CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The circumstances of Nikko, Jason, Porky, Josh, Danielle and Simon had not changed for some time though the clock had yet to register a month. They were still in the dungeon as Jason called it, unable to find a way out and bickering among themselves.
Since Fusan had disappeared into the seemingly impenetrable rock face they had seen no-one else and had heard nothing but their own voices. No sooner had the elderly Keeper left them than Jason had rounded on Nikko. “What the heck are you ip to Nikko? What is this?”
“Wait a minute,” Nikko began.
“No. you wait a minute,” interrupted Jason. “you got us into this mess. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Before you came along everything was fine. Now look where we are. Gabrysia and the others gone. We’re stuck in this dungeon somewhere in the bowels of the earth. And you’re playing pally sidekick to some weird hairy toy who’s supposed to possess magic but won’t lift a finger to help us or get rid of the Drongs. Sounds a bit off to me.” He looked to the others, coldness in his eyes, demanding support.
“Jason you know I had no part in this trouble,” said Nikko. “It happened that’s all. As for…..”
“Happened! Just happened. No way. I don’t believe that. Why now? Why almost as soon as you came on the scene out of nowhere?”
“Look, I don’t know why. But instead of accusing me you should be trying to understand Fusan and be thinking of what we can do to help Gabrysia and the rest.”
“Understand the creature? You expect me to accept it that you two have become firm buddies all of a sudden and just say ‘OK, oh master Poosan. Tell me what to do and shall do it’.?”
“His name is Fusan. And….”
“Fusan. Poosan Cuckoosan. Who cares? He’s a creature from another planet. A coward at that it seems to me. I’m not going to rely on him to get me out of here. He’s probably a damn Drong. And you’re on his side.”
“Alright Jason,” said Porky and physically stepped between the two of them. “We’re all upset about things. but let’s not go too far. Nikko is not a Drong and you know it. And if he was on their side he’d have led us into a trap long before this. Much easier too. I’ve got no idea what the creature is. But I don’t think we should do or say anything m ore to upset him. He got pretty made back there and I for one would not like to really get on his bad side.”
Jason stood his ground and glared at Nikko.
Porky continued: “I don’t feel in a very happy mood but I say if we have to play along with this hairy toy as you put it then we have to.”
Simon was studying the ground at his feet. When he looked up he saw his three friends standing in a line with Nikko and Jason facing off, and with Porky in the middle looking from one to the other, his hands outstretched pleading.
“I don’t see that we have a choice,” he offered, breaking the temporary silence that had settled. “We can’t get out and we don’t know where we are even let alone where to go if we could escape. We’ve got to go along with the creature, for now anyway.”
Josh and Danielle merely nodded in agreement. They had not spoken as they observed the strained exchanges. Jason’s outburst had shocked and disappointed them and they had actually stepped out of the way, their backs pressed against the stone wall.
There followed a long pause when no-one spoke. Josh and Danielle remained where they were but slumped to the ground and crossed their legs in a typical yoga lotus pose. Nikko turned away and walked to a corner of the cave where he sat alone. Porky led Jason to an opposite corner and stood very close, a hand resting on his shoulder as he spoke earnestly in an inaudible whisper. For his part Jason stared at the ground, mute.
Nikko was saddened. The episode had upset him and rekindled the animosity that Jason had displayed when they had first met. When was it? A few days ago? A week? It seemed like an age and in many ways it was. So much had happened; the experiences in the forest, the dead Place and the subterranean world where evil and mystery lurked. It was like a fog that hung in the air, ominously swirling in slow clouds which soaked into the body and the soul bringing about chemical changes which altered a person’s very being.
The primitive urge to attack or fight when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds rose to the surface and expressed itself in a frightened way. It had occurred more than once since the trials had begun. And they were trials in the very real sense of the word. Also Nikko quickly realised that it was only a few days since the posse of would-be rescuers had set out. In that short time a great deal had happened. Jason was correct when he said that. Thinking about it Nikko could not point to anything positive. One disaster appeared to follow another and from where they were at the moment there seemed little likelihood of a reversal of luck. The longer it went on the more certain Nikko was that the situation would deteriorate further.
