Chapter 5

 

 

The next day Nyssa took Jena and Dom down to the river to catch some fish for their dinner. The gnomes had a swim too and they grew more and more excited as the day wore on. Eldor was due to return in the evening with some hopefully good news.

 

They returned to the cottage in the late afternoon with three large trout they had caught. Nyssa made dinner and they ate as it turned dark. Then they settled down before the fireplace to wait for Eldor. Nyssa sat in his rocking chair and Jena and Dom lay on the cushions on the floor.

 

The warm fire and dinner made them all a little sleepy and they shortly dozed off. A short time passed and then suddenly the fire flared and popped as if something had dropped into it. Nyssa stirred for a moment, then went still. Jena and Dom didn’t move at all.

 

Then a cloud of purple smoke began to fill the fireplace, choking off the fire. A long arm with a clawed hand grew out of the cloud and it slowly moved toward the sleeping gnomes.

 

It reached Dom and hung over him for a few moments, then moved over to Jena. Its long crooked fingers opened wide and quick as a flash, it snatched her up. Jena awoke instantly to find herself held tightly in a purple darkness. She tried to call out, but horrid tasting smoke filled her mouth.

 

* * *

 

Dom and Nyssa were suddenly woken by the cottage door bursting open. They jumped to their feet, Nyssa fearing an attack, but it was Eldor who charged inside. Then they saw the purple cloud and hand with Jena’s legs sticking out between its fingers.

 

‘Stay back!’ the wizard commanded as he strode forward, the orange crystal on his staff glowing brightly.

 

He swung it at the purple arm and orange sparks flew everywhere as it severed it in two. A terrible shriek filled the cottage and the cloud in the fireplace suddenly disappeared up the chimney with great whoosh. What was left of the arm and hand vanished and Jena fell to the floor.

 

She coughed terribly, her eyes stinging and full of tears. Dom gave her a slap on the back and a puff of purple smoke came out of her mouth. Eldor struck the floor with his staff and instantly a fresh breeze blew in through the door. With it came the wonderful scent of flowers and Jena found it easier to breath.

 

Then the wizard knelt over her and gently lifted her chin with a finger.

 

‘Are you all right, Jena?’ he asked anxiously.

 

‘Yes... yes, I’m fine... I think!’ she replied with a croaky voice.

 

‘What... what was that cloud?’ Dom asked in alarm.

 

‘Something that places us all in great danger,’ Eldor replied gravely.

 

‘That was Mogrom’s magic, wasn’t it?’ Nyssa asked angrily.

 

Eldor nodded.

 

‘She has somehow discovered the gnomes are here,’ he replied grimly. ‘My worst fears have come true.’

 

‘But why?’ Nyssa asked. ‘What does she want with either of them?’

 

‘That is something that perhaps Jena can tell us,’ he replied, looking down at her. ‘I don’t think you just fell down the waterfall, did you, Jena?’

 

Jena shook her head.

 

‘No, we didn’t,’ she agreed.

 

‘Well, let me make us some tea and then you can tell us what really happened.’

 

Whilst Eldor made some tea, Nyssa lit the fire again. Shortly they were sitting before it sipping tea from cups and thimbles. Then Eldor looked down at Jena with a stern frown.

 

‘Well, time for you both to tell the truth,’ he said. ‘Tell me what really happened at the waterfall and then I will tell you why Mogrom tried to kidnap you tonight.’

 

Jena looked up at his sharp gaze, then nodded.

 

‘It’s a very strange story and I find it hard to believe it myself,’ she said.

 

She told Eldor and Nyssa what had occurred as their bowl hurtled toward the waterfall. How according to Dom her bracelet had started to glow and she herself had had a dream. In it she had seen a tiny girl with silver wings who must have been a fairy. She told Jena to think to flying if she wanted to be saved.

 

Dom took up the story then. He told them how Jena had jumped up and cried... ‘fly!’ ‘fly!’... and the bowl had risen out of the water. It had then sailed over the waterfall before settling into the river beyond it.

 

At the end of the story Eldor tugged at his beard, his expression grim.

