A Wandering Heart
Part 6: Musical Interlude
by Kim McFarland
As the Minstrels walked the tunnels they played their instruments softly. Each one played for a while, then rested, except for Cantus; he played his pipe continuously. Somehow, he never seemed to tire.
Janken, walking with them, paid close attention to the Minstrels' music. It was soft, and meandered like the tunnels did. It made him think of a chain of thought, moving logically from one thing to the next, sometimes in unexpected ways. Who were they playing for? He did not want to ask; he did not want to interrupt the music with his voice. They must just be playing for themselves. After all, if a Minstrel couldn't enjoy music for its own sake, who could?
They moved slowly, so Janken got a good look at the caves they passed through. These were rougher than the ones he were used to, with a sandy finish to the rocks. The cave floor was coarse and gritty under his feet. They crossed many areas so dark that the only light came from their lanterns. There were a lot of things growing in the lighter caverns. He noticed a cluster of edible mushrooms, and gathered them.
After a time Cantus stopped playing and held up a hand. "Wait," he said softly.
The other minstrels lowered their instruments and stood still. They all had faraway expressions, their eyes unfocused. What were they doing? Oh, Janken, thought. What was Cantus always telling people to do? Janken listened to the sounds in the cave around them. He heard nothing in particular: distant animal noises, dripping water, and the wind moving through the tunnels.
After a minute Cantus nodded, satisfied, and they lifted their instruments and resumed their trek.
The tunnels darkened as they traveled farther and farther away from the colony. Murray had taken point, and Janken saw that they were all glancing around, mindful of their environment. Whenever they passed an intersecting tunnel or entered a large cave they stopped playing, and Murray or Brool looked in before they moved on.
They were halfway through a large gallery when Janken heard a low growl. It was barely noticeable over the music, but they heard it too, and stopped playing. It came again, and sounded closer.
Cantus stepped to the side of the group to face the sound. Urgently Murray told Janken, "Do what we do, and, no matter what, don't run away."
Murray was untying Cantus's bedroll from his pack. Brio already had hers in her hands. They heard the growl again, and it was definitely approaching. Anxiously Janken said, "Shouldn't we get away from that?"
"We can't. It can run faster than we can, and it knows these tunnels better than we do. Just keep cool," Murray told him.
Something burst out of the tunnel. In the moment that Janken could see it he got the impression of something with no eyes, too many legs, and a dagger-lined mouth as wide as a moss-clam. Cantus spread his arms. His long sleeves blocked Janken's view. At the same time, Murray and Brio raised the bedding, which they had unrolled, and flapped the fabric in front of themselves. All of the minstrels screamed together except for Reed, who played a shrill blast on her flute.
Bewildered, the beast skidded to a stop. It snarled at the Minstrels, then backed away. When it reached the tunnel mouth it turned and fled.
Eyes wide, Janken asked "What just happened?"
Cantus answered calmly, "That creature was hungry, and expected us to solve its problem. We convinced it that we would be more trouble than it was worth."
Rolling Cantus's bedding up again, Murray said, "We bluffed it. Look as big as possible and make a lot of noise, and it thinks that we're something bigger and meaner than it is."
"Oh," Janken said. He began to shiver from delayed shock. That thing would have eaten them if it could. If they hadn't fooled it, they'd be dead right now!
Murray said, "Calm down, kid. That doesn't happen a lot. Usually cave beasts just stay away from us."
"Why?" Janken asked.
Cantus turned back and raised his pipe, which he had still been holding when the creature had come. "This is a magic pipe. Playing it wards off most threats."
"Oh." That must be why they played their music as they traveled, Janken thought. He had wondered why they hadn't taken the opportunity to rest.
Cantus continued, "You must always listen. Listen to the voices of the caves and the creatures within. They will tell you whether the creatures are hunting, or protecting their homes, or simply frightened."
Brool, who rarely spoke, said, "If they're hunting and they come after us, we scare them off. If they're frightened or angry or just not interested in us, we go around them."
"I understand," Janken said. He was still shaky, but the Minstrels were all calm, so this must be normal for them, he told himself. Thankfully, it had all happened so quickly that he hadn't had time to lose his nerve. He'd have looked like a fool in front of Cantus. If he survived.
Within minutes the bedding was packed up again, and they moved on.