Looking around the cave at the leaf Children Nikko told himself something had to be done to right the situation, and it had to be done very soon. He had the definite and sinking feeling that their lives depended on their next move.
When the high-pitched screaming came he was caught by surprise but quickly reacted by clapping his hands to his ears and tightly shutting his eyes. He did not look at the others as he instinctively knew the effect it would have on them. He heard Porky’s distant voice first as he asked the obvious question: “What on earth is that?” Then it was Josh: “Where is….” But he was immediately cut short by Jason: “Look out. It’s those things. Don’t let it…” But he too was struck speechless as the screaming rose sharply and it was mere seconds before all the children blacked out and collapsed limply to the floor.
They did not see the hoards of little Keepers run into the cave from the opening in the wall, swarm around the unconscious bodies and quickly but gently gather them up and disappear back onto the opening. Fusan was not there.
But he was sitting on the flat rock studying them as they opened their eyes some time later. They were in the large cave where Nikko had been earlier and as then dozens of the hairy creatures huddled around the walls and peered from openings and around craggy stone corners. Slowly the children sat up rubbing their foreheads and blinking in the soft pink light.
“Hello Fusan,” said Nikko and stood up.
“Hello Nikko,” the old Keeper replied. Then he looked at the others who still were seated. “Do not worry,” he told them. “The dizziness will rapidly disappear. Indeed if it has not done already please tell me.”
He need not have explained though because by the time he had concluded his sentence the Leaf Children were gazing about them, any feelings of mental confusion replaced by wonder and some concern at what they saw.
“Don’t worry,” repeated Nikko. “They won’t hurt you. They’re friendly, shy really I think.” His remarks were directed at his colleagues and about the Keepers who still kept their distance.
“I don’t believe this,” stated Jason. “I just don’t believe it.”
“Well you’d better start,” said Simon. “If you doubted Nikko before you can’t now. So far everything he said has been true. It’s time you apologised. Then we can find out what happens next.”
Jason looked at Nikko but Nikko turned away and said to Fusan: “Fusan, what are we to do now? You must have brought us back here for a reason.”
“I have my friend,” the old Keeper said and dropped from the rock to the ground. “I have brought you here to try tom help you.”
“How? How can you help us?”
“I think there are things I can show you and perhaps teach you that may assist in your escape, in your attempt to find and help your other friends and in your efforts to return to your forest home.”
“Can you help us beat the Drongs?” asked Jason.
“What you do with the knowledge I can share with you is your concern,” replied the Keeper, still with his unblinking gaze on Nikko. “But you will do it alone.”
“We understand,” nodded Nikko.
“I don’t,” said Jason. “I still can’t understand why you don’t get rid of the Drongs.”
Fusan shifted his attention to Jason who was now standing and who had stepped forward to Nikko’s side. “Young man,” he said, “as I stated before that is not possible. Please accept that. We will not be pressed further. If you persist you will only waste time and this will not be good for the girl and the others who are still in danger.”
Danielle now came forward and asked: “Do you know where they are? Can you take us there please?”
“Later my dear,” he answered. “First, you must be prepared. Then when the time is right you will join them, or they will join you.”
“We agree,” Simon said and joined Nikko, Jason and Danielle. Josh and Porky completed the single rank and Simon said again: “We all agree. What do we have to do?”
Fusan remained where he was and examined the six children facing him as if they were volunteering for a military mission. He stared into their eyes one at a time seeing past the pupils and their questioning expressions. The children would be embarking on a journey and they would need to be at their best if there were to succeed. He would need patience and they would have to apply trust and determination. He was confident of his own abilities of course, but only time would tell if the children could manage their side of the task.
Shortly he spoke and one more his voice lowered. It was still higher than the children were used to but by comparison with the high pitched lilt he had used before the tone was now almost coarse.
“Allow me first,” he said, “to confirm what Nikko has already told you and to elaborate somewhat. Then I will speak anew of things present and in the future. You should please set as it will take a little time to relate all that think is necessary.”
