‘You’ve just singed my tail!’
Of particular interest to Trumblegast was the giant who so resembled him. When, at last, the change spread over the great stone creature, any doubts about who he was were at once removed. ‘Dang me,’ he said, speaking in a voice just like Trumblegast’s and bringing his club down onto the floor with a thump. ‘If I ain’t been having forty winks and missed the whole bloomin’ battle!’
Soon, the whole vast cavern resounded to the voices of the newly-awakened creatures. They all wanted to know where the Dark Prince had gone, what time it was, why it was so warm, had they been asleep and what was going on up at the front of the cave.
Then Elyon raised his pipes and blew a long, deep note, and everyone fell silent.
‘The Dark Prince has gone,’ he said.
(At this there was a great cheer.)
‘I myself vanquished him in the Fires of Frim — centuries ago.’
(Here, there was a great deal of muttering. ‘What’s that he said — centuries ago?’)
‘Yes, centuries ago,’ repeated Elyon. ‘But not before he had turned all of you to stone. Now, with the aid of this Son of Tellus and Daughter of Earth —’ here, he pointed to Katy and Simon ‘— you have all been restored to life.’
(At this, the creatures could be heard saying, ‘Son of Tellus and Daughter of Earth, eh?’ and ‘Much obliged, I’m sure,’ and ‘Stone, eh? Cor blimey — no wonder I’m feeling stiff in the joints.’)
‘But your families and friends are no longer in Shalanor. For many long years they have been with me in my country, beyond the Gates of Dawn. Soon, you will all be free to join them there or, if you would prefer it, to live out the rest of your lives here. But, first, I need your help. Another tyrant now rules in Shalanor — Morlok the wolf. Even now, he is amassing his army beyond Baligsmere and preparing for battle. Will you fight for me under Olrik? Will you defeat for me this different foe?’
There was a moment’s silence then, ‘Aye,’ came the great cry, echoing around the chamber. And, as they banged their swords against their shields, the army chanted ‘Elyon, Elyon, Elyon ...’
‘Then let us go to war,’ said the faun. He walked across to the river, stepped into it, and played his pipes again. The waters fell back and gathered in a great wall at the rear of the cave. ‘Follow the river bed,’ said Elyon. ‘Go straight down from here. Nothing will hinder you — neither boulder nor precipice. Go. I will make all my mountains a pathway. And I shall meet you by Carmel Pool.’
With another great cry, the army, led by Olrik, streamed out of the cave into the sunlight, and the children and their company followed.
It is hard to explain what happened next. They reached the edge of the first great precipice over which the Falls had been, but as they reached it, it appeared to stretch out flat before them. Marvelling, they marched across it and, looking back, saw it tower above them once again. And so it went on. Rough places became smooth as they set their feet upon them. Valleys were filled as they prepared to descend into them. Dense forests parted at their approach. Hills were brought low as they began to climb them. And paths which appeared crooked suddenly became straight.
Fantastic though all this was to the children and all the other earth-bound creatures, it was, of course, nothing to the eagles, the roc and the dragon. They simply flew above the army, circling in the clear blue sky and giving cries of encouragement to those on the ground. Nobody minded the eagles and the roc doing this, but most wished the dragon would simply go on ahead and wait for them at Carmel Pool. He tended to swoop rather low and, being somewhat over-excited, kept breathing out great blasts of flame from his nostrils. On more than one occasion, the entire army had to throw itself to the ground to avoid being burned to a crisp; and Gramplegast was developing a nervous twitch.
Finally, Carmel Pool lay below them and, further south, the forests of Kinder Chase. As Olrik reached the edge of the cliff down which Thunder Force would normally flow, it too stretched out flat before him. Soon, the whole company had passed over it, and then, once again, it reared up behind them.
Everyone gathered at the far side of the Pool and looked back to the mountains from which they had come. Then they saw Elyon. At first, he was just a speck against the distant slopes, but, as the moments passed, he took shape and they could see him bounding from hill to hill and jumping down precipices and across ravines. Finally, with a great leap, he soared into the air out over the cliff and landed before them. And, behind him, roaring its way from Pendallyn, through the mountains and valleys and down into Carmel Pool, came the river, now released and free to flow once more.
