The Golden Diamond of Ember Jungle
Prologue
A long time ago, there lived a man. The people called him the golden blacksmith, because of his great ability to forge things with great skill. And with this great ability, the man forged a golden diamond. It was said that with the diamond, one could control time itself. With this power, the golden blacksmith quickly rose to power, and became the emperor. He was a kind emperor though, and always cared for the poor. The golden blacksmith rid the land of all evil.
Still, no-one, no matter how powerful, could totally rid the land of evil. There was a man named Helfingon, and he wanted the power that the golden diamond would give him. One day, while the emperor slept, he crept through the window of his room, and killed him in his sleep. He then went off with the diamond. The entire kingdom fell into chaos. The emperor was buried, and the throne was fought for.
Helfingon however, was never seen again. It was said that the diamond’s power was too much for him, and it pulverized him. The diamond was lost, and was never seen again. Until now.
Chapter 1
Fred Haddy Rema Teller Yug Quilver Smith was lying in his bed, in Danner. He had woken up, and was staring at the ceiling. He was 12 years old. His face was round, and his eyes were like green jewels sparkling in a black ocean of skin. He wasn’t a people person, so he didn’t make many friends. The kids mostly ignored him.
The only thing interesting about him was his older brother, 29-year-old Paul Zafen Camy Relwo Taj Renda Smith.
Paul was the first mate in the ship Valiant. Paul had sailed the 2378 seas with his captain, Captain Ryhander. He had battled sea monsters, discovered the hidden Isles of Tandek, and seen most of the world. Now, because of Captain Ryhander, Paul, and lots of other explorers, what used to be the unknown world was now mostly known. But there were still places that were not explored yet, like the Ember Jungle.
The explorers had mapped the coastline, but the rest of the island was completely unmapped.
Fred heard the sound of hooves on cobbles, and looked out of his window to see 5 men on horseback ride into the town. He had been lying on his bed, and it was early morning. He groaned sleepily, and went back to his bed, then jerked upright again when he remembered what day it was. It was the day his brother was leaving for an expedition to the Ember Jungle! Fred leapt out of bed, tripped on his blanket, crashed through his door, tumbled down the stairs, and landed in a crumpled heap in front of Paul.
Paul was tall, strong, muscular, and everything an explorer could be. He was wearing a backpack, and all sorts of things hung from his belt, such as a telescope, a compass, a sword, and a fireswitch. He was also holding a plate of reva buns.
‘Hey little bro,’ Paul said, chewing on a bun, ‘falling down the stairs again?’ Instead of answering, Fred jumped up, snatched a reva bun, and bit into it. The small ball of sugar in the middle instantly popped, showering his mouth with sugar.
‘gou bealing hoday, wight?’ Fred asked, with his mouth full. He swallowed, and said, ‘You leaving today, right?’
‘That’s right bro,’ Paul said, ‘to the Ember Jungle.’
‘I’ll miss you,’ Fred said sadly, ‘but you’ll come back as soon as you can, right?’
‘Right,’ Paul said, throwing the plate into the air to prevent Fred from snatching another rava bun, and catching it expertly, ‘say though, what if…’ He trailed off. Fred whisper-shouted, ‘What!’
‘What if you came with us?’ Paul asked, ‘we need a new crewmember, and you could learn some good skills. You’re old enough now, and I’ve asked mum and dad about it. They’ve agreed that you can go. You might even become famous!’ Fred’s mouth had steadily been dropping wider and wider until it touched the floor.
‘Mum and dad said I could go?’ He asked. His parents had always been the ones to tell him to ‘stay safe’ and ‘don’t do anything stupid’. And they had said he could go? Paul nodded his head.
‘Of course, I want to go!’ Fred blurted.
‘Then you’d better start packing,’ Paul said, and Fred ran back up the stairs with the biggest smile the world had ever seen.
Chapter 2
Fred rushed up the stairs, running back into his room. He hoisted up his backpack from the floor (his room was a hog house) and rushed around, deciding what he wanted to take. He grabbed his models of famous explorers, waterskin, compass, small dagger that he had gotten as a gift from Paul, two books, a tortoise shell, and last of all, his toy pig, Onk. He shoved the mess down the backpack, and ran back down the stairs.
‘So, I’m really going?’ Fred asked, hopping up onto the kitchen counter, and drumming his fingers on the wood.
