Chapter Nineteen

Through the trees and on the outskirts of the Huldu village, Cellu stops and scans the area. When he sees Twynne, Cellu gallops towards him.

“I have Edna,” he yells as he advances. Twynne glances at Cellu and then at Edna. A look of recognition lights his eyes then fades away, and his eyes unfocus. “Twynne, look!” Cellu says. Twynne shakes his head, and his eyes focus again.

“Oh, great.” Twynne says. “Where did you find her?”

“She was kidnapped, taken to the enemy’s camp. They had her caged up, but she needs help immediately. Where’s Gargana?”

“Oh, um, she’s somewhere around here.” Twynne says as his eyes glaze, and he is no longer looking at Edna or Cellu.

“Twynne, pay attention!”

“Huh?”

“Where did you see Gargana last?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think…” Twynne looks up at the sky to pull in a thought, then he giggles, apparently remembering something funny.

“Twynne! Where did you see Gargana!”

“She was in the cage with the centaur, putting a salve on him, because he was all burp-ed up,” Twynne giggles again. “Burnt up.”

“I’m the centaur, Twynne, look at me, I am the centaur!”

“Oh, hi. Where did you come from? You’re naughty. Caught us all by surprise.” Twynne pulls in his eyebrows and sticks a shaking finger in Cellu’s face. “Oh, but you found Edna, good. Is she sleeping? Don’t let her sleep for too long, that’s no good, no good. She’s old, you know, she needs her sleep.” Twynne puts the finger he had in Cellu’s face to his own lips and holds it there while his mind wanders off again. His head tilts forward as though about to drop, and his lashy eyes look straight up into Cellu’s. Twynne stays in that position with his eyes trailing Cellu as Cellu gallops away.

Next is Pixie. She is standing with her back to them, staring at the tree line. When Cellu reaches her, he yells loudly into her ear, “Pixie!” She does not move at first, then slowly her shoulders twitch and she turns to look at him. A moment passes before she finds familiarity in the two in front of her.

“Cellu? Edna? Oh good, Edna needs her sleep.” Pixie turns her head back to the tree line. “We’re looking for Edna… disappeared by the trees…needed her sleep.”

The circular talking is irritating Cellu and the pain in his body is unrelenting; but he carries on diligently. “Pixie, Edna’s right here, we need to help her, immediately. Do you know where Gargana is?”

Pixie turns again to Cellu and Edna. A shadow of concern crosses her crystal eyes. She is trying hard to focus. She knows that something about the two who stand in front of her is significant, but her mind is too clouded to understand why. She turns her head back to the tree line. “I’m keeping watch. Someone snatched her away, right into these trees. We don’t know who. Cellu, maybe?”

“This isn’t working,” Cellu says, trying not to think of Pixie’s last words. He decides to search for Gargana himself, ignoring all the others that he passes along the way. He begins to doubt that finding her will do any good if she is in the same shape as Twynne and Pixie. He checks the caves and sees many huldu sitting around with deep stares, giving a deceiving appearance of thoughtfulness. Outside, some huldu drift slowly about, and some are sitting, like the ones in the caves, but no one is lying down and no one is sleeping, which seems strange. Just watching them makes him want to sleep and he’s not even under the spell. He stops in front of one of the huldu who is staring intently at his own hand.

“Hey!” Cellu says. The huldu slowly looks up. “Why aren’t you sleeping? Why isn’t anybody sleeping?”

“Sleep?” the huldu says. “Sleep. No, I can’t do that, I must not.”

“Why, what would happen?”

“Happen?” The huldu looks at the palm of his hand again.

Cellu cannot wait much longer. Edna needs immediate attention, and nothing is happening immediately. He begins to leave but then the huldu says something. Cellu thinks that he hears, “wake up.”

“What was that? What did you say?” Cellu asks.

“I would not wake up.”

Cellu finally understands.

“Edna!” he yells right into her ear. “Edna wake up!” As though Edna is under the same spell. His voice trembles, “Oh God, please wake her up.”