‘We have a three-day march ahead of us,’ said Elyon, ‘and this day is far spent. Here we shall rest awhile. I have provided food for us all beyond those trees over there. Eat your fill. Then get some sleep. We shall strike camp an hour after dawn.’ Then he turned to Simon. ‘Son of Tellus,’ he said. ‘I would talk with you for a while. Come, let us walk together.’
‘Er — yes, all right,’ said Simon nervously. He turned to Katy. ‘See you soon,’ he said. And he went over to Elyon who was waiting for him.
‘Well,’ said Trumblegast. ‘If you folks don’t mind, I think it’s time I went and made myself known to Gramplegast.’
‘We’d better all come with you and get some food,’ said Drimwort.
When they strolled through the trees, they found that Elyon had indeed provided food for everyone. The dragon (his name was Brym) was happily crunching great, glowing cinders from a large brazier. The yeti was eating ice- cream made from real ice. The black bears were munching pieces of honeycomb — and getting their paws very sticky indeed. And right next to an elephant (who was eating acacia leaves) were a number of large mice who, between cries of ‘Do mind your feet!’, were nibbling at a lump of very mature Cheddar cheese.
Xanthus and Chervil joined the other horses and donkeys at a great tub of warm mash, under the trees, and Katy and Drimwort made their way to a long trestle-table at the end of the clearing. There, Drimwort found crisp lettuces and bunches of freshly-pulled carrots; and Katy helped herself to a slice of hot cheese-and-onion tart and tomatoes and new potatoes.
They were all still eating when Simon rejoined them. He looked very solemn and rather pale, but he now walked straighter and stood more tall than before. As he strode through the crowd, all of the creatures stopped eating and watched him go by. At his side, he wore a long sword in a jewelled scabbard and, over his left arm, he carried a shield emblazoned with the device of the faun. A gold tunic which he now wore bore the same emblem.
‘He has made me his marshal,’ he said quietly. ‘And I’m to parley with Morlok.’
‘Oh, Simon,’ said Katy. ‘You look wonderful. Aren’t you scared?’
‘Very,’ said Simon. ‘But Elyon has told me that being scared is part of being valiant.’ He looked to where the faun was now deep in conversation with Olrik. ‘It’s hard to believe it when you look at him, but he said there was once a time when even he was scared of what lay ahead of him.’
‘Do you have to go now?’ asked Katy.
‘No, no,’ said Simon. ‘Not until we are within sight of Morlok’s army. Then I must go and present the General with Elyon’s terms for their surrender.’
‘And will they surrender?’ asked Drimwort.
‘Elyon doesn’t think so,’ said Simon. ‘But he says they must be given the chance to do so.’
‘I see,’ said Drimwort. ‘Good thinking! Offer them terms of surrender, but make the terms too hard for them to accept. Then, when they refuse, send the army in to smash them!’
‘No,’ said Simon. ‘It’s not like that at all. He really does want them to surrender. There’s no pretence about it. “I am not willing that any should perish,” he told me. And he says that his terms will be generous — so generous that they will all be able to accept them without losing face, even Morlok, if they choose to do so.’
‘So why does he think they’ll refuse?’ asked Katy.
‘I don’t know,’ said Simon. ‘Except that Elyon says they have awakened a great evil and, foolishly, they think it can overcome even him.’
Night was now falling and the company began to settle down to sleep. Katy and Simon found a place close by a fire which the giants had lit and they lay down under the stars. Simon covered them both with his new cloak.
‘Do you believe that all this is really happening to us?’ said Katy.
‘I don’t know,’ said Simon. ‘But when I think of having to meet Morlok again, I rather wish it wasn’t!’
‘You’ll be all right,’ said Katy. ‘He wouldn’t have asked to do it unless he knew you could.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Simon, yawning. ‘O— h— h— h, I’m tired.’
‘Me too,’ said Katy.
Soon, they were both fast asleep and the next thing they knew a trumpet was sounding reveille.