‘Yes,’ his dad said, sounding resigned. His mum was standing near the door, looking sad. ‘Come on, you’ve got a long journey now. Just…stay safe, and send us a letter when you get there.’ Fred pumped his fist in victory, then ran off to see where Paul had gone off to. He found him leaning against the wall, watching as the venducks swam in the Carmen River, their long necks, long wings, and stubby beaks showing clearly in the sunlight. Paul noticed Fred and turned around with a smile.
‘You ready to set off on an adventure?’ he asked.
‘Yes!’ Fred cried, ‘but can I take Harrier?’
‘Fine,’ Paul said, ‘but be quick.’
He rushed around to an old shack surrounded by trees. He walked in. Small bones lined the ground.
‘Harrier,’ Fred called softly. An answering shriek cut through the air like a knife, and a golden-brown blur raced past him, and alighted on a branch in an old oak. It was a hawk. His wings stretched out he looked a magnificent sight. He was tall and menacing, and his beak was curved and deadly. His talons gripped the branch with a death grip, and were as sharp as knifes. And in Fred’s mind, he was the most beautiful hawk he’d ever seen. Harrier hopped down to Fred’s shoulder, gripping on just enough so he wouldn’t fall off.
Fred met Harrier one day, when a lightning bolt struck a tree where a nest of hawks was. All the chicks died, except Harrier. Later on, Fred went to see what the tree looked like, saw Harrier, and fed him small pieces of rabbit and mouse to keep it alive. From then on, they were fast friends.
‘We’re going on an adventure Harrier,’ Fred said. ‘We’re going to the Ember Jungle.’ Harrier shrieked into Fred’s face.
‘Are you coming?’ Fred said. Harrier shrieked another time.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Fred said.
They heard something, and rushed around the house to see a huge coach, decorated in black and red, pull up, pulled by two horses that were puffing and panting. The driver, a big man with more fat than muscle nodded to Paul, and he nodded back. They got in the coach, and Fred was finally on his way to his first (and possibly last) adventure. They waved goodbye to their parents, who were soon just specks on the horizon. Harrier flew overhead as they rode over hills, through valleys, around forests, and under tunnels, until they were on a straight road to the capital, Halvington. Soon they were in the city.
Chapter 3
Fred was instantly enveloped in exotic smells, loud noises, and extraordinary sights. The buildings seemed to stretch into the sky, and the people were wearing fancy clothes, such as tail coats, and corsets. They rode through all this. The people cheered when they saw Paul in the coach. They ran after the coach, which made its way to the docks.
When they got to the docks, they saw Valiant in all its glory, red sails flapping, green sides blazing out, the words, Valiant scrawled in fancy silver writing on the sides. All the crew was assembled in front of the gangplank.
There was Silver Jack, his silver coat made entirely of bullets, his guns in his holsters. He was the best shooter in all the islands of Tandek.
Next was Massie Karn, tall and forbidding. Her sword skills were spectacular.
There were also the Lemoroy triplets, Nate 1, Nate 2 and Nate 3. They were identical in their cheeky grins, childlike faces, and knack for causing trouble. However, they knew how to get out of any tricky situation (since they’d been in a lot of them), and were handy if you were held at gunpoint, dropped into a sea writhing with sharks, or attacked by a 1 veep tall, three headed, rampaging dagger-mouse.
Gary Crunch stood near the front, his huge hands waving at the crowd. His famous 50 kg hammer was slung over his back.
Leena Ramble was fidgeting nervously. She didn’t fight with anything but a long stick.
Shirly Slice’n’dice was closest to the gangplank. It was rumoured that she had 100 blades with her at always. But the daggers you could see were strapped on her belt, running down her arms and legs, on her back, and in her hands.
Dr Barry held his medical bag tightly. He was the ship’s doctor, and had saved all their lives in the past.
Fred’s brother Paul went to stand beside the Lemoroy triplets. He was first mate in the ship Valiant, and a good one at that.
Finally, there was Captain Ryhander, both legs chopped off in a swordfight and replaced by wooden ones, both hands eaten by a Sharkopus and replaced by metal hooks, one eye gored out by a dagger-mouse.
Paul chatted with Captain Ryhander for a bit, then they came over to Fred.
‘So, you’re the new recruit?’ Captain Ryhander asked.
‘Yessir, I’m the new recruit,’ Fred said. Captain Ryhander had a laugh at this.
‘We’ll make an explorer of you yet,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘welcome to the crew.’
