Chapter 33 - The Open

They tried to manhandle the fallen rock away from the entrance to the passageway. There was no room for them all to get a proper grip, so they left the work to Jimmy and Corben. The two boys pushed the rock back and forth, wiggling it like a loose tooth. It came free and fell across the space above the stream.

"There's a draught," Corben said. "That's a good sign, right?"

Oddy stepped forward. "It's a remarkably good sign. I can smell the sea. There must be a way out."

After congratulating themselves, they took a minute to organise. Lydia and Xander went ahead, leading them into the passageway. The height and width varied, but less so than before. Much of the time, they could walk two abreast. The tunnel had a general downward trend. In places, it was slippery. In others, broken stones and gravel littered the floor. This scree slid or rolled away under their feet. The going was difficult to downright treacherous. Walking demanded their full attention. Progress became a strain on their already fatigued bodies and minds. They barely spoke after their initial elation had faded. Except for the gravel crunching, they passed in silence.

Shona came up from behind and stepped between Lydia and Oddy.

"They need to rest, Lydia," she said, "and eat. But mostly rest."

Lydia looked at her. For hours, she had walked in a mute daze. All the swimming she had done had taken a toll on her.

"Yes," she agreed. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

They set up a kind of camp, sitting in rows down either side of a dry and level part of the passageway.

"Why didn't someone stop me before?" Lydia asked, swallowing a mouthful of chicken salad.

"Don't you get anything, babes?" asked Freddie. "We'd all follow you anywhere. We expect you to say what you need from us. Nobody wants to distract you from anything you have to do."

A murmur of agreement ran along the group. Lydia felt squeezed between a rising pride in her friends and the crushing weight of her responsibility for them.

"Wssht!" Christie hissed. "Can you hear something?"

All nine of the humans held their breath and listened. Xander wandered between them and loped on into the dark passageway ahead.

"It sounds like monks singing, chanting," Shona whispered.

"It's the sound of the wind," Oddy said. "At least we must be getting close."

"I can hear waves lapping, as well as the wind," said Lydia.

Xander returned.

"There are sea caves ahead," he announced. "They are a way off yet. But it means there's an exit."

"Have you been far, Xander?" Sophie asked.

"Far enough to get away from the racket you folk make. So quite a distance, aye."

"Well, I think we should all try to sleep before we move on," Lydia said. "It's only mid-evening by my watch, but it has been a hard day for us all. Even I might get some sleep."

The walk down to the sea caves was almost jolly. Most of them had slept well enough and their spirits were high. They chatted as they walked. Jimmy cracked jokes with Corben and Freddie. Sophie and Shona chattered with Christie to keep her from listening out for the chanting monks among the wind noises. Dev and Oddy discussed some abstruse aspects of facts and theories they had learned from Ambrose. Even Lydia and Xander reminisced about Xander's time as a chicken.

At length, they came to a point where they could not miss the sound of waves washing and slapping over the noise of their chatter.

"Can't be far now," Lydia announced. "I'm hoping we can escape into the open air without having to swim, but there's no guarantee."

"If there are tides here," Oddy said, "it should be easier to get out at low tide."

"There was a moon the other night," Corben pointed out. "So there should be tides."

"Not necessarily," Dev said. "There are no appreciable tides in our Mediterranean, or land-locked bodies of water."

"We'll just have to see," Lydia ruled. "Come on, you lot."

A short walk away, they came to a cave flooded with the smell of sea water and the sound of lapping waves. Their feet crunched on a beach of rounded pebbles. Their torchlight sparkled on the undulating water which filled the rest of the cave's floor.

"Turn off your torches for a moment," Oddy said.

In the resulting darkness, they could see a pale glow of daylight at the further end of the cave.

"There's our way out," said Oddy. "It looks like we will have to swim after all."

There was a collective groan, but Lydia's voice cut through it.

"We can wade," she said. "If we keep over to the right, it's shallow enough. We won't even get our feet wet if you've all got your boots on."

"I can change into mine," said Freddie.

He was wearing trainers or 'running away shoes' as he called them.

"I'll carry you, Xander," Sophie offered. "If that's all right with you?"

"It would be a good vantage point to look around for threats," he agreed, then added in a low voice, "and to avoid excessive floofiness, of course. Thank you, Sophie."

The team made its way along the shallow edge Lydia had detected. They reached the corner where they had seen the hint of daylight and came to a cave where sunlight, actual sunlight again, was visible in the distance. They turned off their torches. A fall of rocks provided stepping stones, allowing them to cross to the left side of this last cave. The sound of the sea was audible to them. They could hear rolling waves crashing against cliffs and gulls calling in the open air.

Their boots and their feet got wet because of the increasing swell of the waves, but trudging along another submerged ledge was better than swimming. Before long, they were approaching the opening to the sea. As the cave opened out, they had to scramble across spray-soaked rocks and around to the foot of towering cliffs, blinking in the sunlight.

"I was hoping there'd be a lovely beach where we could lie down for a while," Freddie complained.

"With an ice-cream van," Christie said.

