The Warble (18 page)

“Sorry they were not
finished earlier,” Neela, the blonde girl gnome, said.

Werrien and Kristina
dismounted Taysha and tried on the vests. They fit perfectly.

“Wow!” Werrien said,
looking at Kristina.

“Hey! Watch it!”
Kristina looked slyly at Werrien. “I really don’t want to hear how I could pass
for your little brother in this getup.”

Werrien returned a sly
smile. “I was just going to say that you look great!”

Kristina smiled
gingerly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Werrien turned to the
two gnome girls. “Thank you, Neela and Bronya. This is very kind of you.”

“There is something
else,” Bronya said. She gestured to Retzel’s wife, Mitzi, to come out of the
crowd.

Mitzi came toward them
carrying two more protective vests, as well as a shiny, round steel container.
She laid them on the ground as well. “These are for Retzel and Ugan.”

Retzel and Ugan
dismounted Lisheng to dress in their vests.

“What is the steel
container for?” Kristina asked curiously.

“I made it especially
for Raymond, to keep him protected, if the enemy shoots arrows at him,” Mitzi
said.

“Very cool!” Kristina
said. She took Raymond from Retzel and placed him in it. On the top of the
container was a mesh lid that Raymond could push open with his nose to stick
his head out. “How do you like it, Raymond?”

“Well, it’s not as
comfy and warm as being inside your vest, but I suppose if it will protect me,
it will do,” his voice echoed out the top of it.

“How does he like it?”
Neela asked.

“He likes it just
fine,” Kristina answered.

“I think we’d better
get moving if we want to beat Ramon’s army to the base of the mountain,”
Werrien said.

“How do you suppose we
can beat them when Ramon is already on his way,” Ugan asked Werrien.

“Well, now that I’m not
following Rumalock’s directions, I think I might know a shorter and faster way
than the way they are going,” Werrien said.

Retzel hugged his wife,
Mitzi. “Everything will be better soon,” he said softly.

All the men gnomes and
dwarfs mounted ponies to begin their journey to the base of the mountain. They
rode off, following Werrien and Kristina; their heavy-hearted wives and
children stood watching until they disappeared into the forest.

Werrien Kristina, the dwarfs and gnomes
were all desperately hoping that they’d make it to the base of Mount Bernovem
before Ramon’s army did. The closer they got, the colder the air grew, and so
they stopped briefly to put on the warm capes that the gnome girls had made for
them. While doing so, Raymond poked his head out the top of his container to
sniff the crisp air, and a snowflake landed on his nose. “Is this the same
stuff I saw falling out your bedroom window?” he asked Kristina.

“Yes, it is, Raymond,”
Kristina answered, smiling at him.

“What is it called?”

“It’s called snow.”

The thought of the snow
falling outside her bedroom window suddenly saddened Kristina, for it reminded
her that if the Warble wasn’t brought to its resting place, she and Raymond
wouldn’t be going home. And even though she had made more friends in Bernovem
than she had ever made at home, she couldn’t imagine never being able to go
back and see her family again. Thinking about it was more chilling than the icy
wind blowing in her face.

The ground was covered
in snow when they arrived at the base of the mountain, and there were no
footprints to be seen, nor any other signs that Ramon’s army had gotten there
before them. Werrien brought Taysha to a halt and then jumped down off her to
look for a place where they all could hide and wait for Ramon’s army to arrive.
As he disappeared into the surrounding forest, Kristina stayed with Taysha and
their army of gnomes and dwarfs. She looked up at the moon that was shining
brightly. It made the snow on the ground seem like it was covered by millions
of tiny diamonds; so pretty that she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of
the fresh air to savor the moment. However, while her eyes were still closed,
she suddenly felt the wind swoosh over her head. Taysha reared up, and Kristina
opened her eyes to see Roage standing in the snow, a few feet ahead of her.
“The next time you come swooping down to scare the wits out of us; could you at
least give us a warning?” she said angrily.

Raymond poked his head
out of the top of his container. “Just as I suspected!” He narrowed his beady
eyes. “It’s that sneaky bird again. Can’t a fellow get a bit of shut-eye
without being thrown on his head?”

“If there was time to
greet you formally, I would have, but unfortunately there is not. Ramon’s army
is less than a mile away from here, so you had better start preparing for their
arrival,” Roage said.

Werrien ran back to
them. Then Roage turned to Werrien and said, “Ramon’s army will be coming this
way in a matter of minutes.”