Realizing that he is the only one who can help anyone at the moment, Cellu stops looking for Gargana momentarily to see to Edna. He takes her to one of the caves and lays her on some bedding. Her arm is soaking with blood but when he presses his hand to her heart it is still beating. He finds some material to wrap tightly around the seeping wound, then leaves the cave, galloping as fast as he can, and searches for Gargana.

When he finds her, she is in the distance, at the tree line near a creek, and he bolts towards her.

“Gargana!” he shouts as he nears. Her hands are in the stream and running water trickles through her fingers. “Gargana!” He says again. She looks at him slowly and in a daze, like all the others. “What are you doing?” Cellu asks.

“Herbs,” she answers.

“What herbs, what for?”

She has to concentrate to form her thoughts into words. “To wake us.”

Some of the herbs are already in her pocket. Cellu squats down by the river to help her collect more. He is confused by an impulse to run off with her, with the herbs that have been gathered, and wake only her. He turns his thoughts to Edna, passed out on the couch, and the image helps to tame the impulse. “Come on,” he says, “these’ll have to be enough for now, Edna needs your help.” He waits for no reply or movement, there is no time. He lifts her in his arms and gallops back at full speed to the cave where Edna lays. When he gets there, Edna’s eyes are open, and she is looking towards them.

“You’re awake!” Cellu says. He places Gargana on her feet, leaving her confused and trying to remember what she had been doing so that she can continue.

“Are you alright?” Cellu asks.

Edna does not answer; she does not feel alright, but she is not dead, so the question is unnecessarily taxing. The look on her face is answer enough.

Cellu turns to Gargana. “How do you use this stuff?” he asks as he pulls

herbs from her pocket.

Gargana looks at them. Her eyelids drop slightly, in concentration, but then her eyes close completely, and her toes begin to tip forward.

“No!” Cellu yells, and he slaps her face, hard.

“What are you doing!” Edna yells.

“She can’t fall asleep, she’ll die!”

The slap wakes Gargana. She looks up into Cellu’s face and down at the herbs in his hands.

“We need to make that into tea.” she says.

“Yes,” Cellu says with relief, “yes, we do!”

Gargana finds a pot and fills it with water, then starts a fire and begins to break up the herbs with her fingers.

Cellu asks Gargana to look at Edna’s arm while she waits for the water to boil. She examines it, slowly, still pulling her mind together. She gently undoes the wrapping and Edna winces and looks away. Gargana is slower with Edna’s arm than she has been in the past. She does not want to be careless in her state and pull too tight or too soft when wrapping her arm.

“That’ll have to do for now,” she says, “until I can get my brain fully functional.” The water begins to boil, and Gargana puts the herbs in; the water immediately begins to yellow.

“How long do we wait?” Cellu asks anxiously.

“The tea has to be a muddy brown color so that it’s as potent as possible. That’ll take some time.”

Cellu leaves while the tea is steeping with the intent to slap all the creatures out of their stupor, hoping that if it worked for Gargana, it will work for the others. Each Huldu he finds, he slaps hard in the face, and then gallops to the next. After about five Huldu he returns to the others to see how they are. The five that he had slapped have turned around and are staring at him as he comes toward them. They look mildly scared, and mildly angry, but mostly nothing has changed.

Of course this can’t be as easy as a slap in the face. He thinks, why did it help Gargana? What was different? He reflects for a moment.Gargana had tended to his physical well-being even though he had betrayed them all, and because of this he experienced forgiveness, which ultimately lead to his change of heart. But during that time, he was also deluded into thinking he would rule Storia with her as his queen, and that delusion still lingers. But he genuinely cares for her now, that is not a delusion. So, there was desperation in the slap; he feared that a friend was about to die. But do I care about the rest like that? He wonders. Of course I care. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be here. I have to care. He shakes the Huldu that is in front of him.

“Wake up!” he yells, “Wake up!” He slaps the Huldu’s face, and the sleepy eyes spark. “Go to that cave,” Cellu says, pointing, “Gargana is making herbs, they’ll help you.” The Huldu obeys immediately and with some clarity.

