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Mc Inty's Goats
Chapter 1
The Great Elm and a Good Friend
M
c Inty woke up in his little bed, high up, inside a hollow in a Great Elm Tree where he lived. A young leprechaun, he was only, one thousand years old. He looked around his little home. The light flooded into the hollow of the tree, through a recently installed skylight, of which he was most proud. His bed was at the end of a very skinny wooden ladder that was at least 94 meters tall. It was his favourite place, comfortably snuggled into the tree's warm wooden walls.
Below him, at the end of the long ladder, there was a very comfortable chamber. The gnarls of the Elms roots made for most interesting furniture. The roots of the tree grew into the center of the chamber, and curled around to make two large armchairs and a smooth place for a tabletop. The chamber opened out into another, with a large clay fireplace. Comfortable cushions were everywhere. The light from the amber lamps flickered, and danced around the room, creating moving shadows on the wooden wall crevices. Mc Inty had lived here for as long as he could remember, deep within the earth's forest. He had lots of friends in the forest, and because the Great Elm was such a cosy place he would receive lots of visitors. The leprechaun was not so happy that morning when he woke.
Mc Inty was very worried indeed. In fact he was sick with worry. His oldest and best friend had bid him a hurried farewell the night before! His friend Nettle was a beautiful, silver white goat, with long slender legs and clear bright blue eyes.
The night before that morning, Nettle had frantically knocked on Mc Inty's door. The door opened bringing in the storm from outside and drenching Mc Inty in the process. Nettle, the goat came rushing in. Knocking Mc Inty to the ground. Mc Inty's red beard blew in the wind. His green hat blew into the large clay fireplace and went up in smoke! He hopped up immediately, on his skinny legs and was quite understandably annoyed with Nettle.
Mc Inty looked through his bushy eyebrows. � What is going on Nettle?� Nettle stood in front of the fireplace. Blocking out the heat on a particularly cold and windy night. Mc Inty struggled with all his might to close the door against the night�s gale. He just managed to stand panting and leaning against the door. � Well what is it�? He grumbled.
Nettle settled herself on the big thick soft woven rug in front of the fire. � Come here Mc Inty we have to talk�.
� Well go on then and don't eat the rug�. Mc Inty was worried as goats have a tendency to eat things and not feel a bit guilty about it. Nettle ignored his comment.
�This storm has lasted three days. You have to know, Mc Inty, that you are in grave danger�. Nettle looked at Mc Inty with sorrowful eyes. Mc Inty sat into one of his comfy armchairs, lamenting the loss of his hat! �This storm has brought with it, whisperings in its winds. You and the Fairy people are in serious trouble�. Nettle looked into the blazing fire, as if it held the answers in its flames. � Do not leave the Great Elm tonight. I will find out as much as I can�. Nettle stood up tall beautiful, dry now from the fire. She glowed in the dimly lit chamber, her eyes and her head a little lower than normal. �If you have to leave for any reason, wait until daybreak�.
The night was dark and the storm raged outside. As Nettle stood she thought about how much, she knew and how much she would have to tell Mc Inty of the dangers that lay ahead. She sat down again, most uncomfortable with the information that she had in her head. It was important that she speak clearly to him now, so that he understood the scale of what was happening. Mc Inty was getting frustrated with her restlessness. � Well�. Mc Inty said: �out with it!� He was getting nervous. Nettle settled on the rug again.
�Mc Inty, I have mentioned whisperings in the winds, of danger and darkness. These have come from the stone orbs, which float in the winds and listen. These orbs are neither good nor bad. They are soulless creatures, which have never made up their minds about anything. You can be sure though, that they know, all there is to know, about most things. They have no courage and no backbone and they live in a scary empty place, a stone circle. This place is to be avoided at all costs. This dreadful place lies near the entrance to the new forest. It is said, that it is all consuming and can squeeze even a pure heart dry. None the less, we goats have strong ears for such creatures.
�There is also news from the City. From deep within its dungeons, greed and darkness grow. A rich, shadow of a man, is getting richer. He is not satisfied with all he has. He intends to find and plunder the Fairy Kingdom. For many thousands of years, men believed that the fairy people, and the Fairy Kingdom were a myth. This man has done so many deals with darkness, that he knows of the existence of the Fairy Kingdom. He intends to prove it and destroy the Kingdom, as we know it. He is called the Sleath. He has one problem, he cannot see or hear fairies. He has one advantage. He knows that leprechauns can!
�The Sleath, has taken into his confidence, the Banshee; a bitter and twisted old woman who lives in a cottage, deep within the forest. She surrounds herself with ugliness and has lost and forgotten the good ways of the world. There is much more for me too tell. But the telling would be too soon�. Nettle looked nervous as she stood up to leave.
Mc Inty was aghast! What was a young leprechaun to do? So much information so little time. � Do the fairies know this?� he gasped.
�I do not know that Mc Inty. I am a Goat, my magical powers are limited, all I know is, that great danger lies ahead�. She got up from the soft rug and made her way gracefully to the front door. Mc Inty, shut the door with difficulty. Using all his body weight to push it shut against the stubborn storm. Nettle was a strange friend, but then goats are strange anyway. They were always hungry and always talking about everything. In fact Mc Inty knew that Nettle knew a lot about the world. Nettle had disappeared very quickly once she was outside Mc Inty's door, braving the storm.
Nettle knew that she had no time to lose. Her silver white hair was blowing in the wind and shining in the wash of the moonlight. The leprechauns and fairy people were in danger of becoming extinct, or captured to live a life in slavery.
Nettle faced north and let the wind carry her to a very dark place. She flew in the direction of the high mountains. She had sent the word to tell all the goats of the land to meet her in the clearing above the forest. Not many creatures or things knew that Nettle could fly. An American Eagle, in return for a favour, the details of which had been lost in time, had given her the gift of flight. Nettle only flew when she had to. That was in cases of extreme emergency! She flew to the centre of the forest and landed in a clearing. The wind and the rain battled against her every move.
Most of the goats grumbled, but that's what goats did anyway. �Why are we here�, some of them cried. �There must be a threat to us, we haven't had a meeting like this for 300 years�. Thorn, who had been a friend of Nettles since they were 100, was nearly all black he was tall and broad for a goat. He looked a bit grumpy and was a bit grumpy most of the time. He loved Nettle and would walk through burning fires for her. �SHHHhh�!! He growled at the rest of them. �Nettle needs help with something and we are here to listen, and see what we can do�.
The moon shone down on the clearing, revealing 272 goats all standing, chewing and talking in low muffled voices. Thorn stood in the centre, his grumpy face melting when he saw Nettle walking towards him in the centre of the clearing. They gave each other a friendly nuzzle. Even though Thorn thought that Nettle looked beautiful, he could not help thinking that she looked very tired and worried.
Nettle stood up on a high stone in the middle of the clearing and spoke in a low voice. So low in fact that all the goats had to be very silent to hear her. �Thorn, I want you to guard this secret clearing, I have heard in the whisperings in the winds that Mc Inty, and all the fairy people, are in serious danger from the dark forces beyond the forest.
�The orbs have told me it might be the end of the fairy people. A long time ago when things were utterly different, they were driven into the grasses, underground tunnels and trunks of large old trees and have managed to live as secret friends of the earth. Now they face a new danger and this might be the end of them forever. We need to spread across the forests and mountains and listen to the orbs and the trees for the whisperings of the dark forces. Thorn will stay here in our secret clearing and gather all the news. Then we must make a plan to save our old friends. Remember the beginning and how they helped us�.
Nettle looked up at the gathering of goats as they all started to talk to one another in astonishment. They filed out of the clearing one by one and spread out in all directions towards the deep forest and steep, blue mountains.
Nettle jumped off the stone in the secret clearing and sat down beside Thorn. �We will give all the help we can give, my old friend.� That was the last thing that Nettle heard that night before she went to sleep beside the old billygoat.
Back down in the deep forest, deep in the trunk of the large elm tree, Mc Inty sat by his big crackling fire. He was puzzled and worried, he would not go anywhere tonight in that storm. He pulled his pipe out of his pocket and thought that he would venture out in the morning and visit Dandelion, the Fairy Princess. He looked down at the rug in front of the fire and noticed that another friend, a small fluffy caterpillar, lay stretched asleep. He woke her up and told her that he would be leaving very early in the morning and to mind the Old Elm. Molly, the caterpillar, had no problem with that, and went straight back to sleep: delighted to be safe and warm, out of the wild storm.
Chapter 2
The Sleath and the Banshee
T
he Sleath was a shadow of a man. He was once tall and splendid looking. Years had taken their toll. He stood skinny bent and twisted. His grey eyes never ever fixed on any one thing. Mostly his eyes stared at the ground or at his own fingers when he was counting his money. That morning he licked his lips in anticipation of more riches. He could smell his new wealth. He knew himself that he would have to put a master plan together. Oh what a master plan that would be!
The Sleath lived in the biggest castle in Castletown as he was the richest man in the City. This was a cold dark and dank place. It was a large rambling old grey building. Room after room had no furniture. There were hard cold, stone floors and stairwells that led to nowhere in particular. Narrow windows let in very little light. Only the Sleath, and a few lazy bats lived in this place.
The Sleath preferred to dwell in the dungeons beneath his enormous castle. That way he could ignore the world as it passed by and go on with the very important job of becoming richer. He had, for years, scooped out tunnels underground, that secretly led to other peoples� homes. In the dead of night he would travel through these narrow passageways and slip into good peoples� homes, steal their money and leave without a trace. This was his favourite pastime. It made him deliciously happy. He would gather money and toys while the families were sleeping and put them in a sack, licking his lips and counting, counting, counting with his long spindly fingers.
That dark night he was especially happy counting his ill-gotten gains, in his room in his castle. Lonely echoes, cobwebs and a few bats surrounded him. Then he noticed a large black crow sitting on his windowsill. The storm raged outside, forcing the bird to hit against the window. The Sleath slowly ambled across the large cold dark room, talking to himself as he usually did in the shadows of darkness. He peered at the bird outside and opened the small dirty window. Just the crow entered this shadowed place, and flew onto the Sleath�s shoulder. They exchanged whispers. The Sleath dropped everything and took off as quickly as you like in the direction of the city. The black crow watched over three very high piles of money in this cold dark place; it�s yellow eyes piercing through the night. Tonight, this stormy night, the Sleath�s master plan would unfold!
The Sleath licked his hands in anticipation of a sneaky meeting with some of the dark forces of the city. Pulling his long black straggly hair off his face with his thin dirty fingers and toes: he did not wear any shoes; he simply thought that they were a waste of money. He wore brown raggedy trousers and an old brown shirt. It was once said, of the Sleath, that he was a great and good, noble person. However, as the years went past, he began too favour riches over his fellow creatures.
The Sleath did not take a long time getting where he wanted to go. Although he did not like to spend his money or riches: he liked to acquire them and save them, so no other person in the world could enjoy them. He slithered towards Castletown at great speed. It was there he unfolded his nasty plan, under a bridge at the entrance to the city. It was a small gathering, of one Troll, an ungainly ugly and clumsy creature, two long-nosed Goblins, who could count money and talk at the same time. Also present was the Banshee, shrouded in her long black cloak. They plotted and planned to capture the Fairy Kingdom and all the gold that lay deep within it. They would enslave all the Fairy people and put them in cages for all to see. They would be rich beyond there wildest dreams. They looked at maps and agreed to separate and find a leprechaun that would lead them to this magical place. The black crows would help, with their scheming yellow all-seeing eyes in the sky. Above the bridge, a young goat listened quietly in the night.
Mc Inty woke up in his comfortable bed and stretched. He could not hear the rain pattering against the Great Elm. He hoped that the weather would be better today. He was very worried about Nettle. He felt that she had acted very strangely, but knew that he would listen to her warning, as she had always been such a good friend.
