League Of Extraordinary Robots (4) Suddenly there was a rumbling of the ground, suggesting that the royal soldiers were on their way. “Quick, over here,” said Sir Porcupine, pulling Wisker off the beaten pathway and into a shrub of trees, just as the soldiers came speeding in their carriages and on horses. Wisker and Sir Porcupine quietly stayed put, scarcely daring to breathe, “Look over in those bushes,” ordered the captain of the soldiers. “I think I just saw something move.” Wisker and Sir Porcupine stiffened, trying to hold as still as still could be. Suddenly a large rabbit jumped out of some nearby bushes and ran toward the soldiers. The soldiers started to pull their swords to do battle but then they saw that it was just a rabbit. “We aren’t here to fight battles with rabbits,” said one of the officers. “Spread out and look around. We need to find Wisker and Sir Porcupine.” The soldiers looked and looked until they got tired of looking and decided that Wisker and Sir Porcupine were not in the area. The soldiers put up wanted signs showing pictures of Wisker and Sir Porcupine. “Wanted, dead or alive, by the king and queen of Mayfair,” read one of the officers. “There, that ought to do it. Come on men, they aren’t here; we’ve got other places to look. Let’s go. You know the queen isn’t going to be happy if we come back empty handed. The queen is as bad as Prince Harry when it comes to having her own way.” The soldiers rode off and both Wisker and Sir Porcupine let out deep sighs of relief. “Come, we must hurry!” said Wisker. Wisker and Porcupine began to follow the trail to the way out of Mayfair. As soon as they came to what they considered to be a safe spot, Wisker tried to use his magic wand, but it wouldn’t work. Over and over he tried but still nothing happened.” “What’s wrong?” asked Sir Porcupine. “My wand is not working,” said Wisker. He looked the wand over and over from one tip to the other. “Here’s the problem,” he said at last. “Someone has tampered with the magic seal and golden dust has either broken off or been smudged off.” “Now what do we do?” asked Sir Porcupine. “The only way to fix this is to find the master of all wizards, Jeronomo,” answered Wisker, studying his wand carefully to see if he could possibly have missed something. “Who is he and where can we find him?” asked Sir Porcupine. “In the Death Valley,” answered Wisker, as he looked with disgust at his wand. “Someone has really mistreated this wand. The queen probably let her spoiled son Harry play with it.” “I am so sorry that has happened,” said Sir Porcupine. Sir Porcupine was an ordinary human, not a magical one like Wisker, and he felt a personal responsibility when one of his own people did something that hurt others. “It’s not your fault,” said Wisker to his friend. “But now getting out of Mayfair has just become much harder. There are wanted signs all around and bounties placed on our heads.” “How come the people of Mayfair never come to this forest?” asked Sir Porcupine curiously. “It seems like such a nice place. to play and have picnics.” “Because of the king,” answered Wisker. “The king is afraid he’ll lose his power of being ruler and forbade the people ever to leave the land of Marfair. There are many more lands out here and the king is so greedy that he has locked his people in Mayfair. He is afraid that if they see another world that they like better than Mayfair that they will decide to stay there and never come back. But right now we have some serious business to attend to and a long task ahead of us. Even if we could get to the land of the Bots, we could not stay there. We have a responsibility to free the people of Mayfair from the tyranny of the king and queen.” “But we are wanted by the entire land of Mayfair and beyond,” said Sir Porcupine. “The palace has put out a hefty reward for our capture and we have no choice but to try our best to escape. You know what will happen to us if we’re caught.” Sir Porcupine put his hand up to his throat protectively as he thought of the guillotine that the queen was having set up in the public square in Mayfair. “We have no other choice but to try our best to escape,” said Wisker. “And to do this, we have to travel down the forbidden parts of the land. First we must go to the Wood of Berlington.” Wisker and Sir Porcupine began to walk. “I can feel an evil aura over us,” said Wisher, who, being a magical being, could sense magical things, even though his wand was broken. “You know the Woods of Berlington is haunted don’t you?” asked Sir Porcupine. “Yes I do,” answered Wisker. “Now keep your head down and pull your hood over head.” He did the same thing himself as he spoke. “We don’t want people to recognize us from our wanted posters if we can help it.” The Burlington woods were very scary. The trees began to whisle and the rocks began to taunt the two passer bys by calling out, to them. “You silly men, why do you come to Burlington woods?” called one of the rocks. “Pay no attention to them,” Wisker told Sir Porcupine. Sir Porcupine nodded, but Wisker could see that Sir Porcupine was very much afraid and he would comfort him by smiling now and again. Soon the dirt began to move like a winding snake under their feet. “Run,” cried Wisker and the two men began to run, faster and faster. Suddenly Sir Porcupine tripped on his cape and fell to the ground. Before he could get up a gain, out of the dirt rose a large three headed dragon, with ivory horns coming out of its faces and heads. The dragon was an ash color, with the tip of his tail a bright fluorescent orange. The dragon’s scale flaked off as it pounded on the dirt, trying to squash Sir Porcupine. Wisker ran out in front of the dragon, trying to save his friend. “Stop!” he ordered,, in that tone of voice which only wizards are able to command. “My wand isn’t working, but the dragon doesn’t know that,” thought Wisker to himself. