It's a lot to take in.
Cair Paravel is in ruins. All the signs point to it falling in some brutal siege. From the size of some of the trees now growing what was once the centre of the Great Hall, it happened centuries ago, but even after all the erosion over time, the catapault damage to the inner walls is still fiercely evident and virtually none of the outer walls are left at all. Yet the underground chambers appear to be almost completely undisturbed. Guided by the electric torch that Edmund brought with him, they've been able to explore the lower caverns and, amazingly, the chests in which they always kept their most precious possessions are still almost exactly as they had left them.
But to destroy the buildings on the surface so utterly and yet leave the subterranean parts untouched, it's clear that the enemy (whoever they were) never intended to take Cair Paravel as a prize. Their intention had been to destroy it. Edmund can't help but wonder how many defenders fell with it? How long ago?
Peter's right; they need to work out exactly how, when and why the four of them have been returned to Narnia. The time has come to search for the answers in earnest.
Armed with a sword that's really in remarkably good condition after all this time and wearing old clothes that hadn't fitted him for years when he left Narnia, Edmund accompanies his brother and sisters back down to the water's edge with an easy stride. It's funny how comfortable and how right it feels to be walking along the beach with a sword at his hip. The two lives he has led - or rather the two lives he is still living - are so very different. In one, negotiating international treaties was all in a day's work and he thought nothing of having a solid gold chess set, in the other, next week's algebra test is the biggest crisis on his horizon and he's ridiculously proud of his new electric torch. And yet it seems so easy to slip from one to the other. He's sure that this should all feel a lot stranger than it does.
Suddenly Susan races ahead of them, taking an arrow from her quiver, drawing back and letting it fly, all on the run. By the time he and the others have caught up with her, she has another arrow notched and aimed at two soldiers in a boat who appear to be holding a small captive. Edmund hears Peter draw his sword, even as his own clears its scabbard.
"Drop him!" Susan demands and unfortunately the soldiers in the boat take her a little too literally. The captive goes over the side with his hands and feet still apparently bound. He doesn't stand a chance.
Edmund and his brother immediately take off towards the water, even as another of Susan's arrows flies. It takes out one of the soldiers and the other wastes no time hanging around.
Peter waves a hand vaguely at Edmund and shouts "Boat!" just before they both dive into the water. The request is simple, clear and sensible. Peter obviously means to rescue the sinking captive himself, so Edmund strikes out towards the now drifting boat. A mooring line has fallen over the side, in easy reach from the water, and it's not much effort to pull the small boat into shore. Peter has already managed to get the rescued captive - a dwarf, it looks like - to the water's edge, as Edmund roughly tugs the bow of the boat onto the sand and goes to help his brother drag the small man to safety.
But when he's cut free, the dwarf responds with a burst of indignation rather than gratitude. He's scathing about Susan's previous instruction to "drop him" and points out that his captors needed no extra help in drowning him. Peter is not nearly as amused by that as Edmund (who thinks that the dwarf does have a point). Instead of introductions, they exchange a few sardonic barbs, but then (after delivering the shocking news that Telmarines have invaded Narnia) the dwarf seems to suddenly realise who the four of them are.
That doesn't mean he's at all impressed. "Oh, you got to be kidding me!"
Peter steps forward, offering his hand, "High King Peter." When he then adds, "The Magnificent," the dwarf looks at him askance and Susan tells him he probably could have left that last bit out. The dwarf sniggers and Edmund also has to fight down a smile (half-wishing he'd said that himself), but Peter does not seem to lose any composure at this affront to his dignity.
He is calm and matter of fact, as he draws his sword and says, "You might be surprised."
The dwarf's voice becomes low and dangerous. "You don't want to do that, boy."
"Not me, him." Peter offers the dwarf his own weapon and nods towards Edmund.
Momentary surprise gives way to a flash of pride. Even though Peter clearly still thinks that he has everything "sorted", he's trusting his younger brother to handle this one and Edmund grins as he raises his own blade to an en garde position. He then, of course, goes and lets his own overconfidence almost ruin it by letting his guard down when the dwarf fakes difficulty at handling Peter's sword.