“Thanks for the
warning,” Werrien said, and he got back on Taysha. He turned her around to face
the gnomes and dwarfs. “I have found a place for you to hide. Follow me.” He
led them to a ravine that was big enough for all of them, as well as their
ponies, to hide. Then he jumped down off Taysha and turned to Kristina. “You
will have to stay here until I return, and when you see me coming back, be
prepared to flee with me.” Then he turned to Lisheng. “I’ll need you to be
standing by Taysha. I will ride you.”

“It will be an honor
for me,” said Lisheng.

Ugan and Retzel
dismounted Lisheng.

Then Werrien turned to
them. “I’ll need you two to be the leaders of this army. When you see me
running back this way, make sure the rest of the gnomes and dwarfs have their
bows and arrows ready. Ramon’s army will most assuredly be right on my tail.
Also, stay down low in the ravine until I run past you. Then give the rest of
the gnomes and dwarfs the go-ahead to rise up and launch their arrows.” Lastly,
he turned to Roage and said, “When I go now, I’ll need you to fly ahead of me,
and let me know the whereabouts of Ramon. Then, after I take the Warble back
from him, fly back to Ugan and Retzel and let them know I am on my way back.”

“As you wish,” Roage
said.

After he gave out the
orders, Werrien ran back to the place where Kristina and their army had waited
previously for him. He hid behind a tree, and Roage flew off, to see how far
off Ramon’s army was. Not long after, Roage came back, but before he could
report, Werrien heard the sounds of Ramon’s army approaching, and shortly
after, he saw the fire from their torches. “Did you see Ramon among them?”
Werrien whispered to Roage, who was now sitting in the tree directly above him.

“Yes, he is on a gray
horse at the head of his army,” Roage said.

“Did you happen to
notice whether or not he was carrying the Warble?”

“Not exactly, but he
was holding a small leather sack on his lap.”

“Well, I’ve probably
got only one shot at this, so I hope it’s in there. Now all I have to do is
figure out a way to get it from him.”

“I’ve got an idea.”

“Oh, yeah? At this
point I’m open to anything.”

“Here’s what I’m
thinking: When Ramon’s army is directly in front of us, I’ll make noise in the
branches. That way, they’ll stop and Ramon will come over here to see what it
is.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know. You’ll
have to come up with the rest.”

“I don’t have anything
better planned, so let’s give it a shot, and see what happens.”

When Ramon was directly
in front of them, Roage began to make a ruckus in the tree. Then Werrien picked
up a stone and threw it at Ramon, hitting him on his leg.

Ramon shouted, “Halt!”
His troop came to a standstill. All was silent as he looked around
suspiciously, wondering who had thrown the stone at him. Roage shook the
branches again and brought Ramon’s attention directly to the tree where he was
sitting and where Werrien was hiding. “There’s someone in the trees over
there.” Ramon pointed to the exact spot they were hiding. “Malodor, get off
your horse, and go see what is causing the ruckus.”

“Now what are we going
to do? He’s sending a zelbock to come and look,” Werrien said.

“I’ll quickly fly
somewhere else and make more noise,” Roage said.

“Okay, go!”

Roage flew to another
tree and began to hop on the branches to make more noise. It caught Ramon’s
attention again.

“Stop, Malodor! It is
coming from over there.” Ramon pointed to the trees.

Malodor turned and
walked toward it, and when he was almost there, Werrien threw another rock at
Ramon, this time hitting him on his buttock.

“There is more than one
of them,” Ramon yelled, as he began dismounting his horse. Werrien poked his
head around the tree to see Ramon coming toward him with the leather sack
dangling from his belt.

All Werrien had was a
knife that a dwarf had given him. He drew it out and stood very still on the
opposite side of the tree. His heart began to pound faster as Ramon neared him.
Just as Ramon stepped to the other side of the tree, Werrien quickly reached
out with his knife and cut the ties of the leather pouch. Ramon looked down to
see the sack drop into Werrien’s hands and before Ramon could reach out to grab
him—or the sack—Werrien was on his way, running back toward his army.

With fumbling hands,
Ramon reached for his battle horn, and when he finally managed to get it to his
lips, he blew on it so hard that his angered face turned dark purple. The
zelbocks, who had been preoccupied watching Malodor try to figure out what was
in the other tree, turned their attention back to Ramon. “After him, you
idiots!” Ramon yelled furiously. “Can’t you see he’s getting away with the
Warble?”

The zelbock’s quickly
mounted their horses and charged in Ramon’s direction. They ran straight at
him, and he fell backwards into a thorn bush, one that he himself had planted
years earlier. When his rear end hit the sharp thorns, he let out a shrill
scream.

Werrien heard it, but
he didn’t look back; instead, he looked up to see Roage flying above him. “How
far back are the zelbocks?” he yelled up to him.