Suddenly, a voice bellowed out. It said, ‘Hello citizens of Halvington. It is I, the Emperor. We are here today, to see the crew of the Valiant set off on their quest to map the unknown world, and bring back any precious things that they find from there. If they make it back alive, I will give them 4000 gold grambles. Now it is time to set off. Go, Valiant! Make us proud!’
With that, the crew all leaped up the gangplank, hoisted up the sails, and they were off, to new discoveries, and a deadly adventure.
Chapter 4
Fred vomited off the side of the ship. It had only been 2 days, and he was sick as a dog. Harrier looked at him in a disapproving way, then flapped off. Paul was guiding the ship through the passageway of Varn, while Captain Ryhander peered into the mist.
‘Lotta deadly creeps down here,’ someone said. Fred, startled, turned around to see Massie standing right next to him. He leapt back in surprise.
‘Sharkopus, ballian gramhookers,’ continued Massie, as if Fred hadn’t made a noise, ‘you better be careful in these parts.’ She walked off, still muttering.
‘She does that sometimes,’ Nate 1 said, hanging upside-down off the mast.
‘Yup,’ said Nate 2, juggling swords.
‘Definitely,’ Nate 3 said, hanging off the side of the ship with only the strength of his pinky.
Suddenly, there was an eerie sound from the port side. It was like a wail and a howl combined. Nate 1 stiffened, Nate 2 dropped a sword, and Nate 3 nearly fell off the ship. He hoisted himself up, as Captain Ryhander started speaking.
‘Crunch, get to starboard, and have your axe at the ready. Fred, get up into the crow’s nest to scout around us. Nates, to the front of the ship. Paul, Jack, to portside. Shirly, Massie, go to the back. Leena, take the wheel. Doc, down to the inside. Get ready to start pumping water. There are only two creatures that make that kind of noise, and neither of them are friendly.’
The crew obeyed quickly and efficiently, each running (or in Nate 1’s case swinging) to their posts. Fred climbed unsteadily to the crow’s nest, and leaned out, using a looking glass in the crow’s nest. What he saw made him shiver. A creature was rising up from the depths.
‘It’s coming in from portside!’ he yelled, as the creature finally showed itself.
It was massive. A bulbous head sat on 8 tentacles, each tipped with a huge shark head. It was blue-black, and covered with green wavy lines. The sharkopus loomed over the ship, and slammed down. The crew scattered, as one of the huge tentacles wreaked havoc on the deck.
Gary brought his hammer down on the tentacle, and it split, showering him in green blood. The sharkopus let out a wail-howl, and wrapped its tentacles around the ship. Valiant groaned. The tentacle Gary had hammered grew itself back, and grabbed him with the shark head. Gary’s face went white with the pain of the shark head biting his chest. A well-aimed shot from Jack caused the tentacle to let go of Gary, and he lay on the deck. Soon Shirly and Jack were down too. Harrier flew around the beast’s head, screeching and clawing at the fat mass Fred looked around the crow’s nest, and saw a bag of throwing daggers.
He picked one up, and threw it right into the sharkopus’ bulbous head. Everyone froze. The sharkopus swivelled around to look directly at Fred. It released his hold on the boat, and started rising from the water to Fred. Fred desperately started throwing knives in the creature’s face, but the monster climbed on. Fred, in a desperate act, leaped off the crow’s nest. He landed in a still intact hammock, and fell on the deck with a crack. The sharkopus turned around, and suddenly stopped. It fell down on the deck to reveal Captain Ryhander, with his hooks dripping with green blood. It was dead.
Chapter 5
The crew pulled the throwing daggers from the dead sharkopus’ bulbous head until there were none left.
‘Can’t waste the knifes,’ Leena had said. Dr Barry had treated Gary’s wounds, which were, ‘Scandalously bad!’ He pulled two teeth from Gary’s side, cleaned the wound, and wrapped it up. Dr Barry’s verdict was, ‘Three days of rest.’ Gary had harrumphed, then gone down to lie down. Fred was treated for a sprained ankle, Jack for a broken leg, and Shirly for a severe slash down her arm, but nobody else had gotten seriously hurt.
They sailed for a week, and came to an outpost called Mern, where ships frequently went to fix up, and get some rest from sailing. When they arrived, some men at the Mern dock pulled them in. they went up to the inn, the Lumpy Gramhooker, and Fred had his first taste of rum. Fred decided to explore the outpost.
It was sort of like a town, but no town Fred had ever seen. The entire place stank of fish, and the houses were on huge metal poles. He found out that the houses were like that because the place was often flooded. How the ships withstood it, he didn’t know.
