Little Orphan Anvil: The Complete Trilogy Page 3

  “Where’s the robot-droid?” Sonny asked alarmingly.

  “No need to worry, young man—look up!”

  Just then the robot twirled down from the air and landed softly onto the end of the raft.

  “He still has a few neat tricks in his wires!” Will humbly laughed. He snatched the pole from Sonny’s hands and pushed back out into a stronger current, far away from the dying flames.

  “What was all that stuff about?” Sonny asked anxiously, looking back at the fire as they floated swiftly down the river. “That fire—on the top of the water?”

  “That, my young friend, was a trick of my own!” Will said with a smirk. “The oil from those creatures caused the torch-fire to ignite the water. Hopefully they got caught in it, too; or were scared off!”

  The boy looked up at Will, his eyes wide with amazement. “Wow! That’s some neat trick, indeed!”

  Will laughed and handed the raft’s guiding pole off to Sonny. He then raised a makeshift tarp over their rain-soaked heads. The robot emitted a low humming whistle, and Ranger let out a whimper.

  After some time, Sonny decided to lay the pole aside, seeing as how the raft was moving along with the current’s own momentum; he moved closer to Ranger and the robot.

  “It’s gonna be fine, boy,” he said softly, as he patted the dog’s head and looked into the gleaming red eyes of the little robot. “We’re safe for now; we’ll make it.”

  Will had kept his eyes fixed on the river’s direction, while the foggy moonlight softly illuminated their way. “Well then, it’s off to the Land of Shadows!” he harped. “May the Spirits bless our way…”

  ~ Chapter V

  ~ Into the Narrows

  Mammoth rock walls surrounded the narrow river passage, as a great fog lay its shadowy mist all about the lone raft and its companions. The water moved along at a calm and peaceful pace. Will stood at the rear of the raft helping with what strength he could, and pushed with the pole into the river bottom for greater speed. The boy and the dog slept soundly, while the robot remained ever alert; its metal eyes piercing the fog with eerie red rays of light.

  Will grumbled and looked about the still silence of the canyon walls; his emotions clearly agitated and his senses growing weary, anticipating danger that could be lurking anywhere. Overhead, the sky remained a shrouded and brooding canvas; always teasing the four travelers with giant droplets of dark rain.

  Sonny mumbled in his sleepy state and kicked outwards, startling Ranger who shot up on all fours. Ranger nudged his wet nose in Sonny’s face.

  “Stop! stop!” Sonny opened his blood-shot eyes and hoisted himself up on his elbows. Ranger whimpered and moved over by the robot. Rubbing his eyes and wiping his face, Sonny looked over and saw Will chuckling at him.

  “What’s so funny?” Sonny said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He stood up and looked about at the dark and towering surroundings. “Where are we? Is this the Land of Shadows, Will?”

  “We are still a ways off, but the shadows from that land do bleed far. Be wary and ever-cautious, for we have also entered the forbidden narrows of the ancient stone traders.” Will glanced up towards a few cave-like pockets scattered across the upper layers of the canyon walls. “I have the droid set on high alert for any ghostly movement or wicked changes in those dark pockets above.”

  Sonny’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he looked from Will to the cave pockets. “Ghost movements? Stone traders?” he asked strangely, a new level of fear in his voice. “Will—what do you mean?”

  Will looked over to Sonny. “Now don’t be too frightened—just be cautious! The stone traders of long ago used to deal with many of the old lands, trading magical stones created from the dust and dark fog that lay concealed far above in those caves. They would trade for food and clay pottery, and the land dwellers would get these magic stones that helped ward off evil and illness.” He pushed again on the pole, moving the raft a bit further, and past a giant rock that protruded from the water. “But when a great storm came upon these narrows, the stone traders were sealed to their doom within these walls.”

  “Why should we be so careful then if they are long gone?” Sonny asked, shivering as he pulled a blanket around his head and body.