“Maybe a few hundred
yards.”

As the zelbocks grew
nearer, Werrien could hear their horses’ hooves pounding the forest floor.
Finally, the top of the ravine came into view, and Roage flew on ahead to warn
the gnomes and the dwarfs that Werrien was almost there.

“Quick, get ready to
launch your arrows as Werrien runs past you. The zelbocks are right behind
him,” Roage called out to them.

Kristina was sitting on
Taysha, with Lisheng by her side, when Werrien ran past the ravine and jumped
on Lisheng. Then the gnomes and dwarfs launched their arrows, and the zelbocks
did the same. After the arrows were used, they went at each other with swords,
flails, pikes, and clubs. Kristina and Werrien could hear the spooky cries and
screams of the battle behind them, and Werrien wished he could have stayed to help.
Still, he knew that Kristina needed his help to deliver the Warble.

Eventually, the sound
of the battle faded and soon after, they reached the base of the mountain.

~ ~ ~

Queen Sentiz and
Rumalock were already at the top of the snowcapped mountain, in a warm tent,
waiting for Ramon to deliver the Warble. As the fierce winds tossed the snow
outside their tent, Rumalock sat looking through the Book of Prophecy. “The
battle has started,” he said to the queen, who sat wrapped in her bear stole,
drinking a steaming-hot cup of tea.

“Wonderful. It’s about
time that son of mine does something I can be proud of,” she said.

More words began to pop
onto the page. “Ramon’s name is coming up, just as you mention him.” Rumalock
smiled impishly.

“What does it say?” the
queen asked excitedly. Before Rumalock could answer, she stood up. “Wait—I am
so smart, let me tell you what it says. Ramon has caught the two wretched
hoodlum children and is presently on his way up the mountain to destroy the
Warble.” She took a sip from her cup, leaving a large amount of red lipstick to
run down the sides of it.

“Well, no, it does not
say that, Your Majesty. It says Werrien has taken the Warble from Ramon. Then
it goes on to say that Ramon fell in one of those thorn bushes you had planted,
one he had planted himself, and he is presently trying to pull thorns out of
his bottom.” Rumalock chuckled softly.

The queen fell silent
and stared straight ahead. The blood seemed to drain from her already-pale
face, and her thin, red lips shriveled up, like she had just sucked on a sour
lemon.

 “I’m so sorry to
have read that Werrien has the Warble,” Rumalock said, sensing her tension.

The queen’s head didn’t
move, but her eyes shifted to meet his. “How dare you laugh at this situation,”
she said through clenched teeth. Then she reached over and ripped the prophecy
book away from him. She ran her fingernail down the page to the spot he had
just finished reading. More words began to pop up, and when she read them, her
nostrils flared, and her eyes looked like they would pop out of her head. “No!
This can’t be!” she wailed, dropping the book on the floor. Her mood turned to
anger again, and she took up her tea mug and violently smashed it on the floor
in front of Rumalock. Rumalock quickly scurried to pick up the shattered
pieces, while the queen fell back into her chair, taken over by despair. “Oh,
what am I to do now?” She ran her long fingernails down her face, as she
usually did when distressed.

“I might have a good
idea, my queen.” Rumalock cautiously picked up the prophecy book.

“And what might that
be?” the queen asked calmly, while blotting her lipstick with her handkerchief.

“What about the three
other children?”

“What about them, you
idiot? Isn’t it clear to you that they have already been captured?”

“Yes, of course, Your
Majesty, but may I ask why is it that you had me bring them here, instead of
leaving them in the prison at Treachery Island?”

“You dwarfs are so
stupid. I had you bring them here in case we needed them to blackmail the girl,
if all else fails.”

“Well, that is
precisely my point. Don’t you think we should do it, now that the other
children have taken back the Warble?”

Queen Sentiz fell
silent again as she soaked in what Rumalock had just said. She twisted up her pale
face and drummed her long red nails on her chin. Then she sat up, cleared her
throat, and said, “I have a brilliant idea.”

“Yes, my lady, and what
might that be?”

“I have made the
decision to have you bring the three children to the spot where the Warble is
supposed to be laid, and wait for Werrien’s and the girl’s arrival.”

“Yes, that is exactly
what I was meaning to say.” Rumalock eyes grew large with enthusiasm.

“Don’t try to take
credit for my idea!”

“Of course not, my
lady. I could have never come up with such an idea myself.”

“No, you couldn’t have,
that’s for sure.” The Queen walked over to the entrance of the tent and peeked
through the door flaps. After viewing the foul weather outside, she turned
around to face Rumalock. “Before I resort to blackmailing them with the other
children, I have one more idea up my sleeve.”