"There's a jetty or something a few hundred metres across the rocks," Lydia informed them.

"Oh, just a few hundred metres," Jimmy echoed. "That should be a right easy stroll — across these boulders."

"I know, I know," Lydia said. "I guess nobody promised us this was going to be easy."

"Ha!" Jimmy laughed. "Well, it's not like I'm going to turn round and go home."

His friends chuckled at the thought. Even if they could get back to the gateway, they could never get out again. Their contract with the quest was irrevocable.

"Let's go then," Jimmy called to them all. "C'mon you slackers! Last one there buys the ice-creams."

As they clambered over an arm of rock jutting out from the cliffs into the sea, they saw a stretch of white sand and a wooden landing stage.

"There you go, Freddie," Jimmy said. "There is a beach, after all."

"Nee ice-cream van, like," Christie lamented, lapsing into her Geordie dialect.

The timbers of the jetty looked worn and well-seasoned. They appeared to have seen much sun and many a storm. It still seemed complete, as though it were in use and maintained. There was no ship or boat in view.

"The state of that dock is suggestive," Dev said to Lydia and Oddy in a low tone. "I would guess it is in regular use."

"And the fact we have arrived, almost been led, here makes me think we should wait for a boat to turn up," Oddy said.

"That's what I was thinking," Lydia agreed. "We'll pitch our tents on the shore."

The group set up camp further from the water's edge than that. As they had arrived at the beach, they had discovered the cliffs receded quite a way further inland. The land rose in dunes. A stream tumbled from the cliff in a small waterfall and cut through the dunes. It spilled out into the sea, where it formed a small delta in the sand. All were grateful for a supply of fresh water, and for the privacy the dunes provided for those needing a toilet.

They made their camp behind the first rank of the dunes. The dune largely hid the tents from the sea, but lookouts could watch the landing stage without going far from the camp.

The weather was balmy and bright, but not suited to sunbathing. They set a small fire to light for the evening, then ate lunch. After they had eaten, the Companions lay back and relaxed on the fine, dry sand. The rolling of the waves and the warmth of the breeze were soporific. It was a welcome opportunity for the students to recover from the oppressive darkness and trials of the caves.

As the afternoon faded into dusk, the group sat around the fire. They felt rested, and some of their energy returned. The conversation turned to the recent underground interlude.

"I hope Dean's all right," Shona said.

It was a hope they all shared.

"As I understand it," Oddy said, "Dean will have gone back to Ambrose in our world. If anyone can cure him of all those spider bites, it'd be Ambrose."

"Unless he's too busy," Lydia said.

"In which case," Oddy pointed out, "he, or any of the others — Harry or Stephano, or even the druids — can help him. They could take him to St Mungo's, if they needed. You really have a downer on Ambrose at the moment, don't you, Lydz?"

Lydia looked at him. Not only was Oddy speaking out, he was challenging her now. She liked the change in him. She gave a little laugh.

"OK, maybe I shouldn't," she admitted. "But I feel… aggrieved that he granted me all this power, then sent me somewhere I daren't use it AND where it's going to get weaker as we move on."

"Maybe," Freddie said, "he just made you magical, so you'd go to Hogwarts and find loads of brilliant people to do the job!"

"Or perhaps," Xander ventured from the comfort of Sophie's lap, "he sent you all with me to slow me down? That way, I wouldn't make all the humans look bad and hurt your little egos when I succeed."

"So, if you were here on your own, Xander," Corben quizzed him. "What would you be doing now?"

"Waiting for a boat," the cat replied. "But in luxurious silence."

"Er! Excuse me!" Sophie protested. "Who would give you a comfortable lap to lie in?"

"I might co-opt a local inhabitant," he said. "Or I would simply do without. A warm lap and someone to sleek my fur is all very pleasant, but I am a hardened warrior, after all."

"Right," said Jimmy. "I'm going to make you lot uncomfortable now. It has to be done, and Shona's too polite to force you."

"What are you talking about, Jimmy?" Corben asked.

"I'm talking about you lot discussing the stuff we've all been through."

Nobody moved.

"Look, we haven't said much about what happened in the caves yet," Jimmy complained. "Let alone all the weird crap on our little stroll from the portal to the gateway. I mean, seeing Verdi turn into that vampire thing freaked me the hell out. And that were the most normal bit of the whole show! Come on, let's start with the least freaky things that were still freaky."

"It was that sky for me," Christie ventured. "Black and moving about and all that red behind it. I was worried it was going to rain blood or fire down on us."

"You needn't have been concerned. All we got were vampires and dead blokes and sucking mud," Corben joked.

"And spiders!" Shona added. "Why do we keep running into spiders?"

"At least we could see the spiders in that valley thingy," Freddie said. "Those shadow ones in the caves were so creepy. How are you supposed to fight shadows?"

"What about the giant birds that tried to burn us alive?" asked Sophie.

"Ohmygod, yes!" Freddie agreed. "The terrorchickens. How random were they?"

"I couldn't believe one knocked over Hagrid," Christie said.