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the monster. “I said stop!” he thundered. The dragon was so afraid that it ran back into the earth, leaving nothing more than a large hole. “That was close,” said Wisker, tucking his wand carefully away. “Why was it so afraid of your wand?” asked sir Porcupine. “Many years ago wizards ruled the land and they had mighty powers, even greater than they have today. Dragons remember this and are fearful of the powers of wizards.” Sir Porcupine and Wisker hurried along the path. The forest was slowly coming alive. The trees and the e plants were beginning to change colors, their fangs and tongues smelled fresh blood. The plants sent out their roots to gather the trespassers. Soon once again the dirt moved and the roots of the plants and trees were after Wisker and Sir Porcupine. “We must jump into the lake,” Wisker told Sir Porcupine. The two men ran and took big leaps, first this way and then that as the roots of the plants began to chase them. With one push off, the two men flew into the air and made a big splash into the air. The trees and the plants cried out in anger and frustration; they had missed out on their food. Little did Wisker and Sir Porcupine know that they were being watched as they hurried along. Behind a large rock was an unknown creature that stood about four feet high. The creature had red scales, big black eyes and a glowing halo above its head. Its hands and feet were webbed, sort of like a ducks and its tiny ears could hear the slightest movement. The creature watched for a little while, then slightly wiggled its right ear and disappeared into a green mist. Meanwhile in the lake Wisker and Sir Porcupine were being pushed and shoved around by the strong waters. Wisker managed to hold onto a tree limb which seemed to give him a secure respite, at least for a little bit. “Porcupine, Sir Porcupine,” he called softly, trying to locate his friend, but Sir Porcupine was no where to be seen. If Wisker had but known it, Sir Porcupine was having his own adventure, tumbling down waterfalls. Wisker called out to his friend again, but it did no good, there was no answer. The two men were now apart, both following down the river going about their separate ways. Wisker held onto the tree limb with all his might, trying to decide what he should do next. One part of him would have liked to have given up, but he kept in mind all of the people that he had left behind, all of the people who had risked their lives to save his, and he knew that he must keep on going, that he owed his life to the many people of Mayfair and he must do all that he could to save them. “Failure isn’t an option,” he thought to himself. “I also must do all that I can to find Sir Porcupine. He risked his life to save me and I can’t just throw away my life without doing all I can to rescue him.” Wisker listened carefully to see if he could hear anything of Sir Porcupine but although the areas was anything but quiet, there was no sound of a human voice. “Porcupine, I will never forget you,” called out Wisker at the top of his voice. “I will find you someday.” Wisker listened carefully to see if there was an answering call but although Wisker didn’t know it, his call was drown out by the crashing waves of the water hitting the rocks. Wisker wiped away a tear and then carefully pulled himself up onto the banks of the river to rest, for just a tiny bit. Wisker held his head and began to cry. “The one companion who was dear to me I have lost,” he said to himself. “I could not save him.” Suddenly the leaves and shrubs began to rumble and Wisker could hear the trotting of hooves becoming louder and louder. Wisker quickly jumped up and hid behind a large stone. After a moment he peeked out and saw five headless riders conversing with each other, using some sort of hand signals to communicate. They turned their bodies this way and that as if somehow they were looking around and for a moment, Wisker thought he had been spotted, but the headless riders just turned away and rode off. Wisker’s knees were shaking so badly that he fell to the ground. He began beating his hands in the dirt in frustration until they began to bleed. The blood, being the blood of a magic wizard, gave off an odor different than that of ordinary humans and suddenly out of the woods came a bunch of blood thirsty diamond ants. These ants are small with a spec of a diamond on their heads. They live off the blood of dead animals or in this case, bleeding wizards. “Get out of here you blood suckers,” shouted Wisker in an angry voice, but the ants weren’t about to leave until all of the blood on the ground had evaporated through their skin. When this had been accomplished, they turned their attention to Wisker and his bleeding hands, but Wisker began to beat at them with his magic wand and since he proved to be a good aim and to kill several with one blow, they quickly gave up and ran for the shelter of the forest. Wisker could feel himself starting to sink into a state of depression, but he quickly shook himself and refused to give into it. “Soon I may have to face even more demons,” said Wisker to himself, as he gathered his thoughts and began