Frog and the Sandspiders of Aridian (3 page)

‘Do not struggle or, I promise you, there will only be scraps of you left to feed to my spider.' The tone of his voice was dark and chilling and it let both Billy and Frog understand that this was no idle threat. ‘Now, be quiet, both of you. And you,' he motioned to Frog, ‘walk ahead of me.'

They continued for some distance, down a long corridor, until they reached a solid stone wall, in front of which stood two, black-robed guards, their long scimitars held at the ready.

The two guards stepped aside and as they did so, the man carrying Billy reached out and caught Frog by the arm.

‘Keep walking,' he commanded.

Whether he wanted to or not, Frog was propelled towards the granite wall.

This is going to hurt,
he thought to himself as he shut his eyes and anticipated his face connecting with the rock. However, all he felt was a cool breeze passing over his face. He opened his eyes and the wall was now behind them; they had passed right through the solid rock!

‘You're crazy. Let me down,' he heard Billy complain.

The man released Frog's arm and swung Billy down to his feet.

‘What… What happened?' asked Billy.

‘Magic,' replied Frog. ‘But I'm wondering if it's good or bad,' he added.

They were standing in a cavern, which was bathed in the same bluish light from yet more crystal rocks placed on stone plinths, encircling a stone altar at the cavern's centre. An intense blue orb floated above the altar while four large statues looked down on the scene. Two of the figures had their faces obscured by stone hoods, whilst one of the others had the unmistakable features of his old friend Gizmo from Castellion. The final one next to it was of a beautiful, short-haired woman with high cheekbones and a lean, boyish face.

A hooded figure emerged from a shadowed recess and effortlessly floated towards them. It stopped within arm's length.

‘Untie the small one's hands,' said a woman's soft voice.

The man obeyed without hesitation, releasing Frog, who rubbed his cramped wrists to bring the circulation back into them.

‘Come with me,' the voice beckoned to Frog and he followed the figure to the altar.

‘Do you see what the orb protects?' asked the woman.

Frog looked at the orb and could now discern the shape of the Rune Stone, floating inside it.

‘Yes,' he replied. ‘Is it a Rune Stone?'

‘It is the Rune Stone of Aridian, of the Second Dimension and gateway to all other worlds and Dimensions. To prove to me that you are the Chosen One, you must reach into the orb and touch the Rune Stone's surface,' said the woman.

‘Which Chosen One do you think I am?' asked Frog.

The woman ignored his question.

‘The Rune Stone will decide if you are in the right place at the right time. If you are the Chosen One that we seek, then your brightness will be revealed to us all.'

‘And what if it decides that I'm not the right one?' asked Frog.

‘Then you will be consumed by its fire and left to burn for all eternity,' she replied.

‘What if I don't want to take this test?' Frog asked.

Her voice took on a deeper, menacing tone. ‘Then we will assume that you are an impostor and you and your companion will be fed to the Sandspiders.'

Frog weighed up his options and finally turned to face the hooded figure.

‘For all I know, you could be an enemy of the Guardians and after the Rune Stone for your own use.'

‘Let the Rune Stone decide,' she commanded.

Frog turned to face Billy. ‘I'm sorry Billy, but if it's a choice of letting a Rune Stone fall into the wrong hands or being fed to giant spiders, we'll have to take our
chances with the spiders. If you can remember Dollyo Chagi, then do it now.'

Billy stared at Frog for a second or two as he ran the Taekwondo move through his head and then he turned in one swift movement and brought his leg up and around to kick the surprised man in the ribs. The contact was perfect; the man doubled up and flew sideways gasping for breath.

‘To me! To me!' shouted Frog as he unsheathed his sword and sidestepped the cloaked figure. He then ran towards one of the large statues and as Billy reached him, he turned him around and cut his bonds with the sword.

‘Here, take this,' he told Billy handing him the sword.

‘What are you going to use?' asked Billy.

‘Oh, don't worry; I can be pretty handy with this,' replied Frog as he uncoiled his whip and let it loose with a loud crack.

The robed figure had turned to face them and the man was now recovering as he drew his curved sword and advanced on Billy and Frog.

‘Sorry Billy,' said Frog. ‘I didn't mean to get you into this.'

