The Fraggle From Outer Space
Chapter 10
The night was still and quiet. Everyone had gone to sleep, and the Rock was calm and peaceful. The light in the Great Hall was dimmed due to the lack of music, as was normal this time of night, so close to morning.
There wasn't a single creature in the area that wasn't fast asleep, that is until a peculiar sound resonated through the caves into the Great Hall. It was the musical sound of a strange and magical flutelike instrument.
The fraggles stirred from their sleep and awoke to this strange sound. It was a sound they were all familiar with. All except for Goldie, of course. Confused by the strange new sound, she stood from her bed and peeked out her doorway. She saw that the other fraggles had wandered out and began to follow the sound towards the Great Hall.
Then she noticed Mokey and Red emerging from their room, seemingly excited about what was happening.
"What's going on?" Goldie asked. "Where's that music coming from?"
"It's Cantus!" Mokey answered, "Cantus has come back!"
"Cantus? Who's Cantus?"
"You'll see," Red answered as she grabbed Goldie's hand and started dragging her off, "Come on."
As they got closer to the Great Hall, the music became clearer. The strange flutelike instrument was accompanied by a handful of other instruments. And the fraggles all sang to it as they walked.
(Fraggles)
They come from the hills,
And they come from the valleys and the plains.
They struggled in the cold,
In the heat, and the snow, and in the rain.
Come to hear them play.
Play our cares away.
We're all following a strange melody.
We're all summoned by a tune.
We're following the piper.
And we dance beneath the moon.
(Cantus plays a quick solo on his pipe)
(Fraggles)
We're following the piper,
And we dance beneath the moon for him.
And we dance beneath the moon.
They come from the south,
From the east, and the north, and from the west.
They play for the Rock,
And they play because they are on a quest.
Come to hear him play.
Play our cares away.
We're all following a strange melody.
We're all summoned by a tune.
We're following the piper,
And we dance beneath the moon.
The fraggles gathered in the Great Hall as a tall and lanky orange fraggle of magenta hair and goatee, wearing loose lavender robes and a pink sash, marched in playing a strange pipe that resembled two hollow branches wrapped around each other, one green, one purple. He was followed closely by a small group of other creatures, all of whom had their own instrument to play in his band, though none as magical as his pipe.
They were the Minstrels, and Cantus was their leader. The fraggles danced and sang as they continued to play.
(Fraggles)
We're following the piper
And we dance beneath the moon for him
And we dance beneath the moon.
Cantus played a last little tune to finally bring the song to its close.
He took the pipe from his lips and waved to the gathered fraggles.
"Hail, Fraggles!" he greeted.
"Hail, Cantus!" Wembley greeted and waved back, and everyone else did the same.
"Again we'd gone, and again we've come," he continued, "Ever on our quest to unite the Rock with music."
"Play us a song, Cantus!" Red bounced up.
The other fraggles chattered in agreement.
Cantus raised a finger to them.
"Patience, Fraggles," he said, "The time for music will come when it is time for the music to come. No sooner, and no later."
"So, what brings you to our part of the Rock, Cantus?" Mokey asked.
He looked at Mokey for a moment, and then he looked into the crowd, pointing right at Goldie.
"You."
Confused, Goldie looked around her in every direction before looking back at Cantus, whose gaze was fixated on her.
"Me, sir?" she replied, pointing to herself.
"Yes, you."
He then motioned his hand to have her come closer. Slowly, she made her way through the crowd and stopped right in front of Cantus.
"What is your name?"
"Uh... Goldie."
"Goldie, you came here from Outer Space, did you not? And quite recently, I might add."
"Uh, yes, I did. How'd you know?"
"Walk with me, and we will talk."
He turned around and calmly walked away. Goldie hesitated for a moment, wondering what the deal was with this old hippie fraggle and what he could've possibly wanted with her. Slowly, she followed him away. The other minstrels stayed where they sat while they and the other fraggles watched the two leave.
"What's going on?" Red asked the band's guitarist.
"Beats me. He didn't say a word to us the whole way here."
"Hmm..."
Goldie was starting to get nervous. Just who was this Cantus guy, anyway?
He walked in front of her, tall and lofty like a willow in the wind.
"So um..." Goldie said to break the silence, "Where are we going?"
"Where we are going is not as important as where we will be when this is done."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"It is," he answered and then paused for a moment to turn to her, holding his pointer finger upwards. "And it isn't."
Goldie stared at him for a moment.
"I don't follow."
"Following isn't necessary."
He turned back around and continued walking. Goldie blinked a few times and then continued following.
"Do you ever give a straight answer to anything?"
"The answers I provide to you are all you'll need to know."
The conversation was beginning to drive Goldie crazy. She let out a sigh of exasperation right before noticing how far they've gone from the Great Hall.
"You brought me out here so we could talk, right?"
"That is correct."
"What about?"
"About your problem."
"Problem? What problem?"
He stopped walking and turned to face her. He then pointed upwards to the cave ceiling.
"What?" Goldie asked, looking up where he was pointing.
She was surprised as a big drop of water landed right on her nose. She wiped it off and moved aside just as another drop landed in the puddle below.
"Okay, dripping water. You're saying I have some kind of water problem?"
"Do not assume. Listen. The Rock has many voices, and I hear all of them. All voices are joined together by one rhythm. A rhythm you seem to have trouble finding. I came to help you find it."
"Wait. Find... what? What rhythm? What are you talking about?"
"When you first arrived, you sang a song you could not control."
Goldie felt a lump in her throat when he said that. She swallowed hard, trying to figure out how he could've known that, especially since she was certain no one was around when it happened. She'd never mentioned this problem to anyone. How the heck did he know about it?
"I can see by your expression that I am not wrong. Let us begin."
"Begin? Begin what? What is this? What's going on? Just who are you anyway? How do you know all this? Why can't I control my singing? How am I supposed to fix this? Just wha--?"
He held his hand up to halt her questions, and then pointed to his ear.
"Listen."
She tilted her head and listened. After a moment, she shook her head.
"All I hear is the dripping water."
"You hear, but you do not listen."
"Well, what am I supposed to be listening for?"
"If you will listen, you will know."
"That doesn't really help me."
"Listening is the first step, as it is also the last step. Once you can do this, you will understand."
"But I don't even know what I'm supposed to be listening to!"
"If you will listen, you will know."
She glared at him for a long moment, her lips contorted into an exasperated sneer.
"Are you ON something?!"
Cantus stared back at her, never changing his calm expression. He took a deep breath and shook his head as he let out a sigh.
"I can see that right now is not a good time for you. We will try again tonight when you've had some time to regain your composure, without which you will not be able to listen. And if you cannot listen, you will not know."
"Know what?! This is just getting more and more confusing!"
He said nothing as he walked past Goldie back through the tunnel from which they came, back towards the Great Hall. Goldie just blinked as she watched him leave, being left more confused than when they got there.
"Speak of this to no one," he said finally. "I will see you again tonight."
"Oh, come on!" She yelled. "You've gotta give me more to work with here! Cantus!"
Without another word, he was gone. Goldie looked up at the stalactites from which the drops of water were coming from.
"What does he mean by listening?" she asked quietly to herself. "I don't get it."
She hung her head in thought as she started walking through the tunnel. Only instead of going back to the Great Hall, she turned for home. She didn't want to see anybody else at the moment, or even for the rest of the day. She needed time to think about what little information Cantus had told her, and perhaps try to figure out his cryptic suggestions.
It was obvious to Goldie that this was going to turn out to be a very long day.
Song Credits:
- The Piper—by Abba, shortened and some lyrics altered