Today, he was going to visit Dandelion. Dandelion was a fairy princess and she lived with all her kind on the small foothills before the great mountains. Mc Inty knew that his journey would take him two days on foot. He would pack his knapsack with some delicious food, some fruit and yoghurt, a flask of hot soup and fresh sandwiches. He took two hats, as well as his pipe and a silver coin, which would be kept to get him out of a sticky situation.
There was so much to do. He carefully got out of bed and climbed down the long narrow ladder to his kitchen. Molly was still in front of the fire that, magically, was still alight. �Good Morning Molly. Don't forget that you have to mind the Great Elm today�. Molly, the furry caterpillar, smiled reassuringly at him. �Mc Inty you know the Great Elm will be safe with me�. Mc Inty hurried around tidying his little home and cooking himself a breakfast, with bacon and eggs and sausages and lots of toast.
He had two orange juices and a pot of tea. Then there was the packing to do. Everything was placed neatly into his knapsack. Mc Inty put on his coat and one of his hats and opened his little wooden door to reveal a fresh clean forest after last night�s storm. He said goodbye to Molly and gently closed the door behind him. The forest was unusually quite that morning and the eerie silence followed Mc Inty as he set out on his way along the path that would bring him south onto the foothills before the mountains beyond.
Leprechauns cannot be seen by humans, in the daylight or at nighttime for that matter. If a person was to stumble across one they might see a faint outline. But Leprechauns are angry when caught, and scream and shout and kick. They usually make such a racket that most self-respecting people will let them go. Anyway, it was always thought to be unlucky to catch a leprechaun. It was considered good luck to give them gifts of food when you would come across one! Mc Inty was three foot tall. He had skinny legs and a fat tummy. He had a little red goatee beard, which matched his little red nose.
The path was narrow and winding. It took Mc Inty further into the thickening forest. The leaves underfoot were wet and slippery and the branches above stretching black and thin and directionless into the watery grey and amber sky. Little creatures could be seen scurrying in the undergrowth and above it seemed dark shadows were going from branch to branch silently. Mc Inty knew where the path led. He tightened his knapsack and forged ahead. The path would lead to the Banshee!!
The Banshee lived in the middle of the dark forest in a stone cottage. She was an old, old woman. She was a demon woman full of trickery. Some said that she was descended from the old grey witch who was driven out of the forest by a spell that the fairy lord had put upon her.
The middle of the forest was the darkest place. Daylight found it hard to break through the tangle of thick branches. The air was dank, damp and smelled of decay. There were very little signs of life in the centre, just large trees that reached to the sky in a bid to escape. But the banshee lived here.
It had been said that she was once a beautiful young woman that had lost all of her family due to deals made with demons. She became so bitter and twisted that she befriended dark forces that took over her completely. Often she could be heard screaming a blood-curdling cry that reached the outer edges of the forests and into the city itself. It was a cry of emptiness that shocked every living thing into silence, after hearing it. She stood in her doorway looking out into the forest and pointed her crooked finger above her head and into the almost still wind. She brought her warped hand towards her face and sniffed it. Her black piercing eyes narrowed as she turned her old twisted body and went back inside her cottage.
Mc Inty knew that in order to reach the foothills he would have to pass through this place. He planned to go there in the dead-of-night. There would be a better chance that he could pass through on the outskirts. The grasses would be longer there and he could use them as cover. There would be nothing that the Banshee would like more than to put a devious spell on Mc Inty. She did not like trespassers. The Banshee had spent too many years on her own and she could feel the changes in the winds made by an unwary passer-by.
Little by little, as the path narrowed and the darkness fell, black clouds covered the stars. Mc Inty couldn't help feeling that there were eyes following him. His little legs and feet were sore and he was very hungry. He could feel sleep taking a grip on his senses. Just a little bit beyond lay an ancient mushroom patch, he thought that he would rest and eat there and then set off in the direction of the Banshee�s cottage.
Soon enough he came upon the mushroom patch. It gleamed a silvery white in the darkness. Mc Inty stepped through the mushroom patch carefully until he reached the centre. He thought, that there must be at least 500 mushrooms living here. In the centre the mushrooms were older and larger and he sat on top of a great flat top mushroom, and proceeded to open his knapsack.
�Excuse me, but you are sitting on top of my head.� The mushroom was not impressed. Mc Inty looked around bewildered, as far as he knew mushrooms could not speak. �Where are you�, Mc Inty said, looking out onto the dark forest. �The question is not where I am, its where you are.� Mc Inty looked downwards and under the flat top. He saw two large grey eyes, a knobbly nose and silver lips. �You are in serious danger Mc Inty, get down immediately and take cover under my flat head.� Mc Inty scrambled down, using the flattops nose as a grip. �Ouch�. The flat top grumbled. Mc Inty could have sworn that he heard the other mushrooms laughing, but he could not be sure.
�How do you know who I am�? Mc Inty was now looking the large silver flat top in the face. �I know of you, and I knew your grandfather and your grandfather�s, grandfather. We are friends of the fairies and the little people. You must stay here tonight and stay out of harm�s way. Nettle was here this morning and left instructions that you should stay the night�.
�Nettle was already here�? Mc Inty was astonished. �Well I should be moving on soon as I need to pass the middle of the forest without the Banshee knowing.� The flat-topped mushroom, looked demented with worry. �That is just not possible, Mc Inty.� It was then Mc Inty felt the danger in the night�s air.
Without a sound in the night and without any warning, the trees around the mushroom patch were covered with peering eyes looking down on the silvery mushrooms. They were searching. The yellow eyes belonged to the great black crows. They were looking for the slightest movement in the dank undergrowth. Mc Inty took cover under the large flat top.
The forest stood still and silent. Mc Inty could hear himself breath, his heart thumped through his small chest. The shadows of the crows grew nearer. One of the crows swooped down and landed on the flat tops head. She dug her claws in and Mc Inty could see that the mushroom was in a great deal of pain. He could see the bird�s talons gripping and overhanging the mushrooms head. Then a large black beak lunged at Mc Inty. He dived out of the way, then the beak lunged again scratching Mc Inty�s arm. The crow screeched, for the others to join him, and lunged again at the little leprechaun, catching the arm of his coat. The crow gripped tight, rose his head, stretched his long black wings, about to take off.
His take off was interrupted by a sound that Mc Inty had never heard before. It sounded like soft wood stretching in the night and the ground beneath him shook. He toppled over and gripped the ground for fear of his life. As best as Mc Inty could remember, the rumblings lasted far into the night. He was as still as he could, he watched and saw the mushrooms grow and baby mushrooms appear on new ground. They created a large canopy, blocking out the sky. The movement and sound of the earth had startled all the crows and they had flown to the safety of the treetops far beyond the mushroom patch. Mc Inty slept under the safety of the canopy.
The next morning, the leprechaun found himself on top of Button, a small mushroom that had just grown from the earth that night. Button had provided Mc Inty with dry warm place to sleep under the other, older, mushrooms. Little shafts of light broke through the mushroom canopy. Mc Inty woke up and squinted at their brightness. �Good morning�, said the young mushroom. �I can�t thank you enough�, Mc Inty replied.
He was confused and needed answers. Why was he in danger? Why were the fairy people in danger? After all, Nettle had been very mysterious and he had never been attacked by crows before. He knew that he must make his way to the Fairy foothills. Mc Inty needed the support of all the little people. He knew that there would be strength in numbers. �Old flat top wants to see you�, young Button looked wide-eyed at Mc Inty. �You will find him if you go straight ahead for 10 minutes, then take the second right. You won�t miss him, as he has grown with anger overnight. Hurry now, don't waste time�. Mc Inty looked at the little mushroom thanked him and bid him farewell. He hurried down the winding and confusing path, between the mushrooms. They were all different shapes and sizes. Dew from the morning glistened on their silvery white bodies, creating tiny rainbows that jumped from one to the other.
Mc Inty reminded himself that he had no breakfast and that he was very hungry. Looking back, he noticed that Button seemed to be walking in the same direction. He walked on and came to a large stem; in fact it seemed to be as big as a small tree trunk. The large stem bent over and stared at Mc Inty. �Oh my word you have grown�, Mc Inty said astonished. �You have no time to waste on small talk,� said the overgrown mushroom. �You must make your way through the centre and across the deep, inky, lake and there you may get shelter from Clodagh the Hunter Warrior, your mother�s old friend. Then even further to the foothills. Take this!� The large mushroom reached under his flat top and handed Mc Inty a wood shaving with ancient lettering on it that Mc Inty couldn't read.
Then Flat Top picked the small unusual mushroom from the earth beneath him and handed it to Mc Inty. �You must fold this ancient wood shaving and keep in close to your chest at all times. I give you my friend Button for your journey as a gift, he has powers that come from times past and its magic will help you in your darker days and nights. The wood shaving must be given to the Fairy King. He is the only one that will be able to read its ancient letterings. Go now Mc Inty, make haste towards the centre. We will all be thinking of you.� Mc Inty put Button into a pocket in his hat and silently bid all the mushrooms in the mushroom patch farewell.
Mc Inty walked along the path, with large trees at either side. He hadn't seen any crows that morning. The sun was shining through the trees creating speckles on the ground. The leaves were green and orange, some of them falling on the path creating a beautiful autumnal carpet that was soft underfoot. The little mushroom wriggled around in his hat. About one hour later, Mc Inty stopped, sat on a log and had his breakfast of a sandwich some fruit and some hot soup from his flask. He was feeling much better now, his tummy was full and he would heed the word of the ancient mushroom and make way for the centre.
As the day passed the sun gradually disappeared behind some clouds that were as dark as night itself. The path was so narrow that it was hardly a path at all. The air became colder and colder; Mc Inty and the magical mushroom found themselves walking downwards along lower and lower ground. The sun had set beyond the great trees and the night had sneaked its way into the forest. The grasses along the skinny path were longer now and Mc Inty knew this only meant one thing: that he was near the Banshees clearing in the middle of the forest. He stopped for a while and listened. He could hear the creaking of the forest, the rustle of the leaves and branches as the wind passed through. This was his chance to pass through this eerie place, under the cover of darkness.
The little mushroom was hungry and told Mc Inty to let him down for a while to feed off Mother Earth. Even though Mc Inty was intent on moving on, he took Button down and placed him just off the path. It started to rain and Mc Inty was getting very wet indeed. The leprechaun pulled his hat around his ears. He was looking at the mushroom, which was growing in the rain and it was now towering over him smiling. '�Mc Inty, shelter under me until the rain stops�. The rain was very heavy and Mc Inty was missing his home.
The Old Great Elm would be cosy with a large fire burning in its inner chamber and he knew Molly would be stretched in front of it. He stepped under the mushroom for shelter and sat down leaning against its stalk. He was looking at the rain and the long grasses in front of him and listening to the pitter-patter as the rain bouncing against the trees and leafy ground.
The long grasses opened like a curtain straight in front of the leprechaun revealing two large spindly, crocked fingers, as they pulled back the grasses. A hooded featureless face came from behind the hands. Mc Inty was stuck to the spot with fear. He noticed the face take shape from behind the hood. It was a long knobbly face with twinkling black blue eyes and yellow curling teeth. Mc Inty was face to face with the Banshee.
The Banshee smelled of wet dog, her hair was long grey and thin. Her crooked fingers grabbed at him, and caught him up by his feet. All the leprechaun�s blood went rushing straight to his head. The Banshee took off, running it seemed in no particular direction. She was laughing a shrill evil laugh out into the night. Mc Inty was uncomfortable bobbing up and down in her tightly gripping hand. He was struggling in the hope that she would loosen her grip.
The grasses disappeared into an open area, where nothing lived and foul smelling plants rose from the ground in various shades of brown and grey. There were no sounds of the forest in this place, just the deafening, deathly silence that chills to the core of any decent being. An old stone, thatched cottage stood in this clearing, slanting up from the ground. The Banshee zigged and zagged through the foul smelling clearing, as if avoiding invisible beings that only she could see. She flung open her grey wooden cottage door. Inside the cottage in the middle of the floor was a large iron pot. Flames raged out from the middle of this cauldron. There was a scattering of small bones on the dusty flagstones. There was a bed built into the stone wall. It was covered with straw and snails. A chimney rose above the cauldron with various sized hooks coming out from its inner walls. On one hook, dangled a small cage.
