Kingdom's Quest (17 page)

THE ISLES OF MELOGNE

The canal narrowed even further the deeper they progressed, and the cliffs of the two shores beside them rose high above. The islands were dense with trees and vegetation. The men occasionally heard the sound of an animal that was unknown to them, and it brought chills. Fortunately, Dante was correct and the canal was deep enough for the
Raven
to continue onward. Halfway through the canal, the cliffs dropped quickly to meet a grassy shoreline. The canal widened for a short distance and formed an alcove. The captain ordered the crew to set anchor. The serene landscape engulfed the ship in wild beauty.

They did not know how long the Tempests would wait for them, but Dante reckoned that they would exhaust their food and water long before the Tempests gave up. He formed a landing party of fifteen men to see what was available on the island, but those he selected were not pleased. Huntly remained on the
Raven
while Gavinaugh and Captain Dante went with the men to shore.

As the crew pulled their boat ashore, they determined a direction to begin their search and proceeded inland a fair distance before stopping to rest. They found a clearing and set up a base camp to facilitate further searches into the island.

After a short time, one of the men came running to the captain.

“Captain! Look!”

The man pointed into the trees beyond the clearing, and Gavinaugh saw what was causing his concern. Amidst the trees, thirty to forty figures stood with spears in their hands. Gavinaugh wondered if this was perhaps the source of the legends of the ghosts on the islands.

The men all rose and drew their swords, but the shadowy figures remained still. Eventually, Dante and Gavinaugh sheathed their swords and slowly approached the native islanders with open arms. Dante and Gavinaugh stopped midway, and one of them walked toward Dante. His hair was long and tied back at his neck. His skin was slightly darker than theirs, but there was little difference in the features of his face. He wore crude clothing made of leather.

The man came within two steps of Dante and Gavinaugh and stopped. He stared intently as if he had never seen the likes of such men before.

“We are in search of food and water. Can you help us?” Dante asked.

Gavinaugh wondered if the man could even understand them. Then the man spoke.

“Yes, we can help you. Where are you from?” The man's accent was strange, but he spoke with a clarity that surprised both of them.

“I am Dante. I come from Namor. This is Gavinaugh. He comes from Chessington.”

The man thought for a moment. “I have heard of such places. My name is Pliubus, chief of the Melitans. These are my people,” he said, motioning toward the trees. Those with him came out of the trees and stood in the open.

“You are fleeing the Tempests,” the chief said.

“Yes. How did you know?” Dante asked.

“We are always aware of the Tempests when they are near. They will not attack you on the island,” he said.

Pliubus and his people went to the camp with the men. As they entered, the chief became concerned and lifted his spear. His men did the same, and Dante's men drew their swords.

“You should not be here!” Pliubus said sternly. He did not appear concerned with Dante's men but instead looked to the trees.

Captain Dante tried to calm the situation. “What is wrong, Pliubus?”

Pliubus and his men began to step back to where they had come from. “It is the strangler vine … you must leave!”

Suddenly, the man next to Gavinaugh screamed and fell to the ground. He clawed at the dirt, but something unseen was dragging him toward a large tree at the edge of their camp.

“It is too late!” screamed Pliubus. His men shouted in fear and backed farther away, searching the ground as they went.

The seaman continued to scream, and Gavinaugh dove for him. He locked hands, but whatever was pulling the man was overpowering both of them.

“My leg … my leg!” the man screamed, and Gavinaugh could see that a vine as thick as a man's thumb had wrapped completely around his lower leg.

Gavinaugh stood, drew his sword, and ran ahead of the man. The vine was buried in the vegetation of the forest floor, but he could see its movement beneath the leaves. He made a quick slice and severed the vine. Then he helped the man to his feet, and they ran away from
the large tree. Three paces later, Gavinaugh felt a pull on his own leg, and before he could react he was prone on the ground and being yanked back toward the tree. A vine had wrapped around his leg, and another was encircling his waist. Its squeeze was powerful. Dante drew his sword and began to run toward Gavinaugh, but the chief stopped him.

“It's too late, you cannot stop it!” he exclaimed. “You will die too!”

As the chief spoke the words, the entire ground for twenty paces around the tree came to life as dozens of vines surfaced from beneath the overlying leaves and grass. The trunk of the huge tree also seemed to move as vertical strips of thick bark separated from the base of the tree but remained connected farther up the trunk. Each moving piece served as an arm with bonelike spikes that swung outward to strike the flesh of any prey captured by the vines. Little did Gavinaugh know that the poisoned spikes on the limbs paralyzed their prey until the juices of the vine could digest it. Like some enormous woody octopus, the tree was a frightening oracle of horror.