Still grinning slightly, Edmund is looking towards his family, rather than his opponent, when the dwarf quickly hits him with an unexpected flurry of blows. One clout with the hilt lands on his face and he reels back, smarting both in terms of the physical pain and his injured pride. Annoyed with the dwarf, but even moreso with himself, he leaps nimbly over a low swipe at his legs and then counterattacks in a series of rapid strokes with cold, driving efficiency. One final twist disarms his opponent and the dwarf falls to his knees with an incoherent expletive.
They stare each other down for a split second. Edmund isn't going to be caught off guard again, even though the dwarf now seems almost dazed.
"I guess that horn must've worked after all."
"What horn?" Susan asks.
The dwarf becomes frankly incredulous. "What horn? I'd have though you, of all people, would know."
"My horn?" Susan guesses before she realises she hasn't actually introduced herself. "Oh, sorry, I'm Queen Susan."
The dwarf smirks. "The Gentle?" he asks half-jokingly, but not unkindly.
Susan seems a little embarrassed by the title, having been derisive of Peter announcing his a few minutes ago, but she's saved from replying by her younger sister jumping into the pause.
"And I'm Lucy. Can you tell us your name?"
The dwarf hesitates, clearly not one who gives his trust easily or quickly. "Trumpkin," he announces awkwardly.
Lucy beams brightly, probably in an attempt to dispel his unease. "Pleased to meet you, Mr Trumpkin."
"Oh, no." The dwarf looks even more disconcerted. "No, just Trumpkin will do." When Lucy frowns slightly at that, he adds "Please."
Peter interrupts, to bring them back to the main matter at hand. "You were saying something about Susan's horn?"
When Trumpkin looks at Peter now, it's clear that he's evaluating things in a completely different light. With only a slight hesitation, he tells them the story of a Telmarine boy fleeing through woods some distance from here, several nights ago.
"What he was carrying, well, it looked just like the Horn of Queen Susan, as it's always been described in the legends. I could hear other Telmarines coming towards us through the forest. Knew I had to get those bastards away from there. So, I told Nikkabrick and Trufflehunter to deal with the boy while I went to draw the Tellmarines off. Then I heard someone blowing a horn, just before the Telmarines pinned me down and began to bind and gag me."
"And then they just brought you here to drown you?" Lucy is incredulous, as she always has been at displays of wanton cruelty.
"No, they took me to their royal castle. You have to understand that we have been hiding from the Telmarines for generations. They thought we were extinct and so they brought me before their Lord Miraz and that's where I found out that the boy in the woods was his nephew, Caspian, who is the rightful heir to their Telmarine throne. Sounds like his uncle wants him dead. Kinship doesn't mean much to a man like that. Little wonder that the lad was fleeing to the woods in the dead of night, but how he got hold of Queen Susan's horn, I have no idea."
It's quite a tale and would seem to at least partially answer some of their questions. Edmund looks towards his brother. Peter meets his gaze and nods decisively, before turning back to Trumpkin.
"Sounds like we need to get to your friends and this Caspian chap. If Susan's horn is what brought us here, then that's where we should be heading."
He then abruptly turns and starts walking up the hill towards the ruins of Cair Paravel.
"Where are you going?" Susan calls after him.
Peter turns back briefly. "We'll need some basic supplies for the journey. And our friend here will need some weapons." He starts walking again, not even bothering to look back again, as he calls out. "Ed, make sure that boat is secured properly."
Edmund shares a look with his sisters before both girls shrug and wordlessly set off after Peter.
As he turns to check on the boat, Edmund notices that Trumpkin hasn't moved from where he's been sitting in sand. Edmund and his brother and sisters aren't the only ones who've had a lot to take in.
He smiles, as he offers the dwarf a hand up.
"By the way, you've probably already guessed, but I'm Edmund."