He played around with some other kids for a while playing bungy ball (a game where the ball was attached to a rope, that one of the someone held. Everybody would make a ring around the person in the middle, and the game would begin. The person was meant to swing the ball around his head. The ring of people had to jump over, duck under, or dodge the ball. When a person was hit, he was the ball holder).
Fred walked back to the Lumpy Gramhooker, feeling very happy and tired. and came in to see Paul talking with a small tubby man, a head shorter than Paul was. Paul noticed Fred, and waved him over.
‘This is an old friend of mine, Rudrick Fezle. Rud, this is my brother, Fred Haddy Rema Teller Yug Quilver Smith,’ he said, gesturing at Rudrick and then at Fred.
‘Hello young lad!’ Rudrick yelled boisterously, ‘I see you’ve followed your older brother’s footsteps into explorer hood. But I tell you, it’s a hard path to go down. I sure wouldn’t try!’ He then laughed heartily.
‘Yes,’ Fred said, ‘I want to be an explorer, and I don’t care about any challenges. (This was a lie)’ Rudrick had another laugh at that, and walked off to get more rum. Fred walked back to his bunk in the inn, and lay down. He was soon snoring away.
Chapter 6
The next day, they set off again. Valiant flew over the water. They travelled for a while, going through the Ballian Ocean. Fred stood on the crow’s nest, looking out to the horizon. Harrier flew around his head, occasionally screeching loudly to keep Fred from dropping off.
They sailed for a week, meeting a huge whale on the way. Fred enjoyed the days at sea. He was used to the movement of the ship now, and he enjoyed the nights, were they told stories about their adventures over a fire. Soon afterwards, they neared the end of the known maps.
‘We’re here at last mates,’ Captain Ryhander bellowed, ‘the edge of the known world. Are we going to back out now?’
‘No!’ bellowed the crew.
‘Are we going to tun back?’ Captain Ryhander shouted.
‘No!’ shouted the crew.
‘Will we go on?’ Captain Ryhander yelled.
‘Yes!’ yelled the crew. Then, they started moving again. Little did they know that not all of them would come back alive.
Fred climbed up to the crow’s nest as they cut through the water. He could see for miles around. The sky was blue, and the ocean like a pane of glass. The sails billowed out from under him. It was just him, Harrier, the sky, and the big blue ocean. He looked down, and saw the crew milling about underneath him, doing their jobs efficiently and quickly.
The entire scene felt wonderful. It felt like he had been caged in the little village of Danner, and now was free. Harrier screeched, and Fred jerked back into reality to see a land mass up ahead.
‘Land ahoy!’ he shouted down. There was great excitement in the air, as the crew all crowded to the prow of the boat. Fred climbed (and tumbled) down to the deck. Soon, it was in sight. It looked magnificent. There were trees as tall as the mystic things in books called skyscrapers, and as thick as houses. A beach stretched for kilometres around. It was calm and felt like the perfect home. This was the Ember Jungle.
Then, a terrifying shriek cut the air, and Fred fell back in terror. He wasn’t the only one. The Lemoroy triplets fell, one on top of each other from the rigging. Shirly drew 8 daggers, each between her fingers. Dr Barry turned white. Jack drew his guns.
There was a long silence. Then, Paul shouted, ‘lower the anchor! We’re close enough!’ Gary thundered over to the anchor, and tossed it overboard. There was a muffled clunk as it hit the ground.
‘Lower the row boats,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘we’re getting off this boat and onto that land.’
‘No disrespect Captain,’ Paul said, ‘but that would be extremely unwise. Whatever that was, it sounds deadly.’
‘That’s why I intend to get on the land,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘so I can battle the beast face to face.’
‘Aye,’ shouted the crew.
With that, they left Valiant, and rowed to the shore. The beach cool under their feet, as they walked up. Fred took out his dagger. He noticed others taking out weapons too. Harrier perched on his shoulder as they entered the forest, and Captain Ryhander took the lead, macheting through the forest. The shriek sounded again, and they headed towards it. Shirly stayed behind, to watch the ship. She lit a fire, and placed a piece of wood on top of it. The piece of wood was covered in sap. Instantly, the thing exploded, showering the people with sand. Everybody looked back at Shirly. She shrugged, and they set of again.
After an hour of walking, they came to a clearing. The shriek came, and Fred pushed aside some leaves to find a kitten perched on a stick.