The Banshee carefully unlocked the cage and placed Mc Inty inside. Directly below the lower bars of the cage, Mc Inty could see flames inside the cauldron. Beyond the flames he could see ghostly creatures wailing and speaking in demented tongues that Mc Inty could not understand. This was a truly desperate place. Once he was locked inside, the Banshee studied the leprechaun closely, giving Mc Inty the opportunity to do the same, with the Banshee. He saw that she was a very old woman with a haunted face, her body broken down by centuries. All those years of doing deals with demons had left her ugly and gnarled.
�What do you want with me,� Mc Inty said angrily. The blood was only now going back into his feet and arms; he was utterly miserable. �Nothing, I want nothing of you,� she cackled shrilly. Mc Inty gripped his chest to make sure that the ancient wood shaving had not fallen out during his difficult journey to this vile place. Good luck! He thought, its still there.
�If you want nothing of me then why am I here?� He said. Looking into her eyes, he could see demons wanting to escape. It was just then that Mc Inty noticed a movement in one of the dark corners of the cottage. He could barely make it out through the burning flame of the bottomless cauldron. It was a slimy-looking creature of a man, picking his teeth with a bone. Mc Inty thought the bone was probably a woodland creature that had come to an untimely death. It sent shivers down his spine. The creature rose to his full height, although he was bent over slightly. He was rubbing his hands together and smiling through his wet lips. �It is I who wants you, and it was the Banshee who caught you. She will be paid handsomely for your capture. And just as I have done a deal with her, I will do a deal with you. In return for your life, you must bring me to the fairy foothills as I have some dark business to attend to there. We will set off at first light.�
The creature was sweating and very smelly. He had very thin hair scrapped back from his face. Mc Inty had heard of the Sleath but had never met him and he wished at this moment that he never had. �I will do no deal with you�. Mc Inty piped up, surprising himself with his own bravery. �Ahhh! And you will deal with the Sleath. Look into the cauldron at those that have refused�. Mc Inty had already seen the sight in the cauldron and did not wish to stare into it again.
At a complete loss at what to do at this stage, Mc Inty sat down in his cage and he thought to himself that the magic mushroom had been of very little use at all. He looked around him. The Sleath had gone back to his dark corner where he sat on his hunkers looking in jerks around him. The Banshee was gathering the bones on the floor and throwing them into the cauldron. The bones screamed a hollow haunting sound as if they were falling to depths that no being had experienced before. The Banshee took a large pot from her foul kitchen and opened a cloth bag that wriggled. She emptied the contents of the bag into the pot and placed it on a hook at the very end of an iron bar. She balanced this over the cauldron. Mc Inty could see the contents of the pot. There were some eyes blinking, a few large lizards and some eels and a few snakes. The Sleath licked his lips in anticipation of dinner.
It took two hours and twenty minutes for the putrid pot of awful things to cook. The Banshee and the Sleath spoke in a different tongue and in very low voices. The little leprechaun kept himself to himself and hoped that if he was quite enough they might forget about the awful deals. He was very homesick.
The Sleath ate his meal with his hands, licking his fingers all the time. When the Banshee and the Sleath had finished, the pot was thrown into the kitchen and left unwashed. The Sleath went straight back into his corner and fell asleep. The Banshee opened the door of her cottage and made an awful screeching sound. Within minutes, a large black crow flew into her porch and stood on guard. As Mc Inty thought that his case was hopeless, The Banshee retired to her bed of straw and snails.
Very soon all but Mc Inty and the crow were fast asleep. The leprechaun tried to squeeze through the bars of his cage. It was useless he could not fit through. He then thought that he could hear something on the roof; maybe it was that old crow. He heard a muffled squawk and a flutter. The Banshee and the Sleath slept through it. Then another sound. �Pisssshht.� Mc Inty looked around him. �Up here.� Mc Inty looked up the chimney; he could not believe his eyes when he saw Nettle.
�Now look here Mc Inty, hold on tight�. Nettle leapt down the chimney, and with her agile mouth and strong teeth, whilst in the air, removed the cage from its hook and grabbed it between her teeth. Nettle clambered onto the floor waking both the Sleath and the Banshee. They both leapt to their feet grasping at the goat. The goat took a few steps backwards then dashed head first with her small horns into the locked wooden door. The door smashed down onto the ground outside and Nettle trotted across the noxious clearing gaining speed then height. They were soon in the air. The beautiful white goat and the leprechaun in the cage gripped between the Nettle�s teeth.
Mc Inty sat in his cage with his beard whistling in the wind as they gained height. Then Nettle swooped down again onto the edge of the clearing through the long grasses and landed. Mc Inty saw Button. He had gone back to his old size and was clearly happy to see Mc Inty and Nettle. �Mc Inty grab the mushroom, and I will bring you to safety,� said Nettle. Mc Inty lunged forward with both of his arms dangling outside the cage grabbed Button then put him back into the pocket in his hat.
The white goat rose into the clouds and Mc Inty looked back into the clearing. He could see the Banshee screeching out into the night and the Sleath whimpering shaking his fists. Around the broken door lay the black feathers of the Banshee guard crow. Some other crows gave chase and pecked at the cage try to get at Mc Inty. The little mushroom grew again to protect Mc Inty. The birds pecked holes in the mushroom, some eating bits of him. Not long after pecking a hole in the mushroom, the crows would loose their balance and fall to the ground. Button had fended them off and resumed his shape. Mc Inty was very grateful to his mushroom friend and felt bad that not so long ago he thought he was useless.
Chapter 3
The Way to Watervalley
N
ettle flew in the direction of the Eel's lake. Nobody spoke at all during this time. Mc Inty looked through the black night�s clouds to see the forest below. He could see many paths between the trees with some creatures scurrying along them. He saw the crows� eyes following their journey. In the distance he could see a lake shining azure blue in the night. As they got closer, he thought he saw a small island in the middle of the lake.
In fact this was no island. This was a crannog; that men had built in ancient times. A dwelling that in the mists of time, protected them from their enemies. It stood on four great wooden posts that came out of the water. A dwelling place had been built upon the posts, with a fireplace inside. This was a dry comfortable and warm place to stay.
Nettle landed just outside the door and nudged it open with her nose. Inside the crannog was warm and snug. There was a little fire lighting and some comfortable chairs. The leprechaun could see a hammock for a bed and two small windows that looked out at either side of the lake. There was a small cupboard full of delicious food that lay open so that you would know what was there. Nettle placed the cage on the ground and broke open the lock with her teeth. Goats have very strong teeth and they can chew most things open. Mc Inty was free at last he was also very, very hungry.
Nettle sat on the floor beside the blazing fire. She was exhausted from the long flight. �You must stay here tonight out of danger and in the morning use the boat that is tied to the crannog to get to the other side of the lake. You are safe here for the rest of the night, as few will come across the lake for fear of the poisonous eel. In the morning you must make your way onto the small rowing boat and row carefully as the eel will be asleep and will not like to be disturbed. This is the safest place now, as the edges of the lake will be swarming with dark things looking for you. In the morning they will be gone.
�There is a large meeting in the morning in Castletown calling all things that are dark there. Mc Inty, you must use this time wisely to make your way to the foothills. I advise you, that there is nothing to do for the rest of the night but have dinner and sleep.� The graceful goat got up to go. �Where are you going? Can you not stay? We have a lot to talk about.� Mc Inty said. �I am afraid that my work for the night is not done,� she answered. Nettle then disappeared again quickly into the night.
Mc Inty had a lot of unanswered questions. How could Nettle fly? Why did the Sleath want him to go to the foothills? Why all of a sudden was he in so much danger? Why was the fairy kingdom in so much danger? So many questions, no answers and nobody to talk to only a weird mushroom.
He took off his hat and sat down on a chair, Mc Inty was bewildered. The chair was beside the blazing fire and opposite a small window, which framed a view of the lake. It was deep into the night. Mc Inty could see the inky water ripple and ebb, reflecting the light shadows of the moon. He could barely see the shoreline in the distance. It was tree lined. Behind the trees, a large mountain grew out of the earth and the trees faded away to a vast expanse of rock, some of which was hidden behind very thin and misty clouds.
Mc Inty looked around the little crannog, its walls made from branches intertwined and supported by big wooden beams. There were two round windows at opposite ends of the round room. The hammock had lots of cushions and a soft golden quilt. There was small table beside the chair he was sitting on. Mc Inty glanced at it. The table was hand made from rosewood and had several little draws that Mc Inty opened one by one. Leprechauns are well known for their noisiness. Apart from some old books and a set of keys there was not much to see. Mc Inty opened the third drawer and saw a white envelope with Mc Inty in old golden scroll hand written on it. Mc Inty nearly fell off his chair in fright. He took the envelope up in his hand and opened it very carefully. It read.
Dear Mc Inty,
You are very welcome to the crannog. This is my home. There is some stew in a pot on the stove. I made it for you. You will also find some warm crusty bread in the back of the oven and a sweet apple pie for dessert. News came to me this morning that you might visit. I have left one of my boats for you to use in the morning. Please tie it to the jetty on the north side of the lake, as I will need it there when I come back. I have left some new clothes for you to wear on the hammock and I have filled a knapsack full of food and some matches to light a fire, as the mountain can be wild and cold. I nearly forgot. There is a new hat for you on the hat stand inside the door. You will need to take the set of keys that you found in the drawer. Please keep the crannog neat and tidy as I get quite a lot of visitors.
Kind Regards
Clodagh the Hunter Warrior.
Mc Inty looked around him as if he was being watched as if Clodagh the Hunter Warrior could see him. He had never met her but he had heard of her. Nettle had told him that she was usually very busy in far away places fighting the creatures that create black spells. He was very tired and hungry. Mc Inty tucked into the stew with crusty bread and piping hot and sweet apple crumble. He was so tired that he stumbled over to the hammock. Mc Inty unwrapped his new pyjamas and crawled into them. Slowly he lifted himself into the hammock and he was rocked to sleep by its motion.
As Mc Inty slept comfortably, in the middle of the lake in the warm crannog, the edges of the lake grew darker. Blood curdling whispers travelled over the lake on the crests of its currents. The night sky was clear and a full silvery moon shone on the lake reflecting the deep azure of the sky on its surface.
Towards the lake�s dark edges, a 50 meter eel swam cutting through the waters smoothly and quietly like silk. It was defending its territory and eating any creature that dared break its boundary.
When Mc Inty woke the next morning, he felt much better. There was tidying to be done. He would make sure that the cranoge was spick and span. He wrote a quick note to the Hunter Warrior.
Dear Clodagh,
Thank you so much for the shelter and the hot food. Also for my hat and new clothes. You have a lovely home and I hope that you will visit my home in the Great Elm soon. I have nothing to leave you only my gratitude. I hope to meet you soon.
Yours Gratefully
Mc Inty.
Mc Inty was very careful to put the wood shaving under his shirt and the set of keys that Clodagh had given him in his pocket. The little magic mushroom into his hat. He made sure that all of the windows were closed. He had to cross the lake. He said goodbye to the crannog and stepped outside its round door and closed it after him. There was a hazy dew rising from the lake and it was slightly cold on Mc Inty�s face. He looked to the north and could barely see in front of his nose. Beneath him, and tied to the wooden post of the cranoge was a small orange rowing boat bobbing about in the water. As a rule most leprechauns don't like lakes, seas or the ocean.
There were twelve slippery wooden steps leading down to the boat. Mc Inty went down the steps with caution. He remembered that the eel was hopefully asleep and it would be a very bad idea to wake him. He stepped into the boat, it wobbled under his feet, he tried to hold on to the wooden post, but he fell back onto the seat with an almighty crash. Mc Inty tried to gather himself together. He didn't like boats at all. They were very unsteady he thought to himself.