The children did as they were told. The other Keepers gave a faint sigh and also seemed to relax where they were. Fusan himself returned to the flat rock, casually climbed up onto it and with his legs crossed beneath him began to speak.
“We are Keepers of the Deep,” he began. We are guardians of this underground world and all that is here. We are to ensure it is undisturbed and remains a tangible memory, a reminder for the future, of all things in the past. This is an obligation we have been entrusted with and one we have dedicated out lives to fulfilling. For many of our years, many more of yours, we carried out our duties with pleasure and satisfaction but recently we have experienced disappointment. The Drongs as you know them have intruded and caused disruption bringing with them impure and discordant thoughts and practices.”
Fusan stopped and then continued: “however this is the present and before I tread here I shall go back. Back to a time and a place that is lovingly familiar to me and my family. I speak of a place in another time where all thinking beings are as we are. Its name is Yshon.”
A soulful soft murmur rose at his back but Fusan continued: “Yshon is our home. It is our beloved heritage, our history, our love, our very reason for being. We began in Yshon and Yshon will always be in us. Though we are here and will ever be so our souls are back in Yshon. For we are Yshon and Yshon is in us. To imagine otherwise is to imagine the unimaginable. We have in us more than mere memories of a place where all was goof and all were happy. In our hearts we are there still. The deep and tranquil knowledge that we remain a part of the land that teems with joyous life is in us always. For Yshon is a land that is physically not so different from yours.
“It has hills and plains, rivers, animals, birds and reptiles and a sky that is the canvas for the master’s brushes, sometimes displaying the splendour of brightness and at other times the bleakness of torment. The blue of the heaven is the hue and the clarity of a child’s eye, and the gold of the sun is the gleam of the cat’s caught in the sudden beam of light that stabs the black of night.
“At night’s noon the stars, countless sparkling jewels, communicate in soundless pulsations against unmarred velvet. Our nights are not quite the same as yours as the only light before the stars emerge is given by our moon and her child, a glorious orb that moves gracefully across the heaven. Always by her side is a smaller yet equally silver satellite. It is not uncommon for us to spend the entire hours of darkness following the path of the moons from horizon to horizon and then to luxuriate in the beauty of the starlit heaven until the rays of the morning sun gradually spread higher and higher. Rather than facing the ensuing day with exhaustion the experience is uplifting and enervating. We are but specks in the great universe and it is the night which reminds of this.
“While this is a time for solitude and reflection the daylight brings forth life in abundance. The sound of flowing streams mingled with the calls of birds and animals heralds each new day. There are no noisy contraptions to pollute the sounds of nature in Yshon. Only nature itself breaks the silence. There are birds of every size, colour and shape, and animals that hop, walk and run on two or four legs much the same as you are used to. Nevertheless I dare say there are some that would surprise you with their forms. Even one or two with their apparent ferociousness though it would be wise to remember that not all is always as it seems.
“The land inhabited by these creatures would indeed he easily recognisable to each of you, for i5t is a mirror image of your own. As I have already remarked Yshon has rivers, fields and flora aplenty. The grass grows green and thick and covers great meadows. Trees are tall and straight and some have massive clusters of leaves that extend over large areas providing welcome shade.
“My description of the land and its life has of necessity been brief and I fear fails to do it justice. But under the circumstances I believe it to be sufficient.” Fusan stopped and for a moment he looked as if he was going to drift into a distant reverie. He soon recovered however and continued.
“In Yshon I was a Keeper also. All of us here were Keepers. But we did not live in caves like this one. Our homes were in the trees. In one corner of the land there is a huge forest and it is there that we Yshons have made our homes since the beginning of time. There are many of us and we live in peace with all creatures and in harmony with the land.
“One day I and the others were chosen to leave Yshon because of our Keeper knowledge and come to this place to maintain the collections and when necessary to add to them. We are the latest in a succession of Yshons charged with this task. It is our duty and our privilege. But we have encountered disruptions. They ate troublesome but we will overcome them.”
The old Keeper again stopped talking and there was a deep silence. He sat on the rock unmoving and stared at the Leaf Children before him. They looked back and said nothing. At last Fusan said: “One day a group of children penetrated our domain. They roamed wantonly and noisily, their actions and words displaying great disrespect for our work. While this saddened us we did not confront them. That is not the Yshon way. We avoided them and retreated deeper into the darkness of the caves but continued to maintain and care for the collections.