  “Because it has been told that they had eventually past into ghostly forms of an unnatural nature,” Will said softly in his gravelly voice. “Dust-shrouded ghosts—vapor trails, haunting those that would dare to raid their ancient dwellings. We don’t want to seem that type!” His eyes flickered about on the upper canyon walls. “We’ll just pass on through—silently and without harm in our hearts; for it’s been said that these particular ghosts can sense this.”

  Sonny kept his eyes fixed on the dark and silent caves as he sat down beside Ranger, gently patting him. “Wow, I sure hope we get through here quick!” he said with quiet alarm.

  “It may be a day’s travel left,” Will said; “but it is the only way to reach the edge of our next travel: the deadwoods. Through there we should hopefully be much closer towards reaching the orphanage. Just keep alert now. Oh, and grab some of that water and food I’ve stored away in that iron box…if you’re hungry.”

  Will looked at Ranger, who seemed to be lost in a trance as Sonny continued petting his fur. “Give some to that hound of yours, too.”

  “Thanks; but just the same, I think we’ll wait until we pass on through a bit further.” Sonny wrapped some of his blanket about Ranger and clenched it a little tighter.

  ******* The raft continued to float through the canyon walls, while darkness fell and a chilled wind crept up. Both Will and Sonny were still alert as the dog slept soundly. The robot’s eye-lights were now fully focused on the river and the passage ahead.

  Sonny turned around to face Will, who continued to stand at the rear of the raft pushing the raft pole gently into the water depths.

  “Will? You think we’ll still find the orphanage and those orphans still around?”

  Will cleared his throat and replied, “Well, young fellow, I reckon we at least have to give it a shot. But like that spell that ruined our land, we have to be very careful. Those oil slicks, along with any number of creatures creeping about—they may be poisoned by some devilry of the lady’s making!”

  Sonny quivered with the thought of such spooky creatures sneaking about.

  “Destroying what she views unworthy,” Will explained, “she’ll use her dark magic to rid anything opposing her beliefs. If she still exists, then there is hope the orphans do, too! She needs someone or something to control, and I believe they are all part of some scheme she has up her sleeve. We have to try and help them out of that place…”

  He looked Sonny in the eyes. “Maybe I should have done this some time back, but I think it fate that brought you to me, and us to help them!”

  “So, you think that all the old magic beliefs are poison?” Sonny asked.

  Will shook his head. “No, no…I do not think that at all. I think those ways of magic have every right to exist, along with any new beliefs like that of iron and anvil. But to use any of these faiths to do wrong—well, then that has to be smashed for the good of all. Otherwise, young man, we are all destined to a terrible fate!”

  Sonny pondered this for a moment; then nodding his head in agreement he turned back around to face the long, dark river ahead.

  ******* Hours later, as the raft continued drifting quietly along, the robot’s sensory, electric eyes suddenly darted upward to the right side of the canyon wall. Sonny startled from his dream-like trance. He looked from the robot to the direction its eye-rays were focused.

  There upon the canyon wall’s smooth surface, sliding almost invisibly over it, Sonny could make out the appearance of the oil slicks—their greenish eyes glinting through tiny slits in their skin.

  Ranger’s ears shot upright and he swiftly moved towards Sonny and the robot.

  “Will!” Sonny whispered loudly. “I—I see a whole bunch of those oil creatures! We gotta move
fast!”

  Will, who had fallen into a sleep trance while standing guard, quickly gathered his wits and moved quickly towards the robot in hopes of turning its alarm sensor off. But it was too late: the robot had sent out a loud and echoing distress whistle. While the whistle hadn’t stalled the oil slicks steady progress, it most assuredly had awoken the haunting and hideous apparitions from the canyon pockets.

  “Move to the center of the raft!” Will hollered.

  Sonny quickly moved with Ranger in tow. The oil slicks had now reached the water and had slipped under. Above, the ghastly ghosts moved in great, tormenting swirls, aiming their dust-shrouded forms in the raft’s direction.

  Will hurried over to the robot and had it extend one of its metallic limbs over the water. He then pressed a button that enabled the robot to rise slightly in a hovering spin, while its eye-lights would burn brightly upwards towards the ghosts.

