Chapter XV
(So, so sorry about the age of a wait. Had a lot of coursework and severe bout of laziness, plus I was part of a play! *breathes*)
The companions huddled closer together during the uneasy silence that passed between the two parties. A few of the mounted goblins muttered to each other as though there were some disagreement as to their orders. Their steeds, two-legged reptiles with unkempt tufts of hair between horse-like ears, pawed the ground with their claws and sniffed themselves.
Lynden glanced sideways at Sarah, unbeknownst to the guards or Sarah for that matter - having no pupils could really get annoying. She resorted to tapping a wet foot on the floor to catch her notice.
The human looked back at her and mouthed, "Do you have a plan?"
"Trust me..." came a hissing reply, which shortly transformed into a scream.
The water girl dropped to the ground, shrieking like a stuck swine and writhing upon the flagstones. Every eye stared at her, horrified. Her ghastly wailing continued for what seemed like an age until something even stranger began to happen.
Lynden's human features faded into a smooth puddle, her screaming becoming a muffled, rippling echo. Then the pool of water started to divide at the middle to form two equal puddles. It continued to separate until there were ten circles of water laid out on the stone. To the watchers' amazement they sprang up into smaller versions of the liquid girl herself.
The goblin guards regarded the Lyndens with uncertainty, some sniggering or scoffing amidst the gasps and confused grunts. Lizards became unsettled, shifting from foot to foot in agitation. All at once, the water children bellowed a war cry and charged at the front line of goblins. At the last moment, they dove to the ground and passed beneath the lizard creatures' feet causing them to slip and slide all over the place. Seeing that the formation was broken, though it had been dishevelled to start with, Sarah clambered onto Ludo's back and nodded at Pterelas. The beast and the dragon charged through the remainder of the rabble and careered along the crooked streets of the city.
Ludo swiped out at lingering livestock as he ran on all fours, bumping into the sides of ratty cottages, avoiding showers of household junk from the upper windows and stumbling upon the cobbles. Sarah kept one arm hooked about his great neck and snatched a spear from a confused guard who had just stepped out from his home. As they ground to a halt in the clearing outside the castle gates, Sarah hailed Lynden. Having rejoined into the one girl, she was back to her normal height.
The water girl smiled.
"Lynden, that was incredible..." Sarah said, shaking her head in admiration. "Did it hurt?"
"Nah," her friend answered. "Just thought the noise would confuse them. The only thing that bothered me was the thought that I might not co-operate with myself." She grinned.
Their moment of congratulating was interrupted with a sudden boom.
"Look out!" Pterelas roared.
The others ducked as the rock dragon's tail swished out to counter the flight of a rather peculiar missile. It ricocheted with an anguished shriek and embedded into the castle wall. The companions whirled to see a firing squad of goblins already hastening to reload a squat, copper machine supported on a wheelbase. Three separate regiments of goblins appeared from every side, leaving the only alternative to enter the gates.
Sarah ran to the doors, stopping at a voice overhead.
"Wait, Sarah!" the Goblin King called from the tower. He held Sir Didymus out of the window by the scruff of his neck. "You don't want to do something foolish."
The whole courtyard remained silent and still as all eyes stared up at the struggling creature that dangled precariously above them. A gasp rippled through the crowd, seeing Didymus latch around the arm of his captor and sink his teeth into the fabric of the gloved hand. Jareth snarled in pain, releasing on instinct. A vast shadow fell across the onlookers and swooped beneath the tower in time to collect the plummeting fox.
Pterelas reeled; his awesome wings splayed out, and circled the tower with Sir Didymus astride his granite shoulder blades. He buffeted the side of the turret with his tail, forcing the Goblin King to grip the edges of the window as the tower shuddered about him.
"Still alive, Pterelas?" Jareth roared. "I would've thought you'd worn away by now."
The tower rocked again under the dragon's onslaught.
"There's life in me yet, boy. It was working for you that made me old before my time!"
Sarah watched in horror, stone chippings raining into the courtyard. Remembering her mission, she strained open the castle doors, immediately attracting the attention of the previously distracted guards.
"Charge!"
The goblins surged forwards, meeting with the flat surface of the gate, having failed to stop the grounded companions from getting inside. They battered at the doors but they were held fast by Ludo on the other side.
Pterelas ceased his attack on the tower and dove for the army trapped outside their own castle, knocking several nipper sticks out of metal gauntlets, which resulted in a myriad of agonised cries.
"Good sir, didst thou say that you worked for yon fiend?" Sir Didymus shouted towards the dragon's head.
"Regrettably, yes," came the bellowing reply. "We were once even friends."
Didymus' one eye widened.
"Well, I never! I hope thou dost not mind if I dost think it utter codswallop?"
"Not at all, sir knight, but were you not yourself employed by this 'fiend' to defend the bog bridge?"
"Ah," said Sir Didymus. "A valid point, sir."