“Once however by complete chance I was seen by one of the children, it was a foolish mistake on my own part and I am afraid many may have suffered as a result. And now you are here. Perhaps I have erred again in taking the course I have. Perhaps I am risking too much.”
The speedy transition from the beauty of the unknown Yshon to the all too evident present seemed to prod the leaf Children from a trance. They fidgeted and looked at one another and then back at Fusan who sat impassively on the rock.
Nikko coughed lightly and rather self consciously said: “We are sorry Fusan. We did not know you were here and we had no intention of causing you any trouble.”
“You do not make trouble my friend,” replied Fusan. “there is no need for you to apologise. It is I who made us known to you.” He added: “Please do not misunderstand what I say. It is not you and your friends who displease us. It is those others. They who have hate and anger in their hearts.”
“I understand,” Nikko said. “What can we do to help? How can you help us to help you?”
“There are ways,” Fusan replied. “I feel we can impart knowledge to you that will aid you in your endeavours. And of course in so doing we will be aided also.”
“Sir,” said Porky. “Can I ask you a question please?” Like the rest of the children he had not moved during the Keeper’s discourse and he showed none of the joviality that marked him as prankster in the forest family. “Where exactly is Yshon? And what sort of collections do you have down here? We’ve seen a sort of museum but is that it? How do you get them?”
Fusan’s grey eyebrows rose imperceptively and he said: “This is something that I have often pondered. Here a person says he wishes to ask a question. He then proceeds to list a number. On the other hand, a person asked a number of questions frequently gives only a single reply. Please do not be offended. I do not mean to be rude. You have posed four queries so I will answer all four, though with your permission not in the order you put them.”
Porky blushed.
“First,” said Fusan, “your questions about the collections. As I have already said our aim is to preserve the present for the future. Our belief is that the past must never be lost. Of course time takes its essential toll and evolution replaces the old with the new. Memory retains that which is gone but memories too fade, and often history and its integral elements disappear entirely. The collections are….” He paused, searching for the word. “They are pieces of a giant jigsaw that when assembled recreate the past. They are a vivid picture of what was, and therefore are not forgotten. We believe the past should not be dismissed as dead and gone. It must be kept alive so that we can always remember and learn. So the collections are constantly being added to.
“You have seen but a small part of them. There are very many chambers where they are cared for. After all, the jigsaw of history is vast with not a few individual pieces. Even we are kept very busy tending them. As for how we collect the pieces, allow me to stress we do not rob the present. It is only when the present has finished with them that we bring them to the Deep. We are not thieves. In time you may be able to see more of them but I doubt it will be many. You do not wish to linger and in any case, as I said, there are many chambers. We shall wait and see.”
His voice trailed off somewhere once more as though he was thinking of something else. Then he brightened and said to Porky: “Finally, you wanted to know where Yshon is. That is easy, yet difficult to explain so you can understand. You see, Yshon is here. Here, around you.”
The children looked around at the stark walls of the cave. Their heads swivelled in doubtful curves and then again their eyes settled on the old Keeper.
“What do you mean here?” asked Jason. “You told us this Yshon of yours had trees and flowers and animals. We’re underground and this cave is nothing but dull brown and dead. What are you trying to tell us?”
Danielle quietly joined in. “Maybe you mean the cave is not underground. Have we been taken outside somewhere? Aren’t we under the Dead Place any more?”
Again the eyebrows rose slightly –that is definitely meant to be an expression, a smile, thought Nikko – and Fusan replied carefully: “We are here. As I said the answer is simple. The explanation is not. And if you will allow I shall not try to explain it to you in detail at this time. Yshon is certainly where we are but not in these caves. Nor do I mean it is far away and that we must travel some distance to reach it. On the contrary, in terms of distance it is a short walk. But rather than confuse you further I hope to be able to take you there so you can see it for yourselves. And then you will understand my hesitation in trying to unravel the complexities by simple words. For now I would like to show you how we might be able to help you solve the very real problems confronting you.”