‘Aw,’ Fred said. The kitten mewled, and licked itself on the paw. Fred reached out to pick the kitten up, and Leena cried, ‘Don’t!’ but it was too late. Fred grabbed the kitten with his right hand, and a huge mouth closed over his hand. Two grotesque eyeballs stared up at him. The creature was oval shaped, with small tubby legs, and one long hand perched on the top of its head. Fred realised that the ‘kitten on a stick’ was a tongue. Then, the burning began. Fred screamed.
Chapter 7
The creature shrieked, while keeping its mouth shut. Paul ran to Fred’s side, and started to hack at the little thing’s head, while Harrier clawed at its head. Fred continued screaming, and tried to jerk his hand away, but the creature was jerked with him. It screeched louder, and the hand grabbed his face and dragged him back.
Paul, giving up on slashing it, prised his knife under the mouth of the small beast, far away from Fred’s hand, and gave a jerk up. Fred yanked his hand out, and Gary smashed the creature.
Fred’s hand was burnt, red and blistered. Dr Barry cooled the acid burn (for that was what it was) with water, cleaned it of any leftover acid, and wrapped it.
‘This land is dangerous captain,’ Massie said, ‘we should turn back now!’
‘Aye,’ Jack said.
‘We came here to map the land, and we’re going to map the land!’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘But anyone too chicken can go back to the safe little ship, and stay there. You got that?’
Just then, a scream came from the ship’s direction. Fred froze. That sounded like Leena!
‘Come on!’ Fred yelled, and trying (but mostly failing) to ignore the pain in his hand, he dashed to the ship, with the rest of the crew in tow.
When they reached Valiant, they were greeted with a terrible sight. Three giant wormy things were surrounding the ship. They had no eyes, and their mouths were circular and had sharp teeth sticking out of them. Their bodies were a pale shade of pink, and covered in a clear kind of slime.
‘Ballian gramhookers!’ Massie, Nate 1, Nate 2, and Nate 3 all yelled at the same time. Leena was struggling with another of the creatures on the sand of the beach. The ballian gramhooker had its mouth latched on her leg, and was slowly becoming a red colour. Shirly was digging dagger after dagger in its body, and the creature was bleeding so much, it looked like a waterfall.
Gary rushed it, and slammed his hammer on its body. It shrieked, as it exploded. the ballian gramhookers stopped their assault at once. All 4 (now 3) dove into the sand, and tunnelled away.
‘Supplies!’ Captain Ryhander bellowed.
‘Aye,’ Massie bellowed back. She swam out to the ship, and took a quick look around. She came back looking grim.
‘All supplies gone, except for the chicken and three pigeons (she lifted up a startled looking chicken and a cage full of pigeons) and the ships in no condition to sail,’ she said, ‘we’re stranded here, on this island.’ There was a long silence.
‘We’re stuck here with no idea about what lives here, with no food, no water, and no supplies except the ones we had on us, and two of us are injured! How could this possibly get worse?’ Paul asked. Then, the floor opened up underneath them, and, screaming, they plunged down into the abyss.
Chapter 8
They fell down for a short while, then came to a sort of slope. They landed, and instantly started sliding down the slope. Fred screamed louder as they sped sideways and his hand was slammed against the wall.
Massie let go of the chicken, and it attempted to fly – something that was as likely to happen as a hippopotamus learning how to sing. It landed on its chest, and started shooting out eggs like cannonballs. Fred and the others were soon covered in eggshell and egg yolk. Silver Jack attempted to attach a grappling hook on one of his guns, and shot it, but all he managed to do was give Nate 3 a chance to do water skiing on land, as he grabbed it and slid on his yolky shoes. Gary (who was in the front of the sliding pack) slammed his hammer on the ground, and stopped for a brief moment, before Captain Ryhander, Paul, Leena, and Shirly slammed into him. The chicken finally stopped laying eggs, and landed in the hole Garry’s hammer had made, stopping abruptly. Dr Barry slid at the back, the only one not covered with egg as he slid precariously on his medical bag. He caught up to the chicken, and grabbed it out of the hole.
Finally, they slid to a stop at the bottom of the slope. Covered in egg, they stumbled onto the dirt floor. Shirly groaned, and lay on the ground panting, her leg covered in blood. Dr Barry rushed to her side, and started wrapping the wound with the remaining supplies he had in his medical bag, and using Leena’s stick to support her up.
‘Well, that was…unexpected,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘but still, we’ve been in worse situations than this! And besides, we can eat the chicken and the pigeons.’ The chicken gave Captain Ryhander a reproachful look, and pecked the ground.