‘That's okay,' shrugged Billy. ‘Same as back home really. Your trouble is my trouble; your fight is my fight. That's what mates are for.'

Frog glanced up at the statue that towered over them.

‘Gizmo, where are you when I need you?' he pleaded as the man raised his sword, its blade ready to scythe into the boy's heads.

3

Aridian

‘Stop!' shouted the woman as her hands reached up and pulled back the hood of her cloak. Billy and Frog stared as the man's sword curved through the air with a swish and was brought down to one side and away from them in one effortless movement, the blade smoothly sliding back into its scabbard. For a moment, there was silence and Frog was not sure whether he and Billy should drop their guard or take advantage of the situation and run. Within seconds their minds were made up for them; the woman knelt before him and smiled into Frog's eyes.

‘You are surely the Frog of legend,' she said. ‘Your loyalty to the Guardians and to the safety of the Dimensions is unquestionable by your show of bravery. Your companion does you proud, although we had no knowledge that you would be accompanied. For all we knew you could have been instruments of Belzeera's making; she conspires to deceive us in many ways. She could have sent you to infiltrate our refuge and taint the sacred Rune Stone. That is why we have taken such cautious steps.'

She stood. ‘I am Cassaria, Guardian of Aridian, and
this,' she gestured towards the man, ‘is Ameer. He is Prince and leader of the Aridian people and the commander of its army.'

Frog and Billy stood, entranced by the woman's face. She had short, brown hair, which framed her lean, almost boyish features. A silver earring in the shape of a spider's web hung from one ear and two small black spiders were tattooed on each of her cheekbones. Even in the strange bluish light, she had the brownest eyes that either Billy or Frog had ever seen. In fact, they were so clear that Billy could see his own reflection in them.

Frog took his sword from the spellbound Billy and sheathed it.

‘I am Frog of Castellion; although I wouldn't count myself as a legend,' he said as he coiled his whip. ‘And this is my best friend, Billy Smart, whose journey here was totally unplanned.' He turned to Billy who was still lost in Cassaria's eyes.

‘Billy!' said Frog elbowing him in the ribs.

‘Sorry, what were you saying?' stammered Billy.

‘I was introducing you and saying that this is your first visit to the Dimensions and as unexpected to me as it is for you,' said Frog.

‘Well, I can't say that it isn't exciting,' said Billy.

Ameer stepped forward. ‘You are brave and resourceful for one so young,' he said to Billy. ‘You must show me that move of yours; I would not want to fall foul of it again,' he smiled, rubbing his side.

‘Sure,' replied Billy. ‘I have plenty of other ones where that came from.'

‘I think that we had better find out what this is all
about and why we're here before you start showing off your Taekwondo,' said Frog.

Cassaria turned and indicated for them to follow. ‘Come, you must be tired and thirsty from your journey. Let us retire to my chambers and Ameer and I can tell you all that you need to know.'

‘Before we do,' said Frog, ‘can you tell me about these statues. Is this a statue of you and is that one of Gizmo?'

‘Yes and yes,' confirmed Cassaria.

He pointed around at the other two. ‘Who are they and why can't we see their faces?'

‘These images represent the Guardians of the Four Dimensions. The faces of those two will be revealed to you when the time comes for you to meet them and not before,' explained Cassaria.

‘Surely, you can tell me how my friend Gizmo is?' pleaded Frog.

‘I have not seen Gizmo for a very long time, but when we last communicated he was in good health, although he will have aged many years since you last met.

‘But, I saw him only a few months ago,' said Frog.

‘You seem to forget,' said Cassaria, ‘that the passage of time between the Dimensions is affected by the Slipstream in different ways. It has indeed been many, many years since you were in Castellion.'

‘What's happened to my friends?' asked Frog with concern.

‘As far as I know they are all well, but older. Castellion is also safe, for the present,' said Cassaria. ‘The threat now lies here on Aridian. Come, let us talk in more comfortable surroundings.'

They walked towards a wall which had a large spider carved in its centre.

‘I'm not all that keen on melting through walls,' said Billy nervously.

‘No matter,' said Cassaria as she reached forwards and pressed the centre of the symbol. The outline of a door appeared in the wall and it slid silently to one side allowing them to walk into a smaller chamber.