“I think that would be best,” said Nikko. “We are very confused as it is. Like the rest I don’t understand what you’re saying about Yshon. So perhaps you should leave the explanation for now and concentrate on what you can do to help us rescue Gabrysia and the others and get back to the forest.”
The old Keeper looked around the group of children and in his deep voice said: “So be it. We shall begin.”
He turned to the other Keepers and stood perfectly straight and still. The high ;pitched wait that lasted for two to three minutes was not unpleasant for the children and they observed that the other creatures also did not move. Clearly communication was taking place. Fusan was probably explaining what was going to happen and giving instructions. Then he again faced the children and in his hand he held a silver ball. It emitted no light and rested in his tiny fingers. Slowly he rolled it around in his palm, gently powering it with his thumb and little finger, and as he did so the ball became brighter and brighter. When it was the brightness of a normal lamp bulb he stopped manipulating it and raised his arm in front of him to shoulder height.
The children stared at it and then at Fusan who was looking at them intently. His face appeared above the ball and its light highlighted his grey eyebrows and was mirrored in his pupils. Again his delicate fingers turned the ball and it grew brighter, the stone walls around them plainly showing their markings and cracks as the ball lit up the cave.
Suddenly Fusan lobbed the ball in the air above his head. The children shielded their eyes and turned their faces away expecting the blinding flash they had seen in the forest when the Drongs had captured Gabrysia. They squeezed their lids tightly together and screwed up their cheeks in anticipation. For half a minute they remained with their backs to the Keepers.
When they, one by one, cautiously peeped through spaced fingers they were not met by engulfing white light. The interior of the cave remained as it was, with one exception. The silver ball hung suspended in the air over their heads. It rotated very slowly but held its position.
“How does it do that?” asked Simon and waved his hands criss cross through the air beneath the ball, as a magician might to prove there are no wires attached to an apparently levitated object. “How do you get it to stay up there?”
Fusan did not reply. He stepped forward and held out his hand. The ball dropped into his upturned palm, the light dead.
He held it out to Simon saying: “Try it young man. Make the glove float. Ask it to obey you.”
Simon was reluctant to touch the ball and glanced sideways at Jason and Danielle for encouragement. Jason shrugged and Danielle nodded. As he turned back to Fusan the Keeper placed the silver ball in his hand and repeated: “Go ahead. Ask it. Do not fear.”
Simon could feel the ball in his hand, light and cool. Though that was not strictly correct. Rather than feel it he sensed it was resting on his flesh. He could see it and knew it was in his hand but it as more a feeling than the actual feel of the object. It was almost without any weight at all.
A quick glance at Fusan and then back to the ball and he tossed it in the air. The ball flew high, reached its zenith and fell back to the floor.
Fusan retrieved it and Porky asked: “What happened? It didn’t even light up.”
The old Keeper extended his arm to Porky, offering him the globe. “Try it. Ask it to do what you want.”
Porky took the ball. “It’s as light as a feather,” he said. “Not heavy at all.” He dropped it from his left hand into his right hand and then hefted it aloft.
Again the ball rose, stopped and fell back. Porky caught it and looked questioningly at Fusan. “How come? What are we doing wrong?”
“Give it to your friend,” he said and then to Jason: “You try. Throw the globe in the air and ask it to stay there.”
“No,” said Jason. “Give it to the others first. I’ll go last. Josh, your turn.”
But Josh was unsuccessful too. And so was Danielle, though both tried to be smooth and gentle in pitching the ball over their heads.”
Nikko now had the ball in his hand and Fusan said softly to him: “Ask it my friend. Ask it to stay floating.”
Nikko stared at the globe and then at the old Keeper who again said: “Ask it Nikko.”
Nikko’s fingers closed around the ball and he threw it high, watching it rise. At the top of its climb the globe stopped and momentarily held its position, it was poised for a few seconds but then fell back and was caught by Porky.”
“It stopped,” he cried. “It did. You stopped it for a bit there Nikko. How did you do it?”