A dewy mist was rising from the lake. It was very hard to see. The little leprechaun was scrabbling around looking for the oars of the orange boat. Just under the wooden posts that held the crannog out of the water, Mc Inty saw something shiny stir. Something was lurking, behind, and in between, and all around. The leprechaun stopped and sat silently. His heart was beating through his chest. He could even hear it in his ears. Then under the boat he could hear a low scraping sound. It got louder and louder.
The orange boat shook hard and Mc Inty held on for his life. The snake like creature was everywhere all tangled up in himself, going in every direction around the cranoge and the boat. Mc Inty could not see any head, just a long black, inky, sleek body that did not stop moving. The boat started to tilt down into the water and Mc Inty slid slowly to the bottom of the boat. Mc Inty was not a great swimmer and was trying desperately to stay in the boat!
The air and the water then fell silent. The lake rose in front of the leprechauns eyes, and up out of the swelling, an enormous head appeared. Large black eyes looked at Mc Inty. The eel had very thin lips; he had at least 100 teeth that were all triangular in shape and very sharp. Mc Inty could not help noticing that there were fish bones stuck between some of his teeth or that his breath stank of dead things. The eels tongue was grey, and slipped in and out of his mouth quickly and silently as if anticipating his next meal.
Mc Inty heard a terrifying sound. It came from behind the boat, the sky darkened, two yellow piercing eyes appeared from the sky behind the boat. The eyes swooped from above and behind at the terrified leprechaun. The eel looked past Mc Inty and arched his head, snapped at the eyes of the unknown thing and in one movement the two creatures were under the water. A desperate fight was taking place under the water and the lake bubbled all around the boat. Mc Inty felt very helpless at this point and also a bit lucky. Then suddenly nothing, there was no sound at all. No more bubbles, no more waves splashing into the boat. The little orange boat sat still in the water. Mc Inty thought that he would grab the oars as fast as he could, and row to safety.
The lake was deathly still and Mc Inty started rowing towards the north jetty. The dew was clearing. He knew it would be a cold and clear day. Then beside the boat, the shape of the eel appeared again. Mc Inty rowed harder and faster. The eel swam alongside easily. Mc Inty�s heart started to race again. The eel swam in front of the boat and pushed the little boat back so that it stood still in the water. Mc Inty gulped, and gulped again in fear.
The eel�s head popped out of the water. He looked Mc Inty in the eye. � I suppose that a thank you is out of the question after all I did just save your life only seconds ago.� The eel said. Mc Inty thought that he could see a few black feathers sticking out of his 100 teeth. Mc Inty stuttered, he had never met an eel and did not really know what to do. �Thank you,� he said. The eel tilted his head. �I might eat you yet, but then again I have been eating foul tasting things all night and I have lost my appetite, I am usually asleep at this time of the morning. You woke me up, you know.� �Sorry.� Mc Inty managed to say. �Most self respecting leprechauns don't usually mess about on boats.�
�No,� said Mc Inty looking straight into the eel�s mouth, seeing his grey tongue. There was a disgusting green liquid coming from the eels tongue. The liquid dripped into the water of the lake, it was boiling and steam rose from the lake every time the green stuff dropped into the water. �Are you going to eat me,� asked the leprechaun. � No�, the eel said. �I am tired now and I need to sleep, I usually don't eat leprechauns anyway. What was it, that wanted to capture you, or kill you, it did not taste good�. �I don't know�, Mc Inty replied. �If you are to use this lake again, do not wake me as I need to sleep, and I am not always in a good mood.�
� No problem�, Mc Inty agreed to this, as he felt it was a good exchange for his life! The poisonous eel slunk back into the deep waters of the lake.
Mc Inty wasted no time in rowing across the lake. He felt that his morning was very bad but it could have been a lot worse. What was it that came out of the sky earlier to harm him? Thankfully he thought eels were not fond of eating leprechauns.
Chapter 4
The Meeting of Darkness
A
meeting had been called in Castletown. All of the dark creatures that lived there and on the edges had to attend. The word spread amongst unwholesome creatures quickly, in whispers and hints. They scurried through the forests and mountains to the city�s edge, and made their way through the narrow streets and laneways to its centre. The city was grey and noisy. No trees or plants grew there, just bleak grey stone. Stinking gasses came from under its footpaths. Creatures moved hurriedly through the streets. Some of the poor creatures slept on the pavements and others in big castles. Creatures walked over creatures, to get where they wanted to go.
Goblins, Trolls, the Banshee, the Sleath, some men and women who had lost their way were gathering around a stone square in the centre of the city. A stand had been erected the day before so that the gathering could be addressed. Everywhere you looked there were creatures doing deals and exchanging money.
The castles and buildings stretched up to the sky and were so tall that little or no daylight got down to the streets. Everybody had something to sell. Nobody smiled in this place. Even though the streets and laneways were noisy, it was a lonely sound, of vibrations and emptiness.
The goblins were endlessly counting their money with their long spindly fingers and pointy faces. They had small beady eyes and scurried around the streets and lanes. They were always busy. Goblins and trolls don't get along and so avoid each other at all costs. The trolls were busy, taking money from the creatures that wanted to enter Castletown. No creature agreed with the toll, but had no choice if they wanted to enter the city. Trolls would eat anything alive and were almost always hungry. You could smell the city miles before entering it. This was a scary place even for the most brave. The day�s business was drawing to a close.
More and more creatures gathered. No one really knew what the meeting was all about. But everybody knew that it was important to listen.
The sky turned black and blacker as the crows began to encircle the city. The creatures could hardly see each other in the darkness. Most of them could only see outlines of each other in the dark. In some places you could only see devious eyes, peering out over hooded faces. There was a thunderous rumble that got louder and louder. Crows came from the sky. There were hundreds of them flying in circles, looking for a perch. None of the creatures had ever seen as many of these black birds before. They swarmed in like locusts and fought for a place to perch amongst the crevices of the castles.
Everyone looked at the great stand. Three chairs were placed behind the loud hailer. There was a huge banner behind the chairs that was 20 meters tall and 30 meters wide. The banner read: �The Sleath will make you rich�. Every creature was intrigued. The Sleath walked up the steps to the stand. He slithered across the stage and bending forward, spoke to the crowd. �I will address you all now.� The spineless creatures took notice, of this excuse for a man, and some of them completely ignored him. Then from somewhere deep in the crowd came a screeching sound that was so loud and so hollow that everyone was stunned to silence. The Banshee had let herself be known.
The Sleath motioned to the Banshee to join him on the stage. He clutched a scroll under his sleeve. Nobody in the gathering could see his eyes. The Banshee, troll and two goblins, took their positions behind him as he began to speak.
�I have sent whisperings through our worlds so that you would gather here to be addressed by me. If you listen carefully, some of you could become rich beyond your wildest dreams.� Both the goblins and the trolls appeared very interested in this. The crows squawked loudly. The Sleath continued. �In the past, further than any of us can remember, there are recordings in folklore, written by Nobel Kings of the past. Recordings written on gold silk, that tells us of the fairy people and of little magical men called leprechauns. Before the existence of the city and its castle, diligent eyes, or those that might have a special gift could see these little people. My friends, these little people are not extinct and they do exist. Some of us have seen a leprechaun. I have set my two eyes upon one.
�I have it on good advice that he could lead us to the elusive Fairy Kingdom. Some of you already know this, and are loyal to me. I have instructed them to follow the little leprechaun�s trail, which has become lost, at the inky lake, three days north of here. With this information, I must forge ahead. I intend to capture all of the little people and put them behind bars. I intend to have all their Gold and riches for myself, and will share it with you of course.� He licked his already wet lips. �I will offer a huge reward for your help. The Banshee will hand out maps of the ancient worlds beyond the forest and you will take direction from them.
�Those of you who are uninterested will not be safe. You will live hopeless lives, beyond the cauldron. These are new times. These are my times and you will serve me�, he snivelled. The Sleath's voice trickled through the crowd. The Banshee worked her way through the crowd giving out maps, whispering and wailing.
In the crowd, creatures and things stood silently, scheming and plotting. Some just stood there. The Sleath stood, stooped trying to smile, something he was not used to. At the very back of the huge crowd, two goats slipped away and out of the city�s greyness. They were led by a tall slender figure: a woman wearing warriors clothing. Her name was Clodagh the Hunter Warrior.
Evil sounds abounded in the bustling city, everyone making plans for the journey ahead into lands that were only known in the past. Some of the creatures had been waiting all of their lives for this moment.
Clodagh looked down at the two goats as they walked over the little ancient stone bridge out of the city that led to the dangerous edges of the forest. �Lets hope Mc Inty has gone further in his journey than we think�. The goats stopped suddenly in there tracks, at the edge of the bridge just before the entrance to the edges of the forest.
Before them stood a very angry and annoyed troll. He stomped his ugly exposed feet on the bridge and waved the trunk of an old decaying tree in front of the little group. The troll�s eyes were bulging in temper. �You have not paid to cross over this bridge�, said the Troll. �I would be happy to pay you�, Clodagh the Hunter Warrior answered. She reached inside her heavy cape and gave the troll a glowing coin, which he accepted. As the troll looked at it glowing in the palm of his hand, the coin started to burn and hurt him, smoke rose from his hand and a few small blue flames went into the air. He yelped and ran from the edge of the bridge to the river below soothing his hand in its cool waters, crying with the fright of it all. Clodagh picked up her dropped coin and smiled at it. The goats giggled.
�There is no time for laughter�, said Clodagh. Go now, rush to the clearing and tell Thorn the news of the evil meeting today.� Clodagh looked at the giggling goats. The goats watched Clodagh as she mounted the horse she lovingly called Moonshadow. She sped off into forest and beyond without a trace.
Chapter 5
The Path to Watervalley and the Fairy Kingdom
M
c Inty could see the northern jetty, jutting out from the shore. The lake was calm now. It was a bright clear day and he could see for miles. The autumn sun shone low in the sky. It was so quite here that the slightest sound could be heard for miles. He knew his way to Watervalley and hoped that Dandelion would be there. He knew if he were to find her in Watervalley, she would lead him to the Fairy Kingdom. Maybe then, he would get some straight answers. It was obvious to the leprechaun, that he and the fairy people were in danger and that the wood shaving was of utmost importance. Mc Inty wasn't adventurous by nature. He had never before had an adventure. He had only read about ancient adventures of the distant past when he was tucked up in his Great Elm, which now seemed so far away.
The leprechaun reached the northern jetty and tied the boat tightly up against a wooden post. He looked back over the lake. The cranoge sitting in its centre, the blue lake sparkled in the crisp autumn sunlight. Further on, its southern shore, he could see the dark outskirts of the new forest. Mc Inty thought that the forest looked unusually dark and noticed that a few clouds were gathering over its young branches. He felt that he should hurry to make the best of the good weather.
Watervalley was about 8 hours walk, starting on the edges of the lake, climbing then into the young forest, and through the forest to the base of the mountain. Mc Inty thought that he would go as quickly into the forest as possible. He could rest there and have a bit of lunch before continuing on the path to the mountain�s base and then into Watervaley. He gathered himself together and made way light-footed along his planned course. The day was quite; you could nearly hear the grass growing. Mc Inty could hear the lapping of the lakes small waves on its shore. The keys that Clodagh had given him were jangling in his pocket. He knew little about what had happened and less about what was going to happen. Just before the entrance to the young forest was some farmland marked by rectangular shapes, shades and patches of green. These were separated by carefully built grey stone walls.
Mc Inty gave out a long sigh. He was particularly bothered by the farmland. Leprechauns as a rule do not like to enter into Mans� open land. Humans and leprechauns lived in harmony but apart. He had no choice but to enter the farmland. Most of the fields seemed empty, but some of them were full of busy sheep gossiping about each other.
