In Darkness I Will be There - 14
Tuesday, August 03, 2010 (08:00:00)

Posted by TerishD

Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story One: In Darkness I Will be There
Chapter Fourteen

Sapphire sought a place to rest in the almost vertical cavern walls. The water level had increased due to the collapse of the great monster that the Shibelgo called its mother, but the magic horse still had to look up to see the edges of the openings that the stream entering and leaving the cavern had used. He looked to Cindy to see if she rested, but her eyes darted with her body showing no sign of fatigue.

“Chordan,” she yelled, “do you see Ellemon?”

“No, Playmate,” the young leader of the merchants returned, “but you should concern yourself with whatever that is in the middle of the cavern.”

The darkness that persisted in the middle of the chamber seemed to expand, although Cindy did not display any concern for that at all. “Ellemon sounded close to death, Chordan. We need to get to him!”


Decisions are made that will affect the future.


Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story One: In Darkness I Will be There
Chapter Fourteen

Sapphire sought a place to rest in the almost vertical cavern walls. The water level had increased due to the collapse of the great monster that the Shibelgo called its mother, but the magic horse still had to look up to see the edges of the openings that the stream entering and leaving the cavern had used. He looked to Cindy to see if she rested, but her eyes darted with her body showing no sign of fatigue.

“Chordan,” she yelled, “do you see Ellemon?”

“No, Playmate,” the young leader of the merchants returned, “but you should concern yourself with whatever that is in the middle of the cavern.”

The darkness that persisted in the middle of the chamber seemed to expand, although Cindy did not display any concern for that at all. “Ellemon sounded close to death, Chordan. We need to get to him!”

Sapphire heard the men discuss something with tones of displeasure. He wanted to talk sense to the young lady, but somehow agreed with her. Hoping that she would consider pausing to rest, he listened to what the men finally concluded.

Chordan said, “Cindy, move around the perimeter of the room. We are going to be firing into the center.”

The young lady turned to her mount to say, “Come on, Sapphire. Let us find Ellemon, then we can rest.”

The magic horse could not help but ask, “Aren’t you tired?”

“I cannot think about that, Sapphire. I need to worry about Ellemon.”

It hurt Sapphire to hear the lady concerned for another. He did not like her spending time or speaking about Therox, although the young man had been enough in her life and proven himself in the adventures the year before. The magic horse thus found himself accepting Cindy’s fiancé. As for Ellemon, he had neither advantage that Therox had, but at least the large man did not demand more from the young lady than to be an associate. Sapphire felt that he could tolerate Ellemon to that extent.

“Of course. Lead the way.”

As he moved around the perimeter of the chamber, the magic horse kept looking to the center of the room. While missiles flew into the water, the darkness continued to spread. The volume of blackness did not fill the room as it had before, but spread more like a plague from the center of the cavern. Seeing some dark blobs heading in his direction, Sapphire felt himself grow concerned.

“Cindy, stay alert.”

“I see it, Sapphire. Come on.”

He continued to worry as he stayed close behind the young lady. While he and she had managed to survive much larger threats, the simple fact that it was apparent that their troubles were not over bothered Sapphire. He however felt some relief when Tostoil yelled.

“These are only small Shibelgoes! The mother had a number of babies, but they are small and weak! We can take them!”

Splashes sounded as a number of men dove into the water. As the magic horse continued to follow the young lady, both lost any concern for the black globs as a number spoke of their victories. Instead of the absence of light around the creatures giving them protection, it identified their locations. Sapphire began to focus on what Cindy was doing, and found him to feel her sorrow upon making an identification.

“ELLEMON!”

The man rested with his head and one arm barely out of a grayish slimy mess. Whatever the Shibelgo and its mother actually looked like, their remains were barely substantial enough to be considered as corpses. They however were very big monsters, so what was left of their bodies could indeed press the life out of those caught under or within them.

Sapphire again found his hooves to only sink into the mass of the monster. He however disturbed the remains enough to help Cindy in freeing Ellemon from what sought to bury him. The problem then was keeping the head of the large man above water. While Sapphire found himself swimming rather easily, with the weight of Ellemon upon his back he found it next to impossible to keep his head above the surface of the water.

The young lady worked to help her horse, but her voice gained a positive tone when another voice spoke nearby. “Here, let me help.”

Lord Gefeld was wet, but Sapphire brought his head out of the water to see the man smiling. Other forest people came to help move the large man. Soon, the magic horse found himself being lifted out of the water as well.

Cindy moved from Ellemon as Kalorph knelt beside the man to care for him. Sapphire saw her look to him, then her eyes went to Lord Gefeld and the other forest people who seemed to be looking at her. Understanding that they had her attention, the entire group knelt before her.

“Lady Cindy,” Lord Gefeld said, “we submit to your authority and leadership.”

“I don’t want to live in a cursed land. Chordan has the king’s direction to choose the best place for me and Therox to live. Wherever he decides, I want it to be a friendly place where others wished that they lived as well. That goes for magic horses as well. Sapphire has always been a blessing to me. I want to be happy here, and that means I want him to be happy here. I am going to continue my journey to Hebalsh where we can hopefully meet other magic horses, and maybe find one who will come back with him.”

“You are both too precious to travel alone. You need someone to go with you.”

A voice that tried to put some force behind its words said, “That is me.”

