Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers (11 page)

'But who will look after you while she is away?' asked Keera.

Joseph waved a hand. 'I have any number of friends in the village who will be happy to fill in for her. What do you say? She has pestered me about this ever since she learned of your plans.'

'Pestered you?' Max snorted. 'She hasn't uttered a sound since we arrived.'

'Yes, but she does the most energetic sign language you've ever witnessed. Will you take her?'

'Why not?' agreed Cornelius. He studied the girl for a moment. 'You would work hard and do as you are told?' he asked.

Salah smiled and nodded eagerly. She pointed to the cooking pot and gestured wildly with her hands.

'She is telling you that she will do the cooking,' explained Joseph.

'Well, thank goodness for that,' said Max from the doorway. 'Neither of these two have the first idea about how to make decent food!'

Joseph laughed again and slapped a bony hand against a skinny leg. 'I'll bet that one is hard to please!' he observed.

'You have no idea,' said Sebastian.

'So . . .' Joseph studied them thoughtfully. 'It's settled then.

You will take Salah with you.'

Sebastian smiled at the girl. 'Happily,' he said. 'She is a bit of a chatterbox, but I suppose we'll manage.'

She grinned back delightedly.

'When will you be ready to leave on your quest?' asked Joseph.

'Soon,' said Cornelius. 'There's a small matter to deal with first. Speaking of which . . .' He got to his feet and bowed politely to the old man. 'If you will excuse me, I have some more preparations to attend to.'

'Of course,' said Joseph, waving a hand in dismissal. 'It has been a pleasure to meet you.'

'Shall I come too?' asked Sebastian.

'No, you stay and rest,' said Cornelius. 'You'll need to be fully recovered if we are to lead the battle against the Gograth army.' He turned. 'Come on, Max, you can help. Or would you rather stand around drinking chai all day?'

'Do I get a choice?' asked Max, but he backed his huge frame out of the doorway. Cornelius followed him, leaving Sebastian and Keera sitting side by side. Sebastian glanced at her and saw that she was still staring into the globe, as though imagining herself in that tiny city.

'She is pretty, is she not?' said Joseph unexpectedly; and Sebastian glanced up in surprise. Keera lifted her head too, her face reddening.

'Umm . . . yes. Yes, she is,' agreed Sebastian, 'now that you mention it.'

Joseph grinned and glanced knowingly at Salah. 'Makes you wonder about the prophecy, doesn't it?' he said.

The girl nodded gleefully.

'The . . . prophecy?' echoed Sebastian.

'You are not familiar with the story?' Joseph asked incredulously.

'Umm . . . well, some of it. The bits that Keera has mentioned to me. All that stuff about smiting the Gograth. I mean, I'm not a professional smiter or anything, but I'll give it my best shot.'

'She didn't tell you about the last part?'

'Umm . . . which part is that?' asked Sebastian nervously.

'Where the Chosen One takes a woman of the Jilith tribe as his wife?'

Sebastian stared open-mouthed at the old man. Then he looked at Keera, but she lowered her gaze demurely and said nothing. He was beginning to get a very bad feeling about all this.

'A . . . wife?' he said feebly. 'Oh, crikey!'

Sebastian woke suddenly from a deep sleep. A hand was shaking him roughly by the shoulder. He opened his eyes and blinked up into the grinning baby face of Cornelius.

'It's time,' said the little warrior.

'Time?' Sebastian sat up and yawned. He was quite healed from his injuries, but he had got used to sleeping late. 'Time for what?'

Two moons had passed since he had visited Joseph's hut, and during this time Cornelius had finalized his preparations for the battle with the Gograth. Only the previous night, he had told Sebastian that everything was ready: they would go into action just as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Judging by the jubilant expression on his face, that opportunity had arrived.

'Time to do some smiting,' he said.

Sebastian glanced apprehensively through the open doorway of the guesthouse. He saw that it was still dark outside. 'The . . . the sun's not even up,' he protested.

'It's just before dawn. Cal is here. He and his hunting party have chanced upon a group of Gograth sneaking around close to the village. Obviously they mean to launch an attack, but we shall turn the tables on them.'

'Uh . . . yes, but . . . does it have to be right this instant? Couldn't we attack them at a more reasonable hour? After breakfast or something?'

'Time waits for no man,' Cornelius informed him. 'And this is a perfect opportunity.' He slapped Sebastian on the shoulder. 'Come on, dress yourself and prepare for battle. If you get a move on, you'll have time for a cup of chai.'

Sebastian groaned, but nodded. Cornelius went outside and Sebastian dragged himself out from under the fur covers and pulled on his clothes and boots. He strapped on his sword and stumbled out into the chill air of early morning. Cornelius was crouched beside the campfire with Cal and his hunting party. The rest of the villagers were waiting expectantly in a large circle around them.

Cal studied Sebastian with insolence in his eyes. His fellow warrior, Galt, was with him – a big shambling fellow with muscular arms and a shock of red hair. Unlike most of the Jilith, he wore his beard long and scruffy, and though of a cheerful disposition, he didn't seem all that bright. The two men looked like they ate, drank and slept for the pursuit of wild beasts.