‘Sit. Make yourselves comfortable while I prepare us some refreshment,' she told them as she disappeared into a side room.

Strewn out in front of them on a thick-carpeted floor was a circle of scattered cushions. At its centre sat a low wooden table with various parchment scrolls bundled to one side.

‘Excuse me,' said Ameer. ‘I will help my lady. Please, sit,' he gestured to them and followed Cassaria into the side room.

Frog and Billy turned to see that there was now a solid wall behind them and the same circular carving of a spider stared down at them.

‘Neat,' said Billy as he pressed his hands against the unyielding stone. ‘I bet she didn't learn that from Marvin's Magic.'

‘Billy, you don't half whiff a bit,' said Frog.

‘I've been thinking the same about you.'

‘Perhaps it's that stuff that you trod in.'

‘No,' said Billy. ‘This is a sort of spidery smell.'

Frog leant forwards and sniffed at Billy's hair. ‘Phew! It
is
you,' he said.

Billy grabbed Frog before he could move away and gave his head a quick sniff. ‘You don't smell any
better either, so stop going on about me,' he said.

‘Well I don't think there's any chance of a shower around here so we're just going to have to live with it for now,' said Frog and looked around the room; it was decorated with colourful hanging rugs and a couple of stone plinths upon which sat crystal rocks that gave out the soft blue light. In a recess on the other side of the room was an Hourglass about 60 cm in height and Frog noticed that the sand was slowly trickling through it grain by grain, second by second and the contents were over two thirds through its cycle.

Billy had also spotted it and was making his way towards it.

‘Leave it, Billy,' said Frog. ‘If there's one thing that I've learnt it's not to touch anything until you're told that it's safe to do so. Come and sit down.'

Frog made himself comfortable on the cushions and noticed that one of the scrolls was partly rolled open. It looked like a map, but not like any map that he had seen before. There were grid lines across it, but that was where the similarity ended; everything else was circles and swirls. He was engrossed in trying to make sense of the patterns when suddenly there was a loud ‘Zaaap!'

‘Yeow!' shouted Billy.

Frog jumped to his senses as he looked up in Billy's direction.

Billy was standing near the Hourglass, his hair rigid and on end. Wisps of smoke floated up from his head and from his fingertips. His face was as white as a sheet.

‘Billy, are you all right?' asked Frog.

Billy didn't answer; he was frozen to the spot and couldn't move.

Cassaria and Ameer suddenly appeared from the side room.

‘What's happened to him?' asked Frog.

‘I see that your friend Billy has an inquisitive nature. He will either learn quickly or he will pay for his curiosity,' she smiled as she walked towards him.

‘The Hourglass is protected from prying hands by a Judgement Spell. He is lucky that it is designed only to capture and not to kill,' she continued. She then reached out her arms and brought the bangles together, which gave off a soft glow, and gently touched the sides of Billy's head with her fingers.

Billy blinked once, looked down at his smoking fingers, then up at Cassaria and fainted.

‘Looks like you're going to learn the hard way, my friend,' said Frog. ‘Just like me.'

Cassaria and Ameer gently carried Billy to the cushions.

‘I'll get some salve for his hands,' said Cassaria, ‘It will heal the burning quickly, although he will have to live with his singed hair for a while.'

Frog watched over Billy for the next few minutes as Cassaria and Ameer tended to his hands. Cassaria gently rubbed a green-looking paste into his now-very-red fingers, whilst Ameer dabbed at his hair with a damp cloth.

A tear slowly rolled from one of Billy's eyes and perched on his cheek.

‘Don't touch it,' instructed Cassaria. She produced a
small glass tube from her robe and removed the stopper.

‘With the right Magic, this can be used to help protect the boy,' and she allowed the tear to run into the tube and safely sealed it again, replacing it back within her robe.

Eventually, Billy opened his eyes and Ameer helped him to take a drink of a reviving potion that Cassaria had prepared.

‘What bit of “Leave it, Billy” didn't you understand?' asked Frog.

‘What's that burning smell?'

‘You,' said Frog. ‘And you're lucky that you weren't barbecued,' he added.

Billy looked down at his hands. ‘They tingle.'

‘They will for a while and then the redness will disappear,' said Cassaria. ‘But I'm afraid you will have to wait for the scorch marks to grow out of your hair.'