Cellu’s method of passionate pleading and slapping works, so he continues to wake the sleepers in the same manner and then sends them to Gargana for the tea. Soon the cave has dozens of Huldu who are half awake and drinking small amounts of the remedy, which helps them to fully recover. The first Huldu to drink the tea are quick to help Gargana collect more herbs, or search for others still under the spell. Some of the Huldu try to revive the sleepers in the same way that Cellu does, but it only seems to work for Cellu.

What Cellu and the others do not know is that, with such evil spells, there always seems to be a paradoxical antidote that is created only to mock and frustrate those who are desperate for a cure. But the joke is on the nearsighted enchanters. The antidote they created for this spell is that a corrupted heart must cause harm through striking life back into the sleepy, but the harm caused must be done out of love and genuine concern. Cellu’s slaps are efficacious because they are done out of the love of a healing heart that has long been mangled by corruption.

Luckily, with the growing numbers of wakeful Huldu, more herbs are gathered, and less slapping is needed, and Cellu is spared from having to slap Kadiatu and many of the female Huldu.

When all the Huldu are accounted for, along with Pixie, Twynne, and Kadiatu, the only creature missing is Gargan, so every able body searches the land for him. Cellu is alone when he sees large thick legs lifted vertically from an overgrown patch of grass. He moves quickly towards Gargan and stands above the legs that stick straight up into the air. Gargan’s eyes are closing, and Cellu is struck with a crippling temptation. The voice is in his head again, and all his senses are overwhelmed by the imagery of ruling Storia with Gargana. Cellu does not even want this. The desire is coming to him from without, not within. But it is difficult not to give in to it; and the temptation is telling him to let Gargan die.

The air becomes increasingly heavy as Cellu watches Gargan slip away, and his heart pounds wildly. But suddenly, like one who wakes from paralysis, Cellu is in movement. He jumps above Gargan—forelegs and back legs landing on both sides of the giant—and swoops down with both hands, slapping Gargan’s face. “Wake up! Wake up! It’s a spell! Please, please wake up!” Gargan’s eyelids had closed right before the first smack and are now shut tightly. Cellu stands over Gargan, breathing hard, waiting, ready for another round of blows if Gargan’s eyes do not open soon. Cellu begins to sob without the slightest effort to stop the tears. Snot and tears drip on Gargan, whose eyes are still closed tightly. Gargan had been just a second away from sleep when the first slap made contact, and his eyes had tightened instinctively at the blow. Now that the slaps are not coming, and, instead, sprinkles of liquid, his eyes drift open. Cellu is above him with his hand raised.

Gargan’s eyes move around sleepily, trying hard to focus. Cellu moves to Gargan’s side and lowers his raised hand—from a hurting position to a helping one.

Gargan lifts his head slowly and uses his arms to prop up his torso. He looks at the outstretched hand in front of him and stares at it, as though he has never seen a hand before. Cellu thinks there may need to be another round of slaps, but Gargan shakes his head vigorously and looks at the hand again. He reaches out, shakily, and lets Cellu pull him up. Cellu keeps hold of Gargan’s hand as he leads him to Gargana.

Edna is feeling much better and her arm is wrapped and propped upon a mountain of pillows. She is the happiest she has been the whole journey; Gargana has given her some of the tea, for it is also good for pain, and for calming the nerves. Kadiatu is sitting next to Edna, talking about a dance company back home that she hopes to join one day. Edna’s mind is too relaxed to pay much attention to what Kadiatu is saying, but the enthusiasm and sweetness of the child’s voice is pleasant to listen to.

A shadow passes over Edna and Kadiatu, and they look to see who it belongs to. Gargan’s silhouette is standing at the entrance, and the sun shines behind him while his shadow spreads across the cave. Though Gargan is of medium stature outside his own country, his shadow is a reminder of who he is in his world. When Gargana sees him there is a fluttering in her stomach. She has been so involved with helping others recover that she was unable to search for her husband with the others. But she has constantly looked towards the cave entrance, and each time someone enters the cave who is not him, her fear that it will never be him has grown. But now here he is, alive and well, and tears begin to soak her red cheeks. She tends to him with tea and affection.