Mc Inty braced himself and was just about to scale the old stone wall, when he felt his hat twitching. At that moment he looked up at the brim of his hat and saw the little mushroom hanging upside down. Button did not look very happy; in fact he had an extremely worried look on his face. �Mc Inty, I do not think that you should pass through this farmland. Is there any other way.�? The mushroom straightened himself up and sat up on the brim of the leprechaun�s hat waiting for an answer. �There is no other way if we are to enter the forest and pass through to Watervalley.� Mc Inty took off his hat to study the mushroom. Button looked up at him and Mc Inty thought that he was going to cry. �Why should we not pass through?� Mc Inty was getting impatient. �I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stalk�. The mushroom looked sick. � Well�, said Mc Inty, �We have no choice, I will cut through the centre of the fields and try to keep cover under the grasses. We will go as quickly and as silently as we can.�
Button reluctantly climbed back into his pocket in the leprechaun�s hat and shook with terror. Mc Inty climbed over the stone wall and hastily made his way through the field and then through another. He was happy with his progress and had just leaped over another wall and into another field. The grass was a bit longer in this field and Mc Inty thought that suited him fine. At least there was cover! The little mushroom was a funny old thing, he thought. This field seemed much bigger than the rest and the grass got longer and longer. It was very unusual for farmers not to let their animals graze on such long sweet grass, in such a great big field.
Mc Inty stopped and peered through an opening in the grasses. He had come upon a circle of upright prehistoric stones. They each stood about 4 meters tall, reaching to the sky and facing each other. Mc Inty stood there stuck to the spot. He knew of these places, where the past meets the present. Gateways to unknown places. The ancient home of the Orbs! Even the farmers did not tamper with such ruins. They were said to be magical and, if disrespected, untold things happened. Mc Inty did not walk through the stone circle. He tried to back away and maybe cut through another field. But he could not move. The only thing moving was his hat and it was shaking. Button was in a bad way.
Mc Inty looked at the angular stones, standing in the circle. He could hear the sounds of haunting, things that he had never heard before. He heard his name being called. He wanted to walk into the centre of the circle and be consumed by it all. A feeling of numbness took over him, followed by a heavy sleepiness. He felt he was entering another world. He could see ghostly things moving in its centre. They were calling to him. They knew his name. The stones crevices smiled at him. He could barely feel himself and his eyes had entered another world, another dimension of transparent beings, of voices and of colours that were only blues and greys. He heard another voice calling his name. Then his world went completely black. Mc Inty felt a sharp pain in his head. His eyes were closed; he opened them. He could not see anything he was blind! The leprechaun could hear his name being called again. He tried to stand up but he fell over. He felt his hat. It was pulled over his eyes. Mc Inty pulled his hat off, and he could see again.
Mc Inty was lying on his back in the long grass and through a chink he could see the stone circle. Some of his green hat lay on his shoulders and some hanging from his ear. The little mushroom dangled on its brim. Button looked angry, worried and relieved all at the same time. �Mc Inty don't do that to me again.� He was shouting. �You could have been lost forever in a vacuum of nothing. You little people can pass through all worlds some good and some bad, some to be lost beyond time.�
�What happened�, said Mc Inty. �I jumped on your hat, until it fell over your eyes so you could not see them�, said Button. �Do not go over to the circle again, we must leave this field and choose a new one to pass through into the forest. he added.�
The leprechaun hurried himself away from the stone circle, gathering his hat and his knapsack up as he made his way to the edges of the field and to the safety of the stonewalls. The mushroom was in his hat and he felt very lucky. Mc Inty was glad to see the grey stone walls in front of him and he climbed the wall at its highest peak. He looked into the distance and saw, not too far away the entrance to the young forest. He turned around and looked to the south. The cloud was deepening and heading north. Mc Inty noticed flocks of large blackbirds gathering in the south and he could hear in the wind, an activity and a bustle that he had never heard before. He ran along the wall and into the next field. He kept running until he saw a rusty old iron gate, which he ducked under. He was out of the farmland and at the very edge of the young forest.
Mc Inty stepped easily into the new forest, this was a happy place and he felt safe. He kept walking for a while and thought that now would be a good time to have lunch. The leprechaun knew that when he reached the edge of the forest, he must travel through it and beyond to Clear River that would lead him to Watervalley.
This was only a small forest. Mc Inty could hear the rustle of the trees leaves dancing and singing in the light breezes of the day. The young trees tickled each other with their leaves. Little flowers of all different colours bobbed their heads up and down to the rhythm of nature. There were blues, yellows, reds, greens and whites all dancing and chattering. It was bright and sunny in this little forest. Mc Inty put his face up to the sky and felt the sun�s warmth on his skin, although he noticed dark clouds looming. Looking around he managed to see a young elm tree. He missed home so much that he decided this was a good place to have some lunch. He sat down leaning against the young tree trunk. As he sat down he could not help thinking that the young elm was giving him a hug.
Mc Inty opened up his knapsack and took out a large crispy bread roll that was filled with smoked ham, lettuce, tomato, spring onions, and mayonnaise. The bread roll, magically still appeared to be hot as if it was just out of the oven. He also opened a bag of homemade chips, which were delicious. Mc Inty finished it all off with a big sweet orange. He felt much better now, even Button seemed in a better mood as he got out of his hat and sat in the elm�s shade.
Mc Inty knew that he could not stay in this peaceful place for very long and that he would have to leave the forest and find Clear River that would take him to Watervalley. He tidied everything away after he had finished lunch. The path ahead was broad. Mc Inty did not want to waste time. He walked along in the weak sunlight gently humming to himself. The trees became further and further apart. The land opened out in front of him revealing a magnificent mountain that disappeared into the clouds. At the bottom of the mountain, the grasses began to give way to rocks. Some little flowers peeked through them. The mountain climbed into the sky getting bluer and darker as it rose. Although the mountain was beautiful, Mc Inty still looked at it in wonder and fear.
Just then Mc Inty noticed a long glinting silvery river moving from the mountains tip far away. He walked towards it. The clear river danced in the sunlight, jumping over rocks and stones. It was gurgling with delight. It flowed and danced down its banks pulling at the long grasses playfully. Mc Inty stood staring at its clear waters. The leprechaun moved along its banks. He knew that it would not be long until he would reach Watervalley and hopefully his good friend Dandelion. The further Mc Inty walked he noticed that the river was flowing faster and faster. It now leaped over boulders, free-falling to the next lower level of flat bedrock. Mc Inty looked ahead of him. It seemed to him that both the path and the river disappeared into thin air. He walked on. The path came to an abrupt end. The river was roaring now, it was jumping down hundreds of feet into a deep gorge. It fell at length and when it reached the bottom it jumped up changing its colour to brilliant white and spraying a rainbow of mist into the air. The river danced until it settled to a slower ebb flowing down the gorge catching its breath.
The leprechaun looked around him to see if there was a path leading down to the gorge. There was no path at all! He noticed that there were old roots jutting out of the declining wall into the gorge. Mc Inty thought that maybe he could hold on to these and climb down. He tested the nearest one for strength, and it seemed OK. So Mc Inty started his descent very gingerly. He grabbed on to the next root, it fell away from the earth. He grabbed desperately at anything he could find. Mc Inty lost his footing and fell free. Screaming as he saw the sky become the river, and the river become the sky. He came to a sudden stop, as his fall was broken by a large black billygoat. Mc Inty�s legs were straddling the large hooves of the goat. The goat�s horns rose high above the leprechaun. The goat had big brown soft eyes and they looked Mc Inty straight in the face. Mc Inty couldn't tell, but he thought that the goat was smiling at him.
� Oh, oh, I�m very sorry � Mc Inty just managed. �Not a problem�, said the big black goat. �I presume that you are on your way down�, said the goat looking at the leprechaun. �Well yes I am�. Mc Inty was trying to stand up and brush himself off. �Its no good you won�t be able to stand, if you climb up my horns and on to my back I will walk you down. It is after all quite uncivilised to be falling down the side of a waterfall. Mc Inty did as he was told and climbed on to the goat who walked easily down the gorge. �I do apologise�, said Mc Inty. �My name is Mc Inty�.
�I know said the goat. My name is Thorn and I am a lifelong friend of Nettle's�!
Mc Inty and Thorn the goat travelled down the crevasse. Goats have no problem in steep places; in fact they are quite at home. Thorn told Mc Inty that he had gathered lots of information while he stood in the clearing back in the old forest. Goats from all over the land were telling him desperate stories about meetings of dark creatures up to no good. There were tales of capturing little people and fairies and plundering their gold. The little people would never be free to roam the land again. Mc Inty held on tight on the way down and was very fearful. Thorn told him of all the dark creatures creeping up from the South in order to find and capture him. Mc Inty told Thorn how he was on his way to see Dandelion and that she might know more.
�Have you seen Nettle?� Mc Inty was very curious. �As a matter of fact I have, she left instructions for me to look out for you, so here I am�, said Thorn, looking quite noble. They got to the bottom of the gorge and to the entrance to Watervalley.
Nothing in time had ever changed this place. Thorn and Mc Inty saw two different scenes. Goats don't see fairies, to them they are invisible. Both of them saw the end of the waterfall cascading in celebration to the calmer waters below. A rainbow reached to the sky through its dazzling droplets. Both of them saw a fairy hill at the bottom of the cascade. The fairy hill was untouched by the falling river both of them heard the trees, the flowers and the waters singing. This was a magical place. Mc Inty jumped off the brown goat, his chest grew tighter it had been a long time since he had been here. Mc Inty looked all around him and saw fairies sitting in the trees, surfing on the droplets, flying high and low, fast and slow. Mc Inty saw everything and Thorn saw just enough.
No one could see through the wall of cascading waters. Fairies gathered around Mc Inty singing, some of them sat on his shoulders and some on his hat all talking gently and musically. They welcomed him to the entrance of Watervalley. Mc Inty felt giddy inside. It was just then that the leprechaun saw her. A golden light glowed from her. Her little wings were fluttering so fast that you could hardly see them at all. She had long flowing black shiny hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a gold and silver dress with the most beautiful gem studded shoes that Mc Inty had ever seen. She appeared a little smaller than the other fairy's. Dandelion carried her wand in her hair, and it sent little sparkles into the air. She flew to Mc Inty and took his hand silently. �You must hold on tight to my hand, my old friend. The Fairy Lord wishes to speak to you.� Several fairies lifted Mc Inty into the air. Some of them took his arms and some his legs. He was floating into the air.
Chapter 5
Battle of the Birds
T
horn looked on and all he could see was Mc Inty floating in front of him. Thorn knew that Mc Inty had made contact with Dandelion and he was in safe hands. He walked back up the steep embankment and looked to the south. He saw the darkness had reached the new forest. They were gaining ground on the little leprechaun. He looked to the sky and he could see flocks of crows flying over the lake. He noticed on the outskirts of the forest a creature crawling along the ground, sniffing the grasses. Behind this creature were goblins and trolls. The Sleath was leading the way, sniffing out the leprechaun in the hope that he would reveal the Fairy Kingdom that had remained in a secret location for centuries. Thorn looked up at the vast mountainside. There a silhouette stood of his friend Nettle. She was looking down the mountainside and into the valley. Thorn called out to her. She looked in his direction and called back. The mountainside was dotted with goats all eating the tender plants that grew between its deep rocks crevices.
The Sleath licked his lips. He knew he was close to the leprechaun. He just needed another scent to bring him closer. The trolls and goblins kept arguing with one another. They were extremely difficult to control. He would have to separate them if he were to succeed. The Crows he knew were following behind. Their yellow eyes seeing for miles. The Sleath knew he was near now. He could taste success. They had made good time in pursuit of the leprechaun. The Sleath, the trolls and other slithery beings stopped outside the young forest. Some of the trolls ripped the young trees from their roots and made a big fire with their trunks and leafy branches. They cooked an old donkey that they had killed over the crackling flames. They drank out of big containers toasting one another in anticipation of riches and the capture of all little people. The sun began to sink in the sky. It grew darker and colder.
The crows arrived and sat on the tops of the young trees. Some of them sat on the rocks of the mountainside. Goblins sat together scheming, plotting and swapping maps. They were all busy either eating or scheming or doing both. This was not a quite party of friends, they were nosey, aggressive and in search of plundering gold.