Chordan said, “I believe that Lord Gefeld was speaking about one of his men, Ellemon. You have a duty to me.”

“Oh, you have it soft, Chordan. That girl will need me more than you.”

Cindy declared, “I am not looking for trouble. I only want to find other magic horses. I want to find friends, not monsters and curses.”

Lord Gefeld returned, “What happened last year and just recently should let you know that the fates have decided to thrust greatness upon you. They may not be your fights to fight, but they will come to you – and I have seen that you will not allow them to pass unresolved.”

One man rose to say, “Lady Cindy, I will go with you.”

The young lady spoke to indicate that she knew the man. “Lord Fimmish, don’t you have family? I believe that your wife challenged Lord Gefeld last year. I cannot see you leaving such a lady behind.”

“My wife, Halady, is part of your family. She would approve of me going with you. I would, in fact, suffer from her should I again allow you to go alone.”

“I said,” Ellemon found the power to put strength in his voice, “that I would go with Lady Cindy.”

Cindy moved to the young woodsman as she said, “Family and family. Chordan, will you allow Ellemon to represent your family?”

The leader of the merchants replied, “I will not speak for my brother. He should be coming for you, Playmate. Until he arrives, I guess Ellemon will do.”

“Do you hear that, Ellemon?”

The large man rose from the ground before saying, “Therox is no more a boy than you are a girl, Dearie. He however has been raised in status just as you. I however do not believe that he will come to you alone. It would be wrong to have him find you alone. What happens after, well, Therox might be wiser than his older brother.”

Cindy smiled, then said, “Okay, but I guess that I would be wrong to leave right away. We need to assure that this place is cleaned of any monsters. We will all then need to rest.”

All were tired when they finally left the cavern. As Sapphire was lifted through the remains of the old mill, a number mentioned the work that would be necessary to restore the place to operation. Many of the men however agreed that it would be a benefit to their land, and a number were mentioned as candidates to operate the facility. The conversations continued as the men left the area, as the talk helped them keep their mind off the complaints of their bodies.

A group of women were present waiting as the men came out of the thick section of woods where the wagon had to stop. No celebration occurred, but such was discussed as each lady turned their man towards his home. Cindy also did not discuss any special arrangements, but simply agreed with Lord Gefeld’s wife that a period of rest for all had been earned.

Sapphire tried to cheer Cindy as she brushed him down. She cried as her mind relived the events of the day. They both spoke of not wanting such troubles in their lives. He did not want the young lady to focus on the fact that he had suggested this trip, but found her troubled that it was her own people that had allowed such a threat to continue to plague them. When they parted, both promised the other that they wanted the rest of their journey to be pleasant.

The celebration the next day ended up being a greater affair than Sapphire had expected. He often heard Cindy speak of her amazement by the number of people that arrived and the feast that was set out. While Sapphire had met a number of the forest people, he now got to meet their families. He found himself pleased with the support of Cindy and a number of other adults, as an almost continuous stream of children were asking to ride him. The magic horse did not want to be rude, but he also did not want to be relegated to simply being a pack animal. While he went off interested in what a number of people were doing, he found himself often seeking Cindy simply to gain some relief from the constant attention from a mass of people.

The large gathering caused Sapphire to be surprised the next day when only Ellemon and Fimmish showed up to journey with Cindy. Others were present, but they only sought to assure that the journey would begin on a good note. Halady came with her husband, and promised both the young lady and the magic horse that her husband would be able to handle any troubles. Sapphire had to laugh as Lord Gefeld spoke to support her words.

“If Fimmish can handle Halady, he can handle any other trouble.”

Cindy once gain said, “I and Sapphire are not seeking trouble.”

“That was true a year ago as well, Lady Cindy,” Halady returned. “Trouble was waiting for you however, and that was true here as well. I hope that Fimmish is able to go to Hebalsh and simply buy me some nice things, but I want you to know that he will do more if necessary.”

Ellemon said, “I work for a merchant, Dearie, so I ain’t looking to buy anything. I am simply here to see that the journey goes without trouble.”

A number of cheerful phrases were spoken, then Cindy and the two men mounted up and began their journey. The conversation for most of the day concerned the Shibelgo. While it was now dead, it had been the source of a number of stories through the years. All thus mentioned keeping the monster alive in folklore. Assuring the details of their stories, the day passed rather quickly.

That night Sapphire found himself sleeping outside with Cindy. She spoke with Ellemon about the year before when the ghost of Daeshelt arrived the night after killing one hag to warn that another had been brought into existence. She thus feared another threat rising. While both men tried to get the lady to go into her tent, she instead sat where she had a clear view of her surroundings. Sapphire stayed with the young lady, and did not fall asleep until her head fell upon his back.

Sapphire found Cindy relaxing as the second day also passed without any incident. Fimmish managed to kill a few rabbits, so a good meal was prepared that night. With her belly full and her mount properly cared for, she went inside her tent that night.

The woodsman however signaled for a stop the next day. Ellemon pulled a weapon as he also sensed some surrounding trouble. Cindy bent low on Sapphire and whispered for him to move forward slowly. He only took a few steps before stopping himself however, as before him in a clearing stood a mare with a light-blue coat and red hair that he quickly recognized to be another magic horse.


So concludes one story and begins another -- "I Will Pay Any Cost"