Everyone is accounted for. Everyone is alive and well. And everyone is feeling very happy, as the tea does well at calming everyone’s nerves. Well, everyone except for Cellu. Cellu stands outside of the entrance to the cave where his friends are, and stares at the ground with puckered lips. He feels uncomfortable and is unsure of what to do with himself. The memories of him for most of the others are of his betrayal, his strange words while healing in the cage, and his slapping them in the face. His apprehension is not unwarranted, however, for many of the Huldu are unsure what to think of him. But Edna and Gargana have made it clear that it was Cellu who rescued Edna, and who saved the village from the spell.

“Where’s Cellu?” Gargana asks.

“He was just with me,” Gargan says, and looks out of the cave entrance. He sees Cellu in the distance, walking towards the tree line.

“What’s he up to?” Gargan wonders aloud and runs to catch up with him.

Cellu walks obstinately towards the enemy’s camp. His adrenaline had, until now, alleviated the distinct shame that comes when surrounded by those one has betrayed, and he had not been prepared for this moment of repose. A few trees are above him now, covering him in leafy shadows, and his thoughts are snapped into focus by the sound of cracking twigs and heavy footsteps. He turns to see Gargan running towards him.

“Cellu!” Gargan shouts, “Where’re you going?”

“I was off to spy on the enemy camp. This isn’t over.”

“Oh right.” Gargan says, startled with the reminder that the spell they were all under wasn’t random. “I’ll go with you.”

“No, you go back; I’ll be fine. I should go alone.”

“Why?” Gargan asks.

“Because no one else should have to risk their lives. You’ve all been through enough, and it’s my fault.”

“You don’t have to put your life in unnecessary danger to redeem yourself in our eyes. We all know that you saved us. Everyone is still a bit foggy, but we’re all so grateful.” Cellu’s body language shows surrender, and Gargan continues, encouraged, “we really should let the others know. And we should give them an idea of what’s going on. I mean, you should; I don’t know what’s going on.”

Cellu obliges. It had not occurred to him how confused they all must be. And only he can explain to them what is happening, to the best he understands what is happening. Cellu feels a little disappointed as they head back to the others, though. He had been eager for adrenaline and was fine with dying in the enemy camp if that meant dying a hero. But now that Gargan wants to come along, he must think about what is good for everyone, which means he has to slow down and think. He cannot run away from shame by fighting.

At the village, Cellu and Gargan gather everyone together to discuss the impending danger that they must prepare for. It is difficult to know exactly how to prepare, however, since no one, not even Cellu, really knows what the enemies are planning.

Cellu first explains, with embarrassment, who these creatures are and how he became one of them. It all began with ideas, he told them. Strange ideas. It was like they came to him but were not from him. At first, he had an aversion to the ideas because they were unpleasant, unkind, and ridiculous, for the most part, so he would immediately push the thoughts away. But eventually he became curious.

Storia creatures are born with a natural contentment that is not easily corrupted by greed, and kindness that is not easily corrupted by offense. But they are incredibly curious, and it is unchecked curiosity that can corrupt an inhabitant of Storia. Cellu was curious about the bizarre thoughts that came to him, so he began to allow them to linger in his head so that he could ponder them, even though, instinctually, he knew it was wrong to do so, because the thoughts themselves were so wrong. And the more he pondered them, the more difficult it was to tell the difference between the peculiar thoughts and his own. Eventually there were no external thoughts, he accepted them all as his own.

He also started to hear a voice around the time that the thoughts were becoming part of him. But the voice stayed separate from him. It gave him ideas, told him things that he could not otherwise know, and encouraged him to act on the new desires that were born from his new way of thinking. He started stealing from friends, and being nasty, anyway he could. And the more he acted on these desires, the stronger they became, and the worse he got. His greed for the belongings of others, and his desire to cause pain started manifesting in his actions. And the more he acted on his desires, the more intense they got. But when those around him would no longer tolerate his malicious behavior, the voice told him to flee, for he had given himself away. When he met Edna, he had just run away, and the voice lead him strait to her. Cellu was able to tame his malicious behavior with Edna and the others because of the voice. It told him that if he could foil the prophecy then he would be rewarded with a mountain of riches; the dragons’ treasure, that is. So, he waited until the perfect moment to steal the cane. He needed the dragons to see Edna with it, first, so they would have no doubt about what it was.