Nettle still stood high on a mountains rock barely moving, listening to these hateful creatures plotting to capture the little people. At that precise moment she nodded at Thorn. Thorn called to all the goats on the mountainside. The goats heard the call and ran in every direction down the mountain nimbly over the gorse and rock.
The crows flew into the air for cover. They flew up out of the trees and into the sky. The Sleath looked up at the confused crows flying in all directions. The sky was black with crows. They blocked out any daylight that there was left. The Sleath, goblins and trolls became confused and frightened with the noise and movement of the crows.
On the highest mountain peak, two White Tailed Eagles looked on, and two more and two more and, so on. They were everywhere. Two by two they took flight. They swooped down on the crows below them, sinking their talons into them.
Crows are cowardly by nature and prefer sneakiness rather than an honest fight. The birds squawked awkwardly, and feathers flew into the dusk. The Eagles told the Crows to go from their mountain, that they and their dark business were not welcome. Some of the crows fought back but they were fighting a loosing battle. They decided to regroup at the lakes shore. One of the White Tailed Eagles flew over to Nettle and landed on her back. It seemed that they were deep in conversation.
Below them, the Sleath and his party went back into the forest. The sun was beginning to set behind the western side of the mountain. Thorn could not be sure as he walked up to join Nettle, but he thought that she looked relieved and very tired. He would sit watch over her all night. The White Tailed Eagles soared back to nest on the highest peak looking beyond the forest and on towards the lake. The lake looked suspiciously calm, reflecting the amber light of the evening sun.
Chapter 6
The Fairy Kingdom
M
c Inty found himself in the grip of many fairies flying towards the waterfall. They hovered for a while, facing the moving sheet of water as it cascaded down. Underneath was the untouched fairy mound. Dandelion reached for her wand and waved it. Mc Inty could not understand what she said. It was the ancient language of the fairies. The waters pulled apart like curtains, pulsing and glowing and sparkling with all the colours of the rainbow. The fairies giggled and laughed, they were happy to be going home.
They flew under the waters. The noise was deafening and it was nearly impossible to see anything. Mc Inty was counting his lucky stars that everyone else knew where they were going. This place was itself very dark, but fairies tend to glow in the dark so they lit up these underground caves. They flew at speed. Mc Inty could see the cave walls whiz by him in a blur of greys. He could see lots of entrances other caves off this one as they rushed by. Mc Inty thought that this place was like an underground Swiss cheese. He managed to get Dandelions attention. He asked her how far away was the Kingdom.
Dandelion and the other fairies transporting Mc Inty slowly stopped in mid-air. Mc Inty was still looking at Dandelion expecting some type of explanation. Dandelion looked into his eyes and then looked up. The little leprechaun then looked up. He gasped with the sight of it.
A shaft of light came from miles above them: a tubular empire reaching to the sky. There were glowing golden doors dotted everywhere in no particular order going up as far as the eyes could see. Silver springs that came from the river above showered down. Some fairies were dancing in and out of them. Fairies were flying in and out of doors going about their daily business. There were no stairs, just golden entrances and exits opening and closing on the steep rock face. There was music and laughter everywhere. Precious gems studded the cave walls and sparkled in the light. Reflections of the springs danced on the rock face. Some of the springs acted as mirrors. You could see distorted reflections in their flowing. They danced coming out from the rock face as if they were playing with their subjects.
The fairies took hold of Mc Inty again and soared upwards, circling amongst themselves, as they wasted no time. It took a while getting to the top. Above him Mc Inty noticed that there was a ceiling of water that did not fall but flowed across overhead unaffected by gravity. The ceiling sealed in the fairy kingdom. Mc Inty wondered was it the river that he followed to get to Watervalley. A long narrow door opened in front of them. It was encrusted with gems, gold and silver. Through the door was a narrow passageway, that led to an open space. The passageway was half way up this open chasm. If you could not fly and fell off the edge, you might fall for about an hour without anybody noticing. Golden pillars and archways stretched into the vast unknown. The watery ceiling sent its shimmering light patterns in all directions. Mc Inty was stunned by this beautiful place. The fairies placed him on the ground gently. The door shut behind them.
Just then from deep beneath the passageway, Ogram the Fairy King appeared, facing Mc Inty. He was just hovering in front of his face. His hair was flaxen; his eyes were sparkling green and his skin translucent. He looked grave and saddened. One thing Mc Inty thought, of all the creatures in the world there was nothing sadder than seeing a sad fairy. Ogram was tall for a fairy and wore colourful silk clothes. Around his waist was a thick leather belt and holder for his wand. His wand glowed several shades of green as it peeked out of its holder. Mc Inty felt his chest tighten, the wood shaving rubbed hard against his skin. The leprechaun could feel it coming alive inside his shirt.
�You are welcome Mc Inty, son of the son, of the son, of the Great Mc Inty. My kingdom is yours for as long as you need it to be. You have been expected. I have been following your journey and I am glad you are now safe with us�. Ogram said as he settled himself, like a small bird on the back of Mc Inty�s hand. Mc Inty noticed that he could see reflections of his journey to the Fairy Kingdom in the springs of water that softly flowed down the gold and gem encrusted walls.
�You could see me� Mc Inty stuttered. �Yes, Mc Inty I could see you�. Ogram, nodded at one of the springs. Mc Inty looked into the flowing water. He saw the Sleath sniffing by the river that he had travelled beside. He saw Nettle with a goblin on her back. She was bolting up and down, trying to disembark her unwanted passenger. He saw Thorn leading a charge through the forest towards the trolls. White Tailed Eagles swooping down on the edges of the lake scattering crows everywhere.
Mc Inty gasped as he saw the Banshee reading from a book of ancient spells. Ghosts with ugly faces appeared from the sides of her cauldron, flying around in circles. Mc Inty could see hundreds of them. He could only imagine the empty haunting sounds they made.
Ogram gave Mc Inty some time to digest the images. Mc Inty looked at him. �Why is this happening to our world? Are Nettle and Thorn going to be OK?� Mc Inty was shouting now with shock. �Our world is under threat, by creatures who want to capture us and put us on display so that those that have never seen us before will finally believe we exist. These non-believers will pay anything to see us in captivity. If they find the Fairy Kingdom they will destroy it. They will take our gold, silver and precious gems. If they capture us, they will destroy our magic. All will be destroyed by greed and this world will become a dark and unwelcome place, even for those who have a good heart. Mc Inty shook with fear. He looked over at Dandelion. She looked into his eyes and said. �Do not be afraid Mc Inty, be brave. We need you to be strong�.
The leprechaun remembered then, the instructions that Old Flat Top had given him. He put his other hand inside his shirt an held the wood shaving. He carefully presented it to Ogram. �I did not see this in the springs�, Ogram gasped. �Old Flat Top gave this to me to give to you�, Mc Inty replied. Two smaller fairies held up the shaving for Ogram to look at. Ogram examined the shaving and looked at its ancient words and letters he was moved to tears. He felt his heart in such pain that he thought that it would come up out of his throat. �Old Flat Top gave you this�, he just managed to say. �Yes, he said you could read, its words�, answered the leprechaun. �I see them clearly Mc Inty. The words have more words that are hidden in layers of its wood rings. It is a true history of our world and words beyond.� Ogram looked sick and in awe of the shaving. �Why do we need a history of our world, and what has this got to do with the desperate situation that we are in�, said Mc Inty. Mc Inty was getting a bit annoyed now. As he did not understand how a history lesson could help them all out.
�Take the shaving back it belongs to you for now�, Ogram was firm with the leprechaun. �What do I want with a History book�, Mc Inty yelled at the Fairy King. �Mc Inty it is not a history book. It is a true recording of History from the beginning of time. But that is not all it is. It is a piece of wood from the first tree that ever existed. It is a shaving from The Mother Earth Tree. I have seen in her rings. She must be planted back where she first grew. This history of the beginning has been protected by the mushrooms for millions of years. They cannot protect her any longer.
�The shaving must be put back to where she first grew. She can only protect us if she is brought back there. It is you she has chosen to bring her back. �Me!� Screamed Mc Inty. �Yes you�! Ogram looked at him gravely. Mc Inty tried to calm down. �Well where do I have to bring her. �Mc Inty you have to bring her home. First though I must show you the way that she has shown me. Hang on to the fairies, they will follow me�. Ogram took flight leaving Mc Inty�s hand empty, and his head dizzy with worry.
The fairies lead by Dandelion, followed Ogram as he flew directly downwards, passing open passages looking out of the walls of the chasm. They dodged in and out of the fresh springs, going further downwards at all times. Mc Inty thought that the flight down would never end. Just when he was beginning to think the Kingdom was bottomless, Ogram slowed down.
As far as the eye could see, the floor of the inside chasm was platinum and silver, with etchings on it depicting the worlds. Both the fairy world and the humans� world were interlinked. The detail that the map contained was amazing. Mc Inty had never seen anything like it, ever. The Fairies flew to one of the bridges that hung over the gigantic map. They placed Mc Inty down, he was happy to feel the ground beneath his feet. Mc Inty looked at etchings of places he had never been before, of lands far away and far less travelled. It seemed that man ruled nearly every territory. This map moved as territories became bigger or smaller. Mc Inty noticed that the forests were getting smaller and the oceans larger. He could see earthquakes and land crumbling into the sea. He could see volcanoes exploding and townlands lost.
Ogram flew into the centre of the map. �Mc Inty this is where you have to go with The Mother Earth Tree�. The leprechaun studied the map and he could see the young forest and the deep lake. He could see the Mountains. Ogram pointed into the centre of the Old Forest. Mc Inty gasped. �It cant be�, he squeaked. �I'm afraid so�, said Ogram. �But that seems to be where the Banshee's cottage is. Why does Mother Earth Tree want to go there? It is a truly awful place full of demons and demented ghosts, of foul smells and nothing grows there, there are no flowers or plants, just a lot of nastiness�. Ogram flew back to Mc Inty, and sat on the bridge. �You have to go back there with her, it is the only way to pass through to a place that was once her home�. Mc Inty thought that Ogram was mistaken.
Just as Mc Inty was going to protest, Ogram leaned in towards him. He felt that the Fairy King was getting bigger in front of him. Mc Inty decided to stay silent and listen. Ogram told the leprechaun that in order for Mother Earth Tree to get home, she must be taken deep beneath the surface of the earth. In order to do that, the leprechaun must take her through the Banshee�s cauldron, and deep beneath the earth's surface. Mother Earth Tree had chosen Mc Inty, to carry her there, as she knew his heart to be pure. Mc Inty asked Ogram what was beyond the cauldron. Ogram seemed at his wits end when he told Mc Inty that nothing of this place's past had ever been revealed to him. Mc Inty gulped, was he really to go into the unknown and how would he know what to do when he got there. He knew that there were a lot of dark forces up to no good and looking for him. He felt utterly helpless.
� First things first, you are a guest in the Fairy Kingdom tonight. It is getting dark outside and I have a feeling that not much good would become of you if you were to start your quest tonight.� Ogram was most insistent, and Mc Inty agreed with him somewhat relieved. That night Mc Inty was treated like a king. He was given a party, with lots of food, music and dancing. He had never seen as many fairies. Dandelion, stayed by his side and they talked for hours about times past and about the quest ahead. Ogram sat with three fairy elders at the top of a very long table. The night became a delightful haze of music, dancing and conversation. Even Button sang a song or two.
Chapter 7
The Journey Back
M
c Inty woke the next morning on a bed of feathers and silk. Dandelion was sitting on the side of his bed. �Its time now�, she said encouragingly. �All the little people are wishing you well.� He sat up in the bed and looked around this magical place. The room was bright and cheerful, a little window looked out at the inside of the playful waterfall, that was the entrance of the fairy kingdom. Dandelion had gathered all his things carefully. She laid them down by a very small chink in the wall of his bedroom. Dandelion pointed at it and told him that this was a secret way out of the fairy kingdom. She flew over to the exit and spoke to the wall. She took her wand out of her hair and waved it. Silver sparkles fell from it into the air. The small chink in the wall opened out and Mc Inty found himself facing the inside of the waterfall on the other side of the opening. The waterfall opened out like a curtain. Mc Inty was at the top of the waterfall.