When the group came to a small, open cave the stopped and set down their packs. The cave floor was clean and the dish-shaped pile of rocks in the center was obviously a fire pit. Janken could smell a fresh, running stream nearby. He said, "Give me your canteens and I'll get some water."
"Thanks, kid," Murray said as he took out a metal bottle. The others gave Janken their canteens—no two alike, he noticed—and Janken went off to find the water he sensed. It would have been easier if he could have heard the running water, but his ears were still buzzing from the shriek of Reed's flute.
He found the water, a thin stream flowing down a wall. It wasn't quite a waterfall, he thought as he held bottles underneath it; more a vertical stream. And, he noticed, there were edible plants growing around it. He thought, Why not?
After he filled all the bottles he took off his sweater. He found young, tightly-curled ferns and savory mushrooms and even a duganberry bush. He gathered everything that was edible, leaving the rest of the plants unharmed so they would regrow quickly, and made a bundle of it in his sweater.
When he returned to the cave, they Minstrels had already set up their beds and those who had pup tents had put them up. A fire was burning in the pit. Janken handed the full canteens back to their owners, then said, "I found some things to eat."
"Nice," Murray remarked, looking at the edibles. "We can't gather along the way because our hands are busy."
"Yeah, I figured." As Janken spitted the mushrooms three to a stick, the Minstrels took the ferns, berries, and other edibles and began eating. Except, Janken noticed, for Brool and Reed. They ate from their own supplies. Janken was not surprised. He had never known Doozers to eat anything but food pellets, whatever those were—they looked like seeds to him—and Brool had carnivore teeth. He held the handful of sticks over the fire to roast the mushrooms, then passed them around as well.
The group ate, supplementing the fresh food with bread and other edibles from their packs. Afterward they picked up their instruments and, to Janken's surprised, traded them. Cantus handed his pipe to Murray, and Murray gave his guitar to Brio. Brio passed her cymbals to Brool, who gave his guitar to Balsam. Cantus accepted Balsam's bongo drums.
They began playing, and the music sounded strange. But, Janken realized, strange only in comparison to their usual music. With Murray leading the tune, it sounded... Janken knew that there must be some eloquent way to describe it, but he did not know enough about music to call it anything better than "different." He sat quietly and listened, thinking that it was a privilege to witness something that perhaps nobody outside their troupe had heard.
He noticed their expressions. Brio was concentrating; she seemed less comfortable on the guitar than she was with her cymbals, though to Janken's ear she still sounded very good. Brool and Balsam's faces were hard to read; Brool's was mostly covered by thick fur and Balsam's face was stiff and leathery. Murray and Cantus were both smiling, enjoying themselves. Cantus closed his eyes; he did not need to see the others, only to hear them.
When they stopped Murray grinned at Janken. "Surprised?"
"Yes," Janken admitted. "I didn't know you played other instruments."
"To play as one, you must understand the whole," Cantus said.
Reed said, "We Doozers call it cross training. If the whole work team knows every job, then they can build together that much better."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Janken said.
"Although I'm a little handicapped in that department..."
"Can only play your flute, huh?"
"Well, that and the Magic Horn."
Janken looked at her. She didn't seem to be joking. Murray held the horn so the mouthpieces were close to Reed. She chose one—her mouth was too small for both—and blew. Though nobody was fingering the horn, it played a short, lively tune.
When it finished Reed said, "That's my song. The Magic Horn can play anyone's song. Why don't you try it?"
Janken remembered a story that his parents had told him. "Only if you already know your song, though?"
"Yes. The horn can only play music you already know." Cantus said.
"Then it wouldn't work for me. I don't know my song," Janken said, and looked away.
"You don't? I thought all Fraggles did." Reed said, surprised. Seeing Janken's expression, she said, "Aw, I'm sorry. You'll find it."
"I hope so. Maybe I'll find it while traveling with you."
"That's the spirit," Murray said. "Say, you brought your ocarina, didn't you? Why don't you sit in with us?"
"Thanks, but I'm not in your league."
Cantus said, "Few are, but what of it? Music is not only to be listened to, it is to be made. Music played in joy is worth listening to."
The Minstrels began playing again. Janken took his ocarina out of his backpack, but could not bring himself to play it that evening.
Fraggle Rock and all characters except Janken and Reed are copyright © The Jim Henson Company. All copyrighted properties are used without permission but with much respect and affection. Janken, Reed, and the overall story are copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9 at aol dot com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.