“I didn’t know about the others until I was freed by them,” Cellu says, “but the voice told me that it was sending help. From what I could gather, while in their camp, they are all as I was, and after they vanished, the voice brought them together to wage this war. They believe they’ll gain the riches from this country, and then set up a kingdom here. And their plan is to rule all of Storia.”

“What made you decide to help us?” Kadiatu asks.

“Many things; you all helping me; Gargana nursing me back to health. That was the start of it. I had previously come to accept that I was irredeemable—that those evil thoughts had become my identity—and so I decided that I might as well embrace who I had become, and enjoy the freedom that shamelessness offered me. But when you all helped me, I began to reflect upon why you would help me after what I had done. And I began trying to understand why I was so eager to hurt you all. And I realized that I wasn’t free before. You all were truly free because you weren’t enslaved by unquenchable demanding desires. You were free to help; I was enslaved by my desire to harm.

“And as I reflected, I struggled because those thoughts were still there. But because I struggled, I knew there was hope for me—if I truly desired redemption from who I had become. So I began to ask myself if I did have such a desire. I struggled to keep my mind focused on the question; I knew that I needed to continue to struggle with the question while the answer was still unknown to me, in order remind myself that the evil thoughts need not be my thoughts.

“Then after I was freed, I was surrounded by others just like myself. And the air over there was so polluted with the greed and maliciousness of those around me; I felt suffocated by it. Yet, though I breathed it in and breathed it out, I could not add or subtract from it. I was simply part of it.” Cellu is quiet for a moment before continuing. “I remembered how well I could breathe when I was over here, even though I was caged and in such pain. There was something different about the air here, when you were all taking care of me. It was not that it was clearer. It was, just, there was less pressure, I think. That was the difference. The greed, the envy, all of it; it just grows and grows and becomes so suffocating. With greed there’s never enough, and soon there isn’t even enough air. And that’s how I knew the answer; I did desire redemption. I wanted to breath. I didn’t want to suffocate anymore.” Cellu thinks for a moment, “so it was your kindness that saved me. I wouldn’t have realized how much my greed was suffocating me if not for your compassion. It cleared the air I’d been breathing for so long and gave me a moment to breathe freely again, and to think freely again.”

If there is any unease about the centaur’s presence, it leaves with his last words. If it is their compassion that saved him, they want to entertain no resentment. And, though he is ashamed to talk about how easily he became corrupted, all the others can relate, for they have all dealt with bizarre thoughts, as well. And they realize that the only difference between him and them is that they did not give in to the curiosity they too had about the unpleasant and seemingly random ideas that popped into their heads from time to time. The difference between him and them is not a chasm, like it once seemed. If they had given into their curiosity, they might have endured the same fate as Cellu.

Kadiatu is pleased with Cellu’s story. She sits next to him and holds his hand. Her kind gesture puts him at ease.

“What’s it like over there?” Asks one of the Huldu.

“Orderly,” Cellu says. Edna nods enthusiastically, remembering how surprisingly clean and orderly the camp was. “Everyone has responsibilities and they follow them eagerly, as though they’re working their way up some hierarchy of power. There are cooks, and cleaners, and builders—everything to keep a camp running smoothly–and it all revolves around keeping the witchcraft going.”

“What witchcraft?” Gargana asks.

Cellu’s head begins to ache when he recalls the constant throbbing sounds that had come from the area designated for incantations; sounds that seemed to control the rhythm of his pumping heart.

“It’s practiced only by those who used to be healers,” he says. “They stand over a large iron cauldron and stir continuously as ingredients are added to it. And as they stir, they chant in unison.

“Their servants, the smallest creatures in camp, collect the ingredients for the spell. The ingredients seem to be a mixture of various herbs and plants, and anything foul that can be found—the more revolting the ingredient, the more potent the spell becomes.”