Billy tried to get up but Cassaria stopped him. ‘Rest,' she said, ‘while we bring in the supper. You will feel much better when you have had something to eat.'

When Cassaria and Ameer had left the room, Frog hissed at Billy. ‘You wazzuck! You'll get yourself killed. What did I tell you?'

‘Sorry,' said Billy sheepishly.

‘Listen to me in future, or I'll let them feed you to the spiders,' added Frog.

Cassaria and Ameer returned with wooden bowls and plates laden with bread and food. Frog moved the scrolls to the floor to make room for everything as Ameer returned with a large jug and some goblets.

‘Eat, eat,' he encouraged as he and Cassaria passed around the plates.

Frog and Billy helped themselves to what appeared to be cooked vegetables, brown bread and strips of white chicken meat. It was some minutes before Ameer spoke again.

‘How are you feeling now?' he asked Billy.

‘Much better, thank you,' he replied helping himself to his sixth piece of meat. ‘This chicken really is delicious.'

Ameer looked quizzically at Billy and then at Frog.

‘Chicken,' repeated Frog picking a portion up for himself. ‘You probably have another name for it here,' he added.

‘Yes, you know, it's a bird with lots of feathers and flaps about but can't fly,' said Billy as he reached for yet another piece.

‘We have birds on Aridian,' said Ameer. ‘Most of them are carrion and taste rank and unclean. We do not eat them.'

‘This is Serpens,' said Cassaria. ‘In your world, I think that you call it snake.'

Billy froze for the second time that night and then he slowly placed the piece of meat back onto his plate. ‘I think that I've had enough, thank you,' he said as he reached for his drink.

‘It tastes like chicken,' said Frog still chewing on a piece.

‘This is rock Serpens,' said Ameer. ‘It's very hard to catch but well worth the effort as it is the most tender of meat. If you are out in the wastelands and cannot light a fire, you can eat it raw if need be.'

‘No offence, but I'll stick to fruit from now on,' said Billy and picked up a round, green object from a dish. ‘This is a fruit, isn't it?' he asked.

‘Yes,' said Ameer. ‘It is called Atemoya. We grow them in our plantation houses and they are very sweet. Here, let me,' he said, cutting it in half with a knife.

‘You need to scoop out the flesh; use your fingers.'

Billy took a small amount between his fingers and tentatively put it into his mouth. ‘Wow! It tastes wonderful,' he said wiping the juice from his chin. ‘It's got a sort of custardy taste,' he explained to Frog before digging his fingers into the fruit again.

‘You need to spit out the seeds,' said Ameer.

‘Don't they taste very nice?' asked Billy.

‘No,' said Ameer. ‘And they are poisonous.'

Billy decided that he no longer wanted any more of the fruit, despite Ameer assuring him that as long as he didn't swallow too many of the seeds he would be all right. Billy also passed on the dried lizard's tongues and crystallised sand beetles, choosing to quietly sip his drink instead.

When they had all finished eating and Cassaria and Ameer had cleared away the dishes, they all sat around the low table, drinking a refreshing green tea, which, to Billy's relief, had no hidden ingredients or dangers.

‘How much does Billy know of the Dimensions and your previous visit to Castellion?' Cassaria asked Frog.

‘He has a rough idea of what happened on Castellion, but like me he does not know why he is here and what is happening,' replied Frog.

‘Let me start with Aridian,' said Cassaria.

‘For many generations, the good people of Aridian have existed and lived beneath the dry, scorched landscape, for it is here, below the world's surface, that the liquid of life is found – water.

‘This is a world within a world, underground. The people live away from the desolate and hostile desert; their dwellings and communities are hewn into the bedrock of Aridian. Enormous caverns, vast enough to contain great lakes and watercourses, honeycomb throughout the sub-surface. Hot springs rise and give off steam as part of an underground ecosystem, which creates its own atmosphere where clouds of condensation gather and fall as rain.

‘These organic, crystallised rocks grow on Aridian's surface.' She indicated to several of them around the room. ‘They are fed by the twin sun's rays and, in turn, collect and store its power. The rocks generate heat and light according to their size, but the lifespan of even the largest is only about three months at the most. Then the rocks become a soft, brittle material that crumbles into coarse sand.