'This one's getting too used to lying around.' Cal grinned and handed Sebastian a cup of chai with perhaps rather less reverence than the elfling had become accustomed to. Cal made no secret of the fact that he took the Chosen One legend with a large pinch of salt. He had even said, in Sebastian's presence, that as far as he was concerned a man made his own luck and that legend had very little to do with it.

'I need my rest,' Sebastian told him. 'Because I, er . . . have to preserve my powers. Particularly when there's a battle coming up.'

'Hardly a battle,' Cal assured him. 'A small hunting party – nothing special. We could take them all like
that
.' He snapped a dirty thumb and forefinger together.

'Yes, but we don't
want
to,' Cornelius reminded him. 'We only want to kill
some
of them. The rest must be allowed to escape so that they can summon help. And remember, when they arrive in greater numbers, we have to retreat. They must believe that we are scared.'

Cal scowled. 'It is against my nature to run from any enemy,' he said.

'I understand that. But the shame will be worth it once we have them within range of our spears and arrows.' Cornelius turned to address the other villagers. He climbed up onto a log so everyone would have a clear view of him. 'The moment is at hand,' he roared. 'You all have your appointed tasks. See to it that you carry them out to the best of your ability. And remember, when we come back, there won't be much time. Every one of you must be ready to fight to the death.'

'Excuse me . . .' interrupted a mournful voice.

Sebastian looked up in surprise. A strange apparition was lumbering towards them. It resembled one of the huge lizards he had fought on the treasure island of Callinestra, but there was no mistaking the voice. Max was encased in a curious assortment of armour. A huge padded saddle of rusa hide covered his flanks, a metal-studded breastplate hung around his neck, and some enterprising villager had even fashioned him a kind of helmet, which fitted ingeniously around his curving horns and protected his nose and cheeks. His brown eyes stared dolefully through two tiny slits. 'I feel ruddy stupid,' he complained. 'When you mentioned armour, I imagined something majestic-looking. But I just caught sight of my reflection in a pool of water and I look like a yarkle.'

'Not at all,' Cornelius told him. 'You look . . . noble. Doesn't he, Sebastian?'

'Er . . . yes,' said Sebastian, trying very hard not to laugh.

'You look . . . like a . . . force to be reckoned with. I certainly wouldn't want to face you in battle.'

'You're just saying that,' grumbled Max. 'I can see you're trying not to laugh.'

'No I'm not! Anyway, I'd rather look a bit of a twit than wind up with twenty arrows sticking out of my backside. Remember the fuss you made on the plains of Neruvia, when those Brigands shot just
one
arrow into you. You claimed you were dying.'

'I thought I was,' said Max gloomily. 'How was I to know it was just a flesh wound? Oh well then, if that's all the sympathy I'm going to get, I'll return to my chariot.' He turned and trudged away, revealing that the armour was ingeniously styled to allow his tail to poke through. Again Sebastian felt an irrational urge to laugh out loud, but managed to restrain himself. This was no time for humour.

'Come on,' said Cornelius. 'Cal, you lead the way.'

Cal and Galt set off into the jungle, carrying their throwing spears. Sebastian and Cornelius fell in behind them.

'Are these the only warriors we're taking?' asked Sebastian nervously.

'Of course. We want the Gograth to come after us, don't we? They won't do that if we have half the village in tow.' Cornelius grinned delightedly. 'We must be heavily outnumbered. That will embolden them, make them want to crush us. Hopefully they'll throw caution to the wind.'

Sebastian shook his head. 'You're loving this, aren't you?' he observed.

'Of course!' Cornelius chuckled. 'These are the days I live for, when the blood runs hot and the foe is at hand.' He gazed up at Sebastian. 'It's not for you, though, is it? Oh, you'll give of your best when push comes to shove, but I expect there are many things you'd rather be doing.'

'I have to admit, fighting's not my favourite pastime,' said Sebastian.

'Hmm.' Cornelius lowered his voice so that Cal and Galt would not overhear. 'You know, somebody was telling me a bit more about that prophecy last night. It seems that the Chosen One is expected to take a wife from amongst the women of the village.'

Sebastian shrugged. 'It's just an old folk tale,' he said. 'I wouldn't put any faith in it. Besides, what would Jenna say if I returned to Ramalat with a wife on my arm?'

'Something fairly salty, I should imagine. So . . . Jenna's still uppermost in your mind, is she?'

'Of course. Just because we're apart doesn't mean I've forgotten her.'

Cornelius smiled. 'Good for you,' he said. 'She's a special lady, that one.'

They followed the narrow trail as it led deeper and deeper into the jungle. Sebastian wondered how Cal and the others managed to find their way through the thick undergrowth. To him, every trail looked the same. He started to ask Cornelius something but Cal turned and lifted a finger to his lips.

'Quiet now,' he whispered. 'We are close.'

Sebastian did as he was told. He watched Cal and Galt creeping along the trail without making a sound and tried hard to emulate them, horribly aware of twigs cracking beneath his boots and foliage rustling as he brushed by. He couldn't help feeling like a great clumsy oaf beside them.