Nikko said nothing but handed the ball to Jason. He kept his eyes on Fusan who eyebrows rose and he then turned to Jason. “Ask it to stay up young man. It can be done.”
Jason was the last. He fingered the ball in his hand, feeling the cool smooth surface. He hurled it high, much higher than the others and then stood stock still with his eyes closed. As he opened them shortly he saw Porky catch the globe and grinning broadly ask: “How did you do it Jason? You had it up there for ten seconds at least. It was fantastic. What did you do?”
Jason looked at Fusan and without shifting his eyes he answered: “I did what I was told.”
“So did we,” blurted Simon. “But you got it to stay up there. And so did Nikko for a short time. You must have done something different.”
“They did,” said Fusan. “They both did what I advised you all to do.”
“I don’t understand,” Danielle said. “We all did the same. We threw it in the air just like you did.”
“And you did it most considerately,” said Fusan. “But that is all you did. You threw it up and expected it to stay up.”
“So?” asked Josh.
“I asked it to stay up,” said Jason simply, looking at his friend. “I actually asked the ball to stay in the air. That’s what he kept telling us to do. He didn’t say make it float. He kept saying ask it, ask it to float.”
“What?” Simon took the silver ball out of Porky’s hand ad turned it round and round between his own palms. He looked at Jason and Nikko who nodded. He looked at the globe again and then at Fusan.
“You mean,” he said, “if I ask it to stay up it will?”
The old Keeper’s voice was low. “Try it. Your friends did. They say that is the reason the globe floats.”
Simon waited for a moment and then hurled the ball over his head. He watched it sail high and as he did he said over and over to himself: “Stay up. Float, float, float.”
The silver ball peaked in its flight and stopped. It hovered. One second. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Simon started to laugh and the ball dropped as if an invisible hand holding it had suddenly released its grip.
Porky again caught it and as he did Simon said to Fusan: “Why? Why, or how, does the ball stay up there? Just because we wish it to? What sort of ball is it?”
“It is not only in the ball,” replied Fusan. “Though it is a special globe I agree. In asking it to float you were in fact wishing to defy gravity. Even though you know such a thing is not possible, yet you wished it. You should ask yourself other deeper questions my friend. I cannot guide you any further. It is for you to find the answer.”
While they talked Porky and Danielle had each tried throwing the silver ball into the air and wishing it remain aloft. Porky managed to keep it up about six seconds before he broke into a giggle. Danielle was better and concentrated long enough to hold it steady for just over ten seconds.”
Josh was also more successful in his second attempt, though for only a few seconds.
“Are you trying to tell us we can all learn magic?” he asked. “Are you going to teach us more?”
Fusan was slow to answer. It only confused the Leaf Children more when he did. “Magic is nothing. Anyone with fingers of dexterity can a will be deceive, coupled with much practice, can learn the art of the magician. Satisfying it might be, but it does not fulfil. I am not a teacher of magic. This is not my purpose.”
“Then what are you teaching us if not magic?” Jason asked. “Are you now saying this magic is no use to us?”
Fusan again was slow to answer. Instead he politely took the globe from Josh and fingered it so it shone its silver light in a large arc. “The globe gives the light,” he said. “But it is the light which shows the way in the darkness.”
The children st9ood silently and each considered what they had seen and heard. Nikko wasn’t sure what conclusion to draw from the lesson – there was no doubt it had been a lesson – but he had learned enough from the Keeper in his brief experience to know that such riddles should not be ignored. The obvious was not necessarily obvious and the wisdom was often hidden by the casual remark. Fusan had an excellent command of the language and Nikko was sometimes puzzled by answers to his questions. But when he thought about them there was always depth and meaning to them. So he was not going to merely accept the plain statement about the globe.
His first thought was that in showing them how they could keep the silver ball in the air Fusan was teaching them to use it as a means of distracting an opponent, a Drong for instance, while they took advantage of the loss of concentration and launched an attack. It could work. Or perhaps the lesson was simply the first step to mastering the globe. After all, they had only managed to keep it in the air for a few seconds at a time. Hardly sufficient to organise any large scale capture of Drongs. The second lesson might be the more important. That was, how to make the globe glow. Then they would be able to use