Gavinaugh felt the grip of the vine tightening about his leg and waist and the air being forced from his lungs. He saw dozens of vines surface around him and knew that he had only a moment to react. Thankfully his left arm was still free. The vines had dragged him about six paces from the tree, nearly within reach of the spiked arms from the trunk that were flailing through the air around its base.

Gavinaugh made a quick slice across the vine that encircled his waist and then another across the vine about his leg. He tried to stand, but another wrapped around his right arm and pulled him to the ground. He cut it and quickly stood up. He knew it was paramount that his sword arm remain free. Everywhere he looked, vines were whipping about him and closing in.
Whoosh!
One of the trunk arms flew past his chest, just missing its mark.

Knowing there was no escape, Gavinaugh did not run. He focused his mind as though he were facing the blades of a dozen
Shadow Warriors and began to cut and slice each vine that came within reach of his sword. With the training of the Prince, he could almost see the vines behind him as they prepared to strike. One vine reached from below and grabbed his leg. He bent slightly to sever it and felt a strong, painful blow from one of the trunk arms. In his fight with the vines, he had stepped too close to the tree, and the spikes from one of the arms had pierced his back. Gavinaugh tried to ignore the pain and swung powerfully at the arm as it poised for another strike. His sword cut clean through the arm and left a weaponless limb flailing in the air. Then Gavinaugh methodically worked his way about the tree, severing each limb and vine that appeared until all about him was still.

Gavinaugh backed away from the tree until he was at a safe distance. Only then did he allow himself to relax. The pain in his back returned, but it wasn't as severe as when he was first struck.

Dante, Pliubus, and all of their men ran to him and looked at him in awe. Pliubus examined the wound in his back and noticed that it was already beginning to heal. He knelt before Gavinaugh.

“No man has ever survived the grip of the strangler vine. You are a supreme knight!” he said, kneeling and bowing his head. All of his men did the same.

Gavinaugh reached for the man's shoulder. “No, Pliubus, I am not a supreme knight, but I will tell you of One who is. It is His sword, His training, and His power that have allowed me to survive. Rise up.”

Pliubus took Gavinaugh, Dante, and his men into their village that day and gave them shelter and food. The group stayed for three days, gathering food and water for their ship. Pliubus and his people showed great kindness to the men and taught them how to identify the trees infected with the strangler vines. During this time, Pliubus and his people listened earnestly as Gavinaugh told them about the Prince.

During an afternoon meal, one of the villagers urgently approached Pliubus. “Chief Pliubus, your father has been taken!”

Pliubus rose up from the table. “What?”

“Your father and three others have been taken by Lord Malthos. A terrible fate has fallen upon our village!” he declared.

Pliubus sank to his seat in a daze and did not rush out at the news, as Gavinaugh expected.

“Pliubus, there are many of us. We will help you recover your father … from whoever has taken him,” Gavinaugh said as he rose from the table.

Pliubus looked blankly at Gavinaugh. “There is no hope. The one who has taken him is much too powerful.” He put his head in his hands.

“Who is this man, and where is he?” Dante asked.

Pliubus looked up and seemed hesitant to answer. “Toward the center of the island, in the Valley of Shadows, there is a castle. He who lives there has dominion over this island. I am sorry … I should have told you earlier … but it was so good to see people from other lands, and I did not want to frighten you off.” Pliubus said and lowered his eyes.

“What should you have told us?” Dante asked, quite concerned.

“You have heard, no doubt, that the Isles of Melogne are haunted.”

Dante nodded. “Yes, but we thought perhaps it was because of the Tempests or the strangler vines.”

“No, it is because of Lord Malthos. Anyone who comes to the island never leaves. He is lord over this island. Our village exists to serve him. He will never let us leave.” Pliubus became sober. “You will either serve him or die, but you will never leave. It is my fault … I should have warned you at the very first. But when we saw the power of Sir Gavinaugh over the strangler vine … I had to know more.” The man lowered his eyes and stared at the table.

Gavinaugh reached across and grabbed Pliubus's arm. “It's all right, Pliubus. Your warning would not have changed anything.”

Pliubus looked up. “He is punishing me for showing you kindness.
That's why he has taken my father and the others. Each winter we are required to send two servants to his castle to be his slaves. No one ever comes back. It is not yet time, but he has taken four. You should leave quickly … if you can.”

“But he is just one man,” Dante said. “How can he stop a ship full of mighty men from leaving?”

Pliubus shook his head. “He is not just one man … he is like many men, and his power is great. I've seen him destroy ten men at once as if they were but children. You and your ship are in grave danger. It may be too late already.” His voice was devoid of expression.

Dante rose up. “My ship! We must leave at once!”

“Captain Dante, I know of this Malthos,” Gavinaugh said. “He is an enemy of the Prince. See about your men, but I want Pliubus to take me to his castle.”