to move on. I must do my best to keep my wits about me. Many people risked their lives for me; I can do nothing less than to do the same for them. I will need to quickly find a safe shelter where I can rest for a little while if I hope to remain alive.” Wisker continued along the path for a few more miles and suddenly it began to snow. Wisker turned and was going to turn back from the cold but it was too late, the woods were beginning to disappear. Everything seemed to have disappeared and Wisker found himself surrounded by snow. He was so cold and hungry that all he could do was cry. “It is my fault,” he told himself. “I never should have come this way. I should have waited and thought out a different plan. Now Sir Porcupine is lost and I am probably going to freeze or starve to death and I won’t be any help to Sir Porcupine of the people of the land of Mayfair, after all they have done for me and it is all my fault.” Wisker stumbled on, not about to give up but dreading what might happen next. Suddenly a large bison appeared in the path in front of him. It was a huge thing, with horns that stood out about eight feet and the amount of fur that it had could make clothing for a few hundred men. Wisker was so cold that he didn’t stop to give thought as to whether the bison was friendly or not. It had what he needed and he just approached it with that in mind. He stumbled over to the creature and leaned against it, letting its body heat flow into him. The bison moved so that he was helping to support Wisker as he stood there. Wisker could feel some of his strength coming back with the heat from the bison’s body. As he leaned against the bison, Wisker began to get an idea. “I know how I can take some of the bison’s heat with me if he’ll let me,” he thought to himself. Wisker began to pluck some of the bison’s fur and to weave it together with his fingers. First he wove himself a long coat, then he plucked enough to make himself a hat and a pair of gloves. After he had himself all nicely wrapped up in the coat, hat and gloves, Wisker made himself some heavily padded shoes for his frostbit feet. “I have never felt any warmer or more comfortable in my whole life,” thought Wisker. Wisker went to say thank you to the huge beast when he realized that it had disappeared, there wasn’t anything there, just the huge footprints that showed where the bison had stood. “Thank you, shouted Wisker to the skies, hoping that the bison would hear him or that someone or something would hear him and carry his message to the bison. With his appreciation, a gift fell from the skies, nuts and large eagle eggs. Wisker held out his hands to catch as many as he could and many fell to him. Wisker put some in his pockets and munched on others. “This is a very humbling experience for me,” thought Wisker. “Once I was the royal wizard, the advisor for the king. I didn’t just entertain the royal family and their guests with my magic, but I used my magic to know what was going on in the land of Mayfair and to keep the king advised as to how he could best serve the people. I never wanted for anything in my life. But then things changed. The king stopped caring about serving the people and only wanted what would best please himself and his family. I am nothing more than a peasant now and am considered an enemy by the king and queen. Enough of an enemy so that if they find me they will either imprison me for the rest of my life or kill me with their guillotine.” Wisker wiped away a tear as he remembered what good friends he and the king had been at one time and drastically things had changed. As he tracked through the snow, Wisker began to count the golden nuts on the ground to keep his mind from wandering. “If the king would only let the people come here and gather nuts, no citizens of Mayfair would ever be poor again,” he thought. “But right now I have to keep my mind on my task at hand and that is to restore my name and save all the people that risked their lives to free me.” Wisker looked all around. “There seems to be no land in sight,” he thought. “All that I keep seeing is nothing more than a blanket of snow and the snow seems to be coming down very heavily. Suddenly Wisker heard rustling sound, as if a wagon of some sort were coming. He quickly ran to hide behind a large pile of twigs. He peeked out from around the twigs to watch to see what was coming and down a long stretch of snowy pathway came a group of giant masked men, pulling a wagon “They don’t seem to mind the cold,” thought Wisker. .”Because all they are wearing are handmade leather, collars and long pants, no shirts or robes and none of them are shivering or covered with goose bumps.” The men had marks all over their bodies and a red symbol burned into their chests. The men had yellow skin and massive hands and feet. “Even though they are men, they seem to be being used like animals,” thought Wisker, as he watched the men strain to pull the wagon. Leading the masked men was a slender built man, who was adorned in white rabbit fur from head to toe. His facial features could not be made out. “I’d better stay hidden yet awhile till I know more about them,” thought Wisker. He watched as the group stopped to take a rest. The large men were so thirsty that they licked the snow off of the ground like wild dogs. “Oh I hate to see that,” cried Wisker to himself. “I wish I could give each of them a glass of water, but I am powerless, so I guess I’d better just stay hidden, I don’t want to make things worse.” Soon out of the wagon stepped a large woman. “She