Chapter 13 - Into the Darkness

Andres’ journey with Chub and Pipes was seemingly interminable. With Chub as their fearful leader, they slowly crossed the Jagged Mountains, meandering around every hilltop and dashing for cover in every grove of trees in order to avoid detection by King Maximilian’s sentries. Finally, after another two days of arduous travel, they emerged from the mountains and descended onto a broad plain with gently rolling hills. The end of their journey was nigh. Andres looked over at Chub. He thought it looked like he’d lost a couple of chins, since they had eaten very little on their journey.

As they approached the crest of a hill, Andres detected a great stench in the air. He turned his head to the side and almost vomited. Andres’ body was as tough as nails, but his stomach was terribly sensitive. “What is that horrid smell?” he blurted out.

“That, my lucky punk, is the Castle of Dor-ko,” replied Chub. “And the good news is, you’ll get to spend the rest of your miserable life there! But don’t worry about the smell. You’ll get used to it. In fact, since you never actually take a bath in prison, you’ll end up blending in very nicely with the odor.”

“That’s very kind of you to put a nice face on it, Mr. Chub,” Andres replied. For some reason which he couldn’t quite explain, Andres was not terribly intimidated by his approaching fate. He had no idea how he was possibly going to escape, and the thought of going for years without getting clean was dreadful. But he knew that his father would not abandon him. And he also was confident that his father was more clever than Dor-ko and would not get lured into the trap. Though the circumstances looked grim, he was gradually learning that true hope came not from looking at his circumstances, but from trusting his father.

As the riders crested the hill, Chub abruptly turned around and blocked Andres’ view of the castle. Andres was curious to see what the castle looked like, but he realized that he had no hope of looking beyond Chub’s massive girth. Chub then pulled out a mask from his pocket. “All right, punk,” he said. “No one from outside gets to see the castle. Your head is going back under the mask. But don’t worry. It’ll be so dark when you’re in the prison, you won’t even notice that you’ve got a mask on.”

Andres played along without much of a fight. He let Chub put on the mask, and he didn’t try and run away. Although he could easily outrun Chub, he couldn’t outrun his arrows or his horse. And at this point, Andres figured that his best course of action was just to stay alive. So he continued to ride toward the stench-filled castle on the back of Pipes’ horse.

At this point, Andres had to rely on his hearing and smell to decipher what was going on. He noticed the smell getting stronger, from which he figured he was getting closer to the castle. He heard the horse trot over some hollow-sounding wooden planks, which made him think that he must be crossing over a drawbridge into the castle. He then heard a loud clank, which he took to be the sound of the castle gates closing behind them. Shortly after that, he heard Chub say, “All right, Pipes, take him to his new home. Don’t forget to kiss him goodnight!” The words were followed by that pathetic high-pitched laugh which was supposed to sound sinister but really sounded like an elephant sitting on top of a mischief of mice.

Andres felt the tree-trunk arms of Pipes lift him off the horse and onto the floor. Pipes then led him down a long hallway and up a set of stairs. Their footsteps echoed through the stairwell. Andres then made himself burp, just to hear what that kind of echo would sound like. It was just as loud as he’d hoped. He expected the get slapped in the side of the head by Pipes. But the slap never came. In fact, Andres thought that he might have heard Pipes chuckle just a little bit.

When they reached the top of the stairwell, they walked a little further down another hallway before Pipes grabbed Andres’ shoulder and stopped him. Andres heard Pipes knock on what sounded like a heavy wooden door. After a brief pause, the door slowly creaked open. Pipes’ voice then broke the silence. “Another nasty laborer for you to examine, m’lady,” he said.

“Another nasty laborer indeed, Pipes,” replied a very feminine voice. “Please show him inside.”