‘Anyway,’ Nate 2 said, ‘there’s no way we’re getting up that!’ he gestured at the tunnel they had just flew down. It was smoother than silk, and almost vertical.
‘Since we cannot go back up,’ Nate 1 said,
‘We’ll have to go forward!’ Nate 3 interrupted.
Suddenly, the light filtering in from the tunnel vanished. Torches puffed into existence along a large hallway. The hallway was littered with old leaves. There were shelves on the walls, which were covered in odd objects, such as a skull that looked suspiciously like a human’s, a half a door, three tiny bugs stuck on pieces of paper, and a floating object in the middle of a green bottle.
They walked along it, seeing more and more objects as they went. A teapot, a chess set with all the pieces missing, a boat with a hole in the bottom. After a long walk, they finally came to a huge room. There were more of the shelves in it. The room had a musty smell to it, and looked like no one had lived there for years. There was a circular table in the middle of the room, with stone chairs sitting around it.
Out of nowhere, a voice rasped out. It was the oldest voice Fred had ever heard, a voice that foretold ancient secrets long forgotten, but also a voice edged with evil.
‘WHO DARES,’ it wheezed, ‘WHO DARES,’ it rasped, ‘WHO DARES,’ It shouted, ‘TO TRESPASS IN THE DOMAIN OF THE LAST OF THE WISE AND ANCIENT RACE OF GYRA!?!’
Chapter 9
Fred cowered on the ground. Shirly looked like she wanted to, but couldn’t. Paul groaned. All three Nates yelled, ‘US!’ Massie grimaced. Dr Barry fainted. Garry hefted his hammer. Leena tried to brandish her stick, before realizing that it was under Shirly. Jack dropped his guns. But Captain Ryhander smiled, then quickly covered it up with a frown.
A woman walked out of the shadows. She was old. Actually, old didn’t really capture it. She was prehistoric. Her hands were rough and scarred. A vortex of hidden secrets and wonders were hidden behind her blind eyes. She was wearing a long cloak, and no shoes. She held a staff in her left hand. But the strangest thing about her was the aura of power she gave out. It pulsed through the air like a wave.
‘I asked,’ she croaked, ‘who. Are. You?’
‘We’re explorers,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘and we’re here to…’
‘WE KNOW WHY YOU’RE HERE!’ the woman screeched suddenly with a clear and ringing voice, ‘YOU’RE HERE TO STEAL THE GOLDEN DIAMOND THAT THE GYRA PEOPLE WERE TO GUARD! THE GREAT WIZARD HELFINGON PASSED DOWN THE DIAMOND FOR GENERATIONS! WE WILL GUARD IT TILL THE END OF TIME, WE PROMISED, AND WE, I, GRELFANDOR, WILL KEEP THE PROMISE UNTIL THE END OF TIME!!!’
‘We’re not,’ Paul shouted, as Captain Ryhander gave some kind of noise between a groan and a whoop, ‘We just want to map this place!’
‘LIES AND POPPYCOCK!’ Grelfandor bellowed as more old and power radiating men and women crept out of their hiding places, ‘WE WILL NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP OUR TREASURE! NEVER! I WILL GIVE YOU A WARNING NEVER TO COME BACK AGAIN! IF YOU COME BACK…’ she paused dramatically, ‘YOU WILL DIE!’
‘WE-HA,’ shouted the men and women, all waving their staffs menacingly.
‘GET THE BIRD!’ the Grelfandor shrieked. A man stepped up, and waved his staff. Harrier, who, sensing the danger, was trying to fly away, was dragged through the air toward the man.
‘good,’ Grelfandor rasped, grabbing the bird from the air. She spoke a string of words unintelligible to the ear, and Harrier was lifted into the air, screeching franticly. Fred screamed, ‘Harrier!’ and leaped toward him, but an old man sliced his staff through the air, and Fred flew back, slamming against the wall.
Fred watched, pinned to the wall by invisible hands, as Harrier was lifted higher and higher, screeching all the while. Finally, when Harrier was her highest, Grelfandor brought down her hand, and the bird that had shared so many memories with Fred was slammed down against the ground. Bones cracked as Harrier hit the ground. She lay there, unmoving.
‘Harrier!’ Fred screamed again, tears falling from his eyes as the force let go of him, and he fell on the ground, wheezing, choking, and sobbing.