 

‘It’s as I thought,’ he said. ‘Jena has returned with the magic bracelet the fairies gave the gnomes long, long ago.’

 

‘So it was a fairy I saw!’ Jena said in wonder.

 

Eldor nodded.

 

‘They must have sensed your return and sent you the dream to help you.’

 

‘But why did they give our folk the bracelet?’ Dom asked. ‘Why is it magical?’

 

‘The reason is an old one going back hundreds of years when the gnomes lived with the fairies in the Quiet Woods,’ Eldor replied. ‘It was also a time of great danger and peril. Mogrom has always wanted the fairies magic for her own and has hatched many plots and schemes over the years to do so. Thankfully I have always been around to stop her.’

 

He paused and looked down at the gnomes with a very dour expression.

 

‘Then one time she hatched her most sinister plot. She summoned creatures called morgs from lands to the west of the Midnight Mountains. They are vicious wolf-like creatures, but bigger and far more deadly as wolves themselves are harmless creatures. Mogrom sent them to attack the gnomes, wanting to force the fairies into giving her their magic knowledge.’

 

‘You mean... you mean they...’ Dom began, but could not finish.

 

‘Yes, Dom… they ate gnomes,’ Eldor finished for him.

 

Jena and Dom shuddered at such a terrifying thought.

 

‘Now the fairies could protect themselves with their own magic, but the gnomes could not. So they decided to give the gnomes something magical protect them. They had the dwarves make Jena’s bracelet and then charmed it with a special magic. It warns its wearer of approaching danger and to use magic for protection.

 

‘Mogrom of course found out about the bracelet and was determined to have it. She was quiet for some years, then attacked the Forest of Rivers and the Quiet Woods with a huge army of goblins and morgs. A great battle was fought and though we won in the end, many elves, dwarves and fairies perished.’

 

‘How terrible!’ Dom exclaimed.

 

‘It was and the fairies were horrified by it,’ Eldor went on. ‘In the end they decided that the gnomes and the bracelet must leave the Quiet Woods. They kept it a secret, not even telling me where they had taken the gnomes. They decided that if no-one else knew, Mogrom would not have a target anymore.’

 

‘And now Mogrom knows the bracelet has returned,’ Nyssa said grimly.

 

‘Yes and she will be back to get it,’ Eldor replied. ‘We’re in terrible danger here so far from help.’

 

‘We could try and reach my forest,’ Nyssa suggested. ‘We would be safe there with my folk.’

 

Eldor shook his head.

 

‘Mogrom knows we might try that. Even now she will have the lands between here and there swarming with goblins,’ Eldor said. ‘No, the best thing is to stay put and wait for the fairies to arrive.’

 

‘They’re coming here?’ Jena exclaimed.

 

Eldor nodded.

 

‘I sent Moonwing to them with a message that you were here,’ he replied. ‘They will be very eager to return you home again.’

 

‘Do you think they might show me how to use my bracelet,’ Jena asked.

 

‘I can show you how to use the bracelet, Jena,’ Eldor replied. ‘We may need its magic before all this is over.’

 

‘When will the fairies be arriving, Eldor?’ Dom asked.

 

‘I’m not sure, Dom,’ the wizards replied. ‘It’s a long way here from the Quiet Woods. But I certainly hope it’s soon.’

 

* * *

 

They all slept late into the morning and woke to find the day cloudy and dim. Before they had gone to sleep Eldor had taken Jena aside and taught her the secret of using the bracelet. Its magic he said came from the mind of the user. That he or she must be clear of mind, calm and in control of what she wanted to do. If she could accomplish this, the bracelet’s magic was quite formidable.

 

Jena was thoughtful about it as the day passed, wondering whether she could stay calm in the face of danger. As the day passed the cloud cover thickened and the air grew darker. Eldor grew increasingly worried, saying that the clouds were Mogrom’s work. By the time it was mid afternoon the air was so dim it was almost like dusk.

 

The surrounding forest seemed to sense there was something wrong as well. The air was very still and hushed, with not a single bird call or buzz of an insect coming from the trees.

 

‘This doesn’t seem right, Eldor,’ Nyssa said as she and the wizard sat at the table. ‘Mogrom is up to something.’