  Within moments, stones were raining all about them, crashing into the river and causing rapid geysers to gush forth. Frightened, Sonny and his dog scrambled around the raft as the robot began lifting itself into the air; its body was spinning fast. It soon created a vortexlike tornado with its metallic arms that flung the spirits and the stones all about the canyon walls.

  Will clutched the raft’s pole and gave it all his might; he pushed into the river bottom hoping to gain speed. “Sonny! Use that wooden carry-stick of yours and push the button at the base of the droid!”

  Sonny quickly grabbed the stick and ducked under the robot. He saw a big blue button on the underside of the robot and pointed the stick upwards at it. Just then the oil slicks had surrounded the raft.

  “Do it now!” Will hollered.

  Jabbing the stick upwards into the button, an electric charge suddenly shook the raft as a great volt of energy shot from the robot’s extended metal limb into the river. All at once the raft jolted forward with a great push, and the river ignited around them in a fiery, white-hot light.

  Sonny dropped the stick and rolled away from the robot; he could see the oil slicks glowing in a bright, static-charged light. And then just like a lightswitch, everything turned dark and silent.

  The robot dropped with a bang onto the raft; its metal body spurting and fuming steam. Both its red eyes flickered rapidly and its metal arms lay limp and lifeless upon the raft—save for the one that was now submerged in the foamy, broiling water.

  The stone trader ghosts, on edge with fear themselves, floated high above near their cave dwellings.

  Will shot over to the boy and lifted him up. “Are you okay?” he cried out with alarm, looking him over. “You didn’t get burned or hurt, did you?”

  Sonny shook his head and looked over at Ranger; he was huddled under the folded tarp, his eyes peeping out at them.

  “Whew!” Sonny exclaimed. “I thought Ranger got spooked and made a leap for it!” The dog let out a whimper and crawled forward to them.

  Sonny leaned down and gave him a big hug. “It’s okay, boy,” he said, looking up to see the ghosts departing into the dark caves—their vapor trails leaving blurry streaks against the moon-dusted, night sky.

  Turning his attention to the robot, Will lifted its blackened, metal limb out of the river with the raft’s pole and set it aside.

  “This little droid’s been through quite a lot, I’ll say!” He grabbed the tarp and laying it over the robot, moved to the back of the raft. “Now— let’s really move it! The trader ghosts have huddled away in their caves, and we don’t want to rouse or startle them any further!”

  Sonny nodded his head in agreement and turned to face the river. “And the river seems to be granting us a speedier flow!” he said excitedly, cinching the blanket around him tighter as a colder wind picked up.

  With the raft’s pole, Will pushed down into the river with great might, moving them further away. He quickly glanced back to see wisps of smoke dying out upon the river where the oil slicks had dissolved.

  Turning back to face the river’s flow, he shuddered momentarily as the darkness of the canyon walls continued to swallow their passage.

  “Indeed, my good fellow! The river is moving a bit faster,” Will confirmed. “We must continue to stay on alert! This river will soon be impassable, and then we must take ourselves along a dark path through the gnarled roots of the deadwoods—if we’re to gain access to the Land of Shadows, that is.”

  Sonny wanted to respond to this last statement, but decided it was best to let matters, along with Will’s knowledge of the regions, work their magic.

  ~ Chapter VI ~ The Root of Passage

  Several hours after their ghostly escapade, they had come to a standstill at the base of a great wall of heavily gnarled and twisted, leafless trees. All the limbs and branches of the trees were intertwined together; at the base of the trees, massive roots lay exposed above the ground, as if the earth had erupted its fury towards this tangled mess of deadwood.

  Stepping off the raft, Will walked along a giant root towards the wall of trees. He immediately took notice that the only place to walk was on the roots, for not an inch of soil could be seen. Sonny and Ranger stayed back on the raft waiting for Will’s okay; also because they were a bit fearful of the dark and lifeless trees before them.

  Will carefully scanned the area with his eyes. Spotting an opening off to the right of his position that appeared big enough for them to walk through, he turned back to the raft.

  “Okay—I see where we can make our way through!” he yelled to Sonny. “Let’s fix up that droid; and then after we rest here for a spell, we can depart for the passage.”