All he could see was the rainbow of water crashing down at either side of him. He was standing on a very small ledge probably built for fairies. Mc Inty thought to himself, the ledge was even a bit small for fairies. How was he going to get down? The sound of the crashing waterfall was deafening and the colours were so bright that they were blinding. Mc Inty looked down it was a very long way to fall. He looked up and there in front of his eyes, were two bright blue eyes looking at him. He blinked and looked again trying to focus on the subject.
There she was gracefully hovering above him, waiting patiently for his return. She spun around in the air with delight to see her friend. �Well�, she said, �Hop on�. Nettle shone brilliant white in the morning sun. The leprechaun grabbed on to her horns and pulled himself on to her back. Nettle flew backwards away from the waterfall. The waters became one again and the goat spiralled upwards and landed on the sandy bank, just before the waterfall. Mc Inty was so delighted to see Nettle that he got down and gave her a great big hug. �Where have you been.�? Mc Inty was shouting with glee. �And I should ask you the same question. Fairy business I should imagine�. Nettle looked around her and listened. The two friends had a lot to talk about. Nettle spoke of the dark forces that followed Mc Inty. About the Sleath, the Banshee, goblins and trolls and of the great master plan to capture all of the little people, and steal all their riches.
She spoke of the battle of the New Forest that raged the night before and of the retreat of the dark forces to the edges of the lake. Mc Inty said little, of the Fairy Kingdom as goats get frustrated as they can�t see Fairies. But he did mention that he must return to the Banshees cottage, and the sooner the better. He told Nettle that the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and she must help him get there as quickly as possible, before the world they lived in became eternal night. Nettle explained that he was not alone and she would help him.
They spoke to one another for an hour in the bright morning light. They agreed to fly around the mountain. They would avoid the Sleath and his army that way, hopefully taking the Banshee's cottage by surprise. Nettle was not happy to be returning her leprechaun friend back into the clutches of the Banshee and she knew events would get worse before they got better. They agreed to make the best of the day and go as quickly as possibly. Mc Inty could feel the wood shaving tightening under his shirt. The mountain loomed in front of them, green and further away, blues leading to hazy greys. The mountain was a dangerous place. Mc Inty hopped on to Nettle�s back, and the two friends hiked up the mountain together. The two of them looked briefly back at the rainbows end, created by the waterfall. The ground beneath them became more unsteady as they walked further up the mountainside. Nettle knew that she would have to keep her strength up in case she needed it to take flight later. She picked her way up the mountain lightly. Button mumbled away in the pocket of the leprechaun's hat.
It became wet and misty and the rocks underfoot became larger and unstable. The weather was closing in. It was getting colder and damper. Mc Inty was chilled to the bone and miserable. Button settled himself deep in the pocket of his hat for shelter. The mountain was a cold and silent place. Nettle stopped and looked around. She moved her ears around in the direction that the wind was blowing. �I am hearing messages in the wind. Our enemies are gaining on us. We will have to fly the rest of the way�.
The silver goat picked up speed, stretching her legs and suddenly they were in the air. Nettle galloped through the grey misty clouds as fast as she possibly could. They were flying through the clouds escaping one danger only to fly straight into another. Mc Inty knew as they flew, that the Banshee�s cottage would only be an hour or two away. He couldn't see much through the clouds, he held on tight to the goat�s neck wandering what was going to become of him and his world. Life in the Great Elm seemed so far away, and so long ago.
�Hold on�, Nettle shouted. Mc Inty could feel the clouds lift away as they fell sharply through the air. His ears popped as they descended. The Old Forest became clear in the distance, as he regained his sight when the clouds got thinner. The leprechaun could barely make out the thin paths leading in and out of the Old Forest like veins. They flew towards their impending doom. Mc Inty caught sight of the awful clearing and the cottage. He could just hear the blood-curdling cry of the Banshee. It was evident that she was home.
They agreed that they would settle on the ground on the edge of the forest. A flying goat without the cover of clouds would be a dead give away, to their location. Nettle flew in under the cover of particularly wet and nasty rain cloud. Finally they were on solid ground again. Mc Inty got off the goat and he felt that he had lost the use of his legs. Nettle laughed at him. Mc Inty thought he would never walk again. He would never recommend to any creature he knew, too fly on the back of a goat. It was most uncomfortable and your legs didn't really know what to do after such a long journey.
They found an opening, a little path, so narrow that they would have to walk in single file. The rain was still teaming down. The raindrops under the canopy of the trees were larger and fell less often. They were nearly big enough to drown a leprechaun. Mc Inty pulled his hat right down over his ears. The old tree trunks glistened in the rain. The leaves on the trees caught the raindrops only to let them fall onto the ground with a gentle pitty-pat sound. Most self-respecting creatures took cover in their woodland homes, out of the rain. The only sound was that of the rain falling.
The leprechaun, the goat and the mushroom took cover under a rather large tree for a while to have a rest for a bit and maybe even dry out. Nettle didn't mind the rain at all, but Mc Inty was utterly sick of it. They talked about how they would hopefully distract the Banshee and how, if everything went to plan, Mc Inty might pass through the cauldron. Pass through to where? Mc Inty wondered! What a terrible place that was. �Mc Inty, we must push on, its getting late in the day and we have a Fairy Kingdom to save. �Mc Inty reluctantly got off his hunkers and started again off on the narrow forest path that he was sure, would lead onto the cottage.
There was no doubt that the Banshee's cottage was getting nearer. The light began to fall in the sky. The rain had stopped. The forest was so quiet that even the leaves on the trees were afraid of falling in case they made a noise. Nettle stopped in her tracks and walked silently to the edge of the path. She beckoned the drenched leprechaun to the long grasses at the edge of the path. There it was: the back of the cottage, that awful place. Mc Inty�s heart froze. Twilight died, and then there was nothing but darkness. Deep and black. There never seemed a night so hopeless.
The goat, leprechaun and mushroom settled there in a ditch and waited. The back of the cottage was particularly bleak. Gasses oozed from the ground. The thatched roof was falling away in places. The little back door hung awkwardly from its hinges, just a little ajar. The barren circle, on which the cottage stood, was strewn with fleshless bones. A few crows pecked the ground aimlessly. Hollow sounds came from within the cottage. Mc Inty thought it would be a good idea to flee the terrible scene. Then he thought that if he did the whole world of creatures and men could one day, be like this. He had no choice but to wait. He would wait until the Banshee was asleep. Then he would use the back door of the cottage to get in and sneak his way silently towards the cauldron.
Then he saw her all bitter and twisted. The Banshee was worse than he had remembered. Her face was hollow and demented. She leaned over just outside her back door and talked to one of the crows. She looked suspiciously around. Then she put her finger in the air and sniffed it.
Nettle looked at Mc Inty. The two friends stood there. Stuck to the spot silently in the grasses. The Banshee walked t words them in a straight line. Button began to shake in Mc Inty�s hat. She stopped a meter short of where they hid. Mc Inty could hear her wheeze in and out. He could see her triangular yellow teeth sticking out through her lips. She turned back facing her cottage, dragging her feet along the dead earth. Mc Inty could hear his heart in his ears. It was so loud that he was sure that the Banshee could hear it too! She made her way into her cottage shutting the back door. A black crow stood outside the door.
Mc Inty agreed with Nettle, that she would distract the crow when they were sure the Banshee was asleep. Then Mc Inty would try to get into the cottage and make his way to the Cauldron. �We are doomed if we do and we are doomed if we don't�. Mc Inty said to Nettle, talking about their situation. Nettle tried smiling at him to encourage him.
The leprechaun thought that he saw something flash by behind them. It did not make a noise but he definitely saw it move. �Did you see that�, he said to Nettle. She was too busy eating some of the very long grasses to see, anything! Mc Inty looked behind him again, and to either side of him. There it was again. It was something, and nothing, as it flashed by from a different direction. It was dark and there wasn't much light coming from the small moon in the sky. �Be very still,� he whispered to Nettle. They looked in the opposite direction of the cottage, into the trees at the edge of the forest. Mc Inty could see a shadow there.
The shadow moved closer and closer to them. The shadow was tall slender and graceful. They could see it was walking towards them now. As it got closer, Mc Inty thought it would be a good idea to run, in any direction at all. Just as he was about too take off at speed, he saw the very faint outline of a horse. The horse shimmered in the faint moonlight. It was no colour that anyone could describe. It stood in front of them sixteen hands high. His gracefully sculptured body shook a little, like a highly-strung pedigree. His body was translucent, like liquid glass. Reflecting the darkness of the forest and acting as a camouflage. He bowed his head to look Mc Inty in the eye. �I am Clodagh�s horse, Moonshadow. I have galloped here from the great war on the mountain. Clodagh has sent me to travel with you through the cauldron. I have powers that let me speak to all things, even fairies. Ogram has told me of your quest, to save the fairy world. The Sleath and his army are dangerously close. Clodagh, Thorn and all the goats being forced to retreat at a fast pace. The trolls are too strong and the goblins too clever. We have no choice but to go through right now.� Mc Inty looked at this powerful warhorse, with his strong honest eyes. Moonshadow scrapped his hoofs along the ground underfoot in an attempt to hurry things up. �Nettle, you are needed to help our forces, go as fast as you can under the cover of night and send on the message that I have found the leprechaun, and we will descend together into the unknown.�
Nettle looked evenly into the horse�s eyes and said: �I will go and head our forces with Clodagh and Thorn.�
The night was no longer silent; they could hear the shouts, yells and blood chilling screams of battle not so far away. They could hear great big trees crash to the ground. They could smell the trolls in the wind.
Mc Inty climbed up a nearby tree and onto Moonshadows back. The horse leapt up on his hind legs and shot into the black night directly towards the cottage. There was no time for goodbyes and no time to think about what would happen next. Moonshadow galloped across the rancid clearing and slowed to a trot as he came up to the backdoor. His hooves danced nervously just outside the entrance. Mc Inty held on tightly to his long main. Just then as Moonshadow was about to crash through the door it opened.
There she was in her black shroud waving a ball of fire in her hand. It seemed alive. The fire leaped up from her hand licking painfully through Moonshadow�s coat and skin. Mc Inty knew the horse was in great pain. Moonshadow leaped forward over the Banshee and into the desolate cottage. The little leprechaun held tightly onto Moonshadow's neck. The Banshee fell to the ground outside. The fire had turned on her instead, catching her old shroud. Smoke and fire were all around her. She rolled around trying frantically to put the flames out.
Chapter 8
Into the Abyss
T
he cauldron was larger and more fearsome than Mc Inty remembered. Although Moonshadow was hurt, he walked bravely towards the cauldron. �This is it�, he said. Moonshadow lunged forward and jumped straight into its centre. Ghostly aimless creatures floated and swirled all around them. They had no particular shape. Most of them cried a hollow cry, deep and pitiful. The cauldron seemed to have no sides or end. They fell through fires that did not hurt them surrounded by shapeless ghosts that cried out into nothing. Moonshadow soothed the demented creatures with sounds that the leprechaun could not hear. They fell and fell around, in what Mc Inty thought was at least half a day. The air was thick and barely breathable. It was very hot in this horrific place. Mc Inty looked above him and saw a sky of swirling ghosts crying out into the nothingness. Bang! Suddenly they hit something was this the end? Mc Inty fell off Moonshadow and rolled onto a cold stone ground. It was pure black. There was no light at all. He could not see Moonshadow. He tried to stand but the fall had made him dizzy. He sat there for a while in the deep darkness and tried to gather himself.
Mc Inty felt a nudge on his back. He stood up with the fright of it. He could hardly see. Putting out his hands into the blackness he felt the smooth nose of Moonshadow. �Now what�, Mc Inty grumbled. He felt like having a little cry to himself but didn't want Moonshadow to see him that way. Instead a lump caught in his throat and he tried to swallow it. �I can�t see a thing Moonshadow, can you?� � Not a thing�, he replied. Mc Inty scrabbled around the floor trying to feel his way around when he realised and remembered that Clodagh the Hunter Warrior had insisted that he put matches in his knapsack. He remembered the comfort of the cranoge. He remembered his own home the Great Elm and nearly choked with sadness. Mc Inty took out the matches from his knapsack and lit one. Moonshadow and Mc Inty looked around this deep dark, place.