 

‘Yes, she will have something in mind,’ Eldor agreed. ‘I fear the fairies will be too late.’

 

Jena and Dom were standing on the windowsill and looking nervously out of the window. Jena felt as though danger was just around the corner, her skin all tingly. Then  Dom  gave a gasp and pointed at her wrist.

 

‘Jena!’ he exclaimed. ‘Your bracelet!’

 

Jena looked down and saw that it was glowing brightly. Eldor and Nyssa saw it as well.

 

‘Be ready for anything,’ Eldor warned.

 

No sooner had he said that when a moaning, gusting wind suddenly blew about the clearing. It whipped the forest treetops back and forth in a wild frenzy and then hideous howls split the air.

 

‘Morgs are here!’ Eldor exclaimed and striding to the fireplace, snatched up his staff. ‘Mogrom conjured this storm to hide their approach. We’ll have to fight, Nyssa!’

 

The elf nodded and hurried over to a wooden chest against one wall. She opened it and pulled out a bow and quiver of arrows. Meanwhile Eldor picked Jena and Dom off the table and carried them over to a bed.

 

‘You two hide yourselves under here and stay there,’  he said firmly as he put them down. ‘No matter what happens!’

 

Jena and Dom nodded and ran under the bed as the wizard opened the door and disappeared outside. Nyssa followed him as more terrible howls came out of the forest.

 

* * *

 

As Eldor strode out into the middle of the clearing, Nyssa stayed by the door and notched an arrow to her bow. She watched as Eldor raised his staff, its crystal glowing brightly.

 

More howls came out of the forest and then a dozen morgs burst from its shadows. They were huge creatures, covered in thick, dark fur and had glowing orange eyes. They had wide jaws full of glistening fangs and they bounded toward Eldor with vicious snarls.

 

The wizard swept his staff in a wide arc and out of the ground sprang thick tree roots. They began to snatch up the morgs and toss them howling back into the forest. But more and more came out of the forest, snarling in fury. There were so many that the roots couldn’t grab them all. Eldor was forced to use his staff as a club, battering at any that got close.

 

Nyssa meanwhile was using her bow from the door, arrows flying as she picked off the morgs. She was so intent on this that she didn’t see the large shadow falling silently out of the clouds above. It turned into a huge flock of ravens and they fell upon her with sharp beaks and claws.

 

Jena and Dom watched in horror as Nyssa was driven to the ground and Dom forgot about Eldor’s warning. With a cry he ran out from under the bed toward the door. He waved his arms in a desperate attempt to scare the birds away. But it was a gnome the ravens had come after and one broke away from the flock. It swooped through the door and in an instant had him grasped in its claws.

 

Jena cried out in anger at seeing her brother captured. She darted out from under the bed, her bracelet glowing brightly. She tried to think of something to stop the raven and a fierce wind suddenly tore about the room. It caught the raven holding Dom and whirled them about the room.

 

But Jena was in a panic and not acting calmly. The wind grew fiercer and began to snatch things up from the room… cups, saucers and plates flew into the air, some shattering against the walls.

 

Then Eldor’s rocking chair was sent hurtling into a wall and broke into several pieces. Part of a leg rolled into Jena and she was knocked stunned to the floor. Her bracelet winked out, the wind vanished and the raven flew out of the cottage with Dom.

 

At that the remaining morgs bounded back into the forest. Eldor turned in time to see the raven flying out of the cottage with one of the gnomes in its claws. It joined the others and they lifted back into the air.

 

Fear filled the wizard’s eyes… for if the raven had taken Jena then all was lost. But then he saw her run out of the cottage over to Nyssa lying on the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried over to them.

 

‘Eldor!’ Jena cried in horror. ‘A raven has taken Dom!’

 

‘I know, Jena,’ he replied as he helped the injured elf to her feet.

 

‘I couldn’t control the magic, Eldor,’ she exclaimed tearfully. ‘I just panicked.’

 

‘Don’t worry about it, Jena,’ he said reassuringly. ‘And don’t worry about Dom. We’ll rescue him, I promise!’