Brian Jacques - Redwall #21 - Doomwyte

Bisky explained, “I just kept repeatin’ the lines as we’d solved them. Then when you said Prince, it all fell into place!”

The big Cellarhog cautioned them both. “Now don’t ye go tellin’ ole Gullub that I solved the pincer word, or he’ll be gettin’ all in a tizzy with me, moles are funny creatures sometimes, y’know.”

Dwink released his hold on the dead bird. “I wish we had a mole with us now, I’ll wager he’d dig a hole for this villain quick enough.”

Umfry shook rainwater from his spikes. “We h’aint diggin’ a buryin’ ’ole, are we, Grandad?”

Corksnout shook his head so emphatically that his false nose wound up behind his ear. “We certainly ain’t! I’ll toss him in the ditch, wot the insects don’t get will be gone by tomorrow. This rain’ll flood the ditch an’ wash everythin’ away.” He tipped the saturated jumble of feathers that had once been a crow over the edge of the ditch. Marching away without a backward glance, Corksnout called to the young ones, “Best put a move on, or afternoon tea’ll be all gone.”

Umfry hurried to catch him up. “Er, why’s that?”

His grandfather was well versed in the habits of other beasts. “’Cos we got a hare to feed, have ye ever seen one o’ those lollop-pawed rascals scoffin’ vittles?” The three young friends confessed that they had not. Corksnout stepped up his pace. “Well ye’ve got a surprise in store!”

When they had gone, the dead crow stirred, but not of its own volition. Two other carrion crows that it had landed on top of emerged from the ditch, leaving their slain comrade. They were part of the mission to kidnap a Redwaller. Shaking mud from his plumage, the smaller of the two spoke fearfully.

“Kraaah, we cannot go back and tell Leader Veeku that his plan failed.”

The larger crow disagreed. “Yakkarr, we have more to report. Did you not hear the earthcrawlers tell how a Prince of Thieves stole the Eyes of the Doomwyte? They must be hidden inside the big stone house!”

The smaller bird blinked his quick, dark eyes. “Karray, you are right, brother, we will tell him this!”

A moment later they were two dark shapes, flapping off into the pounding rain.

Beyond the great cave, which contained the eyeless statue, lay another cavern. Not as large as the main chamber, but still of an impressive size. This was the inner sanctum of Korvus Skurr, and his serpent, Sicariss. The interior was silent, save for the constant dripping of water. Firefly lanterns and smouldering torches made it a place of sinister elongated shadows. The climate was more temperate—it was not suffused by green mists from a volcanic pool. However, it did boast its own expanse of water, deep, still and icy cold.

The raven tyrant perched on a rock, overlooking the subterranean lake. He stared down into its translucent depths, watching the pale, sightless fish and other small reptilian denizens which dwelt there.

The snake, coiled on Korvus’s head, stared unblinkingly at the long, sinuous bulk which was threading upward through the water. “Sssseeee, our Welzzz comesssss.”

Even the tyrant, Korvus Skurr, was cautious of the monster fish. He drew back slightly from the edge of the rock on which he was squatting.

The fish was truly an impressively hideous sight. It was a wels, that fearsome giant member of the catfish family. It halted, staring up at the bird and snake, its mighty length trailing down into the icy waters. Two wide-spaced eyes, twin black beads, ever on the watch for prey, loomed close to the surface. The wide, blubbery, blue-tinged lips, moving constantly, opening and closing, caused two long barbels on the upper jaw to move in concert with the four lesser ones beneath the lower lip. The monstrous fish stayed momentarily hanging there, its fins rotating slowly. Then it leapt clear of the pool arching as it sped back down. A pale, plump frog, which had strayed too close, vanished into the big fish’s jaws.

Korvus peered at the reflection of Sicariss in the pool. “Did Welzz speak again?”

The smoothsnake reared slightly, so that it was looking into the raven’s eyes. “He ssspoke asss alwayssss, of our ancessstorsss, Rigvar Sssskurr and Ssssumisssss!”

The raven’s voice was flat and harsh. “Ayakk! Are we forever to bear the guilt of the blinded Doomwyte? The dust of seasons and the mists of time have long blown away. Our fathers’ fathers could not even recall when Rigvar Skurr and Sumiss were alive, why should we?”

Sicariss adjusted her coils, tightening briefly around the head of her host. “Becausse they were the onessss who let the eyessss be sssstolen. It isss we who musssst get them back.”

With a quick, angry movement, the raven pecked one of the snake’s coils, which was close to his beak. This caused Sicariss to relax the pressure on Korvus’s head. She hissed soothingly, “We have done more than any other before usss. For do we not know the name of the thief who ssstole the eyesss? Prince Gonff, a mere earthcrawler.”

The raven tyrant groomed his breast plumage irately, shifting the snake’s grey-brown coils as he did. “Aye, a mousethief, thousands of seasons gone now. All we have is stories told by other young earthcrawlers in the Redstone house. Mayhaps more will come to light if Veeku’s crows capture the storyteller and bring him back here to us.”

Time inside the caverns was not marked by the passage of day or night. Korvus Skurr and Sicariss waited impassively, brooding over the still surface of the dark pool. It was some moments before Veeku, leader of the crows, called out from the small passage between the two caves, “Harrakk, my birds bring word from the Redstone house for the mighty Korvus!”

The raven hopped down to the pool’s edge. “Bring them here to me!”

An escort of rooks and choughs brought the two crows forward. Veeku took his place beside Korvus. “Mighty One, my birds did not capture the one who told stories, but they bring useful information.”

Sicariss hissed, “Let them ssspeak for themselvesss!”

The two crows prostrated themselves, with outspread wings, in front of Korvus. The larger of the two spoke. “Hakaaarr! Our brother captured a young one from the Redstone house, but he was slain by a strangebeast and flung into a ditch. There were many Redstone creatures there, we had to hide, or we would have been slain also. But we heard their words, O Mighty One.”

Korvus Skurr raked the stone floor with his fearsome talons. “Speak then, tell me what they said.”

The two crows relayed the solution of the puzzle, as best they could, speaking alternately.

“Bird has no rubies, snake no emeralds….”

“Where are the stones, hidden well by Prince of Thieves….”

They waited in silence, not daring to look up.

“You heard thosssse wordssssss?”

Veeku spoke for both his crows. “If that is what they said, then that is what they heard.”

Korvus lowered his head, allowing Sicariss to slither down onto the mossdamp stones. “See if they speak truly.”

The smoothsnake positioned herself in front of the larger crow. “Look into my eyesssss…look deeeeeeep!” The bird was compelled to obey. He stared in fascination at the two gold-rimmed, black-beaded reptilian eyes. The snake’s head moved back and forth as it intoned, “Deeeeeep…look deeeeeeep! All you have to fear isssss death itsssself…. Sssspeak to Sicarissssss!”

The carrion crow fell immediately under the snake’s spell. He spoke slowly in a dreamlike voice. “We were afraid for our lives…hid in the ditch. Those were the words I heard. I wanted to return…wanted to report words to Leader Veeku.”

The snake’s tongue flickered toward the other crow. “And thissss one, what did he want? Ssssspeak!”