It seemed to be a long corridor made of cold grey stone. The walls seeped water. The corridor stopped where they fell. There was no way back! It stretched long and narrow before them. The little flame from the match flickered and glowed against the damp cold walls. The two walked forward, not quite knowing where their hallway was leading. This place must have been used before in ancient times Mc Inty thought to himself. In fact, he was sure that it was an ancient underground tunnel used in years gone by to travel to Castletown.
Miles and miles of tunnels lay before them. They were frightened, and confused as they pushed on. They lost track of time. Then, just as the last match was about to go out, there was a rusty old iron door facing them. They could see dim shafts of light through the cracks. Mc Inty tried to open the door but it was locked. Mc Inty looked around him in despair. There was nowhere else to go. They were stuck in a passage thousands of meters under the ground. He tried breaking the lock.
Moonshadow took a long hard look at Mc Inty. �Clodagh asked me to bring you through the cauldron, but there is no way we can get through this doorway without a key�, Moonshadow sighed. �That�s it�. Mc Inty yelled in delight. �Clodagh left a set of keys in the crannog for me to take with me, how did she know that I would need them?� He asked Moonshadow. �Oh! those keys. They are the keys to everything. Clodagh probably knew that they would come in handy�.
The leprechaun searched his pockets until his nimble fingers felt the cold iron keys and he pulled them out. Thirty-three keys dangled in an iron loop. He carefully put the first key into the rusty old lock. He tried with all his might to turn it. He could only manage to turn it a little. It made an awful racket down the stone passageway. He pulled it out and the force nearly knocked him over. Mc Inty tried the second key; it turned more easily. Then they heard a small click and they were through. The great big oval iron door opened, creaking and vibrating. A large winding stone staircase lay on the other side of the door. There was a bit more light, but not much. Mc Inty and Moonshadow walked up the staircase side by side. The leprechaun held on to the walls as he ascended. The steps were nearly too big for a leprechaun of Mc Inty�s size. His little legs ached as he climbed up them one by one.
The steps came to an abrupt end. They had to pull themselves through a small hole in the ceiling.
Mc Inty lay on the ground, after he pulled himself through and looked around. It seemed to be an underground cave, a vast underground cave. The cave stretched for miles, in every direction. Moonshadow gently nudged Mc Inty to his feet. A weak chink of light came from somewhere far above them, they were strangely drawn towards it. Mc Inty could feel the wood shaving tighten around his chest. This could not be the place: this dark, vast nothingness.
Chapter 9
A Loosing Battle
Both Clodagh and Nettle came from different directions to help Thorn and the goats, in their battle to defend the Fairy Kingdom. The White Tailed Eagles fought in the sky against the crows. The goats fought on the ground against the huge numbers of trolls and goblins, but were vastly outnumbered. They were loosing. Clodagh directed Thorn to retreat in the opposite direction of where they thought the Fairy Kingdom was. The only problem with that tactic was that it would bring them near the mouth of the city, Castletown, where more awful creatures would be waiting to chew them up, and maybe not, spit them out.
The Sleath saw the retreat as an opportunity to capture his enemies in Castletown and squeeze information out of them all in return for a miserable life in captivity. It would bring him closer to his dreams of endless gold. The battle raged on. Over the deafening clashes of gnashing teeth on horns and raucous squeals of fighting birds swirling in the sky, the Sleath could hear the gut-wrenching cry of the Banshee.
Something has happened, he thought. The Banshee was trying to tell him something in the winds. What was she saying? He would have to find out. He summoned an enormous and vulgar looking crow to him. They whispered at length. The Sleath left the battle then. He ran bent over side to side in the direction of the cottage. He took two of the ugliest and nastiest trolls with him. They ran swiftly destroying everything in their path. It was all Nettle, Thorn and Clodagh could do but retreat as slowly as possible. Their backs were nearly at the city�s entrance.
The Sleath and the big awkward trolls, made good time to the Banshees cottage. She stood there screaming a deathly cry. Her crooked hands waving in the air aimlessly, into the night�s sky. Tears rolled down her old crinkled face. Her eyes were shinning black and red, as she scrapped her feet on the desolate earth beneath. The Banshee spoke in tongues to the Sleath.
The Sleath whispered and slithered around. The Trolls looked around the clearing, desperate for something desperate to eat. They were very hungry with all of the fighting and running here and there. The Sleath beaconed them too him. He brought them inside the desperate cottage. He led them to the smouldering cauldron of demented creatures. �The leprechaun is down there, he is the only one that can lead us to the fairy kingdom. Go through the cauldron, and bring him back�! The Trolls were not very happy when they looked into the cauldron and saw what they saw, not very happy at all. It was all very well fighting battles, destroying trees, eating desperate things, but is was a bit much to have to go into a place that you might never return from!
It occurred to them then, that they could capture the leprechaun, and keep him for themselves. The secrets of the Fairy Kingdom would be theirs!
The Sleath watched as they stumbled over the edge of the cauldron and fell into the abyss. He thought rather them than me! The Banshee and the Sleath plotted to return to the cottage only after rejoining the battle and capturing the Goats in the city. For now the Sleath thought, the trolls could do all the hard work through the cauldron. He would come back and take his prize, the leprechaun, later.
The goats were retreating fast now and into the entrance of the city. There, behind them, stood the great big city. Castle after castle stood too close to one another. The narrow streets getting no light from the sky. A dark haze surrounded the city, from the stinking gasses that came from the streets. It stood there grey on grey. This was a place that the dark forces felt covered and safe. Nettle, Clodagh and Thorn were being pushed back over the little bridge through the squalid streets and laneways. They were being pushed into the town square, so they would have to surrender. They would have nowhere to go from there! They would be trapped: trapped forever!
Chapter 10
Earth Central
T
his was such a large open space with nothing in it, only a small shaft of light breaking the darkness, that Mc Inty and Moonshadow were drawn too. The shaving grew tighter around Mc Inty�s chest. He pulled at it, he thought that he might smother, as it seemed to tighten and wrap around him. Moonshadow walked faithfully beside Mc Inty. He noticed the leprechaun gasp for breath. Mc Inty pulled the shaving from his chest. The shaft of light moved near, changing from a grey watery light to a strong bright light that was blinding. Mc Inty saw the wood shaving change shape, in his hands. He heard a thud a rush and a bump. There were distant voices beneath them.
The Trolls had passed through the Cauldron. Ghosts grabbing on to their feet and ears, they grasped out helplessly at nothing. One on top of the other on the cold stone floor. They argued and stumbled along in the darkness. Groping their way along the damp walls. To find the leprechaun would mean that they could keep all of the riches to themselves. One of them banged his head on something very hard. There it way, an old door with writing on it. It was ajar. They could feel the leprechaun was near, they could smell him and they could smell a horse. They started to run up the stone staircase fighting with each other. Pulling each other back as they ran and stumbled. The trolls could feel their victory.
Mc Inty felt sick. He could see things that were there, and then they seemed different. He thought he saw Moonshadow gallop to the gap in the floor that led to the staircase. Was he running away?
Moonshadow saw the Trolls squeeze through the gap. The shaft of light was intense. Around it only pitch black darkness. The Trolls ran, seeing the leprechaun. They would grab him. He was theirs. Looking at the light they were blinded, they thought they saw a horse. It was dark. There was a horse. They could not see it. The horse was there and then it was not. It whinnied and stomped and kicked at them. They fell backwards through the gap and down the stone steps. Moonshadow galloped after them.
The wood shaving was changing in Mc Inty�s hands; it was changing shape into a root. It grew and grew. Mother Earth Tree was reaching with her beginnings in the form of a sinuous root that was growing in strength. Looking for her beloved soil. She grew too heavy for Mc Inty to hold. She left her bearer. Mc Inty dropped her onto the ground! Mc Inty saw Mother Earth Tree take shape as a baby tree. Her roots reached into the ground and she burst forward growing and gripping the earth. She grew and grew gaining strength from the shaft of light. Her branches and leaves breathing in the air. She reached upwards. Crashing through walls of rock. Reaching for the sky. Reaching for what was hers, and had been taken away. She grew in strength. Crashing through the ceiling of the immense cave. Mc Inty reached out and held on to her. Her branches enveloped him in a warm embrace, as he was being propelled through the crumbling rock. He felt his hat fall off and slowly drift down to the bottom. There was no time to think, just hold on. It was impossible to see anything as the tree grew all around him.
Little by little the growth slowed. Mc Inty tried to look around. He couldn't see nothing only a white mist. Where was he? He wondered. Where was his hat? The leprechaun began to look down slowly. He saw people and creatures running for cover in all directions. He saw, the great city of Castletown crumble all upon itself. Other trees and plants were growing all around. One small castle stood unaffected. A lot of the creatures were looking up at the tree. They were amazed by its beauty and grandeur. Mother Earth Tree stretched out to reclaim her world back. Mc Inty could see his friend Nettle, beside Thorn, and in front of them a slender fair woman in warriors clothing. Goats stood all around. Trolls and goblins stood on top of rubble. Shielding their eyes from her beauty. Some of them were struggling to free themselves, from the fallen loose stone. Mc Inty could see that a terrible battle had been going on plants and flowers were growing through the fallen grey buildings. The city began to look beautiful.
Mother Earth Tree surveyed her surroundings. Mc Inty held on tight as she moved the branch he was on slowly to the ground. He got off carefully and looked down through the newly created crevasse: down beneath the earth's crust. Sunlight beamed through revealing a different place. At the bottom of the tree there were mushrooms all around. Waterfalls came out of the rock. A rainbow formed in the sunlight at the heart of Mother Earth Tree.
The leprechaun thought he could see a fairy or two. He was sure he saw the swift light of Moonshadow. He stood there in silence. He watched carefully as he saw Mother Earth Tree�s root travel through the underground passage through the demented cauldron. She surrounded the evil cottage with her beauty and brought it crashing down.
The Sleath and the Banshee had reached the city, ready to put their sneaky plotting and planning in place. But they saw before them an entirely awesome sight.
Mother Earth Tree looked down at them. The wind started to blow angrily. �What you have taken from me, I am taking back� she boomed. �There is room in this world for all of us, all creatures, plants and living thing who are seen and unseen. You have no right to try and destroy what is not yours. Go from this world and take your darkness with you.� The wind grew in strength and it was hard to see anything. In fact it was blinding. Mc Inty held on for dear life and closed his eyes. The sound was deafening and the rain lashed down on his little body.
He woke up as if were in a dream with Nettle by his side. He looked around at a beautiful parkland with an ancient tree in its centre, towering over a castle. The fairies were flashing around. People were walking and talking, smiling and laughing. The world was a better place. As far as he knew he could not see any goblins or trolls. Where were they? Where were the Sleath and the Banshee? Mother Earth Tree stood over him and handed him his hat. He looked in the little pocket. He had lost his mushroom!
�Button is not lost,� Mother Earth said gently.� I placed him beneath the earth's crust at the bottom of my trunk, he is safe and happy and at home. He is where he should be. Old Flat Top is grateful to you, as am I.� She celebrated in a gentile breeze.
�Its time for you to go home to the Great Elm, our work is done, for now. There are some friends waiting to see you there.� Nettle nudged him. Mc Inty got up on her back and they flew off towards the Old Forest and the Great Elm. He looked back at the lush green park and Mother Earth Tree swaying gently swaying. He thought he saw a happy young man and woman sitting on a park bench hand-in-hand. Mc Inty thought that his eyes were playing tricks. Were they the Sleath and the Banshee, as they were years ago before they became bitter and twisted? He heard Mother Earth Tree laugh into the soft breeze.
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September 2009
*****
Mc Inty�s Goats
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