‘LET THIS BE A WARNING TO ALL WHO DARE ENTER THIS CAVERN,’ Grelfandor said, ‘NOW GET OUT!’ She slammed her staff into the ground, and a sound wave blasted towards them, shoving them all out of the tunnel, and all the way out onto the beach. Fred pounded the beach, crying like his life depended on it.
‘There, there, little bro, everything’s going to be all right,’ Paul said, patting Fred on the back. Fred cried and cried, until there were no tears left to cry. Then, abruptly, he stood up, and ran toward the hole.
‘What are you doing?’ Paul said, catching Fred around the waist. Fred snarled and struggled to get free.
‘SHE KILLED HARRIER!’ Fred bellowed, ‘I’LL KILL HER!’
‘Now wait, you two!’ Captain Ryhander yelled, ‘Fred, stop trying to go down there, and Paul, stop stopping him. We’ll need a plan.’ There was a maniacal look in his eyes as he stared around.
‘Wait,’ Fred said. Now he had been stopped by Captain Ryhander and Paul, he remembered he had told his mother that he was going to send his mother a letter. He looked around, and saw two rocks. He couldn’t use paper, as it had all been sunk when the ship did, but he could scratch his message on a rock with another one. He had done it before, when sending notes to Paul in the Tandek Isles.
Fred thought what he was going to write on the rock. He finally settled for this.
Dear mother,
Hi mum. Don’t panic, but we’re stuck in the Ember Jungle with practically nothing. Harrier’s died. I just can’t believe it. we have decided to continue on. I feel that it is to honour Harrier. I hope you are doing well. We’ll be back as soon as we can.
Love, Fred.
P.S. I definitely am not planning murder. Promise. Paul says hi.
There was no lie in this, as it was Captain Ryhander who was planning the murder. He attached the rock to one of the pigeons, and it flapped away. He hoped it would find his mother.
‘So,’ Fred said, panting slightly, ‘what’s the plan?’
Chapter 10
Captain Ryhander told the plan to everyone, and they all agreed it was a good one. Fred and the others instantly set to work, getting vines, branches, and a certain tree sap. They also collected a wide wood board from the ship.
Then, they put their plan into action. Jack attached the end of his grappling hook to the mouth of the tunnel, and they slid down. Before they slid down, they poured the sap around the entryway. Fred and the Nates grabbed the branches, and formed them into a Y position, using the vines to hold the branches together. They grabbed a few more vines, and wrapped them each around the wood board. Then, they connected the ends of the vines to the tips of the branches on the Y. They, wrapped more vines to stones and the other end around their waists, and went down the tunnel, each holding a bucket and a fireswitch.
They walked down the path, going past the strange items again. Soon they popped out of the passageway into the dimly lit room. Figures were slumped around the area, some snoring, others whispering in their sleep. Fred and the others wasted no time. They ran around the entire area, splashing sap on all the walls. Massie came to another doorway, and splashed the sap around the doorway. Just as they were finishing splashing the doorways, Captain Ryhander peeled off from the rest and rushed to the table.
‘What are you doing Captain?’ Massie asked. Captain Ryhander gave no reply, but instead started feeling around the table, finally pressing down on the top. It gave a click, and the entire side of the table popped out to reveal a shining emerald. It shone so bright in the cavern, that the entire place was filled with blinding golden light. Captain Ryhander grabbed it but before he could hide it, the Gyra people started stirring from the light. A man with one eye woke first.
‘E’s got e diamond!’ he roared, ‘lets get im!’ instantly everybody in the cavern woke. The one-eyed man pointed his staff at Captain Ryhander, but before he could wave it, he rolled to one side. The power sent from the staff made a deep cavity in the wall.
‘Run!’Captain Ryhander yelled. They ran towards the exit, fireswitches in hand, and they set fire to the doorway as they went. A series of explosions resounded. Just then, Grelfandor dived through the collapsing doorway.
‘That is MY diamond, you stupid people,’ Grelfandor growled, ‘I’ve killed millions to guard that diamond, to keep it safe, and look what you’ve done. Killed my people, stolen my emerald, and you think that you will just be able to waltz away freely? Well, you’re wrong.’ Grelfandor made an eerie noise with her throat, something Fred had heard before. Instantly, 10 ballian gramhookers burst out of the ground and circled.
‘I think I’ll let my babies do my work,’ she sneered. Instantly the ballian gramhookers attacked.