  Sonny shuffled his feet and clenched at the blanket that was still wrapped about him. “It looks impossible to wander through there, Will. I mean—is there not any other way to the orphanage?”

  Shaking his head, Will moved back to the raft. “No, no, my boy—not if we mean to go unseen. Also, I fear our time may be short: who knows how long those orphans may have, or if they even still remain!” He glanced up to the gray, shadowy sky. “We best get the tarp up before it rains.”

  Sonny looked up and shivered. He moved to retrieve the tarp. “So leaving those orphans behind— that must have been real tough on you…”

  Will’s eyes fell to the boy with great sadness as he stepped back onto the raft. “It broke my heart to leave—but like I said before, I was only going to make things worse by staying. With my “metallic magic,” as she had called it, and as it was known, I was now her enemy! I didn’t want to risk any harm to the children; so I made back for the Anvil land, far from her spellbinding glare. There I could at least try to plan some way of freeing the orphans. But of course we all know that the horrible wrath of that storm was her doing, and I never reached the old land.”

  Sonny flung the tarp up high, shaking debris from it. “And what exactly is it she’s hoping for? What does she want?” he asked curiously.

  Will’s eyes narrowed in on Sonny’s. “For her means of magic to rule the land! And quite possibly, allow it to affect all other lands like our former one. Truthfully, she may be looking to take it all: the orchards, the lands—the entire realm itself!”

  Sonny shook his head sorrowfully. “And the poor, unwanted children, too…”

  “You got it, my lad,” Will nodded in agreement. “Them, too.”

  ******* Later, as Will skillfully mended the damage to the robot, a static-charge filled the air, bringing thunderous clouds into play that descended upon the root-trees and the raft. Sonny, who was rough-housing around with Ranger by the water’s edge, startled at the booming thunder and almost lost his balance standing on the edge of the giant root.

  “Whoa! Almost lost it there!” Sonny said with a fright. He looked over to Will who was untangling some wires dangling from the bottom of the robot. “So what makes you sure the passage to the orphanage is through that big ol’ mess?” he said, waving a stick towards the trees.

  Will carefully placed the wires back into the robot. Wiping his hands on a rag
as he stood up, he stretched and looked over to the deadwoods.

  “When I fled the Land of Shadows, I had traveled far above this place, moving steadily along the top of these hillside canyon walls.” He craned his neck back, looking high up at the canyon ridges. “I could see all the way down from there; all the miles of this great tree-anarchy, and I knew there had to be some kind of a route through here.”

  He glanced back to Sonny. “Judging by the darker shade of this root you’re standing upon, it seemed proper that what I was looking at must’ve been either a river or an ancient stone path making such an impression amongst this chaos,” he said, waving his arms towards the tree wall.

  “Wow! I can’t believe it!” Sonny exclaimed with awe. “And so here you are—returning just like you thought you might!” “Indeed! I kept this place in mind, should I be promised a return.”

  Suddenly, as Will was flipping a few switches over on the robot’s dome-top, a brilliant flash of lightning shattered the darkness, followed instantly by a blast of thunder which released a heavy downpour. Sonny and Ranger leapt onto the raft as Will scrambled to his feet.

  “No, no! We have to leave the raft, quickly!” Will hollered above the crashing bang and boom of the storm. “Gather your things—go!”

  Frantically they gathered what they could and made a fast-dash across the root towards the dark opening in the trees. Ranger kept close on Sonny’s heels. The robot, now functional to operate, hovered to the front of the three, its red-eye lights illuminating the narrow entrance around the trees.

  Pummeling into the dense and twisted deadwood, the three eventually stumbled to a halt behind the robot. It had stopped abruptly while hovering a few feet from the ground, swiveling its upper body about as it scanned the darkness with its high-beams of eye-lights.

  Save for the giant root they stood on, the area all around them was a chaotic orchestra of ancient limbs, branches, and blackened moss-covered roots. Only a tiny amount of light filtered through to the bottom. The sound of the storm had been greatly muffled, and the thick branches overhead had given them a fair amount of cover from the rain and lightning.