"Yes. That really shocked me," Shona said.

"Me too," Corben agreed. "If they could get Hagrid, how much of a chance did we have?"

"Stone giants," Dev added.

"Falling off a flying rock!" Jimmy reminded them.

"But do you realise what they all had in common?" Oddy asked.

They all looked at each other.

"We beat them all," he said.

"And we all survived," Jimmy said. "Though Dean was right lucky to go when he did."

"We were all lucky Lydia was with us," Oddy added. "With stone giants behind and dark wizards on either side, even the adults must have thought we were done for. Then Lydia just flicked them all over the horizon…"

"That was so awesome!" Freddie yipped. "Lydia was like 'meh' and the giants and that lot were like 'whee' and we were all 'woohoo'. Just awesome."

"Sheer poetry, Fredster," Jimmy laughed.

"At least you didn't get left behind that time, Freddie," Sophie said.

"What's that?" Corben asked, beating the others to it.

Sophie and Freddie, with some help from Lydia, then had to tell them about Lydia's kidnap and the events that followed.

While the students were still discussing all they had been through, Lydia went to sit beside Jimmy. She put some more wood on the fire, then sat back and rested her head on Jimmy's shoulder.

"Thanks, Jimmy," she murmured. "That was a good thing you did for them all."

Jimmy tilted his head to rest against hers

"Dev isn't joining in a whole lot," he noted. "But Oddy's opening up. That's encouraging — he worries too much. Maybe you could ask him to listen to Dev's concerns. Oddy's like a new person. It's a great thing you've done for him."

"What have I done?" she asked, raising her head from his shoulder.

"Loads. Trusted him, given him a role, appreciated his help. Then there's all the emotional side you've opened up for him."

Lydia sat in silence.

It was growing light as Xander wandered into the girls' tent. Lydia saw him silhouetted in the doorway, against the light on the sand outside.

"Awake?" Xander whispered.

Lydia shrugged. "Shona was dreaming and muttering in her sleep for a while."

"You have slept though?" he asked.

"Some."

He looked at her for a moment.

"Come with me," he murmured.

He rose and strolled back outside into the morning half-light.

Lydia joined him near the top of the dune on the seaward side of the tents, then lay down next to him.

"A sail," he told her.

She shuffled up to the brow of the dune, sending rivulets of sand sagging down behind her. She cast her eyes across the sea towards the horizon. Being the only one with better eyesight than Xander, she made out the sail with no problems. To any of the others, it would have been a mere speck hidden amongst the waves.

"Two masts," she said. "A ketch by the proportions of the sails."

"Now you're just showing off," Xander complained. "Though I admit to being quite proud to have you as my pet."

"Excuse me!" an indignant Lydia retorted.

"You are excused," Xander replied magnanimously.

"Hmm," Lydia growled. "It's a way off, even if it is coming here. I'll let the others sleep on for a while before we get ready to go."

"Oddy," Lydia whispered, her hand on his shoulder.

He stirred and rolled onto his back, peering up at her from his sleeping bag. He recognised her and smiled.

"There's, there's a boat coming towards us," she stammered. "Can you get the boys up, please, and get them to pack everything? Keep them down below the top of the dune. I'll put away the command tent. Oh, and good luck waking Freddie."

Freddie was still complaining about being 'ripped' from his dreams when they all gathered by the remains of the fire.

"You can get your own breakfast," Corben was saying to Jimmy. "You've got as much food in your pack as anyone else."

"Just be nice to have summat cooked for once," Jimmy explained. "We never know…"

"No time, Jimmy," Lydia ruled. "Right, everyone. There's a boat about to dock at our landing stage."

"Pier," Christie corrected.

"Jetty," Corben insisted.

"Focus, people!" Lydia snapped. "We don't know if it's someone coming to help us or someone coming to kill us. We need to be prepared. Wands and weapons out; everything else packed and ready to go."

"Fire?" asked Oddy.

"Bury it," Lydia said. "And cover our tracks as well as we can, in case we're being followed. I don't suppose we can make it look like we were never here without using magic, but we can try to obscure how many of us there are."

"Boat has arrived," Xander announced in a subdued voice. "One figure. It's tying up right now, so keep the noise down."

"Figure?" Lydia asked. "Human?"

"Hard to say," Xander mused. "Bipedal. At least two metres tall. Huge black cloak. Depends on your definition of 'human', I suppose. "I wouldn't call a jaguar a cat, but you lot might. And don't get me started on the whole gender thing. Two doesn't seem at all sufficient."

"I thought you were here to help?" Lydia grumbled. "I'll see for myself. Rest of you stay here. One little girl won't seem threatening."

"Unless they know you!" Freddie quipped.

Oddy hushed him. "Look, Lydia, it might be better if a couple of us went. One might look vulnerable enough to tempt him to attack. Two would make it more even and give him a reason to negotiate first."

"Thanks, Oddy," she said. "Nice to have someone helpful — and brave — on my side. You lot stay out of sight and keep quiet. Xander, keep lookout."