Gary slammed his hammer down, but the creature he was trying to smash opened its mouth and swallowed the hammer. Gary hefted the hammer, and struggled to pull it out of the mouth of the monster. Fred ran at one of the ballian gramhookers, but it easily batted him to the ground. It reared up above him, and was about to dive at him when Captain Ryhander hooked the beast and threw him against the wall. It fell down dead.
Meanwhile, Paul and Massie were back-to-back, fighting two ballian gramhookers each. Swords in hand, they cleaved the monsters apart. There were now 5 more ballian gramhookers left. Nate 1, 2, and 3 were hopping around a two more, diving randomly at them to slash. Nate 2 had somehow gotten a chain, and was whipping it around his head.
Shirly was sprawled over Dr Barry, defending weakly against a 7th, digging daggers into its flesh. It screeched, and fell over, 17 daggers plunged into its body. Jack shot down 2 more ballian gramhookers, and they fell over Fred. Leena wrestled with the final ballian gramhooker, but was thrown off into the wall. Jack shot the final one, and it lay dead.
‘No!’ Grelfandor said, ‘I guarded that diamond too long to lose! If I can’t get it, no one can!’ she raised her staff over her head, and the ceiling started shaking. Rocks fell down, and peppered their skin. Fred groaned. They were all going to die.
Chapter 11
The entire tunnel rumbled as the crew ran away from a cackling Grelfandor. Jack grabbed Shirly as they ran. They ran past the shelves, past everything, to the slingshot. Everybody went to the inside of the slingshot except Jack and Gary. They pulled the slingshot back.
‘Ready?’ Gary yelled, ‘OK, see you on the other side!’ they launched the slingshot, and the crew shot up. Gary and Jack grabbed the gun, and retracted the line. As they were going up, a huge rock came down right in front of them.
‘No!’ Fred yelled.
They popped out of the hole, and flew through the air into the sand.
‘We need to go back for Jack and Gary Captain!’ Paul said franticly, gesturing at the hole.
‘We don’t need to do anything,’ Captain Ryhander said. He was staring at the emerald in his hand as he said this. There was a maniacal calmness in his voice, that punctuated the terror.
‘Captain?’ Massie asked.
‘Shut up, you stupid woman!’ Captain Ryhander shouted. His voice dropped again. ‘Finally, I have it. I’ve sought for you long enough, and I won’t let you get away again. These crew will have to die. They can’t tell the others.’
All of a sudden, Captain Ryhander flung out his hand with the diamond in it, and the Nates went flying into trees, each with a sickening crack.
‘For years,’ Massie went flying into the air, and landed in a tree, ‘I’ve waited patiently,’ Shirly sunk down into the sand and was buried under, ‘for this chance!’ he slammed his hand into the ground, and Dr Barry was flung into the ocean.
‘This is power beyond our reckoning!’ Captain Ryhander boomed. But something strange was happening to the captain. He was slowly glowing brighter and brighter with a gold light, and his body seemed to shrivel.
Another wave, and Leena was flung so high into the air, she became a pinprick in the sky.
‘Wait!’ Captain Ryhander suddenly yelled, ‘wait, no, I’m your friend, remember? Remember? No! don – AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Captain Ryhander glowed so brightly that Fred was temporarily blinded. When he could see again, there was nothing left of Captain Ryhander except for a pile of ashes.
‘Is he…’ Fred trailed off as he stared around. Death reigned on the beach.
‘We’re the last ones left.’ Paul said.
‘We should bury them,’ Fred whispered. They buried the bodies in the jungle. When they were finished, Fred put a piece of wood on the top of the burial ground. It read, ‘here lie the brave crew of the Valiant.’
The two brothers built a raft. It took a day, but they made it in the end. They got on the raft, and floated away, knowing they left all the brave members of the Valiant, killed by the treachery of their captain, behind, knowing they would never forget this.
Epilogue
A boy and a young man washed up on the shore of Danner. They were clinging onto a long piece of wood. As they lay there, on the shore, more pieces of wood washed up. They lay there for a long time.
Finally, the young man stirred.
‘Fred?’ he whispered, ‘are we back? Are we really back?’
The boy coughed, and sat up.
‘I think we are,’ he said.
‘We’re home!’ the two boys (one a young man) shouted at the same time.
The two stood up, and ran, ran past the familiar cave on the coast, past the forest, and through the cobbled streets of Danner. They rushed up to a house, and banged on the door. A woman opened the door. She opened her mouth, but stopped mid-way.
‘Terry,’ she yelled, ‘Terry, they’re back! THEY’RE BACK!!!!’