has to weigh about three hundred pounds or more,” thought Wisker. The woman has pink lips, green skin, bitty ears and big blue eyes. Ass she moved, green slime came from her; out of her nose, from her hair, out of her skin pores, from between her toes and, well, the odor was just awful. Wisker quickly covered his nose as the large lady rolled in the snow to wipe herself off. The odor was so horrendous that the snow began to melt and the animals in the woods began to run away. “Soon we will take over Mayfair,” said the woman, as she climbed back into the wagon. , soon out of the wagon stepped out a large woman, she had to be about three hundred pounds or more, with pink lips, green skin, bitty ears and big blue eyes, as she moved green slime came from her, out of her nose, from her hair, out of her skin pores, from between her toes, and the odor was foul, whisker quickly covered his nose, as the large lady roll in the snow to whip herself off, the odor was so horrendous that the snow began to melt and the animals in the woods began to run away. "Soon we will take over Mayfair" said the hideous creature as she got back into the wagon. Soon the wagon took off, but Wisker continued to hide behind the pile of twigs. “I’d better stay here just a few more minutes, just in case they should decide to come back,” he said. “I wish I could warn the people of Mayfair, but they would never believe me. I need to find Jeronomo and quickly, too many things are falling apart and I need his help right away.” Wisker soon got a burst of energy and went marching down the snowy path. As he was walking along, a whirlwind came and scooped him up and Wisker found himself flying through the woods. Wisker did his best to set himself free but he whirlwind was too powerful, so Wisker just saved his energy and waited to see where the whirlwind would drop him. Finally the whirlwind dropped Wisker gently to the ground, right in the center of a large animal fight. “Great, thanks a lot,” shouted Wisker sarcastically to the whirlwind. Wisker had landed feet first on the dead animal over which the two animals were fighting. Wisker quickly move his feet and at the same time looked at the beauty and the size of the two animals who were fighting. They were two snow leopards, about eight feet tall and weighing about a thousand pounds. They had long fang teeth hanging over their lips and huge globs of saliva dripping from their mouths. It was evident that they were both hungry for their catch, but there was only enough for one. “I’d better get out of here before I become dinner for one of them,” thought Wisker. As the two animals growled at each other and slowly crept, waiting to attack, Wisker slowly moved out of the way, trying his best not to get noticed. Suddenly Wisker tripped on his long coat and fell with a loud crash. Soon it was a feeding frenzy. The two animals began to attack each other and fight for their food and Wisker scrambled up and ran for cover. Wisker quickly climbed up a tree and out onto a tree branch from which he watched the two animals fight. It had begun to snow again and Wisker decided not to try to battle Mother Nature. “At least not yet awhile,” he told himself. Finally the snow leopards went their separate ways and when it appeared that the coast was clear, Wisker decided that it was time to be on his way and quickly slid down from the tree and resumed walking through the woods. Wisker was so tired that he could only keep his eyes half way open, just enough to try to be sure that he stayed on the path. After a few more hours of walking, Wisker noticed that he was becoming hot, and as he completely opened his eyes, he saw that it had stopped snowing and that he was now in another land. He looked to see what was behind him and he could see that behind him it was still snowing, but it seemed as if the snow was completely blocked from coming any further. “I am so hot, I’d better take off these warm clothes and carry them before I pass out from the heat,” said Wisker. He quickly took off his handmade coat and threw it to the side. As quickly as it landed on the ground the coat vanished. Wisker ran over to where he had thrown the garment but it was gone. He searched and searched but there was no trace of his coat. Carefully Wisker slipped off his boots, being sure to keep his hands on them so that someone or something wouldn’t think that he didn’t want them any more. “I just might need them again if I come to another land where it is snowing,” he thought. Wisker put his hat in one boot and his nice warm gloves in other and tied the lacings of his boots together. Then he slung them around his neck and began to walk on. Wisker looked around. The land through which he was now walking was a beautiful one. It was covered with flowers of all different kinds and colors and rabbits were running through the fields. Wisker smiled as he watched the rabbits, they seemed so joyful and happy. “I have to find Jeronomo and save the people of Mayfair, but I am so tired and weary, I just have to take a rest.” Wisker’s feet were covered with sores from so much walking and his back was in pain. Wisker saw a small stream running along through the field and sat down beside it. “Oh it feels so nice and comfortable here,” he thought. Wisker watched the small stream as it flowed through the field; it was such a restful thing to see that it made him feel restful himself, at least a little bit. Suddenly a face appeared in the stream. “What is your business here?” asked the face.
Copyright © 2010 Yolanda Jackson |