(So, so sorry about the age of a wait. Had a lot of coursework and severe bout of laziness, plus I was part of a play! *breathes*)
The companions huddled closer together during the uneasy silence that passed between the two parties. A few of the mounted goblins muttered to each other as though there were some disagreement as to their orders. Their steeds, two-legged reptiles with unkempt tufts of hair between horse-like ears, pawed the ground with their claws and sniffed themselves.
Lynden glanced sideways at Sarah, unbeknownst to the guards or Sarah for that matter - having no pupils could really get annoying. She resorted to tapping a wet foot on the floor to catch her notice.
The human looked back at her and mouthed, "Do you have a plan?"
"Trust me..." came a hissing reply, which shortly transformed into a scream.
The water girl dropped to the ground, shrieking like a stuck swine and writhing upon the flagstones. Every eye stared at her, horrified. Her ghastly wailing continued for what seemed like an age until something even stranger began to happen.
Lynden's human features faded into a smooth puddle, her screaming becoming a muffled, rippling echo. Then the pool of water started to divide at the middle to form two equal puddles. It continued to separate until there were ten circles of water laid out on the stone. To the watchers' amazement they sprang up into smaller versions of the liquid girl herself.
The goblin guards regarded the Lyndens with uncertainty, some sniggering or scoffing amidst the gasps and confused grunts. Lizards became unsettled, shifting from foot to foot in agitation. All at once, the water children bellowed a war cry and charged at the front line of goblins. At the last moment, they dove to the ground and passed beneath the lizard creatures' feet causing them to slip and slide all over the place. Seeing that the formation was broken, though it had been dishevelled to start with, Sarah clambered onto Ludo's back and nodded at Pterelas. The beast and the dragon charged through the remainder of the rabble and careered along the crooked streets of the city.
Ludo swiped out at lingering livestock as he ran on all fours, bumping into the sides of ratty cottages, avoiding showers of household junk from the upper windows and stumbling upon the cobbles. Sarah kept one arm hooked about his great neck and snatched a spear from a confused guard who had just stepped out from his home. As they ground to a halt in the clearing outside the castle gates, Sarah hailed Lynden. Having rejoined into the one girl, she was back to her normal height.
The water girl smiled.
"Lynden, that was incredible..." Sarah said, shaking her head in admiration. "Did it hurt?"
"Nah," her friend answered. "Just thought the noise would confuse them. The only thing that bothered me was the thought that I might not co-operate with myself." She grinned.
Their moment of congratulating was interrupted with a sudden boom.
"Look out!" Pterelas roared.
The others ducked as the rock dragon's tail swished out to counter the flight of a rather peculiar missile. It ricocheted with an anguished shriek and embedded into the castle wall. The companions whirled to see a firing squad of goblins already hastening to reload a squat, copper machine supported on a wheelbase. Three separate regiments of goblins appeared from every side, leaving the only alternative to enter the gates.
Sarah ran to the doors, stopping at a voice overhead.
"Wait, Sarah!" the Goblin King called from the tower. He held Sir Didymus out of the window by the scruff of his neck. "You don't want to do something foolish."
The whole courtyard remained silent and still as all eyes stared up at the struggling creature that dangled precariously above them. A gasp rippled through the crowd, seeing Didymus latch around the arm of his captor and sink his teeth into the fabric of the gloved hand. Jareth snarled in pain, releasing on instinct. A vast shadow fell across the onlookers and swooped beneath the tower in time to collect the plummeting fox.
Pterelas reeled; his awesome wings splayed out, and circled the tower with Sir Didymus astride his granite shoulder blades. He buffeted the side of the turret with his tail, forcing the Goblin King to grip the edges of the window as the tower shuddered about him.
"Still alive, Pterelas?" Jareth roared. "I would've thought you'd worn away by now."
The tower rocked again under the dragon's onslaught.
"There's life in me yet, boy. It was working for you that made me old before my time!"
Sarah watched in horror, stone chippings raining into the courtyard. Remembering her mission, she strained open the castle doors, immediately attracting the attention of the previously distracted guards.
"Charge!"
The goblins surged forwards, meeting with the flat surface of the gate, having failed to stop the grounded companions from getting inside. They battered at the doors but they were held fast by Ludo on the other side.
Pterelas ceased his attack on the tower and dove for the army trapped outside their own castle, knocking several nipper sticks out of metal gauntlets, which resulted in a myriad of agonised cries.
"Good sir, didst thou say that you worked for yon fiend?" Sir Didymus shouted towards the dragon's head.
"Regrettably, yes," came the bellowing reply. "We were once even friends."
Didymus' one eye widened.
"Well, I never! I hope thou dost not mind if I dost think it utter codswallop?"
"Not at all, sir knight, but were you not yourself employed by this 'fiend' to defend the bog bridge?"
"Ah," said Sir Didymus. "A valid point, sir."