“Is that how they make spells?” Gargana asks. “It seems they’re simply making a healing elixir of some sort but distorting its purpose. The spell we were under may have been a formula for insomnia, but perverted into something that brings on death, not sleep. Do you know how they were able to get the elixir into us?”

“They fan the vapor that rises from the cauldron when it starts to boil. So the contents of the potion were fanned towards you, and you breathed it in. When they came to release me, we were all only beginning to become effected by the potion. But it needed to be breathed in for some time to take its full effect. It was out of my system quickly because I hadn’t breathed much of it in. I didn’t have time to learn much when I was in their camp, but I know that that potion was the quickest one they could make, and I had assumed it was a temporary solution to keep you all weak until they could make something more destructive. I know they were working on something when I left, something much worse, much more potent, in case the first spell didn’t complete the job. They must have known to prepare for the possibility that we have a healer who would be able to save some, as Gargana has done. They won’t expect everyone to have survived the spell, but they are preparing for the possibility, regardless.

“The new spell will take longer than the first, so we have a little time to figure out what we can do, but we don’t have much time. Gargan and I have decided to sneak into their camp to spy.”

“What do you mean? Just you two? What if they catch you?” Gargana asks, “They’re probably on guard, they know you rescued Edna, they know to be on the lookout.”

“That’s true,” Cellu says. “I told Gargan I’d go alone, and I’m still willing to. I want to. I don’t want anyone else risking their lives.”

“But you’re putting your life in danger too,” Gargana says, “Why should you have to risk your life. Isn’t there another way?”

“We could try to run away and hope that the spell dissipates before it gets to us, but I don’t think these spells die until they find prey. We could fight, but we are putting too many lives in danger. There are more of them, and they have weapons, too, and they’re prepared to fight. Our best bet is to find out as much information as possible; find out what the antidote is, if there is one. Or see if there might be a way to stave off its fatal effects. I was able to revive you in a miraculous way, so maybe there’s some secret with this spell as well. That’s why we need to spy.”

Cellu sighs as he realizes that it would be foolish to go alone. “If I go,” he says,” they’ll likely spot me at once, since they’ll already be on the lookout for me. But they probably think I’ve gone rogue and want all the dragon’s wealth for myself. And they still seem to be under the impression that Edna stands in their way to gaining the wealth—or maybe that she is the key to gaining. I’m not sure, but they’ll think I stole her from them, rather than rescued her. So, they won’t expect that anyone else is with me. I can show Gargan where to go, and then if we span out once we get there, then if I am captured Gargan have a better chance of getting some information, because they’ll be put at ease a bit, and be more talkative.”

Gargana has the same sense of urgency she had when she felt she must nurse Cellu back to health. “He’s right,” she says, “this is what must be done, you need to go in as spies.”

“I should be going in as a spy. I’m the fairy,” Pixie says, though she speaks so quietly her words go unheard by all but Twynne. She looks at the troll and he smiles at her.

“I’ll go as a spy.” Twynne says, with command. Then, noticing Hendi looking at him eagerly, as though wanting to be called on, Twynne continues,“Hendi, Cellu and I will be the ones to spy. The more of us that go, the better chance of gaining information, but also the more risk that one of us will be caught, so it should only be the three of us. Gargan, you stay here with Gargana–you’re way too friendly looking. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

Though Twynne is seldom the serious one, when he finds the need to speak seriously, everyone listens. And Gargan relents, knowing that Twynne’s right. It would be foolish for him to go.

Cellu clears his throat. “No use sitting here, then, we have a plan. But one thing I think you all can do while we’re gone is gather large pieces of material to use as fans. If all else fells, maybe you’ll be able to send the spell back from where it came. Twynne, Hendi, let’s go.” Cellu turns towards the trees and begins a slow gallop, not turning to make sure the other two follow, though they do, immediately. Twynne turns to Pixie with a side smile as he runs after Cellu.

Cellu stops at the tree line and waits for Twynne and Hendi to catch up. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea,” he whispers, “but I think the last place the enemy would expect us to enter is right in front of the witchcraft. It’s dangerous, but it may be less guarded.” Twynne and Hendi nod with eyes that say, just go, we’ll follow.