Andres was gently nudged into the room and escorted to a chair. Once he sat down, his mask was removed. Immediately his eyes were flooded with light, which blinded him momentarily while his eyes adjusted. But he was flooded by something else as well--he was flooded by perhaps the most sweet-swelling aroma that had ever penetrated his nostrils. It was so sweet that he could almost taste it. It was such a welcome relief from the stench of the rest of the castle that he couldn’t help but smile. “If this is my prison cell, then this isn’t so bad after all,” he declared.

“Don’t get too used to this, kid,” replied Pipes. Then his captor turned to the lady and said, “Chub beat him once or twice, m’lady. Perhaps you could dress his wounds before we place him in the dungeon.”

“I shall do what I can to prepare this poor boy for his captivity,” the lady replied. She then walked over to a wooden chest that lay in the corner of her small but bright room. The room had a great window that faced eastward, toward the Jagged Mountains. After spending a few days on the back of a horse, Andres enjoyed the chance to stare at something besides Pipes’ back.

The lady retrieved some towels and bandages and poured some water into a small basin. She then came over to where Andres was seated. As she gently washed Andres’ wounds, she said, “Cantankerous, ornery rebels never ever repent.” Then, shaking her head, she repeated herself: “Cantankerous, ornery rebels never ever repent.”

“Uh...I don’t get it,” blurted out Andres. He didn’t figure that he would get in trouble for speaking his mind. After all, he was about to get thrown in prison for the rest of his life. How much worse could it get, anyway?

The lady appeared to ignore him as she applied bandages to Andres’ neck and shoulder, in the area where Chub had struck him earlier. The lady had long dark hair, and her face was very pleasant. She was dressed in the rags of a servant girl. However, she carried herself with the dignity of royalty. She wore a gentle, unforced smile that seemed oddly out of place in this dark castle. As she worked, she continued to talk mysteriously in a soft and strangely comforting voice. “Will you be able to match them? Ah, you shall try to match them. And perhaps you shall match them. You have traveled far, and you remember many things. Yes, you remember many things. Now remember this: she is carried on our new eastern road. Yes, she is carried on our new eastern road. That is where your heart is, isn’t it?”

“Are you asking me?” replied Andres. He shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. “I don’t get it. What are you talking about?”

The lady put her index finger to her lips and smiled at Andres. “Don’t think, young man,” she answered. “I know who you are. You remember many things. Do not forget them as you go below. I implore you--do not forget them.” She then reached for a small bottle that lay on a nearby table. She sprayed it on the back of Andres’ neck. A strong smell promptly filled the room.

“Hey, did you just spray perfume on me?” asked Andres. This visit was getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

The lady gave Andres a hug and whispered in his ear, “Remember many things. Do not forget what I’ve said.” Then she handed him over to Pipes. Pipes placed the mask back on his head and escorted him out of the room.

Once they stepped into the hallway, Andres’ nostrils were filled with the horrific odors of the castle. All of the pleasant feelings that had surrounded him while in the strange lady’s room abruptly left, and he was filled with despair. He went back to the same stairwell and began to descend. He didn’t bother to burp this time. Any thoughts of humor had fled his soul.

After a seemingly interminable descent, Pipes led him down another hallway. The air seemed to be filled with dampness. Andres felt something scurry across his feet, and he leaped into the air. “Don’t worry, kid,” said Pipes. “It’s just a rat. Those critters will be your best friends in a few days.”

Finally they came to a halt. Pipes pulled the mask off Andres’ head. He saw that they were in a hallway whose only light was a solitary torch hanging on the wall. Next to the torch was a rope. Pipes went over and grabbed the rope. He then stooped down and grabbed a metal ring that protruded from the floor. He pulled upward, and Andres saw a small door pivot open. Below the door was nothing but blackness.

Pipes grabbed one end of the rope and tossed the other end into the hole. He motioned to Andres. “Go ahead and slide down, kid,” he said. He almost seemed apologetic as he spoke. “That is your new home.”

Andres swallowed hard as he obediently grabbed the rope and descended still further into the darkness.